Page 28

“F lower.”

Something about the tone of Midnight’s voice puts me on edge.

Turning away from the computer, I see that his face is grim, and he’s got my bag in his hand. “What’s wrong?”

He grabs my hand and starts pulling me toward the door.

“Midnight, answer me. Are the girls all right?” I demand.

Midnight doesn’t respond until we get to my car, parked next to his bike.

“Tell me,” I say as I rip my hand from his.

He avoids eye contact with me and scans the street as if he’s looking for a threat. “Lotus Auto was just hit. We’re locking down,” he says, making my stomach sink.

“Was anyone hurt?”

“I’m still waiting to hear back. I need you to get into the car and drive to the girls’ school. I already called ahead so they know we are on our way. We need to get to the clubhouse now.”

“Okay.” My hands shake as I reach for the door handle.

This almost feels like a never-ending nightmare. The girls just went back to school in person too because we thought everything had died down. God, will it ever end?

I get into the car and start it. When I pull away from the shop, I look into the rearview mirror and see that Midnight is following closely behind me. While I drive to the school, my mind races.

I wish this wasn’t happening, and I’m worried about the people who were at the auto shop. God, what if some unsuspecting innocent person was hurt? Should we really be picking up the girls? Surely they are safer at school, right?

School shootings happen all the time, are they really safer there? The thought makes me choke back the vomit that wants to come up.

I don’t even bother shutting off the car as I slam it into park and jump out. I run toward the building and the doors open. The principal nods at me before pushing the girls out.

“Lainey, what’s going on?” Selena asks, fear in her voice.

The girls are always holding hands, but for some reason the way they are clutching onto each other kills me.

“We have to go to the clubhouse. Come on.”

When they reach me, they latch onto my hands, and we run to the car.

“Daddy’s with us?” Sienna asks as she buckles herself in.

“Yeah, Daddy is coming to the clubhouse with us.” I make eye contact with them in the rearview mirror and offer them a brittle smile.

The drive to the clubhouse is silent. The entire way, I check my mirrors, making sure no one but Midnight follows us. As soon as the prospect sees my car, he opens the gate, letting us drive straight through. The parking lot in front of the clubhouse is a madhouse. Cars and bikes are parked sideways. I pull around to the side of the building and find a spot big enough for myself and Midnight and park.

He jumps off his bike and rips open the back door. He pulls out Sienna while I jump out. Selena gets out, and I pick her up even though she’s almost too big to carry, and we rush into the club. If I thought outside was a madhouse, the inside is even worse.

Midnight marches through the madness and takes us through a door I’ve never noticed before. I follow him down a set of dark stairs and into a basement. We pass by a room that looks as if it’s set up like a hospital. What in the Grey’s Anatomy is going on here?I know the girls told me we have a doctor on staff, but I just assumed we went to them and not the other way around.

Midnight opens a door and steps inside. I follow behind but stop when I see it’s almost like a family room. For some reason it almost feels more out of place than the hospital room next door.

“Oh, thank God you made it,” Natalie says as she rushes over.

I don’t know why, but seeing her makes me relax slightly. As she pulls me into a hug, I scan the room behind her and see Kaityln and Tara, along with some other women I don’t know. Kids that the twins played with are also here, along with a very pissed-off-looking young woman who is at most eighteen.

“Girls, why don’t you go play with the other kids?” I say gently.

Midnight gets down and gives them both a hug and a kiss. “I love you both so much, you know that, right?”

“Daddy, you’re scaring me,” Sienna whispers.

“You have nothing to be scared about, okay? Just listen to Lainey, and everything will be fine,” he reassures them.

The girls nod and hug him tight, bringing tears to my eyes. “Love you too.”

We wait until they take off before speaking.

“Have you heard if anyone was seriously hurt at the garage?” Midnight asks quietly.

Pain races across Natalie’s face. “Two customers, and Spider was grazed in the leg.”

“The customers…” I trail off when she shakes her head, silently telling me that they didn’t make it.

“Fuck.” Midnight grunts, wiping a hand over his face.

His phone goes off, and he closes his eyes. He nods before turning toward me. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch as Natalie turns away, giving us a moment of privacy.

“You have to go,” I say softly.

He cups my face. “Yeah, Flower, I do.”

“Be careful and come home to us.” I feel the tears welling in my eyes, but I blink them away. The last thing I want him to see before he walks away is me crying like a baby.

“I will, Flower. I fucking will.” He leans down and kisses me hard.

His hands tangle with my hair, and he pulls so hard it’s painful. I don’t mind the pain because it reminds me that we are both still alive, at least for now.

Breaking the kiss, he moves his lips to my forehead. “Take care of our girls.”

“Always.”

He kisses my forehead and pulls away.

I watch as he walks out the door, and little white dots fill my eyes. I swear to God if he doesn’t come back to me, I will find a way to bring him back from the dead, just to kill him again.

I suck in a breath and dry my face when I feel them approach.

“It never gets any easier,” Kaitlyn murmurs.

I clear my throat. “What is this place?”

“Welcome to the Lotus safe room,” an unfamiliar voice says.

I turn and look at the woman, who bears a striking resemblance to Reaper.

His sister.

“You must be Lainey. I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Evelyn, Reaper’s sister,” she says, confirming my assumption.

“Nice to meet you.”

She offers me a sad smile. “Nice to meet you. Now come join us. It’s going to be a while.”

I fall into step behind her with Kaitlyn following me. I just hope that Evelyn is wrong and that this ends sooner rather than later. I don’t know how much more my nerves can take. I close my eyes and send up a silent prayer.

Please, please let him come home safe to me.

My heart feels like it’s about to beat out of my chest, and my legs feel heavy as I walk away from my girls. All I want to do is turn around, grab them, and run as far away from here as possible. I know they are safe and that my brothers and I will do everything to keep the people in that room that way, but it doesn’t feel like enough.

Fuck.

“Pull it together,” Reaper says when he sees my face.

Stepping between Colt and Wrath, I shut my eyes and take a deep breath. I push away every thought of my family and force myself to be present.

“You good now, brother?” Colt asks.

Opening my eyes, I nod. “What’s the plan?”

“Bullet, Honk, Spider, and Hades are out riding, looking for threats,” Wrath reports.

“You have Hades patrolling?” I ask in surprise.

Yes, he’s a brother, but he’s also a nomad. He’s not technically a member of our chapter.

“The more bodies, the better,” Wrath says.

“We have everyone getting locked and loaded and into place around here,” Reaper tells me.

“Where do you want me?”

“High ground with the sniper rifle. You can either go to the roof or the water tower,” Reaper tells me.

Part of me wants to go on the roof, but I know that I’ll have better luck on the water tower. I’ll be able to pick more people off before they realize where the shots are coming from.

“I’ll go to the water tower.”

“Let’s get into position. Hopefully we won’t need it,” Reaper says and breaks off.

“Remember to grab some water, man. It’s a hot son of a bitch today,” Colt says before walking off.

Wrath holds back and eyes me carefully. “You good?”

“I’ll be better when this is all over,” I mutter.

“Fuckin’ preach,” he says before walking away.

I make my way to the armory and open my locker. Reaching in, I grab my Barrett MK 22 MRAD, one of the newest military-grade sniper rifles on the market. The bad boy can easily reach out fifteen hundred meters and take out a target but can shoot even further if it has a skilled shooter behind the trigger. I don’t know how we got so lucky to get one in an arms deal a year ago, but I’m fucking thankful.

I grab two extra mags for the Glock I keep on me, and I add another to my ankle. Then I eye the knife I keep on the shelf.

Do I need it? The rule of thumb is never to bring a knife to a gunfight.

Fuck it. I’ll take it just in case, so I grab the knife off the shelf and slip it between my belt and jeans.

Throwing the sling of the Barrett and the ammo can over my shoulder, I head toward the door. I’ve taken too much time and need to get into place. When I step out of the armory, Cueball yells for me. I watch as he runs toward me with a gallon of water.

“Here, I was told you need this,” he says as he thrusts it toward me.

“Thanks,” I mutter as I take it.

I head out the back door and start on the three-minute trek to the water tower.

“Fuck me,” I mutter as I start up the million-mile staircase. I make it about halfway up when I hear the roar of motorcycles and look back toward the road.

“Motherfucker. I’m not in position yet,” I hiss as I drop my shit.

I keep my eyes on the bikes speeding toward the gate as I open the ammo can with one hand. Blindly reaching in, I grab a preloaded mag and slip it into place. Crouching down on the stairs, I get into the best position I can.

“Come on, come on,” I mutter as I stare through the scope, trying to find my target. When I see the Renegades patch on the men, my heart drops.

Shit.

Without thinking about it, I pull the trigger. Again, and again, and again. Over and over. It’s not enough, though. The Renegades bust through the fucking fence, and through my scope, I watch as a bloodbath occurs in front of the clubhouse. It’s an all-out war.

I watch as Twitch staggers back before falling to the ground.

“Get up, asshole, get up,” I hiss as I put a bullet through the forehead of the man who snuck up on him.

Wrath grabs a man in a chokehold and starts dragging him back until he’s out of view. I can only hope that he has the wherewithal to keep him alive. Before I know it, it’s like the Renegades know that they won’t win this one and begin to retreat.

I only stop exchanging mags and shooting when they ride out of sight. Gun in hand, I hustle down the stairs and head toward the clubhouse. By the time I make it across the property, I’m out of breath and sweating like a whore in church.

Staggering, I drop my shit and fall to my knees when I find one of my brothers lying face down on the dirt, clawing at the ground. “Hold on, man,” I grunt as I roll him over.

Cueball’s unfocused eyes look up at me, and my heart clenches. He’s got blood pooling out of the corner of his mouth as he tries to gasp for air.

“Hold on, brother. Give me a minute, and I’ll get you to Evelyn,” I beg him as I apply pressure to the gunshot wound on his chest. I look up and scan the yard. “I need some help over here!”

Cueball grabs my hand, making me look back down at him.

“Just hold on, help’s on the way.”

He nods once before his hand goes limp. I watch as the life leaves my brother’s eyes.

Regret slams into me. Goddammit. He just gave me water, and I didn’t even stick around and talk to him.

“Midnight!” Trigger yells, making me look up. “He gone?”

I nod, unable to speak.

Remorse covers Trigger’s face before he covers it. “You’re needed in the barn.”

“Give me a minute,” I tell him before looking down at Cueball.

With a steady hand, I close his eyes before leaning down and pressing my lips to his forehead. “Rest easy, brother, see you on the other side.”

I push myself up and head toward the barn with a renewed sense of purpose. I won’t let my brother’s death be in vain.

“Fucking stop, man. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know,” a man pleads.

“Then start fucking talking,” Wrath barks.

I come to a stop when I see Wrath has the guy he had in a chokehold tied up and hanging from a chain with jumper cables attached to his nipples. Wrath is crouched down, ready to zap him if he doesn’t start talking.

Reaper looks over at me and nods. “That yours?”

“Cueball.”

I watch as a thousand emotions fly across his face before he marches forward.

“Speak,” he demands.

“Look, I’m new to the club. I just patched in a month ago. Just last week we were raided, and the pigs tore our place to shit. Half our club was taken away in cuffs. We were told we had to ride out and hit you guys hard because you turned us in to the pigs.”

“Anything else?” Reaper asks.

“Besides that the club hates you? No. Let me live. My girl’s expecting, man,” the guy begs.

“Blood for blood. You understand,” Reaper says before he strikes.

I don’t see him reach for the blade, but Reaper quickly slits the man’s throat down to the bone. When he turns to face us, his face and shirt are covered in blood, reminding us all how he got his name.