by J. C. Allen
Honesty at its most honest, I suppose. But it feels better to have said that.
“I just wanted to say just how much I appreciate those of you who are left. Given everything that’s happened—everything that’s happening—it’s not the easiest thing in the world to stay loyal. I understand that. But that means that all of you are the best of the best; the… fuck, the cream of the crop!”
I paused as a small splattering of laughter passed from that. It wasn’t fake laughter, either—it was just what I needed to keep this little speech going.
“I am, frankly, honored that all of you have continued to stay, and I’m thankful that you’ve all continued to have my back even through it all. We lost a lot of good men when my father… Well, you all know what happened. And, despite what you know, you’re here with me now—here with us now. Now, I’m not going to sugarcoat the situation. The Black Falcons have numbers. Let’s not even dodge the reality of the situation. They have a lot more than we do, especially since they’re taking the ones who don’t have the balls to stay with us.”
I thought of Tyler in that moment. No one had ever made a bigger mistake in their life than him. By taking Eve, not only had he drawn my wrath. He had drawn the wrath of the entire Savage Saviors. We’d all take turns putting a bullet hole in him before I ended his misery… very, very slowly.
“But I think there’s something to be said for us standing up to the odds. I think we stand a damn good chance if the best they’ve got are the ones who weren’t good enough to stand with us. I’ll tell you what, guys, I’d sooner take one of you than ten of them!”
This earned a cheer from the crowd—and again, it was a real, genuine cry of support. Smiling at this, feeling motivated by their approval, I went on.
“They may have numbers, but we have loyalty and courage to stay together. And I think that alone will give us a fighting chance. Now, we have their location and, Tara has been collecting some intel for us on the inside. We know their location, we know how we can bring them down. Like I said though, it’s going to be dangerous. I can’t guarantee we’ll all make it. And I’d understand if some of you decided to change your minds. I won’t blame you if you do.”
I looked up at the crowd, giving them the chance then to leave. I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until I saw the steely look the crew gave me. No one even made the slightest move to leave. A well of pride and appreciation grew inside me and I gave them a single nod.
“Thank you for this,” I said. “I’ll make an effort to be a better leader. You all have my gratitude.”
With that, the guys all began to cheer and I felt my face grow warm with a flush. I hadn’t expected this kind of response. My shoulders sagged in relief and I finally found my way down to where Roost stood. His eyes shown pride as he moved his hand to my shoulder.
“Yer dad would be proud,” he said.
“Thanks,” I said. “But there’s one more thing to say.”
“What’s that?”
I cleared my throat again and held my fist up, waiting for silence.
“LET’S GO KICK SOME FALCON ASS!”
The crowd erupted in hoo-rahs and “hell yeahs!” as I went to the wall of weapons, beginning to arm myself. When I felt as ready as I could be, I turned towards the exit, making my way to my bike. The rev of engines behind me was like music to my ears and by the time I made it to my bike, the other men were waiting, sitting on their bikes as they watched their leader.
Watched me.
Dad really would be proud.
Derek Knight, leading the troops into battle.
And the troops are willing to lay down their lives for me.
Nothing could bring me a greater honor.
I smirked, hitting the ignition and roared over my engine, “Let’s go!”
I hit the accelerator, sprinting off to the direction of the Black Falcons—the direction of Eve.
I glanced in my rear view mirror at the sight of all the men behind me. Several dozen bikes followed me, and I looked up proudly. I looked ahead at the dark streets, speeding forward, a renewed sense of confidence filling me at the sound of our motorcycles speeding along.
I couldn’t explain just how amazing it suddenly felt.
I would get to Eve.
I would take out the traitor, Tyler, as well as all of the other traitors.
I would end the Black Falcons.
Then I would ride off into the sunset with Eve by my side.
Hang in there, Eve. We’ll be there soon!
It took us less than fifteen minutes to get to the location Tara had provided. I looked ahead, seeing Tara standing outside a local pizza shop just a few blocks away from the neighborhood. Though fully aware that this sight would draw the attention of Black Falcon spies, subtlety had never been our goal today—a war had been. She began to head over, whistling at us, looking around the group.
“Wow, you got quite the numbers yourself,” she said, looking around once more. “You think we stand a chance?”
“I know we do,” I said.
It might have been the answer I would have given no matter what, but it wasn’t one said with false bravado.
“Where’d this new Derek come from?” she smirked, raising an eyebrow.
“He was always in there,” Roost said, smacking a large palm on my shoulder. “Just took him a bit, that’s all.”
“And maybe a few smacks and wake up calls,” Tara said with a knowing grin.
I winced at Roost’s smack, rubbing my shoulder. I shook my head, mumbling that he still didn’t know his own strength. Roost ignored the comment and looked around, raising an eyebrow. He’s never gonna learn. Some day.
“So, where to, sister?” Roost asked.
It barely registered that she’d upgraded from whore to sister.
“This way,” she said. “I don’t really think there’s a chance we’re going to sneak in, though.”
“We don’t plan to,” I said, tossing her a bulletproof vest. “Throw this on and get on the bike. It’s not going to get pretty.”
“You plan to what? Just drive right in?” she blinked, slipping the vest on under her jacket.
Well, what’s the opposite of sneaking in? Because that’s what we’re going to do.
“Yeah, that’s exactly what we plan to do,” Roost said, grinning widely. “Like ya said, we lost the element of surprise already. Might as well come in with a bang and knock ‘em assholes out.”
“Alright then,” she said, slipping onto the bike behind me. “This, hmm, this should be something.”
I began to see the first real signs of terror from Tara at that moment, but if she hadn’t broken yet, I had a feeling she was going to hold up at least until the first bullets started flying. After that, it was anyone’s guess what happened. People who seemed like cowards could suddenly become bold and insane, and the biggest shit talkers in the world could wet and shit themselves in a matter of seconds.
But I had faith Tara, even if she had initial fear, would pull herself together in the heat of the battle.
“You’ll be good,” I said reassuringly. “This place gated or anything?”
“Yeah, it is actually,” she said, frowning. “Is that gonna be an issue?”
“Not with this puppy,” Roost said, slapping the side of his Harley Fat Boy he was seated on. “I’m gonna miss the girl.”
“Wow, so quick to assume she’s gonna die,” I said with a slap back—one not nearly as strong as the one Roost had given.
“Yer a fool if ya think I’m keepin’ her over me,” Roost said.
“Who knows? Maybe she’ll make it out alive She’s taken a ton of your beatings before, after all.”
“Shit,” Tara said with a laugh. “That it survived this long having to hold up your fat ass is nothing short of a miracle in-and-of itself!”
“Good, keep those thoughts out for the ol’ girl,” Roost said, strapping his helmet on along with a hockey goalie chest protector along with the arm gear.
It was moments like these that usually got me feeling a bit nervous. But I swore as the real leader, as the person definitively in charge of the Savage Saviors, I would not show such nerves as I had before.
“S-sorry,” she said, trying to hold back her laughter. “You look so ridiculous! You look like a grizzly bear wearing a toddler’s gear!”
“Shuddup, whore!” Roost said, grumbling under his breath. “It ain’t my choice, leader-boy over here said to.”
Ahh, misread the situation. We’re still good!
“And leader-boy here still sticks to this order,” I said with relief obvious in my voice. “Even though I do agree that you look pretty ridiculous.”
Roost only gave a knowing nod. Perhaps he’d let off a little steam. Either way, it was time.
“Let’s roll!” I called out.
Tara pointed out the way for us. As we reached the gate, I held the others back. Turning to Roost, I gave him a nod. He pointed his bike at the gate. I watched, holding back the fear that the protective gear wouldn’t be enough. He was about to smash through a metal gate, after all. How much good would hockey gear be?
Guess we’re about to find out.
I watched as Roost moved the bike back some, giving himself some distance to speed up. I took a deep breath, watching as he began to rev the engine, hitting the accelerator. As he picked up speed, I fought not to cry out, to call this whole thing off. We needed to do this, needed to at least come in with a bang.
And what bigger of a bang was it to bust right through their gates?
I watched, feeling the others’ growing wave of concern the closer Roost came to the gate. I sucked in a deep breath as he closed the distance. He let loose a loud roar, slamming right through the gate and skidding to a stop in the middle of the circle of the cul-de-sac. I watched, trying to see through the cloud of smoke he’d made in the process.
He was alive. Good enough.
Deciding we couldn’t wait any longer, I roared out to the others.
“Let’s go!”
We screamed forward, heading through the opening that Roost had made seconds ago. As we went through, I saw Roost standing by his fallen bike, holding up a shotgun in one hand and his fist in the other. I smirked at the sight, glad to see that he hadn’t been gravely injured.
“Good to see you,” I said, slipping off the bike and retrieving my own gun from the bag on my bike.
“Like a crash gonna kill me,” he retorted.
I handed the rifle that Roost had packed for Tara over and glanced around as a series of spotlights began to turn on, aiming directly at us. I took a deep breath, waiting for whatever they had planned to appear. No turning back now.
Silence filled the area.
I looked around at my crew, seeing that they were all prepared, holding their guns forward, aiming towards the houses. They’d formed a circle, following the cul-de-sacs outer driveway. This left us easy to pick off… though our bikes would provide the cover we needed.
Still, now that we were actually here and in the process of executing our trap, I couldn’t help but feel nervous.
What if this was a trap again?
What if they’d already evacuated?
What if they’d only left their lowest-level goons, taking Tyler, Eve, and any other high-leverage targets?
What if we were as good as dead.
As the thoughts ran through my mind, garages opened. I looked around, seeing all six houses’ doors sliding open. The spotlights shown brightly down, creating a hazy outline of the houses in the darkness, but my heart began to race. Every garage was filled with men, armed just the same as we were. I took a deep breath, glancing over at Tara.
“Which house is Eve in?” I asked.
“That one,” she pointed to the largest house that faced right in front of us.
As the doors opened wide enough, a loud cry was issued from the house Tara had pointed to.
“Time to go to battle, boys,” I said. “It’s our time to shine. Let’s kill these fuckers!”
And then the chaos began.
14
Eve
For what felt like hours, I had sat in the basement, devoid of social interaction, food, water, and the necessary fatigue to pass back out.
I was left with the thoughts in my own mind, the ways I might break these shackles—spoiler, none of them worked—and the hope that Derek would come back soon.
Even though Tara had, bless her, shown up to come and get me, I still wasn’t convinced it was going to happen. It just seemed too far-fetched of an idea. What if my desperate brain had imagined her there? What if Derek had no idea where I was and he would never see me again?
Never again…
“You a whore or not?”
Forever now…
The problem with being chained up was that not only was my body chained, so was my mind. There was no escaping these thoughts, because I couldn’t do anything to get rid of them. There was no shopping therapy, no cuddles with Derek, or no random meals with Matty to occupy my mind or at least tell me I was crazy.
It was a vicious cycle, one that—
Gunfire.
I perked up at the sound.
It wasn’t just one gunshot. It was the sound of multiple gunshots being fired.
A battle was going on.
Suddenly, two men hurried down the stairs.
“C’mon,” they growled, clearly in a hurry. “Resist us and you’re dead, whore. No idea why Falcon wants you this bad.”
I offered no such fight, because I knew what had happened—and the gunfire outside all but confirmed it.
He had come. Derek Knight. He was here to rescue me.
“Come on!”
I nearly stumbled upon being lifted up and pushed forward, but I found myself at the stairs just before slamming my shin on the ground. I moved up the steps in a hurry, coming to the main living room. Inside, I saw Tyler looking scared shitless. I grinned deviously at the pale-shade his face had taken. I could see the panic on his face, just as palpable as the panic that surrounded wherever this was. Derek and, from the sounds of it, his entire crew—all of the Black Falcons—had come.
“You don’t look so sure anymore, Tyler,” I said, sneering. “You—
“Shut up, shut up!” he said as he moved in and put some rope restraints on me—poorly, it seemed, but the message was clear.
Ironically, it was that Tyler hadn’t threatened me directly that got me to shut up. If he’d stared me down, I knew he’d be intimidating me and nothing more. But his shut up, as if I was distracting him from an important task, led me to believe that continuing to taunt him would lead to a hard smack, consequences of physical damage be damned.
But this also gave me a window of opportunity to escape—if I could find it. If I could do it without getting shot. If I could get to Derek without anyone of us getting hurt…
Which, given the downpour of bullets outside, seemed distressingly unlikely.
More Black Falcons scurried up and down the stairs. Tyler remained by my side, seemingly unwilling to leave me—which left me worried that he wouldn’t do so without first getting off from me. If I couldn’t escape, perhaps I could find a way to incapacitate Tyler.
Easier said than done, Eve. Just lay low for now.
“Has Falcon been moved?” a voice said.
I looked upstairs and saw the men moving around like mad. Curious to see if I could escape, I began to wiggle in the restraints, careful not to alert their attention as I did. If I could just get out of these things, I’d be able to get out. Out of here and to Derek.
I had to get to him.
With that on my mind—with nothing else on my mind—I continued the process; shivering slightly at the mention of the name Falcon and from the time Matty had mentioned him.
&n
bsp; “Yeah, he’s been moved,” another answered, nodding, and then glanced over at me. “What should we do about her? The whole reason this is going down is because of the whore.”
I forced myself to stop moving, terrified that one of the guards had caught me. I stared back, trying my best not to look guilty of anything and trying to suppress the pounding of my heart, certain they could all hear it. I begged whatever gods who might be out there listening at that moment to, for once, show an ounce of decency towards me and my efforts—to either throw me a break or, heaven forbid, actually help me out of this.
Then, as if answering my prayers, the Falcons member who’d been staring at me turned back to the others.
A decision had been made.
I just had to hope the gods had said yes and not no to my prayers.
“She isn’t priority right now,” the guy said. “Falcon has new plans. We have to take out this threat before we move her or do anything with her.”
Tyler suddenly looked like he was going to be sick. He glanced at me—no sign of his normally lecherous gaze now—and suddenly began stammering. I wondered then if he was remembering what I’d said about him being expendable, because he certainly looked like he was fighting against an impending sense of doom.
“Are you kidding me?” he growled. He really wants me. Is this… is this whole coming over here about me? It can’t be. “We didn’t grab her just to leave her here! This is beyond insanity!”
The man shook his head, sneering. It occurred to me just then how even though former Saviors might have provided invaluable intel and resources to the Black Falcons, they were probably seen as something akin to second-class citizens.
“No,” the man said. “Falcon says you’re coming with us, too. You’d better get your ass upstairs.”
“If Falcon says I’m so important, then maybe you’re not the one who should be slinging orders. Don’t forget who procured the gold, you—”
