chapter Twenty-Eight
Richard Joyce knew he had to do something. Bookies were this close to putting out hits on him, but one in particular was willing to deal. He wanted a piece of property located on Highway 185 that belonged to the club. If he could get his hands on that land, he knew he would be able to wipe his slate clean and perhaps live another year. A plan had developed in his head. He could give the bookie a small piece of the land and then take the rest to sell for a profit. The overage would allow him to set up residence elsewhere and stay alive. He had to get this taken care of and the sooner the better. The bank would know sooner rather than later that he’d begun to skim off the top. Prominent citizens of Bowling Green were bound to start noticing their bank accounts becoming smaller. Amounts taken out weren’t exorbitant, but Richard knew that many of them kept a close watch on their accounts. His game was about to be up, and he knew it. Something had to happen, and it had to be now. When this started, he only thought it would be for a short while, he couldn’t keep this up.
Not for the first time he cursed his gambling habit. Something he had never been able to give up. Even with the club it had been bad – so bad that he probably still owed them dues – because he’d never been able to afford them when they were owed. He figured he had never learned one good lesson in his life, and this was probably how it was supposed to end up.
At his side, his phone rang and he answered, not sure of the number. It seemed like he was getting calls at all hours of the day from unknown numbers. It did no good to screen them, they just kept calling. He sighed as he answered.
“Yeah?”
“The reporter is taken care of. She won’t be a problem after today.” The voice was low, sounding like a movie villain.
Richard’s eyebrows drew together in question, and his stomach dropped. Whatever this was, wasn’t good. “Who are you, and what the hell are you talking about? I never ordered a hit on a reporter.”
The voice on the other end of the phone caused goose bumps to break out over his arms and neck. This did not feel good.
“You did, and I want the other half of my payment.” The steel of the voice told Richard not to argue, but he wouldn’t be blamed for something he damn well didn’t do.
“I don’t know who the f*ck you are. I’m not sure how to explain that to you any more clearly than I already have,” Richard argued.
“Well then we have a bit of a problem, Richard Joyce, because I know everything about you. I did a job in your name and was paid half for it up front, and now I want my other half. I want that money by the end of business tomorrow.”
The dial tone in his ear was the only thing that told him the phone call was over.
Richard cursed loudly. Someone had set him up and now he had two people gunning for him. He slammed the phone down and ran a hand through his hair. It was time to either pull the plug on himself or pull the trigger on his plan – whichever he decided it had to be done now. Either way, he figured this was the end and he’d be dead soon anyhow.
Steele sat in front of the bank of monitors that watched the numerous interests the club had around the city and beyond. They were almost certain that Richard was going to hit one of them, they just weren’t sure which. He stretched lazily. It felt like he’d been sitting there forever.
“Everything good?” Liam asked as he took a seat next to the other man.
“Everything’s quiet. Too quiet really. I expect something to happen very soon. It hasn’t ever been this quiet. Spooky quiet.”
Just as he said that, a group of men appeared on one of the screens. They wore all black. From hooded sweatshirts to black pants, gloves, and boots. The two of them watched as they broke into a warehouse and breached the front door.
“This is it. Get everybody ready, it’s time to move.”
Chaos erupted inside the clubhouse as everyone went about the jobs they had been assigned. The tension was thick as the women and a few Prospects watched the patched members leave. Everyone all hoped for the same thing, that the men would come back intact and no one else would get hurt.
Hours later, Denise walked out the back door of the clubhouse where a concrete porch had been poured. Sitting down on a lounge chair, she sighed. The tension in the clubhouse was too much for her to deal with any longer. In order to breathe, she felt that she needed to be somewhere else. Somewhere she could let her shoulders drop and lungs expand.
“This is the part that sucks, huh?” She looked up as Roni came to sit next to her.
Denise chuckled dryly, running a hand through her hair. “Yeah, I’ve never been very patient anyway. I’m not used to wondering if this violence will touch my family or not. It unnerves me a little bit.”
Roni could understand how someone who hadn’t been brought up in the lifestyle could be worried or confused. She chose to believe that everyone would come back unscathed. They always had. It was the only way she could get through it herself.
“I’ve never wondered if someone wouldn’t come home. How weird is that? I’ve always believed Dad and Liam can handle themselves. Does that make me odd?”
Denise laughed. “Not at all. I wish I could be like that. I’ve never been the type of person that just let life be. I always want control of it. I’m scared of the unknown – always have been. I guess that’s what happens when you get pregnant with twins as a teenager.”
She watched as her friend looked back into the clubhouse where her mom sat on a couch by herself. It was obvious from the look in her eyes that she wanted to go sit next to Lauren, offer her comfort of some sort. Possibly work on their relationship in a way that Liam didn’t want to do.
“You don’t have to babysit me, ya know? Why don’t you go spend some time with your mom while the guys aren’t here? You can do it with no animosity or looks of death from Liam.”
Roni smiled. “Maybe you can soften him up. But until then, I think I’m gonna take you up on that.”
Denise watched as the other woman went into the house and again sighed. She was keyed up and unnerved. She didn’t want her kids or anyone else to see it, but she was feeling wild with nerves. Walking to the edge of the porch, she wrapped her arms around her body. It was a warm night, but there was a chill she felt from somewhere else. She looked up at the night sky, amazed again by how much she could see out here in the middle of nowhere. Knowing that Liam could look up and see the same sky calmed her a little. When she tilted her head back, a fist wrapped in her hair and pulled it sharply. She made the motion to scream, but a gloved hand went over her open mouth. She inhaled, a sweet smell making its way into her nostrils, lethargy immediately claimed her body and she went limp.
“Can’t believe the VP left you out here with no protection. Denise Cunningham, you’re coming with me.”
Later, members of the club arrived back at the clubhouse, all pissed.
“Is it over?” Roni asked, hope in her voice.
“Not even close. It apparently hasn’t even started. When we got there, no one was there. The lock wasn’t even broken. I saw that damn lock break on the video. I don’t like the feel of this,” Liam grunted, getting off the bike.
He strode through the clubhouse, frustration apparent in every step he took. This man was playing with them all, and he couldn’t expect for it to continue.
“Where’s Denise?” he asked Roni. He wanted to bury his feelings in his woman for an hour or two. She took away the tension he always seemed to feel.
“She was out back on the porch when I last saw her. Mom and I have been talking for a while.”
Panic seized him and cold seeped into his muscles. “You left her out there by herself?”
“Yeah, she’s a big girl and we are safe here, remember?” She didn’t like his tone, didn’t appreciate the implications of it.
“Safe is a motherf*cking relative term with this a*shole. You better hope she’s still out there.”
Dread curled up in Roni’s stomach. For some reason she felt scared, and her breath came in short gasps. She watched as Liam went out to the back porch and then turned around, ice in his eyes.
“She’s not out there, Roni. Where the f*ck is she? How long have you been in here?”
Roni tried desperately to remember what time she had come back inside the building. The conversation with Lauren had been exactly what she needed and time had flown by. “A few hours maybe?”
“You don’t know where she’s been for a few hours? After I deal with him, I’m gonna deal with you. Sister or not. Let me guess, you probably had something to do with it,” he pointed his eyes towards Lauren. “I’m sure you’d pay off anyone who wanted to hurt me.”
“No,” Lauren shook her head, but he cut her off with a glare.
For the first time in her life, Roni was scared of her brother. She saw the murderous rage in his eyes and the look that made other men cower. Roni tried to pull him into her arms, just like she had a million times before, but he shrugged her off and went in search of William. He saw Steele on the way and shouted.
“Track that motherf*cker’s cell phone right now. He’s got Denise.”
His brothers had heard him shouting, they had heard the fear and panic in his voice. Everyone had come running. In the corner of his eye, he could see Mandy and Drew. For the first time in his life, his mother did something that helped him. She herded them back into the kids’ area. It wasn’t quick enough for him not to see Drew’s eyes. The disappointment in those eyes killed him. He always swore when he’d had his own children that he’d never see that in their eyes. He’d be damned if it happened now. Walking over to that room, he motioned for Drew and Mandy, the creak of the leather gloves covering his fingers loud in the quiet room.
“Something’s happened to your mom,” he bent down so that he was more on their level. “But don’t worry, I’m gonna bring her back.”
Drew’s eyes were always the more serious of the two. “I’m counting on you.” He sounded so much like an adult that Liam did a double take to make sure he hadn’t grown a foot and sprouted a beard. “We’ve never counted on anybody before,” he told Liam, putting his arm around Mandy.
“He’s right. Nobody’s ever been there for us besides Mom, so we’re counting on you to bring her home.” Mandy was not usually the serious of the two, but her eyes were as somber as he had ever seen them.
The words those children spoke to him tore at his heart. He knew that he couldn’t let them down. He couldn’t let Denise down. Now that he’d finally found something worth living for, he couldn’t let it slip through his fingers. Liam would not be a quitter the way his mother had quit on him. He would find Richard Joyce and tear him apart limb by limb. Vengeance would be his, and they would never worry about him again.
War had just been declared.