Daredevil Chapter 8

It was midnight when Moose and I drove onto the street two streets over from Laz's address. We didn't wear our cuts or ride our bikes, too conspicuous. The car we parked in a dark part of the street away from any houses. We even took the license plate off. It was a quiet suburban street so we doubted the cops would be patrolling it. It was one you would never think anything bad ever happened on.

Maestro came through for us. He was almost as formidable as Phantom and Tamysin. He not only got us the address but gave us stats on Laz's neighbors and verified he had no monitored security system. We'd still have to be careful in case he had one he didn't have monitored. To finish off our incognito efforts, we were dressed all in black and our faces were covered. Sure he could say it was us but he'd have no proof. Gloves would prevent us from leaving fingerprints and our covered heads ruled out hair being left behind with DNA on it. Yeah, we were maybe going a tad overboard but I went at it like it was a mission. Moose was more than grateful to allow me to take the lead on this.

We used the backyards of the other houses to make our way to his. Some had fences but most were open. The few with fences we scaled after ensuring they had no dogs. Maestro told us which homes he found with dog licenses or tags but there was a chance someone might have an unregistered one. I breathed a sigh of relief when we made it to Laz's house without raising an alarm of any kind. Phase one complete. Phase two was entering the house undetected.

A useful skill I picked up from Boomer was how to pick locks. It worked unless it was a deadbolt. He learned it in his misspent youth growing up in an outlaw MC. Most of the guys in our club had him teach them how to do it. We loved teaching each other new skills. In less than a minute, I had it unlocked. Cautiously, I cracked the door open. There was no blaring alarm. I opened it further. Still nothing. Giving Moose a thumbs up, we entered.

The house was pitch dark so we presumed he was in bed. We knew he was home tonight based on some kind of monitoring Maestro was doing on him. We didn't bother to ask for details. It was his domain and we trusted him not to steer us wrong. It was different working with someone other than Phantom and Tamysin but good. Laz lived in a small one-story ranch. We came straight into the living room. Off to the left was a small kitchen we discovered.

Working our way to the other doors, we found two were closed and two were open. We discovered one of the open ones was a bathroom. The other was a home office-gym combo. Now the tricky part. If we went in too noisily in the remaining two rooms, we might end up startling him awake and giving him time to call for help. Our way to do it was to divide up. We each took a door. When I held up a third finger, we both slowly turned the doorknobs and cracked the doors open. I had mine almost open wide enough to squeeze in when I heard a light snore. Bingo, I had the lucky door. I stepped back and signaled to Moose my room was the one.

He joined me and tiptoed in behind me. It was dark but there was just enough light to see the bed and a vague lump under the covers. We slithered up to the bed and stood on either side of it. Taking a chance, I snapped on my tiny flashlight then slapped my hand over Laz's mouth before he had time to react. His eyes snapped open and went so wide I could see the whites clear around his irises. He tried to struggle to get loose but Moose pinned him to the bed by placing both his meaty hands on his shoulders and pressing him into the mattress. I swear I saw Laz sink a few inches because Moose pushed so hard.

"Stop!" I barked gruffly. "We're not here to hurt you unless you force us to. We're here to explain a few things. The longer you fight the worse it'll get."

He kept trying for about a minute or more then slowly he stopped. I still had my hand over his mouth. I wasn't doing a whole lot to disguise my voice other than to speak in a deeper tone.

"I'm going to lift my hand. If you scream, my friend there will suffocate you so you stop screaming. Nod if you understand the rules." I instructed him.

He swiftly nodded. I eased back. When my hand was clear, he started talking. "Who are you? What do you want? I don't have any money. Take what you want and leave."

"Didn't you listen? We're here to talk, not to steal from you. Who we are isn't important. What is, is our message. We heard you seem to be giving a coworker a hard time. We want to know why," I stated next.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't done anything to anyone. Whoever told you that is lying."

"Fucking liar! We know you are," Moose hissed.

Laz didn't bother to deny it again or to say anything. I went back to my spiel. "There's been more than one witness to the things you've been saying to a certain female firefighter. It's not been appreciated nor is it true. They don't like liars or sore losers. Admit it, the only reason you're acting this way is because you wanted her and never gave it a shot and now you know you'll never have her."

His gaze sharpened then his eyes narrowed. He was figuring out who we were. Honestly, I would've jumped to that conclusion immediately, especially when we mentioned him giving a coworker a hard time. He was a bit slow. "You're Daredevil," he snarled, then he turned his head toward Moose. "And that means you're Moose. I'll have your asses thrown in jail for this."

We both chuckled darkly. "We have no idea who you're referring to, but if we were those two people, you threatening to have us arrested would be stupid. What's preventing us from killing you so you won't tell?" I asked.

"You can't do that. If you do, the cops will know who did it. Enough people saw you confront me today and besides, I told friends if I disappear to tell the cops it was you."

I didn't know if the last bit was true or not, not that it would deter me. I could and would take him out if I needed to and make it so there was no evidence leading to me. Instead of shaking in fear, I laughed.

"Listen, if this Daredevil and Moose wanted to kill you, they would and they'd be smart enough not to leave a trail of evidence implicating themselves, but we digress. Here's your warning. Stay away from your coworker. Don't talk to or say a word about this person's life and character. Their life and choices are none of your business. If you don't, we'll be back when you least expect it and we won't be as nice next time. You're making powerful enemies. Don't ruin your life or worse," I added. We'd been here long enough. It was time to go.

Moose still had his hands on Laz's shoulders. He shook him hard. "Say you understand!"

"I-I understand," Laz muttered. By the expression on his face, we knew he hated saying it and the likelihood of him keeping his mouth shut were slim, but it was on his head if he didn't. He knew the consequences now.

"Good night, little prick," I whispered a second before I punched him in the jaw. I knew exactly where to hit and how hard to do it to knock his ass out. His eyes rolled back and he was out. We hurried out of the room, closing the door behind us and retraced our steps until we were back to the car. We replaced the license plate and took off our masks then headed to her place. It was mostly a waste of a night but he'd been warned. Anything to come would be earned with full knowledge of what was in store for him.

"Do you think he'll stop?" Moose asked.

"Nope. He might even up the trash talk. We have to be prepared for him to do it, as well as to do worse. She's gonna have to be prepared. I think he would've gone to physical intimidation eventually, but we pushed it up. I hate the risk to her. We can't be with her twenty-four seven when she's working and that's when she's the most vulnerable. Other times one of us can be with her."

"I hate it too, but she's no damsel in distress kinda woman. After what happened to her parents, hell even before they died, she was taught how to fight and defend herself. My dad, me and the whole club intensified her training after they were killed. She carries a gun at all times except on the job. They aren't allowed to while on duty. They say the firefighters can't have one even in their cars on the premises but I guarantee you, she violates that rule every day," he said smugly.

His remark about carrying on duty got me thinking. I'd have to ask Phantom or Tamysin to check if it was permitted in Texas. If it was, that would go on my pro list.

"I feel better knowing she does and can fight, but I still want eyes on her whenever we can."

"We can do it but she's not gonna like it. She'll argue she can take care of herself. Be prepared for her to push back. You gotta know, my cousin is a strong woman and she won't be led or ordered by anyone, not even the man she ends up with," he warned me.

"I figured she wouldn't almost as soon as I met her. I don't want a woman I have to order around or think for. My life partner needs to be an independent thinker, but when it comes to her health and safety and that of our children, she'll have to let me have free rein. It's not within me to not be a protector."

"You'll need to work to get her to accept it, but I think you'll get her to see the importance, especially when it comes to children. Shit, I never expected to be talking to you about this. Don't hurt her, Daredevil. I like you, but I won't hesitate to hurt or kill you if you do."

"Understood. I'd do the same for my sister and any of my daughters, if I have any. Speaking of which, for my sanity Shain needs to only give me sons."

He laughed. "Bastard, you've jinxed it now. You've set the universe against you to only give you girls. Good luck."

I scowled at him the rest of the way home while he kept cackling like a demented fool.

When we got back, it was to find her pacing in her living room, waiting for us. She insisted on knowing everything we did and said and what Laz said. She wasn't happy but she didn't rebuke us for doing it. We told her how she had to be on alert. She rolled her eyes and assured us she always was. We wisely kept the guard thing to ourselves. It was in the early hours of morning when we said good night to her. I ached to sleep with her, but it would come. I didn't ask with Moose standing there. I didn't want her to feel awkward or pressured one way or the other. After what we experienced earlier in her bedroom, I was confident it would be soon.