Logan: New Crusaders MC (11 page)

“What do we do?” Nicole asked.

“
You
don’t do anything.  You stay here with your old man, and you stay hidden.  Call into work, make sure Clay knows you’re sick and you’re not gonna be there for a couple days.  You need to go anywhere, you take Cork or one of my boys with you.”

“I’m not gonna sit by on the sidelines, Logan,” Nicole stated, getting to her feet.  “This is my fight, too.  The Devil Kings and Iconoclasts have been responsible for a lot of hurt in this family.  I can’t let them get away with it.”

“Right now the Iconoclasts are in as much danger as we are,” Logan told her.  He turned to Cork.  “I’m going to find Wiseman.  Stay here with Nicole.  Keep her safe for me.”

Cork grunted and nodded.

Logan pulled open the back door, checked to make sure the coast was clear, and stepped outside.  Nicole’s heart leapt into her throat.  She had a terrible feeling about this.

“Logan!” she called, running out after him.

He was leaning against the wall, waiting for her, like he knew she’d go after him.  As soon as she was clear of the door, he pulled her into a tight embrace.  She shook in his arms, terrified for the future.

“I don’t want you to go,” she whispered.

“I don’t want to leave you,” he replied.  “But I gotta face facts.  The New Crusaders are my responsibility now, and I can’t let them down.  Much as I hate to admit it, I owe the Iconoclasts this info, too.  If the Devil Kings are gearing up for a war, it’s going to take both the Crusaders and the ‘Clasts to stop them.”

“I’m scared of what Wiseman will do to you,” Nicole said, looking up at him.

“Funny,” Logan said.  “I’ve never had anyone to be scared for me before.  Makes things a little complicated.”  He took out his phone and looked at it.  “I don’t even have your number, do I?  After all that’s happened, I never asked you for it.”

Nicole snatched the phone out of his hand and put her number into it.  Then she called her phone so she would have his number.

“I don’t call you by five tonight, something’s gone wrong,” Logan told her, taking his phone back.  “You don’t come for me alone, understand?  Send Cork to get some of my boys.  They’ll take care of me.”

“I want you to call by four,” she said.  “That gives you hours, Logan.  Plenty of time for a friendly meeting.”

He smiled down at her.  “Alright, four.  I’m not exactly looking forward to this.  Might as well get it done as quickly as possible.”

“Good,” Nicole said, feeling a little less tense.  “Stay safe.  Please.”

“Baby, Safe is my middle name.”

He leaned down to kiss her and she rose up to meet his lips with hers.  His kiss was intoxicating, and she never wanted it to end.  Logan was the one to break it.

“Go back to your dad,” he told her.  “Spend some quality time with him.  It’ll be four before you know it.”

He used his thumbs to brush away tears she hadn’t realized were there.  Then he was gone.  She waited until she heard his bike roar to life, and then she went back into the bar.  Despite his confidence, she knew Logan was shaken.  He had been completely unprepared for this turn of events, and she was worried he was going to get himself killed.  She tried to remember the feeling of his lips on hers, a part of her worrying that she’d never see him again.

The Iconoclasts’ and the New Crusaders’ territories were divided by the highway that ran through town.  It was the perfect dividing line because it cut the town of Castillo almost perfectly in half, and it left each MC a good chunk of the downtown area.  Logan hoped that the mutual protection pact was still in play as he crossed the highway onto Iconoclast turf.  Even if it weren’t in play, he was pretty sure the ‘Clasts wouldn’t attack him on the street in the middle of the day.  He was clearly alone, and he was riding slowly through town, like he wanted to be seen.  They had to know he’d want to talk.

It took less than an hour of driving aimlessly around town before a black van pulled beside him in traffic.  Before he could react, the van careened sideways into him, forcing him off the road.  He managed to pull his bike up without falling off, but he had to stop it on the sidewalk.  Five guys in Iconoclast kuttes stormed out of the van and surrounded him.  Logan held his hands up in a gesture of surrender.

“I’ve got important info about the Devil Kings,” he told the group.  “I need to talk to Wiseman.”

“Get him in the van,” one of the guys said.

Logan resisted the urge to fight back as four of the ‘Clasts came forward to force him into the van.  The last thing he saw before the door slid closed was the fifth guy talking on his phone.  With any luck, he was talking to Wiseman.  Hopefully the Iconoclast president had only good things to say about Logan, but somehow he doubted it.

Within no time at all, the fifth guy got into the driver’s seat and pulled the van out onto the road.  The four guys in back kept their guns trained on Logan.

“I’m not gonna pull anything,” Logan insisted.  “Why would I?  I’m alone and unarmed.”

They didn’t make any move to lower their arms.

This didn’t bode well.

Logan fell silent and sat quietly as the van bumped along.  The darkened windows prevented him from seeing outside, so he tried to memorize the turns they were taking.  He hoped his bike would be okay.  If he was lucky, a tow service would come by to impound it.  Then he’d be able to pick it up later.

They arrived at their destination twenty minutes later.  You couldn’t drive that long in Castillo without ending up on the outskirts of the city.  Logan wondered if they were back at the warehouse he’d infiltrated to save Chuck.

When the door slid open, he didn’t recognize the area.  They were at a warehouse, yes, but this town had no shortage of them.  It made doing business in drugs and guns all too easy.  Logan was ushered inside the new warehouse at gunpoint.  It wasn’t until he got a look at the interior of the building that he realized he was at the Iconoclast clubhouse.  He was looking at a place with couches, a pool table, refrigerator, kitchenette.  It was stocked so well, he figured the Iconoclasts could survive in that warehouse for weeks before they had to leave to find food.

“Logan Kirkwood,” Wiseman said, walking over from the makeshift bar they’d set up in the corner.  “So nice of you to drop in.”

“Wiseman,” Logan said, glancing over his shoulder at the four bikers who still held guns on him.  “I’ve got info on the Devil Kings.  It concerns both our clubs.”

“Really?  What’s the info?” Wiseman asked.

“The Kings killed Zeke, and they have all the info they need on both our clubs to wage war on us.  Alex Ruiz wants to move on Castillo. 
All
of Castillo.  He wants to run us out of town, take over.”

“That sounds bad,” Wiseman said.  Logan didn’t like the tone in his voice, like Wiseman was only humoring him.  “What did you want to do about it?”

“We need to team up, protect our territory,” Logan said.

He knew he was starting to sound desperate, but he didn’t like the fact that Wiseman hadn’t called off his boys.  Wiseman considered Logan for a moment, reaching up to scratch at his beard.

“You sound pretty confident,” he observed.

“Yeah,” Logan said.  “My info’s good.”

“Mind if I ask where you got that info from?”

Logan felt himself go cold.  Wiseman knew he’d been the one to break Chuck out of his pseudo prison.  This wasn’t going to be a friendly visit after all.  He resigned himself to whatever was to come.

“Chuck Hamilton,” he admitted.

“Chuck Hamilton,” Wiseman repeated with a nod.  “You came to me with an offer of mutual protection, and then
spat
in my
face
!”

Logan swallowed hard.  Wiseman’s face was going red from anger.

“You expect me to help you when I have no reason to trust you?” Wiseman asked, his voice spitting acid.  “I’ve got another proposal,
kid
.  I’m gonna let my boys teach you what the Iconoclasts do to rats.”

“But the information is true!” Logan insisted.  “Chuck wasn’t lying.”

“I know he wasn’t,” Wiseman said.  “He told me everything a few days ago.  You’re not gonna walk out of here after trying to sell me information from a source you stole from me.”

He nodded at his boys, and they converged.

Four on one.  Logan didn’t stand a chance.  He fought anyway.  It was in his blood.  He couldn’t just give up without a fight.

He dodged the first fist that came at him, taking a split second to feel relieved that they’d finally put their guns away.  The first attacker took a punch to the ribs.  Logan spun to face the other three, running at the closer of the two, tackling them both.  They went down in a pile of swinging fists.  He got in a couple good shots, then rolled off of them, jumping to his feet.  His knuckles were bleeding, and he was sweating hard, but he was still standing.

The last guy was the biggest.  Logan waited him out, keeping his weight on the balls of his feet.  The guy came at him, and he tried to dodge, but he had in no way anticipated this man’s method of attacking.  The big Iconoclast got under Logan, lifted him off the floor, and slammed him back down.  The air rushed out of Logan’s lungs as pain exploded in his back and chest. 

Someone got their arms under him and yanked him to his feet.  Two men held his arms behind his back while the big guy threw punch after punch.  Logan felt it when his ribs broke.  He took the beating with as much dignity as he could manage, but when that sledgehammer fist collided with his temple, his vision went dark.  Logan tried and failed to open his eyes.  The blows kept coming, and unconsciousness was looking pretty tempting.  Feeling weak and tired, Logan gave in to it, letting everything fall away.

It was 4:15, and there had been no call from Logan.  Nicole paced restlessly in the little room behind the bar.  Cork and Chuck watched her as she moved.

“He’s fine, honey,” Chuck said.  “You’ve got to calm down.”

“I told him to call me
by
four, Dad.  I knew he shouldn’t have gone alone.”  She turned to Cork.  “He’s in trouble.  We have to do something.”

Cork considered her silently for a moment, then he nodded.

“What exactly are you going to do?” Chuck asked.  “I love you, Nicky, but there’s not much one woman can do to stand up to an entire MC.”

“Whatever I do, it’ll be better than standing around here doing nothing,” Nicole told him before turning back to Cork.  “Do you have a doctor or somebody you could call?  I don’t want to leave him alone.”

“At least let me come with you!” Chuck insisted.

“You’re in no shape to move,” Nicole told him gently.  “You need to rest and heal.  Don’t worry.  I grew up around these guys.  I know how to handle them.  Besides, Cork will be with me.  He won’t let me get hurt.”

“You’re that sure?”

“If Logan trusts him, I trust him.”

She turned to smile at Cork over her shoulder.  He didn’t quite smile back, but his lips twitched slightly.  It was the warmest expression she’d ever seen on him.  He was already on his phone, fulfilling her request to find someone to watch over her dad.

Chuck reached out and took Nicole’s hand.  “I’m proud of you, baby.  Real proud.”

Nicole tried not to choke up.  “Thanks, Daddy.”

Her dad glanced at Cork, then pulled Nicole closer, so she was kneeling in front of him.

“That Logan guy, is he good to you?”

“He is, Daddy.”

Chuck nodded.  “I can tell.  The way he looks at you… I never knew Logan Kirkwood to be that devoted to one woman, but… I could see it in his eyes.  He cares about you.  And you care about him, too, don’t you?”

Nicole did tear up this time.  “I do, Daddy.  I think… I think I love him.”

“Then I wish you the best, my dear.  Go save your man.  I’ll be here when you get back.  Just promise me you’ll be smart.  Smart’s as good as safe.”

“I know.  You taught me that a long time ago.  Why didn’t you listen to your own advice?”

“I got scared.  And fear makes you dumb.  It’s not a mistake I will make again.  I promise.”

Nicole sighed.  “I’ve heard a parent make promises like that before.”

Chuck took her hand.  “I’m not your mother, honey.  She was a wonderful woman, but she made too many mistakes, left us alone.  I’m not gonna do that.  Do you believe me?”

“I do.”

“Good.  Looks like Cork’s ready for you.”

“I love you, Dad.”

She kissed him on the forehead, then followed Cork out of the safe house.  Nicole asked Cork to go with her to Iconoclast territory in plainclothes.  It was the only way she could think of to keep a low profile.  Cork reluctantly agreed.  They stopped at the clubhouse to drop off Cork’s kutte, and they took the van.  The other Crusaders who were around wanted to know what was going on.  Cork told them Logan would explain later, and Nicole hoped that he was telling the truth.  At least he seemed confident.

With Cork driving, Nicole kept her phone out, waiting for a text or a call from Logan.  When they hit the highway without hearing from him, she started making calls.

The first call was to a contact in the hospital on this side of town.  A nurse who’d gone to elementary school with Nicole.

“It’s been a long time, Nicky.”

“I know, Shelby.  I just need to know if you’ve had any New Crusaders in today.  Maybe an emergency call came in about a fight?”

“Hm… not that I know of.  It’s actually been pretty quiet.”

“Okay.  Thanks, Shel.”

“Sure… no problem.”

Nicole hung up and frantically began dialing her next contact, who worked at one of the ‘Clasts favorite hangouts.

“He’s fine,” Cork intoned.

“I know,” Nicole said, though the tremor in her voice belied her statement.  “I just need to find him.  He’s always looking out for me.  It’s only right that I return the favor.”

Cork grunted.

Nicole got lucky with her second call.  Her friend told her a small group of Iconoclasts had been hanging out shooting the shit until they received a call that made them leave in a hurry.

“Any idea where they went?” Nicole asked, clutching the phone to her ear.

“Sorry, hon.  They weren’t exactly chatty.”

“Maybe they went back to the clubhouse,” she mused.  “Do you happen to know where that is?”

“That’s another negative.”

“Alright, thanks.”

Nicole hung up and looked pleadingly at Cork.  He shook his head slightly and turned them back toward the highway.