by Esme Beal
“There’s no telling which of the Hearts will be over there. Just him alone… He’s outnumbered…”
“You hired him for a reason. I’m assuming he was the best man for the job. From what I know about him, being outnumbered isn’t enough to stop him from doing what he needs to do.”
“You seem to have a lot of confidence in Marshall.”
“Why wouldn’t I? He’s been able to track these punks down.”
“Oh, I think there’s more to it than his prowess as a mercenary…”
Ashton gave me a sly little smirk. Even though I preferred that to having him scold me, now wasn’t the time to talk about what he was getting at.
“Talking to Noah, hmm?”
“Noah and I don’t keep any secrets from each other,” he said. “There’s no shame—”
“Okay, okay, okay. Can we focus, please? It looks like they’re getting ready…”
There were two cops in the alley, all of them fully-armed with tactical gear and masks over their faces. It made me realize just how much of a dangerous situation Amy was in.
Calm down… She’ll be all right…
I steadied myself as much as I could with another deep breath.
In the distance, I could make out two more cops on the other side of the house. I imagined there was yet another one on the other side.
The West Bay was silent tonight. Except for the soft howl of the wind, it felt like time had stopped in Snow Falls.
The cops in the alley signaled to one another and started moving forward. I brought my phone up and sent the message to Marshall.
They’re moving in.
I turned my head back up and watched the house as the cops started to converge on it. The lights were off, so it was hard to tell if there was even anybody inside.
Ashton was given a walkie-talkie, so he could hear exactly what was happening.
“Entering the house from the back… now…”
I watched as the cops disappeared inside. I swallowed to hold back how nervous I was.
“Come on, Amy… Please be okay…”
I clenched my jaw so much that my teeth hurt. I wasn’t blinking as I kept my eyes locked on the house. Ashton appeared calm, leaning up against the wall and staring at the house just the same.
“Watch out! He’s armed!”
Gunshots rang out and pierced the night sky like fireworks. The lights coming from inside the house made my heart beat even faster. I kept waiting for the shots to stop but they kept ringing out.
“Officer down! Officer down!”
“What?” I exclaimed. “What’s happening?”
“Calm down, Spencer,” Ashton said. “Let them do their job.”
There was nothing more than unintelligible chatter over the walkie-talkie. Every second that went by made my heart sink even lower in my chest. I kept my eyes locked on the house, looking for any sign of Amy.
But the first two to leave the house were a couple of police officers, one of them slumped over while the other helped him walk.
More gunshots filled the air. Even from a distance, it was so deafeningly loud.
“What are they doing?” I muttered. “Don’t they know there’s a little girl in that house?”
“Spencer…”
“We’ve cleared the first floor. Two men down.”
“The girl!” I said. “What about the girl?”
Ashton put the walkie-talkie up to his mouth.
“The girl,” he said. “Is there any sign of Amy?”
“No sign. We’re checking all rooms now.”
“Dammit…”
I muttered to myself again, my hands on my hips in frustration.
“Cyan… He gave us false information.”
“Or maybe his information just changed and they moved. The police are still checking other rooms.”
“Yeah…”
“Spencer… There’s no reason for you to get any more worked up about this than you already are. Amy is fine.”
“I know she is,” I sighed. “I just don’t know if I can…”
I narrowed my eyes and saw something move.
Is that…
“Spencer? Spencer, what is it?”
“There’s someone there… I… I thought I saw somebody…”
As soon as I finished, I saw a figure exit through the back of the house.
“There!” I said. “Someone just ran out of the house!”
My thoughts had escaped me. I didn’t know what came over me. But I rushed out of the alley without giving it a second thought.
“Spencer!” Ashton shouted. “What are you… Dammit…”
I raced forward to the house as fast as I could. I was running harder than I’d ever run in my life. My lungs burned. My heart was pounding so hard. None of it matter though. I ran through the streets and the alleys, hoping that I was headed in the right direction.
I kept running until the figure in the distance was clear in my sight. There was no mistaking it now. It was one of the Hearts. In one arm, he was carrying someone. A little girl that I didn’t have to look at twice to recognize.
“Amy!” I shouted out.
The biker looked at me for a second before continuing to run down the alley.
I’d never been to the West Bay before but it didn’t matter that I didn’t know my way around. Nothing was going to stop me from getting to her though.
“Stop!” I shouted. “Let her go!”
I kept running until I finally caught up to him at the end of an alley. A fence blocked his way. He couldn’t climb over it. Not while he had Amy in his hands.
“That’s it!” I yelled. “You’re not going anywhere!”
The biker looked at me, anger and frustration on his face.
“Stupid idiot,” he grumbled.
He dropped Amy on the ground and walked toward me.
“Wait a second,” he said. “You’re alone… Ha!”
“I’m not alone,” I said.
“Yes, you are. Those stupid cops are still searching that damn house. You made a big mistake coming after me, Omega.”
He cracked his fists in his hands and started walking toward me.
Shit.
I’d gotten into my fair share of scraps when I was younger. I knew how to handle myself because of all the drama that inevitably came with being a bartender at Paradise. But this man in front of me… He eyed me like he wanted to do more than just give me a few bruises.
“Come on, asshole!” he yelled.
He charged at me and tackled me to the ground. I landed hard on the pavement with a thud. The heavy blow knocked the wind out of me.
Oh, God…
My thoughts were in a daze as I gasped to try and recover. If that wasn’t bad enough, landing on the ground blurred my vision.
“Is that all you got?”
He hammered me on the side of the face with a fist that reeled my head back.
Crap…
I put my hands up and blocked his punches as best as I could. Even though he wasn’t hitting my face, he was still swinging as violently as he could. He hit my shoulders. My arms. My body. Every blow was more painful than the last.
“Just lay back and let me put you out of your misery,” he said.
I could feel him getting tired on top of me. But he was still swinging.
Spencer! You have to do something!
He had me pinned down. He was too heavy and too strong.
But something caught my eye…
Amy laid on the ground a few meters away from me. She looked like she was sleeping.
I pushed the fear of the worst out of me.
Spencer…
I looked left and right and found whatever I could. An empty beer bottle just out of my reach. I moved my arm as far as I could but it was just out of my fingertips.
“Stupid asshole,” the biker said. “You should’ve just stayed in your place. Then I wouldn’t have to kick your ass.”
He postured up and reared back with
another punch. With all of my strength, I reached out and grabbed the bottle. Just as he swung, I shut my eyes and slammed the empty bottle across the side of his head. The glass shattered in every direction.
He cried out and tumbled over to the side. I pushed him off of me and got back up to my feet as quickly as I could.
The biker was in a daze, blood trickling down the side of his face. I threw a punch at him and put him down on a knee. Another punch laid him down. And another one made sure that he was sleeping.
I didn’t check on him for more than a second.
“Amy!”
I rushed up to the young girl and cradled her in my arms. I looked down at her face.
“Come on, Amy,” I said as I caressed the side of her cheek. “Please…”
I pleaded with her. My eyes started to glaze over when she didn’t respond.
“Amy…”
I gritted my teeth and prayed that she was all right.
Suddenly, she started to stir. Her eyes slowly blinked open. Despite how dirty her face was and the concern in the way she stared at me, I’d never felt more relieved.
“S-Spencer?” she stuttered.
“It’s all right,” I said, unable to hold back my smile. “I’m here. Everything is gonna be okay, you hear me?”
“I… I missed you…”
“Yeah,” I said with a swallow. “I missed you, too.”
I was so happy that I started to laugh.
My quiet moment with Amy was interrupted when police sirens filled the air. I looked up on the other side of the fence as blue and red lights flashed in the alley.
Ashton got out of the car and walked up toward the fence blocking me from him and the car.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“I’m fine.”
“That was stupid.”
“I don’t care. I had to get to her. You know that.”
It didn’t matter how angry or upset Ashton was with me. I’d done what I needed to do.
“They cleared the house,” he said. “They took out two of them. Looks like you got another one.”
“There weren’t any others?”
Ashton shook his head.
“That means Marshall is dealing with two of them.”
I pulled my phone out to see if there was a text or phone call I’d missed. There was nothing. The only thing I knew for sure was that Marshall had read my message.
I was happy that Amy was all right. But there was still another part of me hoping and praying that Marshall would make it through this, too. There was nothing else I could do for him though. He would have to deal with the other two Bleeding Hearts all by himself.
Chapter 13
MARSHALL
There were parts of the Southern Block that you’d find in any other city. Ordinary restaurants and shops and offices with ordinary people living ordinary lives. But in small pockets, there were places that looked like they’d been forgotten by the rest of Snow Falls. Old buildings, dusty, dirty and broken-down like they were from a time long before. Even if I lived in Snow Falls, I imagined that I would still get lost on streets like this.
There were cars roaming the streets now and then. None of them bothered to stop though because they were busy trying to get to the more interesting parts of the city. As the sun started to go down, I couldn’t think of a place more interesting than where I was now.
I rolled my bike into the alley and stared at the small place in front of me. An abandoned shack that lost among the clutter of the other old homes. I kept my eyes locked on it as I waited.
“Any second now…”
As soon as I said it, my phone vibrated in my hand. I looked down at the message I was waiting for this whole time.
“The police are heading inside now.”
Spencer’s message was my signal. I only had a few seconds before whoever was inside would find out that they were trying to get to Amy.
I made my way through the alleyway and kept as low a profile as I could as I walked toward the shack. I walked around back and found a couple of bikes parked outside.
It looks like Cyan wasn’t lying…
I had to do everything I could to stay calm. This wasn’t the first infiltration I’d ever done. I’d been doing this for so long that it was almost routine. But with every single-man raid, you always reminded yourself that this could be your last.
I twisted the door handle and realized it wasn’t locked. The lights weren’t on inside, so there was no telling what was waiting for me. It was so quiet that even the slightest noise would give me away.
I held my breath and pushed the door in. A beam of moonlight shined in through the darkness, illuminating the hallway but not much else.
The place looked even worse than it did on the outside. Walls with chipped paint. Dirty floors with trash scattered everywhere. The stench of smoke, alcohol and whatever drugs the Hearts were messing around with.
The floorboards creaked softly with every step I took. I did my best to step lightly and not push my heels too hard.
Stay focused… Someone’s in here…
It was a small, one-story shack but there were so many ways to go. They could’ve been hiding anywhere. I kept my guard up, ready for anything when I pushed open the first door. An empty bedroom with nobody inside. Empty beer cans and packs of smokes were recent because they were the only things without any dust on them.
I headed to the next door and heard something coming from inside.
What is that?
I listened closely and heard the soft hum of music. Unmistakable.
There were two things I could do. I could either push the door open and take care of whoever was waiting there. The problem was if more than one man in the room waiting for me.
My other option was to go slow and hope that they didn’t notice I was there.
Shit…
It didn’t matter either way. I had to make a choice.
I put my hand on the door and slowly pushed it in. A bead of sweat dripped down my brow. My heart thumped inside of my chest. As the door opened, the man inside slowly came into view.
He had his back turned, nodding his head up and down to the music while he lounged in his seat.
Nice and easy…
I walked up to him from behind. I held my breath and stepped as lightly as I could. I inched closer and closer to him until I was right behind him.
“Yo, Sam! The cops are going after the girl! We gotta split!”
Shit…
It was Hudson. I’d remember his voice anywhere. And right now, it was loud enough to ring through the entire house.
The man in front of me suddenly stood up straight.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming—”
He turned around. His eyes widened in surprise but it was already too late. I decked him with a right hand on his chin that slumped him down to the ground. He fell with a loud thud.
“Yo, Sam! Let’s go! What the fuck are you doing?”
I heard footsteps approaching from down the hallway.
Now or never.
I walked out back into the darkness of the hall and saw Hudson standing there.
“What the hell are you—”
He didn’t realize who I was immediately. The split-second was what I needed to swing at him.
“Motherfucker—”
Hudson managed to duck out of the way just in time. He rushed forward and wrapped his arms around me. I struggled with him as we both fell to the ground.
“It’s over!” I grunted. “Your club is going down!”
“Fuck you!”
Hudson got on top of me and threw a punch at my face. The warm rush of blood against my skin was familiar. Noah wasn’t gonna be too happy that my wound opened back up.
Hudson tried to hit me with another punch but I moved my head. I used his momentum to roll him onto his back and get on top of him. He squirmed underneath me. I pinned him down and hammered him with two fists across the temple. His eyes rolled back in his
head but that wasn’t enough to put him out.
“Justice,” I said. “This is for Amy—Ahh!”
I yelled out from a sudden searing pain. The wet rush of warmth on my leg along with the sting I felt made me lose my focus.
“Motherfucker!”
Hudson shouted and pushed me off of him. He scrambled back up to his feet, a switchblade in his hand. Still in a daze, he stumbled down the hallway and slowly tried to get out through the back of the house.
I put my hand on my leg and felt the wetness spilling through the new rip in my jeans. The wound wasn’t big enough to keep me down for long.
My fists pressed into the floorboard. I used all of my strength to get back up to my feet.
“Get back here!” I shouted.
Hudson turned around and lazily threw his knife at me. I just managed to move out of the way.
“Dammit…”
I muttered to myself because of the pain in my leg. I couldn’t help but walk with a limp. I gritted my teeth and pushed myself outside.
Come on… You can’t quit now…
Hudson was already on his bike. Even though he didn’t have all of his wits about him, he was still able to get on his bike and start it.
“Later, asshole.”
He revved his engine and peeled out through the back. I moved as fast as I could to go after him but the pain in my leg was too much to ignore.
“I have to get to my back…”
I gritted my teeth and ignored my wound as much as I could. At the same time, I pulled my phone out and dialed.
“Come on… Pick up—”
“Marshall! Are you all right—”
“Tell the cops to come to the address. There’s a Heart waiting for them. I’m going after Hudson.”
“But—”
“Just do it, Spencer.”
I shut the phone off and stuffed it into my pocket. I got to my bike and hit the streets as fast as I could.
If he were anywhere else, Hudson would’ve gotten away by now. But the streets in this part of the Southern Block were so empty I could hear his bike from a mile away.
I weaved in and out of the streets, making sure to keep the exhaust in my ears. It got harder and harder to follow though when the sound of more traffic started to fill my ears.
