Chapter 26

To our relief, the Feds are quick to mobilize.

We meet them in their Anaheim field office, where DEA and ATF agents have already joined the conversation. The upper floor bullpen is flooded with people working around the clock to get as much intel as possible on each of Colton’s followers and associates. The phones are ringing off the hook. Emails and image files keep pouring into every available computer. Dale Johnson barks orders left and right while his junior agents liaise with partner agencies to gather everything into a single, centralized system of information.

Kai, Drake, and I stand in the middle of the room, staring at a massive LCD screen that’s linked to the main computer where all this intel is being moved. We’ve got screenshots, photos, case files, criminal records, surveillance imagery from professional long-range cameras, and CCTV footage. Facial recognition software is running in the background as we slowly but surely begin to see the greater, fuller picture.

“Twenty hours left,” Dale says, loud enough for every busy bee in this place to hear. “The clock is ticking, ladies and gentlemen. Colton will likely set up a meeting spot. Twenty hours until our Blackthorn Riders here make the call and tell the fucker they agree to his terms and conditions. Let’s move!”

“Colton knows we’re working with you,” I say to Dale as he comes over. “He’ll expect a trap.”

“We won’t give him that. He may be smart, Mr. Williams, but he certainly isn’t smarter than the brilliant operatives we have working here today,” he says with a confident smirk. “The minute he grabbed Nadia, he took a risk. It’s his last gamble and his greatest one yet. He’s aware of the risks and the repercussions, but he does not have full control over the parameters.”

“It is imperative that we get Nadia back alive,” I say, reiterating our main concern. “I presume you’ll let us go out in the field with the rest of your team.”

Dale gives me a hard look. “My supervisor hasn’t agreed to that.”

“He’s going to have to agree to that,” Kai replies. “We’re going in either way, whether you like it or not. It’s better if we’re sanctioned, though.”

“Or I could just arrest you and keep you locked up until it’s over and done with,” Dale shoots back.

“Good luck getting the rest of us in line,” Drake replies. “You seem to forget the kind of people you’re dealing with. The kind of people you need to avoid a fucking blood bath with because that’s what Colton is angling for.”

“You can’t shut us out,” I tell Dale. “We’ve brought you this far. You owe us that much.”

“Where are they?” Quicksilver’s voice booms across the bullpen, and my eyes immediately start to roll as I brace myself for another round of Kessler fallout.

“Ah, fuck,” Kai groans and rubs the back of his neck.

“Keep calm,” I tell him and Drake. “He has every right to feel this way.”

“You!” Michael snarls once he sets his sights on us. He is immediately flanked by two federal agents. They do a decent job of holding him back, but this man wasn’t nicknamed Quicksilver for nothing. In a matter of seconds, he wrestles out of their grip and crosses the bullpen, but Dale gets in the way, unafraid to point his service gun at him. “I’m going to kill you!” Michael snarls but instantly freezes when he sees the muzzle staring back at him.

“One move, Mr. Kessler, and I will shoot,” Dale calmly tells him. “I understand what you’re feeling, and I am sympathetic. But these gentlemen have as much interest as you in getting Nadia back alive and in one piece.”

“Interest? They’re the reason she was taken!” Quicksilver snaps, a vein furiously throbbing along his temple. There is anger in his blue eyes as he scowls at us. Anger and pain, but not hatred. Deep down, I think he sees us struggling, too.

“We’re in this together, Quick,” I say, my voice uneven, wrought with emotion. “I swear to God we were cautious.”

“Someone from the inside tipped Colton off,” Drake says, trying to reason with him.

“My baby could die because of you,” he says, but I can see he’s cooling his jets with each passing second. Eventually, Dale puts his weapon back in its holster, and Michael lowers his gaze. “Don’t let her die. I can’t lose her, too.”

“We won’t lose her,” I say.

“You destroyed my family,” he mutters.

Kai clears his throat. “Quick, be reasonable here. We love Nadia, all right? We love her and we care about her very much. We want her back, just as much as you. Can’t we put this strife aside until she’s out of Colton’s reach? We’re bringing our A-game to the table.”

“I will kill you when it’s over,” Quick replies, but he can’t look any of us in the eye.

“Mr. Kessler, need I remind you that you’re making threats in front of a federal agent smack in the middle of a federal building?” Dale interjects. “Now, are we going to play nice and get along, or do I have to send you down to lockup until we sort this out?”

Michael glances around him, then takes a deep breath and lets it out, ever so slowly.

“What do we know so far?” he asks, his voice mellower than a few seconds ago. “Do you have proof of life?”

“No,” Dale says. “But we do believe that she’s alive. I doubt Colton will touch Nadia.”

“Not yet. He’ll kill her when she’s no longer useful,” Michael says, swallowing back his own fear as he peers deep into my soul. “You three got her into this mess and you three need to get her out.”

“It’s what we’re doing here,” I reply.

“I need her back. Her and the babies.”

“The babies?” Drake gasps.

Quicksilver gives him a hard scowl. “Maybe it’ll incentivize you sons of bitches to do everything in your power to save her.”

“Wait, Quick,” I manage, the air violently knocked out of my lungs. “What are you talking about?”

“Nadia is pregnant—with twins,” he replies.

A moment passes, then two. Then time loses its fluidity and I’m left staring at Quicksilver as I struggle to process what he just said. Nadia is pregnant. She hasn’t said a word to any of us. As it begins to set in, the harder it lands deep in my chest.

“Colton cannot know about this,” Drake mumbles, his eyes wide with horror.

“He doesn’t, not unless Nadia tells him,” Quick says. “What can I do to help?”

“We’re putting together a task force,” Dale immediately jumps back into business, eager to explain the details to Nadia’s father. Anything to keep the old man distracted and make him feel useful in light of this particular development.

This should’ve been a joyous revelation. Nadia should’ve told us herself, but then again, with everything that’s been going on, I can’t exactly blame her for keeping quiet about it.

My head is blurry, my heart is jumping, and my stomach is twisting itself into painful knots. Judging by the look on Kai and Drake’s faces, they’re going through an equally gut-wrenching process.

Colton Harrow has our pregnant girlfriend. The woman of our dreams. The love of our life. Nadia must be terrified, alone, and in the clutches of that fucking monster, holding in one hell of a secret. If that fucker learns about the pregnancy, I shudder to think about what he’ll do. I dread any possible scenario at this point.

Minutes pass while the three of us absentmindedly listen to Dale as he explains the details of our operation to Michael. I keep telling myself that it will get worse before it gets better and that I just need to ride this out. But the hits keep coming, harder and deeper each time, and now I’ve got the love of my life in mortal danger.

My mind is blank other than a paralyzing fear inhabiting it, and I don’t know what to do with fear. It’s supposed to be fuel for men to do great things, yet all it does is bring my demons back with a vengeance. What we did in the Navy we swore we’d never do again, sanctioned or otherwise.

One look at Kai and I know he’s thinking the same thing.

“We’ve got eyes all over Anaheim and across key points in Orange County,” Dale tells Quick. “We’ll get a line on your daughter soon enough.”

“And if you don’t?”

“I think we need a slightly different approach, but your approval is required,” I say to Dale.

He gives me a curious look. “What are you suggesting?”

“The boys and I pay another visit to every other club in Orange County,” I reply.

“You did that and nothing panned out,” Dale scoffs.

“You betrayed their code, surely they’re not interested,” Quicksilver adds, shaking his head.

I give them both a hard, unyielding look. “I have no intention of asking them nicely.”

“Orry’s right. We need to do this the hard way,” Drake interjects. “But that means pushing some boundaries your law-abiding colleagues may not approve of. We need some leeway.”

“Nobody is getting killed,” Dale snaps.

Kai puts on his coldest, meanest grin as he crosses his arms. “Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. I’ve got ways of making people talk without a single drop of blood being spilled.”

“Dial it down if you want the FBI to sanction anything that you’re about to do,” Dale replies.

“Do we have your go- head or not?” I ask, determined to get a yes out of this.

He nods once.

And so, the rules of the game have changed. While I may not be a fan of this buried side of ours, it’s clearly a prerequisite of what is about to unfold. I promised Quicksilver I’m going to do everything in my power to get his daughter back. And I can tell from the slight nod and look on his face that he understands what we’re about to do.