Chapter 3

CHAPTERTHREE

I had been called a lot of names in my life, however, judgmental had never been one of them.

I stood outside in the warm Hawaiian sun and watched Jane as she entered the hotel. I stood there longer, giving her time to catch an elevator up to our floor. By the time I was back in my room I was no less perplexed but I was smiling as I pulled my lockpicking kit from my bag and tossed it on the dresser.

First things first.

I needed information.

I’d start with my teammate, Rhode. He’d have no trouble running a search on Jane’s father. Once I had the basics I’d have Wilson get in contact with Shepherd Drexel, a hacker we frequently used and have him dig up the dirt on Jane’s father.

The phone rang twice before Rhode answered, “How’s Hawaii?”

“Frustrating. I need you to find Jane’s father. She mentioned Montana, so I’d start there. The only other info I got out of her was he’s a biker and goes by the club name, Satan.”

“Satan?” Rhode spat.

“Yup. Jane called him the devil and implied he was on the level of Zeus.”

“She give you anything else?”

“Just that she called at Zeus’s suggestion because her father’s planning on using her as payment.”

I’d known Rhode Daley a long time—I didn’t need to see the man to know he was now vibrating with the same anger I’d felt when Jane had slipped up and told me what she was running from. And I knew it was a slip up; the crazy woman would rather go on the run by herself than accept our help.

“The fuck?” Rhode seethed. “Payment?”

“That’s what she said.”

“Not that it fucking matters but did she tell you what she’s payment for?”

Yep, same response I’d had.

“She’s not being very forthright. As in, she’s not talking at all.”

I could hear Rhode angrily tapping on his keyboard, but it was the whistled exhale that made my jaw tighten.

“What’d you find?” I asked.

“Apple didn’t even fall off the tree with these two,” Rhode started. “Everything from armed robbery to shoplifting.”

“Name,” I growled. Jesus, was this guy’s name top secret?

“Carl Lawrence. Sixty-five. He’s done three stints in jail. One for grand theft auto, did nine months—released early for good behavior and inmate overpopulation. One for the armed robbery charge, did two years for that. One for violating a restraining order, did a week for that and paid the fifteen thousand dollar fine. I’m emailing you his sheet now.”

Where the hell was Jane while her father served his time?

“What about her mother?”

“April Morgan.”

Jane Morgan.

Jane was using her mother’s last name.

“Where is she?”

“Died in childbirth. No arrests. Married to Carl for less than two years when she died. That’s all I have on her.”

“Where in Montana is Carl?”

“Fucking hell,” Rhode groundout. “Fucking, motherfucker—”

“What?”

“Jane’s father isn’t a biker, he’s the king fucking biker. There’s been movies made about his club and not the fluffy documentary kind about bikers who do good for their communities, the major motion picture kind about rivalry and war. Satan is the president of the Montana chapter of Ares Motorcycle Club.”

‘Fucking hell’ didn’t cover what a colossal issue this was.

The Ares was on the Justice Department’s list of the top four deadliest motorcycles gangs in the US. At last count their membership, including the support clubs, rivaled the number of active HA members.

“It’s starting to make sense,” Rhode put it.

“What is?”

“Zeus. The Horsemen. Ares is the son of Zeus and Hera, the Greek god of war. The horses of Ares, the four horses of the apocalypse—the Horsemen.”

“Are you turning into Cole? How the hell do you know this?”

Cole Keniston was Takeback’s resident sage. He could spout off some obscure philosophical theory, or recite a poem, or quote the Buddha at the drop of a hat.

“Google.”

Well, that explained Rhode’s sudden mythology expertise.

“While you’re at it why don’t you Google how the hell we’re going to neutralize Jane’s father.”

There was a beat of silence that told me I wasn’t going to like what Rhode had to say.

“I’ll talk to Wilson, but Davis, this might not be something we can fix without starting a war we might not be able to win. We’re talking Ares, not the Horsemen. They span all over the world. If the president of a chapter wants his daughter, he’s going to have the support of the entire club. You know this culture. Jane’s unclaimed. She’s Satan’s property.”

Satan’s property.

Christ.

That made my stomach roil.

“I’ll claim her.”

“Say again?”

I understood my friend’s shock. I was still reeling from the stupidity of my suggestion, but actually that might work.

“I’ll claim her,” I said with more conviction. “I’ll marry her.”

“Dude, I get you trying to protect her. I don’t want to see Carl get his hands on her any more than you do. Wilson will feel the same. We’re in the business of rescuing women, not handing them over to men who want to do them harm. But again, we’re not talking about the Horsemen. And you’re not in that life—I’m not sure you marrying her is going to matter to an outlaw motorcycle gang.”

Rhode was right. Marrying Jane wouldn’t offer her much protection, but it was still going to happen.

“I’m marrying her and we’ll go from there.”

“Please, for the love of God, don’t marry the woman.”

“We’ll get it—”

“Seriously. If you marry Jane, you realize that my woman’s head will pop off and spin around in circles. First Reese and Sadie, then Letty and River when we’ve been planning our wedding the longest. If you’re really going to do this, I’m taking Brooklyn to the courthouse this afternoon.”

As Rhode spoke I walked to the window and looked out at the beautiful beach.

“You should make that appointment, Rhode. I plan on marrying Jane by this evening.”

“Does Jane have a say in this fucked-up plan of yours?”

Sure she did, as long as her answer was yes.

“She’ll see it my way,” I lied, knowing damn, good, and well Jane was going to fight me tooth and nail.

For some reason I liked the thought of Jane pitching a fit.

She was unlike any woman I’d ever been attracted to. I liked shy, quiet women. Not subservient but reserved.

Jane Morgan was not reserved, she was hot-headed when pushed.

Oh, yeah, this was going to be fun.

“I gotta go talk to Jane,” I told Rhode and went to the dresser to get my kit.

“What about Zeus?”

I opened the adjoining door to the room next to mine and stared at the still-closed door that led to Jane’s room.

“Fuck Zeus.”

With that I hung up and went to work picking the lock that would open the door to my soon-to-be-wife’s room.

The fuck of it was, I felt no hesitation.