“Everybody out. I have to get this baby back before someone notices it missing,” Train yelled over the loud noise.
Cade jumped out first to help the women out. Bailey took her time, clinging to Cade much longer than necessary, and Shade rolled his eyes at Viper as Cade lifted Fat Louise out next. Then he turned back to help Killyama, but she ignored his and Rider’s helping hands as she started to jump out.
“Killyama!” Train yelled loud enough to be heard over the blades of the helicopter, stopping her. “Remember our deal. I’ll be calling it in soon.”
“Deal with this!” Killyama shouted above the roar of the blades, making an obscene gesture before jumping out of the helicopter.
“You can handle her later,” Cash told Train over the intercom. “I want to get back to Treepoint.”
Train gave him a thumbs-up, but his angry expression showed he had been about to shut down the helicopter and show Killyama how badly she had misjudged him. He was possibly the only other Last Rider who could equal him in the number of kills made. Shade’s had been made with his rifle, whereas Train had been trained to kill with whatever he had on hand.
“What are you laughing at?” Viper asked.
“I’m thinking I need to start collecting Train’s IOUs. I’ve got to watch when he finally gets his hands on Killyama.”
“I think she can take him,” Rider snorted, chiming into the conversation.
Viper and Shade both shook their heads.
“Killyama will chew him up and spit him out,” Cash said over the intercom.
Shade gave each of the men an innocent look. “Wanna make a bet?”
Chapter 75
Shade answered the phone on the first ring.
“Can you talk?” Evie asked.
“Hang on.” Shade stared down at Lily lying on the bed. “I need to take this call. I’ll be right back. Don’t move.”
He went outside the bedroom door, shutting it behind him. Walking down the steps, he went to the kitchen where he poured himself a glass of whiskey before coming back on the line.
“Go ahead.”
“I had a meet with Rabbit today. Remember him?” Not giving him time to acknowledge that he remembered him from the service, Evie continued, “He’s a middle man now, does transactions involving illegal commodities. He makes the buys and pays for what’s wanted then delivers the goods to whoever purchased his services.
“He confirmed what my other sources have told me. King’s been slowly turning control over to Ice, although Desmond Hart will be the one in charge as a silent partner. He’s even transferring ownership of his strip club to Henry. He’s getting out of the business, Shade.”
He took a drink of whiskey, hearing a tone in her voice he didn’t like.
“Then what’s wrong?” Shade asked.
“There’s a deal going down which could go bad. I have to see how it ends to know if he can walk away clean.”
He didn’t say anything. She was defending King to him, which meant Evie had become close to King in the two months she had been in Queens City.
“Shade, he’s not involved in the deal. Someone’s trying to piss on his doorstep.”
“If he cared about Lily, he’d let them piss then hose the door down after they left.”
“Give him a chance. He’s trying.”
“Evie...”
“Please, Shade?”
“What do you care?” Shade probed.
She didn’t say anything for a minute. “I don’t want to see Lily hurt, either, and losing her dad would hurt her, Shade.”
“Let me know when the deal goes down and what happens. Do you need me to send a couple of brothers down as backup?”
“No, I’m good.”
“Tell me the truth.”
“I’m good, I swear. If there’s any trouble, I’ll call.”
“Okay, you better. I won’t be happy if you get hurt,” Shade warned.
“I won’t.”
“Later.”
“Bye, Shade.” Evie disconnected the call.
Shade finished his whiskey then set his glass down on the counter. He climbed the stairs to the bedroom, opening and closing the door quietly behind him before walking silently to the bed. He looked down at his wife who lay on the bed with a red scarf tied around her eyes and her hands cuffed to the hooks at the bottom of his headboard.
He reached up, letting the tips of his fingers brush her flesh from her ankle to her pussy, finding her wet.
“Did I keep my woman waiting long?” he crooned seductively.
“Shade, I need you,” Lily moaned.
“I know, angel. I’m going to make it up to you. I was gone six minutes, and that’s exactly how long you’re going to come for me.”
* * *
“You left your tackle box on the porch.” Lily handed him the small box.
Shade took it from Lily, placing it in the back of the truck before turning back to her.
“I didn’t forget. I was going to come back and get it. I wanted to say goodbye in private.” He curled his hand across the back of her neck.
“I guess I missed out.” Lily rolled her eyes at him.
Shade let a small smile touch his lips. He had taken an hour to say goodbye before he had started carrying his things to the truck. He didn’t want his inquisitive wife snooping through his things.
“How long are you going to be gone?” she asked, placing her hands on his chest as he started propelling her backward, leading her into the shadows of the factory building.
“A week,” Shade reminded her. “If the fish aren’t biting, maybe more.” He brushed his lips across her check before catching her mouth in a kiss which would have her missing him five minutes after he left.
“Remember what I told you?”
“Yes, Shade. How could I forget when you’ve reminded me a million times? Stay home, let Rachel handle the church store until you get back, and tell Razer or Viper if I need anything. If I don’t want to tell them, ask Beth.” Lily playfully smacked his chest. “I’m not a child. I can take care of myself.”
Shade didn’t want to leave, but there were things which needed to be done. While he took care of that, he wanted Lily away from the church store so she didn’t have a run-in with Brooke. So far, that had been successful. However, he wasn’t taking any chances of that happening when he was out of town. He had confided other worries to Rachel who, knowing Lily’s past, had promised to hold down the store until he got back.
“No, you can’t,” Shade disagreed, enjoying the light-hearted teasing.
“Can, too.” Her eyes narrowed dangerously on him.
“Did you or did you not give all your cash to Anna Barr the other day in the grocery store?”
“I had my debit card,” she argued.
“Which didn’t have a
cent in the account. When were you going to tell me you gave Lark Jackson money to pay his back-rent plus enough for the next two months?”
“How did you find out? I was going to tell you.”
Shade just shook his head at her.
“Are you mad?” Lily bit her lip, staring up at him.
“No, angel. I don’t get mad at you.”
Lily looked at him suspiciously.
“Really.” He shrugged. “I even put a little money back in your account for you.”
“I don’t need it; you pay for everything. Besides, I get paid next week,” she stated angrily.
“If I don’t get mad at you, then you can’t get mad at me.” Shade bent down, giving her another kiss when Cash yelled his name.
“Gotta go. See you in a week.”
Lily frowned at him as he turned to leave. “Exactly how much did you put in my account?”
“Enough to do you until I get back,” he laughed. “Try not to give it all away.”
He climbed into the front seat of the truck as Lily was pulling out her cell phone.
They were pulling onto the road when he heard her yell his name in frustration.
“Want me to go back?” Rider asked.
“Fuck no. We need to keep to the schedule.” He had everything timed to a precision. Any delay would cause him to miss an opportunity to exact his justice, and for some, it had already been delayed too long.
Lily would let him have it if they turned back, and he wouldn’t be able to resist her. She was sexy as fuck when she was mad, and she let her guard down.
Damn, he was already regretting not having Rider turn around. He would just have to prod her memory when he returned.
* * *
Shade lay on his stomach in a ventilator shaft, two hundred fifty meters away from the building his target was being kept within. He had lain there for the last two days, watching as the police had swept the parking lot that morning, placing barriers so no one could get through. He hadn’t eaten and had drunk sparingly. There was barely enough room to take a piss in the tight confines of the vent he was laying in.
He trained his rifle on the passenger window of an SUV as several officers jogged forward, moving in synchronized formation as they protected a man who didn’t deserve them putting their lives on the line.