Resurrection (The Lone Riders MC Series Book 3) (16 page)

Twenty-One

‘Jesus, Ben…’ Michael ran a hand over his head, trying to take in the sight that met him. He was hoping his eyes were playing tricks on him, that the darkness was causing him to see things that may not be what they seemed, but this looked real enough. Shane Randell lay slumped against the cold, damp walls of the bunker, his head over to one side, like his neck had been broken, a gaping hole in his chest still oozing blood. His eyes were wide open, an expression of horrified surprise frozen on his face, and Michael knew he’d never be able to get that out of his head. ‘For Christ’s sake, couldn’t you even close the poor bastard’s eyes?’

Ben leaned over and gently closed Shane’s eyelids.

‘You called Sol? Hector? They’re gonna need to know what’s happened.’

‘I’ll go see Sol, after we’re done here.’

‘What do you want
me
to do, exactly? Jesus, the smell…!’

‘Let Coby know.’

‘Know what? That you killed Shane Randell?’

‘It’ll lull him into a false sense of security. Make him think at least one of his problems has gone away.’

Michael’s expression turned wary as he looked at Ben, noticing the way his eyes danced around with an almost nervous excitement, something the Sheriff hadn’t seen in this man for a long, long time. Something he never thought – something he’d hoped he’d never see again.

‘What’s going on here, Ben?’

Ben’s head swung around, his eyes still darting this way and that, a cold edge to them that made Michael shiver. ‘Nothing’s going on. I just thought I’d do us all a favor, y’know? Get rid of unnecessary baggage. Leave the way open to deal with the real problems.’

Michael continued to stare at a man he’d thought had left all this behind – this life. But what he was witnessing now, something had happened. Something was going on that had sent Ben back to a world he should never have returned to. Not even for a minute. He’d gotten too close. He’d gotten way too close.

‘The real problems? You talking about Hector?’

‘And Coby.’

Michael felt his heart start to beat faster. He didn’t have a good feeling about this. ‘Coby? Since when was Coby Walker a problem to you, Ben?’

‘Since he fucked my girl.’

‘Oh, Jesus,’ Michael sighed, leaning back against the wall. He was too fucking old for this crap. It was all escalating way out of control and he wasn’t sure he could contain it for much longer. He’d thought it had been too quiet out there. No problems out on the streets, just a calmness that had been foreboding in itself, and he should have known that only meant more shit was about to hit the fan.

‘He’s gotta go, Michael.’

‘No, listen to me, Ben. Listen to me, come on!’

Ben looked at him, his eyes now fired up, that cold edge replaced by a burning determination that only served to make Michael even more nervous. ‘I didn’t think I’d want this, y’know? I didn’t think I’d ever come back here, didn’t think I’d see any of my brothers again, but the longer things go on…’ He pushed a hand over his hair in a wildly nervous manner, backwards and forwards, making it terrifyingly obvious how on edge he was. ‘I’m back, Michael.’

‘Back?’ Michael nonchalantly placed a hand on his gun, just in case.

‘But things are gonna be different this time. Sol’s taking over, he’s gonna run this club like it should always have been run, and once Hector’s gone…’

‘Whoa, son, slow down there. Once Hector’s gone?’

Ben fixed the sheriff with an expression that told him he should know what he was talking about here. ‘Sol knew. He knew everything, about dad’s affair with Marianna, the baby… He knew the truth.’

Michael sank back against the wall. He wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take today. ‘So, why…?’

‘He knew, Michael. And like me he wants rid of the poison my father has spread around this place. Every brother in this club is on our side, but
we’ll
be the ones to finally rid the Dark Angels of his toxic crap. Me and Sol. True brothers. We’ll sort that problem out.’

‘And Coby?’

‘He’s something I’ll be dealing with alone.’

‘This isn’t happening… And what about this supposed war with the Lone Riders? You’re just gonna turn your back on them, huh? Leave Mia there…’

Ben shook his head, his eyes now down on the ground. ‘Mia knows, about Carrie.’

‘What?’ Another punch to the stomach that almost physically winded Michael. ‘How the hell did she…?’

‘Kip. Come on, Michael, you know he’s always had it in for me, always wanted me away from Mia. Even when he realized he couldn’t fuck his own sister, he still wanted me out. So he found her, found Carrie, got her to talk to Mia…’

‘Jesus,’ Michael sighed, closing his eyes in the vain hope that, when he opened them, all of this would be some elaborate nightmare and everything would be back to normal. A warped and fucked-up kind of normal, granted, but it was better than this. Anything was better than this. ‘I knew you should have told her the truth, Ben. After what she… You should have told her the truth.’

‘And she’d have walked away.’

‘I’m taking it she’s walked away now?’

‘She’ll be back. I love her, Michael. I love her so much it fucking hurts, which is why I can’t forgive Coby for what he did. And what if it’s still going on, huh? What if that wasn’t the only time?
Shit!
’

‘OK. OK, come on, calm down.’ Michael took the younger man’s arm, pushing him gently back against the wall.

‘I’ll fucking kill him.’ Ben’s voice was quieter now, but sinister in its calmness. ‘He touched her, and I saw him do it, watched as he fucked her from behind…’ He slammed his fist back against the damp wall, letting forth a howl of frustration that echoed eerily around the confined bunker. ‘I’ll kill him, so help me God, I’ll shoot that bastard dead…’

‘Hey! Hey, this isn’t helping anything, Ben. You’ve got to calm down, son…’

‘Don’t tell me to calm down, Michael.’ He stared at the sheriff, right into his eyes, and Michael felt another of those shivers run the length of his body. ‘Don’t tell me how to handle this. You didn’t see them, didn’t see what he was doing to her…’

Michael was shocked to see tears spring from Ben’s eyes, and for a fleeting moment he felt that sympathy he’d once had for this man come rushing back with a vengeance. And he regretted every second he hadn’t tried harder to make him stay away from here. He should never have let him return to
Paradise
. No matter how much he’d fought him he should have remained strong, he should have done everything in his power to stop him. He should have done that. Because the man in front of him now wasn’t the Ben who’d returned to this town a newly qualified, unburdened lawyer with a determination to uphold the law rather than flout it. The man in front of him now was a dangerous, damaged man who’d lost all sense of rationality. A man who was capable of so much that terrified Michael.

‘I love her... Jesus, I love her…’

Michael pulled Ben into his arms, rocking him like a baby as he cried it all out. ‘I know you do, kiddo. I know you do. But going after Coby…’

Ben pulled back, the tears drying up almost instantly as that cold edge and fiery determination fought for supremacy in his eyes. ‘Going after Coby is the only thing that’s gonna help me deal with this, Michael. I mean, he should know better, after everything he and Lexi went through. You don’t fuck around with another brother’s girl. You don’t lie to and cheat on the woman you’re about to marry when you’ve been through as much shit as they have to be together. You don’t do that. Just because he’s president, it doesn’t give him the right to do what the hell he likes, that’s not how it works.’ He fixed Michael with another look that froze his heart. ‘Sol’s right. I mean, at first I didn’t want any part of it. Bringing the Lone Riders down, the idea killed me. They were good to me when I needed them, y’know? They were good to me. But maybe Sol’s right. We take over their patch, we become the biggest MC around for miles. We can change things around here, become something the Lone Riders could never be…’ He suddenly stopped talking, his gaze dipping to Shane’s lifeless body. ‘And it’s what
he
wanted. Coby dead. The Lone Riders finished. Done with. So I guess I’m kinda doing it for him, too.’ He looked back up at Michael. ‘You know they’re just gonna fill this bunker up, don’t you? Close it down, bury it, pretend like it never existed. And he’ll just slowly become part of the earth he’s encased in.’

Michael felt a chill the like of which he’d never experienced before. It was as if a blast of icy air had suddenly swept in from out of nowhere.

‘We’re so far beneath ground here it’ll be easy,’ Ben continued, his eyes back on Shane. ‘To get rid of this. So fucking easy.’

‘Ben…’

Ben’s head shot back up, a cold smile on his face as he looked at Michael. ‘Go tell Coby. Please. Tell him Shane’s dead. Tell him I killed him.’ All of a sudden his eyes turned to ice once more, a look in them so dark Michael took a step back from him. ‘But if you warn him, if you tell him anything else; you try to convey even the vaguest of hints about what’s coming to him, and I’ll know. So don’t do anything stupid, you got that?’ He took out a cigarette, sliding it between his lips. ‘I mean, they ain’t gonna fill this bunker in straightaway. They’ll give it a couple of hours – still time for this one to get some company.’ He gave Shane’s body a nudge with the heel of his boot. ‘Should that be necessary.’

‘Is there any need for all of this, Ben?’

Ben raised his eyebrows, deciding against smoking that cigarette down here. He couldn’t be sure that lighting up wouldn’t cause this place to explode, what with the mysterious noxious smells. ‘I dunno, Sheriff. What would you prefer we do? Set up mediation meetings? Talk it all over until we come to some kind of agreement? Meet in the middle? Is that what you’d like us to do?’

‘You’re being fucking flippant, Ben.’

‘Go tell him, Michael. Keep it short, keep it brief, and like I said, for your sake, keep it relevant. You tell Coby Walker anything other than I’ve shot and killed Shane Randell and you’ll start more trouble than you could ever imagine.’

‘You threatening me?’

Ben smiled, one that didn’t reach his eyes. ‘Oh, yeah, I’m threatening you, Sheriff.’ He walked over to Michael, stopping right in front of him, his smile growing wider, more sinister. ‘And it feels fucking good.’

Twenty-Two

Coby sat at the head of the table, turning the gavel over and over in his hand as he stared out ahead of him, into the empty chapel. Shane Randell was dead. Shot by Ben Salter. Killed outright by a single bullet to the heart. The Dark Angels were taking care of the body, and Michael was dealing with the fallout. One problem gone. Eliminated. Yet Coby felt cheated out of an act he’d wanted to carry out. He’d needed his own retribution, but that chance had now been taken from him. And maybe he should be feeling relieved about that; he’d been prevented from doing something stupid, something that could have put everyone in more danger. But he wasn’t relieved. Because the shit wasn’t over with, the problems weren’t gone. Why had Ben killed Shane? What had he ever done to
him
?

‘You OK?’ Kip asked, tentatively walking into the room, not sure Coby was in the mood for company.

‘I don’t know, brother. This one’s thrown me.’

‘You got any idea why Ben’s done this?’

‘Something wasn’t right, Kip,’ Coby said, sidestepping a question he couldn’t answer. Not right now.

‘How d’you mean?’ Kip frowned, stepping further into the room.

‘Michael… It was like there was more he wanted to tell me, but he was holding back, y’know?’

‘You think the Dark Angels have got to him?’

‘I don’t know. I don’t even know whether to trust him anymore, whether what he’s telling me is the truth, I mean, this could be nothing more than some kind of set up…’ He let out a heavy sigh, standing up and leaning back against the table. ‘I don’t know what to think. But if this is true, if Shane really is dead, I still don’t understand why Ben killed him. He knew I wanted – needed to face the man who’d wanted me dead, he knew that. I just don’t get it.’ He looked at Kip. ‘Lexi all right?’

‘They’ve gone all girly out there. All this wedding shit…’ Kip pulled a face, jerking his head towards the door. ‘It’s fucking unnerving, man.’

Coby laughed quietly, dropping his gaze, focusing on his hand balled up into a tight fist. ‘Aye. I can imagine. As long as she’s OK.’

‘I think we could all do with something to take our minds off what’s going on.’

Coby sighed again, raking a hand through his hair. ‘If we actually
knew
what was going on it would help.’

Kip watched his president for a few seconds, feeling slightly uneasy at the fact Coby seemed unsettled. At this moment in time they needed a strong leader, not a man who was distracted. ‘You want me to do some digging, Cobe?’

‘Hmm?’ Coby looked up, his face momentarily confused as he tried to refocus.

‘Do you want me to do some digging? See if I can find anything out? Asking around can’t hurt.’

Coby shook his head. ‘This is what the Dark Angels do, Kip. They literally hunker down, go to ground, disappear until the perfect time to hit out. Nobody ever knows what they’re gonna do, nobody can read them. That’s what makes them so powerful. And if they win; if they
do
bring us down then they are gonna be one fucking dangerous force.’

‘They’re not invincible, Coby, come on. You’re making like we’re some kind of pussy outfit. What the hell’s wrong with you?’

‘OK. OK, you want to ask around, ask around. But I’m not sure you’re gonna come up with anything that can help us.’

‘Yeah, well, I’m not prepared to spend any more time looking over my frigging shoulder. And neither should you. Get back in the fucking game, Cobe. Lead this club. Believe we can fight whatever the Dark Angels are gonna bring us, because if
you
don’t believe we can do that, how the hell does that look, huh?’

‘We should’ve dealt with Ben better.’ Coby’s voice was quiet, but there was a determination building now. ‘Making an enemy out of him, that could turn out to be one of our biggest mistakes.’

Kip dropped his gaze, aware that what he’d done, unearthing everything about Carrie, Mia finding out, he’d caused that rift. He was lucky Mia had appeared to forgive him, lucky that she seemed to have seen sense and realized Ben wasn’t the kind of man she needed. But the repercussions of that – he wasn’t sure Ben was feeling quite so forgiving. Kip had ripped the only thing Ben cared about away from him, and knowing what he did about the man Ben had used to be… well, he had a feeling that man could well be making a comeback. And that couldn’t be good news for the Lone Riders. ‘If I find anything out…’

Coby’s eyes met Kip’s, that determination pulled right back to the forefront now. ‘Be careful, son. We want you at that wedding tomorrow, OK?’

Kip forced a smile, giving Coby a small salute as he backed out of the door. ‘Later, Pres.’

Coby laughed quietly, once more focusing his gaze on his still-balled-up fist. Kip was right. He
had
lost focus, for a while. He’d been weak, seeking some kind of solace, some kind of escape with a woman he should never have touched, not in that way. He’d taken a risk he’d been stupid to take. A risk that could have cost the club, cost
him
the woman he truly loved. And he wasn’t prepared to take that risk again. It was time for him to take the lead, and prepare this club for a fight they knew was coming. They just didn’t know when...

***

Ben killed the engine and climbed off his bike. Walking a few yards along the sidewalk he stopped at the corner of Mia’s street, glancing over at her house.
Shit!
Coby had one of the prospects sitting outside, something that shouldn’t have surprised him. Still, at least it meant she was home.

Leaning back against the wall he closed his eyes for a couple of beats while he tried to think what to do next. Walking in the other direction he went round the back of the row of houses in Mia’s road. They were all fenced off, but Ben could easily scale that. He just needed to check… yeah. As he thought. No one was keeping an eye on the back. Again, pretty lax on Coby’s part, Ben thought, as he took a quick look around before scaling the fence to Mia’s yard. Wouldn’t do to have the neighbor’s alert anyone of an intruder.

Jumping down to the ground Ben made his way to the back door, slowing down as he approached. He had to be careful here. He wasn’t expecting her reaction to be a welcoming one, but she screamed, and that prospect out front was going to come running, and Ben really wasn’t in the mood to waste anyone else right now.

Peering inside the window that looked into the kitchen, Ben couldn’t see anybody in there. So he tentatively pulled down on the door handle, surprised to find it open. Jesus! Did nobody check the security round here? Carefully and as quietly as he could he pushed the door open, just a touch; a gap wide enough for him to squeeze through before he gently closed it behind him, turning the key to lock it this time.

He couldn’t hear anyone downstairs. All seemed quiet. So he headed for the hall, stood at the foot of the stairs and tried to listen for noises up there. He could hear the shower, and as he moved around, so he could see up the stairway, he saw the bathroom door was open.

Slowly climbing the stairs he kept his eyes on the bathroom door, his heart beating like a jackhammer as he got closer. He stopped by the open door, leaning back against the wall just as the shower switched off. All he could hear now was Mia quietly singing an Eagles song, her voice soft as she sung out her own version of ‘Life in the Fast Lane’. Ben felt his heart beat even quicker, because he could hear her moving around now, coming towards him, and the second she reached the door he sprung forward, slapping a hand over her mouth before she had the chance to scream.

‘Don’t do it, Mia. Don’t do that, please. It’s me. It’s Ben. And I’m not here to hurt you, baby, OK? I promise you, I’m not gonna hurt you.’ He kept his hand over her mouth as he dragged her back into the bathroom, pushing her up against the wall, her eyes wide and fearful as she stared at him. ‘You gonna stay quiet?’ he asked, his other hand gripping her wrist as he tried to stop her from struggling. ‘I’m asking you a question here, darlin’. Are you gonna stay quiet?’

She pushed his hand away from her mouth with such force it momentarily stunned him, but not enough for him to let go of her completely, his fingers still gripping her wrist tightly. ‘Get the fuck away from me,’ she hissed, her eyes cold, but there was something there, penetrating the iciness, Ben could see it.

‘Are you gonna stay quiet, Mia? Because that prospect comes bursting in here, and I can’t promise he’ll walk back out.’

She laughed, a short, sharp, cynical laugh. ‘And so it begins, huh?’

Ben took a deep breath, briefly bowing his head, his fingers loosening only slightly around her wrist. ‘Mia, I promise you, I’m not here to hurt you.’ He raised his gaze to meet hers. ‘I’m not here to hurt anyone. But if I have to…’ Another deep breath. ‘I came here to warn you.’

She eyed him suspiciously. ‘I want you to go, Ben. I don’t want you here.’

‘Baby, please, you have to listen to me…’

‘No, I don’t. I don’t have to do anything, so please, will you just go?’

‘I can’t do that, Mia. I can’t walk out of here without telling you I’m sorry, that I regret with every beat of my heart what happened with Carrie. And I regret not telling you the truth, but when I heard what Lennie had done to you…’ He bowed his head again, closing his eyes. ‘I wasn’t that man anymore, Mia.’ He looked back up at her. ‘I wasn’t that man who’d done those things, I was someone different.’

‘But you’re that man again, aren’t you?’ Her voice was quiet, and just a touch unsteady, and it broke Ben’s heart a million times over to think she might be scared of him. All he’d ever wanted to do was protect this woman, to keep her safe, and she was scared of him. How the hell was he supposed to fix that? ‘Ben Salter never really existed, did he?’

He reached out to touch her face and she didn’t recoil, didn’t even flinch as he lightly stroked her cheek. ‘He did. For a little while. But I guess he couldn’t ever really stay forever. I’m Benjamin Almeda, Mia, and I always will be. I tried running, but I couldn’t leave him behind. He won’t let me. That’s why I ended up back here, in
Paradise
. I could have walked away and never looked back but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t leave that man behind, but believe me, baby, there are parts of him that will
never
come back. Ever.’

‘How can I believe anything you say anymore? How can I do that when there are so many lies, so much hurt… How can I believe you, Ben?’

‘I really need you to trust me, Mia.’

She laughed again, and it was like a kick to Ben’s stomach. He’d done this. He’d caused her to feel this way. But things had changed,
he’d
changed – things were never going to be the same again. And he needed her to trust him, to listen to him, and believe him because he needed her, more than she could ever imagine.

‘
Trust
you?’ She’d almost laughed the words out, and he felt his stomach sink again.

‘I love you, Mia. That hasn’t changed. OK, I’m not the man you first met – if I’m being really honest I don’t even know who he was. He just wasn’t me…’

‘But
he
was the man I fell in love with,’ Mia whispered, her voice tinged with a pain that almost seeped into Ben. ‘I didn’t fall in love with
you
.’

‘You did, baby, you did. Believe me, Benjamin Almeda isn’t a bad man…’

She shook her head, pushing him away but he wasn’t letting her go that easily. Gently grabbing her arm he pushed her back against the wall, his hand cupping her cheek, forcing her to look at him. ‘He isn’t a bad man, Mia.’

‘Men like you don’t change, Ben.’

‘We can. When we want to. When we have reason to. And yes, I’ve done some bad things, acted like a weak man; hurt people who didn’t deserve it and I am sorry for that. I truly am. But men like me, we
can
change, Mia.’

‘I can’t do it, Ben.’ She shook her head again, a fear clouding her eyes and it tore him apart. ‘I can’t let myself believe something that might not be true. I can’t put myself through that, I’m not taking that risk.’

His eyes followed his fingers as they continued to stroke her soft skin. ‘The wedding tomorrow… I need you to stay away.’

She frowned, confusion flooding her face. ‘I don’t… I don’t understand. Why? Why do I need to stay away?’

He looked at her, right into her eyes, staring deep as he spoke the words slowly. ‘Because that’s when the Dark Angels are gonna strike.’