Resurrection (The Lone Riders MC Series Book 3) (5 page)

‘You have no choice, son. I call the shots around here, that’s the way it fucking works. So listen to me – get out of here, now. Go to the old boneyard, and hide in the bunker. Are you listening to me, Benjamin?’

Ben’s head was spinning. He could feel his whole world starting to spiral out of control and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it. Nothing. His father was right – in this world he called the shots. That’s the way it had always been. He had no choice. He had to either do as his father said, or wait until Sol hunted him down and sought his revenge. Either way he was trapped.

He nodded slowly, his breathing finally starting to return to normal.

‘Good… We’re gonna need the sheriff’s help on this one. I’ll talk to him…’ Hector reached out and gently touched his son’s cheek, a warped act of emotion that did nothing but turn Ben’s stomach. ‘You can’t stay here now, you know that, don’t you? You need to go.’

‘Why don’t you just kill me too, huh? Right here, right now. Wouldn’t that be easier? You could tell everyone you shot me in self-defense, save yourself all this trouble. Why wait to do it?’

‘You’re still my son, Benjamin. No matter what you think of me.’ Hector pulled his hand away, his expression still impassive. Blank. There was nothing there. His father really was dead behind the eyes. ‘You’ll be contacted, when I’m ready. I really am sorry, son. But this is the way it has to be. You understand, don’t you? You understand why I can’t take the fall for this?’

‘What’s gonna happen to me?’ It was an obviously rhetorical question. Ben already knew the answer.
 

‘You’ll know.’ Hector’s eyes bored deep into his son’s. ‘When the time comes.’

‘You don’t deserve to be called a father.’ Ben raised his voice just a touch, but his tone remained flat. ‘You betray one son, you want the other one dead. And as for your daughter… If there is such a thing as karma, then I hope to God Hector Almeda gets one hell of a fucking dose.’

Hector stared at him, still no flicker of emotion registering anywhere on his face. ‘You need to go. We can’t risk anyone finding you here.’

Ben started to walk towards the door, stopping just once, but even then he didn’t look back.

‘And don’t even think about retaliating.’ Hector’s words were sinister in their delivery. ‘It will do you no good. Your future is decided now, Benjamin. And there isn’t anything you can do to change it.’

‘Jesus…’ Coby sat back in his seat, signalling once more to Red, but this time for whisky. He needed something stronger than beer after listening to that. He’d always had his suspicions that Hector Almeda was a cold, evil bastard – but to be so calculated towards your own son? To plan his demise in order to save your own ass? That was fucking brutal.

‘The “accident”, it didn’t go to plan, obviously.’ Ben threw a shot of whisky down his neck, immediately refilling his glass. ‘I didn’t die, and I was supposed to, I’m certain of that. I was supposed to die under the wheels of that truck, and Christ knows how it didn’t cause more damage than it did...’ He downed his second shot, but the alcohol was having no effect. It wasn’t helping ease the pain dredging up those memories had caused. ‘It was Michael who helped me…’ His eyes met Coby’s, holding the stare. ‘Did you know Sheriff Bailey’s been in the pocket of my father for all this time?’

Coby’s expression remained stoic.

 
‘I was well aware he was working under the instruction of my father,’ Ben continued, dropping his gaze. ‘You know, to this day I still have no idea why he didn’t just try and kill me once and for all back then…’ He swallowed a third whisky shot, dropping his head into his hands. ‘Michael he…’ Ben looked up, raking both hands back through his hair, his eyes meeting Coby’s. ‘He sorted me a place at law school. He organized my new name, new background, new papers…’ His laugh was dry; humorless. ‘I guess after all those years of breaking the law, I thought trying to fix it would be the least I could do.’

Coby said nothing for a few beats. He’d had his suspicions that Michael Bailey’s loyalty may not be all it seemed, but now he had proof. And he had yet to work out how he felt about that. ‘You’re good at your job, Ben.’

Ben’s eyes remained locked with Coby’s. ‘Which one?’ That was a question that needed no answer. ‘Anyway,’ Ben broke the stare, looking down into his empty glass, ‘… now my father wants to finish the job. Get rid of me for good this time. Before any of his lies are exposed.’

‘And what about you?’

Ben frowned. ‘What
about
me?’

‘What do
you
want to do?’

‘I want my brother to know the truth. And I want to finish my own job.’

Coby watched as Ben downed another shot of whisky. He was fast seeing off the bottle. ‘Then we’re gonna have to play this carefully.’

Ben’s frown deepened. ‘I don’t understand…’

‘Look, I wouldn’t flinch if Hector Almeda was wiped off the face of this earth. But let’s work together here, Ben. Get him on side, get your brother on side, and I know that isn’t gonna be easy, but I need you to appease any fucker you can because if we can just try and lull them into a false sense of security…’

‘I don’t want anything to happen to my brother, Coby. He’s as much a victim of my father’s lies and betrayal as I am. As Marianna was. Let me tell him the truth…’

Coby shook his head, clasping his hands together. ‘And what if he doesn’t believe you?’

‘You want me to throw myself at
his
mercy, too? Ask his forgiveness for something I didn’t fucking do?’

‘For now. Until we know what the hell’s going on.’

Ben’s sigh was heavy with a weary resignation. And the whisky was starting to have an effect now.

‘I’m asking a lot of you here, Ben, I understand that. But we need you, brother. We fucking need you.’

Ben leaned forward, his head dropping back into his hands. He had no choice. Once again, he had no choice…

Seven

‘I’m begging you to stop this, Hector. Please. Before something kicks off that this town can’t deal with.’

‘Scared you’ll be exposed, Sheriff?’

‘Of course I’m scared I’ll be fucking exposed.
Jesus
! If Sol finds out I covered up every piece of shit you created I’m a fucking dead man! Not to mention the risk of Coby and the Lone Riders finding out just how close to your club I really am so, yeah, I’m scared. I’m fucking terrified.’

‘You think Coby Walker would have something to say about the fact you’ve kept your involvement with us hidden?’

‘Are you fucking kidding me? Yes, he’d have something to say. And he’s not a man known for taking the diplomatic route. I could lose more than my fucking job here, Hector.’

‘You disappearing is the least of my worries, Sheriff.’ Hector looked up, a slow, sinister smile creeping across his face. ‘In fact, should that be the case, then it could be that Coby Walker would have actually done us a favor. I mean, it would be one less person for me to worry about, wouldn’t it? One less person who knows the truth.’ He lowered his gaze, his concentration back on some papers laid out on the table. ‘Is Ben coming to me?’ Hector slowly raised his head, staring right into Michael’s eyes. ‘Or do we have to go get him ourselves? Because, to be honest, I hadn’t planned on striking out quite so soon.’

‘Oh no. No. You do
not
bring the Lone Riders into this, you hear me? This is between you and Ben; this is family shit, not some unnecessary turf war...’ Michael slowly shook his head, a horrifying realization beginning to take over. ‘Oh, Jesus. No. This isn’t happening. Hector, please, don’t even go there… Why? For Christ’s sake…’

‘My son saw fit to join them. Become one of them. It was bad enough him handling their legal affairs, but I let that slide because he was getting on with a life that didn’t encroach on ours, even if he was just a little too close. Closer than he should have been. But now – now he’s humiliated me, and this club. I can’t let that go. And the Lone Riders, they need to pay, for taking him in. For allowing him to become one of them. And what better punishment than to take away from them everything they’ve worked for? Taking over their patch, it’ll be a nice little sideline for us, it being so close and all. And should you survive any – repercussions, shall we say, then it would cut your workload down considerably, wouldn’t you agree? One less headache for you to worry about. You’ll no longer need to split your loyalties.’ Hector smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. ‘See? Every situation has a positive side. And now that I hear the Lone Riders have acquired all that land to the back of their compound – thanks to my son, I gather, in his former guise as a lawman…’ Hector broke off, a low chuckle escaping. ‘My son. The lawman.’ He looked up at Michael, his expression once more turning cold. ‘Is he coming to
me
, Sheriff?’

‘Don’t do this, Hector. Again, I am begging you, let’s all just try and…’

‘What do you want here, huh? Shall we all sit round in a semi-circle and talk about our problems? You know how this works, Michael. The fact you’re caught between the two clubs, that’s your own problem. It has nothing to do with me. That’s your own shit. But this -
this
is happening. You try and stop it, you get the cops involved, and everything you’ve ever known will come crashing down around you in a way you couldn’t even begin to imagine. Do you understand? Sheriff.’ Hector’s eyes grew darker, narrowing to thin slits as his stare deepened. ‘And don’t even think about giving the Lone Riders a heads-up. I’ll know, if you even try I’ll know.’ He backed off slightly, but his eyes remained fixed on the sheriff.
 
‘Now, have you spoken to my son or not?’

Michael felt a chill run up his spine and he quickly swallowed down a wave of nausea. What the fuck kind of shit had he gotten himself into here? ‘I’ve told him he needs to talk to you. What else do you want me to do? Drag him here myself?’

‘If that’s what it takes.’

‘Jesus!’ Michael’s laugh was humorless. ‘All this time, all those years he was away you let this go. Ever since he turned up back in
Paradise
you’ve let this go. And now you want to resurrect all that crap?’

‘He’s one of them now.’

‘And we both know that isn’t the real issue here. He knows too much, he has the ability to bring you down, and you know that…’

‘Sol won’t settle until he’s dealt with.’ Hector’s voice was slow and steady, his tone letting Michael know he wasn’t interested in anything he had to say.

‘Bullshit!’ But Michael wasn’t going to be beaten down that easily, even though the look Hector gave him sent another shiver up his spine. ‘This has got nothing to do with Sol. He’s been fine, somehow he found a way to move on. This is to do with
you
, Hector. Because you know that every minute Ben is still here is a minute closer to the real truth being exposed, because, unlike me, he isn’t willing to keep his mouth shut. He isn’t a fucking coward. So don’t even pretend you’re doing this for Sol.’

‘He needs his revenge.’ Hector’s voice was calm and controlled, a stone-cold edge to it that turned Michael’s heart to ice.

‘This isn’t about revenge, Hector. Ben did nothing, except take the rap for something
you
did so if anyone’s looking for revenge, it should be him.’ Michael shook his head, backing further away from Hector. ‘Maybe
you
should be the one watching your back, huh?’

 
‘Benjamin should never have come back to this town.’ Hector’s tone had turned threatening, and even colder than before; so very, very cold. ‘
You
should have been more persuasive, Michael.
You
should have made sure he stayed away.’

‘You don’t think I tried?’

‘Not hard enough.’ Hector’s eyes once more met Michael’s, the look he gave the Sheriff enough to send a fresh wave of pure fear washing over him, the sense of foreboding overwhelming. ‘So, if we’re going to apportion blame here, maybe we should be looking to pin some of that on you.’

Michael held Hector’s gaze, unwilling to let the Dark Angels’ president intimidate him any more. That would be a mistake he may never recover from. ‘Just think about it, Hector. Please. Think about what you’re doing; think about the consequences because nobody -
nobody
needs what you’re about to do; this town, it really doesn’t need that.’

But even as he spoke the words, Michael knew it was a plea that was falling on deaf ears. And there wasn’t a thing he could do to change that.

***

Ben ran the clippers slowly over his head, watching in the mirror as strands of dark hair fell down onto his naked shoulders. It was a subtle transformation, but losing that small amount of hair and going back to the much shorter buzz-cut he’d had all those years ago, it was the only way he could leave Ben Salter, lawyer, behind. Because that’s what he had to do now. He had to forget who he was, and remember who he’d used to be. It was the only way he could do this.

He continued to stare at his reflection. Despite the change being subtle, it was still a touch startling, because he hadn’t worn his hair like this for so long.

‘What’re you doing?’

He heard her voice, but he didn’t turn around, just continued to stare into the mirror, his eyes expressionless as he willed that person he needed to be now back from the shadows.

‘Your hair…’ Mia whispered, coming up behind him, gently brushing the loose strands that were still lying on his shoulders onto the floor, letting her fingers run down over his arms, skimming the scars that were always going to be a reminder of what had happened at the compound just a few weeks ago, when he’d dragged Coby Walker from a burning clubhouse.

Still Ben didn’t speak. He had nothing to say, this was just what he had to do. His own way of dealing with whatever lay ahead.

He closed his eyes as he felt her touch his back, her fingertips lightly tracing the ink that covered most of it, slowly and carefully following the outline of the Dark Angels MC tattoo. A badge of honor. One that was usually ripped from the skin of anyone who betrayed the club. But Ben knew why his was still intact; why he’d been allowed to keep it. ‘This is to do with your dad, isn’t it?’

Ben reached behind him, pulling her hand away from his back. And still he remained silent.

‘You’re scaring me now, Ben.’

He swung around, his eyes wide and cold. That edge he needed was slowly returning, and he suddenly felt filled with a power he hadn’t experienced in so long. Too long. And the feeling was almost addictive. ‘I’ve told you, there’s nothing to be scared of.’

She looked up at him, and for one brief, fleeting moment he wished they could just pack a bag and run, far away from here and everything that was returning to haunt him. But what good would that do? This would only follow them, find them, destroy them, eventually. So he had to deal with it. End it. Forever. No matter what Coby said, he had his own, personal score to settle. And he wasn’t about to let his father win whatever game he was about to start.

‘It’s gonna be OK, Mia, do you hear me?’ He reached out to cup her cheek, his tone softening slightly, but he resisted the urge to kiss her. If he kissed her he’d weaken, and any ounce of weakness was dangerous now.

She nodded slowly, resting her hand lightly over his.

He let go of her, turning back around to look at his reflection, running a hand over his newly-shaven hair. With his beard also trimmed slightly, the transformation was almost complete. Ben Salter was slowly disappearing, and Benjamin Almeda was taking his place – the only man who could fight his father.

‘What’s going on, Ben?’

He was so focused on what he was doing he’d forgotten she was still there. Turning back around he let his eyes meet hers, his expression impassive as he stared at her. She was so beautiful; his beautiful, damaged girl. And once all this shit was dealt with, he was going to make sure their life together was a good one. A safe one. Because, right now, he just couldn’t guarantee that.

‘I asked you to trust me, Mia. And I really need you to do that, to trust me. To let me do what needs to be done.’

‘And what
does
need to be done, Ben?’ Her voice had risen an octave or two, an obvious frustration taking over, and he didn’t blame her. What did he think she was going to do? Mia Rose wasn’t the kind of girl to just roll over and take whatever crap he fed her. But this time – this time he really needed her to try and do that. To trust him. To not interfere, because, when all was said and done, he was doing this for her. For them. For Coby and Lexi – for everyone’s future. For the future he wanted with Mia because, if he left this alone, if he didn’t do this, he couldn’t be sure they’d even have one.

‘Just trust me, Mia. Please. Don’t ask any questions, don’t try and stop me, just trust me. I’m dealing with it.’

‘You’re shutting me out. We promised each other we wouldn’t…’

‘Yes, I’m shutting you out, and I’m doing that because bringing you in…’ He stopped talking, running a hand over his head. ‘Don’t fight this, Mia. Don’t.’ His eyes locked with hers, but she was backing away from him now, and he felt his heart crack. But these were emotions he had to shut down, he had to lose them, push them away until this was done. ‘Just trust me, Mia. Please.’

She shook her head, her arms folded across her chest as she backed further towards the bedroom door. And the second she was gone Ben closed his eyes and let out the longest, deepest breath.

The fight was about to begin.