Che (Golden Glades Henchmen MC 2)

I stood there too long, listening to the gunshots, making sure I saw Seeley rushing back out before I started to make my way down, the sirens already starting to sound from a few blocks away.

I wasn't supposed to wait for Seeley.

Saskia had been really clear about that.

Every man had to act and think for himself since we each had our own designated meeting spots that would take a certain amount of time to get too.

I'd fucked up.

I knew it as I heard the hum of her car whizzing around, following the plan right down to the second.

And I was several minutes behind.

I knew even as I finally got to the location that I was too late.

Way too fucking late.

They'd left me behind.

She'd left me behind.

Chapter Twelve

Saskia

He wasn't there.

He wasn't fucking there.

I had McCoy, Remy, and Seeley.

And the plan was for Che to be next, then Huck.

But Che wasn't at his pick-up spot.

My heart hammered in my throat as the sirens moved closer and closer, and I sat there idling at the curb, head twisting over my shoulders, scanning the area for any sign of him as my mind moved at a breakneck pace from one awful scenario to the next.

Like him being shot.

Like him falling and getting hurt trying to get off the roof, becoming a sitting duck for the cops, or being seen by someone.

"Shit shit shit shit," I hissed, hands wringing around the steering wheel.

I had exactly two minutes to snatch up Huck, or he would take his cue to run off and hide until further notice, hopefully well enough not to get caught.

"We gotta go, Sass," McCoy said, voice calm, even if I heard the tension there. "We have to get Huck," he added.

I tried not to be angry at them for pushing. This was my plan, after all. I'd been firm about the details. No one got extra time. And I'd given Che too much of it already.

With my heart plummeting, with dread starting to course through my system, making bile slosh around in my stomach and surge up into my throat, I hit the gas, and turned down the next block.

"Where the fuck is Che?" Huck asked as I floored it down the side streets I'd memorized, getting as far away from the crime scene as possible.

While we left Che behind.

"Dunno," McCoy said, and I could feel their eyes on me.

"I'll drop you and go back," I told them, finding my throat tight, my air a bit constricted, which was slowly and surely starting to screw with my vision.

Panic.

This was pure, undiluted panic.

I hadn't even felt it this much when I'd been alone with strange men chasing me with guns. Or when I'd been with an unconscious Che, trying to get us out of a sticky situation.

"That's not the plan," Huck reminded me, tone firm. He was in biker-president-mode. He was trying to keep it impersonal.

Even though I knew they were all just as worried as I was—or possibly even more so—they were keeping it together. I felt like I was falling apart.

"You just missed the turn," Seeley called from the backseat, making my jump, looking over to realize he was right.

I was fucking up.

I was fucking up a job I couldn't afford to fuck up.

"It's okay," I said, taking a deep breath, letting it out slowly, feeling it clear my head a bit. "The next side street goes the same way."

And it did.

Within fifteen minutes, I was dropping them all back in Teddy's garage.

But I didn't get out.

Huck's hand slammed down on the inside of the open window of the driver's side, making me turn to find him bending down, eyes knowing.

"Don't get caught trying to save him," he demanded. "Che isn't stupid. He would have found a way down, and when he missed us, he would have found somewhere to hide. You need to stay away from that side of town."

"I'm not going to go racing down the streets," I told him. "I'm going to go for a casual drive. If he's hiding somewhere, he might see me, and I can bring him back. He can't be there. The cops are going to scour every inch of that area. And he has no good reason to be there."

"Okay," Huck said, clearly torn between wanting to protect me, and needing to know his man was okay. "Here. Take this. Che is number two in the saved," he said, producing his burner, handing it to me.

"Thank you," I said, nodding.

"You can't check in with us. We are tossing our phones. But get back here within an hour, or we are going to start to worry."

"Got it," I agreed, nodding, watching as he turned to talk to the others, everyone handing off their burners to Remy who was going to take his dogs for a casual walk, and carefully dispose of them in various locations.