“Yes, baby.” He laughed. “I accept all your demands.”
“Demands? Here’s another. Be safe. Come home to me.”
The doors burst open and Mutt stuck his head in. “Mother fucker, can’t you tell time?” He pointed the lit cigarette at the clock overhead. “I said we leave in—”
“I’ll be the fuck out there in a minute,” Trent hollered.
“You fucking better be.” Mutt slammed the door behind him again.
After Teal and Trent had said their goodbyes, the men loaded up in a van and set out for Treville. They drove through the backwoods, cutting a good twenty minutes off their arrival time, which allowed Gator to check in with the spy they’d placed in Snake’s gang. A job Trent doubted he’d have the balls to do. Not out of fear for his life, but for fear of killing every molesting piece of shit who stepped foot through those doors.
He could imagine the sights the man had seen while waiting for the perfect time to strike. He could nearly feel his blood heating from the need to kill and maim. Trent thought of Teal’s face when Jake threatened to rape her, he thought of his daughter being hurt by one of them, and that thought brought him to Shayla.
Yes, every choice she made was hers and hers alone, but Trent couldn’t help but wonder, if she’d been offered a better chance from the start, would she have become a different woman? This reasoning brought him to Teal’s idea of placing these women in transition homes. It was a damned good one, and leave it to his baby to think it up.
Mutt stopped the van in the shadows of the closed warehouse. “Get out.”
Trent didn’t think as he opened the van door, he just hitched his leather bag over his shoulder, and beat feet to the opened window. The headlights disappeared down the street and Trent hefted a leg up and over the sill. He was on his own now, but he’d memorized the interior of the building, so the darkened room still felt as familiar as his own home.
Fifteen steps forward to the west staircase, thirteen stairs, a landing, ten paces to the right, another set of stairs. Trent’s feet took to the path as if he’d done it a million times. The military had taught him a plethora of things that still helped him to this day. Trent had been taught to use all five of his senses. He utilized this skill now because no plan ever went exactly as expected, and to believe otherwise would get him killed.
He’d used his first sense the second the van had stopped. His eyes did a fast and effective survey of his surroundings. Few businesses, no homes or pedestrians. For this business district at nearly midnight, this was to be expected. The second he’d made it into the building, Trent pushed his senses to the max.
Controlling his breathing he’d quieted, listening for any noises that were out of place, and when he’d heard nothing, his feet moved even before being given the command. He sucked in air to taste. One of the oddest, yet oldest tricks in the book, but only effective in some cases. Trent tasted the air again, looking for the acrid taste of recent gunfire.
When his feet hit the stairs to the roof access, he stopped for a fraction of a second to scent the air again. Dust and mold met his nose, so he headed up the last flight of stairs and pushed the door open a crack. Scanning the roof for an ambush, Trent crouched low, popped on his night vision goggles and surveyed the roof. Nothing.
Pushing open the door, his watch vibrated, alerting him that his ass should be on the roof, and he only had a few minutes to set up. Of all the Hollywood movies that he’d seen portraying an assassin’s job, the movie Assassin actually had it right. When Antonio Banderas had been set up hours before Sylvester Stallone had arrived at the bank. That was the correct way.
However, the MC planned this, and now he knew why they needed him. Normally, Trent would have had his sniper rifle set up hours before the hit. He would have laid there for up to twenty-four hours if necessary. Instead, he set up his rifle, got into his prone position, followed the map markers he memorized, and set his sights on the entrance to the Ignited Brother’s makeshift Speak Easy.
Trent had ten minutes until the congressman was to pull up, leave his limo, and be escorted into the club by Snake’s personal guards.
One shot. This was all Trent had.
Chapter 23
The MCs clubhouse grew quiet around three a.m. Teal and Spooky had made it back and were heading to the room in the back when Spooky’s phone rang. Teal listened to the quick call and waited for him to fill her in. When Spooky pushed open the door and waited for Teal to walk past him, she asked him.
“What’s going on?” She motioned to the phone. “Who was that?”
He walked in behind her. “It wasn’t your man. When he calls, I’ll give you the phone.”
Teal nodded and made her way to the chair. Exhaustion tried to take over, but Teal fought as best as she could.
Sometime later, Spooky nudged her shoulder and waited for her groggy eyes to focus. He pushed a warm cup in her hands. Without thinking, Teal placed the cup to her lips and blew before taking a tentative sip. It was tea with milk and honey. And damn, it was good.
“How long was I out?” She massaged her aching neck and arched her back.
“About an hour. You looked so uncomfortable on that chair, but I didn’t care to move you.”
She peered at him over her mug, thankful he hadn’t put his hands on her. Spooky had been kind enough, but she would have most likely freaked out had she woken in his arms as he moved her.
“Well, thanks for this.” She lifted the mug. “You don’t seem like a milk and honey type of guy.”
He shrugged. “Someone told me it soothes the soul.” He sounded almost shy, like he was nervous as to what Teal’s response would be.
“I have a remedy for Trent when he gets sick.” She chuckled. “But let him tell it, and he never gets sick.”
“Aye, men can’t catch germs!” His chest puffed up and his arms opened wide. “We are manly men.”
Teal laughed because not even a month ago, Trent had been sneezing and coughing all over the place, with a fever so high she’d damn near rushed him to the emergency room. Instead, she’d placed him in front of a fan on low setting and force fed him Tylenol.
“My concoction consists of a low sodium broth, ginger, and honey.” Another sip sent the warm liquid down her throat and throughout her body, fighting off the chill from the room. “Can I ask you something?”
Spooky had sat down in the chair across from her, legs wide and eyes on the door. “What?” he asked, his brogue causing the word to sound shorter than it should.
Teal peeked at him, unsure if she should broach the subject of Mia or not. From his shrew gaze and the tense line of his lips, Teal thought the answer was a resounding, no. Instead, she pushed forward because her heart hurt for the two; knowing Mia had been a victim of unspeakable acts, yet Spooky still yearned for her.
Teal placed the empty cup down at her feet. “You and Mia?” She didn’t say more. He knew what her question was. Did he plan on a romance with her? Had he already tried? If so, how was that working out for him?
He suddenly looked uncomfortable.
“You don’t have to tell me. I was just . . .” She thought of how to bring this up. She hadn’t talked about what happened to her and Trent with a stranger. She’d always felt so weak and no one wanted to feel like a victim, ever. “I ask only because something vaguely similar happened to me.”
“Who the fuck touched you without your permission?” His roar felt as if it would shatter her ear drums.
“His name is Jake.” Teal admitted. “And he is in jail for attempting to rape me and murder my husband.” She fixed Spooky with a hard glare, daring him to show her an ounce of pity. The strength in her eyes must have told all the story he needed, because he worked to calm himself.
“Did he . . .” His eyes darted away from hers as he waited for the answer.
She bit her lip. “No, but he attempted to do it in front of Trent.”
“Fuck.” He spat. “And now we are taking you away from him. He doesn�
�t even know if you’re safe or not.” The tone of his voice sounded anguished. He glanced up at her and Teal remembered Mia’s words. But as I recall, you men always vote on subjects like this and the vote must be what? The guilt she caught in his voice made sense to her. Spooky had been a part of the group who’d planned to take her and hurt her if Trent hadn’t acquiesced to the MC’s demands.
“Were you going to be the one who did it?” she asked as she came back to her senses. Just because Spooky hadn’t hurt her didn’t mean he wouldn’t, or that he hadn’t planned to do so.
“What?” She caught the confusion in his gaze, just as it turned to realization. “No! You were never to be hurt.”
“No, but you were to scare me and threaten me.” Her tone was terse, but Teal was halfway over her anger.
Spooky nodded. “True, and to be honest, I’d do it again if it’d save these girls. Fuck everyone else’s opinion on that.” He growled.
“Even Mia’s?” Teal asked and he tensed. “You aren’t going to be able to keep her in your life if you believe taking a woman’s choice away without her consent for any reason is okay. It just isn’t. Spooky, you almost put me back in that dark place I’ve been working to get out of. Your actions hurt me. And yes, you may have saved a few girls in doing so, but you could’ve also wrecked me in the process.” Teal sat back. “And to me, those means don’t justify shit.”
“So, what are you saying? We should stand by—”
Teal was already shaking her head. “No, you should have taken Trent’s no for an answer and found someone else.”
“There was no one else. It was Trent or we’d have to start a war and risk losing the women.”
“What? I thought Trent was just supposed to shoot someone. Did he go in and get women out, too?” This made her shake. She wanted the girls safe, but she also wanted Trent far away from the scene of the crime.
“No, the cops on our payroll were sent in after the deed was done.” He pointed to her cup. “You want more?”
“Yes, please.” He ambled over to her and picked up the cup. As he stood, he reached in his pocket and looked at it. “Deed is done. You can hold onto this. I figure the next time it rings it’ll be for you.”
Teal took the phone and gripped it tight. “Thank you, Spooky. I owe you one.” She smiled up at him.
Spooky gave her a warm smile. “Women love to say that to me. I swear, when the time arrives, Imma come collectin’ on these favors.” Spooky left the room, leaving Teal alone to stew in her thoughts.
She’d said things to Trent in anger, though she’d only done so out of fear. Fear for her family’s future. But wasn’t that what Trent had done? Teal could understand that, but what she couldn’t understand was the lies and deceit. She couldn’t live like this, and her marriage wouldn’t survive if Trent forced her through something like this again.
Teal stood and made her way to the tiny window in the room. The sun would be up in a few hours and Trent would be in her arms again. Wrapping her head around the fact he’d murdered someone wasn’t hard though; he’d been in the military, killing insurgents for years. Besides that, after the look in Mia’s eyes—the emptiness there until she looked up at Spooky—told Teal that these men needed to be stopped.
The question was, at what cost?
Spooky was set to take the blame for the murder if things went south, but what would that do to Mia? Teal felt as though Spooky lent Mia strength in ways no one else could, and that he’d take a bullet for her the same way Trent had for her. She sighed. If she were being honest with herself, she’d known the second she’d fallen in love with Trent that her life would never be the same.
At the sound of a gunshot and men shouting for a Marine to stand down, Teal froze.
Trent!
Teal shoved the phone into her back pocket, just in case she needed to call 911, and ran from the room toward the noise. Down the hall and a right later, Teal stood behind a group of men, guns aimed at Trent’s heaving form, his gun at his side. Ace sat on the ground, his hand held over a wound on his shoulder and strained laughter bubbling from his chest.
“D—don’t shoot him. He owed me one,” Ace called out between coughs.
“Call Doc,” Mutt yelled and a man lowered his weapon and darted out a door.
Teal ran to Trent, wrapping her arms around his waist. His arms shot out and pulled her close. Teal felt his chest as he moved up and down, listening to his heart as it thrummed from behind his ribs. She closed her eyes, taking in his musky scent—the smell of leather and earth, mixing to make a delicious cocktail of scents.
“Baby,” she breathed and Trent squeezed her so tight she felt it in her ribs.
“You deserved that shit,” Trent said, but there was no anger in his voice. She looked up at him to see his eyes on Ace. “You gonna bitch out and die on me?” he asked.
Teal heard actual concern in the timbre of his voice. She supposed after spending time with Spooky and learning what these men were doing, that she could understand Trent’s sudden change of heart.
Seconds later, a dark-skinned beauty in yoga pants, a workout top, and a leather satchel came running into the room. The blue Mohawk guy close on her tail. His eyes took in the room and widened.
The dark-skinned woman took a knee beside Ace. “You get shot more than 50 Cent, you know that?”
Ace coughed or laughed, Teal couldn’t tell which. “Most days I deserve it,” he muttered as she inspected the wound.
She pushed the short sleeve up. “Is today one of those days?”
Ace glanced up at Teal with a twitch to his lips, to let her know he wasn’t about to die today. “Yup.” He winked at her and Trent pulled her away and out of his sight.
“This is it.” Trent pulled the cut off his shoulders. “Don’t come calling again.” He handed the cut over to a man as he passed by. “Or next time,” Trent turned back to the man, “my aim will strike true.”
Teal peeked around Trent’s shoulder. The threat he’d just offered might get their asses killed, but Teal had needed to hear this. She’d needed Trent to put this to his past.
Ace winced as the woman cleaned the wound. “Loud and clear, my friend.”
Trent nodded. “And we need a car to get back home, a clean car.”
“You asking for a favor?” Ace’s brow quirked and Teal knew that meant Trent would owe the MC again. Oh, hell no.
“You want me to burn this bitch down?” He motioned to the clubhouse.
Ace laughed, then lifted his chin to Mutt, who still looked ready to kill. “Get them the Chevy, and let ‘em be.”
Mutt stood down and slapped Trent on the shoulder. “Follow me.” As they walked past the one with the sharp teeth, he grinned wide, showing off his odd dental display.
“Told you she’d come back.” He winked at Teal as she tucked herself under Trent’s arm and headed out into the waning night.
Epilogue
Trent thrust so deep in Teal, she felt it in her very soul. His sweat-slickened body glided over hers, and Teal opened her legs wider for him. She reached behind him and gripped his ass with her nails, enjoying the gasp it wrenched from Trent. Her fingers itched to reach down and play with her slickened bud as another climax threatened to push her over the edge, but she knew Trent would tie her hands to the headboard if she did, and unfortunately, this needed to be a quickie.
“Fuck, baby.” Trent’s growled words sounded as if he’d gritted them out, and Teal clenched her core on his next down thrust. “Oh, shit. Oh fu—” He shuddered above her, his eyes closed tight. Blonde hair flowed down his shoulders, as he hovered over her.
“Yes.” She moaned as her core released a flood of pleasure. The very sight of her man losing control, the feeling of his hot seed pouring inside her, set her off in so many ways she couldn’t see up from down.
Trent lowered down and placed his lips soft against hers. Gently pulling away, he lifted her knees to damn near her chin. “I saw this on YouTube the other day,” he said s
heepishly.
Teal chuckled. She wasn’t sure if this would help her conceive or not, but she was willing to try it for him. After a month off her birth control, she and Trent had been at it like bunnies.
Teal gripped under her knees and held. “Go take a shower. Your son will be back from the store any minute.”
Trent kissed her again and promptly hopped off the bed and did as told.
The old flicker of fear didn’t assault her at the idea of having a child anymore. While she’d been ducking and dodging calls from her mother, Teal had faith in her ability to be the mother her mother couldn’t.
Thirty minutes later, Teal was in the living room with Markus, waiting on Katie and her family to arrive. She clicked on the television and turned on the news.
“Treville’s Sheriff Alan Holcombe discloses to NDC27 affiliate of CGFA- TV, the murder of Congressman Alexander Tonwlyn-Havers last month at a pop-up molestation house, created by the members of the now incarcerated Ignited Brothers Motorcycle Club, revealed evidence of child sex trafficking. The FBI was called in and removed evidence from Congressman Alexander Tonwlyn-Havers’ home. Victims have been placed in witness protection, and Congressman Alexander Tonwlyn-Havers own daughter is thought to have been a victim.”
“Mary, this all seems too familiar to the case ten or so years ago with Senator Davenports’ daughter, Elena Davenport. It looks like we have a problem dating back farther than first expected.”
“Todd, you’re right. And it seems the vigilante responsible for taking Congressman Alexander Tonwlyn-Havers’ life and sending an anonymous tip to the crime hotline is still shrouded in mystery. There was no evidence to be found revealing the caller’s identity, though police do have a line to call if you have any information that could help solve this case. 1-888-LOCK-UP is the tip line number.
“Wow. All I can say is wow. In other news—”
Trent’s head popped in the door. “Baby? Turn that mess off. Logan, Katie, and the girls are here.”
Indebted: 'Til Death Do Us Part (Teal & Trent Book 3) Page 20
