Warlords MC: Book 3 – Jack : Chapter 4

Deuce came out in just his jeans and bare feet with two guns, one in each fist. “Get away from the fucking window, Jack!”

Jack did so but he shook his head at him. “She says it’s her team.”

Deuce looked more than lost. “What?”

“She’s CIA,” came Ace’s voice from the laptop.

Deuce looked around the room. “Ace?”

“I’m on com, Deuce,” Ace answered.

Deuce’s gaze narrowed down at the coffee table then up at Jade’s calm face. “What the fuck is happening here?”

A loud knocking came at the door.

Jack had his weapon out and aimed over at it, as did Deuce with his two guns.

Jade stood up and raised her hands. “Look. These are the good guys, Ok?”

“How do we know that?” Deuce asked.

“Well, shit…” Ace’s voice came from the screen again. “I just got a communique.” He looked up. “Damn, of all people. Let them in.”

Deuce still looked doubtful. “What?”

“Let them in!” Ace repeated.

Jack shook his head as he glared at Jade.

She bit at her lip and walked over to the door with them.

Jack opened the door and stepped back. His gun right on the man who stood there.

“Hey now,” the man with the white beard exclaimed. “We come in peace. Didn’t you all get the message?” His eyes swiveled to Jade. “Oh damn, I am so glad to see you in one piece, girl.”

Jade smiled and stepped forward to hug him. “It is good to see you too.”

He grinned and patted her on the back. “I’m sorry sugar that we didn’t come and get you at that estate. We got orders to stand down.” He pulled back. “And I was hopping mad too. Scared for you.”

Jade stepped back. “I figured that when…” she paused and swung her gaze over at a surprised looking Jack. “…They came in.”

The man stepped through the doorway and stared at Jack. He was older but you’d never know it by his physique from his boots on up to his bulging thighs and ripped arms, then there was his thick neck and squared jaw line, shadowed by a white beard. “You can stand down soldier. I’m not armed.”

“Stand down!” came Ace’s voice from the laptop.

Both Jack and Deuce reluctantly lowered their weapons.

“Ok… so can we come in?” the older man asked.

“Let them in!” came Ace’s voice again.

The older man moved forward while looking curious. “That voice sounds damn familiar.”

Jade waved over to the laptop.

The man stepped over and sat on the couch staring at the screen. “Well, god damnit. Captain Bridges?”

“Stone Masterton,” came Ace’s reply. “I got orders but I never knew they were sending you.”

“Well, if that don’t fucking beat all.” Stone laughed.

Other men came into the room. Six of them… all bikers.

Jack stared at their cuts.

Hell’s Fire Riders with a flaming skull logo beneath that.

That was what really threw him before when he’d looked out the window. Harley’s… a biker club—the very last thing he’d expected to fucking see.

The other men quietly moved into the living room and stood on alert.

Deuce shut the door and never took his eyes from the men.

Jack walked over to the couch and peered down at the laptop. “Ace, what the hell?”

Ace shook his head. “Hey bro, I didn’t know. I just got the heads up. These men and Jade have been working at getting all the men involved with the drug trade and the human trafficking trade.”

Stone looked up at him. “That ain’t all they’re up to neither. These five men they are planning to hit some areas in our homeland to send a message.”

“To who and what for?” Jack asked.

“To the President on down. They want to be in charge.”

Deuce laughed. “That’s insane.”

“Maybe,” Stone replied. “But that is what they intend to do.”

“And you are going to stop them?” Jack asked.

Stone looked over at him and raised a brow. “We will. Or die trying.”

Jack now looked over at Jade. “So, are you even Sable’s sister?”

“I am.” Her eyes looked luminous as they sparkled with unshed tears. “The CIA got me involved when the Gauntlet was dating my sister. What I said was true. I had worked on special cases with them and the FBI before this. I agreed right off. She was with a very dangerous man. But when I got there…All of what I said before happened just like I said. He had killed her and took me prisoner.”

Jack still felt like she’d lied to him. He shook that off. She was an operative like he was. He shouldn’t take it personal, yet he did. He looked over at Stone.

He nodded. “We’ve been on her trail ever since and we were going to move in when we were told that someone else had that bust. Apparently, these agencies don’t share information with each other. Well, not till it’s just about too late. What a surprise right?” He snorted with a roll of his eyes.

“So, now we can do that very thing, Pappy,” Ace said from the laptop.

“I figured,” Stone replied. “We can have a meet. Are you able to come down?”

“Yeah, getting the jet ready right now. Jack and Deuce make our friends at home, we’ll be there in an hour or so.” The screen went black.

Stone turned and motioned to one of the men. “This is Dewey Mann, my second in command.”

Dewey nodded at them.

“Then these men are Reaper, Doc, Recon, Colten and Viper.”

Jack and Deuce nodded at the men.

Stone looked over at Jade. “So have you told them yet?”

She shook her head. “We never got that far.”

Jack stared at her. “Well, as much as I am dying to know.” He glared at her. “We wait until Ace gets here.”

Jade lowered her head at his tone.

Stone stared at him and seemed to study him. “So you and Deuce here, you are 2 of the fabulous five eh?”

Deuce and Jack looked surprised that he knew of their cover name.

Stone laughed. “Look boys, we ain’t here to step on any toes. Yes, I know about the cards, your Spade group, and you all. Of course, I do. Who do you think helped to get you all trained?”

The two brothers looked totally lost.

“Ah well, I suppose you wouldn’t have known.”

“How do you know Ace?” Deuce asked.

Stone smiled. “That’s a dammed fine question. Let’s sit and I will fill you in.” Stone sat down and stared at the two brothers as they sat down “I was in the Marines from the day I turned 18. I stayed in the trenches for all my younger years. I then entered Special Forces. I led men. I trained em. I met your brother when he was a young’un, about twenty. I imagine you boys were still at home playing with matchbox cars and toy soldiers back then.”

His other men chuckled.

Jack raised a brow as he almost smiled despite his foul mood at the moment.

“Then I trained him, Truman Bridges. Taught him everything I knew. We served on at least ten missions together before the higher ups recognized the genius and skill Ace possessed. They came and got him. I wanted him to stay but orders are orders. Then several years went by and he came to me along with a general that is actually a good friend of mine and wanted my help to form the Fab 5 team or as you know it, Spades. You boys were all in various deployments at that time. I put the trainers I trusted the most under your brother’s command. I never saw you all in action, but I heard plenty and I did feel proud. What I did not know was what all the government did with ya all. Wasn’t my business, not that they would fucking tell me either.” He chuckled.

Jack and Deuce never knew any of this, as Truman had never spoken of Stone Masterton.

“Wait… You’re Pappy?” Jack remembered now. Truman had spoken of him. He just didn’t realize this was him till just now. “So you now work for the CIA?”

“Oh, hell no!” Stone looked insulted.

Dewy, his 2nd laughed. “Yeah, accusing him of this usually gets that reaction.”

“No… we are not CIA nor FBI,” Stone continued. “See…It seemed like one day, I finally was the oldest man in the group, the leader.” He rubbed his hair and laughed. “I guess by then, my hair had turned white already, so I looked like an old man even if I wasn’t so old. That’s when they started to call me Pappy. We were well into building the Hell’s Fire Riders team to mean something special and I was the man in charge of training them to be Marines. I had to take boys still wet behind the ears and turn them into men. Then I had to take them to a place no man should ever have to see…straight into hell. I knew some of them would die in battle but train them I did. I gave them the best chance they had to survive and they gave me back 110 per cent.”

“You gave them more than that Pappy,” the one they called Reaper finally spoke up. “You gave them their lives back. They may have come to you as snot nosed boys who thought they knew it all but they left as men, proud to be Marines and proud as hell to have survived that hellhole. Most of all, proud to have served under your command. Each and every one of them.”

Stone shook his head then looked saddened. “Not all of them came home though. Their bodies came home but we left their souls in the deserts of sand in three different countries.”

“That’s true enough, but our group had the lowest body count of them all.” Doc nodded.

“Even one man is one man too many. I lost nine altogether.” Stone sighed heavily. “The last one took a bullet with my name engraved on it.” He rubbed his chest lightly. “On this chest of mine is a tattoo of an eagle. The most majestic bird ever created. The bird itself is standing with its head bowed holding an olive branch, the universal symbol of peace in his claws while overhead are nine shooting stars. Each star holds the initials of the nine men I’d lost to battle along with the date they died.” He shook his head at Jack and Deuce.

A sound came from outside.

The room got quiet. Then a slight but obvious noise was triggered. The six men all had various guns in their hands now, as did Jack and Deuce.

Jade looked around wide eyed at all the weapons.

With the expression she wore, Jack fought the urge to go and sit by her, to protect her in case this was someone uninvited.

Deuce went over to the window and peeked out.