by K. J. Dahlen
“And what would that be?”
“Bulldog was skimming the returns to the cartel from the beginning. He kept the money and turned it into diamonds he had Reva hide. When the cartel came calling, she forgot about the diamonds and they are still hidden.”
“Fuck me.” Hawkeye swore. “So that’s why the cartel wasn’t entirely happy with what they got back.”
“Yeah, I’d forgotten about that,” Sam admitted. “They were happy to get back what they did but they always thought there should have been more. Now we know why.” He paused and reminded the other man, “This could be why they watched our club for five years after we paid them back. And why they are still watching us from time to time.”
“They were watching us to see if we had the rest of their money.” Hawkeye growled. “Bulldog is in big trouble this time. The cartel will take the money out of his hide.”
“Is there any way you can contact the cartel and tell them about the diamonds?” Sam asked.
“I can try.” Hawkeye said. “They might not understand why it took seventeen years for us to say anything about this.”
“Can you at least try?”
“Yeah, I can try. I hope Reva knows where the stones are and is willing to hand them over.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Sam told the other man. “Those stones have cost her too much already. I don’t think she wants them anymore than she wants Bulldog.”
“Okay, I’ll make the call.” Hawkeye sighed. “Let’s hope this ends that situation.” He paused then added, “You know I’ll have to tell them where she is don’t you? They may send someone out to collect the stones and they’ll want her to show them where she hid them.”
“Yeah, I’ll tell her but Hawkeye…the cartel doesn’t touch her,” Sam warned him. “She had nothing to do with this, she was following orders from her husband and when this all went down years ago, she was recovering from a hell of a beating and in a coma, it almost took her life. You tell them that too. She is not to blame for what he did.”
“I’ll tell them.” Then the call went dead.
Sam looked over to Reva. “Does Bulldog know where you hid the diamonds?”
She shook her head. “No he doesn’t, but he did tell me to keep them close to me.”
“What is Hawkeye going to do?” Deke asked.
“He’s going to contact the cartel and tell them what we know. He’ll tell them what happened and the fact that we have the stones. They will want to collect them, so we have to be prepared to give them up. Then all we have to do is wait for someone to come and collect them.”
“But first we have to deal with Bulldog,” Raine reminded them.
“We need to go on lockdown,” Deke ordered. “We have no idea who or what will get here first and we should be prepared for anything.” He looked over at Gator. “Start making the calls to get everyone here.”
Gator nodded.
Deke turned to his father. “We don’t want to worry the women, so tell them what you must but no more than that.”
There was a knock on the door and when Deke opened it, he found Wiley standing there. “We have visitors.” Looking over at Raine he said, “They said they were your family.”
Raine frowned. “My family?”
Wiley nodded then looked over at Deke. “They also asked for Reva.”
Reva’s eyes widened as Gator growled.
As a group, everyone moved to the main room.
Gator wrapped his arms around Reva when they saw the entire Moore family standing there.
When Raine stepped up to shake his dad’s hand, Black Jack shifted his gaze to Reva. Then he looked at Gator and nodded. Black Jack stuck his hand out to the other man. “I’m glad she’s had you beside her all this time.”
Gator shook his hand and asked, “Why are you and yours here? Especially today?”
“Because she needs us with her today,” Molly told him. “We couldn’t come before but we wanted her to know we’re here now.”
“Why couldn’t you come before?” Reva asked.
“Because I didn’t want them here before,” Gator told her. “I told them to stay away from you, from us.”
“And that was your right, before…” Black Jack stated.
“But not anymore?” Gator questioned.
“Not anymore,” Judge informed him.
“Before this develops into something no one wants, I think you should know the latest development,” Raine told his family.
Black Jack turned to his youngest son. “And what would that be?”
“Bulldog was skimming from the cartel almost from the very beginning. He traded the money and turned it into diamonds. He forced Reva to hide them and when the cartel came around looking for their money and drugs she forgot the diamonds. She didn’t remember them until today.”
Molly gasped and her hand went to cover her mouth. She looked at her husband with tears in her eyes.
Black Jack gathered her into his arms and held her close to him for a moment. Then he turned to Reva. “Do you have the stones?”
Reva nodded. “Yes I have them. Sam called Hawkeye to let the cartel know about them. I’m going to turn them over and pray they will leave us alone.”
Molly turned to her. “Can you ever forgive us for what we put you through? I need to know.”
Reva frowned. “There’s nothing to forgive, you never hurt me.”
“But you were part of our family and we should have protected you. In that, we failed.” Molly shook her head.
“That was on Bulldog, I never blamed you for his actions,” Reva assured her.
“Thank you for that.” Molly patted her hand.
Black Jack stared at Reva then had to ask, “Do you know how much he turned into diamonds?”
Reva shrugged. “I think he said it was about thirteen million.”
“Dollars?” Judge whispered stunned. “He kept back thirteen millions dollars? Was he fucking nuts?”
“Sweet Jesus,” Gator whispered as he glanced over at Sam and Deke.
“I think you should know he’s probably only hours behind us,” Black Jack informed Deke. “The club was there when he got out and they had orders to take him straight back to the house. Hawkeye informed me he was going to strip him of his colors and tell him he had to leave. I know my son and he’s going to come after his wife. It doesn’t matter that we told him she had nothing to do with pressing charges either.”
Deke nodded. “Yeah, we’re going on lockdown as soon as everyone else gets here.”
“Would you prefer we leave then?” Judge asked.
“You are welcome to stay, if you like. It might make things easier if Bulldog knows you stand against him.” Deke nodded at him.
“Then we’ll stay.” Black Jack looked around. “He knows we’re here already anyway.”
Deke pulled Gator and Reva into the kitchen. “I’m sorry but I have to ask, where are the stones?”
“I buried them in the woods outside the clubhouse in Maine but when we came here with you I brought them with me. They are close by but I won’t tell you or anyone where until the cartel gets here. I think it’s best for everyone.”
Deke nodded. “That’s fine by me. I just wanted to know if you had them close by. No one but you needs to know exactly where.”
“I’d better get busy if we have everyone coming,” Reva told them. “Tell the girls I could use some help in the kitchen will you?”
“Sure thing.” Deke grinned.
“I’ll start making the calls,” Gator said as he moved toward the phone.
Deke moved out to the main room and began making plans about where to put everyone. Walking over to where Sam, Melora and Adriana were sitting, he told them, “You guys can stay with us tonight.”
Sam nodded. “Ok…What about Mountain and his boys?”
“Gator is calling everyone in,” Deke explained.
Sam looked at Melora and nodded. “Don’t worry, she�
��ll be here.” He knew she was worried about Izzy.
“I know she’ll come.”
“Then what is it? What has you so upset?’ Sam asked.
“I think you need to talk to your daughter. This sort of thing is going to upset her, especially with what’s happening with her mother.”
“I never thought about that.” Sam looked at Adriana with worry in his eyes. “I guess I better talk to her huh?”
Melora patted his arm. “Just tell her she’ll be okay.”
“I’ll do that.” Sam grinned. He peered down at the baby in her arms. “How’s the baby doing?”
“T-Bone is doing just fine.”
“T-Bone huh?” Sam asked. ‘You did say that the night he was born and I was going to ask you…why T-Bone?”
“The T is for his grandpa and the Bone is from his dad. They do call you Bones don’t they?”
Sam laughed. “Yeah, they do but not you. Why is that?”
Melora shrugged. “You just don’t seem like a Bones to me. I wanted to honor both you and Talon with his name. He belongs to both of you, same as me.”
“When this is over, I will marry you, babe,” Sam vowed as he leaned toward her.
When his lips crushed hers, someone behind him called out, “Ewww…that’s gross.”
Sam turned his head to find his daughter Adriana there with a look of disgust on her face. “Get a room, so the rest of us don’t have to gag, old man.”
Melora giggled.
Sam turned to give her a frown. He was about to give her a piece of his mind when his phone rang. When Sam checked the caller ID, he found it was Hawkeye. Moving away from the women, he answered the call. Motioning to Deke, he urged the other man to join him. Rather than allow everyone to hear what could be bad news they moved to the office. Gator and Iceman joined them.
Putting the phone on speaker, Sam asked, “What did you find out?”
“The cartel is very interested in recovering the diamonds. They said they knew more money was missing but they also said we were cooperating with them in all areas, so they knew we had no idea about the truth of his betrayal.”
“And that means what?” Gator asked.
“They’re sending someone to pick up the diamonds and once they have them in their hands, they will leave us alone. They aren’t interested in revenge on Reva. They were in the courtroom when Bulldog was on trial. They know what he did to her and hold her blameless in this situation.”
“Did they say who would pick up the diamonds?” Deke asked.
“Only that his name is Georgio. They tell me he’ll be the one with the three bodyguards that look like gorillas,” Hawkeye told them. “And by the way, I was told to say Georgio was in the area collecting someone else debt, so he should be here within the hour.” He paused then added, “Good luck with that one folks. Glad the diamonds are with you and not here. I don’t think I’d want this guy anywhere near me.”
“What have you heard?” Deke asked.
“They only send this guy out when there are bones to be broken and he enjoys his work almost too well.”
“Anything else we need to know?” Gator asked.
“I don’t know if this means anything to you or not, but this guy Georgio was called into Saratoga Springs to settle a feud between the Devils and the Cajuns. That’s the reason he’s even in the area.”
Sam gripped the phone tighter. “Did they say anything about the feud? Like who won or who died?”
“Wasn’t my business man and I didn’t ask,” Hawkeye replied in a low tone.
“Fuck.” Sam swore softly. When the line went dead he closed his phone and looked worried.
“What’s going on Sam?” Deke asked.
“I had to go pick up Adriana from Saratoga Springs, the day I was supposed to marry Melora, because the piece of shit her mother was living with was about to sell her to one of the Cajuns. Radar was a Devil and didn’t want her around. Stacy called me and begged me to get her out of there.”
“That’s why you missed the wedding?” Gator asked.
“I couldn’t let anything happen to her. She’s my kid,” Sam defended his actions.
“Hey nobody is blaming you,” Gator assured him. “If Melora can forgive you who the hell are we to condemn you?”
“Melora understands why I left. She knows I was the one pushing for the wedding before T-Bone arrived and she knows if I missed it, there had to be an important reason.” Sam reasoned.
“Yeah well we have other things to worry about at the moment,” Deke stated “Do we know how much longer it will be before Bulldog gets here?”
“It takes about six hours between Bangor and here,” Sam replied. Checking his watch he added, “He left Bangor about two hours ago, so we have a little time yet.”
“And this Georgio will be here in less than an hour,” Gator commented. “Well, the only good thing is that by the time Bulldog gets here, there won’t be anything left for him to take. The cartel will have the diamonds back. Bulldog won’t have any reason to stay if there is nothing left for him here.”
“Reva is still here.” Sam pointed out. “He’s gonna want to see her dead before he moves on.”
Gator growled. “He won’t even get close to her.”
“And how are you going to stop him?” Deke asked.
“I’m going to hope to give him up to the cartel for justice. He owes them seventeen years of interest on thirteen million dollars.” Gator grinned.
“Smart move.”
“I thought so.” Gator agreed. “Now, all we have to do is get him to sign the fucking divorce papers.” He shrugged. “Although, if Reva becomes a widow, so much the better.”
CHAPTER SIX
Reva sat in the main room of the clubhouse with Gator, Mountain, Sam, Deke, Raine and Iceman while they all waited for Georgio to show up. Everyone else, including the women and children were hidden away for their own safety. No one was sure what this man Georgio was like or what he would do once he arrived.
As the minutes passed, Gator could see that Reva was withdrawing into herself. She was probably losing her mind to her memories and going back to the way she felt seventeen years ago when she was afraid to breathe. He couldn’t stand it anymore. He went to her and squatting down beside her he asked, “Are you okay?”
Reva turned haunted eyes to him. “No I don’t think I am. I may never be all right again. Please don’t touch me. If you touch me I might flinch and I don’t want to do that, not to you. I know you would never hurt me but I’ve seen the look on your face when I flinch and I can’t bear it. Not today.”
“Reva honey, please don’t do this.” He begged her. “I love you so much and I need you even more. Please don’t leave me like this.” Gator recognized the terror in her eyes. He’d seen it before but not for some time lately. She was slipping back to seventeen years ago when Bulldog ruled her. “Please stay with me. I can’t lose you to him again, not like this.”
He watched as she struggled to stay in the present. Wrapping her arms around her stomach, she began rocking back and forth. She turned her head and stared at him. He could see the terror in her eyes and before she would always look away, but he could see her struggling to stay focused on him. He so wanted to touch her, to frame her face with his hands but he knew he couldn’t. He couldn’t bear to see her shatter. She had to come back to him on her own.
“I love you,” he whispered. “I need you like I need the air to breathe. I need you to complete me. If you left me, I would never be whole again. Please stay with me. Together, we can get through this, together we can beat this.” He didn’t want to scare her with the need crashing through him. He knew she was holding on to reality by a mere thread.
~* * * *~
Reva took a deep breath and stared into his eyes. They were her anchor, whenever the fear from her past became too much for her to bear. Those beautiful blue eyes showed her the promise he made to her when she opened her own eyes
in the hospital seventeen years ago. He had promised her she wasn’t alone anymore and that he would always be there to protect her from that time on. For some reason, she felt safe with him. She didn’t know it then, but she gave her soul to this man on that promise and he’d kept it for seventeen years. She had to think he’d keep her safe. Safe from Bulldog, safe from everything and anything coming for her.
Reva lifted a hand and reached out to touch him. Her hand was trembling so bad she almost missed him. Then her fingertips touched his face and that simple connection with him rode over her like a wave of water crashing in the ocean. Reva felt her soul calm and she could feel the fear dissipating deep inside her.
She leaned toward him and when her forehead touched his, she drew a cleansing breath. Her fingertips touch his jaw and soon, her hand cupped his face. “I love you too.”
Gator closed his eyes. “I love you so much,” he whispered in her ear. “I’ll be right here beside you until you don’t need me anymore.”
“I’ll always need you beside me, you silly man,” she whispered back. “The day I stop needing you will be the day I die.”
Suddenly, the main door was thrown open and Wiley rushed inside. He went to Deke and Sam and whispered something to them.
Deke nodded then turned to look at Reva and Gator. When Wiley disappeared through the door again, Deke came over to where Reva was sitting and gazing into her eyes he told them both, “Georgio just arrived. Are you ready?”
Reva reached out and took Gator’s hand. She felt the fears of her past returning but as long as she held onto him, the fears stayed controllable.
When she nodded at Deke, he stood and moved behind her. The others did the same.
When the tall dark haired man came into the clubhouse quickly followed by three other men Reva stood and faced him.
He was an older man. His dark hair was touched with gray. It was his eyes that caught her vision. They were dark and at first, very cold but after a moment or so, they warmed as they studied her. His body was lean and he wore a very nice suit. The dark blue of his suit went well with his dark coloring, and his bright red tie seemed to pop.
