“Okay.” With a big smile he jumped off my lap and ran to his room.
“Thanks, Dad.”
“My pleasure, River. That boy means the world to us.”
My boy meant the world to a lot of people and they would all be here today to take our backs.
Dagger and Jinx arrived promptly at eight with a beautiful dog Duncan promptly fell in love with. He chattered non-stop as he followed Jinx around while Kaizer sniffed for drugs. Obviously they found nothing. After a breakfast with quite a few of the Sinner’s Sons, Duncan and Kaizer played on the lawn while the men watched.
The lawyer arrived promptly at ten and I immediately liked her. Dahlia Sawyer was a take-no-prisoners kind of woman and I trusted her to keep my son out of Mrs Havenga’s clutches. I invited her into my house and gave her my entire history. My rebellious teens, meeting Dylan, falling pregnant, losing Dylan. I told her everything and left nothing out. Not even the night I spent with Ice. She needed to know everything to keep us safe.
“I find it very suspicious that the department is wasting their time on a report which has very obviously been fabricated. When they get here I’ll have a short consultation with them and lay out our case. Then take them on an inspection tour. At no time will I leave either of them alone and there will be no photos taken outside or inside the premises. Until we can prove otherwise I think we go with the rather safe than sorry approach.” She smiled at Kaizer where he lay watching us intently from the open front door. “If she’s carrying any drugs in her bag or on her person he won’t allow her in the house and we’ll know the information we received was correct. I’m not sure how we’ll proceed from there because Kaizer isn’t employed as a SAPS sniffer dog so it will be difficult to present the evidence. But it might just be enough to scare whoever is behind this off.”
“When they leave today do you think it’s necessary to keep the guards in place?”
Dahlia narrowed her eyes as she thought about it. “I think we keep them in place. We wait for the report from the department before we take the next step.”
“I just don’t understand why this is happening.”
She suddenly laughed. “This Ice you had the little fling with, is he hot?”
“Scorching.” I widened my eyes and waved a hand in front of my face.
Dahlia gave me a wicked grin. “Maybe after seeing those photographs his ex, Dr Coetzee, is jealous of the time you spent with Ice at the braai. And this is her way of hurting you and getting you out of the way. It happens more often than you might think. Her vindictiveness is wasting the departments’ time, your time and mine. Not that I mind being here, I’m glad I’m able to help.”
“I don’t mind losing a few hours if it means my son is safe. His safety is the most important thing to me.”
A white sedan with government issued plates pulled into the drive about fifteen minutes later and I saw the way the Havenga bitch looked around. Her eyes skating over the security lights and cameras under the eaves of my parents’ house and my cottage. What the hell was she looking for?
Her eyes widened when she saw the leather kutte wearing men guarding both houses. She hitched a large bag over her shoulder as she scuttled along in the wake of Mr Du Plessis towards where I waited on the patio at my front door. Next to me Dahlia made a deep hmm sound as she watched them approach.
We greeted them but when Havenga tried to walk past Kaizer he stood in her way and growled, then barked and Jinx came running. I smiled insincerely.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. He’s a retired sniffer dog and something on you or in your bag has set him off. Just allow him to sniff you and your bag, he won’t let you in otherwise.”
She reluctantly dropped her bag from her shoulder and Kaizer sniffed it, barked then looked up at Jinx and barked again.
“He’s not going to let you inside with the bag. Put it down on the bench then give it another try.” Jinx growled.
Very reluctantly she dropped her big bag on the bench outside my front door and again tried to enter. This time Kaizer sniffed and growled but let her pass.
I waved them into the lounge and took a seat next to Dahlia who introduced herself as my lawyer and handed Du Plessis her card. Then she got down to business. An hour later we watched as the piece of shit government car reversed out of our drive and disappeared down the road.
“Well, that was interesting.” Dahlia said softly.
“Why would it take them two weeks to enter their favourable report in the system and finalise the case? I don’t buy the shit that they’re short staffed.”
“I don’t either. I don’t think Du Plessis is very happy with this case and I’ll keep in touch with him. She’s definitely a shady character and is worth watching. She took note of every single camera and security feature in the house and that worries me. If possible I want you to beef up your security. Re-site a few of the cameras and add others in unexpected positions. Talk to your brother-in-law, I’m sure he will know exactly what to do. If you need me don’t hesitate to call, even if it’s just to ask me a question or to chat. I’m here for you.”
She made me feel as if everything was under control.
“Do you think Duncan should go back to pre-school or should I keep him with me for a while?”
Following her to her car I watched as she dropped her briefcase in the boot as she thought about my question.
“I wish I could say with total certainty that Duncan will be safe at school, but I can’t. If you can persuade the owners of the school to have his bodyguards near then okay, but if you can’t I think wait until we get a clean record from the department.”
“Okay, I agree.” I drew in a deep breath and let it out on a loud huff. “I’m going to keep him with me. He’ll be safer here at home being watched over by the Sinner’s Sons and at the workshop where I can watch him.”
Sliding into her car she glanced over to where Dagger and Jinx stood watching us with their arms crossed over their wide chests. “You know, I had many pre-conceived ideas about bikers. But coming here today and watching them around you and your family was an eye-opener.”
I had to laugh. “Those ideas you had about bikers, most of the time they are true. The Sinner’s Sons are all about their club, brotherhood and family but believe me they can be wild.”
“I can see it in their eyes.” She smiled and started her car. “If you have any questions or just need to talk don’t hesitate to call me.”
“Thanks, I will. And if you ever run into another case involving a club, call me. I can give you the skinner (gossip) on most of the clubs around here.”
Dahlia laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind. Bye now.”
I watched as she drove away then walked back to where Dagger and Jinx were waiting for me.
“I searched the old bitch’s bag and she had baggies of meth and coke zipped into a side pocket.” Jinx growled angrily. “If we didn’t have Kaizer here today bad shit would have gone down.”
“You and Duncan will have a man on you when you leave the property, no matter where you go. I don’t like mum being here alone while you and dad go to work so I’ll have a man here as well and at night there will be two here, one at the back and one at the front.” Dagger looked at me as if I was going to argue with him but I just nodded my agreement. “And I’ll be here as often as I can. Unfortunately the club has some shit going down that I have to see to but we’ll keep you protected. If I can’t be here Jinx will be here with you and our boykie.”
“Dahlia said we must move the cameras around. She didn’t like the way the bitch checked out the positions of the security lights and camera placements.”
A shudder ran down my back as I thought about someone breaking into my home and taking my boy.
“What the hell is happening here, Dagger? It can’t just be Ice’s crazy ex having her claws out for me. It feels as if something else is going on but I’ve got no idea what it is.”
Dagger threw a heavy arm around me and pulled me into his side. “D
on’t you worry about it, Rivzie. I’ll do some digging and see what comes up. Now let’s go find our boykie and get the two of you to work, okay?”
“Okay.”
Dagger
Looking over River’s head as he hugged her Dagger met Jinx’s eyes and saw the same worry there. He was afraid he knew exactly who had targeted River and Duncan. If it was who he thought it was the fucking Dogz would have some explaining to do.
He was going to get his sister and her little man settled and then he and Hawk fucking Walker was going to have a long damned chat.
No way would he allow the dark shit engulfing the Dogz to take down his family. They have suffered enough.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Ice
Ice sat next to Hawk and watched the men walking into Zeffers closely. Dagger, the Sinner’s Sons MC’s president, with two of his men came towards them, none of them smiling. The men were his Sergeant At Arms, Jinx, and his Enforcer, Bull. Big guns for a meeting on neutral ground.
Dagger had called Hawk last night to arrange a meeting on neutral ground. Hawk agreed to meet with him at Zeffers in Kosmos. Dagger hadn’t said why he wanted the meet, but Ice had an idea it had to do with River.
Dagger reached their table and nodded a greeting as he sat down.
“Thanks for meeting with me, Hawk.”
“No problem, man. I understand you’re having family problems. How can I help?”
Dagger looked at Ice before he answered.
“You can help by telling me why Ice’s bitch is targeting my sister and her son. On Friday she sent her little Welfare minion to plant enough drugs in River’s house that she would have gone away for a very fucking long time and Duncan would have disappeared into the system. And according to some information which came to light shortly before the visit he would have been snatched never to be seen again.”
Ice’s gut turned to rock hard stone but he met Dagger’s eyes unflinchingly when the man turned to him.
“You get this one warning to pass onto your bitch, Ice. Emma Coetzee’s time on this fucking planet is ticking away rapidly. The Sinner’s Sons MC worldwide has put their mark on her and it will stay on her until we’re sure she has backed off my family. If she does not.” Dagger shrugged. “Then what will be, will be.”
Fucking hell. Emma was crazier than they had suspected. Glancing at his president before he answered he got the nod and then tried to explain. It didn’t seem like Dagger or his men could care less what he said. Until he laid out why they hadn’t taken her down yet.
“I had a relationship with the bitch seven years ago. She played me and left but a few weeks ago she came back and has been trying to get me to start it up with her again. I’m not interested but have been stringing her along to get as much information as we can. We’ve been investigating Emma Coetzee for a few weeks now. We have eyes and ears in her house but haven’t been able to get into her car or phone yet. We suspect she has ties to the Maingarde Organisation and with Winifred Maingarde in particular. We need to confirm this before we make our move.”
Ice could see the rage burning in Dagger’s eyes as he battled to get it under control.
“So, my four year old nephew is now the target of those sick fucks because your fucking bitch saw a few photos of you and River at a party and got jealous.” Jinx put his hand on his presidents’ shoulder and Ice could see that hand squeeze hard. The man’s eyes were on him though and they were empty. Just nothing.
“Which photos are you talking about, Dagger?” Hawk asked quietly. “I don’t remember any photos of River and Ice among the ones we sent to James.”
“The Welfare bitch had photos of the party at your clubhouse. Your VP looked pretty fucking cosy with River but she assured me the photos had been photoshopped. And that’s the only reason why I’m not killing him right the fuck now for putting his hands on my brother’s old lady.” Dagger snarled through gritted teeth.
Before he could shut himself up the words tumbled out of Ice’s mouth. “She’s his widow, Dagger, and he’s no longer with us to claim her as his.”
Dagger lunged across the table and shoved his face into Ice’s. “She will fucking always be Sparrow’s old lady, always motherfucker. And don’t you fucking forget it.”
Jinx had his hand on his presidents’ shoulder and pulled him back into his chair.
Hawk pushed against Ice’s chest when he started to react to the challenge, and then he gave Dagger the information they had so far.
“Dagger, it’s actually good news. We have the bitch who took the photos and a positive ID of the woman who ordered her to take those photos. And now we know who she passed them on to and why. We’re getting close. We just need a week or two and we should have it shut down and your nephew and River will be safe.”
Ice clenched his teeth to stop from blurting it out, yes they will be safe. Because he was going to personally ensure that they were safe.
He had been unable to get her out of his head and no matter how many times he met up with Emma it was River who appeared behind his eyelids when he closed his eyes at night. He had spent one night with her and he was fucked. It was River who starred in his erotic dreams and had him jerking off in the shower more times than he cared to think about. An image of her smiling face underneath him suddenly appeared in his head but it disappeared when he heard Dagger’s next words.
“Why waste time investigating her, why haven’t you snatched her and called Doc in to let his Crow get you what you need? He’s family and surely he’ll do you a favour. It will end this fucking shit in a few hours not a few weeks.”
Hawk just shook his head but Ice could see his cousin was trying hard to stay calm. He would never allow his little bird to get involved.
“I can’t, Dagger. The Crow has been sent on another mission and won’t be back for a while. In the meantime we’re getting as much as we can, anyway we can. It’s slow going, I know, but we’ll get this bitch. You have my word on it.”
Dagger picked up his beer and downed it then very carefully put the empty bottle down.
“I’ve got men on my family, because that’s what they are, they are my family. But I had no idea who we were protecting them from until now. I need to get out of here.” He stood then leant over and tapped twice on the table in front of Ice.
“If I don’t hear what I need to hear within the next twenty four hours then…” He shrugged.
Dagger and his men turned and walked out, not once looking back.
Ice was about to speak but Hawk got there first. “You stay out of this, Ice. That’s an order. We’ll handle this as a club. Do you understand?”
There were confused looks on his brothers’ faces because obviously they didn’t know about him and River. Hawk apparently did.
“You got it, Prez.” Ice grated out and Hawk nodded.
Ice knew exactly what Dagger, the bastard, hadn’t put into words. He had given them the twenty four hours to get what they needed from Emma. At the end of those twenty four hours she would die, maybe the victim of a high jacking gone wrong or a botched robbery but the end result would be the same. She would be dead. And their link to the old bitch would be gone.
“We need to get them to back off, Prez. Once she’s in the ground there goes our only link to the Maingarde bitch.” Kid voiced his thoughts out loud bringing the attention back to the Emma problem.
“I know. I need to think about this. Let’s get out of here.”
The rode away and as they did Ice saw Wimpie waving and he gave him a low salute as he followed his prez down the road. If Wimpie had anything of value to give them he would call.
Ziggy was waiting as they parked outside the clubhouse and by his face Ice could see he had some news.
They all gathered in Hawk’s office waiting to hear what Ziggy had found.
“As ordered I have been digging deep and I had to ask for help with my search. I recruited Mad Dog to help me search for anything that might throw light onto what we’re facing. Early t
his morning he found a site on the dark web with photos of kids who will be going up for auction soon. River’s little boy was one of them. We sent the links to the task force and about two hours later the site went down. Hopefully they were able to track it.”
“Fuck.” Ice growled. “Dagger is going to go fucking ballistic.”
Hawk tapped the fingers of his left hand on the desk as the right stroked over his beard. Ice knew his cousin was considering how to resolve their problem.
“Kid, arrange for additional protection at River’s workshop. Wrench is a good man but he’s alone out there. I’ll call Dagger and let him know what we’ve found.”
He turned to Ziggy. “Tell me you got more on the bitch.”
Ziggy grinned. “I got more on the bitch.”
Linking his laptop with the television he tapped and Emma’s face filled the screen. But this was Emma from years ago when she had still been Emmie, the young woman Ice had been in love with.
“She never left South Africa when she said she did. She spent some time in Cape Town and only left about four months after her supposed departure date. Someone altered all her documents but there were footprints and we followed it and were able to recover some of the data.”
Ziggy clicked more on his laptop then turned to Ice and sighed. “Ice, brother, I’m so fucking sorry. I found the following documents and photos hidden in a secret cloud account. The date corresponds with the time she spent in Durban during her residency. She had a little girl. The birth certificate doesn’t list a father only the mother, Emmaline Coetzee.”
The next picture was of a very pregnant Emmie standing next to an older man smiling brightly into the camera. And then his heart dropped in his shoes as Ziggy clicked and a photo of a little girl who was the spitting image of Emmie appeared. She had long light brown hair, brown eyes and a wide happy smile. And she looked to be about seven years old.
Lost And Found In Blue (Iron Dogz MC Book 2) Page 9
