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Laying his body down, I push it right up against the house so he’s not completely in sight. That’s when I see the keys hanging from the guy’s belt and without a second’s hesitation, I snatch them right off.
Looking left then right, I hug the wall as I hurry to the nearest door, catching up to Bash, who’s hidden in a nook sending off a message if the light from the phone is any indication. When I reach him, he doesn’t even flinch, which tells me he saw me coming.
“Sarge said they’ve killed everyone on their side, just waiting for our signal to burst into the house.”
Just as Bash catches me up on the plan, I feel Psycho come up to my side.
“I got two. Took their weapons but this ain’t a video game and I have zero space or enough pockets to store them.” Psycho shrugs, like this conversation is normal in any world.
“Just leave them,” I whisper, pretty sure we have enough of our own.
“I did. Got their bullets though. Can never have enough of those.”
True words. Those fuckers are expensive. I should know, I’m the fucking treasurer of this motorcycle club.
“All right, y’all. Let’s do it. The door is right over there. We either use these,” I hold up the keys I just stole off the dead guy. “Or we bust in, guns blazing.”
Psycho’s lips turn up at the corners, his eyes taking on that demented fire about them, and I don’t need to hear him to know the answer.
“Since when do we knock?”
“Bust in it is, then.” I grab Psycho by the back of the head and pull him in close, our foreheads touching and our eyes locked on one another. “You be careful, brother. Kill, don’t be killed.”
“Right on.”
Just then, Bash clears his throat. “Sarge needs a countdown.”
I nod as Psycho and I separate and we both give Bash our attention.
“Ten seconds. Nine. Eight.” Bash types aways as we quietly dash to the door and wait for the last second to be counted down.
When it does, all fucking hell breaks loose. Screams echo and orders are given as the men scramble to drop their forks and grab their guns. Bullets are flying, one way too fucking close to my bald ass head. Pretty sure I felt the wind of it whooshing by my temple. Wouldn’t be surprised if mama’s ghost bitchslapped it away to save my life. Like she always used to say, “You best not get your ass killed over some stupid shit cause I will come back and kill you all over again.” I mentally kiss my mama’s cheek and focus on the fight ahead. Keeping myself alive isn’t just about making her proud, it’s also about getting my woman back.
I shoot one, then the other, as they run into the hall, leaving the marble floors smeared in blood. Sarge comes in through the other side, his weapon held close like a fucking special opsbadass as he picks off those fuckers one by one. They all go down like paper weights, their bodies convulsing from the power of the bullet going through their bodies.
While Sarge and his crew finish off the guys downstairs, I hesitate, torn between going up or going down to the basement. When I see Sledge and Grinder running up the stairs, I veer toward the basement, taking the steps at neck breaking speeds. When I get there, I freeze as I try to understand what I’m seeing.
Psycho comes up behind me, whistling as he takes in the scene.
“That’s a lot of fucking cocaine there, brother.” I nod at his words, and as much as I’d like to imagine this stash lining our pockets with cash, it’s not my end goal and I seriously couldn’t give an ounce of shit.
“Yeah, but it ain’t Athena.”
The basement is half the size of the house and it takes me less than two minutes to realize Athena isn’t down here. No one is. Not a fucking soul.
“Maybe they found her upstairs.” I nod at Psycho as I run up the stairs to the floor I was on earlier, then I take two or three steps at a time to get upstairs. Just as I round the corner of the last step, I feel a white-hot heat across my skull.
So focused on getting to Athena, I let my guard down. Not to mention, I was sure we’d killed them all.
“The fuck you doin’ here?” When I look up from where I’ve fallen to one knee, I don’t need a mirror to know my lip is curled and my jaw is tight. When I let loose a feral growl, I see the fear in the guy’s eyes. My pulse is beating faster, my mouth is watering with the thirst to rip this asshole into pieces. The best part of it all is watching this motherfucker shit his pants as I rise to my full height and barely move as he hits me with a bat.
My body is too pumped up on adrenaline to feel anything now, so when he swings yet again, I grab the end and pull as hard as Ican. Short black hair is splattered with blood as wide brown eyes stare back at me, his mouth open like he knows he’s about to pay God Almighty a visit… just before he dives into Hell.
“Where’s Athena?” I’m stalking him as he backpedals along the wall. Behind me, the sounds of skin hitting skin and metal thudding against bone fades away as my attention stays firmly on this guy.
“I–I don’t know.”
“Where. Is. Athena?” I hate repeating myself, doubly so when it’s a simple fucking question.