Page 18

CHAPTER 18

Surrounded by eight bikers, Teller fought like a crazed man, swinging his fists as fast as he could. He caught one guy in the eye, another in the gut and had cocked his arm to go after the man with the bruise when his arms were caught on either side by two hulking men.

Though he fought to be free, they held tight.

The bruised guy came toward him, his lips pulled back in a feral snarl. “You got this coming to you, asshole.”

With the big guys holding on so tightly, Teller waited until the bruised guy was in range. Then he lifted both legs and kicked as hard as he could right in the man’s bruised face, sending him flying backward.

The men holding him loosened their grasp just enough for Teller to drop to the ground, roll out of range and pop to his feet.

The seven men still standing closed in on him.

“Hey, Teller,” a voice called out.

Atkins and Johnson came at the circle from opposite sides.

“Need a hand cleaning up?” Atkins asked, his expression casual, almost amused.

“Would hardly think it fair, three of us against eight little guys,” Teller said, assuming the same amused look while inside his thoughts were screaming to get this done and find Sachie before she got hurt.

“We’ll take that as a yes,” Johnson said and flipped open a wicked-looking switchblade.

Five of the men in the circle spun to face the new threat.

Teller took on the other two, knocking one out with a side kick to his throat.

When the other pulled out a knife, Teller dodged several jabs and grabbed the man’s wrist, ducked behind him and brought the wrist with him, shoving it deep up between his shoulder blades. Then he shoved the man forward and into the middle of a row of motorcycles. He fell over the top of one, taking it down, and, like dominoes, the rest of the motorcycles toppled, trapping the man beneath them .

Teller glanced over his shoulder at Johnson and Atkins. They were down to fighting one biker each.

“Go!” Johnson yelled. “Bennet and Ingram have their hands full. Find Sachie!”

Teller didn’t wait for Johnson to finish talking. He ran into the bar.

A fight had broken out between the Bandidos and the Devil’s Breed motorcycle clubs. Ingram and Bennet were busy trying to get a zip-tied Travis Finkel past two of the Pele Maka Club members.

Though they looked like they could use help, Teller couldn’t stop until he found Sachie.

With so many people fighting, Teller couldn’t see through the melee. He headed for the bar, jumped up on the counter and searched feverishly. Sachie was nowhere to be seen in the barroom. He dropped down from the bar and ran for the hallway leading to the restrooms and a back exit.

He’d just poked his head into the ladies’ room when he heard the muffled sound of a gunshot. Realizing it was too muffled to be from inside the bar, he ran for the rear exit and burst through in time to find a man dressed in black, holding Sachie with a gun pressed to her temple.

Teller’s heart dropped to the pit of his belly. He took in a steadying breath and forced himself to remain calm .

As he studied the man, he realized it was the cop from the station—the same one who volunteered at the Boys’ Club.

“Let her go,” Teller spoke as calmly and firmly as he could when he was freaking out inside. The man had his finger on the trigger. If he got the least bit nervous, he might squeeze.

“Stand back,” the officer said. “Ms. Moore is under arrest for the murder of Mark Bradford.” He tipped his head toward the body on the ground near their feet.

“He’s lying,” Sachie said. “Officer Roland shot Mark when he tried to help me.”

“She took my gun and shot the boy, like she killed his twin in her office,” Roland said. “I’m taking her in.”

“You’re not taking her anywhere.” Teller walked toward the officer, taking one step at a time.

“Stay back,” Roland shouted. “She’s dangerous, I tell you. One step closer, and I’ll shoot you for aiding and abetting a felon.” The officer moved the hand holding the gun and aimed it at Teller’s chest.

Sachie’s eyes widened and then narrowed.

“Now, it all makes sense,” she said. “You’re the one who was pressuring Luke to do something he didn’t want to do.”

Roland turned the gun back on Sachie’s temple. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re the one who killed Luke and made it look like suicide. And now, you’ve killed his brother.”

“It’s over, Alan,” she said.

“For you,” he said. “You tried to escape. Your boyfriend tried to help you. I warned you to stop.”

Teller moved closer. Officer Roland was quickly losing touch with reality. If he didn’t do something soon...

Suddenly, Sachie’s entire body sagged, and her chin dipped toward her chest as if she’d passed out.

Officer Roland struggled to hold her up with one arm, her deadweight making him stagger forward, the gun in his other hand tipped away from her temple.

Teller lunged forward.

At the same time, Sachie slammed her head backward, smashing into Officer Roland’s nose.

The gun went off a split second before Teller grabbed the officer’s wrist and shoved it skyward.

Roland released Sachie and fought for control of the gun, squeezing off another round.

Teller rammed into the police officer, sending him backward until he crashed into the car behind him.

Sirens wailed in the distance, getting louder as they got closer.

His patience at an end, Teller channeled all his strength and anger into his hands and slammed Roland’s wrist into the hard metal of the car, again and again, until he let go of the gun, and it fell to the ground.

Once the gun was out of Roland’s hand, Teller spun him around and shoved his wrist up between his shoulder blades, the anger still burning in his blood. He wanted to slam the man’s face into the car and would have if not for the hand on his shoulder.

“Teller,” Ingram’s voice sounded close by. “He’s not worth it. Let the court decide his fate.”

“This man almost killed the woman I love,” Teller whispered.

“All the more reason to let him live. The woman isn’t going to be interested in you if you’re behind bars.” Ingram tapped his shoulder. “Now that we have Travis, and he’s headed back to jail, he’s willing to take as many of his buddies with him, including your crooked police officer. Atkins and I will take charge of him. You might want to check on your girl.”

Johnson and Atkins secured Roland with one of his own zip ties.

Teller spun to find Sachie kneeling on the ground beside the young man she’d followed into the bar. She’d removed the do-rag from her hair and pressed it against the wound on the teen’s belly. “He’s got to live,” she said, tears streaming from her eyes.

“I’m not...going...anywhere,” Mark whispered. “Must...testify...even if...I go...to...jail. Can’t let...him...go...free. He’ll hurt...Luke’s...” the teen’s eyes closed, “...friend.”

“Mark?” Sachie called out. “Stay with me.”

Teller pressed his fingers to the base of the teen’s throat. “He’s got a pulse, and he’s breathing.”

The police arrived, followed by an ambulance.

The emergency medical technicians took over, loaded Mark into the ambulance and rushed him to the hospital.

The police took Alan Roland, Travis Finkel and the purse thief into custody. They held the members of the Pele Maka motorcycle club until a paddy wagon arrived to transport them to jail.

As the dust settled and the parking lot cleared, the Brotherhood Protectors gathered around. Teller slipped an arm around Sachie’s waist and held her close.

“I’ve got Hawk and Patterson on speaker.” Ingram held out his phone.

“Hawk, here,” Jace Hawkins said. “I hear from the Hawaii Police that you managed to reveal a bad player on the police force.”

“And if that wasn’t enough,” Hank Patterson’s voice came on, “my contacts in the DEA report that your work tonight put a major kink in the flow of drugs from the Sinaloa Cartel out of Mexico. Excellent work. ”

Teller smiled down at Sachie. “Couldn’t have done it without one feisty shrink head-butting the man calling the shots and running the drugs through the Pele Maka gang and the Boys’ Club.”

“Travis Finkel, one of Officer Roland’s thugs, was happy to throw one of Honolulu’s finest under the bus on his way back to federal prison,” Ingram said.

“Officer Roland had a network of distributors in the Pele Maka gang as well as teens he recruited at the Boys’ Club using strong-arm tactics if they weren’t lured by money.”

“In Luke’s case, he was threatening to hurt Luke’s friend if he didn’t fall in line and deal drugs,” Sachie said. “Luke probably figured if he wasn’t in the picture, they wouldn’t hurt his friend.” Her brow wrinkled. “Mark also said Roland would hurt Luke’s friend.” She looked up at Teller. “Could they both have meant Luke’s girlfriend, Kylie?”

Teller’s head tilted and his eyes narrowed. “Makes sense.”

“I heard from the hospital,” Hawk said. “Mark Bradford was rushed into surgery immediately. He’s already out and stable in the ICU. They’re optimistic he’ll have a full recovery.”

Sachie leaned her face into Teller’s leather vest. “Thank God.”

“Great job,” Hawk said. “You’re an amazing team. ”

“I agree,” Patterson said. “Thanks for being a part of the Brotherhood Protectors.”

“Now, get some rest,” Hawk said. “Teller and Ms. Moore, Mr. Parkman has a penthouse suite at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. He’s sent word to them to put you up for the next three nights while Ms. Moore’s cottage is being repaired and an alternate location is secured for her counseling practice. Kalea wants you to relax and feel better about coming back to the Big Island. But she said she’d understand if you choose to stay on Oahu.”

“That’s very nice of Kalea and Mr. Parkman,” Sachie said.

“My wife would understand if you stayed on Oahu,” Hawk said, “but I’m selfish. I want you to stay on the Big Island because it would make my wife happy. And a happy wife makes a happy life.”

Johnson coughed at the same time as he said, “Henpecked.”

“I heard that,” Hawk said. “Wait until you have a wife who’s eight months pregnant with your baby. You’ll be singing a different tune.”

“Not going to happen,” Johnson said. “Can’t have a wife if you don’t get married. I’m not getting married.”

“Famous last words,” Ingram said. “You just haven’t found your person—the one you can’t live without.”

“She doesn’t exist,” Johnson said.

“What do you want to bet he’s the next one to fall?” Bennet said. “Right after Teller.”

Teller frowned. “Hey, give me a minute. Sachie and I just met a few nights ago.”

“Man, believe me when I say…” Bennet shook his head, “when you know, you know.”

Teller smiled down at Sachie. “Do you know?”

She stared up into his eyes for a long moment and finally nodded.

Teller let out the breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding, gathered her into his arms and held her tightly.

“Yeah, Teller knows,” Bennet said. “Come on. Let’s leave these two alone. I have my person waiting for me at home, and I can’t get there soon enough.”

“Same,” Ingram said as he walked away with the others.

“Our backup is bailing on us,” Teller leaned back and stared down into Sachie’s eyes, his heart full to bursting.

“There’s a penthouse suite with our names on it,” Sachie said. “And I won’t hold you to any commitment if you don’t know what you know.”

He bent to press his lips to hers. “You had me at the point of a butcher knife, all hellfire and grit. And if that wasn’t enough, the lamp attack sealed it. You’re my person. You’re one hundred percent badass, and you’ll always have my back.”

“And I know you’ll never hurt me, and you’ll protect me when I can’t do it alone.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him close. “I never thought I would want to be as close as I want to be with you. You showed me it’s possible in the gentlest way.” She looked up at him. “I’m excited to see where life takes us.”

Teller turned with her in the crook of his arm and firmly fixed in his heart. “First stop is a penthouse.”