Page 37 of Pike’s Redemption

Once the cameras were in place, I stepped back, my eyes scanning the room. The cameras were small and well-hidden. If Victor showed up, we’d have him.

“Let’s get out of here,” I said, the tension in my voice barely contained. “Kent’s still fifteen miles out. Looks like he’s at the comic book store.” Kent liked to linger at a used comic book store in Phoenix. I had a suspicion it was so he could have a nice little peeping tom moment, but I made sure he didn’t snatch any more kids, and he wasn’t allowed to foster anymore. Maybe today was the day that he’d die. The thought cheered me up. “We don’t know where Victor is, so we should clear out.”

“That Kent guy is a creep. Comic book store,” Cross muttered to himself. Dimitri’s eyes bounced off Maddox and then to me, ping-ponging.

The men regrouped outside, the air thick with anticipation. They’d all love to catch the guy that was dropping bodies in Morinrock — not as much as me, but they had a stake.

“So we leave here, and this Victor kills Kent? We aren’t going to try to stop him?” Cross asked.

“Fuck no,” Dimitri snorted. “He can have Kent and all the blame.” He spread his hands out before him and gave an innocent shrug. “It won’t be our fault we’ll be far away. What a shame.”

I patted Cross on the shoulder, who seemed conflicted. “Our goal is to identify Victor. If he gets nabbed for killing Kent, that’s fine, but we need an identification. Then, we can track him in the system. Dimitri and Ronnie can put him in for facial recognition, but we need a face to do that. We don’t give a fuck if he kills Kent. I hope he does.” At one point in my life, I had wanted to be the one to do it, but I’d opted for his torture to be psychological instead. I wanted him to experience that fear of being on the opposite side of the power dynamic. Some part of me had drawn it out — a sick link to my brother. Now, though, I was happy someone else would do it. I didn’t want to get close to him. I wasn’t sure that I could stomach it.

“Let’s roll.”

I didn’t look back as we mounted our bikes and headed out. The dusty landscape swallowed Kent’s place behind us, but memories stayed with me, gnawing at the edges of my mind, choking me with that familiar smell of pumpkin pie. We’d done what we came to do. We just had to wait for Victor to walk into the trap we’d set. Hopefully.

?

We returned to the house just as the sun began to set, the last rays of light fading into the horizon. The ride back had been quiet, each of us lost in our thoughts, the weight of what we’d just done hanging over us like a storm cloud. Now, back in the house, the tension in the air stretching spread over us.

We’d sent the MC members back to their respective spots, except for Maddox, Dimitri, and me. Cross, thankfully, was on top of things back with the Cobras.

I walked into the main living room, where Natasha, Ronnie, and the others were waiting. Enzo and Luca, the security detail, lounged at the edges of the room, their eyes sharp and alert. As soon as I entered, Natasha’s gaze met mine, and she gave me a small, tight-lipped smile. “Did everything go okay?” she asked, her gorgeous eyes tilting up to me like the moon and the stars were in them.

“Yeah, it was fine. Come here, baby.” I just wanted to hold her. I wouldn’t analyze the feeling, but I was satisfied when she got up and padded over to me barefoot, her toes curling against the shag carpet. Pulling her onto my lap, I buried my nose into her hair and inhaled that peppermint, vanilla smell unique to Natasha.

I wanted to burn out that gross smell that seemed to linger in my nostrils even as we road for over an hour. I let myself breathe for a moment and closed my eyes as I relaxed into her softness. There was so much of my life that I’d never had anyone I could hold like this. When I was in the darkest parts of my life, I never thought I’d be able to tolerate a lover’s touch. The idea that I’d seek it out would have been a joke. For years I’d fucked when the urge called, hookers that I’d had bend over so I could pound into them from behind until I was satisfied — none that I’d let touch me like Nat. True, I’d given Maddox and Dimitri so much shit for their women, but damned if I didn’t understand now. If I could take her upstairs right now and bury my face in her pussy that’d be ideal. I wanted to bury myself in her scent, make her come, but based on the glares that Dimitri was sending me, that wouldn’t be happening until later. Later, I’d make her scream for me.

“We got the cameras set,” I said roughly, clearing my throat as I threaded my fingers through her silky hair, leaning her back from me. She protested, her hands clutching my cut as if she didn’t want to let me go. It made me think back to how this all began, me in cuffs and her in those sexy as fuck heels. I guess we had Victor to thank for this, after all. I kissed the tip of her nose. “I missed you, Nat.” I gave her the words. I had more for her, I thought with realization. She was mine. I ran a thumb over her lip. I loved her.

“I missed you too.” Her nose wrinkled at me as if she wondered at my mood, her eyes sparkling as her fingers tickled my side gently, playfully. It was another aspect of her that I enjoyed. She was the whole package: wicked smart, sassy, beautiful, and funny. I wasn’t sure how I got so lucky that she wanted to be with me, but I would hold on tight with both hands.

“I’ve got them online,” Ronnie said, twirling her hair between her fingers, interrupting our moment. “We’ve been watching, but there hasn’t been any sign of anyone. It’s been quiet.”

My eyes snapped to the grainy black-and-white footage that flickered on the screens, showing the interior of the house, the front porch, and the driveway. Everything was quiet, just as we’d left it. Dimitri and Ronnie had set up multiple monitors before we left, and now the images were being funneled in. It was eerie. I leaned forward and looked over the angles we had captured. Maybe I should have set this up earlier, and I’d have known all along what sort of shit Kent got up to at his little hidey-hole. Eli had mentioned that Kent was afraid of him. That indicated that perhaps I would have caught a glimpse of Eli earlier. Maybe I’d missed signs that he was alive. I could have found him long ago if I’d known that.

“How long do you think it’ll take before he shows?” Natasha asked, her expression serious.

“Victor? Who knows. Could be tonight, could be tomorrow,” I replied, running a hand through my hair. “I’m not sure how predictable he is or how reliable Eli’s information is. But he’ll come if he’s been tracking Kent like we think. It’s just a matter of when. Now, Kent. He’s due in …” I pulled out my phone to check the tracker. “He’s close. He should be showing up any minute now.”

Ronnie was sitting on the couch, crisscross style, looking even younger than I knew her to be. I wanted to ask if she’d gotten any more of Eli’s weird presents … if he’d been by the house when we were gone. The words were almost out when she glanced up at me, her eyes curious but concerned, and I stopped myself feeling like a dick. My loyalties felt all twisted up together in the worst way. Eli and Natasha. Now Ronnie was another responsibility. I wasn’t sure Eli was dangerous to her, but I knew nothing about him. It would be a good sign if he followed through with this piece of information he’d given us. If this all worked to catch Victor, I could see that something was redeemable in my brother.

“And what if he doesn’t?” Ronnie asked.

“Doesn’t what?” I said stupidly.

“Doesn’t show? What if Victor doesn’t show.” Ronnie snapped back at me like I was an idiot. “I am still having trouble finding out what Victor looks like.”

“He will,” I said with more certainty than I felt. I had no plans other than this, so I hoped to fuck it worked. “He’s supposedly trying to get back in good with Eli. He won’t miss the chance.”

“I hope you’re right. I haven’t been able to find much on him. It looks like Eli was kept off-grid. I can’t find anything he was a ghost. I have no anchor to find this Victor person. I just need an anchor.” Ronnie trailed off. She appeared to have something to say but tugged on her earring and gazed into the distance. After a brief moment, she returned her attention to her laptop and typed furiously. Nat looked at her with worry, which I thought we were all feeling, but Nat moved over to her sister and rubbed her back with soft circles.

“It’s all good, Ronnie. We’ll find this creep.” Ronnie didn’t respond, continuing to hunch over her laptop.

Natasha moved back to me, handing me a beer, the long-neck bottle cool against the heat of my skin. Maddox raised his eyes to me. “We’re going to make this happen. Have faith.” Letting the liquid slide down my throat, I tried not to worry about everything that could go wrong.

“You okay?” Her fingers brushed my hair from where it was sticking on my forehead.

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