Chapter Three

“Of course they did,” Tex said, incredulous. “Ace betrayed them, man, and these boys may be vicious fucking wild animals, but they have their own codes of honor and ethics, and what Ace did was against everything they believe in. Hell, he’s lucky that Jensen decided to try to kill Ace himself. He could have just turned him over to The Fallen Angels, and told ‘em to let loose and have at him. If he’d done that, Ace’s death would have been slow and painful. It’d still be going on, to be blunt, and would probably go on until next week.”

Spider blanched, as image after horrible image raced through his spinning mind. Ace skinned alive and left to die in the mountains. Ace beaten for a week solid before finally succumbing to internal injuries. Ace burned with cigarettes for days before being set on fire. He shut his eyes, suddenly grateful that Jensen had been the type to want to take care of business himself, because his monster ego demanded it. That arrogance had probably saved Ace’s life. Far easier to take on one guy than an entire MC.

Not that Spider cared about Ace anymore, of course. He just didn’t want the man to be tortured to death. That’s all.

“So…” Spider said, refocusing on the situation at hand. “So you came here because…”

“Because we need to hide you,” Honey told him. “As soon as those animals find those pictures – and they will, make no mistake – they’ll come looking for you.”

“Oh. Oh, right.” Spider spoke numbly, automatically. “Of course they will.”

“We’ve come to take you to a safe house,” Honey said. “It’s all set up and ready, and King’s instructed us to get you there within the hour.”

“OK,” Spider said, still a bit stunned. “Uh-huh. Right.”

“Spider,” she said gently. “You with us?”

“Sure.” With a huge effort, he rejoined the here and now. “I’m fine.”

“OK.” Tex leaned his entire hulking frame back against the office door, crossed his muscled arms. “So we need to haul ass to the safe house, son. Like now. You go in, and you don’t come out until King declares that the coast is clear.”

“But…” Spider blinked, as a bit of reality began to hit. “But… what about my café? My apartment? My… well. My life?”

“If you give a good goddamn about your life, you’ll do what King says,” Tex growled. “Don’t be a fuckin’ fool, man.”

“But… I have responsibilities. Staff, suppliers, customers.”

“Right now, your only responsibility is seeing the sunrise tomorrow,” Honey said, her voice sharp. “Tex is right. If you have a death wish, then by all means, carry on with coming to work and serving up coffee, and I hope you grow eyes in the back of your head, because whatever’s coming, you won’t see it, and I know that for a fact. But if you want to be here to see the spring, then you’d better smarten up good and quick.”

“I’m not saying that I won’t come,” Spider said, stung. “I’m not an idiot, guys. I know what the hell’s at stake here. But it’s too sudden. I mean, can you call King and ask if I can have one night to put things in order? Go to the safe house tomorrow morning first thing?”

“No,” Tex and Honey said simultaneously.

“Just – no?”

“Just fuckin’ no,” Tex said, his voice rough enough to crush asphalt. “King said one hour, and you’re wasting time, man. You’re down to fifty-three minutes.”

“But –”

“You coming or not?” Honey interrupted him. “Because I have a really, really low bullshit tolerance threshold, and this conversation is boring me now.”

“Do I have a choice?” Spider said, a bit jokingly. “Or are you going to knock me out, and throw me in the car?”

“Sure you do,” Tex replied. “We’re not gonna throw you in the trunk, and if you really want to take your chances, that’s your look-out. You’re a grown man. Your life, your call.”

“Oh.” Spider was a bit stumped. “Oh, right. Well… hang on a minute, OK?”

Honey sighed heavily, and rolled her blue eyes. “One minute, and we’re out of here.”

Spider nodded, then walked across the room to the door. Tex just stared down at him, still leaning against it, arms still crossed.

“Um. Excuse me,” Spider said. “I need to go out there.”

“You think you’re heading on out there without me looking first, huh?” Tex said, sounding almost amused. “You really just don’t get it, do you?”

“Get what?” Spider asked.

“That you’re a fuckin’ dead man walking,” Tex said succinctly. “That me and Honey and King aren’t aiming to inconvenience you, or mess up your life, or cramp your trendy barista style. We’re trying to keep you in one goddamn piece – and all’s you’ve done thus far is tell us how unhappy you are about that.”

“I –” Spider stopped. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Honey said. “Just do what we say.”

“OK.” Spider took a deep breath. “Tex, could you please make sure that the café is clear? I need to get Mirrie in here.”

“Mirrie?” Tex said.

“Yeah. One of my staff.”

“What’s she look like?”

“Blonde hair. Nose ring. Flower neck tattoo.”

“The one wearing the purple skirt and red sweater and knee-high green boots?” Tex said.

Spider cocked his head. “You noticed her?”