Boomer Chapter 18

I hated riding off and leaving Bella to worry. I assured her there was no need for her to do it, but she said she wasn't capable of not worrying until we all came back safe and sound. I made sure to give her several passionate kisses before we left. Torpedo laughingly separated us. I good-naturedly shoved him as we climbed on our rides. It wasn't like he wasn't doing the exact same thing to Londyn. Hell, the others were doing it too. Despite my assurances to Bella, you never knew if this might be the last time you saw each other.

We had a long ride ahead of us. From Tenillo to Norfolk, Nebraska, it was approximately six hundred and fifty miles, which was ten hours of hard riding. From there to Fairfax, South Dakota, it was much less. It was only one hundred and twenty-five miles, so it was barely over a two-hour ride.

Carnage and his guys were doing recon while they waited for us to get there. He assured Sin he had guys up to the task. It wasn't like they'd be riding wearing their colors, nor would we when we snuck in and grabbed the bastard. We got on the road early so we would get there well before midnight.

We only stopped long enough to gas up, take piss breaks, and for a quick lunch. The ride itself was beautiful. Temps usually ran between mid-forties to mid-seventies this time of year. We were lucky, and it was in the high sixties. The air was damn fresh, and I knew we all enjoyed the hell out of it.

We pulled into their compound around eight o'clock that evening. It was always fun to check out a new compound and compare what they had versus us. By the looks of the clubhouse, or what I assumed was the clubhouse based on its size and the number of bikes parked out front, it had been a factory of some kind. It had a ton of windows, which screamed factory to me. Their compound sat not far from the Elkhorn River. It wasn't right in the middle of everything, which is always good for an MC. You didn't want neighbors watching your every move or calling the cops on you every time there was a party or you revved your bikes.

They had a fence around the property to keep out unwanted guests. The gate was opened by a guy wearing a prospect cut. As we were dismounting, the door to the huge building opened, and out streamed a shitload of guys. A quick count showed me there were over a dozen. A big man came toward us. One look at him, and you knew not to fuck with him. It was not only his expression and overall demeanor, but the scars on his face told you he wasn't a stranger to rough and dangerous. Sin moved in front of us, flanked by Executioner and me, and held out his hand.

"You must be Carnage. I'm Sin. Thanks for agreeing to help us out," he said as they shook hands.

"Nice to meet you, too. Welcome to Norfolk. We're glad to be able to help. How was your ride? Any problems?" Carnage's deep booming voice asked.

"Nope, it was a great one. It felt damn good to take a long ride. It's been a while since we've been able to do it."

As they chatted, the rest of us stood there silently, but we weren't doing nothing. We were sizing up the other men and the compound. Until we knew otherwise, they would be accepted with caution. Another man detached himself from their group and came over to ours. He grabbed Vicious and slapped him hard on the back as he hugged him.

"I've missed your ugly mug, cuz. About time you came to visit."

"Yeah, well, what stopped you from coming to Texas?" V shot back. His slight smile told me he was happy to see his cousin.

"I guess nothing now that you mention it," was Crash's casual reply as he shrugged.

"You must be tired. Why don't we show you where you can get a drink and some food, and we'll relax, then we'll show you where you can bunk down while you're here?" Carnage informed us. Letting him and his men take the lead, we followed them inside.

No matter which MC you went to, the clubhouse always had certain similarities. There was always a large open area with an assortment of tables, chairs, couches, and things like pool tables and other stuff, along with a bar. Also, they all had rooms in one form or another where members lived, fucked, or both, as well as, if you were lucky, guest quarters. The familiarness of it made it easier to get comfortable at another club's place.

This one was no different, I saw. Another similarity was they all had women, and I wasn't talking about old ladies. Whether they called them bunnies, sweet butts, club whores, or something else, they were all the same thing. Women who either lived here and, in exchange for room and board, had sex with whoever asked, or they were the hang arounds like we had at home. They didn't live at the club. There were several women in the common area I pegged as bunnies or hang arounds. You could tell just by the way they were dressed or, should I say, not dressed. What could you say? Bikers liked their sex, and it wasn't hard for most to attract women.

When they saw us, the women expressed excitement. We would be seen as fresh meat, and they'd be eager to test us out. In the past, I would've been looking forward to sampling what the Regulators had to offer, but not now. I had Bella, and no other woman interested me in the least.

I had no idea how many Regulators had old ladies. It was possible they didn't believe in being faithful to theirs like we were, and that was on them. There were gonna be some disappointed women when they found out only Vicious wasn't taken. All of my brothers wore wedding bands, but that wouldn't deter the women. I wished like hell I had one despite knowing they wouldn't care. I fully intended to wear one when I got Bella to marry me.

Introductions were made on both sides then prospects hurried to hand out beers and shots. We took a seat at a couple of tables, along with Carnage and most of his guys. The rest remained standing. I knew there would be no talking business tonight. We needed to be on the top of our game when we planned our kidnapping.

We'd barely been served drinks before the women circled us from a distance. Carnage grinned at us as he gestured to them, "You're our guests. You have the first pick."

"Thanks, but we'll pass. Vicious might wanna, though, later," Sin told him politely.

Carnage scanned us with a puzzled look, and then he started to nod. "I see you all wearing wedding rings except Vicious and Boomer. I take it you're faithful to your old ladies."

"We are," Executioner answered for us.

"How about you, Boomer? Sin only named Vicious, but you're not wearing one. I promise they can show you a good time," Carnage added.

"I have an old lady. I just haven't gotten hitched yet."

"Well shit, is Vicious the only one in the whole club who isn't?" Crash asked.

"No, he's one of four. What about you guys? Do any of you have old ladies? We know not all clubs believe like we do when it comes to old ladies and other women," Sin added. I was impressed by how he kept the distaste out of his voice and off his face.

"Howler and Clutch have old ladies, but the rest of us don't. They don't touch the women either. If you put your property patch on a woman, you'd better fucking stay faithful or pray I don't find out. That shit's fucked up and doesn't fly here either," Carnage said with a scowl before he turned to the women.

"Get lost. This one is the only available one, so keep your claws off the others, or you know what'll happen. He'll find you if he wants company," Carnage told them.

The disappointment on their faces was evident, but they did as he told them. They retreated to the other side of the room to sit and watch us while they no doubt gossiped. What a damn relief. The last thing I wanted was to fight off grasping women. I took a deep swig of my beer. It tasted good after a long ride, and it was ice cold.

As we sat there, Rowdy, the VP, got up and left. He wasn't gone for long, and when he returned, he announced there was food in the kitchen if we wanted to grab some. I knew we all had to be starved so we didn't waste time getting to our feet and following him.

In the kitchen, there was a long counter in the middle with trays of food on it. I didn't know who made it or if they had it brought in, but my stomach growled, and it wasn't the only one when we smelled the food. It didn't take us long to load our plates and head back out to our seats. When we asked why they weren't eating, Carnage explained they'd already eaten. While we ate, the Regulators did most of the talking.

As I ate, I studied the men. You could tell a lot about someone just by observing them on their home turf. You could tell if they took pride in their club. You would recognize which were men used to a fight and usually those who served. There was a lot more, but I wanted to know if they could be trusted to have our backs. We were taking a helluva risk.

"We've got the bastard under surveillance at his daddy's ranch. He's sitting up there all pretty without a care in the world. You can tell he thinks he's untouchable. After what you told us, I can't wait to show him he's fucking wrong," Carnage said with a grin.

"Who has eyes on the fucker?" I growled.

"Ah, it's your woman he wronged. Sin and Vicious only said an old lady was involved, not who she belonged to. Sorry about that. I'd want the motherfucker's blood on principle, but to have it be personal, damn. No worries, Stinger is our sergeant-at-arms, and he has Flint with him. They both served in the military. They know how to stay out of sight. If anything changes, they'll let us know. You guys need rest tonight. In the morning, we can meet to finalize our plans. We've already started forming it. I hope you don't mind. Then we'll ride out later and be ready to take him when it gets dark," he explained.

"Sounds like a plan," I said, although we'd be headed after him tonight if I had my way.

Rowdy chuckled. "I know that look. Man, we get it, and if we thought it was best, we'd be headed there now, but we need patience. Maestro is our computer genius. He gave Flint and Stinger a listening device, and those crazy shits got inside the damn house and were able to plant it. It gave us our best lead. It seems Daddy Judge left for a business trip today. While he's away, his son plans to have a private party. He's called in a few whores and given orders while they're there. No one is to come near the house or to disturb him."

My ears perked up hearing this. It was too good to be true. It didn't surprise me that Mason was bringing in whores. What did was why a forty-one-year-old man was living with his dad and was still single. There had to be a reason. I'd seen pictures, and he wasn't a bad-looking guy, I hated to admit. With his wealth alone, he should've been tied down and producing a kid or two.

"The rumor around town and nearby is he's known to be rough with women, and he likes the whores. He pays extra to be able to hurt them however he wants. Poor women don't have a choice but to let him. We knew we had prostitutes around. Who doesn't? But learning about him led us to find out more about the lead pimp. We'll be doing some work after you all leave," Carnage growled.

He was right. Prostitution was the oldest profession for a reason, and while some chose it, others didn't. I felt for the ones who didn't. It must be bad if they were planning to go after the pimp.

We hung out for a few hours before calling it a night. We'd be meeting in the morning at nine. We needed our rest since we had no idea how long it would be until we got a chance to sleep again. The rooms we were shown were your typical clubhouse rooms. They had a bed, dresser, and nightstand and not a whole lot else. They appeared to be set up where two rooms shared a bathroom between them. It wasn't as nice as having a private one, but better than competing for a communal one. I had enough of those in the Army.

I was pleasantly surprised the shower didn't run out of hot water, even more so when I lay down to find the mattress comfortable. No lumps or springs poking you in the back or ass. Before going to sleep, I called Bella. I wanted to hear her voice. I missed her even though I hadn't been gone a day.

"Hey baby, I didn't wake you, did I?" I asked when she answered, sounding hoarse.

"No, I was awake."

"What's wrong? Don't tell me nothing. I can hear it. Are you alright?" I sat up in alarm.

"I'm fine. I'm just stressing about you guys and what'll happen. Brayden, I'm scared, and I know you told me not to be, but I can't help it. What if you get caught or hurt?"

"Bella, we have a shitload of guys at our back. We've got this. He's the one who should worry. I'll try to call you tomorrow night, but I might be busy." I didn't say more. Even though Phantom had some fancy program with encryption on all our phones and computers, I still didn't want to say more.

"Just promise to text so I know you're safe and unharmed."

"I will. Now, you need to get some sleep, and I need to too. I just needed to hear your voice before I went to sleep. I miss you. Love you so damn much, Bombshell."

She sighed. "I miss and love you too, Brayden. Stay alert and safe. Good luck."

"I will, and thank you. ‘Night."

"Goodnight," she said softly before hanging up.

Leaving her there alone to deal with her nightmares killed me. I tried to get her to let Londyn stay with her while we were gone, but she said no. The most she promised was if it got bad, she'd ask her. I had to accept it, though. I left a bug in Londyn's ear to watch out for her. She promised she would.

Sleep was slow to come. I was worried about Bella but excited over knowing in twenty-four hours, Mason Judge would be mine, and I'd make him pay for what he did to her and what he stole from her all these years.

???

I was up early the next morning. Thank God one of the prospects had made coffee. I gulped down a cup, burning my tongue. I tossed and turned all night. It wasn't long before Sin and Executioner joined me. They went straight for the coffee, too. When they sat down, Sin scanned me.

"Christ brother, did you get any sleep? You look tired as fuck," he stated bluntly.

"It was restless, but I'll be fine. I can go a few days without sleep. How about you guys?"

"Better than yours, not as good as it would be if I were home with my woman," he replied. Ex nodded his head in agreement. Before we said anything else, Torpedo came in. Over the next fifteen minutes, my other brothers trickled into the common area and grabbed coffee.

The prospect kept the coffee coming. He was now back in the kitchen. It wasn't long before I smelled bacon cooking. I wanted to groan. Bacon was the food of the gods, in my opinion. I was starving. We sat talking about Mason and what we wanted to do with him when we got our hands on him. There were so many ways to torture him, but for me, good old fists sounded good, at least for part of it. I had a surprise ending in store for him that I hadn't told anyone.

It wasn't long before Regulators began to join us. The last one came wandering in when the prospect came out and told us breakfast was ready. It was like a stampede when we all jumped to head into the kitchen. Again, there was a huge spread on the counter. I had to ask since I knew the prospect had been the only one in here.

"Does he cook like this often? Did he make dinner last night?"

"He does. He likes to do it, and he's fucking great at it. The food last night was a combo of him and Clutch and Howler's old ladies. You'll get to meet them today. Hell, we'll probably patch him in just to keep his food," Crash teased.

Apparently, the prospect heard this often because all he did was snort. All he said was enjoy, before he walked out. He was off to do more work, no doubt. Clubs kept their prospects busy. Most of the time, it was doing shit jobs. I was eager to have those two coming next week to work out and start. Scrubbing fucking toilets and other shit reminded me too much of the Army. I was willing to do it in my own place but so many men and now kids made the clubhouse a job to clean. More the men than the kids.

It got quiet while we ate. Scraping of forks and spoons and some moans and appreciative sounds was all there was. When we were done, we took the dishes to the kitchen. We could be assholes and leave them in the sink for the prospects to wash, but we did try to do our part, so they got rinsed and put in one of the two huge dishwashers they had.

Back out in the common area, we gathered to get down to business. Since we were all here, no need to wait. A different prospect came in and was ordered outside to guard the door. No prospects, bunnies, or old ladies were allowed in until we were done. The first thing Carnage did was have Maestro open his computer. He tapped a few times, and then we heard a man's gruff voice coming out of it.

"Hey, Stinger, how goes it?" Maestro asked.

"It's like I'm back in the fucking service. Sleeping on the hard ass ground sucked. This fucker stayed home, thank God. He was up late, though."

"Yeah, I listened. He did do one interesting thing," Maestro replied.

"What?" Stinger asked. The rest of us were silently listening.

"He had a late-night call with someone. It was a PI. Seems he was pushing him to look harder. He was screaming at him to find Isobel now. I assumed that's your old lady," he directed this at me.

"Isobel is her real name. She had to change it to Bella because of that son of a bitch. It's how she's stayed hidden from him for six years."

He nodded. "Well, it seems he's sweating it. His dad is getting older, and he's worried he could die anytime, although he's only in his sixties. Anyway, from what he was muttering, I think it's a safe bet your woman is still set to inherit some of the old man's wealth, and his son isn't gonna let that happen."

I swore. "The cocksucker's little brother went after her in the first place due to money. It was to be split three ways after her mom died, and they didn't want Dad to do it. After she killed his brother, she and her stepdad were worried about what the oldest might do."

"She was right to worry. That man is filled with rage and hate. You can hear it in his voice," Maestro added.

"Stinger, you and Flint watch your sixes. I assume Flint is sleeping?" Carnage asked.

"Will do, Pres, and yeah, he took the last shift. I can't wait to get this bastard. The more I hear and see of him, the more I hate his ass. Are we still on for tonight?"

"Yep. We're just getting ready to flesh out the plan. We'll be headed your way this afternoon. We'll text to tell you when we get on the road. Talk later unless you find out something new," Carnage told him.

All we got was a grunt back, and then Maestro tapped a key. That was our signal. We got down to talking strategy. It seemed they had the vehicles and equipment ready to go. We found out the Regulators had a chapter in Sioux City, South Dakota, which was the largest city in the state. It was only a two-and-a-half-hour ride from there to Fairfax. They were the ones to offer up an out-of-the-way spot to take him where we wouldn't be heard. It happened to be near a town not far from Fairfax called Bonesteel.

After we were done with our plans, we spent time talking and getting to know each other. This was more than just a trip to take out Mason Judge. It was also one way to feel out a potential alliance. This was the first step. The next would be to have them come to Tenillo to see where we lived and how we did things. So far, I was leaning toward it being a good thing. No red flags jumped out at me.

The hours seemed to crawl by even though we found ways to stay busy. We were given a tour of the compound, and they told us about their businesses, and we did the same. The same prospect made lunch again. We got to meet Clutch and Howler's old ladies. I thought they'd get along well with our women.

Dinner was a silent and stress-filled affair. It was done early so we could get on the road on a full stomach. As my bike ate up the miles, I tried to relax and strive for patience. I soothed myself with the knowledge he'd be in my hands before the night was over. And by the end of tomorrow, he'd be no more. Good riddance to a monster.