Текст книги "Chelsea "
Автор книги: Addison Jane
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Текущая страница: 16 (всего у книги 19 страниц)
“I guess the puzzle is slowly beginning to make sense,” Blizzard observed, reclining in my office chair.
“Yeah, it’s all coming together but it ain’t making a fucking pretty picture,” Leo grumbled as he paced the room. Blizzard, Leo, Wrench and I had come together to try and come up with a plan, or at least try to understand what the fuck was going on.
“Let’s get this all straight,” I told my boys, leaning with my palms flat on the table in front of me. I couldn’t sit down, my body was too anxious. Leo had talked to Kit’s father, Oz and he’d been able to shed some light on a few things, including the significance of the dates and places that had been changed on Leo and Wrench’s records. Oz had been around for almost as long as our national president—a hard ass name Huntsman—and had gained just as much respect. If there was someone big within the crime world taken down, they knew about it. They had to because, with one more name out of the game, it meant there was money to be made.
“Romano DePalma was locked up in 1997. It’s not often a mob boss gets caught with his hand on the evidence, but apparently there were suspicions of a rat inside the family,” Leo explained, recalling what he had heard from Oz. “They scrambled for a while, Marco, the oldest brother had no idea what he was doing. During the mess, the Brothers by Blood ended up picking up some of their buyers—guns and ice I think.”
“So how did Anthony come to be in charge?” Wrench asked, finally taking a break from scanning his computer.
“When Romano saw that his eldest son couldn’t sort his shit out, he took back the reins and ran the family businesses from inside his prison cell. Not an easy task but not the first time it’s been done.” Leo stopped pacing and leaned against the door to my office, scrubbing his hand through his now short hair, a look I was still getting used to. “2005 is where this starts to get fucked up.”
Blizzard nodded. “So Romano finally decides to hand the family business over, but surprise, surprise, he gives it to his second eldest Anthony instead of Marco.”
“Ouch,” Wrench screwed up his face. “Bet that hurt the ego.”
“No shit. You’re ready to run one of the most powerful criminal rings in the USA and Daddy tells you no?” I shook my head. “Marco would’ve been pissed.”
“Right. So a couple months later—bam, Romano is killed in a small riot inside the prison.” Blizzard shakes his head. “Just around the time our boys here are apparently inside.”
I frowned. “So what the fuck does that mean? Someone is trying to set us up, say that it was the club that took him out?”
Leo snorted. “Seems that way. And they went through some trouble to provide that kind of proof.”
“This can’t be the DEA,” I said, picking up the falsified papers and scanning over them. “It would be far too easy for us to prove that you weren’t in prison at that time. The government may be stupid, but they ain’t that stupid.”
“So what was Target’s motive?” Wrench asked, closing the lid to his laptop.
“Someone in the family wanted Romano dead and I think they used us as the scapegoat.” I slammed the papers down on the table. This shit was getting dirty. Not only were they after my woman, but now we find out they were trying to pin some shit on us that we hadn’t even done.
Blizz tapped his fingers on my desk. “What was it that Harmony said that day? Target was the Trojan horse. He was sent in to destroy us from the inside out.”
“This shit happened ten fucking years ago. Target was barely around for half of that. Why did they wait?” Leo mused, but I knew the answer. Everything was coming together now, the pieces finally clear and slotting into place.
“He was too young. Marco didn’t have any kids and Target was Anthony’s eldest son. He came to us when he turned eighteen. They just bided their time until he was old enough to prospect,” I growled. “This shit is fucked up on so many God damn levels.”
“But wait, there’s more,” Blizzard said jokingly, but his face told a totally different story as his eyes connected with mine. “I found a newspaper article online about Romano’s arrest in 1997. Why don’t you read it and share with the class who was in charge of the operation that brought him down?” He handed it to me and I had to force my eyes to look down to read it.
I knew this wasn’t going to be good, I could tell just by the look on his face. I scanned the article. “Fuck me.” I looked up at Blizzard. “This is a fucking joke right?”
He slumped back in his chair. “Wish it fucking was.”
“Who is it?” Leo asked curiously, pushing off the door and standing straight.
“David Blackwell, DEA,” I groaned.
“Chelsea’s dad?” Wrench said in complete awe. “Well, this just went from a tad fucked up to being plowed straight in the ass.”
“Optimus!”
I jumped as I heard someone scream my name. We all looked at each other for a minute before Leo threw the door open and took off running, the three of us following suit.
“Optimus!” I made it to the main room just as Neil screamed my name again as he ran out from the club girls hall, obviously in search of me. He was breathing hard but managed to push out the words that I desperately did not want to hear. “Chelsea...Rose had a gun...forced her into a car.” I jabbed his finger toward the front gates and I didn’t even bother to stick around and ask any more questions.
I heard a revving engine as a black Mercedes took off full speed down the usually quiet street. By now more of my brothers had gathered, including a couple Old Ladies and Sugar holding a wide-eyed, Harlyn.
“Blizzard, Camo, Wrench, get your bikes, try catch up with them,” I yelled as I ran toward the front gates. Kev dragged them open, holding his rifle in one hand.
“What the fuck happened?” I roared.
A chorus of bikes started behind me and Kev waited until they shot out the gates, tires screeching, before he spoke, “Fuck man. She was just there.” He pointed at a tree that shaded the pavement less than fifty feet away. “Rose was sitting under the tree, Chelsea crouched down in front of her. I couldn’t see the gun until it was too late and there was a car coming. Fuck. I should have just shot the double crossing bitch.” The fact that they had let her walk out the gate at all wasn’t my biggest concern right now. And I knew until I found Chelsea, Kev would beat himself up enough for the both of us. He’d get his for being so fucking stupid but right now, all I wanted was to find my woman.
I stormed back to the clubhouse, my brothers—my family—just staring in awe of what just happened.
“Daddy!” I watched and Harlyn squirmed out of her mother’s arms and ran full force at me, launching her little body into my arms. I caught her, holding her tightly in my grasp and burying my face in her hair. My anger slowly dissipated and suddenly I was overcome with emotion. I felt Harlyn’s small hand patting my back like she knew exactly how I was feeling and what I needed.
“It’s okay, Daddy,” she whispered softly. “It’s okay.”
I nearly broke down. I wanted to scream and yell, break something or someone. But I didn’t. The little girl in my arms gave me strength.
“Yeah, baby girl,” I said closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. “Everything’s gonna be okay.”
She stared straight into my eyes and held up her hand, her pinkie finger sticking out. “Pinkie promise?”
I forced a smile, the innocence of this girl. “I pinkie promise,” my voice broke. I felt a soft hand on my arm and after a moment I finally withdrew my face from the comfort of Harlyn’s embrace. Sugar looked up at me, a sad smile crossed her face.
“Come on Harlyn,” she said softly, holding her arms out. “Daddy needs to work now.”
Harlyn nodded and I passed her over to Sugar, who hefted our girl onto her hip. They headed inside followed by the handful of old ladies and club girls who had come out during the commotion. I looked around at my brothers, their faces all telling me the same thing.
They were ready to stand up and fight.
They weren’t going to lay down and let this shit happen.
Chelsea was one of us.
She was fucking family, and no one fucks with our family and gets away with it.
No fucking way.
My men wanted blood, and that’s exactly what they were going to get.
It wasn’t long before we heard the rumble of bikes come back down the road and pull into the compound. I knew it was a long stretch, sending my men after the speeding car, but if I didn’t try, I didn’t know. They pulled up in front of us and Blizzard was the first to cut his engine and climb off. I could tell my brother was struggling to hold it together. Rose had just shown us her true colors and the reality of this was hitting him hard.
Blizzard struggled with trust. He had his reasons and I had no doubt that this had just reaffirmed them for him. He’d given a shit about this girl and she had just turned around and given him and all of us a big fuck you.
“They had too much of a head start,” he growled.
I nodded. “Church. Now!” I threw the doors open and my brothers all followed me inside. Those who weren’t there had already been called and would be on their way in. I slammed my gavel on the table as my men took their seats. I felt like an army sergeant ready to lead my men into battle. I would fight to get Chelsea back and these men, my brothers, my soldiers were ready to follow me. There were no apprehensive looks, no one was running scared or stood to question me. We were a family. That was the bottom line and family sticks together no matter fucking what.
“I fucked up when I thought that I could protect Chelsea by pushing her away,” I told them, my eyes scanning the room. “Chelsea may have come to us as a club girl. But for me she was always Old Lady material, I was just too fucking stubborn to admit it.”
My brothers sat silently as I bared myself to them. These men saw me for who I was. When my father was killed they voted for me to stand in his place, their belief in me completely astounding. They believed in me and I wasn’t about to let them down.
“She’s it for me, boys,” I told them, standing and placing both my palms on the table. My head hung. “I spent this whole time pushing her away and trying to keep her out of danger when I could’ve been spending that time with her.”
“She’s coming back, Op,” Leo said, standing and slamming his hands down on the wooden surface. “We’ll get her back.”
I heard a chorus of agreement around the room as each of my brothers stood to their feet.
This was family.
My club had my back at all times. They would ride to hell with me and I would do the same for them. The brotherhood we had was something that was hard to explain to outsiders. Some saw us as gangs or delinquents on a power trip. But we were more than that. We were a family—a stronger family than you would even get through blood relatives.
It was our loyalty to each other that made us so strong. These men didn’t have to follow me, they didn’t have to take my orders or put their lives at risk because I told them to.
They chose to back me—that was their choice.
And every day I was thankful for the trust and respect that they held for me.
We may be outlaws—criminals, we may beat the shit out of each other from time to time, we may fight and argue, and at some point we may break. But I knew that when it mattered when push came to shove and one of us was in crisis—We stood together.
We stood as one.
We were strong—fucking unbreakable.
“Then let’s get her back.”
Since Anthony’s visit to the club, I’d made sure that we had some sort of eyes on him. Better to be on the offensive than the defensive. He was staying in Huntsville, a city not far from Athens. He had himself up in a swank hotel, but according to Wrench his people would come and go, but he himself had not left much.
It made me curious. He had come that day, making subtle threats to the club because of his missing son, but he had been here for going on two weeks and had yet to make a move.
“Maybe he does actually believe his son is missing,” Slider suggested after he came in and caught up on what was going on.
“He can’t be that stupid,” Camo said rolling his eyes.
“He’s not stupid, he’s being smart,” Kev said, speaking up for the first time. “He doesn’t want to start a war. He knows that once he makes a move it could bring a complete shit storm down on him. The Brothers by Blood isn’t just some small club that he can push around. We have a solid amount of backing behind us, not just from our brothers but from other clubs that will stand beside us. He’s being smart, getting the facts first. Finding out who we are, what we have behind us.”
“Then why all the attacks on our people? Why blow up Chelsea’s car and kill an innocent girl just because she works for us,” Blizzard countered.
Kev nodded in agreement. “That’s the part that doesn’t make sense. That’s not him, it’s not who he is.”
“Only one way to find out what’s really going on,” I said, pushing to my feet once again. “I think it’s time we made a visit of our own.”
The faces around me were stoney and serious, but we all knew what needed to be done. I took a handful of brothers with me to Huntsville, the rest hung behind, waiting for further orders. I didn’t know where they’d taken Chelsea, and if she was still in Athens, I wanted a group of my men close by just in case. It spread us a little thinner than I would have liked, but this was more than just a show of power. We were running out of time and if she were still in the area they would be able to get there a lot faster.
I almost laughed at the lack of security that Anthony DePalma had. There were no men stationed in the lobby of the hotel and we were able to walk straight in without causing a fuss. He was either incredibly cocky and didn’t think we would walk right into his den, or he was letting us in and we were in for a fight that could cost us our lives.
I slammed my hands on the sparkling marble counter, the young girl behind it nearly jumping out of her skin. “Anthony DePalma’s room, what's the number?” I growled. Her eyes looked around frantically and I knew I needed to get this done because I had no doubt that someone had already called the police.
“I...uh...I can’t...”
Slider slipped around the side of the desk and flashed the woman his trademark smile. “Hi there, darling. I’m just gonna shuffle you to the side here for a minute.” He pulled on her chair and it slowly rolled away from the desk. She didn’t even fight it, her mouth just hung open as she watch Slider tap on the computer keys.
He scoffed and pushed the stunned girl back into her place behind the computer. “Penthouse, of course. Where else would he stay?”
I didn’t even pause, heading straight for the elevator. Blizzard, Wrench, Slider, Ham and Leo all climbed in beside me. It was a tight squeeze, almost fucking comical.
“Going up,” Slider announced, his smile wide but I could see the tension in my brother’s face. We were preparing ourselves for a fight. The elevator dinged and the doors opened, Leo pulled his gun from its holster inside his cut and leaned out the door.
“Two guards at the end of the hallway outside double doors. They’re lounging.” I nodded and my brothers all pulled out their pieces. Leo held up three fingers, then two, and one, and we all stepped out of the elevator together, a wall of force. It took a second for the two men to look up at us, both of them jumping back in surprise and their hands moving for the weapons that I could see tucked into their waistbands.
“Don’t fucking touch it,” Leo growled, he stepped forward in front of us. This was his job, he was the man who made sure situations were safe, that we were covered. I let him take the lead, knowing that his experience with this outweighed mine, and having complete faith that he’d know what the right approach was. The two men looked at each other before slowly raising their hands in the air.
“Open the doors,” I snapped as I got closer, my gun still raised and aimed directly at one of their heads. There was no wounding, there was only shoot to kill. These guys were ruthless, trained to do the exact same.
One reached into his pocket slowly and pulled a keycard. He swiped it through the door lock and when it beeped he also entered a code into the panel beside it. Obviously Anthony wasn’t as stupid as I thought when it came to security measures. I watched the numbers he placed in, burning them into the back of my mind for future reference.
The doors were pushed open and I motioned with my gun for them to walk through ahead of us. The large suite we walked into was open plan. There were several people in the space and it didn’t take me long to clock Anthony DePalma sitting at the sparkling dining table, a newspaper in his hands and reading glasses propped up on his nose.
“Honey, we’re home,” Slider yelled, the noise echoing in the vast open space.
There was suddenly a flurry of movement. Men yelling, the safety being clicked off guns. I watched Anthony’s face go from relaxed to infuriated in less than two seconds. He pushed his chair back and slowly rose to his feet. I wasn’t intimidated even as more of his men flooded the space. I would do anything to get Chelsea back and that included staring death in the eye and screaming fuck you. Which seemed now to be exactly what I was doing.
We stood inside the room at a complete standoff. Anthony and I glared at each other, waiting for the other to speak or make a move. Guns were drawn, the threat of violence filling the space quickly.
“I want her back, now,” I ordered, taking a step forward and drawing more than one gun to me as I moved closer to their boss.
“You do not come into my home and begin making orders,” Anthony said firmly.
I almost screamed. “But you can come to my home and take my woman?!”
I saw the anger on his face waiver and turn to confusion. “I have done no such thing.”
“Bullshit,” I snapped, ripping my gun from the holster at my side and pointing it straight at him. “You’re the only asshole ballsy enough to drive up to my front gates for some little pow-wow and then drive off. Nobody else is stupid as fuck like you.”
He took a step forward. “Watch your mouth.”
“Oh wait, you couldn’t even come and do it yourself. You had to be backhanded and sneaky and send in a young girl to do your dirty work,” I ground out slowly, trying to keep my anger at bay.
“If you’d done your research properly you’d find I have one daughter, and I know exactly where she is and what she’s doing right now,” he sneered, walking closer but choosing to take a seat in an expensive looking armchair in the small living room area. It was meant to be an insult, telling me I wasn’t even worth standing to greet which I wasn’t polite. “So before you come in here, making accusations—”
“Then who the fuck is Rose?” Blizzard demanded, coming to stand next to me.
I caught the surprise on his face before he masked it. But it wasn’t just him. I recognized two of the other men in the room, they were his sons and their eyes were fixed on their father, full of curiosity and questions.
“Rosalie?” One of them asked, taking a step closer to their father.
“And who is Rosalie?” I growled, imitating the posh way his son had said her name.
He hit me with a sharp glare before finding his composure again.
“Rosalie is my niece.”
“Well, your fucking niece showed up outside my compound, pointed a gun at my Old Lady and forced her into a car. After spending the last couple months pretending to be her friend,” I said, pointing my finger at him.
“Not possible,” he said, tapping his fingers on the arm of the leather chair. “My niece is on the other side of the country at college in California.”
“Then who the fuck was sitting outside my clubhouse pointing a gun at my Old Lady a couple hours ago?” I snapped. “She yelled that the club had killed her family. And as far as I am aware, you are the only person with that kind of vendetta against us.”
His lips drew into a thin line as he glared at me across the room. I thought he was about to let loose, but instead he yelled, “Grant!”
I looked around the room, stopping when one of his men stepped forward. He was a gangly looking guy, hair slicked back with too much gel and arrogance seeping from his pores.
“Sir,” he said, his eyes staying focused on my men as he came closer.
Anthony didn’t look at him. “Where is Rosalie?”
I saw the corner of his lip twitch like he wanted to smile. “Cali, sir.”
“That’s a lie.” Ham moved swiftly to my side. I turned my head to him, curious.
“Grant is Rosalie’s boyfriend. One would assume he knows where his woman is.” His eyes met mine. He was throwing this shit back in my face. I kept my shit on lock down, fighting the urge to punch the fucker in the throat. There were too many guns pulled and once something started, people would die. I knew that for sure.
“Oh, he knows exactly where she is? Last week when I followed the girls on a night out, him and another guy approached them,” Ham explained, venom in his words. I saw Anthony’s eyes narrow. It was a small movement but one that told me he was listening and contemplating the loyalty of his men.
“When they tried to get Chelsea and Rose to go home with them, someone else stepped in,” he looked over to me, “Deacon.”
Ham had informed me of this, but during the time it had just made me angry to know that he was spending time with Chelsea and watching out for her when that was my job. I didn’t realize the significance of it all until now.
I could feel Blizzard beside me. His body was practically radiating and shaking with anger. I wasn’t sure if it was because this stupid fool had just admitted to being Rose’s boyfriend. Or if it was the situation in general. I just prayed that he kept his cool for a little while longer so that we could all make it out of there alive.
Grant’s eyes were flicking around the room. I knew right then he was guilty. He was nervous. I would be too if I had just lied to one of the biggest Mafia Don’s in America.
I folded my arms across my chest and waited for the show. Anthony wasn’t about to let anyone get away with making a fool of him. Especially in front of us, people who he considered the opposition.
“Gio,” Anthony growled.
Giovanni, Anthony’s now eldest son, was the closest to the man. His gun was raised in a second flat and placed against Grant’s temple. The dude shook, stumbling as Gio forced him to walk around the sofa to stand before his father. Gio placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. Grant grimaced in pain as he was forced to his knees.
Anthony leaned forward. “Let’s try this again. Grant, where is Rosalie?”
Grant hung his head in defeat, knowing there was no talking his way out of this one. “In Athens with Marco.”
Anthony’s head drew back, he was surprised by this information. He took a moment to compose himself before he shuffled closer again, sitting on the edge of his chair. “Speak now.”
“Sir—”
“No,” Anthony spat, “you speak now or I give you to this club and they can torture the facts out of you for all I care. Speak!”
I wanted to rub my hands together. I would love to get a hold of this slimy little bastard but as much as I hated to admit, Anthony was doing the right thing. This was going to be a lot faster way to get the information that we need.
“Marco is after the girl,” he admitted quietly, long gone the cocky bastard in him.
“Why?” Gio asked, pressing his gun hard into the back of the man’s neck.
“Because her parents put your father away,” I said. All the eyes turned to me, so I continued, “Romano was arrested by Chelsea’s father who was a member of the DEA. Marco went over there and took out his revenge, but Chelsea managed to escape out a window. When the police found her, they knew someone would be coming after her, as the missing piece, so they hid her where no one would go looking for her…in foster care.”
Anthony watched me, hanging on my words. His sons stared, clearly surprised by the news. No one spoke or tried to argue that I was wrong, so I just kept talking, “He tried to frame the Brothers by Blood. I guess he was a little upset that when Romano got put away and he was placed in the driver’s seat that we still managed to pull some of your business deals out from under him.”
I could see Anthony clenching his hands into fists as they sat atop his perfectly pressed dress pants. Gio’s finger twitched on the trigger of the gun and I prayed he wouldn’t fire until I knew exactly where Chelsea was and how to get her home in one piece.
“Your brother is fucking nuts,” Blizzard snapped, his resolve finally breaking. “Do you know what he’s doing to that girl? I’ve seen her more than once with bruises and burns for God’s sake. She’s supposed to be your family, but what the fuck are you doing to protect her?”
I threw my hand to the side, my palm landing on Blizzard’s chest as I felt him walk forward. It wasn’t often people saw this side of him. He was a joker—relaxed, calm—a guy you enjoyed being around. But he was also fiercely protective of those he cared about.
“Gio, Rico…you will stay,” Anthony spoke quietly but surely. “Optimus, I believe we need to have a few words.”
I dipped my chin.
“Please, feel free to have a few of your men take Grant here. I would like a little privacy for this conversation.”
I didn’t wait a second more. “Ham, grab the asshole.” I needed this over. The longer I leave Chelsea, the longer I risk her life.
Ham, Wrench, and Slider stepped forward and grabbed the lying little snake, dragging him out the door into the lobby. Gio and Rico flanked their father, taking up residence on each side of him. Blizzard and Leo stayed with me, doing much the same.
“There seems to be some misunderstandings between us,” Anthony said clearly, once the room had emptied.
“Someone tried to frame us for your father’s death. It wasn’t us and I can prove that shit,” I told him.
He nodded and folded his hands back in his lap. “Yes, I’m sure you can.” He cleared his throat. “My brother was not happy that my father passed his legacy on to me.”
I heard Blizzard scoff behind me. Anthony shot him a glare, his eyes narrowed.
“I want my woman back,” I said simply. “If he’s hurt her, I’ll kill him.” I wasn’t about to beat around the bush. Marco DePalma was a dead man. Anthony could try and stop me right now, but one way or another I was going to take him out.
He raised his hand and scratched at his chin. “You say he’s hurt my niece?” The question was aimed past me to my VP.
Blizzard didn’t hesitate to answer. “On more than one occasion. Our man said when she pulled her gun and ordered Chelsea into the car that she was sporting some pretty nasty battle wounds.” He talked through gritted teeth, the thought obviously wearing on his mind.
“She was an illegitimate child. She came from an affair with one of his maids.” I looked up at each of his boys and I could see the pride in his eyes. “To him, she needed to earn the right to be a part of this family. Her mother left before she was born. We didn't know anything of her until she appeared around a year or so ago making claims. Marco was disgusted. But for us, as soon as she proved her DNA, she was family. She has my blood in her veins, it doesn’t matter what it was mixed with. I should have stopped it before it got to this point.”
This strong man sat in front of me, his head hung like he was ashamed of his actions. He could stare a man in the eyes before shooting him dead, but when it came to family, there was nothing more important.
Maybe we weren’t so different.
“Grant will give you the information to find Marco and get your…woman…back. I believe you’ll do what you see fit and I will consider what you’ve told me here today.”
With that, we were dismissed. There was no bloodshed and I had a way of reclaiming what was mine. I was done. I merely nodded and turned on my heel, my brothers following me out the door and into the hall.
Our buddy Grant was sporting a split lip and was crumpled against the wall. Wrench was grinning and Ham was staring down at him with utter disgust. Time was running out and the only thing I was concerned about was getting the information I needed to bring Marco down and save my girl.
“Leo, call the boys, get them on their bikes,” I ordered. Wrench grabbed the piece of garbage by his arm and dragged him with us as we walked down the prim and proper hotel hall.
“Let’s get our girl back.”
