It was hard to tell how many Blue Knights were there, and they were caught in the crossfire between our guys in the truck and five of us on the road. As they scrambled further into the darkness, I could barely make out their Blue Knights’ cuts, but I determined one thing, they looked fucking familiar.
“Who the fuck is running this circus?” Hawk yelled out when there was a second of silence. “I want to talk to your president!”
Someone hidden in the dark beyond the truck shouted back, “What if our president doesn’t want to talk to you?” Muted laughter followed as some of the men from the other side found the comment funny.
“What, do you fucking think this is some joke?” I snarled loudly. “Your secret identity ends tonight! Everyone already knows what fucking cowards you are!”
Gunfire was the response, which set off several rounds from both sides. Shooting blindly in the dark was fucking dangerous, but at least the flash gave away Blue Knights’ position in the surrounding field. It also gave away our location, but they already knew that we were near the truck.
“No one calls us cowards!”someone shouted out.
I shot in the direction of the voice.
“Then pussies!” Hawk clarified. “You killed one of our brothers! There’s only one way this is going to end, and that’s with Blue Knights six feet under!”
“Fuck you!”
“No, fuck you, motherfuckers!” Ned screamed back from his location. I knew that he would take this personally since he and Bullet had been the ones ambushed by Blue Knights.
Apparently they didn’t know who they were fucking with. I motioned to Hawk that I was going to circle the perimeter and then caught Big John’s eye and indicated that he should go in the opposite direction. He gave me a chin lift and took off, keeping low. I did the same, making sure to keep well into the darkness. I had no idea how many Blue Knights were out there. According to BK’s brief text, he thought he’d seen six or seven riding up on the truck right before all hell had broken loose.
It was fucking dark. I kept low and moved slow. I didn’t want to give my position away, much less step in a gopher hole and break my fucking ankle. I concentrated on my movements and breathing, listening for any tiny noise or sound that would indicate that I wasn’t alone. My eyesight was fucking good in the dark, so was my hearing. Hawk was doing a good job of keeping the random comments coming so that Big John and I could detect the fucker’s location.
“You’ve got MC’s pissed all up and down the east coast!” I heard Hawk yell. “They want your club gone!” He was lying. No one really gave a fuck about the Blue Knights because until now they’d been more of a nuisance than any real threat.
“They’re afraid of us!”
Fuck! That was close. I stopped and listened. I heard shallow breathing off to the left of me. I slipped my gun into the back of my pants. The next sound he made was a little louder and I was able to pick up his location. I jumped him, chopped the gun out of his hand, and wrapped one arm around his neck. The other held his head in place. I pulled him back into me. “No we’re not,” I whispered into his ear right before I snapped his neck. I released him and he sank to the ground.
I snatched his gun up and continued scouting around.
“We want you gone! We’re not going to let a little unknown club come into our area, our town, and fuck with what we’ve got here,” Hawk barked. “If your president is too chicken shit to face me−”
Someone fired their weapon, and then other guns went off. Soon the air was filled with the acrid smell of gunpowder and smoke. During the brief exchange I was able to locate another Blue Knight hiding in the tall grass. I wasted no time in breaking his neck, too. When I looked up from his crumbled body there was a gun in my face.
“Fucking mistake, big man,” the ugly fucker said to me. The crooked snarl on his whiskered face told me that he knew he had the upper hand.
He cocked his gun and I realized I’d only have a second to make a move that counted. The only decision I could make was to make a jump for him. Just as I was about to lunge, a huge arm slid around the front of his neck, snapping and twisting it back. As the man collapsed to the ground I met Big John’s eyes.
“That was close, brother, thanks.” He grunted. “How many did you get?” He held up two fingers. I did the same. That meant there were three to four left. “Four, Prez!” I shouted out, and then ducked down in case someone fired in my direction. Someone did, and the bullet whizzed by me, a little too close for comfort.
“You hear that?” Hawk called out. “My VP just informed me that four of your brothers are dead.” He let his words sink in. “Give yourselves up and you might make it out alive!”
“Bullshit! Why should we trust you?”
“You shouldn’t. But that’s all you’re gonna get from me. You got five minutes to make up your fucking minds.”
While Hawk was busy chit chatting with the remaining Blue Knights, Big John and I continued scouting out the area. I went in the direction he’d come from and he went in mine. We didn’t take prisoners. We wanted the fuckers dead for what they’d done to Ned and Bullet, and for the shit they’d been pulling on us. Just the fact that they’d been asking questions about us was cause enough for elimination. Either they were planning something big, or they wanted to be sure that we knew they were in the area sticking their noses in where it didn’t belong.
Someone close made the mistake of clearing their throat. They’d tried to keep it low, but it hadn’t been low enough. What a stupid fuck. I turned in the direction and waited until I heard the slightest movement, and then I was on him. I wrapped my arm around his upper body and yanked him to his feet. His gun went off when I chopped it out of his hand to the ground.
“Call your fucking brothers off,” I growled into his ear. Maybe taking a different tactic would end this shit. “Or your brain matter is going to be feeding the fucking animals.”
He snorted. “Go fuck yourself.” He struggled to get away, but his slight build was no match for me.
I could tell by his voice that he was young, too cocky to realize that he was in real trouble. Hadn’t he just heard that he was four brothers short? What, did he think we’d sent them home? We weren’t playing games. “I’ve already killed two others, so killing you won’t bother me in the least,” I snarled low. “You’ll just be one less fucker we’ll have to deal with in the future.”
He tensed. I grinned to myself. “Maybe I should shoot you anyway and show your brothers Phantom Riders mean business.” At the moment I was bluffing.
“Hey, Prez, I got another one! And this one’s still alive!” I gave the guy a rough jerk. “Call out so your brothers know who you are.”
“No.”
I shot him in the foot. He began to scream like a girl. “Shit! Fuck! He shot me in the fucking foot!”
“How many men does that leave you against my eleven?” Hawk asked into the darkness.
It grew quiet except for the whining and whimpering of my victim.
“Okay, okay! We’re coming in!”
That surprised the fuck out of me. I held back on purpose, giving the Blue Knights enough time to come out of hiding and get to where Hawk and the others were waiting. Big John covered my back as we gradually made our way back to the truck. I had to laugh when it became apparent that only two other Blue Knights were left standing besides the one I was shoving before me. When we reached his brothers he stumbled to the ground at their feet. Clay and Ned were removing their weapons and patting them down.
“This it?” Hawk questioned to no one in particular. He received a nod. Hawk gave Big John a significant look.
“Pick up your friend and get your asses in the truck,” Big John ordered.
“I thought we were going to talk,” one of them had the guts to say.
“You their president?” Hawk snarled.
“VP,” he answered.
“We’ll talk back at the clubhouse.”
Once the Blue Knights were in the bac
k we pulled down the rolling door and locked it. Then we gathered around Hawk for our orders.
“Strip the bodies of their cuts and any identification you can find and burn them. We’ll take their bikes in the back of the truck.” Hawk reached for his cell, which must have been vibrating in his back pocket. He looked down at it and began to read the text.
Almost simultaneously my phone began to vibrate. I yanked it out with a frown, and glanced down to see that it was a text from Cooper, the prospect I had watching my house. Instant panic closed around my heart at the thought of what I would find when I read his text. I read the short, to-the-point message and looked up at Hawk, who was frowning now, and must have received a similar message. I didn’t even hesitate to spin around and run to my bike.
“Jumper,” I heard Hawk snap out sharply behind me. “Go with Rock. He’s got trouble.”
I didn’t wait for Jumper. He’d catch up. I revved my bike and took off, my back tire spitting gravel. Trouble didn’t even half describe what I was riding into.
My woman was in the hospital fighting for her life.
Chapter 30
Rock
I rode like the devil, deciding to get on the highway as soon as I could. Taking that route would be a straight shot to Waterville, where they’d taken Allie, and would shave off half an hour, and my reckless speeding would shave off even more. Somewhere behind me was Jumper, but I didn’t care if caught up. Nothing mattered but getting to the hospital and to my woman. I still couldn’t wrap my head around the text I’d received.
Come home ASAP. Allie in the hospital. Bad shape.
Nothing else had been said, and that in itself was telling. Brothers didn’t like to give out bad news when the brother it pertained to was on the road. Riding with a shit-load of hurt on your mind was fucking dangerous. It was bad enough that I had all kinds of shit-thoughts running through my head about what had just happened with Blue Knights, and I was going to kill the fucking prospect who was supposed to have been watching out for Allie and Sam.
And what about Sam? He hadn’t been mentioned in the text. I could only pray that meant that he was safe. A cop in a cruiser that was coming from the opposite direction saw me race by. A glance in my mirror revealed that he was crossing the grassy median and turning in my direction, his lights flashing. He had to know that he’d never catch me. I didn’t slow my speed. In fact, I accelerated and began zigzagging in and around other vehicles. If Jumper was smart he’d do the same fucking thing or he was going to get caught for speeding.
I was coming up on my exit. I took one-twenty-seven onto Kennedy Memorial Drive. Ten minutes later I was rushing through the emergency room doors and straight to the information desk. No one had better get in my way.
“May I help you, sir?” an elderly woman asked in a sweet voice and with a caring smile I had no time to appreciate.
“My wife, Allie Winters, was brought in−” It suddenly occurred to me that I didn’t know what kind of accident she’d had.
“Rock!” I swung around to see Audra’s pale, ravaged face as she pushed through a door and into the room. It was clear that she’d been crying. Her eyes were puffy and red. She was wiping a tissue underneath her red nose. Her appearance scared the living fuck out of me.
I left the desk and met her. “Tell me,” I said savagely, taking her hand. But she could only shake her head as more tears fell unchecked down her face. Cooper was right behind her, and I released Audra and went to him. I didn’t think. I just reacted. I grabbed him by the front of his cut and slammed him back against the wall, getting into his face. “You were supposed to protect her!” I snarled through my clenched teeth. “Sam−”
“Sam’s okay, man,” Cooper rushed out with his arms up in the air in surrender, smart enough not to fight me.
“Rock, it’s not Cooper’s fault!” Audra made her way over to us.
“Do I need to call the police?” the elderly woman asked from her station. She’d already picked up her phone.
“No, it’s okay,” Audra responded. “We’re all family.”
“Like fucking hell!” I barely gave her a look. “What the fuck happened? Where is she?”
“Rock,” Audra’s small hand on my arm kept me from exploding and ruining Cooper’s face. She glanced around the room. “Let’s go sit over there.” I resisted. “Please,” she whispered tearfully.
“I want to know if Allie is okay,” I gritted out.
“Please, Rock−”
The hospital doors slid open and Jumper came storming into the room. His wild gaze immediately fell on us and his shoulders slumped with obvious relief as he made his way to us.
“Fucking hell.” I turned in the direction Audra had indicated, which was empty of people. I knew she wouldn’t be satisfied until I was sitting, so I sank into the edge of a chair and glared at the small group as they joined me. My eyes were on Audra, who had managed to pull herself together.
“Is she alive?” I had to know that first thing, before anything else. We could get through the rest.
Audra nodded. Closing my eyes, I released a breath of relief and sank back into the chair.
“She’s in surgery right now.”
I opened my eyes. “Sam?”
“He’s good. Carol has him.”
I took another relieved breath, running my hand over my mouth and lower jaw. My hand was shaking. “Tell me what happened.” I glared at Cooper.
“I’m sorry, brother. I never had reason to think that Marnie−”
“Marnie!” What the fuck was I hearing? I clenched my hands. “What the fuck did she do?”
“She came to the house, acting all friendly and happy. Said she had something to drop off. She even had a box, man!”
“Are you saying Marnie attacked Allie?” I’d fucking kill her for hurting Allie.
Cooper confirmed it with a reluctant nod. “I let her go inside. I swear, brother, if I’d known−she didn’t act like anything was fucking wrong!” He glanced down at his hands, which were hanging between his knees, and then I saw the fucking blood on them.
A chill went through my paralyzed body. “What did she fucking do to Allie?” I was terrified at what Cooper’s answer would be. A quick glance at Audra showed a fresh onset of tears filling her eyes. Christ. This was going to be bad.
“She used a fucking knife on Allie,” Cooper admitted in a low tone, confirming my worst fears. “Marnie wasn’t there long when I heard the first scream. I rushed inside. I could hear fighting and yelling coming from upstairs. I rushed up there, but . . .” he paused, taking a breath for his courage to continue. “I was too late. Man, I’m sorry! When I got there Allie was on the floor and Marnie was on top of her, holding a knife. I didn’t even hesitate, man, I fucking shot her right through the head.” He shook his head sorrowfully. “I’m so fucking sorry.”
By the time Cooper was finished I felt fucking numb. Audra’s sob drew my gaze to her. “Cooper did the best he could to staunch the flow of blood until the paramedics got there. He called me to get the boys.”
“Boys?”
“Sam had some friends over. They were playing outside. They didn’t see anything, Rock. Their mothers showed up to take them home and I phoned Carol to get Sam. I wanted to be here for Allie and you.”
“Thank fuck for that,” I said quietly. Jesus, if Allie died…the thought made me feel sick. Me, a cold-blooded killer. I ran my shaking hands through my hair, feeling the burn in my eyes and clenching my teeth so fucking hard that my jaw hurt. She was my woman, but more than that, she was my life. She made me feel good, worthy. She and Sam made my life worth living. I couldn’t lose her. “How bad is it?” my voice cracked.
“She was stabbed several times,” I heard Audra’s teary tone say. “We had to let the police know.”
Yeah, I figured they’d have to. You didn’t bring someone to the hospital with several stab wounds and say they’d slipped and fallen on a knife. I looked at Cooper, surprised that he hadn’t been arrested. He had
obviously shot in Marnie in self-defense, but there’d still be an investigation. “What did you tell them?”
He shrugged. “The truth,” he admitted. “Sheriff Branson was there, said not to leave town.”
It was probably the only reason he hadn’t been arrested on sight. Phantom Riders had an understanding with the sheriff.
“There really wasn’t anything else we could do.”
I didn’t argue with Audra. She was right. “Thank you for being here.” She reached over and took my hand, her mouth quivering.
Jumper got up and stepped away from us, pulling his phone out. He’d be updating Hawk on what had gone down. I’m not sure how long we sat there in silence, waiting. After a while I released Audra’s hand. I wanted to be alone. I didn’t want contact with anyone or anything. It was all I could do not to lose my shit and destroy something, not to rant and rave at the unfairness. For every fucking minute that slipped by, I felt myself sinking deeper inside myself, where the monster lived.
I hadn’t protected the woman I loved. The shit in my life had affected her, and Christ, she might not survive. I wanted Marnie alive so that I could kill the bitch all over again, tear her apart with my bare hands. As rage filled every part of my being, my soul, I fought the urge to scream, to howl out in pain. And then I did something I’d never done before, I fucking prayed. If there was a God, and he didn’t take Allie from me, I’d make things right. I would never let anything happen to her again, and there was only one way I could make sure to keep that promise.
It would kill me, but I would send her away to keep her safe.
I was vaguely aware when Jumper returned and sat back down, and when others entered and left the hospital, of people sitting in the waiting room like we were. Some were talking, others weeping quietly, but most were silent, sitting there woodenly, staring at nothing, their expressions showing an array of pain, sorrow, and fear. Once in a while a hospital staff member would come through the back doors and call out the name of a family member to give them an update.
No Mercy Page 20
