Chapter Twenty-Two

Cash

WE DROVE AROUND for what felt like an hour or so, maybe even two. I got the impression they were taking twists and turns along the way to throw me off, so who knows how far we'd driven from where they'd grabbed me.

My captors were mostly silent during the ride, the only sound was the wailing and moaning of Gloria who had regained consciousness shortly after I was bagged. By the time the van stopped, I was nauseous and completely disoriented. Forced out of the van and marched for about a hundred yards, I was lowered into what I think was a metal folding chair before my hood was removed, the bright lights stinging my eyes until a figure walked in front of me. I glanced up to see Warlock's ugly mug and scowled.

"Cash, my friend, welcome to my new clubhouse," he said. "I'm afraid it's still under construction, as you can see. But it's nice to have our first visitor, nonetheless. I trust your ride here was comfortable?"

I cocked my head. "As opposed to…?"

"As opposed to the fate your boy, Razor, suffered tonight."

I scoffed. "I'm gonna do a lot worse to you, once I get these ties off."

"Oh, such hostility." Warlock chuckled. "I could have killed your friend tonight. But I didn't. I want it to be known that I'm a man of restraint."

"A man who has women beaten and raped is a man of restraint?"

"People make their own destinies," Warlock said. "If they happen to bump into me while on the road they travel, then they must deal with the consequences. Good or bad. Gloria came to me, Cash. Asked for my help and I gave it. I believe in swift conflict resolution. For instance, I have a couple of prospects who have found themselves in some sort of disagreement. I've asked them to meet me here tonight to air their grievances. I hope by inviting you to bear witness to this little ‘trial,' you will see that I am a fair man."

Warlock motioned to Trunk who opened the door and two young men walked in wearing prospect cuts.

"Roscoe, Scratch, I understand the two of you have got some sort of beef to settle," Warlock said.

"That's right," Scratch said, pointing to the guy next to him. "I don't wanna work with this guy."

"Has Roscoe transgressed against you in some way?" Warlock asked.

"Not directly, but I worked on a crew with him a couple o' years ago and he withheld on a robbery."

"Is that something you can prove?" Warlock challenged.

"No, but I know it for a fact, and I don't trust him, and I don't wanna work with him."

"And there's no possible way you can be dissuaded?"

Scratch shook his head. "Nah, no fuckin' way."

"Scratch, are you packin'?"

"Yeah, Warlock, always."

Warlock nodded. "Good. I want you to shoot Roscoe in the face."

"Wh…What?" he breathed out on a nervous laugh.

Warlock waved at Roscoe as if giving him the same offer and before Scratch could draw, Roscoe shot him right between the eyes.

"Ah, there you go," Warlock said, clapping his hands. "But before I conclude this matter, Roscoe, is what Scratch said about you withholding money on a previous job true? And be warned, I'll know if you're lying."

"Yeah, boss, I kept a little more than my share," Roscoe fessed up.

"Thank you for your honesty, Roscoe," Warlock said. "And know that if you ever withhold from me, being dead will be the least of your worries, you understand me?"

"Yes, boss."

"Good, now go get a fuckin' mop and clean this shit up."

If Warlock's intent for me witnessing this exchange was to better understand what kind of man he was, then he succeeded. He was a calculating psychopath who was not going to be told what to do on any level. The way he spoke made it clear, he believed he was the smartest man in the room and if I was going to get myself out of this shit, I was going to have to make him believe I believed it, too.

"So, young Cash." Warlock turned to focus on me again. "By now, you may be wondering why I've invited you here tonight."

"Is that what you call kidnapping?" I retorted. "An invitation?"

"You'll have to forgive me, my original intent was to request the presence of one of Hatch's children, but they've all seemed to go underground, so I had to make my move on the next best thing."

I let out a deep, dramatic sigh. One that Teagan would be proud of. "It's always so disappointing to know you weren't the first choice for the dance."

"Oh, don't worry, I'm sure the son of a VP knows all the latest steps."

"I know the one where my crew dances on your face when they find me," I said, realizing suddenly that Teagan had my tracker.

Fuck, shit, fuck.

Warlock laughed. "Not in a million years. After the ambush at the O.K. Corral that was our previous clubhouse… an ambush that I believe your club was involved with if I'm not mistaken… Oh, anyway, that's all just blood under the bridge now. Anyway, after our clubhouse was surrounded, shot to hell, and our members slaughtered, I thought it wise to procure a new base of operations. It's a highly secured and well-hidden facility that neither your club nor law-enforcement will ever find."

"I don't know, chief, the world's a small place and it's gettin' smaller," I said. "It's gettin' harder and harder for roaches like you to find dark places to run to and hide."

"Oh no, you misunderstand me. I'm not running or hiding. As a matter of fact, I'm just getting started. The Spiders will not only reclaim the throne they once sat on, but we're gonna follow Wolf's expansion plans. However, you'll find me much smarter than my predecessor. Wolf was an impulsive hot head and men like that are never good for business. I, on the other hand, can torture and murder a man without the threat of a single emotion getting in the way of completing my directive."

"That I have no problem believing," I muttered.

"You shouldn't," he snapped, dropping his pleasantries. "I can make your stay here with us comfortable or not."

"What's your plan here, Warlock?" I asked. "What's the point in holding me at all?"

"First of all, I took you to show Hatch I can get to any of his guys any time I want." He puffed out his chest. "Secondly, I need him to sever his ties with those Colorado assholes and turn his grow over to me. You're here to ensure your president does as he's told."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Then I'll be digging two graves," motioning to the corpse, previously known as Scratch.

I scoffed. "I coulda saved you the trouble of kidnapping me with a single phone call."

"What the fuck are you talkin' about?"

"Hatch may have set up our deal with the Howlers, but he put me in charge of the operation," I lied. The truth of the matter was, the most I'd ever done for the operation was to quality control test the product from time to time.

Warlock raised an eyebrow. "So you're the fly in my ointment."

"No, I'm the key to you gettin' what you want right here and right now," I said. "Give me back my phone and I'll prove it."

"You must think I'm an idiot," Warlock said.

"No, I think you're a man who wants to make money and I can make that happen for you."

"Who you gonna call?" Warlock asked, crossing his arms.

"I'm gonna call Sundance directly. Don't worry, I'll let you dial, and you can put it on speaker."

I had no idea if this bluff would work. Since telepathy was out of the question, I just had to figure out a way to signal my situation to Sundance without tipping off Warlock but I had an idea.

Warlock turned to Trunk. "Get me the boy's phone."

Trunk brought my phone and Warlock held it to my face to unlock it, then he scrolled down to Sundance's number and dialed, putting it on speaker.

"Hey, Cash," Sundance said on the first ring. "You okay? Got a call from your dad a while ago sayin' they were lookin' for you."

"Yeah, don't worry about that. This is a business call and I need you to listen to me carefully," I said. "I don't have a lot of time to talk, so I'm gonna level with you. The Dogs have overcommitted ourselves with this grow operation and since I'm the one running it, I'm making a call to you directly. An interested third party has come in to take over our share, and we've agreed. It's not a big deal. It'll be just like the arrangement you have with Eddie Chapman and Lando with that guy from London. You understand?"

"Well, I can't say I'm not disappointed," Sundance said. "I like workin' with you guys, but so long as our end stays the same, I don't see a problem."

I relaxed a little. I always knew Sundance was a hell of an MC president, and a world history aficionado, but he was also apparently, one hell of an improv actor.

"Good, I'll get you in touch with your new partner and I wish you all the best."

"Alright, I'll wait for your call," Sundance said, disconnecting the call.

I cocked my head. "See? That's how the Dogs handle things. No point in getting nasty. Now, it's as good as done, so there's no point in keeping me here."

"If this is a set up or you're tryin' to fuck with me, I'm gonna cut that girlfriend of yours to pieces right in front of you," Warlock warned. "I told you, I can get to anyone at any time."

"I've been straight with you this whole time," I lied. "When you don't deal in intimidation, all you have is your word. Sundance and his club trust us, if I say we're makin' a move, they don't have a problem following, so long as it doesn't interfere with them earning. But I'll tell you one thing, now that I've set this new deal in motion, if I don't get back to my club in one piece, this whole thing'll blow up."

Warlock studied me for a few tense seconds before turning to Trunk. "Bag up Loverboy and the bitch, drive 'em out to the marsh, and drop 'em off. Toss his phone a hundred yards as you're drivin' off." Turning back to me he said, "Again, if I don't have a solid deal with the Primal Howlers within forty-eight hours, I'm gonna rain hell down on both o' your clubs and even your friends in the FBI aren't gonna be able to identify your bodies."

I glanced at him.

"I told you," Warlock warned. "I'm smarter than my predecessors."

"All I want, is to make peace and for my club to be left alone."

"Get him outta here," Warlock said, and I was driven to a remote area outside of Portland.

* * *

Teagan

Booker walked into the great room and sat down across from me, Dani, Kim, and Mom. Daisy and Huck had also arrived by then, so Daisy was smooshed right up against me, holding my hand. "Sundance just called. Cash reached out."

"Sundance? Why would Cash call him? Is he okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, sweetheart, he was when he called. Club business. Sundance said that he was talking in code, so he must have had eyes and ears on him." Booker looked at Dani. "They dropped him off near the marsh lands, we're gonna go get him now."

"I'm going with you," I said.

"No way, this could be another ambush for all we know," Booker said. "The last thing I'm gonna do is put you in danger. We're gonna pick him up and bring him right back here, I promise."

"Then why are you still here, honey?" Dani challenged.

Booker leaned down to kiss her and then headed out, a group of about six other brothers following, including my dad. I flopped back onto the sofa, bursting into tears again, but this time they were tears of relief.

I ran my thumb across my engagement ring with my left hand as my right continued to stroke Cash's anchor around my neck, my heart in my throat as the minutes ticked by. When my phone buzzed beside me about ten minutes after Booker left, I nearly jumped out of my seat. "Cash?"

"Hey, Turtle."

"Hi," I sobbed out. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, baby, I'm good."

"Is Booker there yet?"

"No. It's gonna take him a little bit. Just needed to hear your voice."

"Oh my god, I was so worried," I rasped.

"I know, honey, I'm sorry."

"I'm going to hand the phone to your mom, okay?" I said.

"Yeah."

I handed my phone to Dani who gave me a thankful smile. "Hey, baby. You're okay? Fuck, thank god. Okay. Yeah. Dad's on his way. Right. Yeah, we'll get the update when you get back here. God, I'm so glad you're okay. I love you. I'm gonna give the phone back to your girl. Okay, baby. See you soon."

She handed me the phone and I said, "Hey."

"Hey, beautiful."

"Hurry home, jackass," Daisy ordered, loud enough for him to hear.

Cash chuckled. "Tell her I'm workin' on it."

"He said he's working on it."

Daisy gave me a worried smile and nodded.

"When you get back here, I'm going to fucking chip you," I warned.

"I'm gonna let you," he promised. "I see lights, Turtle, I'm gonna let you go."

"Okay." I swallowed. "Please get back here safe."

"I will, honey. Love you."

"Love you, too."

We rang off and I sagged against Daisy.

"I'm gonna get breakfast going," Dani said, rising to her feet.

"I'll help," Mom offered, then waved her hand toward us when Daisy and I offered. "No, you girls stay put."

"I could really use something to do, Mama," I said. "Kill a little time."

"You sure?"

I nodded. "Definitely. I'm just gonna check on Razor really quick."

"Okay, sweetie."

I headed down the hall to Hatch's room where Razor was convalescing and knocked on the door. Katie opened the door and smiled. "Hey."

"Hi. I wanted to check on Razor."

"Come on in. He's being ornery, which is a good sign."

I walked in and stalled. "Jesus."

"What?" Razor mumbled through his swollen mouth. "You don't think I'm still hot as fuck?"

"Pleading the fifth on that one, buddy." I sat beside the bed and took his hand. "You okay?"

"I'm good, sweetheart. I'm on some good shit."

"Cash is coming home."

Razor smiled. "Hatch told me. That's great news."

"I'm really sorry you got beat up because of Gloria the Whoria."

"Yeah, she's a cunt, but it's okay." Razor smiled, one tooth missing in the front. "We're gonna get retribution, T. Don't worry about it."

"We're making breakfast. Do you want something? Oatmeal, maybe?" I teased.

"If you don't make me bacon, I'll be pissed," he growled.

I chuckled. "Bacon it is."

I gave his hand a gentle squeeze and headed into the kitchen to help with breakfast. First up, bacon for Razor.