by Harley Wylde
“Who has the upper hand now?” the man demanded. I couldn’t see him, didn’t know which of them had gotten the drop on me.
“You’ll never get Phoebe back,” I said.
“You honestly think that has anything to do with that bitch? She’s just a fucking whore. A place to put our dicks. There’s plenty more where she came from. Only a select few liked holding onto that one. Stupid cunt wasn’t all that special.”
“Then why?” I asked, fighting for every breath. The way his gaze cut away, I didn’t think he was being honest. Phoebe was a prize for them, even if I didn’t understand why.
“You made a fool of us. Came to us wanting to make a deal, then not only stole the Pres’s favorite whore, but killed him before slinking off like a damn coward. We can’t let that stand.”
I hung limp, giving him all my weight, and when he staggered, off-balance, I gripped my knife and slammed it back, driving the blade into him. He grunted and his grip weakened, dropping me back to my feet. I turned, recognizing their Sergeant-at-Arms. I didn’t bother retrieving my knife. Instead, I pulled my gun and shot him right between the eyes. His body fell, collapsing on the ground, and I yanked my knife free, wiping his blood off on his clothes.
I turned in time to see Leviathan take aim at Titan. Without pausing, I pointed my gun at him, pulling the trigger. He staggered, but didn’t fall, and got off two rounds. I saw the red bloom across Titan’s shirt and unloaded the rest of my clip into Leviathan. Fucker still didn’t go down. I reloaded, and kept shooting, not stopping until the blood bubbled from his mouth and he breathed his last.
When the fighting stopped, the bodies of the Sadistic Saints littered the ground. Their VP and Sergeant-at-Arms were the only officers among the deceased, and more than a dozen patched members, as well as a few Prospects. Which meant there were others elsewhere. Had they remained behind? Or was another wave coming?
I went to Titan, who’d sunk to his knees. He swayed, but remained upright. I ripped his shirt down the middle and assessed the damage.
“Pres, you took two to the chest, but it looks like they missed your heart. Need to get you flat and let Bones see what he can do.”
Titan shook his head. “Take care of the others.”
“Pres, if you fall, this club is fucked. I’ll help with the others. Hell, I’ll call in whoever I have to in order to get everyone patched up.”
“How many?” he asked.
I knew what he meant. “Saw Robert when I pulled up. Gone. Ratchet didn’t make it either. Fuckers gouged out his eyes. Everyone else is still breathing, but banged up.”
Havoc lumbered over, blood running down his arm and a gash on his forehead. “Need help?”
“Yeah. His house is right over there,” I said nodding to my right. “Let’s get him in his bed. Have a feeling he won’t be getting out of it for at least a few days, maybe longer.”
Havoc helped me get the Pres to his home and stretched out on his bed. Bones entered with his bag, and Pretty Boy stayed to assist. I went to check on the others, and see who I could get to help patch everyone. We tried not to involve the citizens of the town, but this time we didn’t have a choice. I got the attention of Brick and waved him over. He’d been beat to hell, but was at least upright.
“Need you to find some nurses or a doctor. We need more medically inclined people. Make it worth their while, and make sure they’ll keep their mouths shut. Don’t need the cops sniffing around.”
Brick nodded. “On it.”
I started grabbing bodies of the Sadistic Saints and tossed them into a pile. Getting rid of this many bodies wasn’t going to be fun, but we’d handle it. Boomer limped over. He’d torn off his shirt and tied it off around his thigh, right above a bullet wound. Looked like he had a graze on his side and another hole in his shoulder.
“You okay, VP?” I asked.
“I’ll live. The Pres?”
“Took two to the chest. Bones is in there with Pretty Boy, patching him up.”
Boomer nodded before scanning the area. “Anyone checked on the women and kids?”
“I found a few men back there. Took care of them.”
Boomer held my gaze. “Are you really that fucking stupid? You think a few men at the back and these here are their only effort to get in? Who’s down there with the women?”
“Morgan.”
Boomer pulled out his phone. His jaw tightened as he disconnected the call. “No answer. Get as many brothers as you can and go check on them. We promised to keep them safe. If we failed…”
I ran for my bike and started her up. Letting out a loud whistle, I caught the attention of Patriot, Gravel, and two Prospects. I motioned for them to follow. I heard the pipes of their bikes as we tore through the compound, heading to the old barn. My stomach knotted as I came to a stop. Morgan lay dead, his throat slit, and the bunker was wide open.
I rushed down the stairs, gun drawn. The women and kids were gathered in the center of the room, Ember clutched in Jordan’s arms. Who I didn’t see was Phoebe.
“Where is she?” I asked.
Mara came forward, tears misting her eyes. “They took her. She sacrificed herself for us. Went willingly.”
I closed my eyes, the pain sharp like a knife in my chest. I should have stayed here with her. Protected her. I’d given her my promise she’d be safe.
“How?” How the hell had they gotten in here? Where had I gone wrong?
“She told me something was wrong with the Prospect. I brushed her off, but she said her gut told her bad things were about to happen. Those men came in, and…” Her gaze dropped to the left. I looked and saw the eyes. Rachet’s, if I had to guess. “They took her and Morgan left with them. We thought if they’d made it down here, then the rest of you were fighting for your lives. None of us wanted to risk calling and distracting any of you.”
“Morgan’s dead,” I said. And if they hadn’t killed him, I damn sure would have.
Rocky pushed past me and gathered his woman in his arms. Havoc followed, embracing Jordan, my daughter smooshed between them. I felt the presence of Patriot and Gravel at my back. Patriot placed his hand on my shoulder.
“We’ll get her back,” he said.
Jordan brought Ember to me, placing her in my arms. “She said to tell you she was sorry.”
“Not her fault. None of this was her fucking fault.” I clutched Ember, breathing in her sweet baby scent. Whatever it took, I’d bring her mom home.
“Not many of us are in any condition to travel,” Gravel said “But I’m with you, Kraken. We’ll get some men and go after her.”
I shook my head. “The Pres is shot. So’s Boomer. I need to be here.”
Wizard entered the bunker, his eyes haunted. “You’re needed elsewhere, Kraken. I can hold things down. Boomer will be patched up in no time. The Pres will be on bed rest, for however long we can hold him down. You know he’ll be up and doing shit even when he shouldn’t.”
Yeah, I knew it. I’d be the same way if it were me lying in the bed.
Wizard shoved my cut to the side and lifted my shirt. I looked down and saw the blood. Didn’t feel a damn thing, except pure fucking rage over losing Phoebe. I’d slap a bandage on it and be on my way. If Wizard said he’d hold things down, then I wasn’t staying. The more of a lead they had, the worse it would be for Phoebe.
“Rocket doesn’t have so much as a scratch on him. Take him with you,” Havoc said. “I’ll put out some feelers, see who I know near the Sadistic Saints. You’ll have backup by the time you get there.”
“I can’t take Ember with me,” I said.
“I’ll stay and watch her,” Jordan offered. “And Havoc can go with you.”
The man scowled down at his woman. I could tell he wasn’t ready to leave her alone, and I couldn’t blame him. We’d proven we couldn’t keep anyone safe. First we’d failed Slider’s woman, and now Phoebe was gone. I didn’t think those assholes would come back, not now that they had who they wanted, but that d
idn’t mean trouble wouldn’t show up.
“Fine, I’ll go,” said Havoc.
“Go patch yourself up,” Wizard said, slapping me on the back. “I’ll get everyone here situated and keep an eye on things. We’ve got a few nurses coming in take care of those with severe wounds, like Titan.”
It took longer than I’d have liked to make sure I didn’t bleed all over the damn place and gather up a few men. By the time we got on the road, night was falling. The wind blew through my hair, but it didn’t have the usual calming effect. My bike ate up the miles, and with every minute that passed, I worried what they were doing to my woman. It gnawed at me, nearly drove me insane, thinking of their hands on her. I knew what she’d been through before, and I didn’t want her to live through it again.
My fault. I failed her.
It took too fucking long to reach the Sadistic Saints’ territory. My body ached, and exhaustion pulled at me. A line of bikes was on the side of the road, along with two trucks. The men waiting had on cuts from various clubs. Reckless Kings. Savage Raptors. Wicked Mayhem. It seemed Havoc had been busy on the phone while I’d gotten my wounds patched. I glanced his way and he merely smirked.
“Told you there would be backup. These men want a piece of these assholes just as much as you do,” Havoc said.
“Can’t exactly go in guns blazing,” I said. “I have no idea where Phoebe is and I won’t risk her life.”
“We scoped the place out already.” I scanned the man’s cut. Socket. Wicked Mayhem MC. “You won’t like what you find inside.”
“Phoebe…”
“It’s bad, man.” He held out his hand. “I’m Loch. Socket and I got here first. Did what little recon we could until the others got here.”
“She’s going to need a doctor. I’m Crow, by the way. With Reckless Kings.”
“I appreciate all of you coming. I need to get her out of there, then I want to put an end to those bastards once and for all. Should have burned this damn place to the ground after I took out Deuce.” If I’d done that, maybe Phoebe would be safe at home right now.
“They’re all drunk as shit,” said Socket. “Means they’re dangerous, but they’re also slow. I think we can take them.”
Havoc folded his arms. “Not going to tell you what to do on your own damn mission, but if it were me, I’d get my woman the fuck out of there and run. Let the rest of us handle these assholes. We’ll make sure there’s nothing left.”
“No. Not nothing. I need to handle this myself. Find out who hurt her the most, who started it. I want that man gift wrapped with a fucking bow, then I want to rip his insides out with my bare hands.”
Havoc grinned. “Knew I liked you. Consider it done. Just focus on Phoebe.”
Crow tipped his head to the trucks. “One of those is ours. There’s a Prospect ready and willing to go wherever you need him to. Put your woman in the truck and follow on your bike. Get her to the nearest fucking hospital.”
If she needed a hospital… what the hell had they done to her? I nodded and pulled both my gun and my knife. Crow and Havoc took point, clearing a path for me. Even though I’d said no to going in guns blazing, that’s exactly what we did. A few men came in through the back. I scanned the area, not seeing any sign of Phoebe, but the blood on the floor drew my attention.
I gave myself a mental slap and hurried down the hall. A man in a Sadistic Saints cut tumbled out of the bathroom, still zipping his pants. I didn’t hesitate, didn’t even think. I just pointed and pulled the trigger. He fell to the floor and I knelt, dragging the blade of my knife across his throat. As he gurgled and choked on his own blood, I made my way to Phoebe’s room, hoping I’d find her there.
I kicked in the door and saw her on the floor near the bathroom. I holstered my gun and put away my knife, dropping to my knees beside her. Tears burned my throat and eyes as I surveyed the damage they’d done.
“Oh, baby girl. I’m so fucking sorry.” I moved her hair off her face and openly wept at the carnage. I pulled a blanket off the bed and wrapped her in it before lifting her into my arms. I carried her out the back and went back to the road. A Prospect leaned against one of the trucks and jerked to attention as I got closer. He opened the backdoor and I laid Phoebe on the seat. “Nearest hospital. I’ll follow.”
He nodded and got in, starting up the engine. I got on my bike and we took off down the road. I didn’t have a fucking clue where anything was in this damn town, but the guy seemed to know where he was going. We pulled into the ER entrance of a hospital and I parked my bike on the sidewalk, not giving a fuck if it was permitted or not. I rushed to pull Phoebe from the truck.
“Keys,” said the Prospect. “I’ll move your bike so they don’t tow it.”
I tossed them to him and rushed inside with my woman, yelling out for a nurse.
“We need help! Right the fuck now!”
Someone pushed a gurney over and I eased Phoebe onto it. I answered their rapid-fire questions best I could.
“Name,” a nurse asked.
“Her name is Phoebe Miller. She’s my wife.”
The woman nodded and tapped on her tablet. “What happened?”
“She was kidnapped. The men who took her did this. I… I don’t know what else…” I bit my lip and stared after Phoebe as they wheeled her through the double doors.
The woman placed her hand on my arm. “She’s in good hands, Mr. Miller. We’ll need you to complete some forms, but as soon as we know more about your wife’s condition, someone will come talk to you.”
I nodded and followed her to the triage station. I didn’t have insurance on Phoebe, but I gave them my credit card to put on file. It was something I’d need to handle after all this was over. She and Ember would both need a policy. Hell, I didn’t have one for that matter. Now that I had a family, I needed to make sure I not only stayed upright and breathing, but I needed to get life insurance or some shit for my girls. Or at least start putting some cash aside.
I paced for a bit before sinking down onto one of the most uncomfortable chairs in the entire world. The men who’d had my back made their way inside and gathered around me. I noticed Havoc was missing, along with one of the others.
“It was Pitch,” Crow said. “He’ll be waiting for you whenever you’re ready. Havoc is babysitting.”
“Need to know how Phoebe is before I do anything.”
Crow nodded. “Didn’t expect anything less.”
“Thanks for coming,” I said. “Couldn’t have done this on my own.”
“Wiped those fuckers off the face of the earth,” he said. “They won’t be bothering anyone again. Won’t be raping women, cutting them, or any other sick fucking thing they get off on.”
“There’s more of them. Elsewhere,” I said.
“I know. I already talked to my Pres. He’s going to make a few calls. We’ll get it handled. No retaliation will come back on you for what happened tonight.”
I watched the minutes tick by. Then the hours. When a doctor came out, and called for the family of Phoebe Miller, I stood. He made his way over, a mask around his neck and a cap on his head.
“Mr. Miller?” he asked.
“I’m Phoebe Miller’s husband,” I said. “But I go by Kraken.”
He eyed my cut and nodded. “All right. Your wife is resting. We had to put a lot of stitches in her, but I couldn’t give her any drugs. Tox screen shows she’s got heroin in her system. Found a pinprick in her arm.”
“Phoebe doesn’t do drugs,” I said. “She’d never do that.”
“Figured it was whoever cut her to pieces. It will ease your mind to know she wasn’t raped that we can tell. No evidence of trauma. We’ll need a DNA sample from you, but we didn’t find much. I doubt her attackers left anything useful behind.”
I briefly closed my eyes, thankful for that one small miracle. It had been my greatest fear.
“Is there any chance your wife is pregnant?” the doctor asked. “Once the heroin is out of her system,
we’ll need to put her on an antibiotic and a painkiller. I don’t want to prescribe something that could be harmful to a fetus if there’s even a chance she’s expecting.”
“We had sex right before she was taken. Decided we wanted to try for a baby. That was… not even twenty-four hours ago.”
“Then I’ll err on the side of caution. We’ll keep her as comfortable as we can, but she needs to remain here at least overnight. I’ll have a better idea tomorrow when she’ll be able to go home.” He folded his arms. “I saw your home address isn’t exactly down the street. You might want to get a hotel for a few days, even once she’s out of here. A long trip might be painful for her.”
“Understood.”
Gravel came to stand next to me. “Will she be out of it for a while? Long enough to secure lodgings and get some essentials?”
“Yes, by all means. She’s in good hands, Kraken. If there’s any change, someone will call you at the number on file.”
Gravel steered me outside and I got on my bike. Pitch remained at the Sadistic Saints compound. I rode straight there, and pulled up with Gravel and Crow on either side of me. I walked inside, scanning the room. Havoc leaned against the bar, the asshole known as Pitch tied to a chair in the center of the main area.
I shrugged off my cut and removed my shirt, tossing both onto the bar. I yanked my knife free and approached the fucker who’d hurt my woman. “Shouldn’t have touched her.”
“Only made her prettier,” Pitch said. “Didn’t get to the fun part before you showed up.”
My hand tightened on the handle and I willed myself to remain calm. The fucker was goading me, wanting me to end him quickly. I wouldn’t give him that satisfaction. He’d carved up Phoebe, probably scarred her for life, given her a lasting reminder of this place. There was nothing I could do to him that would give her comfort, that would ease her pain, or satisfy the rage inside me.
“Where is MaryAnne? You took her, tried to turn Sean against us. What happened to her?”
