CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

“Archie destroyed his phone, and we think he’s bought another,” said Carl as the men traveled west toward Nashville. “There’s been no activity, no pinging, nothing. He obviously suspected that we’d follow him with the phone.”

“So, we’re going in blind,” frowned Jonas.

“Maybe not,” said Dan. “We know that he likes higher-end hotels, nice restaurants, and according to the detectives in Lexington, he’s cut his hair and shaved. The video footage from the hotel seems to confirm that.”

“There must be dozens of nice hotels in Nashville,” said Jonas. “How are we going to find the one that he might be at?”

“We wait,” said Jak. “The team back home has been following traffic cam footage to see if we can get a good idea of where he headed or stopped. So far, they’ve been able to track him all the way through Bowling Green, Kentucky. He’s definitely headed to Nashville.”

The drive was slow and tedious, with snow falling at a progressively bothersome rate. They were in specially fitted SUVs with snow tires and other equipment. If they were going slow, Archie could have pulled over anywhere and decided to spend the night. The longer they were battling the elements, the more they thought it might be a good idea to do just that, pull over.

“We can’t help anyone if we’re all dead from sliding off the road,” frowned Carl.

“There’s a small hotel chain up ahead,” said U-Jin. “It’s not top-tier, but it’s clean, safe, and has a small restaurant.”

“That’s the place we go,” said Carl.

By the time they pulled into the parking lot, the snow was coming down even harder. With fifteen men, they needed at least seven rooms with two beds each. They crossed their fingers, hoping that it was available.

“You’re in luck,” said the older man at the desk. “We’ve had a lot of cancellations because of weather. I’ve got seven doubles, but one of them has a pull-out sofa bed. I’ll give you fellas a ten percent discount considering the conditions.”

“That’s perfect,” said Carl. “We’ll take them all.”

As the man got their key cards ready, the rest of the men grabbed their bags and secured the vehicles.

“Is it supposed to be like this all night?” asked Jonas.

“Until early morning, according to the weather folks. But then again, they’re almost always wrong,” he chuckled. “I’d say it’ll let up around three or four. You should be good to go by breakfast. The plows will be out early, and the main highway is usually kept clear.”

“That’s great. Is the restaurant open?” he asked.

“Yes, sir. Edie and Tom live across the highway, so they can walk to work. Both are great and always here when I need them. Order the chicken pot pie or the burger. They’re a favorite of our guests and the locals, but honestly, everything is delicious.”

The men nodded their thanks, heading upstairs to drop their bags in the rooms. When that was done, they met back downstairs, pushing several tables together to order food.

“How can I help you, boys?” said the woman.

“You must be Edie,” smiled Carl. “We’ve heard wonderful things about your chicken pot pie.”

“Best in the county if I do say so myself,” she grinned. “I got plenty of that. Our burgers are delicious. I also made venison stew tonight. Tom caught the deer just this week.”

After giving their orders and grabbing some sodas from the self-dispense fountain, they sat back down to notice that other than an elderly couple and a young couple with three children, they were the only ones in the hotel.

“He must have made it to Nashville,” said Jonas.

“Don’t panic,” said Dan. “We know that he used an alias to check in at the hotel in Lexington, so chances are good he’s doing the same in Nashville. If his father helped him out, he could have several options available to him.”

“Dan is right,” said Jak. “Even if he made it to Nashville, he’s going to be socked in there as well.”

“I know you’re right,” nodded Jonas. “I just want this guy behind bars and for all of this to end. I need Khloe to be safe.” The men all smirked at him, chuckling.

“What?” he asked.

“That’s the first time you’ve spoken about getting this guy because of Khloe and not mentioning your late wife,” said BJ. “Not that you shouldn’t mention her. It’s just that we were starting to worry that this was a vendetta that had nothing to do with Khloe.”

“Did you think I would find him and leave Khloe?” he asked, feeling somewhat offended.

“It’s been known to happen,” said Rett. Jonas opened his mouth, then shook his head, closing it again.

“Listen, brother, we don’t know you well enough to judge all of your intentions yet. We know you have feelings for Khloe, and we know that you deserve retribution for your wife and children. We just don’t want anyone hurt.”

Jonas was quiet for a few long moments. He was thinking about all the things he’d said and done, wondering if perhaps he was on a vendetta mission. Shaking his head, he leaned back in his chair, staring at the fourteen faces of his new team, his new friends.

“I’m sorry if you thought that this was all about my past,” he said quietly.

“Brother, you don’t need to be sorry,” said Carl. “We’ve all been there. We’ve all experienced something similar to what you’re feeling right now. You deserve to nail this bastard for what he did. But once he’s gone, once you’ve done that, will your feelings for Khloe change at all?”

“No.” He was resolute in his response. “No. Definitely not. Khloe was the first woman I’ve even looked at since all this happened. I knew the moment I saw her that she was special, and I wanted to get to know her. The reality is that if you told me I had to leave and return to Belle Fleur right now, I would go. I would trust that all of you would find him and end this.

“What I couldn’t live with is if we allow this man to slip through our fingers, and he finds Khloe, harming her. That I can’t live with. Nothing that I do will bring my late wife and children to me. Nothing. I’ve accepted that. But accepting anything happening to the woman I love? That I can’t live with.”

“That’s all we wanted to hear,” smirked Mike. “The women are a lot better at knowing when someone truly loves another. We kind of have to be dicks about it and be a little pushy. We love Khloe, brother. She was someone we all knew, and we knew her story. That kid showed the most amazing bravery and determination we’d ever seen.”

“She told me the story about how Wade carried her out of that warehouse,” said Jonas.

“She was a fucking mess, Jonas,” said Carl. “Riley didn’t think she would survive the night, yet somehow, she did. After twenty-four hours, we got her to the pond, and that seemed to bring some life to her. It was an easy decision to keep her with us as her family when we discovered her own folks had deserted her.”

“I’ll never understand people who leave their children to die,” said Jonas.

“None of us understands that. It’s why we do what we do,” said Ham.

“You don’t have to tell me,” smirked Carl. “My brothers and sisters and I were about to be sold in a child trafficking ring.”

“I-I didn’t know that,” said Jonas.

“It’s alright, man. It seems like someone else’s story now. We’ve had such a wonderful life. Luke, he was the one watching out for all of us. He was just a kid himself, but he was trying to feed us, get us to school, anything to keep our lives normal.

“Our parents owed some Russian drug dealers for the drugs they bought. That ultimately killed them. Since they weren’t around to pay them, the Russians thought they’d sell us and recoup some of their losses. None of us knew that our lives would be altered forever. Ryan and Aunt Ella were caught up in the same ring. So was Robin and her sisters.”

“Shit,” muttered Jonas.

“Yeah. We know a thing or two about wanting vengeance. Lucky for us, these big, huge bastards bought us,” he laughed. “Uncles Gabriel, Bull, and John got us out of there. Uncle Bull, he sang us to sleep that night. Best night’s sleep of my life. The next day, Dad and Mom, they decided they would adopt us. We didn’t have anyone to go to, and we didn’t want to go into the system. They took us, Jonas. All six of us. Damaged, traumatized, scared to death, but they took us all and loved us like nothing I’ve ever experienced before or since.”

“That’s remarkable,” smiled Jonas.

“That’s Belle Fleur. That’s REAPER, REAPER-Patriots, Steel Patriots, Voodoo Guardians, and Gray Wolf. It’s all of us. We love harder than anyone else. We hunt faster than anyone else. And we punish without question. Archie will pay for what he did to your wife and unborn children.”

“I know,” nodded Jonas. “Mama Irene told me that he would pay in ways I couldn’t imagine. I can’t explain it, but that old woman made me feel as though she knew something I didn’t.”

“Oh, that’s a guarantee,” laughed BJ.

“Gentlemen, here’s your food,” said the waitress, setting down plate after plate of hot, delicious food. “Eat up, and I’ll get you some pie. On the house.”

U-Jin was the first to dig in, devouring the first few bites of the venison stew as the others laughed at him. He looked up, gravy on his chin.

“What?” Dan laughed, shaking his head.

“Nothing, brother. You just look like a starving man.”