“Good. After this shit today is over, we’ll celebrate properly. I have a bottle of scotch in the back with your name written all over it.”
I smile, thankful that he seems so sure we’ll still have something to celebrate after our run in with Ramirez is through. So many things could go wrong. There’s every chance we’ll be coming back here later empty-handed. It doesn’t bear thinking about. My father doesn’t deserve this. He lost his youngest daughter, has probably thought she’s dead for the past little while, and now he’s been kidnapped and dragged across three states through no fault of his own.
This is all my fault.
I had a choice back in Ebony Briar, back when Jamie told me I could leave and go home to my family, and I did something very cruel. At the time I thought I was doing the right thing. It seemed noble to remain behind and help the Widow Makers bring Ramirez to justice, but after a while I began to see how that wasn’t the case at all. Jamie and the rest of the club are resourceful people. They would have found a way to right the wrong that had been done, regardless of whether I was there or not. I chose to stay at that point because I had fallen in love. I chose to stay because leaving seemed impossible, because I would have been leaving my heart behind.
Now I have to fix this. I have to make sure Dad gets home safely to the family he has left, and I have to make sure nothing like this ever happens again. “Is Julio here?” I ask.
Jamie nods. “Yeah. He’s leaving after six tonight. Ramirez has had people out all night, setting explosives down the driveway toward the farmhouse. Looks like he plans on blowing a hole in the damn place if Julio pulls any stunts. We’re going to have to approach over the fields to the rear of the property, and we’re going to have to wait until dark.”
“I didn’t think Ramirez would be laying charges.” This is worrying news, though Jamie doesn’t seem all too fazed by it. He runs a hand over my hair, kissing my temple.
“It’s all good, sugar. We have plenty of explosives of our own.”
******
The day drags unbearably. I can’t help but feel like Ramirez is probably onto us, expecting us to pull a stunt like this with Julio in town. Cade hides Julio’s numerous vehicles out in the desert, so none of Ramirez’s men can spy them from a distance sitting right there in our compound. Perez and his men lounge around in the club house, complaining about the domestic beer Fatty keeps serving them. They must have had five drinks each before Cade politely suggests that they grow the fuck up and get their heads straight for what’s about to go down. Andreas looks like he’s on the verge of jumping out of his seat and starting a brawl, but Julio yells at him in Spanish and his right hand man begrudgingly sits back down.
They’re halfway to sober by the time six o’clock rolls around and it’s time for them to leave. Jamie briefs the rest of the Widow Makers, choosing a team to go with him on the run—Cade, naturally. Keeler. Carnie. And me.
There was no way on earth I was staying behind on this one. No way in hell. I was preparing for a heated, violent argument about me coming along, but then Jamie goes and surprises me by calling out my name anyway.
“Are you serious?” I ask. “You want me to come?”
He nods sternly. “You made it pretty clear that drugging you really isn’t an option anymore. And I know if I leave you behind here, you’re only going to wait until we’re gone and then follow us. Better if I have you by my side, where I can see you and keep you safe.”
“This is fucking bullshit!” At the back of the clubhouse, Shay rockets to her feet. “I’ve been a member of this club for nearly six years now. I’m one of the best marksmen the club has, and I can fight just as well as anyone else. Why the fuck haven’t I been called up?”
Jamie sighs heavily. “This is going to be like neurosurgery, Shay. You don’t do precision work with a hammer. You do it with tweezers and a microscope. If we go charging in there with a huge team of people, our cover will be blown immediately. We can’t afford to risk that.”
She shoots daggers at him, folding her arms across her chest. “Seems to me we’re taking a lot of risks these days. And all for the wrong reasons. What happened to helping the girls, huh? What happened to finding Cade’s sister? Seems to me, the club’s purpose has had a shift in direction over the past few months, and none of us were told about it.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”