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Chance groaned as the sun woke him up the next morning. He’d only been sleeping for what seemed like a few hours. Glancing at the clock on the table beside his bed, he noted the time. Seven a.m. Groaning again, he flopped back on the bed. He hadn’t gotten home until three this morning.
He’d only left his watch when Wes called him to alert him that Lester was finally home and things had settled down at the Pearlman house. He let Amos know he was going home as things had settled down. Amos assured him they would continue to watch over things at the House.
Now however, Chance was wide awake and he wanted nothing more than to check in with Quinn and find out how their night had gone. He knew it was too early to call but he could text. That way, when the girls woke up, his message would be read.
After he texted Quinn, he hit the shower. After drying off, he got dressed. He checked his phone and smiled. Quinn was up and reporting that their night had gone well. He messaged her back saying if she needed him, she should call him at the garage, otherwise he’d see her later in the day.
Half an hour later, he walked into the garage with a cup of strong coffee and a bag of breakfast takeout. Wes was already waiting for him along with his three brothers, Byron, Bowie and Dante.
His brothers put down their tools to join Wes and Chance over beside Chance’s car.
Chance passed out the food and while they ate, he looked over at Wes. “You got something to say?” He’d noticed Wes seemed more antsy than usual and he was wondering why.
Wes finished his sandwich and nodded. “Yeah, I do. I found out some things last night and it isn’t good.”
Chance waited for the other man to speak then noted his brothers’ interest. “Go ahead, they might need to know this shit anyway.”
Wes nodded, then took a sip of his coffee. “Well, you know I had Wyatt watching the Pearlman house right?”
Chance nodded.
“While he was doing that I was asking questions around town about where Lester usually hung out and who he hung out with. That damn fool... he hangs out around the track mostly. He likes the ponies a bit too much, if you know what I mean.”
Bowie snorted. “Does he at least break even?”
Wes shook his head. “No, he doesn’t and the damn fool keeps going back hoping for that last race to make up the difference.”
Byron cursed. “Fuck, how much is he for and to whom?”
“He’s in for at least 35k to a man who likes to break legs when payment is late.” Wes nodded.
Chance looked at his brothers then back to Wes. “Please tell me it isn’t Jonah Rossi.”
Wes placed his finger on the side of his nose indicating he was right on target.
Everyone in town knew about Jonah Rossi. Some called him the devil incarnate. And no one ever got one over on the man without paying the price for their foolishness.
Wes shrugged. “Of course, that number could be wrong but I have a feeling it’s not. He’s into Jonah for some real coin.” He paused and it seemed like he wanted to say something but couldn’t say the words out loud.
“What is it man?” Bowie finally had to ask.
Wes rubbed his jaw. “Well, I don’t rightly know. Last night I heard more than just about Lester’s debt. I don’t rightly know if this is true or just a rumor and if it is just a rumor, I hate spreading gossip.”
“Spit it out.” Byron glared at him. “What else did you hear?”
“Rossi has a thing for little girls. The sort of thing that whispered in the backrooms, if you know what I mean.”
Chance felt his heart stop beating briefly in his chest. He looked over at his brothers and noted their paleness as well.
“How old is Lester’s daughter?” Bowie asked.
“She’s only four.” Chance shook his head in disgust.
“That’s not all I hear,” Wes spoke up again.
“What the fuck else is there?” Dante growled.
“He likes to get them real young and train them to please him when they reach a certain age.” Wes crushed his take out cup, spilling hot coffee all over his hand and the floor. He didn’t even flinch at the burning sensation he had to feel.
“That’s one sick fucker,” Bowie seethed.
All his brothers turned to Chance.
“What can we do to help?” Byron asked. “We really can’t let that fuck get his hands on that little girl.”
“He isn’t gonna get to her,” Chance vowed. “He’ll have to get through me first and I’m not going down easy.”
“You won’t be the only one standing in his way,” Dante stated. “He’ll have to go through all of us.”
“I got some friends too. They’ll stand beside you.” Wes nodded.
“And we will too,” Sam’s voice called out from the doorway.
Chance turned and saw several of the MC standing there. “We don’t want or need that crazy bastard in our town. And this town belongs to us.”
“Ok first things first, we have to get Quinn and Destiny out of Redemption House, so we don’t take the fight there.” Sam warned them.
“And if her mother comes back for her?” Chance argued, not wanting to play devil’s advocate, but they needed to consider this occurrence. “We don’t have any evidence of his true intention. We don’t really have a reason to hide her from her parents.”
Sam marched up to him and glared at him. “You and I know what’s going on here.”
Chance nodded. “Yeah, we all know what’s going on here but all the cops need to hear is a weeping woman is claiming we bikers stole her kid. That’s all they will hear and with us sitting in jail for kidnapping and who’s gonna be there to protect Destiny then?” He ran his fingers through his hair and glared at Sam. “Rossi might even decide to come after Quinn for retaliation, do you really want to lose your daughter because we moved too quickly?” He stared at Sam a moment then said, “I don’t want that. Rossi could whisk her away and we’d never find her again. He’d put her out into the streets and you fucking know it. And that wouldn’t happen until he hooked her on his fuckin dope.”
Sam growled and stomped away from him. Then he shouted, “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!” Then he turned and looked over at the men. “So what do you suggest we do Einstein?”
“We watch over the girls but we also watch Rossi and Lester. We watch so we know exactly where they are going and what they’re doing. We find out as much as we can on what those two are really up to. We may need to shut them down but we protect our own at the same time.”
“That’s a plan I can live with,” Sam reluctantly agreed. “How do we protect the girls?”
“As much as I hate to admit this, we park them in the clubhouse for now. Nobody will dare look for them there.” Chance laid out his plan.
“I can keep Wyatt watching the Pearlman house,” Wes added.
Chance nodded at him and then turned to Sam. “Okay, let get Amos and his boys to watch over Lester and Rossi. No one ever pays attention to them and they can move freely anywhere in the city they want.”
“Why can’t we watch them?” Sam demanded.
Chance barked out a laugh. “Because Bones, we’d stick out like sore fucking thumbs. Everybody knows us and we’d tip our hand if we went anywhere near them. Amos and his crew, not so much.”
Sam closed his eyes at the logic in his statement. The Sin’s Bastards were well known in town. They would be noticed. Rossi or Pearlman wouldn’t make their move if they knew they were being watched by the MC. He pointed his finger at Chance. “You’d better not fuck this up. If anything happens to my daughter or that little girl. You know what I’ve promised already.”
Chance sighed as he nodded. The man couldn’t get enough of threatening him. If it weren’t for Quinn, he would just shut him the fuck up. But he knew it was the man’s way of fathering. He watched as Sam and the rest of the MC hauled their tails out of the shop. Chance turned to his brothers and Wes. “We need to keep our eyes on Lester and Mona.”
“But you just told Sam they’d make us and go under cover.” Bowie looked confused.
“Maybe us, after all we do stick out around this town,” Chance agreed. Then he turned his gaze to Wes. “But you and your friends fit right in, don’t ya? Your friends are Lester’s neighbors. He would expect to see them around wouldn’t he?”
Wes began to smile. “Why, yes sir, I think he would. Even though he ain’t very neighborly he’s used to Wyatt and his friends being there.”
Chance knew he would do it. “Ok, here’s what I want you to do. Byron and I will move the girls over to the clubhouse while you and your friend keep an eye on Lester and Mona. If something comes up, give me a call.”
“What’s Cassie supposed to do if Mona comes back looking for Destiny?” Dante asked. “Don’t we need to get some kind of story in place?”
“Her mother all but abandoned her, even if she does come back today, Mona will have some explaining to do,” Chance assured them. “Maybe Cassie can tell her she turned her over to DSS last night. If Mona goes to DSS to get her back, she’ll have some questions to answer before they tell her Destiny isn’t there. If they don’t ask the questions, then they aren’t doing their job are they?” Chance shrugged. “Either way, we’ll have gained some time.”
“Don’t you think you better tell Deke what we’re doing?” Dante asked. “And Cassie? She might need to know her role in this little drama.”
Chance reached out and slapped his brother Byron on the back. “Damn kid, you are smart.” He chuckled.
“Kid? Who the fuck you talking to?”
All the brothers laughed.
Chance grinned at him. “Come on, we’ll tell her when we get there. We’ve got to move before Mona gets back to the House and gets her hands on Destiny.”