Nomad's Bride (Death Skulls MC Book 2)

by Rachel Cade

  “Who?”

  Mitch pulled the money toward him. “I should have stayed in New York.” His teeth flashed. “Fucking demons out here.”

  Lyndie had enough. “Mitch, get a god damn grip on yourself.” She pulled away from him.

  “Aztecs… can’t trust ‘em. Shouldn’t have trusted ‘em.”

  “Aztecs? They’re here?” Almost all the breath escaped her chest. But she had no choice but to pull it together. “If that explosion was caused by them, it’s your fault! You and Will.” The butt of a gun that must have been his jutted out from the side of his desk. “Now you want to hide while they burn the town to the ground?”

  Lyndie grabbed the gun. “You’re pathetic, Mitch!” It was the last thing she said before running out of the office.

  *

  Bleed felt himself getting dragged.

  He was in the theater now, pulled in from the side entrance.

  “There’s a flagpole out there I’m gonna hang that piece of shit Whisper from. I know he’s still here.” The voice belonged to Trip. “Fuck him and his bruja bullshit.”

  “Look what I found,” the man spoke as he dropped him on the ground.

  “What the hell is all this shit?” Trip asked. “You guys hiding shit in here?”

  “What the fuck are you all doing here?” Chaos snapped.

  “What the fuck does it look like, bitch? Taking over. We’re Los Bandidos; we ain’t scared of shit.”

  “Coke does that, I hear.”

  A gun cocked. “We’re gonna burn this town to the ground. But before that, we’re gonna line all you fuckers up one by one.”

  “You think you’re gonna get away with this? Trust me, you’re gonna wish you stayed in L.A.”

  “You’re gonna wish you stayed in L.A,” Trip mocked.

  “Fucking sorry ass Death Skulls, it’s like six of you motherfuckers out here. You think you’re a threat?”

  Bleed caught the back of his enemy’s pants and used his adrenaline to push himself off the ground.

  The biker started to turn, but Bleed caught his neck in one hand and shoved his knife into the side of it with the other. As the man gagged, Chaos raised his weapon in the distance and caught Trip with a shot that whipped his head back in the theater seat.

  Bleed reached up and pulled out the knife, watching blood spurt out of his neck as he collapsed to the ground over his gun.

  “They were the only two?” he asked.

  “In here, yeah.”

  The building rocked a little when the unmistakable sound of an explosion came from outside.

  Chaos looked up. “Shit.”

  *

  “Relax, crowd. We just wanted your attention.”

  Will kept his gun trained on the stage as some of his men moved to help bystanders out of the way.

  Langley was on the ground not far from the stage.

  He was covering his head, but his expression was paranoid as he stared up at his son.

  And his mouth was moving, but Will couldn’t tell what he was saying.

  “It’s going to be alright.” An elderly couple was cowering in the door of a flower shop. “Stay there! Don’t move.” Will turned to the stage. “Stand down,” he yelled out. “We have you surrounded.”

  The department quickly moved in on men that weren’t local.

  He had no idea where they’d hidden, but they’d done a good job. Folks were scared shitless. But Langley was still breathing, and Callas was around here somewhere. Maybe the explosion had taken him out.

  “Listen,” he called, “we don’t want any more of our people hurt. Let the kid go and surrender peacefully.”

  The biker turned to Will, holding Scott. “Maybe we don’t want peace.”

  “This town never belonged to you. We’re not going to stand for any more destruction.”

  “Please!” Langley yelled. “Let my son go. I’ll return the money to you from the warehouse. Anything you want, I can get it. And you all can disappear.”

  *

  Noa moved back against the theater floor. The building was sturdy against the blast, but his ears were echoing. It sounded like he heard voices.

  Noa shook glass off his legs and ventured into the theater.

  There, he found Chaos and Bleed with two dead bodies.

  “Shit, we were coming out there. The fuck was that?”

  “They set a bomb. What the fuck happened?” Bleed was banged up, and blood covered the side of his head.

  “Bullet missed my head,” he answered. “Not the first time.”

  Noa offered him a bandana from his pocket to wipe the blood, which he accepted, then stared at the cuts of one of the dead bikers. “Cujo. He came back.”

  “Whisper said he spotted Aztecs, too, right before the explosion. Did you hear from him?”

  “Phone’s busted.” His brain was spinning, but he forced himself to focus.

  “Aztecs are here with Mitch.”

  Noa made his way toward them. “Durand. He kicked off his plan at his own wedding.” Bleed and Chaos stared at his bruised hands. “He went to Lyndie’s.” He couldn’t say anything else about it. “I have to get to him. You have a working feed to the surveillance we hooked up?”

  “We’ll cover you.” Chaos moved back to the crates. “If we’re outnumbered, we better out gun ‘em.”

  Bleed pushed the dead biker over and grabbed his weapon, a midnight semi-automatic with a silencer. “Is Mrs. C okay?”

  “She’s safe. And she’s gonna stay that way.”

  “Did he try to hurt her and the baby?” Chaos asked. He had a gun in each hand. “We can kill cops.” It wasn’t a question.

  “Find Whisper.” Noa steadied his breath. The second biker’s head was tilted back as if he was asleep and not dead. He nodded to Chaos adding, “Yeah, we can.”

  *

  Chapter Twenty-One:

  Mrs. Callas

  It was likely that her job at the diner was done after this, Lyndie thought as she ran from the parking lot. She only made it to a building where their short main street began. Propped up against the bricks she saw Noa’s bike. For now, she just prayed he was alright.

  No actual plan was in her head; probably not a good thing. The only thing she wanted was for no one to get hurt. All of this was madness. A part of her warned that it was too late, but she still had to try.

  She kept moving against the back of the buildings, holding Mitch’s gun at her side.

  If she could find an open back door to one of the shops, she could make it to the street unseen.

  Then, there was a quiet, and she hated it.

  Will’s voice rang out, telling someone to stand down.

  Lyndie’s mouth tightened.

  Peering down the next narrow alley, she spotted a ball of white fabric; Ashley was backed into the wall.

  The second they made eye contact, the woman’s face twisted.

  Lyndie looked beyond her, seeing the side door that led to the pharmacy.

  “I don’t know where my family is in all this madness,” she whispered harshly. What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Looking for my husband.”

  Ashley’s brows tented. “You’re fucking insane. Will is my husband.”

  “I’m not talking about Will. I married a real man.” Ashley didn’t seem to like the insult and moved toward her.

  After everything going on, she still wanted to fight?

  She had no time for this bullshit.

  Lyndie pulled the gun from her side and aimed it, halting Ashley. “You take another step bitch, and I’ll shoot you.”

  Lyndie moved past her to check the pharmacy door.

  It was open, so she slipped inside.

  *

  “We can talk about this.” Will was careful as he stepped forward. “Mr. Langley just wants his son. I just want peace. There are families here, elderly. We don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”

  The biker peered at him, and a moment later, Scott was let go. He r
an off the stage to his father.

  Will lowered his own weapon a little even though his finger was still on the trigger. “Thank you,” he said.

  “Cujo, you fucking puta!” A gruff voice rose out from somewhere.

  It seemed to surprise the biker. He looked from side to side, trying to find the voice as he began to back away on stage.

  Something was off. Will’s eyes scanned street hard, looking for movement. He didn’t recognize the voice.

  Before he could attempt to track it down, gunshots erupted again. And he had to duck for cover.

  Scott and Langley were crouched, trying to move from the stage, and he ushered them into the pizza shop for safety.

  “This can’t be happening.” Langley held Scott tightly to him.

  Will eyed him sharply. “I told you this would happen! I told you they didn’t belong in our town!”

  Langley’s face crumbled as he hunched against the floor. “We made a truce.”

  “They don’t seem to care much about that, do they? And they struck… when no one was prepared.”

  His face stayed pained like he didn’t want to believe all of this was because of his shitty decision making. But he would come around - or maybe he wouldn’t make it out of this.

  Will glanced down at Scott, who was breathing heavy, but hadn’t taken his eyes off him, the little pipsqueak.

  If father and son were taken out right now, it was bikers that burst in on them from the back of the parlor.

  “I haven’t seen Ashley. Where is she?”

  “Alive… I hope,” Will added for good measure. But at this point, ending up an accidental widower would have been another stroke of luck.

  “You need to find her.” The old man’s voice was hoarse. “And you need to call for backup. There won’t be anything left soon.”

  *

  “Your whole crew is supposed to be in California,” Eduardo’s voice rang out. “You have no business here!”

  Noa moved against the ground. He could see Eduardo through the window of his hiding place in Peggy’s salon.

  If the two MC leaders shot each other, he sure as hell wouldn’t mind, but he didn’t want any bystanders getting hurt.

  *

  “Just stay here.” Will needed to get on the radio to Henry, but not just yet.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Back outside.”

  Will was quiet and careful as he moved; there was some yelling outside, but it was in Spanish. He didn’t know what the fuck they were saying. Something was off; this was supposed to be over by now.

  Instead of drawing attention to himself, he came out in a side ally.

  “Will. Will!” The voice was so hushed, he didn’t recognize it.

  He turned to see his new bride running toward him, clutching the wall.

  “Ashley-”

  Her body crushed his chest. “There’s a fire at the bingo hall.” She was breathless.

  Will’s hand left the radio and wrapped around her back. “I’m going to fix this, okay? We’re going to get things under control.”

  “I think they messed with the cell towers. I can’t make any calls.”

  He didn’t expect them to be that savvy.

  “I need to regroup with the Deputy.” He pulled back from her.

  But her hands tightly grasped his tux, stopping him. “Wait.”

  His teeth tightened in annoyance. “I’m going to be okay, honey. I gotta go save the town.”

  “Why were you there, Will?” His wife’s voice trembled. “Why were you at Lyndie’s on our wedding day?”

  “Are you fuckin’ serious? I can’t do this with you now.” He tugged away.

  “Did she marry someone else?” Will snatched himself back, tightening his grip on his gun. “Why do you care?” Her voice trembled and so did her eyes. She was barely holding it together. “Are you obsessed with her?”

  Will cut at his mouth to quiet her, moving away and hoping she’d shut the fuck up and not blow their cover.

  *

  Why weren’t the police doing anything?

  Why hadn’t they called for backup? These were questioned that rang out in Lyndie’s head as she watched the madness unfold from the pharmacy window.

  Her phone wasn’t working. In no way was she going to be able to find Noa in all this.

  With all the craziness and scattered shooting outside, she made her way out of the pharmacy, staying low until she was near one of the unoccupied cop cars.

  She stayed out of sight as these men did what they did best: destroy things. Most of the police were further up the street. Her plan was to make it to the clear side and get to the radio to try to call for help.

  “Stop this, god damn it!” a voice rang out. Lyndie recognized it as Mitch.

  “I got money here, okay?” He yelled. “Whatever you guys want to get out of here and leave these people alone.”

  Lyndie gnashed her teeth, daring to peer around the side of the car to see what was happening.

  “Amber Falls is a little place. These folks don’t deserve what you’re doing here.” He held his hands up with a bag held high. “You guys ain’t from the warehouse. And you can all go back where you came from. It’s almost night. No one’s gonna come lookin’ for you.”

  She didn’t know what was going on, but she used the distraction to get inside the car. In the driver’s seat, she yanked the radio up to her mouth.

  “Oh God.”

  *

  Langley could hear something, what sounded like cracking. When he looked up, the ceiling was shifting. “God.” He grasped his son. “Move.”

  A piece of ceiling fell, but they made it through the doors before it hit them.

  In the next instant, he was grabbed by a biker with a chin tattoo.

  “Dad!”

  He was dragged back toward the stage.

  “I need a little token to make sure we get out of here!” the man rasped.

  The grip on his neck was tight.

  “You’re gonna help me stay alive, old man.” He heard the words and his eyes slid to the sky.

  The jolt against his body made Langley go cold.

  *

  Lyndie’s eyes widened as she saw the biker’s head sling back, hitting the stage before he slumped to the ground.

  Langley, visibly shaken, ran to the sidewalk to Scott.

  A man was on the roof above them, Lyndie could only make out a tall dark figure with his hair catching on the wind.

  A hard cry rang out and a man stepped into the road.

  It all happened so quick. Flame leapt from his gun into the direction of the shooter.

  The sight caused people to yell and scatter. Her hands felt for the ignition; the keys were there. She flipped it on and pressed hard on the gas.

  With her hands clenching the wheel, the car moved faster until she ran the biker down, knocking the flamethrower from him.

  Slowing down was an obstacle, though, and Lyndie swiped a light pole before swerving to stop sideways on the opposite end of Main Street.

  There was yelling behind her and quick sounds splintered the air.

  But Lyndie couldn’t look in the rear view mirror. Her hands were stuck to the steering wheel.

  The car door opened.

  “Babygirl?”

  Noa.

  The disbelief in his eyes should have been her expression.

  Breathing heavy, Lyndie leaned forward toward him.

  Noa shoved his gun into his waistband before reaching for her with both hands, pulling her across the seat and out of the car.

  They stayed low, entering the small shop that used to be an ice cream parlor.

  “Any more Los Bandidos want to come out and get shot?” Chaos yelled from outside. “You’re causing no more shit in this town!”

  “What are you doing? Are you crazy?” His hand was tight in hers.

  “He had a flamethrower,” Lyndie answered. She couldn’t actually feel her feet on the floor. “Someone killed the g
uy who had Mr. Langley.”

  “That was Whisper,” he answered. His brows knitted together. “You were supposed to stay at the house.”

  Lyndie touched his cheek, understanding his worry. “You didn’t.”

  Sweat covered his face but his eyes were still as beautiful as the first day she saw him.

  “I gotta get you a vest.”

  She smiled. And it hurt; it felt like she hadn’t in so long.

  “Max has got a hell of a mom.” He held her hand. “Are you gonna let me be his dad?”

  Lyndie pulled her lip in at the tightness in her throat. “You already are,” she answered without hesitation.

  Chapter Twenty-Two:

  Boss Moves

  Fuck!

  Langley was still alive! What had happened?

  Mitch’s fat ass coming out of nowhere!

  The glass cracked under his feet in the General Store.

  Will couldn’t see shit.

  Night was coming in quick.

  Shit, this was all close to getting out of hand.

  An arm wrapped around his neck.

  “Got you, bitch.” The words rasped against his ear.

  Callas.

  Will fought against the hold, but soon felt the pierce of a knife into his neck.

  They fought and he attempted to swing his body to throw him off, but the shotgun he carried fell to the ground in their tussle.

  Will was lurched up with force that choked him held against Callas’s chest as he tried to breathe.

  “I knew it was come down to this - me and you.”

  Fuck!

  Where were his men?

  Callas held him sideways, kneeing him in the ribs.

  It hurt like hell and Will dropped down to his knees.

  About halfway down, he turned swiftly, ramming his body into Callas’s waist and sending him into some shelves. The loud clang of metal tipped the shelf but didn’t knock it over, scattering boxes across the floor.

  Will cried out when a sharp sting hit his shoulder.

  The fucker had stabbed him!

  Breathing through his teeth, Will rose up as metal flashed from Callas’s back.

  Now he was holding a gun to his face.

  Even if Will tried going for his shotgun, if he moved in any way, he was done.