Logan: New Crusaders MC (20 page)

“Alright,” he said.  “We’re meeting him tonight at his clubhouse.  Friendly talk and nothing more.”

“Good.  I’m with you.  All the way.”  She stood on her toes so she could kiss him.  “I’m all in.”

Logan crushed her against him, kissing her breathless.  He loved this woman.  It was amazing to him that he did, but that was the truth.

“I’ve gotta get back to the clubhouse, let the guys know,” he said finally, a little breathlessly.

Nicole’s lips were red from their kisses, a little swollen.  All he wanted to do was spend more time exploring her sweet mouth, but the club needed to know about Danny.

“That’s not going to go over well,” Nicole said.

“No.  It isn’t.  Let’s go.”

They piled into her truck and drove back to the clubhouse.  Logan made the calls he needed to make, made sure they had a full table for a quick meeting before he met with Wiseman.  By the time they got to the clubhouse, the place was full again.  But this time, there was no partying.  They had sensed that Logan had bad news, that shit was about to go down.  He and Nicole were greeted by hardened expressions and tension.  The guys were prepping for a fight.

“Wait here for me,” he told Nicole.  “Won’t be long.”

“Okay, baby.”

Logan stepped into the meeting room and everyone followed without being asked.  They settled around the table and looked at him expectantly.  Cork was right beside him, a strong, silent anchor.  Exactly what Logan needed right now.

“Danny Trevino… is in the hospital.”

This got the reaction he expected, and he dove into details about what had happened.  He assured everyone that Danny was safe in the hospital.  The Kings thought he was dead, and Logan wanted to keep it that way.  Much as it pained him, Logan didn’t want Danny putting on a new kutte until the trouble with the Devil Kings had been taken care of.

“Along those lines,” Logan said, “I’m going to meet with Wiseman tonight.  We need a plan of action, and I’m tired of sitting by while Ruiz runs wild and fucks shit up for my club.  Anyone opposed to us and the ‘Clasts taking this fucker down?”

Not one person spoke up.  Logan nodded.

“As soon as we have a battle strategy, we’re back here.  So do what you gotta do before tonight.  Make sure your loved ones are safe, call in sick to work, whatever.  This is going down now, and it’s going to be bloody.”

With that, he called the meeting to a close.

Nicole was waiting patiently in the other room.  As soon as they filed out, she went up to some of the guys and squeezed their hands, or offered them quick hugs.  They all turned to her without question for that comfort.  Finally, she made it to Logan, walked into his arms.

“We have some time,” she said solemnly.  “Let’s go to the diner, let my dad know what’s going on.  We can grab some food while we’re there so we’re not meeting with Wiseman on empty stomachs.”

“That sounds good,” Logan said.

He led her outside to his bike and handed her his helmet.  She strapped it on and slipped onto the bike behind him.  He took a moment to relish the fact that he had gotten used to having her there, riding behind him, wearing his helmet. 

Then they drove to the diner.

It was pretty busy, but Chuck got a table cleaned off for them as soon as he saw them.  They sat down and Nicole’s father joined them.  One of the waitresses came over to offer drinks, and Logan did a double-take.

“Marina?”

The girl smiled shyly.  “Hi, Logan.”

Nicole put her hand on his arm.  “We needed someone to replace Clay, and Marina was looking to pick up some extra cash.”

He raised an eyebrow at her.  “Bells help you with this?”

“Yep.”

“Okay, then.” He turned back to Marina.  “Coffee, sweetheart.  And a sandwich.  I don’t care what kind.”

“Make that two coffees and two mystery sandwiches,” Nicole said.

“You got it,” Marina chirped, trotting off to put their orders in.

“You made a good call with that one,” Chuck said.  “She’s taken to this like she was born waiting tables.”

“I’m glad,” Nicole said, and it was clear she meant it.

“So,” Chuck said.  “What brings you here?”

Logan filled him in on all that had happened while Chuck’s expression fell further and further.  By the time he’d finished, Chuck was frowning.

“Maybe I should close up shop early tonight,” he said.

“That might be for the best,” Logan told him.  “I don’t know when the first shots are gonna be fired, but it’s gotta be soon.”

“I agree.”  He nodded at Nicole.  “Where are you going to be?”

“With Logan, until the fighting starts.”

“You get in trouble, you come back here,” Chuck said sternly.  “You understand?”

“Yes, Dad.”

“Good.”

They finished eating despite the fact that Logan wasn’t overly hungry.  Too much had been going on.  His stomach was revolting from all the anger and stress.  Nicole was right, though; they might not get another chance to eat for a while.

The sun was just beginning to set when Nicole and Logan rolled onto Iconoclast territory and suddenly found themselves being escorted to the clubhouse.  Three other bikes pulled out onto the road around them.  Iconoclasts.  They’d been waiting for him.  At least he wasn’t being thrown into a van this time.

Wiseman was waiting for them at the Iconoclast clubhouse.  He did not look happy, but Logan felt safe enough.  It was clear that the ‘Clast president was just as preoccupied as he was.  This was going to be a friendly meeting after all.  Tense, but friendly.

“What happened?” Wiseman asked, foregoing all greeting.

Logan told him exactly what was going on.  He had a member in the hospital, and Ruiz was likely pissed.

“Not as pissed as I am,” Wiseman said.

“Likewise,” Logan told him.  “So what’s the plan?”

“We hit him back.  Hard and fast.  Don’t leave him time to think.  Just take him down.”

“I agree completely.”

Wiseman nodded at Nicole.  “Since when are old ladies brought in on meetings like this?”

“She wants to hear about how we’re going to kill Ruiz,” Logan explained.  “Then she’s gone.”

Wiseman finally cracked a smile.  It was wolfish.  Frightening.

“Got plenty of fire in you, don’t you, honey?”

“When I need to,” Nicole replied, crossing her arms.

Logan hid his smile and brought Wiseman’s attention back to him.  “What’s our play?”

Wiseman gestured to the table and they all sat, Nicole included.

“What do we know?” Wiseman asked.

“We know Ruiz is planning on taking over Castillo,” Logan told him.  “Ruiz was the one who put the bullet in Zeke.  He put his body on Crusader territory and had his prospect find it when the timing worked for the Kings.”

“He killed another club’s president?” Wiseman asked incredulously.  “What is this asshole thinking?”

Logan shrugged.  “I have a feeling he’s not thinking at all.  The Devil Kings have never been the smartest bunch.”

Wiseman snorted.  “Don’t I know it.  But now they’ve got us on the ropes, so let’s –”

Both Wiseman’s and Logan’s phones went off at the same time.  Logan glanced at Nicole as he checked his phone.  There was a one-word text from Cork’s phone.

Kings
.

Logan looked up at Wiseman.  Judging by the Iconoclast president’s expression, he’d just gotten a very similar message.  Logan jumped up and grabbed Nicole.

“What?” she asked.  “Logan, what’s going on?”

Logan pushed open the front door and looked around.  He could just make out the roar of approaching motorcycles.  They were almost there.  He took Nicole to his bike, put her on it.

“Logan?” she asked.

“You ride out of here,” he told her, shoving the helmet onto her head.  “The Kings are making their move now, and I want you gone.  They don’t find you, you got it?”

“Logan… no.”

He pressed a quick kiss onto her lips and started the bike up for her.

“I’ll be alright,” he promised.  “But I’m not going to be able to fight if I’m worried about you.  Get out of here.  Go!”

Nicole looked like she wanted to protest, but by now it was clear she heard the approaching bikes, too.  With one last worried look at him, she pointed the bike at the road and took off.  Logan watched her go, hoping she’d be able to get somewhere safe.  As soon as she was out of sight, he went back in the clubhouse and helped Wiseman barricade the door.

“How many?” Wiseman asked.

“A lot,” Logan told him, taking out his gun.

“Well, I guess this saves us from having to strategize.”

“Sure does.”

Wiseman looked at his boys, then back at Logan.  “You ready for this?”

Logan backed away from the door.  The roar of the bikes’ engines was deafening.  He glanced at Wiseman.

“We survive this, I’ll give you my answer,” he said.

Wiseman chuckled.  “Fair enough.  Bring it on.”

They both found cover just as the clubhouse exploded with the sounds of gunfire.

The walls were riddled with holes, and the shots just kept coming.  Logan and the Iconoclasts were pinned to the ground.  All he could do was lie in wait, trying not to worry about Nicole or his club.  Cork had sent that text because the attack had hit closer to home as well.  The Kings were probably storming the city, taking down their competition in one fell swoop.

Logan wished he’d had more time to heal up.  His ribs still ached, and it had been days since his last workout.  He was stiff, out of practice.

When the gunshots finally died down, Logan only had a second to relax before the Kings burst inside.  They climbed through windows, and rammed at the barricaded door until it gave.  Within seconds, Logan and Wiseman were surrounded and badly outnumbered.  From the ground, Logan took aim and shot out the nearest Devil King’s knee.

Chaos descended upon the clubhouse.  Logan ran out of bullets almost immediately.  He didn’t have any way to reload, so he ditched the gun and found his knife.  The only bit of luck they had was that the Kings also started running out of ammo.

Logan went on the offensive, running at the nearest Devil Kings with his knife out.  They saw him coming, but they couldn’t stop him from launching himself at them.  The three men went down in a tangle of limbs.  Logan slashed at whatever flesh he could find.  Then someone came by and yanked him off the ground.  Logan whirled, ready to fight, only to find himself face-to-face with Alex Ruiz himself.

The Devil King president smiled at him and raised his fists.  He was a stocky guy, a little shorter than Logan.  He’d barely ever had contact with Ruiz, but Logan knew he was a good fighter.  And it was already clear how ruthless Ruiz was.  His grin looked more like he was baring his teeth in challenge.

“President already?  Good for you, Kirkwood.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Logan growled, and ran forward.

Ruiz was quick.  He dodged every swipe of Logan’s knife, keeping his fists up, dancing away, waiting for the right opportunity. 

Logan knew he was too angry.  He wasn’t fighting smart.  But he couldn’t help it.  This man was responsible for everything that had been going wrong in his life lately.  Ruiz kept darting away, forcing Logan to overextend his reach every time he went in for a fresh attack.  Before he realized what was happening, Ruiz slipped inside his defenses and threw his fist into Logan’s stomach.  Logan couldn’t help doubling over, and he knew the fight was over.  Ruiz had been watching him, had figured out just which parts of Logan were injured.  He hit Logan in every one of them – his ribs, his jaw, his shoulder.

Logan felt himself hit the floor, was aware of the rough wood against his skin, but he wasn’t experiencing pain anymore.  He was too far gone.  Ruiz was going to kill him, and there was nothing he could do to save himself.  Through his darkening vision, he saw Wiseman crawling away.  He glanced over his shoulder only once to look at Logan, and then he was gone.

As Logan gave in to unconsciousness, his thoughts went to Nicole.  He hoped she’d found Chuck, that her father would keep her safe.  Because Logan knew he wasn’t going to be around to protect her anymore.

The last thing he saw was three Devil Kings coming for him, lifting him.  Then darkness overcame him.

When he next woke up, he was in a van.  He remembered some of the ride, remembered thinking it was strange he was still alive. 

At some point he must have passed out again, because the next thing he knew, he was coming to in a tiny, windowless room.  The door was closed.  He only knew there was a door there because of the outline in the wall; there was no knob or lock.  It was a makeshift jail cell.  He was on the Kings’ territory.  He was their prisoner.  Whatever happened to him now, he was sure he wouldn’t be seeing the light of day again.

Feeling broken and tired, Logan curled in on himself and closed his eyes, escaping with sleep.

Nicole cried the whole time she was riding to the diner.  Logan had put on a brave face, but she knew he was in trouble.  They hadn’t had time to plan.  The Kings had hit them when they were spread out and unprepared.  She prayed that her dad would know what to do.  He was used to war, could think straight in the most hopeless situations.

When she got to the diner, the Open sign was off, but there were still bikes in the parking lot.  She didn’t think much about it until she walked inside and saw Clay standing at the counter, a gun held to Chuck’s temple.  Beside him stood four men in Devil King kuttes.

“Right on time,” Clay said.  “Glad you could join us.”

“Clay…” Nicole said.

She couldn’t say anything else.  This was all going much worse than she could ever have imagined.

“Are you honestly surprised to see me here?” Clay asked.  “I did everything I could to warn you, Nicole.  I’m sorry it had to end up like this.”

“Shut up!” Nicole shouted.  “You aren’t sorry, Clay.  I don’t think you know what remorse is.”

He was unfazed by her insult.  “Bring her to me.”

Two of his Devil King lackeys walked around the counter and took hold of Nicole’s arms.  She struggled a little, instinctively, but didn’t fight too hard as they dragged her up to the counter.  She didn’t want Clay to hurt Chuck.

“Call off your dogs,” Chuck growled.  “She’s innocent in this.”

“Not so innocent,” Clay mused.  “She’s been in Logan Kirkwood’s bed.  But we’ll fix that, won’t we, darlin’?”

“You keep your hands off of me, Clay,” Nicole bit out.

“We’ll address that in a moment,” Clay said.  “First, Chuck, you’ve got a lot of signing and dating to do.  I suggest you get started.”

For the first time, Nicole noticed the papers on the counter.  She had no idea what they were, but they looked like important documents.  Several blank spaces were highlighted, and a black pen was lying next to them.  Chuck looked at the papers, then stared defiantly at Clay.

“You want to play it that way?” Clay asked.  “Fine.”  He nodded at one of the guy’s holding Nicole.

Nicole felt the cool metal of a gun caress her cheek, and she bit back a sob.

“You fucking animals!” Chuck shouted.  He looked at Clay.  “You can’t expect me to believe you’d kill her.  It’s clear you want her alive.”

“That’s true,” Clay said, sounding entirely too calm.  “But injuries can heal.  There are plenty of places we can shoot that won’t kill her.”  Clay leaned toward Chuck, his expression turning cold.  Livid.  “There are other things I can do to your daughter, Chuck.  Things that would tear both of you up inside.  I can make you sit.  Make you watch.”

Chuck pulled the pen off the counter and began signing the paperwork.

“Daddy, no,” Nicole cried, slumping in the Devil Kings’ grasp.

“I’m not gonna let them hurt you, baby,” Chuck said.  “It’s just a diner.”

Nicole knew it was more than a diner to him.  It was his whole world.  He had built it from the ground up, spent years cultivating relationships with the local MCs.  Having the diner in his life helped him sleep, helped keep the demons at bay.  He’d met his wife there.  Practically raised his daughter there.  It was everything to him.

And now it belonged to Clay.

As soon as the paperwork was signed, Clay snatched it up.  He kept his gun on Chuck.

“See?  That wasn’t so bad.”

“Were you behind all this from the beginning?” Nicole asked.  “Feeding info to the Devil Kings?  Planting ideas in their heads?  Just so you could get a diner?”

“Not just so I could get a diner,” Clay said.  He nodded at the two other Devil Kings to keep an eye on Chuck as he stepped around the counter.  “No, the deal was I got the diner
and
the Hamiltons.  Chuck works for me now.  And you…”  He reached up and ran his hand down her cheek.  She tried to pull away.  “You are going to be mine.”

“You can’t have me.  Nothing you do will make me change my mind.”

“Is that so?” Clay asked.  He leaned towards her.  “You pledge your loyalty to me and to the Devil Kings.  You get to keep your job, and your dad stays alive, too.”

“You’re insane.”

“I just know what I want,” Clay replied, shrugging.  Then he got so close he was whispering in her ear.  “The Devil Kings have Logan.”

Nicole’s heart nearly stopped.  Tears sprung to her eyes and spilled over, despite her efforts to blink them back.

“You want him to stay alive?” Chuck asked.  “I wasn’t stupid enough to think you’d pledge yourself to me without a decent amount of leverage.  You love Logan?  You do everything I say.  But the moment you disobey me, all it takes is one word from me and he’s dead.  Is that clear?”

Nicole nodded.  “It’s clear.”

“Excellent.  I knew we could work something out.”  He stepped back and addressed the Devil Kings.  “Let the Hamiltons go.  They’re not going to be a problem anymore.”  To Nicole he said, “I’m going into my office to file this paperwork.  Take a minute to hug daddy, but remember that you’ll be in my bed tonight.”

“I’ll need to… to get my things from Logan’s place,” Nicole choked out.

“I like the idea of you moving out of there,” Clay said.  “I’ll send you with an escort later to get your things and take them to my place.”

He disappeared into the office, and the Devil Kings moved back to guard the entrance.  Nicole ran to her father and threw her arms around him.

“Did they hurt you, baby?” he asked, squeezing her tight.

“I’m alright,” Nicole sobbed.  “But they have Logan, Daddy.”

Chuck glanced over her shoulder at the guards, then pulled her closer.

“They don’t have Logan, Nicky,” he whispered into her ear.

“What?”  She tried to pull back, but he wouldn’t let her.

“Honey, Logan he’s… he’s not with us no more.”

Nicole’s breath left her body.  Her knees went weak.

“No…” she gasped.  “No, please… how could you know that?  Why would you say that?”

“It’s the truth,” Chuck murmured.  “I got the call before Clay and his buddies stormed in here.  Friend of mine saw Logan die.  Ruiz took him down.”

Nicole sobbed into her father’s chest, unable to breathe or hold herself up.

“You gotta do me a favor, baby girl,” Chuck told her.  “You gotta leave.  Go to your place, look under your mattress.  I left something under there for you, in case of emergency.  Find it.  Then pack a bag.  Get out of town and don’t look back.  Don’t ever try to contact me or anyone else in Castillo.”

“But… but what about you?”

“Clay won’t have a reason to kill me after you’re gone.  Especially if I plead ignorance and stay under his thumb.  He would only hurt me if he knew you were around to be affected by it.  You gotta do this for me, Nicky.  You gotta get free of this.”

Nicole was starting to feel numb.  She had a feeling her stomach like someone had just pulled a rug out from under her.  She felt like she was caught in that surprised, awkward state of falling, but no matter how long she waited, the impact of hitting the floor eluded her.  Chuck set her back on her feet, held her until she stopped swaying and started supporting her own weight.

“We’re gonna be okay, Nicky,” he said, loudly enough for the Devil Kings to hear.  “You be good to Clay, he’ll be good to you.  Keep yourself safe.”

“Okay, Dad,” Nicole said, her voice hoarse.

He held her hand, took her over to a booth in the corner and sat her down.  Then he went to the back and grabbed a pot of decaf.  Nicole’s hands shook around the mug he handed her, but she managed to take a few sips.  The hot drink was soothing enough, but she kept thinking about what Chuck was asking her to do.  Could she really leave him behind?  Even if she did, there would be no place far enough away from Castillo for her to forget about Logan.  She could be on another continent, another planet, and she would feel the pain of his loss.