“Third one down,” I told her and reached for my own jeans. “What’s going on?”
“Shhh!” she hissed and pulled one of my black T-shirts over her head. Pointing toward the common room, she informed me, “Something’s going on out there. I’ve got to get to Josie.” With that, she shoved one of her guns in the back of her pants, picked up the other two, and made sure the coast was clear before she darted across the hall.
With my door left partially open, I could hear disgruntled male voices coming from the common room. Grabbing my bat, I stomped down the hall ready to bust the bones of whoever caused my woman to cover her luscious naked body and leave my bed. My woman? I nodded to myself in affirmation because that’s exactly what she was. From the moment our lips touched for the first time, I knew she was and always would be mine.
“What in the actual mother fuck is going on out here?” I roared when I saw Grant and Coal using their bodies to physically block the front door. Heidi was cowering behind the bar, quietly crying. I briefly thought about sending her to Tatum’s room. I knew she would protect her if she didn’t shoot her first, which she probably would. “Go lock yourself in my room, sweetheart. Don’t open the door for anyone other than a brother.”
She nodded and mouthed, “Thank you,” before she ran down the hall.
“I know she’s in there!” a man shouted. “Let me in! You can’t keep her from me!” He sounded desperate, borderline manic, and that translated to dangerous for anyone in his path.
I continued moving toward Grant and Coal and made my presence known with each step I took. “Who in the hell do you think you are coming to our clubhouse in the middle of the damn night demanding to see any-fucking-body?”
“You! You motherfucker! I know you’re hiding her! She’s mine!” he furiously shouted as he broke through Grant and Coal with a sudden burst of anger and barreled right for me.
Before my mind even registered what was happening, I raised my bat and swung it at the man’s head, making contact with a resounding crack. No one was coming into my home and hurting my family on my watch. He dropped to the ground like a sack of bricks just as a horrified scream filled the air.
“Noooo! Cristofano!” Josie shrieked and ran for the unconscious man.
Tatum caught up with her before she made it even a third of the way across the room and tackled her to the ground. She pulled Josie’s arms behind her back and held them with one hand while she covered her mouth with the other. Readjusting her grip, she hoisted Josie from the floor and physically removed her from the room while Josie sobbed hysterically, never taking her eyes off Cristofano.
Bronze materialized from the hallway, took one look at the scene, and let out a stream of expletives before he started barking orders. “You two, restrain him and take him out back. Batta, make sure the gates are locked and do a quick perimeter check,” he said and put his phone to his ear.
“Need you here, now, brother. Trouble just forced its way through our front door,” I heard him say as I was heading out the front door.
The car I assumed to be Cristofano’s was haphazardly parked in the forecourt and luckily empty. However, there was no way for me to lock the gate because, presumably, Cristofano had seen the gate as optional and drove right through it.
I stepped beyond the broken gate and looked for any cars parked on the side of the road. Thankfully, it appeared that Cristofano had made the trip on his own. I turned to go back inside just as a minivan sped through the gate and hit the road in a spray of dust and gravel.
“Fucking fuck!” I yelled into the night and swung my bat at the mangled gate. I started to run for my bike, but I knew there was no way I would be able to catch up with them since I had no idea where they would go.
“Batta!” Bronze called as he stepped outside. When he saw me, he held his hand up and tossed a set of keys to me. “Move his car around back.”
Without a word, I slid into Cristofano’s fancy-ass car and swore when I banged my knees on the dash and the damn steering wheel. When I moved the seat back, the edge of a manila envelope appeared from beneath the seat. I pulled it from its hiding place and quickly moved the car behind one of the sheds on the backside of the clubhouse.
Since Cristofano came onto our property uninvited and made a great show of disrespect, I treated him just like I would any other threat. I thoroughly searched through his belongings, including ripping open the envelope and upending its contents in the passenger seat.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, would have prepared me for the papers that fell onto the smooth leather. Pictures. Dozens of pictures. Of Josie. Of Josie and Cristofano. Together. And they looked like a couple. A happy couple.
“What the fuck?” I breathed and continued to flip through photo after photo. I knew she was fucking lying when Copper asked her if she knew Luca. There was no way Tatum didn’t know who the Peccatis were if her own fucking sister was in a relationship with Luca’s second-in-command.
When I shoved the photos back into the envelope, I noticed a few pieces of paper were still inside. Hastily, I yanked them out and scanned over the handwritten words but none of it made any sense to me. It appeared to be mostly dates and times with a few cities listed at the bottom.
I didn’t have time to try to figure out the connection, so I folded the envelope, shoved it into my pocket, and exited the car. But, before I went back inside, I swung my bat at each door, the trunk, and the hood. Satisfied with my work, I propped my bat on my shoulder and walked through the back door, whistling a jaunty tune as I went.
“I was about to come look for you. Thought you might’ve been taken out by a speeding minivan,” Bronze joked, though I could hear the hint of worry in his voice.
“Found something in Cristofano’s car,” I spat and tossed the envelope onto the table.
Bronze’s brow furrowed. “You okay?”
I nodded my head to the envelope. “Open it.”
His reaction didn’t disappoint. “What in the fresh hell is this? That’s Josie! And what is this shit?”
“What is what shit?” Copper asked as he stormed into the room.
Bronze tossed the pictures to him. “See for yourself, brother.”
Copper swiped them from the table and dropped into his chair. “You have got to be fucking kidding me! Where did these come from?”
“I found them under the front seat of Cristofano’s car.”
“What the fuck is this?” Copper asked, holding up the handwritten list of dates and times. “Was he tracking her?”
Judge walked in looking like a pissed off bear. Tiny and Spazz entered right behind him with equal looks of irritation on their faces. Copper didn’t waste any time and quickly filled them in on the night’s events.
Judge leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you saying Cristofano is who Tatum and Josie are running from?”
“It can’t be him,” Spazz interjected. “Josie was married to Sheldon Morgan. They were married for three years before he died a few months ago.”
“So what? She could’ve been having an affair with Cristofano,” Judge countered.
“Josie and Sheldon lived in Virginia Beach. Cristofano lives in Cedar Valley. It doesn’t make sense for her to ‘run’ to a place that’s closer to the person she’s trying to get away from.”
Judge shrugged. “Maybe. Or it could’ve been a strategic move. Because, like you said, it wouldn’t make sense.”
“Only a handful of people know the truth, and none of them are in this room. So, let’s stop wasting time speculating and figure out the best way to handle the shitstorm that just blew our way,” Copper stated.
“Unless we kill him and hide the body, we’re going to have to speak with his boss. Assuming you don’t want to kill Cristofano, would you rather talk to Luca now or in the morning?” Bronze asked.
Copper opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by his phone buzzing. He glanced at the screen and grinned. “He’s awake. Let’s go have a chat, boys.”
We entered the shed to find Cristofano fighting with everything he had to get out of his restraints. “Let me go, you motherfuckers!” he snarled.
“Tell me something,” Copper started. “What in the hell made you think you could come here and start giving orders? This is my clubhouse, and these are my men. You don’t mean anything to any of us here,” Copper said vehemently.
Cristofano’s head shot up and his eyes widened when they landed on Copper. Surprisingly, his lips instantly clamped shut.
“Oh, now you have nothing to say?”
“Where is she?” he gritted out.
“Where is who?” Copper taunted.
“Adrianna. Where is she? What did you do with her?” he asked, almost frantically.
Copper pulled a picture from the pocket of his cut and held it up for Cristofano to see. “Who is this woman?”
“Why are you doing this? For money? I have plenty of it. Just give her back to me.” The sheer desperation in his voice almost had me feeling sorry for him.
“Answer my question,” Copper demanded.
“Adrianna!” he screamed. “That’s my Adrianna! So help me, if you don’t give her back to me, I will slice the throat of every man in your club and dance as your blood rains down on me.”
Copper glanced at me over his shoulder. “How hard did you hit him?”
I shrugged. “Same as I always do.”
Copper turned his attention to Grant and Coal. “Either one of you get his cell phone?”
Coal produced it from his pocket and handed it over to Copper. “Thanks, man. I want both of you on guard duty until I say otherwise.” With that, we followed him back into the clubhouse, where he stopped by the bar and grabbed a bottle of whiskey on his way to Church.
“Spazz, see what you can find on an Adrianna tied to the Peccatis.”
“Already on it, Prez,” Spazz replied while his fingers rapidly clicked keys on his laptop.
Copper took a swig of whiskey straight from the bottle and passed it to Bronze, who took a drink and passed it on to the next brother. “I knew they were running from something,” Copper started. “Luke straight-up told me he couldn’t give me any details on their situation when he asked for our help, which I understood and agreed to. But a potential war with the Peccatis changes things.”
“Agreed. How do you want to handle this?” Bronze asked.
“We’re going to wait,” he said and took another pull from the bottle.
“Wait? For what?” I asked.
“For the phone to ring. You know good and well Tatum called Luke the second they hit the road, so he’ll be calling any minute now. And at some point, Luca will realize Cristofano is missing and start looking for him.”
“You don’t think we should call Luca and tell him to come get his man?” Judge asked.
“No, I don’t. They need to know we won’t tolerate this kind of bullshit from anyone, no matter what kind of connections they have,” Copper said vehemently.
Judge pushed back from the table. “I’m going to call River and let her know I won’t be home tonight.”
“Might be a good idea to have all the girls spend the day at your mom’s house,” Copper suggested.
“You think that’s necessary?” Judge asked, his face full of concern.
“We don’t know what we’re dealing with. I’d rather know for sure they were safe instead of risking it.” Copper redirected his attention to Spazz. “You got anything?”
“Maybe,” he mumbled. “Sheldon Morgan was supposedly shot and killed in his basement during a home invasion. But, I can’t find a death certificate for him. Also, I found one article that had a link to the original story before it was updated. The original story says two people in the home were shot during a domestic dispute, and two bodies covered with sheets were removed from the house.”
I shook my head and looked down at the table. “None of this makes any fucking sense.”
The sound of Copper’s phone ringing caused the room to fall silent. Copper put it on speaker and placed it on the table in front of him. “Luke, what a surprise.”
“I highly doubt that. Have you contacted Luca yet?” Luke asked in a tone I hadn’t heard from him before.
“We haven’t contacted anyone at this point.”
“Good,” he said and exhaled slowly. “I know you want answers, but I can’t give you any. But I do still need your help.”
“You serious right now? I’ve got an angry Italian tied up in my shed threatening to kill my entire club if I don’t hand over the woman we know as Josie but he seems to think is Adrianna. And you wanna tell me why Cristofano has pictures of him and Josie? Pictures that indicate they clearly know each other and were likely in a relationship together.”
“Fuck!” Luke swore. “Where are those pictures now?”
“On the table in front of me,” Copper answered.
“Destroy them.”
“Excuse me?”
“Destroy them. Burn them. Flush them. I don’t give a shit, just get rid of them!” Luke shouted. “Fucking hell. Did he actually see her?”
“Who?”
“Cristofano. Did he see Josie?”
Copper raised his eyes to me. “I don’t think so. He was trying to get in the front door, and when he finally broke through, I knocked him out. Josie did see him, though,” I explained.
Luke sighed. “Yeah, I know she did. Like I said, I can’t give you any solid answers; but I can assure you, Luca and Cristofano are not a threat to your club.”
“Again, the angry Italian says otherwise,” Copper retorted.
“The angry Italian won’t be a problem as soon as his boss has a word with him.”
Copper sighed. “What kind of help do you need from us?”
“I need to send Tatum back to the clubhouse. Alone. Have her pretend to be seeing one of the brothers. When Luca comes to get Cristofano, let him see Tatum there with someone. If he asks, and he probably will, tell him she’s been in town for a few weeks to spend some time with her boyfriend. Make no mention of Josie.”
“Give me a minute,” Copper said and put the phone on mute. “Let’s put it to a vote.”
I didn’t give a shit how it made me look. I was the first one to vote in favor of having Tatum return to the clubhouse. My eagerness did not go unnoticed as each of my brothers voted the same as me.
After unmuting the phone, Copper asked, “When should we expect Tatum to arrive?”
“Thank you. Your help and cooperation are greatly appreciated and will not be forgotten. Tatum should be back by six o’clock or so.”
“What?” I blurted. “Where the fuck did she go?”
“I’m sorry, I’m not at liberty to say,” Luke answered automatically.
18
“Please don’t leave me,” Josie begged through her tears.
“You know I don’t want to, but I agree with Luke that this is the best way to keep you safe,” I reassured her. I had no idea how Cristofano had found us, but he had, and it was by sheer luck that he hadn’t seen her. I pulled her in for a hug and whispered, “You know I wouldn’t leave you if I didn’t think you’d be safe.”
She nodded against my shoulder. “I know,” she sniffled. “But I don’t know these people.”
“You can trust them, Josie,” I told her and hoped I wasn’t lying. Luke vouched for them, and I was in a position where I had to take his word. “I need to get back or this will all be for naught. So, go inside, and I’ll call when I can.”
Josie’s frail arms tightened around me for a long moment before she released me and stepped back. “Please be careful, Tatum,” she whispered.
“I will,” I vowed and directed my attention to the two beautiful, blonde women huddled around Josie and the two protective men standing behind them. They looked familiar, really familiar, but I couldn’t place them. “Take care of her.”
“Nothing will happen to her while she’s in our care,” the older of the two men promised and, for
whatever reason, I believed him.
“Thank you,” I said sincerely and slid into the driver’s seat without looking back. I wanted to, but I couldn’t. Because if I did, I would have shoved Josie into the van and kept on driving, even though I knew she was in the best place she could be.
The drive back to the clubhouse was awful. When I wasn’t using every ounce of energy to stay awake, my mind was running wide-open trying to figure out how Cristofano tracked us down. Because if he was able to find us, that meant anyone else could, too. I was desperate to know what he knew, or what he thought he knew. And I was curious to know how much the bikers had figured out since we’d been gone.
I pulled into the clubhouse and parked the minivan in the exact same place it’d been before I left. Assuming they were expecting me, I didn’t bother with knocking and let myself in the front door. Batta was kicked back on one of the sofas with his arms crossed over his broad chest, and he was fast asleep.
I walked over to him and placed my hand on his cheek. “Batta,” I said softly.
His beautiful blue eyes fluttered open and promptly narrowed. “I told you to call me Trey.”
“Trey,” I repeated.
Not one ounce of tension left his face upon my use of his given name. Instead, his glare intensified. “We need to talk.”
“I know,” I sighed. “But can we do it after I get a few hours of sleep? I’m exhausted and kind of bitchy.”
He got to his feet and stood toe-to-toe with me. “I don’t like liars.”
I dropped my head and stared at my boots. “I don’t like lying,” I confessed. “I only do it when I have to for my job.” I wasn’t going to apologize to him because I wasn’t sorry. I didn’t like lying to him and his friends, but I wasn’t sorry for doing it.
“So you do know Luca Peccati?”
I was exhausted and didn’t have the energy to argue with him, especially when he already knew some of the truth. “Of course I do. How could I not?”
Batta: Blackwings MC - Devil Springs - Book Four Page 10
