I arrive at the yard a full ten minutes before Marcus and the three stooges. I have already spotted the supplier, leaning on the bonnet of his car waiting for one of my brother's men to meet him. What I don't anticipate though, is that Lincoln is the one collecting this shipment as I spot him lurking behind a large shipping container. This makes it tricky, I do not want him to get hurt but he might have to for this to be believable. Fuck.
Pushing my hands through my hair, Marcus pulls up beside my bike and him and the three stooges jump to action, firing shots into the air. Fucking great, bring attention to a drugs trade. Fucking amateurs. Why did we have to bring them? I look over to Lincoln, he’s trying to assess the threat as he quickly pulls his phone out, likely to call for backup. I move quickly across the yard to catch the supplier before he makes a run for it, we need that shipment. I need it for Teddy’s location.
As I sprint over towards him, I notice Marcus approach Lincoln from behind, my eyes go wide because I do not trust that man, and if he tries to kill my friend then the deal is off and I'll be reigning a hell down on him so fierce that he won’t know what fucking century he’s in. And I will let nobody stand in my way. I watch as Marcus picks up a brick and without any sort of hesitation, he smashes it over Lincoln's head.
Instinctively, I shout at Marcus, making him look up at me. I need to stop the supplier from getting away before the cops get here but I am fighting my gut instinct to help Linc. I shake my head, Teddy is who he would want me to prioritize, so I cut off the supplier and hope I don't live to regret my choice.
Tackling the supplier to the ground, I pull my knife from my thigh halter and bring it to his throat.
“You will do better if you do not fight me. We are taking your supplies with you dead or alive. Do I make myself clear?” I threaten as I dig the knife into his neck, blood begins to trickle down his throat, bright crimson paints my blade as he gulps nervously.
“Just please don’t kill me,” he whines. I smile at him and nod, digging the knife just a little bit more as he winces beneath me. Taking my knife away, I use the handle and whack him in the side of the head, knocking him out cold. I stand and leave him on the floor as blood continues to trickle from his neck, returning my attention to Lincoln and Marcus. Linc is still on the ground unmoving but Marcus has moved with the three stooges to the car the supplier arrived in. They are moving the cocaine shipment from the crates into Marcus’s van as I make my way over to them.
Marcus glares at me. “You made a good choice, I wasn't sure you would for a second.” He hands me a small front door plaque that has an address on it. I grasp it in my hand and memorize the address before turning around and pulling my switchblade out and carving a message on it for them to find. Looking around to ensure nobody is watching, I quickly wrap the small wooden plaque in a layer of packing plastic that’s been discarded during the commotion and conceal the plaque in the depths of the remaining crate, deep within the ice, hoping that Lincoln will find this once he wakes up.
As soon as the drugs are all securely placed in the van, I speak to Marcus while the three stooges are getting settled inside.
“What now?” I ask, my voice low and uncertain. I am eager to make my way to Teddy but I need to ensure it is safe to do so.
“Go to the boy but don't do anything foolish, they will be expecting it, Cole.” He says, glaring at me before turning and getting in the vehicle. He doesn't linger or say goodbye.
I look over at Lincoln, still unconscious, but I see he is breathing. I am sure my brother will come with an army soon enough and my name will be on the top of that list to take out. Walking away from my friend one last time, I jump on my bike once more and take off to where they have Teddy.
I pray the whole way there that he is okay and that no harm has come to him and I have to block out the burning rage that’s building inside of me once I finally arrive at the location of the house address. I drive around the area and conceal my bike almost a block away, deciding that it’s probably a better idea to keep it out of sight in case I need a quick get away, so I make my way to the front door on foot. I want to enter the property undetected. I want to see Teddy without anybody else around.
As I make my way over the wall of the garden in the backyard, I quickly hide behind a tree, watching the night guards patrol the house. Fuck this is like a prison, my little man is being held captive. It only makes me all the more determined to get him out of this quickly. I hope Lincoln found the tip off from me and will be on his way with Silas soon. I am not sure how I'll get him out otherwise. I need the distraction of them breaking in to cover our escape. Once the guards are out of sight, I make my way across the lawn and into the house. Listening out for any voices or movement, I find the stairwell and silently make my way upstairs and begin checking all of the rooms for any sign of Teddy. The room to the furthest end of the house is the one I check first. I try to open the door, realizing it is locked. Shit. This must be where they’re keeping him. I try the door handle again to make sure it isn’t just stuck and that's when I hear him. I hear his little voice from behind the door.
“Hello, is anyone there?”
My heart breaks, he sounds so unsure. “Hey little man, are you okay?”
Teddy squeals, “Cole!! Is that you? Please can you find my mommy, I miss her. I don't want to stop with Uncle Ronan anymore.”
“I'll get you out, don't worry, Teddy. Silas and Lincoln will be here soon to help me.” I reassure him. But I am so focused on trying to reassure Teddy that it will all be OK that I don't hear the footsteps creeping up behind me until it is too late.
“So, you were a rat all along, Cole? I think you'll regret trying to trick me.” Ronan snarls from behind me.
Before I can respond to him, the crack of a gun butt hits my temple and everything goes black. Drifting into the void, I pray that my brothers arrive soon.
Chapter 17
Lincoln
I wake to an electric shock like pain pulsing through my skull. That treacherous fucking prick. The smug look on Cole’s face is still burned into my memory. He was the last person I saw before I was attacked from behind. I remember talking on the phone to Silas, telling him that the whole thing was an ambush and that our shipment had been infiltrated. I can’t believe I decided to make this exchange on my own. I stood behind a large shipping container, keeping cover as a small group of heavily armed men helped themselves to my goddamn drugs.
There was nothing I could do as I watched a huge portion of our profit get stolen right before my eyes. And just as I heard Silas pick up his phone and ask me what the problem was, I spotted a familiar face amongst the crowd, keeping his distance as he watched the carnage unfold. When his eyes locked on mine, my stomach churned as all he did was simply smile.
That was the last thing I saw before my vision went black. And now here I am, pulling myself off of the fucking floor and wiping the blood from the side of my head. I swear to God, whatever this shit is that Cole has gotten himself into, I will personally drag him back out of it just to send him back down into the depths of hell with my own bare hands. I know Silas has branded him a traitor now, and deems him not to be trusted but this isn’t Cole. Silas has to make these decisions for the club, I’m the one who see’s the bigger picture and none of this makes any fucking sense.
I stand up slowly, regaining my balance as my head woozes in protest. “Jesus Christ,'' I mutter, glancing down at my feet to see a bloodied rock left behind by my attacker. Fucking prick. Whoever did this will be sorry they didn’t check to see that I was still breathing before they left, because when I find them, I’m going to murder them. I’m already pissed that I had to come out to make sure this went off without a hitch. Alot of fucking good that turned out. I should be back at the house with my son and my woman. I scoff at the thought of Lucille ever being just mine. All mine, to do with whatever I pleased. To touch, to kiss, to fuck. To love. I groan at my intrusion of thoughts, wiping my hands over my face as the idea of it being anything like that now seems completely ludicrous so I shove my feelings down, like I have been doing since I met her and kick the rock out of pure frustration as I make my way over to the stack of fishing crates that had been concealing our drug packages. There’s nothing left but broken crates, foul smelling fish and melting ice strewn across the floor. And as if that blow to the head had knocked some sort of clear vision into my head, it occurs to me that this is what Cole was snooping around for when he came into Silas’s office. The information for our next drug exchange. What the fuck is he playing at? I sift my hands through the only standing box of ice that hasn't been smashed to pieces, double checking they hadn’t left any drugs behind that might be found by unsuspecting hands, because I daren’t chance this fuck up to possibly get any worse than it already has.
I notice nothing but ice until I hit the bottom and my fingers come into contact with a small, hard package. Too small to be one of ours. I hesitate for a moment, debating whether or not this could be a trap. A small bomb perhaps? But if they were trying to kill me, surely they would have accomplished that by bashing me over the head. This has to be a sign. I swallow down the uncertainty that plagues my mind and quickly wrap my fingers around the unfamiliar object and yank it up through the ice before I can convince myself not to.
The package is small enough to fit in the palm of my hand and wrapped completely in plastic, sodden and freezing against my skin from the ice in the crate. I turn it over a few times in my hands trying to figure out what it is but the wrapping makes it difficult to see what's inside. As I flip it over repeatedly the only thing that comes to mind is Cole. If someone were holding a huge neon flashing light in front of my face, it couldn’t have been anymore fucking obvious. He’s left a message. He knew I’d check the crates to make sure nothing was left behind so that’s where he concealed it for me to find. I catch myself momentarily as the rush of adrenaline to my head makes me sway with a high pitched whistling in my ears. If this is what I think it is, I need to share it with the others. I pocket the object as inconspicuously as possible. The likelihood of someone from Ronan’s team watching my every move is high so I make a run for it back to my car, praying that they haven’t trashed it while I was unconscious. I turn the final corner and I’ve never been so grateful to see all four wheels of my Ferrari as they stand untouched where I’d left them. As soon as I pull out of the shipping yard, I floor the gas and head straight back home to see what little breadcrumb our lost boy has left for us.
Drumming my fingers against the leather of the steering wheel, I’m finding it hard not to think about what could be so important to Cole that he would hide it for me in a fish crate, exactly where I’m adamant he knew that I’d find it. I need a distraction before I drive myself insane trying to guess. I should call Silas to let him know I’m OK before he comes looking for me but fuck it, he can wait.I can’t explain this over the phone.
“Call Felix!” I bark into the car's handsfree system, deciding that checking in on my casino that I’ve left in Felix’s hands will be the welcome distraction I need for the rest of the drive home. Felix picks up immediately and can’t help but smirk as his cool laughter fills the car.