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34

ATOM

S omething doesn’t feel right.

We’ve done everything we can to bolster our numbers. True to King’s word, six riders from the Wyoming Outlaws, five from Nebraska, and Jackal and Shade, the two nomads, have arrived in the last couple of hours.

And we’re readying ourselves to go find Lev Zakharov.

Thanks to Vex and his old lady, Calista, we have a handle on where he might be hiding out. Using specific software Calista’s company built, they were able to use a combination of facial recognition software and other factors to narrow down an area on the western edge of Denver.

Everything makes sense…and yet…

“You good?” Catfish asks.

“Ask me again tomorrow,” I say, checking the knife on my belt for the hundredth time.

“Understandable.” He grabs another magazine from the armory drawer and adds it to his tactical belt.

I turn to face him. “Did you think I did it? Planted that bug?”

Catfish huffs and shakes his head. “Not for a motherfucking second.”

“Why?”

Wrinkles appear in his brow. “Why what?”

“Why didn’t you believe it?”

“Dude, you care for every fucking blade of grass on Oakum Ridge Ranch. I know you wouldn’t do anything that brought trouble anywhere near it. And you feel the same way about the club, because you’re loyal through to your core.”

Hearing Catfish say it helps. “Thanks, brother.”

He places a hand on my shoulder. “Look, Butcher was a dick. And for what it’s worth, I think he knows he was. He panicked. But you two are going to have to come to terms. The club can’t function with the two of you not speaking. Plus, he’ll be your father-in-law eventually, right?”

“That also feels like a tomorrow problem.”

Appearing as if we just conjured him, Butcher walks through the armory door. “You two ready to head out?”

Catfish gives me a knowing look. “All set, Prez. See you both outside.”

Fucker.

“I’ll be outside,” I say, walking towards to door, but Butcher doesn’t move out of the way.

“You know we need to talk,” Butcher says, trying to bring the subject up again.

“Not right now, we don’t.”

I don’t have the mental energy to resolve things with him right now. On the way to the clubhouse, I called Wraith. Without Butcher’s go ahead, I also called on King for the reinforcements he said he could send. When I arrived at the clubhouse, I walked straight in and spoke to Catfish and Grudge, who were there. Wraith rallied everyone together and I shared the information from Vex. We discussed this plan.

Butcher tried to make things right in light of the new information we have, but fuck him. He didn’t believe me when it was just my word. He only believed me when there was proof. And now, I’m contemplating asking for a club vote to make Grudge president and Wraith vice president.

It would probably mean I become sergeant at arms, but that isn’t the point.

“Yeah, well, my daughter might never forgive me if anything happens to you, tonight, and we haven’t made it right.”

I look him straight in the eye. “Then, if I die, tell her we did, and she’ll never know.”

Butcher huffs. “It’s fucking Ember. Of course, she’ll know.”

He’s right, she would somehow. My little firecracker would see straight through her father’s bullshit. “Fine. You’re sorry, I’m sorry. Whatever the fuck you need to hear to shut the fuck up and let us get through tonight.”

He shakes his head. “You don’t mean that.”

I huff. “You’re right. I don’t. Admit you were wrong about all the conclusions you jumped to, Butcher. Apologize properly, like a brother, in front of the club. Take accountability. Think about what it says about you that you allowed yourself to jump to that conclusion. Show me you’re fucking sorry, instead of standing there with your we need to talk bullshit. Because when it comes to the club, I have absolutely nothing to be sorry for.” I take a breath and study Butcher’s unreadable expression. It only serves to anger me more. “And you know what? I don’t have anything to be sorry about when it comes to Ember either. Shame on you for making us both feel like we were doing something wrong. Shame on you for keeping us from five years of happiness, and shame on me for letting you. I love your daughter. I’m a good man. I’m a loyal brother. I’m wealthy in my own right. And in your eyes, I’m not good enough for her. So, fuck you.”

I shoulder-check him on the way past, ready to head out into the lot and climb onto my bike. And somewhere along the way, I need to take a breath, so I don’t do something fucking stupid like crash my bike or accidentally shoot Butcher where he stands.

“All good?” Wraith asks when I step out of the clubhouse.

“Why does everybody suddenly care if I’m good or not?” I walk by him and climb onto my bike.

Butcher follows me out, then whistles to get everyone’s attention.

“Brothers,” he says. “Before we ride out, I want to offer an apology to Atom in front of you all.”

I blow out a breath, and struggle to swallow. I don’t want it now. I want to focus on what we’re about to do.

“It’s no secret I fucked up today,” he continues. “I jumped to a shit conclusion on limited data, and it’s damaged Atom and the club. You all deserve better than I delivered today. For that, I’m sorry.” He walks over to me and offers me his hand.

I simply stare at it, knowing I won’t be able to just turn off the feelings of betrayal.

“I know,” he says quietly. “This doesn’t fix things. But hopefully, it opens the doorway to making things right. I’m really sorry, Hudson.”

I take another deep breath, then take it. His grip is firm, I match it.

It’s what I asked for. It’s a start, I suppose.

“Let’s ride out,” Butcher shouts, just as the first bullet hits his shoulder. The force sends him backwards to the ground.

“Get cover,” I yell, jumping off my bike. I grab Butcher underneath both arms and drag him back into the clubhouse.

I see Wraith and Grudge ducking behind a truck, and Jackal boosting Shade onto the roof of one of the outbuildings.

Multiple assailants make their way over the land. One of them throws the body of one of our prospects, who was guarding the gate, to the ground.

And of everything I could do to help, my first thought is to call Ember and warn her, but the blood drains from my face when I lift my phone and see her message.

Ember: I just saw the flash of a laser sight pointing into the kitchen.

She sent it while I was talking with Catfish in the armory where we don’t get any signal.

I dial her number, and it takes what feels like a lifetime but is actually only a few seconds for her to answer.

“They’re following me,” she says, her voice ripe with fear.

“Where are you?”

“On Lemmy. I stopped to answer but need to go soon. I think they have dirt bikes or ATVs or something.”

I think through all the scenarios at rapid speed, but it’s the two weaponized vehicles headed up the dirt trail from the gate to the clubhouse that decide for me. She can’t come here, unescorted, not when we’re under fire. “Head to the river and follow it from there. I’ll ride toward you.”

“Hurry,” she says. “I need to go.”

“They’re going after Ember,” I say to Butcher. “I’m going to get her.”

“What?” Butcher says.

“You heard me. They’ve got Ember in their crosshairs.”

“I’m coming with.”

“Not with a bullet wound you’re not.”

“Fuck you. She might be your old lady, but she’s still my daughter. I’m right behind you.”

“Wraith,” I yell as I run back outside to where we parked the bikes. “They’re on to Ember. I’m gonna follow the river down the rear of the property. Told Em to ride towards us. Give me cover. Wrap this up. Kill every fucker.”

“On it,” Wraith says, and bullets are the soundtrack to my footsteps as I climb on my bike.

They say people can do the most Herculean things when driven by adrenaline, and I believe that as I dodge bullets to push the bike to do speeds it’s never done.

Screw formation. I’m ahead of Butcher.

All that matters is Ember.

I wish I were wearing the helmet I could pair with my phone so I could speak to her. I wish I’d thought to put security cameras around the property in the middle of the land. And I sure as fuck wish I’d put some kind of small utility vehicle or bolt hole or hiding place in and around the property just beyond the rocky inroad.

Lemmy will take care of her.

Smoke and dust fly up from my rear wheel as I careen onto the side road that leads up behind the clubhouse. Don’t envy Butcher riding through it, but I can’t slow down to worry about that.

My headlight illuminates the end of the road, where it opens out into a seating area by the river, but I bank hard left and run parallel to the flowing water.

I get jostled, tossed around as the bike tears up part of the pasture. My bones ache as the bike’s suspension does little to overcome the hardness of the ground.

Butcher’s headlight appears in my mirror, equally unconcerned with the damage we are doing to both land and bikes.

Both of us on a single mission.

To get to Ember.

I don’t care how many of them there are.

I don’t care how armed they are or what they might be riding on.

I have the upper hand.

Because the one thing they don’t know is the land. They don’t know every twist and turn of this river like I do, having corralled cattle up and down it and plowed its banks and ridden alongside it for decades.

I know every tree, I know where the river is deepest, and I trust that it’s gonna help me keep my woman safe.

I see a row of lights in the distance. Three four-wheel vehicles.

And in between the beams, I see the silhouette of Lemmy and Ember flying towards me.

“Kill your lights,” I shout to Butcher, slowing my bike.

“What? Why?” he asks, pulling up alongside.

“I’m gonna get Ember to cross the river with Lemmy. They’re on ATVs and won’t expect it. It’ll flood their engines if they follow, or make them a sitting duck for me and you if they don’t.”

Butcher nods, and we hustle our bikes to the longer grass and throw them down.

“There’s a tall run of rocks, just there,” I say, pointing in the direction Ember is coming. The thud of Lemmy’s hooves rumbles through my feet. “Go.”

When Ember comes into sight, I wave and point. “Into the river! They can’t follow.”

“Atom,” she says, her voice a sob as she rushes by.

Christ, she’s riding him bareback with no reins, lying low against his body and neck, clinging to his mane. At the speed they’re going, one wrong move and she could be thrown. Had I known, I wouldn’t have suggested the river, but it’s too late to change course now.

I just have to trust that the two of them know each other so well, they’ll make it through. And while I wish I could console her, I don’t want to give my presence away by shouting after her.

When the three quad bikes come towards us, it’s a lesson in patience. There is a driver and shooter in each. I want to warn them off, get them away from Ember. But I want to show them that no matter how badly they want us, they can’t have us.

As the first quad bike follows Ember and falls nose first into the shallow river, I kneel, steady my hand, and begin to shoot. Focusing on the shooter before the driver, makes quick work of any resistance.

Butcher follows my lead, and it’s too late for the second quad bike to avert the same fate as the first. Butcher steps towards them and lets off five rounds, making sure they are all dead.

While the third has the good sense to brake, it runs into the back of the second quad bike, and the driver and passenger are thrown forward.

Making the most of their disorientation, Butcher and I run to disarm them both. It’s Maksim, the bald, tattooed man from the original visit, and a second I don’t recognize. None of them appear to be Rocco.

We cable tie both their hands and throw them to the ground as I hear Lemmy’s distinctive snort and whinny come up behind us.

Ember drops off the horse, and I run to her as Butcher goes through the other vehicles and puts a final bullet into everyone he can find.

Dead or not.

The sound sends Lemmy rearing up then running into the night.

“Em,” I say, tugging her to me and holding her so tight, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to let go.

“My phone. When it was lost…Rocco, he took it. They knew where I was.”

I stroke her hair, the side of her face, her arm. Anywhere I can touch her to make sure she’s okay.

“It’s over,” I say, kissing her cheek, her forehead, her lips. “We got them.”

Butcher drops down in front of Maksim. “What did you want with my daughter?”

The man laughs. “She’s a pawn. Just like the rest of us.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Butcher applies the gun to his temple.

“What does it matter if I say or not? I’m going to get killed anyway.”

I release Ember for a moment and reach for the second man. “What about you? Do you want to be spared as the messenger? As the one man allowed to leave here tonight with a warning?”

He looks to the first man.

“Say nothing, Tolya,” Maksim says.

I look to Butcher, and nod. He shoots Maksim straight through the temple.

“No,” the second man screams. “That is Rurik’s brother-in-law. You have no idea what you’ve just done.”

I school my expression with indifference. “So, Tolya. You want to join the dead or escape to the living?”

He looks into the distance, where the violent gun fight at the clubhouse continues.

Tears spill over Tolya’s eyes. “Don’t kill me. Please. You’re on the path.”

“What path?”

“They need a clear trade route to shift things via road from Los Angeles up to Milwaukee. They need free access to the airports and the roads. You and your land and your club, you’re just in the way. And by discrediting the club, by showing how you can’t even protect your own, then the town will switch to our loyalty.” He glances up at me. “Are you the one they call Atom?”

I tap my patch. “I am.”

“They say your father is making plans to sell the land to Rurik Zakharov.”

“How? It’s not even his yet.”

Tolya shakes his head. “I don’t know how. Lev was supposed to infiltrate the club, undermine it from the inside.”

I swallow deeply, knowing this means the end for my father. He can’t cross the club and get away with it. And I hate to think how he was going to take the land from Grandpa. But I don’t have the bandwidth to process the feelings now.

I need to get Ember to safety.

I stand and look at Butcher, who pats Tolya down and takes his wallet before he slices through the ties on his wrists.

“Run back to your bosses,” Butcher says. “Tell ‘em whatever the fuck you like to explain why you survived. But make sure you also tell them this: Our town isn’t up for grabs. You come for us, we’ll come back harder.”

“And tell Lev he better sleep with one eye open for the rest of his life,” I say. “Because I’ll get my revenge, even if I have to wait for it.”

Butcher helps the man to his feet as we hear the rumble of more bikes in the distance. More of the club is headed our way. “We know who you are, and we’ll find out where you live. You’re basically an Outlaw now, Tolya. If you want to keep breathing, you’ll do anything we say. Do us proud,” he says, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

The three of us watch Tolya run across the field.

“He’s going the wrong direction to town,” I say, causing Ember to give a shuddering laugh that sounds a little like a cough and splutter.

“Come here,” Butcher says, reaching for Ember, but she doesn’t go to him.

“Did you two make things right?” she asks, looking up at me.

“Enough that there’s a path forward,” I say, tucking her hair behind her ear. There are smudges of dirt on her face and I try to wipe them away with my thumb. “We’ll figure out the rest as we go.”

Butcher looks to me. “I’m sorry, brother. Might need to take some time to figure out where the fuck I’ve been the last month. Take good care of my daughter. I’ll fix it, Em, I promise.”

Ember nods and steps towards him, giving him a hug but saying nothing.

When they’re done, he walks to his bike and mounts it. “I’ll go make sure Breaker is protected, and we can figure out a plan to deal with your father in the morning.”

“I appreciate it.”

We watch Butcher as he rides slowly away. I see him pause to speak with whoever is up front of the riders headed our way.

“You’re okay, sweetheart, you did good.”

She looks over at Lemmy who has calmed in the silence and is making his way back toward us. “We both did. Even though it’s late, he deserves an extra-long rubdown.”

“I think we can make that happen.”

She looks back at the mangled quad bikes and bodies. “What will happen now?”

I tug on her chin so she looks back at me. “What always happens. We clean it up, and then we get on with the rest of our lives because as long as we’ve got each other, that’s all we need.”

Ember steps up onto her toes and kisses me softly. “I’m alive because you came. And I know you’ll come for me over and over. Take me home, Hudson.”

And so, I do. I boost her onto Lemmy, then pick up my bike to ride beside her, like I will for the rest of our lives.