Warlords MC: Book 4 – Deuce : Chapter 4

When the door slammed for the second time in as many minutes, Ace looked over at his youngest brother. “Are you going to slam the door a third time on me too?”

Joker shook his head. “No, but you can’t blame them, can you? We all went through hell over there. By the grace of God, we all came home again, but so many didn’t. If this Whittaker fucker is a traitor, then he needs to be brought down.”

“I know and I feel the same way you all do, but we can’t just go after someone like that. We’re better men than that.” Ace exhaled and shook his head. “We have to be don’t we? If we weren’t, we’d be on the same level as this bastard and I refuse to go that low.”

Joker got to his feet and nodded. “Me too, but if I were you, I’d call Shay sooner than later. You know our brothers, it is a family trait, isn’t it? Stubborn to a damn fault. They get something in their jaws and they are like bull dogs. They will keep ripping at it until it tears open.”

“What are you going to do?” Ace asked as he recognized the same determined look in his youngest brother’s eyes that he’d seen in King’s and Deuce’s eyes.

“Me? I’m going to research the man in question, until I know what he has for breakfast tomorrow morning. Then I’m going to look under the PR bullshit and find the evidence we need to… how did King put it? Oh yeah, nail his balls to the walls. Yup.” He nodded. “I’m gonna do that.” He got to his feet. “All I ask is that you don’t stop us.”

“Now, why would I do that?” Ace asked. “All I want is for us to do this the right way.”

“Then you do what you do best.” Joker slapped him on the back, though as big as Ace was it never moved him. “You get Shay here and let us do our job.” Joker went into the house as well.

Only difference was he didn’t slam the door and that left Ace standing alone. He reached for his cell phone and made the call that would bring Shay Montross to their corner of the world. Heaven help them all if this mission went fucking south. Someone was gonna end up dead and he just hoped it wouldn’t him or his brothers.

Deuce had taken the abandoned logging road overlooking the valley below. Charli’s truck slowed down and came to a stop on the dirt path that was barely a path any longer. There was about a mile and a half between him and the mansion in the distance.

Dawn was just breaking over the eastern sky, so he’d timed this just right. He wanted the chance to see what Whittaker’s routine was. First, he had to see if he was even here at all.

Picking up the binoculars, he focused on the mansion and the grounds first. He growled as he caught sight of everything Whittaker had around him. He thought of the blood staining the sands of Kandahar that paid the ultimate price tag for the fine cars and the swimming pool below him.

He saw at least five shiny black cars parked in a row below him. The house itself was huge and well cared for, along with the grounds.

Then the man himself came out to the patio and sat down at the table. He looked relaxed while sipping a cup of coffee.

Deuce watched him dispassionately. He felt nothing but contempt for the man and if he could, he would put a bullet in the man’s head right where he sat. But he couldn’t do that. He wanted Jedidiah Whittaker to pay the full price for his crimes and that meant going through proper channels and doing this the right way. He knew Ace was right, he just didn’t like the fact.

The silence surrounding him was broken slightly as he heard the purr of a cycle engine rolling up beside him. Deuce shook his head and looked over at his brother, Joker. “Why did you follow me?” he asked. “Don’t you trust me?”

Joker snorted. “Of course I trust you, you dummy. I’m only here to have your back. If that bastard is as bad as everyone knows he is, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill you and just walk away. I’m not gonna let that happen.”

Deuce nodded. He turned his head and looked between where he was parked and the back of the compound that was the home of the bastard they had been hunting all this time. Something caught his eye and he zeroed in on the movement he found.

“What the hell?” he swore under his breath. He found two places where the tall grasses were moving as if someone was moving through them. One of the areas was not far from where they were right now, while the other was a ways down the hill. The one down the hill was moving as if the other one was searching through the tall grass searching.

Just then, the one closest to the high road broke through and he found himself looking at a young woman. She looked be dirty and hurt. The most startling fact though was that she looked just like the young woman he found haunting his dreams the last two nights. He reached out and started the truck, inching slowly ahead.

When she saw him, she turned and ran toward the truck. Opening the door, she climbed in. Staring at Deuce, she said, “If you don’t want to die, then get us the hell out of here. Go, go now before the bastard gets here!”

Deuce glanced over at Joker and nodded. “Hang on to your panties sweetheart.” He hit the gas and the truck took off.

Joker roared past him on his bike, leading the way but Deuce wasn’t very far behind him.

It wasn’t until they turned the corner when he caught a movement from the corner of his eye in his rearview mirror.

A tall man in all black broke through the brush and hit the road. He lifted his arm and sent a series of shots after them. He was too far away from them, so the bullets didn’t come close to hitting the truck, but the girl on the truck seat next to him ducked and covered her head all the same.

When they reached the main road again, Deuce glanced over at the woman in the truck with him. She looked beat up and he had no idea what happened to her but she was here with him now.

“So what was that all about?” he asked her finally.

She snorted and sat up to buckle her seat belt. “That was my father trying to tighten up loose ends.” She exhaled. “To him, I’m nothing more than a loose end now. He doesn’t care about anything except power. I always knew it would come down to this.”

“Come down to what?” Deuce frowned.

She turned her head to study him for a moment then she told him, “Almost four years ago, my sister Collette disappeared. I asked about her all the time and finally, my father told me to forget she was ever my sister. That she would never return and that I should just forget about her. I couldn’t believe it. She was my sister, my twin and I was supposed to forget her?” She shook her head. “I knew there was something she wouldn’t talk about the last few months she was there but I could no more forget her than I could forget to breathe. But I didn’t ask about her anymore, as per his order. I just didn’t talk about her. But I never stopped trying to find out what happened to her.” She paused to take a deep breath and looked out the front window. “Now, I know what happened to her and I want to kill him.”

Deuce frowned as he drove down the highway. “What happened?”

“She’s dead. She died six months after she disappeared,” she announced. “I think I knew it all along but I needed to know for sure. I mean who would believe such a thing?” She wiped away a tear but didn’t say anything for the longest time. Then she turned and stared at him for a moment. “Why exactly were you there this morning anyway?”

“I was there watching your father,” Deuce told her the truth.

“Why?” She stiffened.

“Because my brothers and I are going to bring him down and bring him down hard.” Deuce was honest with her… that was just the way he was.

“Can I help?” Luna offered.