I shot to my feet. “There is no way in hell I’m letting my pregnant woman be put at risk to be taken and hurt if not killed! Fuck that!” I yelled. Sean held up his hands.
“I didn’t mean her personally. What if we could get someone to pretend to be her and that person be the one they go after, thinking they’re getting Madisen? No one wants to put any woman at risk, let alone a pregnant one. However, we do have a couple of people who do this kind of thing when we need it. Madisen would stay here at the compound safe and we’d have a hit set up to take out whoever comes for her. At the same time, we’d be set to hit both the MCs at the same time. We might not get everyone, but we’d take out the majority of them. What do you guys think of this idea?”
We spent another hour talking through the what-ifs and planning. I hated the idea of having any woman in danger, but they had ones who did this as their job. In the end, we all agreed to run with this plan. They would be back and forth over the next few weeks planning it. Outlaw and Smoke would work on getting more intel on the two MCs and their compounds. We finally broke up with the outline of a plan. There was still a lot of work to do, but at least we had something in the works. Fingers crossed nothing happened before then.
Back out in the common room, most of the guys not on guard duty hung out to talk and relax. Though it was a work day, our club had stayed home and the garage was shut down for the day. The other businesses had civilian employees to run them, and the guards at the fence and the bakery were from the other clubs. I took Sean, Gabe, and Griffin over to introduce them to Madisen.
She smiled when she saw me coming. That smile was enough to make me melt, though I’d never tell anyone that. I was a damn badass biker after all. I leaned down and gave her a tender kiss. She kissed me back just as tenderly. When I stood back up, I motioned to the guys.
“Baby, let me introduce you to the Dark Patriots. This is Sean, Gabe, and Griffin. They’re friends of the club. We met a while back when they worked with Terror and his guys. Guys, this is my woman, Madisen. She’s the genius behind our newest business, the bakery in town.” They all greeted her and shook hands. Bull and Ace had followed us since she was sitting with Devyn and Jocelyn. They made the introductions to their ladies, and all of us sat down. Alex came over to get our orders. When he left, Madisen looked at the Patriots.
“So, I know you can’t tell me the details, but do you guys have a plan to take out my stepdad, those two MCs, and this Diaz asshole? Because if not, I think your best bet is to use me as bait. They’ll come out if they think they have a chance to get me. That means I need to leave the compound.” They all dropped their mouths open.
I growled. “Over my fucking dead body will you use yourself as bait, woman! Fucking get that idea right out of your head.”
She shot me a look. “Honey, it only makes sense. If you guys plan it right, you could be there to get them. And even if they got me, you said yourself that they no longer want to kill me. I’ll be getting the tracker before the bad guys get here. You’d have a way to track me back to where they are.”
“And what happens if that goes to shit? Or if you get hurt? Or if something happens and you lose the baby? Do you think I’d be able to live with myself if something happened to you or our baby? Hell no. I’d be fucking done for. You’re not putting yourself or the baby in harm’s way. That’s final.”
Sean jumped in, “He’s right, Madisen. We appreciate you wanting to help, but we’re not putting you or that baby at risk. I know where Rebel is coming from. There is no way I’d put my woman, Cassidy, or our unborn child at risk. She helped us in the past, and it almost killed me, and she wasn’t pregnant. No, don’t worry. We have a plan. Just hang tight.” The tension seemed to lessen with his remarks. I knew he and Cassidy were together. She was the younger sister of a fallen SEAL buddy. Sean had fought long and hard not to want her, but that all came to an end when she helped in a trafficking ring takedown with Smoke’s woman, Everly. Both Everly and Cassidy had used themselves as bait to take down an international ring.
Alex brought our drinks. We settled into casual talk. I caught Griffin grinning. “What’s the grin for, Griffin?”
“Oh, just seeing shit is the same here as in Dublin Falls. You guys find your woman and seem to claim her and knock her up almost immediately. Though I have to say, I had no idea you’d found a woman, Bull. The last time I saw you, you were single.”
“Damn right I claimed her ass. I didn’t want to risk her getting away. Smartest thing I ever did. Then I got her pregnant and married her to seal the deal.” Jocelyn smacked him in the stomach and rolled her eyes. The Patriots laughed.
“Oh, we know. After Sean here got off his ass with Cassidy, he made sure she was truly and fully claimed. We’re just waiting on the baby part. How did you two meet and when is the baby due?” Gabe asked Bull.
Bull told them the story of him and Ace helping a stranded Devyn and being greeted with a shotgun when they took her home. They got a good laugh out of the story. They were stunned to find Jocelyn was Devyn’s mom, and that Bull was going to be the father of twins.
“Shit, you don’t fool around do you, Bull. Twins? Hell, I can’t believe it,” Sean said.
The women asked Sean about Cassidy and teased the other two about whether they had a special woman or not. Both of them denied it. They said they were too set in their ways for a woman and didn’t want to settle for one. This got a bunch of laughs from all the rest of us. I know I thought the same damn thing before Madisen.
The Patriots planned to stay the night then leave in the morning. We decided to have food brought in even though the women wanted to cook. It was too damn many people for them to be exhausting themselves cooking. Madisen called Jessica at the bakery and asked her to bring some desserts over when they closed at five.
We were outside hanging out and talking when Jessica came driving into the compound. Ajax, Lash, and Demon were following behind her on their bikes. She didn’t have time to even get her door open before Ajax was over there, helping her out of the car. She looked at him in surprise. I guess he still hadn’t convinced her he was into her. I saw him yell for the prospects to get the desserts out of her car. As they hopped to it, he brought her over to me and Madisen. We were back to talking with Sean, Gabe and Griffin.
As they walked up, I saw Gabe and Griffin covertly checking Jessica out. Who could blame them? She was a very attractive woman—not as beautiful as my Madisen, but still beautiful. Jessica gave Madisen a hug. Madisen made introductions. The Patriots shook her hand. Gabe and Griffin might have held on a second or two longer than necessary. Ajax didn’t miss that. He stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Jess’s waist. She gave him her standard surprised look. Gabe and Griffin both chuckled. They got the message loud and clear. They both sent a chin lift in acknowledgment of Ajax’s warning. I shared a grin with Madisen.
While the ladies caught up on the day at the bakery, the guys and I talked about the newest bike Gabe had gotten. All three of the Patriots also rode. The ladies excused themselves to go to the clubhouse and check on the desserts. They were almost to the door when a police car came pulling up to the gate. I looked over at Bull. He scrunched down his eyebrows. We headed toward the gate. Out of the car stepped Officer Talbot. The girls had stopped at the door to the clubhouse and were watching him. He seemed to be arguing with Jake, the prospect at the gate. We hurried over to them to see what was wrong.
“I said to open the damn gate! I’m the damn law. I need to check on her!” Talbot yelled at Jake. I looked at Bull. What the hell was he talking about? Jake looked over at us at a loss. Bull stepped up to the gate.
“What can we do for you, Officer Talbot?”
“I need you to tell this guy to let me inside. I need to do a welfare check.”
“A welfare check, on whom?”
He looked over at the clubhouse his eyes landing on Jessica. I knew he’d been coming into the bakery every day and Ajax said he was there for Jessica, but I thought he was being paranoid. Guess not. “I need to check on Jessica. I was told she was made to come here against her will. I have to be sure she’s okay.” His words rang out across the quiet yard. Jessica looked stunned. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was open. I saw her say something to Madisen then they both walked toward the gate. Talbot’s face lit up. Ajax was already at the gate with us and was staring daggers through the officer.
“Who told you she was made to come here against her will?” Bull asked. Talbot didn’t answer. He never took his eyes off of Jess.
When she got to the fence, she gave him a shy smile. “Officer Talbot. What a surprise. I heard you said you needed to check on me. That someone told you I was made to come here. I’m not sure who you were talking to, but I can assure you, I’m here of my own free will. I work for Madisen and the Warriors. We’re friends. I have nothing to fear from them. None of them would harm me or make me do anything against my will. Thank you for being concerned.”
Her little speech made him scowl. His face got dark and he stood taller. He leaned in closer to the gate. “I need to talk to you alone. Come out here, and let’s talk.” He gestured for her to step outside. Ajax moved over to stand beside Jessica.