"That'll leave me with enough time to get Erica out of there. The only thing that bothers me is finding a way to get out without everybody seeing us." I looked at the blueprints, trying to find a side door. "Here's a back door, but I remember seeing it when I went there-so it's visible from the middle of the main room. Fuck."
"You want us to cover you?"
"I don't know. That's pretty risky. You could be up against three dozen guys."
"We have twice the guns. We'll be all right."
I thought hard about it. "No. I want you all as far away from there as possible. If I cut it too close, no sense in having you all blown up. If they see us, I'll send Erica out and tell her to run like hell."
Nobody looked happy with the plan. I sure as hell wasn't happy with it either. But it was the best we could do. At that point, I didn't care as long as we could destroy the Wolves.
If I had to go down with them, that was the way it had to be. It would be one hell of an explosion either way.
***
The clubhouse was a beehive. I gave everyone a half hour to get their shit in order before we left. There was an unspoken intensity in all of us. The girls felt it, too. Of course. They knew what we were doing. They'd been there when the plan came together.
Frankie and Axel pulled out every firearm we could feasibly carry. I couldn't take one in with me-they'd confiscate it in a minute. It would only mean a waste of a gun that could be used by another one of my guys. I didn't wanna go in to see York empty-handed, though.
I had to kill him. There was no other way to go. The explosion wouldn't be enough. I wanted to do it up close and personal, but quietly. I didn't want him to scream and bring company.
After thirty minutes we gathered in the lounge, our faces identical-jaws clenched, murder in our eyes. It was time to settle the score once and for all. The odds were some of us wouldn't make it back. None of them seemed to mind. We were all focused together on the goal.
Brett and the girls poured shots, handing them out to us. I looked at all of them. The only family I knew.
"Let's do this," I said. We raised our glasses, then tossed back the whiskey before filing out. I wasn't sure what we would find, but at least I knew I wouldn't be going there alone. I had my brothers by my side.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Erica
I wondered when Vince was going to come for me.
It wasn't a matter of wondering if. I knew he would, even though I didn't want him to. The thought of him putting himself on the line for me was more than I wanted to consider. And he wouldn't come alone. I knew that, too. He'd have backup. They might have been making a plan even as I sat there tied to a chair, feeling as though my arms were about to fall off and wishing they would if it would mean an end to the constant ache.
I heard a lot of noise around me, mostly coming from the other side of the door Onyx had disappeared through. That had to be their lounge. What the hell was this room? A trash heap from the looks of it. It was horrible. I half expected to see roaches and rats crawling over everything.
The other door, the one Alexander went through, was likely to his office. There was no noise coming from in there. I wondered what he could be doing. Gloating? Making big plans for what he would do once he'd won? Taking a nap? I had no idea. All I knew was I didn't like the silence. And I didn't like being left alone-although, given my choice between being alone and being with the rowdy, drunken bunch just behind the door, solitude sounded good.
The door opened. I caught my breath. Onyx. I wondered for a minute why he wasn't out there with the Wolves, laughing it up. Then I realized he wasn't one of them. He didn't fit in. This wasn't a victory for him.
He didn't look at me, sitting by the closed door instead. He slouched in his chair, looking at his boots. Not looking at me. I'd been thinking a lot about him since he kidnapped me. Mainly, I wondered what his end game was. Or hadn't he thought it through?
I moved my head, fighting against the gag over my mouth. I wanted to talk to him, to get him to understand what he'd done and how he could still turn it around if he'd only let me go. If he did, Vince might spare his life. I couldn't speak for him, of course, but I would stand up for Onyx after it all blew over. If only he would let me go.
Otherwise, what did he expect? If Alexander got what he wanted, his club would absorb the Fury Riders. They had to know by then what he'd done. They would never accept him. They might even want him dead. He'd be without a club, without his family. It was over for him.
At first, he'd probably thought he'd get away with it. Then I came along and forced his hand. He couldn't betray them in secret anymore because I had him on the memory card. I remembered walking into the office earlier that morning-had it really only been that morning? So much had happened since then. He was in there, and he looked guilty. Had he been trying to pull the card out of the camera? I bet he was. All the while, the entire time I was there, he'd known what I had there. No wonder I had the feeling he didn't like me.
I twisted my head from side to side, looking at him plaintively. I tried to stay his name over the strip of cloth between my lips. He acted like I wasn't there. I cried out louder.
"Why are you wasting your energy?" he muttered.
Please, I tried to say. Please, please, please. It didn't sound like anything but a bunch of groaning, but it seemed to get through to him. He glared at me.
"It would have worked if it hadn't been for you. Alexander was looking to make a deal with the club. He wanted to share the drug traffic, then slowly move it all over to the Wolves. Vince might have gone for it, too. He didn't wanna be in the drug business anymore. And I would get a cut-a big cut, since I was supposed to be the go-between. And you fucked it up."
I shook my head vehemently. It wasn't my fault.
"Why did you have to be there? What were you doing? I saw you before Harrison went after you. I knew you had to have me on the camera. Then I saw Vince pull up on his bike." His eyes narrowed. "I knew he wouldn't let you go. It was personal for him since the guy he was fighting was a Wolf. Then, when I saw the way he looked at you, back at the clubhouse … I knew he wanted you. That was it. He was too involved."
I shook my head again. I hadn't done anything wrong. Onyx's voice had started to rise. He sounded more intense. I thought he might hurt me.
"He didn't have to know. Nobody had to know. Lance? He deserved what he got. He only came along because he wanted the money. He wasn't trying to help the club. I was trying to give us a way out of the business without pissing off the suppliers and make money while I was at it. I had a purpose, at least."
Tell him, I tried to say. Tell Vince.
That, I thought he understood. A glimmer of recognition came over his scarred face. His black eyes narrowed again, and my heart nearly stopped beating when he stood and walked to me. I wanted to run, to fight, to cower in a corner and cover my head with my hands. Anything other than being forced to sit completely still in a chair. My arms burned as I struggled to free them. I felt the rope bite into my skin and winced. Blood dripped from my hands.
He stood in front of me, a murderous look on his face. I closed my eyes tight, hoping that whatever he did, he'd be quick about it.
Then I was stunned. He pulled the gag from my mouth, then went back to his chair.
"Thank you," I whispered. "That hurt."
"Sure, whatever." He folded his arms, crossing his long legs at the ankle as they stretched in front of him. "So. You're supposed to be so smart. Better than us, right?"
"When did I ever say that?"
"Please. It's obvious. People like you don't mix with people like us. As soon as this is all over, if you make it out alive, you'll go back to your life. But that's a big if."
I shivered, forcing back the pain in my wrists and arms. Trying to keep my head clear. I had to convince him to let me go. I might even be able to get to Vince before he did anything crazy.
"Why don't you tell Vince what you just told me?" I asked. "Lay it out that way. He'll understand."
"You don't know Vince. You think you do, but you're dead wrong. No way he'd understand. I betrayed him, the same as Lance. In our world, there's only one punishment for that level of betrayal." He didn't have to say what he meant. I connected the dots.
"I could speak up for you. I'll tell him whatever you want me to. I'll tell him you were good to me here, that you made sure nobody hurt me."
"That's bullshit." His eyes darted away from mine. It had been a guess, but his reaction told me I was closer than I imagined.