by M. Merin
“Haven’t used that in a while,” I indicate the RPG-7 with a big grin on my face. “Starting to look forward to this now.”
“Keep your fucking head in the game so I can get home to Bree, you hear me?” Flint growls at me as Vice walks into the room with headsets for each of us.
“Don’t worry, I’ll look in on Betsy if you don’t make it, Russian,” Vice mouths off but Flint jumps in between us when I start towards him.
“Not here and sure as fuck, not now!”
“Everyone gets a headset and we check in every fifteen minutes,” comes Roy’s calm voice from behind me. “Make sure the probies know how to use them. We’re all Brothers here and we do not shit on that bond, Vice.”
Vice looks over my shoulder at his uncle, seconds stretch out until he finally relents, giving him a nod.
“Here,” Vice hands me my headset. “Come on, you know I’m a dick. Won’t touch your Ol’ Lady, Brother.”
I nod, turning back to the weapons and ammo Flint and the probie carried up. I double check the Sig I have on me but grab an extra loaded mag. Grabbing one of the RPG’s I hand it to Roy, knowing the best place for him is up in the crow’s nest loaded with that and his AR-15. Grabbing an AR for myself, I check the weapon and the magazines.
Vice makes sure all the probies have their assignment. Flint has pulled Hawk’s son, Marc, aside. That kid’s so fucking young but eager as hell to be a part of the MC.
“You’re our eyes and ears, junior. You fuck up, one of us may die. I die I come back and haunt the shit out of you.” Flint’s trademark glare works to put the fear of God into the kid. “Now, repeat your assignment back to me.”
“I watch the monitors. I tell you guys everything I see – numbers and location. If one of you move, I tell the group so they won’t shoot the wrong person,” he takes a deep breath. “I stay, locked in the comm room no matter what happens.”
“That room is reinforced, ain’t no one getting in unless you open the door.” Flint squeezes his shoulder and pushes him on his way. “Make your dad proud.” These last words make Marc pause and square up his shoulders. He nods his head and continues through Jasper’s office into the comm room.
Flint waits until he hears the loud locking mechanism engage, then he turns back to the rest of us.
“Locations, kiddies,” he commands.
Go time.
*
From my position near the old garage, I get more and more annoyed at Marc’s babbling but keep my mouth shut. There’s no need to reprimand the kid who’s trying to report every fucking thing he sees.
Finally, we all hear the noise we’ve been waiting on, the rumble of bikes coming down the road towards us. They’re probably high on the successful attack their Brothers pulled off in Boise and think they’re just going to roll in on us.
We might have a skeleton crew here, but we got this. I have too much to live for to think otherwise.
I smirk to myself, looking over to where I know Roy is in the crow’s nest. Roy’s been keeping his lady friend on the down low but the secret’s out now. He’s been shacking up with the woman who runs the Sheriff’s office. Fucking insane how those two managed to keep it quiet around here as long as they have.
Shaking off thoughts of anything but the coming attack, I focus on the relevant information that Hawk’s son is now supplying.
Grappling hooks and a truck make quick work of our gate and just like that the ants are through. Their first move screws up one of our plans – instead of riding straight to us, they immediately split off once they enter the gate. Half on foot, the others on their bikes as they circle around us.
Roy lets them get nice and close before he starts picking them off. The silencer gives us a couple extra seconds, confusing them as to why two, then three guys are suddenly down.
“You boys got eleven left coming from the front, I’m turning around and watching our asses now,” Roy whispers into his mic.
“See a shot, take a shot. Watch each other’s backs,” comes Flint’s hiss.
“OH FUCK!” Marc screams seconds before a grenade hits the side of the building I’m using for cover. I run toward the only cover close enough, getting a few seconds head start on the blast is good and bad. The explosion covers my movements but I get hit with a few large chunks of wood in the backs of my arms. Throwing myself behind the six grills we have set up for parties, I come face to face with Vice just as bullets ping off the metal surrounds.
“Tell me you turned off the gas line,” are the first words out of my mouth. Jasper had had the line extended from the clubhouse to the barbeque area a couple summers ago, making everyone’s life easier.
“Smart and pretty. Didn’t you know I’m the full package, Russian?” he dishes back.
“Four are coming straight at Vice and Russian,” Marc’s voice hisses in our headsets.
“I’ll get one,” Roy’s voice feeds in next.
The second after I hear a guy fall, I jump up and shoot a Reject. He collapses but with the noise he’s making, he’s far from dead. Vice rolls to the side and shoots the legs out from under another guy.
My right arm is burning, and I wait until we hear from Marc that the fourth guy is using his dead buddy as a shield.
“Cover me,” I whisper to Vice. Without waiting, I jump up and use half the AR’s mag, laying rounds around the dead guy. Vice uses the distraction to end the two guys we had already hit. My eyes widen when I see a Reject coming out of nowhere – he’s on his bike with a shotgun pointed right at me. I duck down and just see another guy who was coming up behind us.
I scream a warning to Vice and doesn’t the bastard throw himself up, absorbing the shot as I take aim and kill the fucker.
“Vice, shit, Brother!” I roar, feeling his weight on me.
“Russian, Vice, guy on bike is almost on you, he’s going around to your right,” Marc hollers in our head sets and I try to cover Vice’s body while trying to guess where to aim my gun. That Reject isn’t prepared for our location and doesn’t have time to shoot. The first bullet takes him off the bike, the second goes into his ass. No screams so I’m counting that as a kill.
“Vice is hit,” I press my mic down. “Gotta see to him. Let me know if anyone approaches.”
“I’ve got eyes on you,” one of the probies responds and I look up to see him about thirty feet from us. “I’ll keep lookout.”
“Fuck man,” Vice says while making sucking noises, trying to get oxygen in. “Ain’t ever been shot before.”
The only thing I know to do is put pressure on the wound, so I do. Getting an instant scream from him. “Gotta stop the bleeding, I don’t know what to do, you fucker,” I tell him. “That was my fucking bullet, you asshole.”
“Yeah, I’m reconsidering that move, alright,” he grins weakly before he starts to choke, so I try to prop him up a bit. Once I see blood spray from his mouth I know how this is going to end. “You gonna start crying on me now?”
“Brother…”
“I’m dying, they need you so get your ass in gear,” he painfully gasps out, I nod knowing it’s true. “You keep her happy. You give her lots of babies.”
“Don’t fucking do this,” I say pressing his wound harder.
“I cared about her, but it wasn’t the love you have for her.” Are the last words he speaks. I have no time to process them as the sound of a gunshot has my head spinning back to the probie who was watching our back. With no one around to watch his ass, a Reject walked up and put a bullet in his brain.
There are two more behind him. They all sneer as they walk forward, guns held on me.
“Think we have time to make this one our bitch?” the tallest of the three laughs out. “Don’t seem to be anyone arou…”
He drops. Then the other two fall in quick succession.
“Who the fuck are these guys?” Marc whispers through the headset. The sound of loud, single shots are heard all around the compound. “Um, they just took out all the remaining Rejects
. They’re all in suits. Are they Feds?”
“Stand down, Roy, everyone,” Flint clearly says. “Three of these big fucks are standing over me.”
Chapter 14
Russian
“Son. I hope you do not mind me…what is the phrase? Dropping in?” I hear a voice from my past behind me.
“Fuck.”
“I spent so much on your education and all I get is ‘fuck’?” He replies. “Perhaps we should have let this trash end you.”
I finally roll to my feet and face the man I tried so hard to leave behind. He’s smaller than I remember and the years have not been kind. The milky white of what used to be a perfectly good eye is definitely new.
“Your half-brother,” my father switches to Russian as he indicates his now blind eye that is creased by a scar. “He thought I should retire. Luckily, Vadim here has stayed loyal to me.” I look over his shoulder and see not only his henchmen but Flint, Roy, and the two surviving probies being herded our way. When Roy sees Vice lying on the ground, he hurries forward with a cry.
I hold my hands up so neither his way, nor his life, are stopped. Kneeling beside Roy, I tell him how Vice saved me. And I’m shocked by how sincerely I express my sorrow for his loss. Roy grips my arm in thanks and I stand again.
“Russian?” Flint speaks. “Maybe an introduction?”
“Flint, this is my father. Artem Kuznetsov,” I respond, not taking my eyes off my father, trying to figure out his next move. “Father, Flint was President when I first came here. He’s working on retirement now.”
“Retirement?!” my father laughs. “I would love to try that but my grandsons are too young to take over for me, and Artem, my son, here. Well, he removed himself from my world long ago.”
“Perhaps Vadim would do well,” I shrug and Vadim’s head swings in my direction. Interesting, I think. “If you’re so eager to retire?”
“Silence!” My father spits out. “It’s time we move from here. The gunshots will be reported. Artem, with us.”
“And my Brothers?” I stand my ground.
“They do not interest me.” He turns and walks towards a Suburban, knowing he’ll be followed. I walk up to Flint as Vadim watches me closely.
“Tell her I love her. Tell her I’ll come back to her as soon as I can.” I hastily whisper before catching up to my father, knowing his men will start dropping my Brothers if I don’t.
Betsy
We spend the day pretending to watch movies and take care of Madda but both of our nerves are stretched tight by the time Bree and I start fixing dinner. When the silence is cut by her ring tone, I immediately reach for my phone. Nothing.
“Sure, we can get him in the truck. Are you alright?” I hear Bree respond, her brows are drawn together.
“What is it? Is Russian alright?” I ask and she relays my question but looks even more confused.
“He’s alive,” she looks at me. Disconnecting the call, I can see she doesn’t know anything else and I turn off the oven and go to get shoes for Madda. I’m getting this show on the road. Right. Fucking. Now.
“Why hasn’t he called me?” I mumble to myself, getting more concerned by the moment.
We probably move Madda along faster than is good for him, and not knowing what’s going to happen Bree brings Ragnar with us, also. We’re all silent as she races to the compound.
The men’s bikes are spread everywhere, so unlike the usual neat lines. The old garage building is collapsing in on itself so it doesn’t take a genius to know the battle was fought here. I look around at the men I’ve known for years but barely anyone is willing to meet my eyes and the ones who do, look at me with pity.
Tanker, Smithy, Royce, Connal, and Jake are working to load up a truck with bodies and I can’t even guess where they’d be able to get rid of so many. I also know they’d never treat a Grizzlie that way so don’t give the dead men a second glance.
“Russian!” I call out, seconds from losing it. “Where the fuck is he?” I bellow when Flint emerges from the clubhouse.
“Come here, we need to talk,” he says softly, opening his arms to me.
“NO. Bree said he is alive. He’s alive, FLINT!” I start bawling and slapping at him when he would try to hold me.
Finally getting a grip on my arms, Flint gives me a shake. “Russian promised he would get to you as soon as he could. Now come on back to the office and we’ll talk.”
Get back to me? His words make no sense but I obviously won’t get any answers out here. I look back over my shoulder and see Bree approaching us. She’s supporting Madda but her eyes are roaming up and down Flint’s body, making sure he’s uninjured.
“Go ahead back. Tell Jasper to give me a minute, Betsy,” Flint whispers, patting me on my back and giving me a little push in the direct of the office.
Walking through the bar area, I look around to see more of the same looks. Over near the pool table, Hawk has an arm around his son and is about to throw back a shot with him. The dance area beyond them has three covered bodies and I instinctively know those are our fallen.
“Betsy,” Gunner calls when I would have taken a step in that direction. “Need you back here.” I nod and walk towards him, almost stumbling when I see the pain on Roy’s face and my head spins back to the bodies before looking at him again. He nods slowly, answering my silent question.
“I’m sorry,” I mouth to him, before fleeing back to the office. Vice is dead. I can’t fucking believe Vice is dead.
I fly through the door to Jasper’s office and nearly bounce off Gunner’s back. Catching myself on the doorframe, I desperately look around, hoping Russian is back here. He’s obviously not, but so much is happening so quickly that I’m not connecting all the dots.
“Betsy,” Jaspers starts when I sit. “We agreed to tell you what we know because of your position here. None of the other Ol’ Ladies are getting briefed. Understood?”
I nod quickly.
“When we rode out to hit the Rejects, I left some behind to guard the clubhouse. Russian and Vice among them. When we were going to their clubhouse, the Rejects rode to Boise and destroyed the Savage’s clubhouse, killing the six that were left behind. They sent a smaller force here, but those that stayed behind where outnumbered. Vice took a bullet meant for Russian. There wasn’t anything Russian could do for him but he stayed with him until the end. That left him pinned down. Until…”
“Until what, Jasper,” I try to keep my voice calm but considering Gunner feels the need to squeeze my shoulder, I doubt I succeeded.
Jasper exhales. “His father showed up. His men took out the Rejects and rounded up the remaining Grizzlies.”
“His father?” I repeat.
Flint enters the room and Jasper looks to him to finish. “Russian had no choice but to go with him, Betsy,” Flint picks up the story as he sits next to me. “His other son tried to kill him. He wants Russian to take over for him. He left with his father so they would let us live. Russian told me he loves you, to tell you that he’ll get back to you as soon as he can.”
I stare at his face but my heart is breaking. If he is brought back to Russia, they’ll never let him return. Jasper starts to speak but I hold my hand up, needing the quiet for another moment. If Artem gets on a plane with them, he’s as good as dead to me.
“Go. Fucking. Get. Him.” I stand up, hands on my hips and as furious as I’ve ever been in my life. “Why is everyone sitting around? Go fucking get my Ol’ Man!”
“Betsy, we’re trying,” Flint starts, looking at me like he’s never seen me before.
I spin on Gunner and smack his chest. “You! You big, fucking Neanderthal! This is what you do. So fucking get Wrench to track him and go bring him back to me! Shade went on that job. Call him and bring him in. He’s the motherfucking boogyman, right? You and him and…”
“Betsy, honey,” Wrench’s deep voice comes from the entrance of the comm room. “Girl, I’m on it. We’re working it, but it’s not that easy.”
/> “Have you found anything?” Jasper asks him, never having moved during my outburst.
“They’re flying to San Francisco, no flight plans have been laid out from there. There’s a good sized Russian community there, we can hope that it’s a stop and not…”
“Who can fly us?” I spin back to Jasper. “Let’s get a move on.”
“Betsy, you’re staying here. You can stay with Bree and me as long as you need. We are working this and you gotta trust that,” Flint says as calmly as possible and but I see the same expression on all their faces. They let me in on what happened but they’ll never let me go any further.
I nod and walk around Flint towards the door. “I’ll do everything I can, Betsy,” Gunner vows as I exit the room.
Taking a deep breath, I walk over to Bree. “I need your truck.”
She cocks her head and studies me. I have no idea what she’s thinking as we stand there staring at each other but finally, she nods her head. Turning on her heel, she walks towards the double doors to the parking lot. Ragnar and I follow her out.
“I just need your keys,” I repeat.
“You need more than that,” she’s says, lifting Ragnar into the back seat and getting behind the wheel. I hurriedly get in the passenger side and she takes off.
“Pack a bag, be quick,” she says as we pull up to her house.
I nearly run to do what she says, pulling open my phone I check flights out and if we hurry I can still catch one that will connect to San Francisco. Russian had given me a credit card in my name, so I grab that along the stash of cash he left in the dresser. I debate taking one of his knives with me, but I don’t want to check my luggage.
“Here, these will fit you,” Bree comes rushing in with a few dresses and I raise my eyebrow at the quality.
“You need to be prepared to fit in anywhere,” she explains. “Can you tell me where you’re going?”
“San Francisco. Can you get me to the airport? Fast?” I ask, cramming the dresses into my bag.
“Let’s go. I don’t want Flint catching on in time to stop us.”
