Ride Hard (Raven Riders #1)(73)
Nick clapped Dare on the shoulder. “Figured y’all might want a quick bite before we get this show on the road. Becca’s idea.”
“She’s a good woman, Nick,” Dare said.
“The f*cking best,” the guy said, a look of contentment on his face that Dare would pay good money to feel himself. Just once.
Around the table, a new round of greetings took place. Becca Merritt was Nick’s girlfriend and an ER nurse who’d helped patch guys up more than once during the recent fights. With her blond hair and blue eyes, she looked a lot like the girl next door, but from everything Dare knew, she’d proven herself a fierce ally of Nick’s over and over again. Sara and Jenna Dean were red-haired sisters who all the Ravens had gotten to know pretty well after they’d played a role rescuing Jenna from one of the Churchmen who’d apparently gone a little f*cking crazy over her. Marz’s lady, Emilie Garza, was probably the woman among them Dare knew least of all—though he’d heard tale of the gut-wrenching scene that’d played out when she’d found her brother’s slain body dumped outside Hard Ink the same day Dare’s guys had been killed. And then there was Nick’s sister, Kat, a bad-ass chick Dare had gotten to know decently well because she’d taken more than one shift in the sniper’s roosts they’d operated during the height of the crisis.
Everyone dug into the food, and Shane and Sara made their way over to him. “We were wondering how Haven and Cora are doing,” Shane said.
Dare wasn’t surprised that Shane and Sara would want to know—from what Dare understood, Shane had been the one to find the two women locked in the basement of the Church Gang’s storage facility. Once the women had been rescued, Sara had taken them under her wing until the plan for the Ravens to grant them shelter had come to fruition. “They’re still at our compound,” Dare said. “We’re working on a plan to get them set up someplace new as we speak. A whole new life, where Haven can be safe from her father and his whole organization.”
“So that’s who she was running from,” Sara said, leaning against Shane.
“Yeah,” Dare said. “But we’ll make sure he can’t find her. Don’t you worry.”
“I have been,” Sara said with a small smile and a little shrug. “They reminded me so much of me and Jenna. I just want them to be happy like we are now.” She looked up at Shane with so much affection on her face that it sucker-punched Dare. Because he wanted that. He wanted that with Haven. Who he’d let believe all damn day that she wasn’t important to him. In the chaos of planning for the arms exchange, there just hadn’t been time to pull her aside and do the conversation justice, especially when Haven had made herself scarce. No doubt purposely.
“They will be,” Dare said, meaning that down into his very marrow. No matter what, he would take care of Haven Randall just like she deserved. “You’ve got my word on that.”
“Thanks, man,” Shane said. “We appreciate it.”
Luckily there wasn’t much time for more small talk about Haven, because before long they’d all filled their stomachs and were back in business mode. The Hard Ink guys were going in wearing tactical gear that would hide their faces, because the last thing any of them needed was the Iron Cross putting two and two together, especially if that equation hadn’t already been solved. They’d be hidden on the outskirts unless the Ravens needed them front and center. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.
At seven-thirty, Nick and his teammates left for the location, wanting to get in place before the other side had time to arrive. As promised, at eight, Phoenix placed the call alerting the Iron Cross to the nine o’clock meeting place, and then the Ravens were back in the saddle and heading there themselves.
Hoping to be done with this city and its f*cking gangs once and for all.
CHAPTER 23
At exactly nine o’clock, ten men from the Iron Cross spilled from four black Humvees that had just entered the big, abandoned parking garage in a derelict part of the city. The Ravens had been waiting for fifteen minutes, their positions well chosen, their escape routes well protected, and their rides parked facing handlebars out so they could get out fast if they had to. Nick’s team couldn’t be seen, and hopefully wouldn’t have to be. But it was gold knowing they were there and that they were listening—Beckett and Marz had some kind of equipment that would enable that from a safe distance.
Feet spread, arms crossed, jaw set, Dare stood in front of several nondescript wooden crates filled with wood shavings, guns, and ammunition, Maverick and Phoenix at his sides, the rest of his men at his back.
The men from the Iron Cross had one obvious feature in common—most of them had shaved white heads. Which made their recruitment of the mostly black Church Gang members even more interesting, didn’t it? Not all gangs were racially exclusive, but Baltimore’s racial lines were generally pretty deeply drawn. Had been for as long as Dare had known the city, at least.
Wearing some kind of black military getup that didn’t look too different from the gear Nick’s guys had worn, the tallest of the men stepped forward. “I’m Dominic,” he said in a deep voice, soulless blue eyes like ice. “Who’s Phoenix?”
“That’s me,” Phoenix said with a nod, then he pointed to Dare. “This is our president, Dare. He’ll be handling the deal from here.”