Bounty:Fury Riders MC(37)

"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.