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“It will be okay, Mary,” I whisper to her, although, I’m not quite sure she can actually hear me.
She doesn’t flinch when the needle pierces her skin, and her eyes never leave mine.
“You promise?”
“I do, Mary, I promise,” I tell her again. I have no idea what I am promising, if it is the fact that it will be okay or if I will take good care of Hawk.
My eyes sweep across the room, clashing with the ones of the man still sitting on the couch, a stark reminder of my reality.
There is no way I can do either.
SEVENTEEN
Hawk
I have been dealing with criminal activity for more than half of my life now. But I can safely say that I never tried to impersonate law enforcement. Until this mission.
Pretending to be the leader of a S.W.A.T. team felt surreal. Our mission was to bust into a hotel lobby downtown Austin. Wrecker was there, and we were supposed to arrest him and take him to Devereaux.
When we got in there, Wrecker was having a cup of coffee with one of the club members from his club, Sully. We had not been instructed to get both of them, so our focus was on Wrecker.
The uniforms we wore were authentic, and they covered us from head to toe. Our faces were covered with masks, and we wore long sleeves and gloves that showed no tattoos or anything else that might identify us later.
Wrecker was very cooperative as we picked him up and threw him in the back of the squad truck. He never said a word as we traveled to our destination. It took a while to get there because traffic was a fucking nightmare. I could feel the sweat running down my back as I was sitting there with my rifle at the ready, even though, I knew he wouldn’t try anything. He was smarter than that, and he understood that he was outnumbered.
We had to do everything by the book and actually take him into the police station. There was high security as he got fingerprinted and his mug shot was taken. We then marched him through endless hallways until we got to the room where Devereaux was waiting for him.
At that point, our mission there was over. We did what we had been asked to do, and the money hit the club’s accounts as soon as Wrecker stepped over the threshold.
From that point on, it would be Devereaux’s mission. My understanding was that he pulled Puck and Sully in as well. Between all their resources, they are on track to achieve the final goal—blow up the Steel Lizards’ clubhouse with all their core members inside, at least all the ones who are loyal to Bricks.
His son, Wrecker, would have a solid alibi since he will be under arrest. Puck and Sully would be sent on a mission that would take them away from the clubhouse. Their only job is to make sure the clubhouse is wired properly. The other guy, Shortie, is supposed to work his magic with the electronics. Everyone is counting on his genius in technology.
As I am now sitting in a seedy bar outside Austin, I go over everything that I know about what they’re trying to pull. It is bigger than any of us. The Savages’ involvement has been kept tightly under wraps, but there is always that very small chance that someone will talk and our cover would be blown.
“That was the easiest money we’ve ever made,” Winger elbows me from the seat next to mine.
I nod and pick up the shot of whiskey sitting in front of me. My mind is a mess right now, and I need time to regroup. I really wish he’d taken off to go back to our clubhouse, but no such luck. I guess I will have some time to think about everything as we ride there together.
An hour later, we are on the way, with Winger leading the way. I have no need to lead the way, stress getting to me in a bad way.
Our clubhouse is three hours away from Austin, in the opposite direction from where the Lizards’ clubhouse is. It worked dividing the territories this way until Bricks got a bit too greedy and wanted it all.
As we get closer, I go over all the messages I received over the last two weeks. Mrs. Clarence has been keeping me posted on my mother’s situation. Nothing really happened in the first few days. My mother stopped calling for me, but she also stopped screaming and being inconsolable.
Mrs. Clarence told me that Ruby would just sit there with her and hold her hand, sometimes for hours, with neither one saying a word. She also happened to mention that Ruby had no clothes to change into, and that she would be wearing my mother’s bathrobe while her clothes would be laundered by the staff. I hated that for her, so I sent some money and asked them to buy her clothes. I never checked back in about it, but I trusted Mrs. Clarence to follow my directive.
With that said, the one thing that worried me in the last few days has been a message I received from Prez.
I visited Mary, he said. You forgot to mention a thing or two.
I knew exactly what, or rather who, he was talking about. Ruby was supposed to be dead by now. Instead, she was sitting in my mother’s room at the mental care facility.
As we get closer to the clubhouse, we pass the expressway that leads to there. I have this sudden urge to go there. I rev my motor a couple of times to get Winger’s attention. When he looks back, I signal that I am about to take a left. He knows what that means. He gives me a two-finger salute, and we separate.
The facility is another forty-five minutes away. I suddenly run out of patience, which in turn is causing me to speed. When I finally pull into the circular driveway at the facility, I let out a sigh of relief that I didn’t get pulled over.
I park the bike and take a minute to straighten my back once I’m off it. The ride here fucked me up, that’s for sure.
