HARDCORE: Storm MC(214)

Luckily, I didn’t have to wait too long. We waited close to the interstate. It was dark by then, so even if The Scarecrow stuck his head out the door, he wouldn’t notice the line of motorcycles in the darkness. The lights in the parking lot were broken, after all. Something was finally going my way.



Once he was sure we were all together, Flash came over to me. “What’ve you seen so far?”



“Nothing. It’s quiet. The light’s on in the room, but that’s it. He hasn’t come out, and nobody’s in there.”



Jax agreed to go to the door to check it out. I hung back—I wanted to go in his place, but Flash didn’t think that was the best idea. “If you hear anything you don’t wanna hear…”



“Don’t even say that to me. Don’t even think it, actually. It’s not happening. It’s not gonna happen.” I clenched my fists, waiting. Practically holding my breath. If only it wasn’t so fucking dark—it was good for hiding, but I couldn’t see what was happening at the door to the room. It felt like forever before Jax ran back to us.



“Nothing. I hear a TV in there, and voices.”



“What voices?”



“Jamie’s, definitely.”



I closed my eyes. “Gigi?”



“No, nothing from her. It sounds like Jamie’s giving The Scarecrow shit.”



I had to smile. “Of course she is. That’s what she does. And she’s staying strong for Gigi—that’s what she does, too.” I knew I could trust her. If she drove The Scarecrow half as crazy as she drove me, he might just kick them both out of the room and tell them to never come back.



The smile left my face. “Okay, so they’re in there. What are they waiting for?”



“Don’t you wanna go in now and find out?”



I thought about it. “They’re waiting for somebody, or a few somebodies. It might be better to wait for them, too. I don’t wanna be ambushed at the last minute, just when we think we got them and we can go. Know what I mean? I would rather know what we’re up against.”



“But…there’s only one of him in there. And dozens of us.”



“I don’t know that there’s only one guy in there, though,” Jax pointed out. “I heard a man’s voice, but then I heard the TV, too. So there could be more than one, and it just got mixed up with whatever they were watching.”



“Shit.” I looked at Flash, and he knew I was right. It was better to wait.



“Do you think he’ll hurt Jamie? Or Gigi?”



I thought about it for a minute, then shook my head. “Not if he wants to get any money for them. That’s what it’s all about for him, right? The price. If they’re marked up or worse, he’ll get less. He wants them in good condition.”



“All the same, I hope his temper can hold out long enough. You know how tough Jamie can be when she gets on a roll.”



“I sure do.” That worried me. I remembered the way I felt when she pissed me off, when she wouldn’t let something go. Especially when it had to do with Gigi. And nothing had ever been more important than what was going on at that moment. What if she pushed him too far? The two sides of my brain fought back and forth over what to do. I couldn’t come up with an answer that satisfied me. It was either go in and take a chance or hang back and take a chance. Either way, we were taking a chance.



“I’d feel a lot better if we were closer,” I decided. Let’s split up into two groups. One group on that side.” I pointed to the far end of the string of rooms. “One group on the other.” I pointed to the other side. “I want Flash at the head of one group, Slate at the head of the other. I’ll call you both so we can communicate on our earpieces.”



“Where will you be?”



“Behind Jamie’s car.”



“What? Alone?” Flash didn’t look impressed.



“Whaddya think? I wanna be able to be close to the room in case something happens. I’ll wait there, listening. If I hear anything I don’t like, I’ll go in. If it all seems okay, I’ll hang back. When whoever they’re waiting for shows up, we’ll wait ’til they’re inside.”



Flash and Slate looked at each other. I could see them talking without opening their mouths. They both shrugged.



“It’s as good an idea as any,” Flash said.



“Thanks for the confidence.” I rolled my eyes as I called them. They put in their earpieces as I put in mine. When we knew we had a connection, we took off. Slate took a dozen guys in one direction, Flash took the rest in the other. I hid behind the car like I said I would.