Page 74 of Blackbeard
I hit the pavement, skidding several feet before I came to a stop. The gritty road bit into the leather of my cut and chewed the sleeves of my jacket ragged.
“On the ground!” the cops barked. “Get on the ground, hands above your head!”
I stared up at the interlocking branches overhead, with a hint of stars peeking through, stunned.
The whole thing was a setup. And we fell for it.
Within five minutes, we were all cuffed, sitting on the side of the road while cops stood over us, guns at the ready in case we got violent or tried to escape.
“Fucking bastards,” Spike muttered. “I’ll kill ‘em.”
Big G sighed and tipped his head back, fiddling with a blade of grass.
“Not while you’re in jail,” he countered. “And we’re going to be in there for a while. I’m sure the Forsaken will enjoy sitting their traitorous asses in our bar every night, drinking our liquor, and playing with our bunnies…”
Spike grumbled.
“Do you really have to rub it in like that?”
Big G spread his hands, the cuffs rattling with his movement.
“Just stating a fact.”
A car came speeding up the road, sleek and black, expensive. One cop held out his hand, indicating to slow down. The car stopped and a woman emerged, her auburn hair pulled back in a tight French twist. Snug-fitting pencil skirt. Sharp heels. Familiar wingtip eyeliner.
“What the fuck?” I whispered.
Leigh strode forward, shoulders back, head held high, briefcase in hand.
“I’m looking for Officer Shepard,” she called, commanding the attention of every cop in the area. “I understand he’s the man in charge of this operation.”
“That would be me, ma’am,” the cop said. “Can I help you with something?”
“FBI,” Leigh replied, smoothly flashing a badge. “I believe you have seized an illegal shipment of guns from the Makarov family. They’re high on our wanted list. That evidence belongs to the bureau.”
“Isn’t that your wife?” Crash mumbled in a loud whisper at me.
“Shut up,” I hissed. Because I didn’t have a clue what the fuck was happening right now, but I wasn’t about to be the reason her cover was blown.
And I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She looked sexy as hell.
“I can’t just release these guns to you, ma’am,” Officer Shepard retorted.
Leigh shifted closer and placed her hand on his arm, squeezing his bicep. A bolt of jealousy spiked through my heart, seeing her flirting with another man right in front of me. Didn’t matter that she was doing it to save my ass.
At least, that’s what I hoped she was doing.
Her father had crucified us. Maybe she was simply digging our graves deeper to ensure there would be no chance of making it out alive.
“How about a trade?” she proposed.
Officer Shepard tilted his head, skeptical.
Leigh pulled out her phone from her blazer pocket and tapped the screen. Then she handed it to him. He stared at it for a moment. At last, he nodded.
“So, you’re telling me I have the wrong biker gang?”
“Look at the cuts they’re wearing. See the patches? The Forsaken MC. They’re the ones shaking hands with the Makarovs in the video. And those crates in the background? They’re stamped with a Russian seal and numbers. I think you’ll find that they match the same stamps on those gun crates in the back of that truck.”
