Page 28 of Rough Road

Grier paced in front of her desk like he was stuck in some kind of cage. Six steps forward, military turn, six steps back. And repeat. She watched him. His body was a coil, ready to spring into action.

“What do you think you’re doing, Fiona? What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

Oh, the anger. “I’m doing what I was meant to do, Grier. I’m handling this business, this… shit.” Well, she could summon anger, too. “You need to calm down. We’re going to find Kye.”

“Before his arm comes back in a box? Or his leg? Maybe an eyeball? Before they brand him, too?” And more pacing.

She moved around her desk to stand in his path. “Stop.” Although she had no answer. Killing Kye would draw Grier out. That had to be why they’d taken him. And as much as she hated to admit it, there was only one way to get Kye back.

“I have to give them me.” And he’d just said it.

She stared. Any other of the men, she would have agreed without any hesitation, but this was Grier. Her husband. The man she would have died for. And he felt that same devotion to Kye.

“Okay.” The Omens had muscle and God knew what else, but Fiona had Sage, and he had gadgets and technology. “Come on.” She led him out into the bar area and sat across the table from Sage. “We’re sending Grier in to get Kye back. Put word out. Something that lets them know where he’s going to be. Somewhere open where we can control the traffic and the view.” He’d been a leader with Hamilton while she’d been hiding her head in fear and shame, licking her wounds while he and Hamilton took care of everything.

Fiona’s stomach churned, but damned if she could show weakness right now. She needed to keep her shit together, be the woman her father taught her to be. Falling apart would have to wait.

“All right. Where are we thinking?”

Privacy would be a must. A place where they could see everything coming in and out. “Tell them we’ll be at the old compound.”

“We burned it… after Jez.”

Not the greatest of news. “Okay. But there’s only one way in, and we can control everything about it. The road, the tunnels, every tree and branch is ours if we get in there and set it up, get Sedotal somewhere I’m the one in charge.” And it was about damned time, too. Even if it sounded grandiose and narcissistic, and she wasn’t one to believe in destiny or higher powers, but this was what she was meant to do. What Max planned. And now it was time to live up to it.

“Fiona, you can’t be there.” Grier yanked the chair next to her and twisted it so he could straddle it. “It’s too dangerous.”

“Oh, please.” She waved a hand. “I’m the one with the brands. I know the danger. And I am going to be the one who kills him. You can each have a shot at him, take a piece for yourselves, but his life is mine.” She needed vengeance. Retribution. To watch the life drain out of his eyes and onto the pavement or dirt or concrete. Fiona would exact her revenge.

“I’m the one he wants.”

She nodded. “And that’s why you’re the bait.”

“Do you think he won’t expect this? You think he’ll just agree to walk into what any dumbass is going to know is a trap?”

Men and their egos were as predictable as the heat in the summer and cold in the winter. “To get you, yeah. You’re Tyler’s kryptonite.” In a very different way than he was hers. “He’ll come because he won’t be able to stay away, especially if he thinks it’s a trap. He’ll want to show that he doesn’t fear you and that he doesn’t consider you a threat.” Predictable.

Sage nodded. Grier scowled. Fiona continued. “But he won’t be walking into your trap. He’s walking into mine. And that’s how we’re going to get him.”

She was thinking old fashioned nets in trees, tripwires, underground explosives. But Sage took a long swallow of his beer then slammed the bottle onto the table. “Did you notice the bikes they ride?” Fiona hadn’t. Grier shrugged and gave off a make and model. “Right. Pricey. New. Bells and whistles out the tailpipe.” He grinned. “Onboard computer technology.” When Fiona widened her eyes, he shrugged and clucked his tongue against his teeth. “I did some reading.”

He laid out a plan that sounded like something right out of some futuristic sci-fi flick. But if he could make it happen, no member of the Omens would make it past the drive in.

“And you can do that?”

He laughed like she’d asked if he knew how to tie his shoes. “You bet.”

This was all coming together. “All right. Then let’s get to work. How long do you need?”

“A couple of hours.” He pulled a laptop from under the table and the clicking and clacking of keys began. It might not have been musical, but to Fiona, it was a symphony.

It took a while to get everything organized and planned, but Hamilton left to put out the word and get the guys back. They were all meeting at the compound, and it was almost time.

When they were all assembled at the compound, Fiona sat alone with Grier in one of the shells of a cabin that hadn’t burned completely to the ground. “You’re mad.”

He hadn’t so much as looked at her since she and Sage sat planning at the table. He grunted a response that could have been a yes or a denial that doubled as a lie.

“I don’t know how much time we have, but if you want to fight it out… I’m right here.”