Page 58 of The Devil’s Escape (The Devil’s Soldiers #7)

CHAPTER FORTY

HULK

What the fuck just happened?

They don’t even try to hide they’re coming.

The black SUVs come to a halt at the bottom of the driveway, blocking the entrance and exit from the main road.

A strategic move, especially with the roar of motorcycles coming directly up behind it.

Our guns raise the moment they stop and the doors open.

Soldiers emerge from everywhere, and then I hear Bullet mutter, “We’re surrounded.

More just came out of the trees from the direction of Stone and Syn’s property. ”

“Don’t see the Misfits yet,” Sniper whispers.

Seconds later, Arson, Silver, and the others in their crew emerge from behind the SUVs, cynical smiles on their faces. Like they’ve won something. The fuckers. I want to blow their faces off, but I keep my composure. I’m going to need every element of surprise I can.

Finally, two more doors open, and out emerges Vlad and Nikolai. Vlad has a look of utter calm on his face, while Nikolai has no expression at all. He positions himself behind Vlad, his eyes taking us all in calculatingly. No doubt trying to figure out which of us is going to shoot first.

“Bullet,” Vlad says smoothly. “It’s a shame, really, that it’s come to this.

All you had to do was play nicely and do as we asked, and none of this would be happening.

” Bullet says nothing, gun steady as it aims at Vlad.

A small flash of annoyance moves across Vlad’s face before he continues, “I see that your manners haven’t gotten any better, have they?

” Again, he’s met with silence. “I think it’s clear to see that you’ve lost, Bullet.

All of you. You sent your women away, your children, but none of them are safe.

All of them will suffer the same fate. We’re a big fan of leaving no stones unturned.

” His eyes move to me. “And that includes the woman and two brats trying to take shelter with you here.” His lips pull up into a cold, sinister smile.

“I have plans for them, you know. I’ll make sure that they all know it all lies on your shoulders. ”

I give him nothing, even as rage builds inside me. The man is going to do anything to get under my skin. Anything to make me react irrationally. Good thing the military worked that out of me a long time ago.

“I want first crack at her,” Arson remarks slyly.

“That whore and I have some unfinished business.” There’s a murmur of laughter from the others.

Well, all but Silver. His eyes are intense, his gaze direct.

He’s not letting emotion rule his responses.

Either he’s planning on shit going wrong, or he’s waiting for his opening.

It’s a strange thing to see, considering how he acted earlier.

An itch starts on the back of my neck. Something’s off here. I want to let the others know, but I don’t dare. Not yet. If I can feel it, then the others must as well. I can’t risk taking my eyes off the prize.

“You have two choices right now, Bullet,” Vlad continues as if Arson hasn’t spoken.

“You can surrender, and maybe we’ll give you a quick death.

Or you fight us, and we kill you all, take your women and children, and burn your precious club to the ground.

” His lips pull up in a cold sneer. “Personally, it’s been too long since I’ve been in a good fight, so I know what I would rather you choose, but I’m a reasonable man.

You have five seconds.” He lifts his gun. “Five. F?—”

The shot fills the air so suddenly that I barely manage to keep my composure.

“Hold your fire!” Sniper barks loudly as all of us watch in shock as Vlad collapses to the ground, eyes open and blood spilling from his head from where the bullet entered.

Tension builds, and my eyes don’t leave Nikolai, who lowers his gun, his gaze cold.

He just killed his own boss without hesitation. What the ever-loving-fuck is going on?

“Get ready to move,” Sniper whispers. “That fucker is in charge now, and he won’t give us a chance.”

I get ready to move, and I move my gaze quickly to where the Misfits are already advancing with the soldiers. Not one of them looks surprised by what’s just happened. Shit. We’ve had this all wrong. They’re not working for Vlad. They’re working for Nikolai.

Nikolai is the one who is trying to take over, and he’s the one who’s agreed with the Misfits to get shit done.

The only issue that the Misfits haven’t considered.

Nikolai hates MCs; he said that himself.

Working with one like this? There’s no way he’s going to honor whatever the agreement is.

He’s going to get all of us out of the way in one swoop and take over all the hidden places that Dagger gave the Russians.

A coup that will be lucrative for the Russians and give them the ins to the border and surrounding southern states to peddle more of their crap.

The question is, is Nikolai doing this on his own, or is he doing this as some sort of larger plan by bigger powers that be out west, or even back in Russia?

Either way, there is no good version of this fucked up situation if he manages to beat us.

“Go!” is the only thing Nikolai says before everything goes to hell.

I’m moving, my gun firing fast and accurately as I take out one soldier at the front of the line before I hit two more in quick succession. I’ve never been so grateful to have so many brothers at my back as we all get to work on protecting what’s ours.

The Misfits join in the fray, and it’s clear that we’re outgunned, but none of us falls.

I wish I had time to put my earpiece in like the others.

I’m going in blind, but I feel a hand on my shoulder making me drop to my knee in the practiced move as someone fires over my head.

I don’t need to look to know it’s Bowie.

We take out a couple more soldiers, but like a fucking swarm, more emerge.

“Everyone, split the fuck up,” Sniper barks. “Bowie, Hulk, take the south side. King, Torque, handle the north. Bullet, you and I will handle east, and the rest, you go with Viper and hold them off on the west side. That includes the Misfits on our side. Frost has us on the roof.”

“Who’s going to watch the clubhouse?” Milk yells, still firing his gun. It’s a bit wild, but he manages to hit one soldier before they can get too close.

“On it,” Viper barks. “The rest of you can go without me. Keep your heads up.”

“We need fucking Shadow,” Milk bites out. “The scary fucker would come in handy right about now.”

“Keep your fucking head in the game,” Sniper barks harshly. “There is no point in wishing when your life is hanging in the balance. He’s not here, so focus on staying alive until he fucking is. Now go. All of you.”

Bowie and I move quickly down the drive, guns firing, both of us ducking around the side of the clubhouse to avoid getting shot as we reload. Bowie suddenly thrusts his hand at me. “Put in that fucking earpiece. I grabbed a second one when I saw you weren’t down here.”

Thank fuck.

I shove it in my ear, and I instantly hear Cryos barking orders.

“Sensors are going off, with more coming from Stone and Syn’s property.

The ones along the fence line toward the road are quiet.

They’re not coming that way. I’m counting at least another thirty.

They’re bringing the fucking calvary to take us the fuck out. ”

“I got my eyes on the ones coming through the treeline,” Frost says coldly. “I can take out at least ten of them before I have to reload, so everyone, keep your eyes open and be ready.”

“Misfits are spreading out,” Viper states grimly. “Arson, Crook, and Whiskey are heading straight for the two of you, Bullet and Sniper. Whip, Magnum, and Ace are heading for Hulk and Bowie. Don’t see Silver, Crow, or Cobra anywhere.”

“Fuckers gotta be around here somewhere,” Bowie says tightly. “Viper, keep your eyes peeled. If we don’t see them, they might be trying to get into the clubhouse to get to the women and kids.”

“I got it,” Viper assures us. “Crypt is watching the door to the safe room, and Theo is inside with the women and kids. Medic has my six until we need him.”

My gut tightens at the thought of any of these fuckers getting past us, but I have to trust my brothers and know they won’t let anyone get to the women or the kids.

“You good?” Bowie asks me, and I look over at him, his gaze hard and determined. He pulls one of his knives out of his boot and looks at me.

I nod. “Let’s fuck some shit up.”

We both move, guns already firing, just as some of the soldiers and Misfits come around the corner at us. I barely flinch at the burn of a bullet as it moves past my face, and I quickly take out the fucker who dared to try to kill me.

“You fuckers are gonna die today,” Whip taunts loudly as he ducks behind a tree to keep from getting his head shot off on the other side of open area. Magnum and Ace do the same, letting the soldiers be the ones to stand in the open. Fuckers are smart for that, but it won’t save them.

Neither Bowie nor I respond to their taunts. It serves nothing, and I need to focus.

The air is full of gunfire, the smell of smoke, and cries of men dying. It’s a sight that I haven’t seen in a long fucking time, and I wish like hell that I didn’t have to deal with it again. I might not survive this, but I’m going to give it every fucking thing I have.

I want this to be fucking over so I can sit on this fucking porch with Avery in my lap and know that we never have to worry about this again.

“Hulk, duck,” Bowie screams, and I fall to the ground instantly as a bullet from our left comes from the trees. Shit. Looks like Cryos was wrong. They’re definitely coming from the other side now. “Cryos, what the fuck?” Bowie rages.

“Shit, they must have found one of the cameras or sensors and cut it before this all started,” Cryos hisses, but there’s something more than panic in his tone.

It almost sounds like guilt. I don’t have time to dissect that right now, but that itch just got a lot worse. “I’ve got nothing from that side.”

“No fucking shit,” I snarl. “Bowie, you got the west of us?”

“Motherfucker,” Bowie yells, but he turns, both of us back to back as we fire. We’re pinned down with nowhere to go as more and more soldiers gain on us. “I’m going to run out of fucking ammo before we get through half of these fuckers,” Bowie warns grimly.

“We’re pinned down, too,” Sniper snarls in our ears. “Bullet and I have found a good spot, but we’re running low on ammo, too. We need to get to the stash we have. Or someone needs to get us more.”

“We’re under too much fire here,” I hear Twigs yell frantically in my ear. The kid sounds like he’s seconds away from losing his shit. Fuck. That’s the fastest way to get yourself killed. “We’re barely keeping them back… Shit! Milk! ”

The panicked wail sends a cold shiver down my spine. Fuck.

“He’s hit! Milk is down!” Twigs sobs, desperation filling his voice. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

“Give me that fucking earpiece. Now!” I hear someone barking, and Angel’s voice fills my ear. “Milk is down, and so is Trix. Diesel’s been hit, but we can’t get him out. They got him in the side.”

“We can’t get Medic to him in the middle of this,” Viper tells him grimly. “Get him to somewhere you think he’ll be safe until we can.”

“Already done,” Angel responds. “We’re holding off as best we can, but we’re also running low on ammo, and there are more coming this way.”

“Motherfuckers knew we would fight back and they’re coming to send a big message,” Bullet growls. “No fucking surrender. We go until we can’t anymore. Make sure Crypt and Theo get the women and kids out of here at any fucking cost, Viper. You got it?”

“I got it,” Viper states grimly. “Frost, you’re going to be the one to help me with that if shit goes down to it.”

“Got it,” Frost responds coldly. “I have to reload.”

I’m continuing to fire, grabbing one of the extra magazines from Bowie’s side to reload when I’m out. More and more soldiers emerge from the trees, and the Misfits still stay behind, not willing to put their own lives on the line, the fucking cowards.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Cryos mutters in my ear, but I tune him out.

His ramblings aren’t going to help us. He’s no good in a fight like this.

Being out here is only going to get his ass killed.

But if we survive this, I’m going to be telling him to put in some booby traps next time to keep this shit from happening again.

Suddenly, a roar fills the air, so loud that at first I can’t figure out what it is. Only that it’s coming from somewhere past those trees. What the fuck is going on?

It’s the exact thing we need, though, because instantly it has the soldiers distracted enough that we can take out more of them, gaining us a small edge.

“Incoming!” Cryos screams. “They’ve got bikes, a whole fleet of them. I’m counting twenty-two people total. Fuck!”

“They called in more MCs? Why?” Bowie demands. “They thought that they needed that many against us?”

“No, that’s our backup,” Bullet says smugly. “Keep pushing, brothers. The Dragons and Devil’s Predators are here to save our asses. And from the sounds of things, Stone and Shadow made it back, too.”

Wait, what? Who the fuck are they?