Page 48 of Mace
“Yeah, there’s a field behind the clubhouse with a road on the other side. I’m supposed to be meeting my father there in three hours, but if he sees your vehicles he’ll just drive off.”
“Why thank you for telling me that, it wouldn’t have crossed my mind for us to be discreet about meeting you.”
I could tell by the tone of his voice, he was being sarcastic, but I didn’t want to antagonize him by pointing it out when I was so close to getting my mom back. “When can you meet me there?”
“Our field office is in Milton, about an hour and twenty-five minutes away. It’ll take us time to gear up. So, let’s say two hours. Then we can move into place for when your father arrives. Will that work for you?”
“Yes. I’ll be ready and waiting,” I replied with more confidence than I was feeling right now.
“Don’t fail me,” he said in what I felt was a vaguely threatening manner, then disconnected the call.
I tossed my phone aside and got into the shower, more for stress relief than anything else. Still rolling the conversation we just had around in my head. There was something odd about my handler, but I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what it was. Then again, I’d never met any federal agents before, maybe I was reading too much into the situation.
I had two hours to kill and decided to spend it in my room because I felt like if Rosie, Ruby, or Wren saw me, they’d want to talk, maybe about this decision I was making. I’d told Wren I was feeling a bit tired and nauseous and wanted to take a nap, I felt bad playing on their hopes that I was pregnant, but it meant I could hide away and not have to face them. I’d never been particularly good at keeping secrets. That’s why when Storm interrogated me, I told them everything, even about working for the feds. I couldn’t afford spilling the beans right now, not whenI was one step away from freeing my mom. I paced a path into the rug at the foot of the bed, worrying about all the things that could go wrong. No matter what happened today, I needed to make a beeline for my mother and get her out of harm’s way. My hand instinctively went to my stomach, and I thought back to Wren’s words. My period was late—almost two weeks late—but the past few weeks had been so stressful it hadn’t worried me too much.
What did worry me was the possibility of getting shot, because I couldn’t think of a scenario where my father didn’t try to shoot his way to freedom. Gun fights were kind of his calling card after all.
It was at that moment I suddenly remembered Alejandro’s gun. It was still in the bottom of my rucksack. I rummaged around and pulled it out. The hilt felt cold in my grip and the overhead light reflected off the barrel. I checked the magazine, and it was filled with bullets, I hated guns with a passion because of my father, but I had an idea of how they worked, and hoped that if push came to shove, I could fire it. This might just turn out to be the one thing that ensured our safety. Bearing that in mind, I checked the safety catch was on and carefully hid it inside my waistband at the small of my back. My tight jeans held it in place, but it had a clip that snapped tight against the back of my waistband just to be sure it stayed in place. Then I pulled down my shirt to cover it. I slid on the property cut Mace had given to me as another layer to keep the gun hidden.
***
I slipped out of Mace’s room and fast walked down the steps and out to the back patio. Carefully avoiding the bararea where I could hear Rosie chatting with Mace’s mom and grandmother. As I was about to make a run for it, one of the prospects asked, “You want me to put you on some sausages?” He held up a big fat sausage that was bent in two. It looked to be about eight or nine inches long and at least an inch and a half in diameter. The thought of eating something like that was truly nauseating.
I shook my head and tried not to sound as disgusted as I was. “Maybe later. I’m going to go stretch my legs. I’ve been cooped up in my room too much lately, I need some fresh air.”
He gave me an empathetic look. “Be careful out there. Nine likes to dig holes. I wouldn’t want you fall in one and twist your ankle.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be careful,” I shouted him over my shoulder.
He yelled, “Let me know if you change your mind about the sausages.”
Before he could get into a full-blown conversation, I walked out into the field. I wandered around for a few minutes until I saw the prospect get back to making food and once his attention was elsewhere, I jogged to the other side of the field where the bushes my father had told me about were. Lo and behold, the wire of the perimeter fence had been cut. I squeezed myself through the gap—reminding myself to tell Mace about it once me and my mom were safe—and made it to the road, then began looking for my handler. I sat on the roadside for around fifteen minutes before a dark SUV with tinted windows pulled up. The driver’s window rolled down and the person said, “Get into the back.”
I did as I was told, surprised to find the vehicle full of Latino men in black dress pants and white shirts with a black tie. They looked like they were all going to a funeral. They scooted over to make room for me and their eyes ate me up as I slid into seat beside them. Something about these men made me feel uncomfortable, I was getting the same kind of vibes I got around my father and his men, but maybe I was just being paranoid.
“Buenos dias,” I said breezily to the man on my right.
Rather than a reply, my answer was four pairs of eyes glaring at me and the click of a safety catch being taken off.
Chapter 19
Mace
Coyote and I had gotten up bright and early this morning to check out a warehouse on the south side of town. Someone had reported suspicious activity, which we thought might be related to the cartel. It turned out to be a couple of homeless people who were terrified when Nine went sniffing around them. We’d left almost immediately, and we were about to get back into my truck when my phone vibrated.
I pulled my phone out, expecting it to be Storm with some kind of update. Instead it was one of our prospects, Benny.
He said, “Hey Mace, I don’t know if you wanna know this or not, but your old lady just walked off our property without an escort. I know she’s in some kinda trouble, but I don’t know if she’s restricted to the clubhouse, so I thought I’d better let you know.”
Panic shot through my chest wondering what she was up to. Just then I noticed a text message my mom had sent me earlier, while I still had Benny on the line I opened it.
Mom: We think Alicia might be planning to link the feds with her father at some point. Her father called today while we were visiting. She’s worried about you getting hurt, so please be careful if you get involved.
Damn it! I put two and two together and practically yelled at the prospect, “Hell the fuck no, she’s not supposed to be leaving the clubhouse. Follow her, Benny.”
He seemed hesitant. “I’m on the grill today and Storm’s gonna be pissed if I leave everyone hangin’ on for lunch.”
“Forget about the fucking grill, Benny. The safety of my old lady is more important. Tell me you understand that, prospect.”