Undercover in the Dark

by Ann Jensen

  Hawk flipped open a folder in front of him. “Avery Perez. Born in Camden, New Jersey. Entered the foster care system at age eight. Graduated in three years from Rutgers with a degree in Criminal Justice. Hired by the Drug Enforcement Agency, graduated training with honors. Worked undercover for four years the last two as a money launderer for the Cartels.” He looked up and held her gaze. “Accused of murdering her partner Nathan Chatham and taking bribes to give confidential information to those same cartels. You killed two women while in jail and managed to escape during transport with the help of unnamed accomplices. And now you’re a bad thief.” He flipped the folder shut.

  Avery shook her head, pissed at his obvious taunting. She knew what the file probably contained. She had stolen a file exactly like it from the prosecutor’s house. Like a life could be broken down into only a few pages. Most of the information was bullshit after she entered the DEA. Avery wasn’t sure if that was because of the classified nature of her work or part of the bigger frame job. Yeah, she had been undercover, but the things listed weren’t even close to the truth that had been her life.

  “What do you want me to say?”

  “Who helped you escape?” Hawk’s gaze was intense. He might have graying hair, but nothing about him was old or weak. If she was anyone else, he might be intimidating, but when you have faced drug lords and psychopaths his hard stare was only mildly impressive.

  “Why do you care?”

  Sharp leaned forward on the desk, and Max took a step closer to her. It was hard to read their body language, but it seemed like Sharp was threatening her and Max was stepping in to defend her, but that couldn’t be right.

  “Answer his question,” Sharp growled. His deep voice had nothing on Max’s.

  She raised an eyebrow. “I know you all think you are scary with the muscles and leather you got going on, but seriously, if I didn’t answer questions when being threatened with rape and beatings I’m not going to be intimidated by stern voices and big muscles.”

  “Behave, Wildcat. We’re trying to help you.” Max’s voice sounded exasperated.

  It was so tempting to trust him. She was near the end of her rope with no other leads other than these men and the files from the FBI agent that she didn’t understand. She had considered trying to kidnap Agent Taylor but no matter how many laws she had broken in the last month, she didn’t think torturing a man to get answers was something even the new her could do.

  “No one helped me escape.”

  Sharp snorted. “You escaped two trained guards while shackled in the rear of a van. I saw your moves downstairs and they are impressive but not enough to overcome weapons and restraints.”

  Her laugh held no humor. “I didn’t escape from the back of a van. I escaped from a shack in the woods while one of them was undressing to rape me and the other was transferring my shackles to a rusty bed frame.” The memory of what happened in that dirty room that smelled of mold and animal shit tried to rise up. She clenched her fists and pushed it down.

  “They were raping you?” Max’s anger was like a hot wave while Hawk's and Sharp’s gazes had gone cold.

  At least these men had enough of a soul to not condone rape. The world was filling up with shades of gray the more she looked around. All criminals weren’t evil and all law men weren’t good. It had been the hardest part of her time in jail. Letting go of the ignorant belief in pure good and evil.

  “Trying. I disabled them both and escaped.” She gritted her teeth as a wave of nausea turned her stomach. “Wasn’t sure if Jones was going to survive after I shot him with his own gun. Didn’t much care as his pants were undone and he had said he was going to tear me up before he killed me.”

  “What the fuck?” Sharp pushed back and paced a few steps behind his president.

  Hawk studied her like searching for a hidden meaning in her words. She was used to people not believing her, and was ready for these men to be the same. She was surprised when he settled back into his chair and asked, “Did they tell you why they attacked you?”

  “Other than the obvious part of them being assholes?” She shook her head. “Yeah, the money on my head had gotten too tempting to pass up. But if they were going to kill me anyway, they might as well have fun first.”

  “Fuck.” Max’s curse said it all.

  The price on her head had steadily increased every month she was in jail. It had reached ten thousand dollars the first time she had learned of it. Her cell mate, desperate for drug money, had jumped her in the shower with an improvised shiv. The guard who was supposed to be watching her had been conveniently distracted. Over the next few months the amount had grown and when the guards attacked her, they claimed it was a hundred thousand dollars. The people funding that money was up for speculation, but she guessed it was the cartel. Mateo had been a big player in Denver with family members higher up in the cartel. If they blamed her for his death, they would probably not stop until they killed her. Knowing that was hard because that meant even if she managed to clear her name, she would probably always be in danger.

  “Yeah, sucks to be me.” Avery laughed. “Life is just one big party, right?”

  “All right, Cat, you are going to tell us everything and we are going to see what we can do.” Hawk’s voice held both demand and promise.

  Shock hit her like a blow to the chest. “Why?”

  Avery looked at the three men in the room dressed in black with biker vests proclaiming them outlaws. She wasn’t about to turn down help, but if this came with some hidden price, she wanted to know about it up front. “No offense, but why would a bunch of gun-running criminals be interested in helping out an ex-DEA agent who is wanted by the law?”

  She did have information they needed, but there was no way they knew that. She paid her debts. Regardless if these men helped or not, she would give them the files on their women. If something bad happened to those funny crazy girls, she would never forgive herself.

  Sharp looked offended, but Hawk steepled his fingers in front of his face. “What have you heard about the Dark Sons?”

  “You run guns and a protection racket. You have connections to lots of other criminal organizations. Since you don’t ever get involved with drugs, you weren’t anything but a footnote in DEA files I read.”

  Hawk nodded and leaned back. “Every man in this chapter, every member of the Dark Sons nationally, has one thing in common outside our Patch. It is the only thing that can’t be ignored or overlooked when you want to be one of us. We, all of us, have served at least three years in service to our country or a cause bigger than the individual. Some have done that in the usual manner by serving overseas in the military,” he nodded to Sharp, “others have gone less traditional routes.” His gaze flicked to Max. “What that means is every one of us knows what it means to put the needs of a larger purpose over our own desires. Even if doing so ended in betrayal or abandonment once our time was up. The Dark Sons are loyal to our own. Max wants to help you, so we will all help you no matter what you think of who we are.”

  His words were a slap in the face. She had been judging them without all the information. Running guns was wrong, but that didn’t mean the people who did it were inherently evil. Hell, how many times had she seen operations in her own organization that looked evil from the outside. It was nice to believe that what they did served a greater good, but often the bad guys got away with it and the agents had broken the law for nothing.

  “I apologize.” The words were bitter on her tongue, even if she meant them. “It is hard to trust when so many have turned on you.”

  “You going to let us take care of this for you?” Max’s question fired back up all the anger she had released.

  “No, but if you want to help me clear my name I am willing to take that help.” There was no way she was being cut out of this. She needed to be part of everything to regain control of her own life. She wouldn’t hand everything over and sit back trusting they would take care of things for her.

&
nbsp; “It’s not safe,” Max growled, waking up urges she had thought had been fully satisfied. “You are on the most wanted list with the cops. You need to go into hiding. We’ll handle this.”

  The patronizing meaning behind his words was like a match to her anger. “I’m not going to sit back. This is my life. You cavemen might think women are only good for one thing, but fuck that. I help or I’m gone.”

  Max stepped closer, and she jumped to her feet, not willing to let him loom over her in some macho attempt at intimidation. “Where are you going to go, Wildcat? Back to that shitty hotel with the cash under the mattress and a pathetic arsenal of weapons?”

  How the fuck had they found her hotel? Her bruises throbbed as her muscles clenched, ready for a fight. Her car. They must have found something to lead them back to her room. While she had been here, they must have been busy boys. “Don’t you worry about me. I can take care of myself. Think I’m impressed that you can break into a twenty-year-old car and find one of my safe-houses? I think you should be worried more about your own women.” She leaned in, getting up into his face. “The culinary student, yoga instructor, hacker, and nurse are in danger and you don’t even know about it.”

  Max stepped back like she had slapped him. She hadn’t meant to let that drop, but it was like Max triggered all her reckless tendencies. There was no point in backing down. She would trade the info she had for the information she needed and forget all about this condescending asshole and his band of leather wearing Brothers. From the angry looks on their faces, they were no longer interested in helping her anyway.

  “What the fuck do you know about our women?” Sharp’s angry question hung in the air.

  Avery took a deep breath, pulling herself back together. She blanked her face. “I know that a very dangerous man is collecting information on them as targets. I have that information and will trade it and the identity of that man for what you have then we go our separate ways.” The last part of the sentence hurt because she didn’t want to never see Max again, but it was the only logical thing.

  Sharp looked ready to come around the desk and strangle her, but Hawk’s hand on his arm seemed to hold him in place. She turned to see Max’s disappointed expression. Had he been imagining something more between them than the one time? It was silly to think so. The chemistry between them might be off the charts, but that didn’t make up for the fact that anything between them was impossible.

  “And if we don’t have the information you need?” Max’s words were cold, but his eyes showed the anger underneath.

  Would she hold back the information? No. That wasn’t who she was. The adrenaline seemed to flow out of her body. She slumped with exhaustion, the last of her reserves expended. Why was she bothering with this posturing? She was tired, body and soul. Tomorrow she would find the strength to go on, but not at the expense of innocent women. She sighed. “Fuck it. The information is in a safe behind the back right side panel of my car. Bring my car here and I’ll give it to you and get out of your hair. I’ll give you a contact number and hope you’ll have enough decency to contact me if you find anything.”

  Hawk’s mouth quirked up at the corner. “Put her in lockdown at your place, Max. Talk some sense into her.”

  Lockdown didn’t seem like something she would enjoy. Hell, she knew she wouldn’t, but what choice did she have? Maybe after some sleep and some time to soak everything in she would resist, but for now she would play along.

  It would save her from having to find a place to sleep until she could get her things back or stocking back up. She may have pretended to have multiple safe-houses, but the truth was the hotel room and her car was it.

  Sharp shook his head. “Where did you get the files?”

  “Agent Victor Taylor, the asshole I think set me up. The files were on his computer. I didn’t know who the people were till I saw them sitting out there.” Avery gestured behind her to the main area of the Clubhouse.

  “Was it just Pixie, Val, Tari, and Cami in the files?” Max asked.

  “No, there were a lot more but I don’t know if they all have to do with your Club.”

  Hawk looked over at Sharp. “Send out an alert until we learn more. Make sure the Brothers keep their Old Ladies tight.”

  “There were some children in those files too,” she couldn’t help but add.

  “Right. Families too.” Sharp strode past them and out the door without another word.

  Hawk looked up at her and Max standing in front of him his face tight. “It’s a good thing you offered up those files, Cat. I don’t take well to blackmail. You aren’t family yet and there is only so much I’m willing to take from a Civilian. Get her out of here before I change my mind.”

  Max grabbed her arm, and she didn’t fight him. What the hell did he mean by she wasn’t family yet?

  “He knows my name isn’t Cat, right?”

  Max’s chuckle wasn’t comforting as he escorted her out of the office.

  “It is now.”

  Chapter 12

  Home is where your crazy matches the curtains.

  * * *

  Max had brought no one other than his Brothers to his house, so opening the door for the surprisingly compliant woman at his side sent a strange sense of tightness to his stomach. The name Cat suited her. Sleek grace, vicious claws, and a dangerous aura that made you want to get close. She didn’t realize how close she had come to finding out how not on the right side of the law his Brothers were. With Old Ladies in danger, they would not have let her walk out of that room without giving up the information.

  As a rule his Brothers didn’t hurt innocents, but every one of them would throw the rulebook out the window for the safety of family. He didn’t want to imagine where that would have placed him. The volatile connection between him and Cat was new and intense. Would he have stepped between her and his Brothers if she had refused to tell? Did it matter? If she was the type of person to use the safety of women for her own means, he hoped it would have killed the attraction between them.

  “Wow, you really like bikes.”

  His house on the Dark Sons compound was the first place he had ever called home. For the last three years he had filled it with things he loved. The walls and shelves were covered with a mix of memorabilia from classic Harleys to his favorite Honda CRF450 that he used in motocross. Several pictures on the walls were gifts from his Brothers, framed pictures of him doing stunts at the charity events they put on like the one that was happening tomorrow.

  “I do.” He stepped up behind her as she looked up at a picture. It was a great shot that had captured his bike and the sky at an angle that made it look like he was flying. “It’s the ultimate mix of freedom and control.”

  She looked up at him and he wanted nothing more than to take her lips and claim her body again, but they had things to work out. He stepped back and enjoyed the disappointed glare she gave him.

  She cleared her throat. “Who is that in the picture?”

  “It’s me.” Max moved to the kitchen and pulled out two beers from the fridge. “You want a drink?”

  She followed him and sat on a stool at the breakfast bar. Her wince as her ass hit the chair made him have to hide a grin. “Sure. That’s an amazing photo.”

  They sat in silence for a few awkward minutes, sipping their drinks.

  “I’ll show you your room.”

  “I guess we should talk.”

  They spoke at the same time.

  He chuckled. Of course, she wouldn’t want to avoid the conversation. His Wildcat was anything but meek.

  She stuck out her hand. “Hi, I’m Avery, escaped prisoner trying to clear my name by stealing information from your biker gang.” She dropped her hand onto the counter with a huff. “I feel like I’m living a bad made for TV spy movie.” Her sigh was filled with exhaustion. “Not sure anyone would believe the plot though.”

  He placed his hand on hers and gave it a squeeze. “Club, not gang, and yes, life is rarely as clean cut
as the movies. The good guys don’t always wear the badge and the bad guys don’t always have a goatee.” He took a sip of his beer and smiled. “Besides, you have a new name now so your new story can start now.”

  “Is that how it works? New name wipes out the past.” Her raised disbelieving eyebrow made him chuckle. “That would be convenient but not practical. I still have a price on my head no matter what anyone calls me.”

  “Doesn’t wipe out the past. I have found that it can let you set yourself on a new path.”

  She took a pull off her beer and looked away, obviously uncomfortable with the idea. “How come you don’t get a cool name like all your Brothers? Was Studly already taken, so you refused to settle on anything else?”

  “Brat.” The abrupt change of subject was an obvious deflection, but he let her do it. “Max is my road name. Ever see the Mad Max movies? Well after watching me do motocross my Brothers thought it was fitting.”

  “Ink mentioned that the bike on your tattoo was from there. Guess I didn’t put it together.” She looked down at where the tattoo was on her own body. “Hope you don’t mind me stealing your idea.”

  “Not at all, but I’m surprised you went through with it.”

  “Why? Did you think a little pain would be a deterrent to me?” Her smile was more of a baring of teeth.

  “Put your claws away, Wildcat.” He paused and waited until she took a long breath. “No, because you obviously weren’t actually there to get a tattoo. How did they talk you into it?”

  “Didn’t, actually. Well, maybe they pricked my pride a little.” She took another deep breath and looked him in the eyes. “I didn’t want to blow my cover, but also ever since I saw it on you, it’s become like a symbol of both freedom and safety.” She shrugged. “Must seem silly to you, but I needed something to focus on while I was in there. Finding you was the only focus I had and this…” She gestured to her hip. “The only clue.”

  “Doesn’t seem silly at all.” He ran a finger over the label of his beer. “I got it to claim who I wanted to be.”