Wrong Side of the Tracks by Ashley Zakrzewski

ChapterTen

Hawk was furious. The club had voted on whether or not to trade Izzy back to the Black Jacks to end the standoff before the Ravensburg PD called in reinforcements and arrested everyone. Unfortunately, the vote was seven to two, in favor of trading Izzy. Only Hawk and Thor had voted against the trade.

He understood the club’s worries, but there had to be a better way. If he could find that ring, maybe the Black Jacks would take that instead.

Acid stood in the center of the men and said, “Eagle will take the white flag and set up the parley. Then I’ll meet with Nine. If he agrees, we’ll trade Isolde in exchange for them leaving town.”

Twitch raised his hand. “What if they want the ring?”

“We’ll tell them the truth,” Acid said. “But we’ll need to be ready in case they don’t believe us.” He nodded at Thor and Drac. “Set up a perimeter guard, with snipers on the roofs. I want all of our men out there, hidden with weapons, just in case this thing goes south.”

After all the men nodded, Eagle left the room holding a stick with a white handkerchief attached to the end.

Hawk sat in the corner, fuming. This plan was ridiculous, and he hated the fact they weren’t fighting back. He understood the logic, especially since so many of the men in the club had long rap sheets and didn’t want to return to prison. But negotiations like this scraped up against his natural instinct to attack and give in to aggression.

Thor pulled up a chair next to him. “I want you on the Powder House roof with a sniper rifle.”

He nodded and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Look, brother.” Thor lowered his voice. “Once we give Izzy back to Nine, and end this ridiculous standoff, I’ll go with you to Boston and we’ll get her back. I promise.”

He heard the earnestness in Thor’s voice. But Hawk knew the truth. If Izzy went back, without that ring, her stepfather would kill her.

His only chance to end this and save Izzy was to find that ring. That meant he had to talk to Izzy in the basement. “I left my scope in my room.” He stood and gripped Thor’s shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”

Thor frowned but didn’t stop Hawk from leaving. Because all the other men were busy with their own plans and weapons, no one else noticed when he opened the door and slipped out. He ran through the bar and down the stairs. He picked up his pace when he hit the tunnel and made it to the basement in a few minutes.

Inside the basement, he found Mandy, Betsy, and Hannah watching a movie. “Where’s Izzy?”

Betsy pointed toward the kitchen. “Last time I saw her, she was moving furniture.”

He ran to the kitchen and found the trap door open. “Did Izzy leave through this trap door?”

“I think so,” Mandy said. “She said she really needed to get out of here.”

“Fuck.” He went to the closet where they stored tools and found a heavy flashlight. He was running out of time. If he didn’t show up on that roof with the sniper rifle before the parley, he’d be thrown out of the club. Or worse. Then he’d never be able to save Izzy.

With a heavy sigh, he shut the trap door, left the basement, and headed for the roof.

* * *

Izzy came to the end of the tunnel, went up a narrow stairway, and opened an unlocked wooden door. When she walked through it, she found herself in a large shed filled with gardening tools, pool supplies, and bags of boxing equipment. She went to the only window and realized she was in a shed in the backyard of the compound, behind a boxing ring and an empty in-ground pool.

This wasn’t at all what she’d expected, but at least no one could see her. She heard random gunshots and shouts coming from the other side of the property, but most of the fracas had died down.

She held up her phone. Still no cell service.

The shed door opened silently, and she ran across the open field to the boxing ring. The ring was much higher and bigger than she’d realized, and it also provided some cover. Not that anyone was looking in this direction. She was just paranoid—with good reason.

She still had no cell service. She took off the flashlight that hung around her neck and put the flashlight in her back pocket. Then she ran for the back door of the motel. Just as she reached the door, a shadow came out from behind the overgrown bushes that grew along the motel’s walls and grabbed her arm.

“Hello, Princess.” Nine’s voice sounded harsh, like he’d been screaming orders for hours. “Now where is that precious ring?”

“I don’t have it.” She kicked him and tried to pry off his hand, but he backhanded her. Pain shot through her face and into her head. Her vision starred and she tasted blood from where she’d bitten her tongue. She gagged, and when she spit blood out, she felt so faint she couldn’t fight when he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

Everything around her shifted from light to dark, and her whole body ached. She could barely make out the path Nine took around the motel, toward a remote part of the wall where someone had drilled a big enough hole to crawl through.

Nine dropped her on the ground and pointed his gun at her. “You either give me that ring or go through the wall.”

“Go to hell!” The ring was hidden in the compound, and there was no way she’d ever lead Nine into Hawk’s sanctuary. She could no longer hold back the tears, and she went through the hole on her hands and knees. She was grateful to be in jeans, but brambles and bits of razor wire scraped her hands. It didn’t take long for her wounded hand to start bleeding again. When she got to the other side, another Black Jacks picked her up, tied her hands behind her back, and threw her in a panel van.

She landed on her hip and the pain made her feel faint. She rolled to her back just as the van door shut, leaving her in darkness.

* * *

Hawk could tell something was wrong. He was on the roof of the Powder House, lying on his stomach, watching the situation in the center courtyard below. After Eagle spoke to the Black Jacks Road Captain, they both returned to their presidents with the terms of the parley.

Now Acid and Nine were standing a few feet apart, talking. They each had two men behind them. Twitch and Eagle protected Acid, but Hawk didn’t know Nine’s guards. None of them were armed, but that didn’t mean the situation was any less deadly. Through his own scope, he’d seen at least six armed Black Jacks hidden in the woods beyond the compound’s walls.

Nine waved his arms toward the motel, and Acid crossed his arms over his chest. Twitch and Eagle looked up, toward the roof of the Powder House, toward Hawk.

“Fuck this.” He left his post and hurried down from the roof. He met Thor in the hallway leading to the chapel. “What is wrong?”

Thor took the rifle from Hawk’s shoulder. “There’s a problem. Nine wants the ring.”

Relief spiraled through Hawk’s body, and he leaned his shoulder against the door. “Nine doesn’t want Izzy?”

He didn’t care that they didn’t have the ring. As long as Izzy was safe—even though he wasn’t exactly sure where she was—everything would be okay.

“Not exactly.” Thor crossed his arms over his chest and studied the floor. “He wants to trade Izzy for the ring. If he doesn’t get the ring, he’ll kill her because her father lifted the bounty.”

Hawk shook his head to clear his spinning thoughts. “Wait. Do you mean Nine has Izzy?”

Now Thor looked toward the hall window. “I’m not sure how, but he has her in custody. And he believes, for some strange reason, that we must have the ring.”

“You mean I must have the ring?”

Thor release a long, loud breath. “Brother, if you have it, you have to give it up. Nine won’t just go away, and he has more men than we realized.”

“I know.” Hawk moved to the window which overlooked the most remote side of the compound. “I’m telling you the truth. I don’t have that ring. Trust me, if I did I’d trade it in a heartbeat to save the woman I love.”

Thor stood next to him and gripped his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

Hawk ground his back molars as he tried to figure a way out of this mess. “Is going out there, guns blazing, still on the table?”

“No.” Thor pointed out the window, toward the deserted road that led back into town. “The police presence has increased. They’re just waiting for us to fuck up and arrest us.”

“Why don’t they arrest the Black Jacks?”

“Because they want all of us. We can’t fuck this up.” Thor shook his head. “I mean, look at all those blue and red flashing lights. It’s like a damn parade of cops out there.”

“Thor, give me the rifle scope.” Hawk held out his hand. When Thor gave him the scope, he held it up to see the police activity. Besides local cop cars, and county sheriff cars, he saw six black sedans. That could only mean one thing. “I think we have even more company.”

Thor took the scope and took a look. “Who?”

“Feds. And it looks like they’re coming for all of us.”

* * *

Izzy kept kicking the van’s back door from the inside. She lay on her back, and kicked over and over again, for what felt like an hour. She had no idea if the Black Jacks were ignoring her or had left her alone to die of dehydration in the van. When her legs tired, she rolled to her side. She wasn’t embarrassed that tears streamed down her face. She just wanted to get out and see Hawk again.

She struggled to sit up, and in the process the flashlight in her back pocket cracked. It took some maneuvering, but she was able to pull it out and break apart the plastic case. When she found a piece sharp enough, she tried to cut the tape around her wrists. Her fingers cramped as she awkwardly sawed the tape, and she had to give up when her hands went numb. She pressed her shoulder against the side of the vehicle and moved closer to the van door. Once she had enough leverage, she kicked again and again and again. Then she screamed for what felt like hours.

She stopped when her voice became hoarse and her feet stung from all the kicking. Her mouth felt gritty and dry, and she had to use the bathroom. She shifted her body to alleviate a cramp in her shoulders—until she rolled over something sharp on the floor that cut her arm. She rolled again and felt another stabbing pain.

It was a metal screw that had lost its nut.

She moved until her hands found the screw and attacked the tape that bound her wrists. It was hard, painful work because she was cutting skin as well as tape. But she didn’t care.

Finally, the tape broke and her hands were free. This time, instead of kicking the van door, she pounded it with her fists. On the third hit, the doors swung open and she fell out. She landed on the dirt, on her face, and an agonizing pain shot through her nose and her cheeks. Her mouth filled with dirt, and her hair, which had come loose, obscured part of her vision.

Someone helped her up, but she kicked and fought and scratched—until the female voice she recognized as Agent Miller said, “It’s okay, Isolde. You’re safe now.”

Izzy dropped to her knees, and Agent Miller handed her a white handkerchief.

“Hold this to your nose," Agent Miller said. “You may have broken it.”

Izzy pressed the cloth to her face, and she noticed her hands were covered in blood. She began to shake, but she forced herself to take deep breaths to control the nausea. “What happened?”

Agent Miller took Izzy’s arm and helped her up. “So much has happened, I don’t know where to begin.”

Izzy looked around and noticed at least forty official-looking men and women, all armed, taking on cell phones and walkie talkies. “I don’t understand.”

Agent Miller took Izzy’s arm again and walked her toward a black sedan. She wore a black pantsuit with a white blouse. Her blond hair was twisted into a complicated bun, and she sported dark sunglasses. “Because you didn’t return our texts or calls, we were able to get a warrant to search the Powder House compound. Imagine our surprise when we discovered—and arrested—a good number of Black Jacks with a whole lot of illegal weapons.”

“Were weapons in the compound covered under the warrant?”

“Does it really matter?”

Probably not.She got into the car, left the door open, and scooted over. Agent Miller entered next and handed Izzy a water bottle from a small cooler on the floor. She removed the handkerchief to drink the cold water, not really caring that the white cloth was soaked in blood. Her blood.

Another agent closed the passenger door and got into the driver’s seat. A moment later, he turned on the car and drove around the perimeter of the compound, toward the front. She’d not appreciated how much property the MC owned.

She took another long drink and used her fist to wipe water off her chin. “What about the Devil’s Renegades?”

“All arrested and charged with weapons charges, among other things.” Agent Miller’s smile seemed insincere since her dark sunglasses hid her eyes. “We arrested over twenty four MC members from both clubs. Not bad considering they weren’t our primary target. I guess you could call it a free gift with purchase.”

Izzy finished the bottle and watched the scenery pass by in silence. A few minutes later, they pulled up in front of the Powder House compound. The scene was a study in controlled chaos. Ambulances sat off to the side, and two black SWAT vehicles were positioned in front of the gate. Police and sheriff cars of all shapes and sizes, with their lights flashing, formed a U-shaped barrier between the compound’s gate and the woods beyond the road. Every officer she saw was carrying a rifle and a sidearm. It was clear that no one would be able to run away. “What’s going on?”

“We’ve already transported the Black Jacks,” Agent Miller said. “But I wanted you to see this. Maybe it will help you get your life back onto the right track.”

A prison transport bus appeared next to the SWAT vehicles. Then the compound gate opened and twenty federal agents came out. They formed a column leading from the gate to the prison transport bus. Then all of the members of the Devil’s Renegades filed out of the compound. Each man was handcuffed and escorted by a uniformed police officer.

This was all her fault. If she’d just trusted Hawk all those weeks ago, when they were sleeping with each other almost every day, maybe this could’ve been prevented. But, no. She’d insisted on doing everything alone and keeping secrets from those who wanted to help her, like Tish and J.R.

Like Hawk.

She used her arm to wipe away her tears, making sure not to touch her aching nose. “What about Hawk Mosby? What’s going to happen to him?”

“That all depends on you.” Agent Miller stared hard at Izzy. “Get out of the car.”

“Why?”

Agent Miller pulled out her weapon and held it on her lap. “Because I said so.”

Izzy used a shaky hand to open the door and got out. Thunder hit, and a raindrop hit her cheek. The dark skies made the day seem even more bleak and desperate.

Agent Miller got out on her side of the car and whistled.

The men of the MC, who were still walking toward the transport bus, looked in Agent’s Miller direction… and saw Izzy.

Her breath caught in her throat, and she grabbed the car door so she wouldn’t collapse.

One man took a step out of line, toward her, until a policeman hit him in the gut with a baton. The man doubled over and fell to his knees. Another cop helped him up, and he looked over at her. Recognition hit just as another round of thunder cracked open the skies, and she covered her mouth with her hand.

Hawk stared at her with such anger and disgust, she felt the heat of it across the five hundred feet separating them. Her mouth went dry, and she held in her silent screams as the man she loved walked toward the prison bus.

“I imagine you’re blaming yourself,” Agent Miller said. “And you wouldn’t be totally wrong. If you’d just worked with us from the beginning, instead of running away and doing everything on your own, none of this would’ve happened. Now get in the car.”

Izzy sat in the car, but she refused to acknowledge Agent Miller. It had started raining, and water smeared the dirt on the windows. Still, she watched Hawk walk away as a prisoner.

“We have another problem,” Agent Miller said.

“What do you want from me now?” Izzy kept her gaze on Hawk who was now climbing the stairs onto the bus.

“I want to know what you’re willing to give up for those you love.”

She shifted in her seat to meet Agent Miller’s gaze. She’d taken off her glasses, and stared back at her with dark brown eyes.

“What are you talking… oh. That.”

Agent Miller nodded. “You give it to us, and maybe we can offer your lover a deal.”

Izzy closed her eyes and pressed the cold water bottle against the sore nose to alleviate some of the swelling. “Agent Miller, do you know how to make a dinosaur come?”

Agent Miller scoffed. “Is this a joke?”

Izzy opened her eyes and offered a half smile that was neither happy nor genuine. “Before I say anything else, I want to speak to my lawyer.”

“Fine.” Agent Miller handed Izzy her cell phone. “Make the call. Have your lawyer meet us at the Ravensburg courthouse.”

Izzy dialed. And as she waited for her family’s lawyer to answer—the only lawyer her father had ever trusted—she watched the prison transport drive away with the only man she’d ever love.

Unlike four months ago when she’d left home alone, now she had friends she considered family. Now she had a plan.