Freedom's Son: Savage Sons MC 3 Read online

  "I saw Kate and Mark on their way out," I said, determined to get my way with Luke, no matter how pissed he might be.

  "Yeah. Charming folks," he said, sarcasm dripping from his words. "The woman told me that you asked her for help?"

  "I did, Luke. I can't stand the thought of you going to prison, not for a mess that's my fault. If you do what they want, they'll get the charges dropped."

  "Krystal, baby, you can't trust these people. Bryan has told me that it always ends badly, and they'll tell you whatever they think you want to hear to get you to cooperate. Then they shit all over you without a second thought."

  "Luke, listen to me. If you don't work with them, you're going to prison. I can't live with that." Tears welled up in my eyes, and I knew that right then was my only chance to convince Luke to take the chance he was being offered. "I asked Kate for help. This was my idea, not hers. There's no way that she has some kind of ulterior motive. Mark is certain that there's bad stuff in the Sons' past, and he's going to prove it. If you help them, then you're making the Savage Sons a better MC, and you're getting your freedom. How is that a bad thing?"

  Luke looked down at the table and thought for a few minutes before answering me. "I keep hearing about bad shit in the MC's past, but I just don't know that I believe it. These guys may be a little rough around the edges, but I don't believe that they're bad people. I'm not going to help the feds trump up some bullshit charges to put my brothers in prison."

  His voice sounded definite, but I saw an opening.

  "So you're putting your brothers' freedom above yours?"

  "Isn't that how brotherhood works? I promised that I'd have these guys' backs. I can't bargain away my honor, my word, just to get out of jail."

  "But what if you knew that some of the Sons had done something awful? That maybe they deserve to be in jail, and you deserve to be free? Would that change your mind?"

  "Well, I guess it might." Luke sounded skeptical.

  I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and hoped that what I was about to tell Luke would be worth it. "Luke, I think that Moses may have been working with the feds." I watched to see how he'd react, but I couldn't read his expression. "Moses had changed over the last year before he died. He used to be this carefree, fuck 'em and leave 'em guy. He'd roll into a place, take what he wanted, blow a wad of cash, and roll out. All the guys were making money faster than they could spend it, and they loved it. You know the businesses I'm talking about, right?"

  Luke nodded. "I do. Sable told me I was a fool for getting into the MC because of those businesses, but those days are over. The Savage Sons are going legit."

  "But before you knew them, there was some bad stuff going on. Moses had changed. He'd gotten quiet and thoughtful. I think something happened that made him want out, something so awful that he couldn't do it anymore, and he saw the feds as a way out."

  "Do you have any evidence that what you're saying is true?"

  "I don't. It's just a feeling. I always had a soft spot in my heart for Moses. We worked together, and I think he was a good man, but a man with a conscience that weighed heavily on him. I watched the changes in him. He started spending less time at the clubhouse, and when he finally was settling down with an old lady, she was an outsider. She didn't come from the MC world. I think he wanted out, and that would never have happened without a good goddamn reason."

  I had never told a soul about my suspicions about Moses, and I felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest. I only hoped that Luke would believe me and make the connection that I had. That maybe the Sons weren't worth doing time for. That they didn't deserve his loyalty.

  "Why didn't you say anything about this before?"

  "Well, you didn't exactly discuss your decision to join the Sons with me. Once you'd been voted in, I didn't think it would matter."

  "Sable warned me, and I didn't listen to her." Luke fell silent, and I could see that he was deep in thought, turning over the things I'd told him.

  "Luke, you have to do this. You’ll avoid spending years of your life in prison, and you can find out what skeletons the Sons have in their closet. If there's nothing to find, then you don't have to worry about ratting someone out. If there is something terrible, then don't you want to weed that out of the MC?"

  Luke held up his hand to silence me. "Enough, Krystal. I need to think about all of this."

  "Okay, I understand, but the sooner you make this deal, the sooner you can come home to me. Luke, I love you, and you belong with me, not in jail."

  "Enough."

  Luke stood up, and part of me felt hurt by his dismissal of me. The other part of me understood that I'd just dropped a lot on him all at once. He knocked on the door, and while he was waiting for it to open, he turned to me.

  "Krystal, I love you, too, and I will make the right decision. I just don't know what that is yet."

  I nodded and watched as the guard opened the door to lead him away.

  He leaned back, just before he left the room. "Will you ask Sable to come see me? I want to talk to her."

  "Of course," I answered, though the prospect of talking to Sable filled me with dread.

  When I got out to the parking lot, I decided not to put off getting in touch with Sable. I dialed her number.

  "Sable, it's Krystal," I said when she answered her phone. "I've just been to see Luke, and he asked me to let you know that he wants to talk to you."

  There was silence on the line for a few seconds, and I looked at my phone to make sure I hadn't dropped the call.

  "Sable? You there?"

  "I'm here," she answered. "Do you know why he wants to talk to me?"

  I wasn't sure what to say. I knew that if Luke was going to work as an informant, he couldn't tell anyone. I also wanted to keep a lid on the fact that I thought Moses may have been an informant as well. I decided to go with as much of the truth as I felt like I could tell.

  "He has some questions that he thinks you can answer for him. I think he's worried about some of the stuff that the Sons were involved in before he came to town."

  "He didn't want to hear any of this before he joined the MC. What's changed his mind?"

  I had no choice but to be less than honest. "I don't know. He just asked me to see if you could stop in and see him."

  "I'll go first thing in the morning. Is there any news on his case?"

  I wasn't about to tell her that things looked pretty bleak, so I just told her that we didn't know anything new. "Bryan's supposed to see Luke tomorrow, though, and I'm hoping he'll have some more information."

  "Okay," Sable said, voice devoid of emotion. "Thank you for calling."

  She hung up, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I hoped that someday Sable and I could be on better terms, but as of now, I'd take civility and be grateful.

  Chapter 6 -- Luke

  Saturday, August 10, 2013

  Sitting at the table, waiting for Sable to arrive, I thought about everything Krystal had said the day before. Even though I felt a little guilty for having left the room abruptly, I'd felt overwhelmed by her revelations and I'd needed a chance to process everything. The time I'd spent had left me with one conclusion. Krystal was right. I really had no choice. Unless Sable came in and told me that all of the Sons were boy scouts, I was going to become an informant for the FBI and the DEA.

  "Good heavens," Sable said when she came into the room. "What happened to you?"

  "Nothing I couldn't handle. Had a little disagreement yesterday, that's all."

  Sable just studied me. I'd learned over the past months of getting to know her that Sable listened more than she talked. She was deliberate and thoughtful, and I knew that she would tell me the truth, regardless of what I asked her.

  "Krystal said you wanted to talk to me."

  "Sable, before I joined the MC, you tried to warn me off. Said that I was making a mistake to join the MC rather than going back to my job in Arizona."

  She took a deep breath, as if she was trying t
o calm herself down and measure her words. "And if you'd taken my advice, you wouldn't be in jail," she said.

  "You're right, of course," I agreed. "But if I'd left, Bug would have killed Krystal. He'd have continued to beat her until he'd ruined her life. I stayed, and I'm glad I stayed."

  Sable didn't move a muscle.

  "But that's not what I want to talk to you about. When we talked about my joining the MC, you led me to believe that there were secrets in the MC's past that would give me pause if I knew of them. I want to know more."

  She studied me, looking around the room and appearing to get her thoughts in order before she answered. "Luke, I love your father. I always have. I've also always known that in some ways, I come second in his life, after the Savage Sons. I was okay with that until the day of Moses' funeral. When I looked down at my nephew, down at that handsome face that belonged to my precious Moses — the son I never had because I gave up the son I did have — I realized that the pain that had been haunting Moses had ended. Luke, he'd been troubled, and I know for certain that it was because of the MC. After that last trip that he and Joker took to Mexico, he came back a different man, and I will never know what happened down there. Joker won't talk about it, and I won't ask about it anymore."

  Sable took another deep breath and continued. "I watched the Savage Sons eat Moses alive, and I didn't want that for you. When I look at you handcuffed and dressed like a prisoner, I wish I'd tried harder to get you to go back to the life you had instead of getting involved with the Sons."

  "If they're so awful, why have you stayed with Joker?"

  Sable's laugh held no humor. "I've asked myself that question more times than I can count. The short answer is that it wasn't always this way. When Joker and his brother founded the Savage Sons, they were just a couple of guys who loved their bikes and loved to party. They weren't outlaws. They changed, though, and I don't know the particulars, but the stuff they'd gotten into, Luke, I think it just ate away at their souls. When you see enough hookers and drugs, you become desensitized to it. You stop thinking of those girls as human beings, and that's a step toward becoming less human yourself. Whatever Joker and Moses had become, I didn't want that for you. You deserve better."

  I thought about what Sable had said, and I was surprised by the depth of her analysis and the depth of her character. I hadn't given her enough credit.

  "What's the latest on your case?" Sable asked, changing the subject.

  I decided to start planting the seed that the case might fall apart, since I'd need some sort of reason to explain how I'd magically been sprung from jail if I decided to become an informant. I wasn't going to announce my new status as a rat member of the Savage Sons.

  "Bryan's working on it. He keeps telling me that since I didn't murder Bug that I shouldn't have anything to worry about."

  "He didn't seem that optimistic when I saw him yesterday."

  Shit. I'd forgotten that Bryan was handling the paperwork of getting the license for the dispensary. "Well, maybe he's just telling me something to make me feel better. I trust him, though. He'll get me out of here." Time for me to change the subject.

  "Did he get things sorted out with the license?"

  Sable rolled her eyes and made a face. "Yes. Krystal and I have signed the application, and there will be a hearing scheduled in the next week or so."

  "Sable, I know that you're pissed at Krystal, that you think this mess is somehow her fault, but the choices I made were mine alone, and I'd make them again. You're both a part of my life, and if you want it to stay that way, you need to sort shit out with her."

  Sable raised her eyebrows, looking like she was surprised to be given an order, so I softened my tone.

  "I appreciate your coming in here to talk to me, and I appreciate your dealing with the license. I know it's hard for you, and it means a lot to me."

  I could see Sable's face soften, letting her emotions show more than she typically did. "You're welcome, Luke. If getting along with Krystal is the price I have to pay to have you in my life, then I'll do it gladly."

  I looked over toward the mirror on the wall, hoping that Sable would understand what she should and shouldn't say in this situation. She nodded.

  "So how are your rose bushes doing? The new ones you planted?" I asked, hoping she'd know that I meant the pot plants.

  "Better than I expected. I'm trying some new techniques, and they're responding well."

  "When will they bloom?"

  "Probably not until late November or early December, best I can figure."

  "Hm. So we'll have to buy flowers since we'll need them sooner than that."

  "Yes. Bryan mentioned the rose shortage?"

  "Yeah. We may just have to look somewhere other than Denver to get all the roses we need."

  "Bryan said he'd talk to Joker and see what they could get set up."

  I nearly laughed out loud at our thinly coded talk, but we'd managed to communicate the necessary stuff. "Keep me posted," I said as the door to the room opened.

  "Time's up, Callaway," the guard announced.

  "Thanks, Sable," I said, hoping she'd understand how much I really meant it.

  "Anything for you," she answered, her words carrying the depth of her feelings.

  I watched her go, hoping to spare her the sight of me walking awkwardly down the hall in leg irons.

  By the time Krystal showed up a few hours later, I'd made my decision. I didn't feel entirely at ease about it, but I told myself that if the Sons had nothing to hide, then there was nothing for me to worry about. I hoped that I wasn't rationalizing my decision, but I'd promised myself that I wouldn't give the feds any information if it wasn't for a good reason — about something really despicable.

  Seeing Krystal was like medicine.

  "Hey, baby," I greeted her, looking her up and down from head to toe and back again. "You look gorgeous."

  She gave me a weak smile. "Your bruises look worse today."

  "Hurt like hell, and they'll probably look worse tomorrow," I said, feeling surprisingly confident and positive about the decision I'd made. "You should see the other guy, though."

  Krystal couldn't help but laugh at my childish pride. "You doing okay?" she asked.

  "Yeah. Actually I'm good. I've made a decision, and I'm going to work with Tanner and Singer."

  Krystal let out a huge sigh, and I could see the relief that flooded her body. "Oh, Luke, I'm so glad," she gushed. "I'll call Kate and let her know. Do I need to call Bryan?"

  "I've already gotten a message to him, and he'll be here first thing Monday morning to talk things over."

  "I don't even know what to say," Krystal said, fighting back tears. "I've been so worried about you, and then I saw you all bruised up, and I've been having terrible dreams about you spending the rest of your life in prison, and Luke, I'm just so happy you're doing this."

  The torrent of words that spilled from her lips made me smile, and I had to stop myself from reaching out for her. There would be plenty of time soon enough for me to show Krystal how I felt about her.

  "I'm glad I was able to make a decision that makes you happy, but Krystal, this is a big decision, and it's not going to be an easy one to live with. Tanner and Singer are going to want me to dig up dirt on my brothers, and that's going to be hard for me."

  She thought about what I'd said before she replied. "I know this was hard for you Luke, but it's the right thing to do. You get the freedom you deserve, and the only people who will be punished are the ones who deserve to be. You haven't known these guys as long as I have, and you're going to find out things that may be hard for you to deal with, even about your father."

  "I can handle it," I said, not concerned in the least. Joker was too open and accepting — too easy-going to have any particularly ugly skeletons in the closet, and I was sure that I'd be able to manage the feds and the information they'd need. I was willing to manage it to get the fuck out of jail.

  "I feel like this huge weight
has been lifted off me," Krystal said, so excited that she was having trouble sitting still. "I can't wait to get you out of here and back with me where you belong."

  "Now, it may take a little time to get everything worked out. I can't imagine that Tanner will just walk in here, wave a magic wand, and make murder charges go away. I suspect we'll have to hammer out an agreement before she can get anything done."

  "I know, but just knowing that you will be getting out soon is the best news I could have." She looked over at the mirror and leaned closer to whisper to me across the table. "I have big plans for you, mister, and you're naked in all of them."

  "Funny," I replied. "My plans for you involve the same thing." I had to change the subject, or I'd go crazy thinking about how much I wanted Krystal. "I talked to Sable this morning, and she told me that you'd both signed the application."

  Krystal made a face that reminded me of the one Sable had made. "She hasn't been particularly pleasant to deal with Luke. She's so furious that you're in jail, and the fact that it's my fault just makes it worse. She hates me, and she doesn't really try to hide it."

  "I think you'll find that she's going to be more pleasant. I told her that you're both important to me, and that if she wants a relationship with me, she's going to have to find a way to get along with you."

  Krystal looked like she couldn't believe what she'd just heard. "You really said that?"

  "Of course. Krystal, I love you, and nothing's going to get in the way of that."

  "I guess it's just that no one has ever stood up for me that way," she said, in an effort to explain her surprise. "Thank you, Luke."

  "No thanks necessary, Krystal. You're mine, and I will protect you, no matter who it is that tries to hurt you. They have to deal with me first."

  "I don't deserve you, but I sure as hell am glad I have you," Krystal laughed. "No one has ever said something like that to me, and I'm going to spend every waking moment trying to make it worth your while."