by E. C. Land
Nodding, I move off in one direction as Dragon, Rage, and Twister do the same. My heart begins to pound as we move through each section.
When Dragon calls out that he found him, I let out a relieved breath. Thank fuck. Maybe there is a god somewhere after all.
“What are you waiting for?” I ask as I get to Dragon, seeing he hasn’t moved to get Logan. Nodding his head in Logan’s direction, my jaw about hits the floor.
Motherfucker.
42
Dragon
I should have fuckin’ known finding Logan wouldn’t be as easy as I thought. That’s why I’m standing here frozen, staring at a computer screen. With the dead prospect next to it.
“Motherfucker,” Rage mutters at the same time Gadget explodes. The man is usually calm, however, since the moment Connors and Logan walked into our lives, it’s as if something inside him has been released. And for the first time today, I felt his rage. He’s never lost his cool, not once.
“Where the fuck are they?” he roars, slamming his fist into the wall while moving into the room. As he steps into the room, I hear it.
“Gadget, stop,” I call out, gripping his arm to pull him back.
“Not happenin’, Dragon,” Gadget mutters as he breaks free of my hold on his arm.
“Brother, listen, this place is about to blow and you just triggered it by stepping into the room. We need to get out of here now,” Rage speaks up from behind me.
“Fuck,” Gadget mutters as it dawns on him what I’ve already realized. This was a set-up.
Turning for the door, the four of us barely take a step when the place begins to explode from right behind us. “Run,” I scream, throwing my arms out to push them ahead of me. If anyone is gonna die today, it’s not gonna be any of them. Me, on the other hand, I know my brother will take care of our woman.
Darting through the flames as the building begins to ignite, I can feel the heat along my body. “Hurry the fuck up,” I say as we move faster toward the door. With the door in sight, I push harder. The four of us crash through one after the other as we escape the flames taking over the entire slaughterhouse.
“That was fuckin’ close,” Twister huffs, trying to catch his breath.
“I want to find that piece of shit and shove his balls down his throat,” Rage grunts.
“Let’s get the hell out of here. I need to check on Connors, make sure she’s okay, and then find out where our kid is,” Gadget says as he climbs on his bike.
“I’m right there with you, brother,” I rasp, moving toward my own bike.
All I can think is what the hell else is gonna go wrong as we head back to the clubhouse.
“We need to talk to Shadow, find out exactly what the fuck happened today,” Burner states as we all gather around the table for church. Soon as we all pulled into the parking lot, we all came in here and have been trying to figure shit out.
“What we need to do is go torch the Dragons Fire MC and eliminate the entire problem,” Horse growls.
“I agree with VP. They need to be taken care of once and for all,” Rage speaks up.
“First things first, we need to find Logan and get him back to his momma. Then we can worry about those fuckers. If it means taking them out to get that kid back, then we’ll kill every one of them. But we gotta be smart about this. Do we know anywhere else Hydro would have taken Logan?” Twister asks, glancing around the table as he speaks but his question is toward Gadget.
“From what I can tell, Hydro has either taken him to the Dragons Fire clubhouse or the house he still owns. Either place he’s gonna have people watching. However, I hate to say this, but I agree with Burner. Before we do anything else, we need to talk to Shadow. I don’t want us to walk into another trap. He might be able to tell us how Hydro was able to get his hands on my kid, also how the prospect was involved.” Gadget explains how he did an intense check while we’ve been in here. Nothing shows the prospect having anything to do with the Dragons Fire MC, but he needs to be completely sure.
Twister nods his head at what Gadget says. “I agree. Let’s go see what Shadow has to say. But one more thing. He’s been with the club for long enough. I want to vote him in. Make him a brother. After this shit, he deserves it.”
Everyone in the room voices their agreement. Shadow deserves to be a brother. He almost died today trying to protect my kid and he’s been there for the club any other time we’ve needed him.
“Then let’s get to it. The women are up at the hospital with him. I called Jackson before coming back here and asked him to watch over the women while we handled this situation,” Horse says.
“Good idea,” I mutter. I’ve hung out with Jackson at Outlaw Racks on occasion and know he’s good people. He and his team would do what it takes to protect our women. If I ever needed someone outside the club to handle protection, it would be them. They run SoCo Security Investigations and I’ve seen for myself they do more than handle security at the bar— they protect the innocents who need it.
Leaving the clubhouse, we all head toward the hospital, I need answers, but more than that, I want to find my son before something fucked up happens.
43
Connors
“I’m sorry, Doc.” Shadow coughs the moment he wakes up and sees me sitting next to his bed.
“Shadow, this wasn’t your fault,” I say, grabbing hold of his hand.
“Yeah, it is. I didn’t protect him.” Leaning his head back against the pillow, he seems lost in thought. “Do you remember what all happened?” I whisper the question, needing to know what happened to my son.
Shadow opens his mouth to say something when someone knocks on the door. We both turn our heads toward the door as it opens. Dagen and Casey come in with the rest of his brothers. I smile sadly at the both of them as they move toward me and lean down to kiss me.
“You okay, babe?” Casey asks.
“No, not really,” I admit. I’m heartbroken and want nothing more than to hold our son in my arms.
“We’ll get him back, baby,” Dagen rasps against the top of my head.
“Doc, think you can give us a minute with our brother here,” Twister asks.
“If you’re gonna be asking him about what happened, then no, I’m sorry, I won’t leave this room. He was actually about to tell me before you guys walked in anyway, so I’m staying right here,” I declare, crossing my arms in front of me.
Lifting a brow in my direction, Twister looks at me as if I have two heads instead of one. A second later, he smirks and nods his head. “Well, alright then, Doc,” he says. Turning his attention to Shadow, he motions for him to begin.
“Logan and I had just put on a movie and were sitting down to watch it when Derrick texted me,” he says.
“Who’s Derrick?” I ask, interrupting him, confused about who this person is and what he has to do with Logan.
“He’s the prospect we had outside the house, baby,” Casey answers.
Nodding, I remain quiet as Shadow goes on to tell us all how Derrick had sent the text letting him know someone was heading toward the house. He didn’t have enough time to hide Logan before the front door went flying and a flash grenade was thrown in the house. Shadow didn’t remember much after that, it was too hazy in his mind. He did remember having Logan in his arms, trying to protect him, then something hit him in the head. With the hit to his head, it could explain why he doesn’t remember much after that.
“Thank you for trying to protect Logan,” I whisper. Standing up, I lean forward and kiss his cheek. Turning to Dagen and Casey, I find them scowling at me with their arms crossed. “What?” I ask them.
“Don’t ‘what’ me, babe. You don’t kiss no one besides us,” Dagen growls.
“Oh please, don’t give me that shit,” I say, placing my hands on my hips. “All I was doing was thanking him for doing what he could to save our son. Now, what are your plans for getting him back? I hope you’re going to kill the bastard.” Looks of astonishment cross their fac
es at my words.
“Damn, where can I find a woman like that?” Burner says, speaking up.
Another knock on the door stops me from telling him to fuck off. Jordan opens the door and stops in her tracks, looking like a doe in headlights as all eyes turn to her.
“Oh, umm, I’m sorry, but I need to check his vitals before we change shifts,” she whispers.
“Holy shit, Dragon, Gadget, I didn’t know you had a sister,” Thorn says.
Jordan whips her head in my men’s direction, eyes so wide I thought they’d pop out of the sockets.
“Jordan, you okay,” I ask, moving toward her.
“Umm, yeah, I’m okay.” Furrowing her brows, Jordan turns her attention back to Shadow. “Sir, I just need to take your vitals really quick and I’ll be out of your hair.”
“No problem,” he murmurs as he looked her over in appreciation. Casey and Dagen take a step forward as a warning. Smiling inwardly, I can see the big brother in them coming out. They might not know Jordan, but they want to be her protectors.
“Oh Shadow, just so you know, when you get out of here, you’re no longer a prospect,” Twister informs Shadow. He looks pissed for all of a second when Shadow’s eyes dart toward him. My heart begins to pound at the thought of them kicking him out for not being able to protect my son. Then Twister smiles. “Congrats, brother. When you leave this hospital, you’re coming out a full patch member. You deserve it and we’re all honored to call you one of us.”
“Fuck, man, you had me there for a minute. Thank you. I don’t feel I deserve it, but I’ll have your back no matter what,” Shadow murmurs.
“Good, now, me and the rest of the club have business to attend to. You rest up ‘cause we still have work to do when you get home,” Twister says, slapping the end of the bed.
“You gonna be okay here, baby, or do you want us to take you back to the clubhouse before we head out?” Dagen asks.
“I want to stay here with Shadow,” I say, turning to face him. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I inhale his scent and ignore the fact I can still smell the smoke from the fire on him. Instead, I think of it as the smell of the beast ready to come out.
“Okay, but don’t leave this room. We’ll be back as soon as we can,” he says, kissing the top of my head once more.
Nodding my head, I turn to Casey and hug him as well. “Stay safe, you two, and come back to me with our son. We have two more that are counting on their daddies and big brother to be there for them,” I say, leaning up and kissing Casey.
“We will, babe,” he murmurs against my lips. Both my guys place a hand on my stomach before leaving with the rest of the club.
Closing my eyes, I send a prayer hoping that for once it’s truly answered.
44
Gadget
As my brothers and I walk out of the hospital, I notice Jordan staring at us. Her expression is filled with confusion and when she goes to turn away, her face is full of pain. Looks like Dragon and I will need to talk to her once this shit is handled.
Shaking my head, it’s just something else to add onto the pile of shit that I need to clear my head of. Right now, though, I need to focus on one thing and that’s getting Logan back safely to his momma.
Straddling my bike, I rev the engine as I wait for my brothers to join me. As much as I want to go rip Hydro and whoever else is with him apart, we have to play this smart. I don’t want anyone hurt if possible.
Twister motions for us all to pull out of the parking lot. Hitting the throttle, I let the wind calm me as Dragon and I head to get our son.
By the time we make it to the town where the Dragons Fire MC clubhouse is, I have my head ready to do this shit. The sun has set and it’s time for us to take care of this once and for all. Pulling off to the side of the road, we all cut our engines.
“So I sent out a text when we left the hospital earlier,” Horse announces as we all stand.
Lifting a brow, I know who he texted and I’m grateful to him for doing it.
“Better safe than sorry when it comes to this situation, VP,” Dragon rasps.
“That’s what I thought as well. Stoney and whoever’s with him should be here soon and we can go get your son.” Horse pulls his cellphone out to check it. “Oh shit,” he says under his breath. Turning his attention to Twister, he asks him if he’s heard from or received any missed calls or texts from Izzy.
Furrowing his brows, Twister pulls out his phone. “Fuckin’ hell, worst damn timing, I swear,” he grumbles, his face growing concerned by the second.
“What the fuck?” Burner asks.
“Izzy’s in labor,” Twister informs us.
“Shit, Prez, get your ass back home,” I tell him.
“No, Izzy’s message informed me that I’m not to come back until we find Logan. Evidently, she seems to think we’re having a girl and that Logan is gonna marry our daughter. Some crazy shit she’s thought up in that head of hers. Even said she’d keep her legs crossed until I got there,” Twister says, shaking his head, mumbling about the woman putting him in an early grave.
“Well, let’s get this shit taken care of so we can get you home before that baby is born,” I say.
“It’s not just Izzy in labor,” Horse states.
“You’ve got to be fuckin’ kidding me,” Twister groans.
“Nope, she just text me again, said her water broke but it would be a while she’s only so far along,” Horse says, putting his phone away.
“At least they’re already at the hospital and Doc is with them. We get Lo back and you two haul ass back. We’ll be right behind you,” I tell them both. If I didn’t know Izzy and Kenny as well as I do, I'd tell them to head back and be with their ol’ ladies. But the women would simply kick them out for leaving us behind. They love Logan as much as we do. And if Izzy has it in her head she’s having a little girl and that kid is gonna marry Lo, then she will rip us all a new hole if we don’t get him back soon.
Not even ten minutes go by before Stoney and Tracker pull in with the entire charter.
“Let’s do this,” Stoney calls out over the rumbling of his engine, giving us a knowing smile. It’s time to blow some shit up and take back what’s ours.
Climbing back on my bike, I glance at Dragon and the two of us share a look. With this new connection between us, we don’t have to speak what we’re thinking, we automatically know. Who knew it would take me feeling the full force of rage to feel the bond between us completely seal together?
We nod at each other in agreement that it’s time for us to kill Hydro in the way he deserves. You don’t threaten to come after our woman and then take our son to get to her. Fuck that shit. Now, it’s time for him to feel the wrath of fuckin’ with the wrong brothers, let alone the wrong club.
45
Dragon
Soon as Stoney showed up, we took off toward the Dragons Fire MC, none of us worrying about whether they hear us or not. Coming up there two charters deep will be enough to have them wanting to run. A few of the brothers break off to check out the house Hydro owns just as a precautionary. We’re not letting anything slip this time.
No, not happening. I’ll get our son back and take care of these pussy ass motherfuckers who want to hide behind taking a kid. Fuck that shit. They don’t realize they screwed up big time by going after Logan. Even if Hydro did it alone, the Dragons Fire MC signed their own death warrants for having a hand in all this.
As we approach the gates to their clubhouse, I hit the throttle, ramming my bike through the flimsy chain-link fence. I hit the brake and come to a stop right near the door.
Gunfire immediately erupts as members of the Dragons Fire start shooting from on top of the clubhouse. Leaning down behind my bike, I take aim and start firing back.
“Dragon, Gadget, work your way inside and find Logan. We’ll handle this shit out here,” Twister calls out. Taking a second to glance in his direction, I nod and begin to make my way toward the clubhouse.
“Come
on, brother, let’s go find our kid,” I growl over to Gadget.
“Fuck, yeah, let’s get the motherfucker and take Logan home to his momma,” he says as we open the front door of the clubhouse together.
Moving into what has to be the main room, I have to swallow the vomit from coming out. Someone got a little trigger happy and killed all the clubwhores.
“Holy shit, who would fuckin’ kill all of them,” Gadget murmurs as he takes in all the naked bodies in front of us.
“Bet it was Hydro’s crazy ass,” I mutter. With the way the bodies were set around the room, each one of them was in a position for easy strangulation yet they all have a bullet to the head with the word whore carved into their chest.
“Let’s find Logan and get the hell out of here. He’s gonna need a shit-ton of therapy after seeing this,” Gadget grumbles, moving toward the hall on the other side of the room.
“Don’t take another step or I’ll slice him up,” Hydro yells, sticking his head out of a door at the end of the hallway.
“Hydro, do it and your fucking death will last longer than it’s already intended to be,” I growl.
“Fuck you. My death will not happen before I have my hands on my wife again,” he yells out.
“D-da-g-en. Ca-se-y,” Logan screams out.
“Hey, Lo-man, we’re here,” Gadget calls out.
“Shut the fuck up, both of you.” I snap at the sound of Logan screaming out right after Hydro bellows and I stalk toward them. “Told you to stay the fuck back.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not the greatest listener in the world, so fuck you. Now, you have two options, either give me my son or I will be sure you suffer worse than you would in the seven hells” Snarling, I keep a steady pace, wanting Hydro’s attention on me. If I can distract him enough for Gadget, he can get Logan the hell out of here.
