“Reva.” Kray nods and gives me a quick smile. “I’ll leave you two girls to it. Let me know when the pie is finished, I can’t wait to taste it…I’ve heard it’s the best out there.”
“Yeah, about that,” I start but both Kray and Vienna start to laugh. “Ugh, he told you guys no one is allowed to touch it, didn’t he?”
“The fucker might have threatened to cut off our fingers one by one followed by our tongues if we so much as pointed a finger at it,” Kray chuckles.
“Well.” I shrug. “Then you know you’re not getting any until North gets back.”
“No worries, Reva. I’ve only heard good things about your baking skills. So, I have no problem waiting.” Kray shoots me a wink and leaves the kitchen.
My sister turns toward me and states, “No more cobwebs, huh?”
My hands flash up and I cover my face. “You did not just say that.” A memory flashes through my head. “Oh. My. God. Please don’t tell me you embarrassed me by pulling the same thing you did when I went on one date with that guy a few years back.”
“Totally did.” Vienna grins. “And he pulled through. He’s a good guy, Reva. Annoying and arrogant, a pinch of asshole thrown in there too, but loyal to the core. From what I’ve seen, heard, and know through Kray…I hope you’ll let this guy in. You know, more than spreading your legs.”
“That’s it, one more word and I’m throwing you out of the kitchen too,” I grumble.
She holds out both hands, palms up. “Hey, not another peep from me. Now, where do you want me?”
I glance around the kitchen and love the feel of it. It’s white, huge and has a homey look to it. I point at the barstool near the large table.
“Sit,” I tell her while I start to wash my hands and go over everything I need to do in my head.
Calm and comfort wrap around me. North was right…the normality of my sister watching me bake while I keep my hands busy is just what I needed.
Chapter 07
***North***
I step into the clubhouse with a clear mind. The long ride was exactly what I needed. The fact Reva and I made things clear between us is also something adding to simmering down the restlessness inside me. Day one. Me and her; my Old Lady.
I might not use the term around her yet ‘cause I’m pretty sure she’d be freaking out about it with the insecurities still pulling at her. But I’m sure as fuck about it. Come to think of it, I might as well get things started to make it very clear I’m in it for the long run. I make a mental note to shoot Lips a message, my Prez’s Old Lady, because I need some new ink.
First, though? First, I have to make sure all of the danger she’s wrapped in comes to an end. It’s the whole reason I’m at the clubhouse to discuss what happened when I left to infiltrate Shade’s business to save Reva.
Deeds, Broke, Depay, Chopper, Nash, and the rest of my brothers are already in Church waiting. Deeds is holding the door open for me. “Come on, we’re losing time here.”
I take a chair next to Nash and settle in for the load of information I hope to receive in the next few hours. Deeds hits the lights and an image appears of the bunker I rescued Reva from. There are a few arrows superimposed on the photos and suddenly I know where this meeting is going.
It’s not a meeting to exchange information, it’s a debriefing to discuss a plan of attack. Suddenly I’m not that anxious to get home; I’m fucking thrilled to get even for Reva’s sake, and mine. Vengeance is burning hot through my veins. It doesn’t matter if the head piece of the black market was found dead. In these types of situations there’s always another vulture around the corner to take its place.
In this situation it’s Blancher. It’s not hard to guess with his previous move to do so where he only managed to kill Shade’s brother. Seems his second attempt was more successful. Well…not for long.
“I pulled the satellite images and as you know, North, there’s nothing surrounding the bunker. The whole thing must have been there for decades and the exact structure underneath is a guessing game. Any intel for us in this?” Nash asks.
“It’s a fucking maze down there. They had some kind of operating system set up divided in little rooms as if every section of their black market had their own operating system. When they brought me there, I was escorted by two guys. Going down hallways I kept my eyes open for every detail and I counted twenty people working in rooms until I entered the room Reva was in. I also have to mention hers was the only room with a door on it. It’s obvious they have people coming in and out of the bunker who are working for them. I can’t imagine they’ve all captured them and holding them prisoner to do their job, but then again…I won’t be fucking surprised if they would either,” I snap, anger back in my voice at the reminder how Reva was forced to do her job.
“Keep your head in this room and throw out everything going through your head, North. We need it, every fucking detail,” Broke’s voice cuts through my thoughts.
I hate spilling details about Reva, but I also know Broke is right, they need to know. “They had her tied to a chair in front of a computer. The only thing she was able to do was work on a code to create some sort of program, I’m guessing she was working on it, I have no clue. This makes her now completely shut down to everything involving electronics. She doesn’t even want to come near a computer.”
Nash releases a deep sigh. “Fucking shame, she’s brilliant. I hope she can move past the trauma those fuckers inflicted. When she’s able to I’d like to meet her and have a long…”
“You’re not comin’ near my Old Lady,” I snap, almost taking Nash’s head off with my words. Fucker. He’s almost foaming at the mouth at the thought of meeting Reva.
“I hear a claim,” Nash quips, pointing his thick meaty branch in my direction.
“Yeah, you point your finger my way, asshole. Now you know who she belongs to and you’re not going anywhere near her. Didn’t you hear me state she repulses everything involving technology?” I growl.
His hand lands on the table in front of him. “I should mention you’re also a computer expert, North. But I’m fucking happy she’s okay and the fact you claimed her. I was just excited to know you pulled her into Broken Deeds MC. Even if she’d never come near technology, maybe we could have a careless chat from time to time…she’d be a great asset.”
“There, fucker,” I snap and am on my feet with my next breath. “That right fuckin’ there is why they took her. To be an asset in their black market business. I won’t ever tolerate you calling her a fuckin’ asset, understood?”
“Calm down, North. We all understand what you’re saying and Nash picked the wrong words to let you know we’re thrilled you claimed an Old Lady. You know damn well none of us have any interest in using her in any way.” Deeds’ eyes are piercing through me and I know I overreacted but there’s no guilt or unease in my bones about my outburst.
I give him a nod and continue where I left off. “When they brought me into the room Reva was, they instructed me to build a new computer so she could switch between two. They left the room and I gained Reva’s trust and cut her loose. Even if I’d had to kill anyone coming through the door, I would have done it. When I saw her tied to a chair my fucking chest ached but when I saw what they did to her? Fuck!” My blood pressure jumps and I can feel the vein on the side of my head pulse. I have nothing to hide from my brothers and I need to know why everyone involved needs to die. “Shade burned the side of her face. He branded her like cattle. On. Her. Face. And she couldn’t fucking stand the sight of it herself, so she cut up her own face with a damn knife to inflict new scars herself to cover up the burns as soon as she had the chance. Fuck. I want them dead. I don’t care if Shade was the only one who did it and the fact he’s gone, they all need to die.” I rub my neck and try to catch my breath. Dammit, all the anger is getting me pumped up. “I cut her loose and told her to stay close to me. The door was unlocked and when I slipped out an alarm immediately started blaring. Two guys rushed past
me, weapons drawn and didn’t even ask questions or anything, they rushed toward the exit. I followed them and it was a fucking mess. We passed three dead guys on our way out and when I managed to slip out with Reva, obviously I had to kill two guys myself.”
“Obviously,” Deeds mutters, rolls his eyes but has a huge damn grin in place.
“Gunshots were still ringing through the air when the door fell shut behind us. I had no damn clue where we were so I ran until we came up to a house. It looked vacant and I hotwired the car and left a note for Kray. I ditched the car halfway and switched transportation a few times until we arrived at the safe house.”
“Where you laid low until she cut herself and you had to reach out to get her medical help. Good call,” Deeds compliments.
“Yeah, and I was afraid of where her head would be at with all this shit happening to her. You know, with her using a knife on herself it worried me. Though, she isn’t screwed up at all, she wanted the reminder on her face gone. Even if she made fucking scars with the knife, those scars are made by her own hand. I can stand behind her reasoning and she didn’t do anything else to harm herself or let me assume she’s going to.” My mind slips to the intimacy we shared. Fuck. She felt so damn good.
Nash groans, “You got your dick wet, didn’t you?”
“He doesn’t waste time like Kray did,” Depay states and chuckles. “Or maybe those two needed to break up before Kray could fly solo.”
“Dude,” Nash quips. “So, this is the end of an era. No more one sliding into the tight stinky while the other pumps into the pinky.”
I shoot the fucker a death glare while the others are divided between chuckling and waiting with an interested look to see my reaction.
“Kray and I used to fuck a chick to test the merchandise until we each found the one. And it fucking happened, okay? To each of us. So, no. No more tag team. And why the fuck am I telling you guys this shit? Fuckin’ focus on the case, dammit.”
“Calm down,” Lochlan states in a neutral voice. “You know damn well every damn brother has had their eyes on you two in an intriguing way. Come on, the whole shag a chick together but never alone and all of a sudden you two flip that shit like a coin thrown in the air…it raises questions to feed their curiosity. So, now that we have this thing settled…anything else we might need to know? Shit that happened when you two were in the safe house or before? Last night, this morning? Anything?”
Reva’s obsession comes to mind and I hate to throw it on the table, but I have to, they need to know. “Her computer was wiped clean but there was a file on there tied to us. Not directly but…”
“Come again?” Deeds growls.
“She might have had a bit of an obsession with Broken Deeds MC. You know the fucking rumors that go around how we get shit done. Well, she might have been shoving specific cases our way. Ones where she thought only we could close them. No names to link us or any other details, just case files which she emailed us and she kept up with how they were solved.”
“Fuuuuuck,” Nash whistles low. “She’s Birdy?”
My head whips his way. “The fuck?”
“Birdy. It’s the name signed underneath the email I used to get from time to time. I’ve been keeping a file of my own ‘cause I’ve been curious. Prez, I told you about this one, right?” Nash asks Deeds.
“Ah, that one, yeah.” Deeds rubs his chin as he thinks things over. “Case files shoved our way from time to time without coming directly through our government contact. Also, all these fucking cases were solved by eliminating a dirty fucking agent. That was the whole reason cases weren’t solved. I think it was the second case we took through one of those emails that we suspected we had help from someone on the inside who had their fucking eyes open instead of looking away.” Deeds chuckles. “Funny…you claiming her while all along she’s been working on our side. Fucking perfect don’t you think?”
I’m stunned for a moment as I let my brain wrap around this little fact and I can only nod in reply. I didn’t see it the way he just stated it but, yeah…he’s right.
“We owe her to handle this shit head on,” Broke quips.
“Hell, yes, we do,” Nash snaps.
Lochlan pins his eyes on Deeds. “What’s the plan, Prez?”
Deeds stands up. “Enough talking, time for some action. All the information, suspicion, fucking facts, are clear as day. Time to wipe it all clean and get rid of everything and everyone involved. We’re gonna start with hitting the bunker. Get ready, we’re leaving within fifteen minutes.”
All of them stroll out except for Deeds and Nash. Nash stalks up to me and hands me a file. “This is everything we have on Blancher. He’s a major player in the software business. You were right to keep Reva under lock and key because we think he also wants her, and if you hadn’t taken her when you did? She’d be in his claws working for this fucker.”
Nash leaves the room as Deeds closes the door behind him and points at the table. “Sit down, I’d like a little word before we head out.”
I take a seat and look at him expectantly. “You’re not shutting me out, are you?” I ask, just to make sure.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he snaps, somewhat irritated. “And I know me pulling you apart from the others to have a word brought up this question because you would have never asked me the question otherwise. But to get straight to business, have you asked Reva who marked her?”
His question throws me somewhat off guard. “No, I assumed it was Shade, with his background and all. The burns, his father having the welding company, it kinda all points in his direction. Are you telling me shit’s different?”
Deeds points at the file in my hand. I open it and glance at the first sheet of paper. It takes a few breaths for me to understand what I’m looking at but when it settles?
My curses fill the air, “Blancher is a fucking half-brother? The bastard son tucked away underneath a load of dirt? Fucking hell, no wonder he went in for the killing spree takeover. If those two brothers never acknowledged him, why should he keep them alive? After dear old dad died he tried to take what was rightfully his. I bet they kept his inheritance from him. Oh, this is fuckin’ good. Dammit. Wait. You mean to tell me Blancher is behind taking Reva?”
“We received the autopsy report of Shade. Have a look.” Deeds points at the pile of papers in my hand.
I rustle through them and find what he pointed out to me. “Fuck. He’s been dead for over a week?”
“Yeah. Shade might have taken Reva in the first place, but it was Blancher who was behind keeping her there and it doesn’t matter who put the burns on her or not, but…”
“It fucking matters,” I growl. “If that fucker is still out there, I need to fuckin’ kill him with my bare hands.”
“Thought so.” Deeds gives me one of his fucked-up smiles. “Are you ready to see if they’re still occupying the bunker? Because the second we got the intel about Shade being dead longer than we thought and the DNA evidence Nash stumbled into, all of us decided we don’t need to have more background info…this fucker needs to be taken out of commission, and this fucked-up black market thing along with it.”
“I fucking love my job,” I state and let the pride in my voice shimmer through.
Ever since me and Kray joined Broken Deeds MC, we took every case together. Even now, if he’s not here, he’s still working along with me on this by protecting Reva. Knowing this eases my mind enough to clear it and have full focus on the task at hand; eliminating Blancher and every fucking last one involved in this shit.
“Then let’s get to work.” Deeds strolls out of the room and I follow him out.
I tuck the file with info into one of my saddlebags and before I head out, I need to reach out to Reva. Grabbing my phone, it takes me a moment to think what to text her. Calling is out of the question since I know how jumpy she is about everything involving electronics. A grin slides over my face when I know what to tell her.
North: Be back late. Can’t wait
to eat you, and the pie, as soon as I’m home.
I tuck my phone back into the front pocket of my jeans and wait for everyone to straddle their bike so we can head out to the bunker. As Deeds mentioned, it could be empty but we need to start somewhere. Luckily, we don’t live by any rules other than the ones we set ourselves. There’s no need to follow the roads justice takes, we make our own and this time it involves taking out scum that’s been running around freely doing illegal stuff way too fucking long.
My phone pings, indicating I have a message. My heart fucking skips a beat as if I’m a damn schoolkid or something. I fish my phone out of my pocket and see it’s a message from Reva. Fuck, yes, she’s replying. A huge step for her.
Reva: Promises, promises.
My head tips back and laughter rips freely from my throat. Dammit. Carefree texting, as if nothing happened to her. My eyes land back on my phone when I hear a new message coming in, another one from Reva.
Reva: I don’t care how late you’ll be, just get home safe.
Mush. My chest is filling with warmth by reading about her concerns. Even if this is day one for us it doesn’t take away the intensity between us. Normally I would be just as pumped to dive into getting a job done. I didn’t have any thoughts about what would come after. Now? I have the need to get things done because I need to get home to my woman who’s waiting for me. I never fucking had that and it makes me even more focused on getting things handled with precision.
Not only to get a job done and return home safe. No. I need this done and make sure nothing will blow back on Reva and get everything handled once and for all so she can walk around without ever having to look over her shoulder. Even if she doesn’t want a job involving computers and wants a truckload of reptiles, who fucking cares. As long as she’s safe and right next to me, I’ll be one damn lucky and happy man.
North: I have you to come home to now, so I’ll fucking be there.
North: Broken Deeds MC Page 6
