Outlaws’ Property (Property of Outlaw Sons MC #1)

21. Ghost

21

GHOST

Hellfire's phone rings only minutes after our boys confirm that they delivered our present. We were even generous and gave the knife back. Still stuck in his throat.

There's no fucking way we're letting a scumbag like Kane think he can dictate the negotiations, and then fuck around inside our own damn property. If that's what he thinks, then he needs a lesson in how this fucking works. Knowing what he did to Jessica, I’d be happy to teach him.

“Stop growling. He’ll think I have a fucking dog in here,” Hellfire snaps. Holding the phone up, he taps the answer button and puts it down on the table between him, me and Savage.

Jessica and Anne are also here, with Tex and Riot keeping an eye on them. We need proof Cooper is still alive, because there's no trusting that fucker, and we assume he's gonna ask for the same.

“North Pole, Santa speaking,” Hellfire says with a nasty grin. “Sorry we missed Christmas, there was a little confusion. Someone put you on the naughty list.”

"What did you barbaric fuckers do to my man?" snarls Kane so loud the phone speaker crackles.

I glance at the girls. Maybe we shoulda had them wait outside the office, but they are as much a part of this as we are. Keeping them in the dark won’t do them any favors in the long run.

"The real question is what the fuck was your man doing inside our walls, Kane? We had a deal and you went and fucked it up." Hellfire doesn't give a fuck about there being ladies or minors present. He shifts in his chair and leans back. "I'd like to know exactly what you were thinking when you decided to pull this shit."

Kane snorts. "As if I’d trust you with Jessica and my daughter’s safety. Anyone with a brain between their ears would want their own reassurance. You'd do the same."

"Maybe we have. Are you sure you can trust all your men?" I cut in.

I want him running scared. Anything we can do to make this fucker uncomfortable.

"Stop fucking around." There's a hint of a stress in Kane's voice, and I fucking love that we're getting to him.

"Seems to me," Hellfire says casually, "that the one fucking around is you. We've stuck to the deal, kept your girls safe. In fact, the biggest threat to them so far has been your man putting his knife to your nanny's throat."

Kane snarls. “So you say.”

“Yeah, so I fucking say,” Hellfire says with the kind of ice that means some fucker’s gonna get murdered if he doesn’t watch his step. I know it well. Often I’m the one doing the honors. “Look, we went into this in good faith. We’ve kept both your girls safe, and you repaid that by double crossing us. That has to have a price, Kane. You’ve fucked up once, which means one of the hostages is off the table. Fuck up again and all bets are off. Is that clear?”

“I can destroy your whole fucking club, you know that, right? I’ll blow you off the fucking map. Your compound will be the newest beachfront property.”

Savage makes a ‘blah blah blah’ motion with his hand, mimicking a mouth talking.

I stifle a laugh and lean in so he hears me clearly. “We’ve decided that since your man didn’t seem to care if Jessica made it out, that she must not be very important to you. We’re not total assholes, so you’ll get your daughter back, but the nanny’s ours for now.”

Anne twists in her seat, looking at Jessica with wide, desperate eyes. Jessica puts her finger against her lips and mouths ‘shhhhh’.

I wonder what the girl is more afraid of. Us? Or going home to her monster of a daddy alone. I didn't get the impression that he's been knocking his little girl around, but can't imagine he's much of a father either. He left her behind to save his own sorry skin, if nothing else.

“Out of the question,” Kane snaps. “Both girls, and if we’re reduced to making stupid threats, then this negotiation is over. We’ll exchange the hostages tomorrow.”

“And if we don’t?” Riot asks with a deadly growl. Ever since he found Jessica in that dead guy’s grip, he’s been a little blood thirsty.

“Then this is war. And in war there are casualties.”

I doubt he’s actually seen action. Not the kind he’s alluding to, but I have. Enough that I won’t lose a second of sleep over his death. And he will die. There are a lot of souls on my conscience, and many that I’d undo if I could.

His won’t be one of them.

Hellfire takes over. "Don’t be a melodramatic idiot. We can both keep waving our dicks around, or you'll get your daughter back when we get Cooper. The nanny goes wherever she wants once all this is done. If she doesn’t go back to you, then maybe you need to look into a better benefits package for your employees. That’s not my fucking fault. Now get Cooper on the line. I wanna hear that he's alive. I don't trust a fucking word you say anymore."

"Say hello, Cooper," snaps Kane, obviously annoyed as fuck.

"Hello, Cooper," Cooper jokes, voice shaky. "The food sucks, but they've been keeping their hands off me. Christmas party 2004 was worse."

"There you go. Now let Anne and Jessica speak so I know you animals haven't ruined them."

“I’m fine, Daddy,” Anne responds. “But I want my own bed again. My pillows are way better. Has anyone watered my?—”

“Where’s Jessica?” Kane interrupts, not even letting her finish.

“I’m here. And I quit. I’ll take care of Anne until this is over, but I’m done. Do you hear me? Done .”

Anne gasps. “Jessica! No!”

“You don’t get to choose, Jessica,” Kane says, menacingly. “And to prove it, you said I could only have one of them. Give me her. Jessica for Cooper, and then when it’s over, you give me Anne. I don’t think even you people would hurt a child.”

The fuck? "You want Jessica before your own daughter?"

Anne looks like someone has physically hit her. We’ve all assumed that his daughter is going to be the most important to him, but now we know more about Jessica’s background, sure, we get that she’s not just the nanny? But wanting her before Anne is fucking psychotic.

"What the fuck are you playing at, Kane?" Riot growls deep inside his throat.

More to the point," interjects Hellfire. "While Jessica is here, there's someone to keep track of Anne. We're not gonna send her to you, and then play babysitters for a twelve-year-old. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Dad!" Anne yells, her voice cracking. "I do everything you tell me. What are you doing?"

“It’s just business, Anne. One day you’ll understand.”

“I will never understand,” she growls, sounding like an angry kitten compared to when one of us does it. “Never.”

Jessica tries to pull Anne in for a hug, but Anne pushes her away.

"Here's the fucking deal.” Hellfire holds up his hand in a signal for the rest of us to shut up. “I’m running outta patience. You fucked with the wrong club, so you're gonna have to do some thinking. Accept the trade as we've proposed or we're fucking coming for you. I'll let you think about that for a bit. Let’s start that forty-eight hour timer again, but this time the ball’s in your half of the court. If you don't have anything for us by then, we're coming for you." And with that, Hellfire taps to end the call. “Take the girls outta here.”

Tex nods, guiding them out the door. For once, Anne isn’t even looking at Jessica. I don’t know that I blame her. I’d be pissed if my father chose the nanny over me, too. Not that I know who my father even is, but if I did, I’d probably feel the same.

“What’s the next step?” I’ve known Hellfire for a long time, but if there’s anything I’ve learned about him, it’s that you never know what he’s gonna do until he does it.

“I will not have my whole damn club held hostage by some fuck that was born with a silver spoon up his ass. We’ll let him stew in it, and hope he realizes that he’s on the losing end in this deal. Meanwhile, we start prepping gear, call in any brothers that are out on jobs and start strategizing on how we’ll burn his whole estate down with him in it.” He waves at the door. “Now get the fuck outta my office. I need some time to think. Days like this I wonder why I fought so hard to be in this fucking chair.”