Chapter 23

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

"Gage?" He didn't recognize the voice trying to cut through the fog in his brain.

"Shit, they messed him up good." Nor did he recognize that voice. Who the hell were these people and why were they trying to wake him when all he wanted to do was sleep off the pain?

Fuck, he was sore all over. Why the hell was he so sore? Did he get run over by a truck and not remember it?

The first man spoke again. "Gage? Black sent us. We’re his team from Boston. We need you to wake up and tell us what you know about where they took Dani."

It took a few seconds for what he said to register.

Gage shot up like someone injected pure adrenaline straight into his veins. He ignored the stabbing pain in his ribs and the pounding in his head as he sat on the ground and looked around at the six men surrounding him.

"Where's Dani?"

"That's what we were hoping you could tell us. Black sent us straight here when the perimeter was breached but it looks like we were a little too late."

Some of what happened slowly started to creep back in. The alarm on his phone going off, the call he received just seconds before that, the loud roar of motorcycles.

"The Hell Raisers’ clubhouse. That's where they would've taken her."

"I take it that's who these fine gentlemen are?"

Another voice he didn't recognize called out from the bushes, where Gage had hidden the bodies.

"Yeah." He did his best to clear his head, and took stock of his injuries. He was sure he had a broken rib or two. Definitely a concussion. He touched his nose.

Yup, broken. But that was easy enough to fix. It wasn't the first time it happened nor was it the first time he corrected it himself. It was best not to think about it and just do it. His eyes watered and the man directly in front of him winced.

"I was going to ask if you wanted a hand with that but I guess not."

He probably should learn these guys’ names otherwise they were going to be Thing One through Six in his head. Not exactly the most polite way to treat allies. But his head was hurting too much to give a shit let alone remember anything. Besides, he had better things to do with his time. Like find Dani before they killed her.

"You must be the black ops team."

"That's us. The name's Matthew."

Matthew held his hand out and Gage took it and allowed the man to help him up. He didn't have time to be sitting around making pleasantries, but considering he was seeing two of Matthew at the moment, he figured he needed the extra few minutes to convince these guys he was okay enough to rescue Dani. Otherwise, they would be sending his ass to the hospital and that was the last place he wanted to be.

"Gage. But I guess you already knew that since you said my name."

"I mean, I knew we were sent to help Gage, and Black gave me a general description, so I hoped it was you. I figured if not, I’d just knock you out again."

Well, that was good to know. Not the knocking-out-again part. He doubted his head could take any more of a beating. He’d definitely lost a few brain cells already today.

"We need to get to Dani. There's no telling what they plan to do to her."

"You sure you're up for the task?"

He pushed past Matthew and headed straight for the SUV as his answer. He was proud that he kept the sway to a minimum. Nothing was going to stop him from going to get his girl. He hid the pain the best he could and figured he was successful considering no one questioned him again.

The drive to the clubhouse was mostly silent. From what he knew about this team, they had worked together for a long time, although most of that time was spent overseas. They rarely worked stateside but they were between assignments and Black said they were getting restless. That was why he sent them to Pennsylvania in the first place. Their primary role was supposed to be watching the jail but Dani's capture changed things.

"Black texted," the team member sitting in the passenger seat relayed to the group. "We're being redirected to a different location."

"What, no? Dani doesn't have time for us to go somewhere else." He would jump out of the moving vehicle before he let them lead him anywhere else. Injuries be damned. Dani needed him.

"We don't have a choice. The DEA is moving in tonight. They’re letting us tag along but only if we don't interfere with the warrant they’re about to execute."

Fucking hell.

Gage didn't know if this was a good thing or not. The DEA had to follow the government’s rules. He wasn't too keen on those after what the Army did to him, but was he physically capable of the punishment he wanted to dish out? He evaluated his body and hated to admit it, but he probably wasn't capable of much. Especially if there was more than one or two guys.

He should be on his way to the hospital. If he was lucky, there was no internal bleeding happening at the moment. The truth was he didn't care about his own health. Nothing mattered to him but finding Dani. She would kick his ass later for it but he was fine with that. She needed to be alive to do it and he would make sure she was. After that she could complain as much as she wanted about him putting her life before his. He would relish it even.

They pulled up outside a run-down warehouse. Based on the appearance, the building was abandoned, but that all changed once they were escorted through one of the many roll-up garage doors.

Inside was a different story. It was command central. Multiple blacked-out SUVs, similar to the one they were in, filled the space. Men and women in different stages of tactical equipment moved around the area with ease. Some were huddled in groups while others checked their weapons. It was similar to how his team looked just before they went out on an assignment but on a much larger scale.

One man looked out of place, but Gage knew instantly who he was as the man approached.

"You must be Gage. I heard you've been looking for me." There was no malice in his tone despite the current situation.

“You were the mysterious phone call I received tonight.” It wasn’t a question. He recognized the voice.

“I was. I’m sorry I couldn’t call sooner. Things happened quickly and I called as soon as it was safe for me to do so. Then I called my boss and told him it was time.”

"I take it you're the man undercover with the Hell Raisers?" The fact that he was still wearing the club’s cut was the first indication. Even with head trauma he could put that together.

"I am. Agent Knight." The agent put his hand out and Gage shook it. "I heard they kidnapped Dani. I'm sorry about the mess I caused. The last raid wasn’t supposed to happen. An overeager detective figured they would use the fight to make a name for themselves. Thankfully, it didn't blow my cover but, man, I regret the target it put on Dani's head."

He appreciated the man's honesty and the explanation helped clear some things up. The DEA would never have allowed such a thing to take place knowing they had someone deep undercover.

"How long you been under?"

"Six years and I'm happy it's finally over. We had a lot on them but the agency wanted something unrelated to give them a reason to go in. The kidnapping helped with that. Fortunately for us, they had a huge shipment of weapons and drugs come in early this morning and they aren't scheduled to move them until tomorrow. We got lucky. It's enough to put these guys away for a long time."

Gage liked the sound of that, even if he preferred their lives to be over for good.

"Do we know who has her?"

"Their club president, Ace, and your old friend, Mark."

"Mark?" Dani was seeing him after they broke up but how did he get mixed in with the Hell Raisers? The man never rode a motorcycle as far as he knew. Not to mention Gage’s ex-best friend was too prissy to get his hands dirty. The man was handed everything on a silver platter. He didn't know the meaning of hard work if it slapped him in the face. How they were ever friends was beyond him. His younger self made some shitty choices.

"Yup. He's been trying to get in with the Hell Raisers for years but they wouldn't take him. Not until two days ago when he promised to get his hands on Dani for them. They brought him in as a prospect but Ace plans to kill him after he gets what he wants."

Good. Let the asshole take the trash out for me. It was one less body I’ll have on my conscience. Or what was left of the damn thing.

"When do we roll out? I’m itching to get out of here.”

"Ten minutes,” Knight answered. “My team just wanted to make sure you didn't plan to go rogue. We need to keep this on the right side of the law if we want the charges to stick. And we need this to stick if you don’t want a target on Dani’s head forever. Which means we go in first."

He understood he needed to play by the DEA's rules. Black hadn't said it specifically but they probably had eyes on the clubhouse. His team never would've gotten within twenty feet of it without being hauled away in cuffs. He much preferred they killed everyone associated with the Hell Raisers to ensure she was safe but he would take what he could get for the time being.

Gage bit down hard on his back molars. This was one of the many reasons he didn't like working with federal or local agencies. They had too many rules for him.

"It's either that or you stay here." Agent Knight knew him well.

"Fine. Just get me to my girl before something happens to her and all will be well."

"I'll do my best. Give me five and then we roll out."

That five minutes was spent watching Knight transform from a Hell Raisers club member to an agent. The ripped jeans were traded for a pair of black cargos that matched the rest of his team. The cut was discarded, and a bulletproof vest took its place. Even the agent's greasy hair was tied back into a tight ponytail that instantly transformed his entire demeanor.

He loaded back into the SUV with the rest of Black's Boston team as they drove to the clubhouse. Waiting outside while the DEA served their warrant was torture. A million scenarios raced through his mind all at once, all of them worse than the one before it.

Gage was ready to come out of his skin when they finally got the all-clear to enter the building. They were advised both Mark and Ace were dead but he blocked the information out for the time being. He pushed down the pain threatening to cripple him and raced inside. It was another agent he didn't recognize who called to him from across the room.

"Dani?" Gage skidded across the floor to where she was slumped over with a needle hanging out of her arm.

Shit, shit, shit.

"Get the medic in here!" he yelled to no one in particular. If Mark and Ace weren't already dead, he would kill them all over again for what they did to her.

This was going to destroy her. Relapse was the one thing she was petrified of.

"Damn it . . ." Agent Knight knelt down next to him. "I was hoping we’d get to her in time."

"She's going to be fine. We'll get her to the hospital and she'll be fine. I'll make sure of it."

Dani mumbled something about spilling secrets but he didn't pay much attention. He looked around the destroyed clubhouse and locked on to the two medics making their way into the room.

"Over here!"

The next few minutes were a blur of them tending to Dani and getting her loaded up into the ambulance. When they tried to tell him he couldn't ride along, he fought until Agent Knight stepped in.

In the end he was granted permission to ride to the hospital with her as long as he agreed to be looked at as well. He would've agreed to anything if it meant he had the chance to stay with her.

The whole way there he prayed she would be okay because if she wasn't, he didn't know what he would do without her.