Captured: A Bad Boy Romance (24 page)

He heard it before he saw it coming. Something about being as many years into the game as he was had given Larsen a keen ability to know what was happening even when it wasn’t right in front of him.

The sound of the gun told him that it was close. That gave him less than a fraction of a second to move. He had to move the right way the first time or he would be dead.

Fortunately for Larsen, he was able to go through the entire thing in his mind. He was able to distinguish the type of gun, angle, and direction. This left him able to determine which way his body should go and scan the area for something to cover him from any future fire. He was even able to realize that if the shooter missed, he would not return.

The sound of the weapon would draw attention and the shooter wouldn’t risk a second go. Had he not been on the streets handling this stuff for as long as he had, Larsen would have stopped to consider everything that was going on. But, he was quick in thought and on his feet.

He moved slightly to the left and forward. He’d seen the dumpster and within only half a second he was resting behind it. The bullets grazed by him, barely ripping a corner of his shirt. He took a deep breath and listened as the car drove away.

At that point Larsen knew that things were getting serious. It was no longer just the agents. His sudden interest into the actions of those agents was scaring someone. They were sending messages to Logan and now him.

Unlike with Logan, the shooters weren’t trying to scare him. They were trying to kill him, get him out of the way for whatever it was they were planning.

He made a quick phone call before he stepped out and made his way back to the office. He had some warrants to get. The only way to draw these criminals out of the woodwork would be to go directly after them. Since he wasn’t quite sure who the behind the scenes guys were, he was going to go for what he knew.

“I need warrants for all of the highest in the local gangs,” he ordered to one of the deputies. “We will be searching them for weapons and questioning them in regards to an attempted shooting of an officer.”

“Which officer?” the cop questioned.

“Me.” he answered and grabbed a cup of coffee before he headed back to his desk.

Larsen spent the afternoon talking to the thugs one by one. Some were simple gangs. They tried to stay out of most trouble but they run drugs on the side. There were harder ones that went a little further. And then there were the truly dangerous ones that liked to be in the middle of anything illegal.

He asked questions, his officers searched homes. By the end of the day he was getting frustrated. He wanted some kind of answers and it was looking like he wasn’t going to get anything. But in his mind he hoped that he at least stirred up something that would bring the bad guys out into the open.

“One more, Detective,” his deputy as he brought in the guy Larsen only knew as Vinnie. He was popular in the streets and known to be one of the hardest out there.

“Why am I here?”

Larsen looked the guy over and declared that he was going to end up with nothing from him. He almost gave up, sent Vinnie home and took off for the day. But something told him to ask a few simple questions first.

“I’m just trying to find out why you guys are killing all the cops,” Larsen spoke honestly. “But I doubt you’re going to tell me.” He stood and acted as though he were going to walk away.

“Whoa, hold up dawg,” the man spoke. “We be about our business. You leave us alone, we return the favor.”

“This means what to me, Vinnie?” Larsen snapped. He knew how to deal with this guy.

“Means ain’t none of us going after no life sentence,” he spoke. “We wanna make our cash and move along.”

“I’m still lost,” Larsen spoke. “You wasting my time again?”

Vinnie shook his head. “We ain’t dumb. Not as dumb as you think we are. We ain’t shootin no damn cops. You have my word on that.”

“Then who is?” Larsen asked. “We have two federal agents dead. One in protection after an attempt and things are getting worse.”

“Look, man,” he replied. “I ain’t gonna lie. Maybe some of the shootings were from the streets. Accidents of course,” he continued. “But we aint messin with the feds.”

Larsen believed him, but he still needed an answer. Who was responsible?

“Look, you aint gonna nail me on no damn cop shit,” Vinnie spoke. “I dunno, man. I dunno who did it.” He admitted. “But ya might wanna check those feds.”

“Why’s that?” Larsen pretended he didn’t know.

“Where you think we getting these shiny new guns?” he grinned.

***

Hudson took his time getting ready. His meeting wasn’t particularly important, but his appearance was. Besides, he wanted to make sure that he didn’t appear too optimistic.

Having a connection inside the feds was hard for a man like him. He had to be very cautious. He didn’t want to throw off the feds and put them onto his trail and he didn’t want to push his own guys the wrong way.

As he dressed, he began to realize just how much of his life had become complicated. Hell, he’d even had to complicate what should have been an easy relationship. After all, they were on the same side.

At least that is what he was always telling himself. Truth be known, they had very different ways of doing things. Yes they both wanted the bad guys down. But he’d had to become one of them.

Melissa hadn’t realized she was talking in her sleep the night before. But he’d had no choice but to sit and listen. He wanted to know as much about her as possible. It was in that late night chatter that he’d learned the most.

She loved him. He knew that now. She’d said it repeatedly. She loved him. The idea of it alone made him feel with happiness that he’d never really known. But she had some serious worries and that hurt him. Especially the fact that she worried that he was a criminal. She’d said that almost as much as she said she loved him. The problem was that he was a criminal. Not the kind she had originally thought. He was surviving in a world he’d been placed. But she was right. He was a criminal. His actions were illegal.

Asher toyed with that idea in his mind. Who he was happened to be who she wanted. It also happened to be who she disliked. He didn’t like being the chaos in her world and he tried to decide how to change that.

His first goal was to keep this appointment. He was meeting a connection and hoping to gather information. It was his way of learning who his mole was. He had given each guy different information. Surely by now one of them had gone to Logan. Whatever information Logan thought he had would be the trail that led him into his own organization.

Asher was almost afraid of the answer. If it were Dakota, he’d be heartbroken. There were a couple others he’d be disappointed. A few he’d be surprised and a couple that he would expect to be that kind of person. But he wasn’t positive that he was going to really want to know the answer.

Once his clothes were set and he looked presentable, Asher Hudson found his way to the car and set out across town. He had chosen a location that would likely go unnoticed. Unless of course Guiterro was having him watched. That man didn’t miss much. But it was okay. He was supposed to have a connection.

The small saloon stood against the setting sun as he approached. There were very few customers which allotted him the privacy that he was going to need.

“Hudson.” She shook his hand and smiled as he slid into the booth.

Asher knew the drill. She wanted more than a smile and a drink from him. But she would never say so directly. That gave him the ability to avoid the scenario so that he didn’t have to directly reject her.

Truth be known, he’d never rejected her before. She probably wouldn’t take it as well he’d hope. He’d been with her many times. But that was before Melissa came into his life. He didn’t want another woman.

“Sandi,” he smiled back at her and turned to order a drink from the waiter. “You are looking stunning.” He rubbed his fingers across her hand. A good tease went a long way. “Have you lost weight?”

“A little.”

“So what’s going on? How’s the story about me sounding on your end?”

Sandi smiled again at Hudson and then she proceeded to tell him that Logan had plans to be prepared for a mock sting. They weren’t going to follow through because he had it on good terms that there would be no need. The goal was for Agent Fuller to wind up dead and Asher Hudson to take the fall.

“What’s the point in mock?” he asked.

“Well, the point is we aren’t actually following through with the plan,” she shrugged.

“Why not?”

Sandi flipped a finger through her hair, bringing attention to the random strands of grey.

“That’s the thing. Logan said we don’t have to. Because you’ll have her killed.”

As the words came out Hudson was filled with a flood of relief. It wasn’t Dakota. That much made him happy. But he was slightly disappointed. Of everyone that he’d thought of he hadn’t imagined it being Nelson. Of course part of that was because he had forgotten that Nelson was even there. Unless he was running errands, he kept pretty quiet. It was easy for Hudson to know exactly what was going on.

“I am,” he nodded. He might somewhat trust her, but he didn’t fully. Changing the information would reveal too much. “I have to go now. I need to meet up with the club and discuss how we can do that without getting caught. “

On his way to his main home Hudson thought over his options. That was when he decided he wouldn’t say a word to his mole. Instead he’d use him. From there, they would find Logan, his boss and whoever was above him.

The one thing that Asher Hudson knew without a doubt was that he was going to follow through. He was going to save them both, or he would die trying.

Asher Hudson was an independent man. He was the type to plan his actions and follow through. He didn’t need someone else to help him. He wasn’t the type that went to his superiors unless it was an emergency. But this kind of was. Everything about this situation had become dire. They had an out of control ATF Agent. He was killing his own. There was now someone above him that was killing others. And one of the Nomad Devils was working with him.

Nearly everyone was in danger. This also meant that Hudson’s post as the leader of the motorcycle club was compromised. Let alone the fact he was involved with an agent that had originally been sent to die in his home.

Things were serious and that left Hudson with no choice but to go above his own head. He needed help. He needed someone to help guide his plan and show him the errors that it incorporated.

Meeting with them was worse than meeting with the local law or even the connection from ATF. He was meeting with big time cops at a time when he was being closely watched by the most danger Mexican cartel leader in existence. If he were to be caught with them, he would be digging his own grave.

He had to actually leave the state and embark on a private journey that couldn’t be tracked to a hostel 2400 miles away. His hostel roommate, the homeless crack addict, would actually be his boss. They would spend hours sitting outside, crack pipe in hand, and discussing the plans.

It was a perfect plan, but it meant he had to leave her in the care of Larsen and trust that she would be okay. It meant giving up control.

As he strolled towards the terminal at the airport, he thought back to when he became involved in this. Everyone knows he joined the club at seventeen. What they didn’t understand was that he was groomed for it from the time he was fourteen. He had to be trained in how to be a bad guy. He had to be trained in charm. Once he was old enough, they gave him the right scenario and crime to draw their attention.

It had worked and he’d be brought into the club. At first he wasn’t trusted much. He was more of the grunt guy. Shitty jobs. Lack of respect. He’d worked hard to earn the trust of the guys. Dakota had come in shortly after and they’d been fast friends.

Asher laughed because he knew that the club had very few of those original members. They’d moved on or passed on and he’d moved up the ranks. At the point he was chosen as leader, it was unanimous. The guys loved him.

He wanted to go straight to his house and kill Nelson. He’d been the one that helped the Feds send Melissa into his house. The point had been for her to die. He was grateful that he’d met her, but she really could have been killed. That infuriated him.

It had happened before. Angelia. She had been the only person he’d ever been serious about. Until he met Melissa he’d say loved. But he found out she was a snitch. And he was assigned the duty of killing her.

Of course, he couldn’t. But he’d had to fake it and she’d been hurt in the process. She’d left and never come back or talked to him again. At that point he’d realized that he couldn’t be serious with anyone. They would get hurt, one way or another.

Now that he’d met Melissa he knew that there was no choice. He didn’t want to feel that way for her. He wanted to push her away. Keep her safe. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t be without her. He needed her in his life.

That was why he was thinking of his past and headed towards his boss on the airplane. Listening to a screaming toddler. Looking at the toddler’s almost underage mother as she ignored him. Trying to watch a movie he’d seen several times. And all the while putting his life in danger every second.

He wanted to keep her safe. To be with her. To know that she was going to spend her life with him. Even if she hadn’t fully committed to the idea.

As his plane landed, Asher grabbed his single bag. He had the feeling that someone was keeping an eye on him so he did the normal things a guy like him would do. And somehow, he found his way to the hostel.

His initial meeting wasn’t going to be until later in the evening. So he spent his first few hours relaxing and trying not to think about the risks of everything he was doing. He didn’t want to be so worried that he fucked it up.

Instead he focused on the future. A life without the club. Without the ATF. Just he and Melissa and hopefully someday a family. Living somewhere else. Loving each other. Enjoying all of the simple things that he’d never been able to take part in. Like the idea of picnics and holding hands at the movies.

The idea made him smile and he felt sleepiness taking over his body. Deciding that it was okay to rest for a few moments, Asher drifted into a dreamless sleep. He would stay there for three hours and then wake to attend his meeting.

Hudson found it funny that the most important meetings of his life involved drugs and lots of them. He was taking a hit of the crack pipe when he saw the man step out onto the porch. Even with the dirty clothes and messy hair, Asher knew who it was.

He stood up and walked over, careful to act nonchalant. There was no doubt that someone, somewhere was watching him. Trying to decide what he was doing and if it was violating any specific code of conduct that he was supposed to maintain.

“You look like you could use this,” Hudson spoke as if he was accustomed to drug interactions constantly. Holding out his pipe, he began to speak again. “Don’t worry,” he whispered. “I’ve got plenty.”

“Thank you,” the fake southern drawl was almost perfect and Asher had to admit he was impressed. “It’s been a while.”

“Anytime without is a while, don’t you think?” Asher pushed.

“Yep,” the man replied.

“I’ve got a girl back in the room,” Asher noted. “Join me?”

“Look man,” the crackhead answered. “I wanna smoke,” he continued, “Not do any funny shit.”

It was all Hudson could do not to laugh. The guy was doing a good fake scene. No one without inside knowledge would have a clue. But Hudson had known the man for many years. Seen him in a variety of circumstances and disguises. This was, by far, his favorite.

Realizing that he had to dive into the act himself, Hudson let out a huge laugh.

“Man,” he began, “I’m all about the ladies. But if I was gonna do a guy, it wouldn’t be you. Not even with someone else’s dick.”

The guy stepped back as if he’d been insulted. Asher had to admit that he was doing a great job with the act he was putting on. Had he not known him, Asher would have believed every bit of it.

“Ya dunno what ya are missin, bud,” he ended the conversation with a belly laugh that sounded every bit as southern as he was pretending to be.

“Smoke?” Hudson held up the pipe and his new friend nodded and began to follow him.

They made their way through tangles of people. Some of them were on more drugs than Hudson had ever seen. Others were drunk and passed out. Many were young and partying a little bit. A few were travelers that had opted for cheap lodging. He even saw a few that he wasn’t positive were still breathing.

Finally, they had made their way to Hudson’s room. He opened the door with the key, positive that it could be done without, and led the man inside. They lit the pipe and began smoking. Hudson prayed he never developed a habit from the small roles he played.

He sat in silence for a moment. That was the drill. His federal friend had already had the room fixed for sound. There was no way that any kind of listening device not provided by one of them would be found inside the confines of the room. But Hudson had to wait on the clearance to speak. That was when the agency determined it was clear and allowed them to talk.

Once that signal had been given, Hudson filled the guy in on everything. He shared how the situation was progressing. He shared that agents were being killed. He told of his leak inside the club. He told of Guiterro and the danger the man presented. Finally he sighed and talked about Melissa and her role in it all.

He watched as the guy hit the pipe and thought over the many details he had been given. Then he sat as he was lectured on blowing his cover and risking the lives of many people in the process.

Fortunately, once the lecture was over, he received the help he needed. Together they worked out an idea for all of the situations that were taking place at once. This included the leak he had on his own team.

Hudson decided it best not to say anything to his so called brother. Instead they were going to use the knowledge that they had to bring them out. He was going to plant the seed that would create the disaster that would occur.

He didn’t like what his friend suggested. He wasn’t fond of putting Melissa in any situation that could present a danger. He was even more against the idea when he was informed that he could not tell her, regardless of circumstance.

“She has to be as surprised as she would normally be,” the guy had said between hits. “If she looks prepared it will blow up in our face and everyone will go down.”

Asher knew that this was truth. He was well aware of how things worked. He just didn’t like it.

Once the plan was made, Asher and the man finished the pipe and parted ways. A plan was in place and the necessary resources to carry it out would be finalized by morning. That left Hudson the night to get some rest and prepare himself to lie to the woman he loved. It would take even more prep time to prepare himself to purposely put her in the line of fire. He would do it, but only because it would ensure her safety later. But he had to confident that nothing bad would happen to her.

The trip back home was uneventful. No screaming kids. No annoying passengers at all. And the movie was old, but at least it was a good one. He was ready to land. He needed to be home and get this plan in motion. Waiting around had done nothing but increase the odds of someone being hurt.

Stepping off the plane, Hudson prepared for the biggest lie of his life. The same lie that would guarantee a murderer to be on the way to the house in the woods. A plan that would guarantee that his fiancé was next on the list of eliminations. And that scared the hell out of him.

Within moments of being inside his expansive home he had located Nelson and shared the important details and information with him. Asher knew what that meant. He could only hope for the best outcome as he began to turn the wheels and get it moving.

It would only take a few minutes for Nelson to pass along the info. That didn’t leave long for Hudson to prepare himself and make his way to that part of town. He couldn’t be at the cabin, but could damn sure be nearby. Just in case she needed him. Which he was pretty sure she would. At least until she realized he had lied to her.