CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Maverick
The Next Day
My cut rolls over my shoulders, and even though I want to groan because my head is pounding like a motherfucker from my hangover, I turn back to my bed where Sadie is sleeping soundly. A slow smile crosses my face, my tense body relaxing instantly, watching how calm she finally is. After walking out into the clubroom last night and seeing her drowning her sorrows, carrying the burden alone, I am more than happy to leave her here, finally getting some much-needed rest and the peace she deserves.
But while her mind is at rest, mine is racing at full speed, even if my head hurts like hell. Because though we got out of Vegas unscathed, the Serpents now know Sadie is hanging around with another club, and it won't be long until they figure out who, if they haven't already, and they will come sniffing around.
And I am not okay with that.
Quietly making my way out of the bedroom, I step out to find Alpha. He's not in the main clubroom, but the Chapel door is open, so I am assuming he's not in there either. I figure the next place he would be is with the VP in his den.
I head for Loki's main office. The giant security door beeps then opens, and Alpha pops his head out.
Bingo!
"Just having a chat with the VP about Sadie and these Serpents," Alpha offers as if he knows exactly why I am here.
I dip my head. "Mind if I join? I have an idea I wanna run by you."
He pushes the door open wider, and I enter Loki's tech den. On the screens are profiles of all the Serpent members.
It seems they have been discussing this.
Alpha leans back on the desk, his arms folded across his chest. "Sadie tell you anything we don't already know?"
"No, you know everything. But what I am thinking is that these fuckers know she's with us, and if they don't know it's us, they will be scouring the video feeds until they figure out our club logo. Then, they'll be here within the next few days."
Loki nods. "That's exactly what we've been discussing."
I throw my hands to the side. "We need to go on the offensive rather than waiting for the defensive attack that's surely coming."
Alpha sits back, raising his brow. "You wanna hit the Serpents?"
"We didn't get what we needed from the conference, right? Sure, we got some information that could buy us a little time, but technically, we're still up shit creek without paddles or a life vest and with weighted concrete boots on our damn feet. We're drowning, Pres."
Loki narrows his eyes on me, the cogs starting to turn in his head, and then he starts typing into his computer. "They have a farm. I'm bringing up the schematics of how big their plantation is."
I smile, knowing Loki is following my wavelength, though Alpha stares at us like he's still trying to catch up. "Their clubhouse is in Arizona. What good is that to us?"
Loki cranes his neck to the side. "Okay. Pres, Sadie is a part of this club now. Right, Mav?" Loki asks.
"One hundred percent."
Loki lets out an amused laugh. "All right, then we're doing this?"
"You wanna fill me in, seeing as I'm your fucking president?" Alpha grunts.
Loki types something into his computer, and it pops up on the screen. "Their farm is only slightly smaller than ours, though theirs is illegal. From what I can see, they have their own transportation trucks that are made for shipping their cargo across the Mexican border. Pres, they have a lot of trucks and even more produce."
Alpha sits back against the desk with his hands behind his head, a slow smile crossing his face. "We have zero produce and no way to transport anything across borders. But if we were to go in and steal a heap of produce and put it in their trucks, hiding it in transportation we know passes border checks… we could get it all safely from Arizona back to LA," Alpha declares.
"Now you're following," I tell him.
Loki lets out a small exhale. "There's just one problem… they will have the farm guarded. We would need a distraction at the clubhouse to stop the rest of the club from coming down to help once we take the initial guards out. It would have to be something big to stop them from attending an alert at the farm," Loki suggests, turning to me with his brow raised.
I instantly hear what he is putting down.
Shaking my head swiftly, I fold my hands over my chest. "No. Fuck no. No fucking way! That's not going to happen."
Alpha sits forward, placing his hands on the table. "Using Sadie as bait is the only option to help the club, Maverick."
I snort out a laugh. "Who knows what kind of fucked-up shit those assholes could do to Sadie in the time it takes us to get all the plants, ship them out, and then come in to rescue her. No. And it's a hard no."
Alpha sits back, rubbing at his beard. "Okay. What about this? Haven takes her in. Says she will offer the bastards a deal for her—"
"Actually, that's a good fucking plan, Pres," Loki interrupts, then continues, "If Haven goes in there with her, she can protect her while we're gathering the crops. This is a winning fucking plan," Loki states.
Alpha doesn't say anything more. He simply looks at me and shrugs. I scrub at my face, letting out a long groan, and start pacing the den floor. "You assure me that Haven will protect Sadie… with her life!"
"I wouldn't send my Old Lady in there if I didn't think she was capable of protecting them both, Mav. You have my word on that. She's your sister too. Don't you think she will want to keep you happy?" Alpha states.
"What if Sadie won't do it?" I ask.
"It's in her best interest. At the end of the day, the people she fears the most will be dead, and she will be free. There really is no choice for her."
Sinking back down into the nearest chair, I huff, defeated. "Okay. It makes sense."
"This was your plan, Mav. You wanted offensive. This is how we do it," Alpha states.
Nodding, I crane my neck to the side. "Me and my big, motherfucking mouth."
Loki and Alpha chuckle.
"It's a good plan, Mav. This is going to work. You wanna tell Sadie, or do you think something this official is better coming from me as president?"
I hesitate, trying to think about the best option here. If Alpha tells her, she will feel pressured into it. I don't want her to feel like she's going from one bad club to another.
So I will ask her.
Not tell her.
I will not force her into anything she doesn't want to do. "I'll go talk to her. It should be me."
Alpha nods. "Let me know when you're done, and I will call Church to let the guys know about our plans moving forward. We need to plan this in great detail to get a precise hit. We do not want any blunders on the way."
"Got it. Let me talk to Sadie first. Make sure she is on board. It all rests on her shoulders." I stand and go to walk out.
Alpha calls out. "Mav?"
I turn back. "Yeah?"
"Do what's best for Sadie. Whatever that may be for her at the moment. If we need to find another way, we will."
My chest instantly feels lighter. "Thanks, appreciate that. But I will try."
"That's all I ask."
With a heavy chest and a pounding head that's now worse than when I walked out of my room, I head back in that direction. Upon opening the door, I see Sadie lying in bed, topless, only wearing her panties. With a slow breath, I walk over, kick off my boots, and slowly slide into the bed beside her, holding her warm, silky body.
She stirs, her hand instantly moving to her head as she lets out a small groan. "Urgh, my head."
I sigh. "And I'm about to make it worse."
Her eyes shoot open as she shifts, looking up at me in clear fear.
I caress her face, trying to ease her anguish. "No. Stop. Everything is fine. The guys and I have come up with a plan to get back at the Serpents, but it involves you, and I'm not sure you're going to like it."
She sits up cross-legged on the bed, and I move, facing her. She steadies her shoulders, preparing herself. "Okay… just tell me."
I reach out for her hand then look into her eyes. "We need a way to fix our money issues."
"Yeah. I feel so terrible I fucked that up for you."
I tilt my head. "But in a way, you didn't." She furrows her brows, confused, as I continue, "The farm in Yuma, they transport in trucks from the cartel."
"Yeah?"
"These trucks have been cleared by border patrol. They're practically invisible."
A slow grin forms on her face. "I hear a plan developing, but I am not following it just yet."
"We're going to raid the Serpent farm and use their trucks to drive their product back here to LA. The amount of product they have should get us by for a while until we can figure out another way to fix our crops."
Sadie scrunches up her face. "But how will you get in there to steal it without them noticing?"
I tighten my hand on hers. "This is the part you're not going to like." She stares at me intently as I prepare to tell her. "Our idea is to have Haven take you into the club as a trade. She would be going in to give you to them wanting compensation in return, purely as a distraction while the rest of us are dealing with the crops. We think they will be too focused on you while we take out the men at the farm. And Haven will take care of you. On the way through with the crops, we come in and get you both, dealing with the rest of the club in the process."
Her eyes widen, her breath catching like she is shocked by this idea, tears flooding her cheeks.
"You don't have to do it if it's too much for you. Alpha already said we can find another—"
"I'll do it," she blurts out.
I jerk my head back. "Wait! What?"
"I'll do it. You guys have helped me, and you're going out of your way to take them out at the end of all this to ensure I don't have to worry about them anymore. So, yes. Sign me up."
I can't help but chuckle before I lean in to kiss her. That all-too-familiar spark ignites inside me at how unbelievably strong and fierce my woman is. "You're fucking tough. I'm in awe of you, cupcake."
"I only found that strength when I met you."
I reach out, my hand sweeping up into her hair, and I pull her to me, kissing her with everything I have.
Even though the thought of pulling this heist off terrifies me, the thought of not wiping the Serpents off the face of the earth scares me a hell of a lot more.
I need them gone.
So I can start a life with the woman I'm falling madly, deeply, and completely head over heels for.
A life without Sadie is a life I can not and do not want to contemplate.