by KJ Dahlen
Talon and Falcon led the small convoy through the back streets. Condor was in the middle then more bikers between them and the security team were in 2 SUVs.
When they arrived, the gate was open and there were more bikers waiting for them inside.
Ricki looked around the compound and didn’t know how she could stay here. She didn’t know these men and she wasn’t comfortable around so many others. She always stayed alone, so she would never forget to be on her guard. Most of the time, her life depended on how alert she was to the danger around her.
Here, she wouldn’t see it coming until it was on top of her. She looked over at Condor.
He stared back at her with a question in his eyes. “What is it?” he finally asked.
“I can’t stay here,” she whispered finally.
“Why not?”
“There’s too many people. I don’t know them. I can’t protect myself from every side, if I can’t see them coming.”
“You don’t have to worry about these guys coming at you to hurt you.”
“Yeah? That might change when they find out Slasher is my dad.” Shaking her head she said, “You can’t tell me no one here hasn’t been hurt because of him.”
“No I can’t. Slasher killed Talon’s dad twenty years ago and since then, he’s hit this club several times. And now, our old president Eagle went over to Slasher’s side too. When they find that out, it’s gonna piss off just about everyone. They’ll stomp around and swear a lot but they won’t take their frustration out on you. If they try, they’ll have to get through me first.”
“Doesn’t exactly fill me with reassurance there, big guy,” Ricki told him.
“What else is behind this feeling you got?” he asked.
“I can’t be around so many people.” She sighed with frustration. “I’m used to depending on me and me alone. After Slasher’s guy stabbed me when I was fourteen and I took off, I was on my own for a long time. It was safer for me that way.”
“You got nothing to fear here,” Condor tried to assure her. “We may be bikers and we may break the law occasionally, but we aren’t a club who would stab you in the back. I trust these men with my life, and you can trust me.”
“I want to... I really do, but I just don’t trust that easy, you know? I guess I wasn’t taught how to do that as a kid.”
Condor reached out his hand.
Ricki flinched.
He froze for a moment, then he slowly reached out to her. Tipping up her face to meet his, he told her, “I got your back and these men got mine. That’s all you need to know.”
“Just don’t leave me alone with them, that’s all I ask.”
“I can do that.” Condor nodded.
She took a deep breath and exhaled. “I guess I can try.”
By this time, everyone was waiting for them.
Condor got out of the truck first. Coming around the front, he opened her door. He held out is hand.
Ricki reached for it. When her feet hit the ground, she stayed behind him all the way to the clubhouse, even though he tried to get her side by side with him.
Talon watched them get closer and looked over at Condor as if wondering what was going on with her now.
Condor shrugged.
When everyone went inside, Ricki wouldn’t let Condor get too far from her.
When Condor finally took a seat, he hauled her onto his lap and for once, she didn’t mind.
Talon called the men to order while they talked about what happened.
Chapter Twelve
“So what happened out there?” Talon wanted to know.
Crow had been one of the men outside the house, so he took the narrative, “We snuck up on Slasher’s men, and they never knew we were there until it was almost too late. We took them out of action with no trouble at all.”
“They were the distraction,” Talon explained. “They took our attention while Slasher planted a bomb at Condor’s wall, outside of the security room.” Shaking his head he admitted, “We were watching the outside when we should have been looking closer to home. The bomb dazed us all and then Slasher’s men walked in bold as brass and knocked us out, then he snatched Archie Kyler right from under our noses.”
“What did he do that for?” Stinger asked. “I wasn’t there when that happened. I was bringing Kyler’s attorney back here.”
“He took Kyler as a bargaining chip, thinking he could trade Ricki for Kyler,” Condor told them. “She was there but they didn’t know it. If they had, he would have killed her on the spot.”
Niko, the leader of the security team looked over at Ricki. “I take it, you’re Mr. Kyler’s granddaughter?”
“I don’t even know Mr. Kyler but yeah, I’m Slasher’s daughter. I never knew who my father was, hell I barely knew my mother. I do know she was with Slasher for a time and thought if she got preggers, he might make her his ole lady. Instead, he threw her out on her ass. But before she left the club, she took his reason why. She took Mr. Kyler’s will with her.”
“Do you know why she came here fourteen years ago?” Niko asked.
“She came here for the payout,” Ricki admitted. “She called Mr. Kyler and told him about me because she didn’t want Slasher to get his dad’s money. His dad’s will reads if Slasher has any children, then his money goes to his kids and Slasher wanted the money.”
Talon snorted. “Then we found out that Archie’s attorney is a friend of Slasher and he reworded the will to read that even if Archie wasn’t dead by this year, Slasher would still get his dad’s money in a week’s time.” Talon paused and then told his men, “We also found out that Eagle has joined Slasher’s MC. Slasher told my unconscious body that he couldn’t wait to kill me but that wouldn’t happen just yet. He told me that Eagle had another plan, so I would have to wait.”
The men grew quiet for a moment then outrage overwhelmed the room. The men were all muttering at once and many expletives were yelled from various members.
Finally, Crow whistled loudly and the chaos settled down for a moment. “What do you think Eagle’s up to?”
“Condor brought up a point tonight. He thinks Eagle’s watching us, waiting until we get the clubhouse up, and running again. Then Eagle will blow it up again and this time, he won’t give us a warning. He’ll just blow us up with the house.”
“Sweet Jesus.” Stinger growled. “He’d be crazy enough to do it too.”
“So what’s the plan, boss?” Crow asked.
The Princes all looked to Talon for a plan.
“We’re gonna go to the Dog’s clubhouse,” Talon outlined his plan. “We’re gonna get Archie Kyler back and cause Slasher some pain. Maybe even take out Eagle. He’s been found guilty by a tribunal already and he knows he’s living on borrowed time.”
One of the men in the back, leaning against the wall, began shaking his head.
Talon caught the motion and glared at him. “You got something to say prospect?” he called out.
Blue shook his head and remained quiet. He knew he wasn’t allowed to speak according to the club rules.
Condor leaned over and whispered in Talon’s direction.
After a moment, Talon looked back at the prospect and asked, “Why did you shake your head then? Do you know something we all should know?”
Blue pushed away from the wall and asked, “Can I speak freely?”
Talon nodded.
“You won’t find Eagle hanging with the Road Dogs. For two reasons, Reason one, Slasher wouldn’t want him there. Right now, he’s in charge of his men and he wouldn’t like Eagle taking them over. His men are worthless human beings and they don’t dare make a move without his ok. Reason two, he wouldn’t put himself in a position where anyone of Slasher’s men would drop a dime on him if he did start any trouble. We all know Slasher would never put up with that shit and if Eagle has plans to get back at his own club, he would need the freedom to move around the city.”
Talon and the others nodded at his reasoning. “Ok, po
int to you, where should we start looking for Eagle, in your opinion?”
Blue shrugged, “I’d start looking in the least place you’d expect him to be. Right under your own fucking noses.” He paused then said, “That’s where you’ll find him.”
Crow and several of the others growled as muttering went around the room.
“He’s been hiding at his garage all this fucking time!” Condor exclaimed as it dawned on him.
Falcon nodded. “It makes sense when you think about it.”
“It does and that fucking pisses me off,” Talon admitted. He glared at Blue. “Why didn’t you tell us this before?”
Blue shrugged, “Nobody ever asked me before.”
“Well, that’s true enough.” Talon gave him a nod. “But I’m telling you now, I want you to take two men with you and I want confirmation that he’s somewhere in this city.”
“You just want confirmation, or you want us to bring him in?” Blue asked.
“If you can find him and bring him safely, do it.” Talon growled. “He needs to face the tribunal sentence. Just don’t get yourself killed doing it.” He nodded at Crow and Stinger. “Go with blue and see what you all can find.”
Blue nodded.
“Now next up, we need to find Slasher’s compound,” Talon told them all. “Since none of us know firsthand where it is exactly, how are we going to find it? Anybody got any ideas?”
“I know where it is,” Niko of the security team spoke up too.
Talon snapped his head over to where the team had been sitting silently up until now and glared at them. “How would you know that?”
Niko looked back at him and explained, “I’ve been with Archie Kyler for longer than either of us would care to admit. And I like my job. Mr. Kyler is still alive because I’m very good at doing my job. This isn’t the first time Slasher has tried this shit and unless he’s taken out, it won’t be the last time. I aim to see that this is the last time.”
Talon looked at his crew. “Slasher has tried to kill his own father before?”
Niko nodded. “This will be the third time, he’s tried.”
“Just who the hell are you guys?” Talon asked.
“My team and I are ex-Secret Service and ex-military. We know how to do our job, been trained intensively for it,” Niko told them. “Now are we going after Archie, or are we gonna sit here and talk all damn night?”
Talon raised a brow at him. “I don’t care if you got medals stuck up your ass and purple fucking hearts in your god dammed pockets. Don’t sit here in our club and disrespect us, fucker.”
The brothers in the room all nodded and growled as they looked over at the 8 men in black.
The team in black, all glared back.
No one knew if one of them would cross that line. If just one man did...All hell would erupt and in close quarters too.
The room went utterly quiet.
Chapter Thirteen
Ricki looked back and forth as the tension in the room grew.
Talon glared at Niko. “I need to know from you, exactly where his club is at. I need as many details as you can remember if we’re gonna do this right.”
“Can you really get him back?” Ricki asked in the lull of the conversation.
Niko turned his head and looked at her. “I’m gonna try.”
Ricki was hugging her backpack to her chest as she looked around the room. Finally, she stared at Condor and said, “I think I can help you guys.”
All eyes turned to focus on her.
She opened up the pack and took out several pages from inside. She handed the pages to Condor, then glanced over at Talon. “My mom drew a map of the inside of the clubhouse. It might be different now, but she told me when I was a little girl that if anything happened to her, I should give this map to anyone crazy enough to go after him.” She shrugged and said, “It might not be accurate anymore but this is what it looked like when my mom was still there.”
Condor spread the pages out on the table and each man there came up to look at them carefully.
Next, she took out an envelope of pictures and spread them out as well.
Niko reached for one of them and studied it carefully. Time had taken its toll on the clubhouse and these pictures were old. “The clubhouse isn’t this clean anymore but basically, it’s the same layout.” Then he picked up a map of the clubhouse and outer buildings on the property. He studied it for a moment and noted the label her mother had put on each building. Then he looked at Ricki. “This is exactly what we needed. We could see the other buildings but we didn’t know what they were doing there. Now, we do.”
Falcon reached for the map and studied it for a moment. “Damn, he’s got his own armory? What the fuck? Is he expecting a war or what?”
“He is probably gonna start one,” Condor suggested. “He’s just crazy enough to do something like that.”
“That could be why he needs the money so badly,” Rogue commented. “If he takes the city away from us, he’s expanding his own territory. He’ll get access to the shipping lanes and will be able to increase his bank by getting his shipments in and out easier.”
“Word on the street is he’s thinking of expanding his wealth but taking on smuggling high end items,” Niko told the group.
“High end items?” Talon questioned.
Niko nodded. “We’ve been tracking his movements for some time now. Archie liked to keep track of what the little bastard is doing and he’s been meeting with some low lives in the Russian communities. Thugs mostly, but there was a Bratva connection thrown in there as well.”
“Sonofabitch,” Falcon swore. “Bratva means serious shit is going down.”
“Do you know where Slasher’s warehouse is?” Ricki suddenly remembered something else she heard tonight.
Niko looked over at her. “Why do you need to know that?”
“Because that’s where they were taking Archie. Slasher told his men to take his dad there while they got ready for these guys. He called it an unwelcome party.” She rubbed her temples. The tension in her body was giving her a major headache.
“Why didn’t you tell us this before?” Niko glared at her. “Are you holding back on us for some reason?
“So much happened all at once I forgot, okay?” she cried out as her head began to pound unmercifully. “First, I’m caught and beaten to a pulp, then I’m lying in a ditch waiting to die when he finds me.” She tossed her thumb at Condor. “Then he drags me God knows where and saves my life. Next, I find out he’s in a bikers club and he brings these large men in.” She motioned to Talon and the other two who were with him at the time. “So, all of that is going on while I don’t know who to trust and who to avoid and then on top of all that, I meet a man who says he’s my grandfather. A grandfather I don’t need right now, as my own dad is still trying to kill me.” She pointed at Condor. “Then he brings me here with all these even larger mean looking men who already hate my dad, and tells me to trust him and now this. And you!” She pointed at Niko. “Who I also do not know from Adam, asking me why I’m a little slow on the uptake?” She got to her feet and began backing away from them. “How much more do you think I can take, you assholes?”
Condor looked troubled, as he shook his head.
The rest of them men had raised brows or they just stared at her.
Ricki went to the corner of the room, up against the wall, where she slid down to the floor and brought her knees up. Wrapping her arms around them, she zoned out.
Condor glared at Niko and gritted through his teeth. “You have fucking lousy people skills, fucker. Didn’t you learn any while protecting a president or some famous fucker? She’s trying but Slasher scares the hell out of her. He has attempted to kill this woman twice now. This hasn’t been easy for her and you just made it worse.” He looked over at Talon. “Do you know why it took us so long to get out of the truck?”
Talon shook his head.
Condor explained, “She said there are too many people her
e. She can’t watch for anyone coming after her with this many people she doesn’t know.” He turned to glare at Niko. “Were you aware of the fact that one of Slasher’s men found her when she was fourteen? He dragged her into an alley and told her there was a price on her head. Her own dad wanted her found and he wanted her dead. His men beat her then stabbed her and watched her almost bleed out. He didn’t stay to watch her die but you can bet he told Slasher she was dead. Our doctor told us that she’s got another stab wound on the small of her back. She hasn’t told me about that one yet. That’s when she ran for her life. She was all of fourteen and she went into hiding. She wasn’t even old enough to get a job yet and she was living on the streets.”
Niko looked away. “I’m sorry man. I just focus on my job.”
Condor got to his feet. “And by your own words, part of that job now is to protect her. Not terrorize her, fucker.” He looked down at Talon. “I’m going to take her to my cabin and try to settle her down. Make the plans and then before you leave, you come and get me. I want to in on the kill.” He turned to Niko and his men. “You find Archie and you bring him back here. I think she deserves to know he’s okay.”
Condor walked over to where Ricki was sitting and gathered her into his arms, then he walked out of the clubhouse.
When the door slammed behind him, Talon looked over at the security team. “A word of warning. That man’s got a temper like you’ve never seen before and he will tear you apart with his bare hands if you piss him off anymore.” He shrugged. “That’s why he’s our Enforcer. He will do shit for the club when he has to that would make you piss your pants. Had no feelings in him that we could tell for about 5 years now. But he feels something for that poor girl and that means you won’t get a second chance to piss him off.”
Rogue now added his own opinion, “He earned the name of Condor. And I’ve seen why close up, what he can do to a man. A condor is a bird of prey, a nasty big bird of prey, one you don’t want to piss off.”
