“It’s been a while since I’ve been in a church,” he replies with a thick accent.
“Confessing your sins?”
“That would take far longer than we have time for today.” I grin, and so does he. “Boris,” he says, holding out his hand.
“Dane.”
“I know. The Nazarov family would like to apologize for this… misunderstanding. Had we known you and the Abruzzi family were involved, we would have handled this differently.”
“What are you looking for?”
“The full amount plus ten percent, and before you ask, we don’t negotiate. We would normally ask for more, especially for an overdue debt.”
We’ve never had permanent dealings with the Russians except for the occasional gun deal. They can be unpredictable as they don’t know how to lose.
I nod at him. “Thank you for your generosity, but one can’t help but ask what else you want?”
Boris smiles broadly at me. “They said you were shrewd.”
“They?”
Boris waves a hand dismissively in the air. “You have a good working relationship with the Abruzzis, and we desire that, too. Of course, you’d get a fee for the introduction.”
“Aren’t you in deep with the Dark Warriors MC in Vegas?”
Boris neither confirms nor denies my question, only smiles. “One has nothing to do with the other. We would very much like to explore a relationship with the Abruzzis and you. We’ve watched your dealings with much interest. The real estate deals are something we’d like to be a part of, especially in Vegas.”
“I can’t promise anything.” Boris nods. “This fee for the introduction, could we waive the ten percent?”
Boris squints at me and puffs out his cheeks. It all feels very theatrical. “If the union bears fruit, that could be arranged.” He holds out his hand, and we shake. “We hope to hear from you soon. Mr. Nazarov, Viktor, is looking forward to having a sit-down with you and Salvatore Agostino, perhaps in Vegas?”
“Viktor? I thought Anton was in charge?”
“The son has taken control.”
Boris stands, nods at my men, the ladies, and gives me a wave as he exits the church.
“So now we’re in with the Russians?” asks Rebel.
“It would appear so.”
“Rumor has it that Viktor has been making major changes within their family. Not everyone is happy. Are we sure we want to be involved?” asks Kade.
“Right now, we don’t have a choice,” I state, but I have an ulterior motive. It would make our lives a whole lot easier if we had a working relationship with them, if only for our interests in Vegas. Too many times we’ve nearly had a war there.
My phone rings, and it’s Smithy. “Yes?”
“The daughter and a cop just pulled up.”
“Zeke and Cassia?” I ask.
“No sign.”
I glance at Kade whose brow is furrowed with worry. “Do you have somewhere safe to stash all of them?”
“Oh, yeah, brother, we do.”
“Good. Keep me informed and keep them alive.”
“We will try.”
I hang up and turn to Kade. “The preacher, Debbie, and a cop are all out at the preacher’s house.”
“Dad came back?” asks Leonie as she and Elizabeth walk toward me.
I frown. There are too many witnesses who aren’t necessarily on our side. I nod and wait for their reactions. They look at each other, something unspoken passes between them.
“Zeke?” asks Elizabeth apprehensively.
I shake my head, and her face pales. “No word yet on Zeke or Cassia.”
“It’s such a mess. We had no idea,” replies Leonie.
“Because you didn’t want to know!” explodes Kade. “How many times did Zeke tell you about that fucking monster? How many?”
A tear slips down Leonie’s face, and she nods. “You have to understand that Dad never let us see it.”
“So, it’s normal for a fifteen-year-old to move out on his own? To move away from everything and everyone he knows? Let’s face it, you lot never cared about Zeke, and all he ever did was worry about you!”
“Kade,” I growl.
“No, he’s right,” admits Elizabeth with tears in her eyes. “We’ve been blind.”
My phone starts ringing, and it’s Smithy again. “Yeah?”
“State troopers just hit town. If I were you, I’d get to the Sheriff’s Office and get ahead of this before it all blows up in our faces.”
“Have you secured our problem?”
“Oh, yeah, they’re alive.”
From his tone, I suspect they aren’t in one piece. “Injured?”
“Nothing they’ll die from.”
“Good.” I hang up and look at Zeke’s sisters. “I need you to go home.” They both nod. “Do you love your brother?”
“Yes,” they reply in unison.
“Then I need you to both keep quiet about your dad, Debbie, and the cop. Can you do that?”
“Y-yes,” replies Leonie, and Elizabeth nods.
“Thank you.” I look at Rebel and Kade. “We need to go to the Sheriff’s Office. The state troopers are in town. We need to keep our stories straight for when we find Zeke.”
“If they’re back at the house, where the fuck is he? And where the fuck is Cassia?” asks Kade.
“I refuse to believe with everything my brother has been through that the Lord would let trouble befall him. I feel it in my heart, Zeke’s okay,” says Leonie.
Kade turns to her, face flushed with anger, and I place a hand on his arm.
“Kade, go outside and get in the car. Ladies, go home. As soon as we know where Zeke is, we’ll let you know.”
Kade strides from the building, anger like a dark cloud around him.
“Ladies, if you could keep your opinions about Zeke on hold in front of him, I’d appreciate it. Zeke is like a brother to him. As soon as we know something, I’ll call you.”
Both women nod and we all exit the building.
Zeke
I let Cassia set the pace as we jog back into town. We’ve been going for what feels like hours, but I’m sure is only thirty minutes when the sound of a Harley penetrates the quiet of our surroundings. I begin to wave my arms at the bike in the distance, and when he pulls up in front of us, it’s Rio. He turns off his bike, dismounts, walks around us and bursts out laughing.
“Yeah, man, laugh it up.”
Putting a hand to his mouth, he says, “Dude, you both look and smell like something that’s been baking in the sun, dead, a few days.”
“Very fucking funny,” I mutter.
“No really, you absolutely fucking do.”
“I don’t like you,” states Cassia as she tries to smooth her hair behind her ears in an effort to look better.
“Trust me, honey. I don’t like the look of you either.” Rio laughs harder. “Get it? ‘Cause you both smell and look awful.”
“Really fucking funny, man. Can you call Dane and let everyone know we’re okay?”
Still laughing, Rio pulls out his phone and hits some numbers.
“Hey, Smithy, found ‘em.” Rio nods and then casts me a quick glance, the smile he was wearing a moment ago turns into a frown. “Prez, please don’t ask me to do that. They smell like decomp… I’ll never get it out of the seat.”
Looking pissed, Rio hands over his phone to me.
“Hello?” I ask.
“This is Smithy. Sure glad you two are okay. I’m sending a bike out to collect Rio. In the meantime, you and your woman use his bike and come back into town.”
“He doesn’t seem too happy about that,” I say.
Rio nods emphatically while Cassia smiles up at him sweetly.
“He’ll get over it. Your prez needs to see you, and so does Kade, before they start killing people.”
“Got it.” I hang up and hand the phone to Rio. “Sorry, man. I’ll wash and clean your bike myself. She’ll be pristine, and if we ca
n’t get the smell out, I’ll replace the seat.”
“Yes, you will,” agrees Rio with a frown. “Everyone is at the Sheriff’s Office.”
“Everyone?”
“Yeah, everyone.”
I nod at Rio, wanting to thank him, but the words are frozen in my throat.
“You best get going.” Rio takes two steps back from us. “You owe me.”
I climb on the bike, and Cass gets on behind me. “Maybe this will make us even.”
“Not fucking likely,” states Rio.
There’s a crowd outside the Sheriff’s Office when we pull up. There are MC, townsfolk, and state troopers. Like Moses parting the sea, everyone gets out of our way. I’m not sure whether it’s because of who we are or the fact we smell so bad.
Izzy pushes her way through the crowd and goes to hug me, but her gag reflex kicks in, and she takes two steps back quickly.
“Oh my God. What have you been doing?” Izzy shrieks, holding her nose.
“Swimming in the old mine. Not sure if it’s a dead animal or human.”
Izzy’s eyes widen, then she looks at Cassia, and holds out her hand to her. “I’m Izzy, an old friend of Zeke’s. We went to school together. We didn’t meet the other day formally.”
Cassia smiles trying to smooth her hair again and says, “Cassia, Zeke’s fiancé.”
Izzy’s mouth drops open as Cassia shakes her hand.
“That’s only just happened,” I state as an explanation of Cassia’s new-found title.
“Right, right,” replies Izzy, giving me the stink eye, but smiling at the same time.
“What did he expect? He mentioned children, of course, we’ll get married. Am I right?” asks Cassia grinning from ear to ear.
Izzy gives me a tight smile. “You got that right.” Then Izzy wipes her hand on her jeans, Cassia frowns at her. “I’m sorry, but you really smell bad.”
I nod, and Cassia looks at the crowd around us who are backing away and holding hands over their mouths.
“Could we have a shower first, before we answer any questions?” Cassia asks me.
“I hope so, petal.”
A state trooper pushes through the crowd only to stop short of us and back up.
“We need a shower,” demands Cassia. The trooper gags, nods and points to the door of the Sheriff’s Office. “Thank you.”
Inside the office are a bunch of parishioners, police and MC, all the conversation in the room stops as they take us in. We are covered in filth and even though I can no longer smell us, I’m sure they can.
“Shower?” I ask. One of the deputies points to the back of the building. “We’ll be right back.”
“Wait!” says Dane sternly. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, Prez, just need a shower.”
Cassia walks ahead of me but stops before going down a corridor. I walk toward her then stop and look back at Dane.
“Do you know where they all are?” I ask.
Dane grins but quickly hides it by shaking his head and looks at the state trooper next to him. “Perhaps you should tell him?”
“Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to locate your father or your sister.”
“What about the deputy, first name Brian?”
The state trooper’s eyebrows draw together, and he looks at me questioningly. “Who?”
Dane gives a slight nod then claps the trooper on the back. “Go shower. We can sort through all of that when you’re clean.”
I drape an arm across Cassia’s shoulders, and she gags.
“Really?” I ask.
“Oh my God, you reek.”
I raise an eyebrow at her and keep walking, making sure her hand is clasped firmly in mine. She’s not getting away from me again.
I’m out first. Someone has put a pile of clothes on a seat for me. There are tracksuit pants and a white t-shirt. I put it on, it’s a little big on me, but it’s clean. There’s another pile for Cassia, and it looks exactly the same except the t-shirt is black. I chuckle to myself. It’s going to swim on her.
Cassia steps out of the shower with a towel wrapped around her, her hair is messy and dripping. I walk over and pick up a lock of her hair.
“I know it’s a mess, but they only had soap, and I had to wash it!”
I pull her into me. “You look perfect.”
“Now, I know you’re lying,” Cassia mumbles into my chest.
I sit down on the chair and look up at her as she inspects the clothes.
“Do you want to tell me what happened to you before we speak to the others?”
Cassia stops what she’s doing and looks at me. “I went out for a walk. The deputy pulled up alongside me. I know I shouldn’t have left the house.” Cass picks up the t-shirt and puts it on—it comes to just above her knees. “Anyway, he told me he was taking me to you, so I stupidly got in the car. Next thing I know, I’m tied up in that god-awful place in the dark, terrified.”
“He didn’t… hurt you?”
Cassia drops to her knees between my legs and cups my face. “No, no, no, Zeke,” replies Cassia as she understands what I’m trying to ask. “He was a dick, but he didn’t hurt or touch me.”
I rest my forehead against hers. “I’m so sorry. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be here, and none of this would have happened.”
“Shut up! Yes, it’s because of you that I’m here, but, Zeke, I’d have followed you anywhere. It just took me a little while to realize you’re what I want.”
A knock at the door draws both our attention. Standing there is Kade, looking relieved.
“I was fucking worried about you, brother. You, too, Cass. There are a lot of people out here who want to ask you some questions.” Kade places his hands on his hips. “You’d best get to it.”
“Give us a minute. Then we’ll be right out.”
Kade nods and walks away. Cassia is watching his retreating form.
“You ready for this?”
Cassia’s attention is back on me. She stands and picks up the tracksuit pants.
“Zeke, there ain’t nothing I can’t do without you by my side.”
I chuckle at Cass’s attempt to sound sassy. “Tough as nails. You better put those on before I get other ideas,” I say, pointing at the pants.
“Tease,” quips Cassia.
I grin at her. “That will come later.”
We walk out into the corridor and find Kade waiting.
“You both ready?” he asks.
I nod.
“Yes, Kade. We’re ready. Who do we need to talk to first?” asks Cassia slipping her hand in mine.
“State troopers. Just tell them what happened.” Kade looks at me. “We’ll fill you in on the rest later.”
“The rest?” asks Cassia.
Kade looks at her and says, “Later.” Then he turns and walks away.
Cassia looks at me, and I shrug. “You heard him. Later.”
“Men,” states Cassia and stalks away from me, only to stop and look back at me. “You coming?”
“Yeah, love. You ain’t getting away from me that easily.”
We are taken into the Sheriff’s Office, and Sheriff Sharp is told to wait outside. He grumbles and looks livid, but he does as he’s told. The state trooper offers us a seat then sits behind the desk.
“I’m Captain Ronald Carland. Why don’t you folks tell me what happened?”
Cass and I both begin talking at the same time, then we stop and look at each other, smiling.
“How about you go first, miss?”
“Thank you, my name is Cassia Lee. I came here to visit with my fiancée, Zeke Russo. Deputy Brian Howlett told me he needed to talk to me about Zeke, but the bastard drove me to a mine and strung me up. The water was disgusting, cold, and I was in the dark, terrified. You have no idea how happy I was to see Zeke. He rescued me.”
Carland listens to her and nods. “You just got in a car with a stranger?”
I reach over and grab her hand for support, but my
woman has got this.
“The deputy is a policeman, and where I’m from, we show respect for the law. I had no reason to doubt him. As far as I knew, Zeke was here visiting family, and I had nothing to worry about.”
“Of course, ma’am. I didn’t mean to imply you’d done something wrong.”
“That’s good because I didn’t,” states Cass haughtily.
Carland nods and looks at me. “Could you tell us your version, please, son? Starting at when you arrived in this town.”
“I came to visit my father—”
“But he’s not your father, is he?”
I glance at Cassia. “He’s the only father I’ve ever known,” I reply, locking eyes with him.
He nods. “Go on.”
“I went to see him at his church and then later at his home. He’s always been hard on me.” I look at Cassia. “At least now, I know why.”
“Oh, honey, that’s awful! You’ve said in the past what a bastard he was to you. I’m so sorry,” says Cassia with tears in her eyes.
“And yet you came back here to see him. And now he’s missing,” states Carland.
“Did you miss the part where my girlfriend—”
“Fiancée,” states Cassia quickly.
I glance at her and smile. “Sorry, fiancée, was abducted, and I went to save her?”
“No, but from witness accounts, you left with your father and Debbie and now no one can find either of them. Why don’t you tell me about that?”
Knowing Dane has them stashed somewhere, I stick to the truth. “Debbie and my father drove us out to the mine where Deputy Howlett was waiting. He gave me a knife and a torch and told me Cassia was waiting at the end of the shaft. I went down, found her, and we started walking back into town, when Rio, a friend, found us and lent us his bike. We came straight here. That’s it. I don’t know anything more.”
“That’s all you know?”
“Yep.” I lock eyes with Carland, and he looks away first.
Savage Lies: Savage Angels MC #7 Page 14
