Crimson Pt. 07

Peter stood in silence, Brenda looked pale, and Jordan not much better. The women both knew that if they got to me, Reggie would snatch them up and put them back into circulation at Crimson, if they were that fortunate. Reggie would move his center of operations to another town and go on like nothing happened.

"I still don't know why Reggie would turn on you this quickly." Brenda remarked, putting her things in the second car. "You said shooting Liam impressed him."

"That was a double-edged sword." I admitted. "When I did that, I meant it as a message that I was serious when I told them I would take out anyone that threatened our safety. Along with impressing him, it told him I would follow through. It's a win-win for Reggie. He knows my primary concern is not Crimson, and that makes me a threat. He can pin the murder on me, removing me from the picture, and deflect the blame from himself. If I knew this was coming, I would have let Liam live, thus not appearing as such a huge threat."

"I can see that." Brenda commented before hugging me. "Don't blame yourself. I think Reggie would have thrown you under the bus regardless of what you did with Liam. For all you know, this was his plan from the beginning, as you mentioned.."

We were all set to go, but I needed to get to our house. I had files on thumb drives I put together since working for Crimson that would implicate Reggie in everything. They were enough to bring his entire organization down. If we had any chance of escape, or convinced Reggie it wasn't worth coming after us, I needed those as leverage. Along with the secret bank account, I also made contingency plans if something went south.

The files were part of it. I also rented an apartment out of state, hoping it would take Reggie time to figure out where we had gone. We would spend the next few years on the run. I expected to be with Crimson longer and put aside more money, but that was not to be. After we had the cars, I bought four burner phones, and we all exchanged numbers.

I gave the address of the apartment to everyone and told them to take a car and meet me there. I told Brenda I put her name on the bank account under her maiden name, so she could access it when she needed. Jordan refused to leave, telling me she was coming with me to secure the files. Brenda and Peter would head to the apartment, but not before picking up Brenda's daughter Kathryn. She had to hurry. We were to meet the captain later that day, so we should have that long until they figured out we were on the run.

I kissed Brenda and told her to be safe and hurry, and took her and Peter's cell phones with me. I planned on leaving them at the house, as Reggie or Captain Evans would probably track us. Jordan told Peter to be careful, and they hugged. I hoped it would not be the last time we all saw each other. We pulled out in opposite directions, and an hour later, I approached our house.

I parked the car about a quarter mile away, just in case someone was there. Jordan and I walked along the lake toward the house, not wanting to be exposed on the road. On the way, I receive a call from Brenda on the burner phone. She had Kathryn, and they were on the highway on their way out of state. That was great news. Now to get those files.

It was midafternoon by that time, and the sun was well on its descent to the west. The day was proving hot, so we took off our suit jackets and ditched them in the bushes. As we approached the house, it looked deserted. We opened the back door and entered, not hearing anything initially. I told Jordan to watch the front while I grabbed the files. I had them in a wall safe in the master bedroom, and five minutes later, I had them. We were ready to leave by the way we came when Jordan came running back.

"James, two cars just pulled up out front." She exclaimed, sounding panicked. "I thought we had a couple more hours."

"I guess not." I answered. Walking toward the back of the house, I noticed two security guards from the casino walk up to the door we entered. I told Jordan to get low and follow me. I knew there must be another two in the front, so I figured we needed to hit two of them first before they met up. I motioned to Jordan to circle around through the dining room, which connected to the kitchen on my left. There is a view of the back door from the side of the kitchen island, and that's where I positioned myself.

I figured Jordan would make it around from the dining room entrance to the kitchen before the men walked through the back door. What I didn't count on were the two men in the front making it in before the two in the back. I realized this when I heard one man shout stop, and then Jordan yell. Just then, the back door flew in and I realized I was in a no-win situation. Instead of setting up a cross-fire for the two guards in the back, they caught me in one.

"Don't do anything stupid, James." One man called out. I recognized him from the casino. His name was Rory. "We secured Jordan in the living room, and you have no chance of getting out of this. Just put down your weapon and come with us. Reggie wants to talk with you."

"I thought Captain Evans wanted to see us." I remarked, trying to sound sarcastic.

"Oh, he'll be there as well." Rory replied, smiling. "This doesn't have to get ugly."

"I don't see a way this doesn't" I retorted, forming a terrible plan in my head. I knew the moment I surrendered, I was dead. It may take years, after they presented me gift-wrapped to the district attorney's office, but the result was the same. Just then, I caught the smell of lavender. It was almost overpowering. I knew what that signaled, and in the next instant, I heard Amanda's voice.

"Stop, James." Amanda whispered in my ear. "This is the moment to protect your family. Don't do anything rash. The red devil is not your enemy. You can trust it. It is the way of your salvation, and it will protect you. Surrender, and you will be free."

I didn't understand what that meant. Amanda was cryptic in the past, but nothing like this. The last thing I wanted to do was to surrender. Death followed that, but Amanda's words weighed on me. I looked at one of the security guards and saw an angel pin on his breast pocket. My mind spun. After what felt like ten minutes, but was in reality only a few moments, I put my weapon down on the counter. Almost immediately, I felt a sharp pain in my head, and my vision went black. One man hit me from behind with his gun and knocked me out.

When I opened my eyes, my vision was blurry. I could make out Jordan across the living room from me, her hands cuffed behind her back, laying on the carpet. That was when I realized my hands were also cuffed. I could hear Rory talking, telling someone on the phone that he had us, and that Brenda and Peter were not home. I tried to shake off the cobwebs in my head, but it was still dazed, most likely a concussion.

"Reggie says to get back with these two." Rory informed the other three men. "He said that he has the position of the other two, and should have them rounded up soon."

How the hell did they find Brenda and Peter? The purchase of the car wouldn't be on the computers until tomorrow when the registration hit the system. It didn't matter either way. They had me and Jordan, and would soon have all four of us. I felt dread overcome me. Then one man collapsed to the floor.

Rory and the other two looked confused, not knowing what they witnessed, when another of the men dropped. This one fell facing me, and I could see his eyes were wide open. He was obviously awake, but laying limp. The third guard dropped a few moments later, and Rory looked panicked. He spun in place, trying to figure out what had happened.

Just then, through my still blurry eyes, I saw a white figure come in from the kitchen and fly past me, diving into Rory. This caught him by surprise, as he was facing sideways. Not having enough time to raise his weapon, his gun flew from his hands, sliding across the carpet. As Rory flew backwards, whatever hit him rolled with him, sliding behind him, and stood up. Whoever it was had Rory by the hair, on his knees, and a small knife to his throat. I squinted to see who it was, but could only make out a white robe like dress and blonde hair.

The figure bent forward to Rory's ear and said something. Rory answered, but I couldn't hear, or understand, what he said. A moment later, the knife was pulled suddenly across his throat, and Rory collapsed. The figure then went to the other three men and dispatched them in silence.

I watched, still dazed, as the white figure picked up one of our burner phones. After looking at it, I heard a woman's voice say, "Did you get that number? I have another here. That means the two phones must be with the other two. Can you track them? Excellent. How long? Good. He told me how they're tracking them. You should have an hour before they arrive."

As the figure approached, I didn't know what to expect. Was someone else after Brenda and Peter? Were they working for Reggie? What the hell did I just witness? As the white figure kneeled in front of me, my eyes focused on a smiling red devil with a pitchfork. The devil was on a white kimono decorated with gold flowers.

"It's good to see you again, James." I heard her say. It was then I recognized her voice. It was Katia, Rich Burkhart's wife. "I'm glad I came here first."

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Next chapter to read is Santo Diablo Chapter 13

Reading List in Order

Assassins MC Chapter 1 to 20

Santo Diablo Chapter 1 to 7

Family Submission Chapter 1 to 3

Santo Diablo Chapter 8

Family Submission Chapter 4

Crimson Chapters 1-5

Family Submission Chapter 5

Santo Diablo Chapters 9-10

Family Submission Chapter 6

Santo Diablo Chapters 11

Crimson Chapter 6

Santo Diablo Chapter 12

Crimson Chapter 7

Santo Diablo Chapter 13