He heard a chair scrape against the floor, followed by Axle’s command. “Sit down and eat.” The distant sound of the chair sliding across the floor confirmed she’d obeyed.
With one person in mind, his feet carried him straight to her. She sat with her back to him when he approached. The closer he got, the more he realized she wasn’t simply sitting on the couch to eat. Her shoulders shook softly at first, but the shaking grew more intense with his every step. Her quiet sobs and muffled wails reached his chest before his ears, causing a tightening he could only describe as a vise around him. Her face was mashed into a pillow, giving her the only private place she had to completely melt down.
He wasn’t sure which was worse—seeing her like that and not being able to comfort her, allowing her to believe he’d helped put her in that predicament, or walking away to give her the privacy she needed and deserved.
His hand hovered over her head, waiting to stroke her hair.
His arms ached to lift her from the couch and cradle her against his chest until her tears dried.
His lips craved to claim hers, to kiss away the pain she felt until she remembered the love they shared.
His ego strained against his loyalty, wanting to defy Nick and burn the case down around them when he freed the girls and kidnapped Elle for himself.
Instead, he backed away from her. And decided that was definitely the worst-case scenario.
“How could you? I loved you. I thought you loved me.” She whispered each sentiment to herself between gasps for air.
I was so wrong, he thought. I’ve never been so wrong. Letting her think I’m behind any of this is definitely the worst.
22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“Are you and your boys a bunch of ignorant, inbred assholes?” Detective Gough barged into the officers’ area of the Devil’s Dominion clubhouse. “I mean, I’ve busted some dumbass criminals before, but you and your boys take the fucking cake.”
Headbanger leaned back in his chair and leveled his death-glare at her. “Either you were dropped on your head repeatedly as a child, or you’ve lost your bitch mind.”
“Is that right?” She pinned him with her own pissed-off stare. “Well, I haven’t lost my bitch mind enough to let a fucking undercover federal agent join my outlaw motorcycle club and not even fucking know it.”
Headbanger’s face turned beet red. “What the fuck did you just say?”
“You heard me. Shit rolls downhill, you know? After all your fuck-ups with a simple snatch and grab of a couple of actresses, I really shouldn’t be surprised. But you’ve effectively fucked us both. Your boys grabbed Elle Sinclair and her makeup artist in front of Jax Hart. Jax went to the media with it. Do you have any clue how much pressure gets put on us to quickly solve anything to do with our stars?
“The governor called the mayor. The mayor called the DA. The DA called the chief of police. The chief chewed my ass up one side and down the other. Somewhere in the chain of command, they demanded to let the FBI take over, but the DEA confirmed there’s already an undercover agent in your club. So they have jurisdiction to protect their asset.
“How the fuck can you not tell one of your men is a federal agent? That’s why you and your boys are stupid, inbred assholes. That undercover agent has already made me, I can guarantee that. He just hasn’t been debriefed to rat me out yet.”
“Get the fuck out of here. You ever come at me with one ounce of disrespect again, I’ll put a bullet between your fucking eyes and feed your goddamn body to the sharks.” He stood and rounded his desk, charging toward her like an out-of-control bull. When she didn’t move fast enough, he grabbed her with one hand, opened the door with the other hand, and shoved her outside. Before she could speak, he slammed the door shut in her face.
“Bone,” he bellowed. “Get in here.”
Within seconds, his sergeant at arms stood in his office awaiting orders. “Yes, sir?”
“Take Nutcrusher, and you two put a bullet in Gough’s, Doorman’s, and Renegade’s skulls. Then rip the patches and rockers off their vests and bring them back to me, soaked in their blood.”
Shock crossed Bone’s face before he nodded. “Renegade? He betrayed us?”
“That fucking detective just said we have an undercover agent in our club. Doorman is the first man I suspected. The way he got up and fought back after his initiation should’ve tipped me off, but I ignored it. If he’s an agent, Renegade must be too. Either way, he endorsed a fed, and he has to go.”
“I fucking knew it. Renegade was behind my brother getting busted at that bar, I’m sure of it. I’ll gladly take care of them both.”
Bone went into the armory and took four Glock 9mm pistols and extra clips, two for him and two for Nutcrusher. One bullet to each of their skulls wouldn’t be enough. He walked through the clubhouse, calling for his friend, when a door opened suddenly and a half-dressed Nutcrusher rushed out.
“What? Where’s the fucking fire?” He buttoned his pants and pulled up the zipper. The girl he was with sat up on the bed, wide-eyed while she watched him.
“We have orders.” Bone handed him two of the handguns, effectively conveying the rest of the message.
“Who?” Nutcrusher asked, tucking the guns into the back of his pants.
“Renegade and the fucking Doorman. But first, Gough.”
“What? Why?”
“They’re undercover feds, and that bitch detective rubbed the prez the wrong way.”
The two men left in the truck, heading toward the detective’s apartment. Bone couldn’t help but hear what Headbanger threatened Gough with—and he knew his boss didn’t make idle threats. She’d die exactly as he’d described, and when she saw them approaching, she’d know exactly why.
Nutcrusher knocked on her door while Bone flattened his back against the wall and waited. The peephole darkened as she peeked through it, but Nutcrusher left his expression neutral. He sensed her hesitancy and considered kicking the door in just before the deadbolt turned.
“What do you want?” Her bravado was fake, but he had to give her credit for trying.
Bone swung around, his gun drawn, and ordered her out of the apartment. Her eyes cut to the side, and Nutcrusher knew she planned to run. He grabbed her arm and jerked her toward him. She lost her balance and fell against his chest. With a gun pressed into her spine, they walked her to the truck and forced her into the cab between them.
“What’s going on? Where are you taking me?”
“Detective Gough, we thought you were smart,” Bone taunted.
“You fucked up royally, sweetheart,” Nutcrusher added, knowing she hated that endearment. “Not only did you threaten the prez, you disrespected him and failed to identify a fed in our midst before he’d gained too much intel on us. You’re supposed to be our police protection. You suck at your job.”
The false bravado she had just moments before was nowhere to be found. Realization dawned, and she understood how dire her situation was. “Guys, come on. We can fix this. I’ll help you find him, and we’ll take him out of play. I have a lot riding on him being out of the picture too.”
“Not anymore, sweetheart. You’re out completely. No sense in worrying about your job anymore. Remember how Headbanger said you’d die? One custom-made death package coming up.” Bone loved his club and was loyal to his boss. If he’d learned one valuable lesson in life, that lesson was loyalty was most important.
They drove to an abandoned mall and marched her inside, with Detective Gough pleading for her life the entire way. With every word, they mocked her, repeating her pleas in abnormally high-pitched voices. Nutcrusher pushed her down on her knees while Bone chambered a round. He lowered the top of the barrel to her forehead, lining it up directly between her eyes, and smiled when he pulled the trigger, despite her flowing tears and frantic requests.
“Well, that was easy.” Bone smirked and spread out the plastic tarp. “Grab her feet and put her on this. We’ll drive up toward
the country club and dump her into the ocean.”
They rolled her up and carried her back to the truck, throwing her in the back with no regard. Nutcrusher slid across the driver’s seat, fired up the truck, and drove north out of the city until they reached an isolated area along the coast. From the top of the cliff overlooking the rocky shore, they unwrapped her from the tarp and tossed her lifeless body over the side. The waves crashed against the rocks, and the foamy plumes leapt into the air from the force and claimed her as part of the sea.
“Goodbye, sweetheart.” Nutcracker watched the ebb and flow of the waves pull her out into the deeper water until she was no longer visible. “The current and the fishes have her now,” he heckled.
“Let’s go kill those undercover pigs now,” Bone replied.
“You really think it’s them? She didn’t say two agents. She said she’d help us find him. What if we kill two brothers, and they’re not undercover agents?”
“It’s them, all right. My gut has told me it was Renegade from the start. The Doorman made his way into the group all too easy with his weapons and endorsement from Renegade.”
“Spider wanted him too.”
“And where is Spider now?”
“Same place these two will be. I say we make them talk first. Find out what they know and who they’ve told. May be useful info to have in the near future. We may be able to avoid a federal raid—or at least laugh at them while they look in the wrong place.”
“Good idea. Maybe we’ll cut their fingers off one knuckle at a time—whether they talk or not. My castration shears have been feeling unappreciated lately.”
By the time Bone and Nutcrusher reached the old clubhouse, night had settled in and darkness permeated the dimly lit rooms. The tension between Shadow and Nick had subsided, but neither had been overly talkative. Shadow watched the two bikers stroll through the house, nonchalantly checking each bedroom and demanding they all come out to the main room. The feeling something major was going down grew with each step they took.
Their demeanor was off. The more they tried to act natural, the more obvious it was they were anything but natural.
The longer they delayed their intentions, the more they showed their hand.
They thought they were smooth and stealthy, when they were transparent as glass and nervous.
Shadow caught Nick’s attention and slid his left index finger along the right side of his nose. An innocuous move to signal his friend to get ready—they would have to fight their way out of the clubhouse at any minute. Shadow’s gaze traveled over their outlines and quickly spotted the two guns each man carried. They came more prepared than they normally were.
“What’s going on?” Nick asked and leaned against the doorframe. His stance hid his right arm, which was bent behind his back so he could reach his gun in a split second.
“Headbanger sent us. Seems there’s a new development and a change in plans for the girls,” Bone replied. “The deal is off, so we can do what we want with them before we put a bullet in their brains.”
“Prez didn’t tell us about any change of plans.” Nick’s fingers firmly gripped the butt of his gun.
“I’m telling you now. He doesn’t have to tell you when I can do it for him.” Bone walked toward Katrina. “Maybe I’ll start with this one.” He ran his callused fingers along her cheek, his sneer conveying the images conjured by his imagination.
“You’re not doing anything to any of these girls unless I hear it directly from the prez. He didn’t give me the okay, so I sure as fuck don’t take your word for anything. These girls have a specific purpose, and I won’t be the one to fuck that up for him.”
“No, you won’t be the one to fuck anything up. I’ll be the one who fucks you up if you talk to me like that again. Call him yourself. While you wait to talk to him, this one will be sucking me off. Come back later,” Nutcrusher replied and wrapped his fingers around Elle’s wrist.
Shadow flinched, an uncharacteristic reaction for him after what years of training and work had drilled into him, but the man in him responded before the spy did when another man touched her or even thought about enjoying any part of her body. Though she still believed the worst about him, he’d protect her with his life. He had to make her believe he was part of the scheme so she wouldn’t give them a reason to suspect or kill her. But there was no way in hell he’d allow Nutcrusher to do anything to her.
“Get your hand off her.” Shadow stepped forward—threatening him openly. “Unless you want to lose that hand for good.”
Nutcrusher looked over at Shadow, a small smile playing on his lips. “You know, Bone always said you were sweet on this one. You wanna watch? See how good she is before you give her a try?”
“You only get one warning. I’m counting down. When I get to zero, I’ll snap that hand off and shove it up your ass. Three, two, one.” Shadow stomped across the floor, his face dark with malicious intent.
Nutcrusher released her wrist, turned to face Shadow, and took a couple of steps backward. When Shadow had moved in front of Elle, effectively blocking her from Nutcrusher’s view with his sheer size, he stopped abruptly. “Just in time. Maybe you’re not as stupid as your nickname suggests. To be clear, the countdown doesn’t start over if you touch her again.”
The room became eerily quiet with the only sounds coming from the ladies’ rapid breathing. Tension filled every square inch as time ticked by slowly. Shadow stood motionless, daring Nutcrusher to say or do the wrong thing one more time. Shadow arched one eyebrow, lifting it slowly as he wordlessly questioned the other man’s intelligence.
“Fine. She’s all yours,” Nutcrusher ceded. “It is strange, though, how protective you are over a girl you don’t even know.”
“I’m protective over this entire play we’re making. You screw it up, you screw me over. Any man who screws me over ends up without a fucking head.”
“You two can’t take a joke for shit,” Bone chimed in. His easy laugh was meant to lighten the mood in the room. But the nervous edge to it contradicted his intent.
“We can take a joke just fine. None of this was fucking funny, though.” Nick adjusted his stance but kept his gun arm hidden.
Nutcrusher moved away from Shadow and Elle, back toward Bone. Shadow sensed they were refortifying their positions, moving back into attack mode by aligning their combined force. Bone pulled his hands from his front pockets, giving Shadow a quick glimpse of something in his hand. He began walking toward Nick, palming something suspicious.
Nick’s keen eyes homed in on Bone’s movements. His fingers gripped his gun, and he mentally prepared for a shootout. The problem was his conscience got in the way. He made a note of where every woman stood and the likelihood she’d be hit in the cross fire. Bone and Nutcrusher wouldn’t care about collateral damage. Nick’s gaze drifted to Shadow, and he caught the tail end of a secret signal.
Shadow slid two fingers across his throat.
Their cover was blown.
Though Nick saw it coming, he remained in place and let Bone think he had the upper hand in his surprise attack. Bone lifted his hand to Nick’s face and pumped the sprayer several times in quick succession. Nick threw his hand up, forcefully knocking Bone backward while wiping his face with his other arm. Bone, shocked Nick wasn’t unconscious on the floor, was temporarily confused and didn’t see Nick’s right hook until it was too late. His head jerked violently to the side, his feet stumbled under his shaky legs, and he went down to the ground. Nick drew his gun and held it on Bone.
Shadow corralled the ladies and rushed them into the kitchen area, toward the door to the garage, and out of the line of fire. He turned in the doorway, ready to fight to the death. With his gun in his hand, he faced Bone and Nutcrusher, resisting the urge to shoot them both in the head, take Elle home, and be done with the entire farce.
“What the fuck was that, Bone?” Nick roared, testing whether their covers were truly blown.
Bone pushed up to stand and g
lared at Nick, his face hard and angry. “We all know what you are, pig. You and your friend here. At least one of you is undercover. I don’t really care which one of you is the rotten pig and which one isn’t—or if you both are. Our orders are to kill you both, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
“You two think you can take us?” Shadow asked, the first genuine smile in weeks covering his face. “By all means, let’s see what you’ve got.”
“Everyone just calm the fuck down. Why would you accuse me of being undercover? I’ve ridden beside you for the last two years, had your back countless times, and you’ve repeatedly insulted me. What the fuck have I ever done to you?”
“You’re the one who put my little brother away. You are an undercover cop, and you had him arrested at that bar almost two years ago. We never had one problem until you joined.” Bone’s face turned beet red, anger and hatred welling up inside him.
“It wasn’t him,” Axle said, entering the room behind Bone. “It was me.”
“You?” Bone whirled around, his jaw slack and his eyes wide. “You’ve been with us for years.”
“And I have so much shit on you, I could put you away tomorrow and you’d never see the light of day again.”
Bone roared with thunderous rage. He moved with lightning speed and drew his gun on Axle. In an instant, Axle’s gun was out, and he fired at Bone first. Bone dropped to the floor, narrowly missing the bullet that passed by his head. Nutcrusher pulled his gun and began shooting, the adrenaline flowing out of control, making his hands shake and the bullets fly indiscriminately.
“Get out of here, wait in the garage,” Shadow yelled to the ladies.
Once they were out of harm’s way, Shadow moved beside Nick, behind cover. “We can’t let them shoot Axle, man. We have to take them out.”
Wicked Shadows (Steele Security Book 5) Page 25
