Chapter 36

Static

Istood up as Rainer and Torres walked into the back area of the jail. A grin split my face as I reached between the bars to shake Rainer”s hand. ”Guys, this is US Attorney Jack Rainer.”

Everyone was staring at Rainer, and Lockout shook his head. ”Why am I not surprised you know a US Attorney?”

Rainer scoffed at the question. ”I”ve been trying to recruit Reed here for years. We could use his skills on a federal level.”

”For those of us who are admittedly dumbasses,” Smoke called out from his cell, ”could someone explain what”s going on?”

I chuckled. ”A US Attorney prosecutes cases on a federal level. While district attorneys, like Fremont, prosecute for the State.”

Smoke”s face lit up. ”So you outrank Fremont,” he concluded.

”Yeah,” Rainer replied, frowning at me. ”John Fremont?”

”That”s what this is about.” I met Torres”s curious gaze. ”If you two are willing to work with me, I have a case that”s going to make all our careers.”

Torres”s brows shot up. ”Why me?”

”I trust you.”

Torres chuckled at that. ”You looked like you wanted to kill me the day you saw me and Gwen talking.”

”I did,” I admitted with a wry grin. ”But since then I”ve done some digging.” I wasn”t going to tell him we planted those drugs. It would just get the club in trouble. ”We needed someone we could trust not to give in to Fremont if he tried to sway you. Your reputation for walking the straight and narrow is solid.”

”Thanks.” He looked around. ”So, I try to date your...”

”Girlfriend,” I growled.

”Girlfriend,” he agreed. ”And you hand me a case that will supposedly make my career? Whose girlfriend do I need to hit on to get a promotion?” He grinned, looking around at the others.

”No,” Hush growled at him, glaring the officer down. None of the others looked happy about Torres”s joke either.

He held up his hands in a universal sign for peace. ”Kidding.” He sobered and looked at me. ”I can probably get you out, start a case, but I”m not going to be able to get everyone else out. Not yet.”

”That”s fine,” Lock told him. ”Just get Static out so we can put all this to bed.”

”Too bad the rest of you will be too late.”

We all stared across the hall at one of the men standing at the bars. He gave us a nasty smile.

”What the fuck does that mean?” Rip asked him.

”If you know something,” Torres said, ”speak up. Or I”ll add withholding evidence to your charges.”

The man rolled his eyes. ”Like I”m scared of that,” he replied. He met my gaze. ”We know we”re fucked. If Fremont is going down, so are we.”

”You are,” I agreed.

”Maybe you could help us out. In exchange for information.”

Rainer cleared his throat and wrapped an arm around Torres”s shoulders. ”Why don”t we go work on getting Reed out of that jail cell.”

”But we should-”

”Get Reed out of that jail cell,” he interrupted, steering Torres toward the front of the building.

Watching them go, I waited until the door shut and focused on the man again. Idaho”s PI had investigated these assholes, but for the life of me, I couldn”t remember which one this was. It didn”t matter. He didn”t matter.

”What kind of information you have to trade?” Lock asked. He was standing at the front of his cage, arms resting on one of the horizontal bars on the cell. He gave off a calm, collected vibe, but I knew he was as tense as I was.

”Fremont”s going to have you killed,” one of the others muttered.

The man hesitated, then shrugged. ”Fucking life”s over anyway. May as well get what I can.” He glared at me. ”What kind of deal can you get for me?”

”I don”t know yet,” I told him. ”It”s going to depend on the US Attorney out there.” Now that I”d brought Rainer and the US Attorney General into this, a lot of the decision making process would be taken out of my hands. That was fine by me.

The man considered my words. ”You”ll try to get me a deal?”

”If the information is worth it,” I told him.

”Is your woman”s life worth it? And her kid?”

We all went silent and dread filled my chest. ”What do you mean?”

”Got a call from Fremont right before we came after you. We were just supposed to follow you, but Fremont needed you out of the way. Distracted. Said your woman and her kid were going to the hospital and he was planning on taking them.”

”Rainer!” I bellowed.

He and Torres came running back. The cop who”d given me the phone call was on their heels. ”What?”

”I have to get the fuck out of this cell. Now!”

Rainer searched my face, then nodded. ”Get him out,” he told the officer with the keys. ”I”ll handle everything,” he interrupted when the cop started to argue. ”Let him out.”

I shoved out of the cell, heading back to where they had all my shit and dressed as fast as I could right there in the storage area. Slapping the USB drive into Torres”s hand, I told him, ”Be careful. Fremont has a bunch of cops on his side. This is evidence that Fremont is taking bribes and blackmailing people into paying him to get them lighter sentences or to drop cases completely. Julian Sikes, the assistant DA is a part of it, too.”

”Shit,” Rainer muttered.

”Yeah. Fremont sent those men after us. They started that fight today. If you can get my brothers out of jail, it would be much appreciated. But for now, I have to go. Fremont is going after my girlfriend and her kid.”

”Gwen?” Torres asked. ”I can get some officers over there, the good guys, I mean.”

”Do that,” I told him. ”They”ll have taken him to the hospital on Orange Grove. Make sure they come in uniform and in an official capacity. I”m not going to be giving anyone a chance if they”re in plain clothes. I have to go. Rainer? A minute?”

He followed me out of the police station. ”I need your car.”

”Oh shit, Reed. I”m driving the Mustang-”

”Rainer! Fuck your car!” I barked. I”d replace it later if I needed to. For now, nothing was more important than getting to Gwen.

He sighed and handed over his keys.

”You have a gun in there?”

”Of course. Center console.”

”Thanks,” I told him. I didn”t say anything else, just ran for the cherry red Mustang sitting in the lot.

The rideacross town seemed to take forever. My mind was racing as I navigated traffic and urged the car to faster speeds. I didn”t bother to call anyone. My brothers were locked up. Cypher and the others were watching over our families. The Saint”s Outlaws were watching over the women and children from the cult. I was on my own.

It was up to me to save Gwen. I didn”t know who she had with her, Sean or Grace, and it didn”t matter. I wasn”t going to let a fucking thing happen to them. I pulled into the parking lot for the hospital, and had to take a deep breath. The only thing I could do was drive around these huge grounds looking for them.

I”d just turned into another section when I saw a dog pile on the ground and a couple extra men watching as their friends ganged up on Scythe. A man went flying through the air and Scythe jerked to his feet as two more men hung off him. I drove through the men watching, sending them flying over the hood and into the air. Jumping out of the car, I faced Scythe.

He shot me a grin. ”The parking garage,” he yelled to me as he kept going after the men rolling around on the ground in pain.

Shit.Fremont already had Gwen. My steps slowed but he shook his head. ”These fuckers are mine. Get your own.”

Despite the tense situation, I laughed and left him there to deal with what was left of the men. I had no doubt he could handle himself. He had a reputation that had followed him from the special forces into civilian life. It was why Cypher had brought him into the Berserker”s Rage MC and his security company. The man was a machine.

I made it to the parking garage and glanced around. Where would Fremont go? What would be the easiest way for him to get my family out? I ran, following the signs that led further down into the garage. Relief surged when I saw them up ahead. Pulling the gun out, I aimed at the group, being sure to keep Gwen and Sean out of my line of sights. ”Fremont!”

As one, the group stopped and turned. The hope and worry on Gwen”s face when she saw me nearly broke my heart. This wasn”t what she needed. Wasn”t what Sean needed. He was standing near his mom, an electric blue cast on his left arm. His blue eyes, so similar to Gwen”s, were pleading with me to help them.

”Let them go, John,” I called out as I walked closer. ”It”s over.”

”It”s not fucking over,” he snarled, yanking Gwen toward him.

She had moved Sean to her other side, away from the madman next to them.

”If you try anything, I”ll kill her.” He narrowed his eyes. ”You know what? I don”t want to fucking talk to you. Kill him,” he ordered the two men at the back of the group.

I dove behind a nearby car as shots rang out around me for the second time that day. Swearing, I ducked behind the tire of the car so I didn”t catch a stray bullet. I couldn”t return fire because I might end up hitting Gwen or Sean. As much as I wanted to kill every one of these motherfuckers, I”d have to think of another way. Popping up, I saw Fremont dragging Gwen away. Sean wasn”t anywhere to be seen, and the men who were shooting at me were starting to look nervous.

”He”s wrong,” I called out. ”This is over. Do you want to go to prison with Fremont?”

The shooting didn”t pick up again. That was a good sign.

”The cops—the actual good guys—are going to come barging in here any minute! If you give up now, maybe I can convince them to be lenient with you.”

”Bullshit!”

”You don”t believe me?” I paused, tilted my head, then pointed behind me. ”Hear that?” I was still crouching, but I could see them. They shot each other nervous looks when the sound of sirens getting closer floated through the air.

The man on the left swore, shoved his gun back into the waistband of his jeans, then turned on his partner. He threw a punch and wrestled the man to the ground.

”What are you doing, Man?”

”Stop resisting,” the first guy told him, grappling with him. ”You”re under arrest.”

”Reed?”

I turned and saw Torres and his fellow officers jogging up, guns half drawn. I motioned to the men on the ground, knowing Torres would figure it out. As I ran past, I looked down at the man. ”Smart play.”

I didn”t give a damn about either man. They”d both end up in jail. The guy who arrested the other wasn”t going to have a story that would hold up about why he was there before everyone else. Torres would handle it. For now, I needed to find my family.