by Carmen Faye
Fortunately for him and everyone in the Nomad Devils, his right hand man Dakota had been directly behind him. The sound of Dakota’s voice as he was trying to get inside the hospital stopped him in his tracks. Not because he was surprised they followed him. Not because he felt guilty. But because that’s the way it worked. He was loyal to his brothers and that included when they were trying to stop him from doing something completely stupid.
Which is what he’d been doing.
Dakota reminded him that it was a danger to all of them if he set foot into Agent Fuller’s room. The two of them could not be linked. Especially not after the kidnapping.
In Asher’s mind it wasn’t much of a kidnapping. But the idea was the same. Any kind of link and they’d all be dead, Melissa included.
Dakota had promised to return promptly with information about her but Asher hadn’t heard a word from him. Where the fuck was he at?
The idea of her being hurt, or worse, left him pacing back and forth. As he did, he remembered their times together. He thought about her smile. The look of desire that flooded her face when he touched her. The way her perfume lingered on his pillow. And the fact that she had gotten to him in a way that no one else had done.
This was one of those days when Asher didn’t much like himself. Mostly it was when he did something wrong. Today it was because he did something right with the totally wrong person. And now she was in danger, if she was even alive. A thought he didn’t want to entertain.
The sound of wheels on gravel stopped his pacing. He could only hope that Dakota had good news. Even as he watched the familiar Dyna Super Glide making its way down his driveway, he panicked and worried about what his confidant was going to say. Asher wanted to believe he was prepared for the worst. But he knew better. A part of him clung to the idea that Melissa would be okay in all of this. The other part was dead set on hate and revenge.
He watched as Dakota got out of the vehicle and he tried desperately to read his facial expression. But much like the rest of the time, Dakota remained completely unreadable. Asher had been that way once. Strong. Loyal. Unable to be broken. Those days were long gone. Whoever had done this to Melissa Fuller had found his breaking point.
That’s why he was at the cottage and not his house. For many it seemed silly to have two separate places in the same town. For Hudson it was necessary. He had times when he needed to be there and not be seen by the guys who looked up to him. Times when he couldn’t be the strength that they needed to believe in.
This was one of those days.
He made his way to the door before Dakota ever reached it. Part of Asher wondered if it was taking his friend so long because the news he had for him was bad.
Dakota walked through the door, removed the light jacket he wore and headed straight for the bar. Asher watched as he poured himself a glass of whiskey and walked back to the sofa.
Everything inside of Asher wanted to shout. He wanted to find out why nothing was being said. He’d waited for what seemed like days to hear how she was doing and his friend sat across from him, silently sipping on his expensive liquor.
The only thing stopping him was fear. He didn’t want to hear anything bad and he feared that bad was all he had. So he quietly sat back in the recliner and looked at Dakota, waiting to hear what he had to say.
“Asher…” Dakota broke the silence and Hudson felt his heart drop. It wasn’t going to be good and he knew it. “I don’t know.”
***
“What do you mean I can’t go in?” Logan’s face flooded bright red and he felt ready to punch the annoying little deputy in the face.
“Sorry sir.” The cop didn’t even flinch.
Logan hissed at the stone cold face of the man in front of him. “I’m a federal agent and that is one of my field agents in here.”
The cop simply nodded with the same cold expression. He didn’t move to allow Logan into the room. He did nothing.
“I need to get inside there,” Logan continued. “She’s working on a couple of cases and I need to find out if that is why she is here now.”
“I understand, sir,” the cop continued. “But Miss Fuller is under police protection. Her room is on full lockdown. No one is allowed inside.”
“Says who? Who says that a federal agent can’t go into a room where one of his own is?”
“Says me,” the voice came from behind him and Logan spun around to face Detective Larsen.
“You,” he almost spat the words at the pudgy detective that always seemed to be in his way. “I’m not sure if you are aware, but I am a federal agent. My jurisdiction extends over yours.”
“Well, Agent Logan,” Larsen twirled the toothpick between his lips. “I thought you ought to know by now that in this city, no-one outranks my jurisdiction.”
“This is a federal matter. One of our agents has been injured.”
“In the past few months, your office has had an agent kidnapped by a dangerous criminal organization, an ex-agent killed outside of his apartment building, and now the same agent who’d been kidnapped is currently in the hospital in a highly suspicious accident. It’s obvious that the feds are doing a shit job at keeping their own safe. So I’m taking over.”
Logan stared at the detective for a moment, unsure of exactly what to say. No way in hell was some local cop going to tell him what he can and can’t do. Chances were he could override the decision and be allowed into the room with Fuller. But that wasn’t the biggest issue he had at that moment. He was about to answer to someone without an actual answer. But no doubt it would already be known that the local authorities were becoming suspicious of everyone, including the ATF.
This could only be bad for them. It was worse for him. His ass was on the line and he wasn’t sure just how to handle this.
“I’m sure you want to see Agent Fuller safe and secure as she is treated,” Larsen continued with a drip of sarcasm from his voice that didn’t go unnoticed. “Am I right, Agent Logan?”
“Absolutely. But I need to see her and question her about details.”
“I understand,” Larsen nodded. “I can ask her anything you like. But until then, her room is on lockdown. No-one, except myself and select members of the LVPD are allowed in there.”
“We’ll see about that.” ith that he spun on his heels and walked back down the hallway with a million different thoughts flooding his mind. His wife. His kids. Amanda. Her pregnancy. Fuller. Larsen. Hudson. He wasn’t sure how he was going to handle anything. His life was imploding from all sides. The first question on his mind was how the hell he was going to remove Larsen from this situation, and what that would cost him.
***
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Hudson was trying to maintain the calm and controlled demeanor that he was known for, but Dakota could tell it was becoming a struggle for him. “How can you take three fucking hours to find out nothing?”
Dakota waited a moment to process what he’d just said. He didn’t have an answer for Hudson. He hadn’t been able to find out much of anything. But he had to take it slowly. Otherwise Asher would lose control and head straight for the hospital.
“Asher,” he began, “The locals have her on lockdown.”
“So she’s alive?” Hudson looked up with hope.
“Yes, she’s alive. That’s all I could find out. Only a select few people are allowed into her room.”
“What about our connections?”
“They aren’t on the approved list of people allowed to see her.”
“Did Logan do this?”
“No. Larsen did it. He won’t even let the feds into the room.”
“Is that right?”
“Do you know why Larsen would do this?” Dakota asked.
“Not a clue.”
“You don’t seem as shocked as I was that he’s involved in this,” Dakota spoke honestly hoping that his friend would open up and do the same. “Why?”
“Larsen is always sticking his nose where it doesn
’t belong,” Hudson blew off Dakota as if it was nothing. “Were you able to find out anything else at all? Is she stable? Has she talked yet?”
Dakota shook his head. There was more to this story than Hudson had shared with him or the rest of the club. That bothered him. He felt almost betrayed by the idea that he was being kept in the dark. He could only hope that they weren’t being put in danger by whatever it was. But for now, his only goal at that moment was to keep Asher from heading to the one place he didn’t need to be.
CHAPTER 29
“Larsen.” The detective was tired of fielding phone calls and his frayed voice showed it.
“Detective,” Asher Hudson spoke calmly and tried to hide the hint of panic that was evident in his voice. “This is Asher Hudson. I’d like to meet you for coffee, if possible.”
Larsen sat for a minute without responding. He grabbed his toothpick out of habit and stuck it into his mouth. He was certain that this mess was going to send him straight back to the bad habits he was trying to get away from.
His day had been one hellacious experience after another. One phone call after another. He missed those moments of sitting behind the desk without anything much going on. Between the ATF nonsense and the gang shootings, he was constantly either working some case or convincing someone that things were going to be okay.
It’s funny how a city notorious for being such a wild and crazy place went a little crazy when they felt their own walls were collapsing. Hell, it was so bad that it was starting to make national news. His bosses didn’t like this much, considering the impact it could have on tourism.
Larsen feared one of those national reporters heading into their town and trying to find out what was going on. He couldn’t imagine the reaction if people felt like Vegas was unsafe to visit. Most of the people in town depending on tourism to pay their own bills.
Thing is there’d always been crime and some form of danger. But lately it seemed even the cops and people there to protect everyone were falling victim. It was easy to blow off gang shootings as being par for the course until they began to hit too close to home. Federal agents, little boys…they weren’t supposed to be on the list of those being shot. And it was up to Larsen to solve it all.
He had enough information to do that, but he had to do it the right way. And that meant fielding calls from every Tom, Dick and Harry that felt the need to have the detective hold their hand and reassure them that all was okay.
But that wasn’t the point of his current phone, now was it? Asher Hudson wouldn’t be looking for a promise from the cops. Not if his life depended on it. So what the hell did the head of the worst criminal motorcycle club in the country want with the local detective? That was something that Larsen would have to find out. But it wasn’t going to be that day.
“I’m really busy today, Hudson,” he answered honestly. “We’ve got a lot of crime going on in town. This side of the law, that’s a bad thing.”
“I just have a few questions I need to ask.”
“Doesn’t everyone.” Larsen shook his head.
As he sat there and toyed with what he was going to say, Larsen twisted the toothpick between his teeth. For the first time in seven months he longed for the taste of a Camel. Shame, I was doing so damn well too.
“Detective,” Hudson continued,” this is quite important.”
“Everything is important Hudson. Deaths. Injuries. Automatic weapons on the street. I don’t have time for a chat today.”
He heard Hudson’s breath quicken. The man was angry and wanted to show it, but it went against everything he was known for. That was one thing Larsen had always admired about Hudson. He was able to keep his head on straight regardless of what happened. It was a trait that Larsen wished he possessed.
“Maybe another day soon, detective?”
“Yea,” the detective answered. “Maybe.”
Hudson hung up the phone and the detective sat back in his chair. His world was upside down at the moment and it took a lot to process it. He wasn’t sure anymore who was good and who was bad. That left him a very lonely man, and one that had to solve the problems without a clue as to where they began.
***
“I’ve never hidden that I’m married and that isn’t going to change!” Logan crossed his arms.
He didn’t want to upset Amanda, but he didn’t have time for all of this shit right now. She was pregnant. He already had kids and a wife. Besides, his life was currently on the line and that was what he needed to be focused on.
“But you love me,” she insisted as she reached out tried to grab his shoulders.
Logan stopped her hands by grabbing her wrists and pushing them away. He didn’t love her. He wasn’t even sure he loved his wife. He loved the benefits that each of them gave to him. Truth be known, he doubted he had the ability to love someone else like that.
It didn’t mean he didn’t care for them. Of course he did. Look what he provided for each of them. Would he do that if they didn’t mean anything? Each of the kids had their own rooms, all the clothes and gadgets they needed and were active in about a dozen activities. His wife had everything a woman could dream of. Well, except for the faithful man part, but that was her damn fault.
And Amanda…she had it made. Her job was a piece of cake. She had an elaborate room, an elaborate paycheck and nothing to complain about. She had way more than she’d had when he met her. Including that shiny lil sports car she liked to drive around. He was tired of hearing everyone bitch.
“Amanda,” he began, “I don’t even interact with the kids I already have. I love them. But I’m not a kid kind of person. My life…it’s complicated. I’m not trading them for another.”
“You don’t have a choice,” she pointed out. “I didn’t get a choice and you don’t have one either. I’m pregnant and that’s just the way it is. I didn’t want this. Hell, you think I want baby fat and stretch marks? We just have to handle it.”
“That’s where you are wrong,” Logan reminded her. “We do have a choice. It’s still early.”
“You want me to get rid of my baby?” She cried out. “What kind of a monster are you? Did you ask her to get rid of your other kids? “
“Actually.” He shrugged, “The first one I did. After, I had given up.”
“I see,” she spoke with a hard edge to her voice. “Well, I’m not any more willing than she was.”
“Amanda, this is…” Logan was interrupted by the sound of his phone. “I have to take this,” he nodded at her. “We will discuss this in a moment.” He turned around and walked towards his home office. “Logan.”
“I trusted you with a lot,” the voice was deep and quite terrifying from Logan’s position. “And you are fucking it all up Logan.”
“I’m working on it,” he spoke quietly, hoping Amanda couldn’t hear. “I kind of have my hands tied here.”
“The way I see it, Hudson is still in the way. The agent is alive and still a threat to my business. Your buffoon fucked it up. And now you’re being squeezed out of the scene by the goddamn locals?” The voice never raised, but the anger behind it did with every passing word.
“Well, technically I suppose you’re right,” Logan stumbled for the words. “But this wasn’t the way that…”
“You have an idiot detective looking into the ATF because nothing has been the way that it’s supposed to be. At this point you and the idiots that you have taking care of business are becoming a liability to me.”
“Just give me a little time. I have a plan.” Logan begged.
“Your plans, Logan,” the voice spoke. “Have only made things worse.”
“I promise,” he gave his word. “I know how to get past Larsen. I’ve found Hudson’s weakness. And she’ll be gone before you know it.”
“One of you will,” the voice guaranteed. “If you staying alive compromises what I’m doing, I will fix it. And unlike you, Logan, my plans don’t get fucked up. Understand?”
“I understand,” Loga
n offered.
“Do you also understand that if you fuck up one more thing.” The voice got quieter. “You’ll wish you’d spent more time with your kids—all three of them.”
Logan felt his breath catch in his throat. “Yes sir.”
“Take care of things.”
With that, the phone went dead. Logan sat for several minutes to regain his composure. Then he walked back into the room where Amanda sat crying.
“Do whatever you need to babe.” He smiled. “We will work it out.”
