“Fuck!” Mouse shouts and stumbles over to his brother.
“Is... is he?”
“They fuckin’ killed him!” Mouse confirms the bad news in a howl full of agony.
Seeing tears in Spider’s eyes, I push him away, looking past him to see Mouse cradling his dead brother in his arms. That Adam is gone there can be no doubt, half his head is missing.
I’m shaking so much it’s hard to keep my balance. Adam was such a fixture in the clubhouse—there hadn’t been a time I could remember when he hadn’t been glued to the game machines. Now he’ll never play them again. I swallow back a sob, realising there’s nothing I or anyone can do for Adam and feeling a bit like an intruder. Wanting to give the bikers some privacy to grieve, I start to turn to go back to the women.
Suddenly Mouse rasps out, “Gates are wide open, Prospect.”
Swinging back, I see Spider run to close them. As he’s pulling them shut, I hear the distinctive roar of a Harley coming up the roadway. Spider runs back, pushing past me, his gun already in his hand. “Wheels, get out of sight.”
“It has to be Doc, hasn’t it?” I’m hopeful, I can’t take much more today.
“Fuckin’ hope so, but I gotta make sure.”
I get myself out of the way, hiding behind the wall of the garage, but as I hear a voice I recognise, I come out again to see the ex-Army medic is getting off his bike.
He’s staring at me, assessing me. I know I must look a mess, pale and shaking, but I’m not the one who needs help. So forcing my voice to be calm, I bring him up to speed, “Adam’s dead, Mouse has a head injury, and, Carmen, Sandy, and Ella are unconscious in the kitchen.”
Doc’s face is grim; he turns to Mouse.
The computer geek waves him off. “Take care of them first.”
“Wheels, come with me. I might need your help.” Not knowing how useful I can be, I follow him to the clubhouse and into the kitchen where he kneels next to each of the women, in turn lifting their eyelids to look at their pupils and taking their pulses. “I think they’ve just been drugged,” he pronounces at last. “Crystal, can you go get some blankets so we can make them more comfortable? I don’t want to move them until they come around in case they’ve got any head injuries.”
By the time we’ve seen to the comfort of the unconscious women as best we can, Mouse has joined us. Doc makes him take a seat and starts to examine him.
“Why didn’t they shoot you?” I ask, grateful that they hadn’t, but also surprised.
“My lucky day?” Mouse suggests dourly. “Or they wanted to keep someone alive to interrogate in case they couldn’t find you.”
Doc nods. “Whatever the reason, I’m glad of it. Any news of the others, Mouse?”
That gets my attention. “Not when I last checked. But that would be,” he consults the clock on the wall, “over an hour ago. Fuck. I’ll go check.”
“Not until I’ve finished examining you.” Doc sounds stern and it’s enough to make Mouse sit still.
“I tried to ring Wraith, there wasn’t an answer.”
Mouse glares at me. “Don’t do that again, Wheels. Let them concentrate on what they’re doing.”
“But shouldn’t they know?”
He heaves a sigh. “Sweetheart, I can’t tell you what their plan is, but they need to follow it through. You call your man and he’ll get distracted. Fuck, all of them will when they hear what’s happened here and about Adam. And Viper, Slick, and Bullet will have a fit about the girls.”
Reluctantly, I concede—he must know what he’s talking about.
I feel faint and put my hand out to the table. Doc moves fast for such a big man, and soon has me sitting with my head between my knees. “You’re in shock, darlin’,” he tells me softly.
“Doc, you finished with me yet?”
“Yeah, son. You’re good to go. Concussion watch though—you shouldn’t be alone. Keep the prospect with you.”
“I’ll go with him,” I offer, looking up. It would give me something useful to do rather than just hanging around worrying. And I’ll be at the hub of information and hopefully learn Wraith’s safe as soon as possible.
And he’s got to come back to me.
Chapter Thirty
Wraith…
Watching the Rock Demons clubhouse blow sky high is both exhilarating and horrifying at the same time. Seeing the flames shooting high into the air, knowing we’d be having no more trouble from that direction causes smiles and cheers from all around me, albeit tempered with a few ‘fucks’ and ‘shits’ as we all realise that could be our clubhouse burning and our members dying.
From the info Mouse had been feeding us, we know their prez and VP had been inside, together with their other officers, so we’ve definitely cut the head off the snake. When a couple of the non-ranking members flee the inferno, we decide enough is enough and let them go. We don’t like killing men unnecessarily and taking out the ones in command had achieved our primary objective. If we hadn’t hit first, they’d have done the same to us. Now, hopefully, we won’t have to watch our backs. Well, not unless they regroup and come for us again, but at the moment that seems unlikely, as we haven’t left enough of them alive for that.
The plan had worked smoothly—Viper, Dart, and I had managed to get up close, planting the explosives at their points of weakness. Utilising the skills that got me my name, I’d gotten the most difficult target, their main entrance, but chose the moment they’d left it unguarded. Viper reported back that one of their sheds was being used as a meth lab, backing right onto their clubhouse. What idiots would do that? Of course, he took the time to rig that too. Sloppy motherfuckers hadn’t seen us coming.
Even knowing about the lab, the size of the explosion took us by surprise, and the resulting pops and bangs from their obviously sizeable armoury, together with a few louder booms made us query each other as to what the fuck they had stored in there. But hopefully, whatever it was would be sufficient that any investigation by the authorities would put the blame there and not look for outsider involvement. Any such scrutiny would probably be half-hearted in any event, as no one would shed many tears about the loss of a group of outlaw bikers.
We’ve retreated to a safe distance now, watching from afar as the increasingly growing sounds of sirens reach us. The smoke rising in the air would easily be visible from Phoenix.
I glance at my phone. Mouse has been out of contact for half-an-hour. Luckily, he was online and keeping us all connected until we were ready to press the button, but after that he’d gone quiet. At first, I put it down to a faulty signal, but now a sense of unease comes over me.
“Can’t get hold of Mouse.” I nudge Drummer. “The line’s gone dead. I’ve tried ringing him several times, but no answer.”
Drum pulls his eyes away from the conflagration and gives his attention to me. “What the fuck? Are you trying his burner?”
“And his personal phone.”
“Damn, he’s the one brother who never goes incommunicado.”
Taking out my phone, I try another number. It rings out.
Drummer’s watching me carefully. “Trying Adam?”
I shake my head. “Yeah, but no luck there either.” Next, I try Sophie, but it just rings out. I send her a quick text. As Drum tilts his head toward me, I give a shake of mine. “Tried Spider too. No one’s answering.”
He runs his hand down his beard as I try to stifle the fear rapidly rising inside me. “Fuck. Trouble at home, VP. Think we need to get ourselves on the road.” As he stands and waves the brothers with us together, I send a quick text to the other groups to let them know we’re heading back, and to be prepared for anything when we get there.
Walking beside him to the bikes, he gets a text. He reads it, then tells me, “Red took out the drug runners. From what Mouse had gotten from the cameras earlier, there weren’t many of the Demons that weren’t inside their clubhouse. Don’t see how it could be them making an attack on our compound.”
“Who the fuck else could it be, Prez?”
He places his hand on my arm. “We don’t know anythings wrong yet.”
I don’t contradict him out loud, but I fucking know there is. Someone should have answered. What the hell is going on?
I pull on my brain bucket and put on my sunglasses. Drum wastes no time getting out on the road. I ride behind him, and shortly after, Peg pulls up alongside, having joined us. We hadn’t planned to meet up and ride back together; we were going back in small groups and not flying our colours as we didn’t want to advertise that Satan’s Devils were in Phoenix today. But Peg’s throwing me a grim look, and I know he’s worried too. I’m glad he’ll be with us when we arrive.
Drummer signals to indicate we should pull over to the side. As he does so, I see he’s talking on the phone.
“What…?” I can’t hide my impatience, but he gesticulates showing he wants me to hold off for a moment.
Impatiently, I rise up and down on my heels, my hands tightening into fists as I grow more and more anxious about Wheels. Especially when I hear his side of the conversation.
“You okay man?”
“Fuck.”
“FUCK!”
“Good man!”
“The fuckin’ women?”
I can barely hold myself back from snatching the phone from his hand. Looking at Peg, I see he’s as impatient as I am to find out what’s going on. My breathing becomes laboured as I remember Sophie this morning and her concerns about me leaving her alone. She’d been worried about me; I never thought I’d be the one ending up scared out of my mind for her.
At last Drum ends the call and turns to us with as grave a look on his face as I’ve ever seen.
“Sophie?” I ask, unable to be patient.
The shake of his head causes my heart to stop, but his dismissal wasn’t for her. “She’s fine,” he reassures me. “But Adam’s dead, Mouse has a concussion, and three of the women are unconscious, but Doc thinks they’ve been drugged and are probably going to be alright.”
Heart, Viper, and Bullet are with another group so won’t be finding out about their old ladies until they get back. For their sakes, I hope their women will have woken up by then.
“What the fuck did we miss?” Peg growls. “Was it the Demons?”
Drum looks at us steadily. “No, it was something to do with that bastard after Wheels.”
“But he’s dead!” I’m incredulous, we thought the risk was gone.
“Seems like his sidekick wasn’t. He had two men with him.” Again, Drum gives a shake of his head, but this time in disbelief. “Young Spider took out all three. He’s an incredible shot it seems.”
Peg gapes, then huffs a laugh. “Kid always aced it at the range practicing. Fuck, but I’m proud of him.” Then his face falls. “But Adam, fuck.” He kicks at a rock on the ground. “FUCK!”
I’m itching to get back on the bike and home to Soph. Raising my eyebrow at Drum, he nods, understanding my impatience, and wastes no time getting us back on our way.
We’re the first group to return to the compound. Sophie’s waiting for me and starts toward me as fast as she can. I’m off, and my arms are around her, holding her so tight. She’s sobbing and tears come to my own eyes, understanding now the fear she had for me earlier today. I feel like holding her forever and never letting her go, but I’m the VP, others are waiting on me. Reluctantly, at last, I let her go, but keep a tight hold on her hand.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m alright. Spider was brilliant, Wraith, he shot them all.” Her words are brave, but her hand is shaking in mine, letting me know three men gunned down in front of her probably took its toll.
“They would have taken you, darlin’”
She knows that. “They would have killed me.”
Drum’s slapping Spider on the back, and I’ve no doubt we’ll be patching him in. Probably very soon—he’ll certainly get my vote.
When the prez has finished with him, I beckon him over and grasp his shoulder with my free hand, squeezing it to show my heartfelt appreciation. “Thank you.”
He looks at the ground. “Couldn’t have done it without your ol’ lady’s help, VP. You’ve got a smart one there.”
Now, this story I have to hear, but it will have to be later. Still holding her hand, I go into the clubhouse, my eyes widening at the carnage inside, but I’ve got admiration for the expert way in which the men were taken out. The attire and equipment of two of the bodies suggest to me they were professionals, and Spider again goes up in my estimation. Silencers are attached to the weapons, explaining how they got to Adam with no one else being aware.
Sophie’s hiding her face in my side, so I don’t linger, but go on through to the kitchen. There are three women sitting around the table, all looking worse for wear, Sandy with her head in her hands. Crystal’s walking around with a tray, giving out bottles of water. The mood is sombre. There’s been a death here today.
Doc comes over, Drum’s followed us in. Glancing up at our retained medic, he indicates the old ladies.
Doc nods. “They were given some sort of sedative, all seem to have put up a bit of a fight, but they’ve got bumps and scrapes, nothing major. Mouse has a concussion.” He closes his eyes for a second then opens them, his face crestfallen. “Adam was gone when I got here. He didn’t have a chance.”
“Stay here with Crystal for a minute?” I ask Sophie. She obviously wants to stay by my side, but I need to talk to Peg. I’m proud when she only has a second’s hesitation before nodding and moving away.
I touch Doc’s arm and jerk my head toward my woman, he follows me into the clubroom, his eyes narrowing as they fall on the bodies lying sprawled in the middle of the floor. He answers my question without me having to voice it. “She’s a strong woman, your Wheels,” he starts, “but what’s gone down here today would be tough on anyone. Keep your eye on her and don’t be surprised if she lets it all out later on. She’s in shock, but I don’t think I have to treat her. Get some food into her, hell, give her a drink. But most of all, just be here for her. She’s going to come down with a bang once the adrenaline wears off. Fuck, we all are. Don’t normally have this trouble on our fuckin’ doorstep.”
“Thanks, Doc.” As he goes back to treat his patients, I go over to Peg.
“Spider took care of this better than I would have expected.” He kicks at one of the prone figures. “I’ll grab Marsh when he’s back, and Blade, and we’ll get these fuckers out of our damn clubhouse.”
At that moment, a loud roar of engines signals the brothers are returning, and for the next hour or so it’s all bringing them up to speed as they come back in, their staggered departure from Phoenix meaning we have to go over it a number of times. A red-faced Spider gets more and more overwhelmed by all the attention he’s getting. I doubt anyone will be voting against him when the time comes.
A week later and again we gather along with our other charters at another funeral, and I for one hope it will be the last for quite some time.
Adam’s final farewell marks the end of this period in the club’s history. There’s been no approach from any of the remaining Demons or their associates, and Sophie’s last threat is rotting in the ground, high up in the forest.
As I watch my woman organise the sweet butts and assist the other old ladies, making sure all the visiting members are adequately catered to, it hits me how she’s started to fit into our environment. Trouble’s come too close to our door, but instead of rolling over, she’s stepped up to the mark, being quick to offer comfort and support to the other women who should have been able to feel protected in the safety of their own club. Unfortunately, we’ve lost one, Ella having made the decision that biker cock was not worth everything that came along with it, and to Slick’s great disappointment, is back living a civilian life in town. I know it’s hurt him, but it takes a special woman to adapt to this life. One just like mine.
We’ve learned our lesson, never to leave the co
mpound so unguarded again, and resolved to increase the number of members in the mother charter but, as I’ve found today, despite our recent issues, a few brothers from other chapters would be more than happy to patch over. We’ll also need more prospects now.
Of course, as I expected, Spider was voted in and gained a new road name, Shooter. The way he protected my woman and killed the intruders made him a man we’re all happy to call brother. Poor Marsh, now our only prospect, is being run ragged trying to keep all the members happy. Of course, we’re all being understanding. Not. Uh-uh.
Deep in contemplation, the hefty slap on my back startles me.
“How you doing, Brother?”
I shrug. “It’s been a shock to all of us, Red.”
“Well, I helped where I could.” I know his ambush on the drug runners was successful, and I thank him for taking some of the Demons off our back.
“How’s Sophie coping? She gonna be hanging around?”
Now that’s what I’ve been wondering, worrying about. Now that it’s safe for her to go back to England, after everything that’s gone down, will she still want to stay? I’m not a man who allows himself to have doubts, but about her? Nothing much frightens me in this life, but I’ve been too afraid to broach this particular subject.
So I shrug and tell him the other thing on my mind, “Not sharing her again, Red.”
He eyes me astutely. “Didn’t expect you to, Brother. If I had someone like her I wouldn’t want any fucker to touch her either. Even you.”
I don’t want him to feel bad. “But it helped mend her.” And that’s the other problem, she is mended. She’ll never get her leg back, but mentally she’s in a good place. And physically? Well, she’s independent enough and now that she’s no longer in danger she can go where she likes and do what she wants.
And then she passes us, giving a warm smile to Red, which I notice doesn’t quite reach her eyes, and pauses to place a kiss on my cheek. She’s got a plate of food in her arms and is managing to get through the jostling throng without too many problems. Just that brief touch of her lips has me hardening.
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