Page 65 of Papa's Beloved
Gambit gave the signal. I counted down thirty seconds, then began to repel down the building. The moment we hear gunfire, Gambit and I drop and bust through the window feet first. Linden screams and scrambles. There are two other men in the room. They both draw guns. My gun is in my hand, the silencer already attached. I take aim and pull the trigger. Two shots to the chest. My president does the same with the other guy.
Linden races to the door. I tackle him to the floor, slamming his head into it as we land.
It’s enough to stun him. I slam my fist into his jaw, knocking him completely out. I hear the all clear from our team. I sling Linden over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes and carry him out of the apartment. Wizard has all the cameras on a loop until we get clear.
We head out of the hotel room, down the hall, and to the freight elevator. In the elevator I duct tape his hands, feet, and mouth. Then put him in a body bag. We have a fake Medical Examiner’s van outside and two guys dressed in uniform.
The drive back to the compound doesn't take long. We avoided the main road, which is filled with revelers. Our mission was the closest and the easiest. After taking Linden out of the body bag, I toss him in a cell duct tape and all. Our team makes a somber trip back to the clubhouse bar. There’s nothing to do but wait for word on the other operations.
Flea, who’s behind the bar tonight, pours me four fingers of Macallan. I gulp it down and sit the glass back down. I, like everyman on our team, wanted to be where the action is tonight.One team is hitting the Dawg’s clubhouse. A second team is taking down the warehouses. While a third team is raiding the holding house where they keep the people they’ve taken until it’s time to ship them.
It’s an hour later before we get word from the first team. Mission accomplished with minimal injuries and no fatalities on our side. Some of the tension eased from my shoulders. One team down, two to go. The second and third teams checked in. Same as the first.
“Mission accomplished!” Gambit yells
Cheers go up all around the bar. For the next hour, the wounded and weary wander into the bar. Doc is on hand to patch everyone up. We all head to Church and go over the details of the night. Linden is the only one still alive. Nay requested to kill him. I didn’t bulk. She’d already try to kill him once to keep her family safe. Now she needs to kill him and see the gators eat him so she can feel safe. So she knows our baby is safe.
Nay
ALL THE OL’ LADIESand children gather at Stormy’s house while the men go on their missions. While we didn’t know everything was going down tonight. Stormy and I know that Papa and the others are taking care of Linden. What else they have planned for the night. I have no clue.
We ordered pizza and played movies for the kids. The Disney channel is a lifesaver.
“Oh My God!” I say surveying the ladies. “You realize ninety percent of the ol’ ladies are pregnant right now. There are enough hormones in this room to make a grown man cry.”
We all laughed.
“I'm ready not to be pregnant,” Olivia says.
“A few more weeks. You’ve got this girl,” I reply.
“Talk to me when you can’t see your feet. I have no idea what my pussy looks like at the moment. I can’t even landscape.”
“Get Boomer to do it for you.”
She smiles. “He does.”
“I had mine lasered off years ago.”
“So, you have a permanent tile floor?” Stormy asks.
“It makes wood hard,” I say with a grin.
We all laugh again. These ladies are a riot. This leads to a discussion of not only our grooming habits but which of the men shaved, trimmed or went natural. The younger kids crashed by half past nine. Even the babies were sleeping. The teenagers are in Stormy’s game room playing video games and enjoying time without the grown ups.
Try as we might as the hours pass, our nerves begin to show. Lucia starts pacing. I join her at some point.
“You two are going to wear a hole in the floor,” Olivia says. Then adds, “Now help me up so I can join you.”
The door flies open as we’re helping Olivia up from the oversized chair. Our men rush through the door. Some are covered in dirt and blood. I fly into Pop’s arms and sob in relief when he wraps his arms around me.
Chapter 49
Nay
Papa talked me into getting some sleep before dealing with Linden. He assured me he wasn’t going anywhere, but I needed to see for myself. He drove me down to the Woodshed. My first time here. We held hands as he showed me the hidden door and walked me through the anteroom. In the first jail cell, his hands, mouth and feet, duck taped on the cold cement floor, lay Linden.
When he starts to scream and move against his bonds, I turn to my man. “I’m ready. He can wait until we get some sleep.”