“Okay.”
“As soon as we have you in position, Viper will reach out to his contact, and it’ll just be a matter of waiting for the cops to show.” I had no doubt that Remington was starting to get freaked out, but she was fucking bull-headed and wouldn’t back out. Hoping to set her mind at ease, I placed my hands on her shoulders as I said, “Widow and Ransom are keeping an eye on Mathews, so we won’t have to worry about him just showing up, and even if he did, we’ll be right outside to make sure nothing happens to you.”
“I know you won’t. I’m just ready to get this over with.”
“We all are.” I glanced over to Doc as I asked, “You ready?”
“Absolutely.”
With that, the three of us left the infirmary and headed outside to join the others in the parking lot, where Menace was already in the SUV with Doc and Axel. Remington and I made our way over to mine, and I was pleased to see that Country and Hawk were already inside waiting for us. “Where’s Rafe?”
Country pointed towards the clubhouse door and said, “Here he comes now.”
As Rafe climbed into the SUV with me and Remington, he took one look at Remington and started to chuckle. “Damn, girl. You look worse than you did when Shotgun pulled you out of that dumpster, and you smelled better too.”
“Thanks, Rafe.” Remington rolled her eyes. “You really know how to charm a girl.”
“He knows all too well. Don’t ya, brother?” Country poked.
“I’ve never had any complaints,” Rafe boasted.
“Not sure Krissy would agree with that.”
Rafe was about to respond when Shotgun held up his hand and said, “Don’t you two start that shit. I’m not in the fucking mood.”
With that, the truck fell silent as we pulled out of the gate and followed Menace towards downtown. After a fifteen-minute drive, Menace pulled into an alley next to an old convenience store. He got out and walked over to my window. “I’m going to check things out.”
“I’m coming with.” As I got out of the truck, I asked, “Did you kill the security system?”
“Yeah, we’re good.”
We continued down the small alley until we came up on a clearing where three houses stood relatively close together. Even though each one was a different color, they all still appeared similar in design. Each of them looked about the same size, two or three bedrooms, and they all had a concrete walkway that led to the front of the porch. There was an acre or so in the back, and each had an oversized shed. “Damn, which one is his?”
“The gray one in the middle,” Menace said. “An old guy lives in the green one on the left with the ramp on the front steps, and a single mom with four kids lives in the one with the swing set in the front yard.” As he started towards Mathews’ driveway, a serious expression crossed Menace’s face. “We gotta be slick about this, brother. We don’t need the neighbors seeing us and tipping off Mathews.”
“How are we gonna do that?”
“The single mother should be at work for another hour, but I’m not sure about the old guy. If I had to guess, I’d say he probably keeps tabs on the whole fucking neighborhood.”
“Probably right.”
After checking our surroundings for any onlookers, Menace and I made our way over to Mathews’ yard. Knowing there was a chance we were being watched, we went straight over to his shed and opened the door. To our disappointment, the place was in shambles. The floor had rotted out, and there were old rusted tools and equipment scattered on the ground. Menace shook his head and said, “No way this’ll work.”
“Let’s check the basement.”
Menace followed me over to the back door and waited patiently as I picked the lock. Once I had it opened, we snuck inside, and I was surprised by how bare the place was. The living room included a recliner and a TV, the bedroom had a single bed and a small dresser, and the kitchen contained just the basic appliances. Other than that, the place was practically empty, and it smelled musty—like the windows hadn’t been opened in years. I was checking out one of the small bathrooms when I heard Menace say, “I found it.”
“Headed that way!”
As I rushed towards the kitchen, I could hear his footsteps thumping down the stairs. By the time I made it to the doorway, Menace was already on his way back up. “This will definitely work.”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely. I’ve already messaged the others and told them to bring Remington.” Without saying anything more, we started towards the back door. “Come on, brother. We need to get the ball rolling.”
I stood there and watched as he barreled out the door. I didn’t move. I got a sick feeling when I thought about bringing Remington into this place and locking her away in the fucking basement alone. As much as I wanted to call the whole fucking thing off, I knew that wasn’t an option. We’d already taken it this far, so there was no turning back now. I was still standing there with a knot in my gut when Menace stuck his head back in the door and asked, “You coming or what?”
“Yeah, I’m coming.”
By the time we’d made it outside, Rafe had just pulled up with Remington. We she spotted us, Remington hopped out of the SUV and raced over to us. Once Rafe had driven off, Menace and I led Remington inside. While she was trying her best to put on a brave front, I could see the worried look in her eyes. Hoping to set her mind at ease, I reached for her hand and gave it a tight squeeze. “You okay?”
“I think so. Just a little nervous about all this.”
“Did you take the second pill?” When she nodded, I told her, “Good. It’s gonna be fine. I’ll be right outside watching everything.”
“I know. I’m okay. I promise.” As we started down the stairs, Remington glanced around as she said, “There’s not much to this place, is there?”
“No, but we can make it work.”
Once we were in the basement, Menace started opening random doors. “Wonder if he has any blankets around here.”
“If not, I’ll head upstairs and see what I can find.”
“Surely there’s something around here.” When he opened one of the doors, he shouted, “Holy shit!”
“What?”
Menace stood frozen as he stared into the room with a horrified expression. “Get over here, brother. You’re not gonna believe this shit.”
Curious, I rushed towards him, and as I got closer, I was hit with a familiar rancid smell. “What the fuck is it?”
When I peered through the doorway, I was surprised to find a man sitting on the floor with his hand cuffed around a support beam. He was beat all to hell, so much so I wasn’t even sure the guy was still alive. There was blood coating his soiled clothing, and he was barely breathing as he sat there squatting in his own feces and vomit. A dirty mattress and a bucket sat in the corner, but there was no way the guy could even make it to the damn bucket. It was clear from the smell he’d been locked up in there for a while. I was trying to make sense of what I was seeing when Remington gasped. “Oh my God! Who is that?”
“No idea,” Menace responded. “Definitely looks like this guy’s seen better fucking days.”