"I could've made her run away with me. I could've put a bullet in his head. I could've … "
"No. You have to stop doing this to yourself." I got off the bed and knelt down in front of him. I looked up at him as I placed my hands on his face. "You aren't the one to blame."
"Maybe not, but I'll never be able to forgive myself for what happened." I shrugged. "It's one of the reasons I became the club's enforcer. I wasn't able to protect her the way I should, so now I'm doing whatever I can to protect my brothers. I guess you could say it's my way of finding some sense of redemption."
"What exactly does an enforcer do?"
"Let's just say that I use any means necessary to ensure my family's safety." An intense look crossed his face as he said, "I wish I would've done the same for Michele."
While I was curious to know more about his position in the club, I knew the nightmares he was having were more important, so I asked, "Do you think she would forgive you for what happened?"
"I don't know." I gave him a moment to consider my question, and eventually, he mumbled, "Yeah. I guess she would. She was never one to hold on to things, but I'm not her."
"So, you think I'm to blame for all the things my father has done … that I should've found a way to stop him … that it's my fault that you were shot today?"
"Our situations are completely different, Alex."
"I don't agree. I think they are very much the same." I leaned towards him and briefly kissed him on the lips. "I think you and I are very much the same."
Before he could respond, Riggs knocked on the door and said, "It's time."
"I'll be right out." He helped me to my feet as he stood up and started for the door. "I'll be back in a couple of hours."
"Where are you going?"
"We're going to check things out at your apartment. We want to make sure we're prepared for your father, but T-Bone will be around if you need anything."
"Oh. Okay," I replied, unable to hide my worry. Before he turned to leave, I said, "Please be careful."
"You know I will." As he opened the door, he turned to me and said, "Just hang tight and I'll be back as soon as I can."
After he was gone, I crawled into bed and tried to settle my racing heart. Even though I was exhausted, I couldn't begin to sleep. I was only a few hours away from seeing my father again, and I was finding it difficult to keep it together, especially after everything Shadow had shared with me. He'd finally opened up to me, making my decision to leave with my father even more difficult. I knew the brothers were trying to find a way to trap him, kill him even, but I knew he'd never let that happen. He was too smart to let someone undermine him, not even his own daughter. I had no choice. I had to go with him. It was the only way I could protect Shadow and the others. I'd have to give up my life to save his, and I'd do it without a moment's hesitation. I loved him with all my heart, and there was nothing I wouldn't do to protect him.
After spending several hours trying to prepare myself for what was to come, I finally decided to get up and get dressed. I pulled myself out of bed, and I was about to head into the bathroom when I heard my cellphone ringing. Thinking it might be Shadow, I rushed over and grabbed it off the desk. When I looked down at the screen, I was surprised to see that it was Jason calling. It was way too early in the morning for him to be calling, so I quickly answered. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"
"I need you to come over to my place." His voice was filled with panic as he said, "I need you to come now."
"Why? What's going on?"
"There's a man here. He says he's your father, and … "
Before he could finish his sentence, a moment of static came through the line. Seconds later, I heard, "Hello, Alejandra."
My blood ran cold at the sound of my father's voice. I was stunned, confused, and found it nearly impossible to form a complete thought. I had no idea how my father found Jason, but the fact was, he had. "What's going on? Why are you with Jason?"
"I'm surprised at you, Alejandra. I thought my own flesh and blood would be smarter than this."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You really think you could pull a fast one over on me?" he hissed. "You think you can get yourself wrapped up in that fucking biker club, and I wouldn't find out about it?"
"But how did you know?"
"You were seen last night, my precious daughter … outside by the fence."
My heart sank as I remembered the nauseous feeling I'd felt after speaking with him on the phone. I'd hoped that the fresh air might help the queasy feeling, and I'd run outside. My chest tightened when I thought back to Shadow coming out to check on me, and I was appalled by the fact that we were being watched. "What does any of this have to do with Jason?"
"You have half an hour. If you aren't here by then, I put a bullet in his head."
"And if I do?"
"Then, I let him go … and if you come willing and alone, I'll end my strike against Satan's Fury."
"Do I have your word on that?"
"You do."
"Then, I'll come, but please don't hurt Jason," I pleaded. "He has nothing to do with any of this."
"Your time is running out, Alejandra."
"I'm on my way."
Shadow
I knew what it was like to love someone with all of my heart only to lose them. It had happened to me twice, first with my family, and then with Michele. It nearly broke me, and after everything I'd been through, I thought I was destined to be alone, that love just wasn't in the cards for me. I accepted my fate without contention, but all that changed when I found Alex. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her, and I wasn't going to let anyone, especially her piece of shit father, take her away from me-not this time. This time, I wasn't taking any chances. My brothers and I would be ready for Navarro, and if he so much as made a move towards Alex, I'd put a fucking bullet in his head. As I took one last look around her apartment, I felt certain that we'd thought of everything. Riggs had set up several backup cameras that were battery operated that we could use to monitor Alex even if Navarro managed to kill the power. The brothers had hidden themselves in different locations throughout the area, including her apartment, the roof and neighboring buildings.
Once we were certain that we'd left no stone left unturned, Riggs came over to me and asked, "You ready to go get her?"
"Ready as I'll ever be."
"Take a breath, brother. We got this. We won't let anything happen to her," he tried to assure me.
"I know, but I can't shake the feeling that we've missed something."
"Not a chance. We've gone over everything multiple times. And with the additional cameras, I'll be able to track her every move."
"It's not her that I'm worried about." I took another quick glance around her apartment before saying, "We better get going. I want to make sure we have plenty of time to go over everything with her before he gets here."
Riggs nodded and followed me down the stairs to our SUV. Once we were both inside, I started the engine and headed towards the clubhouse. My mind was running a mile a minute as I drove out onto the main road. Since none of us had any idea how this would all play out, I tried to think about every possible scenario, making sure we were prepared for anything that might happen. I thought we were prepared for anything, but I was wrong-very wrong. As soon as we got to the clubhouse, I went to my room to find Alex, only she was no longer there. Thinking she might've gone to grab a cup of coffee, I rushed to the kitchen, and once again, there was no sign of her. The uneasy feeling I had at Alex's apartment started growing stronger as Riggs and I searched the clubhouse for her. None of the brothers had seen her, including T-Bone who was just across the hall.
Since his door was propped opened, I was hoping that he'd know where I could find Alex. "Have you seen Alex?"
"She's not in your room?" he asked sounding surprised.
"Come on, T-Bone. Think," I growled.
"Fuck, man. I don't know. I haven't seen her, and I've been sitting right here since you left."
I looked back over to Riggs and asked, "Where the hell could she be?"
"Let me see if I can find her using her phone." He quickly turned, and I followed him down the hall. As soon as we got to his room, he rushed over to his computer and started typing. Seconds later, he looked over to me and said, "Looks like she got a call about an hour ago."
"From who?"
"A guy named Jason Brazzle. Got any idea who that is?"
"He's a friend of hers, but I don't know much about him. How long has it been since he called."