“I need to get Stevie.” I’m anxious to return and tell her the right side won.
Demon beckons to Thunder, clearly intending on him and his acting VP to accompany me. Not bothering to be quiet, we retrace the steps I’d carried Stevie earlier. Without the weight of my precious burden, we shave minutes off the time. As soon as we draw close, I call out to warn her it’s me and that she’s safe.
I repeat it again as I draw close to the blind. “Stevie, it’s me. Nothing to worry about now. You’re safe. Demon and Thunder are with me, the Jokers have been dealt with.”
Instead of Stevie, a man steps to the front of the rickety construction, a Glock held in his hands, and it’s pointed straight in my direction.
“Stop right there.”
Who the fuck is this man? He’s wearing a chequered button-down shirt tucked into jeans. He certainly doesn’t look like a biker, or someone who’d ride with the Warped Jokers. But from the way he’s holding his gun, steady and unwavering directed at its target which happens to be me, he’s no stranger to violence. I can detect a military bearing in his stance.
Ignoring the personal threat toward me, I call out, anxiously. “Stevie, you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Her voice reaches me from inside the blind.
Relief fills me. There’s trepidation in her voice, but no fear. Whoever this man is, she doesn’t seem to be afraid of him. Who could he be?
“Stay there,” the stranger instructs, presumably to her.
“They’re the good guys.” She’s obviously talking to him not to us. “They’ve been keeping me safe.”
A disgusted snort comes from the man with the gun. His full attention doesn’t waver from us even though he’s having a conversation with the woman still hidden behind him. It’s me he addresses. “I suggest you turn around and go. I’ll be keeping Ms Nichols safe from now on.”
Over my dead body. I don’t move an inch. “And who might you be?”
Impatient, Stevie appears, peering around him. “He’s Marshal Lennox. He’s my contact.”
“Stevie, come here,” I instruct.
“No, don’t…” But Lennox didn’t expect a blind woman to move so fast and assuredly in my direction. He’s clearly flummoxed that she’s now direct in his sights. His momentary confusion allows Demon and Thunder to draw their weapons and step forward.
The marshal’s eyes go from one to the other, then to Stevie who’s now in my arms. Even Max turns traitor, sliding out from the hut and coming toward me. Stevie’s hands trace the contours of my face, and then down my arms and over my chest. “I heard shooting…”
“I’m fine. We’re all fine, Stevie. Don’t worry, babe.”
“I thought I lost you,” she sobs.
“You need to start talking,” Demon addresses Lennox. “If you’re her contact, how the fuck did anyone know where she was? Where’s the leak coming from, Lennox? That you? Mighty suspicious you and those motherfuckers being here at the same time.”
The marshal begins to go red. “There’s no leak from our department. It must have been Ms Nichols who gave herself away.”
Stevie, quick to recover having completed her investigation and seeing for herself I’ve not been injured, turns around to face him, spitting out, “I’m not stupid. I did nothing.”
Lennox shakes his head. “You must have done—”
“Whatever.” Demon’s hand slashes through the air. “You haven’t done a very good job of protecting her so far.”
“Neither have you,” Lennox retorts. “You led the Jokers right to her.”
“That was Max,” Stevie enters the conversation. “It had to be the tracker on his collar.”
“How did you find her?” I ask, suddenly realising what’s wrong with this scenario.
A short laugh. “I found her because unlike the Warped Jokers, I can track someone and be quiet about it.”
Demon looks at me and raises his brow. I shake my head. He takes the lead again. “I suggest we put away our guns. Seems like we need to have a conversation rather than re-enacting the shootout at the OK Corral.”
“You’ve got your gun on them?” Stevie rounds on the lawman. “Beef saved my life. Twice. Where were you then?” She reaches her hand back and takes hold of mine.
“Come over here, Stevie,” Lennox instructs.
“No.” The strength in her voice is impressive. “Just because I can’t see doesn’t mean I’m not a good judge of character. Something’s wrong, Leon. Beef’s done his best to keep me safe. His club came here today to rescue me. I feel safe with them.” She bites her lip. “You told me what would happen while we were waiting in the blind. That you’d give me another new identity. If I go with you, I’ll have to start all over again. Max isn’t fit enough to work yet. He needs a few more weeks of rest before he can go in a harness again.”
She’s trembling in my arms. It doesn’t take a genius to understand why she’s upset. She was assured that a new identity would keep her safe. She moved, left everything and everyone she’d ever known but danger had caught up with her just the same. Now she’s being asked to do it a second time.
Marshal Lennox looks flustered, as if he doesn’t know what to do. He knows as well as I do, if pushed too hard, Stevie could refuse to testify. She’s not a criminal who’s got the threat of a prison sentence hanging over her head, she’s one of the few put into the witness protection program because she can help put some bad guys away.
I exchange a look with Demon. Putting the onus for her protection on the club puts the Devils right in the sights of the Wretched Soulz. Will he take the easy out offered and encourage her to put her life in the hands of the US Marshals again? The people who’ve already failed her once.
The prez pinches the bridge of his nose. “Look, I’m not happy staying out here. Fuck knows who’s on their way to the cabin even now. It’s as compromised as shit. Let’s move this conversation back to the compound. Marshal, you’re welcome to come back with us too. Far as I can see we’ve all got one thing in mind, keeping Stevie alive.”
As I let out a sigh of relief that for now, at least, Demon appears to be on my side, Lennox looks completely flustered and I don’t blame him. It’s not often law enforcement is invited into the heart of an outlaw MC.
But as we start walking down the track, Demon pulls me to one side, nodding at Thunder to take my place by Stevie.
He’s brief and to the point. “I want to know why and how the fuck Lennox was here. Want him under my eye until he comes clean.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The five of us make our way slowly back down the mountainside, making allowance for Stevie who’s picking her way carefully along the trail with the aid of my arm, and yet another makeshift stick Thunder had spied and thoughtfully picked up. By the time we get back to the cabin there’s no trace of the Warped Jokers, either dead or alive. The ones still breathing for now, will have been transported back to the clubhouse where they’ll be contained in Demon’s notorious soundproofed basement. The dead, I’m confident, have been buried somewhere they won’t be found. I do see a suspicious shovel with damp mud on it leaning against the wall, but if Lennox notices he doesn’t draw attention to it.
We hadn’t expected to have Lennox with us, so I’m doubly grateful the prospects have acted fast and have loaded the crash truck with the Joker’s rides. Only three bikes remain in sight, Demon’s, Thunder’s and mine. Those belonging to our enemy will probably, if I know anything about the man at all, have been taken to the auto-shop Pyro manages to be stripped down.
Lennox’s car is apparently parked at the bottom of the track. I could make him walk, but that would be petty, so I give him a lift, the air seems easier to breathe when the lawman’s out of the truck.
When it’s just Max, Stevie and I, I notice she’s very quiet. I rest my right hand on her left. “You doing okay?”
A quick glance shows her face scrunching. “When’s this going to stop, Beef? I’ve been run down, fire-bombed and now
nearly shot. I gave up everything to be safe, and now it’s obvious I’m not. I should have stayed in LA and taken my chances.” She’s as down as I’ve ever seen her, tears are leaking from her eyes. “I know we couldn’t stay at the cabin forever, but I felt safe there, you know? Now that’s just one more place where they’ve found me.”
I don’t know what to say to her. Quickly I try to process everything in my mind. I end up speaking my thoughts aloud. “You should have been safe, Stevie. Your new identity should have held up. It should have been easy. You’d have stayed here until the court case, then given your testimony and be free to get on with your life.” I don’t tell her she’d likely never be able to go back to her old one. She’s got enough to worry about for now. The top priority being staying alive until she can testify.
Demon had it right. I don’t like how Lennox turned up today either, the timing a coincidence unless, like us, he was keeping track of the movements of the Warped Jokers. Demon made a good call inviting him back to the compound. If there’s something suspicious about him, I’d rather have him under my eye so I can keep tabs on him. If he’s innocent and as much in the dark as us, pooling our resources could keep Stevie out of the line of fire.
“Do you trust Lennox?”
“Of course.” Her answer comes fast. “Leon arranged everything, got me settled here in Pueblo. He’s the only one who knows everything about my new life…” Her voice trails off, and then she says simply, “Oh.”
“I’m not saying anything, darlin’. But it’s the knowledge he possesses, which is what I don’t like.”
I’ll get Cad looking into him. If he can’t find enough out, I know Mouse, back in Tucson, would jump to the task. He’s got deep web contacts Cad might not have. I want to know whether there’s even a sniff of a connection between Lennox and the Warped Jokers’ members? Is one a relative? Brother or cousin perhaps. Or maybe he owes them a favour. Talking about the marshal makes me glance in my rearview mirror, yeah, there he is, right behind. Would he put his head in the lion’s den if he’s guilty? He might, if he was trying to get close to Stevie, to persuade her to leave with him so he could take her out.
Stevie goes quiet again. I wish I could say something to comfort her, but the future’s unknown. One thing I feel in my gut, I’m not letting Lennox move her, not while we still don’t how her new identity was discovered. Until we know the who and why, she could be found again in another location, and I wouldn’t be there to help her out.
No. For now she’s sticking close to my side.
We come up to the compound. Beaver’s eyes open wide when he sees my companion. Guess he bought the story about her moving on. Or did he think the Warped Jokers would have killed her this morning? Nah, doesn’t fit. He’ll know by now there were no losses on our side, and that would include anyone who we were protecting.
For a moment as I drive around the back and park, I wish I was back in Tucson. Here I don’t know who I can trust or put my faith in. Not that I’ve actually spent long enough on the compound to find out.
I lift Max out of the truck and clip his lead on, then help Stevie down. She sniffs the air and gives a weak grin. “Well now I know we’ve arrived. I can smell oil and gas.”
“Yeah, we’re here,” I confirm, needlessly. “Ready to go inside?”
“How many men in the club, Beef?”
Hmm. Mentally I count them up. “Fourteen, nah, sixteen. There’s two just been patched in as new members. And me, for now.”
“You outnumber the Warped Jokers, or those on the outside.”
“Sure do, darlin’.”
It’s clear she’s searching for something to give her confidence, so now’s not the time to remind her about the dominant club who also doesn’t want her to testify.
Having witnessed her depression on the drive here, I’m heartened when she draws in a deep breath and straightens her back, before demanding with lips curved up, “Lead on, then.” I have to smile at the instruction that’s becoming familiar.
I take her arm. As I’ve parked the truck at the rear of the building, it’s quicker to take her through the entrance that leads to the kitchen, rather than back around to the front. The kitchen is full of women. Most I know from the times I’ve been here before, but there’s a new woman who catches my eye. She’s wearing respectable clothing so she’s certainly no sweet butt.
“Hi Stevie. Remember me? I’m…”
“Jayden. And I can hear Violet, can’t I?”
“Yup, I’m here.”
Stevie tilts her head toward the stranger who’d been speaking as we walked in.
“I’m Melissa,” the new girl replies. “I’m with Skull.”
Oh, yeah. He mentioned he had a woman. “He claimed you?” I ask, wondering whether in the time I’ve been gone she’s been officially added to the ranks of the old ladies.
“He has.” It’s Jeannie who answers, putting her arm around the girl she appears to have taken a liking too. Jeannie’s been in the club getting on forty years now. If she’s okay with the newcomer, that probably means she’ll be alright.
“I’m Jeannie, I keep everyone in line.” The way she says it means Stevie doesn’t need to see the wink she gives to Violet, the prez’s old lady, to know she’s joking.
“Melissa likes cooking,” Violet explains with a gleam in her eye, “especially baking. Get ready to put on some weight when you taste her muffins.”
“My mouth’s already watering.” Jayden licks her lips, then leans over. When she straightens, she stands with a baby in her arms. “Think Theo’s teeth are bothering him, Vi.”
“Oh, give him to me,” his mother requests and starts fussing over him.
“How old is your baby?” Stevie asks, and it seems to be from genuine interest and not her just being polite.
Violet answers, at the same time as Jeannie bends her knees to kneel on the floor, her knees creaking. “Who’s this?”
“Max,” I tell her. “Stevie’s seeing-eye dog.”
“He okay?” While I’ve foregone his bandage for a few days, his shaved legs and scarring show he’s been through the wars.
As Stevie crouches down by Jeannie’s side, affectionately stroking her dog and explaining, I sum up the scene. There are things I need to be doing, but I reckon Stevie will be fine if I leave her with the women for now.
“I gotta talk to the prez, babe. You gonna be okay?”
Violet’s eyes meet mine and she raises her chin in a gesture she must have caught from Demon. “Stevie will be fine. But the dog…”
I swing around in time to see Bitch with her back arched and her fur erect walking into the kitchen. Max tilts his head to one side, then starts stretching out his nose. Then rears back with a yelp.
“Max! Beef! Is he alright?”
I kneel quickly. Bitch slapped him in the face, but he’s only got a slight scratch. “Max is fine. I think Bitch just put him in his place.”
“Come here, Max,” Jeannie coaxes. “Oh you poor boy, beaten up by a cat. You’re never going to live it down.”
Bitch, seeming to have successfully conveyed that the clubhouse is hers, and Max only here on her sufferance, sits down and starts washing herself. Max inches closer to Jeannie, lapping up any sympathy he can get while keeping one careful eye on the cat.
“I’ll be fine,” Stevie answers belatedly. “You go and do your manly stuff. Just one thing, Beef. If it’s about me and my safety, please don’t keep me in the dark.”
A reasonable request, and one I can agree to. Won’t be able to share club business, or perhaps how we get to know what we do, but if it’s information she needs, I’ll happily share it with her.
Leaving the kitchen, it doesn’t surprise me to see money is already changing hands. Rusty’s grasping a fistful of dollars as Bitch’s antics had clearly been observed.
“Cat knows who’s boss,” Rusty’s saying sagely to a disgusted looking Ink.
“Dog’s hobbled,” Ink grumbles. “He’s only got three w
orking legs. Dynamics might change when he’s back to form and can chase her.”
“It was who’d win today we bet on,” Rusty insists.
I catch the eye of the marshal who’s got a mug of coffee in his hand, seeming unamused by the antics. The bikers are holding beer bottles. Guess he wants to remain sober while on duty.
“Beef! Prez wants you.”
“Sure thing.” I wave my hand toward Thunder, then go to see Demon.
He nods me to the seat opposite and wastes no time on pleasantries. “Lennox is chomping at the bit to get started. He wants to know what we know, and what we’re going to do about it.”
I shrug. I’m not surprised. I am shocked he’s giving us time to get our stories straight and isn’t busting the door down. But then he is here on sufferance and must know that.
“Demon, if you hadn’t come today… How the fuck did you know to warn me?”
“You can thank Cad. He’s been checking the camera feeds from the CCTV over town. Caught a whiff of the Jokers yesterday. Had Ink tailing them. Soon as he saw the direction they were heading, he called me. I called you.” He breaks off and shrugs. I’m just fucking thankful they did.
I nod as I digest that, then ask, “What are we going to do with our Jokers?”
“Leave them in the basement for now. They’re not going anywhere. I think we’ll question them after the marshal leaves.” As I grin in full agreement, Demon continues, “Told Lennox he’s going to have to kick his heels for a few. Thunder’s keeping a close eye on him. Need to do something first and want you sitting in.” He takes out his phone, presses a couple of keys and puts it halfway across the desk.
It’s answered almost immediately. “Drummer.”
“Need your advice.” Demon doesn’t introduce himself. “Got Beef with me.”
“Yo, Beef.”
“How you doing, Prez?” Fuck, it feels good to give the right man that name.
“Drum. Got a problem. Need direction on how you want to play it.” Demon quickly summarises what’s gone down today, the Warped Jokers, the Wretched Soulz, and how our paths have crossed.
Satan's Devils MC Colorado Boxset 1 Books 1 - 3 Page 94
