by A. C. Bextor
When she and Cilas saw Dog and another man she didn’t recognize coming down the hall, they both immediately noticed the gun in Dog’s hand. Cilas rested his forehead to hers, closed his eyes, then set her down and placed her body behind his large one. His arms raised in front of him, signaling surrender, Dog still didn’t hesitate to get close. The gun in his hand was aimed at Cilas.
Thinking quickly and without fear of Dog’s weapon, Cilas had pushed Casey back in her room, nearly tossing her on her bed before turning around and slamming the door behind him. Instinctively, she waited for the lock to pop in place, but the familiar sound never came. She heard a man scream for Cilas not to move. Then another ‘pop’ hit the air outside her door.
Then, everything fell to complete silence.
When no one made a move to get her from the room, Casey sat on the edge of her bed with her back against the cement wall. With her knees drawn up, her body rocked back and forth as her hands remained over her ears. Through heavy breathing, she prayed to anyone who would listen, but namely Max.
Don’t leave without me. Take me with you.
Chapter Thirty-Six
The common room is littered with men wearing camo, carrying weapons, with black and green paint covering their faces. This army can’t be mistaken. These men are those Aimes has spent nearly a month recruiting.
“Where’s Aimes?” I ask a man I’ve never seen before. He’s smiling as though he’s enjoying this. He’s got to be one of Aimes’ friends.
“Don’t know,” he answers. “We’re scanning for women, any and all. There’s a van parked near the front entrance. The gate’s been blasted and more of us are waiting to see who’s taking that exit. Men are waiting at the bottom of the steps. That exit is secure. If you find anyone who needs out, send them through there.”
“The women with straps…” I start to question.
I’m cut off with his answer. “Got ‘em. I’m guessing you’re Max,” he tells me as another blast, this time from inside, bursts in the hallway behind the bar.
“I am. What the fuck’s with the blasting?”
“Distraction,” he tells me, smiling again. I remember Brayden using the same term when he warned me earlier.
When I don’t move as fast as he needs, his smile drops and he screams, “Go!”
After he walks away, through the smolder and dust, I quickly turn around and find Callie standing near one of the doors close to the bar. She looks lost and confused as men move around her with quick speed.
Rushing in her direction, I talk loudly so she focuses only on me. “Callie,” I call, but she doesn’t bring her eyes to mine. She’s scared. My hands reach to her upper arms and I shake her gently. “Callie, we need to go.”
Her eyebrows furrow, not understanding. Her voice is calm, but her body is shaking. “What’s happening?”
Ignoring her question, I ask, “Do you need me to carry you?”
“What’s happening!” she cries with wide eyes.
Brushing the debris from her hair and dust around her eyes, I tell her, “We’re goin’, we’re okay. Hold onto me if you need to.”
She nods in response and her hand squeezes mine in reassurance.
“Follow close.”
Once outside, I see the debris fallen around the gate. A car, which looks to have exploded must have been the first initial blast. It’s in pieces, many of them still on fire in the driveway leading up to the clubhouse.
“Where’s everyone?” Callie asks once we’re standing on the debris-covered porch. The stairs are clear of men except for one.
He’s dressed as the others and he’s holding his hand out at the bottom of them. “Move, move, move!” he shouts to her.
Turning back to look at me with sheer terror on her face and a firm grip on my arm, Callie refuses. “I want to stay with you.”
“Sweetheart, I’m goin’ back in. Go with him.” I point beyond the gate where a series of onlookers are being held back by the men dressed in camo and holding guns. Seeing this quickly convinces her.
Still with an unsure nod, she releases my arm and runs down the steps quickly. My eyes dart around for any member of Creed. There are none, but the sound of sirens in the background tells me it won’t be long before this mission is interrupted.
Rushing back the way I came, I find Brayden. The large man is now stepping over bodies. One of them, I see, is Iron. His eyes are open, looking toward the ceiling, his body positioned on top of his left arm, which appears to be set beneath him at an unnatural angle. He’s been shot in the chest and there’s no doubt he’s dead.
Fuck, but I didn’t want that. Iron wasn’t bad; neither is Wick. The two men were caught up in a circumstance they had no control over.
“Have you seen Casey?” I ask Brayden, moving the smoke from my view then holding my hand over my nose.
“Negative,” he returns. “But Tessor has some of the others.” I don’t know who Tessor is, but continue to listen. “He’s taking them out through the back now. The front entrance is closed. Local PD is locking it down. Too much to get through with all this shit comin’ down.”
“The blasts?” I ask, already knowing what I just left behind.
“We didn’t start all this, man. Only the first few blasts just to get inside.”
The alarming statement paralyzes me momentarily. Hoss and his crew are scattered. And working.
“I need to get Anna,” I tell him. “She’s down this hall.”
I start to pass him, but he pushes at my chest and stops me mid-motion. “There’s no one in those rooms. We’ve checked.”
“Do you guys have her?”
“I don’t know,” he tells me. “Me and Tyler are working this grid. Aimes and four others are outside securing it. When you see one of us inside, you’ll know it’s us.” He holds up his mask in place for emphasis and recognition.
“I’ll take one more pass. You got an extra?” I signal to his belt and he offers me a small handgun. I check the ammo quickly and stuff it in the back of my jeans. “If you see any of the women wearing…”
“Go,” he tells me, already knowing my thought. “Most have been led out already.”
Taking his advice, I slap the back of his shoulder and move through the debris littering the floor down another hall. It’s there I find Dee Dee.
As she lies on the floor with her eyes opened wide, I waste no time as I bend to check for a pulse. Her hair is matted with debris and dust, the body lying as Iron’s did in an unnatural position, but the blood on her clothes is already drying.
She’s dead and looks to have been here a long while.
As I say a silent prayer for those who made it through, I stand and turn from the room without looking back.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
The haze of black smoke is even thicker as I make my way to the back exit of the club. Voices mix around, sharing in only one-sided conversations; an indication those having them are part of Aimes’ crew. They’re communicating with each other.
When I finally reach the outside, I immediately look around for Cilas, Casey, and whoever else may look familiar. I don’t find any of them, so I start to traipse back around the building near where Casey’s room is. The long line of storage units, which include the shrine I once found Hangar mutilating himself in, has been left untouched. The damage to every other building is evident as smoke billows through almost every rooftop.
The uniformed police officers are now inside the compound, mainly scattered around the perimeter. Cuffed men wearing Creed vests are being taken through the front entrance. The others wearing camo have now backed off and don’t stand in the way of those working through the rubble and ash.
“Max!” a voice cries from behind the small building. When I turn to look, I see Casey standing unsteadily next to it.
She’s dressed in only a nightgown and she’s looking up at me with terror. I don’t understand all of her fear until I feel a heavy blunt object as it hits sharply in the middle of my back.
I stumble forward a few steps before turning around in place to find it was Dog who struck me.
“Max!” I hear Casey cry out again. This time, I also hear another name, but one which sends chills racing down through the pain now radiating through my spine. “Aunt Emma!”
When I look beyond Dog, who stands seething in front of me with a tire iron in his hand, I notice Hoss’ face is masked with absolute fury. Emma stands in front of him, his arm draped tightly around her neck, and he has a gun pointed directly at her temple.
Instantly, all outside noise and distractions fall away.
In this moment, everything is clearer than it’s ever been.
“Max,” I hear Em say. Her tone is controlled and she’s nowhere near as panicked as I thought she’d be. Her eyes move to Casey, standing at my right and back to me. “Max,” she says again before Hoss pulls at her throat and her hands move to clutch his arm.
“Taylor,” Hoss calls to draw my attention, using my last name, which he’s never done before.
Dog takes two steps back, leaving him standing next to Hoss holding Emma hostage. I take a quick look around, hoping like fuck someone’s spotted us out here alone. Unfortunately, I find no cops, no camo, which means no interference or distraction. Casey’s body is hiding behind the small building. I see her face and hair come into view then she quickly backs away.
“It’s your turn,” Hoss spits.
Emma whimpers when his arm tightens around her neck. Dog pulls a gun from the back of his jeans and aims it in my direction. He smiles. I realize then he’s the next tyrant in line to take Hangar’s place.
“You took all I had left of Ursa,” Hoss accuses. “Hangar was sick, but he just needed help.”
Putting my hands in front of me, proving to him my unarmed status, I tell him the truth. “He was a killer, Hoss. You said yourself he wasn’t always right in the head.”
“He was my son!” he returns with a voice full of ire. His finger moves the trigger of the gun. In the near silence that surrounds us, my ears key in on the trigger clicking into place.
“He was also insane. He was too far gone and you know it.”
“Dog!” Hoss clips out, disregarding what I’ve said.
Hearing the address and the manner in which it’s used, Dog moves in Casey’s direction. Fear paralyzes her, so she doesn’t fight when he reaches in and grabs her hair in his hand. A small yelp of pain releases as he brings her to stand in front of him.
“Don’t!” I plead while looking into Emma’s eyes, now swimming in tears, then moving my focus to Casey. “Don’t do this.”
Hoss doesn’t waste a moment before explaining his intention. “You’re going to feel the same pain I did. To lose every fuckin’ thing you love on this earth.”
“It doesn’t have to happen, Hoss. Damn it,” I plead further. I hear Casey’s sobs and feeling helpless, I look at her with guilt.
“Casey,” I say, hoping she can hear me. She doesn’t stop crying, but Dog pulls her hair roughly, causing her to look in my direction. “Monkey,” I call out. She sucks in a breath and pulls herself together.
“You choose now, Max,” Hoss calls for my attention. “Emma or Casey.”
“No,” I return then try to reason. Casey’s hands lift from her sides and with her eyes closing tightly, she covers her ears to avoid what’s happening, just as I’ve seen her do before. I continue with the negotiation without trying to pull for her attention. “Hoss, you were a good man once. My father saw it. Others in this town saw it. You can be that person again.”
“You’ll have one, but not the other.” He ignores my words of encouragement and presses on. “You’ll spend your life as I did after Ursa left me.”
“Hoss, please.” I’m not too proud to grovel.
“Choose,” he repeats. “Your woman or Casey.”
Realizing I’m taken back with his demand, I stop in place and let my arms fall to my sides.
The butt of the gun presses to Emma’s temple with further force. “No time to think, Max. What’s the call?”
Emma’s face falls from sad to suddenly serious. Her voice, not scared, but rather controlled even after hearing this drip from Hoss’ mouth, calls out directly to me. “Remember what we said we’d do, Max?”
“Shut up!” Hoss tells her, gagging her with his arm.
If it comes down to my life for hers, I want you to tell me you’d do the same.
“Choose the same as I did,” Emma finishes on a gasp. “Please, Max.”
Of course, but Max…
She’s telling me to choose Casey’s life for hers.
“Shut up!” Hoss tells her again, but it’s too late.
“Emma,” I breathe out, unsure what to say. I don’t see a happy ending to any of this.
“Do it!” she screams at me, holding my eyes captive. “Please.”
In the blink of an eye, a gunshot rings out from a close distance. Dog falls heavily to the ground, his body hitting the dirt with brutal force. Casey comes at me, screaming in terror. Pulling her into me, I shield her body with my own after throwing her against the cement structure behind us.
Hoss doesn’t have time to react. The second and third gunshots ring as loud as the first, only this time Hoss and Em drop just as quickly. Em’s eyes are open and wide as she lies on the ground underneath Hoss’ heavy frame. It’s clear Dog took a shot to the head, but I can’t see where either Hoss or Em have been hit.
I don’t have time to contemplate anything.
Cilas moves in and stands to my right, his gun still smoking after delivering its shots. His head turns to me then he nods in Casey’s direction. His chest is dripping with blood and I can see, even in the dim light, his face has lost all color. The gun drops from his hands and he falls to his knees while watching Casey. She breaks from my grasp and runs to him. Her small body’s not big enough to catch his, though, and he falls to the ground as she screams above him.
The sirens continue coming in from a distance. The voices searching the compound are coming closer with each breath we take.
Clearing my head and taking my eyes off Emma, who lies still, I follow Casey to Cilas. His eyes are blinking as he lies on his back. Blood is oozing onto the ground below him. With that amount of blood, I assume he’s been shot more than once.
Casey sits beside him. Her small hands reach for his face. When they touch his skin, his eyes widen and he gives her a small smile.
Her sobs only stop when I call for her attention. “Casey, step back.”
She looks up to where I’m pointing for her to go. A uniformed police officer is making his way toward us as I move in to check on Emma. Her eyes are open as tears fall from each. The weight of a very dead Hoss has her pinned to the ground.
“Fuckin’ hell, Em. Hang on.”
“Get…get…” she starts and sucks in a crying breath. “Get this son of a bitch off me, Max.”
“Jesus Christ,” Aimes lets out before coming to my side. He reaches in and puts his hand on top of Em’s head as she struggles for breath and squeezes. “Fuck if you’re not a little bad ass,” he gets out with relief in seeing she’s okay. “Jesus, woman. How you survived the weight of that son of a bitch will always be a wonder.”
“Get him off me,” Em whispers as I shove Hoss away from her.
“Where’s the kid?” Aimes asks, looking around.
Once Emma is up and standing at my side, we see Casey coming back toward us after going to get the help she’s sure Cilas needs.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
“She’s okay. Got the wind knocked out of her, though. Fat bastard lying right on her would do it,” Aimes comments as he continues cleaning dirt off Emma.
Emma’s head lifts slightly and her eyes narrow in pain. Hoss’ landing must have knocked the wind from her chest as they hit the gravel.
Casey’s head rises from the attention the medical unit is giving to Cilas. Once she notices Em standing on her own two feet, she breaks into a mad dash and runs right in the
direction of Emma’s open arms. Emma bends her body down further when she sees her coming, and Casey’s arms wrap around Em’s neck as Em tries not to lose their balance.
“Where are the others?” I ask Aimes.
He shrugs. “No clue. Everything is chaos right now.”
“You killed Dog,” I accuse.
His face scrunches. “What? No, I didn’t.” The cop standing next to the paramedics looks at Aimes with suspicion. Aimes raises his hands in the air. “I didn’t kill jack fuckin’ shit.”
“Who the fuck did?” I ask, looking around for anyone else who may have done it.
“Fuck all, who knows. The man is dead, but it wasn’t me and I’d appreciate if you’d keep your voice down.”
Aimes and I turn to look at Casey, who’s being held tightly against Emma.
“Dee Dee?” I hear Em question without walking toward me. I see her eyes are hopeful that her sister made her way out.
I shake my head quickly while Casey’s face is buried in her waist. “Dee Dee didn’t make it.”
Em’s eyes swim in tears for the grief of losing her sister, but once she looks down at Casey, her smile comes freely. She runs her hand through Casey’s hair, then rests it on her small shoulders.
Her strong stance, clear head, and take-control behavior are a lie. Shock about what’s happened has kept her moving and she doesn’t even realize it. She’ll fall apart later, when it’s quiet and we’re alone. And I’ll be there to help her through it when that happens.
Aimes walks closer to me with a smirk. He reaches out and hits my shoulder. “You got everything you need here?”
“Yeah, I do,” I reply, pulling him in for a side-arm hug and slapping his back with force.
“I gotta head back. Take your time. Situation is under control, especially with fuck-nut and his dumbass down.” He points to Hoss and Dog still lying dead in front of us. “Got a lot of paperwork and questions to answer, I’m sure, but should go easy.”
Once Aimes takes off, I study Em and Casey. Em’s now crouched down in front of her. Her hands roam Casey’s face, limbs, and even her small, bare feet. She’s checking to be sure she’s unharmed.
