Carter seemed to take pleasure in having her at his mercy. There were three of them, and then there was the British guy. He seemed to be in charge. She’d only seen him once, when they’d first brought her here. He’d shown up an hour later. He’d walked into the room, looked her over, and then reached up and grabbed her hair, jerking her head back. He’d stared down at her and said, “You’re husband is going to want you back, and he’s going to give me what I want in exchange for your life. Cooperate, and it’ll go easier for you, luv.”
Then he’d released her and walked out. That was it. Angel had been left to wonder just what Cole was involved in that this man would have anything to do with. It didn’t make sense. These two just couldn’t possibly move in the same circles. What could Cole have that this man wanted? Drugs? Money?
An evil grin formed on Carter’s face as he stared back at Tate. “You got this, huh? Yeah, I bet you do.” He held up the hypodermic, his eyes narrowing on the amount remaining in the syringe. “She got a good part of that dose, Tate. She’ll be nice and docile now.” He looked down at her as she now hung suspended in Tate’s arms. Her body held up by the muscular forearm across her ribs, and she felt the drug moving through her veins, bringing with it a lethargy she tried hard to fight
. Carter continued, “Of course, the fun starts when the cravings start. A girl will do almost anything you ask when that need starts crawling through her veins. And boss man likes ‘em needy, don’t he?”
“Don’t know what he likes, Carter, but you better get back in there and find out. He’s got an errand for you.”
*****
Mack walked into the clubhouse with the club’s attorney and accountant trailing behind him. He approached the bar and frowned. “Do I hear someone screamin’?”
Green took a sip of his beer. “Yeah, and that’s the last time I buy duct tape at the dollar store.”
“Crash tracked down Ralston’s driver,” Red Dog explained and nodded toward the door to the back room. “He and Cole are talkin’ to him out back.”
“Put these guys in the conference room,” Mack ordered, nodding toward the two men he’d brought in, and then he headed toward the back door. He walked down the hallway and into the warehouse. There, cuffed to chairs, were two guys. One was in a suit, his mouth duct taped, and a look of terror on his face as he watched the other man getting worked over by Cole.
Cole punched the second man in the face again, blood spraying from the guy’s busted lip and broken nose.
“You don’t understand, he’ll have me killed!” the man pleaded brokenly.
“You don’t tell me where he is, you’re not gonna live long enough for him to deal with,” Cole growled, pulling his fist back.
“Please!”
Crash grabbed Cole’s fist, halting the beating for a moment. “Alphonso, you don’t get it, we’re gonna kill him. He can’t have you killed if he’s already dead.”
The driver spit blood out of his mouth. “Okay. Okay, I’ll tell you. Just stop hitting me.”
Cole grabbed him by the hair and jerked his head back. “Where the fuck is he?”
Blood and spittle ran down Alphonso’s chin, and he struggled to breathe through his broken nose. “There’s an estate southwest of Monterey off Seventeen Mile Drive. He took her there.”
Cole let him go, stepping back. “Shit. That’s eighty miles from here.”
Crash put his hand on Cole’s shoulder, knowing he hadn’t expected she’d be taken out of town. “We can be there in an hour, brother.”
Mack walked up and stared down at the man in the chair next to Alphonso. “Who’s this guy?”
As Cole pulled off his black leather gloves, Crash looked over at Mack and replied, “Shannon’s father.”
Mack’s brows went up. “And he’s here why?”
“He’s our guest until we hit Ralston. Didn’t trust that he wouldn’t tip him off.”
“You really want to make an enemy out of a man like that?”
“I want to put him in the ground, but I think that’ll piss his daughter off. So, I’ll settle for putting him away. No one’s going to hold shit over her head. No one. Not ever again.”
Mack nodded, studying Taylor for a moment before looking over at Crash and Cole. “Bill and Tony are waiting in the meeting room.”
“Yeah, okay,” Crash replied.
“Fuck that, I’m moving on the location he gave us.” Cole motioned to Alphonso.
Crash stopped him, gripping his upper arm. The last thing they needed was to rush in blind. Ralston would be ready for that. “Brother, I understand the urgency, but we need to do this smart. We may only get one shot at this. Let’s pull up some maps and satellite views of the location he gave you on the internet and get a plan together.”