“What if he rents a car or something?”
“Why would he do that? He’s still got to move the safe, and that bitch is heavy. A regular pickup isn’t going to handle it.”
“I just don’t want to miss him again.”
Royal smiled, but it didn’t touch his eyes. “Don’t worry. We’ve got his ass this time.”
***
The brothers moved their hogs into the same parking lot, but well away from Tony’s truck. While there was nothing special about their bikes, the South Carolina plates would be a dead giveaway, and they didn’t want to spook their quarry.
They had lunch of burgers and fries, taking their time, sitting so they could see the parking lot of the motel. Royal was sure Tony and Stella would show for lunch, and when they did, they would bag them. As noon slid into one, then two, Royal’s confidence began to fade.
“What the fuck are they doing in there? Don’t they ever come out?” Blade groused.
“Maybe that’s what they’re doing,” Goon teased.
Royal threw a cold French fry at him, but said nothing. “They’ll show. We just have to wait them out.”
“This is the shit that drives me crazy,” Blade muttered.
Now that he had his target in sight, Royal was like a cat. He could sit patiently for days, waiting for his chance to pounce. But he could understand Blade’s bitching. When he was sitting around, waiting for someone else to do something, that’s when he got the jitters.
“Why don’t you go get a couple of rooms? We may be here for a day or two. We need to start shifts. I’ll take the first one.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Hammer said as he rose. “These fucking chair should be used by the military. After sitting here for two hours, I’m ready to tell anyone who will listen anything they want to know.”
Royal chuckled. His ass was asleep, too, but this beat standing in the heat. “You’re just getting old and soft.” He had a reputation to keep up of being able to be still for hours on a stakeout, no matter the conditions, but after they left, he would get up and walk around a little to get the blood flowing again.
“Listen, pipsqueak, I’ve got more lead in my pencil than you will ever have,” Hammer growled playfully. Now that he had his eye on his target, the old Royal was back.
***
He’d wandered for almost an hour, hovering in the Wendy’s parking lot, always keeping the Days Inn within sight. He was back inside the Wendy’s, enjoying a Frosty, when he saw a man and woman approaching from the motel parking lot. Business was beginning to ramp up for the dinner crowd, and several people had come from the motel already, but as they approached, he finally made out Stella, then a moment later, Tony.
The Wendy’s was far too crowded to take them inside, but he got to his feet anyway. If they walked past, he would take Tony down, and if they came inside he would wait for them to come back out, then take him down. Either way, he had to be ready to move.
It appeared they were headed for the Wendy’s and he moved to the opposite side of the restaurant, hovering by the door. As soon as he was sure they were coming in, he stepped out, dodging a car passing through the drive through as he scrambled to get out of sight.
As he stepped around the building, he pulled his phone and dialed Hammer. “They’re on the move.”
“Where?”
“At the Wendy’s. I need somebody on the truck, now.”
“Where are you?”
“Still watching the Wendy’s. I can’t cover the motel and the truck without being spotted.”
“Goon is rolling now. You want more backup?”
Royal thought a moment. “No. If you and Blade come roaring in here, he’ll rabbit again. When I hang up, call Goon and tell him to stay on them if they leave in the truck. But I’ve had an idea. When I see him go by, I’m going to plan a little surprise for Mr. Daniels. Be ready to roll on my call.”
“Don’t do something stupid!”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got this so long as I’m sure they can’t slip me.”
“Blade and I are headed down to the bikes now.”
“Hold until I call. I don’t want him to run, and I don’t want to risk him hurting Stella.”
“Remember your license! Don’t do something to get yourself arrested!”
Royal grinned. “Don’t worry. This is going to go down nice and quiet.”
He was moving across the motel parking lot, watching the Wendy’s when he heard a Harley pass on Highway 311 at full chat and then brake hard before heeling over into the strip mall parking lot. It was Goon.
With a grin, knowing his back was covered, Royal ran across the parking lot. He didn’t have a lot of time. He pulled up and walked casually into the lobby and directly to the front desk. There was a guy behind the desk this time, which made things a lot easier.
“May I help you?” the young man asked as Royal approached.
“Danny Richards, Room 206. I locked my key in the room.”
“I can get you another one, Mr. Richards.”
“Sorry to be a bother. I sometimes think I would forget my head if it weren’t attached.”
“No problem at all, Mr. Richards. It happens all the time.” The man worked a moment then placed another card key on the counter. “There you go. Anything else I can do for you?”
Royal slid the card off and pocketed it. “No. This is good. Thank you very much.”
“My pleasure, sir.”
Royal walked out with a smile. The clerk was far too trusting and asked for no ID, accepting his word on face value. The moment he was out of sight, he ran down the hall, taking the steps two at a time, and burst through the door on the second floor. He checked the signs, then hurried down the hall and swiped the card at room 206. He heard the door unlock, then taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open, releasing the held breath when he saw the empty room.
With a smile he closed the door and pulled his weapon. He made a quick survey of the room and decided his best bet was the bathroom. He quickly stepped into the room and pressed his back against the wall so he couldn’t be seen in the mirror. He waited less than two minutes before he heard the snick of the door unlocking then the slam as it closed.
“Would you please stop bitching!” Tony’s voice growled. “If you want to talk to Katrina, convince your boyfriend to give me the combination to the safe.”
“I tried!” Stella snapped over the rustle of paper bags. “You heard him. He cares more about his fucking club than me! I mean nothing to him, so you might as well let me go.”
“Not until I get the combination.”
Royal tightened his grip on his weapon and then stepped out of the bathroom, leveling his weapon in the general direction of their voices. “Hearing you say that hurts my feelings, Stella.”
The two looked up and froze, Stella’s hand still in one of the food bags. He couldn’t shoot Tony on sight because he needed him alive, he didn’t want to bring in the cops, and he was standing too much behind Stella for him to risk taking the shot.
“Gabriel?” Stella said, her surprise clear in her voice. “What are you doing here?”
Tony was frozen for a moment, then grabbed Stella and pulled her in front him to use her as a shield.
“He has a gun!” Stella cried, twisting and squirming to get away.
Tony saw Gabriel stiffen and take a more formal shooting stance. He grabbed her around her throat and held her tight to him, her struggles stopping as he clamped his fingers around her throat. There was no way he could clear his weapon from under his shirt before Gabriel shot him, but his knife was much more accessible. He pulled it from its sheath on his belt, flicked the blade open with his thumb, and pressed it into her neck.
Gabriel watched, ready to pull the trigger if Tony gave him half a chance, money be damned. Stella whimpered as the point of the knife pressed in. “Remember what I told you? Remember what I said I would do to you if you hurt her?”
Tony licked his lips. “Unload your
weapon. Do it!”
“I’m going to kill you,” Gabriel muttered, pointing the gun up and pressing the button to eject the magazine of his pistol. He still had one in the pipe, and he would make it count if he got an opening.
“Rack it.”
Gabriel gritted his teeth and did as he was told, the final bullet flying out. He tossed the now useless gun onto the bed. “Give me Stella and I’ll tell you the combination.”
Tony grinned and shook his head. “No deal. Open your vest so I can see.” Gabriel did. “Is that a knife? Take off your vest, remove your knife, then turn around slowly.”
“Tony! Please!” Stella begged, as Gabriel complied, then gasped as a trickle of blood oozed from the point of the knife.
“I wasn’t going to hurt her. All you had to do was give me the combination. I was going to leave her tied up, here, in the room. Once I had the money, I would have called you and told you where she was. Now you’ve ruined everything. Now I’m going to have to take her with me.”
“You’re not leaving this motel with her.”
“How are you going to stop me?”
“I don’t have to stop you. Blade, Hammer and Goon will. They’re outside right now, waiting for me or you to come out. If it’s you, you’re a dead man.”
“You’re lying! Nobody was out there when we came from Wendy’s.”
“You’re right. They hadn’t had time to get here after I called them. But they have by now.”
“I guess I’ll have to take my chances, then. What’s the combination?”
“47 03 75,” Gabriel rattled off.
“Write it down!”
Gabriel moved to the table between the beds, picked up the pen, and wrote the combination down.
“Back away,” Tony ordered. He backed up to where he was then Tony inched Stella toward the table. “Pick it up.”
She picked up the pad. The three numbers were written on it, along with I love you and I’ll be there for you, always.
“This had better be the combination.”
“That’s it. How’d you get the key?”
Tony froze. “What key?”
“It takes the combination and a key. You have to turn the key before the combination works. You don’t have the key?”
Tony thought furiously, trying to remember if he saw a key on the door or not. “You’re lying! There’s no key!”
Gabriel shrugged. “You’ll see when you get there. Since you didn’t ask for the key, I assumed you already had it, but I guess not. Hoss, I think you’re fucked.”
Tony began to back toward the door. “I think you’re lying. I don’t remember seeing any key.”
Gabriel grinned, following them across the room but not getting any closer. “Like I said, you’ll see when you get there.”
“Open the door,” Tony growled.
Stella swallowed hard. This was her only chance. Gabriel hadn’t given up on her. He knew Tony didn’t have the key all along and knew even if he’d told him the combination he couldn’t open the safe. He’d played him until he could track him down. He loved her and he’d come for her. She reached behind Tony and fumbled the door.
“I can’t reach it,” she whimpered.
Tony growled and released her throat, fumbling behind him for the door knob, but still held the knife to her with his other hand.
“I love you,” she said before grabbing Tony’s arm and pulling it down and away with every ounce of strength she possessed.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE As Stella twisted away, Gabriel exploded into motion. Tony still had his knife and gun, and he had to get in and disarm him before he had time to react.
He knocked Stella down as he rushed past and grabbed the wrist of Tony’s knife hand and slammed him into the door with his body. Tony grunted from the impact but was far from out of the fight. Using the door as leverage he shoved Gabriel back and twisted away from the door. He tried to free his knife hand from Gabriel’s two-handed grip, but couldn’t.
Gabriel had the knife pinned down against Tony’s own leg, but with both hands on his wrist and being bent over as he held the hand immobile, he had no leverage to do anything else. Tony reached around his head and grasped his chin, and though he resisted with every ounce of strength he had, he couldn’t prevent Tony from turning his head.
The two men grunted and panted as they engaged in a battle of strength. Tony’s knife hand slipped from his leg, throwing Gabriel off balance. He stumbled with the sudden change in his balance, falling to his knees on the floor and making the entire room shake.
Stella stood in the corner of the room, her hand at her throat as Gabriel went down. She didn’t know anything about fighting, but it seemed obvious the first one to lose their footing was in trouble, but at least as he fell he maintained his grip on the knife and dragged Tony down with him.
Tony fired one, then two lefts into the side of Gabriel’s face. He took the blows, not even trying to defend himself as he concentrated on breaking Tony’s grip on the knife. He twisted Tony’s wrist, causing his hand to spasm open as Tony roared in pain and flung himself back. Now he only had to lock him up before he could draw his weapon.
Tony was reaching behind him as he backpedaled, trying to draw his pistol, but he wasn’t fast enough. He reflexively squeezed the trigger as he tried to bring the gun around to point at Gabriel, but nothing happened. He hadn’t had time to release the safety. Gabriel hit him like a linebacker, legs pumping, driving through him and lifting Tony from the floor, causing Tony’s gun to fly from his hand with the force of the impact and disappear under the bed. Gabriel drove Tony back until his legs hit the bed. They landed on the bed with a bounce then tumbled over the side, slamming into the wall as they went down between the bed and the wall.
This was Gabriel’s strength, locking his opponent up in a ground fight. The two men twisted and squirmed in the narrow space, grunting and gasping in silence as each fought for advantage. Both men were immensely strong, and it quickly became apparent Tony had special skills. Every time he tried to twist him into a joint lock, Tony would counter and squirm away. Worse, he almost put him into a lock several times.
She stood, frozen, unable to move as the two men grappled, out of sight, the only noise the thumps and bangs as they struggled, the bed bucking and sliding ever farther from the wall. Finally, Gabriel appeared, rising up from behind the bed, drawing his arm back to deliver a punch, but before he could release the blow, Tony’s hands appeared, one grabbing Gabriel’s arm, the other grabbing his shirt and pulling him back down.
They were quiet for a moment then the bed thumped again before becoming still. Not knowing what to do, she rushed from the corner she had retreated to and grabbed the knife so Tony couldn’t use it again, then crept along the wall. If she had a chance, she would drive the knife into Tony to help Gabriel. The two men were locked in an intimate, but deadly, embrace. Gabriel was astraddle one of Tony’s legs as he lay across him, their legs tangled as they held each other by the head. There was no pleasure, only pain, their faces twisted into silent snarls as they strained to subdue their opponent.
Gabriel gritted his teeth against the pain, his neck almost ready to snap. They had tangled each other until they were frozen, neither able to break the hold or finish the other man. Now it was a war of attrition as they tried to hold each other in vice-like grips until one of them lost the will to fight. It was clear Tony was a wrestler at one point and could counter nearly anything he did. He could feel his strength fading, the strain of holding Tony in check taking its toll, but if he was weakening, Tony had to be, as well. Using the last of his strength reserves, Gabriel lunged forward and up and felt Tony’s grip slip.
As she watched, franticly trying to figure out a way to help Gabriel, he moved. Suddenly there was a flurry of motion, the stalemate between the men broken. They tumbled, spinning and kicking, freezing for a moment, before tumbling again. They froze again, Gabriel’s face twisted in a mask of pain as Tony got behind him and twisted his arm into a
painful-looking angle. Gabriel reached up and back, grabbing Tony’s hair, and hauled his head down before he dove free. For a moment she thought the fight was over but then Tony bound to his feet and charged his opponent.
Tony nearly had him that time. Had they not been wedged between the bed and the wall Tony would have broken his arm. He’d been lucky and managed to pull Tony’s head backwards by his hair, breaking his hold so he could lunge away. He scrambled from behind the bed trying to get some space. He was tired of them trying to tear each other’s heads off because they were hemmed in and couldn’t move. Away from the bed he spun to face Tony, knowing he was coming. He braced to accept Tony’s charge but it wasn’t enough. Tony slammed into him and drove him back, their hands under each other’s chins to force their heads back. Off balance, Tony drove him a backwards a step and into the dresser.
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