by Wilder, L.
“What are you getting at here, Riggs? Please tell me you aren’t suggesting that we team up with the fucking FBI ’cause you know we never get involved with the cops.”
“Yeah. I’m well aware of that, but just hear me out. This guy could be our answer.”
“How so?”
I spent the next half hour going over everything with him. I could tell from the expression on his face that he had his doubts about using Hamilton, but at least he was willing to consider it. As he glanced down at the file one last time, he announced, “I’m calling church first thing in the morning. We’ll go over all this shit then, so bring every bit of intel you’ve got on Navarro.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Get some sleep, brother. Looks like you need it”
I chuckled under my breath. “Will do.”
I left his office and went back down to my room, and after a quick shower, I got in the bed. As I lay there, an uneasy feeling washed over me as I thought about everything Gus and I had discussed. Like all my brothers, I was ready for a fucking break. Over the past few months, the club had been dealing with one battle after the next, but we hadn’t let them define us—and we certainly didn’t let them destroy us. Instead, they’d only strengthened us, making us a force like none other. I closed my eyes and let my mind drift back to Reece. Just thinking about her brought a peace to my mind, and before I even realized what I was doing, I’d reached for my phone.
Me:
Hey. Sorry it’s so late. I just wanted to make sure you made it home okay.
Reece:
Hey. I made it fine. Thanks for checking on me. Sorry I had to rush off like that.
Me:
It wasn’t easy letting you go.
Reece:
Well, you didn’t make it easy to leave.
Me:
I should’ve tried harder to convince you to stay, then I wouldn’t be in this bed alone.
Reece:
I kind of like the idea of being there next to you.
Me:
Good. Because I plan on you being here a lot.
Reece:
Well, there’s always next time.
Me:
Now, that’s something to look forward to.
Reece:
Yes, it is. Until then, I’ll see you in my dreams.
Me:
Those dreams better be doing me justice.
Reece:
Don’t worry. You never disappoint.
Me:
You’ve dreamed of me before???
Reece:
I don’t know. Maybe a time or two.
Me:
I think you’re holding out on me.
Reece:
Maybe.
Me:
So, these dreams? I’m guessing they’d be Rated PG, right?
Reece:
Well, of course.
Me:
Yeah. Of course. Good night, beautiful.
Reece:
Night, Jackson.
With a smile on my face, I dropped my phone beside me and closed my eyes, and it wasn’t long before I drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, the brothers gathered in the conference room, and Gus caught everyone up to speed on Navarro. Once he was done, he turned the meeting over to me. The guys were already on edge when I shared the information I had on Agent Hamilton, so I wasn’t surprised when they weren’t exactly thrilled about my idea. T-Bone was the first to voice his concern by saying, “The cops? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Listen, just hear me out,” I pushed. “This guy is hungry. He’s been working for the Feds for twenty years, and he’s always failed to get his guy. He’s been after Josue for over three years, but every time Hamilton gets close, the guy slips right through his fingers.”
“Okay, I get it,” Blaze jumped in. “You’re saying this Hamilton will probably do just about anything to get his hands on Josue.”
“Exactly.”
“Yeah, so? This guy wants to get Josue. How does that help us?” Shadow asked with sarcasm.
“We make sure Hamilton knows where to find Navarro.”
“And how the fuck are we going to do that?” Gus asked as he reached for one of his cigarettes. “We’ve got no idea where Navarro is headed next.”
“We will if we bait him. We offer him something he couldn’t possibly resist to lure him out.”
“Like what?” Murphy, our sergeant-at-arms, asked.
“I don’t know just yet, but I’m sure we can come up with something.” I could feel the tension in the room crackling around me as I continued, “We just need to provide Hamilton with a specific time and location, and then we can leave the rest up to him.”
“It could work, but I just don’t like it.” Murphy leaned forward and looked over to me, his voice rough when he added, “There’s too much weighing on us getting Navarro, and I don’t have a good feeling about putting our faith in some fucking cop.”
“I get what you’re saying, Murph, but this might be our only chance to snag Navarro without a full-on war.”
“Yeah, but a guy like Navarro isn’t going to stop running his operation just because he’s behind bars.” Gus took a drag off his cigarette, and smoke billowed around him as he added, “So even if Hamilton gets a hold of him, that doesn’t mean this thing over.”
Grasping at straws, T-Bone turned to me and asked, “Isn’t there some of that computer mumbo-jumbo shit you can do to wipe this fucker out?”
“Like what? Freeze his assets or incriminate him for a crime he didn’t commit? I don’t think that’s going to help us much here.” As much as I tried to hide it, my frustration was coming through. “There’s only so much I can do here, brother.”
“Didn’t you say that he was fighting with a rival cartel in Mexico?”
“Yeah. They’ve been battling it out for years.”
Murphy’s eyes narrowed as he suggested, “Why can’t we use that to our advantage? You do some of that fancy shit on your computer and make it look like their feud has followed him here. Anything you can do to keep Navarro’s focus off of us … at least until we can take him down.”
“It’s an option, but the truth is … I’m tired of playing fucking games with this asshole,” Gus complained. “We need to end this fucking thing now while we have him at a disadvantage. He’s distracted with his brother, and he’s on our territory. We know the ins and outs of this city, and if we play it right, he’ll never see us coming.”
Knowing he was right, I asked, “What do you need us to do?”
“Right now, we’re waiting on an opportunity to get close to him. So, for the time being, we need to get prepared to make our move.” He stood up and immediately started dishing out orders. “Shadow and Murph, check all artillery. Gunner and T-Bone, get your eyes on Josue. I want you tracking his every move. Riggs, see what you can find out about that rival cartel. If we decide to go with Murphy’s idea, we’re gonna need everything you can find on them.”
“You got it.”
“We’re on high alert, boys. Watch your back and keep your families close. A war is approaching, and we need to be ready.”
10
Reece
I’d been a nervous wreck all day, and rightly so. I was about to take my entire world and turn it completely upside down, destroying everything I’d worked for—again. I knew this. I knew it without a doubt, and yet I didn’t have a choice. It was time to tell Jackson that he had a son. He deserved to know the truth, even if it meant losing him. I had fallen for him years ago, and even after all this time, I was still just as crazy about him. It made my heart ache to think about hurting Jackson. I knew he wouldn’t be able to forgive me, not for something like this, and it filled me with dread as I drove over to the Satan’s Fury clubhouse. I tried to prepare myself for what I would say, but I had no idea how to tell the man I loved that I’d kept his son away from him for the last twenty-one months. There were no right words that could explain something so wrong. Throw i
n the fact that the father of my child could be a criminal, a murderous criminal, and I was up for a great first date.
It was right at four when I pulled up to the gate. A man with a Satan’s Fury cut walked over to my car, and when I rolled down the window, he asked, “Can I help you with something?”
“Yes. I’m here to see Jackson Reed.”
“Jackson?” he asked, sounding surprised. “You mean Riggs?”
The man from the night before had asked the same question, so I answered, “Uh …Yes. He’s expecting me.”
“All right. Pull up to the front, and I’ll let him know you’re here.”
I nodded as I drove forward, and I’d barely gotten parked when Jackson came out of the front door. As always, he looked smoking hot. His dark hair was still damp from his shower, and he was wearing a pair of faded jeans and his black leather jacket with a fitted, white t-shirt underneath. When I got out of my car, he smiled and said, “Hey there, beautiful. You ready to go?”
“Yes and no,” I stammered. “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”
“I’ll tell you what … Let’s get to where we’re going, and you can tell me anything you need to.”
“But …”
Ignoring my resistance, he reached for my hand and led me over to his motorcycle. He offered me a helmet, and the next thing I knew, I was on the back of his bike with my arms wrapped around his waist. Damn. I cursed myself for not making him listen to me, but he wasn’t exactly making it easy. He smelled so good, felt so good, and just being close to him made it hard to think. By the time I realized what was happening, he already started the engine and was pulling out of the club’s parking lot. Seconds later, I felt the wind whipping around me as we drove down an old country road. I could see why Jackson loved riding like he did. It was a beautiful fall afternoon, and with all the leaves changing colors, it wasn’t long before I’d gotten caught up in the ride myself.
About thirty minutes later, he pulled up to a long gravel road, and as we drove forward, I noticed a beautiful red barn ahead of us. Behind it were miles of rolling hills lined with trees and a huge log-cabin-style house nestled in the center. “Where are we?”
“Critten Farms. A friend of mine owns the place.”
Once we parked, I got off the bike and asked, “So, what are we doing here?”
After laying his leather jacket across the seat of his bike, he smiled and reached for my hand. “You’ll see.”
We entered the rustic barn and inside was older man with two beautiful Tennessee walking horses waiting for us. Jackson walked over to shake his hand, and the older man smiled and said, “Good to see you, Jackson. It’s been too long.”
“Yes, sir, it has. Looks like the place is doing well.”
“Things are picking up. You know how it is. Fall is always a big time of year for us.” The man looked over to me and smiled, “Who’s the pretty lady?”
“This is Reece Winters. She’s the one I was telling you about.”
“You were right, she is beautiful.” He extended his hand as he said, “I’m Ross Richards, an old family friend of Jackson’s.”
“It’s really nice to meet you, Ross,” I replied and shook his hand.
“Well, I won’t keep you two.” He handed Jackson the reins to the horses and added, “Y’all have a nice ride.”
“Thanks, man. We’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
“Take your time, and I have everything set up in the back pasture like we discussed.”
Before I had a chance to ask what he was talking about, Ross turned and walked away, leaving me alone with Jackson and the horses. “So, I take it we’re going for a ride today?”
“That’s the plan,” he answered as he led me over to one of the horses. “Have you ridden before?”
“Yes, but it’s been a long time.”
“For me, too.” He helped me on and added, “This pretty girl is named Lacey. She’s one of the smartest horses I’ve ever come across.”
“You’ve been around a lot of horses?”
“Not exactly,” he admitted with a smile. “But she’s easy to ride and not nearly as stubborn as Little Joe.”
I looked over to his horse, which was a good bit larger than Lacey and asked, “Little Joe?”
“He got his name when he was younger. Apparently, he wasn’t a healthy colt, and they didn’t think he was gonna make it.”
Once I was settled on Lacey, Jackson walked over and got on Little Joe. After he took a hold of the reins, he looked over to me and asked, “You ready?”
“As ready as I’m gonna be.”
He smiled as he gave Little Joe a nudge with the heel of his boot, and seconds later, we were headed towards the back pasture. We rode in silence, each of us quietly lost in our own thoughts, until Jackson turned to me and asked, “What do you think?”
“It’s really beautiful, Jackson, and you were right, Lacey is easy to ride.”
“I was hoping you’d think so.”
We continued forward, and it wasn’t long before we crossed a small stream with water clear enough to see all the different fish and multi-colored rocks. I was tempted to stop and dip my toes in the cold water, but Jackson was already well ahead of me. He’d gotten off his horse and was motioning me forward. When I finally caught up to him, I was surprised to see that he’d set up a picnic for us. There was a plaid blanket spread across the grass with a wicker basket full of food sitting in the center, and to the side, a small fire was burning, giving off just enough heat to warm my chilled fingertips. As I dismounted Lacey, I looked over to him and asked, “You did all this?”
“I had a little help.”
“Well, either way, I’m impressed.” I watched him take the reins and tie Lacey up next to Little Joe. Once he was done, we both sat down on the blanket. “This was very sweet of you,”
“What can I say? I’m a sweet guy.”
“Um-hmm,” I scoffed. “So, what’s in the basket?”
“That, I’m not so sure about.” He gave me a playful look as he opened the basket and studied each container as he spread them out onto the blanket. Once Jackson emptied the basket, he reached for one of the larger containers and pried open a corner. He peeked inside and smiled. “Looks like we’ve got cheese and crackers, a few sandwiches, and some grapes; for dessert, we have chocolate-covered strawberries.”
“Wow. You went all out.” I giggled.
“I was hoping to make a good impression.”
“Well, you succeeded.”
After we’d both made ourselves a plate, Jackson reached into the small cooler for a beer, and as he handed me mine, I found myself wondering how he’d react after I tell him the news about Tate. There was no doubt that he would be angry, furious even, and that thought terrified me. For the first time in months and months, I was happy, really happy, and I wasn’t ready to let that go, but I didn’t have a choice. It was time to tell him. Just as I was about to open my mouth, he said, “We really haven’t had a chance to catch up, so why don’t you tell me a little about your family?”
“There’s really not much to tell.”
“What about your folks? Is your dad still running his own construction company?”
I sighed at the mention of my father’s name. So much had changed over the last two years. I didn’t know how to tell Jackson that I’d gone from the apple of my father’s eye to the black sheep of the family, so I decided to keep it simple. “Yes. Not much has changed with his work. Mom is still his secretary, and he’s still driving her crazy by being so disorganized.”
“And your sister? Is she still working at the hospital?”
“She is.” Lillie had been working as a nurse at Le Bonheur’s Children Hospital for three years and was recently named the head pediatric nurse. “She really loves it there, and Thomas is interning at the Harrison/Jones Architect Company. The lead architect thinks he has a lot of promise, so who knows? My big brother could become famous for designing some fancy skyscraper
for the city of Memphis.”
“It could happen.” After taking a sip of his beer, he said, “Your folks must be proud of themselves for having three successful kids.”
I shrugged as I mumbled, “Well, two out of three ain’t bad.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. I’m just thinking out loud.” I glanced over at him and asked, “What about you? How are your parents?”
“My mother never stops. If she’s not working down at the nursing home, then she’s playing bunko or bridge. She’s also started some book club. They meet once or twice a month and pretend to talk about some book they read. I think it’s just a chance for them to get together and drink, but don’t tell her I said that,” he snickered. “My dad is still working at the electric company … climbing those damn poles. I’ve been trying to get him to retire before his knees wear out, but he won’t listen.”
“Sounds like they’re doing what they love.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“And your little brother?”
A disgruntled look crossed his face. “Lane is doing all right, I guess. He’s been bartending at one of the pubs on Beale Street. He’s hoping to get a full-time gig with his band, but I’m not sure that’s ever gonna happen.”
“You never know. He might become the next big thing.”
“Um-hmm,” he scoffed. “Somehow I doubt it, but we’ll see.”
I’d just grabbed a handful of grapes when I felt my phone vibrate in my back pocket. Thinking it was probably work, I decided not to answer and popped one in my mouth. I wanted my focus to be on Jackson and our time together, but when my phone vibrated for the second time, I couldn’t ignore it. Worried something might be wrong, I grabbed my phone, and my chest tightened when I saw that it was Tate’s sitter calling. I quickly stood up and said, “I’m sorry, but I’ve got to take this.”
