Page 22

Wrath

It”s been forty-eight excruciating hours since someone took Flame. I’m holding on to my last thread now. Tech couldn”t get much off his cameras, and the license plate from the vehicle was blocked, so he had nothing to search for using his system. That means I’ve sent everyone who”s willing, to go to find out what they can from people off the streets. I know I put this place on lockdown, but we need information, so that means everyone who has informants is out there risking themselves right now in hopes of finding a lead. Someone”s got to know something, and all the guys know the risks they”re taking by leaving, but they want to do it to help find Flame. We’re all feeling pretty useless right now.

I can’t even begin to think about what state Flame might be in. I know he’s got to still be alive because I know Claire wants to kill him in front of me. That doesn’t mean she won”t be inflicting as much damage as she possibly can, though. FUCK!

My office door slams open, and Joker comes running in, panting while trying to catch his breath.

“I’ve got something, Prez. The homeless guy who hangs out by The Gym, came to talk to me this morning. He saw Flame get taken, and you know how much Flame”s tried to help the guy through the years, right? Well, the guy likes Flame, so he followed them. He managed it because they didn’t take Flame far; they couldn’t risk it. You know the warehouse at the end of the block from The Gym? The one that”s been sitting empty for fucking ever? That”s where they took him. The guy says he’s watched, and they haven’t brought Flame out. He”s been waiting to spot one of us who he knows and trusts to tell us what he saw.”Joker rushes out.

“Good job, Joke. Get everyone who’s here into Church now; I’m not waiting around for everyone to arrive; whoever”s here is who will be going.”I manage to get out, but I’m struggling.

This is it. We’ve got what we need to get him back home.

Joker nods his head and rushes out of the room.

I pick my phone up and dial Eagle. I know I”m not in the right state of mind to be planning this rescue mission; if it were anyone else, I”d be fine, but this is Flame. All I can think about is getting him back in my arms. Not giving a fuck how I achieve it.

“Prez.” Eagle says, as soon as he answers,

“We’ve got a location. Meet me in Church; we need a plan, and we need it now. Only the people who are here are going; I’m not waiting around. As soon as you’ve come up with a plan, we”re out of here. I know I’m too close to this to come up with a viable plan, so I’m leaving that to you.”

I hang up, not waiting for his reply.

I don’t have time. I’ve got my man to save and bring home. Whoever”s there holding him is going to wish they were never born. They”ll be left alive for now, but they”re really going to wish we”d just killed them. I”m going to personally make sure of that.

Within thirty minutes, everyone who”s at The Clubhouse or could get back here quickly is in Church. Even the Prospects, which isn”t the norm at all, but everyone needs to be aware of what”s happening right now. Tech has his laptop out, getting the blueprints for the warehouse the homeless guy told us Flame is in. Eagle”s talking quietly to Shadow. I have no idea what they”re whispering about, but right now I can”t focus on anything but Flame.

Once they’ve finished talking, Shadow comes over to me and gives me a quick hug before pulling back and telling me, “I’m going to go do some recon, see what we”re dealing with. I’m taking Sniper with me.” I just nod my head. He shoots off, grabbing Sniper on his way out.

I understand why he”s going; he”s fucking good at blending in and finding out information without anyone ever realizing he was there. It”s how he got the road name Shadow. Sniper, I get too; he”s most likely going to be our cover when we go in. He”s going to need to find the ideal place to set up that gives him the best advantage. He”s lethal with his rifle, so I know we”ll be good with him watching our backs.

Eagle glances at me, and I nod my head to let him know to begin. ”Right, as you’ve just all seen, Shadow and Sniper have left; they’re going to see what they can find at the warehouse. The rest of us are splitting into four teams. Team One will be with Wrath, Team Two will have me, Team Three Blade, and Team Four Rock.” Eagle informs everyone present.

He then signals Tech, who projects a document onto the wall that shows a list of who is on whose team. Smart idea; it saves him time from having to tell everyone when they can just look for themselves.

“As you can see, Piston and Ink will be staying outside with Doc, as both cover for Doc, who we”re without a doubt going to need to tend to Flame; we can’t risk him getting hurt before that. They”ll be in prime position to catch anyone who tries to get out and escape. We”ve got to be smart about this; no fucking around. Get in, get Flame, take out anyone who tries to stop us, and then get the fuck back here. Don”t try to be a fucking hero; I don”t want anyone dead today.”Eagle shouts.

Everyone roars and stomps their feet. Ready to do what they need to to get Flame home.

“Go get your shit together; we leave in an hour,”I say in a deadly calm voice.

I don’t feel calm at all, but I know my voice sounds like it because of the headspace I”m in. I’m close to becoming my namesake. Wrath. God help anyone who gets in my way.

∞∞∞

An hour later, we”re all surrounding the warehouse. Sniper”s set up across from us with a perfect view to have our backs. Shadow has stayed with him to play spotter, but not before relaying what he found. Flame”s in there, and it looks like there are just a few minions inside. Claire isn’t here, which is too bad. I would”ve loved to get my hands on that bitch, but right now I don’t care that much that she’s not here; my main focus is to just get Flame.

Over the headset, I hear the countdown: “Three, two, one. GO!” Eagle shouts, and we”re all off.

This is it. It”s time to get my man and bring him home.

My team enters through the front doors of the warehouse, and there’s no one to stop us. Did she really not leave anyone here to protect the warehouse? Did she honestly think we wouldn’t find Flame? I have no idea, but fuck if it isn”t good for us.

We make our way into the warehouse, and I can hear grunts just up ahead. It sounds like someone”s taking a beating of some sort, but they aren”t giving a reaction other than grunting from each hit. It”s got to be Flame grunting. I know him well enough to know he”d never give these fuckers a reaction to anything they could do to him. He”s too fucking stubborn for that. I look over my shoulder and nod at Joker, who”s directly behind me. His brown eyes are narrowed in the direction of the grunts. We slowly approach where the sound is coming from and see an open door.

Looking inside, my blood runs cold. We’ve found Flame, but he”s currently being fucking beaten and stabbed by two fucking thugs. He can literally do nothing to defend himself from the way they have him chained up. I don’t even think; I quickly take two shots, shooting them in their shoulders. They both stop attacking Flame, grunt, and grab their wounds. I”m going to kill them fucking slowly for this.

“Take them in,”I say in a deadly voice.

Joker and Ghost rush in and grab them before the fucking assholes can even think of trying to escape.

Running towards Flame, I can feel the tears pouring down my face. I honestly don’t care that my club members are seeing me so emotional; I can’t help my reaction to seeing the state Flame”s in. He’s a mess; he’s covered in bruises, blood, and stab wounds. I don’t even know where I can touch him without inflicting pain. I grab my lockpick kit out of my pocket and quickly undo the chains holding him. He hasn’t said a word, and that’s worrying me at this point.

When I look at his face, I see why. He’s lost consciousness. I can see his chest moving up and down, so I know he’s breathing.

“SOMEONE GET DOC IN HERE NOW!”I scream as loud as I can.

Fucking hell, please let him be okay; I can’t lose him. I won”t survive it. Gently rubbing his wrists where the chains have been chafing, I wait for Doc to get in here. I don”t dare touch anywhere else right now. I don”t want to accidentally cause more damage. Everywhere I can see, he”s either bruised or bleeding.

Seconds later, Doc”s rushing into the room. He shoves me towards Flame’s head, not caring that I”m Devil”s Inferno”s President, and I don”t fight him; I just move where he wants me. All I care about right now is him helping Flame.

“I need space, Prez. Stay by his head and keep him calm if he comes too. He’s going to be in a fuckload of pain. I don’t know if he was aware when you all arrived. So knowing my luck, if he comes too, he”s going to come to swinging. I”d rather not be on the receiving end of Flame’s fists.” Doc quickly says before grabbing gauze and bandages from his bag and patching up Flame the best he can for now before we head back to The Compound, where he can do a proper job.

I just sit by his head and gently stroke his hair, which is currently covered in grime and grease, but I couldn”t care less. I need to have my hands on him, and I”m hoping that it will help keep him calm if he wakes up. Flame hasn’t moved at all while Doc has been working, and it”s fucking worrying me. I want to see his bright blue eyes. No, I don”t want; I need to fucking see them. I have no idea how long I’ve been sitting here, just staring at his face. I feel a tap on my shoulder and look up at Rock and Eagle standing there.

“Rock’s going to carry him out of here; he’s the biggest fucker we’ve got right now. We need to get him home so Doc can work on him properly. He’s stable for now, according to Doc.”Eagle explains gently while eyeing me warily. He”s obviously worried about how I”m going to react.

“Are you going to be okay with that, Prez?”Rock asks me, his voice filled with compassion.

Nodding, I stand and watch as Rock quickly scoops up Flame bridal style, carefully carrying him out of this dump. I follow behind and jump in the back of the SUV that Jake has outside. He’s the only Prospect here with us; we needed someone we trusted to drive an SUV so we could safely transport Flame home. None of us were ever under the assumption that Flame would be uninjured after being missing for over forty-eight hours.

Rock places Flame inside the SUV with his head in my lap and closes the door. Jake then takes off back towards The Compound. All that keeps going through my head is how grateful I am that Flame”s alive and in my arms, even if he”s worse for wear right now. I can’t stop watching his chest rise and fall; it’s the only comfort I have right now.

I knew he”d be hurt, but I don”t think I really processed that. Seeing my normally larger-than-life Flame in this condition fucking hurts my heart. He”s one of the strongest people I know, and his body tells the story of just what those two fuckers did to him, no doubt all on Claire”s orders. They”re going to regret what they”ve done; the things I have planned for them would make even some of my Devil”s Inferno brothers cringe, but I don”t care. These assholes fucking deserve every ounce of pain they”re going to receive from my hands. This isn”t about Devil”s Inferno, not really. No, this is personal, and even though I normally leave the torturing to my Enforcers, this time these two are going to get up close and personal with me. It”s what they deserve. They”ve no idea what”s coming, and I can”t fucking wait.