Inevitable (30 page)

‘Bro…’ I had dropped the “speak” as I knew it annoyed the fuck out of him.

‘How much further are you able to ride today?’ It was a good question, I had been in the saddle for a hell of a long time, but I just needed to get this over and done with. I wanted it sorted once and for all, then I could get back to sort out the crap with Bella. The more I ran what had happened in the last motel room around my head, the more I knew she had forced herself into her scared, defence mode. I wasn’t sure what she thought she had heard. I had to hang on to the fact I was fucking sure I hadn’t really scared her, and I was hanging on to that with both fucking fists. In response to my thoughts, my free hand gripped the handlebars tighter. Yep, I was hanging on so tight it made my knuckles go white.

‘I can keep going, Al.’ I finally answered.

‘They’ve slowed up… either you moving towards them is making them believe she really is headed straight for them, or maybe they’re looking for somewhere to rest up tonight. Where are you precisely?’

‘I’ve passed through and out the other side of St Louis.’

I could hear him speaking to someone else in the car. I could see them in my mind’s eye sitting in Alex’s range rover, using all their high tech fuckery to track the bastards that had so badly hurt my woman.

‘Sorry, Nate… I’m back… Hunter has just been talking to an old service buddy of his, who is now in the FBI… I’m pleased to say they’re now also on the Antonescus’ trail. They were very interested in the fact we have human traffickers in our country. Our plan is coming together.’

‘Mmmm… I want at least five fucking minutes with him, dude… at least five minutes… I don’t care what else you do… but you gotta guarantee me that.’ I ran my hands through my hair, ‘I’m going to marry her, Al and I need to be the goddamn one who sorts out that bastard once and for all. I probably need that more for my fucking sake than hers.’ My statement was met with some ribbing shouts and catcalls and I realised I was on speaker, broadcasting my love to all of them in the vehicle listening. It felt fucking amazing to not actually give a shit, in fact I felt ten fucking feet tall at the declaration I had just made.

‘Well, well, well, bro, welcome to our world.’ I heard the shout out from Scott. ‘We’ve been waiting for you to grow the fuck up and join us,’ he laughed, as he started slow clapping.

‘OK, mother fuckers, ha fucking ha… enough. I need to get this bike back on the road, am I still headed on the original course?’

‘You are. I’ll contact you if you need to change it, but for now we’re heading straight for the arseholes.’ Alex disconnected the call and I started up my engine once more, I could almost taste how good it was gonna feel to punch Ioan’s face until it resembled a rare steak.

As I pulled away from the last rest stop, my stomach still waiting to receive the last bit of junk food I had just fed it, I heard the pulse of an incoming call and immediately accepted it without even looking.

‘Morish… just to let you know, man, we made good time and I have her safe and sound.’

‘I really owe you, Brock. Has she said anything about me? We didn’t exactly part as friends.’ I heard him laugh quietly and I could only assume Max was asleep, or he didn’t want Bella to hear the conversation.

‘Tell me who the hell would want to be “friends” with a babe like that?... eh, Morish.’

‘Yeah… OK, fucker… you keep your goddamn hands to yourself, do ya hear me?’ I said it as lightly and with as much humour as I could manage, but just the thought of him having realised what a babe she was, was severely kicking my jealous-as-fuck mode to the front of my head.

‘You’ve never been bothered about sharing before.’

‘Stop trying to press my fucking buttons, you asswipe.’

‘Sorry… you’re just too easy, you can trust me… she only wants to talk about you anyway… I keep trying to tempt her away with my nine inches, but she’s having none of it.’ His laughter got louder, before he checked himself.

‘What the fuck is this? First my brothers and now you! The nine inches shit is fucking hysterical.’ I was shaking my head from side to side in disgust that they all found it so fucking amusing, but I could see it was a goddamn novelty and they would grow bored soon, hopefully.

‘We’ve been waiting a lot of years for this… you can’t expect us not to run with it for a while… can you?’ he laughed quietly. ‘I’ll have her back in California by tomorrow… so get your ass into gear, sort out the fucker and fly yourself down ASAP, we start free practice a week from today.’

‘Got it… tell her…’

‘Nah… you tell her yourself… OK? I’ll call tomorrow when we’re back home.’

‘Thanks… see ya.’ The call disconnected and once again I was left to my own thoughts. In order to blank them out I turned on my music and concentrated on the road ahead, increasing my speed a bit more. Generally, the police were pretty lenient when they pulled me over and realised who I was. I was willing to chance that fucking fact now. I was in a hurry to sort out this shit and to move on with the rest of our lives.

The sun was beginning to set as I entered yet another small town. The temperature had dropped by a couple of degrees as evening started to roll in. I hadn’t heard from anyone in a couple of hours and it was beginning to cause me fucking trauma. I’d been getting through the time by listening to music and just trying to work out everything I realised that I wanted out of life. I wanted things that hadn’t even entered my head before. It was as if my life so far could be split into thirds. My childhood was part one, part two was me trying to erase every goddamn memory of part one, using whatever came to hand, women, drugs, pain and adrenalin. Part fucking three was my life after Bella touched me in that nightclub. The realisation that I wanted to marry her had coursed through me in one fucking huge rush, along with the fact I wanted her to be the mother of my children and if I could talk her into it, I wanted to make sure there were fucking loads of them. She was the only face I could see in my future; she was the only face I wanted to see.

Who the hell was I?
The question made me laugh, making the inside of my visor steam up. As it gradually disappeared, the familiar pulsing began.

‘Nate,’ I heard Scott say, ‘Al says you need to stop in a town called Winchester… the Antonescus have holed up in a hotel and we’re just pulling in there now.’

‘Got ya.’ I turned the twist grip further forward and felt the power flood through the bike. Adrenalin began to course through the whole of my body. It felt like I had been fucking plugged into a power socket. My body vibrated and blood throbbed against my eardrums as I listened to what Scott had to say, but I only concentrated on the facts I really needed.

I knew where the dickwad was holed up.

I knew where the fucking bastard was that was going to beg for her forgiveness.

Whatever happened there tonight, Bella was going to be free of them. They were going out of her goddamn life forever. I was going to personally make fucking sure of that.

The miles sped past, my gaze staying firmly fixed on the horizon. I finally pulled up outside of the hotel Scott had named twenty minutes ago. I turned off the engine and began to loosen the strap underneath my chin to remove my lid. The cooler air hit my face as I lifted it up and away from my head. I took a couple of deep breaths as I ran my hands through my hair, pushing the long pieces up and out of my face. I threw a couple of Altoids into my mouth and closed my eyes just trying to calm the fuck down. It was deliberate that I’d pulled into the side of the place, not wanting to attract any more fucking attention than was necessary. I had placed my lid down on top of the gas tank.

The town was still alive with people going about their business. I pushed myself up straight on the bike, lifted my arms above my head and stretched out. A voice I recognised coming from behind me shook me out of my thoughts.

‘Told you he’d be here.’ It was Scott.

‘Yeah you were right… it must be your sodding twin thing… Nate did you really think we’d give you all the correct info?... Really did you?’

No of course they wouldn’t.

I didn’t turn around, I brought my arms back down and lowered my chin to my chest, letting out a sharp exhale. I stared into my wing mirror and watched as my brothers pushed themselves away from the wall behind them. They had evidently been leaning there just waiting for me. Physically they looked tall, broad and strong. I could see why people thought the three of us together were a fucking force to be reckoned with, also why women fell at our feet. No one would ever guess that Scott was as gentle as they come and only had eyes for Ruby since they were in first grade. Alex on the other hand, although in love now with his new wife Frankie, was as fucking formidable as he looked, but every time he cussed in English it still made me laugh. He had spent a number of years in England and now seemed to cuss in English and American.

I felt a punch to my shoulder blade as Alex came around the side of the bike, ending up at the front. He stood astride the front wheel, his arms were crossed over his chest with hands tucked in his armpits. ‘We’re in this together… got that?’ he questioned.

I felt Scott’s arm come around my neck as he suddenly pulled me sideways by placing me in the triangle of his arm. His knuckles grazed my head as he rubbed them quick and hard across the top of my scalp. ‘Together, Nate… we’re here together. Get off the bike and come inside, we’ve got a few things to catch you up on and we can’t have you firing off like a loose cannon.’

I followed my brothers into the back of the decent looking hotel. I watched as they walked in front of me. If only our dad could see us now. We were as he had always wanted, together and taking care of family.

Yeah, this was how it was meant to be.

Our past, more often than not, had seen to it that we’d never been able to be around much for each other before, but I really fucking loved that they were here for me now. The pride I felt was bursting out of my chest.

Alex pushed opened the door to the room and held it wide as he waved Scott and me through. After walking in I took a quick glance around, which told me the room was crowded with testosterone-filled security and suited dudes, who could only be FBI. Various conversations were taking place in the large suite. A few heads turned as we walked in and nodded at us.

‘Nate.’ I turned towards the call from Alex, a bottle of beer was flying through the air towards me. I caught it, feeling the icy cold smack against my waiting palm. I found one of the few untaken seats and sat down trying really fucking hard to concentrate on any of the conversations going on at that moment. I opened the beer with the side of the table and begun to chug at the smooth coldness.

‘Where’s Hunter?’ I questioned Scott, as he was standing the closest to me.

‘He’s managed to get in on a poker game.’

‘What?... What do ya mean?’

Scott came closer and squatted down beside me. ‘We’ve got the Antonescus holed up with their henchmen. It appears they like to gamble. Hunter found their “Achilles heel” when he was talking to them in the hotel bar earlier. One of the agents is in on the game, too. It seemed like the ideal way to keep them all together, until you got here… Alex has been adamant that you would get some time in a room with the dickwad.’