Ten, maybe twenty minutes passed. I wasn’t sure. It could’ve been days for all I knew. I grabbed Axel’s arms and tried to pull him away. “Axel, he’s gone. We need to call the club together. Figure out what the fuck happened.”
He choked on his sobs as he slowly released his grip. I helped him stand, but he fell right into my arms. He cried against my chest, and I held him until he finally pulled away.
The pain gave way, morphing quickly to anger. A vicious and lethal look took over his face. He seethed and his fists clenched.
“We’ll find them,” I swore. “Whoever did this will pay.”
“They will die,” Axel growled through clenched teeth. His entire body shook with fury.
The door flew open, and both Axel and I grabbed our guns and aimed them at the door, ready to shoot whatever motherfucker invaded our club. Larry held his hands up. “It’s me.”
“Larry, what the fuck happened? Where were you?” I asked.
Larry was out of breath, his own gun out, as he rested his hands on his knees. “It was that Fed. After the shooting, I tailed him, but I lost him at the intersection. He went south; that’s all I got. I’m so sorry, man. I tried to,” he paused, sucking in another breath. “But I couldn’t…”
“Velasquez!” Axel shouted. “That son of a bitch. He’s fuckin’ roadkill.”
“There’s something else,” Larry wheezed. I gave him a nod to continue. “He took Sawyer.”
All the hatred I had for her, and for what she did, flew out the fucking window. My heart came to a complete stop, and then picked up at rapid speed. Anger surged through my veins, coursing through every inch. If he as much touched a single hair on her fucking body…
“They went south?” I demanded.
He nodded, wiping sweat from his brow. “That’s all I know. I tried to stay with them, but he knew I was tailing them, so he took a quick turn at the intersection, a truck came by, and I lost them. I’m sorry. I came back here to get everyone else.”
I pushed my hand into my head, trying to keep myself together. “Call the Club. Everybody!” I yelled, and Larry took off to the back.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I slid it out. I had a new message from a number I didn’t recognize. I tapped the screen, and the anger that was surging through me exploded into a fiery rage. I picked up a glass from a table, and hauled it across the room.
“Fuck!” I yelled.
Axel, still shaking with rage, turned his attention to me, and I handed him the phone. His lip curled, and his breathing turned heavy at the text.
You destroyed my life. Now, I destroy yours. There was a picture of Sawyer, tied up and gagged, and her cheeks were wet with tears, but her eyes were closed.
All I could picture were the last words I’d said to her, and how horribly I treated her. I clenched my eyes shut, desperate to get the image out of my head. No. I would find her. I will find her and make up for everything--or I would die trying.
Twenty minutes later, the entire MC was standing in the remains of the bar, guns locked and loaded. Larry had taken a blanket from the back, and draped it over Pops’ body. Nobody else needed to see him like that. But, as they all discovered who was beneath the cloth, tears fell and bodies collapsed into chairs. Shock became evident on all their faces. We all needed to mourn, but right now, we needed to get Sawyer back. And we needed to kill Victor Velasquez.
I showed the picture that he’d sent me to everyone around the room. Trista held onto it, studying it intently, before she finally stood from the chair she had fallen into. “I know where they are.”
“How?” I demanded.
“Right here. Left corner. That red spray paint on the wall in the shape of a star. It’s in the abandoned warehouse on the other side of the docks.”
“Lets go!” I shouted, and Trista held her hand up.
“Wait a minute. We’re not going in there without a plan.”
“I don’t need a fucking plan. I just need Sawyer alive and Velasquez annihilated. He’s one fucking person. We surround the building. Whoever has the shot, take it.”
Axel stepped forward. “I want the shot.”
I nodded. “Axel gets the shot. Capture him, whatever,” I instructed to the rest of the group.
“But don’t kill him. Let Axel do what he wants. For Pops.”
Heads around the room nodded in agreement, and we all headed out to our bikes. Just as I was about to mount mine, Bones stopped me.
“There’s something I have to tell you.”
“You can tell me after,” I urged.
He grabbed my arm, halting me in my tracks, and making me face him.“No, you need to know now because I’m sure she hasn’t told you yet.”
“Hasn’t told me what?”
“Ryder, Sawyer’s pregnant.”
I didn’t know if life was playing a cruel joke on me, or if I even heard him right. “Pregnant? How do you even know? Did she tell you?”
“I did blood work on her at the hospital a couple days ago.”
I couldn’t process this, and still focus on the task ahead. I couldn’t. It was… it was too much. “Thanks for telling me,” I mumbled. I took a deep breath, clearing my mind, and pulled my helmet on.
Trista strode up to me, her hands on her hips, and I could see the bitchfest brewing in her mind.
“What is it?”
“Why are we putting our necks on the line to save her? She didn’t want our help with Cruz. Why should we help her now?”
While I loved my cousin, there were times I wanted to resort back to our playground days, and shove her to the ground. But I knew it had nothing to do with not caring. The problem was, she cared too much to the point that, when she got betrayed, she couldn’t let it go. The betrayal consumed her and dictated her actions. Being betrayed by Sawyer, one of the few people she let pierce that hard exterior of hers, there was nothing worse in her mind.
The way she stood with defiance, I could tell she was hell bent on staying behind. I took my helmet off and admitted the truth.
“It’s not just about Sawyer. She’s pregnant. We need to save my baby.”
The fury in Trista’s eyes gave way to shock, and then understanding. She licked her lips and nodded her head. “Let’s do this.”
EIGHT
SAWYER
Pain radiated from behind my eyes as I blinked them open. Everything hurt. My head was fuzzy, but it slowly cleared, reminding me of everything that had happened. I tried to move my hands, but they were tied behind me. I attempted to straighten my legs so I could stand up, but they were bound at the ankles. The urge to scream consumed me, but it was muffled against the duct tape secured across my lips.
I didn’t know where I was, but it was dark and dingy, with a faint scent of salt water. Chills shot up my spine from the cold, hard ground. I pushed myself up, and my back smacked into a gate.
“Oh, look who finally decided to wake up,” Velasquez sneered.
A million awful thoughts ran through my mind, and I tried to scream at him, and tell him what kind of horrible piece of shit human being he was, but nothing got past the duct tape.
Velasquez laughed and then towered over me. His shadow was dark and soulless like him. He bent down until he was eye level with me.“If I take this off you, do you promise not to scream?”
I wanted to spit at him. Find a way to grab his gun, and splatter his fucking brains across the floor. But I was useless with no way to fight. Getting the tape off my mouth was one hurdle, so I nodded.
He tore the tape in one fast motion, ripping my skin, and sending sharp shooting pains through my lips and cheeks. A scream tore from my throat.
Velasquez shook his finger back and forth. “Now now. You made a promise.”
I glanced up, and looked deep into the blackness of his gaze, searching for the human being he once was. He had to be in there somewhere. Had to know that what he was doing was wrong. Maybe if I could reach that part of him, I could make him see the wrong in all of this.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked, refusing to blink or to look away from him.
“You cost me my job, my livelihood, my entire fucking life. No one will hire me now. Without a job, I can’t pay child support. And if I don’t pay, I can’t see my son.”
“So, you go against everything your job stands for, kill an innocent old man, kidnap me, and tie me up?”
“I search for justice, and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
“Justice? Since when does two wrongs make a right?” I didn’t know if I was getting anywhere, but I had to keep talking. “So, justice is you becoming the type of person you despise: a heartless monster with no regard for the law. I thought you were better than this.”
A sinister look spread across his face. “Am I?” He stood up and laughed. “Watching that bullet tore through that old bastard was the best feeling in the world. For years, I’ve been trying to take the Fallen Idols down, and they always managed to get out of it. Justice was finally served. You can’t get out of death now can you?”
I knew then there was no reasoning with him. He’d lost it. There was no hint of the half-decent person he once was.“You’re a sick fuck.”
He bent, getting right in my face. “And you’re a foul mouthed bitch who talks too much.”
“Better than being a cold blooded killer.”
“Okay, enough.” He grabbed the tape, and came at me. I twisted and turned my head, fighting him as best I could with no hands or legs to help. Pain shot through my head, as he grabbed my hair and yanked it back. With his other hand, he smacked the tape back across my lips, and then shoved my head away from him. “Now, that’s better.”
I fought the urge to gag, breathing in and out of my nose deeply as I tried to squelch the panic bubbling up. My voice was my only weapon, and now it was rendered useless. What the fuck was I going to do? He was either going to kill me, torture me, or leave me here to die.
Maybe Ryder would find me. A deep sickening ache twisted my stomach. What if Ryder didn’t care enough to try?
NINE
RYDER
We parked our bikes at the warehouse, and jumped in the van. The last thing we wanted was for Velasquez to hear the rumble of our engines as we surrounded the joint. I grabbed hold of the wheel, and whipped out of the parking lot.
I focused on the road in front of me, pushing away every worst case scenario from my mind. The minute I let them in was the minute I’d lose my fucking mind. I couldn’t do that. Not until I knew Sawyer and our baby were safe.
I eased off the gas as we drew close to the old abandoned warehouse, and pulled off into the brush on the side of the road. I crept around back, and opened the rear doors. Trista and Blaze jumped out first, followed by Axel and Ace. Rev was last, his Glock held high and raring to go. Rogue and Bones stayed back at the Raven’s Nest to take care of Pops. Something else I wasn’t ready to deal with. The man was like a father to me, and now… I let the anger control me, and got ready to make our move.
Trista pointed to the three entrances. I tapped my chest, and then nodded to the back entrance. I hoped it was the best one to sneak up on the son of a bitch and knock him out fucking cold. I’d promised Axel the kill, and I’d give to him, but I wanted to be the one to get to Sawyer first.
We all nodded in agreement, and took off in different directions. Sweat pooled on my forehead, and, for the first time ever in my life, I was scared. Losing Sawyer to New York nearly broke me, but knowing she was still out there helped. If I got in this building, and Velasquez already finished her… that wasn’t something I’d be able to recover from.
She left Brooks Landing to escape the club and the lifestyle, and now she was smack dead in the worse possible scenario. Knowing she was carrying my baby, words couldn’t describe the fear I felt deep in my chest. I hated her for leaving. Hated her even more when I found out she was pregnant and took my son from me. But I got it now. This wasn’t the life for a child. She sacrificed our happiness to protect our son and... she made the right choice.
I pressed my back against the building and eyed the door. I sent up a silent prayer, and slid into the darkness. I gave my eyes a minute to adjust and then followed the wall.
“If you just would’ve taken my deal, none of this would’ve happened. Don’t you see? It’s. All. Your. Fault,” Velasquez’s words echoed throughout the building, and my teeth clenched at them.
I moved closer, coming up from behind. I glanced around and spotted Trista and Blaze off to the side, covering me. Axel and Bones slipped in through the front, and disappeared behind some barrels.
I could see Velasquez now. He was screaming down at the floor, spit flying from his mouth. I closed in on him, and my stomach twisted into knots when I saw Sawyer, gagged and bound, tears streaming down her beautiful face. Agony pulled tight across her delicate features. Fuck! I was going to kill him. My jaw ticked, and I lifted my gun to take the shot. I had a clear path to his fucking head, but, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Axel. The desire for revenge ingrained in his every fiber. I lowered my gun and waited until Velasquez turned away.
It felt like hours as I waited for my in, watching Sawyer fall apart before my very eyes. I needed to get to her. Take the pain away and hold her in my arms. Apologize and assure her everything would be all right.
Velasquez spit at Sawyer, and rage devoured me, taking over my body. I stepped out from the shadows and made my move. He spun at my footsteps, aiming his gun right at my head. Shit. I acted on impulse, and didn’t wait for my in.
“So we meet again,” I growled, pointing my gun right back at him. If I had to guess, I’d be able to shoot him before he even had a chance to disengage his gun. I wanted so badly to look at Sawyer, so she could see in my eyes that I wasn’t leaving without her, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Velasquez. Not yet. Not until I knew we were both safe. “Little dramatic over losing your job. Don’t you think?”
Velasquez seethed with built up hostility, and I loved seeing the fire in his eyes. “I’m only just beginning,” he scoffed.
“Why don’t I make it easier for you? I’m the one you really want. The one who sent the evidence to your boss. The one who got you fired. So, take me and do whatever you want, but let her go.”
Velasquez laughed maniacally, and Sawyer cried, but her objections were muffled beneath the tape.
“You think I’m stupid? You could care less what happens to you, but I know damn well, seeing this pretty little thing.” He got down on his knees, and grabbed Sawyer’s hair, yanking it back, and pressing the barrel of his gun to her head.
My body shook, a storm so powerful I couldn’t control it. “Don’t you fucking touch her!”
He laughed again, tightening his grip on Sawyer’s hair. “She’s the only thing you care about. Eye for an eye. You took what I love, and now I take what you love,” he grounded out.
Tears streamed down Sawyer’s cheeks, and I wished I’d taken the fucking shot when I had it. My jaw clenched, and my finger pushed against the trigger. One shot, and the fucker would be dead, but what if, as I shot, he shot, too. It was a risk I wasn’t willing to take.
Sawyer’s gaze caught mine, and it nearly ripped my hearts to shreds. I didn’t want to speak. I refused to let Velasquez hear anything I had to say to the woman I loved. So, instead, I prayed that my message got across, through my eyes, as I held her gaze.
The clash of metal hitting concrete came from the left, and echoed through the building. Velasquez turned for the slightest of seconds, and I took advantage of the distraction. I dove at him, hand out, grabbing his gun as we went down hard.
I slammed his wrist into the ground, trying to break his hold on the gun. He lifted his knee, and nailed me right in the nuts. Cheap shot, you fucking bastard. Luckily for me, the rage outweighed the pain, and with one final smash to the ground, the gun fell loose.
Velasquez managed to free his other hand, and cold cocked me hard in the jaw. Heat radiated from the spot, and spread throu
gh my cheek. He rolled us over, and get on top of me. Sawyer’s cries filled the room, and I focused on getting the slimebag off of me so I could get to her.
Shadows flew past me, and I knew it was everyone else. Sawyer was safe now. I managed to grab both of Velasquez’s wrists, but he fought back, pushing and pulling, trying to break free. His forehead came down forward, and I shoved him off of me.
Axel ran over, grabbing Velasquez by the collar, and dragging him off to do whatever he felt fit.
“Where’s Sawyer?” I screamed, searching the darkness for her.
“Right here,” she sniffed out.
I turned and ran to her. I cupped her cheeks, and looked straight into her eyes. “Are you okay?” I asked, searching her face for any sure signs of pain.
“I am now,” she cried, and fell into my arms.
Relief flooded me, and I held her tight, swearing to all that was holy that I’d never let her go again.
TEN
SAWYER
Ryder cradled me in his arms as we drove back to the warehouse. He ran his hand up and down my arm, shivers trailing every inch he traced. I relished in his touch. I was so scared I’d never feel it again, and now I never wanted to be without it. The van was quiet, because even though there was the victory of rescuing me and getting Velasquez, Pops was still gone. A casualty that was far too hard for anyone to accept, let alone discuss out loud.
Back at the Raven’s Nest, the silence continued as we exited the van. I found comfort in the quiet, knowing we all were mourning the same person. No matter what we thought about each other, we all shared a common bond. Pops was loved by each and every one of us.
Bones brought me to the back, and examined me, even though I insisted I was okay. Neither he nor Ryder cared what I had to say. They weren’t going to be satisfied until they knew for sure.
“Is she good?” Ryder asked, holding my hand. He hadn’t let me go since we’d been reunited. There was so much to say, but we both pushed those conversations off until later.
Forgiven: Ryder and Sawyer 3 (Fallen Idols Motorcycle Club Book 9) Page 4
