“You’ve already done more than enough,” I said, grateful that she was such a good friend.
We hugged and then she left me alone to sleep.
Chapter 44
Blade
Injured and knowing that he needed medical attention, Blade drove directly to the farmhouse where he knew they’d find him help.
“What in the hell happened to you?” Cane asked when he showed up at the door.
“Gold Vipers,” he mumbled, swaying. “I need help.”
It was the last thing he remembered before passing out in the entryway.
***
A few hours later, Blade woke up in a bedroom, sore but bandaged. After managing to get out of bed, he walked into the kitchen and found Cane and Jet sitting down and drinking coffee. They both looked up at him.
“Thanks,” he said, motioning toward the bandages. “How bad is it?”
“The doc said your hand was pretty fucked up, although no artery was hit. You lucked out for the most part, but you’ll probably have some nerve damage.”
“Hope you don’t use that one for jerking off,” said Jet.
Blade grunted.
Cane continued. “As for your shoulder, it could have been a lot worse. You’re lucky it was your right and not your left. Apparently, a left shoulder wound could have killed you. More major arteries, or something, doc said.”
“Well, everything seems to fucking hurt,” Blade said, wincing as he sat down. “I feel like death might be merciful right now.”
“The morphine must be wearing off,” said Cane. “He gave us some more for you. Jet, go and grab the pills for him, will ya?”
“Sure,” he said, getting up.
“Thanks for calling him,” replied Blade.
“No problem.”
Doc wasn’t in the club, but he was a good friend of Cane’s and was very discreet. He was also paid very well for it.
“So, what exactly happened?” asked Cane, taking a drink of coffee.
Blade lied. “I was parked down the street, near Peyton’s. I heard a noise behind the van. I went to go check and that’s when I was jumped.”
“Gold Vipers, you said, huh?” replied Cane.
“Yeah. A couple of them. Fortunately, I got away,” said Blade.
“I wonder what they were doing at her place,” Cane said, scratching his stubbly chin.
“Maybe they’re looking for Tarot, too. He did take their safe, right?” Blade replied as Jet returned with the morphine.
“Maybe. Or maybe, you were tailed,” said Jet, listening in. He handed Blade the bottle of pills. “Hopefully, they didn’t follow you here. Take two at a time.”
“We’d know by now,” said Cane, not looking happy.
“Don’t worry about it. Nobody followed me,” said Blade. He opened up the pills and took some.
“Let’s hope not,” said Jet, staring at him. “Why were you at Tarot’s chick’s place, anyway?”
“I had him tailing her,” said Cane, looking at Jet. “Nobody knows where Tarot is, but I’m sure when he returns back to town, he’ll be making a visit.”
“I feel like we’re wasting time with these games,” said Jet. “I say we strike now. If their attention is on Tarot anyway, we’d have an advantage.”
“We need to wait a little longer. I want to know for sure if we’ve created a rift between Tarot and those fuckers. If Tank sides with Tarot, and shit falls apart, Phoenix, and his club, will be vulnerable. That’s when we strike.”
“We’re betting on ‘maybes’,” replied Jet.
Cane pointed at him. “You, of all people, know how much we want to destroy those fuckers. If we go after them now, the odds are against us. We need to wait until we know they’re vulnerable.”
Jet sighed. “Fine. You’re the boss.”
Cane nodded. “That’s right. I am. And if I fuck up, then it’s on me. But, I’m not jumping the gun on this. We’ve already lost a lot because of those douchebags. I’m going to make sure that when we do strike, it’s at the right time. Don’t worry, brother. We’ll take them out. Only this time, it will be permanent.”
Chapter 45
Tarot
We left the motel at seven a.m. Ruby was still tired, but I needed to get back to Peyton. We still had about twenty hours of drive-time to go, which I wasn’t happy about. The guilt of knowing that she’d almost been raped was eating me up inside.
“You hungry?” I asked Ruby, as we neared another McDonald’s.
“Yeah.”
I turned into the parking lot, vowing that when we returned to Minnesota, I’d make sure that she didn’t eat fast-food all the time. I wasn’t a bad cook and was even looking forward to making her meals.
“What happened to your friend?” Ruby asked a short time later, after devouring a bacon-egg-and-cheese biscuit.
“What do you mean?” I asked, looking at her in the rearview mirror. She was sitting next to Chilly, who appeared to be begging for human food.
“Peyton. Did someone hurt her?”
My eyes widened. “Did you hear me talking on the phone? I’m sorry, I must have been too loud.”
“I dreamed that a man was trying to hurt her. He looked like you. But, I knew he wasn’t.”
It took me a few minutes to answer. I’m sure the dream had been scary for such a young kid. “She’s okay.”
Her eyes widened. “It really happened?”
“Someone broke into her house, but nothing major happened.”
“I think that he’s going to try and hurt her again,” she said in an eerie voice.
My fingers gripped the steering wheel firmly. I needed to find an airport. “Have you ever been on a plane, Ruby?”
***
Six hours later, the three of us, including Chilly, arrived at the Minneapolis Airport. Fortunately, we’d been able to book a flight that offered pet transportation. I called Peyton, as soon as we landed, and then Phoenix.
“Glad you’re back. I’ll send someone to pick you up,” he replied.
“Thanks, brother,” I said.
“No problem.”
“You get a location on Blade yet?”
“Yeah. Cottage Grove. Considering the intel we received earlier, I’d say we have a good shot at finding all of them.”
I agreed with Phoenix. “I think we’ve got ‘em.”
“Let’s hope so. I spoke to Tank and he’s headed out here with a few other club members. They should be pulling up in the next hour or two.”
“So, we’re doing this tonight?” I replied, looking at my watch. It was a little after two p.m.
“The sooner, the better, I say. I’ve got Digger driving out to Cottage Grove as we speak. He’s going to confirm whether or not Blade is staying at the location and who else is with him.”
“Hopefully, he won’t be spotted,” I replied, my adrenaline already pumping. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Blade.
“He knows to be careful. Not to change the subject, but what do you want to do with Ruby? I can see if one of the Old Ladies will keep an eye on her for you.”
“I already talked to Peyton. She’s going to watch her at my apartment,” I explained.
“Okay.”
***
An hour later, Brass picked us up in his Tahoe.
“Glad you’re back,” he said as we pulled away from the airport.
“Me, too,” I replied. “So much has happened since I left.”
“Yeah.” Brass smiled at Ruby, who was in the backseat. “Was that your first time on a plane?” he asked her.
She nodded.
“Well, welcome to Minnesota, Ruby. My name is Brass.”
“Why do they call you Brass?” she asked, giving him an odd look. “That’s not your real name, is it?”
I knew why. It was because of his collection of brass knuckles. Fortunately, he didn’t mention that part.
“I used to play the tuba, back in high school,” he replied, smiling again. “You probably already know
this, but it’s a brass instrument. Anyway, my friends stared calling me Brass back in the day, and it just stuck.”
“Why didn’t they call you Tuba, instead?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe because Brass sounds cooler?” he replied, winking at her.
“Yeah. I guess it does,” she replied.
Brass looked at me. “You’ve got an address for me?”
I nodded and read it off of my cell phone. “So, you really played the tuba?” I asked in a low voice.
He nodded. “I did. For six years. I was in Band.”
“Huh,” I said. “I never knew.”
“And you call yourself a psychic,” he joked.
“I didn’t say that I was a good one.”
He chuckled. “Maybe you should consider reading tarot cards. That way when you’re wrong, you can blame it on a shitty deal.”
“Tarot cards,” I said, shaking my head.
“You think it’s all hoopla?”
“Come on, Brass. Do you really think that a deck of cards can influence someone’s life?”
“I think if you believe in anything hard enough, it can. Kind of like… the Law of Attraction. When people experience the corresponding manifestations of their predominant thoughts.”
I grunted. “Did you just grab that out of thin air? I’ve never heard you sound so… intellectual.”
“Actually, Devon and I have been doing a lot of research on the power of thought vibrations. We now both believe that if you consistently believe that you’ll be poor, or have a shitty life, then that will ultimately be your future. What do you think?”
“A lot of bad things happen to aspiring people and they don’t always see it coming.”
“True, but there are a lot of people out there blaming the world for their bad fortune and many times, it’s simply because of their own actions or unwillingness to do anything about it.”
“Of course,” I replied. “It’s because they’re frightened of the unknown.”
“Or just lazy.”
“That, too. Some people don’t want to try simply because it’s easier to just let life take its’ course.””
“My mom died of cancer,” said the small voice behind us.
I groaned inwardly. I’d forgotten that she was listening in and knew exactly what she was wondering—did her mother not do enough to stay alive?
I turned around. “Honey, I’m sure your mother fought to stay alive as hard as she could. She loved you very much and didn’t want to leave. There wasn’t anything further she could have done.”
Her lips trembled and tears filled her eyes. “I miss her.”
“I know.” The look on her face made my heart bleed. “Brass, could you pull over?” I said softly.
He did as I asked.
I went into the backseat and took her hand in mine. “Your mother might not be here physically, but she will always be with you in spirit. If you open up your mind and your eyes, you’ll find that out for yourself. Especially, with the gifts you’ve been given.”
She gave me a wide-eyed stare. “You think she’s with me right now?”
I smiled. “Definitely. I also believe she’s happy that you and I have found each other.”
Ruby wiped the tears away from her eyes.
“I know it hurts. In time, it will get easier. You know, my mother died just a few years ago.”
She stared at me, her eyes wide.
I smiled wistfully. “I swear to you, there are times when I can smell her perfume or hear her voice. You know why that is?”
She shook her head.
“Because she visits me. Just like your mother visits you.”
“You think so?”
“Definitely.” I nodded to Brass to start driving again and we spent the next half hour talking about her mother. As we were pulling up to Peyton’s friend’s place in Forest Lake, I felt like we’d made more of connection and she even let me hug her.
“Is this where you live?” Ruby asked when we pulled up to the tall complex.
“No. My friend Peyton is here, waiting for us to pick her up,” I said, unbuckling my seatbelt. “Remember Peyton? She’s the one I told you about.”
She nodded.
I leaned forward and patted Brass on the back. “I’ll be back, brother.”
“Hey,” he said quietly. “Good job with the kid. If I ever have any, I’m coming to you for advice.”
“I’m learning as I go along,” I replied, smiling. “But, thanks.”
Chapter 46
Peyton
It was almost three when Dom showed up at Stephanie’s. I hadn’t had a lot of time to explain who Tarot was, so when he showed up at the door, to say that she was surprised was an understatement.
“You’re Dom?” she said, crossing her arms under her chest.
He grinned. “Yeah, is Peyton ready to go?”
“I am,” I said, stepping next to her. “Thanks for letting me get some rest, Steph. I feel a lot better.”
She scowled at me. “You and I need to talk.”
“I know,” I said. “I’ll call you later.”
Stephanie looked at him and then turned back to me. “I really don’t know what you’re thinking, Peyton. You know—“
Not wanting to get into it, especially with him standing there, I cut her off. “I do. Look, don’t worry about me. I’m in safe hands with Dom.” I hugged her and whispered in Steph’s ear. “I’ll be fine. He’s not a bad guy. I swear.”
She grunted.
I pulled away and gave her a reassuring smile. “Like I said, I’ll call you.”
“You’d better.” She looked at Dom again. “Keep her safe.”
“I will,” he replied. “It was nice meeting you.”
Stephanie didn’t reply.
“Goodbye,” I said, leading him away. I looked over my shoulder, knowing that I was going to get an earful later.
“Goodbye,” she said, watching us leave.
“I take it she doesn’t like me,” Dom said when we were in the elevator.
“She doesn’t know you.”
He grabbed me and kissed me. “I’m used to it. Anyway, as long as you like me, that’s all that matters,” he said softly.
“I do like you. It’s why I haven’t left town,” I replied, half-serious and half-joking.
He looked at me with concern. “I’m sorry for what happened to you, babe. I swear, after today, you won’t have to worry about this guy.”
“Are you going after him?”
He nodded. “Oh, fuck yeah.”
A shiver went through me. What if Dom was hurt? What if he was killed? “Maybe you should let the cops handle this,” I said, sounding like a broken record, but not caring.
Dom touched my cheek. “There you go again. The cops won’t handle this. Not the way it needs to be handled, at least. This guy will attack you again if we don’t do something about it, Peyton. I can’t let that happen.”
From the look in his eyes, I knew there was nothing I could say that would change his mind.
“Just, don’t get hurt. Please,” I said softly.
He leaned forward and kissed me again. “I won’t.”
The elevator doors opened and he escorted me to a black SUV that was parked in the lot. As we drew closer, I noticed one of his club members standing outside, holding a leash that was attached to the cutest puppy I’d ever seen.
“Oh, my God, how adorable,” I said, walking over.
“Thanks,” said Brass, running a hand over his chin. “Devon made me shave today.”
I chuckled and pet Chilly. “Where’s Ruby?”
“In the truck,” he answered. “I figured I’d let the dog out to pee.”
Dom opened up the backdoor. “Ruby, you doing okay?”
“Yes,” said a little voice.
I stood up and walked over. Inside was a little girl with long, dark hair, light blue eyes, and a dusting of freckles on her cheeks. “Hi. I’m Peyton.”
“Hi,
” she said, staring at me intently.
“We should get going,” said Dom.
“Okay,” I replied, getting into the back, next to her.
Brass put the dog back into the kennel and then both men got into the front.
Dom turned around and looked at us. “We’ll stop and grab you something to eat before dropping you off. What are you hungry for?”
I wasn’t hungry, but knew that Ruby probably needed to eat after the flight. “Whatever she wants.”
“McDonald’s,” said the little girl.
“How about Subway? Or Arby’s?” replied Dom.
“Okay. Subway,” said Ruby, looking disappointed.
He looked at me. “We’ve had McDonald’s twice already in the last twenty-four hours.”
“Ah,” I said, understanding.
“We need to pick up some dog food along the way, too,” Dom told Brass. “Is that okay?”
“No problem.”
An hour later, we were in Dom’s apartment and both Chilly and Ruby were eating. We’d had to sneak the puppy in, since his complex didn’t allow animals.
“I’m sorry to have to run so quickly, but there’s business to take care of,” said Dom, staring at me.
I knew what he was talking about. “What about the dog? What should I do if she has to go potty?”
They’d already put newspaper on the ground, next to her kennel, but I knew she’d probably need to go outside at one point.
Dom sighed. “Don’t bring her out. If someone sees her then they’ll start asking questions. I don’t want you having to deal with that.”
“Okay,” I replied. “I’ll just clean up after her then.”
“Thanks. I’m sorry to lay all this on you,” he whispered, pulling me into his arms. “Especially Chilly. She’s almost harder to take care of than Ruby.”
“I told you before, I want to help,” I replied, looking at his daughter, who was seated at the kitchen table and watching cartoons. “She’s beautiful, by the way.”
He grinned. “Yeah. Thanks. She looks like my mother, who was gorgeous. Especially, in her younger years.”
Luring the Biker (The Biker) Book 7 Page 16
