Page 22 of Unmasked Anarchy (Fallen Sons MC #3)

T here’s a part of me , stashed somewhere under all the old bullshit, that always believed I’d see this place again. Gage’s clubhouse. There are people everywhere, and the second they notice me, I can see mobile phones coming out. No doubt to warn Gage that I am here.

Good.

Let them.

I walk inside the clubhouse and spot him straight away.

He leans against the bar, some sweetbutt perched on his lap, pouring him a shot.

He sees me and the mask slides into place, that stony expression that gives nothing away.

The girl scurries off. For a second, Gage just stares, a slight grin on his face, just enough to show how arrogant he really is.

Then he flicks his chin, calls my name low.

“Sabie.” My heart skips a beat and everyone has stopped, looking at us, bracing for what might unfold.

I stop three feet from him. His boots are up on a barstool, his hand curling a shot glass, but I can see the way his other hand toys with something in his jacket pocket. He’s no doubt keeping his fingers near his gun, just in case I decide to throw down. I’m not here for that, though.

Well, unless he gives me no choice.

“You put a fuckin’ tracker on my phone,” I say, just loud enough for a chosen few to hear.

He tips back the shot, never looking away. “You’re damn right I did.”

I glare at him.

He drops his boots and leans forward on the stool, staring into my soul. “You walked into Sons’ territory and in doing that, you made a choice. I warned you what would happen if you did.”

“You blew a god damned warehouse. Someone could have been inside.”

He shrugs, then gestures, slow, controlled. “That was club business.”

A snicker escapes from somewhere in the room, and I realize how stupid this is, fighting him in front of his crew.

He leans forward, bracing arms on the bar, and every muscle in his neck is tense.

The air between us is thick, and even breathing near him feels dangerous.

“You chose them. You walked out and didn’t look back.

After everything I’ve done for you. If you thought I was going to sit back and sign your little papers and let you run off into the sunset with that motherfucker, then you are sadly mistaken. ”

“Well, lucky for you, I came here to finish this once and for all.”

That gets him. He sits up, sharp, and the room gets even quieter. “Finish what exactly?”

“This. Us. I’m done here. Sign those papers or I will go to a lawyer and we both know you don’t want them sniffing around in your business. I’m leaving. This is done. I’m getting my things and you’re going to let me walk out and leave me the fuck alone.”

I raise my hand to steady myself on the bar, and in that second, he’s on his feet. He doesn’t lunge, just steps around, quick and neat, and pins my wrist to the counter. He leans in, voice threading under the music. “You try to run again, you won’t like where you end up, Sabie.”

I force my voice out, trembling all over. “Let go of me.”

He looks at my hand, then up at my eyes. “No. You belong to me.”

“You cannot make me stay. You cannot force me to love you, Gage. I don’t. Do you hear me? I don’t belong to you anymore.”

He shoves me backward. I stumble, nearly trip over a barstool.

In the flinch of it, I see his hand dart into his jacket, unholster the small black pistol he always keeps in his jacket.

The room goes dead still. He walks three steps, closes the distance, presses the barrel right into the side of my skull.

The world narrows. Sweat beads down my spine, but I stare straight ahead. I will not give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry, or beg. No. He’s just trying to scare me and I’m not here for it. I know Gage won’t kill me, he is a lot of things, but when it comes to me, he won’t choose violence.

“If you won’t stay here with me,” he growls, “then I’ll make sure nobody can have you.”

There is something cold in his voice, something that shoots up my spine and grips my heart.

He means it.

I can hear it in his words, I can feel it surrounding us.

Gage will kill me to make sure nobody else can have me.

I gasp, my entire body trembling.

I have seconds. I need something. I have to say something that will stop this long enough for me to figure out a way out. There is only one thing I can think of, and while it is easily proven away, it might buy me some time.

“I’m pregnant. It’s yours.”

The phrase hangs in the air, heavy and shocking as gunfire.

Gage’s breath hits the shell of my ear, hot and ragged.

He lets out a slow sound, between a laugh and a moan, twisted and mean.

He doesn’t say anything for a long moment, just presses the gun harder, until I feel the sting in my scalp.

Then he steps back, gun lowering, and looks down at the ground.

“Well,” he says, voice cold and empty. “Guess you ain’t leavin’ then, are you?”

He jerks his chin. “Safe box,” he barks, and two of his crew leap forward. I twist to run, but a thick arm snakes around my waist, and then I’m being hauled away. I fight, with every step, I give it my all. But there is no point. I’m no match for the large biker pulling me.

We reach the Safe Box, which is basically a room that they guard, and the door is shoved open. I get tossed in and released. I spin, seeing the large biker who pulled me down here, a new member, Garry. He offers me a small nod and then walks out. Regg steps in next. “Boss says you stay here.”

I collapse to the floor. The room is windowless—just a bed, and a bathroom. It feels like DeJa'Vu, only this time, it’s real. Panic claws up my throat, but I swallow hard, press my palms to my forehead and breathe. I have one thing up my sleeve. The gun tucked in my jeans.

I will use it to get out of here, but I only have one shot at that.

I know this club better than anything, which means I know when they hold church, when they ride, where they go and for how long.

I just need to find a small window of time where I can escape, and when I do, I have to run and never look back.

The thing that scares me the most is the fact that to be truly free, I might have to kill the man who saved me.

Do I have it in me?

~*~*~*~*~*~

I WAIT UNTIL THE MUFFLED sounds of the club going on a run fill the room.

Every set of wheels away from the lot means I have a small window of time.

I get up and pace, waiting for my chance.

After an hour, I hear footsteps—heavy, shuffling, not in a hurry.

I recognize Regg by the squeak of his boots and his breathing, always loud, always just the tiniest bit wheezy from the smoke breaks he takes when he thinks Gage isn’t looking.

I was hoping it would be him.

I walk over, gun in hand, ready, and bang on the door.

“Regg?” I squeak.

“What is it?” he grunts.

“I’m bleeding. Like bad. I think...I think it’s the baby. Call Gage. I need help. Please.”

My voice breaks, and even I’m proud of how convincing I sound.

“He’s on a ride.”

“Then can you help me? I need help.”

He grumbles, and I hear the keys. The deadbolt clicks. I sit on the edge of the bed, gun tucked down beside me, bent over. Regg opens the door and looks around before his eyes settle on me. He’s got a sandwich in his hand, and he looks less than impressed that he is in here.

“Let me see,” he says, stepping inside.

“I can’t get up,” I groan. “I need you to help me.”

“Fuck sake,” he mutters, coming closer.

The second he is close enough, I pull the gun out, slamming it into his stomach. His mouth forms a perfect O.

“Don’t yell,” I hiss.

He freezes, hands up. “Sneaky bitch. This is a bad idea.”

“All I want is to leave. You let me walk, no one gets shot.”

He stares at me. “You shoot me, the whole place comes down on you.”

“No one is here, you just admitted that.”

He curses under his breath. “Can’t just let you fuckin’ leave. You know that.”

“That sounds like a you problem. I’m walking out, you’re going to keep your mouth shut for a whole ten minutes, and then you tell Gage whatever the fuck you need to save your own ass.”

He shakes his head. “It won’t work, Sable...”

I shove the gun in harder. “We both know that I am more than willing to pull this fucking trigger.”

He growls. “Shit. Okay. Fuck.”

“Lie down. Hands behind your head.”

He obeys, lowering down onto the bed. I back toward the door, not losing sight of him. “Count to a hundred, then you can move.”

I open the door and check the hallway. Empty.

I slide into the shadowy corridor and listen, nothing.

I hurry. There’s a back exit, and I take it.

Thankfully, the lot is quiet, and the only person around is a prospect guarding the exit.

I point my gun at him, and he steps back, letting me out without argument.

He’s a fucking idiot anyway.

I rush off down the road, keeping the gun out, my head down, and my legs moving.

I don’t have long before Gage is roaring towards the clubhouse, searching for me.

I am only five minutes in when I hear it, the low rumble of a van, crawling slow behind me.

I glance back and see a black van edging closer.

Fuck. That isn’t good. I pick up into a run.

The van speeds up. I try to spin, shooting at the wheels, but it is already beside me.

The side door opens, and a man launches out, crashing into me and sending me slamming down onto the ground. I fight, but I’m just flailing, my body burning. He shakes the gun from my hand, then jerks my arms behind my back and binds them before hauling me to my feet.

I’m cursing and yelling, but there is no point.

He tosses me into the back of the van where there are five other people.

I have no chance.

“What the fuck do you want?” I scream.

“Blood,” a man growls, before coming towards me with a needle as the van takes off.

“If this is about Gage, you’re making a mistake. He doesn’t give a crap about me.”

The man laughs. “Oh, but he does. I’m sure you remember us?”

I glance at them, confused. Then I see the familiar hands and tattoos. These are the men who tried to kill me and leave me for dead. My heart skips a beat, and vomit rises in my throat. This is bad. This is very fucking bad.

“As you can see,” I try to act calm. “You sucked the first time. I’m still alive.”

He hits me over the head, so hard my vision swims.

“Believe me, we won’t make that mistake again.”

The needle is plunged into my arm.

“Fuck you,” I spit, just as the world goes dark.

I think I just made a mistake.

A very big fucking mistake.