We called Josiah the architect, because he had the uncanny ability to look at a building and know with surprising accuracy where the entry points were, and approximate dimensions of the rooms inside. For whatever reason, he could read buildings like they were people. For this part of the mission, though, we’d needed someone else to get the lay of the land, someone who could take it all in—the landscape, the buildings, the vehicles, anything relevant—and like Wilson, Eli had a photographic memory.
We stopped in front of the largest building that seemed to be the center of everything just as five men came strolling out the front door, carrying shotguns. It was hard not to roll my eyes at their posturing. I was pretty sure that they didn’t have anyone in the woods around us, but even if they did try some shit, there was no way any of the militia would make it out alive. Releasing the handlebars of the bike, I flexed my fingers as Dragon, Casper, and Grease finished what we’d come to do.
“What do you want?” the largest man asked. He was sporting a bald head that was too shiny to be shaved and a goatee that highlighted the jowls on each side of his face. The guy was massive. I couldn’t help but think he’d be an easy fucking target.
“You know who we are,” Dragon said calmly. “And we know what you’ve done.”
“We haven’t done shit,” a scrawnier guy spat, making the fat man signal with his hand to quiet him.
“Man, we know you took our truck,” Grease said in disgust. “Don’t be a fuckin’ moron.”
The fat man looked across the sea of bikes.
“You here to collect?” he asked, trying and failing to hide his fear. I could practically smell the sour stench of nervous sweat. “I wasn’t in charge then.”
“Nah,” Grease said. “Consider it paid in full.”
“What?” the fat man replied in confusion. If anything, he seemed even more afraid. God, this was a waste of fucking time and all of us knew it. Without Warren at the helm, these men were a bunch of pussies that didn’t even guard their gate.
I watched as Casper turned and pulled a game bag out of his saddlebags. He turned back toward the men, and with a flick of his wrist, emptied the bag.
One of the men on the porch started to wretch as Drake Warren’s rotting head rolled a few feet over the dirt before stopping face up. It was almost poetic.
“This is what happens when you come after one of ours,” Dragon said flatly. “In the future, you even hear our name whispered, you walk the other way.”
“We can do that,” the fat man said quickly, nodding his head.
“The baby and her mother are under my protection,” Dragon said, as if the man hadn’t even spoken.
“What?” Fat Man blustered.
“Under my protection,” Dragon reiterated. He looked at each man, one by one, until they’d all nodded that they understood him.
And just like that, Cecilia’s troubles were finally over.
As we started up the bikes again, the sound like the roar of a massive ocean wave, I looked up at the second story of the building and jerked as I noticed all the young faces peering out the windows.
“Eli,” I said quietly.
“I see ’em,” he replied. “Has to be at least twenty.”
It went against everything in my gut to turn and ride away, but that was exactly what we did. We weren’t there on a rescue mission, and even if we had been, we didn’t have anywhere for those kids and their mothers to go. They’d have to wait, even if the thought of it made bile rise up the back of my throat.
“Soon,” I murmured underneath the bandana covering the lower half of my face.
I had somewhere else to be.
Chapter 27
Cecilia
Mark was sure that the Aces’ trip south to deal with the militia would go off without a hitch, but I still sat up the entire night worrying. I was getting restless in the clubhouse, the constant flow of people in and out left me struggling for some peace and quiet, and that night wasn’t any different. If anything, the place was even noisier with the guys gone because most of the women in my family were camped out, waiting for their fellas to return. I could hear their voices through the wall.
After nursing Olive and laying her back down to sleep, I carefully got off the bed and slipped my shoes on. Earlier in the night, I’d stayed in our room during dinner, assuming that I could go out to get some food after everyone was gone. Unfortunately, I didn’t think any of them had left.
The sound of voices and laughter greeted me as I walked into the hallway, leaving the bedroom door cracked so I could hear Olive if she woke up. Smoothing down my hair, I strode forward confidently, then froze in the archway between the hall and the main room.