“What?” She wasn’t responsible for any of this shit.
“She made the call and is guilty about what followed.” Zero shrugged. “She made her choice, and we made ours.”
The club was in this situation because of my reaction. What if I had handled Frankie differently? Had I made the best choice? Too late now—the bottom line was clear—we would solve the problem tonight. I anticipated my stay in Vegas while I sorted shit in the next few months. I didn’t have anything keeping me in Oklahoma, and the idea of seeing Glory in Vegas excited me. I finally admitted that I wasn’t done with her yet. I needed a few more nights.
“I’ve got to burn this energy.” I changed into running clothes.
Zero did the same.
We started running south without a destination in mind. I’d run until this nervous tension was expended. I replayed the plan in my mind, visualizing each step over and over. The plan had to be so ingrained I didn’t need to think. Every detail had to be precise, and it was my job to make sure all those details were absolutely right. The plan tonight was staged to give the Triad the credit. It had to be perfect so that the more the Triad denied involvement, the more guilty they became. Thorn figured they’d take credit and sweep in to the empty space we created. That’s what we needed.
My mind quieted as I ran. The repetition of my shoes hitting the concrete road soothed me, and soon I found the peace I sought. Zero kept pace but for once didn’t try and run his mouth. We ran a long time in quiet camaraderie before turning and heading back to our motel. After a shower, I dressed and loaded up with the arsenal of weapons Thorn had assigned me—only he carried more weapons than me.
At 21:00 we left the hotel and drove toward the compound, arriving at 00:17, three minutes ahead of schedule. The house was centered on a couple of acres away from other homes in the area—that worked to our advantage. The compound had a high wrought-iron fence with sharp points surrounding it. It was wired to alert if someone scaled it, but Eagle would disarm the security system before our entry. Then there were more than a hundred feet of empty yard to cross with little to no cover. But we all knew what to do, and we’d make it to our targets.
Thorn looked at each of us masked in identical ski masks. Yet each of us held ourselves differently, making it easy to identify my brothers. “This is it. Do it right.” He wasn’t a motivational speaker. We all nodded back, then the four teams of two deployed to our assigned entry points. Zero and I waited at the Humvee—one of two vehicles we’d brought.
“Will we see any action?” Zero had no military training, but he’d seen action in Brotherhood skirmishes. The guy was a natural leader, and he’d go places in the club. He was my opposite in many ways.
“Hopefully not.” I motioned him to follow.
We moved through the gate team one had cleared and opened. “Two down.” They lay sprawled on the green lawn. We cut the throats of the two dead men. That left sixteen, according to our intel.
“Four down.” Eagle spoke next. He was part of team two.
That was good, we were still silent. The longer we killed without any noise, the better our odds of success.
“Two down.” Mojo, part of team two, had entered the back. “No other guards. Repeat two missing.”
Damn. I walked by the two Thorn had put down. Zero and I cut their throats and place two silenced rounds in them. One in the head and the other in the heart. We moved across the manicured lawn in a low run to check Eagle’s kills. He’d cut the throats so we added the bullets. I was tempted to send Zero to follow Thorn, but I stuck to the plan. “We follow Mojo, and clean up.”
Zero nodded.
“Hunting.” This word let the other three teams know they should fully take out their target Triad style. I’d check each one before our team left, but we needed to account for the missing guards. I spotted the two Mojo had hit. Zero bent and sliced the throats. I searched the ground and spotted some cigarette butts. I moved over and continued toward the stucco pool house. I spotted lights there, but our intel didn’t have anyone located there. I bet our missing guards were taking a break. I motioned Zero to follow. He was quiet despite his lack of training. I spied two guys through the window. They had porn on the big screen.
Zero grinned and gave me a thumbs-up before starting around me. I held his black jacket until he made eye contact, then pointed to head and heart. We couldn’t afford any sloppy shots.
With another thumbs-up, he moved forward and through the door without any hesitation. I watched as the guy turned and Zero shot the first through the forehead, then the second fell to another precisely placed bullet. He stepped closer and finished the job with bullets to the heart and throats sliced. He wasn’t bloodthirsty, but determined, efficient, and maybe trying to prove something to himself. He was my brother and had nothing to prove to me or the others. We accepted our brothers without question or reservation—it was what made the club work.
“Two missing are down.” He spoke into his headset.
While we hunted, the count had increased to twelve, meaning only DeLuca and two guards were left. We made quick work, zigzagging through the yard to check the other kills. I had just checked the two in the front hall when the machine gun sounded. I brought up my machine gun, spraying bullets through the entryway and up into the ceiling. With two fingers, I indicated that Zero should set the incendiary charges. Scorched earth, literally.
I ran up the steps and surprised a guy leaving the bathroom—two shots and he was down. I slit his throat. Damn. There was a wild card and when there was one, there might be more. The machine gun sprayed again with its trademark rat-a-tat-tat rhythm. Three more doors opened and I started shooting with my machine gun. They got off a few shots.
“Six additional—do a full search.” I spoke quickly as I shot my targets. Once all were down, I moved forward, slitting throats with quick precision.
“Copy that.” Eagle and Mojo both spoke into my ear.
“All new targets down.” There couldn’t be any witnesses. I moved into the first room, checked the closet, the bathroom, under the bed. The second room was empty. The third wasn’t—my gun moved automatically.
I lifted the Glock and squeezed off two shots before the guys moved their guns from their sides. Blood blossomed in the center of each forehead. Dead. I moved into the room to complete the ritual killings. I stared down at the targets—they were teenagers.
Fuck me, I’d just killed two goddam children. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I turned and jabbed the wall. Hitting it over and over, but the rage only built inside me. Eyes unfocused with tears I’d never shed, the sudden desire to turn the Glock on myself appealed. I could just end my misery—I didn’t deserve to live after killing those kids.
With a dry laugh, I keyed my mic. “Two additional targets down.” I might hate myself but I still had a job to do. Swallowing hard before I puked, I finished the job—another shot to the heart and two slices to the throat. My fuckups knew no bounds. My stupidity kept costing lives—I wish it’d claim my life, but I wasn’t that goddam lucky.
Numb, I turned to see Thorn in the doorway. He gave me a nod and ghosted away. I finished the search then checked the main room. DeLuca, and two bodyguards I recognized from the Remington were laid out cold. I snapped the photos with the disposable phone we’d bought.
Each team reported their sectors of the house and grounds clear.
“Five minutes,” Zero warned into the headset. I booked it out the door and met at the rendezvous point. Eagle started to lift his face mask, but I shook my head. “Keep it in place.”
We were fairly sure we knew where all the cameras were placed, but Thorn had ordered us to keep our masks in place until we cleared Vegas.
“That’s bullshit,” he mumbled but put his balaclava back in place.
“Here are the shots you requested.” I tossed Thorn the phone.
“See you on the flip side.” T
horn caught the phone.
We’d each go our own way from individual drop-off points. Those of us heading back to Barden would meet up in Kingman across the border in Arizona.
The Hummer left and Zero and I sat in the Mercedes sedan favored by the Triad. The house’s fire alarms sounded as the fire expanded. We let it blare for a minute, then peeled out, driving like bats out of hell down the quiet road. We hot rodded through town and into Triad territory. We parked in an abandoned alley, shed our outer layers of clothes, and stuffed them in the car before burning it. Now dressed like tourists, Zero and I walked with our canvas bags of artillery to a self-storage unit a block away. Zero hopped in the driver’s seat and pulled the rental out of the storage space and drove south. Our bikes were stored at the meet-up point.
“Who were they guarding in the other rooms?”
I shook my head, not wanting to discuss it.
“What? Women? Lightskirts?” he pried. “It’ll be on the news, you know.”
Fuck. He’s right, it would. “Two teenage boys.”
“You did what? We don’t kill—”
“Doesn’t matter to the Triad.” Their faces were burned into my memory. I might always be haunted by those faces.
“Shit. That’s harsh. Man, I don’t know what to say.”
I shut my eyes as Zero drove on.
“Man, that’d fuck with my head bad.”
“Not helping.” I ground out the words. I’d killed for Uncle Sam. I’d killed for the club. But ending those boys’ lives wasn’t the same. Fury burned deep in me. I raged against myself for doing it and my club for requiring it. The loathing was all tied together, and I was afraid it would always taint my devotion to the Brotherhood.
Thankfully he shut the hell up. I didn’t need his help. Those boys would be joining my two friends, who’d lost their lives under my command. I’d carry them with me forever.
Lars’s face, battered and cut, filled my mind. He’d been beaten to death while investigating a murder on base. His partner, Mike, had been shot in the back. Neither one had ever received justice. Jojo and I had been pulled from the case, reassigned, transferred, and drummed out of the army on a Bad Conduct Discharge because we refused to let their murders go. It galled me that I’d never found their killers. Hell, the fucker had probably made general by now.
When I fucked up, I fucked up bad. And Thorn wanted me to train new recruits. No way. My judgment couldn’t be trusted. First I’d fucked up in the army, then with Frankie, now two innocent kids were dead by me and because of me. At least my mistake hadn’t put the burden of those kids on another brother. No, I couldn’t be trusted with the next generation of brothers.
Chapter 21: Glory
After weeks of recovery, my thighs and unmentionables didn’t hurt anymore. Thank God! I’d finally been able to at least relieve a bit of the tension through some quality alone time last night. I might not rip off anyone’s head today because of those orgasms—not that they deserved such a title. The powerful way Delta could make me come was an orgasm, and the temporary relief of my vibrator was barely a ghost of that kind of pleasure.
And there he was again. All morning my mind had returned to Delta and our night together at my place because I’d used those memories when I’d masturbated last night. He had given me intense jolts of ecstasy that had crackled through me as if I’d been struck by lightning. Unfortunately there were no lighting strikes last night.
Was he ever coming back? I hadn’t heard a damn thing about Delta since I’d stormed into Jericho’s days ago. Even Avery was silent about Delta despite my many attempts to pry information from her. The Brotherhood had closed ranks at Jericho’s command—that was the last thing Avery had said to me about Delta. Then she’d admitted she didn’t know anything anyway because the brothers weren’t even sharing with their mates. Her words still haunted me. “It’s serious shit when they go silent like this. Stay out of it.”
What choice did I have, anyway? I couldn’t get into it because I didn’t know what it entailed. Frustrated, I paced Mama’s living room with no real idea how to spend my day. Now that I was healed, this inactivity was driving me crazy. I needed to do something or I’d start pounding my head against the wall. So I ran back upstairs and changed into running clothes. The month of inactivity would have taken a toll on my body no doubt. I’d have to bust my ass to get back into dancing shape. I wrote a quick note to my mom and left. I decided to jog from the house to the river and back—four miles in total.
Before I hit the city limits I was winded, but I pushed on because I wasn’t a quitter. I’d set a goal and I’d achieve it. At a pitifully slow pace, I finally made the bridge. Huffing from the effort I rested on the steel frame and watched the water rush by. The sun warmed me and the smell of green grass comforted me. Spring was the best time of year—a time of new growth. I needed a new start myself.
I stared down at the rock outcropping where we’d spent so many nights as teenagers and even later. I left the bridge and climbed down the hill to party rock. We’d made so many memories here. I traced where Mark had carved our initials into the rock. Just a few feet away I remember Avery declaring her dream of running a clothing store. She’d made her dream a reality. And I’d taken a good bite out of my dream too. But I wanted more. That summed me up though—I always wanted more.
That thought got me off my ass, and I hiked back up the hill before setting out at a faster pace. Dreams didn’t come true on their own. I had to work my ass off to get there—if I could even go back to Vegas. I pushed away that doubt and all the others as I pushed through the hurt to achieve that high that came from the run. Sweaty, exhausted, and exhilarated, I stopped in the front yard of my childhood home.
Avery’s old truck sat in the driveway. It was in a lot better shape than a few years ago with a fresh coat of paint and a lot of new chrome. Avery and Mama were having lemonade and cookies at the kitchen table, just like we’d done a thousand times growing up.
“About time you got here. Where have you been?” Avery wrinkled her nose at my sweaty condition.
“A slow run.” I hated my body’s limitations. “I have a lot of work to do.”
“You need to go get prettied up.” Mama smiled at me. “Avery’s taking you to a party.”
“Is Delta back?” I rushed to her.
She gave a sad shake of her head. “Lila’s having some people over to see little Rhianna. The baby is almost a year old.”
“I’m not up for people.” I needed Delta. I didn’t need to be dragged into the Brotherhood world any more than I already had been.
“Lila says not to come without you.” Avery gave me her puppy dog face. “I want to go, please go with me.”
I never could resist that look and she knew it. “Fine.”
“Oh, I brought you some new stuff from my shop.” Avery jumped up. “Let’s go.”
New clothes always perked up my mood.
On the bed were five dresses in light cottons and knit. All easy to wear with sore muscles but still sexy. And with my bruises mostly gone, I wouldn’t feel self-conscious in those shorter dresses.
I picked up a long knit dress that tied around my neck. “I’m wearing this.” I hurried into my bathroom to shower and get ready.
Avery chatted the whole time I did my hair and makeup, telling me about the women I’d meet.
“We don’t really do the nickname thing—that’s for the guys.” She laughed. “It’s way too confusing that way.”
“So Elle will be there. She’s Rebel’s woman, and kick ass in her own right.” She ticked people off with her fingers. “Of course me and Lila. Then there will be Marr, who you met.”
“Is that her real name?”
“Um, I dunno any other name. And I’m not asking.” Avery shrugged. “She’s—”
“The Domme who trained you, I know.”
“Oh, and
there will be Charlie, she’s JoJo’s woman. And JoJo is Delta’s best friend.”
“This feels more like a test than a party.” I struggled to remember the names she’d told me.
“And there will be Angie, who works with Rock, Cheri, she’s one of my friends in the club, and probably a few others.”
“Why do I need to be there?” Apprehension made my stomach tight. “I will never be one of them.”
“Because you’re my best friend and Lila misses you. So what if it’s a bunch of biker old ladies? Are you scared?”
“No, but you know I am going back to Vegas, soon.”
Avery sighed. “Even more reason to come see everyone. Besides, little Rhianna has red curly hair, she’s freaking adorable.”
Fine. A baby was always reason to go, and I did miss Lila, although I wished it was just the three of us like it had been before I moved to Vegas. Life kept moving, even faster when you weren’t around to watch it go by.
“Let’s go already.” I grinned at Avery.
“Finally.” She looked me over and gave a wolf whistle. “Damn you look good.”
Avery wanted to drive us both, but I took my mama’s car, so I could leave when I wanted. Lila and Dare’s house was just down the road from Jericho’s and it was even bigger. I walked up to the door with Avery—we were the first ones here.
“Where’s everyone else?” I figured we’d be late since I’d taken time to make myself up.
“Not coming for a bit. I figured we could use some time together before they all arrive.” Avery gave me a wink and just walked inside. She didn’t even knock.
“What?”
“She knows we’re here.” Avery rolled her eyes. “She texted me to come on in.”
In the living room Dare held the curly-haired baby with a huge smile on his handsome face. I’d always thought of him as stern, but he looked damn happy right now. Wood floors covered the entryway and all of the first floor that I could see. Leather furniture decorated the huge living room.
Get Away Page 18
