by Leah Wilde
The yacht rocked gently in the water, and I had to put my head back against the chair. The headache coupled with the motion to make my stomach start turning. I closed my eyes and breathed slowly, evenly, until the nausea passed. I focused on my breathing and let the motion just fade into the background. Soon, I was okay again.
So this is the when and the where, I told myself, trying to humor myself a little bit by looking on the bright side. It was too bad I couldn’t tell Gage, though I was certain he’d probably ascertained as much from his conversation with the mayor.
I thought about my budding relationship with Gage. He’d lied to me about the whole thing with Dimitri, and what he hadn’t lied to me about outright, he’d covered up and hidden from me. I wondered if he hadn’t thought he was trying to protect me or if he really was the manipulating asshole Dimitri made him out to be.
I wondered how he must have felt when he returned to HQ to find me gone. He was probably pissed off, and I was probably on his shit list now. My only hope was that when he found me tied to a chair, he would feel sorry for me and forgive me. But I wasn’t going to hold my breath.
Dimitri poked his head back in the room with a sad look on his face.
“I’ve got some bad news, Dr. Danvers,” he said, closing the door and pulling up a crate to sit on.
“What is it, Dimitri?” I rolled my eyes as a knee-jerk reaction, not realizing until it was over that I’d even done it right in front of him.
“It’s about your boyfriend, Gage,” he said.
My heart sank into my stomach. No, no, no, I screamed in my head.
“It seems he might not be coming to save you after all. Ivan just told me he ordered one of his tactical teams to attack the Kings of Hell HQ. If we see Gage again, it will be as one of our prisoners, like you! That means, of course, you’ll get to watch him die,” he explained with glee. “Isn’t that exciting, Dr. Danvers?”
I stared at him with teary eyes. “Exciting isn’t the word I would use, Dimitri,” I said flatly, fighting back my tears.
“Don’t cry, Dr. Danvers,” he continued, mocking me. “I thought you’d be happy to see us put an end to that crook after he lied to you the way he did. I figured you would want to see him suffer for how much he hurt your friend Dimitri.”
“We aren’t friends,” I snapped.
He gave me a mock frown. “But I thought you cared for your friend, Dr. Danvers.”
I looked down at the floor and shook my head. There was no need to argue with him. He was enjoying playing with me too much. He laughed when I looked away.
“From the moment I saw you, I knew I could trick you into helping me,” he said. “I just didn’t know how long it would take to convince you to do it.”
Great! So now I’m naïve and gullible, and it’s obvious, I thought, clenching my jaw, biting my tongue.
Dimitri continued. “I didn’t count on getting help from Gage, but he really seemed to rise to the occasion for me. He couldn’t do right by you if he tried.”
I tried to tune him out, tried to focus on the floor or the rope digging into my ankle to distract myself from him. I knew he was just trying to get a rise out of me. I couldn’t let him succeed. I couldn’t react or respond.
“I guess you probably expected him to come to rescue you, huh?” He leaned forward and put a thick finger under my chin. He lifted my face so that I looked into his eyes.
I tried to stare at him blankly, but I felt my face contorting in anger.
“You did, didn’t you? You really thought that heartless bastard cared about you. Listen to me. Gage doesn’t care about anyone but himself. The sooner you learn that, the better.” He chuckled. “I guess you’re learning that now, huh?” He shook his head in pity.
“It’s not over yet,” I told him. “Don’t count him out just yet.” I narrowed my eyes at the Russian. I still had faith in Gage. I couldn’t explain why. Dimitri had been right about him lying to me and screwing up every time he turned around, but there was something genuine in Gage. There was a connection between us that really felt sincere. When all was said and done, I felt like Gage really did care.
“Remember the story I told you about his ex-girlfriend?” Dimitri asked.
“I remember.”
“This is how she died. She died because he allowed her to get mixed up in his business. She died to save him in a conflict just like what’s happening right now.” His voice dripped with a perverse pleasure, as if he was getting turned on by rubbing the other woman’s death in my face.
“You told me Gage killed her.”
“He did. He put her in harm’s way, and he gave her up so that he could escape,” he insisted.
“But you also said you weren’t there. You didn’t see it happen.” I wanted to push him a little and see if his little tale stood up to any kind of scrutiny.
“I didn’t see it happen, but everyone knew about it as soon as it happened. It got him quite the ruthless reputation. Unfortunately for him, Ivan doesn’t care about his reputation. Ivan is stronger. He hires stronger men.” Pride crept into his voice, and he stuck his chest out proudly as he talked.
“So, you’re one of these stronger men?” I mocked him. “You got taken down by two guys who are tiny next to you. I’ve seen Chase and Juarez. They aren’t remarkable, but they were able to take you captive and tie you up in the basement of their motorcycle club’s headquarters. You certainly didn’t seem too strong then.”
He gripped my face in his hand. It felt like he was going to crush my jaw and my cheeks. He moved his face so close that I could taste his breath.
“Do not mock me, little girl. I can crush you with my bare hands, and don’t think I won’t do it,” he threatened me.
I just raised my eyebrows, daring him to do it, but he let go of my face, stood up, and stepped back from me.
“I didn’t think you would,” I told him. “You need me alive in case Gage does show up. You know, in case Ivan’s men aren’t successful.”
A frantic knock came at the door, as if right on cue. I knew deep down what it was already. I didn’t need to hear the frantic voice when Dimitri opened the door.
“There’s been a problem. Ivan needs to see you.”
Dimitri shot me a dangerous look, as if my words had caused whatever it was that had happened.
I just smiled and shook my head. “I told you, don’t count him out just yet. Some reputations are earned.”
“I’ll be back for you,” he threatened before he walked out of the room and closed the door.
I took a deep, shaky breath after he left the room. I tried to pretend he wasn’t scaring me, but the truth was I was terrified. It wasn’t every day that I got kidnapped by the Chicago chapter of the Russian mob. It also wasn’t every day that I relied on an outlaw biker to come save me. I hoped that the bad news for Dimitri was as good for me as it sounded. I hoped it meant that Ivan’s men had failed to take Gage and that he was still on his way to rescue me.
He couldn’t get here fast enough.
Surely Gage knew about the boat and about Lake Michigan. Surely he’d gotten that information from the mayor. He must have known by now, as well, that I was with Dimitri and the rest of Ivan’s men. He couldn’t just leave me here. I didn’t know what Ivan had planned for either one of us, but I hoped Gage and the Kings of Hell would be able to reverse those plans when they arrived.
The boat rocked gently side to side, keeping time in its own way, like the ticking of a clock. I closed my eyes and trusted the water’s sense of time. Now that the initial bout of sea sickness was gone, the rocking was peaceful and relaxing.
Soon, I heard raised voices outside, on the other side of the door. Dimitri and someone were having words with each other, but I couldn’t hear them clearly. Something must have gone terribly wrong for them.
That was good for me. I hoped.
Chapter 28
Gage
It was the day before the siege. We were making sure we had all the equipm
ent we needed. Ricky made sure we had the boats we needed. Chase and Juarez had rounded up a few of our other members to go with us. They’d pulled some of the most ruthless guys we had. Jorell made sure we had all the gear we needed, from wet suits to weapons and ammo. This was turning out to be quite an operation.
I made sure the other four kings were doing what I asked them to while keeping in touch with the eyes I had on Jorell. I knew every move he made.
While I was reading my latest text update, I was interrupted by a blocked number. Thinking it could have been Ivan with news about Julia, I answered quickly.
“This is Gage,” I greeted my unknown caller.
“Mr. Noll, this is your mayor calling,” the mayor’s voice came across the line.
“Mr. Mayor, what a surprise!” I was actually glad to hear from him, though I was a little suspicious as to how he was able to trace the number on a burn phone to me. There were a few things I wanted to ask him about tomorrow’s rendezvous.
He laughed. “Usually people aren’t so happy to hear from me,” he joked.
“No, I really am glad to hear from you. How can I help you today, Mr. Mayor?” I sat back in my chair in the boardroom.
“Well, I want to call in a favor, Gage, and see if we can work something out about tomorrow,” he said.
“A favor, huh? What did you have in mind, sir?” Did he really think he had the privilege of asking favors of the Kings of Hell? That was an amusing thought, but I figured I’d humor him. I wasn’t too excited about storming a boat full of police, politicians, and Russian thugs.
“Well, I might have a solution to the Ivan problem, and a way to help you guys get back on top in our streets,” he started.
Now I was curious. He wanted to help us get back on top? He wanted to help us eliminate our competition? This seemed too good to be true, and I knew what they said about things that sounded too good to be true. I knew it firsthand.
“What are you saying?” I asked him.
“I’m saying that I’ve got a plan to help everyone out, and it will land Ivan and his key players behind bars for a long, long time. I’ve got a few names of guys who should be on that boat as we speak. I don’t care what happens to anyone else, but I need these three men alive when the authorities show up,” he continued.
“When the authorities show up?” I inquired.
“Yes, I’ve already informed the other parties that the meeting is going to be ambushed. I’ve told them that I’ll see to it that they get their share of what’s on that yacht, but we’re taking Ivan and these other three guys down. They know to stay away so that they don’t complicate things. I’ve also told them that if anyone shows up while Ivan is being handled, I can’t and won’t guarantee their safety. So, if anyone shows up while you guys are on that boat, I don’t care what happens to them. Got it?”
“You’re sounding more and more like an employer, sir. Is this a job offer or contract?”
“Neither,” he answered firmly.
“Okay, then what are you offering me in exchange for making sure you pick up the guys you need?” I asked.
“Immunity. Your boys are automatically under the radar from here on out if you pull this off the way I want you to.”
Immunity. Under the radar. I liked the way that sounded. The mayor was offering to protect us for taking out Ivan. Plus, he said he was going to help us get back on top. We were going to be taking over Ivan’s clients. I liked the sound of that, too.
“What do you want us to do?” I asked.
“Are you ready for this?” the mayor asked, hyping his plan.
“Oh, you know I am. I’ve been ready for this moment since I took over as president of the Kings, sir.”
“I bet you have.” I could hear his smile through the phone. “Here’s the plan. You guys go out there tonight. If you need any tactical gear, let me know. I’ll get it for you.”
“Wait, tonight?” We weren’t planning on going out in the dark.
“Tonight. You’ll need the cover of darkness to ensure that you maintain the element of surprise on this fucker.”
Fucker? I couldn’t believe what I was hearing from the mayor. He was talking to me like we were equals. He wasn’t talking to me the way most self-righteous politicians would talk to biker thugs. He was talking like he was any other business partner on the street.
“They won’t be expecting you to storm their yacht tonight. And like I said, I can have any gear you need delivered right to your door.”
“I’ll talk to my specialist about it after we get off the phone. I’ll let you know what he says,” I assured him.
“Good. Do that. Now, I don’t care what you do to anyone else on board, but I need these people to be present when the FBI shows up to get them,” he said.
“I’m sorry, the FBI?”
“Yes, the FBI. These guys are a big deal, Gage, and you’re about to take them down. Of course, you won’t get public credit for that. You don’t want that anyway, too much attention. Now, do you have something to write with? I need you to take these names down so you don’t forget,” he explained.
I looked around the boardroom for any scrap piece of paper and a pen. I couldn’t find one, so I poked my head through the doors and grabbed a napkin and pen from the bar.
“Alright, go ahead.”
“Of course, we want Ivan Danilovich. We also want these three other men: Dimitri Aristov, Aleksei Ivanov, and Boris Stepanovich. Got it?”
I looked down at the list. I wasn’t sure about the last names, but I was pretty sure I knew all of these men, especially Dimitri. I laughed.
“Is something funny?” he asked me.
“Yeah. We just had Dimitri. He’s the one who led us to you,” I admitted.
“You had Dimitri? What happened?”
“He doesn’t speak English, so we had an interpreter here to help us talk to him. It seems she let him go. I’m not sure if he’s going to be on the boat, but according to one of the men who attacked us yesterday, they have our interpreter,” I told him, wondering the whole time if I was telling him too much.
He sighed. “Do you think you can handle this, Gage? I can get someone else to carry it out.”
“We’ve got it. No more surprises. We’ll be better prepared tonight when we take the yacht.”
“Okay. Also, in addition to leaving those men alive for the authorities, I need you to leave any weapons and drugs you find on the boat. You can take whatever Ivan’s men have on them, but anything that’s part of the shipment needs to stay,” the mayor explained.
“Are you confiscating it?” I asked.
“Oh no.” He chuckled. “We’re going to make sure everyone gets most of what we were all supposed to be buying, and we’re leaving enough for the FBI to find and use against these guys in court. But, remember, I told you I’m going to help you get back on top. After this raid, everyone is going to know to come to you. I trust you have a supplier who can handle the demand.”
“Our suppliers will be more than happy to step it up. Right now they have a surplus of supply,” I explained happily.
“Excellent. Well, Gage, it’s been a pleasure. Let me know if you need any additional equipment. I’ll be here by the phone.”
“Your number is blocked.”
“Call the office.” He disconnected the call.
I texted each of the guys. New developments. Meeting in the boardroom. ASAP.
I stared at the names on the list. I was pretty sure those three guys would be with Ivan. They were all his top men. It was no surprise the FBI was waiting to have them handed over on a silver platter. I couldn’t believe I had agreed to be the one serving them up. I wanted the first two dead.
A little while later, all four of my guys came in and sat down around the table.
“What’s up?” Ricky asked.
“I just talked to the mayor a little while ago,” I told them.
“Oh joy, what did he want?” Chase asked.
“He actually called in
a favor in exchange for immunity,” I answered.
“I’m sorry, what?” Jorell raised his eyebrows, clearly not believing what I told them.
“He’s going to make sure we stay below the radar for helping him out when we storm the yacht.”
“What do we have to do?” Juarez asked with his ears perked up.
“He wants us to storm the boat tonight and keep Ivan, Dimitri, Aleksei, and Boris alive so that the FBI can pick them up tomorrow from the boat,” I explained.
Their jaws hit the table.
“You told him to shove it, right?” Jorell said.
