Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
“Country,” I warned.
“I’m really sorry.”
My heart ached to see her so upset, but Everleigh’s apology stirred a notable change in the brothers. The room felt a little less hostile as they started whispering amongst themselves, and I had no doubt that they were sharing their thoughts on what had just taken place. It seemed that Everleigh had made them see that she wasn’t that bad after all—which wasn’t an easy feat.
Kiersten wasn’t just Country’s ol’ lady.
She was one of their business partners. She ran the Manor—all-natural marijuana farm with some of the best weed around. She not only sold her stuff to the brothers, but she also helped a lot of people who were in pain and had no other means of help. While working with her, the brothers had all grown to care a great deal about her. In their minds, she was one of their own, and they’d do
whatever was necessary to bring her home safely—even if it meant putting their lives on the line to do so.
The second the guys started to quiet down, Country turned to Viper and asked, “So, what’s the plan? How are we going to get Kiersten back?”
“There is no plan, at least not yet” Viper answered. “We gotta give Menace a chance to look into the addresses Everleigh gave us.”
“We don’t have time for that all shit,” Country argued. “We got no idea what that motherfucker is doing to her. We gotta get over there and...”
“I know you’re worried, brother. We all are, but that way of thinking isn’t going to bring your girl home,” Viper warned.
Country looked utterly defeated as he muttered, “You’re right, but fuck. It ain’t right that he took her.”
“I couldn’t agree more, but this is the hand we have been dealt. It’s time for us to figure out our next move.”
Menace had been quietly hammering away at his laptop throughout our entire conversation. I hadn’t thought he was even paying attention until he finally piped up and said, “I’ve got eyes on both warehouses and DeLuca’s house.”
“And?”
“Not seeing any sign of Kiersten.”
“Damn,” Country huffed.
“Doesn’t mean she isn’t there, brother,” Menace answered. “I’ve got a limited view of the house.”
Viper leaned over to get a better look of the screen as he asked, “Can you tell anything about the guards?”
“Looks like he’s got two men at the Riverdale location and three at the other.” He paused for a moment, then added, “So far I’m up to six at the house, but like I said, I don’t have a clear view on the inside of the house.”
“Everleigh said he had fifteen on the payroll. A couple of those might be nothing more than field hands, but we gotta assume they’re packing.”
As I sat there listening to the way Viper and his brother discussed DeLuca and the possible ways we could infiltrate his property, I became more and more confident that these men could handle just about anything. I shouldn’t have been surprised. I was their fucking cleaner. I’d seen first-hand the kind of brutality they could dish out, and I had no doubt that they would give Antonio exactly what he deserved.
In fact, I was looking forward to it.
Viper ran his hand over his thick beard as he considered their best move, then said, “As far as we know, Antonio isn’t aware of Billy’s connection to us. He won’t be expecting us to come there with him. We’ll use that to our advantage.”
“Okay, how do you want to play it?”
“We’ll keep it simple. Divide and conquer.” Viper took one final look at the files Menace had given him, then continued, “We’ll hit the two warehouses first, take out the guards and search the grounds for Kiersten. If we don’t find any sign of her or DeLuca, then we’ll move on to his house in Belle Meade.”
“Sounds good.” Hawk sounded ready for battle when he said, “Just tell me when and where, and I’ll make it happen.”
“You, Shotgun, and Billy take Widow and Davies to the warehouse on Riverdale. Remember, there are two guards, and the office is upstairs. If Kiersten is there, that’s where she’ll be.”
Hawk nodded, and then, Viper turned his attention to Country. “You, Rafe, and Lynch will take a couple of prospects with you over to the warehouse on Malcolm. Axel and I will be close with Menace in case anything goes wrong.”
“When are we going to head over?”
“Under different circumstances, I’d say wait until dark, but we don’t have that kind of time on our hands.”
“You sure about that, Prez?” Axel asked with concern. “Going in broad daylight like this is gonna put us in all kinds of jeopardy. Kiersten, too.”
“I’m fully aware, but it’s a risk we’re gonna have to take. Besides, going now will give us the element of surprise we’re gonna need to pull this shit off.”