Page 30 of Our Tricks

“I think we’ll be out here a few more days to make sure things are good with Tommaso taking over the cartel. Can’t put a new guy in power and then just dip, but we’ll be back as soon as we can. Oh yeah, what were you saying about some bikers showing up from Arizona?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

“No clue who they are or how they found the compound, but the weirdest part is that they came looking for Dani,” Brian shared.

This had Eagle walking over to me, reaching for the phone. “Let me talk to him.”

I handed it over and snuggled back into Sprocket’s side, incredibly interested in what Eagle had to say on this matter.

“Hey, it’s Eagle,” he announced. “What crew are they from?”

“Something aces, why? Do you know who they are?” Brian asked.

“If it’s the Wild Aces, that’s the crew Dani’s ex is a part of. She left him and came to California to start over. If the fucker is back looking for her, I’m not inclined to help him. Dani is one of ours now, and no one can touch her. She’s protected by the Phantom Saints and the Hidden Empire,” Eagle declared, making me smile.

There was a pause before Brian said anything, making me quirk a brow. “Their president wants to have you take over the crew and patch them in as Saints.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not there to have that conversation, am I?” Eagle snapped, angrier at the dick move by the new crew than Brian. “Tell the fucker to get off my land, or I crush his crew and take it from him for being an ass. He knows the rules, and already he’s playing a dangerous game. Is Dani still at the compound? I thought Dax got her a new apartment for now until we figured out where best to place her.”

“She’s not here right now. A few of our guys got jumped while transporting some goods. They held them off, but two got shot, and the compound was closer than making it to the city. I called her out, and she should be arriving in a few minutes,” Brian informed us.

Leaping to my feet, I grabbed the phone. “What happened?”

“Nothing out of the norm,” Brian reassured me. “The Crazy Eights gang got cut off and punished because they were caught lacing their cocaine with shit. They know the rules, and it seems they weren’t happy about it and thought to jump one of our transports.”

“You weren’t kidding when you said the kids were getting restless with me not being there,” I muttered. “Brian, I want you to be glued to Dani’s side and get those idiots off our compound. Like Eagle said, if they can’t play by the rules, we’ll just have to make a stop on our way back and burn their clubhouse to the ground. I promised Dani she’d be safe, and you’re going to make sure I keep my promises.”

“Already would have done that, but now I have an order, she can’t yell at me for doing as I’m told,” Brian said, seeming just a little too happy about my request. “If there’s more trouble, I’ll reach back out, but I’m pretty sure I can handle this douche canoe, no problem.”

There was a knock at the door, making me whip around, going for my gun. Wes waved me off, miming that it was just food, and I relaxed. Shit had been so crazy today, I was jumpy as hell, but I wasn’t going to take a chance when I was still in someone else’s territory.

“I trust you’ll be fine. Remember, I taught you everything you know,” I teased Brian. “Have a good night. I’ll keep you in the loop about when we’ll be back once we figure that out.”

“Night, boss,” Brian said before he hung up.

Chapter 12

Dax

A man dressed in a hotel uniform rolled in a cart ladened with food, and my stomach growled loudly at the smell. My mouth started to water as he removed the lids from all the plates and set them on the table along with the sides. Now I could see the perk of having a dining room table in the suite—certainly was convenient.

After he set out the last of the steaks, there was still one covered tray. At first, I assumed it might be the dessert Sprocket had suggested, but when the man stepped in front of it shielding the sight with his body, I reacted. Before he even had the chance to lift the lid, I’d fired off a shot hitting him in the back of the skull. There was no sound other than a grunt before he crumpled to the floor, taking the lid with him.

There sitting on a bed of lettuce was what looked like a bomb. It was small, square, with a simple trigger switch that, if the man had managed to flip, would have taken us all out. I might not be able to build a bomb, but I knew people who could, and that amount of C4 could wipe out this room while leaving the rest of the building intact. There was also a second part to it that looked like it might be holding shrapnel to do the maximum damage in the enclosed space.

“Holy fucking shit,” Picasso swore from where he’d just taken his seat and then been covered in blood from the head shot.

Eagle headed for him and grabbed his brother’s face to look at making sure it was just cast off from my victim. “You’re not hit, right?”

“No, I’m fine. It’s not mine,” Picasso muttered, shoving Eagle aside so he could get up. He yanked his shirt up and off, using it to clean off his face and arms. “What the fuck, guys? I thought we were supposed to be safe here in the city, and now we have some dick trying to blow us up?”

My gun was still trained on the man, my mind reeling with everything that could have just happened. Someone came up behind me, then large hands I knew and trusted took my gun, pulling me to his chest. “You saved us, little demon. If you hadn’t acted as fast as you did, we’d all be full of more holes than Swiss cheese.”

I felt cold, my gut twisted, and I couldn’t tell why this bothered me so much. People had been coming after us for months now. Why was this moment any different?

Then it slammed into me. I was fine being attacked, it wasn’t anything new in my life, and something told me it would always be that way to a degree. What had me shaking like a leaf was that this attack targeted them. My family, the men I loved more than I thought was possible for my heart to understand. They weren’t after just me. Whoever sent this man wanted to take us all out.

“Shortcake,” Wes said as he stepped into my line of sight. “Dax, you’re shaking. Are you okay?”

I couldn’t talk, the fear that had been churning in my gut had morphed into white-hot rage. It reminded me of how I felt after they tried to use my miscarriage against me. This time I didn’t know who sent this bastard to our room to blow us the fuck up.