Prizefight: The Hell Raiders MC Goes MMA (15 page)

I stared at Stella as rage flowed through me. That motherfucker would die for betraying me like this. Especially for claiming it was at Kellen's order. I knew my Prez. He wouldn't call for this, not knowing my woman's life hung in the balance.

Stella gestured with his gun. "Get in the car, brother. We have to go meet the others." He gave me a scowl when I stayed put. "What, you don't want to get your woman back? Changed your mind all of a sudden?"

"What?"

"Just get the fuck in, man, and drive. I'll tell you where. We have to meet the others before it starts going down."

"Fine." I could always stand still and get shot later, after I knew what was going on. I got in and Stella slid into the passenger seat.

"We're going to the warehouse on Water Street. The boys will meet us there."

Before I got the fucking beater running well enough to go anywhere, the back door opened and Juaquin dove inside. "Ya'll didn't forget that promise you made, did you? 'Cause ain't no fucking way Royse goes down without me there."

I rolled my eyes and put the car in gear. "I don't give a shit, as long as you stay the fuck out of my way."

Juaquin laughed. "Likewise, motherfucker."

All my attention shifted to driving, and getting to that warehouse on Water Street as fast as possible. Stella's car succeeded in pissing me off even more with its sluggish responses. Every single time I had a clear way to make up some time, the thing bogged down like it had paste running through the fuel line. The way the engine knocked and shuddered kept me on edge, expecting it to go up in smoke at any second.

I avoided the business district in the interest of time, knowing the traffic would be heavier there, and cut through a quiet residential neighborhood instead. A dog ran across the street and I let off the gas a little in reflex, in case it turned back, or another followed. Instead, a kid darted from between two parked cars. I stomped the brake pedal, and my heart sank as a metal-on-metal grind came from the wheels.

"The fucking brakes are gone?" If I had time, I would jerk Stella out of the car and beat him to a pulp. Instead, I concentrated on getting the damn car to slow enough to miss that kid. By some miracle, the kid ran back out of the street, and we missed him. "What the fuck, Stella?"

Stella looked shaken. "Don't make sense. I checked it all over less than a month ago. Brake pads were worn, but not bad."

"How long you had this piece of shit?"

"I don't know, maybe six or eight weeks. Picked it up for five hundred bucks."

Juaquin laughed his ass off, and I shook my head. "You know how seriously fucked up that is? You pick a ride to keep from drawing attention. Nothing flashy or memorable. I get that. But damn, this fucking cage draws more attention than my car does. In a bad way."

"What the fuck ever, man. Just drive. We're late." Stella waved off my insults about his ride the same as he always did. He acted as if I'd forgotten about him pulling a fucking gun on me.

As I drove, and tried to get us to the warehouse in one piece, I pushed back my anger at Stella. I would deal with him later, after Elena was safe. And no doubt, he knew it was coming. Throwing down a Brother was not a move to make lightly.

The warehouse drew into view, looking like it always did. Situated in the oldest part of town, near the River, the area had recently become popular with college students and young professionals. When Kellen picked up the warehouse for back taxes a few years ago, he had planned to use the rundown building as temporary storage. That quickly changed after several offers from developers. Now the building sat empty, in the process of being renovated and updated. It was going to become a legit income source for the club with a series of nice rental units on one side, and studio apartments on the other.

But for the moment, it offered an ideal space to meet up without drawing too much notice. I pulled around the side, where one of the big rollup doors waited open, and drove right inside. The door went down immediately behind the car. I got the damn thing stopped, put it in Park, shut it off, and climbed out. The only light came from the headlights of the nearly two dozen motorcycles sitting to one side.

Kellen came forward, hand outstretched. "Ryker, good to see you whole, brother."

I nodded and clasped his hand, as usual. "Good to be whole. Had my doubts of surviving that piece of shit Stella calls a car."

Kellen barked with laughter, then shut it off in that eerie way of his. "Look, man, I'm sorry I had him stop you. Don't blame him for it, all on me. There was no choice, though. New info about our interference problem came in, and you could have walked right into a shooting gallery." His eyes widened as he looked over my shoulder. "Who the fuck is that?"

I turned as Juaquin climbed out of the back of Stella's jalopy. "That's Juaquin. Elena's neighbor, and the man with the floor plans to Royse's building." I motioned the guy forward. "Juaquin, Kellen."

The two shook hands cautiously. "Anything you see or hear today stays with you, yeah? Hate to have my boys pay you a visit to remind you to keep your trap shut."

"No prob'm, homes. Same here. Don't want my bidness spread all over fuck and back."

I winced as I rolled my shoulder. "Take my word for it, boss, his boys pack a punch. Now can we get shit moving? I ain't gettin' no younger."

Fabio and Crank came forward, and Fabio spoke first. "So, we followed up with what you and Stella got on your little trip, and found a low-life that knew about Royse's deal with those boys down there." Since we had company, the ex-Marine took care not to reveal names or locations, exactly as if he were talking on an unsecured phone.

Crank put in his two cents. "We started doing our thing, following the trail, and we found where Royse stores the goods he's selling. Bastard couldn't settle for being a middleman. He wanted the whole fucking enchilada."

The whole dog and pony show sparked nothing but my impatience. "And?"

"He keeps the shit in his building. Nobody would think to look at a nice, historic place like that. And the fucker lives right there with the goods."

As badly as I wanted to get moving, I knew we needed a plan of some sort. "What are we doing then?"

Kellen and Fabio spent the next fifteen minutes outlining the simple plan and making sure everyone had as many weapons as they could carry. Our information had expired, so we had no way of knowing what sort of inventory Royse sat on, or how many men he had there. That meant we were going in expecting to face an army. Especially since Crank had been able to confirm Royse's connection to some Russian criminals associated with the bunch we'd tangled with before.

Finally, we got moving, and left the warehouse a few at a time, from different exits. The old building was ideally situated for our purpose. If Raiders' operations ever expanded substantially to the area, it could make a good front for storage. People could have their nice little apartments, and we could leave a few units empty to store our shit. But, no doubt, Kellen had already considered that option. I put it out of mind, and concentrated on getting to Elena and getting her out of Royse's hands.

Doubt hit again as I rode shotgun in Stella's beater. Did Elena even want away from Royse? Hell, the man had taken her mom in, got her a doctor, and Juaquin said she was wearing nice clothes. What the fuck did I have to offer her, compared to all that? All I had was myself. It didn't seem like such a great tradeoff to me.

Would she have any interest in leaving the guy that could give her everything she never had, and going with the one that had a bike, a muscle car and a rented apartment? If she was smart, no. But that wasn't going to stop me from trying. By this point, I couldn't even consider life without Elena in it, so I had to do everything possible to get her to leave him.

The Hell Raiders arrived at Royse's building in waves, taking up our assigned positions on all sides, and waited. After a short time, Royse himself left in a hurry, presumably to deal with the trouble Crank and Fabio had cooked up at the abandoned factory where the illegal fights took place.

We waited some more, to give Royse time to reach the old factory so the rest of the team could take care of him. The sun dropped for the horizon, leaving us in the low light before twilight.

And then, Kellen gave the signal to move in.

I headed for the side door, as planned, with Dix at my side. We didn't bother trying to stay out of sight any more. When twenty bikers broke cover and jogged for the doors with guns out and ready, whoever was inside knew without a doubt something was happening.

The door consisted mostly of wood, with a thick frosted glass window. I didn't even hesitate. The window shattered under the butt of my .45, and I reached through and quickly found the lock mechanism. Seconds later, Dix and I made our way inside.

Friends? What friends did I have? I asked myself a million and one questions as I followed orders and climbed out of the basket. Mrs. Blue supported me as my legs wobbled and threatened to dump me on the floor.

"Is there a bathroom?" As much as I needed to get away, out of Royse's reach forever, at the moment, I needed the bathroom worse.

"Oh, of course! I'm sorry, I should have realized." Middle aged and round, Mrs. Blue gave me a kind smile and led the way. When I came out of the tiny, but spotless, bathroom, Mrs. Blue waited with a bundle of clothing. "I thought you might need these, Miss. I'll get you a drink and something to eat while you get changed."

The remnants of Royse's dress fell away and I hurried to put on the track pants and hoodie, then the sneakers. By the time I finished tying the laces, Mrs. Blue came back.

"It isn't much, Miss, but it should hold you until you can get somewhere else." She passed over a sandwich wrapped in wax paper, and a canned soda.

"Thanks, it's perfect." I opened the drink immediately and took a gulp to sooth my parched throat. "Can you tell me what's going on?" The paper crinkled as I unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite.

"I don't have all the details, Miss. Just that Mr. Green spoke with someone who knew of your situation, and they asked for help getting you out. We all agreed to help. So now, you're in the staff lounge, in the basement, and we're waiting for your friends to show up." She spoke as if I knew all this already.

"I don't understand. No one really knows I'm here." The food hit my system and I realized how sluggish my brain had been before.

"Well, it seems someone does, and he wants you out."

"And what about my mom?" I took another bite and waited. They'd said she was already safe, but I needed some sort of confirmation, I guess.

"Oh, we moved her already. While he was gone in the afternoon, she left with a load of furnishings that were bound for storage. A friend met the truck and took her to a safe place where she'll be taken care of until it's safe for you to contact her." The kindly woman offered a smile as she fidgeted a little.

It didn't make sense. "Why are you and the others taking such a big risk for me? I don't understand."

"Oh, Miss, we know the kinds of things that go on here. None of us likes it one bit. Until now, we've been unable to help, though. With your friends ready to get you away and keep you safe, we're also safe. He need never know we hid you until they could come for you." She smiled again, looking as pleased as the cartoon cat that ate the little yellow bird. "It's our one chance to right some of the wrongs we've bore witness to."

I still had my doubts, but right then, I didn't want to question her kindness any further. If I made her mad, she might just hand my ass right back over to Royse. "Thank you for helping." It would be nice to know who the friends were she kept mentioning. That part worried me even more.

As I finished my sandwich and drink, a lot of noise echoed through the basement.

"Ah, there they are, right on schedule." She looked even more pleased with herself. "Come along, I'll show you to the exit." She took my soda can and sandwich wrapper and disposed of them, then opened a door I hadn't noticed before. "This way."

I followed Mrs. Blue down a narrow hall, my heart threatening to choke me at every step. For all I knew, this woman could be leading me right back to an extremely pissed off Royse. All I had to go on was her story, and I'd learned long ago not to trust anyone at their word. People all had their own plans, and put their own spin on whatever came out of their mouths, and it rarely went the way anyone claimed.

We reached a solid metal door at the end of the hall, and I held my breath as Mrs. Blue shoved it open. Nobody waited to kill me, though, so I followed her through and down another hall. The noise from earlier grew louder, and I could make out shouts, and what seemed like the bang of doors being kicked in.

At a second door, Mrs. Blue paused with her finger over her lips, signaling for quiet. Apparently satisfied, she turned back to me. "Okay, Miss, I can't go any further. Out this door and up one set of stairs. One of your friends is meant to be waiting, but just in case they're not, the door to your right will lead you outside the building. To your right and around the corner is the front entrance." She leaned in for a quick hug, startling me. "Be safe, Miss."

I returned her hug after a second. "Thank you, Mrs. Blue. Tell Mr. Green and Mr. Black I said thanks to them. I would be dead now without all your help."

"Think nothing of it, Miss. Just live a safe, happy life." She pulled the heavy door open and waved me through.

The noises were far louder now, but I still couldn't make out words, or tell for sure what the loud bangs were. Shaking like a leaf and scared to death, I crept up the stairs, practically feeling my way, since the only light filtered down from above.

"Shh! You hear something?" The voice came from somewhere ahead. I froze in my tracks and tried to melt into the rough concrete steps.

"Nah, man, you're hearing stuff."

"No, I'm not. Shut the fuck up." The harsh whisper sounded slightly familiar.

I stayed put, trying to get my heart under control before they heard it pounding against my ribs.

The first voice came again. "Shit, man, where the hell is she? It's five minutes late."

"Calm down, Ryker, she'll show."

Ryker?