by Nikki Landis
Forcing myself to be strong, I nodded even though he couldn’t see the action. “Okay. Tell me what you know.”
“They’re holding us on some bullshit charges about racketeering. RICO has had a hard-on for us for years.” He made a disgusted noise. “Don’t worry about that. Tell me how you’re feeling.”
“My stomach is churning, and I have a stress headache,” I admitted, “but I’m drinking tea and trying to rest.”
“Good. That’s what I want you to keep doing.” There was a muffled sound and then he spoke again. “Have you heard from R.J.?”
No, and that was frightening. “No,” I whispered.
“Shit. I have to go.” He sounded pissed. “I love you, my Rae. Always and forever.”
“I love you too.”
There was a click and then nothing but dial tone.
Peter tried to sound strong and brave, but I knew he was worried. Both of us knew that RICO was going to make an example out of him and the other RRMC members. He would see the maximum sentence. By the time he was paroled . . .
I couldn’t finish the thought.
It was time I used my influence and got some answers. My guys weren’t going down without a fight. Fuck RICO and their narcissistic agents.
“We’re going to get through this,” I whispered as my hand slid over my belly, gutted by the cruel twist of fate that was trying to take him away from me again. I couldn’t allow that.
Peter would never approve of what I was about to do next but there wasn’t much choice.
Mack was usually the one who handled this kind of crazy bullshit. Problem was, he was now the pres of the RRMC which meant he was taken into custody today as well. My options were limited.
Backed into a corner, there was only one thing left to do.
I had to meet with Detective Paul Sims.
Chapter 14 – Edge
“Fuck!” I cursed as the RICO agent forced me to hang up faster than needed. He was a total and complete asshole.
“You want privileges beyond the minimum, you’ll need to cooperate, Harding.”
I shuffled through the hall along behind him as he led me into a cell next to my dad, both of us alone. For now. It was part of their sadistic games. Fuck with our head. Try to make us squeal like pigs.
No fuckin’ way.
I ticked my head toward my old man as he grinned wide. Both us were thinking the same thing. These sorry fuckers weren’t getting shit on the RRMC. Whatever Intel they thought they had wouldn’t hold up. This was just a tactic. RICO was holding out for the big info. The shit that could put either us or the Outlaws behind bars for a long time and stroke their precious egos.
Kiss my ass, you righteous bastards.
Mack smirked as I was locked in my cell, my shackles and handcuffs removed. “Enjoy your call?”
“It was enlightening.”
Not true. I was beyond pissed to be pulled away from Rae when she was sick with our baby. Made me want to rip out all of these fucker’s throats and dance on their bones.
“Play it smart, son.”
Mack didn’t need to tell me shit. I grew up in the RRMC. He seemed to forget that my life had been part of this club since my birth. I breathed and lived the Riders, stood by them when Rafe almost run it into the ground, and helped my father – and I use the term loosely – bring us back from the edge of destruction. I wasn’t gonna do shit that would jeopardize the guys I knew and loved as brothers or our club.
Mack might be president, but everyone knew how great my sacrifices were. I lost the woman I loved for five long agonizing years and nearly didn’t get her back. My own mother died to save my life and give me a place with my old man. I shed blood, tears, and sweat for the Riders and there was nothing I wouldn’t do to keep our club together.
Mack had how own issues. I didn’t blame him for his past choices but the strain on our relationship had taken a toll and it was over a decade of bullshit in between. When push came to shove, he showed his true colors and his loyalty which was the only thing that earned him the right to still be wearing that patch. Pres? Sure. For now.
I’d remain his V.P. but we all knew when the time came it was my club. Hell, it was my club now.
Mack didn’t make a single call without my input. He knew how much I grew to love the RRMC and the brothers who made our clubhouse their home. It was gonna take a hell of a lot more than a few RICO agents to tear down the Ravage Riders.
Sighing, I sat on the steel bench and lifted a leg, one arm dangling across my knee. I needed to think. At Church we discussed Forman Industries and Maxwell Forman as a possible buyer for the properties around Scarlet Syn. Some were purchased through Forman, but others were named a dummy corporation. I scanned the internet and found nothing on Calder Manufacturing, LLC. They didn’t exist. Which meant someone was trying to accumulate a lot of property fast on our end of Providence.
There weren’t many buyers with that kind of cash. Forman Industries was a top competitor but there were a few others. I didn’t put it past any of our rivals to try and force us out. It was business. Squash the smaller guys under you until you reached the top. Then all you have to do is maintain.
A basic concept I was working on with Mack.
We had our strip club with plans to open several more in the surrounding cities, a lucrative video porn business that scouted new talent from all over California, and we dealt minimally with drugs and guns. Both were something the RRMC wanted to get away from and earn legit. We set up a few pawn shops that were starting to bring in a steady flow over the last few months and I told Mack we needed to look into other avenues.
The point was that we landed on someone’s radar recently. The Outlaws? Barry Forman? Both?
My gut said yes and that meant the other side was playing dirty.
Precisely why RICO was breathing down our ass.
That left two big worries. One, Devlin and his club were looking for vengeance. Everyone I knew and loved was in danger. Two, Maxwell Forman now wanted a piece of us too. When we snatched Cara out from under his nose, I was certain he was pissed.
We needed to get the hell out of this jail. I couldn’t protect my club or my family sitting behind bars. Mack tapped the metal with his fingers in a consistent rhythm, and I knew he was planning something. He’d used his phone call to contact our lawyer, Sidney Vaughn. We kept the guys on retainer. If nothing else, we would at least make bail. How quickly it went through would depend on the Feds. If anyone could make this right it was Mack. He had connections. The kind that went way back to the founding days of the RRMC and Rae’s father Ron.
Impatient, I tried not to let my thoughts linger on Rae. It would only piss me off without an outlet.
Closing my eyes, I decided to rest and conserve my energy. I didn’t know what the fuck would go down in the next few hours. No telling what RICO would try to pull before Sidney could get us out.
My mind kept returning to Rae and the baby. I never thought I’d get the chance to give her what she wanted, to start a family, and marry the girl I loved. Now that reality was here, I would kill to make sure we had our happily ever after. No one was gonna stop me.
Rae
DETECTIVE SIMS WAS still located in the same offices in Juniper Hills, just thirty minutes away from Providence. The same town Mack lived in before he became the pres of the RRMC. The place where my dad Ron met my mother Sarah. I was born in Juniper Hills. My parents bought a house in Providence once they got married. There was a lot of history here.
The secretary smile as I waltzed in, then her jaw dropped. She remembered who I was. Witness Protection was supposed to save my life. It didn’t. I almost died twice, and the agents did nothing to protect me when all that shit went down six years ago. I risked my life to bring down a monster and Devlin was still walking the streets. The Feds owed me.
I didn’t bother asking permission, just walked right into his office where he was shuffling papers and on speaker phone with someone. He had his hand down his pan
ts and it seemed the call was more than a little personal. Folding my arms across my chest, I decided to end his little charade so I could take care of business.
“Who are you on the phone with Paul? Isn’t that against company policy?”
The woman on the other end began yelling and cussing him out and he blushed, hanging up on her. Obviously, it wasn’t serious. He turned around, arranged his clothes, and stood up as he placed a file in front of his crotch. No doubt he was hiding his erection. Fine by me. I didn’t want to see his needle dick anyway.
“Hello, Detective Sims. It’s been a while.”
Six months if I counted correctly.
“Rae!” he exclaimed, trying to be professional. “I’m so surprised to see you.”
I bet. “No doubt you are, especially since I haven’t heard from you since I was kidnapped and awaiting my death. Don’t you have caller I.D.? Is your messaging system broken? Oh wait, I texted that day too.”
“Now, Rae,” he began, knowing my temper. “The Feds pulled me off your case. I was forbidden to answer or interact.”
Uh huh. Sure. “That’s not believable, you know. Forget I know Sheriff Daly personally? I met with agents over a period of weeks. No one mentioned anything.”
He seemed flustered. “I guess I failed you.”
In more ways than one. He wasn’t the man I thought he was at all. How disappointing.
“I need your help.”
“Whatever it is, I’ve got limited access now. RICO has taken over the case and building their own against the SOMC.”
And the RRMC. Pretty sure he knew that. “You owe me this, Paul.”
“Things are a lot more complicated than you understand.”
“Enlighten me.”
“Honey, this is a man’s game. Big politics and big players. They don’t care who they take down if it means their greedy pockets are filled and they get all the glory.”
Oh, no he didn’t just go there.
“Don’t fucking patronize me. Peter’s life is in danger. They arrested him along with Mack, Tank, and Jake. Four men who could go down for shit that isn’t their fault. I can’t let our baby be born without Edge so you’re going to make sure he gets out of that jail and back at my side as soon as possible.”
Paul moved behind his desk and slumped down into the seat. “You’re pregnant?”
I nodded, smiling briefly. “Yes, so I need Peter. Now.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Sure, it is. You know what you have to do, even if it means putting yourself in danger.”
Paul stood up, anger riding his worn and haggard features. He was a fit man despite his age, only ten years my senior, but the weight of the truth was taking its toll. “I can’t interfere. Not the way you think.”
“Stop being a coward!” I yelled, furious with his clear dismissal of the situation.
His eyes narrowed as he began to pace in front of me. All thoughts of how I found him completely forgotten. “This is a lot of deep shit, Rae, more than you’ll ever understand.”
I took the time to count to ten before I blew up at him.
“You have connections. Get him out, Paul. I’m not asking!”
Taking a deep breath, I had to focus on what mattered. Saving Peter and the RRMC. Our future.
“Please. This is our chance to finally have a life together. Don’t take Pete from me, not when you can save him and make all this bullshit right.” The tears that I had been holding back fell down my cheeks as Paul paused, hanging his head.
“I don’t know, Rae.”
“I’m just asking you to try,” I pleaded. “I know how deep this shit is, but you can’t let Pete fall for the sins that began decades ago . . . and you know Ron and Mack wouldn’t allow it either.”
“I’ll do what I can,” he promised, lifting his head. “For you.”
It wasn’t much but I hoped it was enough.
Chapter 15 – Cara
“Where’s Rae?” I asked Charlotte, watching as she fixed a snack for the girls. “I thought she would be back by now.”
My sister shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe she got caught up in traffic or something.”
“At this time of day? It’s after seven.”
“We’ll just have to wait for her to come back and try to stay calm. Okay?”
My sister was the rational one. I was the nutcase. This wasn’t working for me at all. I felt cooped up and ready to climb the walls. Not knowing what was happening was the worst part. I should have heard from R.J. hours ago and yet nothing. Not a single text or call. It wasn’t right.
“I think R.J. is in trouble.”
“What do you want to do? Drive around and hope you find him?” She turned around, placing her hands on my shoulders. “I know that you’re scared. I am too. We just have to sit tight and stay here where it’s safe. Nothing is gonna happen in Edge and Rae’s house. Just try to relax.”
Easier said than done.
Another thirty minutes came and went. I was pacing the floors as Charlotte took the girls upstairs to read a couple of bedtime stories and tuck them in for their sleepover. She was just closing the door, standing at the top of the stairs when someone began pounding on the door.
Our eyes met.
I shook my head, gesturing for her to back up and she did so quickly as I peeked through the door. Maxwell’s friend Fitz was standing with two other men I didn’t recognize. It didn’t slip my notice that they were armed. Max had sent them to pick me up.
All my worry and panic hadn’t been for nothing. Maxwell was far too narcissistic to let me walk away. Kind of pissed me off that no one listened when I’d said repeatedly that he was a psychopath.
The knowledge that I was about to be taken to that controlling bastard should have made me feel panicked or scared but a sense of calm washed over me as I opened the door and stepped out, hearing the lock click into place as I pulled it shut. There wasn’t any point in delaying the inevitable. If Fitz and his men forced themselves inside, the girls and my sister would be in grave danger. I did what I had to do and raised my chin, staring the goons down.
“Take me to Max.”
“He said you’d come willingly,” Fitz spat. “Always so obedient. Aren’t you, Cara?”
I didn’t reply.
“Wonder if we could have a little fun with her first,” one of men, a stocky guy with a buzz cut suggested. “She’s pretty.”
“I like her lips. Bet they would wrap around my cock nice and tight.”
“As least as good as her pussy,” Buzz Cut agreed.
“Knock it off. We’ll find you a couple of playthings later. Maxwell wants to see her right away.”
The two thugs didn’t hide their disappointment as Fitz grabbed my arm and hauled me toward a white van parked in the driveway. “Front seat. No funny business.”
I climbed inside and shut the door, clasping the seatbelt around my waist.
He smirked when he saw it, ticking his head toward the house. “Anyone else home?”
“No,” I lied smoothly. “Everyone went for ice cream. I was tired and stayed home to rest.”
“We saw a car leave an hour and a half ago.”
“Yeah, I know, Dill.”
So that was the other guy’s name. The one without the buzz cut.
“Let’s move. Maxwell doesn’t like it when he’s kept waiting.”
The drive out of town took about an hour. The entire time I kept thinking it was odd that they didn’t try to blindfold me or put me in the back of the van. For the most part, I was ignored. Fitz kept talking to Buzz Cut and Dill as they made crude jokes. I’d heard plenty just as bad in the clubhouse from the MC brothers when they didn’t think any women could overhear. It was nothing new.
When we pulled up, I slid from the van and walked behind Fitz toward the warehouse that was situated in a long row of industrial buildings, many no longer in use. Providence used to be a town filled with factories, but cheaper labor overseas drove a lot of those
jobs away. Advances in technology over the last decade ruled the companies nearly obsolete. What remained was blocks of warehouses, buildings, and rows of businesses that were nothing more than a shiny metal graveyard.
Ushered inside the massive structure, I glanced up at the fading sunlight and vivid hues wondering if I was witnessing my last sunset. It wouldn’t surprise me if Max planned to get rid of his troublesome fiancé. I caused problems and Maxwell hated complications. The fact that I ran from him only made it worse. He didn’t like to be made a fool.
The inside of the building was mostly gutted. Dusty machines and hunks of metal, random tools, and the scurry of rats proved no one had been here for quite some time. Interesting place to meet considering he could have chosen one of the buildings with offices instead of all this junk. Maxwell always did have a flair for the dramatic. Maybe he thought it would be intimidating or scary to come here instead.
His reasoning didn’t matter. I stopped as I approached the center of the room, just feet from where my abuser stood. Fitz nudged my back and I took a few steps but kept my distance. The man I knew as my fiancé was unpredictable. I had no idea what he planned and that was the only thing about this moment that was frightening.
Maxwell smiled coldly as our eyes met. “You’ve been opening that big mouth, sweetheart, and it hasn’t been for the right reasons.”
I didn’t dignify his words with a response.
“I think it’s time you learned a valuable lesson about loyalty.” He gestured to Fitz who grabbed my arm and yanked me forward until I stood only a couple of inches away.
The cruel glint in Maxwell’s eyes proved one thing only. Today I was going to die.
R.J.
VALAN, GHOST, AND GQ parked their bikes next to my own as I glanced down at the text on my phone. I wasn’t sure how Maxwell Forman found my cell number, but the point was that he had it. I reread the information he sent, suppressing the urge to crush the device in my hand.
Max: Meet me at Industrial Park. The old Gristle Mill. 3 pm. I’ll be waiting.
