by Vivian Lux
J. interrupted quickly. "She said that your contact was being watched?"
Case nodded and swallowed down the sick bile that rose to her throat. "She said that Ingrid got a call at like four in the fucking morning, telling her to keep out of their territory. And then the fucker told her she looked real pretty while she slept."
J. sucked in his teeth. "Los fucking Lobos?"
"That's what Bruce said," Crash interjected. "Stupid fat fuck got greedy and tried to double dip."
"So what the fuck do we do now?"
"I don't know,” Case heard his voice breaking and tried to clear his throat to hide it.
"Teach knows," said Crash. "I don't know if he's gonna call Fernando or what?"
J. made that same fearful sound with his teeth. "That dude is stone cold. I knew some of his guys when I was in the pen. They were loyal as fuck."
"Is he as evil as they say?"
J. looked at the ceiling. "I tried not to listen to that shit when I was in. But I got the feeling that he's a businessman first. We might have a fucking chance of saving your girl."
At that Crash looked sharply at them again, his mouth working silently.
"Case!" Teach bellowed across the garage, before the coughing took him again. Case hurried to the office with the rest of the Sons following quickly behind.
"They want to talk to you." Teach's eyes were full of regret as he slowly handed him the receiver.
"Who the fuck is this?" Case growled, ready to reach through the phone and murder whoever was on the other side.
"Casey?" Her voice was shaking.
"Lexi!" Case whirled around, wanting to run everywhere at once. He clutched the receiver. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"
She took a shuddering breath that he could hear over the line, then a voice rumbled in the background. "I could do that better if you stop pointing that fucking gun at me," he heard her spit, and he felt a simultaneous rush of pride and terror.
"They want me to tell you that this is going to be real easy." Her voice was trembling so hard now he could barely understand her. "Your whole supply in exchange for...our lives."
He heard a scrabbling noise and then a cold voice over the receiver. "Listen to the little pelirroja. She does have such pretty hair."
He heard a scuffle and then a small yelp from Lexi. "Don't you fucking touch her!" he bellowed. "I swear to go I will kill you with my bare hands if she even so much as has a scratch..."
Teach roughly yanked the phone from his hand. "Shut up," he hissed. "You aren't helping her." He turned his back to the watching Sons and spoke in a low, calm voice into the receiver. The blood thudded too loudly in Case's ears for him to hear.
"They have Lexi?" Crash was still not understanding. "How the fuck did she get mixed up in this? Lexi didn't do anything wrong."
Before Case could formulate an answer, Teach set the receiver down. "It's done," he said, his voice ragged. "Our supply for their lives. Those are the terms."
Everyone fell silent. The heavy, oppressive stretch lasted too long. Crash looked wildly at each of them. "Well what the fuck? Those are fine! Why the fuck is this even a question, of course we'll agree!"
"That's it? Then we're clear? No more random shooting?" Mac's voice was gravelly.
"Yeah, what are our guarantees?" Doctor D. interjected.
"What the fuck is wrong with you assholes!" Crash shouted, the veins in his throat sticking out and his face turning red. "You wanna play god with two innocent girls' lives? Who the fuck are you?"
"Cool down, Crash. No one said we weren't going to accept."
"Well it shouldn't even be up for fucking debate. Jesus fuck, let's get this over with, they must be terrified." He was shaking his head and the muttering started up again. "She's a good girl...a good girl..."
Case had been holding his tongue throughout Crash's outburst, his heart sinking further and further. There was no way this wasn't going to hurt Crash. He only wondered how badly.
"Fuck," Case muttered grimly. "Okay what else do we need to know?"
"I'm sending you, Crash and J. to make the drop." Mac made a disgruntled sound and Teach silenced him with a look. "We need this to be quick, Mac. In and out. They have three guys at the drop point already. They're gonna pat you down, of course, but bring your pieces anyway. Dump the fucking supply and grab the girls and get the fuck out of there. Don't linger and don't trash talk." He said this last bit directly to Crash who was still punching the air agitatedly.
"We'll need to take two of the vehicles, make room to get the girls out of there." As Road Captain, J. was always one to be thinking through the logistics.
"Then let's fucking go!" Crash yelled. "Get the shit loaded and get it the fuck out of here."
Mac and Doctor D were already moving, hefting the boxes of pills over their shoulders and letting them slam into the back of Crash's pickup. "No one said they needed to be intact," Doctor D. growled, giving one of the boxes a punch for good measure.
The address was over in Kensington. Crash and J. were in his pickup following Case's Jeep up through block after block of shut-down factories and abandoned warehouses. The skyline still glimmered to the south, but this felt like another city entirely.
Case slipped from the driver's seat, running his hand absently over his boot, squeezing the reassuring shape of his hunting knife. Then he dropped to the ground behind the wheel of the Jeep and scanned the area.
Trash blew across the empty lot across the street only to get caught up against a sagging chain link fence. It must have been a parking lot for workers when this area bustled with manufacturing, but now it was a snow-covered field.
And it was open. Too open. Case's instincts pricked and he felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. They were sitting ducks out here. Too vulnerable. When Crash's pickup pulled in behind him, he held up his hand for them to pause as he continued to get his bearings.
The warehouse was a long, low-slung building that stretched for an entire city block. Too open again, he thought grimly. There were enough hiding places for an entire army to ambush them. His hand wanted to move reflexively to his sidearm, but he stopped himself at the last moment, aware of being watched.
"Well, this is a grim fucking state of affairs," J. remarked.
"I guess we chance it?" Crash asked.
"Grab a box and drop it on the sidewalk. If they're watching us, they'll let us know what to do."
J. nodded and reached into the back of Crash's pickup. He grabbed the cardboard box full of various prescription drugs, a shit ton of money, and held it out straight out in front of his chest. "Yo!" he shouted into the silence. "Special fucking delivery!" Then he dropped the box to the ground where it landed with a dull thud.
There was a faint shout from inside of the building and all three men put their hands on their guns. "Don't move," Case hissed.
The heavy metal doors of the warehouse swung open slightly. Only a crack. No one came to greet them.
"Who said hospitality was a thing of the past?" J. said.
"Have I mentioned how much I hate this Mafia shit?" Case replied.
They trudged silently up the pitted and icy walkway to the gray double doors. "Get back," Case ordered them. "I'll go first." He nudged the door wider and it swung in easily on its hinges, an echoing creak sounding across the empty floor. The ceiling was low-slung and seemed to swallow the sound as soon as it started.
"Nice greeting!" he called into the gloom. "Where are your manners?"
He heard a grim chuckle. There was a loud clunking noise and then he was blinded as all the lights came on at once. He blinked and staggered back in surprise,
When his eyes adjusted to the light, the first thing he saw was Lexi's frightened eyes staring helplessly at him
And then he saw the gun pointed at her head.
Chapter 38
Lexi
The hood over my head made my hearing extra acute. So I heard the trucks before my captors did. My heart started racing, half in hope, half in fear
The shout went up, and I was yanked roughly up to my feet. I gasped as they tore the hood from my head, yanking out a chunk of hair with it. I blinked as my eyes adjusted from blackness to the gray gloom of a huge empty warehouse.
I heard a squeak and saw that Ingrid had her hood ripped off as well. She was gasping in the dank air. I wanted to do the same, but I didn't want to give the man who currently gripped my arm the satisfaction.
"Well hello, roja," he grinned at me, showing a mouthful of capped teeth.
"Let go of me," I spat.
His eyes snapped. They were a strange yellow color, more lizard-like than human. "Shut your fucking mouth and stop wiggling. I haven't even given you a reason to wiggle yet," he snarled, grabbing his crotch lasciviously with his other hand.
"Gomez, shut your fucking mouth, they're coming," the man at the door called out.
The only sound was the crunch of footfall on the snow and my heavy panicked breathing. The man holding Ingrid shifted her in front of him as he trained his gun on the doorway and rage boiled in my stomach.
When I heard Case's voice I had to bite my tongue to keep from screaming his name. "Where are your manners?" I heard him call.
Gomez laughed and nodded his head and the man at the door threw a switch. We were all blinded as the yellow fluorescent lights kicked on with a clunk and an ominous hum. Like the sound of a million angry bees.
I felt the cold metal press into my temple. "You stay with me, roja. Don't you move."
Case's eyes were fixed on me and I willed him to stop. I didn't want them to know we loved each other. I didn't want to give them that ammunition.
"You saw us drop the shit. One box is on the sidewalk, the rest is in the back of the truck."
"No one does anything yet," Gomez shouted. "Rico, grab their guns."
The man at the door darted out and patted Case down. He spread his legs grimly, watching the two guns trained on him. "Kinda seems a little unfair, dontcha think?"
"I don't give a fuck," Gomez spat, the spittle spraying my cheek.
"Three pieces," Rico called. "They're clean."
"Right. Go move the shit. They stay here."
Ingrid made a sobbing noise as the door swung open. "I want to go home," she moaned. "I want to go home." She was still in her pajamas, her white-blond hair caught back in a dirty old headband. Without her trademark eye makeup, her red-rimmed eyes looked lashless, like a frightened rabbit. She swayed slightly as she stared at the door fixedly. "I want to go home," she repeated
"It's almost over," I whispered. "Just hang on."
Case held up his hands and moved forward. "You got your shit. Just give them over," he said. His voice was cool and calm but I could hear the simmering rage underneath.
The door banged open. "Three boxes!" called Rico.
Gomez fixed his feline eyes on Case, whose fists were clenched tightly at his sides. "That's it?"
"That's it."
I felt the barrel of the gun press harder into my temple. "How do we know?"
Case stared at me, his jaw working. "Look, asshole. Go ask Bruce if you want. I'm sure he's dying for a visit right about now. But that's all he got us." He stepped forward, spreading his hands. "That's all we got. So just cut this macho bullshit and give over the girls."
Gomez made a low, disappointed noise and lowered the gun slightly. I let out the breath I had been holding for only a second until he lifted his hand to my head. "Such a pity, really," he said, twirling a finger in a lock of my hair. "Boss didn't even let us sample her pretty little fire-snatch." He twisted his fingers tightly and gave the lock a yank. I tried to stay stoic as tears came unbidden to my eyes.
Crash made a strangled noise and moved towards us. Rico shouted and trained his gun on him and Gomez and the still unnamed silent man holding Ingrid followed suit.
"Get back, you fucking idiot," J. grabbed Crash roughly by the shoulders.
Gomez's laugh rang out in the echoing stillness of the warehouse. "Holy shit, pelirroja, that your boyfriend?"
I swallowed and remained silent.
"You really should answer me what I talk to you." He turned my head, forcing me to face him, then pinched my cheeks painfully in with his fingers. I squeezed my eyes shut rather than look into his strange yellow eyes. "Hey!" he shouted. "Look at me!"
A cracking blow sent my head snapping back and I fell back to the floor. I flung out my still-bound hands, futilely trying to catch myself. My elbow hit the concrete first, sending a jolt of pins and needles up my arm. A sob tore its way free from my throat.
Crash bellowed like an enraged bear and suddenly everything was happening at once.
In all my nineteen years as the daughter of a cop, I never once heard a gun go off. I never knew it was so fucking loud.
I rolled onto my stomach and covered my head, daring to look up for only a moment to see Ingrid still standing frozen in fear. "Ingrid, get down!" I shrieked. She turned as if in a dream and reached her still bound hands to me. I summoned all my courage and made to move to her.
Out of the whirl of dust and debris I saw Case come shouting towards us. I scrambled to my feet and turned to rush to him when I caught a glimpse of the glinting knife in his hand. Gomez's gun clicked futilely and he frantically scrambled to reload.
But not before Case had him by the throat. With a strangled curse, he sank the knife into Gomez's belly right up to the hilt. He let him crumple to the floor.
Case's body hit mine as hard as a freight train. The wind was knocked from me as we both tumbled to the floor. I lay there gasping as the dust seared my eyes, clinging to him as tightly as I could.
I blinked as the shapes slowly swirled in to view. Rico lay slumped near the doorway, ash-white and clutching his side. The silent man was on his knees, crawling on the floor and swearing in Spanish.
From out of the dust, the figure of Crash materialized. He slowly took in how I clung to Case as he covered me with his body. I saw the shock register in Crash's eyes.
J. came sprinting forward. "We need to get the fuck out of here, like right now." He grabbed Ingrid, who shrieked reflexively before allowing herself to be led by him. "Pull your shirt up over your nose," he told her as she coughed and choked.
Case didn't say a word to me, only grabbed me up in his arms like I was a rag doll and ran for the exit.
"Call Teach right now," J. called to Crash. "Tell 'em to get the Storm Riders on this situation. We need cleanup and fucking fast."
Crash whipped out his cell phone, but all the while J. bundled Ingrid into the truck, his eyes were on Case and me.
Chapter 39
Case
"You're gonna be blowing black shit outta your nose for a good while, but other than that, you're fine." Doctor D. pulled the stethoscope back from Lexi's chest, and she shot him a wan smile.
Case ran his fingers through her hair again. He couldn't help himself. Ever since they had returned to the clubhouse, he had been touching her hair. It reassured him that she was alive and in one piece.
"You're going to be okay," he repeated, telling himself as much as he told her.
"I am okay," she said with finality. "You saved me."
Case felt a twinge at his heart. "You wouldn't have been in that at all if it weren't for me."
"Not true," she laughed darkly. "I was friends with Ingrid before we...met again."
He nodded slowly. That thought should have made him feel less guilty. Maybe in time it would. Instead now all he wanted to do was to make it up to her in the only way he knew how.
They were in the bunkhouse and there were people everywhere. When the call came up for backup, the Storm Riders had come down from everywhere and rained hellfire down on the warehouse. This wasn't over, not by a long shot, but it showed that the Sons of Steel had backup and clout that Fernando Lopez hadn't considered. He had vastly underestimated them, and paid for it with the lives of three of his men.
Those thoughts only sprinted through his mind before his desir
e chased them away. He ran his fingers through Lexi's hair again and tipped her chin up with his finger.
"You'll be okay?"
She looked at his face, her eyes darting back and forth like she was trying to read him. It never failed to disarm him when she did that. "I will be better," she sighed, "as soon as you kiss me."
He dove for her lips like a man possessed. She flung her arms up around his neck, pulling him to her, her tongue meeting and sparring with his as they reclaimed each other once again. He cupped his hands around her buttocks, gripping and kneading them, lifting her to him so that he could taste her lips more easily. She wrapped her legs around his torso and the soft rise of her breasts made his cock stir to life. Her fingers were in his hair just as his were in hers, clutching and stroking.
He heard her gasp and he followed his instinct where it led him. Trailing his lips down her throat he found the junction of her neck and shoulders, that sweet, delicate patch of flesh that never failed to inflame him. She made another noise and he felt his own desire tear a growl from his throat.
Then there was another noise. A low hiss that came from neither one of them.
His face was still buried in Lexi's neck, so he didn't give a fuck until she whispered, "Crash."
He looked up and saw his brother framed in the doorway of the bunkhouse, his dark brows knitted together, his piercing blue eyes showing nothing but rage and betrayal.
"Finally fucking noticed me, huh?" he snarled.
Lexi slowly slid from Case's arms. "Crash," she ventured.
"You could have at least told me."
"There wasn't time..." she started.
"Lexi, no," Case slid in front of her. "Crash, man, I am sorry. This didn't just happen, I didn't steal your girl..."
"Shut the fuck up." Crash's bellowing shout rang through the garage and the milling bikers fell silent. A throbbing vein beat at Crash's temple, his face was a livid red. The sight of his rage, the depth of his feelings, took Case by surprise. "I see how it fucking is. I've seen it for a long fucking time, but I didn't want to admit it to myself, you know? I know my thoughts get messed up and shit, so I wanted to blame it on that. But this?" he pointed accusingly at the entwined couple, "well this proves it...."
