Page 27 of The Biker’s Second Chance (Chrome Creed MC #2)

A RUN LIKE ANY OTHER

SPIKE

" W e can't just let this stand," Leo barked at me.

"No shit. I know we can't, but what are we going to do? We just going to rush Xavier wherever he is? There's no way to know what he's going to do if we try to rush him." I huff in anger.

"So what are you suggesting that we do?" Leo stares at me.

I know he’s waiting for me to give him a plan. Some sort of decision that would lead to a plan. I can’t do any of that.

I don’t know what I want to do. I have no idea what's going on outside or what Xavier is going to do. How am I supposed to create a plan for all of us?

"I think we need to go on with business as usual. If Xavier is trying to throw us off, then I think we need to make sure he doesn’t."

"Keep going." Leo holds my gaze as he crosses his arms over his chest.

I know what he’s doing. He’s trying to break me out of my panic. If I’m going to take over the club one day, then I’m going to need to make decisions like this. I’m going to have to make choices when all the choices seem like shit.

"We're supposed to go on a run in a few days. I think we should move that up to today. Make sure we get the business taken care of so Xavier doesn’t have a chance to mess with that.

Then, when we get back, we can focus all of our energy on finding that fucker and giving him what he deserves.

" I look to Leo, and he nods his head, letting me know that he agrees with my plan.

"Get the boys ready. We ride in an hour. I'll make the calls." Leo dismisses me, and I rush out of church feeling like there’s a two-ton weight on my shoulders.

I pray this is the right thing to do. Right now it’s the only thing that makes sense. We’ll have the time we need to take Xavier out, but right now we need to focus on the arrangements we’ve already made.

This should be simple. It’s a run we’ve made dozens of times before.

I was right.

The run was simple.

Of course our connect was upset that he had to take the delivery early, but once we explained to him that it was either they got their weapons early or not at all, they were more than happy to take them off our hands.

By the time we were on our way back to the clubhouse, I was feeling more confident about the fact that I’d made this choice. At least something had gotten done. We weren’t in the clubhouse with our thumbs up our asses just waiting for Xavier or one of his boys to come hit us again.

It was all very easy. Too easy.

"We've got a car coming up fast." Creek activated the speaker system that was connected to all of our helmets.

I look through my side view mirror, and sure enough, there’s a car coming up behind us going way above the speed limit.

It’s not unusual that we run into some asshole who doesn’t know the road or simply wants to go fast because he sees a bunch of bikers.

I gesture with my hand for everyone to get into one lane and give the speeding car the room it needs to get by.

A pit forms in my stomach when the car doesn’t just speed on by. In fact, the car continues to pick up speed and get right behind all of us.

"What the fuck is this asshole doing?" Rumble grumbles before he falls out of line and into the other lane.

"I don’t know, stay the hell away from him." I bark back through the headset.

Soon the group of us are weaving in and out of both lanes, looking over our shoulders, trying to figure out what the car’s next move is.

"Shit! He’s got a fucking gun." Lash snaps before he pulls on his throttle and slams forward. All the rest of us do the same.

We take the back roads so we don’t have to deal with any of the local police while we are doing these runs, but that means that there are lots of turns and dips. Definitely not the place where we should be speeding and out of control.

My hand itches for my piece, but I don’t grab it.

Not yet. We’re flying down these roads too damn fast, one hand off the throttle and I’m either dead in a ditch or worse, taking one of my brothers out with me.

At first, I thought maybe it was just some reckless asshole, not Xavier.

Pulling a gun too early could have caused chaos.

I have to keep us moving, keep the line tight.

Until I know for sure and until I have a clean shot, my weapon stays put.

I turn to look over my shoulder just as we get to another turn. It’s at that moment I see the barrel of a long shotgun being fed through an open window of the car.

If I had any doubts about who this is, I don’t now.

Xavier has somehow managed to find us again.

What I don’t understand is how the fuck he found us. No one knew where we were going. This wasn’t part of our typical weekly plan. It’s almost as if Xavier had people out watching us. Waiting for us to make a move.

Did I play right into his hands?

"Spike, fucking focus!" I hear Leo’s voice yelling at me through the headset, and I do as he says. I hunch down against the body of my bike, taking all the twists and turns of the ride.

"Fuck!" I hear Rumble shout in the same moment I hear the booming sound of a shotgun over the roar of our bikes. Whipping my head around, I see that Rumble is at the back of the line. His bike is fast, but the car is keeping up with him.

Rumble is weaving hard, trying to dodge, but the car’s on his ass. My chest seizes when I see the shotgun barrel track his every move.

"Rumble, cut left!" I bark into the mic.

He jerks the handlebars, but he’s not fast enough. The gun fires again, deafening, the blast so loud it drowns out the sound of our roaring engines.

Time slows. I see Rumble flinch, the flash of panic in his eyes, and I know he’s about to take the shot full force.

But Zero, fucking Zero, slams his bike sideways, ramming himself into Rumble’s path like some kind of human shield.

The blast hits him point-blank.

The sound is sickening. His body jerks violently, and blood sprays hot into the night air. His bike skids out, metal grinding against asphalt until it crashes hard into the ditch.

"Zero!" I scream, the name ripping out of me raw.

Everything around me goes red. I don’t think. I don’t plan. My rage takes the wheel.

I yank my gun free, twisting in the saddle, and unload into the car behind us. One shot shatters the windshield, another blows through the driver’s side. I keep firing, my finger locked on the trigger until the clip runs dry.

The car swerves, jerks, then slams into the guardrail with a crunch of steel. It flips once, twice, before landing upside down in a fireball. The screams inside are cut short, nothing but burning flesh and snapping metal now.

But it doesn’t mean shit.

Not when Zero’s lying broken in the ditch.

I skid to a stop so hard my back tire fishtails. I’m off the bike before it’s steady, stumbling into the grass. My knees hit dirt as I slide to Zero’s side.

I should have pulled my fucking gun. Back when I first saw that barrel. Back when my gut told me this wasn’t some random asshole on the road. If I hadn’t hesitated, if I’d taken the shot, maybe Zero wouldn’t be bleeding out in my lap right now. My decision not to act just signed his death warrant.

He’s bleeding everywhere. His chest is a mangled mess, his kutte shredded, blood pumping through my fingers as I press down hard.

"Stay with me, brother. Stay the fuck with me," I rasp, but my voice is shaking.

Zero coughs, his lips stained red. His eyes are glassy, but they find mine. "Got… your back, Spike. Always."

"No. Don’t you fucking say that. You’re not done." My palms slip on his blood, sticky and hot, covering me like it’s seared into my skin. I press harder, desperate, but it’s no use. I can feel him slipping.

Rumble crouches beside me, his face pale, his hands trembling. "Fuck. He… he saved me."

Zero’s chest rattles, shallow breaths cutting in and out. Then, one last exhale. His body goes still.

And just like that, he’s gone.

I bow my head, clutching him to me, blood soaking through my clothes, through my skin. My brother. My responsibility.

And I fucking failed him.

The others gather around, the smell of gasoline and smoke burning the air, but all I can focus on is the weight in my arms.

I thought I could lead. I thought I could keep them safe. But now? Now I know the truth.

I can’t even keep one brother alive.

How the fuck am I supposed to keep Jayne safe?

The guilt tears through me like shrapnel, sharp and unrelenting. I look down at Zero’s lifeless face, and for the first time, I don’t feel like a VP. I don’t feel like a leader.

I feel like a fraud.

And I know, deep in my bones, that I’m not fit to wear this patch, not fit to guide my brothers, not fit to protect the only woman I’ve ever loved.

Not when all I leave in my wake is blood.