Page 80 of Single Mom's Biker Brigade
“Yes.” A little older, a little rounder in the middle but still wearing a fuck off expression and looking more capable than any police I’d ever met.
Hawk clicked the button on the radio. “Show him to the house.”
I stuffed the phone in my pocket and led the way to the living area. Hawk cleared the house with a jerk of his head, and within fifteen minutes Hart had a laptop set up with my phone attached. “We’re doing this all legal and shit.” He tapped on the keyboard.
“You can use anything you find.” I hovered near his shoulder, resisting the urge to bite my nails to nubs. I gave him the login in information and waited.
Colt paced behind us, hands locked behind his head and his chin tipped toward the ceiling. The cold blankness had worn off. Thank goodness. I preferred this version, even if the pacing annoyed the hell out of me.
“Got it.” Hart tapped a button and images filled the screen. “Making copies for myself and backing them up to the cloud. You have access?” He looked over at Diesel, who nodded and pulled his computer closer.
“Sorting out a timeline.” Diesel touched the screen, moving pictures around with a drag of his finger.
He stared without blinking, his attention completely locked on the problem and how to reach an acceptable solution.
My stomach heaved. I’d spent so long trying to make these not exist. So much time invested in trying to forget that part of my life, and now it had all dragged me back and threatened to drown me.
Hawk moved behind me, stopping to stare over Diesel’s shoulder. “These routes.” He pointed at the screen without touching it. “Three of these corridor markers are still active. I’ve seen two of those in use in the last three months.” Tension knotted his shoulders, and he drummed a single finger on the back of Diesel’s chair. “Okay. Here’s the plan. We build a replica that looks enough like the original that it passes an initial assessment.” He glanced at me. “You remember enough about it to do that?”
“Yes.”
“Good. We’ll use real information, names and routes from the original document, and seed it with false trails. Routes that don’t exist. Fake names. Nothing too obvious. Throw in some routes that take them past cameras with law enforcement presence.”
Hart crossed his arms and sat back in his chair. “That’s workable from a warrant perspective. If they act on falsified information that they’ve verified against real intel, they confirm the real intel.”
Colt stopped pacing. “And Cody?”
“Cody is the meet condition.” Hawk looked at me, holding my gaze. “They want the ledger. We want Cody. They took him for this reason. The trade happens in person, which means we meet them at a location we’ve already mapped, with exits we controland a recovery line that doesn’t require them to know our backup plan.”
“Wade will want to run the meet himself.” He might not be behind this all the way, but he’d always craved power. He wouldn’t be able to resist one more shot at me. “He’ll want to feel like he’s in control. He always needs to feel like he’s the one in charge of a transaction. And he’ll try to backstab us. He’ll try to hide Cody to get more from me.”
Hawk’s eyes turned flat and eerily cold. “Arrogant men make predictable choices. Diesel will track down where they took Cody. We’ll make sure he’s with us.”
I picked up the phone still attached to Hart’s computer and turned it over in my hands. So many years of uncertainty and unreliability. So many sleepless nights and terror for Cody’s sake. It was all about to come to an end, one way or the other. I ran my thumb over the crack in the screen and set it down on the desk while pulling out my new phone and bringing up the unknown number that had turned out to be Wade. I typed out a short text to Wade: We have what you want. Keep Cody safe and let me meet you with Diesel along for the exchange.
Hawk read it over my shoulder and rattled off an address. I added it to the text and hit send.
Three dots appeared almost immediately, followed by a single word: When?
“Tomorrow night.” Hawk met my surprised gasp with an embrace. “I know. It sounds like forever, but we need twenty-four hours to secure the location. If we push for tonight, they’ll have the upper hand. We have a lot to do, and we can’t rush making the replica.”
I knew he was right, but I still hated it. How could I possibly leave my son with those monsters for a full day? A rushed extraction that went wrong put him more at risk. I pressed my forehead against Hawk’s shoulder and breathed, accepting the truth before I straightened.
“I still need to lock down Cody’s location.” Diesel hadn’t looked up from his computer, but his presence filled the room when he held out a hand and squeezed my wrist.
“Okay.” I typed out the date and time and sent it to Wade. “Let’s get this done.”
29
CALLIE
The lot and warehouse were exactly what Hawk said they’d be.
A disused commercial strip on the south end of the county, with two operational businesses on the far end and the rest of the storefronts dark and papered over. Wide enough that no one could approach without being visible. Close enough to the highway that engines wouldn’t bring any undue attention. Two exits I’d cataloged and confirmed after Hawk pointed them out on the map this morning. One exit on either end of the lot and both accessible.
I took a breath and held it, letting my heart pound until I thought I might puke. Better to get it over with now than show any trace of emotion once Wade appeared. I memorized the layout, making sure I hadn’t missed anything when we parked at the north end and waited.
Diesel sat beside me with his hands in his lap and his gaze locked on the entrance where we figured Wade would come through. He might try and use the same entrance as us, but it put him at a disadvantage…so Hawk said.
