Chapter 23

The last timeI was here, I was sure I"d never return.

The small lounge that Shade pulled me through is quiet. Not bumping with music and young adults like it was the last time.

I do see a few lights on inside. Hopefully, that means the owner is there.

I didn"t tell anyone, including Gabrielle, where I was heading off to. I hope she doesn"t get too worried when she realizes I"m not at the clubhouse. I left the website open on the computer on my desk, so if shit does go wrong and the guys try to look for me, they know the first spot to look.

Slowly, I open the front door of the lounge. It looks so different without the neon lights going off and the fog from the smoke machine filling the large space. I don"t see anyone right away, but I don"t take any chances. I"m on high alert.

I bend into a crouch and slide along the back wall until I make my way to where the storage area is. At least, I think that"s where the storage area is. Quickly peeking around the corner, I see the man I came here for. Victor, the owner, is clad in black and gray. Every inch of his skin I can see is tatted down to his fingertips. His head is shaved on the sides, and his beard is so long it touches his chest. It"s a peculiar look, but I"m not here to judge. Pulling my weapon out of my holster against my back, I tiptoe closer to him until I"m right up behind him.

I pull the hammer back on my gun, and he freezes when he hears the ominous click.

"You"re going to turn around slowly and tell me everything I want to know, or you"re going to be headless. Make your choice."

The man drops what"s in his hands and slowly turns in my direction. His eyes are bright red, thanks to colored contacts, but it still makes him look more like a demon than just a regular lounge owner.

"What the fuck is this? Are you really trying to rob me this early in the morning?" He barks in my direction.

I shake my head, confused. "First of all, it"s the afternoon, and I"m not here to rob you. I already told you I want information."

"Anything before seven PM is morning for me. I don"t have any information for a man with a gun in my face."

"I could shove the gun down your throat and pull the trigger. Maybe you"d like that better?"

He clenches his jaw tight. I see the muscles popping on the side of his face.

I don"t know much about him but from what Cody and Spark told me he was vital when it came to my brother"s getting out of here alive when Shade kidnapped Gabrielle and me. If this man helped the Boys of Djinn before maybe he"ll be open to helping me now.

I lowered my weapon but kept him in my line of sight. If he even made a move toward a weapon I"d shoot him down like a dog.

"Look man, I"m not trying to rob you and I"d rather do this without anyone getting hurt but I need to know what you know about the Faceless group. "

Vince groans and he rolls his eyes, annoyed.

"Who are you? Feds?"

"No, I"m not with the Feds. I"m with the Boys of Djinn."

Vince"s eyes brightens and he stands up straight. It"s gone from annoyance to excitement. I"ve seen this reaction from people before, usually those that wanted to get a patch.

"You"re with Wyatt and them?" He asks.

"Yeah, I"m Bishop."

"Oh shit, they"ve been looking all over for you. I"m glad to see you"re not dead." He reaches out to shake my hand. I have to transfer my gun to my non-dominant hand. I still haven"t put it away and until I know I can trust him not to pull a weapon of his own I"m not going to.

"Yeah, man, I can"t call it. Shit is still fucked up. You"re Vince right?"

"Venom. Most people call me Venom." He corrects me.

The name fits him.

"So what do you need? I already told Wyatt and the boys that I didn"t know anything about the Faceless or any of the people they were running with." Venom shrugs but I need to know more than just the superficial stuff.

"How is that possible? I mean they have an underground bunker attached to your club." I squint at him. It"s unbelievable.

"Nah man, it wasn"t the Faceless. Some of the local PD and folks from Washington came and said that it was being built for national security. They took fifty grand off the price of the land so I could purchase this place as long as I allowed a tunnel to be made under my place. It was a win win for me and no one ever came through my side until that day they came for you. It was the only reason I didn"t stop them. I"m not fucking with the government." He puffs out a breath.

I don"t blame him and he"s probably telling the truth. It makes sense that the Faceless would use the people they new that had some clout to make this seem legit. Why would anyone question them.

"Have you gone back down there since all that went down?"

Venom blinks at me a few times as if I were talking a different language. "No, I didn"t see the need. Especially when the guys let me know that it was booby trapped to hell down there. I"m not trying to get burnt up if I step on the wrong brick."

This could be the break that I need. If no one has gone down there it"s possible that there"s still information that I could get. I need to get in there.

"I"m going in." Finally, I push my gun back into the holster.

"By yourself. You"re not going to wait for the other guys for this?"

"No, I"m on my own. I"ll be fine but if some shit does happen to go down, let Wyatt know I was here."

He nods his head once and I take off in the direction of the back room where Shade drag me the last time.

It"s almost like walking back in time. Flashes of me fighting against the guards while I was cuffed play in my mind. If I"d have fought harder maybe I wouldn"t have gone through all this shit.

But then I wouldn"t have been around to protect Gabrielle as much as I had. Everything happens for a reason. I have faith in that.

There"s a small lock on the door that I shot off and I took a cautionary step. My mind still thinking about the traps Venom had just reminded me about.

Here is where Cody was so badly burned he could never be called pretty boy again.

With every step I cringed, thinking I"d be setting off a trap or an alarm. But the further I got down the tunnel nothing happened.

After walking down a long hallway I found two large rooms one is the room without much in it but a few robes and tables. This is where the showdown was between my club and the several members of Faceless. Of course, my club lost that fight.

I"m not interested in that room, so I turn to the second room and have to stop myself from whooping in excitement. The room is lined with computers and file cabinets. There"s no way I wouldn"t be able to find something in here.

With a new-found purpose, I walked over to the first computer and began to do my research.

Every new piece of information that didn"t further my purpose I just forwarded over to Brendan for him to sift through. They may not be riding with me but I wouldn"t hold out on them if I could help them in anyway.

Soon it was clear to see just how deep the Faceless had infiltrated the country and also how little Liam actually controlled. His only job in Faceless was to feed Shade and Rupert information about the motorcycle clubs. Basically where we"d be hold up, any allies that we had and even the enemies.

Now that Rupert is dead, Liam is nothing more than dead weight. If I don"t kill him, Shade definetly will.

I need to find Liam first.

There"s no way I"m going to let Shade get the satisfaction of taking Liam out before I do.

***

Hours.

I"ve been down here for hours.

I"ve never been so invested in something in my life. I was finding out a lot of information, including the three places Liam would most likely be staying. One of them is right here in Maine. It"d be the first place that I"ll start. There"s no way that he"ll stay down in the torture bunker now that it basically was burned down from the inside.

He"s on the run.

Not for long.

After closing down the computers and putting the file cabinets back in place, I find myself happier than I"ve been in a long time. I finally feel like I"m making headway.

I rush down the tunnel now that I know that there are no active tripwires, and make my way back upstairs.

"Venom, I"m through-"

Before the words could get out of my mouth, something hard hits me on the back of my head.

I fall to the ground, my head spinning and a loud ringing in my ears. Rolling over to my back, I look up and see one of the men I"ve been so desperately searching for.

Shade stares down at me with a sinister grin on my face.

"We knew that you"d find your way back to Maine, but we"d figured that we"d have to take out the entire clubhouse. Imagine my surprise when our surveillance cameras picked up motion in our bunker. There you were alone and just ripe for the picking. You"ve made this so very easy for us, Bishop." With a growl, Shade leans down and picks me up to the floor. I reached for my gun, but I"m still dizzy from the hit.

Shade realizes what I"m doing and he quickly disarms me.

"Don"t get crazy on me, Bishop." He tsks before he secures my weapon in his waist. "No, be a good dog and let"s go back home."

Shade pushes me through the room and I let my eyes sweep the area. In the corner tied up and unconscious in a chair is Venom. There"s blood dripping down the side of his face. I hope he"s still alive. I don"t think I can handle another dead person on my conscious, especially one who"s only been trying to help us.

"I don"t care where you take me. Your time on this earth is limited."

Shade has the nerve to laugh at my threat. "Don"t you know, all of our time is limited. The difference between you and me is your time will be a lot more painful.

Before I can respond, he hits me on the back of my head again and this time everything turns black.