Logan: New Crusaders MC (26 page)

“I will,” Nicole promised, squeezing him one more time.

Chuck clapped Logan on the shoulder as he left the room.  Then it was just the two of them.

Despite Nicole’s calm expression, Logan could see worry in her eyes.

“I’m not going to leave you again,” he said.  “Just stay here and wait for me.  Before you know it I’ll be back.”

She walked into his arms and rested her head on his chest.  “I’m going to worry until the moment you’re back here with me,” she said.  “But I know you have to do this.  I’ll be here.  I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good,” Logan said, leaning down to kiss her.  “I’ll be back soon.”

He went out into the hall, gathered his team to him, and went up the stairs.  Father Truesdale was there to see them off. 

“I thought you were going to hide out somewhere safe,” Logan said.

“I am somewhere safe,” Father Truesdale said.  “Right here.  This is where I need to be.”

“In that case, could I ask a favor of you?”

“Anything, my son.”

Logan took a second to explain the situation with Tommy Ceritas.

“Just wait an hour then let him out,” he told the priest.  “By then he won’t be able to do anything to help the Kings.  But be careful when you free him.  He’s not armed, but he might still go at you.”

“No he won’t,” Father Truesdale said, holding up a small handgun for Logan to see.

“Alright, you got it covered.  Thanks, Father.”

“Of course, my son.  Be safe.”

Logan took point as they left the church.  He had only just stepped out the door when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.  Before he could react, he had a gun pointed at his temple.  His team rushed forward, but he put up a hand to stop them.

“Nicole Hamilton,” the man holding the gun said.  “Is she safe?”

“What?” Logan asked, frowning with confusion.  He turned his head slowly to look at his attacker.  “Who are you?”

“Rip?” Chuck said from behind Logan.  “That you?”

“Nicole called me,” Rip said, not lowering the gun.  “I want to know she’s safe.”

“She’s fine,” Logan said.  “Aren’t you a Devil King?  Why are you worried about her?”

Rip finally lowered his weapon, looked at Chuck for a moment.  “The Hamiltons are good friends.  Better friends than the Devil Kings have been since Ruiz took over as president.  After tonight, I am done with the MC life.”

“You’re not wearing your kutte,” Logan noted.

“I’m not.  Don’t want to get mistaken for the enemy by one of your allies.”

“What are you going to do?” Logan asked.

“What I can do,” Rip said.  “I’ll join the fights where I’m needed.  After that, I’m a ghost.  You tell that girl she was good to call me.  I appreciate it.  She risked a lot by trusting me.”

“Yeah,” Logan said, feeling a little betrayed that Nicole hadn’t told him about the call.  “She did.”

“I’m on your side, Kirkwood,” Rip said.  “Nicole knew it, or she wouldn’t have called me.  You believe me?”

Logan took a second to consider it, then nodded slowly.  “Yeah, I believe you.  Never had a problem with you, Rip.”

“The feeling’s mutual.  Go be heroes, then.  You probably won’t see me again. 
Buena suerte, amigo.
”

“You too.”

Rip nodded at Logan and his team, then faded back into the darkness.  Seconds later, a motorcycle engine roared to life, and they listened as Rip rode off into the night.

“Gonna have to have a word with my old lady when I get back here,” Logan said.

“She knew what she was doing,” Chuck said, standing up for his daughter.  “Don’t be too hard on her Logan.”

“I won’t be.  She scored us an ally, kept a good man out of the line of fire.  It was a smart move.  Risky, but smart.”

They walked further from the church.  The parking lot was mostly empty, but he saw an old van in one of the spaces.

“Transportation,” Cork said.

They all piled inside, and Logan drove.  They didn’t have to go far, but he figured it would still be better to drive than to walk out in the open.  He guessed that everyone else had found a ride, too, considering he didn’t see anyone else in the area.  They must have brought plenty of transportation.  No wonder Tommy Ceritas had taken notice of the church.  It was a good thing Danny had been there.

“Why were you late?” he asked Danny.  “Just wanted to make a dramatic entrance?”

“Actually, I was finishing up my shift at the hospital,” Danny admitted.  “Reno helped me get a maintenance job there.  Been earning straight for a couple months now.”

“No shit?  You sure you want back into the MC life?  You could still walk away from this.”

Cork, Yancey, and Sam looked at Danny like they were also interested to hear what he had to say, but he was already shaking his head.

“There’s no walking away.  I’m happy to have a job, but I never felt more at home than when I had that kutte on.  If the New Crusaders want me, then I’m there.”

“Good to hear,” Logan said.  “We could use you.”

He waited for a moment to see if any of the guys were going to try to contradict him, but they remained silent.  Chuck reached out and ruffled Danny’s hair.

“You’re better off with the New Crusaders than with the Devil Kings, that’s for sure,” he said.  “I’m glad you came down on this side of things.”

“Yeah, me too,” Danny said.

For just a moment, a shadow crossed over his eyes.  He hid it quickly, but Logan still saw it when he glanced in the rearview mirror.  Danny was no doubt remembering what the Devil Kings had done to him when he’d returned to their clubhouse.  The pain in his eyes was enough to make Logan’s knuckles go white around the steering wheel.  Ruiz was
dead
.  Logan was going to rip his throat out.

The guys expressed some surprise when Logan pulled into the police station parking lot.

“I’ll be right back,” he said.  “Just wanna make sure we don’t get interrupted tonight.”

He left the van with its engine idling and went into the station.  He got many shocked expressions from the officers who knew him.  Someone must have called for the chief, because he appeared at Logan’s side almost immediately.  Officer Howman, their man on the inside, was hovering on the periphery, keeping an eye on things.

“How you doing, Logan?” Chief Quincey asked warily.

“I’m doing good,” Logan said.  “My boys and I are here to take care of a little… pest control problem.  Thought I’d stop by and let you know that the
pest control
could get messy.”  He slipped a wad of cash into the chief’s hand.  “Might be in your best interest if you all stayed inside for a couple hours.  Health reasons.  You understand, I’m sure.”

Chief Quincey stared at the cash in his hand for a second, then looked back at Logan.

“Pest control gonna affect my citizen’s health?” he asked.

“Nah, we look out for our own,” Logan said.  “We’re under strict orders to keep Castillo’s citizens out of danger.  You know, from the pest poison, if you get my meaning.”

The chief slipped the cash into his pocket.  “Yeah, I understand,” he said.  If Logan wasn’t mistaken, he sounded a little relieved.  “Maybe we’ll just put our feet up for a while.  Good luck with the pest problem.”

“Thanks,” Logan said, shaking the chief’s hand.  “It’s not a big infestation, so I don’t think we’re going to be working on it too long.”

“Good to hear.”

Logan waved at the wide-eyed officers who were watching the interaction, he exchanged a nod with Howman, and then he left.  He got back into the van and smiled at his passengers.

“We’ve got a couple hours to ourselves,” he told them.  “Let’s make the most of that time.”

The van’s engine roared as he floored it out of the parking lot.

He pulled the van to a stop when they were a couple blocks away from the bar where Ruiz was supposedly hanging out.  The night was still quiet, so if the other teams had started their attacks, the news hadn’t reached this part of town yet.

“Are we just going to storm the place?” Sam asked.  “What if Ruiz isn’t there?”

“I’ll check it out,” Danny said.  “Just give me a minute.”

“Don’t get caught,” Logan said.

“I won’t.  I’m not wearing a kutte, and Ruiz still thinks I’m dead.”

“Keep your head down anyway,” Logan told him.

Danny slipped out of the van and wandered off down the street.  Logan kept his hands on the steering wheel and the keys in the ignition.  He didn’t want to run, but if Ruiz got wind they were there, he might have to draw him away to a better fighting location.

Danny passed in front of the bar, glancing through the windows as he went, then turned the corner and disappeared.  Two very tense minutes passed, and then someone yanked the van’s side door open.

Logan had his gun out in a second, but it was only Danny, grinning from ear to ear.

“Didn’t mean to scare you,” he said.

“Get in here,” Yancey growled.  “Nearly got your head blown off, kid.”

“Sorry, guys.  Just figured it’d be best to walk all the way around the block instead of turning around.”

“Is Ruiz in there?” Logan asked.

“Yep.  I saw some other Devil King kuttes, too.  A lot of civilians, though.  Might get messy if we’re not careful.”

Logan thought about it for a second.  “This is the only chance we have, so we’ve gotta take it.  Danny, your job is going to be civilian watch.  As soon as the fighting starts, I want you guiding everyone who isn’t wearing a kutte to safety.  Can you handle that?”

“Absolutely,” Danny said.

Logan smiled at him.  “Year or no year, we make it through this, I’m gonna patch you in, kid.  Anyone got any objections to that?”

“Nope,” Sam said.

“Not from me,” added Yancey.

Cork just shook his head.  Danny looked a little shell-shocked, but Logan shook him out of it.

“Survive first,” he said.  “We’ve gotta stay focused.  The hard part is still in front of us.”

“Right,” Danny said.  “Let’s go.”

They got their weapons ready, hopped out of the van, and walked down the street to the bar. 

Logan kicked the door open, walked in, and fired a shot into the ceiling.  Immediately everyone inside the bar panicked.  Civilians screamed and ran for cover, and the Devil Kings went for their own weapons.  Logan caught sight of Alex Ruiz almost immediately.  He was staring at Logan, his expression murderous.  Logan pointed his gun, and Ruiz dove for cover behind the bar.

Danny was already doing his best to help the civilians get out.  He’d shoved the emergency exit open and was ushering people towards it.  Logan caught sight of one of the Devil Kings trying to sneak out.  He shot the coward in the leg, and he went down screaming and clutching at the wound.

The Devil Kings got over their shock pretty quickly and began returning fire.  Logan’s crew knocked over some tables and took cover behind them.  Logan crouched behind the host stand as a volley of bullets was sent his way.  Wood splintered and exploded around him.  His brothers had his back, quickly returning fire.  Yancey had taken one of the few shotguns, and he used it to keep the Devil Kings from getting too close to their cover.