Raine nodded over to Cassidy. “Your little lady would have shot us all dead if we had spilled these beans.”
“How’s little Abel doin’?” I asked, getting them all beers.
“Good. Home with Crickett for some grandma time. Growing like a fucking weed,” Ryder replied with a proud look plastered on his face.
I hugged them all and shot the shit with my friends for a bit.
“Hey guys! Y’all made it!” Mac and Buck greeted the presidents of the other charters and their old ladies with quick hugs.
“Happy birthday, brother.” Mac bumped his can to mine.
“Guys, can you give us a second?”
“Sure thing.” Bear’s large hand landed on my top of my back. “It is really good to see you, brother. With or without a cut on.”
I watched as the group walked out of earshot before I growled at my former president and his new VP. “That shipment is still at the goddamned warehouse. Care to fucking fill me in, brother?”
Buck put his hand on my shoulder. “Nothing to worry about. I’ll handle it. Let’s just have a good night. I’ll figure out that mess in the morning.”
“I would be having a better night if I didn’t have stolen narcotics in my warehouse where my drug-addicted brother-in-law fucking works.” I was pissed, and I wanted them to know it.
“It’ll be handled, you have my word, and you’ll be compensated for the extra storage time,” Buck said coolly.
“It’s not about the money and you fucking know that,” I bellowed before crushing the rest of the Budweiser in my hand, letting the can fall to the loose dirt next to my boot. “You have until Friday before I handle it myself.”
Right as Mac was about to jump to Buck’s defense, an unmarked, blacked-out van crashed through the gate like a bat out of hell. Before I knew what was happening, a machine gun was blasting off, trying to mow down everyone in the field. Return fire from most of the men scared the van away, but I watched in horror as Cassidy was pulled into Witt’s arms and he covered her and his wife.
The episode was over as quickly as it started, and I rushed to Cass’s side, time speeding back up to normal after seeming to decelerate to slow motion. She was holding her bleeding side, collapsed in Witt’s arms.
“Baby, oh my god.” I pulled her to me, screaming, “Who the fuck was that?”
Ryder and Bear hurried to my aid, helping me check Cassidy for other wounds.
The crowd gathered around as everyone else checked to make sure there were no other casualties. I didn’t care. I leapt to my feet and into my truck as fast as I could.
I tossed my keys to Nate. “Drive,” I barked.
“Follow that van!” I yelled out my window as we sped to the hospital with Cassidy.
I ripped my shirt off, holding it to her side. It was soaked with blood within seconds. “You’re going to be all right, baby. Just stay with me.”
Her eye fluttered as she mumbled, “Was I really shot?”
“Baby, you’re going to be fine. The docs are going to fix you right up.”
The tires screeched as we pulled up to the front entrance of the emergency department.
I bolted through the doors, shouting, “Please help! My wife has been shot.”
* * *
“Thanks, Witt. I appreciate it. Feel free to put Kathleen to sleep in the guest room and y’all can sleep in our room. I’ll call you when I know more.” I hung up the phone, shoving it back into my pocket.
I paced in the waiting room, my white undershirt still covered in Cassidy’s blood. Nate sat in a chair off to the side, his head in his hands. Silently, Raine and Scarlett sat in chairs crying while Ryder and Bear joined the club at the barn to try to get to the bottom of the cause of the shooting. Cassidy had already been in surgery for an hour, which left like years at that point.
“Ryan, I have to tell you something.” Nate’s tear-filled eyes met mine as I walked over to him.
“What is it?” I tried to stay calm, but panic was already taking over.
“I think I know who those guys were. They were after me.” He started sobbing into his hands again. “I fucked up, man. I really fucked up.”
Grabbing him by the throat, I pulled him to his feet. “What the fuck did you do?” I shouted into his face, spit flying all over his red cheeks.
“I really fucked up,” he blubbered.
“I need more information than that,” I demanded gruffly, tightening my grip on his throat.
Raine jumped up next to me. “Ryan, you need to try to calm down for Cass’s sake. We don’t need to cause a scene in the middle of the hospital.”
I knew Ryder’s queen was right, but I didn’t care. If Nate was the reason why Cassidy had a bullet wound in her side, I was not going to calm the fuck down.
“He needs to answer me,” I barked at her and she backed away. She knew better than to stand in the way when men fought.
“They’re the thugs my dealer uses for back payment. It’s who Cass saw the other day at the house. I owe a lot of money to the wrong people.”
“Fucking asshole,” Scarlett muttered and I agreed with her.
His confession made me see red. I punched him square in the jaw, letting him drop to the floor at my feet. Both women gasped but didn’t make a move to help him.
“Who are they?” I growled, pulling my phone out of my pocket.
“Some of the Renegades. I’ve been buying from them this entire time. I never really got clean.” He was on his knees, holding his cheek.
“I need a name.” I started to dial Buck.
“Darvey is the guy I’ve been buying from.”
I knew the scumbag well. He was supposed to be an ally of the Unacceptables, not dealing to their family members.
Buck answered on the first ring. “Yeah?”
“Darvey has been dealing to Cassie’s fucking brother this whole damn time. They’re behind this shit.”
“We lost the van, but I know where their safe house is,” Buck replied. “Want me to handle it?”
“No. Wait for me. This is my score to settle.”
I hung up and sank into a chair across from Nate.
“Girls, go to the barn,” I ordered.
“We don’t mind staying here,” Raine muttered.
“Yeah, okay. That might be better. Thanks.” I gently gripped their hands.
I hung up and sank into a chair across from Nate.“What the fuck am I supposed to do now? Your sister, my wife is lying on an operating table, fighting for her life because you wanted to get fucking high. Do you know how bad all of this shit is?” I yelled.
“I’m so sorry, Ax. I am so fucking sorry,” he mumbled as he wept.
“You’re getting yourself into an inpatient rehab this time. I don’t care how much you don’t want to fucking go. You need to get cleaned up if you want to be a part of this family ever again.”
The doctor finally came out of the operating room, walking over with a smile on his face.
“How is she?” I asked, holding my breath, not able to stand from my seat.
“Your wife lost a lot of blood, but she’s going to be fine. We’re going to be moving her to the ICU soon. You’ll be able to see her there.”
Relief washed over me. I didn’t know what I would have done if Cass hadn’t pulled through. There would have been a lot more blood on my hands, to say the least.
“Thank you, doctor.” Tears ran down my face as everything started to sink in. Everything I had done to try to keep Cassidy safe wasn’t enough; she was still in danger. In that moment, I had never felt more vulnerable or out of control.
“Go home,” I ordered Nate. “I don’t want you here right now.”
“Can I at least see her?” he asked, still sitting on the floor like a damn coward.
“You don’t get to see her or my son again until you’re clean. Mark my words, you will not be part of our family if you’re a junkie. We stood by you for years while you struggled, and now it’s time to be a man and ha
ndle your shit on your own.”
I walked toward the ICU section of the hospital with Raine and Scarlett. There was nothing more to say to my brother-in-law. He needed to experience tough love for the first time in his life; it was the only way I knew how to save him at that point.
Sinking down on the side of Cassidy’s hospital bed, I completely broke. She was still out from the meds, hooked up to the machines.
It felt like a lifetime before her eyes finally fluttered open.
“Baby.” I grabbed her hand as I looked down at her.
“Ryan.” A small smile perked up her cheeks. “What happened?”
“Nothing that isn’t going to be handled,” I responded.
“No more blood, please. All of this needs to stop. What if Mikey, Abel or Kathleen had been there?” Tears started to roll down her face, seeing the fear in her eyes sent a knife right into my heart.
“I have to handle this, baby.”
“Do you know who they were?”
I nodded. “Yes, and I am going to make sure nothing like this happens to our family ever again.”
“We’ll stay with her and keep you posted.” Scarlett scooted her chair closer to Cassidy’s bedside.
“We got this.” Raine gave me a sympathetic smile as I started to back out of the room.
“I love you, Cass.” I muttered.
She blew me a kiss. “Come home to me.”
“Always, baby.”
Chapter 7
Ryan
Leaving Cassidy’s bedside was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do, but I was on a mission. After dropping the Bronco off at my house and checking on Mikey, I got my motorcycle out of the garage. I rode to the barn like I had hundreds of times before, but this time was different. I had never felt bloodlust like I did in that moment. The thirst to find the fucker who shot Cass and slice him from ear to ear was all I could think of as I threw my kickstand out and made my way in to meet with the men who were going to help me get my vengeance.
“Are you sure you know where the safe house is?” I asked Buck in the chapel room, sitting at the table with my former club.
Bear handed me my old mug with three fingers of whiskey as he took a seat next to me.
Buck nodded over to the guy across from me. “Walsh checked it out and the van is sitting right out front.”
“We’re all in this with you, man. For Cass!” Ryder held up his shot glass to me before shoting down the amber liquid.
“I knew as soon as that shipment got dropped off at the warehouse that something was going on with the Renegades. I hope they’re ready for this war.” I wanted every one of their damn heads on a spike.
“We’re going to make this right, brother.” Buck tried to reassure me as he handed me a sawed-off shotgun before slamming the gavel down. “Let’s go teach these fuckers that they messed with the wrong outlaws.”
“How’s Cass?” Bear asked as we walked out of the room.
“Out of surgery. Doc said she’s going to be fine. The girls are staying with her.”
“Good to hear. Our women are just as close as we are. They’ll take good care of her.” Ryder gave me a quick hug before we began our preparations.
We were armed to the teeth, covered in Kevlar, ready for the mission that awaited us. The brotherhood consumed me as each man prepared for battle. I had walked away from them, but within a moment’s notice they were ready to defend my family, without question.
“I just want to say that whatever happens tonight, I love you all and appreciate what you’re about to do for me.” It was sappy but true and needed to be said.
“We love you, brother, and we protect our own.” Buck straddled his hog before letting the engine roar to life.
Ryder and Bear hopped into our extra van, ready to follow us to the house. They waved to me as the lights turned on.
Right then, I knew I had just pretended to leave the Unacceptables. I hadn’t truly left the family—I still worked with them, still safeguarded their shipments, still treated them like family. It was true: once you’re in, there really is no getting out. I had only given up my spot at the table but not the brotherhood. The tattoos still stained my skin, and the association was still rooted in my heart. It felt right riding with my pack, flying down the road.
It didn’t take long for us to get to the safe house.
Walsh walked over to me, leaning against the back of my bike. “From what I could tell, there are at least five guys in there. We’ll cover both the back and front doors, and you get to make the call on who lives and dies once we’re in.”
Buck and Mac were standing next to us and they nodded in agreement. We had fifteen men with us, and I loved when the odds were in our favor.
“Give us a thirty count then bust through the back door. Mac, Buck, Ryder, Bear, you’re with me in the front. Let’s let them think we only came to talk for a minute. I wanna fuck with them for as long as I can.”
“Aye, brother.” Buck slapped me on the back. “It’s good to have you back for this one.”
“It’s good to be back.”
Kicking in the front door, I fired one shot into the air. “Hello, boys,” I yelled as the five of us strode in.
Guns drawn, one of the Renegades yelled, “What the fuck is this?”
Bear walked in front of me. “We got word that some of you boys decided to spray down a party we were having over at the Lewis Plantation this evening.”
Ryder laughed a little. “Now we had our woman there, our family. That’s just bad form, gentlemen.”
Right on cue, the rest of the Unacceptables burst through the back door.
“We don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.” Darvey’s hands flew into the air.
“Don’t fucking lie to me! My wife had to have a bullet pulled out of her side because of the shit you motherfuckers decided to pull.” I pointed my gun right at his face.
All five of the Renegades pointed their side arms at me as the rest of the Unacceptables walked in.
“Not a good idea, boys. Drop them,” Walsh demanded, and the men did as they were told.
“He’s mine.” I motioned to Darvey, and everyone nodded.
Walking over to the sniveling rat bastard, I put the butt of my shotgun to his temple. “You have the fucking balls to sell pills to my brother, shoot my wife, and then you fucking lie to my face about it?”
He put his hands higher in the air. “We were just trying to scare him. He’s been dodging us to avoid making his payments for weeks.”
“That feels like a confession, boys,” Bear chuckled, a dangerous fire lit in his eyes.
“This relationship is over. You dealing drugs in our town is fucking done.” Buck growled from across the table as Mac shot one of their members in the temple. “I thought we could trust you. Shame on me for thinking scumbags like you could ever be trusted.”
“Holy fuck!” Darvey yelled as he tried to scramble to his feet.
I shoved his shoulder down. “Don’t even think about it.”
I pointed to the other three guys and without a word, they were taken out one by one by Bear and Ryder.
“Just think of that as collateral damage for dealing drugs. It’s a very dangerous business,” I whispered in his ear.
“That was my brother, man,” he groaned as tears started to roll down his pitiful face.
“Yeah? I lost my brother while he was fighting for our country overseas. He would put a bullet in your skull right here for being such a piece of shit that pisses on the freedom you get from living in this country.”
“What do you want to do with him, boss?” Mac asked, holding rope in his hands, just waiting for my orders.
“Tie him up and get me some pliers.” A devilish simper spread on my face as I formulated my torturous plan.
“Oh, this is going to be fun,” Ryder remarked as he leaned against the counter.
Tying him to the chair, Mac looked over his shoulder at me. “Can I take a few teeth?”
&nb
sp; “Let me get a few licks in first, brother.” I took the large pliers out of Walsh’s hands before letting the metal connect hard with Darvey’s jaw. “Gotta loosen it up a bit for you.”
Darvey screamed in agony with every blow.
“You’re never going to be able to sell another damn thing or ride that pretty bike of yours ever again. Gag him, shut him the fuck up,” I bellowed as the guys did what I asked.
His muffled pleas for salvation fell on deaf ears as he whimpered and moaned.
“This is for Nate.” I took my sidearm and shot through his right hand. “And this is for Cass,” I roared as I shot through his left.
Handing the pliers to Mac, I gave him a quick wink. “Have fun, but save the tongue for me.”
Darvey struggled, trying to thrash his head from side to side while I held his bloodied skull in place for Mac. It was sick to see the pleasure we were taking in the torture, but it united us.
After about ten teeth were ripped from his gums and tossed on the floor, I took the pliers back and retrieved my buck knife from its sheath in my boot.
Gripping the end of his tongue, I sliced through it slowly. Tears rolled, snot dripped, moans emanated. I threw the severed tongue onto his lap. “This is for every mother who’s had to bury her baby from an overdose you caused. Now you get to live knowing pain like theirs.” I turned to the rest of the group as they stood in silence, watching the gruesome show. “We’re done here.”
Buck put his hand on my back. “You good, brother?”
“I will be once Cassidy is back home,” I responded before heading back to my bike.
Chapter 8
A few months later
Cassidy
Finally feeling like myself again, I sat with Mikey on the couch. As he slept in my arms, I couldn’t help but be relieved that life had finally gotten back to normal.
Ryan made his way into the room, his old cut in clutched in his hand. “Baby, can I talk to you?”
The Unacceptables Series Box Set Two: Books Five through Nine with Exclusive Bonus Chapters Page 15
