The Biker's Fate Chapter 373

Poppy

Curly PINNED me against the side of a building, a gun in my side, out of sight of the ship, and all I wanted to do was pass out. I was seriously finding it difficult to stay on my feet, but I couldn't dwell on any of that right now, because I didn't know where the rest of the Dogs were.

"Do not pass out on me," Curly growled.

"I won't, but I really need to pee," I whispered. "Can we find a bathroom, please?"

"Goddammit." He peered around the corner, and then dragged me forward.

As I followed, I saw no one. In fact, it was eerily quiet. Maybe I'd just imagined Hatch being there… you know, like when you're in the desert and you swear you can see water, complete with a palm tree and shit?

Curly pulled me harder and I tripped, crying out as I went down on my knees.

"Get the fuck up," Curly snapped, but he didn't get a chance to say or do anything else, because he was suddenly on the ground and my dad was on top of him, beating the living shit out of him.

"You motherfuckin' piece of shit," Hatch ground out in between hits.

Curly tried to fight back, but it was no use, and once Hatch had ahold of his head and slammed it into the concrete, Curly was out cold.

I, on the other hand, was being hauled up (albeit gently) and I tried to fight, but strong arms lifted me and a soft voice said, "It's me, Poppy. Doom."

I relaxed a little, knowing I was in friendly hands for the moment.

He carried me inside of a building, and set me on a metal bench, hunkering down in front of me as a man with FBI written on his Kevlar vest approached. He pulled out a handcuff key and unchained me, just as Hatch came running inside and straight to me.

"Fuck!" he snapped. "Someone find me a fuckin' first-aid kit."

"I'm okay," I lied, and Hatch pulled me into his arms where I promptly gripped him around the waist and burst into tears. "I thought they were going to kill me, Daddy."

"I've got you, baby girl," he whispered, stroking my hair gently.

I pulled away. "Where's Devon?"

"He's dealin' with the shit on a ship. Doc's with him, though."

"Does he know I'm okay?"

Hatch scowled as he shook his head.

"Oh My God! Does he know Curly took me from the compound?"

"Don't know. Doc's makin' the call as to whether or not to tell him."

"Sid!" I ground out. "He's going to go ballistic and get himself killed!"

"He's covered, Poppy. No one'll let him get killed."

"Call him."

"Pop—"

"Call him right now!"

"Poppy," he said, his voice low and lethal. "Do you trust your man?"

"Of course I trust him."

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Then believe me when I tell you that Devon isn't in a position to receive phone calls or texts. And if you truly trust him, then you'll trust that he'll make it back to you. I know you don't like it, but that's the way it is."

I blinked back tears and stared at my dad. He was right. I didn't like that he was right, but he was right all the same. So, I nodded and let him hold me as I prayed that Devon would come back to me… and fast.

Devon

From my place on the crane platform, I could clearly see all four men surface to the upper deck and make their way to container number nineteen, where Bogdan was posted. He kept his head down and briskly stepped aside as the captain and Cavanaugh approached the entrance.

"Shall we?" Harlan asked, motioning to the container's control panels. "I understand we're to enter our codes at the same time, or there will be… unfortunate consequences."

"That is correct," Captain Vasili replied. "On my mark…"

With that, they punched in their respective codes, and the door locks disengaged with a loud metallic clank.

"Please keep in mind, the girls may perhaps be… a little… worse for wear," Vasili said nervously.

"Oh, I'm sure it's nothing a little soap and a good scrub won't cure. Maybe I'll reward Arnie and Sly here with that little job," Harlan said, eliciting creepy smiles from his guards as the doors opened fully.

Their smiles instantly dropped as they were greeted, not by a huddled mass of scared young women, but by nine male crew members armed with guns, wrenches, and even a machete. The effect was even greater than I'd ever dreamed of. They swarmed the bodyguards, and then Harlan, who was at first confused, then furious. The crew would have likely torn them apart had I not quickly jumped down from my perch and stopped them.

 "What the hell is going on here, Vasili?" Harlan cried out to the captain as the crew disarmed his guards and held all three men in place. "Do you really think you can steal my money and live? You're gonna die for this! You hear me?" He obviously thought this was a double-cross on the captain's part.

"That's not quite what's going on here, Harlan," I said as I reached the mob.

When Harlan saw me, he not only stopped yelling, but smiled wider than I'd seen to date. "Sparky! My dear Sparky, I'm so very happy to see you. You really have no idea."

"And why the hell is that?" I asked, now standing inches from his face as the crew held him tightly.

Doc and Bogdan raced up to join us.

"Well, for two reasons, really. The first is, I wasn't wrong about you or your club. You see, I just had the feeling you were the hero type, and that despite my warnings, you were going to attempt to stand in the way of my business ventures. I pride myself on being able to read people, so I'm happy I wasn't wrong about you. Not one little bit."

"I'm so glad not to have disappointed a redneck, human trafficking, piece of shit."

"No need for nasty names, Sparky. Besides, I think you're going to want to be much nicer to me."

"Oh yeah, why's that?" I snapped.

"That's the second reason I'm so happy," he said cheerfully. "I was so sure you were going to be a fly in my ointment, I took out an insurance policy."

"If you're planning on blowing up the boat, we've already found, and disabled, all the C-4 charges on board."

Harlan's face turned a new shade of evil. "No, this one's a little more personal."

"They're waiting for the signal, Sparky," Doc said tensely.

"One second," I replied, and turned back to Harlan. "What the fuck are you talking about? What insurance policy?"

"Let's just say, if you don't have these men let go of me right away, Poppy will pay the premium."

My blood ran cold.

He had Poppy.

"I'm calling in Agent Moore, Sparky!" Doc called out again.

"Goddammit, Doc! Hold on!"

"Agent Moore?" Harlan asked. "Are you working with the FBI, Sparky? Oh, this just got very interesting, indeed."

"Where is she, you sick sonofabitch?" I demanded, grabbing him by the throat.

"Let me go and I'll show you," he rasped as he struggled for air. "Keep me and my men here and she dies."

I tightened my grip one last time before releasing Harlan and nodding to the crewmembers, who then released his men.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Doc snapped.

"He has Poppy, what the hell can I do, Doc?"

"Now I'm going to have to ask you all to put your weapons on the ground right over there," Harlan said, still catching his breath, and pointing to a spot on the deck. The crew dropped their rifles and assorted weapons in a pile and backed up.

"Now, that's much better. And I'd hold off on that signal to your FBI buddies. An old friend of yours, Curly, has Miss Poppy hidden away safe, someplace very close, and if he doesn't hear from me soon, he'll cut her into little pieces."