Chapter
Thirteen
Either Cayden was getting old or the thrill of boosting a high-end vehicle just didn’t have the same effect on him anymore. Personally, Cayden was leaning towards the latter.
He’d been out of the game for three years, but the basics had not changed. He was in a hot car and needed to make it disappear. It was like a magic act. Make the cops look left while he went right.
Cayden remembered a time when this was all he lived for. The chase, the crime, the escape… This had been his life, his thrill. Now, the further he drove from Romero’s, the deader inside he felt. The light and happiness Trixie cleansed his soul with were fading. Darkness was encroaching once more.
“Where are we going?”
Lee sat in the passenger seat. The only reaction Cayden had gotten out of the man was a raised eyebrow when he’d picked him up in the Spyder. Cayden had hit Romero’s because he knew the security front and back. He’d designed it after all. He hadn’t bothered with his access codes or even Trixie’s. He’d bypassed the use of them all together. L and S were about to learn the flaw in their security system that Cayden had suspected was there for months.
Cayden had just never thought he’d exploit it like this.
“Shop I know. We’ll drop off the Spyder before heading over to Carver’s.”
“Why aren’t we heading to Carver’s now? We want to show him the car, right?”
Cayden took his eyes off the road to look at Trixie’s brother. “We’d never make it in this ride. It’s too hot. Gotta watch out for these pesky little things called cops. Besides, the news that Romero’s was hit will get back to Carver before we get there. He’ll know it was me.”
“How could you possibly know that?” Lee demanded. “What if someone else takes credit for jacking this thing?”
“First, she’s a lady so treat her with respect.” Cayden petted the dashboard. “Second, don’t ever call a car a ‘thing’ or no one will ever believe we are friends. Third, Romero’s was my turf. Whether I was running a con or not, no one would have dared gone near it or risked pissing me off. Bucky made sure of that when he took the news back that I was there.” Cayden added offhandedly, “Probably the only good thing that came out of that visit you orchestrated.”
“That makes no sense,” Lee argued. Cayden raised an eyebrow. The man had almost showed some emotion with that one. “If you said you were out, why would they respect your turf? Maybe someone is going to claim they took the car to embarrass you or to get you fired.”
Cayden snorted. “You’re such a cop. Stop,” he ordered when Lee opened his mouth again. “We’re here. I do the talking. One word out of you and I’ll tell Trixie you tried to get me killed.”
The man’s mouth snapped shut. He scowled. Cayden wasn’t sure he liked the man’s scowl. There was too much promise of malice behind it. Like he wasn’t bluffing. “That’s a low blow.”
“Not a word,” Cayden repeated as he pulled down an alleyway. At the end, he parked in front of a tall wooden fence. “Get out.”
They were surrounded by tall warehouse buildings on both sides of the Spyder. Cayden could smell the saltwater of the gulf though they were still several blocks away from open water. The buildings blocked most of the morning sunlight, casting them into shadows.
Cayden and Lee were only alone in the alleyway for a minute before doors were opened around them. He caught Lee stiffening as two men exited the buildings with guns. The garage door remained closed, the Spyder still left out in the open.
Cayden heard a gun cock behind him and he forced himself to put a smile on his face. “Tex.”
The owner of this shop was a short, lean man. He wore his brunette hair long around his shoulders and had adopted a cowboy look, though Cayden was pretty sure the man had never stepped foot on a ranch in his life. His boots granted him a few extra inches of height as did the black Stetson.
The shotgun was held by Tex’s enforcer, Knuckles, a bulky man of few words.
Tex pushed the toothpick sticking out of his mouth from the left corner to the right. “Boost. Been a while.”
“Has it?” Cayden leaned back against the driver’s door of the Spyder. His body portrayed casual, but his heart was hammering like a percussion solo in his chest. He couldn’t believe he was back at Tex’s garage. How had he let himself get roped back into this life?
“You armed?”
“You know I don’t do guns.” Still, for good faith, Cayden lifted his shirt to show he wasn’t carrying.
“Where’s your armor?” Tex made a gesture to Cayden’s face. “I almost didn’t recognize you.”
“Haven’t decided yet if I need it.” At least that was the truth. ‘Boost’s armor’ had been the local slang for Cayden’s makeup, hair dye, clothing, and earrings. None of which he’d worn since his release.
Not to mention his absent cut.
“Buck said you were playin’ it straight. What’re you doin’ here with a Spyder?”
“That’s between me and Carver. Clubhouse still over on Birdview?”
Tex sucked on his toothpick for a moment. Cayden waited without breaking eye contact. He knew Tex was testing him. Tex didn’t care whether or not Cayden was trustworthy or if he was still loyal to the MC. Tex had no preference, because he still got the Spyder. Club business was club business. What Tex cared about was whether or not Cayden had led anyone else to his shop.
“Who’s your friend?” he finally asked.
“He’s one of Massey’s,” Cayden answered without looking over his shoulder at Lee. He figured, if Lee could keep a straight face as he told his sister he was an undercover cop who was taking down the man who had murdered their brother, the man could keep a straight face while being interrogated by a chop shop owner who fancied himself a cowboy.
One of Tex’s eyebrows disappeared under his Stetson. He knew Massey’s name as well as anyone who lived a life of crime. He was also smart enough not to question Lee’s presence further and risk Massey’s wrath.
“Carver moved the clubhouse over to the eastside last year. Said he liked the view better.”
Cayden nodded. He knew exactly where Tex meant when he said Carver had moved to the eastside. Carver had many safe houses throughout the city. Cayden stood up off the Spyder and tossed Tex the keys. “Thanks. Make sure I get my cut.”
Tex was a little slow catching the keys. It wasn’t often the vehicles he had dropped off to him had keys accompanying them. “Usual accounts?”
Cayden nodded. He hadn’t touched anything since he’d been out, so they were still safe to be used. He was risking his life for Lee’s case. He might as well make sure Trixie and Gran were set for life if something were to happen to him. He’d just have to make sure Gran understood to split the money with Trixie now. Everything had happened so fast that he hadn’t had a chance to talk to Gran before leaving with Lee. He would need to write her a letter through her pastor, as phone calls, text messages, and emails were too easily tracked.
One of the boys leaned in through the passenger side window and pulled out a detached steering wheel. “Um…?”
Tex gave Cayden an equally confused look.
He just shrugged. “Gift from the cops.”
Tex burst out laughing. “Oh, Boost, how I’ve missed your flair!” Cayden did a mocking bow before nodding to Lee to follow him. Tex called after them. “Need a ride?”
Cayden snorted. “I never do.”
Tex’s laugh echoed down the alleyway after them. “There’s that Boost dazzle we all know and love! Good to see you, man!”
Cayden couldn’t say the same, so he kept his mouth shut.
Jeff found her sitting in the center of her private collection room. Trixie couldn’t remember the last time Jeff had come into this room. He had access but that was more for emergencies than an open invitation. She’d always found solace in this room. Why now did her babies seem to be staring back at her in aggravation?
Of course, that was her imagination. Cars didn’t stare.
Trixie’s arms were resting on her bent knees, her head laying on her arms. Cayden’s coin necklace was in her right hand.
The old man groaned as his knees cracked as he sat on the floor in front of her. His coveralls were open around his waist like hers. When Jeff sat in front of her, she turned her head away from him, unable to meet her mentor’s eyes. It didn’t matter that he was her employee now. His opinion and praise still mattered too much to her to risk seeing his disappointment after the debacle of the stolen Spyder.
How could Cayden do this to her? How could he rob her shop? Breaking his parole publicly at her place of business was one thing but stealing from her was another. They had not agreed to that. She had never agreed to that. Did he have any idea what taking that car did to her? Did to her reputation and business?
“Are you ready to tell me what’s going on?”
She flinched. For a childless man, he certainly had a way of sounding like he was supporting and scolding her at the same time.
Rather than answer his question, though, Trixie narrowed her gaze as she turned towards him. “Are you ready to tell me how you’ve known Lee’s been a cop all these years while the rest of us knew nothing about his whereabouts or what he’s been up to?”
Jeff’s face paled, confirming her suspicions. “How do you know about that?”
Trixie snorted. “He told me when he showed up shot on my patio Saturday night.”
“Shot?”
She ignored his exclamation. “Worse, I find out that he’s been having my head mechanic spying on me and my employees.”
“Come, now, Trixie, it wasn’t like that—”
Her glare cut him off. “On top of that, I have to deal with my runaway ex-boyfriend stealing from me. And you have the nerve to ask me what is going on like it’s some big fucking conspiracy?”
Jeff was silent for a long time. He opened his mouth many times, but ended up closing it each time. She waited. When Lee had said he’d been keeping an eye on her and her employees, there was only one person who’d come to mind who would tell him anything. The only employee who’d known Lee since he’d been a small boy.
Jeff’s betrayal hurt. Lee was her brother. Why hadn’t he come to her and told her that Lee was asking around about her? Why hadn’t he come to her just to say that he’d seen him? Jeff knew that the Wynns and Trixie hadn’t seen Lee since Marco’s funeral. Jeff knew how much that hurt. Why hadn’t Jeff told them, her, that he knew Lee was still around, a cop?
“Lee came to my apartment about eighteen months ago.” Jeff’s voice was low, guilt-ridden. Trixie forced herself to look at her mentor when her gut told her to look away. “He told me he was going after Massey and that under no circumstances could you know.”
“He’s mi hermano!” Trixie snapped. “I had a right to know!”
“And Marco had a right to justice,” was Jeff’s reply. “If anyone was going to get that for him, it was Lee. He’s smart, capable. He’s a goddamn Marine. I knew he knew what he was doing.”
Trixie snorted. “Well, obviously not well enough, since he ended up shot.”
“Is he okay? Is he in the hospital?”
Trixie shook her head. “Pigheaded man did surgery on himself, slept it off like some twisted hangover, and then walked right out of my house. I sent Cayden away when Lee showed up and haven’t seen him since.”
“Ah.”
“What?” her eyes narrowed.
“I wondered what your fight was about. The only thing I could think of that could get between you two was family and, frankly, honey, you don’t have much of that left.”
Trixie flinched at his cruel words. “Thank you for the reminder.”
He reached forward. “I don’t say it to be mean. I say it because you’d do anything for your family, just as Lee would.”
“Bringing down the man who killed Marco isn’t going to bring him back,” Trixie snapped. “Revenge isn’t the answer.”
“Isn’t justice?”
“Marco’s still dead.”
“And the man who killed him just gets to walk free?” Jeff asked.
Trixie turned away from the man. She couldn’t face him, knowing that he believed in what Lee was doing. Because, by the laws of transference, it also meant he believed in what Cayden was doing, even if he didn’t know it.
“You should have told me about Lee.”
“He told me not to, for your protection. You know I love you like my own flesh and blood, Trixie. I’d never do anything to endanger you.” Trixie felt a tear slide down her cheek at the confession and quickly wiped it off. “Lee gave me a number to call when we hired someone new or when something strange happened around here. That’s all. I didn’t tell him anything too personal.”
“Really?” She faced the man. “You didn’t tell him about Cayden?”
“I told him he was working here. I didn’t tell him you were dating him.”
Her eyes narrowed and she debated on believing him. Lee knew they’d been seeing each other outside work, but he also could have been watching Trixie beyond what Jeff told him. “Why tell him anything at all?”
“Because he asked to know, and I thought he deserved some peace with all he was sacrificing.”
“Peace?” Trixie raised an eyebrow, skeptical. “You weren’t exactly giving him good news.”
Jeff shrugged. “It was what he asked for, so I hoped it would give him some peace.”
Trixie’s eyes narrowed. “You still should have told me. You had no right to give away our employees’ information, whether or not Lee is family.”
Jeff looked down, shamed. “I know. I just… The boy looked so lost. You didn’t see him back then, Trixie. He was… He was a shell. It’s a poor excuse and you have every right to fire me for doing so, but I just wanted to offer him something, anything, to help him. If keeping him apprised of you helped, then that’s what I did.”
Trixie should fire him. While he hadn’t sold the information, he’d still given out sensitive employee information without their consent. Problem was, she’d just lost Cayden. She didn’t think she could handle losing Jeff too.
“This doesn’t leave this room,” she said finally. “And you never give him any information again.”
Jeff nodded. “Understood.” He hesitated before asking, “Will you tell me now what happened with Cayden?”
She shook her head. “What’s to tell? Lee showed up on my doorstep, shot. I kicked Cayden out, so he wasn’t mixed up in whatever it was Lee was into. I didn’t know he was a cop at the time. Cayden argued, we fought, Cayden left. I haven’t seen him since. Apparently, though, he decided to take liberties with his security codes and relieve us of our Spyder.”
Jeff bit his lip before saying, “He didn’t use his security codes.”
“What do you mean?” She hadn’t had a chance to take him out of the system yet. Why wouldn’t he use his codes?
“L and S just got through with their assessment. Cayden bypassed their system entirely. He never touched his employee access.”
Well…shit.
Cayden had been sixteen when he’d first met Carver, then the Vice President of the Black Pythons. He’d just boosted a sweet sleeper and had driven it to a shop across the city. Carver had been impressed that Cayden had found the tracker as well as avoided the cops to make it to that specific shop. When Carver had asked Cayden why that shop, Cayden’s answer had been simple, “They’ll give me a bigger cut.”
Carver had handed Cayden his prospect cut that day.
For his nineteenth birthday, Carver had gifted Cayden with the schematics to a new “un-boostable” car that had yet to hit the market. It had earned the club nearly half a mil in their coffers, and ten percent of that went into Cayden’s account.
Cayden wouldn’t go as far as to call Carver a friend. They’d had a mutually beneficial relationship to serve the MC. Cayden did his job, and Carver provided the resources and protection for that job. In exchange, they both got paid well for that job.
It took Cayden a long time to realize that he wasn’t loyal to the Black Pythons. They’d been his ‘people’ since Carver had found him, but they weren’t his family. They would never be his family. Some MCs were ride or die, loyal to the core. But not the Black Pythons. Even brother chapters didn’t care about each other enough to come to their aide. It was cutthroat, and at the end of the day, the cut was worth less than the leather it was created from.
Carver was a tall, muscular, bald man. For a criminal, he tended to wear more white articles of clothing than black, and Cayden was likely one of the few people who knew why. “Why would I want to hide the blood splatter?” Carver had once asked him. The statement had been rhetorical, but it hadn’t made it any less true.
“Boost!” The man’s voice boomed around the room when Lee and Cayden entered the clubhouse. Carver was in the center of the room with his fist raised above his shoulder. His other hand held the shirt of a bloody, partially-conscious man who was slumped on the floor.
The club brothers guarding the door had let Cayden and Lee pass without argument or checking them for weapons. Carver must have warned them Cayden was coming, which meant news of Romero’s getting hit had reached him as Cayden had predicted.
Carver was shirtless, donned in only a pair of white training pants and his cut. His entire body gleamed with sweat and crimson pebbles.
Cayden stopped a few feet from his former Prez. The man hadn’t changed in three years. From his style of clothing to the ruthless look in his eyes. He continued to pound on the man’s face like unexpected visitors hadn’t just walked in on him pulverizing someone. Cayden didn’t see a cut on the bloody man, but that didn’t mean much. It could have been ripped from him before Carver started beating on him.
Lee halted right behind Cayden. Trixie’s brother hadn’t said a word since they’d been inside the Spyder. Cayden imagined silence was the former soldier’s default mode. Though he appeared relaxed, Cayden sensed the man was anything but. He also didn’t move like he’d done self-surgery to remove a bullet from his shoulder only two nights ago.
Cayden had been around the proverbial tough guy all his life. No one on the streets lived long with a reputation of being a wimp. Only the strong survived. But there were the strong like Carver, who took it by force, and then there were the strong like Lee, who earned it through his own flesh, sweat, and blood. Lee didn’t say anything he didn’t mean and didn’t threaten anything he couldn’t deliver. Cayden had only known the man a little over a day and he felt confident enough in that assessment.
Every single one of the club brothers present were armed. If they were smart, which Cayden could attest to that they weren’t, they would be more scared of Lee, who was unarmed, despite the guns they carried on their persons. Guns did not equal strength. Most of the time, guns equaled stupidity because people believed they gave them strength. Cayden had seen more than one brother harm themselves more than they did their opponent because they thought themselves a badass with a gun in their hands. It was one of the reasons Cayden didn’t touch them. There were too many fools in the world who felt guns made them powerful and Cayden had resigned himself a long time ago to never be a fool.
“Carver. I like the new digs.”
The Prez’s smile was wolfish, but there was something guarded in his gaze. “I’m afraid you have me at a bit of a loss today, Boost.” He dropped the bloody man unceremoniously to the floor. “As happy as I am to see you, Bucky assured me that you were out. I let you go out of the kindness of my heart, and now you’re back?” He walked over to Cayden, his eyes never leaving his. “It makes me suspicious, Boost. It makes me wonder why.”
“To be honest, I’m wondering the same thing.”
Carver raised an eyebrow. “Are you?”
“I was out,” Cayden emphasized. “I wasn’t even running anything at Romero’s, but since Bucky’s little visit, I’ve been under scrutiny for every little fucking thing that went wrong there. A damn paperclip goes missing, blame the convict!”
Carver’s expression showed his distaste for Cayden’s attempt at going straight. “Sounds dreadful. Really, you should have taken your complaints up with management.”
“I did, when I stole her precious car.”
Carver let out a sardonic snort. “Well, I suppose that’s one way to make your feelings known. Are you back then?”
Cayden shrugged, not wanting to seem too eager. “I haven’t decided yet.”
“Explains your lack of armor.”
“All I know is, I’m not going back. Might just need a place to lay low until the heat dies down.”
Carver waited a moment, and then nodded. “I’m sure I can come up with some place safe for you. Who’s your friend?”
“You don’t recognize him?” Cayden raised an eyebrow.
Carver’s eyes narrowed at the challenge. “Should I?”
“He’s one of Massey’s,” Cayden answered instead. “I met him in the joint.”
Lee had already established his role as one of Massey’s men during his off the books crusade to take down the man who had murdered his brother. That was why Cayden had no issue introducing him as such to Tex or Carver. Once Cayden was back in, Lee would be taking more of a backseat role in the case. But Lee’s scary presence would give Cayden’s story a little extra incentive in Carver’s eyes. Why wouldn’t Carver want to impress Massey, even if it was an action that was removed and only witnessed by one of his men?
“I have some jobs coming up that are right up your alley.”
“Well you always did say to dive in feet first or not at all. Look, can you give me a few days to get settled? Cops know I used to run with you. They might be keeping an eye on you. I just came here to tell you to watch your back and ask if you had a place for me to crash for a bit.”
“I appreciate your concern for my back.” Carver crossed his arms over his chest, not caring in the least that he was smearing the blood on himself more. “We’ve missed your flair around here, Boost. It hasn’t been the same. I have a score coming up I will need you for.”
Cayden made sure to hesitate long enough to feign surprise that the offer had come so soon after his return. He nodded stiffly, as if he actually had a choice. “Fine. Send Bucky to me with the details.”
“I’ll get a safehouse set up for you and leave the keys at the usual drop. If you run into trouble with the cops—”
“I know who to ask,” Cayden finished for him. “You’ve always had my back, Carver. That’s not something I easily forget.”
Carver studied him for a long moment. “I owe you and I repay my debts, Boost. This makes us even, but don’t think this is anything more than a debt being repaid.”
Cayden’s back stiffening was a true reaction. “Of course. Why would it be anything else?”
“Just making sure we still understand each other. You’ve been gone for some time.” Turning slightly, Carver looked down to see the man he’d been beating up trying to army crawl away from Carver’s feet. Swiftly and without hesitation, Carver kicked the man in the guts, sending him flying on to his back feet away. Carver turned his attention back to Cayden without missing a beat. “And thank you for my gift of the Spyder.”
Cayden raised an eyebrow. “It wasn’t a gift. I giftwrap my presents to you, you know that.”
“I do, and I’ve truly missed those.” Carver gave him a pretentious look. “But you took my protection while inside, yet you didn’t have the courtesy to come see me once you were released to thank me?” He tutted like Cayden was a small child he was scolding. “Might take a few more gifts like the Spyder to get back on my good side. The safehouse makes us even for Bucky, but you still owe me for my protection.”
Cayden felt his fists tighten at his sides. Fuck, he’d wanted to give that money to Trixie. “What do you want?”
Carver reached into his cut, pulling out a printed photo. He handed it over to Cayden, who caught sight of the handwritten name and address on the back. “Get me this and I might be inclined to forgive your rudeness.”
Cayden snatched the picture without even looking at it. “Fine,” he said through gritted teeth. “Thank you for the safehouse.”
“I’ll send Bucky over with the details for next week!”
Cayden waved behind him, too angry to pretend decent manners.
As soon as they were outside, Lee whispered to Cayden, “What was the point to all of that in there? You are supposed to get back in his good graces and work your way back up the ranks with Carver so he could take us to the drugs.”
“Carver is never going to just take us on a field trip to see where he stashes Massey’s product,” Cayden snapped at him, the picture crumpling in his hand. “What we need is someplace to lay low where Carver can’t readily find us.”
“Then why would we stay at a safehouse Carver is setting up for you? It’ll be the first place he’ll look for you.”
Cayden gave him a wayward glance. “Exactly. Which is why we aren’t staying there either, but it makes Carver think I’m grateful to him. The more grateful he thinks I am, the more jobs he’ll pass my way. The more jobs I take means the more I’m around him and the more I can overhear.”
Lee was silent for a moment. “Have you ever considered playing chess? I have a feeling you’d make a terrifying grandmaster.”
Cayden cracked him a smile. “Just make sure you’re watching our backs. I can think all these steps ahead as long as I know the endgame.”
Lee nodded once. “I have your back.”
“I’ll need a reason to want to get more involved in Carver’s day to day business too.”
“You and Carver go way back, you should be able to use that. Find his motives, what he wants.”
Cayden snorted. He looked up and down the street, spotting a Mazda a teen who needed parking lessons just exited. “There’s always something a man like Carver wants. There’s always a job to be had.” No wonder Lee had been suspected of being a cop. He thought like one. “What have you learned during your investigation into Carver? Have you heard anything while working on Massey’s crew? What’s something he’s been after since I went in?”
Lee watched wordlessly as Cayden got them into the Mazda and then unlocked the passenger door for Lee. Cayden disabled the car’s GPS by shorting out the circuit. There were other ways to do that, but not ones as fast. He wasn’t planning on keeping the car, so he didn’t have to worry about falsifying the signal readings.
He pulled out towards the highway. While he didn’t know exactly where the safehouse Carver was giving him was, he knew the general location.
“There’s this motorcycle,” Lee finally said. His voice was bland, no excitement whatsoever that he was able to answer Cayden’s question. “I don’t know what it is or where it is or why he wants it. I’ve only overheard Massey’s people talking about the motorcycle, like it’s special. Carver’s name’s been linked to it more than once.”
A little more information would have been helpful but at least Cayden knew the score Carver was after. He also now knew why Lee was so emphatic that it had to be Cayden who helped him. “Any idea how long he’s been after her?”
Lee didn’t comment on Cayden’s choice of pronoun. “For as long as I’ve been with Massey.”
Cayden frowned. “Means she’s new then, likely hasn’t hit the market yet. Might be the only reason he doesn’t have her yet is because she wasn’t manufactured yet.”
Lee’s eyes narrowed as Cayden made an illegal U-turn and headed back east. “Where are you going?”
Cayden’s sigh was forlorn. “To get my armor.”
