There You Stand

“Doc said you might have a concussion, which is why we’re keeping you here,” Smoke said. “He stitched you up and told us you needed to rest.”

That would account for the painkillers and the bandage I now felt on the back of my skull.

“My guys have been waking you up every few hours to check on you,” Malachi said.

Fuck. How long have I been out?

“Thanks,” I croaked out.

With some exertion, I sat up on my pillow and surveyed my surroundings. I noticed plaid curtains on the window and some kind of closet near the couch.

“Why did they take Jude?” I asked with some effort.

“Elias wants to make a deal,” Malachi said.

“Why now?”

“That kid at the skateboard competition? He verified for Elias that it was Jude,” Smoke said. “Either he’s still in contact with him or Elias broke him down. Probably threatened the intel out of him.”

I shivered at the thought of what they might do to intimidate someone. I couldn’t allow my brain to go there. Not while they’re still holding the man I love.

“Why do you want to make a deal with him?” I asked Mal. “What’s Jude to you except some guy you’ve been asked to protect?”

“Good question,” he said, leaning against the doorframe. “We want to keep a relationship with the feds. It’s a win-win. And this is settling up an old score.”

My face fell, because at the end of the day, Jude was only a pawn in all of this.

“Elias is a filthy piece of shit and deserves a bullet through his skull,” Malachi added. As if he knew he somehow needed to redeem himself in front of me. “We’d love to do it ourselves, but then we’d have to deal with the aftermath. And we don’t need more blood on our hands. But maybe someday he’ll get what he deserves.”

He strode out the door followed by a couple of other recruits who’d been listening from the entryway. Smoke started backing out of the room. “Stay put and rest. I’ll let you know when the deal goes down.”

“Smoke,” I said, my stomach churning. His hand stilled on the doorframe. “He said something to me one night. Jude did.”

Smoke nodded. “Go on.”

“Said he’d never allow himself to be hurt by Elias again,” I said, and the room began to spin. “I’m afraid he . . . he’ll do something drastic . . . if he thinks he has no chance to come out of this . . .”

Smoke stared me down.

“I’ll do my best not to let that happen,” he said, his fist thumping once against his heart. “I promise.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled. I placed my head in my hands and groaned, my body descending to the sheets.

“Take care of him, Chopper,” Smoke said as the door closed and blotted out the light.

***

I woke up and hauled myself out of bed, my head weighing about a thousand pounds. I opened the door and eased toward the voices down the hallway.

There was an enormous great room with a fireplace, couches, and long wooden table. My gaze dragged across the window and it looked like we were someplace outside the city, in the woods. Had this been under different circumstances, I might’ve enjoyed the view.

My hand gripped the doorframe as nausea washed over me.

“You look like shit,” Smoke said from the couch.

“Jude—”

“We’re figuring it out, Cory,” Malachi said sitting at the head of the rectangular table. I wondered if that was always his seat.

“I want to help,” I said, leaning my shoulder against the frame. “Please.”

“How?” This came from a new voice and my eyes slid over to his. It was Alex, the federal marshal whom I’d now seen twice.

“He needs to get back in bed and let us make that happen,” Malachi said.

“No,” I said. “I’m not going to sleep when everybody else is trying to get Jude—” I practically choked on the words.

“You have a head injury,” Smoke said.

“I’m sure you’ve had worse,” I bit out. “I’ll be fine.”

I shuffled toward the living room couch and when I got there, I gripped the back of the cushion.

“Get him some coffee,” Malachi barked to one of the recruits. I sat down and held my head in my hands.

The same dude who brought me a glass of water last night now handed me a cup of liquid gold and I sipped it gratefully as I surveyed the room. Sitting next to Alex was a man I’d seen but never interacted with before. Jonas, the vice president of the club.

He was pointing at Alex’s laptop and speaking in a low drone.

“Is the deal going to happen?” I asked anybody who would listen. I also remembered one of them saying last night that it was club business, so I wondered why Alex was here at all. Did they need his help?

“We’re working on it,” Malachi said.

Alex’s eyes connected with mine and I saw a spark of determination in them that immediately placed me at ease.

“Elias contacted Malachi a couple of hours ago with his demands,” he said. “We’ve been hunting for Elias for years.”

I nodded, trying to process this information.

“We get Elias, we’re closer to taking down his whole operation.”

“Does Elias know that the club is working with the feds?” I asked, almost afraid of the answer.

“Doubtful,” Malachi said. “Besides, Elias’s bigger concern is payback from that other club, the Scorpions.”