Lay It Down: Bastards MC Series Boxed Set (72 page)

That way no one in their high society social circle would know.

“A few years ago, the Dyers were killed in a cah crash. The police ruled it a homicide, but theah were no suspects. Seth never came forward to collect his inheritance and no one could find him, so they ruled him out. It’s still an unsolved case.

“We only found him ‘cause he flies back and forth between heah and Moscow couplea times a month. Flies coach, never draws attention to himself. But in Europe, he’s a big-time sleaze, runs all of his brothah’s businesses. He looks enough like his brother for Wiz’s facial recognition to flag him though.”

“And we think he’s behind this?”

“We know he is.” Grabbing a file off the table, Rocker grabbed a picture of me I’d never seen. It was grainy and beyond blurry, but it was definitely me. And behind me was Bear. “A few years ago, right after Scott died, Seth hired a PI to find you. The only lead he had was this girl.” He handed me another picture, one that had been used as a sales ad for one of Scott’s girls. One of the women I’d carried out that night and given another chance on life.

“She was no help, not really. But she was able to tell the investigatah that there were three of you: one named Tank, one named Bear, but she never caught your name.”

I swallowed. He’d been trying to track us down for years.

“Tank and Bear are common road names, so the PI couldn’t narrow it down. Until last spring when Will hired him to dig up dirt on you.”

I clenched my fists at my sides. Fucking Billy.

Rob ignored me and continued. “Once he had that picture and your name, the rest was easy. He got moah pictures of you from Dyer, gave those to Will, then focused his attention on the club and the three of you. His first attack was Ellie.”

I looked back at Bear, who was watching Wiz with a fierceness I hadn’t seen.

“It looks like he had business that dragged him away, or we’d have been doin’ this last fall and not now.”

“Where is he?”

Rob nodded at the projection on the wall. “He has a warehouse in Manchestah. We think he took the girls the theah.”

Manchester? That was an hour’s ride. Shit! Fuck! “Why haven’t we left yet?”

My friend tipped his head. “Easy, tiger. We’re goin’. We’re just trying to figure out the best way in. This dick’s got heavy hitters on his payroll. This isn’t us goin’ up against Jo Schmo and his gang-bangahs. This is serious shit. As soon as we have a route, we’re gearin’ up and hittin’ him hard.”

***

It felt as though it took forever to get loaded up and on the bikes. Tiny drove the Expedition, because while we didn’t know what condition we’d find the girls or the prospect, we doubted any of them would be able to get on the back of a bike. The ride itself didn’t last as long as I thought it would though. Probably because I spent the entire time imagining how slowly I was going to kill the men who had taken her.

We parked a half mile away, not wanting the sound of fifty Harleys to tip this Dyer prick off. The warehouse was extremely quiet as we approached, and I didn’t see one guard. Either he believed we’d never find him or he was already gone. The door was down in seconds, and we were in, guns ready.

As my brothers swarmed through the rooms like ants out of a nest, I stayed back, searching for any place they could be holding Jo. There were only four guards and none of them had expected an attack, so it wasn’t really a challenge. Rob and I broke down every door, but there was nothing. As each empty room passed, my heart sank. She wasn’t there.

“Here! They’re back here!”

I didn’t know whose voice it was, but I sprinted down the hall, trying to find them.

The room was already filled with Bastards. I wasn’t prepared for how the girls would look, and seeing them was worse than a swift kick in the balls. Taylor was beaten so badly, I wasn’t sure she was even coherent. Jessie… fuck. Jessie was almost unrecognizable. They both appeared to have survived the worst kinds of torture. Rob shoved me out of the way to get to his girl, Tank not far behind.

“It’s bad. She needs to be taken to the hospital,” Doc was telling them. “I don’t even want to move her.”

“Prez! You need to see this!” someone shouted from the hall.

My heart stopped. Jo wasn’t here. I grabbed Taylor from Bear’s arms, shaking her hard. “Where is Jo?”

She opened her eyes. They were filled with relief, but there was something else too.

“Where the fuck is Jo, Taylor?”

“She’s been through enough, Mateo! Leave her!” Bear snarled at me.

“Rocker!” Tiny’s voice boomed into the room. “There are bodies out here!”

I fell against the wall as two hands grabbed my shoulders, holding me up as I fought to stand on my own. No. It couldn’t be Jo!

Before I could make it out into the hall, Hawk appeared by my side. “It’s not her, Mateo. It isn’t her!” He shook me, as if to make sure I was paying attention. “It isn’t her!”

“Who?” I demanded, needing to prove to myself it really wasn’t my girl.

“The prospect and Pixie.” Hawk’s voice was close to my ear. “We’ll keep looking!”

“They took her, Matty.” Jessie’s voice was small and weak, coming from the bed in the corner. “They took her because she said Lily was your daughter and that you’d send her to the safe house.”

Safe house? What safe house? I turned to Jessie, sure she must have heard wrong. The poor girl was hurt badly enough that I couldn’t bear to see it, and I had to look away.

“She said that it was an old family camp. That she’d have to show them the way,” Taylor spoke from behind me. “I tried to get her to shut up, but the stupid bitch wouldn’t stop.”

Taylor started to cry, and I closed my eyes against the sound. She never cried. She clung to Bear as he carried her out to the van.

I swallowed. I knew where she’d taken them—her family’s summer place. But it was out in the middle of nowhere, and there was no way we’d be able to sneak up. They’d hear our bikes from miles away. Why would she do something so fucking stupid? I punched the wall, making Jessie jump.

Tears streamed down her face. “She did it to save us, Matt. But he’ll kill her. What Tink when through- Jesus, that won’t be anything compared to what he’ll do to her!”

I only had one option right now. Save her or die trying. And I couldn’t do it alone.
 

Chapter 36

Jo

The plan had seemed like such a great idea at the time. But that was probably because I didn’t think it through. My mother always told me my tendency to act on impulse would get me in trouble one day. Of course, I was relatively sure that when she said that, she didn’t imagine I’d have a scaryass dirtbag with the word PAIN tattooed across his knuckles pointing a gun at me. Well, maybe—that woman did have quite the active imagination.

The ride was a long one when you had music blaring or a friend to talk to. When all you had to keep you company and help pass the time was your conscience verbally kicking your ass, it took forever. Why couldn’t I have come up with another lie? I was still half surprised it had worked. What would keep those guys from killing me once I got them to camp? Or when they realized that not only was it not a place to meet my daughter, but Matty was never coming? I chastised myself and worried myself sick until Thing 2 made me crawl closer to the front and give more directions.

When we finally turned onto the one-lane dirt road that was used so rarely it looked more like a deer path than anything else, reality hit me. I’d once told Matty that this was where I came to make sense of life, my peaceful spot. I never anticipated it would be the place I came to die. As the building came into view, fight or flight kicked in. I wondered how far I’d get before they shot me if I was to push open the door and run for it.

But there was nowhere for me to go. The closest neighbors were “summer” people and wouldn’t be here for months. I knew these woods and might be able to hide once night fell, but I had no idea what time it was. It could be the middle of the day, and I’d never be able to get away if they could see to follow me.

I was no closer to figuring out my escape when Thing 1 parked the van in front of the camp and Thing 2 hauled me out, not caring that the sharp rocks of the driveway were cutting my bare feet. A SUV pulled in behind us, surprising me. I had been naïve enough to think it was just Scott, his two goons, and me. The four men that piled out of the other car definitely put a damper on any escape plans I thought I might have.

“Where’s the key?” Scott demanded after Thing 1 tried the door.

I pointed at the flower pot next to the door, and Thing 1 kicked it over and grabbed the key.

“Go check it out,” Scott commanded his crew.

They filed into the house, guns drawn, leaving me with Scott and Thing 2, the latter’s hand holding my arm tightly.

After assurance that the house was “all clear,” Thing 2 pulled me inside. It wasn’t a huge cabin, but it had enough room for a family to be comfortable during an extended stay. Downstairs was an open concept kitchen/living room/family room with a bathroom and two bedrooms off it. Upstairs had three more bedrooms, a small closet, and a small bathroom. My hope was that they’d shove me into one of the bedrooms upstairs and leave me. My grandmother had left rope ladders in each room, and I knew how to use it to sneak out because I’d done it more times than I could count when I was dating Will.

The thought of Will made me see his smiling face, and that made me think of my kids. I couldn’t allow myself to think of them right now because then I’d think about how badly I wanted to hold them, just one more time, and I would act brash. No, I needed my mind clear so I could come up with a way out of this mess.

I zoned out while Scott walked aimlessly around the house, as if searching for something. He pulled a chair away from the table and carried it to the middle of the living room before sitting in one of the chairs by the fireplace and crossing his legs. He simply pointed at the chair, and Thing 2 forced me that way.

“No one is here,” Scott said simply, as if I hadn’t noticed. I didn’t know if he wanted me to respond, so I stayed silent. “Where are they?”

I met his eyes. “Can I have some water?”

The question was answered by Pain, Thing 2’s fist. I saw it coming this time though and was able to move with the impact the way Nick had taught me. The connection hurt like hell, but it could have been much worse.

“Why isn’t anyone here?”

“I don’t have my cell phone. But the plan is that when the club goes into lockdown, her guard grabs her and keeps her safe. Once he thinks it’s not dangerous for them to travel, he brings her here. I come here and stay with them until Matty can come get us. Then we head to Canada, where there is another safe house. He has a route that we take where we don’t get stopped by border patrol.” I was rambling on purpose. I knew from experience that sometimes people in stressful situations gave way more away than they should, just because they’re nervous.

“So now we wait.” He narrowed his eyes. “Get her a drink and take care of her.” Then he turned his attention to one of the other men.

Thing 1 brought me a glass of lukewarm water, but I didn’t care. I gulped, hoping my stomach wouldn’t revolt. As soon as it was gone, Thing 2 grabbed my arm again and pulled me to the smaller of the downstairs bedrooms. Closing and locking the door behind him, he gave me a sinister smile.

I shook my head at him as I backed away from the door. “No. I brought you here. My daughter will be here soon!” I cried, grasping at anything I could to sway his mind from what he was so blatantly thinking.

He only laughed as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it. “Oh, don’t you worry. Boss man’ll take care of your daughter.”

His implication made my stomach heave, and I knew the water was coming back up. He closed the distance between us, and I pressed up against the wall.

“I’ll scream,” I whispered, unable to talk any louder.

Maniacal laughter filled the room. “God, I fucking hope so. I like it better when you scream.”

***

Something was going on. I listened for a few minutes, trying to hear bits of the excited conversation over the hurried movements of the men in the other room. A car? I pushed myself off the floor with a painful groan, positive one of them had said a car was coming. A car that could hold anyone from Matty to the police.

I limped to the dresser, praying that someone had left clothes in one of the drawers. I didn’t care what it was, but I needed to cover myself to hide the marks from my last few encounters with Thing 2. My jeans and shirt had been destroyed during my session with both Thing 1 and Thing 2. It wasn’t just that I didn’t want other people to see what had happened to me, but it was harder to ignore it and act as if it hadn’t happened if I could see them.

I almost cried with joy when I found a man’s T-shirt and flannel pajama pants. They were too big for me, but if I pulled the drawstring tight, they’d stay up. The pain of the fabric over the wounds on my body made me grab the bureau for support. I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing. I would be okay.