Tease: Mojave Boys MC (19 page)

CHAPTER THIRTY

Ready to start shooting people at random, Vance whirled and started back toward the bikes. This was the second dead end they’d checked out today, and he was tired of wasting time. They were too close to the Scorpion clubhouse, and it put them in too much danger to come out empty-handed like this.

Even Dusty didn’t try to reassure him right now, and that spoke volumes about the blackness of his mood. He needed to get on his bike and ride, and he needed to end up somewhere alone. He wasn’t safe to be around.

“Hey, boss! Wait up!” Jaybird called to him. Vance didn’t respond. The kid was fairly new, and he wouldn’t know how dangerous it was to bother Ice. Vance didn’t want to do anything stupid, so he kept walking. “Hold on, boss, I got something!” His tone was insistent, but Vance didn’t hear the words.

All he heard was someone who wouldn’t leave him alone, and he rounded on the kid as Jaybird caught up to him. He looked daggers at the kid. “If you want to come on runs like this, and you want to live, you need to learn when to shut your mouth. Caleb, get him out of my face before I plow into his.”

He turned again and was shocked to hear Jaybird argue, “I can shut up and live or I can risk your nasty temper and maybe find your girl. In the long run, I think I’d better tell you what I know.”

Vance knew he wasn’t being rational, but he saw red as he turned to look at Jaybird again. “You sure do have an attitude, kid.”

But Jaybird didn’t budge, and Vance had to admire the determine set to his jaw. “Here’s what I figure. I have something that can help. If I piss you off now, I’m in trouble. But if I don’t give you this stuff and you find out later it was a good lead, I’m probably in bigger trouble. I’d rather get pummeled now so I can start healing, if you know what I mean.”

The kid was a punk. Vance had already known that. But he had a point, and Vance reluctantly stopped fighting it. He crossed his arms and demanded, “Hurry up.”

He held up a small device about the size of a phone, and it had some sort of map on it. “Check this out. This thing is like GPS and infrared sensor and mapping tool all in one. It gets you where you want to go, but it also finds new places that aren’t mapped, either because they show up as weird structures on an elevation reading or because it shows infrared movement.” He pointed to a wavering spot right in the middle of the screen. “That’s both. It’s a structure GPS doesn’t recognize, and something human or animal is moving around inside it.”

Vance frowned at it, trying to pinpoint where this newfound location existed. “Where is it?”

Jaybird squinted and pointed southeast. “Looks like maybe a mile, just over the crest of that little hill right there.”

“Could it be a snake den?” Vance asked sarcastically. He didn’t want to raid a cave full of nasty creatures just because this techno-geek thought he might have found Maya.

“I doubt it. Snakes are cold-blooded. Coyotes, maybe, but they’d probably be sleeping, not moving around. It’s hot and sunny. I bet my life it’s people. I was sure enough to mess with you, wasn’t I?” he asked.

That was true. It took a lot of confidence and stupidity to confront Vance and do what he told him not to when he was in a mood. Jaybird had plenty of both. “Boys, get a drink. We’re hoofing it over the hill.”

To Vance’s relief, the entrance wasn’t faced directly toward them. It rose immediately over the horizon when they reached the small bump Jaybird referred to as a hill. There were two Scorpions out front, playing some strange card game on a makeshift table and a couple of trucks. He didn’t see any sign of other crew members milling around or standing guard. This could be a quick in and out job, if they played their cards right.

And based on what he saw, Vance would bet his nuts Maya was in there. It just seemed right.

It looked like little more than a shack that hid an outhouse, which was why it hadn’t shown up on the aerial map. Some things were just too small. But he had a feeling there was a pretty vast underground network below, which likely connected to the clubhouse and a couple of other locations. That meant they needed to silence the two men above ground, go in as quiet as possible, and get Maya without attracting any attention. They didn’t need the Scorpions swarming them from all directions when they were stuck underground.

Vance’s phone buzzed in his pocket, and he cursed under his breath. He couldn’t move forward without checking the message, just in case it was from
Tres Amenazas.
Motioning to the others to keep still and quiet, he pulled out the phone and clenched his jaw when he saw it was from Maya’s phone. He opened the text and read.

Our new ad, ese. Check out our product.

It was followed by a picture obviously taken from one of Maya’s photo shoots that read ‘Prime White Meat for Your Pleasure. Going Fast!’ The words were repeated in Spanish, and Vance gawked at the image. Was that supposed to get his goat up, or was it real?

He wasn’t stupid; he realized a while ago that the Scorpions worked in human trafficking, but he hadn’t thought about the possibility of Maya being taken as product. It buzzed again, and another typed message appeared below the picture.
This is her fate if you don’t come through, amigo.

Vance wanted to scream in rage, but he couldn’t. Any small noise would alert the Scorpions outside. He shoved the phone back in his pocket, determined now to get in and get Maya. And if he could take out a couple dozen Scorpions along the way, that was even better. He knew he couldn’t trust
Tres Amenazas
, and now that wariness was reinforced.

Dusty gave him a questioning look, but he just shook his head. Motioning for everyone to close in, he knelt down and spoke so softly he knew some of the guys were straining to hear him. “I don’t know how many directions there are to go when we get in, but we need to break into groups and follow every one of them. Three minutes, and if you haven’t found Maya, get back to the entrance. We can’t be separated too long, and we can’t take too much time.”

Caleb piped up in a whisper, “Tank and I will grab those two. I think it’s better for all of us if I stay up here. Otherwise, I’m not sure I can, you know, follow orders and all that.”

Vance appreciated his honesty and took him up on the offer. There wasn’t much cover, so they did their best to stay out of sight, as Caleb and Tank crept around from a distance and tried to keep the truck between them and the Scorpions’ line of sight.

He felt his crew tense as the two men rushed up behind the Scorpions, but he had to admit Tank was fast for a big guy, and they had both men trapped and silenced with almost no sound in thirty seconds. With the area secure, Vance signaled the others, and they rushed the little hut that covered the underground entrance. The Scorpions struggled to get loose, but Caleb and Tank had a firm hold and weren’t letting go.

Vance led the way, drawing his gun as he clopped down a flight of rickety wooden stairs. As he’d expected, they were in a small carved out room, and three tunnels led off it. He took the one straight ahead, expecting the others to divide and conquer without any further direction.

Dusty moved up beside him, and he glanced over his shoulder to find Brock at his back. It was good cover, and he assessed the hallway before making any decisions. A long, ragged carpet ran its length, and it stretched maybe a hundred feet in front of him. He didn’t see any branches off it, but there were three doors, two to the right and one at the end.

Vance hoped the other two halls were as simple. He didn’t need his men getting lost. He backed against the wall by the first door on the right, listening and waiting. He nodded, and Brock kicked the door in. Vance whipped around and pointed his gun, Dusty covering him in a crouch, but it was an empty bathroom. The plumbing was exposed and starting to corrode, and the stench was almost unbearable.

They backed out, and Vance shut the door quickly, moving to the next. The same routine uncovered an empty room with little more than a bed. But what caught Vance’s attention were the chains on the bedposts. He could imagine what this room was used for, considering the text he’d just received, and he was disgusted. But it fueled him forward, and he clung to the fact that he hadn’t found Maya there.

Heading to the end of the hall, he busted through without waiting to hear who or what was inside. He searched the room so desperately he nearly missed what he was looking for. The space was like a studio apartment, with a bedroom, and a living room and kitchen combined, and Maya sat quietly at the kitchen table, reading a book.

She looked up at him, startled at first and then relieved. She jumped out of the chair and threw herself at him with her full body. He caught her in his arms and held her, like a precious possession missing too long. “Are you alright?” he asked quietly, not wanting the raw emotion in his voice echoing off the walls and back to his men.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. A couple of bruises and cuts that will heal just fine.” She sounded calm, but he felt the moisture on his shoulder that meant tears fell from her eyes. As he held her at arm’s length for inspection, he saw them, and he wished he had more time to comfort her. But they had to get out fast.

“Come on, let’s go,” he said sharply, and he took her hand to lead her out. They waited in the small entrance for the others to come back from their hallways, and the whole crew hurried up and out of the underground. Vance tossed his goggles at Maya, reaching into his vest for his sunglasses, but they didn’t stop moving until they reached the bikes.

Caleb and Tank brought up the rear, having taken time to tie up the two Scorpions outside so they couldn’t follow. But they were flying down the road back toward Wheelie in short order. Vance wanted to put several miles between them and the Scorpions before he could feel enough relief to stop looking over his shoulder. The faster they moved, the better.

***

Everything felt surreal to Maya as they flew down the road. She clung tight to Vance on the back of his bike, letting the wind blow her hair wildly around her. She’d worry about the damage done to it later. For now, she reveled in her freedom.

It was strange; beyond the actual kidnapping, she hadn’t been treated much like a prisoner, other than being locked in a room. And though she knew in the back of her mind
Tres Amenazas
had a plot she wouldn’t like, he’d made her feel safe under his care.

But it didn't hold a candle to the safety she felt with Vance.

She hadn’t realized she was underground until now, and the darkness of the room was causing her vision to blur, as her eyes watered in the bright sunlight. Maya hadn’t expected Vance to find her so quickly, and she’d wondered if he would look at all since there was another option on the table. Maya guessed that option had been bogus, or had been too much to ask. She didn’t know of any other reason Vance and several of his men would take such a risk, especially since she’d left him with no intent to return. How had he talked so many other crew members into joining him?

He’d mentioned more than once the loyalty they had toward each other, but Vance admitted to singlehandedly increasing tension between the Mojave Boys and the Scorpions. How far could the brotherhood carry? Wasn’t there some action taken against troublemakers? Maya would have thought she would be the perfect punishment.

She’d apparently been wrong about a lot of things. And with Vance having rescued her, despite the fact she broke things off, she was reconsidering her decision. It wasn’t just relief that had washed over her when he’d walked through the door of her holding cell. She finally realized just how much she cared about him. And being away from him, even for such a short time, showed her how important he was to her.

She’d worried more about him than herself over the past couple of days. That said a lot. She hadn’t really thought
Tres Amenazas
would kill her, but the couple of times she’d considered it, she’d never thought about her mother or her agent or her career. She’d thought about Vance, about never feeling his arms around her again, never looking into his eyes. And she’d thought about the effect it would have on him.

If that didn’t prove she loved him, nothing would.

Realizing it was going to be a long ride, Maya settled in, closing her eyes and enjoying how close she was to the man she’d never planned on seeing again. A smile crossed her face, as she thought about fate and how it sometimes stepped in to make her realize what she really wanted. The question, though, was how she would resolve what she wanted with what was best. But she’d face that later.