Retribution (The Lone Riders MC Series Book 2) (25 page)

‘Shit!’ Bear exclaimed. And then a wave of panic shot across his face as he realized how all of this could implicate him. ‘
Shit
! They’re gonna want to talk to me, aren’t they? What the fuck do I tell them?’

‘We’ll work all that out later. But right now, you’re taking Lennie’s place.’

Bear’s frown returned. ‘Huh?’

‘In a few minutes I’ll be making sure Coby is safely inside the clubhouse, alone…’

‘No, Shane. No. I’m having no part in any of this. I know you want Coby dead… Jesus! You’re gonna do this
tonight
?’

‘Right now, brother. And this is what I need you to do. I need you to wait here, by that door over there, the back door into the clubhouse, until I come get you. There’s a bag, hidden behind that blue skip, and inside that bag is a Molotov cocktail. Just the one, so I need you to be real careful with it, do you hear me? I need you to take it out of the bag and put it in your pocket, then you wait until I come outside. And when I do, you’re gonna go into the clubhouse, and you’re gonna light that gasoline soaked rag and you’re gonna throw that bottle inside the meeting room before you attempt to make your own escape, back the way you came. So I sure hope you ain’t too stoned to run fast.’

Bear shook his head, backing away from Shane. ‘You’re frigging crazy, man. You’re off your fucking head. This is wrong, it’s unnecessary and… I’m not doing it, Shane. I’m not putting my own fucking life at risk because you’ve got some twisted idea about seeing Coby Walker dead…’

‘Oh, you’re doing it. ‘Cause I got serious shit on you, remember? One phone call and I’ve started a nice little war for you all to go back home to.’

‘Blackmail isn’t gonna work this time. So, yeah, I’m calling your bluff...’

Shane had the gun in his hand before Bear could even register what was going on. ‘You wanna mess with me? Game on, brother.’

‘You’re not gonna fire a shot, not with kids out there.’

‘I’m about to burn the President of this club to death while his son’s outside, sleeping in his beautiful momma’s arms.’

‘Jesus Christ…! You’re really doing this because you’ve got some insane obsession with Lexi?’

‘I’m tired of Coby taking everything I want. Everything I love. I did so much for him with little payback…’

‘He kept you safe when every brother here was gunning for you…’

‘
Wrongly
gunning for me, remember? It wasn’t me Lexi was really fucking behind Jesse’s back, was it? It was him. It was Coby Walker. I was nothing but a diversion, someone they used to deflect the blame,
keep
him safe…’

‘They didn’t force you to do what you did, Shane. They asked you, you accepted…’

‘I did it for Lexi.’

Bear slowly shook his head. ‘Jesus, Shane… Look, this is crazy, man. This isn’t gonna happen…’

‘Oh, it is. This
is
gonna happen. And I’ll tell you why it’s gonna happen, Bear. I know where your old lady lives. I know where your kids go to school. And just because I’m in a different country to them now doesn’t mean I don’t know people who could help me out that side of the pond. I made connections when I was over in
England
. Useful connections. Connections I knew I could turn to, should I ever need to.’

Bear’s eyes narrowed. ‘How long you been planning this shit?’

‘Well, it ain’t no spur of the moment thing, let’s put it that way.’

Bear took a step forward, a brave thing to do considering he had a gun pointed at him. ‘You touch my family, you sick, twisted…’

‘I won’t have to, brother. As long as you do what I need you to do. Because I don’t
want
to hurt your kids. And I’d hate to see something bad happen to your wife.’

‘You fucking low-life
bastard
!’ Bear spat. ‘You worthless pile of shit.’

Shane laughed, tucking the gun back in his pocket. ‘I’ll take that as a yes, shall I?’

‘When this is over I am gonna hunt you down and make you pay for this.’

‘Pay for what, brother? Hey, I ain’t done nothing to you or yours.’

‘I’ll make sure everyone knows what an evil piece of crap you really are.’

‘And I can’t stop you doing that.’

‘You think Lexi’s gonna want to come anywhere near you when she finds out what you’ve done?’

Shane stepped forward, invading the bigger man’s space. ‘You try it. You even think about it, and that threat I just made regarding your family, that becomes real. So if I were you I’d do as you’re told, and if you manage to get out of there alive just be grateful for that. Because if you try and come for me, you won’t be the only one who pays for that mistake.’

Thirty

Mia had needed that shower. A chance to wash away everything that had happened, although, she knew she was never going to be able to forget what she’d done. She’d killed a man. Her own husband. And even though he’d deserved it, she still felt sick at the memory of his body crumbling to the floor; the sight of his head all messed-up as blood and brains had exploded out of him. It was going to take more than a change of clothes and a good wash to make her forget that.

Walking back outside, she grabbed a beer from the ice-filled barrel by the clubhouse door, taking a long, slow drink, closing her eyes as the cold liquid ran down her throat. About a dozen more of those and there was a chance she might actually get some sleep tonight.

‘Mia?’

She swung around to see Ben standing there; her handsome lawyer man… biker boy. Whichever of those he chose to be, she didn’t care any more. She just wanted
him
– someone who wasn’t going to control her or make her feel trapped. A man who just might love her the way she loved him.

‘Jesus, baby…’ Ben sighed, going over to her and pulling her straight into his arms, holding her so tight Mia thought she might never escape. And if that was the case, she didn’t think she’d care. ‘Charlie told me what happened.’ He tilted up her chin so her eyes met his – eyes that were tinged with a fading fear and a growing tiredness. Dark, beautiful eyes. ‘Are you okay? I mean, I know that’s a stupid question…’

She smiled a small smile, running her fingers lightly over his cheek, noticing for the first time how much he’d let his beard grow. She hadn’t even noticed that before. ‘I’m gonna be fine, Ben. Really.’

He lowered his mouth down on to hers and she closed her eyes, falling against him as his arms wrapped around her again, his kiss soothing away all those terrifying memories, softening the edges slightly; making everything a little more bearable. ‘I love you, Mia. I’m sure of that now. I love you.’

‘Yeah,’ she whispered, her fingers touching his mouth, her thumb running over his lower lip before she leaned in to kiss him again. Kissing him was working. Kissing him was dulling the pain. A temporary fix, maybe, but it was helping. ‘I love you, too.’

They sat down on the low wall outside the clubhouse, his hand sliding into hers, holding it tight. ‘How did he get in, Mia? I mean, he didn’t have a key, and according to the others there was no obvious sign of a break-in…’

‘I must’ve forgotten to lock the back door,’ she cut in, her voice quiet as she took another drink of beer. ‘He must have got in that way.’

Ben bowed his head, his thumb stroking her knuckles as a brief silence between them took over. ‘What did he do to you?’ His voice was shaking slightly, as though he didn’t really want to know the answer to that question.

‘He wanted me,’ she replied, her tone carrying no emotion as she spoke. ‘He wanted to claim back what was his, those were his words.’

Ben turned his head away, looking out at the party that showed no sign of slowing down any time soon. All kinds of vile and pointless shit could go on around here and yet still a party could carry on as though everything was normal. And the frightening thing about all of that was that here, in this world, that
was
normal.

‘I fought him, Ben. Because the last thing I wanted was…’ Mia looked down at her fingers gripping the beer bottle, her knuckles turning white with the force. ‘He wasn’t gonna win. I couldn’t let him do that.’

‘Jesus!’ Ben whispered, slowly turning his head to look at her. ‘Mia, I don’t… I don’t know what to say. What to do.’

She looked up, a faint smile on her face. It was all she could manage right now. ‘I don’t want you to do or say anything, Ben. It’s all been done. Coby and Charlie are sorting it.’ She looked down again. Her eyes were beginning to feel heavy with tiredness. The alcohol was working, relaxing her so much that all she wanted to do now was sleep. And try and forget, for just a few blissful hours, that none of this was happening.

‘Come back to mine tonight, Mia. Please.’

She hadn’t even thought about where she was going to sleep. Because she quite obviously couldn’t go home. She didn’t know if she’d ever want to go back there now. ‘I don’t know, Ben.’

She felt him squeeze her hand tight, and she turned to look at him again. He was a man she still didn’t know all that much about, in reality. His past – it was still something she wasn’t sure of. He’d been a member of an MC that people feared, and the men within that club, well, she’d heard stories. And she had no idea how much truth was in any of them, but after Lennie, wasn’t she right to be wary of men like that? Men who could turn in a split second. Was Ben capable of that? And just how much of his past had he really told her about?

‘Mia?’

‘I don’t know, Ben,’ she repeated. She was really tired now. Too tired for this conversation. She stood up, letting go of his hand. ‘I’m… I’m gonna go find Lexi. See about finding a place to stay for a little while.’

Ben stood up too, his eyes almost pleading with her to come with him. To stay with him. ‘You can stay with
me
.’

‘I don’t think that’s a good idea. Not right now.’ She loved him. She was sure of that. And a huge part of her wanted to go with him, to
be
with him. But another part was telling her to back off; that what had happened tonight, maybe that was some kind of a warning. Or maybe she was just thinking irrationally, given the circumstances. She didn’t know. But keeping her distance, just for a few days, until her head was clear of all this crap – maybe that was the best thing to do. For both of them.

‘I love you, Mia. Baby, I don’t want to lose you…’

She moved closer, kissing him gently. ‘I’m not going anywhere, Ben. I just think... Give me a few days. Please.’

He threw his head back and sighed, and Mia wished with all her heart that things weren’t so complicated. Because the last thing she wanted to do was hurt him. ‘Okay. If that’s what you want.’

She smiled, a small, tired smile. But she hoped it told him that she wasn’t ending this. She wasn’t doing that. She just needed time, to be completely sure. Or as sure as she ever could be, in this messed-up, crazy, dangerous world she’d been born into.

***

Shane did a second walk through the clubhouse, checking every room, opening every door, making doubly sure that no one else was in there. There were to be no innocent victims in this. The only person he wanted to hurt was Coby.

‘You want a drink?’

Shane turned to see Coby leaning back against the bar, a fleeting panic hitting him as he realized he needed to get over there, to make sure Coby drank from the bottle of scotch he’d personally spiked. The one he’d placed underneath the counter, ready for this very moment. ‘I’ll get them.’ Shane smiled, heading over to the bar, reaching down to retrieve the whisky, glad that he was a bourbon drinker himself.

‘What’s all this about, then?’ Coby asked, taking the glass Shane held out for him. ‘Why the urgency?’

‘What I’ve got to show you, it’s in the chapel.’

Coby frowned, bringing the glass of whisky to his lips before hesitating. And that unsettled Shane. Could he tell something wasn’t right? Jesus! He wasn’t
that
much of a whisky connoisseur, was he? ‘The chapel?’

Shane poured himself a bourbon and walked out from behind the bar, silently willing Coby to take a sip of his drink. It was going to take at least a minute or two for the drug to kick in, and considering he had fuck all to show him in the chapel, he didn’t have time to conjure up some cover story. ‘Yeah. It’s quieter in there. More private, you know, in case anyone comes in here.’ Which he hoped to God they didn’t. But the fact he could hear the fireworks going off now meant that everyone would, hopefully, be distracted enough by all of that to forget about coming inside just yet.

‘Okay.’ Coby shrugged, finally taking a drink, following a relieved Shane into the chapel. ‘But this better be good. I kinda wanted to see my kid’s face when he saw his first fireworks.’

‘Won’t take long,’ Shane said, pushing open the chapel door, standing aside to let Coby through, pleased to see the big Scotsman was already becoming a little unsteady on his feet. ‘Sit down. You look tired.’ They hadn’t been kidding when they’d told him these drugs were fast-working. Said they could knock a man out within two minutes, and it looked as though they were spot on with that prediction. Coby’s eyes were beginning to close, even though he was fighting it.

‘Aye. It’s all catching up with me,’ Coby sighed, sitting down in his chair at the
 
head of the table. ‘It’s been one of those nights.’

Shane smiled to himself. Coby’s speech had also become slurred now. A few more seconds and he should be out cold. ‘You sure you’re okay there, boss?’

Coby tried to lift his head, but it was so heavy. Too heavy. And Shane watched as his eyes finally closed, his body slumping forward on to the table. Walking over to him, Shane lifted his head, dropping it straight back down. Yeah. He was out of it. And he should be for a good half hour, so he’d been told. Not that he was going to survive that long anyway.

Stepping back, he reached into the inside pocket of his cut and pulled out a small bottle. Twisting off the cap he shook a few drops of gasoline over the table, on to the floor, around the doorway, making sure the corridor was laced with a little of it, too. It wasn’t necessary, nothing more than insurance. He just wanted to be sure.

Heading back into the clubhouse he did another quick check, looking out into the compound to make sure everyone was still engrossed in the fireworks. Certain the coast was clear, he headed back through the clubhouse, the smell of gasoline making him feel a mixture of sick and excited. This was actually happening!

Pushing open the back door, he saw Bear leaning against the wall.

‘You ready?’ he asked, looking down to see the Molotov cocktail in Bear’s hand.

Bear fixed him with a look. ‘You’re fucking crazy. You’re killing a man who did nothing but help you.’

‘Get inside and do your job. I’m not here for a fucking discussion on why I’m doing this. Just get it done.’

Bear held Shane’s gaze for a couple more beats, but Shane was finished with this shit. He just wanted it over.

‘Now.’ Shane’s voice was low and threatening. ‘You need to remember what’s at stake here, brother.’

Bear pushed past Shane, throwing him one last look. ‘You’ll get yours. Believe me.’

Shane laughed quietly, backing out into the yard. ‘Hey.’ He shrugged. ‘Sometimes the bad guys win.’

He watched as Bear headed off down the corridor before pulling the door closed, taking the keys out of his pocket and slowly and quietly turning the lock. Bear wasn’t going to be a problem. Because no matter how fast he could run, once he’d thrown that bottle his futile attempts at any kind of escape would be nothing more than a waste of time.