“Exactly,” I said. “They do a lot for charity, like raising money for Toys for Tots and Bikers Against Child Abuse. They just did a big toy drive over Christmas.”
“How lovely,” Mom said.
Alamo chuckled. “Doin’ what we can to stay on Santa’s nice list.”
Dad chuckled without mirth. “Or stay off the sheriff’s naughty list.”
“Daddy!” I pushed my chair back and stood. “This is exactly why I didn’t want to bring him to meet you.” I jabbed a finger at my siblings. “And why the hell aren’t y’all stepping in? Alamo just fixed your stupid car, Jules, and I know for a fact he didn’t charge you very much.”
“He actually didn’t charge me anything,” she admitted.
“Baby, sit down,” Alamo said, tugging my hand.
I met his eyes and he smiled gently.
“Your dad’s just gettin’ to know me,” he said. “It’s all good.”
I bit my lip, then glared at my father. “Behave or we go.”
Dad raised an eyebrow in challenge, but I refused to back down.
“I’m serious,” I continued, even with my man standing and pushing me gently back into my chair. “Alamo’s important to me.”
“Honey, we know that,” Mom said.
Alamo gave my neck a gentle squeeze and took his seat again, seemingly totally relaxed and unconcerned about my father’s probing questions. “Maybe you and I can have a talk later, and I’ll be glad to answer any questions you might have,” Alamo suggested.
Dad nodded. “We can do that.”
Alamo squeezed my knee again, and everyone relaxed. All-in-all, the rest of dinner was actually really fun. Alamo fit perfectly into my family dynamic, and everyone loved him.
* * *
Climbing into bed that night, I wrapped an arm around Alamo’s waist. “How bad was your meeting with Dad?”
“It wasn’t bad at all,” he said.
“Are you lying?”
He smiled. “No, baby, seriously. He asked all the normal Dad questions. What are my intentions, how long have you and I known each other? That kind of thing. I told him I planned to fuck you for as long as you’d let me into your magic pussy.”
I gasped. “You did not.”
He laughed. “Of course I didn’t.”
“But you’re not going to fill me in on the conversation, are you?”
“Nope. It’s all good, baby. Your dad and I came to an understanding.”
“Fine. I’ll trust you. For now.” I sighed and ran my fingertip over his new ink. “I love this so hard, Mo.”
He grinned. “Good.”
I settled my chin on my hand. “I want one.”
“Yeah?”
I nodded. “Did you go to the same person who did your Dogs tattoo?”
“No. Same shop, but different guy.”
“How come?”
“Duke does all the Dogs logos and portrait shit, but if you want something left of center, we all go to Tag.”
“Oh, I like Tag,” I said. “I didn’t know he was a tattoo guy.”
“The fact his body’s covered with ink didn’t clue you in?”
I shrugged. “I just thought he liked tattoos.”
He chuckled. “I’ll talk to him this week and find a time.”
“I have no idea what I want, though. Let’s wait until I do.”
“Sounds good.”
I settled my cheek to his chest again. “My parents adored you, by the way, I could tell.”
“Your parents are cool, baby. I liked them too.”
I met his eyes again. “Jared didn’t call me Carrots once.”
He laughed. “My job is done, then.”
My phone pealed in the quiet and I groaned. “I thought I’d silenced that.” Snagging it off the nightstand, my blood chilled. “It’s Michael.”
He gave me a squeeze. “Don’t answer it.”
I rolled my eyes. “I have no intention of answering it, honey. I just don’t understand why he’s calling me at ten on a Sunday night.”
Alamo was already off the bed and scrolling through his phone before I’d gotten my statement out. “Badge. Yeah. The asshole’s callin’ Jasmine. You got eyes on ’im?” He nodded. “Okay. Quin and Kinsey with you?” He nodded again. “Okay. Yeah, I think we need to draw him out.”
While Alamo checked on his sister, I listened to Michael’s voicemail and rolled my eyes. He was grilling me for information on Quin, wanting to know when she was coming in for a hair appointment, etcetera. His questions started to give me an inkling of an idea. Whether or not Alamo would go with it, I wasn’t sure, but I fully intended to make it happen.
Alamo
I was getting antsy. I wasn’t sure if it was the anticipation of getting my hands around this skinny weasel’s neck, or fear that he wasn’t going to show. For once, I was thankful the back of Jasmine’s shop was poorly lit. If Michael did show up, I didn’t want him tipped off to our presence.
When Jasmine had first proposed the idea of using her to get Michael alone, I’d shot it down. We’d argued for a good half-hour before I realized it was a damn good idea and would be the best way to get Michael gone for good.
I had a clear line of sight to where Jasmine was standing, via the alley to the east of the building. She was standing directly under the soft glow of a vintage style streetlight, and looked like she’d stepped right out of the 1940’s. Like a pinup girl, who’d come to life, and hopped right off a B-52 bomber.
I could have stared at her for hours, but I had to remember why she was standing out there; like meat on a hook for this fucking pervert to paw at. She was the only bait I had, and I needed this guy gone tonight.
“You think he’s comin’?” Badger “whispered,” unaware of his actual volume. Many bikers refuse to wear ear protection while riding, and their hearing was shot by age thirty. Loud pipes, louder music, and the sound of gunfire had taken the hearing of most of my brothers.
“Not if you scare him away. Now, shut the fuck up and keep your head down.”
It was now 11:30, which meant Michael was fifteen minutes late. I didn’t like this. If he somehow got wind of our presence, we were screwed. Our whole plan depended on the element of surprise. This guy had every resource imaginable at his fingertips, so the only approach we had was the old school method. We were gonna need to use leverage and muscle, but weren’t going to be able to use either if Michael was tipped off to our presence, or didn’t show up. Just as I was getting ready to formulate plan B, Michael’s Tesla pulled in front of Jasmine’s shop, and stopped right in front of her.
“Alright, here we go,” I said, and Badger nodded.
Michael’s passenger side window lowered, and I could see him lean over to address Jasmine.
“Get in, you must be freezing out there,” I heard him say in his creepy robot voice.
“Actually, there’s a great little coffee shop within walking distance, I thought we could talk there. You can go ahead and park around the back if you’d like. It’s a private space and your beautiful car will be safe there.”
She was cool as a cucumber and played her part brilliantly, but I could see Michael hesitate for a moment, casually glancing behind him, before agreeing
“Sure, that sounds great. I really appreciate you returning my call, Jasmine. It’s my sincerest hope to clear up everything with Quin, and to show her just how deeply sorry I am.”
You’re gonna be deeply sorry, you smug piece of shit.
“Great, you can pull around, and park right alongside my car. I’ll wait for you here,” Jasmine said. Michael did as he was instructed as Badger and I watched him from our hiding spot. Once he was out of the car, I gave Badger a nod and we rushed him before he could react.
Well, that was the plan.
Badger reached Michael first, whose reflexes were much faster than we’d anticipated. He was a skinny fuck, but he moved fast, and although his back was turned to him, Michael delivered a clean elbow to Badger’s nose
, causing him to stagger back, blood pouring down his face.
I was only a few steps behind, and before Michael could fully spin around, I threw myself at him, instantly tackling him to the ground in a cloud of dust. I got on top of him and clocked him with a short right hand, feeling his orbital socket turn to powder under my fist. I saw the whites of his eyes appear as he began to pass out.
“Wake up, you fucker. Don’t you pass out before we’ve had a chance to talk,” I ordered, shaking him by his lapels.
He winced in pain as he came back around, still clearly disoriented.
“Take the car, here... here are the keys... just don’t hurt me.”
“Shut up.”
“I think that motherfucker broke my nose,” Badger said in disbelief.
“You shoulda ducked,” I replied, standing up.
“Please, take my wallet, just don’t hit me again,” Michael whined, while reaching for his inside pocket.
“Keep your hands right where I can see them asshole,” I said, producing a 9mm Browning pistol, and pointing it at Michael’s head.
“This isn’t a carjacking, you dumb motherfucker. This is about Quin,” I said.
Michael opened his remaining good eye and focused in the darkness. “Alamo? Is that you?” He attempted to sit up, but my boot to his shoulder convinced him otherwise.
“How ’bout you just stay there on the ground like the snake you are.”
Badger, now standing beside me, held a bandana to his nose in an effort to stop the bleeding.
“We’re gonna have ourselves a nice little chat about your future, Michael,” I continued.
“You animal. I don’t have anything to say to you. You fucking attacked me,” Michael replied.
“What’s the matter, Mikey? Don’t like getting hit by someone bigger than you? It doesn’t feel very good does it?”
“You’re both making a big mistake,” he threatened. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with.”
“Wrong. You’re the one who’s made mistakes. Your first mistake was laying hands on my sister, and the second was thinking we’re here to deal with you at all. There will be no deals made here tonight. There will simply be us telling you what to do, and you then doing it. Now, get up.”
“Fuck you, Alamo. Quin is my wife, and—”
I holstered my gun, grabbed Michael by his coat, and set him on his feet. He stood in front of me, still clearly dazed from the punch. His left eye was now swollen to twice its size.
“Let’s try this again, and if you promise to listen better, I’ll try my best to make this brief, so you’ll have plenty of time to visit the ER, before you go to the airport.”
“Airport? I’m not going to the airport. The only place I’m going is to the police—”
I hauled off and punched him in the stomach. He doubled over, gasping for air he desperately needed to finish his sentence.
“That’s one shot to the face, and one to the gut, Mikey. I feel like someone’s not playing the listening game very well, which isn’t good for you, because we’re just getting started.”
“You have... no idea how powerful I am... in this town... you lowlife. I’ll bring hell down on you. You can only... beat me up so much,” he said, in between gasps.
“Wrong again, I can beat you up a whole lot. In fact, I’ve been looking for the opportunity to do just that for quite some time, but as satisfying as that may be, I think we have more effective methods for your compliance.”
“What the hell are you talking about,” he squealed. “What do you want from me?”
“First, I want you to leave my sister alone, for good. You’ll give her a divorce, under any terms she sets, and you’ll grant her full custody of Kinsey. You’re also going to leave the state of Georgia, for good.”
“Tonight,” Badger added, his voice muffled through the dirty rag.
Michael snorted. “You can both go to hell, I’m not going anywhere, and I’m certainly not leaving without my wife and daughter. This is my town, and Quin and Kinsley are my family—”
“And this is the sound of your right index finger breaking in two.” I spun Michael around, grabbed his hand, snapped his finger like a crisp pea pod, causing his knees to buckle and hit the dirt. He cried out in pain and Badger stuffed his bloody bandana in Michael’s mouth.
Just then, I heard footsteps in the alley, and I called out, “Jasmine is that you?”
“Is everything alright?” she called.
“Everything’s fine, sweetheart. Go ahead and go on inside. I’m just taking out the trash.”
“Glad to hear it,” she said and walked back towards the front.
Michael groaned as I kept a tight grasp on his arm, still pinned behind his back.
“As much as I’d love to do this all night, I have something that I think might be a little more effective. Badger, grab his keys and open the car.”
Badger did as I asked, and after I gagged Michael, I threw him in the back seat, sliding in next to him while Badger took the driver’s seat.
“You and I need to talk, so I’m gonna take this gag out. If I do and you scream, I’m gonna shut you up another way.”
Michael sneered but nodded.
“Don’t get blood on my leather seats! This is a brand-new car, asshole,” Michael said the moment the bloody gag was removed.
“You really are something,” Badger hissed. “The only thing you care about is appearance. All you ever wanted Quin for was to be a trophy wife; arm candy for all your fancy fundraisers. Tell me something. When did you first start hitting Quin? Was it when you figured out she was smarter than you, or when you realized you’d never be man enough for her?”
Michael said nothing. He went into robot mode, his expression blank as he stared straight ahead.
“I had one of our brothers do a little digging around on you, Michael Westgate. At first, you appeared to be the model citizen. You come from a well-respected, old money family, and you’ve never received so much as a parking ticket. On paper, you’re one swell fella, ain’t ya, Mikey?”
He remained silent, facing forward.
“Hell, don’t be shy! Everyone seems to love you, Michael, old boy. You were the prom king, for fuck’s sake. Valedictorian and an Eagle Scout. Voted most eligible bachelor in Savannah the year before my sister had the misfortune of meeting you. In fact, no one in town seems to have a bad thing to say about you. Maybe Misty would, but then again she’s not in town anymore is she?”
Michael’s head snapped to meet my gaze.
“Oh, so you remember your step-sister Misty, do you? It’s been so long since you’ve seen her, I thought maybe you’d forgotten. How long has she been up there at Brookhaven now? Fifteen years?”
His eyes stayed locked on mine, but he remained perfectly silent. I pulled out my cell phone, unlocked it, and handed it to Michael.
“Open the file I have marked as, ‘Degenerate Dickless Fuckface.’”
Michael seethed, but did as he was told. His eyes widened.
“What the fuck is all this? How did you get this information?” he sputtered in disbelief.
I continued, “I wonder if Misty’s forgotten you? After all those years of medication and therapy. After all those years of being locked away, I wonder if you’ve been erased from her mind yet. Then again, can you ever truly forget your rapist?”
Michael’s cool façade began to fall away, and his jaw tightened. I could see a burning anger behind his eyes. This was a man full of hate, and it was clear that more than anyone, he hated women.
“What kind of sick animal does that to a family member?” I stared at Michael. “And what about Alissa?”
After a few tense moments, he finally broke his silence. “Those records were sealed. There’s no way you could’ve obtained that information legally. You’ll rot in prison for this.”
“Maybe so, but you’ll rot in a grave first.”
Michael swallowed hard and beads of sweat poured from his forehead. “I know your
club’s code. The Dogs of Fire don’t kill people,” he said.
“That’s true, the Dogs don’t murder. Our club isn’t a criminal organization; it’s a brotherhood. Some are born into it, and some are adopted, so to speak; brought in like strays from the street. You could say I’m one of those strays. But I’d developed my own code of conduct by the time I joined the brotherhood. One that kept me alive long before I started riding with the Dogs of Fire. And you know what? My code has no problem wasting the piece of shit that beat up my sister, and raped his own.”
“She is not my sister,” Michael growled and shifted towards me.
I pulled out my gun and pointed it at Michael. “She’s a human being, which is more than I can say for you. She’s also going to be alive for a long time, which is also more than I can say for you.” I cocked the gun.
“Alamo,” Badger said, clearly trying to dial me down a notch.
“Shut the fuck up, Badge. Michael and I are having a conversation, and this is the part where he needs to concentrate very hard.”
“As you can clearly see, we know about your past. We know all about Misty. We have the psychiatrist reports where you described, in great detail, about killing the pets in your neighborhood as a child. We have everything we need to destroy you.”
“There’s nothing in those records you can use to hurt me legally. I was underage, and those are sealed.”
“You’re right, Michael. There’s nothing here that can hurt you legally, and if I went to the cops about you and my sister, I’d be exposing myself, and my club. On the other hand, if these documents were anonymously leaked to the press, you’d be ruined in Savannah. Hell, you’d be humiliated the whole wide world around. Not to mention, this is only the personal part of the file. I haven’t even shown you the business section.”
“You’re gonna pay for this,” Michael hissed through his clenched teeth.
I leaned in, and pressed the barrel of my gun directly into his forehead. “You say you know about the Dogs and our code. You don’t know shit about us, or about the lengths that we’ll go to protecting our own. My sister means more to me than this patch, and Jasmine means more to me than my code, and I’ll put you in a fucking hole before I let you get anywhere near them again. In fact, it’s only because of them that I haven’t done so already, but don’t fucking push me.”
Stealing the Biker's Heart (Dogs of Fire: Savannah Chapter, #2) Page 17
