Peering down at my watch, I see it's nearly eight o'clock already. I can't believe I've been sittin' here lost in my own thoughts for the past two hours. After finishing my coffee, I make my way out to the main room of the clubhouse and find Glory sittin' on the sofa chatting with Ember with her dog Bo laying at her feet.
"Hey, Jake. Grace up yet?" Glory asks.
"I'm sure she is. Our baby girl usually wakes up around seven every mornin'. Grace is probably in the room changing and feeding her now."
"Good," she says standing from the sofa and heads up the stairs. "I need my Ellie Kate loving this morning."
A second later, Ember abandons her perch and makes her way past me. "I'm going to get breakfast started. Lisa was up late last night waiting for Bennett to come home. I'm sure she's exhausted and doesn't need to be worried about tending to everyone this morning."
Reaching out, I halt her movements by placing my hand on her shoulder. "Appreciate ya, sweetheart. You and Raine have stepped up to the plate this week and done so without complaint. The club is grateful."
Just then the clubhouse door opens and Ian comes strolling in with Sean trailing behind him.
"Look who I found, Prez."
It looks like Bennett came through after all and was able to track him down. I don't know a whole hell of a lot about what Ian does, but I do know people contract him for his services. I suspect he works for the government but can't say for sure, and he's tight-lipped about his business. I also don't make it a point to meddle. The man's business is his own. "Ian, I'm glad to see ya, brother," I greet offering my hand.
"When I received word you and Bennett needed me, I came as quick as I could," Ian returns. "Now, I'm going to cut to the chase and get down to business. Bennett gave me a rundown on the situation. All I need from you is a place to set up."
This here is why I like Ian so much. He is all business. "Yeah, man. Follow me," I lead Ian to the room we hold church. I also had Reid set up all his computer shit in here too. With us being on lockdown and having a full house, this was the only room available. When I open the door to church, I am not at all surprised to see Reid still awake and working. "Reid, this is Ian. He's going to be settin' his equipment up in here alongside you."
"No problem, Prez." Standing from his chair, Reid holds his hand out to Ian. "Nice meetin' ya. How about I help you bring your stuff in and set up."
I follow Ian and Reid out to the parking lot to Ian's truck. I'm alerted to a rumbling sound in the distance. When I look behind me, I notice Logan, Bennett, and Gabriel, step out of the clubhouse. "The cavalry has arrived," I announce.
Pulling his phone from his cut, Reid uses it to punch in the code to the gate opening it. A couple of seconds later five Harleys and a cage roll onto the compound. Leading the way is our Louisiana President Riggs, followed by Kiwi his Road Captain, Fender the SGT. AT ARMS, and two prospects bringing up the rear.
Once Riggs has dismounted his bike, I pull him in for a hug and clap him on the back. "Glad to see ya, brother. I hate it's under these circumstances."
"I always got your back, brother."
"So, what's in the van?" I ask.
"Oh, you know me, Jake. I always bring my own toys to the party," Riggs grins.
"Well, in that case, let's get the motherfuckin' party started."
Slamming the gavel down, it echoes off the walls and brings church to order. "Alright, everybody settle down. For those of you who don't already know him," I say pointing to Ian. "This is Ian. I brought him in on this because he's an expert tracker, so I'm turning the floor over to him." Once I have taken my seat, Ian stands and wastes no time dishing out his plan of action.
"We have approximately ten hours until nightfall. That's when I want every one of you to be ready to fall out. Also, whatever supplies you're going to require will have to be able to fit in these packs," Ian informs holding up a standard military tactical backpack. "So, I suggest you pack smart."
"Why do we need packs?" this coming from Fender.
"Because, I believe those motherfuckers have Quinn underground in the mountains. You'll be searching on foot."
"What makes you think they're holding Quinn underground?" Kiwi cuts in.
"Because I know," Ian replies. "Look," he continues, "this club has torn Polson and every surrounding town apart, and you haven't come up with shit. I've done my research on Polson dating back to the early 1940's. Did you know that during the Cold War some Americans feared the worst and built underground bunkers? They would use them to stockpile supplies."
"Like Doomsday Preppers?" Kiwi asks.
"Yes, exactly like that. The mountains are the perfect place to build these sorts of bunkers. They are nearly impossible to spot among the trees. Hell, you don't even know one may be right under your feet until you come upon the ventilation pipes sticking out of the ground."
"Damn. You do know your shit," Kiwi remarks.
With a brow lift, Ian levels Kiwi with a look that says, 'no shit.' "Now as I was saying, because bunkers like this may be in the mountains the only way you will be able to access is by foot. All you need to be worried about is getting your shit together and be ready to move once I have a location," Ian finishes.
"Okay, brothers. You all know what to do." Standing, I'm about to slam the gavel and dismiss the guys when Blake burst through the door.
"Prez! I have something for you," he says handing over a manila envelope. "I was riding buy the garage, and something on the entrance door caught my attention. This envelope was tapped to it."
Dread settles in my gut. Something tells me this has to do with Quinn. Opening the package, I pull out a cell phone. When I power it on the welcome screen has the message, 'watch me.' Tapping on the video icon I see a single video. I pass the phone to Reid. "Hook this up and play it for everyone."
Taking the cell from my hand, Reid goes about plugging a cord into the phone and then to his computer. A couple of seconds later the video begins to play on the screen mounted on the wall.
"Fuck," Reid mutters when the image of Quinn strapped to a chair as he chokes on water being poured over his face comes into focus. Next comes the taunts of the Satans Reapers President followed by him snubbing his cigar out on Quinn's neck. The whole time my brother staying strong and gritting his teeth through the pain. Even through the torture, Quinn does a little taunting of his own with his smart-ass mouth. But he soon loses the battle of wills as the motherfucker who will quickly die at my hands picks up a pair of pliers, uses them to grip a needle then torches it until it's lit with a fiery, red glow. By this point in the video Logan, Gabriel, and Reid are on their feet, and by the tension radiating off their bodies, they seem to be barely holding on by a thread. Seconds later, the room erupts with the sound of Quinn's blood-curdling roar of pain as the President of the Satans Reapers drives hot needles under the tips of his fingernails.
"The next time you see your boy it will be in a body bag unless you give us what we want," the son of a bitch on camera says right before he injects something into Quinn's arm with a syringe followed by the screen going black. Now the only sound filling the room is heavy breathing. With my hands braced on the edge of the table, I look to my right and stare each one of my men in the eyes. "Get your shit packed and ready. It's time to go huntin'."
Chapter Twenty-Two
Emerson
An hour ago, I watched as ten men walked into the room church is held. Forty minutes after, I watched as Blake tore through the clubhouse carrying an envelope as he made his way behind the same door my eyes have been glued to. Now I'm watching as those same eleven men storm out with the kind of looks on their faces that have me fearing the worst. I want to know what was in that envelope. I want to know what happened.
"Hey, Sweetheart," Vicky greets with a sad tone as she takes a seat next to me on the sofa. Turning my body slightly towards her, I hang my head and shake it back and forth. I'm afraid if I open my mouth words will fail me and I'll break out in sobs. I don't want to do that.
I want to show the people around me I am stronger than that.
"Emerson," Vicky whispers cupping my left cheek. When I gain the courage to look up at her, I'm met with the warmest brown eyes and a look of understanding. It's her look which has me losing it all over again. When I do, she pulls me in and hugs me while making a shushing sound in my ear. "Everything is going to be alright, Sweetheart. It's going to be alright," Vicky says comforting me.
No matter how old you get, there is nothing that will ever compare to a mother's comforting embrace. The fact that it's not my own mother holding me breaks my heart. But at the moment, I welcome the love Quinn's mom is giving. The more time I spend with Quinn's parents, the more I realize they are the kind of parents I strive to be. They love unconditionally and without judgment. They support their children in whatever path life leads them on while cheering from the sidelines. I hope that one day, my own parents will come to terms with the life I have chosen to lead, accept the man I love, and his club. But at least I know if that day never comes, I have the love of Quinn's parents, and the love of his club; the men he calls his family, because they are my family too.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The kings
JAKE
"Hold up," Ian's voice commands and the room falls silent. "Before we go traipsin' in the woods in the middle of the damn night, I have to get my drone in the air." Looking towards Kiwi who happens to be standing closest to the door Ian pulls a set of keys from his pocket and tosses them in his direction. "The van out there, grab the padlocked trunk for me but don't touch any of my other shit," he orders as he fires up his laptop and sits down.
Kiwi looks to Riggs who nods his approval. "Take Fender with you," Riggs orders.
Ian knows his shit, so I let him take the reins for the time being. The rest of us wait until Kiwi walks back in and plunks the trunk down on the table. "Careful," Ian says unlocking the trunk, lifting back the lid, and proceeds to pull out a drone. "I need one of you to get this to a remote area close to—" pulling out a map of the town he points to a location thirty minutes north of the clubhouse. "Here—" his finger taps the map's surface, "is where I want to deploy this baby."
Before I can speak and give the job to someone Logan steps forward. "I'll take it."
"These men are most likely keeping tabs on you. All of you," Ian's glance spans the room. "You have to find a way to get this out there undetected," Ian slips the drone into a pack and hands it to Logan.
"Got it," he answers and leaves without looking back.
Hours pass while we all mill around waiting for something—anything to help lead us in the right direction. The women and children have been told to keep to the upstairs rooms for now amid all the chaos taking place in preparation to rescue Quinn. I'm sitting at the bar with Austin when the church door swings open, and a tired Reid announces, "we found something."
In a flash, I'm off my stool sprinting towards the door straight past Reid stopping when I reach Ian. "Talk to me, brother."
"As you're aware, we've been flying our drone equipped with thermal technology for the past few hours. We've only detected bears, deer—normal activity you would find in the woods around here. But, this—" he taps the computer monitor. Leaning a bit closer, I try to analyze the white dots on the screen. "These three dots are a heat source. Fixed heat sources. It's a possibility these are air vents. Vents that may lead down to a bunker below," Ian informs me as he writes location coordinates on a piece of paper.
"Reid, go round up the men," I order and turn my attention back to Ian. "How far?"
Getting up from his seat, Ian strides across the room and flips the switch turning the overhead light on and walks over to the grid map of Polson hanging on the wall. Taking the cap off a red Sharpie, he starts marking. "Your club is here," he circles the area. Looking back at his coordinates, he studies the map and pinpoints the exact location of interest with an x. "If my calculation is correct that's where we want to be."
I study the map. "How soon you think we can be there?" I ask eager to bring my family home, and hope like hell, I can bring him home alive.
Ian shakes his head. "Looks to be at least a two-hour trek if we enter here." he checks the map.
"That's old river bend pass," I inform him.
"Good. You know where we need to go then. There's—" Ian checks the watch on his wrist. "We have eight hours until the sun comes up. We want the cover of night on our side, so I say we head out at midnight."
God dammit. "We don't have a lot of time, Ian. You saw the video. My instincts tell me this sinister motherfucker won't let him live much longer before killin' him and moving on. It's a game to them. One they don't mind losing as long as they take one of my men to the grave along the way." The church door flies open. Every one of my boys, along with the rest of the calvary pile into the room. Most of them dressed and ready to go to war for one of their own.
"Ready, Prez," Gabriel shrugs his cut on over his shoulders. Pulling his pant leg up, he places his sheathed blade inside of his boot.
"Hold up," I put my hand in the air halting the movements of every man in the room. "We have a couple of hours to prepare for this mission."
"So, we have to sit around here on our asses when we finally have a lead on where our brother is?" Logan runs a hand through his hair. Frustration etched across his face as he continues. "Don't get me wrong. We all understand the reasoning behind it, but it doesn't change the fact our brother is out there dying or dead."
The room goes silent. I can't be mad at him. Logan is only saying what the rest of us are thinking and feeling.
"Then let that be your motivation, men," Ian addresses the room.
I look at Ian, "Fill them in." Taking the lead, Ian explains to my brothers what the drone discovered and the reasons for waiting. Huddling around the table we all keep our eyes trained either on the computer screen or the map and pay close attention to Ian's plan of execution.
"We'll enter here," he points to the bridge pass, "it's going to be a two-hour hike north. This is our target location. There will be eight of us on this mission so no matter what stay in pairs. We know five assholes have your man. They may or may not have one or two of them posted somewhere around the perimeter of the bunker.
"Logan—" I turn to my right and look at him. "Fill your dad's men in on what's going on tonight. I need them to make sure no one comes downstairs. If Someone in the family needs something, they need to get it for them. Gabriel—"
He steps forward with his hands clenched at his sides ready for a fight.
Out of all his brothers, Quinn annoys him the worst, but the big Cuban would lay his life down for him any day of the week. We all would. "Double check with Ian on everything we need before loading up and make sure it's accounted for."
Reid is doing what he needs to do, which is assisting Ian with the technical aspects, so I let him stay right where he's at staring at the computer monitors. After Gabriel and Logan leave the room, I walk over to Doc who's standing at the table in the corner fixin' himself a cup of coffee.
Grabbing my attention Riggs asks, "what do you need from us, Jake?"
"We need a makeshift triage room constructed downstairs. You should find a few roll away beds down there along with some unopened boxes of medical supplies we may need later. If you and your men can throw that together before we head out—" I leave my words hanging.
Riggs nods, "we take care of our own."
I hate the waiting game as much as the next man but we have no choice in the matter. I turn back to get some coffee. "Bennett," I grab a paper cup, and he fills it with coffee. "I'm gonna need you to make sure your medic bag is fully stocked. Going by what we saw—" I have to pause a moment and fight the lump forming in my throat.
Bennett stirs in the sugar and creamer he poured into his coffee turning it from black to beige. "Not gonna lie, Jake. He looked bad. I'm not saying just his injuries. They've been injecting him with something for days now. We have no idea until we get to him what th
at may be."
The same thought has played through my head more than once. Bennett and I know the tactics these sons of bitches are using. They want him to want the escape the drug gives him after inflicting the amount of pain they make him endure. Break the spirit you break the man. "I still can't wrap my head around the reasoning behind all this," I down some coffee.
"Bad seeds like the Reapers," Doc shrugs. "I don't think they have a clear motive other than they want to prove they can. They thrive off fear. To them, fear and respect go hand in hand."
True. We've seen some shit. Watched people die. Innocent people. All to invoke fear. They used fear to bend people to their will. "I'd rather deal with that scenario than bury one of my family members," I admit.
Doc clasps his hand on my shoulder. "Me too, brother—me too."
For the next hour, we wait. Needing to keep busy I join some of the other men in prepping for what we all hope will be tonight's mission to bring Quinn home, so I take the time to go upstairs and check on the women. I find them huddled in the room where Victoria and Quentin have been sleeping.
Victoria and Emerson immediately jump from where they are seated. Quentin stays resting with his back against the headboard of the bed.
"Jake, tell me you found him," Vicky pleads.
I take in her red-rimmed eyes. "We have a possible location. In another hour me and the rest of the men will be heading out," I inform her.
LOST KING: THE KINGS OF RETRIBUTION MC Page 16
