“Nothing. At least that’s all she told me. She said she was walking by the kitchen when she heard Ember say it was all fake, and then ran to her room to call me.”
I could tell Jenna was telling the truth and I was relieved. Still, I was pissed that Jenna used that knowledge to hurt Ember. “I swear to God, if you said anything to upset Ember, you’ll regret it.” I only hoped she would give me a chance to explain.
“Are you threatening me?”
Not giving her the satisfaction of an answer, I opened the door and said, “Get the fuck out.”
As soon as Jenna left, I called Ember’s cell phone, but it went straight to voicemail. If Ember wasn’t here, the only other place she would be at was the clubhouse. It was late, so instead of texting one of my brothers, I decided to ride over there.
Zeke was manning the gate when I rolled up. “Have you seen Ember?” I asked before pulling in.
“I haven’t, but I just relieved TJ, so maybe I missed her.”
The clubhouse was silent when I entered. I climbed the stairs and chose to check my room first since that’s the one Ember and I stayed in most often.
Much to my relief, she was curled up on what I now thought of as her side of the bed. She was wearing one of my t-shirts, and her red hair was fanned out behind her, and I realized how much I liked seeing her in my bed. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on, and at some point in the last few weeks, she managed to work her way into my heart. It was something I didn’t expect, but I was grateful we somehow found our way back to each other.
Even though she looked tempting, I didn’t want to wake her. I shut the door gently, the click of the lock barely making a sound. I got undressed and slipped into bed behind her, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her against my chest. For the first time in as long as I could remember, all felt right in my world.
“You’re here,” Ember mumbled, coherent enough to put together a couple of words but not much more.
“I am.”
“Jenna wants to talk to you.” She must have fallen asleep with that weighing on her mind.
“Shhh... we’ll discuss it in the morning.” I kissed her on the top of her head. “Get some sleep.”
I felt Ember stir beside me and braced myself for a confrontation about Jenna. I had no idea how Ember was feeling about last night, but I wouldn’t blame her if she was pissed.
I rolled over to greet her. “Good morning, baby. When did you head back over here last night? I thought you were planning on staying at the house with me.”
“Around ten. Jenna came over last night. She didn’t seem in any hurry to leave, so I decided to hang out here with Kate.”
“Did she say something to you?” I knew she had, but I didn’t know how bad it was. Ember didn’t appear that upset, but maybe she was hiding it well.
I heard her take a deep breath, and then she asked, rather bluntly, “Why did you tell Jenna our relationship was fake and you were using me to help get custody?”
Damn it. I should have known Jenna would lay it all out there. But at least Ember trusted me enough to ask and not keep it in. “I didn’t tell her our relationship was fake. One of the girls here overheard you talking to Kate and she called Jenna. Regarding you helping me get custody, Jenna twisted my words around, and if you knew her like I do, you’d know that’s what she always does. I’d been talking to her about our custody arrangement. She insisted a judge wouldn’t grant custody to someone with no stability. So I argued that a judge might look favorably on a guy who recently purchased a home and was in a solid relationship with somebody, and she flipped out. I should have known she would try to cause drama after I told her I fell for you.”
“You fell for me?” she asked, and I thought it was cute that she chose to focus on that part after everything I said.
“Of course, I did. It was impossible not to.”
Before she could say anything else, I placed my hands on her face, making her look into my eyes. “I know that asshole did a number on you, but I’m not him.” She started to say something, but I continued. “I may be a jerk, but I would never lie about my feelings for you. I want to be with you, I think we have something good going on.”
When her eyes filled with tears, I knew they were happy ones. “I do, too.”
28
Ember
Colt and I had a wonderful weekend with his kids. I intended to stay at the clubhouse for most of it so he could focus on them. But when I joined them for dinner on Saturday, they begged me to stay. We had a movie night of Christmas classics that ended with huge ice cream sundaes. I couldn’t remember ever being so happy.
We spent the next week celebrating the holidays with the club. Now, the guys were getting ready to leave in a few days. Colt didn’t share many details about what they were up to, but I could tell it was pretty serious. You could feel the tension in the clubhouse and when the old ladies got together, it’s all we could talk about.
He continued to drop me off at work every morning, but he sent Viper to pick me up. I didn’t think it was my place to ask where he was, but that didn’t mean my brain wasn’t coming up with every possible scenario, many of them not very pleasant. I wondered if they finally knew what Torch was up to or what happened to Fitz.
Torch hadn’t been in contact with me for intel for the past couple of weeks, which had surprised me but also put me on edge when I thought about it. And I tried real hard not to, especially when my mom or sister called or texted me. Since they were safe and seemed happy, I could almost imagine that Torch didn’t even exist. But as the week went on, I felt myself becoming more anxious.
Sitting at the tiny desk in Colt’s house, I tried to focus on the letter I was writing to James, but it was futile. It was a little after nine when I heard Colt come home.
“Hi,” I greeted, opening the door for him so he could enter.
He looked exhausted but managed to grab my hand and lead me back to the bedroom. “Got a minute?” he asked as he flopped down on the mattress.
Now, I was concerned. I sat next to him, bringing my legs up and wrapping my arms around my knees. I held my breath as I braced myself for whatever he needed to say.
“Your brother’s club is on their way here.”
Of all the things I thought he might say, that wasn’t one of them. The idea of seeing Torch again made my pulse race with fear, but I didn’t want to add to Colt’s apparent stress.
“Okay. Do I need to be worried?”
“There’s some shit going down. It’s club business, so I’m not gonna give you details. I just wanted you to be prepared since it means Torch will be here. I won’t let him hurt you again.”
I knew he wouldn’t let Torch do anything to me. He’d been protective when we were faking our relationship. I could only imagine how he would be now.
“How long are they going to be here?”
“We’re all riding out the day after tomorrow.”
“Oh.”
Maybe they hadn’t learned anything about Torch if they were all going out together.
He looked at me for a moment and then continued. “I need you to promise me that you’ll stay at the clubhouse while we’re gone.”
“What about work?”
I’d already missed some time due to my concussion from the drive-by and couldn’t afford to miss anymore.
“You’re going to have to call out for a couple of days.”
“But…”
“Ember, please.” He let out a ragged breath before continuing. “Most of the old ladies and their kids will be staying there as well. It’s easier to keep you all safe when you’re in the same location. A few guys will be there with you to keep an eye on things. Can you do that for me?”
The desperation in his voice would have made me agree to anything. “Okay. I won’t go anywhere.”
He let out a deep sigh. “Thank you.” He was silent for a few moments and then asked, “Want to lay down with me?”
“Like you
need to ask.”
Once we both got undressed and crawled into bed, he pulled my body tight to his. He was worn out from the week and I knew he needed his rest, so we didn’t talk or have sex. Instead, I closed my eyes, my heart beating hard in my chest, and with his chest to my back, it seemed like his heart beat along in time with mine. I fell asleep to that feeling, that thought. It was these small moments that I held onto, and these were the moments I’d always fight to keep.
I was in the kitchen helping Meredith and a few of the other women prepare dinner. The guys left this morning; none of us knew where they were headed or when they would be back.
Much to my relief, I’d avoided seeing Torch during the short time they were here. I expected him to seek me out, but Colt kept me busy at his house. He may have been tired the other night when he asked me to stay at the clubhouse, but he made up for it all day yesterday.
“How often are you guys on lockdown like this?” I asked Meredith while she pulled a couple of trays out of the oven.
This wasn’t the first time I’d experienced a lockdown, but it was a rare occurrence back home. It was always a tense situation until it was over and we never knew how long they’d last.
“Not that often, thankfully,” Meredith answered. “The guys take our safety very seriously around here, but staying at the clubhouse doesn’t happen a lot.”
Judging by the lack of conversation in the room, it was clear everyone was feeling just as anxious as I was.
“How soon before dinner’s ready?” Gunner, one of Viking’s sons, asked as he ran through the kitchen.
“Soon, so go get the kids gathered up,” Meredith instructed, then flashed a quick smile at me. “All my boys think about is food.”
I laughed, knowing Meredith had her hands full with those two. Seeing all the kids around made me think of Jett and Jasmine.
I’d asked Colt if they would stay here with us before he left. He explained that he never told Jenna anything was going on because he didn’t want her to use something like that against him. Instead he arranged for Jett and Jasmine to stay with his dad under the guise of spending time with their grandfather.
It made sense since his dad’s house sat on ten acres and it was highly secure, but also far away from the clubhouse. It was probably the safest place they could be right now, and that was a relief. Jett and Jasmine were Colt’s entire world. I was sure it eased his mind knowing they were protected so well.
The night progressed with some fun for the kids’ sake, but nervous energy filled the air. Everyone was worried about the guys, and it was made worse by not being able to contact them.
29
Colt
There were only a few minutes left before the Phantoms were supposed to meet up with the Iron Riders. We’d been given the exact location, a spot about thirty miles outside of the city, a couple of hours earlier so we could stake out the area and get into position.
As I set up next to a tree about ten yards from the abandoned warehouse where the deal was supposed to go down, I thought about how much I wanted to get this over with as soon as possible and head home. In the past, I hated leaving Jenna behind, but I didn’t feel the same bone-deep worry that I did this time leaving Ember back at the clubhouse. Part of it was because Ember was at the center of some of the problems we were facing, and I wasn’t there to keep her safe. But, mostly it was because I couldn’t stand to be away from her.
“Phantoms have been spotted two miles out. Looks like there are seven of them riding in.”
Viking’s voice in my earpiece broke me out of my thoughts about Ember, and I refocused on our mission.
So far, it appeared our intel was correct, and there weren’t any more guys than we expected. We left a couple of bikes out front to give the illusion that the Iron Riders were already here. The plan was to surround them once they entered. It would allow us to deal with them away from any passersby on the road. We hoped to handle this with as little bloodshed as possible. We didn’t need to bring any more trouble to the club, but we were heavily armed in case things got out of control.
As soon as the Phantoms got off their bikes, we had each of them in our sights. We waited for our signal and then entered through the doors and descended upon them.
“Put your weapons down!” Viking ordered.
They all hesitated to comply, but when the Phantoms saw they were outnumbered, they dropped their guns and lifted their hands to show they were cooperating.
“What do you want, Viking?” Damon, the Phantoms’ president, snarled despite the fact he had multiple guns aimed at him.
“There’s plenty I want.” Viking laughed, but it was a menacing one that caused the hairs to stand on the back of my neck, and we were on the same team. “Let’s start with the fact that we’ve given you plenty of warnings to move your operations out of Nevada. We don’t take kindly to being ignored.”
“Fuck you. You don’t control shit,” Damon spat. I had to admit the guy had balls. Getting him to back down wasn’t going to be easy. But we weren’t leaving here until we ended the Phantoms one way or another. “You can’t even control your own club. You need to be worried about people wearing the Desert Sinners patch before you worry about us.”
“That’s a pretty bold statement.” Viking sounded calm, but his knuckles turned white as he tightened his grip on his gun. Damon’s words rattled him more than he was going to show. “Care to elaborate?”
Just as Damon was about to respond, a single gunshot ripped through the air, and the Phantoms president dropped to the ground. I looked in the direction the bullet came from and saw Torch standing there.
The remaining Phantoms scurried to pick up their weapons and started shooting in our direction. Suddenly the doors burst open again, and a few more Phantoms rushed in. It was an ambush, and the sinking feeling in my gut told me I knew who set us up.
I took cover behind the shipping container to my left while a hailstorm of bullets rang out. I peeked around the corner and saw Torch trying to sneak out the back door. I couldn’t let him escape, so I lifted my Glock, aimed at his right knee, and took my shot.
Torch dropped to the ground, the bullet hindering him, but not killing him. We needed answers first, but I was saving a bullet for him.
As soon as the shooting stopped, I ran over to Viking. “That fucker killed Damon.”
“Go grab him. We’ll take him back to the warehouse.”
I took a quick glance around the room and was relieved that none of our men appeared to be lying on the floor next to the guys we took out. Even with their reinforcements, the Phantoms weren’t evenly matched with us.
I ran over to where Stone was now tending to Torch. Without a word, I grabbed Torch by his cut and punched him, knocking his ass out.
“What the fuck, man?” Stone yelled as he shoved me away.
“The asshole’s a fucking traitor.”
Stone looked confused, but when he saw Viking behind me, whatever words he planned to say died on his tongue. He watched as I tore Torch’s cut off him. The fucker didn’t deserve to wear our colors one second longer. We threw him in the back of the van for the drive back to Vegas. It would be the last ride he took.
Viking instructed a few guys to stay behind to deal with the cleanup and bring back the product the Phantoms left behind while the rest of us climbed on our bikes to head back to town.
It was late when we got to our own warehouse located at the far end of the Desert Sinners’ property, but we wouldn’t rest until this was finished.
Torch had woken up at some point during the drive back and started fighting with the guys in the van, causing them to knock his ass out again.
The van came to a stop, and Viper and Mac pulled Torch’s limp body out of the back. His feet dragged along the gravel as they carried him inside, blood from his knee leaving a red trail behind him. No one had bothered to tie it off. They dropped him onto the metal folding chair in the center of the large room. They secured his wrists and ankles with z
ip ties to ensure he wouldn’t be able to get up.
When he started to come to, he began pulling at his restraints. “What the fuck is going on?” Torch shouted as he tried to break free.
I watched as Viking approached Torch, like a lion hunting his prey. He moved with purpose, maintaining his air of complete dominance.
“We have reason to believe you’ve betrayed the patch you’ve worn for years. Now's your chance to set the record straight.”
Torch’s eyebrows shot up, and his eyes darted around the darkened, cold space. He knew he was screwed, but he still wanted to act like a defiant prick. “Fuck you! You don’t give a shit what I say. You’ve already made up your mind. I’m as good as dead.”
“True,” Viking said, and I saw Torch’s brief flinch as the reality of the situation sank in. “But, I’m willing to work with you to get a bit more information out of you.” Torch was right. There was no way he was making it out of this alive. But if he worked with us, we could make this a bit less painful for him. “Let’s start with why you took out Damon.”
“That fucker needed to die. He’d been causing problems for too long, and you were too much of a pussy to do anything about it.”
I guess we were doing this the hard way.
“Hmmm.” Viking pretended to consider that. “But, you took him out the second he mentioned someone wearing our patch turning on us. Kinda obvious, don’t you think?” Torch didn’t respond to that. “Now you’re not going to talk? We can definitely play this your way. Colt, have at him.”
Viking didn’t have to tell me twice. I was more than happy to have another go at the fucker. I expected to feel satisfied the moment my fist connected with his face. Instead, it fueled my rage even more.
I poured every ounce of anger I felt into the punches I was raining down on him. I thought of everything he’d put Ember through and continued until I was sure his nose was broken, and he was hanging on to consciousness by a thread. It took both Viper and Mac pulling me off of him before I stopped.
Colt (Desert Sinners MC Book 2) Page 17
