by L. Ann Marie
He smiles and throws me chin, making me smile. “We leave in fifteen.” He turns and goes over to where the men are standing.
“Is he always so Badass?” Amanda asks and Tess laughs.
“I guess. He’s always doing things for me, but he doesn’t talk much,” I tell her.
She nods and looks over at them. “Bob’s like that too.”
“Rich too,” Tess says. I laugh. Maybe it’s just that way. I know Rich and Bob don’t hit them. Tess looks at me like she’s mad. “That part of your life is over, you need to let it go and be happy with this. Digs will never hit you, so stop waiting for it and live happy. It’s not easy, but you’ve had long enough to get over it. Just let it go.”
Amanda touches my arm. “She’s right, Penny. The Brothers don’t take on men that hit women. You need to let the past go and start living your new life.”
Tess asks about Amanda’s jacket and I think about what they said. Am I living in the past? I just thought I hoped this was real a few minutes ago, so it must be. Anita says Lenny will have control as long as I let him. I’m not letting him control me anymore! I need to live without him in my head, and darn it all, I’m going to! I walk over to Digs and pull him away from the men. Danny is smiling when I do. I can do this and I’m doing it now! I turn and look at him and start shaking. “Babe?” He looks confused because I’m just looking at him. Just tell him.
“I can’t keep letting him have control. I can do this. I’m going to do this!” I watch for his reaction.
“I know.” He smiles. He knew? That’s it?
I think about that, then smile. He knew. “Okay then.” I walk back to Tess and Amanda, smiling. “He already knew.” Tess laughs.
Bob pulls Amanda away and we all ride down to the Cape. At the beach everyone is walking. Digs takes my hand and walks behind Bob and Amanda. “It was a good ride.”
I feel lighter and smile up at him. “It was a great ride.”
“Yeah.” He pulls me closer and puts his arm around my waist.
Chapter Six
One week later...
Digs
I open my eyes and smile. My girl is draped across me, still sound asleep. It’s been a hell of a week. With her new determination, she’s gaining confidence. I find it sexy as hell. She stopped whispering but still sits on my lap to tell me things or ask me questions. Since I like her in my lap, I don’t have a problem with this. Last night she even pulled my shirt off, letting me know what she wanted. I’m happy as a pig in shit it was me. She moves and I tighten my arm around her.
“Morning,” she says as she’s lifting her head.
What is it about that hoarse sound to her voice? My dick jerks every time I hear it. “Babe.” She leans up and kisses me. Yeah, I like the new confidence. “I have Church early today.”
Her face falls. “We don’t go for a ride today?”
I laugh, glad she likes being on my bike. “Not with the Brothers, no. I can take you out this afternoon.”
“Okay.” She doesn’t look so sure.
“The runs we do are to raise money. Last week was for a family with a sick boy and not enough money to pay for medical expenses. We pay to ride and give the money to a charity.” I watch her expression clear.
“I didn’t know that. I hope they get enough to help.”
I know Pres probably already has them taken care of, but we don’t talk Club money to the old ladies. The only one that knows it all is Jess and she doesn’t talk money with anyone unless it’s about their money that she’s handling. “I’m sure we did.”
I get her smile. “That’s good. The MC always helps everyone.” If she only knew.
I get us showered and I’m out the door in forty-five minutes. My bikes are sitting in the driveway. I look at the house and how far we are away from the neighbor, then I walk to the back. There’s enough room to get a decent sized garage back here. I’ll ask Danny about buying the house and getting it done today. I’m walking back around when Penny comes out the front door. “Babe?” Where the fuck is she going?
“Oh, I thought you left. I’m cutting the grass before it gets hot.” She’s all smiles because she’s going to cut the grass?
“No, you’re not. I’ll get the lawn maintenance guy over here to take care of the yard.” She’s fuckin nuts to think she’ll push a lawnmower when I’m not willing to. Her body goes rigid. I keep the smile off my face, but I’m glad to see she’s pissed. This ought to be interesting. I wait to see what she’ll do now.
She lets her breath out slow, then looks at me. “I like taking care of the yard.” She’s shaking but determined.
I clench my jaw, still fighting the smile and give her a minute to relax. “I’ve got no problem with you doing shit with your flowers. My woman isn’t pushing a mower around the yard if I’m living here and I am living here. Just so you know, I’m not pushing a fuckin’ mower around the yard either. Men make a living off doing that shit and I’m happy to pay them. Yeah?”
She relaxes her shoulders and I know I’m good. “Okay. Thank you.”
I let the smile out. “So easy.” I walk to her and give her a kiss, lifting her up to do it. “Love you, babe. I have to get to Church.” I get her smile and go.
I make it early enough to ask Danny about the house and garage. He’ll talk to Jess about selling me the house and have plans for the garage this week. Sweet! I can get my bikes out of the weather.
Pres comes in and starts the Officers’ meeting. The kids are concerned about the Baxters’ office threat. We’re all on call until this plays out. They don’t see Mitch hurt but something is coming that Christian isn’t saying. VP will get with Christian and see what he can get. All this vision shit is fascinating on one level and eerie on another. There are too many people in such close proximity that see too much. Some of the kids are just freaky. I swear they’ll all be mind-readers when they grow up.
VP looks at me. Shit. “Not all.” Danny and Rich laugh. I wonder if Danny knows what I’m thinking. I try to clear my head so they don’t.
The trafficking OPs will continue on Thursdays, so the schedule changed. Brantley will be sending a text out with our hours for this week. Shit. I hope I’m still able to get Penny to work and home.
“She’s bumped to high. Security is on her starting tomorrow. If you’re not there, Security will be,” Rich says, looking at me.
Pres watches. “Where are we with that? These open threats need to be resolved so they’re not spread so thin.”
Little Ben sits up. “Jessie’s got the Brothers on him. He’s an arrogant bastard, smiling every time he sees the Brothers. The concern is he’s not afraid of them and doesn’t seem to care that we’ve got his schedule.”
“Fuck. He’ll make a play for her if he’s got no fear of losing,” Bob says.
Pres looks at Rich. “Get someone on her now.”
“You’re dressed from now until the pussy is down,” VP says to me. I throw him chin. Great, carrying a gun around is going to throw her anxiety through the roof. He looks at Pres. “Could put him down.”
Swiping his hair, he looks at the Officers. “It would be easy to just take him out, but he’s too high profile and a known problem for us. Waiting for his next move fuckin’ nurses, but we don’t have a choice right now.” Everyone laughs. Pres looks around, surprised.
“Saying ‘fuckin’ nurses’ defeats the purpose of the word,” Danny says.
“The fuckin’ point is keeping her safe,” he growls out. The room goes silent.
“I agree. We need to wait for him to make the move,” Cloud says.
Pres nods and starts talking money. I know we’re close to done. Calling the Brothers in, we go through a watered down version of the first meeting and pick up Brothers in need and families to watch for. There’s been no recorded problems in the yard and everyone is relieved about that.
On the way out we grab a beer. The whores are all over the Brothers. Flo makes her way to me and I want to roll my eyes. I’m an
easy tip for her, but I’m not interested. “No,” I say before she leans into me.
She smiles up at me. “You know I can do fast. I’ll swallow your tension right down.”
What? Rich cracks up. “Since English is obviously a difficult language for you, I’ll say it slower. No,” I tell her, hoping she goes back the way she came.
She leans against me. Fuckin’ whore isn’t going to quit. “Aww, don’t be like that, I’ll let you tie me up.”
Rich turns away, laughing with Bob. I’m pissed but don’t need any more attention here or she’ll make it worse. I step back and she has to catch her balance. “No. I’m off your list, and so we’re clear, I’m off everyone’s list. I’d appreciate if you passed that along.”
She steps closer. “You’ll be back. No one can take you all in...”
“Get the fuck away! Brother says no, you move the fuck along!” Tiny booms from right behind me. Fuckin great. Everyone looks to see what pissed him off, while Flo moves away. At least she’s away from me.
I take a drink and everyone’s phone goes off at the same time. We’ve got trouble. Putting the bottle on the bar, I pull my phone. SUV stolen. Penny is in it. What? I look at Rich, waiting for him to say it isn’t true. Danny comes up and hands me a gun. “Let’s go, you’re riding with me. Your gear will be ready at Security.” We make our way out the door with the HS and Security Brothers. Danny has us at ninety through town. My heart is beating double time, wondering what the fuck is going on and if she’s all right. Then I hope I make the ride through town. He’s fuckin nuts on a bike.
He rides straight to the ramp and down into the garage. A Prospect has our bikes and gear ready. I give Danny his gun and strap my holster on. I want to run the boards and see where the fuck she is, but I need to get to her more. Once I’m loaded with clips and on the Ducati, Danny rolls up the ramp. I follow with Driscoll and Colby right behind. Rich tells us to roll on one. Sticks is on control.
Fuck. I’ve never been in an OP like this, but I can’t turn back. She’s got to be scared to death and I need to fix that.
Rich: “LP1, the SUV is parked on Williams in the city. It’s been seven minutes.”
Danny: “Roger, LP1.” We ride like maniacs into the city and up the hill to Williams. The SUV is sitting on the side of the road. Danny rides up to it with his gun pointed at the driver side window. ”LP2, it’s empty.” He opens the door and looks in. I open the back and see blood on the seat. My knees want to buckle, but I hold it together. I’m going to kill him. “Fuck! LP2, we’ve got blood on the seat and signs of a struggle.” I look closer and see claw marks where she was trying to hold on. She’s fighting. My girl is fighting. I don’t know if I should be relieved or more scared. I go with relieved because she’s fighting to stay alive. It hits me she’s got tracking.
Me: “LP2, she’s tracked. Pull it up on my console.”
Rich: “Thank fuck!”
It takes thirty seconds, but I’m happy to hear Sticks’ voice.
Sticks: “Digs, tracking shows her at your house. Security’s already cleared it.” Fuck! Why is it off her?
Rich: “CK is running the feeds, picking up cars leaving the area.” Driscoll and Colby are talking to people on the street. I have no fuckin clue what to do now, so I stay with Danny. He’s the guy that pulls out all stops on Ops, so I’m staying close.
Rich: “LP1, we have three possible. Two headed 95 north, one west. Take north. I’ve got HS6 on west.”
Danny: “Roger, LP2.” We head north and jump on the highway.
Sticks: “Red Camaro Mass, plates twenty-two miles up.” Fuck, he must be flying. Danny has us at a hundred, weaving through traffic. Driscoll and Colby are behind us, tracking a tan Impala. I hear Rich giving orders for more HS and Cleanup, but I’m focused on following Danny through the traffic and looking for signs of the Camaro. I never thought about all the information coming through to them while they’re riding like this. The only OPs I’ve ridden on were in the yard, blocking a possible exit for the HS team. This is nuts. Danny is answering Rich and asking Ricky why this car is their most likely, while I’m just trying to follow and stay on the fuckin’ bike.
Sticks: “Camaro is off the highway. It didn’t show on the next feed. You’ve got two possible exits.” Rich is talking to Cloud in the chopper. Fuck!
Danny: “LP2, I need the exit.”
Rich: “Third exit, LP1. CK has it flying by a bank right off 95 still headed north.”
Danny: “Roger, LP2.” Not that I’m a big fan of PD outside of the yard, but why the fuck aren’t they stopping a speeding Camaro? We take the exit and follow north at seventy. No PD in sight.
There’s no chatter and I realize we’ve been riding without anything coming in. This is a bad sign. “LP1?”
He looks back at me. “We’ll get her back, Digs.”
“Roger.” Fuck, I need to be at the boards.
Rich: “Blackhawk has a possible. Left at the second intersection.”
Danny: “Roger, LP2.” We take the left and Sticks guides us to a grocery store parking lot. Cloud is circling above. It’s parked toward the back and I know he switched vehicles before we even stop.
Rich: “CK has the feed, but it doesn’t reach the back. They’re pulling from the area.”
I pull open the door and see blood on the passenger side. Danny has the glove box open and is looking through the papers.
Danny: “LP2, rental papers, see if he rented more than one.”
Rich: “Roger, LP2.”
I slam the door. This is taking too fuckin long. “We’re going to get her back,” Danny says, watching me.
“Why the fuck is her tracking at the house? We could have already had her back.”
He nods. “Putting tracking on her was good. Did she know?” Fuck! I put my head down, thinking I’m an ass for not telling her. “Women change jewelry every fuckin day. I made sure everything Kate owned was tracked so I didn’t have to worry.”
I look at him. “Every day?” Why the hell do they do that? I just gave it to her three days ago. He nods without a serious look on his face. “I didn’t know,” I tell him.
“Me neither at first. Once I clued in, I switched everything she had out. You wouldn’t have known that with this being so new.”
“Yeah,” I say, thinking that’s not going to help get her back. I should have given her all the shit I put the tracking in. She’d be home by now.
Rich: “LP1, maroon Cherokee headed north on 95. He’s got almost thirty miles on you.”
We run to the bikes while Danny answers. I see Cloud fly north and feel relief that someone is going to be close to her. We ride in silence for a good ten minutes.
Rich: They’re off at Beacon Street. Blackhawk can’t follow them in. CK is pulling feeds as fast as they can.” Fuck! Is anything going to be easy today?
Danny: “Roger, LP2.” It takes us another twenty minutes to make it to Beacon Street, then we’re stuck with no direction. Danny pulls over.
I hear bikes behind me, but something’s trying to get my attention. I’m thinking about all the information I gave Danny about this pussy when something clicks, but I can’t grasp what it is. I close my eyes and run through the pages one by one. “An uncle that has kids, house outside of Boston. Two sons and a daughter live in Boston.” I open my eyes and see Danny watching my hands and stop moving them.
Danny: “Get me addresses, LP1.”
Rich: “Roger. Digs, where’s the file? CK doesn’t have this.”
Me: “My desktop coded. Get me on with Sticks.”
Sticks: “Just me and you, buddy. We’ll find her, but we could use some help.”
Me: “On my desktop. The file is 2dlgp1. The password is LP1michael. You’re looking at property deeds and a contact sheet. There was another address that didn’t have a clear deed that’s in there too.”
Sticks: “Got it! I’m sending the pages to CK now. We got this, Brother.”
Me: “Thanks, Sticks.” I hope
to fuck they have it. I’m sitting on the side of one of the busiest streets in Boston, twiddling my thumbs, while Penny is God knows where with that pussy. Danny is pacing on the sidewalk. I don’t get off my bike. “Every fuckin minute feels like an hour,” I tell him.
He stops and looks at me. “Yeah.” Something with the way he looks at me gives me a bad feeling. Fuck, this is beyond bad.
Rich: “LP1, take your fourth right off Beacon. Sticks will guide you from there.”
Danny: “Roger, LP2.”
Rich: “HS11, you’re being switched to Brantley at control. Little Ben is your OPs lead.”
I hear the transfer and the bikes behind roar down the road. I didn’t even know who it was. I’m glad it’s Driscoll. Following Danny through traffic at sixty takes every bit of concentration I have. I’m so focused on his movements, I missed us getting out of traffic until he slows down and turns in an alleyway. He parks and waits for me to catch up to him. “I’m going right in, be ready.” I throw him chin and pull my gun, flipping the safety off and pointing it down. He nods and starts walking fast through the yard.
Rich: “LP1, you’ve got backup in seven.”
Danny: “They’re going to be late for this party.” He pounds on the door and takes his helmet off. I pull mine and drop it with his. He flips his body mic and ear piece, but I don’t.
“I can’t have him in my ear,” I tell him.
“Just follow my lead.” The door opens and he steps right in, pushing the guy back. I follow and look around the room. There’s no one else here. The guy’s yelling until Danny puts his gun under the pussy’s chin. “Talked to your cousin Lenny lately?” The guy looks stunned but doesn’t answer. “Where’s your phone?” Still nothing. Danny moves his gun and puts his hand on the guy’s throat, then shoots his foot. Fuck! Always shooting people’s toes off. The guy’s screaming now until Danny pushes in on his throat. I have my gun trained on the hallway just in case someone else is here. He probably should have asked that first. “Now, where is your phone?”
“Living room on the table,” he whines out.
