I jammed my keys into the ignition and fired up my car. I looked behind me, running my eyes over the three suitcases of things I had packed. One with clothes, one with toiletries, and one with shoes. Accessories. The nicer things I could use. Or sell, if necessary. It was time for me to choose a side, and I knew who I wanted to fight alongside. I knew where I wanted to stand. I knew what side of the line was meant for my life.
Now, I had to find Cage so I could inform him of the new presence beside him.
I backed my way out of the driveway and started out of the neighborhood. I wouldn’t need directions until I crossed over the Redding city limits. Until then? I had a good idea of where I was going. Which would save me a great deal in risk. I made sure to plant my cell phone at my apartment before I left. I put my lights on the timers I used whenever I snuck out of my own damn apartment just to go spend the night with Cage at his father’s house. I made sure to take every precaution so if my father’s cronies did some sort of a drive-by, it would look like I was home.
My first order of business had been to get a burner phone for myself. A few, in fact. Because I knew once I got into Redding, I’d have to use the GPS on one of the phones in order to navigate to Hoover Road. Which I could only assume was where this guy in the picture lived. I’d be tearing through burner phones just to get there, because if my father noticed I was gone that soon, he’d be tracking me. Which meant I couldn't use data on a phone like that for more than ten, fifteen minutes. Max. Just to be safe.
I had to keep Cage safe with my actions until I could find him.
“I’m coming for you, Cage. Please, don’t leave me behind so soon this time,” I said, sighing.
As I navigated onto the highway, I settled in for the long drive. I’d learned a lot from my father over the years. I’d learned a lot about how to conceal my steps and how to get away from people. For years, I’d listened in on conversations and played dumb while being attentive to him discussing work with others. I got very good at eavesdropping, and I became even better at getting him to talk about his work sometimes. I committed every single piece of information to memory. Just in case I had to use it one day. I knew how to obtain fake identification. Who to contact for it. How burner phones worked. The purpose of air-gap computers and why they were important. I knew how to fake identification to get a credit card I could max out before abandoning it. I had all sorts of ways of falling off the grid completely.
I capitalized on many things with my father. Especially the fact that he believed things went in one ear and out the other with me.
“It pays to act dumb,” I said, smiling.
Then, I turned on my blinker and merged left, taking my first highway split as I headed for California.
7
Cage
Chapter 7 Cage
The wind whipped around me as I cruised down the highway. I hadn’t gotten onto the road for long last night before I realized I needed sleep. And a lot of it. Even though I wanted to keep trekking toward the lodge on Hoover Road, I couldn't get there if my eyes kept falling closed. So, I pulled off the nearest exit and got myself a cheap room around the backside of a motel. About an hour outside of the Redding city limits. After a few hours of sleep, three cups of coffee, and a muffin, I was good to go. I had the energy I needed to get into the city, make my way toward Diesel’s lodge, and beg my fucking case.
Until I looked down at my gas gauge.
“Fuck,” I groaned.
I needed gas, and bad.
“Of course, you do,” I said, sighing.
I pulled off onto the Redding, California exit. At least I was near the city limits at this point. I pulled into the nearest gas station, pissed off that I hadn’t left with a full tank of gas. Had I thought to gas up before I got out of dodge, I wouldn't have had to stop thirty minutes outside the damn city I needed to be in.
“Then again, you are running from the most feared human being in Nevada,” I murmured.
I turned off my bike and put down my kickstand. It would only take me a few minutes to pump gas. And in the meantime, I could grab myself some snacks to stow away for my next hotel hop. I didn’t expect anyone in the Dead Souls to put me up for the night or some shit like that. I also didn’t want to make any unnecessary trips out in the open with Lars still on my tail.
I let the pump fill up my gas tank as I headed inside.
I went straight for the drinks and picked up a few of my favorites. Coffee-based energy drinks. Flavored waters. Vanilla Coke. I was damn near addicted to the stuff. I reached for some salt and vinegar chips along with some energy bars. Small, portable, and it would give me the nourishment I needed if I had to hoard myself in the dark and skip a meal or some shit like that. I had to admit; I wasn’t used to hiding like this. I wasn’t sure what all I’d need. But I had snacks and drinks for at least a day, which bought me some time to figure out my next move if things didn’t go well at the lodge.
“Good morning, can I interest you in some cigarettes for your journey?”
I looked into the eyes of the woman behind the cash register, watching as that twinkle in her eye shined toward me. I grinned at her as I pulled my wallet out, shaking my head as I did so.
“Haven’t smoked in over two years,” I said.
“Well, congratulations. It’s a nasty habit I’m still trying to break,” she said, giggling.
“I’m sure working with them behind you doesn’t help much.”
“Ah, well. We all need a little challenge every now and again. Yes?”
I nodded. “I love a good challenge.”
Her cheeks flushed, and had I been a free man, I would have asked for her number. But I was still caged. Still chained to a beautiful woman back in Nevada even though I was spitting angry with her. I paid for my things and grabbed my bag, bidding the cashier woman farewell with a nod of my head.
But, as I started out the doors, my jaw dropped to the floor.
“Cage!” Sutton exclaimed.
I blinked my eyes a few times, knowing damn good and well they had to be playing tricks on me. But as she ran closer toward me, I knew I wasn’t being deceived.
“My god, I thought that was your bike,” she said, panting.
“Sutton?” I asked.
She paused. “Hi, Cage.”
“What the hell are you doing here? How did you even—”
“We can talk about specifics later. I promise. Right now, you need to know that my father knows where you are,” she said.
I narrowed my eyes. “And how do you know this?”
“Please, Cage. We have to hurry. My car’s almost filled up. I have no idea when he sent his men this way. For all I know, they’re—”
My eyes darted up as a quick, black movement caught my eye. My eyes followed the trail of the blur just long enough to catch the black SUV racing by the gas station. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. My heart leapt against my chest. Sutton’s rambling words fell to the back of my mind as I scanned the road in front of us, wondering if I had seen what I thought I’d just seen.
Because Lars’ men drove black SUV’s just like that one.
I tracked it with my eyes as Sutton grabbed my hand. I let her pull me toward my bike. Toward her car, as she parked next to it. I watched the SUV race off into the distance, and for a second, I let myself believe it was a coincidence. Just someone with a nice vehicle trying to get somewhere quicker than they needed to be.
Then, I heard the squealing of tires. Before the SUV surged back into view.
“Get on my bike,” I said curtly.
“What?” Sutton asked.
I ripped my arm away from her grasp and stared directly into those beautiful brown eyes of hers.
“Get on the back of my bike. Your father’s men are already here,” I said.
One last test. One last moment for her to choose as side. And when she nodded her head with ease, my heart surged with delight. I shoved my snacks into the compartment on the back of my bike as Sutton race
d to her car. The SUV honked its horn, trying to get around traffic that had already backed up at the light.
“Come on! We don’t have time for this,” I said.
“I just need my clothes. That’s it. Okay?” Sutton asked.
I watched her pull three damn suitcases from the car and sighed.
“Fucking hell, woman,” I murmured.
I ripped the gas pump from my bike and hung it up. I closed everything up, then went around to help her strap her shit to the back of my motorcycle. I helped her on before I slung my leg over, peering back one last time. The SUV had finally broken away from the traffic, but there was a line building up for the gas pumps.
And before me, on the other side of the gas station, was a clear shot at a hole I could exploit.
“Hang on, Sutton,” I commanded.
She wrapped her arms around me tightly and buried her face into my back. And while I wanted to relish the moment, I couldn't. I struck up my bike and peeled out of the gas station, making my way through the hole just before it closed up. The SUV honked. Men shouted after me. I looked back just as the hole closed up, then weaved my way in and out of morning California traffic.
Sutton’s cursing filled the crevices of my back as we raced down the road.
The tires of the SUV squealed with every dodge they made of cars. I kept looking back, making sure we were gaining distance on them. But it wasn’t enough distance. Cars honked and people flipped me off. Sutton squealed every time I took a sharp turn without warning. But every single time I did, I heard the squealing of the SUV’s tires.
They were fucking on us, and they were slowly gaining distance.
I raced by the Redding city limits sign, and I shook my head. This wasn’t the kind of entrance I had been thinking about last night. This wasn’t the kind of low profile I wanted to keep in the area. I cursed myself for not simply getting an energy drink and staying on the road. I cursed myself for getting a fucking hotel in the first place, delaying myself long enough for Lars’ men to find me.
But I had Sutton.
Sutton had come to find me.
Or, was she spying for her father?
I shook the thought from my head. The road into Redding was a straight-away, and there was nothing I could do other than stay in front of the SUV for now. I couldn't think about whatever betrayal was clinging to my waist. I couldn't think about whatever side Sutton had chosen, for now. I couldn't think about the fight we had or think about how the hell she’d found me or think about how her father knew where I was going or how she knew any of this information in the first place.
I had to get us to safety first.
“Cage!” Sutton exclaimed.
I heard the popping of gunshots and zigzagged my bike. Bullets whizzed by us as Sutton screamed into my back. Into my leather jacket. We raced into Redding, and I pulled up the map in my mind. The map all the way to Hoover Road that I’d memorized before falling asleep last night.
I knew if I could take the gunfire to the lodge, the Dead Souls would come out and defend their turf before figuring how what the fuck was going on.
And I needed a bit of backup.
I felt Sutton grip into my shirt, pulling at the fabric as I kept swaying about. The only issue with zigzagging on a bike was the fact that I was losing distance in an effort to keep us from getting shot. There was a pause in the gunfire, and I knew they were reloading. I downshifted and throttled the gas, trying to put a little more distance between us and that damn SUV again.
I came upon the sharp left-hand turn I needed, and my knee almost graced the ground as Sutton shrieked against my body.
“Cage!”
“Hang on,” I said through gritted teeth.
We were so close to the clubhouse. Less than five minutes out. I took a few back roads, taking stock of how to get back to Hoover Road every time I diverted. I kept my breathing even as Sutton clawed at my stomach. Her hands ventured up my chest and gripped my shoulders, trying to hang on as much as she could. Gunshots made her flinch and I could have sworn I felt her shoulders shaking.
Was she crying back there?
Fucking hell.
More gunshots popped off as I got back onto Hoover Road. I was less than three minutes out. I could smell the lodge. I could smell the safe space I was about to drift bike-first into. I could smell the animosity of bringing gunfire their way before I stared into the eyes of my half-brother.
I could also smell the gunpowder before that damn bullet pierced my shoulder.
“Fuck!” I roared.
“Cage! No!” Sutton screamed.
I let out a wild bellow of pain from deep within my stomach. The hot metal sank into my skin, blood trickling down my back. Sutton was hyperventilating. She panicked, the whole of her shaking. Not a reaction anyone could have faked. Not in the way she was experiencing it. Sutton’s hands slid to my hips before she moved them around, searching for something as I kept my eyes trained ahead.
I saw the bend in the road I was looking for. Just before the lodge.
“Take this, you assholes,” she murmured.
I heard a gunshot pop off. Then, two. She squealed and cried out with every shot of my gun she took. And while I wanted to stop her, I couldn't. Whatever she was doing, it was working. Because the sounds of the SUV faded away. Glass shattered. The rubber of a tire popped. The gun clicked as she kept pulling the trigger, mimicking the pulse of my heart that was pushing blood down my fucking back.
I led my bike straight into the parking lot of the lodge as the sounds of the SUV finally faded away.
“Cage. Holy shit,” Sutton said breathlessly.
She tossed the gun to the ground. My bike fell over with me on it, the pain so great my vision began to double. Sutton’s voice drifted off into the distance as her arms wrapped underneath mine. The world went in and out. My vision tunneled. She grunted and groaned with tears in her eyes as she slowly pulled me away from my bike.
“Help! Someone help me!” Sutton shrieked.
And just as the door of the lodge burst open, my world went black.
8
Sutton
The squeal of tires revved away from the building Cage had plopped us into as I pulled him away from his bike. The blood was thick. Hot. I could smell its metallic glamour as I wrapped my arms underneath his armpits. I pulled until I couldn't pull anymore before I dropped to the dusty sand.
“Shit,” I hissed.
I looked back at the building and grimaced. It was plain. Dark. It didn’t look like anyone was there. I didn’t even see bikes in the parking lot, for fuck’s sake!
“You aren’t dying on me today,” I grumbled.
I fisted Cage’s shirt and hoisted him against me. I couldn’t even recall how I got him on my back. I hooked my arms underneath his from behind, using the whole of the weight of my chest to pull him forward. I took one step. Then, two. I made it to the stairs as sweat dripped down my face.
“Come. On!” I screamed.
And as I started dragging him slowly up the steps, his blood permeated my clothes.
“Help! I need help! Someone, please!”
I plummeted to the deck as the front door ripped open. I heard the cocking of guns that had been the echo of my life for its entirety as Cage pinned me underneath him. I smelled the scent of leather. Of sweat. Of anger and fury. I pressed myself up, feeling Cage’s body tumble from mine as he woke up with a gasp.
“Cage! Holy shit, Cage,” I said.
I slid out from underneath him and forgot about the men at the front door. I cupped his cheeks, gazing into his weakening eyes. He looked so tired. He felt clammy. And I was fearful that he was slipping away from me much faster than I would have ever wanted him to. Because if these men were going to end the drama at their doorstep with their guns right now—and I still wasn’t convinced they wouldn't—I wanted to be the last thing Cage saw.
I wanted him to be the last thing I saw, too.
“Cage, please stay with me,” I whispe
red.
I slowly looked up at the men standing in the doorway. Tears dripped down my cheeks. The man from the picture stood there, staring at me blankly as he slowly lowered his gun. The men followed in suit, holstering them at their sides.
“He’s been looking for you guys,” I said breathlessly.
Cage coughed, and I looked back down at him. But I wasn’t looking at him for long. I heard someone pick up the phone and say something about a woman named Piper. That they needed her, or some such nonsense. I didn’t know what that meant, and I didn’t care. The only thing I cared about was someone pulled me away from Cage.
“No! No! Let—me—let me go!” I exclaimed.
“Calm down. Breathe. We have to get him inside and treated,” the man said.
I settled down as I saw the man from the picture and The Hulk pick Cage up off the ground. I shrugged off the man holding me to his chest and looked back at him. I saw steely eyes. Rugged stubble on his face. He was trim. Lean. Very unlike the rest of the crew. But he had a steel gaze in his eyes that boasted of the blood of men he’d taken over the course of his lifetime.
“Inside. Now,” another voice commanded.
I was led into a lodge that smelled of wood and leather polish. The door behind me quickly slammed shut as the two men hoisted Cage onto their pool table. They rolled him over on his side. The man from the picture spotted the leather cut and ran his fingertips over it.
“Night Outlaws?” the man asked.
He slowly turned to look at me as another man dipped down, surveying Cage’s wound.
“He’s bleeding pretty fast, Diesel,” the man said.
“I know. Which is why this woman needs to speak,” he said.
I quirked an eyebrow. “I don’t take orders, just so you know.”
“Do you take them easily enough to save the life of this man you’re carrying around?” Diesel asked.
Cage groaned as the man behind Diesel pressed something hard into Cage’s back.
Dead Souls MC: Prospects Series Books 1-5 Page 5
