Smolder: Trojans MC (57 page)

Chapter Sixteen

He hadn’t meant to fall asleep. He had only intended to close his eyes for a second. But a car horn blasting in the parking lot jolted him awake and he glanced at the clock and saw it was after nine. Grace had woken up at the sound of blaring horn as well and she sat up and ran her hands through her messy hair.

Still laying back in bad Falcon watched her back in the darkened room. He could see the muscles there; Grace was no meek little size two. She was a warrior. He reached up and ran his hand up and down her back and she sighed softly as he did so.

“We should probably go soon,” she said quietly and Falcon encircled her arm with his hand and pulled her back down into bed with him.

She turned on her side and rested her head against his chest. He ran his hands through her hair as she settled on top of him. Her presence was wonderful and he was ready to spend the entire night lying in bed with her.

“Seriously, I need to get up,” Grace said and she sat up on her elbow and leaned over and kissed Falcon gently on the lips. He pulled her closer and deepened the kiss, but when she pulled away, he let her go. In the dimly lit room he watched her naked body as she padded to the bathroom and closed the door.

Finally, he sat up, as well. He felt pleasantly and perfectly exhausted. It felt like he had run a marathon earlier in the day, a good sort of tired, an earned tiredness. But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Shaking his head, Falcon stood up and pulled a pair of boxers on as Grace came out of the bathroom. She began to dress, as well, and Falcon felt an odd sense of sadness as she put on her clothes. Were it up to him, she would be naked all the time.

He slipped his shirt over his head and sat on the edge of the bed as Grace continued to dress. His cellphone was buried in the pocket of his jeans, and he pulled it out and unlocked the screen and his eyes went wide when he saw how many messages he had missed.

They were all from the boss. There were eight missed calls and ten text messages.

Where are you?

We need to talk.

No one has seen you in hours, where are you?

Come back to the clubhouse ASAP

I need to speak with you now

They went on and on like that. Short, ordered missives from his boss. These were the types of calls and texts you didn’t ignore. A week ago Falcon would have never left his phone on silent; he would have jumped at the first call from his boss, but it wasn’t a week ago. Things had changed and his position in the gang had changed with them. He was done being the foot soldier that answered how high when asked to jump. He had spent too much time already being bossed around by the Screaming Eagles; he was his own man now.

“What is it?” Grace asked as she sat down next to him. She leaned her head on his shoulder and Falcon didn't answer for a moment; he just relished in their closeness. But she could see his phone and she took it out of his hand and looked up at him, worried. “The boss, is that Ernie? What’s up with all these messages?”

“I guess he wants to see me,” Falcon said. His lack of caring was surprising to him. It was a new feeling to openly ignore the boss and not fear the repercussions. Falcon had his number now. He was an old man who sent young men out to die so he could become rich. Falcon didn’t care about him anymore, didn't care if the boss liked him or hated him. He had stopped caring about the boss’ opinion of him and it was a liberating feeling that he wasn’t ready to quit yet.

“You don’t have to go. The apartment bust from the other day can be enough to get you out of there. They might suspect something, Falcon. Please don’t go back there.”

“He might know something,” Falcon said thinking about the boss and his reactions to the recent events. “But he might not. And even if he does suspect, he doesn’t have any proof. If he did, they would have tracked me down by now.”

“You don’t know that,” Grace pleaded. “They aren’t the police, Falcon. They don’t need proof before they act. They might just want to make an example of you and if that’s the case, guilt and innocence have nothing to do with it.” Her green eyes were desperate as they stared up at him and it was hard for Falcon to say no to her.

“I am guilty, though,” Falcon said. He stopped for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts in a way that made sense. “I am guilty of betraying the gang, but I’m not betraying my conscious. I’m doing the right thing. They might think it’s wrong, but I don’t care what they think and I’m not done yet. The boss, Ernie, he uses people. He chews them up and spits them out; he gets richer as the men underneath him die or get thrown in jail. This isn’t done yet. It’s done when Ernie is in handcuffs, not before.”

“Don’t turn this into a crusade, Falcon. That kind of thinking gets men killed. You did your part. You can get out now. You do not have to go back there. I can protect you.”

“I know you can,” he said and reached over and caressed her cheek and looked into her deep green eyes. “But I’m not scared of them anymore. They do not impress me or intimidate me, so I am not going to run from them. The boss might know, or he might not. The only way to find out is to go home and face the music.”

He stood up and Grace stood with him. He leaned down and kissed her, slipping his tongue into her mouth as her hand cupped his cheek. He hated the boss at that moment. He should have been allowed this night with Grace. He had earned it. He wanted nothing more than to fall asleep with her in his arms, but he knew he wasn’t done yet.

“Promise me you’ll be careful,” she begged staring up at him. “Don’t get cocky.”

“I promise,” Falcon said. He would be careful for her and for Sophie and for himself. Despite Grace’s warning, Falcon Marks was on a crusade to bring down the Screaming Eagles and he wasn’t going to quit until the boss himself was behind bars.

Chapter Seventeen

Falcon and Grace dressed quietly. The texts and calls from Falcon’s boss were a bitter end to a sweet evening. Falcon wished he had never even bothered to look at his phone. He could still be curled up with Grace in bed. He could be running his hand up and down her thigh, feeling the warmth of her body, and listening to the sound of her even breaths as she slept beside him. He could still remember the sounds that had come from her when they made love, her sighs and moans and cries of pleasure.

The thought of returning to the Screaming Eagles headquarters left a knot in Falcon’s stomach. It was the last place he wanted to be at that moment. Was he about to walk to his death. Should he run away instead? Should he just get on his bike and head south, just drive until he was too far away from the Screaming Eagle’s to find him? He could make it to the border by morning, breeze through Mexico and then settle down somewhere far south. Maybe Brazil or Argentina, somewhere far out of the Screaming Eagles’ reach and with no extradition treaties.

He would need to bring Sophie and Kelly with him for their own safety. It would be hard, but it was possible. He could go and grab them right now. He would rush into the apartment and tell them to pack a bag, they would need to travel light. He could cash out everything. They could live in the tropics in a little place down by the beach. He could raise Sophie down there and she would never need to know the former life her father led. It was a pleasant little fantasy in his head, Kelly, Sophie, and himself living it up south of the border. They could live beside the beach and learn Spanish and blend right in. They could start over with brand new lives; they could be anything they wanted.

But it was just a fantasy. He couldn’t ask Kelly to leave her entire life behind. She had a good job and lots of loving family members who would miss her and Sophie if they disappeared. Kelly liked her life and Falcon couldn’t be the one to tear it away from her. Plus, Sophie deserved a real life. If they ran now, they would spend the rest of their lives running. They could never be normal. They would have to spend their entire lives looking over their shoulders. No, there could be no running. Besides, Falcon didn’t want to give the Screaming Eagles the satisfaction of running him out of the country. He was done answering to them and bending to their will. No, he needed to keep going, he needed to find a way to end this.

Grace was dressing quietly, clipping her bra into place and slipping her shirt over her head. It was a travesty for her to put more clothes on. Falcon wanted her to be naked in bed with him, not fully dressed somewhere far away. She checked her phone and her gun before strapping both into place. There was something so sexy in that act. She wasn’t some weak little girl; she was a cop. She could ride with the best of them and take down men twice her size. She was amazing.

Falcon wondered if this would be the last time he would ever see Grace. He hoped not, but that was all he could do, hope. If the Screaming Eagles knew he was working for the cops, he was done for. All he could hope was that they left Sophie alone. Grace had promised to protect her and Falcon trusted Grace.

“So you’re sure you want to do this?” Grace asked him.

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Text me the second you know what’s going on. If I don’t hear from you by midnight I’ll get Sophie and Kelly and then we’ll come and get you.”

They were both dressed and ready and Falcon took one more look around their cheap and crappy motel room. The blankets had been ripped off the bed and strewn around the room and chairs had been overturned. They had done quite a bit of damage in a small amount of time. Pity it had to be over so soon.

They rode back to Grace’s car together. The night’s air was cool around them and through the treetops Falcon could see a smattering of stars above him. He drove lazily down the streets, taking his time and using the back roads. This might be the last time he would see the outside world or ride a bike, and he wanted to appreciate it. Grace’s arms were wrapped around his chest as they sped around turns and up and down hills; the feeling of her pressed against his back and her hands holding onto him were anchoring Falcon to the world. She was a reminder that there were still good things out there and good people capable of doing great things.

He pulled up next to her SUV and Grace slowly got off the bike and handed the extra helmet to Falcon. She looked sad, like she was on the verge of tears. Her green eyes were shining and wet and she kept fussing with her long hair.

“Why are you going back?” she finally asked in a quiet whisper.

“Because I don’t think they know,” Falcon answered. “They might suspect, but they don’t know. The more I’m gone, the more suspicious it looks, but they can’t prove you and I are working together. If they could I would be dead already. They might be suspicious of me, but they also need me. They’ve lost a lot of men and a lot of merchandise. The boss wants to keep operations running as normal and he needs men on the ground to do it. So, as long as I don’t give myself away, I’m okay in there.”

“It’s just too dangerous,” she said with a shake of her head. “The Screaming Eagles are unpredictable; they might not wait to have proof. They might just want to make an example of you. I don’t like the idea of you going in there without any back up. I brought you into this, Falcon. I don’t want to stand by while you walk to the gallows. You could wear a wire. That way if things go south I can know about it in real time and come and get you.”

“If I go in wearing a wire and they search me, I’m done. But if I’m not wearing a wire and the boss decides to end me anyway, it’ll be proof he doesn’t care about us. He doesn’t care about the boots on the ground and maybe this will show the rest of the men that. Look, I’m not trying to be a martyr, but I’m not done yet. I want to get Ernie, I want to bust the big boss, and I can’t stop until I’ve done that.”

“Why, Falcon? Why is that so important to you?”

“Because I used to worship him. I used to think he was this brave and smart leader; I was ready to die rather than betray that man. But now I understand he’s no better than me. He’s not smarter than me and his life is not worth more than mine. Now that I know that, I need him to know that, and I need the rest of the Screaming Eagles to understand that, too. He uses people. He chews them up and spits them out and he gets richer and we end up in jail.”

She shook her head. “When I got you to turn I was just thinking you would be this tool I could use. I convinced myself I could control you. I thought you would want to do a couple jobs for me and then get out. But here you are, refusing to quit and getting ready to take down the entire gang. Sometimes I think it was fate that we met. If you forget about the part where I’m a cop and you’re a criminal, we fit together almost too well.”

“We are good together,” Falcon said. He leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers. A single tear fell from her eye and Falcon gently wiped it away with his thumb. “You’re worrying about nothing,” he said. “They don’t know anything and I’ll be fine.”

“It’s just...If anything happened to you, I don’t know how I would live with myself. I brought you into this, I made you turn against your gang and now I feel like I’m throwing you into the lion pit. I wish I could go with you.”

“I have to do this alone. We need to stick with the plan. If you don't hear from me by midnight, you should assume the worst. Don’t bother with me, just make sure Sophie and Kelly are all right.”

“I promise,” Grace said, looking into Falcon’s eyes.

He nodded before he leaned forward and kissed her passionately. The night was dark, and other than the occasional cry of a bird it was silent. It felt like they were the only two people left on the planet. They kissed as if they might never see each other again, both eager for touch from the other and neither one wanted it to end.

Finally, Falcon pulled away and Grace gave him one last nod before she stepped into her SUV and drove away. He watched the red taillights recede into the distance, taking his heart with them. Falcon waited in the parking lot for a few moments, breathing in the salty air of the sea behind him and appreciating the stars above him. The knot in his stomach tightened. For better or worse it was time to return to the clubhouse. The waiting was the most painful part. He didn’t know what awaited him at the clubhouse, but he knew he couldn't run. He needed to find out what the boss wanted.