Locke (Aces MC Series Book 4) (23 page)

"Please let me take the child," a paramedic prised
Devon from my arms although she didn't willingly go.
"They're my children." I heard someone shriek. I turned on my heels
to see Angel and Spike run across the road in our direction.
Spike quickly took Tommy from Stoney's arms and jogged over to the ambulance so
the paramedics could take a closer look at the children. I'd a basic
understanding of first aid learned from being in the army, and was no way a
medical professional but the twins were talking and looked to be in good health
so I'm sure they were going to be okay. I glanced at the curb side where we'd
placed Keira earlier to see that the paramedics were performing CPR on here, she
was in a really bad way, I just hoped she pulled through for Locke's sake.

"Where's Locke?" I turned to see Duke looking franticly
around the street searching for him.
"Locke was making his way from the building when we got the kids out."
I also glance around looking among the people trying to find him.
"Fuck!" I sprinted down the alley towards the fire escape but there
was still no sign of him.

As I reached the bottom of the stairs there was a huge
explosion. I turned my back towards the building and crouched feeling the force
as debris and glass flew through the air.
"Shit!"
I turned in Stoney's direction to see him cupping his arm. Moving closer I
could see that his skin had been sliced in several places.
"You need to get that checked out."
"No way, we need to find Locke," I nodded knowing that I'd do exactly
the same thing wanting to make sure one of my brothers was okay rather than
worrying about myself.
We both ran up the fire escape stepping over the debris in our wake. At the top
of the stairs Locke's lifeless body laid where he'd collapsed directly in front
of the door.
"Stoney give me a hand." I shouted beckoning him beside me. Scooping
my hands under Locke's arms I lifted him and started to drag his body before
Stoney bent down to lift his legs. He was heavy and unresponsive, I needed to
get him some help. "Speed it up man!" I shouted encouraging Stoney to
move faster although we were hampered by the narrow stairwell. I noticed the
pressure Stoney was putting on his arm by lifting Locke which encouraged blood
to piss out everywhere.
"I can't lift anymore CJ, my arm's killing me." Stoney placed Locke's
feet on the ground and I dragged him with the little strength I had left up the
alley towards the street.
"Give him here." Duke muscled his way in and scooped Locke up like he
weighed nothing, and hurried out onto the street to place him on the ground.
Another ambulance was trying to manoeuvre its way down the street but it was
hampered from the amount of people who had lined the street to see what all the
commotion was about. 

I hadn't realised how weak I'd become from trying to rescue everyone
but I could hear the rattle from my chest as I tried to take in the clean air.
I knelt down beside Locke and slapped him on the cheek, "Come on man, you
need to breath." Locke was still unresponsive and I needed to act
otherwise it may be too late. I placed one hand on the centre of his chest and
placed the heel of the other hand on top, interlocking my fingers. I leaned
over his chest and pumped my hands like I'd been shown in the army but there
was still no movement. I removed my hands and quickly tilted back his head before
leaning down to seal my lips over his mouth to try and breathe some life into
him.

Tears were streaming down my cheeks, onto Locke's face as he
lay motionless. I broke from the momentum, "He's not fucking breathing Duke!"
I screamed, praying for him to breath. I continued to pump on his chest,
"You mother fucker don't you fucking leave me."

I glanced around at the crowd who were now watching my every
move as I continued to pump his chest, their silence spoke a thousand words but
I wasn't giving up hope. "Don't just fucking stand there, do
something!" I shouted.
Stoney crouched beside me and listened for any sign of breathing, he placed two
fingers in the crook of his neck checking for a pulse, "He's gone
man."
"No he hasn't!" I screamed pushing Stoney out of the way and placed
my hands back onto Locke's chest. "Come on Locke, I need you man please
don't leave me."

The next thing I knew I was pulled away, engulfed in
Stoney's arms as he held me close to his chest, "He's gone man, I'm sorry
but he's gone."

CJ

I felt numb and didn't know what to do with myself. I didn't
want to speak to anyone I just wanted to stay with my friend. The coroner was
going to perform a post mortem within the next couple of days which usually
meant you couldn't sit with the body but I couldn't wait that long and being
Locke's next of kin I was allowed to see him.

"Mr Jones!" I used both hands to wipe the stream
of tears that flowed down my cheeks before turning towards the voice. A nurse
stood at the door smiling sympathetically, "I'm sorry Mr Jones but I can
only give you another ten minutes and then we need to move Mr Dixon."  I
nodded my head slowly so she knew I understood and turned my head back towards
Locke.

"Stoney's with Keira, the doctors have said that she's
going to be okay and could possibly be let out tomorrow." I stroked his
hand, it was cold but I didn't care because it was Locke's. Rigor mortis had
set in but I wasn't ready to leave him yet, he'd been alone for so long in his
life that it didn't feel right leaving him now.
"The twins are also okay thanks to you." I wiped my tears again
trying to keep it together but the anger was building again twisting my stomach
in knots. My emotions were all over the place, one minute I was feeling sad the
next angry and I wanted to fight the world but that wouldn't help anyone at
this moment in time. "Spike and Angel wanted to thank you but they're not
allowed in." I sniggered, "See even in death you're pissing people
off, now everyone's upset that they won't be able to see you for a couple of
days."
There was another knock on the door and the nurse poked her head in again, I
nodded my head before turning back to Locke. I stood and leaned over to place a
kiss on his forehead. "Now that Keira's awake, she'll hopefully be able to
tell us what exactly happened. If there's anything suspicious I give you my
word that I will sort it and as you know I never break a promise." I
turned and walked towards the door noticing the nurse look a little
uncomfortable. I'd given her shit earlier when she'd informed me that I
couldn't sit with Locke until I proved I was his next of kin, it wasn't her
fault she was only doing her job but I wasn't thinking logically a couple of
hours ago.

I made my way to the ward that Keira was on. Stoney had been
with her since she was brought in much to Declan's disgust. He'd had several
diva fits and nearly had to be sedated in order to calm him down. It turns out that
the last thing Locke had said to Stoney was to look after Keira and he was
taking it literally as he hadn't left her side since arriving at the hospital.
A nurse even had to patch his arm up as he sat by her bedside.

I nodded in Stoney's direction as I walked onto the ward, he
immediately stood and made his way over so that he could give me a hug. I held
on tightly trying to keep it together but broke down in his arms as he held me
while I sobbed. It's not every day you see a grown man brought to his knees in
pain but it's not every day that you lose someone so close in such horrific
circumstances.

Once I'd composed myself, I let go of Stoney and wiped my
eyes, "Sorry mate."
"Fucking hell CJ you don't have to apologise to me, we've know each other
long enough to not be embarrassed in front of each other." He smiled
tightly and placed his arm around my shoulders to guide me into the corridor.

"Keira's sleeping, it's best we leave her to
rest." I nodded my head knowing that she needed to build her strength and
hoped that she didn't have any long lasting injuries.
"Is she talking?"
Stoney nodded his head and sighed, "She said that two men came into the flat
asking questions about Locke. The main bloke who called himself Onyx said that
Locke had taken something precious from him and therefore he was after revenge."

Fucking hell this was worse than I thought, these men were
prepared to murder an innocent woman and two young kids to seek retribution. I
needed to find out who they were and fast before they hurt anyone else.

"Did she give you anything else?"
"No not much. They broke in, tied her to a chair and set the place
alight."
"What did they look like?"
"One was in his mid to late forties with greying hair pulled back into a
ponytail, the other was in his thirties but of a larger build."
I let out a sigh, "Not much to go on." Stoney shook his head and
moved so that he could lean against the wall. "How's she doing
anyway?" I asked concerned.
"I haven't told her." I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead,
contemplating what he'd just said. "I couldn't do it CJ, it will break her
fucking heart and I'm not being accountable for that."
"Has she been asking questions?"
"Yeah but I said I was waiting for an update."
"What, all fucking night?"
"Well she was in and out of consciousness so it bought me some time."
"Fuck! I'm gonna have to do it then." I continued to rub my forehead
as I tried to think of the words I may use to explain.

"How's she doing?" I turned to see Angel.
"She hasn't been told yet." Stoney blurted out, Angel covered her
mouth and I saw her eyes glisten, "I couldn't do it Angel, I couldn't tell
her."
She nodded her head understanding our predicament. "I'll do it," she
stated quietly. "I'll try and do it as sensitively as I can." Stoney
and I stared at Angel as she removed her coat and slung it over her arm. She
took a deep breath and walked onto the ward leaving Stoney and I waiting for
the aftermath, I didn't envy being in her situation but I was grateful as I
would probably mess the whole thing up and this is something that would stay
with Keira forever. 

"Nooooooo!" Came the wails from the ward before
the uncontrollable sobs started. It took everything in my power to not go in
there and scoop her up but I knew she was in safe hands with Angel and Declan.
I'd be better put to use in trying to hunt down the mother fuckers that had
murdered my best mate, and when I did eventually catch up with them I'd cut
their fucking throats.

CJ

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" Duke stood with
his hands on his hips assessing me. The club had been watching me like a hawk
the past two days and it was slowly getting on my nerves. I wasn't about to do anything
stupid, it was as if they'd had me on suicide watch and I was pissed as they
should've known me better than that.

"Yeah I wanna be here because he was my fucking best
mate." I said sharply before I unlocked the door to his bedsit. Duke had
felt the whip of my tongue on more than one occasion and he'd scowled every
time, if it hadn't have been in these circumstances I would've got a clump for
my troubles but I wasn't sure how long he'd let me get away with it and quite
frankly I didn't give a shit.

I stalked into the small living room, I'd only been here a
few times before and it never looked lived in due to the amount of time he
spent between here and his other family.
Duke, Diesel and Recon joined me as each of us glanced around the small living
space shocked by the lack of possessions.
"So what are we looking for?" Recon asked as he moved further into
the room.
"Anything that will give us more intel on Locke's double life," Duke
stated harshly. "I need to know where he's been going and who he's been
with."

I knew that Duke was pissed off with me but I didn't care,
we all had secrets. I didn't expect Duke to tell me the ins and outs of
Diesel's life so he shouldn't have expected me to tell him everything about
Locke, not that I knew too much. Yes I was his closest friend but he even kept
secrets from me, wanting to protect me from whatever he was up to.
I walked through the living room and entered his bedroom. I wanted some time
alone among his things and knew that I'd feel close to him in here. I closed
the door behind me and rested my back against the wooden frame not able to take
my hands from the door handle. I probably shouldn't have come here today, it
was too soon to be riffling through his property but I thought it would help me
be closer to him, I still wasn't ready to accept that he was gone forever.

His bedroom wasn't much better than his living room, sparse with
not too many furnishings or accessories. He lived a minimalist life making it
easier for him to not get attached but also to make an easy get away.
The only time I got him to open up was when he had alcohol in his system and
there'd been a number of times when Locke would put the world to rights and start
to explain his life but he would always give me half a story. I only wished
that I would've stayed with him the night of Hounds and Maggie's anniversary, I
think he was ready to share some information and maybe just maybe it wouldn't
have ended like this.

I sighed loudly at the thought of him being a very complex
man but on the flip side one of the kindest. He'd do anything to protect the
one's he loved and I'm only blessed that I was able to experience his close
friendship.

I pushed from the door and walked over to his bedside cabinet.
I noticed the frame containing a photo of what looked to be of Locke as a
teenager with his family. He didn't talk about them much but I knew that they
were all killed in a house fire which was one of the reasons for him wanting to
become a lock smith. Apparently there'd been complications with the locks on
the doors and a fire exit was blocked which had resulted in their deaths. I ran
my thumb over the photo and was surprised when water splashed onto the glass, I
wasn't aware that I was even crying but it was at the thought of Locke dying in
exactly the same circumstances.

A light knock on the door startled me and I quickly placed
the photo frame back onto the cabinet before wiping my eyes.
"Yeah, come in," I stated. As I turned my head to look towards the
door I stood amazed by what was displayed on the wall.
Duke saw the widening of my eyes as he entered the room and stepped in further
so that he could see what I was staring at.

Before me, on the wall was an array of different photographs
of patched members and associates of the Satan's Wrath. It was a detailed
investigation into their businesses, movements and dealings.
"Did you know?" Duke asked as he stepped closer to take a better look
at the information.
I swallowed hard before I answered, "No." I stood and made my way
over towards the wall as Diesel and Recon came into the room.
Letting out a low whistle, Diesel stood with his hands on his hips. "Well
I'll be damned, that son of a bitch kept this information from us all this
time."
"Was he a Satan?" Recon asked looking confused as he took in the
photographs.
"He was working undercover," Duke responded as he flicked through his
diary as he sat in a chair positioned in the corner of the room.
Recon stepped closer to the wall, "I still don't understand, undercover
for who?"
Duke passed the diary to Diesel, "For himself, the Satan's murdered his
family so he was seeking revenge."

My phone rang interrupting our conversation but I needed to
answer as it was Stoney and he may have an update on Keira's condition.

"Stoney...oh for fucks sake...well you better find her
and fast." I hung up and glanced around the room to see everyone staring
at me.
"That was Stoney. He left Keira's room to take a slash and when he
returned she'd gone."
"Of her free will or taken?" Diesel asked looking concerned that the Satan's
may have taken her.
"Not sure, he's gonna look at the CCTV, then call me back."
The guys nodded their heads understanding. It may have been that Keira just
needed to get away from it all as she'd lost everything, her home, her business
and the man that she was hoping to build a future with, all taken in just one
evening.

"How the hell did he manage to conceal all of this from
us?" Diesel asked running his hands through his hair.
"I don't know but we have to finish what he started." I stated calmly
as I turned to address them all.
"Hold on a minute CJ, we need to discuss this before you start a one man war
on another club. I know that you want revenge for what's happened but if you go
in all guns blazing you're gonna end up dead."
I shrugged my shoulders, "As long as I kill the mother fuckers who killed
Locke, I don't give a shit.
"You may not care but I do," Duke stood and made his way towards me.
"We've lost Jimmy and Locke within such a short period of time, I'm not
prepared to put anyone else in danger. If we do this, we do it properly and we
have a plan."
"And what do you suggest? I'm not sitting around for weeks Duke discussing
what we should or shouldn't do. We need to act quickly."
Duke waved his hand towards the wall, "Locke has completed all of the
ground work for us. We know who's involved, where they are and what they will
be doing in the near future. We need to use this information to help us come up
with a plan to then kill the fuckers involved."

I nodded my head, this is what I wanted to hear. Duke was a
good leader and he was prepared to take us into battle to seek justice for my
friend. I knew that they weren't close, Duke even blamed Locke for the death of
his uncle but I was pleased that he was seeing reason. "Whatever happens I
want to be involved."
Diesel glanced at Duke before returning his gaze to me, "I don't think
that's wise CJ, you're far too close to not let your emotions take hold."
I sniggered, "I don't give a shit and to be honest Diesel, you ain't
stopping me. I will get the revenge that Locke never achieved and I can do it
with or without your support." I turned on my heels and left the bedroom,
stomping towards the front door. I wasn't having anyone telling me what I could
and couldn't do and they could take my patch because of it. There was only one
thing now on my mind, retribution.