Vengeance: The Program Book 4

by N. M. Catalano

  Gringo pulls her to him, squeezes her tight, and kisses her like it’s their first and last kiss.

  Hawk holds a hand out to Fellini to help him stand. Maybe I’m a spiteful bastard, but seeing him fucked up gives me a sense of gratification.

  I glare at Fellini. “You’ve got some fucking explaining to do.”

  “It’s Director, soldier,” he states firmly as he adjusts his expensive suit jacket and tie.

  What?! That tone, that fucking title.

  I gape at him. “Hold up! No way…you’re not…”

  “I am, and we have a lot of things to discuss.”

  The doctor pushes in. “What the hell is going on in here?! I told you not to disturb my patient.”

  “My apologies, doctor. It was just a slight misunderstanding, it won’t happen again,” Fellini eyes me and Gringo.

  The doctor approaches the bed with a grimace all over his face.

  “Posh,” she slaps his hands away. “Don’t you be telling me ‘oo I can be ‘aving in my room or not. ‘awk, be a lad and bring the rest of the lot in. There’s a story to be told, there is, and I won’t be waiting another minute.” She slaps the doctors hand again. “I’m fine, just shoo,” she snaps.

  He glares at her. “Your vitals are fine,” he turns and mumbles, “thank God.” As he walks to the door, he turns in front of Fellini and stands off with him. “You might have clearance to supersede my orders, but if you make her upset, I will have you thrown out.”

  Dominic dips his head. “You have my word.”

  The doctor gives each of us a glare, then turns and walks out.

  Hawk’s lip twitches. Another fucking smile. That’s got to be a record. But what the hell is he smiling about?

  “Talk,” I growl to Fellini.

  Gringo pushes Sasha behind him and plants himself between him and Fellini. “You kidnapped her. Why?” he asks, his tone full of the rage he’s been holding inside.

  Dominic lets out a long breath and steps in like he owns the place. “I’m the director of The Program,” he begins to explain the entire story. “When the Hollingsworth job came in, it played out the way it was supposed to. I knew your team wouldn’t return the girl, which is why I assigned it to the four of you.” The room begins to fill up again with Hawk, and some old guy in khakis and suspenders I’ve never seen before, Rock and Summer, Snake and Raven, and, fuck me! Prez and Millicent. I turn to Gwen, she’s sitting on the edge of the bed with Mrs. M., both of them mesmerized with what’s unfolding. Her eyes are wide and I can only imagine what’s going through her head. “We’ve known what The Club has been doing, and we were aware of their plans to expand overseas, and how they planned to do it. The truth is, we’ve been watching them a while. When the mill purchase came in to play, that was our opportunity to intervene.” Fellini turns to Gringo and Sasha. “That’s where you came in, DeJesus. There was no one else who could have done the job. You were the one who could get close and do what was necessary.” He has the decency to appear sorry, “We used you DeJesus, but only because you had what it took.” His gaze meets Gringo’s furious glare. “My only regret is what Sasha had to go through.”

  Sasha hasn’t let go of Gringo since she came in. She lays a soft kiss on his cheek, and I hear her whisper, “I was always fine, Gringo, they never harmed me.” I can see some of his fury begin to ease from him. Holding Gringo, she tells Dominic over his shoulder, “I wanted to kill you when you kidnapped me and I thought you were going to send me to Saudi Arabia.”

  “That’s where you would have gone had I not kidnapped you,” he replies. The bastard.

  “Thanks for reminding me, Dominic,” Sasha scowls at him.

  Dominic? Mighty chummy.

  “Can we get on with this?” Rock snaps.

  “Yes, let’s,” Gringo growls. “Why did you have to make it seem like a kidnapping?”

  “Because if we didn’t, then my cover would have been blown. The Club trusted me to be the intermediary. They assumed I delivered her to the buyer, and their deal was still on,” Dominic replies. Gringo begrudgingly accepts this, because that’s exactly what would have happened, then the entire project would have crumbled. Dominic continues, “When the mill project began, we knew The Club was finalizing their deal with their partners overseas. It was time for us to move in order to put the whole organization down. I decided to come in as the go between.” He glares at each one of us. “I knew you were all a pain in the ass, however I didn’t think you’d burn the fucking place down. At least I didn’t think you’d do it without orders.”

  “I guess you were wrong, then, huh, Director,” Snake and his smart ass mouth.

  “I was…misguided about a couple of things, like our little Raven, here, and how she popped into the equation,” Fellini gives her a smug grin. “I did try to warn you.” He gives me a hard look.

  The phone call telling us to get them out of the house.

  “Is that what the president of the Steel Brothers has to do with this?’ I ask, eyeing him because I’m going to kill him for burning down Gwen’s house once we get out of here.

  “He’s one of you. So is Millicent.” Wait. What?! “She was our eyes on Williams inside. And if he hadn’t been at Gwen’s house last night, the whole thing would have blown, along with everyone in it,” Dominic states matter of fact.

  What in the actual fuck?!

  Prez nods his head. “We apprehended the man who caused the gas leak at the house. Unfortunately, he’d already lit the match. He’d planned on opening the lines in the crawlspace beneath the home as well, and…,”

  I hold up a hand to stop him right the fuck there. “In private, Prez.”

  I glance at Gwen, her face is pale and horror stricken.

  Prez shifts his gaze to look at the women noting their horrified expressions. “Sorry,” he mumbles.

  “You’re a stupid shit, you know that?” Raven snaps. “Even I’m not that socially inept.”

  “It was a poor choice of words,” he snarls at her.

  “Enough,” Fellini barks.

  “Mr. Fellini,” Summer begins hesitantly, “what about my father?”

  He sighs. “Summer, what I can tell you is there will be a thorough investigation on everyone affiliated with The Club. Obviously, many indictments will be based on evidence.” He holds her gaze. “The testimony of anyone who suffered by their actions will carry a great deal of weight.”

  She breaks his stare and nods. Rock pulls her closer with the arm he’s got around her shoulders.

  It fucking sucks. Summer suffered for years in that hell, but it’s her father. She’s got to be torn.

  I turn to face Fellini. “So what now?”

  “Now,” he sweeps his gaze over everyone in the room. “Now all of you will be recognized for taking down what could have quite possibly turned into the worst threat that the United States would have ever faced on their own soil. Congratulations, gentlemen, for a job well done. I’ve heard that the White House will recognize all of you for your heroic actions, unofficially of course.”

  “You got that right,” Snake laughs.

  Well, holy shit!

  Gwen’s off the bed and throwing herself at me. I grab her, pull her from her feet, and wrap her around me.

  “Mr. John Smith,” she whispers with her mouth at my ear, “I’m Gwendolyn Pierce. And I love you so damn much!”

  Sweet baby Jesus!

  “Woman,” I growl, squeezing her tighter, “I love you so much, it fucking hurts!”

  “It’s time for a celebration!” Mrs. Merriweather announces and claps her hands in that way she does when she’s happy.

  Everyone circles Gringo and Sasha. It’s a group hug big enough for the Guinness Book of World Records.

  I kiss Gwendolyn, long and deep, as everyone laughs and cries. It’s the best damn thing I’ve ever heard.

  Sasha’s fucking back! Everyone’s safe, and this shit is finally over!

  EPILOGUE

  NINE MONTHS LATER
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br />   Bull

  What do you do with four guys, four girls, and one old woman?

  You have a fucking party, that’s what.

  Except we didn’t, at least not right away, there was too much shit to do. First we had to get Mrs. Merriweather out of the hospital and settled. It had to be somewhere else other than the house, because she and Gwen couldn’t go home until the clean-up crew made the rest of the dwelling habitable. Where’d they go? You guessed it. With me in my tiny little house. Served me right for putting off buying something. The three of us were roommates for a month in a thousand square foot three-bedroom bungalow. Holy shit, that was the longest thirty days of my life. It was all good, though, because we’re family, and that’s what families do. The next item was getting the repairs done to Gwen’s house. The fire had been put out early enough that it hadn’t spread to the main areas, or upstairs. Unfortunately, the kitchen and Mrs. Merriweather’s rooms were destroyed. Damn shame, too, that rose painted tea set was gone. I dragged Gwen to all of the antique shops in town and in the surrounding areas until we found another that was similar.

  Roses, gotta have them.

  Funny thing was, Mrs. M. decided she wanted her own space when the construction began. So instead of rebuilding her rooms off the kitchen, she requested a detached efficiency apartment.

  What the hell?

  Don’t get me wrong, I was glad to be able to walk around the house buck ass naked without having to worry about giving Mrs. M. an eyeful. But what the hell does an eighty-year-old woman need her own apartment for? Apparently something that has to do with that old man who was with Hawk at the hospital, the one with the suspenders, wire rimmed glasses, and khakis. They seem to spend an awful lot of time together. His name is Cornelius Jones, and we’ve come to find out he’s Hawk’s contact with The Program, he runs a post for members out in the middle of fucking nowhere. That just goes to show you never know who you’re dealing with.

  As for Summer, she battled with herself as to whether or not she’d testify against The Club, and therefore her father. She finally decided to give a statement. She could not in good conscience withhold what she’d gone through, not for herself, but to prevent others from living what she and Sasha had. To her, staying silent would have made her just as guilty as those who’d committed the crimes.

  Snake and Raven? They were incredible. When things needed to get done, when there was an issue that needed to be dealt with, they grabbed that bitch by the balls and owned it. Over the past few months, Raven helped Sasha, Gwen, and Summer claim back a sense of power in a way only a woman can. Evidently, Snake taught Raven some of his mad martial arts skills, not that the woman needs any help defending herself. A few times a week, all the women get together and she gives them lessons, even Mrs. Merriweather has joined in on occasion. They are becoming indomitable forces each in their own right.

  I’m so fucking proud of all of them. They’re conquerors, and there isn’t a day that goes by the four of us are not in awe of them.

  Right after the incident, we hardly saw Gringo and Sasha at all. They practically ran from the hospital hand in hand, and disappeared for a week. Hell, I don’t blame him. If it were me, and that was Gwen, I’d have tied her up in my bed just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming she was real. I still don’t let Gwendolyn out of my sight, and she’d only been threatened. Gringo and Sasha spent the much needed time to heal and begin their future together.

  Hawk has made some appearances in town with Cornelius. He still doesn’t say much, but he’s not as much of a miserable bastard as he used to be.

  It took a lot of getting used to the idea that the head of the most dangerous MC clubs is also a member of The Program. However, I finally understood that our organization and an MC club aren’t very different. Prez, though, I’m still letting that settle.

  The incident did need to be dealt with. There were details that had to be sorted and reports that had to be filed with The Program, even though we acted independently. We reviewed our last drone surveillance footage with Fellini, the Director, (damn, calling him that is so strange), to bring The Program up to date with our last findings. Headquarters was going to claim the operation as sanctioned, hence the required bullshit paperwork.

  “You were right to go in when you did,” Fellini’d admitted.

  Damn right we were.

  This removed any possibility that we’d be held solely responsible for it. The whole thing, the explosion at the mill, and the fire at Gwen’s was now The Program responsibility, therefore, the bad guys are royally fucked.

  As far as bringing individuals to justice, well, The Program has some very interesting covert ways to accomplish that. What is certain, that whole operation The Club was responsible for is shut down for good. Apparently, James Williams was one of the first casualties of The Club’s fall. We heard first he’d lost his job, then all of his assets were confiscated, along with the house, and he was left destitute. Finally, the thing we believe that pushed him over the edge was the jail time he was facing. It seems he blew his brains out.

  What a nightmare, and it’s over. It’s fucking over.

  Now we can finally have the party we’ve been waiting a long time for.

  “I look like a beached albino whale,” Gwen whispers.

  No, the fuck she does not.

  I slide my arms around her waist and lay my hands on her stomach. “Darlin’, you have NEVER looked more beautiful than you do right now,” I whisper with my mouth at her ear.

  Gwendolyn is pregnant. With twins. Two out of the ten babies are on the way, eight more to go!

  She giggles. “You’re just saying that because you did this to me.”

  I bury my face in her neck. The scent of roses fills me again, and, damn, it still makes me hard. “I did do that to you, and as soon as my babies are born, I’m going to do it again. We’ve been doing a lot of practicing, darlin’. Pregnancy makes you horny as hell.”

  “Bull Smith,” she whisper shouts, trying not to laugh. “That’s your fault, too.”

  I grin against her neck. “It’d better be my fault. Do we have time for a quickie, Gwen?”

  “I wish, but it’s starting any minute now. We need to go take our places. They will not hold the wedding on our account. They’ve waited long enough. So shoo, I’ll be fine, me and my swollen ankles.”

  Gringo and Sasha are about to be married.

  Hell yes!

  I spy Gringo at the front of the church. His eyes are glued to the back doors waiting for his future bride to make her grand entrance. I’m so damn happy for him and Sasha, no two people deserve this happy ending more than they do.

  “We’re going. But afterward, I’m going to bend you over and make you come so damn hard, woman, just for teasing me.”

  “Promises, promises,” she goads me.

  During our little excursions searching for the replacement tea set, we came across the sweetest little church. It’s small, and quaint, but it’s perfect for us. None of us need, nor do we want, anything big and fancy. Gwen and I brought Sasha and Gringo here when they were planning their wedding and they fell in love with it.

  Mrs. Merriweather leans forward to glare at me. “Get your arse up there. The quicker this one be done, the sooner it’ll be you and me Gwen’s turn. I’m not getting any younger,” she scolds me. The old woman looks beautiful. She’s in complete English regalia, big old hat and all, as if she were at Buckingham Palace and sitting with the Queen. Cornelius is right beside her in a full tuxedo, with a walking stick, and a top hot perched on top of his wild white hair. The old man’s got it bad.

  “Yes, ma’am,” I reply, because I do not want to talk about how her granddaughter is pregnant and why we’re not married. Sliding a finger inside the neck of my own uncomfortable monkey suit, I dip my face to Gwen’s ear. “I can’t wait to get all these damn clothes off. Maybe we should sneak into the coat check at the reception.”

  Gwen giggles again and nudges me to move. “Go. I want to look at how
sexy you look in that tuxedo.”

  I kiss her cheek and thank God for her. I love her so damn much, I still can’t believe she’s mine, and we’re having children. I’m the luckiest man alive.

  I take her hand and lead her to the front of the church, then stand with my brothers. Gringo gives me a broad smile as I take my place next to him, I’m his best man, Rock and Snake are already there, his groomsmen. Summer and Raven are waiting as well, they’re Sasha’s bridesmaids. The ceremony is informal, so the wedding party is already in place. The priest gives me a scowl, it could be he knows I got Gwendolyn pregnant out of wedlock, or it’s because we were the last ones to take our positions.

  I couldn’t give two shits either way. It appears neither does Gringo, so we’re good.

  The organ music raises and the back doors swing open. Sasha’s standing there in an elegant full length, body hugging satin gown with a long veil covering her face, holding a massive arrangement of lilies. She’s absolutely beautiful. She’s got one arm draped over Dominic Fellini’s arm waiting for him to escort her down the aisle.

  Can you believe that shit? Fellini’s giving her away.

  Maybe it’s a thank you. The man saved her from the plan her piece of shit ex-husband had of selling her to the fucking Saudi Arabians, and he does look as good as we do in a tux.

  They begin to walk toward us.

  I steal a glance at Gringo. No one else exists to him right now except her. I’m so happy for him. My gaze moves to Gwendolyn. I never thought I’d love someone as much as I do her. I love my brothers, we have a bond that was born from the blood we’ve spilled for each other, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for them. But this thing with Gwendolyn, it’s soul deep and permeates every cell of body. She is my life force, my sustenance, my only reason for living.

  Sasha and Fellini begin the short walk down the center of the aisle. There aren’t many people inside the church, Sasha’s parents are under investigation and aren’t allowed to leave their state. Their absence doesn’t seem to be affecting her very much. Gringo’s mother is with his violin teacher from when he was a kid. She looks so proud of her son. Prez is sitting with Millicent, and I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to wrap my head around the fact he’s Program too. Hawk is in the back pew all by himself, but damn, if he’s not rocking that tux.