Billionaire Ransom (10 page)

She climbed up on the back of Jessie’s bike, and they roared away into the sunlight.

Morgan was beyond grateful when he was finally put into a bed at the infirmary. His whole body ached, and he was pretty sure if they kept him standing any longer he’d have thrown up. His vision had gone blurry during intake, but he had grit his teeth and kept his wits until he could get out of there.

Clive and a few others were in the general populations cells. That bothered him. Anything could be happening there. If Blake Wilkes had friends who were willing to kill, odds were those friends had friends in lockup. A man with his kind of money could get things done, even inside a prison.

He thought about Katie, and a new pain started on the left side of his chest. Katie had to get to the PO Box, retrieve the key, and then get to the safety deposit box to get the files. She had to find a clean cop—if one even existed in this city any more.

He wasn’t sure if she could handle the pressure. Or if she’d be safe. Her father would stop at nothing. The odds of both of them getting out alive were ever-decreasing. She had to stay alive to do it, and he had deliberately not told her that Nate was on the way because he knew she’d probably bolt and try to do it on her own.

Clive contacted Nate the night before, and once Penny sent Nate the text, they’d know where to show up and when. The question now remained if Katie trusted Nate and his Outkasts enough to go with them. He prayed she hadn’t struck out on her own.

He grinned. She was so damn stubborn she just
might
have gone on her own. The corners of his lips dropped down. If she tried to do it on her own, she would have no chance of surviving. She had money smarts, but she did not have street smarts that came from real-life experience. She was fragile. His piece of fragile.

The fear weighed heavy on him, and when he opened his eyes he was both grateful and startled to see a familiar face near his.

Jon, a distant cousin of Penny’s, had hung out with the crew a lot. He wasn’t fond of motorcycles but he was a good guy, and a minor dealer of weed and the occasional pill. Morgan knew he’d landed in lockup last year and he asked, “Why’re you still here instead of upstate?”

Jon shrugged. “I keep getting continuances on my case. At the rate I’m going, I’ll be serving out two days for one for the next eight months, so by the time I get to jury they’ll have to either send me home or send me upstate for all of about eleven days. Given the cost associated with sending me up, I think I might just beat it out.”

Morgan nodded. Getting contuances while serving in the county lockup was a common thing. The system did count every day spent locked up before trial as two days of a sentence, so Jon wasn’t the only criminal who played that system.

“They put you in the infirmary?”

Jon’s grin widened. “Yuppers. I only got busted for weed, not narcotics, and I don’t have any violent crimes on my plate so I made trustee.” He shook his head. “Dude, you look rough.”

“I feel like shit. You seen Clive?’

Jon shook his head. “Not yet. I didn’t even know he was in here. I’ll probably see him later. If he gets to the fifth, where I am, I can get him a message. If not, I’ll likely see him at chow-time. What do you need?”

He blew out a breath. “I need a phone.”

Jon looked around and then said, “I got a cell. But the docs are gonna be in shortly.”

“Can you get it to Clive?”

“If I see him. I might see one of your other crew guys, though. The rumor is most of them are landing hard. Murder. Lots of it.”

“It’s all bullshit.”

Jon chuckled. “And we’re all innocent. None of us did it.”

“I hear ya. ’Cept this time it’s legit. We’re being set up.” Morgan sighed, his head wanting to start spinning again. “Can you get the phone to Clive?”

Jon fidgeted. “I can’t promise. If they’re landing him for all those murders, he’ll likely be in a single cell with no rec or whatever. But if I see him at chowtime maybe I can slip him the phone. Maybe. No promises.”

“Thanks; I owe you.”

Jon shrugged. “No worries. Hell, if you hadn’t grabbed that bag and hauled ass, I’d be in here for a lot more. I’d already be upstate, because you get some felonies like that, they ship you up pre-trial. With this shit on your crew’s shoulders, they might ship you dudes up.”

“Yeah, I know.” That was the worst thing that could happen. Putting his crew upstate would all but guarantee they’d all be separated, and faced with all kinds of other beefs and old wars. They needed to find a way to stay together till things could be cleared.

Jon looked up suddenly. “There’s the doctor. I gotta go. I work here all day so when I come back after lunch chow, I’ll let you know what’s up.”

“Thanks.”

The doctor came in and leaned over Morgan, his eyes taking in the injuries. “They took you from the hospital like this?”

Morgan managed a smile, “Afraid so… sir.”

“Sonofabitch. Says in your chart you need surgery. It’s minor, but what the hell? Sonofabitch.” He looked over Morgan’s charts. “What the hell are you in here for, son?”

Morgan sighed and watched Jon move toward the door.

Jon threw his chin up just slightly and slipped out. Morgan felt slightly better even though the fingers the doctor was poking into his ribs made him want to scream in agony. “They’re wanting to charge me with murder. I didn’t do it.” Never killed anyone, he wanted to add, but kept his mouth shut. The doctor didn’t seem to care what he was in there for, only that he had to take care of his injuries.

Morgan sighed; frustration he had plenty of, patience not enough.

Everything depended on something and somebody else. He wasn’t used to being in that situation, and it was hard for him to just lay there and deal with it, but he didn’t have much choice.

His worry and stress rose with every second, though. They still didn’t know who the undercover agents out on the streets were. They had no idea of knowing whether or not they could get to the files Clive and Penny had hidden.

Clive had agreed to help, but he’d been very clear that Penny had to be able to bail, and Morgan didn’t blame him. Penny was probably on her way to Louisiana right then. She had family down that way, and Clive had a store of hidden cash and a car registered under another name too. Clive was always prepared for any and all emergencies, and Morgan could appreciate his worry that Wilkes would kill Penny if he thought she might know where the file was or what it said, and his ability to plan an escape.

He wished he’d put more thought into the same things.

Time dragged by. The clock on the wall ticked relentlessly, its strident little clicks boring into his skull. He closed his eyes and tried to rest. His body was strong but injured, and he had no way of knowing if he would get sent upstate after the hearing. If he was going to be sent up, he was going to have to find a way to stay strong, and fight with one arm and a sprained ankle that he couldn’t bear weight on.

The irony of that brought a grim smile to his mouth.

“I could always pack a shank in the casts,” he said to the ceiling. Lack of drugs from the doctor made his pain increase. He closed his eyes and tried to rest. Everything hurt like hell.

**

Jon came back after lunch. “Got the phone to Clive. Your girl’s with Nate. I don’t know how that’s good news, but Clive told me to tell you.”

Morgan’s tension didn’t fully release, but it lightened. “Thanks, Jon.”

“No worries. Look, I got you an extra pain pill. Off the books. Like they don’t have them here.”

He flashed his hand and a small white oval appeared. “I’m going to drop it in your juice, dude. You get caught, I had nothing to do with it.”

Morgan said, “I owe you another.”

Jon handed him the juice and walked away, leaving Morgan lying there trying to think, but all he could manage to do was be grateful that Katie was with Nate. Nate was a hard case, and he was not someone he’d trust any other time, but he would keep Katie safe. Nate had been one of the best lawyers in the country before he’d decided that being a lawyer was boring, and riding was what he wanted to do with his life. He kept his license current, though, and Morgan knew if anyone would know what to do with the information he and Katie had stolen, it would be Nate.

Nate would also know exactly which cops were dirty. Or how to sniff them out.

Jessie drove Katie to the post office. Nate suggested two women wouldn’t raise any suspicion compared to a slew of bikers. He warned Jessie to be aware if anyone was following them and to call for back-up right away.

Inside, Katie kept looking at Jessie’s face, trying to pluck the strings of her memory. The biker-girl was beautiful, a stunning look that shouldn’t be hard to remember. She just couldn’t recall where until she was twisting the locks of the box.

She swung to Jessie, anger and terror running through her, her mind too numb to let her think of how to handle it any other way. “I’ve seen you at parties, big ones. Like with the men…” she hissed. What were the chances she could get away from Jessie?

“Yeah, you got me.” Jessie’s smile was cynical. “I was an escort. So you saw me at the parties with a few different men. Sue me. I don’t escort anymore.” She raised her eyebrows and set her hands on her hips. “You got a problem with paid dating?”

Katie blinked. “Escort? So you didn’t work for…my…”

Jessie’s mouth curled. “You could say I worked for them. Or worked them,” she laughed.

Katie sagged against the row of boxes. She grinned and let out a weak laugh. She confessed, “I thought you worked for my father.”

Jessie shrugged. “I probably did. I was pretty popular. No offense. I mean, I don’t know if your dad’s married or whatever, so no disrespect to your mom either. Men will be men, won’t they?”

Katie started laughing. “I didn’t mean...” The alternative had terrified her, but this… Jessie worked for her father in another capacity. Katie’s version had been way worse. “No, you didn’t offend me. I don’t care about that. I just thought…”

“I might be an assassin?” Jessie chuckled. “I have been told my charms are deadly.”

“I’m sure,” Katie said dryly.

“Look, I’m the only woman that the OutKasts ever took on as a prospect. I had to get my ass kicked by almost every guy in that crew and stay on my feet. I had to drink harder, fight harder, and ride harder. They don’t know how I did it. If they ever had to work in the escort agency they would get it, though. I’m sorry if you think I brushed you off earlier but…shit! They all know I used to be an escort, but I don’t like it being brought up. Men will be men. And if they think you’re just some whore, they’ll try to take whatever they think they can get. Because, obviously, I must have done it because I liked it.”

Katie turned back to the post box and tried to remember if Clive had said left, right, left or vice versa. She started turning the lock. “I won’t bring it up again. It’s forgotten.” The box door popped open and she did a little fist pump. Inside lay a large, thick envelope. She pulled it out, sighing with relief as she did so. “It’s here. Thank bloody goodness.”

They headed back out into the sunlight, and Jessie drove to where Nate and the others were waiting. They stood near the bikes, every line in their bodies saying they were ready to fight. As Jessie drove around them and parked her bike, it didn’t take Katie long to figure out why.

Craig.

He stood nearby, his own bike at the curb.

She glared at him. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Craig gave her a quick apologetic glance before his face hardened. “I heard what happened. I owe Morgan, and I don’t care if each and every one of you wants to kick my ribs in. I’m riding with you to help him, even if it kills me.”

Jessie looked Craig up and down, interest showing in her eyes. Craig gave her a long look and then promptly asked, “Since when do the OutKasts take women?”

“I don’t see a patch on
your
back,” Jessie replied crisply.

Craig lifted his upper lip in a sneer, but he looked amused. “No, you don’t. I’m an exile. But the Orphans are still my brothers, and I’m not going to walk away from this.”

Nate turned to Katie. “It’s your call.”

Oh, great. She glared at him. Why did it have to be her decision? She couldn’t trust anyone. That was what Morgan had warned her about, and now it felt like she was getting into bed with a bunch of snakes. She didn’t know anyone – except Craig.

She already knew she couldn’t trust him, except she couldn’t trust Nate either, or any of his crew. Fuck it! She slid off the bike and stomped over to her boyfriend’s ‘brother’. Her finger shot out and tapped him hard on the chest. “I’m warning you, Craig, you do something to screw over Morgan again and I’ll kill you myself. I mean it. I will kill you myself.”

“Duly noted,” he said dryly. He nodded at Nate and then headed over to his bike at the end of the row.

Katie went back to Jessie’s bike and climbed on behind her, shoving the envelope in the backpack Jessie offered her.

Jessie waited until Craig was out of earshot and turned her head toward Katie, her eyes still on Craig’s back. “That’s a yummy piece of candy.”

“Yeah, for a traitor.” Katie snapped and slung the bag over both her shoulders to keep it secure. Her head ached and she was hungry. The temperature was already soaring toward the hundred-degree mark. Jessie’s leather rubbed her all the wrong way, and it made her hotter too. She could barely keep her grip on Jessie’s slim body as they sped away from the post office.

Bile rose in her throat. Katie squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop that nausea but it just got worse, so she opened her eyes again. Sweat poured down her forehead and face, and she shuddered as she fought to breathe in the humid air.

Jessie shouted, “You cool?”

The dizziness swept in, making her vision blurry and her throat clench as another wave of sickness came up right behind the dizziness. She couldn’t speak. Her fingers, covered in sweat, lost their grip on Jessie’s jacket as the world went gray.

“Whoa!”

Jessie’s shout snapped her back to focus, but barely. Her arms were heavy and limp, and the sickness spiraling through her had her so overwhelmed she was gagging and choking.

Jessie waved at the others and pulled into an empty lot. She got off the bike and grabbed Katie right before she slid off the side. Katie staggered a few steps, and then leaned forward, vomiting up stomach acid and little else.

Her nostrils burned and her head spun. Jessie supported her, and Katie was awed by the sheer strength Jessie exhibited as she half-carried her to a low little bench left over from whatever building had once sat in the lot.

“You cool now?” Jessie took her helmet off and squatted down in front of Katie. Katie managed to nod, but she wasn’t. Everything was hazy and gray.

Somewhere in the distance, Nate yelled, “What the hell?”

Jessie shouted back, “What the hell? She drove a car almost off a cliff, saved her old man from being turned into street grease, got shot at fuck knows how many times, and then watched them haul her old man away. She’s in shock or something, and you would be too if you were her.”

Katie felt Jessie’s hand on her back and she leaned over to her ear. “How long’s it been since you ate?”

Katie tried to lift her head but it was too heavy for her neck. She tried to focus on the ground but just closed her eyes instead. “I had an apple for breakfast. I didn’t have dinner.” Her words were slurred and hushed.

“Right.” Jessie stood. “We’ve got to go somewhere that we can get her food and rest. We can’t do anything for her out here, and making her ride when she’s like this isn’t going to cut it.”

Craig rolled his bike closer. “How are we going to get her anywhere if she can’t ride?”

Jessie sat down beside Katie. “How do I know? I just know we can’t put her back on that bike. If she falls off and dies, we’re all just out here wasting our time.”

Katie slowly sat up and took a few deep breaths.

Craig rolled his eyes. “I think we all already know that, sweetie.”

Katie put her hand on Jessie’s knee to stop her from snapping back at Craig. “I can do it. Just…just give me a minute.” Her stomach cramped again and the miserable feeling inside rose again. She bent over, put her head between her legs, and tried to breathe.

Jessie’s hand brushed over the back of her neck. “Well, you’ve got guts anyway. Maybe if we ride slow, she can hang on. But where are we going?”

Nate sighed. “No, fuck it. Someone walk her down to that hotel there and check in. Carry her if we have to. We only need one room. Me and the guys will park in the back so as not to scare the normies.”

Jessie nodded toward Craig. “Well, how about you?”

“Keep him away from me; he already kidnapped me once,” Katie said thickly.

Nate howled with laughter as Jessie snorted in disgust.

Craig threw his hands up in the air “Gimme me a fuckin’ break. I didn’t hurt you, and I tried to feed you.”

Katie swore she saw Jessie wink at him as she laughed. “Right, then. Nate, how about you?”

“The hell you say,” Nate said. “I don’t leave my bike.”

Craig got off his bike and set the stand. He began walking over to Jessie and Katie. “So why can’t you take her?”

Jessie pointed at her body. “Because right now I’m dressed like an escapee from a dominatrix convention.”

“You can dominate me any time honey,” Craig said.

Katie had just lifted her head, right in time to see Jessie neatly flip Craig right over her shoulder. He went sprawling across the parking lot. Then she stalked over to him, stuck a boot on his throat, and asked, “Did you like that,
honey
?”

“Fuck yeah!” Craig grinned up at her. Katie stared at the two of them. They were flirting! Holy fuck, they were flirting while she was about to die right there in a crummy parking lot. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and stood. “I can make it wherever,” she said. “I’m fine now.”

Jessie took her foot from Craig’s throat. He bounded to his feet, and Katie didn’t miss the fact that his jeans were noticeably tighter around the crotch than they had been a few minutes before.

Unbelievable.

Jessie asked, “You sure?”

Katie nodded.

Craig cleared his throat and glanced first at Nate. “I know a place we can go. It’s quiet and out of the way.”

“I need to get the files first.” Katie’s limbs trembled but she held them still, and eventually the shaking subsided then stopped. “I have to get them, and fast, because without them we don’t even know if we stand a chance.”

“Didn’t you just get the files from the PO Box?”

Katie shook her head. “There’s a key in here for a safety deposit box at the First National Bank.”

Jessie whistled. “I have to know. What’s in these files?”

“It’s not your business,” Katie snapped. She felt disoriented.

Jessie shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. “The hell it isn’t. I’m risking my neck, jail, and maybe even my life. That’s cool, I knew it when I rode out this morning, but I, we, deserve to know what’s in those files.”

Katie looked at Nate. “You don’t know either?”

He shook his head. “Like I said, I owed Morgan a favor. All I know is that it might get us out of some of the soup left over from that mess Craig there made.”

Craig sighed, “Yeah, I made that mess. I did it, and I owe everyone for the mess that came after. I get it. Now can we move on?”

Katie said, “It’s proof that the Orphans didn’t kill that crew. Sort of. At least it’s proof that someone else had a way bigger reason to do those killings.”

That was all she was willing to say.

Jessie frowned. “Nate, didn’t you say we’re getting looked at for those murders?”

“Yup. Looks like everyone on a bike is getting looked at for that. Well, that and me and the leader of that crew had a little palaver right before they all went down, and it was heated.”

Jessie rolled her eyes. “And I had to pick now to want a patch.”

Nate gave her a filthy look while Craig chuckled.

Katie straightened, and swallowed the bad taste burning the back of her throat. “We have to get the files first, before we do anything else.”

“Okay, we heard you,” Nate said, “So we’re going to the bank first. It’s about a mile down that way. Can you make it?”

She nodded; she didn’t have a choice. “Yes.” She followed Jessie back to her bike and climbed back up behind her. Her stomach had settled a bit, but her nerves hadn’t. She had a terrible feeling, and she couldn’t shake it. It was the same feeling she’d gotten right before and after an exam. She studied as hard as she could and she made good grades, but it was never enough. She had an awful feeling that whatever she did know, it wouldn’t be enough either.

They were all being investigated for murder. Every crew in the vicinity. Maybe one of them actually had done those murders. For all she knew, the OutKasts had done them, and getting the files would prove nothing but that her father hadn’t done anything but wanted to build a development out there on that land.

Jessie cranked up and they headed toward the bank. The sun still beat down on her head but she ignored it, too intent on trying to figure out her other thoughts.

What if she was right? What if had been her father who had ordered those murders? She would be the daughter of a man who’d wiped out over half a dozen people, on top of ordering a hit on his own daughter and her boyfriend. When had the world become so completely jacked?