Saving Axe

  "But who said I was talking to the cops?"

  "Cade was in town yesterday," he said. "Saw you having coffee with Sherriff Easton."

  "What?" I couldn't keep the irritation out of my voice. Cade followed me into town and spied on my coffee date with Jed?

  "Oh, hell, now I've gone and done it," Stan said. "Sticking my nose in someplace it doesn't belong."

  "No, you're fine, Stan," I said. "So Cade thinks I'm running my mouth to the cops?"

  "No, I don't really think he thinks that," Stan said. "I just wanted to make sure you didn't inadvertently - "

  "What's his problem, then?" I interrupted.

  Stan didn't answer.

  Oh.

  "So he's jealous?" I asked. Unbelievable.

  So Cade suddenly thought my dating life was his business, and enough to talk to his father about it.

  "Oh boy," Stan said. "I don't think I should have said anything. I didn't mean to upset you."

  "No," I said. "I'm glad you did."

  Stan cleared his throat. "I think maybe I should be going."

  I threw myself into yard work, my irritation at Cade building even as I tried to stifle it by diving into a physical distraction. Getting a little dirt under my fingernails had never failed to work as a stress reliever, but now I found myself getting more and more worked up over the conversation I'd just had with Stan.

  So Cade thought I was colluding with the sheriff or was jealous that I went out on a date with Jed. Either way, it pissed me off.

  When I saw him riding toward the barn on one of the horses, I was so worked up about what he'd said to his dad about my dating life that I felt myself marching across the field on autopilot. I caught him just as he was walking out of the barn, and he stopped abruptly when he saw me, looking up from underneath that cowboy hat.

  And I wasn't going to let the fact that he looked sexy as hell in that hat and boots deter me from the fact that I was pissed the hell off at him.

  "What are you doing here, June? You should be hanging out down at the police station, shouldn't you?"

  That was it. That goddamn cocky attitude. Now I for sure wasn't distracted by that smug smile and those piercing eyes.

  "What, were you spying on me?"

  Cade shoved his thumbs in his belt loops, and stood there, unmoving. Something about seeing him stand there like that, casual, like he didn't give a shit, pissed me off even more. "I didn't spy on you, June. I just happened to walk by."

  I laughed. "Sure, you just happened to see me at Nina's."

  He shrugged. "If you want to have some fantasy that I'm interested in you enough to spy on you, go right ahead. It's not any of my business if you want to date some douchebag small town deputy,” Cade said, his tone mocking.

  "Better than dating some loser from a biker gang," I said.

  Cade's jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed.

  I'd hurt him.

  Good.

  "Stay away from him until we're out of here, June," he said.

  "Do you think I'd do something that would jeopardize that family in there?" I asked. "I'm not stupid. And you're not going to tell me who I can and cannot see. My dating life is off limits. It's none of your business who I date, where I go, or what I do."

  "You think I give a shit who you date?" Cade asked, his voice louder now. "I couldn't care less who you choose to go out with. But it is my fucking concern when you're in bed with the deputy in town, while I’m trying to keep Crunch and April and MacKenzie safe.”

  “In bed with the town deputy?” I heard my voice rising, the sound shrill. “I’ll get in bed with whomever I want, wherever I want, Cade Austin. And that’s not going to ever be any of your business." I heard my words coming out faster, uncontrollable now. "And if you think I'm talking to Jed about Crunch and his family, you obviously don’t know me that well. Maybe you never did.”

  “Clearly not,” Cade said, a dark expression on his face. “Although you sure think you’ve got me pegged.”

  “I think whatever the hell you’re into now – all the criminal bullshit with the biker club or whatever - I don’t think the old Cade would have gotten involved in that one bit.”

  “That’s for damn sure,” he said. “And the old Cade wouldn’t have told you to go out with the deputy, like I’m doing right now. In fact, Jed sounds like the kind of guy who would be perfect for you.”

  I could have slapped him, slapped that stupid smug expression right off his face. “You’re probably right, Cade. At least I know now you’re not the kind of guy who’s perfect for me.” I didn’t stop to listen to whatever else he might have to say. I just turned on my heels and walked back toward my house.

  Axe

  I watched June walk back to her house, my blood pumping loudly in my ears. Shit, that woman had a way of getting under my skin. I stomped inside the barn, getting more and more furious by the second.

  Spying on her. Hell, she was full of herself, thinking I was obsessed with her. Like she was something special.

  She is something special, though, isn't she.

  I put that thought out of my head. No, she was a stuck up bitch. I thought she was the same June I used to know, but she'd morphed into someone else, an uptight snob.

  Some loser from a biker gang. That's how she saw me.

  I was done with that girl. Jed could have her.

  So why did I still feel so angry, thinking about the two of them together? And why did I just want to grab a fistful of hair at the nape of her neck, pull her toward me, cover her mouth with mine? And why couldn't I stop thinking about burying my head between her legs?

  I needed a drink.

  My fists clenched, I felt anger boiling up inside me. No, not a drink. I balled up my fist and punched, hard, at a rough plank leaning up against the wall of the barn. Once. Twice. Three times.

  Until my knuckles bled and my fist hurt so much I couldn't think about June anymore.

  I needed to let go. She wasn't mine.

  West Bend wasn't part of my life anymore.

  I needed to get the hell out of this town.

  It would be dangerous to stay here. I'd stretched it out for far too long already, staying here.

  But being here any longer would be dangerous for Crunch and his family. Dangerous for my dad. And dangerous for me.

  For my heart, anyway.

  RECONCILIATION

  I felt a spirit of love begin to stir

  Within my heart, long time unfelt til then.

  ~ Dante's La Vita Nuova (The New Life), Rosetti's translation

  Malibu, California

  Benicio’s Home

  "Maurice." Benicio rose as one of his men entered the room, impeccably clad in a suit tailor-made for his broad frame, and stood at attention in front of his desk, arms behind his back, his military experience and training oozing from every pore. Benicio sought men with military backgrounds, not only for his security team, but for his household staff as well, appreciating the precision and self-discipline that came with that background. This man, Maurice, was one of the best.

  “Sir,” Maurice began. "I have a full brief for you."

  Maurice was a well-built man, built like a tank to be more precise, and he was one of Benicio’s most impressive soldiers, loyal and disciplined to a fault. Maurice had been with him back in the early days, in the glory days when Benicio and his brother Guillermo were key political players in Panama, getting rich under General Noriega. When Noriega was ousted in the American invasion, Benicio had been set up by his traitorous brother; connected to illegal smuggling; and imprisoned for twenty years. Still, Maurice was loyal to Benicio, even when he came with Guillermo to the United States, where Guillermo's shipping connections made him a force to be reckoned with in the smuggling market. Maurice continued to provide intelligence to Benicio, waiting for the day when Benicio would return to deal with his brother's treachery. Last year, he had returned.

  And Guillermo had been dealt with, with the help of Benicio's daughter and the I
nferno Motorcycle Club. The same club that Benicio suspected was now betraying him.

  "At ease," Benicio said. "Have a seat. Tell me what you found." Benicio sat behind the large mahogany desk.

  “Sir,” Maurice began. “We were able to acquire the reports from the medical examiner's office and the fire department, as well as video footage from security cameras on a building in the vicinity of your warehouse. In addition, we interviewed a homeless man who witnessed some of what happened."

  “And what did you find?” Benicio was eager to clear up what had happened at the warehouse. Maurice had carte blanche when it came to tracking down intel, greasing palms or blackmailing whoever needed extra incentive to provide information. And he was very good at what he did.

  “The coroner has identified the body, but the office has not made the information public yet.”

  “Ours?”

  "No, sir," he said. "They've identified the body as one of theirs - Jonah Wilson. Goes by the name of Tank. Dental records confirmed."

  "You found security footage?"

  Maurice nodded. "The owners were happy to hand over the originals."

  "Excellent," Benicio said. "I trust they were well compensated for their willingness.”

  “Of course, sir.”

  "You said there was something interesting you wanted to show me."

  “Yes, sir, on the video footage.” Maurice opened the cover for his tablet and slid his finger across the screen, then turned it to face Benicio. “This is footage from 10:30 am on the day of the fire.”

  Benicio watched as the video played, and three bikers parked their motorcycles behind a row of dumpsters adjacent to the warehouse. “The men Mad Dog tasked to the warehouse, the protection detail. That was all kosher." He waited as the bikers removed their gear. "Well there's Axe. I recognize him. I don't know the other one."

  "One of them is the one who was killed. The other is Joe Holder - goes by Crunch. He does the books for the club."

  "I see."

  “All Inferno MC, sir,” Maurice said. He pressed “play” on another video clip. “This is what happens at 10:42.”

  Benicio watched as the three bikers wearing Inferno MC leathers rode up to the warehouse. They parked by the front entrance and removed weapons from underneath their leathers, sub-machine guns from the general shape and outline. One threw something inside the warehouse, and then a plume of smoke erupted.

  “Flash-bangs,” Benicio said.

  Maurice nodded. “Keep watching.”

  Benicio watched as the bikers sprayed the warehouse with gunfire aimed at the three Inferno MC members inside, then as one of the fuel containers inside the warehouse exploded and the building caught fire. “Those thugs. Morons.”

  Maurice nodded. “The rest of the video clips are more of the same. The warehouse goes up in smoke, and the first set of bikers leave. The other two bikers escaped out the back, and sped off on their motorcycles. A homeless man witnessed it as well.”

  Benicio drummed his fingers on the table. “So, the Inferno just used one of my warehouses as a hit location. And Axe and another biker escaped.”

  “That’s what it seems like, sir,” Maurice said. “Both groups of bikers were wearing Inferno cuts. Could be an informal squabble being taken care of, or some type of power play going on. Hard to know without digging around into the club’s business.”

  “Dig,” Benicio ordered. “I want to know exactly what we’re dealing with here. Regardless, the end result is that I ended up with a hot warehouse, a dead biker, and the whole fucking place riddled with bullet holes and up in flames. If we didn’t have a couple of people already on the take within the LVPD, there would be a number of organizations sniffing around this.”

  “I will start digging, sir,” Maurice said.

  “This stays between the two of us. I want to know exactly what the Inferno MC is up to now, as well as what the dynamics are between the club members and Mad Dog. I want to know everything. Weaknesses, vulnerabilities. I don’t want to be blindsided by something like this again."

  "Yes, sir. I'll get on it immediately."

  "Dani came to me before she and Blaze left for Cambodia, wanted a quiet exit out of the country. Blamed it on wanting to get away from the club, having a regular honeymoon. I should have known there was something more she wasn't saying." Benicio said it more to himself than to Maurice.

  "Should we get someone on them, Sir?"

  Benicio shook his head. "I'm not sure what the angle is here yet. But the Inferno have no reach in Cambodia, I'm sure. Axe, on the other hand... Dani asked us to check in, keep an eye on him. Said he was drinking too much. Personal problems."

  "Now he's got more than just personal problems."

  "Yes. He does," Benicio said. "Do we have a track on him?"

  "No, sir," Maurice said. "But we'll get one."

  "Find him and the other biker."

  "You want us to bring them in?"

  Benicio shook his head. "No, just get a line on them. I want more information before we make a move."

  "The club will be tracking them too. As soon as they find out that they weren't killed in the fire, they'll finish what they started."

  "Then we need to make sure the club believes they were killed in the fire," Benicio said. "I trust you can ensure that it's public knowledge that three bodies were found, instead of one?"

  "Yes, sir," Maurice said. "Right away."

  "Make it happen immediately. And I'll make sure the club is alerted that there were three bodies found," Benicio said. "Good work. Let's see if this trail leads where I suspect it does."

  June

  I finished applying a third coat of mascara and stepped back from the mirror, blinking a few times before I surveyed myself from head to toe. I looked good. My hair was blown out and straightened instead of slicked back into a ponytail right out of the shower, the way it usually was. I was wearing my casual but still low cut black shirt, the one that showed just enough cleavage, and the hip hugging jeans that made my ass look great.

  So why the hell did I feel like shit?

  There was no reason for the stupid, nagging sense of guilt I felt. Cade was being a prick, and I had no reason to care what the hell he thought. Or whether or not I hurt his feelings.

  Fuck it. As if bikers even have feelings.

  We weren't boyfriend and girlfriend. This sure wasn't high school. And I certainly didn't need to turn down a date with Jed just because Cade had gotten his panties in a bunch over it. I didn't owe Cade an explanation. I didn't owe him anything.

  So when Jed called me to ask if I wanted to have dinner tonight, I said yes, without a second thought about how Cade would react. Okay, so maybe it wasn't without a second thought exactly. Maybe it was because of Cade specifically.

  Screw him.

  Besides, he wouldn't even know. Even if he did, he said he didn't care. He was the one who told me to date Jed.