Madness Ends (16 page)

Lisa smiled at the promise in his voice. Being an old lady—the
head
old lady—certainly had its perks, but the thought of a younger dick and more money than she knew what to do with had her pussy wet with longing. Stone Cold walked up to Boone ready, no doubt, to say goodbye. She flicked a dismissive glance over the old man from head to toe as she disconnected the call. A girl could only stand so much shriveled cock in her lifetime.

* * * *

“I suppose I should thank you for your hospitality,” Boone said to Stone Cold as he secured the saddlebags in preparation for their ride to Sioux City.

“It’s generally the polite thing to do.”

Boone snorted. “I’m not a very polite man. And you basically railroaded us.”

Stone Cold shrugged. “You say tomato, I say toe-mah-toe.”

“The ending of that little song is let’s call the whole thing off,” Boone said. He held Stone Cold’s gaze until the other man chuckled.

“You never give an inch, do you?”

“No,” Boone replied. “Like I said, I’ll talk to Romeo for a sit down, but I won’t guarantee anything.”

Stone Cold held out his hand, and Boone hesitated in taking it. The feeling that something else was going on hit him again, and the questions that plagued him earlier returned in full force. He grabbed the man’s hand and pulled him close to murmur in his ear.

“How did you know so much about the Men of Hell?”

Stone Cold jerked back, and their gazes clashed—held. A power play erupted but Boone refused to back down. This wasn’t his president or his club, and he didn’t give a shit about protocol.

“Watch who you’re talking to, boy.”

“Old men like you must be getting senile if you think I give a fuck about who you are,” Boone taunted. He glanced around at the Whiskey Knights who eyed him coldly, ready to jump in and defend their leader if need be. “My club was under attack from one of your men. If you want to stick to the law of the land, then you know I have the right to retribution.”

Stone Cold clenched his jaw so tightly Boone wondered how he didn’t crack it. He tried to apply pressure to the handshake, but Boone gave an equal amount, if not more so. No way was Boone backing down from this asshole.

“I told you Vicious went rogue. You’re going to need my help in wrangling him.”

Boone sneered and squeezed the fingers hard enough to see a slight wince on the other man’s face before he let go.

Stone Cold flexed his hand. “Vicious called me last night,” he said. “Drunk, babbling about how he’d found the mother lode. How he was going to bring your club down if it was the last thing he did. Now, I wasn’t lying when I said I’d like a business arrangement with the Men of Hell, and seeing my future business partners die because of one of my men doesn’t sit right with me, even if he was voted out.”

“So you want to help out of the generosity of your heart? I don’t think so. What else?”

Stone Cold’s gaze darted to the duffel Gabby was currently stuffing into his saddlebag.

Boone snorted derisively. “So you want a slice of what’s inside.”

“No,” Stone Cold said. “Vicious said a mother lode. You think I’m too foolish not to realize that a hundred grand has to be the tip of the iceberg?”

“You know
nothing
,” Boone stressed.

Stone Cold grabbed Boone’s upper arm. “I could kill you easily and simply take the money.”

“Is that the immediate answer of the Whiskey Knights?” Gabby asked. His hand hovered over the butt of his gun. “Simply take what you can’t have? You sure seem to have bred that into your men.”

Boone held up a hand to hold him back.

“On second thought, the Men of Hell aren’t for sale. Thanks for your hospitality but don’t bother waiting for a phone call.”

He broke the grip on his arm and moved toward his bike.

“Don’t be a fool! Our clubs could rule Nebraska.”

Boone straddled his bike and saw out of the corner of his eye that Gabby had done the same thing. Kaiya wrapped her arms around him as he glared at Stone Cold.

“If ruling Nebraska means ruling it with the Knights, I think I’ll pass,” he said coldly.

He made a come-along gesture with his fingers to Gabby then punched his bike into gear. They roared down the road without looking back.

Chapter Seventeen

They crossed into South Dakota and wasted no time in making a beeline for the Sioux City Downtown Bus Depot. The key to the last locker burned a hole in Kaiya’s pocket and she couldn’t wait to put this scavenger hunt behind her. If there was one thing she’d learned on this trip, it was that she was in love—with both Gabby and Boone. When she’d first learned about Chloe’s relationship with Dax and Romeo, it had surprised her. Sure, Chloe had always been a bit wild. Killing one’s mother tended to make a person go off the deep end. But she’d found a semblance of calmness being with the Men of Hell, and Kaiya longed for the same thing. Her problems were nowhere near the level that Chloe had dealt with, obviously, but that didn’t diminish her own need for a place to belong.

Her ass was getting used to the vibration of the motorcycle. She tightened her arms around Boone, hugging him, and was rewarded with a pat on her hand. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Gabby cruising along, goggles covering his face and the long strands of his hair whipping under the edge of his helmet. He smiled and gave her a wave. Excitement flared to life within her. Once they got the money from the locker, she had a vision of them spending the rest of the day in bed together, all three of them living out one of her deepest fantasies. She wanted to be owned and possessed by both of them, at the same time. Taken in one of the most primitive and raw ways a woman could be taken. The thoughts sent a jolt of pleasure directly to her center and she clenched her pussy in a mock Kegel imitation. It didn’t ease the desire flooding through her and the bike’s pulsing between her thighs wasn’t helping her sexual high at all.

All too soon, however, they were on the streets of Sioux City, and this time the bus depot was located in a nice area of the city. New and modern, with clean lines and sleek angles, it lacked the seedier quality of the two other stations they’d been to.

Boone and Gabby filed into parking spots and shut off their bikes. Kaiya dismounted and took off her helmet as the men did the same. The sun shone warmly on her skin. The cerulean tint of the sky held big fluffy clouds that lazily drifted by. Gabby tapped Boone’s arm and pointed, and when she followed the line, she saw they were directly across the street from a police station.

“Vicious wouldn’t dare strike with the cops right there,” she signed. “This should be a piece of cake.”

“Don’t get too comfortable,” Gabby signed back. “Believe me, Vicious and Cipher won’t let the police get in their way. And this is the last step in finding us.”

She shook her head. “You’re being paranoid. This place is so peaceful.”

She held her arms open and half twirled as she lifted her face to the sky. She breathed in the fresh air and turned to smile at her men. They both stared at her skeptically.

“Let me get the bag,” she signed. The faster she got it, the faster they could get to a hotel.

But Gabby held her arm and shook his head. “This time we get the bag.”

“Why?” she asked with her fingers. “I thought you’d want to keep a lookout.”

“The last time you went inside, Eagle found you,” he said.

She read his lips and frowned. “You cannot compare this situation to Omaha. There are no Whiskey Knights around here. Come on. I will be in and out in five minutes.”

Gabby glanced at Boone, who shrugged.

Kaiya smiled, stood on tiptoe and kissed Gabby’s cheek before dashing up the steps to the depot’s entrance. Large skylights allowed massive amounts of sunlight into the station. Lush, green plants decorated the lobby, next to nice vinyl seats and large television screens playing various soap operas and news reports. The lockers were located on the opposite side of the check-in counter, and she headed in that direction. The faceplates were bright orange, and she traced the numbers until she came to number ten. Digging the key out of her pocket, she quickly unlocked it and opened the door to grab the duffel that waited, only there was one other thing inside the small compartment. Draping the bag’s strap over her shoulder, she picked the object up and realized it was a book. Or specifically, a journal. Her heart thudded with excitement as she flipped through it and noticed it was full of handwritten notes. A ledger. Perhaps the missing ledger she needed to connect all of Cipher’s dots?

Kaiya flung her own backpack off her shoulders to stuff the journal inside just as a hand grabbed her arm and a gun barrel pressed against her ribs. She stiffened, knowing without looking who held her captive. He yanked on her arm and, helplessly, she followed.

A moment later, the entire place lit up as fire ripped through the serene interior of the bus depot, completely shattering the tranquil setting.

* * * *

Gabby watched her leave, his gaze focused on her sexy ass. Emotion swelled inside him, yet he hesitated calling it love. Who was he to know what love actually was? Besides, he was the last man on Earth who was worthy of anything as monumental as that feeling. He wasn’t even worthy of being in Kaiya’s shadow, let alone thinking of a happily ever after with her. Still, he didn’t think he could let her go. Not now. Even though she deserved better.

The club…he understood that life. It suited him. When he’d come home from the military hospital, he’d been a mess. Homeless. Wandering. There was no way he could’ve functioned normally in society back then, and a few years later, Boone had come to find him. If it hadn’t been for the club, he would have been lost in the darkness.

“Stop it,” Boone ordered.

Gabby tore his gaze off Kaiya’s lush ass to look at him. “Stop what?”

“You don’t think I don’t know that look?” Boone asked, pointing at his face.

“What look?” Gabby scoffed.

“Don’t go back to that place, Gordon Dixon. You are not that man anymore. Hear me?”

“Shut the fuck up,” Gabby said sharply.

“I will never shut up about this,” Boone said.

Gabby turned away and reached for the crumpled pack of cigarettes in his pocket, trying to convey without words that he was done with the conversation.

After a pause, Boone sighed. “So after this we have a meeting with Red Eye.”

“Yep.”

“Figured we’d rest up today, head out tomorrow.”

“Fine.”

“Jesus,” Boone muttered. “I fucking hate it when you get moody.”

At that moment, the world simply shattered as an explosion rocked the ground, emanating from the station. The acrid smell of gunpowder permeated the air as glass rained down. Gabby and Boone were blown back and fell into their bikes, which toppled over from the force of their bodies. Car alarms shrieked through the unnatural calmness that suddenly descended. Gabby shook his head, trying to get his bearings, and looked at Boone to make sure he was okay, then he whipped his head around to the bus depot. Panic descended into his heart as fire licked from the windows.

“Kaiya,” he whispered brokenly.

He and Boone both pushed to their feet and ran to the entrance. By this time, the shock of what had happened turned into horror and people from all around began to rush forward to help. Cops poured out of the police station.

“Kaiya!” Boone bellowed. But, of course, she wouldn’t be able to hear him.

Sirens wailed in the distance, quickly coming closer. Victims stumbled out of the front of the station, disoriented, streaked in soot and blood. Gabby and Boone tried pressing forward but the swarm of bodies made it difficult, and when they finally made it inside, Gabby’s stomach bottomed out. Smoke hung thickly through the air, constricting his breathing. He coughed and raised his arm to cover his face as his eyes watered from the lingering heat. Even though debris and soot lined everything, a blackened explosion pattern ran next to the main window, which had been the glass that had shattered all over them. Two bodies lay in pieces next to the destruction, and Boone clutched his shoulder, pointing. Gabby swung around and saw the lockers, which hadn’t been damaged. They hurried over, dodging debris, to find Kaiya. Only she wasn’t there.

Firemen poured into the scene.

“Out! Out! Everyone, out!”

A few moans came forth, and some firemen moved toward the sounds. Another man grabbed Gabby’s arm.

“You have to get out now!”

“Fuck!” Gabby yelled. “Kaiya! Where are you!”

“Sir, you have to leave!”

Gabby pulled away. “Kaiya! Kaiya!”

“Sir…”

Gabby ducked away from the firefighter, turned and shoved him back. “I’m not leaving here without my girlfriend! Kaiya!”

He stomped forward until he found locker number ten. Seeing the key in place let them know that it was empty. The merchandise inside was gone. He glanced toward the victims still inside and studied their faces. She wasn’t among them.

“Maybe she made it out before the bomb went off,” Gabby said. He looked up at Boone. “Maybe we missed her coming out.”

“Maybe,” Boone said, although his tone implied that he doubted it.

“You have to leave!”

The fireman was persistent, Gabby would give him that. “Yeah, yeah,” he said. “We’re going.”

He needed to hold onto the hope she hadn’t been inside when the place exploded, but it was as if she’d simply vanished. They hurried out of the interior and bent over at the waist, coughing up a lungful of black residual smoke. Gabby stared at each victim, looking for Kaiya, but she wasn’t among them either.

“He was waiting for us after all,” Boone said.

Gabby tore his gaze from searching the battered and bruised people. Boone’s fists were clenched so tightly the whites of his knuckles stood out in stark relief.

“You mean Vicious,” Gabby clarified. It wasn’t a question.

“Stone Cold said I would need his help. Fuck!” Boone yelled, breathing hard. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and punched in a number. As the call went through, Boone captured his gaze. “We find that motherfucker and tear his fucking heart out.”