“Do not mock me, little girl. I can crush you with my bare hands, and don’t think I won’t do it,” he threatened me.
I just raised my eyebrows, daring him to do it, but he let go of my face, stood up, and stepped back from me.
“I didn’t think you would,” I told him. “You need me alive in case Gage does show up. You know, in case Ivan’s men aren’t successful.”
A frantic knock came at the door, as if right on cue. I knew deep down what it was already. I didn’t need to hear the frantic voice when Dimitri opened the door.
“There’s been a problem. Ivan needs to see you.”
Dimitri shot me a dangerous look, as if my words had caused whatever it was that had happened.
I just smiled and shook my head. “I told you, don’t count him out just yet. Some reputations are earned.”
“I’ll be back for you,” he threatened before he walked out of the room and closed the door.
I took a deep, shaky breath after he left the room. I tried to pretend he wasn’t scaring me, but the truth was I was terrified. It wasn’t every day that I got kidnapped by the Chicago chapter of the Russian mob. It also wasn’t every day that I relied on an outlaw biker to come save me. I hoped that the bad news for Dimitri was as good for me as it sounded. I hoped it meant that Ivan’s men had failed to take Gage and that he was still on his way to rescue me.
He couldn’t get here fast enough.
Surely Gage knew about the boat and about Lake Michigan. Surely he’d gotten that information from the mayor. He must have known by now, as well, that I was with Dimitri and the rest of Ivan’s men. He couldn’t just leave me here. I didn’t know what Ivan had planned for either one of us, but I hoped Gage and the Kings of Hell would be able to reverse those plans when they arrived.
The boat rocked gently side to side, keeping time in its own way, like the ticking of a clock. I closed my eyes and trusted the water’s sense of time. Now that the initial bout of sea sickness was gone, the rocking was peaceful and relaxing.
Soon, I heard raised voices outside, on the other side of the door. Dimitri and someone were having words with each other, but I couldn’t hear them clearly. Something must have gone terribly wrong for them.
That was good for me. I hoped.
Chapter 28
Gage
It was the day before the siege. We were making sure we had all the equipment we needed. Ricky made sure we had the boats we needed. Chase and Juarez had rounded up a few of our other members to go with us. They’d pulled some of the most ruthless guys we had. Jorell made sure we had all the gear we needed, from wet suits to weapons and ammo. This was turning out to be quite an operation.
I made sure the other four kings were doing what I asked them to while keeping in touch with the eyes I had on Jorell. I knew every move he made.
While I was reading my latest text update, I was interrupted by a blocked number. Thinking it could have been Ivan with news about Julia, I answered quickly.
“This is Gage,” I greeted my unknown caller.
“Mr. Noll, this is your mayor calling,” the mayor’s voice came across the line.
“Mr. Mayor, what a surprise!” I was actually glad to hear from him, though I was a little suspicious as to how he was able to trace the number on a burn phone to me. There were a few things I wanted to ask him about tomorrow’s rendezvous.
He laughed. “Usually people aren’t so happy to hear from me,” he joked.
“No, I really am glad to hear from you. How can I help you today, Mr. Mayor?” I sat back in my chair in the boardroom.
“Well, I want to call in a favor, Gage, and see if we can work something out about tomorrow,” he said.
“A favor, huh? What did you have in mind, sir?” Did he really think he had the privilege of asking favors of the Kings of Hell? That was an amusing thought, but I figured I’d humor him. I wasn’t too excited about storming a boat full of police, politicians, and Russian thugs.
“Well, I might have a solution to the Ivan problem, and a way to help you guys get back on top in our streets,” he started.
Now I was curious. He wanted to help us get back on top? He wanted to help us eliminate our competition? This seemed too good to be true, and I knew what they said about things that sounded too good to be true. I knew it firsthand.
“What are you saying?” I asked him.
“I’m saying that I’ve got a plan to help everyone out, and it will land Ivan and his key players behind bars for a long, long time. I’ve got a few names of guys who should be on that boat as we speak. I don’t care what happens to anyone else, but I need these three men alive when the authorities show up,” he continued.