by KJ Dahlen
Talon looked over at the huge silent Russian.
The man showed nothing. Yet, he spotted a bead of sweat that rolled down his temple. Talon grabbed the phone and swiped the screen. “Dah?”
“No need to pretend...Talon. Or do I call you Thomas?” the voice asked.
Talon hated that name and he always wanted to kill anyone uttering it. “Who the fuck are you?”
“That, I cannot say over the phone. But you have my man. I wish to parley and get him returned to me.”
“Is that so?”
“Dah, it is so. I feel that if you do come out and do a decent parley with me, I will have news for you that will ...let us say relieve a burden that your club feels right now.”
At this dubious offer, Talon narrowed his eyes. “So, how do I know this isn’t some kind of trap? To get me out in the open? Dmitri has taken shots at me before.”
“But he did not kill you though. Let me make it clear that if he had wanted you dead... You would be so.”
Talon let out a huff of air. “So where do you wish to do this parley?”
“I will come to you. This way, you will feel safer, maybe? Say we meet under cover like in that metal garage out behind your compound.”
Talon raised his brow at two facts. One he knew the layout of the club. Two... “You would be willing to come onto our turf?”
“Dah... I mean yes. Because once we give you what your club so desperately needs, you will not be in the mood to kill us.”
Talon blinked his eyes at this. “Alright. When?”
“Now.”
Talon paused. “Now?”
“Yes... I give you ten minutes to clear our landing with your lookouts.”
“Your landing?”
Suddenly, a loud whirring sound seemed to rattle the entire building. It could even be felt here in the basement.
“You hear that, Mr. Talon?”
“Yeah!” he shouted overt the noise.
Eagle and the other two men all peered up at the ceiling.
The large Russian did not look a bit surprised or bothered.
“Tell your men to allow us to land. Then we will meet in the garage.”
Talon looked over at Eagle. “Ok. Ten minutes.”
The call ended.
“What the fuck was that about?” Eagle barked.
Talon stared at the silent Russian. “Apparently, we are being called to parley. His boss wants him back and he says, he has something to offer us that our club needs badly.”
“Well, if he is offering 3 million for him, then that would be great.” Eagle looked excited.
The large Russian made his first noise as he snorted.
Eagle looked over at him. “What the fuck is so funny?”
The man remained mute as he rolled his eyes.
“The fuck you just rolled your eyes at me!” Eagle stood up and his chair fell back. Raising his fist, he growled.
Talon caught his arm.
Eagle looked enraged as he glared over at Talon. “Let go of me!”
Talon shook his head. “This man is genuine I think and dangerous too. And you doing useless damage to his man isn’t going to help us.”
Eagle grumbled. “Fine! Let me go!”
Talon let go of his arm. He took out his phone and tapped his screen. “Falcon, tell all the men on lookout to stand down. A helicopter will be landing at the back bay doors. It is clear to land.”
“Ok, Talon.”
Swiping his phone, he looked over at the large man in chains. “You must be important in your organization.”
The man shrugged and finally spoke, “Nyet. All of our men are. Never leave one behind.”
Talon raised his brows at both the fact that the man actually spoke and that he used a military phrase while he was at it. He looked over at Nix and Panther. “ Grab him up and escort him to the bay. Keep him in the back room till I call you though.” He glared at the pair. “Do not rough him up anymore. Not a scratch you hear?”
They both nodded and helped the chained man up with straining and grunts.
“He is so fucking big!” Nix grumbled.
“It must be all that Russian fucking they do.”
The big Russian laughed at this.
Talon again stared at him. The man must feel confident his boss would get him out of this mess. He looked over at Eagle.
“Well?” Eagle grunted. “Let’s go see what the man has to offer.”
Talon sighed. Eagle could fuck this up. The man wasn’t right for some reason. He followed him out and they made their way toward the back of the compound.
They came out through the garages.
“Open the bay doors!” Eagle shouted at the two guards.
The doors rolled up.
As soon as they did, a huge black helicopter lowered down, seemingly out of nowhere.
Eagle stared at with wide eyes. “Fuck. That could hold...” The noise cut off the rest of his sentence as the helicopter landed.
Talon swiped his phone and texted Falcon. Send all the lieutenants immediately to the bay. He should have ordered this before. But how was he to know a helicopter could hold...
Many men... very large men, all carrying machine guns as they hopped out of the copter. Then they lined up as if a dignitary was going to march through.
Finally, a man leapt down. Tall, wide shoulders, dark hair. A short beard. Dressed in jeans and a dress shirt. He strolled through the line of men and as he got closer, his eyes became more noticeable. They looked aquamarine colored. Confident, he strode into the bay as large as he pleased.
Talon and Eagle waited.
Prince Lieutenants now poured out from every door to the bay.
When they were all in place, Eagle and Talon stepped forward.
The man did not smile though he looked amiable enough. “Hello.”
Talon nodded.
“Who the fuck are you?” Eagle asked.
Talon Scowled at Eagle and stepped forward with his hand out.
The man stepped forward and shook it. “My name is not important, but you can call me Viktor.”
Talon nodded his head.
“You have one of my men,” he stated in a thick accent.
“Yeah. We do. He was caught casing the compound,” Eagle replied.
“Yes, he was posted here,” Viktor openly admitted.
Talon stared at him. “And why was he posted here?”
Viktor stared into his eyes. “He was to report when and if Dmitri Grigori showed up.”
Eagle’s eyes widened. “What?”
Viktor nodded. “We are here to...” he paused as if he changed his mind about sharing any information. “First, let me see my man, Ivan.”
Talon blinked. “Oh, so he has a name?”
Viktor smiled. “He did not talk. But then none of us would. No matter what you do.”
Talon studied this man. Class, but also deadly. The man had killed many, Talon could somehow tell this, but he had a sane expression and wisdom in his eyes. He swiped his phone. “Bring the Russian.”
They stood and waited for a minute.
Then a noise echoed as a door opened. Nix and Panther tugged the large Russian from the room.
Viktor stared at him. “You did not rough him up so badly then?”
Talon shook his head. “The only injuries he has was when the men captured him.”
Viktor looked over at him. “So you do not torture men?”
Talon cocked his head to the side. “We prefer not to.”
Viktor nodded.
“So what you got for us then?” Eagle interjected.
Viktor looked over at him as if he’d forgotten the man was even standing there. “I do not have the three million dollars that you owe Dmitri. If that is your meaning.”
Talon was surprised at the man’s knowledge, “How did you know about that?”
Eagle grunted with disappointment. “Then why are we here?”
Viktor looked at Talon while ignoring Eagle again. “We
cannot say how we gather our information. However, we are men whose job it is to... bring justice to men who have committed crimes against the Bratva.”
Talon felt more than curious and he felt hope for the first time in weeks. “And please tell me Dmitri is this criminal.”
Viktor nodded.
“So what does that mean?” Eagle interjected again.
Viktor flicked his glance over to him. “He will not be blowing up your compound, nor will he be taking anything from you.”
Eagle blinked his eyes in shock and some disbelief. “And how do we know this is true? I mean obviously you do not have him... or your man Ivan the Terrible over there, wouldn’t have been here!”
Viktor shook his head. “I make no promises until I have what is needed.”
“And again, what the fuck does that mean?” Eagle yelled.
The Russian men all moved closer as his yelling escalated.
Talon glared at Eagle. “Prez?”
Eagle looked over at him.
“Man, do you see the guns?”
Eagle looked past Viktor and noted the men and the guns.
Talon addressed Viktor, “You need to understand. You come into this out of the blue.” He pointed over at the helicopter. “And I mean that literally.”
Viktor paused then he seemed to get it as he nodded.
“So how do we know all this is true and Dmitri will cease to be an issue?”
Viktor raised his arm.
Talon stared at him as he reached back for his gun in his waistband. This could be a signal to fire for all he knew.
Viktor shook his head at Talon.
Talon dropped his hands to his side then he saw activity at the copter.
Two more men came out of it. One was dragging another.
Eagle squinted his eyes as he tried to make out what he was looking at. “What the fuck?”
Talon could finally see the face of the man being dragged. “Dmitri...”
Viktor spoke, “Yes. He now goes back to Moscow to face Bratva trial. Also, his empire is almost gone. We took it down over the last month.”
Eagle looked shocked. “You mean he has nothing left?”
Nodding his head, Viktor replied, “All, except this debt. Which as you can see no longer exists.”
The very large Russian dragged Dmitri into the bay.
Eagle stared at him.
His face was bloodied and he was limping.
“Well damn!” Eagle exclaimed. “Not so big now are you, Grigori?”
Dmitri raised his head up, his eyes already looked dead. “You are dogs that were licking the bones from my table.” He spat a bloody glob of spit at Eagle’s boots.
Eagle jumped back. “The fuck, man!”
Talon kept his feelings in check although he couldn’t help but to say, “Boom. Clubhouse no more.”
Dmitri swung his raging gaze over.
Talon raised a brow. “That is what you said. You threatened us all. You knew Hammer had done us dirty. But now I see you were always dirty. Squeezing us dry. I do want to know one thing, but you will probably lie anyway.”
Dmitri looked interested suddenly. “What you wish to ask?”
“Were you and Devin doing deals together?”
Dmitri looked like he was confused. “I do not know whomever that is.”
Eagle shook his head. “So you never knew about her.”
Talon grabbed Eagle’s arm in warning.
Viktor looked between the men. “He does not ever need to know about her.”
Eagle’s eyes rounded.
Talon bit at his lip. The man knew everything it seemed.
Viktor then took a step closer to Eagle. “And if you would have handed her over to this cretin?” His blue green eyes nearly glowed. “You would be dead and your club would have gone BOOM!”
Eagle spluttered at this. “H-how—
“Your lieutenant as you call them?” Viktor went on, “Rogue? He saved your club. He saved you!” He gazed over at Talon. “You at least have men someone can respect.” He then gave Eagle a scowl. “If anything ever happens to her... we will take you down, William Baker.”
Eagle had the good sense to just stare and he said nothing.
Talon raised his hand. “Falcon!” Unchain the man.”
Dmitri sneered at Talon. “I will be back! I will exact revenge for this!”
Viktor laughed for the first time since he arrived. “You will cease to exist in a matter of days, Grigori.” He waved his hand in the air.
The large man dragged him back to the copter as Dmitri cursed in a litany of Russian.
Ivan walked up to Viktor and hung his head.
Viktor patted him on the shoulder. “I am glad you are alive, my friend.”
Ivan still looked shamed.
“It took four men to take him down,” Talon noted.
Ivan swung his startled gaze over to stare at him.
“He also did not utter a word,” Talon added.
Ivan nodded his head at Talon and made his way to the copter.
Viktor seemed to appraise Talon. “I am to say something that is not my domain but I feel you could benefit from the knowledge I have.”
Talon stared at him. The man apparently, had some kind of crystal ball or some shit.
“And what would that be?” Eagle asked.
Viktor never even looked at Eagle as his gaze remained on Talon. “This Devin Brooks.”
Eagle again showed his surprise at the vast knowledge this Russian seemed to have about all of it.
Talon showed no reaction though his gut clenched.
Viktor nodded. “You keep Ivan’s phone and I will call within a day and tell you where this pig is hiding.”
Talon blinked at the rage he saw in the man’s eyes.
“Any man that sells children. Needs to die.” He looked Talon in the eyes.
Talon could see the danger there for anyone that might get in this man’s way. Yet, he had a moral code and he could respect that. He nodded. “Thank you.”
Viktor whirled his arm. “Noka, Prince Talon.”
All the men turned like some army and waited for him to walk by. He made his way to the copter then got in.
The ten men as a line then entered the large copter.
It rose up with a loud roar and raised to the sky.
Eagle turned to Talon. “Well, fuck me!” He grinned. “Talon, we are free and fucking clear!”
Talon had to smile. “Yes, we are.
The men present all cheered.
Falcon came up to Talon. “So now, we can have a real celebration?”
Talon looked over at him. “Sure.”
Falcon looked excited like a little kid as he turned and went into the clubhouse.
“How did that Russian know so much?” Eagle asked him.
Talon shrugged then felt in his pocket for Ivan’s phone. “We will never know, but he was generous though.”
“Fuck yeah, he was!” Eagle agreed turned to leave.
Talon spoke, “Prez.”
Eagle turned back and stared at him.
“You will go to Rogue and Sevie and tell them that you have revoked your decree.”
Eagle’s smile fell away from his face. “What?”
“You heard me.” Talon turned around to face him. “Rogue saved your ass. He saved all our asses by making that claim and stopping you from handing her over to her death. You heard Viktor.”
Eagle shook his head. “But I will look like a fool!”
Talon took a deep breath and thought carefully about the words he would say next. “You were a fool when you suggested we let her be murdered for our debt.”
Eagle balled his hands into fists as he stepped close to Talon. “I am the president of this MC. I do and decide what is best for our club. That was to save our club!”
Talon slowly shook his head. “We aren’t scum, Eagle. We have to have morals, despite what we are. Women and kids do not fall by our hands.”
Eagle seemed t
o deflate in front of Talon’s eyes, as he couldn’t argue that. It was one of their secret bylaws from the beginning of the club itself. Set down by Talon’s dad and the older members “I only wanted to save us from being burned out of our own dammed club.”
Talon stared at him and didn’t say anything.
Eagle threw his hands up in the air. “Fine. Fuck it! I will tell him when I get him alone. But let the men celebrated his nuptials anyways.”
Talon slowly nodded.
Eagle stomped off in a huff.
Chapter Sixteen
ROGUE
After a while laying around with Sevie in his arms, he finally spoke, “Look. I...I want you to stay with me.”
Sevie rolled her head to look at him. “Well, I have to don’t I?”
Rogue let out a sigh. “Even if you didn’t. I want you to be... to...”
Sevie sat up and gazed down at him. “Rogue? I’ve never seen you at a loss for what to say. Even when you say something stupid.” She added a smile to her insult.
He grinned up at her and traced a finger down along her creamy skin. His finger lowered and passed over a sweet, pink nipple. He knew for sure with as many breasts as he’d seen and touched in his life, he’d never seen ones like hers. They were the sweetest pink color. They were perfect if a nipple could be.
“Rogue?” she called to him. “Are you going to look at my face or are you going to stare at my bangin’ tits all day?”
He laughed and kept staring at her breasts. “I think I will take the second choice.”
Sevie giggled. “You are bad.”
His gaze rose to her face. “That may be the problem.”
She paused. “What?”
He let out a breath. “I’m well... an outlaw. A biker. A bad man.”
Batting her eyes, she shrugged. “Yes, as you have said.”
He shook his head. “As I have shown. I did take you at gun point and tied you up and the rest...”
Sevie studied his face. “Yes, but Rogue, you were there to save your best friend’s kid. You did what you had to do. Then when they wanted to... send me to my death. You again, stepped up.”
He opened his mouth to argue.
Pressing her fingers on his lips, she went on, “To me, you have more honor than most men I’ve known in the straight world.”
His eyes widened.
Nodding, she smiled. “You make no excuses for what and who you are. You never lied to me or tried to fool me. Believe me, I have met my share of men who have done both and they had respectable jobs, like lawyers and accountants. But they were not to be trusted. You...” She cupped his face with her soft hands. “You have no back stabbing motives, no lies to tell. If you ask me, you are the good man. These others, who appeared to be good, just aren’t most of the time.”
