Inferno: A Devil Chaser's MC Romance (14 page)

We push our bikes through the backdoors of the building so no one can spot us. As we walk through the school, broken lights dangle from the ceiling and malt liquor bottles line the floor. We slowly make our way through the dark halls of the school until we find a row of large windows in the old cafeteria. It has an open view of the back parking lot. We park the bikes and it doesn’t take long before the Diablos pull into the lot.

Sheppard moves closer to the window and says, “They’re here. Make the call.”

I quickly pick up the phone to notify our contact that the Diablos are here. After I confirm the location, we wait for them to make their move. The doors of the SUV begin to open and several of their men start to get out.

“That’s Link, the VP, but I don’t see Duce. Is the big guy Mule, their enforcer?” I ask Sheppard. I'd only met him once, but he was hard to forget.

“Yep, that’s him, and it looks like they have two other guys with them. No one I’ve ever seen before, so they must be prospects. You know how they’re constantly adding new guys. You know Bishop’s gonna be pissed that Duce isn’t with them.”

“I’ll let him know after the cops get here,” I tell him.
This blows! After getting all this shit together, this dumb motherfucker doesn’t even have the balls to show up. This isn’t gonna be good
.

Shortly after, the cops start to pull in behind the building. There are four patrol cars and two undercover black Tahoes. The police get out with their weapons drawn. One of the prospects begins shooting, the cops return fire, and he drops dead to the ground. The Diablos drop their weapons and begin to make their surrender. The cops cuff them and start searching their SUV for the weapons we told them would be there. We watch them for several minutes as they pull twelve crates of guns and two bags of coke from the back of the SUV. There’s enough ammunition to put them away for a long time.

“At least we got his two main guys put away for a while,” Sheppard says as he lights his cigarette. The glow from his lighter draws Mule’s attention to the window where we are standing.

“Fuck, man! Put that away. He’s looking right at us!” I hiss.

From the back of the police car, Mule’s eyes lock on mine. The car pulls away, and he never stops looking toward the window where we are standing. I know he saw us. I just hope he didn’t recognize us. I have no doubt that he’ll tell Duce that we were involved in the setup.

I get out my phone and call Bishop. “Hey man, it’s done. They arrested their VP and Enforcer, but Duce wasn’t with them.”

“What the fuck? I thought they said he’d be there!” Bishop shouts.

“I know man, but he was a no show. They arrested them all, and it looked like they confiscated 12 crates of guns and two large bags of cocaine. They’ll be behind bars for a long time. We’ll have to figure something else out for Duce. Another thing, I got a feeling their guy, Mule, spotted us.”

“How the fuck did that happen? I thought you were both gonna stay out of sight.”

“Sheppard’s cigarette may have caught his eye. I’m not sure, but he was looking right at us. I got the feeling he saw us. It was pretty dark, so I might be wrong. Just thought I should let you know.”

“OK. Better to be prepared just in case.”

“Going to meet with Donovan from the Jackals. He’s expecting me with their money at the Ramada Inn by the airport. I better start heading that way.”

“Keep your eyes out for Duce. He may be watching. Make the drop and get your ass back here,” Bishop demands.

“You got it man. Should be back in a few hours,” I tell him. I put my phone in my back pocket, and we start pushing our bikes out the back door. There’s no one in sight as we pull out onto the main road.

It doesn’t take long to drop off the money to Donovan at the airport. He’s pissed when I tell him Duce didn’t get picked up by the cops. He tells me they’ll be looking for him and will contact us if they find out anything.
I’m glad this shit is over. I’m ready to get back to the clubhouse for a cold beer and maybe find Jessica. I have too much tension built up and need to get my mind off of things for a while
.

Chapter 21

Tessa

The wonderful scent of popcorn and funnel cakes filled the air at the school fair. It was actually a hit. There was a large crowd, and everyone seemed to have a great time. Bishop was helping Pops with the grill, and Bobby came to help with the tank game. There was a large aquarium with three glasses at the bottom, and each glass was a different size. The kids won a big prize if they could get a penny to drop into the small glass and a small prize for the other two larger glasses. Bobby had a really hard time with the prizes. He wanted to give a big prize to every kid that played the game.

“Bobby, the kids can only win the gift cards and stuffed animals if they get the penny to fall into the shot glass. You can’t give everyone a big prize,” Tessa tried to explain.

“Have you seen the way they look at me when they miss it? How do you say no to those puppy dog eyes on these kids? There’s no way I can’t give them a prize. It’d break their little hearts. Maybe you should move me to the duck pond or something,” Bobby said with a pitiful look on his face.

“You’re doing fine, Bobby. Just give them candy if they lose. All kids love candy. I can get my friend Courtney to come over and help you,” Tessa said with a smile.

“That might be a good idea. I’ll trying giving them the candy like you want me to, but I’m making no promises. Maybe your friend can deal with the pouters.”

“I’ll send her over. I think you’ll enjoy her company, too,” Tessa said with a wink.

She quickly found Courtney over at the basketball game. She was trying to beat one of the taller sixth grade kids in a game of Horse. She could hear Court’s boisterous laughter across the school yard.

Tessa shouted over to her, “Court, I need you to come help me with something!”

“Sure thing, chicken wing. Let me get in this last shot, and I’m all yours.” Her entire body bounced as she jumped to make her final shot. The ball swooshed through the net giving her the winning goal. She hopped up and down, taunting the kid that she just beat. Then, she turned and gave him a high five before ran over to Tessa.

“So, whatcha need me to do?”

“My friend, Bobby, needs some help with his game. He’s having a hard time with the prizes. He hates for the little kids to lose. I’ve told you about him. He’s in Bishop’s club, and I think you might like hanging out with him,” Tessa told her pointing over to Bobby. “He’s kinda cute, too”

“Oh my lord! Hell yes, I will help that poor guy. He looks like he could use some of my
assistance
. I’ve got all kinds of ways I’d like to help him.” Courtney stared over at Bobby with wide eyes and a smile. “Jeez, are all the guys in this club so good looking?”

“Yeah, the ones I’ve met so far have been pretty hot. None of them are as good looking as Bishop, but then again, I’m biased,” she grinned. “They’re nice, too. Bobby’s the guy who put in the security system at the house. He’s really sweet. Get him to tell ya about his nickname.”

“Sure thing. I’ll take good care of him,” Courtney said and began walking over to Bobby’s booth.

Tessa made her way to the concession stand to see Bishop. He was adding charcoal to the grill when she walked up. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. None of the guys wore their DC’s cut to the festival. Most of the people seemed to know who they were, but everyone was friendly and didn’t seem to mind that they were there. Tessa liked watching Bishop greet everyone. He had such a welcoming smile, and the kids really seemed to like him.

“Hey good looking! Whatcha got cooking?” Tessa asked as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “Thank you again for helping today. It means a lot to me.”

“Wouldn’t miss it. Ya know, I make a mean burger. Want me to fix you one?” Bishop said giving her wink.

“Sure. I’d love one. Looks like y’all have been really busy. Things should be slowing down in an hour or so. Everything is over at 3:00.”

“Yeah, we’ve had a steady flow of folks. Looks like they all came hungry.”

“That’s great. Maybe we’ll actually make some money this year.”

“Are the kids still going back with your folks this afternoon?”

“Yes. They should be here any minute. I’d like to introduce you to my parents, if that’s okay?” Tessa asked.

“Sure. I’d love to meet them. Bring them over when they get here,” Bishop said handing her a burger.

“OK,” Tessa grinned. “I’ll be back in a bit to check on things. Let me know if you need anything.”

Bishop raised his eyebrow and said, “I’ll be getting what I need later tonight.”

Tessa spotted Myles over at the dunk tank. There was a long line of kids eagerly waiting to take their chance at dunking Principal Morrison. They all cheered wildly when he hit the cold water. Tessa couldn’t hold back her smile as she imagined how miserable he must be. Myles smiled as she made her way over to him.

“Looks like you’re having a good time. How many times have you actually tried to dunk Mr. Morrison today?” Tessa asked him.

“This is my seventh try so far. I got him down five times. He looked pretty pissed off the last time I made him fall. I can’t wait to see how mad he gets when I get up there again,” Myles said laughing loudly.

Tessa smiled over at Mr. Morrison, and he didn’t look happy at all. She decided it would be best for her to just walk away. “Maybe you should try one of the other games for a while, Myles. You might want to give him a break?”

“No way! This is way too much fun.”

“Alright, suit yourself. Try to get him once for me. I’m going to check on the other games and see if anyone needs anything.”

Tessa’s parents made it for the last hour of the festival. They took the kids around to all the booths and bought them cotton candy. They went to every booth, and the kids won tons of prizes. Tessa’s parents already looked exhausted. Just before they were getting ready to leave, Tessa brought them over to meet Bishop.

“Mom, Dad, this is Cole Bishop. He’s the man I’ve been telling you about. His son helped me get things ready for the fair, and he volunteered to help out today by grilling all the food.”

Tessa’s dad reached out to shake Bishop’s hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you. Thanks for helping Tessa out with her car. I’ve been telling her it’s time to trade that thing in. She has a stubborn streak a mile wide. It’s nice to meet ya, son.”

“Nice to meet you, too. Tessa has told me a lot about you both. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know your daughter and her kids. The kids are looking forward to spending their fall break with you,” Bishop said with a smile.

Tessa’s mother said, “We love spending time with them. I just hate that they’re so far away now. I don’t see why Tessa had to move them all the way out here, but I’ll take whatever time I can get with them.”

Tessa shrugged her shoulders and smiled at Bishop. “You gotta love parents. They’ll always tell you what they think, whether you want to hear it or not.”

“I’m still your mother, and I only want what’s best for you and the kids. Now, do you need any help with cleaning this stuff up before we head home with the kids?” Tessa’s mother asked.

“No, we’ve got lots of volunteers to help with that.”

“Okay. I guess we’ll be going then. I wanted to tell you. Your dad thought he saw Sam today. He said he looked different, but he was sure that it was him.”

“I doubt it, Mom. He’s been gone a long time. I don’t see him coming back now.”

“You never know. He used to love coming to the lake house. Maybe he’ll show up there. Keep an eye out for him for me.”

“I will, but don’t get your hopes up. I’ll let you know if I see or hear from him. I’ll see you on Tuesday when I pick up the kids. Be careful driving back.”

Tessa hugged them both and kissed Drake and Izzie goodbye. “Be good for your grandparents. I’ll call you each night to check on you. I love you.”
      
“Bye, Momma. Have fun on your date. You know, Bishop’s supposed to take you somewhere fancy tonight. He promised,” Izzie said as she took a big bite of her cotton candy. Her fingers and face were a sticky mess.

“We’ll have to see about that. He didn't tell me where we’re going tonight. Bye, Sweetie. Have fun.” Tessa waved to them as they left.

They finally had everything cleaned up and all the games put away in storage. Everyone had pretty much cleared out. Bishop finished loading up the grill and headed over to Tessa.

“I think that’s it. Do you need us to do anything else before we head out?”

“No. We’re all finished. I just need to put the money in the school safe and lock up.”

“Okay, I’ll be over to your place around 7 to pick you up. Does that give you enough time to get ready?”

“That should be plenty of time. Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”