Page 37 of Kaz (Salvation Kings MC: New Freedom Chapter #2)

Kaz

HE WAS back to crouching behind a dumpster, and he hated it even more this time around.

Having Dante next to him did nothing to quell his fractured nerves.

They were at the place where they’d first observed Dante making a deal with the gang, and he was watching the man out of the corner of his eye, unsurprised to find Dante’s face a mask of indifference. He didn’t know what to make of the man.

Dante pointed toward one of the two buildings they could see when peeking out from behind the dumpster. “They move their product through that building. The other one’s for more… nefarious purposes.”

He gave Dante a skeptical look. He didn’t like Dante giving them free information about his so-called business partners.

He still hadn’t figured out what the hell Dante was doing with these people, and it was bugging him.

Dante oozed money and status. The gang? Not so much.

He wasn’t sure he could put much stock in Dante joining them in this operation.

He couldn’t confidently claim that the man had any kind of loyalty.

Trusting a man he suspected of human trafficking was not going to be easy, but for Kian’s sake, he’d try.

“This is where they’re keeping him,” Dante said, and he hated to agree with the man, but considering the number of people guarding that building, he had to.

If he were to believe Dante’s information, then there were more men stationed outside the building they were keeping Kian in, than the one housing their drug operation.

“How do you know they have him?”

They’d taken off from the clubhouse, following Dante in his car here, before he had a chance to ask questions.

Dante gave him a dark look. “Because they told me. Downright gloated about it.”

There was an unexpected sneer in Dante’s voice. He didn’t know what to make of it.

“Why keep him alive?” he mumbled to himself, wincing when Dante glowered at him.

“I told them to,” Dante said and rose to his feet.

Kaz followed suit, wondering not for the first time what Dante’s goal in saving Kian truly was. He feared it was something that would come back to bite him in the ass.

They made their way back to the road where the others waited for them, adrenaline and something else churning inside him. A feeling he couldn’t place. His mistrust of Dante wasn’t getting smaller, and he didn’t like being forced to trust the man’s intel.

The sound of approaching motorcycles had him straightening.

Dante reached for his gun, but Kaz stopped him with a raised hand. Remy wouldn’t have let them through if they weren’t Kings.

Two motorcycles pulled up, splitting to reveal a third between them. He wasn’t surprised when Chaos and Riot removed their helmets.

“All hands on deck, right?” Riot said, grinning at the third rider who was pulling off his helmet, dark hair sticking every which way.

“Please tell me you didn’t break him out of jail,” Kaz said, fighting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. If he ended up in an early grave, it was because of those two.

Chaos and Riot glanced at each other in a wordless conversation before twin grins spread on their faces. It wasn’t until Spencer spoke that Kaz relaxed.

“They didn’t. I’m sure they thought about it,” Spencer said, glaring at first one, then the other. “They called my dad.”

Kaz blew out a breath, shaking his head.

Spencer’s father was rich, and he’d likely put pressure on the cops to release Spencer. He couldn’t be mad about it, nor about the twins getting Spencer out.

“It’s good to have you back, Spence,” Wilder said, stepping forward to put a hand on his shoulder, fingers digging in. “Don’t ever do that again.”

Spencer winced, lips pressing into a thin line.

“I won’t.”

“Good,” Wilder said, letting go of him and walking back to stand at Kaz’s side.

Spencer rubbed his shoulder, his gaze seeking out Kaz. He gave Spencer a nod. He’d done something stupid, but he’d done it for the right reasons.

The twins and Spencer dismounted, and Mia wrapped her arm around Spencer’s shoulders, tugging him toward the others.

Kaz looked to Dante, who pulled out his phone, checking a message for a second before he met Kaz’s gaze with a nod.

He didn’t know how, nor did he want to know, but Dante had ensured no cops would show up while they freed Kian.

He might not trust anything else out of the man’s mouth, but he did trust that.

No matter Dante’s goal tonight, he wasn’t likely to want the cops involved.

“Alright, let’s do this,” he called out, waving everyone close to go over the plan.

It was simple: draw as many of the gang members away from the building they were holding Kian in to give Wilder and his team access to it.

He gave the twins a nod, already regretting the decision, but if anyone could create a diversion, it was those two. From the excited looks on their faces, they already had a plan.

They all got into position, Wilder and his team hanging back until their path was cleared, the twins sneaking off to do god only knew what, and the rest of them drawing closer to the building. He had Dante next to him, refusing to let the man out of his sight or near any of the others.

He clenched his jaw when car alarms blared, several of them.

The noise was coming from across the street, and it was likely where at least some of the gang members had their cars parked.

The twins being raised by mechanics had its perks, it seemed, because he hadn’t heard any smashing to set off those alarms.

Some of the men guarding the perimeter headed toward the cars, and when they disappeared from Kaz’s sight, he tightened his hold on his gun, anticipating what came next.

A boom shook the ground, rattling his teeth and making him curse under his breath. Fortunately, it was a much smaller explosion than the one they’d set off in the truck. Instead, it left a fire raging, the flames high enough that Kaz could see the top of them from his perch on the ground.

“Fuck’s sake,” someone grumbled in his earpiece.

“Remind me not to piss those two off,” Cary said, a mix of awe and unease in his voice.

Kaz shook his head. He took a deep breath, Miles’s face flashing before him, golden eyes twinkling, and those perfect lips spread in a gorgeous smile. He held onto that vision as he raised his gun to clear the way for Wilder and the others.

“Let’s move,” he ordered.

He stood, nodding at Dante, who pulled his gun and led the way.

People milled out of the building, drawn by the explosion and fire.

The first two men dropped to the ground, scattering the others, but they didn’t slow down.

Dante moved with a cool rage as he pulled the trigger over and over, clean hits every single time.

That wasn’t fear of his uncle’s anger. It was pure retribution.

There was a wildness, a brutality, in Dante tonight.

He was glad it wasn’t aimed at him and his people.

He realized that going up against Dante wouldn’t end well for them.

The man had too much control over his emotions.

He wasn’t making stupid mistakes ruled by fear.

He had never seen the man calmer, and it left a cold trail down his spine.

He followed in Dante’s wake, taking out the stragglers as they cleared the way for the others to enter the building.

He felt a rise of unease at how many people were there.

They couldn’t all be guarding Kian. All things considered, he wasn’t that important to the gang.

Was Dante truly here for Kian, or was there something else he hadn’t shared?

The thought had his shoulders rising with tension.

With the way cleared, Wilder, Talon, and Nicky moved into position on either side of the front door to the building he hoped Dante was right about Kian being held in.

He didn’t want a war with Serrano, but if Dante was lying and one of his people got hurt or worse because of it, he would put a bullet through the man’s skull himself.

Once the others disappeared through the door, Dante motioned for Kaz to follow as he made his way around the building, sticking close to the side. He halted under the overhang, and Kaz threw a cautious glance around. He didn’t trust Dante. Not one fucking bit.

The noise of repeated gunshots made it hard to focus, and the chatter in his ear didn’t help, but he tuned it out the way his dad taught him to years ago. He shoved everything down deep, thoughts and fears. He needed to move. To survive.

“Cover me,” Dante said and ran to the other building.

Kaz cursed and followed, unwilling to let Dante out of his sight.

He felt the gravel spray from a bullet hitting close to his feet, but no other shots came; the shooter hitting the ground with a knife in his throat.

He gave Emma a quick nod and received a dark smile in return before she moved on, another knife already drawn.

Dante disappeared through the door, and Kaz kept his gun close to his chest as he stepped inside, expecting the worst. He found himself in a small front room with just a few pieces of furniture.

There was an open door across from the entry, and he made his way to it with silent steps, listening for any movement in the next room.

Low voices filtered through the yells and gunshots coming from next door, and he continued deeper into the building. He stepped into an open room with countless tables lined up in rows. For packing the drugs, he assumed.

A section in the left corner caught his attention. There was a flimsy gray folding partition creating a small corner office. He didn’t spot anyone else in the room, so he crept closer, weaving between tables.

“He’s gonna find out,” someone snapped, the man’s anger a clear attempt to hide his fear.

“And how the fuck would he find out?”

Dante.

What the fuck was he doing?

He peeked around the partition, watching Dante stand before a man on his knees. If memory served, it was one of the men he’d made his deal with. There was blood running down the man’s chin from his broken nose.

“You think he won’t?” The man’s bravado did little with how his voice trembled. “He’ll come for―”

Something flashed through Dante’s eyes so fast he barely caught it before the flare of Dante’s gun made Kaz jerk. Dante slowly lowered his gun and turned his head toward Kaz.

He met Dante’s gaze. His eyes were cold and lifeless again, something inside Kaz telling him this wasn’t who Dante was. There was another side to the man. One he’d only seen flashes of tonight, but it made him wonder. It made him question even more what Dante was doing with these people.

There was more going on than he knew, and he hated feeling like he was left out of something important. He was never keeping a damned thing from Miles again. Screw anyone who complained.

Dante’s eyes widened.

“Down,” Dante yelled.

Kaz hit the ground, a gun going off. The sound of it had his ears ringing, disorienting him for a breathless moment.

He snapped his head around just in time to see a man with a hole between his eyes crumble to the ground behind him, a gun clattering as it slid a few feet away, disappearing under the partition.

He breathed in deeply, then turned his attention back on Dante, who stepped toward him, gun hanging loosely in his right hand. He extended his other hand toward Kaz, his lips lifting in the shadow of a smile.

“Thank you,” he said as he let Dante pull him up.

He never heard Dante’s reply because movement caught his eye, and then he was pushing Dante aside, raising his gun, and pulling the trigger. Bullets ripped through the two gang members who’d snuck up on them from behind the partition.

Dante was on the ground, his gun clicking loudly when it emptied. Kaz breathed out, his chest heaving as his pulse raged. He walked toward the bodies, checking to make sure they were dead.

Dante got up, a hand pressed against his upper arm, blood seeping through his fingers.

“You alright?” Kaz asked.

Dante removed his hand from his arm, looking at the wound with a blank expression, blood running down his arm and dripping onto the floor.

“I’ll live.”

Kaz gave him a nod, and then they were on the move again, walking through the building to go back outside and join the others.

“We’re clear on this side,” Jane’s voice sounded in his ear, and he relayed the message to Dante, who motioned with a dip of his chin back toward the other building.

They remained vigilant, staying close together as they moved along the side of the building.

A group of Kings met them in front of the entrance, all looking in one piece, if not a little bloodied.

Whether it was their own or someone else’s, he couldn’t tell.

He caught sight of Emma and breathed a small sigh of relief. At least she was alright.

Cooper had his hand thrust toward her, and she took it in hers with a roll of her eyes, barely inspecting what was likely just a scratch before dropping his hand again.

“We’ve got him,” someone yelled from the doorway, and Kaz’s shoulders lowered by an inch, the tension seeping out of him.

A low noise had him turning his head to look at Dante. He’d expected to find relief on his face, but all that stared back at him was nothing but that coldness he was coming to expect from him.

“Do me a favor?” Dante asked, his voice empty of all emotion. “Don’t tell him.”

Dante didn’t wait for confirmation before he turned and walked away, gun tucked back into his shoulder holster. Kaz watched him for a second longer, and then he headed toward the building.

Walking past several bodies, he found Talon, Wilder, and Kian in a small dark room close to the middle of the building. There was a chair in the middle, cut rope surrounding it on the floor.

“And here I thought the kids were the ones who’d get us in trouble,” Wilder said, amusement lacing his voice.

Kian grumbled under his breath, falling quiet the second he noticed Kaz in the doorway. Red tinted his neck and cheeks, and he dropped his gaze to the ground.

Kaz held his hand out and Kian took it cautiously, grunting when Kaz pulled him into a hug.

“I’m glad you’re alright. Even if you’re a fucking idiot.”

“It’s not like I meant to get kidnapped,” Kian mumbled.

“As much as I want to say, ‘don’t let it happen again,’ I know you too well,” Kaz teased.

“I’m never gonna live this down, am I?”

He met Kian’s pleading gaze, a smile tugging at his lips.

“Never.”

Kian dropped his head back with a long-suffering sigh. He slapped Kian on the back and said, “Let’s get the fuck outta here.”

He had a man to get home to.