by A. J. Macey
“I don’t see why I had to fucking come along for this field trip,” Stone bit out, his broad shoulders scrunched together against the window.
Chase sniffed, his hand waving in the air. “Because you’re part of the group whether you accept it or not.” He hummed to the pop station he had changed to as we pulled out of the compound.
Staring out at the landscape, I watched the Nevada desert pass quickly until we turned off the main road ten minutes later. My brows furrowed and I sat forward in the seat, the belt locking against my chest as I scanned the area in front of the car.
“Where are you taking us, my little assassin?” I murmured distractedly. Before I realized what happened, a swath of dark cloth was over my eyes obstructing my eyesight. “What the fuck!” I twisted against Garrett’s arms as he held the fabric in place.
“It’s ok, Kiera.” He laughed at me from the back seat. “Just a few more minutes, I promise.”
I sighed and crossed my arms like a petulant child. I hate surprises.
“It’s a good surprise, don’t worry.”
I rolled my eyes. Of course he would know what I was thinking, sneaky bastard. But I complied with their shenanigans and waited until the car came to a stop.
“Ready, baby?” Brooks’ smooth voice was excited, nearly as giddy as Chase who I could hear doing a little dance in the driver’s seat.
I quickly agreed, and the makeshift blindfold was removed leaving me to blink several times to get my eyes to adjust. When they did, I inhaled sharply.
“What the…” I trailed off as I stared. The surprise was a giant house. No, scratch that, it’s a fucking mansion! We were parked in a circular, paver-covered drive; stucco walls and manicured bushes lined the outside where a large double gate was closed. In the middle of the drive was a little garden with green and red desert flowers and bushes. As I stepped out of the SUV the sound of running water met my ears, but I couldn’t place where it was coming from so I turned my attention back to the mansion in front of me.
It was a light beige-yellow with a Spanish tiled roof. There were two stories and an expansive green front lawn on either side of the drive. The landscape was luscious as I made my way up the wide walkway to the front door which was a beautiful cherry stained double door under a large glass roof that expanded over the path. Windows sparkled in the daylight as the clouds started to pull away. Both the left and right side of the front of the house had second floor balconies and wrought iron railings.
My breath hitched when we walked in. A large stone fireplace was the first thing I saw followed quickly by matching cherrywood stained ceiling beams and a wide staircase off to the left. The living room was large and held another fireplace as well as furniture that was reminiscent of the pieces I had had at the old house, but these looked brand new. The dining room held a very long dining table with over eight chairs, but it could fit at least ten to twelve. Jesus. I was floating on cloud nine as I moved into the gourmet kitchen that was outfitted with the best of the best in appliances, counterspace, and cabinets. The last bit of the main floor included a bar room with yet another fireplace and a wall that could be opened to the patio that sat under a second floor balcony. The backyard held a pool, hot tub, and fountain as well as a giant green patch before ending at a garden feature with lots of stone walls and flowers.
The guys trailed after me just as stunned and silent as we headed to the second floor. Another glass door wall that could be folded up like the one downstairs filled the hall before splitting into two sides, each of which held two bedrooms as well as a master in mirrored fashion. The master ensuite on both sides faced the front and had double doors to their respective balconies. The bathrooms were to die for with large soaking tubs in front of a picture window, a walk-in shower, vanity, and dual sinks. The last portion of the master bedroom included an enormous walk-in closet. The remaining bedrooms on the second floor were all huge and each had their own bathrooms attached.
“I don’t understand.” I turned in another circle in the spare bedroom we stood in. “When did you do this?” Chase was bouncing on his toes as he looked at me.
“I had it built for you!” He scooped me up in his arms, his nose going to my hair. “There’s a basement too, outfitted with all of the specifications I know you were wanting.” I felt tears well up at the enormity of his gift. “Do you like it, Kittycat?”
“Chase, it’s beautiful.” I hugged him tightly, my chest squeezing painfully under the swell of my emotions.
“When did you start having this built?” Stone questioned, his tone disbelieving. “This had to take months.” Chase released me and nodded.
“Six months, to be exact.” He smiled at me as the weight of his words settled on me.
“You started it right after we met?” I smiled, my love for him growing as he nodded.
“Crazy people.” Stone rolled his eyes as he insulted us under his breath. I glared at him.
“Fuck off, Stone. Don’t be a dick just because someone else is actually capable of thoughtful gestures,” I lectured, my hands going on my hips. “Why is it so big?” I turned my question to Chase.
“I figured it would be good to have extra room.” His eyes twinkled as he waved toward the MC officers. “Turns out I was right! They can each have a room!” Brooks and Garrett both looked surprised at his offer.
“Really?” Stone grumbled some more. “You four are seriously considering doing the polyamorous relationship thing?”
I looked at the others who all nodded, their eyes trained on me. I had my reservations about how everything would work, but thinking about them being with someone else made my stomach turn, so I nodded too.
“Yeah, I guess we are.” I smiled when their faces lit up.
“You want to do this too?” Chase poked Stone in the arm. “Don’t think you’ve snuck under the radar in the ‘I’m attracted to Kiera’ party.”
Stone glared, but didn’t object, his lips thinning as he nodded his head ever so slightly as if he was reluctant to do so.
“Fine,” he bit out, “but I’m not doing any of that sex sharing thing.”
I chuckled but agreed, because multiple partners and Stone didn’t belong in the same sentence. Not yet anyway, my brain whispered mischievously.
May 7th
Tuesday Afternoon
Stone
I was running through the list of shit we had to get done on the sheet of paper in front of me when the assassin sank into the barstool to my left. His faux-suede jacket shifted quietly around the set of guns I knew he always carried. I kept my eyes focused on my paper as he waited patiently for his drink; Cheryl was getting used to both him and Kiera being around the compound more and more frequently.
Speaking of the brat, my brain had been battling back and forth for the last 24 hours on the fact that I had agreed to their relationship shit. One half was fucking delighted about it, thinking I’d get to fuck her whenever I wanted without worrying about pissing my fellow officers off, while the other half… well, it was screaming at me that it was a distraction that I didn’t need at the beginning of this war that was about to go down with the Alloy Kings. A battle was coming, and soon, so right now was just a waiting game for a side to strike first. Us, I mentally tallied since Kiera had already done a good deal of damage to their numbers when she went for Chase. Which, if I’m honest, was ridiculously hot. Just thinking about it made me rock hard.
Chase seemed to be content to sit in silence as I continued with my list; this time I added in things we would possibly need for an advance on their compound and shipments. Knowing they were working in partnership with the mob changed the game slightly. We had to be cautious of what shipment we took in case the Alloy Kings weren’t the only ones that could be at the drop point. I knew full well that we would be backing Kiera in her attack against Frankie, so being smart now was important. With Frankie entering my thoughts, I stopped writing and turned to Chase.
“What did Frankie ‘Smokes’ do to Kiera to ear
n being blacklisted?”
Chase’s demeanor slammed closed in a wave of anger. Seeing his eyes burn in fury as his muscles tensed had me leaning away from him. He’s a scary motherfucker when he wants to be.
“You’ll learn soon enough, Stone,” he ground out, his lips curling into a snarl. Whatever it was had to be bad if it had someone like Chase reacting in such a way. “But I’m not going to discuss that with you right now.”
I wasn’t pleased, but I tucked the urge to push for the answer away for later when we focused on Frankie instead of the Alloy Kings. Eye on the ball, Stone, I lectured myself, Alloy Kings are top priority.
“All right, where is she anyway?” I found myself asking. As soon as the topic of Frankie was done, Chase’s anger melted back into his cheery self. Chase finished his sip before answering.
“Walking around the compound.” He looked at me with a small curl of his lips. “She likes to know a place like the back of her own hand. She has maps of the compound in her files, and Brooks gave us a rundown, but she wanted to check everything out for herself. She’ll probably do that for the next week or so noting any security weaknesses, so be prepared for an ass-chewing if there’s anything blatantly weak in security around the compound.”
“Great,” I huffed. But truthfully, it couldn’t hurt to know what needed to be addressed with what was about to come down. I had been considering bringing up with Brooks that any of the families with children should be moved to temporary housing in case anything happened. The thought was interrupted when the alarm suddenly sounded. Chase slammed the rest of his drink before casually pulling his matching guns from their holsters. I had already grabbed my own weapon from its holster at my lower back as Cheryl dragged the several Old Ladies and hang-arounds in the bar to the safe room making sure to secure the door behind them.
“Stone!” Nate’s booming voice called out as he entered from the back door with Garrett and Brooks in tow. “Where’s Kiera?” My heart dropped as I realized she had been walking around the compound.
“Was she alone?” I questioned Chase. His eyes hardened, and he nodded as he started toward the front door of the bar. “Hold up.” I latched onto his arm before turning to Brooks and Nate who were checking the compound cameras on their phones.
“Alloy Kings at the southeast storage building,” Brooks ground out, his jaw ticking as he flicked to the southeast cameras. “Fucking shit! They’ve got some kind of humvee.”
“Damn it,” Nate boomed. He stuffed his phone into his pocket before checking his magazine. Brooks’ face paled, his eyes still glued to his phone.
“What?” Garrett asked sharply. Chase, Garrett, and I all collected around the phone. My eyes couldn’t process what I was seeing right away, but when they did I felt my blood boil. Kiera was wrestling against three Alloy Kings as they carried her toward the large vehicle, while the remaining group was fighting with Aces who had swarmed the area.
“God damn it!” Garrett shouted. He ran toward the front of the bar and out to one of the club’s old SUVs still parked in one of the front stalls of the lot. Opening the back hatch, we piled in, Nate climbing into the driver’s seat, while Chase went to the passenger seat and made sure to roll down his window. Brooks, Garrett, and I held on tightly to the grip handles we had custom installed as Nate barrelled the SUV toward the battle.
The sound of gunshots and shouting echoed against the buildings as we approached. Our numbers seemed to be evenly matched since no bodies littered the ground, but there were several who appeared injured as they bled against the dusty cement. My eyes scanned for Kiera; her screaming curses could be heard over the rest of the fighting. Finally, I spotted her after the third pass. She was being hoisted into the open back of the humvee, her braid messy and sticking to half her face as blood poured from an injury I couldn’t see.
Nate squealed the SUV to a stop only narrowly missing several of our own members. As soon as the vehicle was slow enough to exit we jumped out, Chase following suit from his seat up front. Garrett was the fastest behind Chase as they sprinted toward Kiera. Brooks ended up taking on two rivals who were overpowering one of our members. I had almost caught up to Garrett, when a shot rang out followed by a scream. Rider, our demolition expert, was clutching a bleeding wound in his shin, but before the Alloy King could put another one in his chest or head I changed course and tackled him to the ground.
Grappling with him, I was able to get his gun away from him, knocking him out with a hit to his head from the handle of my own gun. My attention switched to Rider, and I ripped my cut off before shucking the shirt I was wearing to tie a makeshift tourniquet around his leg to slow the bleeding.
“Go!” He waved me off after the tie was on, the blood flow slowing to a trickle before stopping. “I got this.” He leaned back against the tree near him with the Alloy Kings’ gun in his free hand. The sound of the humvee revving pulled my attention, but Chase and Garrett were busy each with their own rival. The Alloy Kings started to retreat to their two remaining vehicles after the humvee cleared the fence. Sprinting over to them, I shot the one Garrett was struggling with in the side right as Brooks tackled the one Chase was up against. Unfortunately, the guy was able to maneuver away from the president and jump on the retreating vehicle.
That was it, their attack was over. Two Alloy Kings were lying on the ground bleeding or unconscious, while our patch holders immediately started helping the injured. Thankfully, no one had been killed.
“Where is she?” Garrett demanded, looking around for Kiera’s honey brown waves that were nowhere to be seen in the group. “Fuck! They have her. Nate!” He ran toward the SUV as he shouted at the Road Captain who was wiping a sweaty brow. “Driver, now.” Garrett, Brooks, Chase and I shot back into the vehicle, peeling out to follow the humvee tracks so quickly that it squealed.
I’m going to fucking kill them…
Chapter 15
May 7th
Tuesday Afternoon
An Hour Earlier
Kiera
The weather was warm, but not uncomfortably so. The sun filtering between the clouds provided shade. I had originally thought to bring my notebook and the attached pen for this casing, but since it was only my initial walkthrough I left it at the house. I can’t believe Chase built us a house. I smiled to myself. The mansion he had built was probably one of the biggest houses I’d ever seen except for Frankie’s. I pushed the thoughts of my father out of my head, not wanting to ruin the moment. First thing I had done last night? Taken a very long, hot bath in the giant tub before passing out until late morning.
And now, a few hours later, I’m here, I thought as I looked around. The area was spacious, but not outrageously so since there were essentially three mini-neighborhoods within the borders of the compound. The perimeter of the Aces’ acreage was a tall chain-link fence with the traditional barbed wire wound in a curly-q on top. I spotted one or two cameras on pretty much every lamp post, but there were taller masts that held clusters of cameras as well as siren speakers. I mentally noted the precautions making sure to mark that I would need access to their video feeds to check for any blind spots as well as determine how often these were monitored. Because if they aren’t, they’ll need another perimeter monitor. I grumbled and dug my fingers into the dirt right inside the fence. It would be way too easy to tunnel under this before someone noticed.
I wondered if the fence was electric as I stared at it and debated if I wanted to test it, but smarts won out and I walked away. Don’t want to fry myself or stop my heart. Turning to scan the area some more, I spotted what Brooks had brought up as miscellaneous buildings, and if my mental map was correct, which of course it is, it would be the southeast building. I had just gotten near the small stone structure when I heard a rumbling. Glancing around, I caught sight of a large militarized truck heading straight for the fence, two beat up pickup trucks right behind it. I sprinted the last bit of distance to the building as they smashed through, but the door was locked and before I
could unlock it, rough hands grabbed my upper body.
I let loose a scream as I kicked out and caught one of the men in the stomach as he attempted to secure my legs. Turning sharply to the right, I loosened the steel grip around my torso just enough to grab my gun, but my shot went wide and into the stone building’s side as a third burly man tugged on my arm. He twisted sharply, and my grip slackened at the stabbing pain and my gun thudded on the ground. Immediately, my vision was filled with the butt of a gun swinging toward my temple. I rocked backward and the hit barely grazed above my left brow. An explosion of pain radiated through my skull, while warm, sticky liquid poured down my face. Fuckers!
I heard shouting as the three bastards tried to wrestle me back around the building. There was a large group of fist and knife fighting, while a few gunshots rang out intermittently during the brawl. I couldn’t tell who was who unless I focused on their cuts, but at this rate my only goal was not being taken wherever they were dragging me off to.
“Fuck you!” I screamed, and tight hands clamped even more around my arms and legs as the three assholes hoisted me into the open back of the humvee. Yanking and flailing my limbs, I couldn’t loosen their grips. Blood soaked the left half of my face, my hair sticking to the wet pool. The cut above my brow throbbed, but adrenaline helped numb the pain. I heard Garrett’s harsh voice hollering somewhere, but I couldn’t turn my head to see.
“Shut the fuck up, bitch!” the guy holding my arms shouted as they finally got me into the metal contraption. A new set of hands grabbed me, and a familiar scarred face filled my vision as the truck started to move.
“Hello, Kiera.” Jace’s voice made me shiver, his hands like steel bands around my biceps. I kicked out, but Jace, who had always been faster than me, easily stepping out of the way of my boot’s path. “Still feisty I see.” He pressed his face into the crook of my neck and inhaled, his tongue darting out to lick my skin before pulling back to look at me with his one good eye.
