A Promise to Return (Shadow Souls MC Book 3) (4 page)

Chapter Nine

Chad hadn’t been able to decide anything about Sierra. Mostly
, he had been trying to ignore the whole situation. He threw all of his energy into trying to figure out the details of this whole revenge situation. He couldn’t really believe that he was doing something as ridiculous as this—going up against one of the biggest crime bosses in the country, not to mention one of the richest men. Plus, if Sierra was to be believed, he was also one of the most evil.

He had no reason to doubt Sierra, he supposed. He was scared to trust her again; but, that didn’t mean he didn’t care for her. After all, he was doing all of this for her really. He wanted to make sure that she was able to live safely, and as long as she was in the same house and vicinity as James, she was not safe.

It didn’t mean he trusted her though, but Sierra was trying. At least, he thought she was trying. She had actually disappeared the past few day. It worried Chad; but, he tried to ignore his thoughts about what could have happened. There were too many options, and he had no way of figuring out which one was the right one and what he could do about it. He wondered whether she had just decided to pull out of this whole operation, if she had been playing them all this whole time, or if James had killed her. None of those thoughts mattered at the moment, he simply had to focus on the plan.

His phone rang, and he answered. “Hello.”

“Chad?”

“Yeah?”

“So, we just got word. James is planning some sort of police raid on us. Probably drugs, that’s what everyone uses anymore. And with the money and other resources he has, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was able to keep us locked up for months, if not years—or even permanently. Do you want to move the plan forward?”

Chad considered for a minute. “I think that would be advisable. We don’t have a timeline for James?”

“Not really. Sometimes this week.”

“All right, let’s prepare for tonight. Get the boys over to my apartment in an hour so we can sort everything out and prepare everything.”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you soon.”

Chad hung up his phone and thought over the most recent turn of events in his life. Last week, he had been these people’s prisoner, and this week he was telling them what to do.

The trust they put into him inspired him to be a lot more trusting of the Shadow Souls in return. They believed he would be able to live up to this task, so he would make sure that he was. Sierra, on the other hand, was a more complicated issue. There were too many feelings tied up in her—wanting her, loving her, protecting her. He wasn’t sure if he was prepared to feel all those things again with her.

However, he was going to be committing multiple crimes tonight in her name. He supposed that it had to mean something—although what it meant, he wasn’t sure. All he knew was that he would do this for her. She mattered more to him than everyone else combined, and even if he didn’t fully trust her, he did love her.

He thought silently, “Yes. Love her.” It was almost uncomfortable for him to say the words, but it was true. He didn’t fully understand how he could love someone he didn’t trust, but it seemed somewhat irrelevant because he loved her.

It scared him, but he knew it was right. Even if it probably meant he was going to be risking his life and everything important for this girl, he would do it—because she deserved it. No one deserved the life she was living with James, if he everything she said could be believed. He would do everything in his power to make things different for her. Hopefully, she would repay in kind.

Chapter
Ten

The night was quiet. The team going Northorp’s house consisted of six men: Chad Pender, Red, Tim, Harry, Isaac, and Lee. They were all men who could trust each other and were good at what they were about to do. Their single goal was to break in and make a murder look like an accident. Granted, much easier said than done, but definitely possible. Plus, if they could find out what had happened to Sierra, even better. Chad doubted she was even still living in the house though.

It was the middle of the night. Extensive tracking of James’s comings and goings revealed that he stayed up late working, but he typically went to bed by three in the morning. It was almost five, and James should be sound asleep. Sierra had told them the layout of the house; but, they had to get past the security system. The plan was that Sierra would send them the correct code on the day of the break in, but since she was AWOL, the men had to come up with a different plan. Currently, they were going to hack into the system. Isaac’s day job was as some sort of computer-y something or other—no one really understood what he did besides Isaac—and he swore he could break through the system. Originally, they hadn’t planned on adding a sixth member to the team, so they instructed him to wait in the car with the getaway driver, Red.

The five men approached the house from the rear, jumping the fence and crossing the backyard as stealthily as possible. They managed not to arouse any suspicion, and Isaac set to work while the other men stood watch. In fifteen minutes, he had disabled the alarm, and Chad, Tim, Harry, and Lee were able to get inside. Tim and Lee quickly rifled through drawers and cabinets, searching for anything of any worth. Harry started pulling apart computers and other technological things and packing them up in boxes. They were trained professionals, and this was supposed to look like a robbery first and foremost.

Chad wondered whether Sierra told James about their plan before she disappeared. He started peering through the house, looking for any evidence that she was there. The other men were under strict orders not to disturb James. Chad wanted to take care of that particular issue on his own, although he wasn’t sure he could actually kill someone.

He tiptoed toward Sierra’s room, passing by the open door to James’s room and peered inside. As he expected, she wasn’t anywhere to be seen. However, it did beckon the question of where she was and why she wasn’t able to contact anyone.

A loud crash resonated through the house and Chad winced. He charged out of the room and toward the sound.

Someone else did, as well.

Chad collided with James, and the two stared at each other for a long minute. “You,” he hissed.

“Yes, me,” Chad said, raising his gun.

He thought when this moment came he might hesitate, he might be afraid. However, all he could see was a man who made Sierra’s life a living hell. There wasn’t any question in his mind what he must do.

“Chad. What are you doing? Think about this for a minute. You don’t really want to do this.”

“Yes, I do.”

James backed away, hands up. “Why do you think you are doing this? Why do you think this is a good idea?”

“Because you are an evil, cruel person.”

“So, you are going to fight evil with evil? I’m pretty sure there is a saying about that somewhere.”

“At some point, you just have to put evil down.” Chad fired the gun into James’ face.

Shaking, he let the weapon fall to the floor, and then he did. James’s body tumbled to the ground, and his blood started to pour on to the carpet. Chad stared at dark stains, trying to feel remorse. However, all he felt was regret for not demanding to know where Sierra was.

The men didn’t let him dwell for very long. Cops would be coming soon. They needed to clean up and get out. The world seemed surreal to Chad, but he pushed his emotions to the side and focused on the next steps in his plan.

Sierra would have to surface for the funeral or there would be talk. He knew that everything would work out in the end.

Chapter Eleven

Sierra stood by the hole in the ground, looking down. This was
how everything had culminated—a hole in the ground that would be filled with the man she thought she was going to live her life with. She spun her rings around her finger and then slid them off and dropped them into the hole.

She thought about how this wasn’t who she was anymore. She had a new, better fate waiting for her. She could feel her phone vibrating in her hand. It was Chad. He had been texting her every fifteen minutes or so all day, trying to give her comfort and courage as she worked through everything.

Soon, it would all be over. They would have to wait a reasonable amount of time before committing fully to anything because of the public nature of her life. Privately, they had agreed to a life together.

The only real problem now was her father. James had informed him that she was committed to a psych ward because of her supposed nervous breakdowns. In reality, when Dr. Warren went into her bedroom to talk to her, Sierra had explained the whole situation, and Dr. Warren promised to take her out of it. There was nothing more to it than that. However, appearances had to be kept up, and so she had been playing the part of a psych patient for the past week. It had been kind of relaxing though. She was able to let someone else do all the thinking. She went to therapy because, she realized, she did need it. She was going to keep going too because it was really helping her. In just a week, she felt like she was in a much better place. She wanted to go to Chad as the best person she could possibly be. At least, she was a work in progress, moving towards becoming the best person she could possibly be.

The casket was lowered into the ground, and Sierra turned away. It was over and done with. She would never have to deal with this again. She would be able to focus on her future. There were still a few lingering issues, but most of all she just wanted to leave it all behind.

The will didn’t give her much. She got the house, but all the money went to other people and places. She didn’t really care since she would sell the house, the furniture, and her car. The money would give her more than enough to start a new life with Chad.

Even though they had talked about it, Sierra wasn’t entirely sure they would start a life together. Things were still a little tense between the two of them. However, they had faith, they had reason, and they had love. She knew it would all work out—somehow.

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Bianca hated those Merrick boys. She wasn’t alone.
They were nothing but trouble, but no one dared stand up to them. Look at one Merrick cross-eyed and before you knew it you were at war with the whole clan. She kept to herself and bit her tongue when they wrecked her diner on a regular schedule. It was a small price to pay to stay on Merricks’ good side. 
Braden Foster never was much good at keeping his opinions to himself. 
The leader of a nomadic band of bikers, Braden was accustomed to facing trouble head on, usually with fists. Occasionally with a crowbar. This policy didn’t win him many friends, but it rarely mattered. He never stuck in one place long enough to weather the consequences. 
That was before he came to the aid of a pretty lady restaurateur.
He figured he’d at least earned a cup of coffee for his trouble, but when he stepped between the Merrick boys and Bianca’s diner, he lit a spark that threatened to burn the whole town to ashes. It was up to him to put it out. 
Bianca knew a gathering storm when she saw one.
But which was more frightening: the storm between Braden and the Merricks, or the one brewing in her heart for a man arguably more dangerous than the Merricks themselves?

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