Page 35 of Griffin
We rolled to a stop at the rendezvous.Situated under an abandoned section of highway, the overpass crumbled in sections.The concrete drainage system underneath the overpass rested hidden from the road leading to it, so it was a good spot to wait for the OK to head home.And to get some answers from our prisoner.
Tiny brought the Steel Serpent member from the bed of the F-250 where he’d been stashed on our departure.The bed had a top with a lock so the guy hadn’t had a chance to escape.The prospect bled steadily from his thigh.Looked like a through-and-through, but Pain could decide that.Assuming the guy made it long enough to matter.
Tiny shoved the guy to the ground none too gently.I squatted beside him.He was younger than I’d thought, no more than twenty-one or twenty-two.His eyes were slicked over with panic, lips a dirty pink.He stank of Jägerbombs and sweat.And how the fuck anyone could drink that fucking stuff was beyond me.Guy deserved whatever his fate was for that alone.
“You want a quick death?”I asked him, deadpan.“Tell me who called in the shipment.”
He shook his head, then nodded, then shook again.“I don’t… They just told me to drive.Guy in the Yukon had the details.Iron doesn’t trust prospects with the playbook.”Interesting Iron would send a prospect for this kind of run.
“Who’s Iron got helping him?”
He hesitated.Tiny wrapped one huge hand over the guy’s mouth before taking his knife and plunging it into the guy’s calf.The kid screamed behind Tiny’s restraining hand, eyes rolling in pain and fear.
When he finally stopped screaming, Tiny removed his hand from the guy’s mouth.“Ratchet and Lou!Fuckin’-- maybe that guy in the mask, but I never saw a face or heard a fuckin’ name!”
I held up the duffel bag I’d pulled from the cab.“What’s in the phone?”I asked.
The prospect planned on lying.I could see it in the way he looked away, then back.“Just burner texts, man.No numbers, no addresses.All coded.”
I yanked the duffel open, pulled the phone out.The screen was spiderwebbed and the cover had a strip of blood across the home button.I thumbed it.The screen flickered to life, password already bypassed.Only one contact starred in the address book.A single capital “I.”
There was an unread message, the green bubble glaring on the screen.I read it through, once fast, then again because this couldn’t be right.
“Griffin?”Knuckles stood in front of me.I handed him the phone and he read the message.“Knuckles.You took the bait.Now KoD will pay for aiding my enemies.”
Gunnar read the text over Knuckles’ shoulder.“We need to go.Now.”
“Yeah.”My voice had gone tight.
The kid must have thought he saw a break, because he tried to lift his head and snarl.“You think you got it all figured out, don’t you?Iron’s already got the other one.By the time you get back, she’ll be--”
I kicked the guy in the head.He shut up, slumping to the ground, his eyes rolling.Inferno cocked an eyebrow at me, not judgmental, just reading the room.
“Finish him,” Knuckles told Inferno, then turned away.He raised his voice to everyone else.“Change of plans.We’re heading back to the compound.Double time.”
Inferno’s gun made a soft click as he chambered a round before firing off one shot to the head.Tiny cut the kid free and let the body roll into the ditch, face down.Inferno removed the clip from the gun before wiping it down, even though he’d used gloves, and tossing it into an old sewage drain.
Everyone mounted up or got in one of the cages and we headed out.Tiny would inform the compound to prepare for an attack.Then we just had to drop the two women with us at the safe house until it was clear to bring them back to Haven, assuming they wanted to go.Then we needed to get to the fucking compound.
The ride back cut through fog and tree shadow, every mile bringing fear closer to the surface.The safe house took longer to get to than I’d have liked, but it was called a safe house because it was safe.Away from prying eyes or nasty MCs like Steel Serpents.I saw Pain and Sully at the gate, weapons drawn, watching the gravel road intently for anyone headed their way.
Hannah met the Bronco outside the small house where they waited to take over care of the women we’d rescued.I watched as she helped the two traumatized women inside.I wanted to leave for the compound.Like yesterday.But logically, I knew Knuckles had to assess the situation before we headed into the fire.
“What’s going on?”I asked as Knuckles and Gunnar exchanged terse comments.
“I can’t get a hold of anyone at the clubhouse.We need to go.”
I’d made promises to Veda and I would keep them.Not so much because I promised, though I prided myself on keeping my word.I wanted to fulfill those promises to her because Veda meant something to me.And because I would do anything for her.I climbed on my bike, ready to ride with my brothers to defend our home and our family.As we headed back to the Kiss of Death compound, I readied myself for the next fight.Let Iron come.I was done playing nice with this motherfucker.
Chapter Thirteen
Veda
The “security office” was actually Knight’s office, which he’d recently renovated.On one side the bank of monitors showed every corner of the compound outside the warehouses and all the community areas inside.The other side had a state-of-the-art gaming system with every bell and whistle imaginable.Violet’s son, Caleb, currently busied himself with some kind of fantasy quest game I had no clue about.He looked absorbed in the screen as he made various attacks at whatever monster he fought in the game, but I got the feeling the kid understood and was aware of every single thing going on around him.And just waited for the chance to protect someone.Most likely all of us girls.Kid had that look.Which is to say, he looked like every other member of the male species in this place.
Maybe a meltdown would be therapeutic.Truth was, I’d reached a black kind of calm.This whole situation was fucked to shit and back, and numbness had kind of taken over my mindset.
“Anyone want the last brownie?”Violet smiled as she offered the plate with one small brownie bite.“I’ve sat here and eaten way more than I should have.”
