Tank
Wire’s first bit of news had been concerning. No one was searching for Emmie, which meant her school hadn’t reported her missing. I had a feeling her father had something to do with that, and it made unease claw at me. If he’d known where she was, why had he waited until now to come for her? She’d been in the US for the last three years, but he’d kept his distance. It didn’t make sense, unless Lupita had managed to hide her that well. Even then, I thought something more might be going on, but unless we had a discussion with them it was doubtful we’d ever know. I had a feeling something big was happening now, and I didn’t like it. Not with Emmie in the middle of it. And how had he known to find her at the diner today? Or that she’d been staying at the motel? Just how long had he been watching and waiting?
“What am I looking at?” I asked, flipping through the grainy pictures Wire had somehow obtained. They were from the first of three folders he’d brought with him. The man was always thorough with every investigation, but I wasn’t certain what these buildings had to do with Emmie. I knew we didn’t have any place like this in town.
He tapped on one. “See this? It’s the compound of Fernando Montoya.”
“Why is that name familiar?” I asked, brow furrowed. I knew Montoya was Emmie’s last name, but I didn’t remember meeting a Fernando Montoya.
“He’s the man who bought Ridley from her stepdad, the one who sent her running straight into Venom’s arms.”
I looked from the picture to Wire, waiting to see if there was more to that statement. I remembered the asshole who was going to hurt Ridley, and I also knew what had happened to him. He’d been from South America, or so I’d thought.
“He’s dead,” I said.
“Yeah, but his brother isn’t.” Wire handed me another picture and my gut clenched. Now this man I had met, even though we hadn’t shared names. “Meet Luis Montoya, father of Emelda and Lupita… and brother to Fernando.”
“You have to be fucking kidding me.”
Was it a coincidence that Lupita had come here that December two years ago? Had she known about the connection with us and her uncle? Worse, did she know exactly what had happened to him and our part in all of it? Emmie had said that Lupita went to prison over Wraith’s massacre to ensure the Reapers would give our aid, but what if it went deeper than that? It made me question the federal agent’s motives in coming here, and for sending Emmie straight to me. I’d always listened to my gut, and right now, it said something was really wrong with all this.
Wire slid another picture my way. “Ernesto Lopez. One of the highest paid assassins in Spain, and also the owner of several brothels around the world, some underground clubs, and this little gem…”
I flipped over the next picture and stared in horror. I’d done some fucked-up shit in my life, but this? Holy hell! Bile rose in my throat and I turned the picture back over, not wanting to look at it another moment. What kind of sick monster could do that?
“What does all this have to do with Emmie? Her father wanted her to marry the guy. You don’t think he’d…” I waved a hand at the offensive picture.
“I more than think.” Wire sighed. “Once I found out who he was, I did some digging, and managed to hack into one of his email accounts. I also poked around in the bank accounts I could find, but I’d be willing to bet he has a bundle in some unmarked offshore accounts. It seems he woke up from the love tap you gave him and was pissed as fuck. He ranted about the whore he was supposed to have married and made arrangements for her. Bidding has already begun. Looking at his bank records, he’s done this sort of thing several times this year already. I’m not so certain that Emmie wouldn’t have been auctioned off once he was finished with her, even if she had been a virgin when she’d married him. Or maybe he’d already had a plan in place, if she’d been innocent.”
“Her father won’t allow that. Will he?” I asked.
Wire pulled out a sheet of paper. “Luis Montoya. How do I put this? Let’s just call him the most feared man in all of Spain and leave it at that. There isn’t much he isn’t dabbling in, and he honestly makes Ernesto look like a cherub. From what I can tell, Fernando was a decent guy in comparison to his brother. I honestly have no idea how your Emmie isn’t scarred beyond belief from living with someone like Luis. We need to know what she’s heard or seen.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” I muttered. “We needed Casper VanHorne to take down Fernando. How the hell am I supposed to keep Emmie safe from two men who are even worse than the one Ridley ran from?”
“I know you like handling this type of thing on your own, but maybe this time you need to take a step back. You’re obviously involved with Emmie, which I honestly saw coming. You’ve wanted her from the moment you first saw her. I knew it was only a matter of time before you gave in, but how far are you willing to go?” Wire asked.
“How far?” I asked.
Wire drummed his fingers on the table a moment, then slipped more documents my way. It took me a moment to realize what the hell I was seeing. I looked from the papers to Wire, who was staring at me with a challenge in his eyes.
“What the fuck? Are you serious right now?” I asked.
“She needs protection, right? And you’d go to any lengths to make that happen?” Wire asked.
“You hacked the county and state government systems and fucking married us? Jesus, Wire. You didn’t even talk to us about it. What if she doesn’t want to marry me?”
“Too late,” Wire said. “In the eyes of the law, you’re now legally married, and have been for the past week.”
“This is fucked up and you know it. Sleeping with her is one thing, but this?” I slapped my hand down on the papers. “You need to undo this, right now.”
“Don’t want to marry her?” he asked.
“It’s too soon! We don’t even know each other.”
“Pretty sure Venom and Ridley would tell you that’s bullshit. And what about Torch and Isabella? Rocky and Mara? Need I go on? The Reapers know when they meet the right woman. In your gut, you know that Emmie is it for you. Forever. I just saved you some time and paperwork.”
“And took the decision completely out of her hands,” I said. “What the fuck does this solve anyway? Do you honestly think either of those men are going to care if she’s married?”
“No, I don’t. But now that you’re legally married, we can pull in Officer Daniels, and even the Feds, and tell them that your wife is in danger. Your possibly pregnant wife. If we put enough eyes on her, then it’s going to be damn hard for either Luis or Ernesto to make a move. I know it’s not an ideal situation, but I honestly think this is our best shot, at least until reinforcements can get here.”
“What reinforcements?” I asked.
“I filled in Torch before I came here. The other clubs are sending help, and Torch put in a call to his father-in-law.” Wire smiled. “I still can’t say that with a straight face since Torch is older than Casper. Either way, the top assassin in the world will be arriving before long. We can use all the firepower we can get.”
“And I’m supposed to do what? Keep Emmie locked up in this house indefinitely?” I asked.
“Not exactly.”
I rubbed my forehead, feeling a pain starting to pulse in my skull. I didn’t know how many more surprises I could take, not when it came to Emmie. Nothing had ever fazed me, but the thought of losing Emmie, of her being hurt or killed made me want to rip someone to shreds.
“Just tell me what the fuck else you’ve been up to while I was otherwise occupied.”
“You won’t like it,” Wire said.
“I haven’t liked any of this shit so far. It hasn’t stopped you yet, so by all means, continue with the awesome news.”
“Does she know you’re an asshole?” Wire asked.
I flipped him off and watched as he pulled more shit out of his folders.
“This looks like a fucking fortress,” I said, studying the pictures.
“Because it is. It’s a secret government base, or it’s supposed to be a secret. Let’s just say that in exchange for me not letting the world know how easy it is to hack certain US government files, we have free use of it for as long as we need. Or rather, as long as Emmie needs it. I’ve made arrangements for you to take her there. Not to mention, I’ve been assured that if Luis Montoya and Ernesto Lopez were to vanish, then both our country and Spain would owe us a debt of gratitude. It seems they’re trying to reach into the US now, and the Spanish have been trying to find a way to get rid of them for years.”
“No,” said a soft voice behind me.
I turned and saw Emmie, dressed only in my shirt. I had the insane urge to cover her up so Wire couldn’t see her bare legs, or the fact she was braless. She came closer and looked at everything spread across the table.
“I’ve run whenever trouble came my way,” Emmie said. “I don’t want to run anymore. I’m tired of being a scared little rabbit.”
Her gaze landed on something and locked. Slowly, she reached out and slid a paper closer. I groaned when I realized what the hell it was.
“We’re married?” she asked. “How? I’m pretty sure I’d have remembered walking down the aisle, especially a week before you even spoke to me.”
Wire waved at her. “That would be my doing. You can thank me later. I like cookies and pies, if you’re into baking.”
She blinked a few times. “You married us? I’m so confused right now.”
“Just a few keystrokes,” Wire said, which I knew was bullshit.
She reached for the gruesome picture and I grabbed her hand long enough for Wire to remove it. I didn’t want that image in her mind. Bad enough I knew what that picture held, but Emmie? She’d have nightmares the rest of her life. Even if I hadn’t known her long, I knew that she was a gentle soul, and that kind of brutality would be more than she could handle. Or at least more than she should handle. If I could protect her from the ugliness of the world, then I would.
I knew Wire was wondering just how innocent she was, now that we knew she was connected to Luis and Fernando Montoya. I didn’t doubt for a moment that she was every bit as sweet as she seemed. Whatever Luis had done in his lifetime, I didn’t think it had ever touched Emmie, until now. She was smart to run from Ernesto. Coming here may have saved her life. No, I knew it had. If she’d remained in Spain and married that monster, she would have died a horrible death at some point. I wasn’t even convinced the man had ever intended to actually marry her.
“Emmie, what do you know about your father and Ernesto?” Wire asked. “Did you ever overhear anything? See anything?”
“Just them planning my engagement to Ernesto. I was never consulted. It was after I saw how cold he was that I decided to investigate a little. I discovered who he was, and who my father really is. My father had never been a caring sort, but I’d never realized he was a monster. It scared me and I ran to Lupita, hoping she could keep me safe,” Emmie said. “And she did, for a long time. Even after she went to prison, she still managed to keep my dad away. I don’t know what changed recently.”
“And she sent you to me,” I said.
“Yes. Do you know why?” Emmie asked. “She’s never said much, except that you seem to have some sort of connection to a man called Casper VanHorne. It seemed important to her, even though I don’t know who he is. I had to wonder why she waited so long to send me here if she thought you were my only hope of getting away from Ernesto and my father. I never asked, but maybe I should have.”
Wire and I shared a look. Yeah, the ex-agent had some explaining to do. It seemed every move she’d made, even back in December two years past, if not further back, had been calculated. But to what end? Just to save Emmie, or something more?
“Casper is the man who killed your uncle,” Wire said. “And Casper’s daughter is married to our President, Torch.”
“And now the pieces are falling into place,” Emmie said. “Lupita didn’t just get assigned to a federal office near your compound. She requested that location. I didn’t understand why since she’d been living farther north before that. Now I have to wonder if she came here on purpose. When she sent me here, she mentioned Casper VanHorne. I didn’t know who he was, or why she was so interested in him.”
“Which means she made sure she was here when we needed her,” I said. “I don’t like it, but if she felt you were in danger, then I can understand why she would have gone to such lengths.”
Assuming that was the only motive she had, but only Lupita could answer that.
“Where is Lupita now?” Emmie asked, seeming almost distracted for a moment.
“She went home with Flicker, remember?” I said. “He’ll watch over her.”
“Actually.” Wire cleared his throat and looked away a moment. “Lupita walked out of here about an hour ago. An unmarked car picked her up, no plates, windows blacked out. No one knows where she went or what she’s doing. She’s no longer a federal agent, which means she’s no longer on a leash. Flicker tried to stop her, but she said she had business to take care of.”
Emmie’s horrified gaze locked with mine. “You don’t think she’d go after our dad and Ernesto, do you? I mean, the whole point in me coming here was so you would protect me. Wasn’t it?”
“Wire, go do your thing. Find her, and then make sure she’s all right. Whatever it takes. I may not know if I completely trust her right now, but she’s Emmie’s sister. Since you married us, that makes Lupita my sister-in-law, and Reapers take care of family.”
Wire nodded and started gathering his files and papers. “I’m on it. You may want this though,” he said, sliding the marriage license across the table.
I stared at the paper and wondered how Emmie felt about it. She hadn’t said much in regards to our marriage, other than being surprised Wire had pulled such a stunt. Once he was gone, I pulled her down onto my lap and wrapped an arm around her waist. She leaned against me, tucking her head under my chin.
“So, wife… You know, I can just have Wire make it all disappear, if that’s what you want. It isn’t like we went through a ceremony and you agreed to marry me.”
She curled her fingers into my shirt and turned her face into me, taking a deep breath. “I want to stay married. If that’s okay with you.”
“Em, we don’t even know each other.”
“I know enough,” she said. “But if you don’t want forever with me, then just say so. I’ll move back to the guest room, and we can pretend that nothing happened between us.”
“You could be pregnant,” I reminded her.
“Maybe. Maybe not. I doubt many women get pregnant the first time.”
“You’d be surprised,” I muttered, thinking about all my brothers who seemed to have easily knocked up their women. I was starting to wonder if there was something in the water, or beer, that caused us to have super sperm. Hell, Preacher hadn’t only knocked up his woman, but he’d given her twins! And I seriously doubted that Saint had been trying to knock up the woman he’d been seeing in secret.
“Is that why you want to stay married?” she asked. “Because you think I might be pregnant? People don’t get married these days just because they have a baby. It’s not the nineteen fifties anymore, Tank.”
I glared at her. “Just how old do you think I am?”
She shrugged. “Thirties? I figure you’re at least ten years older than me.”
“Jesus,” I said, shaking my head. I didn’t think this conversation was going to go over well. I closed my eyes and hoped she didn’t freak the hell out. “Baby, I’m forty-five. There’s over twenty years between us, not ten.”
She turned to face me, her eyes going so wide it was almost comical. “But you don’t look older than thirty-six!”
“Good genes, I guess,” I said. “So is this a problem?”
“Zach,” she said softly. “I don’t care how old you are. Age is just a number, right? If it doesn’t bother you, and it doesn’t bother me, then what does it matter how many years there are between us?”
“Guess it doesn’t. Just so you know, I tend to stick to women thirty and older. I don’t make it a habit of chasing after women your age.”
“Just makes me special,” she said, smiling.
“My sister is going to give me so much shit,” I said.
“Why? Because you’re older than me?” she asked.
“Her husband knocked her up and ran off. He didn’t show back up for two years. It wasn’t the age difference I had such a problem with, but more the fact he acted like an idiot. She’s going to give me grief, because I always told her I’d never go for a woman as young as you. Hell, I hadn’t even planned on settling down, not after the shit I went through before.”
I could tell she had questions, but I didn’t think she’d ask. Yet. Sooner or later, I’d have to tell her about my past, and why I didn’t trust women easily.
“Does she live here? Will I get to meet her?” Emmie asked.
“She lives with the Devil’s Boneyard in the Florida panhandle. Once everything is settled with your dad and Ernesto, maybe we can take a trip there. No way I’m inviting them here. Not enough space.”
“Do you own this house? Or does it belong to the club?” she asked.
“It’s mine. Sort of. Torch gave each of us a house. I hadn’t planned on having a family other than Josie, so I took one of the smaller ones. It would be easy to build on if we needed to.”
“Where would your sister and her family stay if they came to visit?” Emmie asked. “If we don’t have space here, I’m sure there are other Reapers with family who don’t have room for visitors either.”
“What are you getting at?” I asked.
“Is there an empty house that could be set up as a guest home of sorts for visitors? Or maybe there’s room to build something? A small row of townhomes or something?” Emmie said.
“Not a bad suggestion. When all this is over, we’ll talk to Torch about it. He’s always open to new ideas, especially if it’s for the well-being of the club and our extended family. There are a lot of club members who have relatives through marriage to other MCs. Torch always lets them visit whenever they want, but you’re right about us needing a place for everyone to stay. If we didn’t have to use one of the bedrooms for guests, then we could use both bedrooms for any kids we have.”
“Kids plural?” she asked. “What if I only want one?”
I rubbed my beard. “Do you? Only want one?”
“I don’t know. It was nice having a sister, until Lupita moved away. It gave me someone to rely on, even if she was quite a bit older than me.”
“It’s not something we have to settle right now, baby. I need to go see Torch and see what he makes of all this mess with your family. I know that Casper VanHorne is on his way here, but I’m not sure how we’re handling everything. I need to know for certain that no one will come for you.”
“Then you go take care of business. I can occupy myself for a while. If you have the Hallmark Channel I can find something on there; they always have good movies playing.”
I kissed the top of her head. “Watch whatever you want. If there’s a channel I don’t have, let me know and we can order it. I should shower and change before I head over to the clubhouse.”
She stood, then paused, biting her lower lip. “Zach, I know that this marriage blindsided us, but I’m glad it’s you I’m married to.”
“Me too, sweetheart.” I gave her a smile, then stood and brushed a kiss against her lips before I left the room. If I didn’t go shower now, I might be tempted to do something else, like toss her over my shoulder and make love to her all day long.