Spawn Chapter 4

Looking back over the past few days, I thought I was upset enough, waiting for the Gusevs to get off their asses and make their way to Bristol. Sure, we could’ve gone after them in Richmond. since we knew without a doubt they were involved in the illegal shit with Andrik, and they were the ones who hurt Troian and left her for dead. I didn’t know how Lash was keeping himself together. If I were in his shoes, I’d want to kill them. However, going to them rather than letting them come to us posed bigger risks.

In Richmond, we didn’t know the area like the back of our hands. We’d have no places to easily take them and carry out their punishment like we did here. Not only did we have places, we knew people and had our allies close at hand. We didn’t stick out here like we would there. People noticed things that were out of the ordinary, especially bikers.

No, the smart thing was to wait for them to come to where we had all the advantages. We’d be able to make them disappear and do it with the least amount of risk to us. As much as we told the women there was nothing to worry about, there was. As careful as we were and the planning we did, there was no guarantee that something wouldn’t go wrong. Some of us could be hurt or killed, or we could be caught. However, it was a risk we’d all gladly take. This was about keeping not only our brother’s woman but also other people safe.

It was this goal that was on my mind when I got an alert from the dump site. Watching the video and seeing it was them, sent a thrill through me. We could now end this. I sent out the notification to all my brothers.

Me: They’re here. Just triggered the cameras at the site. They’re losing it. Get back as soon as you can. I’ll have them tracked with the other cameras in town. We’ll figure out where they’re staying and do our thing. See you in a bit.

The replies came back one after the other, with my brothers promising to be here as soon as possible. I knew it might take some longer than others to wrap up whatever they were doing at work, but Lash would be one of the first to come back. His reply backed up my assumption.

While I waited for them to get here, I worked the other camera feeds I was able to access around town to use to track them when they left the dump site. Their conversation pissed me off. These bastards deserved everything they had coming.

It wasn’t long before I heard a knock on my open door. I glanced up to find Reaper standing there with an expectant look on his face. When he saw he had my attention, he walked in. As president, he really didn’t need to knock before entering, but he did. He leaned over and put his hands on my desk as he studied me intently. “Tell me you know where they’re at,” he ordered.

“They’re still searching the site, but as soon as they leave, I should be able to track them on the other cameras. Don’t worry, if I have anything to do with it, those dirty, no-good cocksuckers will be dead by morning at the latest.”

He laughed. “Getting more bloodthirsty in your old age, Spawn?”

I rolled my eyes. “Pres, you know me better than that. I’ve always been bloodthirsty. I have the name Spawn for more than one reason,” I reminded him.

“That’s for sure. Poor bastards don’t know what they have unleashed against them, do they? I only hope with this information, we can keep Lash calm until we’re ready to roll.”

“He’ll struggle, but he’ll hang tight. This is too important for him not to. He’ll do anything to protect Troian.”

“Yeah, he loves that woman. Think she’s gonna stay? I know she’s still upset with all of us.”

“He does, and I’m hopeful. She was talking more the other night and joking around. She said she wasn’t promising to stay, but the way she acts with him, you know she loves him too,” I assured him. Reaper worried about us like we were not only his brothers but sometimes as if we were his kids, even if he wasn’t much older than some of us.

“How’s it going with her new friend? I ain’t talked to her much, but she seems to be a feisty one, and she appears genuine in her friendship with Troian.”

“She is her friend. It might not have been long since they met, but those two are tight. She’s an interesting woman.”

He grinned at me and raised a brow. “Interesting? Is that all? Hell, I thought you were over there all the time because she caught your attention, but if not, you should tell your brothers. More than a few checked her out at Arya’s party. I bet they’d like to get to know her.” He smirked.

Heat filled me as a bolt of white-hot anger flared through me at the thought of anyone wanting Kimera, let alone it being one of my brothers. I snapped before I thought about it. “If one of them goes near her, I’ll beat his ass into the ground. She’s not available!”

Reaper burst out laughing and lightly pounded his hand on the desk. “Hot damn, I knew it! The little nurse has you by the balls, doesn’t she?”

I scowled at him and tried to cover my slip. “She doesn’t have me by anything. She just doesn’t need men panting after her. She’s not here for hookups.”

“Who said anything about a hookup? She could be an old lady for one of them. Tinker has been looking for years for a woman. Hell, so have Mayhem and Crusher, although they might deny it. I think she’ll be a good fit with the club and the other women. I overheard Alisse picking her brain about being a nurse. You don’t need to worry about her being treated like a hang around or bunny. She’ll be snapped up as an old lady,” he said confidently.

I knew I had to cut this line of thinking off even if he might be saying it to instigate me, so I gave up the pretense. He could warn away any of the others thinking they had a shot with Kimera. I stood and leaned over the table toward him. He watched me with a slight smirk.

“Pres, I say this with total respect and love, but if any of them dare to make a move on Kimera, they’ll get to meet my inner Spawn. Kimera isn’t gonna be the old lady of one of my brothers.”

He leaned even closer. “Then whose old lady will she be?” he asked softly.

“Mine, you baiting, provoking, infuriating fucker. Kimera is destined to be my woman.”

A satisfied look came over his face. “Good. That’s what I wanted to hear. I think she’s perfect for you. How does the pursuit go? Do we need to order a property cut yet?”

“She’s stubborn and thinks she’s here until we get Troian’s problem settled. Then she’ll go home. I’m working on her. It takes time and finesse with her. I’m not ready for the cut yet, but when I am, you’ll know it. Do you think I should announce to the guys she’s hands off?”

“I don’t think you need to. They can all see the way you watch her when you’ve both been in the clubhouse at the same time. And they know you practically live at Lash’s house rather than yours. They know,” he said.

“You’re not planning to hold another get-together soon, are you? If so, give me a heads-up so I can get her cut made. No way I’ll let her walk around without one if those horny shits, the Warriors, Pagans, Horsemen, or Marauders, come around. She’ll wear it if I have to tie it to her,” I growled, thinking of them.

He chuckled. “Nah, I don’t have one planned yet, but you never know. I’ll give you at least two weeks’ heads-up if something changes. Now, from the sound of the noise coming down this hall, I think most, if not all, of the brothers are here. Let’s go tell them what you found and get this moving.”

“One sec, I just need to let Smoke know I’m stepping away,” I told him. I used my phone to send my computer sensei a text. Once it was sent, I nodded and followed Reaper to the common room.

The noise was much greater there. Reaper got everyone’s attention when he let out a loud, ear-piercing whistle and then lifted his finger to circle it in the air. We all knew what that meant and headed into church. I was in the lead with him. Hurrying to my seat, I opened my laptop to pull up the video for them to watch and listen to.

“You know why we’re here. Spawn has the Gusevs in Bristol. Show them the video,” Reaper ordered—short, sweet, and to the point. It wasn’t long before I had it projected on the wall, and they watched. I had to switch cameras when the Gusevs walked out of sight. This showed them getting into a Tahoe and driving off. When that happened, I shut it off.

“Please tell me you were able to pick them up in town?” Lash pleaded with me.

“I have, and that’s being monitored by Smoke right now while I do this,” I said smugly. He, Everly, and the other hackers were all working on it.

“How did you get so much video? I thought those only took short snapshots with the audio,” Mayhem asked.

I explained how I tinkered around with the store-bought ones to make them better before telling them the Gusevs were aimlessly riding around town. I assured them, “As soon as they stop for the night, we can put our final plan in motion.”

“What if they don’t stay in town?” Sandman asked.

“I don’t see that happening. They’re too anxious to finish this and make sure their operation isn’t about to be blown to hell and back,” Maniac said before I could. Reaper agreed with him and ordered us to relax until I had the location, then we’d move out tonight. They all got up and filed out. I stayed behind to get my laptop stowed and to check something before heading over to Lash’s. I knew he’d go straight home to tell Troian the news. I wanted to be there for the discussion.

Minutes later, when I walked up to his house, I only slowed down long enough to knock on the front door before entering. We didn’t stand on ceremony around here. Unless you locked your door, you had to expect someone to walk in. The couples had learned to do that, although we did try to wait to be invited inside those houses. Close calls in catching them having sex had made us learn that lesson. The women seemed to get embarrassed, and our brothers were mean when someone saw their women naked. I understood their reactions now. No way did I want anyone to see Kimera naked.

As I rounded the corner into his living room, I sought out Kimera. She was seated with them, and she wasn’t smiling. When I glanced at him and Troian, he gave me an amused look. I sat on the couch next to Kimera. “Did you tell them already?” I asked.

“I was just explaining it, yes. They know they’re here and riding around town and that we’ll go tonight once we know where they’re staying.”

“Well, at least you’re home tonight, and we don’t have to worry about you going to work,” I said to Kimera. That would make protection easier.

“Actually, I’m not off. I have to be on-call, and if they call, I have to go in,” she informed me.

That was the last thing I wanted to hear. I frowned. “You can’t. We’ll need all the guys here or with us. You’ll have to tell them you can’t do it.”

She glared at me as if I’d suggested something terrible, like kicking puppies. “No, I won’t. First of all, I was the one to say yes when someone called off. Second, this is my work. I have obligations. Third, you don’t tell me what to do. Fourth, I don’t need anyone to escort me. I’ve been telling you that. No one knows I even know Troi. There’s no reason to target me.”

“And what if we’re wrong and someone saw you pick her up outside the hospital? And that someone just happens to get asked by one of her cousins, and they share it? It can happen, and it’s not worth the risk,” I argued back.

“Spawn, you’re talking crazy. The odds of that are a million to one, if that. No one saw me, and even if they did, why would they tell perfect strangers that information if asked? No, I’ll be fine. You guys just take care of those bastards and protect the women and kids here. I’ll be good. I have my gun if I need it.”

“You don’t think they’ll have guns too? Goddamn it, woman, listen to reason. I know you’re tough. No one doubts it, but you can’t take risks like this.”

“I’m not at risk! How will they know?”

We glared at each other. Troian interrupted our staring contest. “Won’t it be dangerous and more likely someone might see you guys with them if you have to go into a hotel or some place to get them?”

“It is, but we’ll be careful,” Lash was quick to assure her.

“Why risk it? Instead, why not get their attention while they’re out riding around town and lead them to somewhere private?” she added.

“Babe, that’s a good idea, but how would we do that?” he asked.

“You take me to town, and you let them spot me. As soon as they do, we leave town, and they follow us. We lead them to your brothers so you can ambush them,” she said calmly.

That set off Lash, and he told her it wasn’t happening and why it wouldn’t work. He was loud doing it, not that I blamed him. She bucked up to him. “Lash, don’t you take that tone with me. I’m not your child, nor will I be yelled at.”

He tried to backpedal and then used her recent surgery as an excuse.

“In that case, let me do it. I’ll call off and tell them I have a family emergency out of town. I won’t go to work if you let me pretend to be her,” Kimera said out of nowhere. A moment of stunned silence was quickly replaced by me shooting it down. I tried logic.

“And how the hell do you think you can pull that off, woman? You’re shorter than her, and you have a totally different hair color,” I pointed out.

“If I’m in the car, they won’t notice a few inches less, and as for my hair, it’s about the same length. I’ve got a box of hair color. At night, it’ll fool them at a distance. I can have it done in an hour. I’ll style it like hers and be ready to go.”

“That’s the dumbest idea I ever heard. No, you can’t do it. And Troian isn’t either,” I snarled. Over my dead body, she’d do it. Setting herself up as a target was insane.

“Oh really? What’s wrong with it? They won’t get their hands on her, and she won’t be out there potentially risking her health so soon after surgery. I can use a gun, and if they get stupid, I can help. You won’t need to surround the car with a bunch of men. Surely, you have guys stealthy enough to hide in plain sight.” Kimera scoffed.

“We do have guys stealthy enough, but that’s not the point. The point is, we don’t let our women put themselves in harm’s way. We protect them and eliminate threats to them,” I explained as calmly as I could when all I wanted to do was snatch her up and lock her away.

“Well, I’m not one of your women, so I don’t count,” she replied.

I knew commanding her wasn’t working so I went for humor, not my usual method. “Did you forget we were talking about how many kids we want? I’d say that makes you one of our women,” I reminded her.

She rolled her eyes. “I believe that was to be determined with a fighting match that you men have no hope of winning, so that’s not going to happen. Even if you did win, I don’t see you settling down, Studcake.”

“Why the hell not?” I asked, knowing I sounded offended, which I was.

“You’re a player and used to having women fall at your feet and giving it up at a snap of your fingers. You go for quantity. I need quality and monogamy. We’re not compatible. Although, if all I wanted was sex—one and done—then I’d give you a whirl.”

I found myself sputtering. It was painful. As I searched for my voice, Lash jumped back in. He told them no one was going out and they needed to stay here. He also told Kimera that if she did get called into work, Colt would be the one she had to take with her as an escort slash guard. They didn’t give up. I left, although I hated to, so I could continue to track the men. Once I knew where they were spending the night, I let Reaper know, and he called everyone back for church.