Aching to Exhale (18 page)

"Step back," Garcia said.

He fell back on the heel of his boot. "You fucking bastard."

Forget the FBI. He was going to kill Guillermo Garcia.

Chapter Twenty Two

The gun pointed at Raul never wavered. Crystal jerked with all her strength and stumbled forward, landing on her knees. Pain traveled from her knees up her thighs. She rocked back, putting her weight on her ankles and ignored the gravel stuck in the palm of her hands.

"Raul," she screamed.

"I got you." Raul put his hands under her arms and lifted her to her feet.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "You're alive," she whispered, breathing heavy in his ear. "God, I was so scared. I thought Curt worked with you or I never would've come with him."

"Sh." Raul pulled back and braced her face with his hands. "Do not say another word."

She nodded.

"Do what I say. Whatever happens, stay out of the way." He stared into her eyes, keeping her shielded from Garcia. "Trust me."

"Always," she whispered back. "Please don't let him take me."

She wanted to go home, to the club, anywhere but stay here. Her heart hurt for the pain in Raul's face. She understood. Her being here distracted him, because he'd do anything to keep her safe and she'd jeopardized his goal.

"Ah,
mi vida
," Raul mumbled, shaking his head. "I'm sor—"

"Enough," Garcia said from behind Raul. "Back off the girl and stand against the wall, Sanchez. It seems someone's lied, and it's time to pay."

Raul ignored him, and stared intently at Crystal. "When you can, run. Run as fucking fast as you can," he whispered.

"Raul…" She reached out for him, but he stepped away from him.

Raul kept his gaze on Crystal and only looked away when his back hit the brick wall of the building. Perspiration broke out along her neck and she grasped her elbows in her hands to keep from rushing with him.

Garcia moved in front of her, blocking Raul from her sight. She bit down on her lip to keep quiet. Afraid if she spoke the gun Garcia held on Raul would go off.

The fake Agent Curt stood off to the side of her where she couldn't see him. But he was there. She had no doubt the pressure and heat hitting her back came from him.

He'd changed when they'd landed in the plane. Gone was the concerned federal agent, and he became quieter and more attentive. In the car ride to the garage, he'd made cryptic phone calls. Her opinion about the man transformed when she'd stepped into the building, and Curt told her to shut up. Then she knew Raul hadn't sent him, because Raul wouldn't allow anyone to talk to her that way.

"We've got a problem," Garcia said. "I've done some digging, and it seems I come up with two different backgrounds for Raul Sanchez, and I'm highly concerned about the rumors. You see, no one wants to lay any claim to the stories being true, so I had to pull in a few favors with my friends in blue."

Raul remained quiet. Garcia glanced behind him at Crystal. She trembled. Everything about the guy sickened her. Oh, he was smooth and an immaculate dresser, but his eyes were dead, leaving her feeling dirty.

Garcia turned back around. "It took a while to go through the hundreds of records on every Raul Sanchez my friend found, but we've narrowed the choices down to two. A lowlife president of the Lagsturns Motorcycle Club and an agent from the Federal Bureau of Investigations department who left his career, his nice three-bedroom ranch style home, his
familia
…his wife."

Crystal stiffened.
Wife?

"My Lagsturns brothers are the only family I have. The road is my home," Raul said.

Struggling for breath, Crystal stepped back and waved her hand out to the side trying to find something to grab to steady herself.
A wife?

Raul had told her about his parents. He'd sworn he wasn't married. Emptiness and shock tore her insides out. She gagged. No, it wasn't true. It couldn't be true.

She loved him. He was the other half of her soul.

She bent at the waist and sucked air into her burning lungs, immune to what was happening in front of her. Did he tell her the truth about his past or only what he wanted her to know?

A pair of arms wrapped around her body and pulled her to an upright position. She screamed as her feet left the ground. "No!"

The hold on her tightened and snuffed out her attempt to get away. Her vision blackened and panic took over. She squeezed her eyes closed, struggling. She couldn't die this way. No one would ever find out she was alive, and her parents would win.

In all her thoughts, she figured someday she'd go out in a show of heroics, one that'd capture the newspapers attention and even the evening news. She'd finally be able to prove she hadn't died because her parents announced her death on television. That despite having her name dragged through the mud, tarnished, and dirtied, she'd prove that she was a good person.

"Stop," she whispered, unsure if anyone heard her or she only thought the word.

Loud noises, a pop, and then another loud pop, followed by yelling scrambled her thoughts, pushing her mind into pandemonium and retreating. She shook her head in an attempt to make sense of what was happening around her but panic consumed her fight. Closed off and blind to the commotion happening in front of her, she used all her strength to fight for her life.

Lips touched her ear. "Stay quiet. I'll try and keep you safe."

The unfamiliar male voice drove her into madness. She continued struggling, finally finding her voice, she yelled Raul's name. The crowd of twenty men or so ignored her. She kicked back with her foot. Her capture lost his grip as he shifted her, and her feet hit the ground. She swung her elbow back. Pain ricocheted through her joint and down into her wrist, but she was free.

"Raul!" She ran into the mix, pushing at the bodies, climbing over the men who were on the ground, searching for her black-haired biker.

In the middle of the mob drawing everyone's attention, a man in a dark gray suit laid on the ground, covered in blood. Several men outfitted in black with shields over their face and heavy padded vest aimed their guns at the body. She swept her gaze up the man's body to his head and gasped. Half of his face was missing. All that remained was a bloody mess with no facial features.

She clambered forward needing to find Raul, striking out at those who tried to stop her. "Raul!"

A blow nearly knocked her off her feet. Her upper body swung to the side and her tank ripped. She screamed and pushed off the man grabbing her. Somewhere in the mess, Raul needed her. He was confronting Garcia, and—

She snapped her gaze back at the man on the ground. Her throat burned. Garcia had on a suit. Panicked, she searched the crowd but couldn't spot Raul.

"Jesus, woman, calm down." Tango grabbed Crystal's hand and pulled her away.

She dragged her feet. "I have to find Raul. Please, help me find him."

Tango's eyes hardened and he came to a stop. He grabbed her shoulders, looking into her eyes. "I'll take you to him, but you have to stay away from the sight until they sweep the area. I don't need you getting pulled into the take down if you want me to help you."

"Where is he?" She fisted Tango's cut and shook him. "Is he okay? I need to see him."

Tango gazed over her shoulder at the scene. "Dammit woman, you don't make anything easy. You're going to get my ass killed before this is over."

"What?" She rocked back, letting go of him. "I need Raul."

Tango grabbed her arm and marched her toward the back of the garage. "Someone is going to pay a huge-ass amount for this fuck up."

He pulled her into the garage and stopped her from going further. "Look."

She peered through the open concrete bay, scanning the people standing around in small huddles, whispering and consoling each other. She skipped over their faces and searched the parking lot outside the front of the building. Confusion kept her quiet. Then she spotted who she was looking for. Relief stole all her energy and she swayed against Tango.

Raul sat on a gurney shirtless. A white bandage wrapped his shoulder. Even from this distance, she was sure the dark marks on his face were blood. She stepped forward, and Tango pulled her back.

"Stay here." Tango held her back.

Raul argued with the attendees, and kicked out at one of the armed guards wearing SWAT vests. She covered her mouth, hurting for him. From her distance, she couldn't make out what Raul was saying.

Raul's upper body strained and bulged. Crystal muffled her cry. Why did they have his hands cuffed behind his back and why were they detaining him if he was hurt?

Raul roared in anger, frantically swinging his gaze back and forth at the building. She tugged her arm, desperate to calm him, but Tango wasn't letting her go.

Raul's eyes met hers. Her breath escaped as if she was drowning. He froze for two long beats, soaking her in, and then went crazy, kicking his legs, straining against the men holding him in place, trying to come to her. She cried out, scared he'd hurt himself more and wanting to know what happened.

"Come on, let's go wait, and get out of sight." Tango's voice softened. "You'll only make this harder for him. He's got a job to do and believe it or not, he's still fucking protecting you even when he's got a bullet in his chest. The best thing you can do for him is cut yourself out of his life, and let him go back to his."

Shot? His life?

She walked out of sight, or maybe Tango dragged her, she wasn't sure. She found herself pressed against the side of the building, her hands on her knees, and throwing up what little contents were in her stomach.

What life would Raul have without her? They made plans to continue to be together. Her vision blurred as she struggled to exhale. Maybe Garcia was right about Raul having a wife. Maybe Raul used her to keep his cover with the Lagsturns. Maybe her parents knew what was best for her, and she really was a dead soul, living a life she'd made for herself.

For the first time since she was seventeen years old and left her father's clutches, she closed her eyes and bargained with whoever would listen.
Please let Raul be okay and not seriously hurt.
 
If you let him survive, I'll never throw him attitude again.

Chapter Twenty-three

Tension thickened the oversized office in the back of Lane County Sheriff's headquarters where the Federal Bureau of Investigations controlled business while in the Lane County jurisdiction. Raul widened his stance and refused to budge. Seventy-two hours since he'd taken down Guillermo Garcia and his superiors still misunderstood what he was telling them.

"I want out." Raul glanced down at his resignation letter on the desk he signed this morning. "I've fulfilled my job."

"Take some R and R, and then come back." Sergeant Petergrove leaned back in his chair and hooked his hands behind his head. "Hell, take a year off, reconnect with your family, get your life back on track, and I'll put you back on schedule. No more undercover."

He'd already explained how that wasn't possible. No one ever left the biker lifestyle, except if an accident or a bullet took them out. If he walked, he'd be watching his back for the rest of his life when the Lagsturns learned the truth of him being a federal agent. The only chance he had of living, real living, was to go back to the Lagsturns and hope nobody found out his role in taking Garcia down.

Then he could figure out how he and Crystal could continue with the MC in their own way without any retaliation. One thing was sure. He would never be happy entering civilian life and leaving the MC. As a brother, he found acceptance and understanding. They understood the life and how to outrun your demons.

"It'd be suicide to walk away from the club. I won't put my family at risk," Raul said.

"We can change everything about you. New name, new location…" Sergeant Petergrove shook his head. "Ah. I see. You've got someone on the inside."

Raul remained quiet, not even blinking. Crystal's part in the club and in his life remained with him.

"I might as well tell you, we know more than you've given us." Sergeant Petergrove's chair came forward and he leaned his elbows on the desk. "We've interrogated everyone at Holson's Garage after the raid. There was only one woman there, outside of the two sitting in the lobby waiting for their cars and having legitimate excuses for their presence there that day. She easily gave her name as Crystal Rose, the same woman you called a squad out on in Pierce County." He paused and drank from the water bottle on his desk. "We took down twelve members of the Mexican Mafia, six affiliates from Bronstown and thanks to you, put an end to Guillermo Garcia. We can keep you safe."

"Bull shit." Raul stepped back two paces and sank into the chair. "I've made a life for myself. I want to recoup what I have. Time will prove I'm a loyal member of the Lagsturns. I've worked my way to the top before. The only people who know my reasons for belonging to the Lagsturns are two personal friends I enlisted for help and Ted Tango…Agent Baker."

And Crystal.
He rubbed his shoulder, winching when he came too close to the wound. He was lucky Garcia hadn't blown his arm off at the range he was shot.

"Crystal Rose is a threat." Sergeant Petergroves looked at him intently. "You go back to her, and we can't guarantee you any protection. It takes one argument. You piss her off, and she'll go straight to a girlfriend and tell her everything she knows about you. Son, I've been married thirty-two years. I know how women are when they get their feelings hurt or want to pay you back for ignoring them."

He snorted. "Eight years I took care of myself. I protected myself. I don't need you telling me what you think will happen."

"You had us a phone call away to come in," Sergeant Petergroves stated.

Raul shook his head and stood. It was never that simple, and his superior knew it. "My resignation stands."

Done talking, he shook hands and walked to the door. Sergeant Petersgrove called his name. He stopped and turned around, his hand on the knob.