by Zoey Parker
“I don’t think it’s the club. I think it’s just this Dean. Not sure how he got picked, but he seems to have some connection to the Leonard group. I asked Bixby to do some digging on him, he’s trying to find the connection. Lauren said she didn’t see the driver of the car when she got hit, he came at her too fast, but I’m willing to bet it was Dean. Probably acted too fast, though; Matthew hadn’t gotten to her yet.”
“Seems like a lot of bullshit for a little shortage in product,” Johnny argued.
“Tanner cut him off that night. Sent him to some other dealer who didn’t have the quality. Spent more for shittier supply—Leonard blames Lauren for that. You know these types. Think the world revolves around them and no one should get in their way.”
“Yeah, I get that. I’ll watch your girl for you, but you better be fucking careful today. She won’t be taking it too well if you get yourself dead. Understand?” His fierce gaze could crumble a brick wall, but I saw it for what it was. Concern. “I’m happy to see those leathers on you again, but if it comes at a price, I don’t want it. Got it?”
“Don’t worry about it.” I adjusted my kutte, getting used to the feel of the leather on me again. The weight of it on me reminded me of how much I missed the brotherhood that came with it. Leaving it behind had been the hardest thing for me to do, aside from leaving Lauren behind. At the time, I left to protect myself and my future, and now I put it back on to do the same thing.
Only this time I had Lauren to think about, too. That woman turned my life upside down the moment her car had been dragged into my garage. I wouldn’t change it for anything. I had her back. I had my girl back, and she would be mine forever if I had anything to say about it. Thinking about a future with her didn’t turn my stomach the way it did when I had tried picturing it with other girls. The hair on my neck stood at attention when the thought of losing her again crossed my mind. That wouldn’t happen. Couldn’t happen. I’d die before I let it.
After I set Lauren up in one of the spare bedrooms with her laptop and a full cup of coffee, I headed out. I was sure to remind her of what would happen if she tried leaving the clubhouse, and her blush made me hard for her again. Tonight. I had told her when we got home that night I’d have her tied down and at my mercy. I just needed to get through the afternoon.
Riding out of the courtyard and heading toward her apartment with Tony riding at my side, I wondered again about Dean’s connection to Daniel Leonard. From what I could piece together, the guy was just a regular asshole. Worked in the garage for the Fallen, never been in any real trouble, so what was his angle? Did he get close to Lauren through Asya for Leonard or was he picked because he knew her? Too many questions without enough answers.
Bixby was digging, but some things couldn’t wait. Asya was expecting Lauren any minute to show up at the apartment. She’d be surprised to find me, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find Dean there, too. She’d been adamant that I not go with Lauren to meet her. She wanted girl time, and promised they’d just hang at the apartment, nothing for me to worry about. The more she stressed that I stay away, the more I knew I’d be the one going.
My hope still remained that she was trying to warn Lauren of what was coming. I didn’t like the idea of having to tell Lauren the only friend she’d had for the past few years had betrayed her in the worst way someone could betray another person.
Tony signaled me to turn down an alley, and I let him take the lead. He knew the back roads around Lauren’s apartment a bit better than me, so he took point. As he came to a stop several houses from her building, we cut our engines.
I pulled out my phone to check my message. The damn thing had been vibrating my ass more than my bike. Seven messages from Bixby.
One charge of drug possession with intent to sell for Dean was dropped six months ago.
His attorney was Jacob Masters.
Same attorney that helped Leonard out of a DUI years back.
Dean named Tanner Hunt as his supplier. Nothing came of it.
No investigation into Tanner.
Tanner’s priors long list—all drug related.
All charges dropped each time- same attorney. Jacob Masters
Fuck. If Tanner had something to do with all of this, he played Lauren and me real fucking good. It was he who caused Leonard to be so damn pissed in the first place, his mistake, his error.
“What’s up?” Tony asked, walking over to me. I gave him my phone to let him read the messages. “Fuck. You think he’s organizing all this shit?”
“If he is, there’s a good chance we’ll find him up there with Dean.” I felt the Glock I had stuffed in my waistband. It had been a few years since I last pulled out my gun from its hiding spot, but I had no doubt it would come in handy now. “Let’s get up there and get this over with.”
We walked through the gangway from the alley to the front door of her building, keeping an eye out for anything that didn’t seem right. The heat of the summer kept a lot of people indoors with their air running on high, which meant less people to see us entering the building.
Chapter 24
Lauren
How could I study knowing Michael was at my apartment confronting Asya about her part in all this mess? I closed my laptop, giving up on getting anything done, and moved out to the TV room in the clubhouse.
Johnny sat on the couch with his wife snuggled up against him, watching a home makeover show. I smiled over the absurdity. The mammoth sized biker watched, with interest, as a back room of a house was converted into a home office for a middle-aged accountant.
“We should do that with the spare bedroom. Jimmy’s never gonna move back now that he’s got his own place,” I heard his wife say.
“No.” He shook his head.
“Maybe we could turn it into a sewing room.”
“You don’t sew.”
“I could start if I had a sewing room.”
He let out an exasperated sigh that sounded all too familiar. Michael made the same noise when I pushed an issue he considered closed. “I’ll think about it.” The gruff voice was more for show than it was sincere. He’d cave, that was easy to see by the smile on his wife’s face. She’d won, and she knew it.
“Hey, Lauren.” Johnny moved his arm from around his wife and stood up to greet me when he noticed I’d entered the room.
“Hey. I was stretching my legs for a few minutes. I’m gonna walk in the courtyard for a bit. Get some fresh air.” I slid my hands in the back pockets of my jean shorts, trying to look casual.
Johnny’s eyes narrowed. “It’s ninety-five degrees out there. Just stay in here where it’s cool.”
“I love the heat,” I lied. “Just for a few minutes. I’ll be back in five minutes.”
He didn’t look convinced but he gave in anyway. “Fine. Five minutes. If you’re not back in here, I’m coming out there to drag you back in.”
“I don’t doubt that for a second.” I patted his arm as I walked past him, giving his wife a wink. She laughed, but didn’t tell Johnny what she found so funny.
Once I was outside with the sun beating down on me, I found spot to sit. I needed to call Asya. I needed to hear from her what was going on, but if I did that and she really was betraying me I could have been putting Michael in danger. As I pulled my phone out it buzzed a few times.
A message from Tanner.
We need to talk. Can you get away from your babysitter long enough?
I got up and looked through the window at Johnny in the TV room. He was back to watching the show. He’d never let me go if I asked him to take me. Tanner was safe. If he needed to tell me something, it was important.
Remember the warehouse on Ogden? Half hour.
My pickups were done from that warehouse most of the time. Tanner owned a small office inside that he used to conduct his business. I shot him a quick text and looked around the courtyard for a ride. I’d never driven a motorcycle before, and I didn’t think it should try on my own just then. Bikers were a
little touchy about that sort of thing.
My car had to be ready by now. I called the garage to confirm it was done, and decided to head over there. It would be faster than trying to catch a cab, and no way was I gonna ask Johnny to help me. Casually as I could, with my heart beating hard against my ribcage, I walked out of the courtyard. Once outside the gates, I took off in a run. Michael’s garage was a few miles away. If I were lucky, I’d catch the bus.
As soon as I took my seat on the CTA bus my phone started ringing. I didn’t recognize the number, so I let it go to voicemail. But it rang again and again. Each time I declined the call, but finally decided to listen to the message left.
“Sweetheart, your ass better have just gone for a walk around the block. Get back here now.”
“Lauren, get your ass back to the clubhouse. Now.”
“I’m calling Michael.”
Tattletale. I looked at the time on my phone. By the time Johnny got a hold of Michael, he’d be busy at my apartment.
Luckily, the guy working the desk at Michael’s shop hadn’t met me yet and didn’t know my relationship with his boss. He handed over my keys with no trouble and even brought the car around for me. They had replaced the entire body of the car, rebuilt the engine, and put in new brakes. Even the air conditioner worked. It would have been easier to buy a new car, why did Michael put so much man hours into it?
I thanked the guy again, then peeled out of the garage, heading to the warehouse. When I got there, Tanner’s beat up pickup was parked in the usual spot. Taking my keys with me, I headed into the warehouse.
His office light was one, but nothing else was lit up. The other offices in the place must actually close on Sundays. “Tanner?” I called out to him as I walked toward his office.
“Here, baby girl,” he called back. The door didn’t open; he usually met me outside the office, always with a grin and a hug.
“Tanner, you okay?” I asked when I got to the door. It was closed.
“Yeah. Come on in,” he called from behind the door.
I turned the knob, ignoring the thumping in my chest, the loud pounding in my ears, and the little voice that told me to leave the door alone and run back to my car.
Chapter 25
Michael
The door to Lauren’s apartment was open. Not unlocked, but pushed open. I yanked my gun out from my waistband and held onto it as I slowly entered. Nothing looked touched.
A news broadcast played on the television set. A plate with an uneaten sandwich and glass of iced tea sat on the coffee table.
Tony stood at the doorway, his own weapon in hand. I motioned for him to sit tight and made my way to the kitchen. Empty. The bathroom door was open, as well as Lauren’s bedroom. Both rooms empty and no sign of Asya.
The only room left to check was Asya’s bedroom. I put my ear to the door, listening for movement. Soft, muffled moans. Turning the handle, I threw the door open with my weapon lifted and ready.
On the bed, hog tied and gagged, lay Asya. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and her body battered and bruised. Before I went to her, I checked her closet and the bathroom attached to her room. Once I felt comfortable that she was alone, I went to the bed and pulled the dirty rag down from her mouth.
She spat on the ground, then took several gulping breaths. “Where’s Lauren?” She wiggled against her restraints.
“Not here. Who did this?”
“Fucking Dean!” she yelled, then coughed. “Fuck. Get me out of these ropes.” She wiggled more.
“The more you squirm the tighter they get. Just stay still.” I called out for Tony and then began using my pocket knife to cut her loose. Tony took in the scene and cursed.
“Where’s this Dean guy?”
“I don’t know. He made me send those messages to Lauren. I had to. He had a gun to my head.” She started sobbing as I finished removing the last bit of rope form her legs. By the indents and bruises along her legs and arms, I guessed he’d had her tied up for several hours.
“Okay, okay.” I tucked my own gun away and told Tony to do the same. “Where’d he go?”
“I don’t know. He left about an hour ago. Said he had to finish up at the warehouse. What does he want with Lauren? Where is she?”
“She’s safe,” I assured her. “Did he say anything else?”
“No. Everything was fine, normal. He woke me up, we fucked, but then he went all crazy on me. He asked if I would invite Lauren over for lunch, but I said no. I knew you guys were in the middle of all this shit and I didn’t want to bug her. He kept insisting, and when I questioned why he wanted her to get here so bad, he went batty. He hit me. Dean has never hit me. Then he pulled out his fucking gun and told me to text her.”
“Did he know she was with me?”
“Yeah. I told him you were watching over her until the driver of the car was found. He knew that.” She swiped her hand across her lips as more tears fell. “But you didn’t bring her.”
“No. He knew I wouldn’t.” My phone starting vibrating and I pulled it out. “What?” I barked into the phone.
“Mike, she’s gone. That little girl is slippery. She took off about thirty minutes ago. Isn’t answering her phone.”
I cursed into the phone, then looked back at Asya. “You said he mentioned a warehouse. Has he mentioned it before?”
“No, not really. I mean…wait. He was late once picking me up from work about a week ago. I wasn’t mad but he started spilling all sorts of excuses, saying some tan guy held him up at the warehouse. I didn’t know what he meant, and I didn’t ask.”
“Tan…Tanner?”
“That might have been it, yeah.”
“Tanner Hunt?” Tony asked from the doorway.
“Yeah, that’s him. You know him?”
“Yeah, I know him. He’s got an office at a warehouse over on Ogden. Runs shit out of there. Knew a few guys who ran for him, dropped them there for their pickups.”
“Fuck. If Tanner called Lauren to meet him, she’d probably go. Damn her ass. I’m gonna head over there. Tony, you stay here with Asya. Get her back to the clubhouse.”
“You can’t take that place on by yourself.” He pushed my chest when I tried to get past him.
“It’s not me you should be worried about.” I glared at him until he moved out of my way, then ran my ass out of the apartment and down to my bike. Before peeling out, I sent a message to Johnny where Lauren was. I wouldn’t be taking on the warehouse alone. My brothers would back me up.
Chapter 26
Lauren
No matter what Michael was going to do to me for leaving the clubhouse, I would welcome it compared to the angry man I faced in Tanner’s office. A man covered with scars and scabs along his nostrils and covering most of his face stood behind Tanner, who sat in his chair with the barrel of a gun pressed against his head.
I stood in the doorway unable to speak, just trying to take in the situation, when rough hands grabbed me and hauled me into the room. Dean. His dark eyes avoided mine as he dragged me to the chair in front of Tanner’s desk. “Sit.” He pushed me down into the leather chair.
I tried to get Tanner’s eyes lined up with mine, but he kept them focused on the doorway behind me. “Tanner, are you okay?” I asked, and was rewarded with a slap across the face from Dean for my trouble.
“Shut the fuck up,” he growled at me. I heard tape being unraveled before I felt the thick duct tape being wrapped around my torso. I tried to jump up from the chair, but he already had it around my arms and moving around the chair. Well, hell.
“This is the girl?” the man with the scabs asked. His raspy voice grated on me, as though it could scratch me. “She looks different. You sure you got the right one?”
“Yeah. This is her,” Dean snarled from behind me. He leaned down so his breath was hot on my ear and continued to breathe heavy like a dog who’d just ran around a hot backyard and needed water. “Right, Lauren? You remember Mr. Leonard, right?” A drip of spi
ttle landed on my neck, and I tried to lean away from him, but the tape held me tight in position.
“Daniel.” Tanner still didn’t look my way, but his fingers drummed on his desk. “Daniel, let the girl go. I’m the one who cut you off, you don’t need her.”
“Fuck that. This bitch owes me. It was she who started the whole fucking thing. Can’t manage to grab the right package, and next thing I know I’m being cut off from the best shit in town.” He didn’t move from behind Tanner, or take the gun away from his head, but glared at me. “See this face? See this shit all over my skin? That shit Snake sold me did this to me. My fucking face peels off over and over again. I’ve had to do my business like a fucking freak, never meeting anyone face to fucking face, because look at me. Look at me!” His voice cracked when he screamed at me. I kept looking at him, seeing the scabs and the scars as his penance.
