Outlaw: Screaming Eagles MC (22 page)

Chapter Forty-Three

“Are you ready to do this?” Grace asked. They were standing in her garage, her beautiful motorcycle sitting between them. They were about to go straight to the Screaming Eagles’ headquarters, just the two of them. Grace had spoken with her boss who had given his approval for their plan.

Falcon had been left out of the conversation entirely, something he did not enjoy. But it still wasn’t safe for him to leave the house. The Screaming Eagles kept upping their bounty on him; it was over forty thousand dollars the last time anyone had heard. There was no way to ensure the police station would be safe. There could be informants in there, or people watching the door. He understood why it had to be done, and he agreed with the decision, but it was still hard for him to sit at home while Grace did all the work.

He had spent the day pacing in Grace’s apartment, occasionally taking a break from pacing to lift some weights. Grace had been gone all day and all night. She had come home around two in the morning and then had been planning from there. They each had about two hours of sleep and now they were ready to go.

“I’m ready,” Falcon said, crossing his arms and nodding. “I know you’re worried because there’s a lot in the air, but I know we can handle this.”

“Okay,” she said. Falcon got on the bike first and Grace slid on behind him.

She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder for a quick minute. Falcon handed her a helmet and he slipped his on, as well. It felt good to have her on the bike behind him. It felt good to have her body pressed against his, her arms wrapped around his chest. He liked this; he missed this. They hadn’t ridden together since their trip down the coast. They should have ridden together more.

He roared out of her garage and felt sunshine on his hands for the first time in a week. The sun was bright and the sky was blue and there was a soft wind pushing through the warm air. He could smell honeysuckle and the scent of freshly cut grass. He could see children playing on the sidewalk and couples walking hand in hand. He had missed the outside world. It was like he had forgotten that there was a world outside of Grace’s house and the Screaming Eagles.

He drove down the residential streets and then took the first entrance to the freeway. He sped up once on the fast moving road. He pushed the bike to seventy and then eighty and then kept it there, not wanting to get pulled over on the way to his bust. He sped past cars and trucks and he felt his resolve strength.

He had no qualms about ending the Screaming Eagles; he was ready to do it. But he already had so many false starts. He already convinced himself once that he was done and, yet, here he still was. The plan was for this to be the last time, his one last big bust, but the plan had been messed up so many times that there was no way to know if this would work.

They exited the highway and drove down the long, empty street that led to the Screaming Eagles’ headquarters. It was tucked far back out of the city, far away from any houses or businesses. It was quiet and out of the way and the Screaming Eagles had taken full advantage of that.

As he approached the clubhouse he looked for any guards or anyone on watch, but there was no one. Falcon shook his head; Ernie was so hell-bent on capturing Falcon that he had forgotten to fortify his own base. The boss must never have considered that Falcon would come back for them. They must have assumed he had fled or gone into witness protection. No one was going to see them coming.

They pulled into the parking lot without incidence. The clubhouse was dark and all the windows and doors were closed and covered. No one was watching them; no one was looking for them. It was early in the morning and everyone was still asleep in bed. Everyone but the boss.

They parked behind a dumpster, hiding the bike behind piles of stinking trash bags. Together Grace and Falcon hurried into the thick woods. They were quickly swallowed up by the foliage. The forest was so thick Falcon could barely see the clubhouse behind them and he was hoping that meant the people in the clubhouse couldn’t see him.

Falcon led the way. Half-crouched over he hurried past trees and over large boulders towards where he knew the ruins of the old house stood. He avoided the path, worried Ernie or someone else might see them coming. Grace was behind him. She was surprisingly silent in the forest, slipping through branches like a tree nymph. Next to her Falcon felt like a lumbering and clumsy giant; it seemed like he could hear his every footfall as it crunched against dry leaves or snapped a twig.

It appeared in front of them like a mirage. The stone and wooden remnants of the house where so long ago a family had resided. Falcon knelt next to a tree and Grace came over next to him and together they surveyed the ruins. Over the sound of the occasional bird call Falcon could hear voices. He focused on the noise; he couldn’t make out what they were saying, but he thought he could hear three distinct voices speaking quietly in the ruins.

Together he and Grace moved slowly and silently, peering through the foliage and continuing on until they could see three men standing in a circle in the remnants of the kitchen. They still couldn’t make out what they were saying, but they had a good look at them.

Ernie was standing with his back to them, next to him were Marco and Rubio. They were standing in a circle with their arms crossed, looking at the floor or the sky above them. None of them looked happy. Ernie was gesturing wildly with his hands and they could hear him yelling.

Falcon looked over at Grace and she looked back at him. He signaled to her that they should make a break for the wall. They retraced their steps until they were out of sight of the three men and then, taking one last look, they ran from the forest to the building, pressing their backs against the crumbling stone wall.

His heart was pounding, but he wasn’t afraid. He felt focused and ready. Adrenaline was pumping through his body and he felt like he could see every vein in every leaf, could smell the different plants around him, and could hear squirrels and chipmunks as they scrambled about the forest floor.

He glanced back at Grace and she gave him a curt nod and he led the way, advancing on the three men. Next to him the wall had crumbled to nothing and as silently as he could Falcon stepped up into the house and hid behind a remaining wall as Grace followed him. They were in the living room; the boss was on the other side of the wall.

“I want Falcon!” He heard the boss shout. “I can’t have people betraying me and working with the cops. One person does it and then everyone else thinks it’s okay. We need to send a message: you cross me, I kill you.”

“I think you should let Falcon go,” Marco said quietly. “This is getting crazy, boss. You’ve offered fifty thousand dollars for his head, but we don’t have fifty thousand dollars. We need to make more money.”

“We can do both,” Ernie spit. “And if you can’t do this, Marco, I will find someone who can.”

Falcon looked at Grace as she took out her nine millimeter. She handed her other gun to Falcon. They both checked and made sure they were loaded and with one last deep breath and a look at each other Falcon and Grace stormed into the kitchen, their guns drawn.

“Don’t move!”

“I will shoot you!”

Ernie, Marco, and Rubio stared at the three of them, their jaws hanging open.

“Get on the ground! You’re under arrest!” Grace said.

But none of the men moved. Ernie’s face had a look of uncontrolled fury; he was staring at Falcon with murder in his eyes. He balled up his fists and then looked from Falcon to Grace.

Chapter Forty-Four

“Holy shit, you are working with the cops,” Marco said. “You know there are people out there who think you’re innocent, right?” He shook his head in disgust and spit on the floor.

“You’re a fucking traitor, Falcon,” Rubio said shaking his head from side to side.

“I’m not saying it again, get on the ground!” Grace shouted taking a step towards the three men. “Don’t even think about it,” Grace said as Marco’s hand hovered over his gun. “Keep your hands up!”

Sirens echoed through the forest and the three men turned to look towards the clubhouse as the realization spread over their faces.

“Tell the men in there to surrender,” Falcon said to the boss, staring him right in the eye. “There’s no need for them to die needlessly.”

“They won’t be dying needlessly,” Ernie answered. His voice was low and dangerous and Falcon could see Ernie’s beady little eyes as he searched for some way out. “They’ll be dying for the Screaming Eagles; they’ll be fighting for their brothers and their loyalty. Don’t try to understand it, Falcon. You’re a traitor. You only think about yourself. Those men aren’t dying because of me. They’re dying because of you, because you’re a traitor and you sold them out.”

Falcon tightened his grip on the gun. He had the other man in his sights, the gun was aimed right at his chest. This could all be over so quickly, just a couple of pulls on the trigger and the boss would be done. But Falcon forced himself to relax. He didn’t want Ernie to die; he wanted Ernie to go to jail. He wanted that man to spend his life in a tiny cement box. Falcon wanted him to never see the sun again.

Grace and Falcon were staring down the other three, but no one was moving. This might not end as cleanly as Falcon had hoped. Without warning Ernie dodged right and hid behind Rubio’s bulk. Falcon aimed, but he didn’t want to hit Rubio to get at Ernie. He was trying to think about what to do next when Ernie suddenly pushed Rubio forward. Marco fired two shots that went wild as the larger man fell forward and Ernie raced from behind him. Falcon aimed and fired at Marco sinking two slugs in the other man’s chest. But while he was distracted Ernie had run towards Grace and tackled her to the ground.

Falcon spun around and aimed his gun at Ernie, but he was too late. Grace was on the ground staring at Ernie who had a gun pointed right at her face.

“Stop thinking you’re smarter than me!” Ernie screamed at Falcon, but his gun was still aimed at Grace. “You cannot beat me. You will not beat me, you stupid idiot!” Ernie was shaking all over his gun was rattling in his hands, but he was close enough to Grace that his aim didn’t matter.

Grace’s eyes flicked from Ernie to Falcon and he could see the fear in her eyes; she was trying to hide it, but her bright green eyes showed him everything.

“It’s over, Ernie,” Falcon said advancing on the other man. “The cops are coming; no one is getting out of here alive. They know about the bunker.”

Ernie’s head turned to Falcon’s and his eyes went wide. “You don’t know anything.”

“I know there’s a bunker door about two feet from where you’re standing and there are enough drugs and guns and evidence down there to take you out. I know and the cops know. It’s over.”

“I say when it’s over!” Ernie screamed. “Do you have any idea how much work and planning I’ve put into this. This is a lifetime of work and I’m not letting some foot soldier traitor take it all away from me!”

“This was never going to last,” Grace said. “Gangs never do. You’re long overdue for this and you know it. Just surrender and save the lives of your men.”

“Shut up!” Ernie said to her. “You think I care about the opinion of some pig who’s fucking a traitor? I can see the way the two of you look at each other. It’s disgusting, you should never mix business with pleasure you morons.” Ernie took a few deep breaths and he looked between Falcon and Grace.

“Let her go, Ernie. They’ll give you the chair if you shoot a cop,” Falcon warned.

Ernie nodded and he leered at Falcon, “You want her to live, Falcon? You get attached to this slut cop? You know she’s using you, right? You think you’re gonna be some hero? I know how the cops work. It’s one and done; they get everything they want and then they hang you out to dry.”

“What do you want, Ernie?” Falcon asked.

“I want you to take that gun you have in your hand, turn it to your face and fire.”

“What?” Falcon demanded.

“Kill yourself, Falcon. Right in front of me. Put that gun against your temple and pull the trigger. You end your life and she can keep hers. That seems like a fair trade to me.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Grace said.

“Do it, or I kill her.”

“How am I supposed to trust that you won’t shoot her after?” Falcon demanded.

“Falcon, don’t even think about it. It’s ridiculous,” Grace said.

“I give you my word,” Ernie said. “And you can trust me, Falcon. I’m not the traitor. You are.”

He needed to do something, but what? He needed to get Grace out of this alive and unharmed, but how? Suddenly Falcon wished he were smarter. He wished he was the kind of guy who could twist words around to convince people to do something or be the kind of guy who could come up with some out of left field solution.

But Grace was that guy, or girl. Her plan with the pigeons had been genius and Falcon could never have thought of anything like that. He wasn’t the smart guy or the clever guy. So who was he? He was the guy who won the weekly fights, but he couldn’t punch Ernie. He could shoot him, though. His mind sped through the various permutations of his idea in seconds. It might work, it might not. He needed to shoot Ernie, but not kill him. He needed to shoot Ernie, without Ernie shooting Grace. He needed to do a lot of things all at once and he needed to do it now. He stared at Ernie and watched him.

“What are you waiting for, you coward? You really want her to die for you?”

It happened in a split second, Ernie gestured only slightly with his gun, but it was enough. He moved the gun off of Grace’s head for one second and in that one second Falcon shot, hitting Ernie right in the center of his right foot.

The man screamed and toppled over and Grace sprang up, grabbing his gun and pointing at him as he writhed on the ground, holding his foot in his hand.

“Are you all right?” Falcon asked Grace as he ran up to her.

“I’m fine,” she said, holding her gun on Ernie. “Cuff him,” she said. Falcon grabbed her handcuffs from her back pocket and wrenched the boss’ arms behind his back and cuffed him.

“Let me go! Fight me like a man! I will not be taken alive. Falcon, you coward! I’ll get you! You can never run from me. I am everywhere.”

“Let’s see you be everywhere from a prison cell with all your men locked up with you,” Falcon said as he hauled the boss to his feet. The other man limped on his shot foot, but he was able to stand and Falcon pulled him out of the ruins and towards the sound of sirens at the clubhouse.

Grace was behind him, but the trees were blocking everything. They couldn't see anything, but soon, they could hear it. The sound of loud popping noises and screaming overpowered the sirens. It had turned into a firefight at the clubhouse.

Falcon hurried down the path, dragging Ernie behind him as the other man cursed and insulted him. But Falcon wasn’t listening. The trees in front of him were thick and he knew they would be up until the driveway. Above him he saw the chain that went across the path and he tossed Ernie over it and jumped the chain, picking up his boss and running towards the sounds of gunfire with Grace hot on his heels.