Smolder: Trojans MC (73 page)

Chapter Forty-Eight

He woke up to a room filled bright rays of sunlight. The clock next to the bed said nine-thirty and Falcon felt like he had slept for days. Grace was asleep on her side next to him and he couldn’t help but put his arm around her and pull her closer to him. She gave out a quiet moan as she settled back against him, but her breathing was deep and even and he wasn't sure if she had woken up at all.

He wanted to let her sleep. His kissed her shoulder and rested his head against her. This was what he wanted. He wanted to be in this bed with her forever. He didn’t want her to wake up because once she did they would have to face reality. If he were the only one awake he could lie to himself and pretend that this was a life he had built, one he would never have to leave.

Her phone rang; it was that jangly antique ring tone and it snapped Grace out of her peaceful slumber. She woke with a gasp and blinked a few times before reaching for her phone on the nightstand. “This is Detective Santiago,” she murmured into the phone, and then she quickly got up and scrambled out of bed. “No, sir, I’m up. I’ve been up for hours.”

He couldn’t help but smile at her lie. She looked back at him and held up one finger, asking Falcon to wait. He sat up in bed and nodded. She was wearing a tank top and pair of black panties and he was glad of the view when she left.

He could hear her out in the living room, but he couldn’t make out any of what she was saying. With a sigh Falcon got out of bed and, still naked, he walked over to the bathroom and stepped into the shower. The warm water pulsed on his skin and he closed his eyes as it poured over his face and down his shoulders and back.

He stepped out and went to get dressed, pulling on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt Grace had borrowed from her partner. When he was dressed he walked out into the kitchen where Grace was finishing up her call.

Falcon heard Grace say, “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. I really appreciate it,” as he walked over to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup. Grace hung up the phone and smiled at him.

“Who was that?” he asked.

“The Captain,” Grace said as a tear slid down her right cheek. She gave him a smile, but it cracked almost immediately as she tried to stifle her tears.

“What’s wrong?” Falcon asked, wrapping Grace up his arms pulling her flush against his chest. She wiped the tears out of her eyes hastily as she pressed herself against Falcon’s firm chest. He could feel as she relaxed against him and took a few choked breaths before she calmed down.

“Nothing’s wrong,” she said. “That was my captain; he said everything is good. They found a lot of evidence in the bunker and Ernie’s lawyered up, but they’re pushing for life in prison and they think he’s gonna take it. The rest of the Screaming Eagles have been arraigned. All that’s left is the paperwork.”

“So why are you crying?”

“I’m not crying,” she said softly, she pulled away but only so she could look into his eyes, his hands were still resting on her hips. She was still his, still waiting in his arms. “They want you in witness protection now. Apparently the Feds are pissed we waited this long,” she wiped another errant tear away and looked up at him.

“Yeah,” Falcon said with a sigh. “But we always knew this was going to happen, right?”

She swallowed and nodded. She looked so beautiful in the morning light. Her messy hair was hanging over her shoulders and he could see her legs and the outline of her perfect breasts in her white tank top.

“What if
I stayed?” he asked. She let of a half-stifled sob and fell into her chest. “We arrested so many of the Screaming Eagles. How can they still hurt me?”

She sighed and pulled away from him, and his arms were left barren without her. “It turns out your boy Ernie wasn’t fucking around,” Grace said as her shaking hands brought a cup of coffee to her lips. Tears were forming in her eyes and she kept wiping them away in annoyance. They seemed a foreign thing to her, like she didn’t know what they were or how to stop them. “He hired hit men, a lot of them. He was a smart guy your boss and very vindictive by the looks of it. He had a lot of plans in place should anything like this happen. Money had already been spent on the hit men. He paid them up front to kill you, Falcon. The money’s been spent and they’re looking for you.”

Falcon’s heart sunk. Hit men, professional assassins, Ernie really did have it in for him. The boss had ensured that even if something happened to him, even if he were arrested or killed, Falcon would still die.

“Wow,” Falcon said. “I guess I really did piss him off.”

Grace let out a shaky laugh and nodded at him. “Seriously. We know that he’s hired two of them to get you. That’s a pretty normal tactic; it turns it into a competition. Winner gets a big bonus.”

“But he’s in jail...”

“Jail doesn’t stop them,” Grace said with a shake of her head. “They still get phone calls; they have people on the outside. And Ernie was smart. He must have known that this was going to happen to him some day. He made a lot of plans for his future life in prison. We just can’t trust him not to do anything. Besides, he’s getting life in prison, no chance for parole. What will he have to lose?

“We won, so why does it feel like I’m losing everything?”

“Don’t look at it that way,” Grace begged him. “Think of your life as a blank canvas, going forward it can look however you want it to look.”

He put his hand on her cheek and pulled her to him for a deep kiss. He finally let her go, but he kept his hand on her cheek as he looked deep into her deep green eyes.
I have to remember this
, he thought to himself. He needed to remember all of this, her eyes, her skin, her hair; he needed to sear it into his memory so he would never forget it no matter how much time passed.

“I know what I want my life to look like; I’ve already painted that Canvas. But it’s here, with you and Sophie, not me alone in some far away town.”

“It’s not fair that you have to go alone!” Grace said with a sudden fury as she slammed her hand onto her counter. “You did so much for us. You deserve better. You’re the one who deserves the parade. Instead you get nothing.”

“I got to spend time with you. I’ll take that over a parade.”

She smiled at him and then looked away from a moment as a look of confusion crossed her face.

“What is it?” Falcon asked.

“I was just thinking of someone who owes me a favor,” she spoke in a faraway manner as if she were remembered something that happened a long time ago in some other life. “He’s in the FBI, pretty high up actually, but he was just a field agent when we met. I saved his ass once and he’s owed me ever since...”

“What are you thinking about?” Falcon asked.

“I’m gonna make a phone call and get dressed,” Grace said. “We don’t have a ton of time before we need to get going.”

“Good thing I don’t have any worldly possessions to worry about,” Falcon said with a shrug as she walked back to her bedroom.

Alone he walked out into her backyard. He wasn’t wearing any shoes, but he liked the feeling of stepping onto the dewy grass in his bare feet. It was at first shocking and then pleasant and, coffee cup in hand, he stood in the grass and stared off into the forest.

Maybe he would end up somewhere that had seasons. That would be nice at least. He had never really seen snow before; he thought it might be nice to wake up one day to a world covered in white snow. Maybe he would get to live near the beach. He could take up surfing and run a surf shop on the boardwalk. Either way, Grace was right. This was a chance at a new beginning, a chance for him to be anyone he wanted. He just needed to figure out what that was.

Chapter Forty-Nine

Within an hour they were on Grace’s bike with Falcon’s few possessions in a backpack. They needed to go to the police station first. Grace said she needed him to sign a few forms there. She hadn’t said anything else about her FBI contact, and Falcon had no idea what favor she was going to ask of him.

They drove down the beautiful California roads and into the basement parking lot of the police headquarters. Inside, Grace directed him through a labyrinth of parking spaces until she was satisfied and he parked his motorcycle next to a bullet-ridden blue pick-up truck.

“This is our witness entrance,” she explained as she produced a key that unlocked a door that led to an elevator that required a different key to call the elevator. “We need you to sign some paperwork and the boss wants to meet you.”

They rode up together, feeling that sensation of their stomachs dropping with the elevator’s sudden rise. Grace reached for his hand and squeezed it as the elevator brought them to the tenth floor. She let go of his hand and led him down a quiet marble hallway. Everything inside was clean and shiny and bright and he was impressed. Falcon had only ever seen the holding cell in the police headquarters, and this was much nicer.

Grace stopped at a dark wooden door and knocked once before pushing the door open. Inside three men rose and Falcon and Grace walked in together.

“Falcon” Grace started, ‘This is Captain Lloyd, this is special agent Finn with the FBI, and this is Mr. Peretti, the ADA who’s in charge of the cases against the Screaming Eagles.” The three men each shook Falcon’s hand, thanking him as they did so.

“Mr. Marks,” Captain Lloyd said, “You have done a great service to both the city of Los Angeles and the state of California. We owe you a debt of gratitude.”

Falcon nodded in thanks while some part of him marveled at the strangeness of this. Falcon Marks the biker being commended by the chief of police for his help and good work. But it felt good to do something worthwhile for once. It made him wish he had done more good things in his life.

“Indeed, Mr. Marks, and we think the life we’ve set up for you is going to suite you very well,” the FBI agent said. “We’ll just need your signature on these papers and you will be good to go.”

“But before we do that,” the ADA chimed in. “I thought we would offer you a little treat to help you pass the time.”

He pressed a button and to the right a TV flickered to life. On the screen, sitting behind a table, his hands and feet in shackles, was Ernie. Falcon’s heart skipped a beat when he saw it. It was the big boss in a prison jumpsuit and handcuffs forced to recon with what he had done. It was what Falcon had wanted and what he had fought for and seeing it made him feel vindicated. He had done the right thing and the proof was right in front of him.

Grace and the captain and the FBI agent left leaving Falcon with a pile of paperwork in front of him. He signed and initialed where he was told to while Ernie sat shackled to a table on the TV behind him. All in all, it wasn’t as hard as he thought it would be to end the life of Falcon Marks. Just a few strokes of the pen and a notary's stamp and it was done.

When he was done the ADA left and Grace came in after him, a huge smile plastered across her face. She looked radiantly happy and Falcon tried to feel happy for her. She must have just received more good new about the investigation.

“Good news?” he asked.

“Excellent news,” she said, her smile growing bigger. “I talked to the special investigator and my captain and I convinced them it was a good idea and they agreed.”

“To what?” Falcon asked.

“I am escorting you to your new life,” she said with a smile. “I’m going to go with you and get you all set up.”

Falcon felt his heart soared and he knew it was impossible but it felt like his heart was making a break for the heavens. She was coming with him; he wouldn’t have to say goodbye to her just yet. He still had more time with her. It was a small favor in a world of guns and drugs and motorcycles and he was grateful for it.

Falcon couldn’t help himself; he picked her up in a bear hug and swung her around twice before finally putting her down.

“Thank you,” he sighed, pressing his forehead against hers. “You have no idea what this means to me.”

“I have some idea,” Grace replied.

He took one last look at Ernie is his shackles. The boss had a permanent looking frown on his face and he kept shaking his head back and forth. He was in jail and he knew Falcon was the person who put him there. Good. Falcon knew now he wasn’t some easily replaced foot soldier, he was better than that and his boss had failed to notice. So Ernie clearly wasn’t that smart.

“I have one more thing to show you,” Grace said, “but it’s on the way.”

“We’re leaving now?” he asked.

“No more putting it off,” Grace said.

Her surprise wasn’t what he had expected but it was exactly what Falcon wanted and needed. He pulled the bike up along a chain link fence, but neither he nor Grace got off. On the other side of the fence was the playground to Sophie's school. Little boys and girls who had just figured out how to walk and talk at the same time were running around like the little maniacs they were.

It didn’t take him long to see her. Sophie’s golden curls were shining in the California sun and she was playing hopscotch with two other girls and she was killing them at it. She was so smart and so sure of herself and Falcon was still amazed that he had helped make her.

Grace tightened her grip around him and leaned back into her embrace. He was doing the right thing; he didn’t doubt it anymore. Sophie was a smart girl, she would go on to do great things, and Falcon would never forget her. They watched her play until the school bell rang and all the children groaned as they were herded back inside.

Falcon smiled at his own memory of recesses so long ago. He envied those children and lives they had in front of them. But he was much the same. He wasn’t Falcon Marks anymore; he was riding into a new name, a new life, a new chance to do everything right.

He revved the engine and Grace tightened her grip around him as he pulled out into traffic and onto the highway. The sun was high above them as they headed east.

THE END