Forging Steel (Steel Riders MC Book 3) Read online

  “Well, if the fridge isn’t full of holes, there’s beers in there, and food if you’re hungry. Daphne and I were in the bath, so we’ll go get dressed now.”

  “Think the cops will come?” Daphne asked.

  “Those flashbangs might have alerted someone, but I doubt it. The closest house is Cyn’s,” Ed said.

  “We’ll know by the time we finish a beer,” James said. “Until then, don’t touch anything.”

  Nods and grunts of agreement came from the group.

  Just as they were reaching the main door, Cyn heard someone say, “Yeah, but they sure were sexy wearing those guns.”

  Cyn went upstairs and got her phone. She took it downstairs and into the guest room with Daphne. “Still there, Knight?”

  “Yes. I’m glad you are as well.”

  “There were twelve altogether: three pickup trucks and a van for transport. The sheriffs don’t seem to be on the way. Clean up?”

  “Easy Cyn, easy. You two lay down for a bit, collect yourselves, and I’ll call James about the cleanup. Alright? Just take it easy for a bit.”

  “I’m alright, Knight,” she said stubbornly, but then she saw that Daphne was shaking like a leaf. “Well, actually, maybe I’m not all that good. We’ll do like you said. Let the boys know we need a nap.”

  “Good. Talk to you soon.”

  To Cyn’s amazement, she falls asleep with Daphne in only a few minutes. She woke to a gentle rapping on the door.

  “Yes?”

  “It’s Sally. Can I come in?”

  “Um,” Cyn says untangling herself from Daphne, “yeah, sure.”

  Daphne was still asleep even after all of that, so Cyn shushed Sally when she opened the door. “Come on in. I need to get dressed.”

  “I heard all about the naked Valkyries blowing holes in everything on the way in,” Sally said quietly with a grin.

  “Yeah, well, we were in the bath, and…”

  “Right, what’s a girl to do when a bunch of assholes interrupt her bath? That’s just rude,” Sally agreed. Then she rubbed Daphne’s thigh. “Poor thing is exhausted. Adrenaline rushes will do that to you.”

  Cyn put on jeans and a t-shirt, and she nixed the idea of shoes right now. “How is the cleanup?”

  “The bodies are already gone. I’m here with six other sisters taking care of the blood and broken things, sweeping up the debris. Did you fire through the stairwell wall?”

  “Yeah, from the bathtub,” Cyn agreed.

  “Oh, good thinking. See, I never would have thought of that,” Sally said. “Erik, who’s a good contractor, will come out this afternoon and work on an estimate for sprucing the place back up.”

  They left the room, quietly closing the door behind them. Cyn asked, “How long have I been out?”

  “Three hours, give or take. We’re just about done, but the guys wanted to talk with you if they could,” Sally explained.

  The guys were Ben, James, and Halo. Everyone else was either outside or had taken off. She needed to get the names of everyone who showed up and buy something nice for them. She walked into the pool/dining room and found the guys looking down at a collection of wallets, phones, watches, gold jewelry, and other items spread out on the pool table.

  “Hey Cyn, have you called Hank?” Ben asked.

  “No, and I’m not going to. This first guy who came up, he was specifically looking for Hank, not just anyone in the house. So, these guys were on their own, not from where Hank is at. They just would have waited for him to show up and capped him, right? Hank’s got enough on his mind right now.”

  James pulled out one of the IDs and slid it over to her. “This guy is Ramone Delvalle.”

  She looked at the picture. “This was that first guy. Delvalle? As in Ernando Delvalle?”

  “We’re thinking a brother. His cellphone had Ernando as a contact,” Halo told her.

  “I guess Hank should feel flattered. I mean, twelve men?” Cyn chuckled.

  “Serious hardware, too,” Halo told her. “We have it all laid out for you on Hank’s bed upstairs. Two Uzis, a handful of those flashbangs you seem fond of, and several nice pistols. One has a silencer, which I suggest you get rid of as soon as possible. Those are way too much heat.”

  “For me?”

  “Spoils of war, Shield Sister. That’s your stuff now. So is all of this. Use what you want, throw the rest away or sell it. But it’s yours. There’s about five grand in cash, too.”

  “What about the cost of cleanup?” Cyn asks, trying to get her head around this.

  “Knight will let you know and work something out,” Ben told her.

  “Why isn’t some of this yours? If you hadn’t come and pulled them out of the house, we would have been overwhelmed pretty quick,” Cyn objected.

  “We all took a vote. You got ten, James got two, and he doesn’t want any of it because if he brings home one more gun, Sally’s going to make him sleep on the couch,” Ben explained.

  “Oh, well, I got nine, really. Daphne got the one hiding in the kitchen,” Cyn said. “Well, I want a list of names of everyone who showed up, because they are on my special I love you Christmas list.”

  “I got that for you, Cyn,” Sally said, and rubbed her back.

  “Sally? I think we’re done,” a woman called from upstairs.

  “I’ll be back in a minute,” Sally said, and she headed upstairs.

  “How are you feeling?” Ben asked her.

  “Good. Why? What’s up?”

  “Well, we’ve got that gig tonight, and there’s supposed to be ten of us to pull it off right. On his way home last night, Gary had a little accident and messed up his leg,” Ben explained.

  “So,” she said, looking from man to man, “you’re a person short.”

  James nodded. “Yes, and we can’t think of someone with the skills, availability, willingness, and trustworthiness to fill the position in the patch holders, so we were thinking a Shield Sister could help us out.”

  “When are we leaving, and is it bring your own gun?”

  “Just like that?” Halo asked.

  “How long has Hank been working on this? Maybe nothing will go wrong with a man short, but so far, he hasn’t said much to me that didn’t matter.”

  “Which is why we’re asking,” Ben concurred. “Just a little surprised at your willingness to go from one firefight to another danger zone.”

  “Yeah,” she agreed, “me too. I need to find someone to watch over Daphne, though. Can’t have her waking up alone.”

  “We’re meeting up in the back of the club at eight, so about six hours from now, and yes, it’s BYOG.”

  “Is Boston going on this?” she asked.

  “Yes,” James replied.

  “Damn. I guess I’ll ask Sally, then,” she said.

  “I’m sure she’ll help out,” James said with a smile.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Hank rode in the passenger seat of the Hummer while Orlin drove. Two of Orlin’s lieutenants sat in the back seats. Another Hummer was ahead of them, and one followed behind them. Trucks were already near the site at this point. Hank checked his Jaeger LeCoultre Master combat watch, which retailed at over $10k. It was a few minutes before 10:30pm. Like everyone else, he was wearing black fatigues and laced combat boots. He had two Glock 9mms, one on his side and the other in a shoulder rig. Vigilante border patrol groups and bandits would do well to stay away from Ruiz drug drops, but sometimes they were stupid. Orlin called it natural selection.

  All five of Orlin’s lieutenants were on this drug drop, which was highly unusual, and it made Hank a bit nervous.

  “Any contact from Rivera?” Hank asked.

  “Rivera? Oh, you have been off, sorry. It is becoming a habit to believe you already know everything,” Orlin said with a smile. “I’ve taken care of the Rivera threat already.”

  “Oh? Is the solution a secret?” Hank asked.

  “From you? Not at all. I kidnapped Sibel yesterday, then sent word to Riv
era that I have her, and if any of my homes or businesses are attacked, I’ll kill her. On top of that, tomorrow she is eighteen, and I will marry her, as she wishes.”

  “What was his response?” Hank asked, while a cold spike went through his spine.

  “No response yet, which is unusual in these situations. But I’m fairly sure he got the message,” Orlin assured Hank.

  “Hmm. Well, if you kill her, it will be all-out war. He’ll strangle your drug supplies and come at you with every resource he can muster,” Hank pointed out idly.

  “Agreed,” Orlin said, “which is why this drop is so important. I’ve changed the drop amount to 1000 kilos, instead of 300.”

  Part of Hank’s mind was doing the happy dance, because that meant Orlin had put out $18 million in cash for this drop, which he wouldn’t be receiving. Even for Orlin, that was a huge hit, more than Hank could ever have hoped for. Recovery from such a hit would take him years and weaken him enough that other threats might eat him up before he was able to get back on his feet. At this point, Howey and Margaret were avenged.

  Now, all he had to do was get out of this alive.

  Just as they were turning off towards the Jacumba Wilderness Area, Orlin’s cellphone rang.

  “Bueno?” he said after tapping the Bluetooth earpiece. He listened for a moment, and then said, “Hold on a moment, please.” Orlin tapped his phone a few times in its holder on the dash and put the phone into speaker mode. “Could you please say that again so that we can all hear it now? English please.”

  The caller said, “Um, si. Ramone and elven of his men went out this morning at about nine to take revenge on Hank, but none have come back and I can’t reach any of them. The only answer I got was a woman on Ramone’s phone who said, ‘I’m sorry, Ramone has been disconnected,’ and asked if I would like to leave a message. I thought you should know.”

  “Who told Ramone that he could do such a thing?” Orlin inquired.

  “He said it was his bloodright,” the caller replied.

  “Imbeciles! That whole fucked up family is stupidio!” Orlin snarled.

  There was silence on the line.

  “If,” Orlin said to the caller, “if Ramone shows his face, you are to take him to the cells and await instructions. Do you understand? He is rogue!”

  “Si, I will do so,” the caller said.

  “Adios!” Orlin growled, and he disconnected.

  After a moment of silence, Hank said in a calm voice, “Ramone and his eleven friends are dead and buried in a common grave somewhere in the middle of a farm field.”

  “Si? But you were not there. Not at home,” Orlin said.

  “No, but I had guests who were. Ramone came watching for a bear trap, but he got the bear instead,” Hank said with a smile, and he leaned back in his seat.

  Orlin’s curiosity was piqued, and he waited for Hank to say more. When Hank remained silent, he finally asked, “How many guests?”

  “Two,” Hank said, holding up two fingers.

  “Only dos?”

  “Yes, only two. Women. They work as a team,” Hank said, laughing inside. It had to be Daphne who had said that Ramone was “disconnected.” It fit her kind of humor. And if she was in the mood to be funny, then Cyn was obviously still alive and unharmed.

  “These women are that good?” Orlin pressed.

  “Better,” Hank agreed with a nod.

  “Maybe I should hire them. It seems that my men are lacking real skill.”

  “I’ll ask, but after being attacked by your men, they may not be so eager to talk with you,” Hank said.

  “They do not know they were my men,” Orlin pointed out.

  “Maybe. They will have taken IDs and used resources to find out who they were. If enough signs point to you, they will assume,” Hank explained.

  “That would be unfortunate. Will they seek revenge, do you think?” Orlin asked.

  “No,” Hank said casually. “They will know it was me that they were after. They had only just arrived, so it would not be them. The worst they will do is to try to convince me to leave your service.”

  “Can you be convinced?” Orlin asked.

  “Well,” Hank chuckled, “Counter-terrorism is not the only thing they are good at, and as I said, they work as a team.”

  The two lieutenants in back got the joke before Orlin did, but soon they were all laughing.

  Orlin told him, “Sounds like I need to give you a raise, and soon.”

  “That would put more weight on your side of the argument, yes,” Hank agreed. “But to be fair, I’ll have to enjoy their point of view as well. Just to be fair, of course.”

  “Well, of course,” Orlin said with a smile. “And let me know the damages to your house. I’ll take care of that for you. It is my fault. My men,” Orlin said more seriously.

  “Thank you, I will do that,” Hank agreed graciously.

  They arrived at Airstrip 8 to find the trucks and two more Hummers waiting. Men were already standing in a group near the middle of the mesa. Hank got out of the Hummer and adjusted his guns, then walked over to meet Orlin at the front of the vehicle. He took off his hat and wiped his brow, and then put it back on. “Well, let’s get the party started,” he said to Orlin.

  Orlin was about to reply when spotlights hit the airstrip area, blazing down from both the north and south mesas.

  “Shit!” Hank cursed.

  “Madre! Not this one!” Orlin shouted.

  Hank grabbed Orlin’s arm and pulled him toward the north side of the mesa just as the gunfire began and something exploded to the east.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Cynthia and James were dropped off at the head of the wash, and they ran across the top of the mesa to the cliff ahead using handheld flashlights. The full moon and the amazing number of stars above lit up the sandy ground almost to the point where the flashlights weren’t necessary. However, a twisted ankle would be devastating out here if trouble arrived behind them, so they used the lights.

  As soon as they were in position and could see the trucks below on the flats, Cyn used her radio to call in, “Cyn and James are in position.”

  “Copy,” came Knight’s voice. “Safe hunting.”

  They watched as the guys below prepared the strip as Hank had instructed.

  “Sally is like a Mrs. Clever in army boots,” Cyn said to James in a whispered voice.

  “Yes?”

  “I mean, she’s looking at the hole in the floor that the hand grenade made, and tells me she’s got Erik coming over to ‘spruce the place up,’” Cyn said with a light laugh.

  James looked at her with a gleam in his eye. “Yes, she is funny as hell. She was a triage nurse in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nothing fazes her. A few dead bodies and a hole in the floor aren’t going to affect her at all.”

  “Wow, that explains a lot,” Cyn agreed.

  She was not sure what made her turn and look behind her, but as soon as she did, she dropped to the ground. James followed her without hesitation. “Behind, looks like two,” she hissed. And then she heard the plane.

  Two men walked up so close to them that one nearly stepped on her. They looked over the ridge at the view below.

  “Major Les was right. Sooner or later, they would be back. And here they are,” one of the men said.

  They were both in desert camo, like Cyn. She had picked up hers that afternoon from the Army Surplus store in Lakeside, not really knowing what the dress code was for a drug drop. No one had made any comments about her fatigues, though, and two of the others were dressed similarly. The rest were in basic black.

  She also had three Glocks on her: one in a shoulder rig, a second on her right hip, and the third at her back in a clip holster. Her dagger was on her left hip, and a combat knife was secured across her left breast, handle down. This armament did get some appraising eyes, but no comments. After that morning, she wasn’t going to get out-gunned again. She also had five flashbangs in her pockets.

  “Yep,” said
the other man. “Well, I figure after the plane lands and they do the heavy work, we’ll put five or six grenades down there, and then play sniper while Major Les comes in with the rest of the boys and cleans up.”

  “Sounds about right,” said the first.

  “Go ahead and radio that in. Here comes the plane,” said the second.

  The first man got on his handheld radio and told “Major Les” what the plan is. The word came back that they would wait for the signal.