Page 19

19

Bee

"Now that we know exactly what we're dealing with, it's clear that we're going to need to deal with this problem before we even think about doing anything else." Vexx says from her spot at the head of the table.

I'm anxious for Church to be over.

I want to go back to the bar and talk things over with Rye. Let him know that I'm ready for whatever it is that he wants to try. I don't know how good of a girlfriend I'm going to be but I don't want to miss out on what I can have with him.

Of course, just before I was ready to leave out, Vexx and Riot came back in and Vexx called church.

My relationship status is important, but it doesn't take precedent over club business.

"What about the rest of the business owners, do they know that things can get bad before they get better. I mean, I don't really think Sonny is just going to walk away without trying to milk these people for all they have."

Vexx sighs and rubs her fingers along the bridge of her nose, "That's what I'm hoping to avoid. The owners that we talked to all just seemed happy that someone was ready to stand up to them. A lot of people are still too skittish to come to us for help on their own. It's lucky that Bee found out what she did from Rye, or it's possible that all of this would have gone down without any of us knowing anything about it. At least now, we might be able to stop it before it gets any worse."

The girls all look in my direction and nod. I don't need any props. I didn't bring this to their attention so I can be praised. I brought it to their attention because I wanted to help Rye. He's done so much for me, it's only right that I do what I can to help him, too.

"So has anyone been able to get in contact with them? Do we know where Sonny is holed up?" Riot questions, getting everyone back on track.

"There has to be someone who-"

*BANG*

The sound of the club door being kicked open has all of us out of our chairs in an instant.

"What the fuck?" Vexx yells out as we rush to get to the door.

The second the church doors are yanked open, I hear the one sound I don't expect to here.

"Tati!" Rye is yelling my name.

Rye is here. Not at the bar? What the hell?

I push to the front and out of church.

"Brother, I don't know what your problem is, but you're going to have to back the fuck down." Press stands in Rye's way. Jag, Hardy and Judd backing him up.

"Get the hell out of my way." Rye growls, and I can see he's seconds away from throwing hands with Press. There's no way that situation ends well.

"Rye!" I call out to get his attention. My eyebrows furrow in with confusion. I don't know what he's doing here, but he's out of sorts. The man looks like he's been running for miles. I realize that I didn't hear an engine rumbling up, so it must mean he ran the three miles from the bar here. Something is really wrong.

He turns his head in my direction, and the way his body nearly crumbles is enough to know how right I am for wanting to have more with him.

He pushes through the guys and rushes over to me. "You're okay. Oh, fuck. I thought..." He doesn't finish his statement, just slams me against his body, holding me tight, kissing the top of my head and breathing me in deep.

I have to forcibly push myself out of his arms, "What are you talking about? Of course, I'm okay? Why wouldn't I be okay?"

He puffs out a deep breath before he continues, "Sonny was just at the bar, or he still is. I don't know. I told him I didn't need anything from him, and he made it sound like he was already here. He said he burned the clubhouse to the ground."

"What?" My heart is hammering in my chest. Something could've happened to him. I could've lost him right when I just got him.

"They followed you." Jag snarls and everyone looks in his direction.

Rye turns, "What?"

"They fucking followed you. They didn't know where we were. They're outside now. I can see people sneaking along the perimeter." Jag's eyes are glued out the window. I look in that direction and I don't see anything. But out of everyone in the room, Jag has nearly superhuman instincts. If he says there are people outside. There's a threat.

The air shifts.

It’s not something I see, not yet, but I feel it—thick, suffocating tension creeping in through the cracks of the clubhouse. The chatter dies. The girls around me stiffen. Then, through the window, I see them. Shadows moving in the darkness. Too many of them.

Vexx is already standing at attention. “Weapons. Now.”

There’s no hesitation. No wasted time. The girls move, grabbing whatever they can, loading up, preparing for the inevitable. My pulse is steady as I reach for my gun. This isn’t my first fight. It won’t be my last.

Then, a hand grabs my wrist.

I turn to see Rye, his dark eyes locked on mine. He doesn’t say anything at first, just looks at me, his grip tight enough that I know what he’s about to say before he even speaks.

“Stay,” he says, voice low, almost pleading. “Stay with me.”

I shake my head, my stomach twisting at the look on his face. He’s worried. For me. But I can’t do what he’s asking.

“I’m good at this,” I tell him, forcing a small smirk. “I’ve been here before.”

His jaw clenches. “Bee?—”

I step forward, pressing my palm against his chest. “I promise you, everything will be okay.”

The words are easy, but the truth? I don’t know if we’ll make it out of this. None of us do. But I have no choice.

I turn before he can say anything else and move with the rest of the girls toward the door. Vexx leads us out, and the second we step onto the gravel lot, I see them.

Evan and his men. More than a dozen. Maybe twenty. Armed. Waiting.

The silence stretches thin. Then...

Boom.

From the side, someone throws a Molotov cocktail against the side of the building, and it engulfs in flames.

The first shot cracks through the night, and chaos erupts.

I move fast, years of muscle memory kicking in. My gun lifts, my aim steady, and I take the first shot. A man drops. I spin, fire again. Another one down.

Shouts. Screams. Bullets tearing through the air.

The smell of gunpowder burns my nose, but I don’t stop. I can’t. My body moves before my mind even catches up. I duck low, rolling behind a car for cover, reloading in one smooth motion.

Another shot. Another body hitting the dirt.

I don’t look back. I don’t think about Rye inside, about the promise I just made. Right now, all I can do is survive.

Vexx shouts orders and I get to the position she wants me to be in. I continue to take down the threats around me. I take a glance back and see Rye rushing out of the building with Addison and Glenn in toe. He got them out safe.

Just like him to find someone to save. I can always count on him to do what needs to be done. They run off into the trees before I see Rye run back into the house and pull out Celia and another of the women that was there while we find them housing.

It's like the best of teams. He's picking up the slack where I need.

"You bitch, you should've kept your nose out of our business." Some snaps in my direction and when I look I see it's Evan, and he's got his sights set on me. He raises his gun and I drop to the ground with just a second to spare.

Evan jumps on me while I'm trying to get my footing again. My gun goes scattering across the dirt out of reach. Evan pulls his hand back and swings hard against my ribs. All my breath puffs out, and I see double for a second.

I curl up, trying to protect myself while he continues to beat on me.

I brace for another blow, but instead I feel Evan ripped off me. Rye has made his way over here and is now on the ground with Evan. The bear is loose.

Even I flinch when I watch him pummel the much smaller man. The roars coming out of his mouth with every blow is frightening. I'm not used to seeing him like this.

I don't have much time to stay and stare. Riot cries out and I rush over to help her.

We all come together to get a hold on what's going here when all of a sudden another flurry of cars pulls up.

This time a man in an ill fitting suit steps out, "Destroy them all!" It's Sonny.

"Get rid of him!" Vexx orders, and it doesn't take long before we all start to converge. The women of Eve's Fury flanked by the men who love them.

Vexx is the first one to raise her weapon, and we all follow suit.

"Put your weapons down now!" Hardy calls out and at first I think he's talking to Sonny, but he's not. He's talking to us.

"What the hell is he doing?" Rye barks from behind me.

I look to Vexx and then Hardy confused. Before I have a chance to ask what the hell is going on, a bright light shines in the distance. Red and blue lights close in and everyone but us start to scatter.

Men fully clad in police uniform rush in and cut off any exit Sonny and his men might be able to take.

Sonny came here to ambush us, but it looks like he's not the only one who knows how to catch someone by surprise.

I laugh loud as I watch two cops tackle Sonny to the ground. "Long live the king! I'm sure you'll find plenty of people looking for favors where you're going!" I yell out as Sonny is being yanked away by police.

I don't know how Hardy pulled this off, but I'm suddenly so glad that we've got a cop on our side.

The intensity of what just happened slowly starts to wear off, and I look around just to make sure that everyone is okay. I breathe a sigh of relief to see everyone is still in one piece. All that mayhem for Eve's Fury to still come out on top.

I finally turn to the clubhouse and see Rye along with the other guys working to get the side of the building extinguished. The damage isn't very bad. The wall is scorched but not destroyed.

Hardy takes point and tells the authorities what is going on, and it doesn't take long for our property to be free of the filth that tried to take a stand against us.

It's over, at least for now.