Sinner's Son (Savage Sons Motorcyle Club) (17 page)

Sally looked at Krystal. "Do you know who it was that you talked to? Was it Luis?"

"I really don't know. It might have been."

"And is Don Roberto, himself, here?"

"Again, I don't know. The man said that the Don wanted to talk to me, but I don't know if he's actually here in person. The call was short, and he hung up."

Sally looked at the men gathered around him. "Keep your weapons where you can get to 'em, but don't draw them until you have to. Let's see if there's any way we can get our boy back without having to kill every last one of these fuckers. We'll save that privilege for later, when there aren't going to be a bunch of FBI agents showing up."

The men nodded, and I watched as Krystal got back in the car and locked the doors. I made eye contact with her once more, and I hoped that she'd be sensible and stay out of harm's way.

"Keep her safe," I told Chuck, as we headed across the parking lot toward the black SUV.

I kept my hand close to my body, fingers spread wide in case I needed to get to my gun quickly. I looked to my left and right and saw that the other Sons were similarly prepared. We walked slowly and steadily toward the cluster of Mexican vehicles, and we all stopped when the back door of the SUV opened and Luis stepped out.

"So you have sent us a welcoming committee, I see. Your Miss Shaw was perhaps otherwise engaged?"

I could hardly stand to look at the man, thinking about the violence with which he'd shattered Maria's world. Since he seemed to be addressing me, rather than Sally, I stepped forward from the group.

"Krystal told me that you have Zeno. We'd like him back. Now."

Luis looked at me, his expression unchanged. "My employer has indicated to me that he wishes to speak with your woman. I do what he asks, nothing more. It seems to me that as his business partners, the Savage Sons would want to stay in the good graces of such a powerful man."

Nate stepped up to join me. "Where the fuck is Zeno?"

"Now, now," Luis said in a maddening, patronizing tone. "There's no need to be angry. We just want to talk to Miss Shaw."

I felt my blood begin to boil. "Luis, there's no need to pretend that you're a polite man. While you may have good table manners, there's no one here who believes that you're anything other than a despicable, violent man who'll do anything his boss tells him to. Let's cut the bullshit. Krystal's not gonna talk to you or Don Roberto, and you're going to give us Zeno, and we're gonna get the fuck out of here."

Luis' eyes narrowed, and he gave a hand signal, after which the other doors of the SUV swung open and men emerged, each of whom wore an assault rifle slung across their chests. They didn't make a move to pick the guns up, but the threat was clear.

"Let me tell you what will happen," Luis said. "You will bring Miss Shaw to us, and we will return your friend to you."

I turned to Sally, hoping that Luis would think that I was considering his suggestion. I lowered my voice so that Luis wouldn't be able to hear what I said. "Every minute we can stall is one minute closer to the DEA's arrival. These fuckers have no idea that they're about to be outgunned."

Sally nodded to me and stepped forward. "We wanna see Zeno. There's no point in trading the girl for a dead body," he called to Luis.

"Do you realize that you've picked the wrong guys to fuck with?" Nate asked. "Whether it's today, or it's sometime down the road, you're gonna regret having messed with the Savage Sons. You'll never be able to cross the street without looking over your shoulder. We're gonna come for you when you least expect it."

Luis laughed, as if he'd seen a little child do something silly. "Your little threats mean nothing to a man with a reach as long as Don Roberto's. Where is the girl?" he asked, smile slipping from his face. "We want to exchange for her and be on our way. It's a long drive home, and the Don is anxious to have ... conversation with Miss Shaw."

I saw red. I knew that whatever Don Roberto had planned, conversation played no part in it. I had to stall, though. "Krystal's close by. Let me call her." I knew that there was no way on earth that Luis was unaware of Krystal's presence in her car parked across the lot, but I figured I'd keep up the charade. I dialed Singer's number and turned away from Luis and his men.

"Singer," he answered, clearly en route.

"Singer, what's your ETA?"

"Ten minutes, maybe less."

"How many of you?"

"Ten. What's the situation?"

"I'm looking at five men, four of them with automatic weapons. That's all I can see, but there may be more. They have Zeno, and we haven't seen him. So far, we're just staring one another down. They want Krystal, though."

"We're getting there as quick as we can. Stall them."

"Trying to."

I hung up and tried to think of some way to keep things calm for just a few minutes more.

"And how is your Miss Shaw?" Luis asked, having walked away from the SUV and moved between us and his men.

"She's scared, Luis. She and I know how you treat women who don't stay in line, and she's afraid that you'll hurt her. She's also afraid that you've already hurt Zeno."

"All we want is for her to accompany us to visit with Don Roberto. You have my word that she won't be harmed."

I didn't believe a single syllable that came out of the man's mouth. "Let us see Zeno, and Krystal will go with you." Over my dead body, but I was running out of options.

Luis turned back to his men and nodded at one of them. "It sounds like Miss Shaw is a smart woman. We'll bring your friend out, but we want to see her before we release him."

I didn't want Krystal in the line of fire, but I didn't see another way. "I'll be back," I said, turning to Sally. "Keep the guys calm. The DEA is only a few minutes away." I turned to cross the parking lot toward Krystal's car, and I froze dead in my tracks. She was standing beside the car, with one of Luis's men beside her, a gun pointed at her midsection. Chuck was nowhere to be seen.

"Krystal, are you okay?" I asked, taking a few steps toward her and hoping that the man wouldn't shoot her.

"I'm fine, Luke. Chuck's behind the car. He's unconscious." Her voice was calm and even. She was superwoman.

"You need to let her go right now," I said to the man who pointed a gun at the love of my life. "If you hurt her, I will hunt you and your family to the ends of the earth."

"I don't take no orders from you, senor." The man's English was hard to understand through his thick accent.

I didn't turn around because I wasn't going to take my eyes off Krystal. "Luis, tell your man to let her go," I yelled, unable to keep the rage I felt out of my voice. "Let her go right fucking now."

I heard Luis' voice from over my shoulder. "Why would I give her up, when she is exactly what I want? Bring her to me," he commanded, and the man who pointed the gun at Krystal started to walk her in Luis' direction.

I watched, helpless, as they started to walk toward Luis. I spun around and faced the man in charge. "Look, I know that Don Roberto only wants her to hurt me. Because I know what the two of you did to Maria's little girl. Take me instead, and the Don can do whatever he likes. Just leave Krystal out of this."

Luis smiled at me as his man and my fiancée approached him. "But Luke, you must understand that if we kill you, your suffering will end, no? If we take your precious Miss Shaw from you, your suffering will endure. Don Roberto does not permit other people to tell him how to conduct his business. As we have both of your people in our control, I believe that we shall do as we like." He turned to the man who arrived at his side with Krystal. "Put her in the Excursion."

"You can't take her," I shouted, unable to keep still any longer. I took just a few steps toward Luis when all hell broke loose.

Four cars came screaming into the parking lot, and I knew that Singer had arrived. Most of the cars hadn't even come to a complete stop before federal agents wearing kevlar vests poured out and pointed guns at the cartel members. Everything happened so fast that I had no idea who fired the first shots, but I saw flashes from the muzzles of the automatic weapons in the Mexicans' hands, and I heard shots fired from the federal agents as well. I dropped to the ground and drew my own gun, trying desperately to figure out a way to get to Krystal. I knew that she had to be unarmed, since I hadn't seen her purse, and all I could think about was keeping her safe.

I started to crawl toward the last place I'd seen Krystal, but before I even got near the car, the gunfire ended. I saw several of the cartel members shot and bloodied on the ground, and I looked back and knew for sure that at least a couple of the Sons had been hit as well. Luis, surprisingly, appeared to be unharmed, and he was being forced, hands behind his back, to lie flat on the ground.

Looking over at Singer to make sure the neither he nor his agents would fire on me, I hollered loud enough for everyone to hear. "Singer, I'm getting up. I don't see Krystal."

I got to my knees and then to my feet before I saw her arm stretched across the ground, the rest of her concealed by the enormous SUV. "Krystal's been shot. Help!" I yelled, running toward the woman I loved. I rounded the corner of the vehicle, and the first thing I noticed was that her eyes were closed.

I fell to my knees. "Krystal, baby. Oh, my God, Krystal."

She was motionless, her beautiful face marred by a splash of blood that I desperately hoped belonged to the man on the ground next to her. I put my hand on her chest to see if she was breathing, and when I felt her chest rise, I nearly lost control. She was unconscious, but she was alive.

I stood up. "I need help over here. Call an ambulance right away."

No one seemed to be paying any attention at all, and as I scanned the parking lot, I realized that there were more people that I could count at a glance, lying injured or dead on the ground. Blood, spent shells, and glass covered the ground between the bodies, and I realized that everyone else was already preoccupied. Bending back down to take Krystal's limp hand in mine, I fished my phone out of my pocked and called 911. I gave the operator the address, told her that we would need multiple ambulances and lots of medical attention, and I hung up, ignoring her pleas for me to stay on the line and give her more information.

"Krystal, can you hear me?" I asked, frantically searching her face for some sign that she was aware of what was going on around her. She was silent, but I pressed my fingers to her wrist to feel for the pulse that meant that she was still alive. I had to believe that, somehow, she'd live and that everything would be okay.

B
efore I opened my eyes, I could hear a bunch of voices I didn't recognize. I heard machines beeping, and I heard at least two women using a bunch of words that weren't quite distinct enough for me to understand. Before I tried to open my eyes, I realized that I had the worst headache I'd ever had in my life.

"Look, she's finally awake," said one of the women.

I could hear people stirring in the room, and I could pick out Sable's voice.

I opened my eyes to find blinding light, and it took me several moments of blinking while my eyes watered before I could actually see anything. I tried to lift my hand to cover my eyes, but something tugged at my wrist and kept it motionless when I tried to move my arm.

I searched for Sable's face, and I saw her come into my range of vision, though her face was still a little blurry.

"Where am I?"

"Oh, honey, you're in the hospital. You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice and see you awake."

"How long have I been asleep? What happened?"

"Do you remember anything?" Sable looked worried.

"Yeah. Bits and pieces. I remember meeting Luis and his men. I remember Mark and his agents pulling in ... but I don't remember much after that." I tried to lift my head and couldn't. "My head hurts so bad. Where's Luke? Is he okay?"

"Calm down, honey," Sable said, putting her hand on my arm. "Luke is fine. He's been here every minute since they brought you in, and I just sent him home to take a shower about an hour ago. I expect he'll be back any minute, and he's going to be so happy to see you."

"So what happened?" My mouth felt dry, and I was having trouble keeping my eyes focused. "Can I have something to drink?"

"Let me ask the nurses. I think they've just gone to find the doctor. Let's get her to explain everything to you." Sable hurried out of the room.

I managed to lift my head enough to look at my arms, one of which had an IV in it, held in place by what looked like half a roll of tape. My other arm was strapped to the bed beside me. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why I'd been restrained, but knowing that I couldn't move was seriously starting to freak me out when a woman in purple scrubs and a white lab coat entered the room, followed closely by Sable.

"Krystal, it's good to see you awake and alert." She loosened and removed the restraints on my arm without the IV. "We had you strapped in so that you wouldn't wake up and pull out your IV. I know it's disorienting to wake up this way." She smiled down at me, and I felt instantly more at ease. "I'm Doctor Weaver. You gave us all quite a scare."