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

34. Tex

34

TEX

Victor Kane's primary estate sprawls over a large chunk of the Cornwall district of the city. It's where all the rich fucks have their homes, paid for by money earned off the backs of others, like they always do, and in his case death. We still have a ways to go before we’re there, but the floodlights, tall walls and monstrous mansion behind them are impossible to miss.

This is the kind of neighborhood that isn’t really a neighborhood. It’s a street with private roads, not driveways. Lights come on in guard houses as we rumble by in the darkness. There's only eight of us, but that's plenty more noise than this area's used to. This place is quiet. Civilized. Fucking bullshit.

What are they gonna do? Call the homeowners association?

Jesus, what would I do with the kinda money it takes to live here? Spend it somewhere else, probably. You couldn’t fucking pay me to live in a place where the neighbors are looking into buying their fifth Porsche. I bet their only excitement is whether they’ll survive tonight's overdose or not. Fuck that. I'll stick to my quarters, surrounded by people who would put their lives on the line for me.

Jessica clings to Riot like she was born to ride the back of a bike. Compared to her first night, she’s come a long way. I laugh into the harsh wind. She was so fucking naive and innocent when we met her. Now it’s hard to remember what it was like to not have her around. I always worried that eventually we would start settling down, and it would pull us apart, but sharing Jessica has brought the three of us together even tighter than before. The idea of sharing her permanently—if she’ll have us—is warming on me.

I'm already looking forward to the celebration back in my quarters after this.

We just have to make sure we actually get through it first so I have quarters to go home to.

Ghost doesn't lead us to the front entrance. Instead we follow the outer walls of Kane’s sprawling estate. The street wraps around it, like is typical this close to the city. I try to imagine that the cameras lining the top of the wall aren’t following us. If Jessica's mother is on top of things, she should be in control of those. It's what we gotta bank on.

On a stretch between two larger properties, Ghost pulls over, and the rest of us follow suit. It's gonna be pretty fucking obvious we're here with all the bikes lined up, but then we don't have time for subtlety either. Skyhigh's already off his bike, carrying one of his backpacks, eager to punch a big fucking hole in the wall. While he’s getting set, I go to Riot and Jessica.

"You okay?" I ask her.

Jessica nods. She looks so fucking small and it makes me wanna sweep her up and keep her safe, if I could. But her pretty features are a mask of determination and she deserves to be here. Fuck, I'd be determined too if my mom was on the other side, and I haven't spoken to her since I was a kid. Guess that's another thing we have in common, even if our stories are different.

"Good. Shit's about to get dirty. Stay close to us, whatever happens. If we get separated, it's gonna be hard for us to protect you. And now that we've got you, I'd hate to fucking lose you."

I get a little smile at that. Fuck, I love seeing her smile.

"Get ready," says Ghost as he comes our way. "There's about to be a big noise, and after that, everyone's gonna know where we are."

"Do you think Mom's okay?" Jessica’s voice is thick with worry.

Riot nods, looking surer than I feel. "If she wasn't controlling the cameras, we woulda been shot at already. She's fine."

"Come here." I help her off the bike and into my arms, then Riot dismounts and draws iron.

Skyhigh raises a hand, like him running our way isn't warning enough. He's wild-eyed and grinning.

"Duck," I say and pull Jessica's head against my chest, angling her away from the explosion. A moment later, the ground shakes and a blast of air and debris showers the area. A big chunk of the wall around the estate ceases to be. Shit, the neighbors are definitely going to have something to say about the giant concrete block in the street. Skyhigh's nothing if not thorough.

My ears are ringing, but hearing's coming back. Enough that I hear the chorus of car alarms going off nearby. It's time to fuck shit up.

Ghost is the first one through, followed by Skyhigh, Poe and Junker. Me and Riot keep Jessica between us as we follow, and then Shiv brings up the rear.

We make it most of the way across the massive lawn, keeping low. Something moves in the darkness, followed by the crack and flash of a gunshot. Ghost and Poe fire at the same time and the guy drops outta sight. Dunno about Poe, but if he didn't get him, I'm positive Ghost did.

Jessica stumbles, but me and Riot react at the same time, getting an arm each, keeping her on her feet. "Thanks," she hisses. I know she doesn't wanna feel like a burden, but we're gonna be watching out for her, whether she wants to or not.

We come up on a low wall that separates the lawn from a fancy Japanese style garden, with one of those artsy sandboxes, and a pond with the faint shadows of the biggest fucking koi fish I ever saw in my life moving in the water around a fountain. It's low, but it's granite or marble and gives us cover from the inside. I grab Jessica's hand, feeling her shiver in my grip. She's nervous, and with good fucking reason.

"On my mark, run," whispers Ghost. “Go!”

Still gotta be about a hundred yards to the mansion. This looks like it's a guest house or something like that, and if that’s already this fancy, I can only imagine what it's like up there.

Shiv and Poe take the lead, their guns ready. Someone must be visible through the windows, because they fire at once, followed by a crash and a scream inside. Lights blink on around the property, spotlights making it impossible to sneak up on the building, but we can still stay on the outside of the cones until we get around to the back. When no one's shooting back, we run together.

Just as we're having to jump out into the light, the spotlights flicker and shut off.

"Mom," Jessica whispers with awe.

"She's right," grinds Riot, sounding even more gravelly than usual. "Let's not waste it."

We charge down a marble walkway that takes us past a gigantic, L-shaped swimming pool, and then we're right up against the house.

"This way," Jessica says, some of the tremor in her voice is gone. Now that we’re on her home turf, I think it gives her a little confidence. Makes me grin, despite everything. It's sexy.

She takes us to a solid looking door with a little window at about head height. There’s a panel next to it, and when she touches it and punches her code, the door unlocks with a click. Riot hauls it open and aims his gun down the hallway behind it, but there’s no one. Guards are probably still trying to figure out what’s up with the lights and checking the main entrance.

"This is going better than expected," I say quietly, our progress bringing a smile to my face.

"Shut the fuck up," hisses Ghost. "Don't say shit like that."

Is the mighty Ghost superstitious? Fuck, I learn something new every day. I keep my chuckle quiet as we close the door behind us and advance into the mansion.

We pass a changing room, a sauna and a smaller indoor pool, only lit by a few maintenance lights while not in use. Enough to see the bar, the glass ceiling and the big, comfortable looking sitting area. Looks nice. Maybe we'll have a pool party after we've iced Kane. Fuck, Anne would inherit this shit, right? I'm sure she'll let us use it.

Then again, maybe not if we've killed her father.

"There!" someone yells.

The first guard drops with Ghost’s bullet between his eyes. Riot gets his fists on the other one, spinning him around and slamming him into the wall head first so hard I can hear the crack from here. I wince. Pretty sure the crack wasn't the wall.

And then all hell breaks loose, with more guards running our way. "Which way is the research area, Jessica?" Ghost snaps as he guns down a square-built guy in a suit. The guy runs backwards with the momentum of the bullets until he slams into the wall and collapses.

"This way!" She takes us up a flight of stairs, and I rush ahead so she's not the first one up. Ghost and Riot are right behind, but Poe, Shiv, Junker and Skyhigh get caught at the bottom, holding back the guards as they come.

Shiv yells up, "Go! We'll keep 'em busy!"

I pretend to tip my hat at him, and then we keep on Jessica's heels.

A guard rounds the corner but obviously didn't expect us. He stops dead. "Rat girl?"

"What the fuck?" I growl and drive my fist into his face. It's satisfying to feel the bone crack. Blood spurts from his nose and his eyes roll back in his head. "Have a little respect for my woman, shithead." Not that he's listening anymore.

On the main floor of the house, I'm struck by how fucking clinical everything looks. Like one of those Scandinavian decorating magazines, where everything's white, light gray, slightly darker gray and maybe little brown for flavor. Everything looks deliberate, placed by an interior designer who doesn’t have to actually live there. If I ever wondered if Kane was short of a soul, this pretty much fucking confirms it.

"Anne’s suite is that way," Jessica notes as we jog past. The door looks as clean and generic as every other door in this place. She should have fucking drawings on the door, or like a big, "Stay out! Anne's room!" sign or some shit like that. Fuck, even I had that, and I hated my home enough that I fucking ran away.

"Where was your suite?" Riot asks with a grin. "In case we wanna take you there to celebrate afterwards."

"I didn't have one. Just a bedroom off her area, and if it’s alright with you, I’d rather not. If you want to burn it down, then we can talk."

“Feisty,” I note with a small laugh. "But honey, you're never gonna sleep here again, I promise." Not if I've got anything to say about it.

The gunshots fade as we go up another flight of stairs. I'm glad we've got Jessica. This whole place is a maze. We'd be fucking lost the moment we came in without her.

"Here." We round a corner, go down a hallway, through a door that clicks shut behind us and end up in a near circular room. A spiraling staircase follows the outer wall from the first floor, and across from us, there's a steel door. Just like the outside doors, it's got a keypad and scanner. Away from the staircase, deeper into the mansion runs another corridor. Jessica points at it. "Victor's offices are down that way, and meeting rooms and stuff like that. And that door has to be to the research wing. I’ve never been in there. It’s off limits."

"You're sure you can't open it?" I ask.

"I'll try, but I doubt it. I was a nanny, not his assistant, remember." She touches the scanner and tries her code. Instead of the click of the door unlocking that we're hoping for, a blaring alarm goes off. “Nope.”

Guess I shoulda kept my damn mouth shut.