by Brook Wilder
I followed her down the hall to the end, where she opened the door. “Halftrack.”
He came to the door, his eyes widening as he took in the sight. He was bare-chested, his hair ruffled about his head, and I felt my throat constrict at the sight. “Cora?” he asked, his eyes bleary. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Emily’s been kidnapped,” Widow Maker filled in for me. “By Red.”
“Shit,” Clayton breathed, his eyes sharpening with anger.
“I have to get her back,” I said in a rush. “She didn’t ask for this and it’s all my fault that he has her. I just need a safe place for Amelia until I can—” I couldn’t finish my words. I wasn’t so sure that I would be coming back.
“Here,” Widow Maker said, thrusting the seat toward him. “Get dressed. I’m going to find Rex so we can figure out the game plan.”
“Oh no,” I said, grabbing her arm. “I didn’t mean for you to get involved. I can get her myself.”
She looked from me to Clayton. “You’re family,” she said, earning a quick nod from him in the process. “We protect our own.”
I let her go then, watching helplessly as she walked back down the hall, disappearing into another room. My eyes flew back to Clayton and he took my hand, pulling me into his room. After carefully setting Amelia’s seat on the bed, he reached for me, pulling me against his hard body. “I’m so fucking sorry, Cora,” he whispered, his hand in my hair.
I clung to him, letting the tears roll. I wasn’t sure if he was talking about Emily or about all of it, but I was glad that he was holding me and not pushing me away. “I don’t know what to do,” I said brokenly, burying my face in his chest. “I tried to get her to leave.”
“Shh,” he said, his arm clutching me tightly. “We will figure it out. Widow Maker’s right. You’re family and we take care of our own.”
I didn’t deserve this. I didn’t want him to give me things he couldn’t promise.
Pulling back, I looked at him, searching his eyes for any animosity toward me or toward Amelia. “I didn’t know where else to go.”
He gave me a tender smile, brushing the hair out of my face. “You came to the right place, Cora. You are mine. Amelia is mine and I should have never walked away from you or her.”
His words were making me ache even more. “Clayton, you don’t have to say that.”
He shook his head. “It’s true. I’ve given you hell when you have done nothing but live through hell constantly. I was wrong, Cora, and after all this is done, I want us to figure out our future. Amelia’s future.”
I opened my mouth, but the clearing of a throat caused us both to jump apart, finding Chains standing in the doorway. “Come to the kitchen whenever you are ready.”
“Be there in a minute,” Clayton growled. Chains nodded and disappeared, leaving us alone once more. I turned toward Clayton and was met with his lips on mine, desperate and hot.
I moaned into his mouth, clutching his shoulders as I let his kiss wash over me, like a promise of what we could have once this was over.
If we survived it. I wanted him. I wanted a future with him and with our daughter.
I wanted my family safe and sound.
Clayton was the first to break the kiss, pressing his forehead to mine. “Don’t give up on us just yet, Cora. We have some things to talk about.”
“I know,” I admitted, drinking in his nearness. “And I want to talk about it.”
He let out a heavy sigh, pulling away and reaching for the shirt on the bed. “I’ll get one of the women to watch her. Give me a minute.”
I nodded and he slipped on the shirt before leaving the room. My knees weakened and I sat down on the bed next to my daughter, trying not to put too much hope in what had just happened. He wanted to work things out. He wanted to be there for Amelia.
Could this really be possible?
Chapter 22
Halftrack
Cora trembled as I guided her toward the kitchen, my hand pressed into her lower back. I couldn’t believe she had had the guts to come here when she had been banished, but more importantly, that she thought I could keep our daughter safe while she wandered into Red’s trap.
There was no way in hell I was going to let her do that alone, but when I looked at her face, full of determination, she had actually thought we would just let her walk away and leave her daughter behind.
Now, all the things before this moment were erased in my opinion. I didn’t care if she had hidden pieces about her past from me. There was no doubt in my mind that Cora had been as forthcoming with information as she needed to be.
And that Amelia was mine.
In spite of everything I had said to her, had done to her, she had come to me when there was a crucial moment in her life.
I wasn’t about to let that pass by.
We entered the kitchen and found both presidents in attendance, along with Ironsides lounging in the corner. “Tell us everything he said,” Chains said immediately.
I wrapped my arms around Cora, pulling her back against me so she didn’t have to stand on her own. Plus, I wanted to show them that I had made my decision and I was willing to face whatever repercussions came afterward.
Cora was mine. “Go on,” I said into her ear. “They only want to help.”
So, she did, her voice shaking as she told them about what Red had said he would do with her sister and with her the moment she exchanged herself for Emily’s life. My anger grew with each word and I struggled to keep it in check.
I was going to fucking kill him.
“Twelve hours,” Chains said, rubbing his bearded chin. “That bastard isn’t gonna see what’s coming for him. We aren’t waiting that long.”
“I’ve already contacted Mama Bear,” Widow Maker added. “She’s got a tail on some of his known associates. I guarantee we will know his location within the hour.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Cora finally said, looking at them both. “You don’t have to do this. I can get her.”
“That’s not happening,” I growled, tightening my hold on her. “We will get her back.”
“And get the hell out of this country,” Chains added. “I’m ready to be back home.”
“Why don’t you go get some rest?” Widow Maker offered us both. “I’ll let you know the moment we hear something.”
“Come on,” I said, tugging at Cora. “Let’s go back to the room.”
She followed me out and the moment we walked through the door, I dismissed the biker watching over Amelia and shut it, blocking out any curious onlookers. My head was still pounding from the amount of alcohol I had consumed last night, one of the reasons I hadn’t left the room yet. All my thoughts about going after Cora had been put slightly on hold, but now she was here, and we were together.
Even if it was temporary.
Amelia let out a cry and Cora started toward the carrier before I stopped her. “Let me,” I said roughly, my palms starting to sweat.
To my surprise, she relented, and I fiddled with the straps that held Amelia in, succeeding in getting them undone before carefully lifting her into my arms. “Shh,” I said, stroking her forehead. “You’re fine.”
“She’s probably hungry,” Cora offered up. “I have a bottle in her bag if you want to feed her.”
I gave her a brisk nod and she rooted around in the pink bag, handing me a bottle full of milk. After some juggling, I placed it in her mouth. “Look,” I said, feeling accomplished. “She’s drinking it.”
Cora placed her hand on my shoulder as she peered over it, leaning into my body. “You’re a natural at this kid stuff.”
I chuckled. “I wouldn’t go that far but thanks for the vote of confidence.” I didn’t have the slightest idea what to do next, but Amelia seemed to be enjoying it, so I let it ride. “Were you really gonna go after Emily yourself?”
She sighed. “She’s my sister and it’s my fault he has her. I just couldn’t take Amelia with me, and I didn’t
trust anyone else with her.”
My chest swelled at her quiet words. “You really think I would have let you go by yourself?”
“No,” she said with a little laugh.
“Damn right I wouldn’t,” I answered, my voice rough. “You aren’t alone, not anymore.”
“She needs to burp,” Cora said hastily, looking like she wanted to talk about anything other than the current conversation. I couldn’t blame her. It was hard for me to talk about it as well, but we damn well were going to.
“Show me how,” I answered. Now was as good a time as any to learn. I wasn’t going anywhere.
So, Cora helped me prop our daughter up on my shoulder. I patted her awkwardly, hoping I wasn’t hurting her. “She’s tougher than she looks,” Cora said as Amelia let out a huge belch, surprising us both.
I gazed at her instead, not thinking about my daughter at all but more about the woman who was standing before me. “Yeah, she is, and I’m just sorry it took me this long to find out.”
Cora blushed. “I’m not tough.”
“Yeah, you are,” I repeated softly, wanting her to know how much I was impressed by her. What the hell was that warmth on my shoulder all of a sudden?
Oh hell. “I think she just puked on my shoulder.”
Cora laughed and together we cleaned Amelia up, lowering her back into the carrier for a nap. I stripped off my shirt and threw it in the corner, not bothering with another just yet. Cora turned and I pulled her toward me, resting her head against my chest, immediately relaxing me. She had that effect more than she realized.
She sighed and snuggled into my warmth and as much as I wanted to lower her to the bed to show her exactly how I felt, I was content with just holding her. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, unable to find my voice. “I will make it up to you.”
“Later,” she answered, her voice muffled by my chest. “Let’s talk about it later.”
I was fine with that.
Thirty minutes later, Widow Maker was knocking on the door. I had already pulled another shirt on and we were seated on the bed, Cora between my legs with her back resting against my chest. She had just finished telling me about Amelia’s birth and I had this strange sensation in my chest now, one of pride and awe of what she had gone through alone. “We found him,” Widow Maker was saying, her eyes falling on the baby, still asleep in the carrier. “Chains is getting a team together.”
“That’s our cue,” I grumbled, drowsy from Cora’s soft voice as I pressed a kiss into her hair. “Let’s do this thing.”
“Let’s get my sister back,” Cora replied, scooting off the bed.
I couldn’t agree more.
***
We tracked Red to a warehouse on the outskirts of town, with one lone way in and out. “Shit,” Ironsides swore as he pulled the binoculars away from his eyes. “This ain’t gonna be easy.”
I checked my gun, stuffing it into the waistband of my jeans. “I don’t care. He’s gonna die one way or another.”
Ironsides nodded toward Cora, who was standing off to the side. “You think she’s gonna handle it all right?”
I thought about the night she had saved my life without hesitation. “She will be fine. But if I go down …”
“I know,” Ironsides finished for me, taking in the unspoken words between us. It was code, a code I hadn’t thought about using until now.
Now I had something to live for, something very important, and I understood how Ironsides and the others felt every time they put themselves in the line of fire.
It fucking sucked to even think I could leave my family behind because of a stray bullet, that Amelia could grow up not knowing her father because I was six feet under.
I gave him a nod anyway and pushed away from the truck we had been using as cover. The plan was simple: storm the warehouse and take out anything that moved sans Emily. Unless Red had an army hidden in there, we had bigger numbers.
Besides myself, Cora, and Ironsides, there was a smattering of both clubs stretched along the road leading away from the warehouse in case Red made a run for it. He wasn’t getting out of here alive.
I walked over to Cora, touching her arm. “You sure you don’t want to stay behind?”
She shook her head, her eyes on the warehouse. “I can’t let you go down there alone. I need to be there for Emily.”
I forced her to meet my eyes. “I need for you to be safe, Cora. I can’t function if you get in trouble. Please tell me you will stay away from the gunfire.”
She nodded, fear and uncertainty shining in her eyes. “I will, I promise.”
Growling, I brushed my lips over hers, resting our foreheads together. “If shit goes south, just know that I want you to give Amelia my last name. There’s a bank account in Texas that will give you enough to take care of her for a couple of years.”
She silenced me by placing her finger on my lips. “Please don’t talk like you aren’t going to make it. We will get out of this alive and then we will talk about bank accounts and Texas, all right?”
I didn’t believe her, but I gave her the look she wanted, regardless. “All right. Stay behind me.”
The three of us approached the warehouse, Ironsides and me in the lead and Cora behind us. She flattened herself against the wall of the warehouse as Ironsides kicked the door open, followed by me with my gun drawn. My body was working on overdrive right now, wanting to end this shit and move on, to go back home where we all belonged.
The warehouse was only lit by the sunlight streaming through the dirty windows and it was easy to pick out Red in the center, his gun pressed against Cora’s sister’s temple. “Well, why am I not surprised,” he chuckled. “The Jester returns.”
“Because you are a smart man, maybe?” I answered, keeping my gun trained on him, his forehead in my crosshairs. “Or a dumbass. The jury’s still out on that one.”
Red grinned, with no concern that he had a gun trained on him. “Well, it’s good to see you again, regardless. I knew you were something special. Too bad it’s under these circumstances.” He looked over my shoulder. “And you brought the traitor with you too.”
“I’m gonna be the man to take you out, Red,” I answered, praying that Cora would stick to the plan. While Emily looked scared shitless, she didn’t look hurt, which was good. “So why don’t you let the girl go and we can get this over with.”
“Cora,” Red said instead, his eyes lighting with something that I could liken to morbid obsession only. “I just have to say, your sister is something else. But you, my dear, are by far my favorite.”
“Then take me,” Cora said bravely, her voice ringing out in the nearly empty warehouse. “Let her go.”
Shit. I saw Red lick his lips at the thought and my heart climbed into my throat. She hadn’t listened to a word I said and now she was putting herself in the direct line of fire.
I shouldn’t have let her come. I should have fucking left her back at the clubhouse, with our daughter.
If something happened to her, I would never forgive myself.
“No, Cora,” Emily was saying, the slightest tremor shooting through her body. “You can’t. What about Amelia?”
“Amelia is fine,” she said, calming her sister as she moved forward, her hands up. “Come on, Red. You want me. I’m right here. Let Emily go and we can talk.”
“Or fuck,” he said, nodding toward me. “I don’t mind used goods.”
I growled, but my gun didn’t waver, trying to look for a way to end this without hitting Cora or her sister with a bullet. My mind was racing with possibilities, but each one of them ended up with Cora bleeding on the cement floor and that was not an option for me.
Red forced Emily up from the chair she had been seated in, walking her toward her sister. “I think I will make that trade.”
“What’s the plan?” Ironsides asked in a low voice. “I can’t get a clear shot.”
I didn’t know. Sweat broke out on my forehead as Cora inched closer, my palm start
ing to sweat from gripping the gun tightly. I needed Cora to move.
I needed her to get out of the line of fire.
“Twenty-four,” Cora said suddenly, her eyes on her sister.
I saw Emily’s chin lift and she went down suddenly, giving me a clear line at a surprised Red. I fired two quick shots, advancing on the man as he fell, firing his gun wildly in the air.
Ironsides covered me as we approached him, seeing nothing but the spread of blood on his chest, his eyes unseeing at the ceiling.
Red O’Neil was dead.
“Clayton.”
