Chapter 4 - Judas in Leather
Two days later, the rain was pouring in sheets outside a rundown motel off Interstate 95.
Leo was sitting on the edge of a stained mattress, eating cold canned beans. He had barely slept. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the dark men who had dragged his father away. Brick sat by the window, peering through the blinds into the stormy night. The tension in the room was suffocating.
They had been running for forty-eight hours, changing cars three times, but the Obsidian Syndicate was always exactly one step behind them. It was unnatural.
"They're tracking us," Brick said quietly, dropping the blinds. "No matter what route we take, they find the scent."
"Maybe it's the kid," Snake muttered from the corner, where he was cleaning a revolver. "Maybe they chipped him."
Brick walked over to Leo, inspecting the boy’s clothes and skin, finding nothing. Then, slowly, Brick turned his gaze toward Snake. The second-in-command shifted uncomfortably under the heavy stare.
"Snake," Brick said, his voice dangerously low. "When we switched cars in Vegas, you were the only one who knew the route. When we hit the diner in Reno, you made a phone call."
"I was calling my old lady, Brick! Come on!" Snake stood up, feigning outrage, but his hand drifted slightly toward the gun on the table.
Brick didn't hesitate. With terrifying speed for a man his size, he crossed the room and slammed Snake against the wall, his forearm crushing against the man's throat. Snake gasped, his feet dangling off the floor.
"How much?" Brick hissed, pulling a burner phone from Snake's leather jacket. He flipped it open and saw a single sent message: Motel 6, Room 14.
"They... they said they’d wipe out the whole club, Brick!" Snake choked out, tears of panic in his eyes. "They just want the kid! It’s Elias’s leverage! They don’t care about us!"
"The club is built on loyalty," Brick whispered, his eyes filled with a terrifying, heartbroken sorrow. "Without it, we're just thugs."
Brick threw Snake to the floor. "Take your bike. Ride north. If I ever see your face again, I’ll kill you myself."
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As Snake scrambled out the door into the rain, Brick turned to Leo and grabbed his duffel bag. "Shoes on, kid. They're already here."
Outside, the unmistakable sound of heavy SUV engines purred over the roaring thunder.
