by Dez Burke
But Jace was less worried about law enforcement and more concerned with the rival motorcycle clubs, several of which were known for small-time arms dealing. Sooner than later they would find out what Alec had gotten them into, and they would come for blood to reclaim their territory and their major source of income.
Satisfied that his brothers had gotten out safe, Jace lit a cigarette and leaned against the side of the locked building, fingering the keys to his bike that rested in his pocket. He wasn’t sure why, but he had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He would blame it on the fact that he’d just finished a dirty deal, one he had no intention of repeating if he could find a way to get his club out of the game. But that wouldn’t cause the hair on the back of his neck to stand up as if he was being watched. He squinted through his sunglasses, looking around one last time, and saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Wanting to get the hell out of there, he squashed his cigarette and revved the engine on his bike, preparing to hit the road. But just as he started for the edge of the parking lot, the rumble from behind him stopped him cold, and he turned to see three large men on bikes headed straight for him. He wasn’t sure which club it was, but he knew they weren’t one of his. Not waiting until they were close enough for him to see the insignia they wore, he gunned his bike and took off, trying to put some space between them. Suddenly, he heard a thunderous roar, and a sharp, searing pain hit his side. He didn’t need to reach down to know the bullet had burned straight into him, and he could feel the heat of his blood soaking through his clothes as he rounded the corner.
Before he could get out of range, several more shots were fired and another struck home, grazing his shoulder and eliciting a foul curse from him as he gunned straight for the highway on-ramp, a shooting pain causing him to wince. With the quick loss of blood, his best chance now was to get to the nearest emergency room and get inside before they caught back up with him and finished the job.
Dammit, he was going to tear Alec apart as soon as he got back to the club. This situation was completely out of control and he was done with putting his club in danger in the name of greed. Whatever it took, this was coming to an end.
Speeding down the road and not even caring when he saw the flashing lights of police cars behind him, he headed toward Parkland, the hospital that asked the fewest questions and was closest to where he was. He was losing blood fast and knew that if he didn’t get there soon, he never would.
Chapter Four
As Carrie leaned over the counter at the nurse’s station, she was so bubbly with excitement that Piper thought she might spill over. “What on earth are you so giddy about?” she asked, slightly amused.
“Well, Tami was talking about this biker club where she and her friends were hanging out last night. Sounds like they had a lot of fun. Anyway, they just transferred a double gunshot wound from upstairs, and he’s just down the hall. Tami went in there and came out bright red in the face because he’s the one she was all dreamy-eyed about last night. She couldn’t tend to his bloody hip because they tore his jeans off.”
The story was outrageous. Piper bit her lip. “I’ll include him in my rounds. Tell Tami that she can take Mr. Colfax in 415.”
“I’d be more than happy to handle the biker, Piper. He’s drop dead gorgeous.” Carrie looked like she wanted a lot more left in her hands than just his medical care, and that was the last thing Piper needed to worry about managing right now.
“No, it’s okay. I got it.” She picked up his chart and walked towards room 440, where a Mr. Jace Dawson lay in wait. Knocking and entering, she stopped abruptly, eyes roaming over his tanned skin and gorgeous, dark features. While the man in the bed was a little haggard, looking like he needed sleep and a good shave, the angles of his face were sharp and alluring, and his mussed brown hair set off those perfectly brilliant eyes, a dark shade of grey, the color of the sea just before a storm. He lay there, shirtless, the hair on his chest doing nothing to hide the hard muscles underneath, trim and cut to perfection.
It was enough to send a powerful wave of uncontrollable desire through her body, and she let out a quiet whoosh of air between clenched teeth.
The man glanced over the room and his eyes landed on her. The intensity of his gaze was more than enough to make her pulse quicken and she blinked, evading the danger of getting lost in the perfection of his chiseled, masculine face. “Mr. Dawson?”
Jace stared at the nurse who’d just entered the room and somehow knew she was going to be trouble. Not that he cared. She was a sight to see, even with her long chestnut hair pulled back into a tight bun at the base of her neck and the scrubs that tried to hide perky breasts and a firm, round backside. Her glittering green eyes were filled with questions, and Jace really didn’t want to answer any of them.
With a nod, he responded, “Yes, ma’am.”
Piper narrowed her gaze at him. If this was a biker, he was certainly a charming one. Trying not to let her nerves – or her misplaced attraction to him – cloud her judgment or prevent her from doing her job, she moved toward the bed, setting down the chart and taking an assessment. He had a bandage on his left shoulder and, according to the chart, a total of twenty-nine stitches on his upper right hip.
“My name is Piper Reece, and I’ll be your nurse today. I understand you were shot?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered, keeping it short. He wasn’t going to give her anything she didn’t ask for.
Pursing her lips at his short answer, Piper crossed her arms over her chest and eyed him carefully. “Mr. Dawson, how exactly did you get those bullet wounds?”
With a heavy sigh, he repeated the same story he’d given when he’d first arrived at the emergency room, which he knew was noted in his file.
“I was running an errand downtown, and I was caught in the middle of a drive-by shooting. I have terrible luck, that’s all. I’m just glad they didn’t hit anything vital and didn’t damage my bike.”
He seemed to be trying to make light of the situation, but there was something off about his story. The strain in his voice was obvious as he told it. Piper wasn’t sure she believed him, but it wasn’t really her job to investigate. She was the medical consultant who would look after him in between doctor visits, and it was likely that he’d be out of here by tomorrow.
“Okay,” she said, backing off. “So, does everything feel alright? I’m sure there’s a bit of discomfort, but on a scale of one to ten, how bad is your pain?”
He shrugged and winced, forgetting about his shoulder. “They shot me up with morphine, so right now it’s about a two. I’m pretty sure it’ll be tolerable without the pain meds though, so whenever the doctor gets tired of looking at me, I’m ready to get out of here.”
“I’ll let the doctor know, Mr. Dawson. In the meantime, is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable?”
Jace couldn’t help but chuckle. There were many things that he’d love to ask her to do to make him more comfortable, but he thought better of it and instead, he let his head fall back to the pillow, blowing air through his lips.
“No, thank you, ma’am. I haven’t spent much time in the hospital since I was a kid, but I assume these little red call buttons work the same way they always have. I’ll let you know if I need anything.”
“Very well. Try to get some rest, Mr. Dawson. You’ll heal faster.” She left the room, her face flushed and her heart beating wildly in her chest. The man in the room behind her was a dangerous biker associated with some sort of gang, and while he claimed he got caught in the crossfire of some random shooting, something about that didn’t sit right with her. There was more to the story, and she wanted to scold herself for the fact that, instead of being frightened, she was intrigued and curious. She was acting way too much like Carrie right now, and it made her feel careless and irresponsible.
Sighing, she returned to the nurse’s station, logged the notes, and went back to what she’d been doing before. But she couldn’t seem to concentrat
e and when two men in suits arrived, she looked up, her heart seizing.
Offering them a shaky smile, she greeted them cautiously. “May I help you?”
The taller of the two nodded. “Yes, ma’am, my name is Paul Resner and this is Jason Morris. We’re looking for a Jace Dawson. We were told he’d been moved to this floor?”
Swallowing hard, her trepidation running rampant, Piper nodded. “Yes. He’s just down the hall, room 440.”
They simply nodded as they made their way down the corridor without another word.
Anxious, she looked around for Carrie, but she was nowhere in sight. What on earth is going on? she thought. Picking up his file, she made her way down the hallway, posted herself just outside the door to Dawson’s room, and listened in.
Chapter Five
Alec Stone snarled into the phone. “If you threaten me again, you dirty Haitian pig, you’re going to find every member of your family missing before you can even blink.”
But the man on the other end of the line wasn’t fazed by the threats. “My middleman tells me you are backing out of the deal. We had an agreement. Six million dollars in guns and ammo. That’s what you agreed to. You fail, you see no more sunrises, my friend. This is business, not a threat. And next time don’t send your boy to carry your message or we’ll make him the first sacrifice of a broken agreement. You understand?”
Swallowing a roar, Stone countered, “I want the damn guns, you blackened fuck. I have no plans to back out of the agreement. Set up the next delivery and I’ll meet you personally with the money.”
“Two weeks, my friend. I set up for two weeks, and if this falls through, you and your club...it’s over.” He hung up the phone and Alec cursed, throwing his glass against the wall and watching it shatter as it fell to the floor, droplets of whiskey spraying all over.
Patty, his long-time girlfriend, came up behind him, running her long manicured nails through his hair. “What’s the matter, darling?”
He grunted but closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of her fingers massaging his scalp the way she’d done for the last twenty years. “I’m going to kill him,” he grumbled.
“Oh honey, don’t overreact.” She kissed his neck and moved to sit on the leather couch across from him. “You always take care of business, my love...and you’ll take care of this, too.”
But Alec wasn’t overreacting this time. His trust had been broken, and in this business, that couldn’t be left unpunished. Otherwise, others would turn their backs on him and before too long he would find himself constantly watching over his shoulder for the moment when the club turned against him and he found himself running for his life.
No, he had to take care of this now... no matter how far he had to go to make his point crystal clear. Alec Stone was the leader, and he would not be disrespected.
“No, Patty, I’m calling this one.” Pulling out his cell phone again, he scrolled through the contacts until he found Ron’s number, the perfect guy for the job. Ron was someone who was as hungry for money as Alec and who had never been a big fan of Jace’s.
Dialing, he waited until Ron picked up. “Brother, we have a problem and I need you to get the word out on the street, but I need you to be discreet about it.” He waited a moment, trying to decide exactly how this was going to go. Finally, he told his buddy, “I need you to put out the word that there’s a price on Jace’s head. The man who brings him in gets $250,000, cash, no questions asked.”
That ought to take care of the son of a bitch.
* * *
Jace looked up, eyes narrowed, at the two suits who came into his hospital room uninvited. “Can I help you?” he asked, eyes dark with anger. He knew instantly that they were either Feds or cops.
“That depends, Mr. Dawson. I’m Agent Morris and this is Agent Resner. We have some questions we’d like to ask you, and I’m really hoping you’ll cooperate and make this easy.”
“What agency are you with?” Jace asked, his suspicions rising. He wanted to see some identification. For all he knew, these were just clean-cut members of some rival biker club, coming to set him up and take him out while he lay there, practically helpless.
Agent Resner pulled out a badge. “We’re ATF, Jace.”
Fuck.
Somewhere in his brain it registered. ATF must have been watching the operation for months now. Jace’s gaze landed on the door and he wondered if he could make a run for it, but he knew better. Instead, he looked cautiously at the men that stood before him, wondering how the hell he could get what he needed from them.
“Look, we’re not accusing you of anything except for being a pawn in someone else’s game. Jace, we know there are a lot of guns being transported. When the word came in that you’d been shot, we were hoping that you’d be willing to help us.”
Fucking great, Jace thought. Now he had federal agents with implications that could put him in prison for the rest of his natural born life, and if he ended up there, he’d end up dead. Until the gun-running operation, he’d never had any kind of real trouble in his life outside of the occasional bar fight. This was not his doing, but he needed to feel them out and see what kind of offer or deal they were willing to make in exchange for information.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Agent Morris moved closer. “We’ve got a lead on a couple of guys who drove up from the coast with a shipment that was never logged at the docks, Jace. It ended up here, in the city, in the warehouse district off Northwest highway today. It seems your drive-by shooting report occurred right about that time, in that same area.” His brows furrowed. “That seems like quite the coincidence, doesn’t it?”
It wasn’t a question. The agents knew everything. They just needed someone to confirm it on the record.
Before Jace could reply, there was a knock at the door and two people, a man and a woman, entered quickly. Jace looked up, confused. They were obviously locals, which meant they were DPD. The woman looked irate whereas the man, a Latino, looked stressed and exasperated.
“Excuse me, gentlemen, I’m not sure who you are or why you’re here, but we’ve been called in to question a victim of a gunshot wound,” the woman told them, flashing a badge, “so we’re going to have to ask you to leave.”
Agent Resner looked amused at the interruption, and neither of them seemed the least bit surprised by the territorial claim. This was going to get hairy quickly.
“This is a federal matter, which puts it in our jurisdiction.” Agent Morris replied, pulling out his badge. Jace watched the female cop’s eyes flash angrily. “Your business with Mr. Dawson will have to wait.”
The woman crossed her arms over her chest, and Jace didn’t miss the way the Latino stepped forward, interrupting before she could explode in what would likely be a fire hot enough to burn its way through the floor.
“We weren’t made aware of any federal cases related to this shooting, agents.” He held out a hand in an attempt at a friendly greeting, sending his partner a sidelong warning glance. “I’m Sergeant Alvarez and this is Lieutenant Hargrove. As far as we know, this incident was reported as a drive-by shooting, and unless Mr. Dawson provides any information that leads us to believe otherwise, we’ll need to handle this on our end for now, and then you can talk to him.”
Morris opened his mouth to speak, but Resner held up a hand to stop him. “We understand you have a job to do. At the same time, we’ve got our own questions for Mr. Dawson, and I’m afraid we can’t just walk out of here until we have some answers.” He turned to Jace, who lay silent, feeling his blood pressure rising as his pulse throbbed in his temples. “I’m sure Mr. Dawson will be more than willing to cooperate.”
Chapter Six
Outside the room, Piper’s heart raced. This was far more complicated and dangerous than she could have imagined. What kind of man was this Mr. Dawson? Would he put her staff in danger? And why were these people badgering him when he was barely out of surgery? Squaring her shoulders, determined to
get answers, she took a deep breath before opening the door to Jace’s room.
All eyes turned to her, all of which looked angry and ready for a confrontation.
“I know you all have business to attend to, but my patient is in recovery and his blood pressure is very high right now. I’m going to have to insist that you all leave this room. You can come back tomorrow when he’s had time to heal. Right now, he’s in no position to be questioned.” She moved toward Jace’s bed, avoiding his gaze.
Turning toward the agents, she motioned toward the door. “Please. It’s time to go.”
Piper waited patiently for the group to leave the room, staring them down until they were gone. Her shoulders slumping with relief, her anger took over the remaining fear.
“Alright, no more lies. I want to know why the hell everyone wants to question you and whether my staff and I have reason to be concerned.” She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for an explanation. Whether she was out of line or not, she wanted answers.
“I don’t know what is going on here, but I don’t want my staff in danger. I have a right to know what is happening in my hospital, Mr. Dawson.”
Jace was impressed yet surprised at the little spitfire who made his whole body burn with the heat that swirled in her eyes, a mixture of what looked like anger and passion. He found himself wanting to tell her everything – or at least, most of it – and hated that he felt anything resembling weakness toward her. But he also knew it would do him no good to lie to her.
Treading carefully, he began. “The locals were here because apparently, any time someone comes in with a bullet wound, your emergency room has to notify them.” She nodded with an impatient look, obviously aware of protocol. Taking a deep breath, he continued, “The other guys were looking for information on a gun-running operation that I tried to break up today.”
