Page 34 of Two Tricks

“Cognac! Cognac, come in! Everything back here is going crazy, Eagle thinks we’re under attack by Two Tricks. We need you and Dax back here now!”

I looked down at the radio for a moment, unsure of what to do. The voice was so frenzied, I couldn’t tell if I knew who it was. Reaching down and grabbing the radio from the floor, I rolled my shoulders and readied myself for the performance of my life.

“Help! They are shooting at us! Please, we need backup. Cognac ran out of bullets. We’re on the east side along the fence line. Please, there’s too many of them!” I shouted into the walkie-talkie, revving the engine so it sounded like we were running for our lives.

There was a pause, then Eagle’s voice came across the radio. “Dax, who is after you? What can you tell us?”

“It’s the Mad Dogs!” I answered, knowing that the two MCs didn’t like each other.

The Phantom Saints had pushed them out of the L.A. area when they grew in power, and Mastiff, their president, didn’t take it well. There had been rumblings recently that they were going to make a move to reclaim their territory.

“There has to be twenty of them or so after us! Cognac took out a few, but they are gaining on us. Please help!”

I pushed the desperation in my voice, knowing that in reality I never would have let anyone think I was that weak. But I really needed them to believe what I was saying and keep them busy while we got away.

“Hang in there, little hellcat, we’re coming,” Eagle said, a darkness in his voice that I could pick up even over the radio.

Tossing the walkie-talkie out of the ATV, I flipped it into drive, slamming my foot on the gas and shooting through the opening Wes made us. Pausing long enough for him to jump in, I fishtailed as the tires kicked up dirt into a cloud. Laughing, I grinned as we flew across the open land to freedom, cranking up the music once again.

“Fuck, Dax!” Wes yelled. He held onto the roll cage for dear life as I sent us airborne over the crest of a hill, crashing back to the ground with a whoop. “Do you have to make everything into a life-or-death situation?”

“How else do we know if we’ve lived life to the fullest? When my time comes, I want to have no doubt that I took advantage of all life had to offer. Besides, when else am I gonna run away from a biker gang and return the favor by kidnapping one of their guys?” I asked, horns blaring as I cut across a four-lane road.

“Not all of us see the fun in living our lives like that,” Wes grumbled, checking behind us at Cognac.

Rolling my eyes, I gave him a pointed look. “Says the guy who just snuck into a biker gang’s compound with no backup to get me out. How exactly was that plan gonna if we hadn’t happened to fall into your lap?”

“If you must know, I was taking a play out of your book and was just gonna wing it when I got to that point.” Wes shrugged.

My lips pulled into a wide grin at his words as we crossed through a river, soaking us as water sprayed everywhere.

“Was that really necessary? There was a bridge,” Wes griped, wiping off his face.

“Please refer back to my earlier statement,” I chirped with a wink.

Wes just shook his head and pointed to the left. “Take this road until it ends at a cabin. That’s our destination.”

Pulling onto the uneven dirt road, I slowed, not wanting to draw any attention if there were surrounding cabins or campsites. I shouldn’t have been too worried, though, seeing as we’d gone up into the mountain range with towering pine trees, the air cooling with the shade.

We hit a big rut in the road and a loud grunt came from the back, letting us know that Cognac was awake. I peeked over my shoulder to find him glaring up at me, teeth bared around the gag that Wes had put on him. And just because of who I am, I gave him a wink. He thrashed around in the back, but he didn’t get very far with how securely Weston had tied him to the bed.

After a few more miles down a road that would have killed anything besides a truck—or an ATV—a small log cabin appeared. It was nestled in the pine trees, the picture of secluded bliss with its simplistic appearance. There was a covered port that I parked the ATV under, silence descending upon us after I killed the engine. I hopped out, stretching as I took in the small patio that had two wooden chairs on it, setting the tone of the cabin.

Heading up the stairs, I examined the doorframe for our typical spot to hide the keys. Spying the small etched double-spade, I pushed on it, and the wooden compartment popped open, showing a lockbox with the keys. I put in the code and snatched the keys, unlocking the door.

“Don’t be a dick and I won’t knock you out again,” Wes growled at Cognac as he hauled him out of the bed of the ATV.

Wes cut the ties around Cognac’s legs and pulled him to his feet, shoving him forward. Trusting Wes to manage Cognac, I entered, taking in the open concept of the safehouse. My eye was drawn to the stone fireplace with the simple brown couch in front of it. The kitchen was to the right, simple and clean, with an old-fashioned wood-burning stove. I remembered when Wes talked us into making this into a safehouse because it was run all on solar power and natural resources. Totally off the grid. The bedroom was up the stairs in a loft area that was open to the rest of the cabin.

Weston shoved Cognac into one of the kitchen chairs and tied him to it. This was not the best place for holding a captive, but it was definitely going to be hard to find if things went according to plan.

Then I would have to decide what to do with Cognac. The simplest choice was to just kill him. Although there might be a way to use him so they didn’t retaliate if we let him go and both went our separate ways. Ambling over, I pulled the gag out of his mouth and perched on the kitchen table so we were eye to eye.

“Loba,” Cognac said, his eyes searching mine.

“Allow me to introduce you to Weston Price, my business partner, best friend, and left hand to Two Tricks,” I said. Wes hissed at me, upset I was sharing information. “Wes, this is Cognac, treasurer to the Phantom Saints and all-around ladies’ man who believes he will one day talk me into sleeping with him.”

Cognac and Wes looked at each other for a few moments, their gazes unreadable. Cognac broke the tension first, putting on his flirty grin and glancing over at me.