One of the tires on the other side of my SUV suddenly exploded, making me tighten my hold on the shotgun. Gritting my teeth, I loaded the gun and jumped to my feet. Leaning around the back of the vehicle, I shot twice at the group of cars and was rewarded when I heard an agonized bellow of pain as one of my bullets found a new home in some bastard’s shoulder. I didn’t feel the pain from the force of the kick; I was too full of adrenaline to feel anything but the need to make them all bleed.
“That’s for my daughter, motherfucker!” I yelled as I reloaded.
“Raven?” Bash roared. “Raven, where are you!”
“Fuck, Raven, get your ass back inside!” Spider yelled out next.
One of the suits laughed. “So these pussies have their women doing their dirty work?”
“Nope. You just pissed off the wrong mother,” I called back and edged around the back of the SUV. I aimed for someone’s head and pulled the trigger. His brains splattered across the top of his car.
With a howl of outrage, bullets shifted from Hawk and the others to start flying in my direction.
“Come out, you fucking bitch!” the suit who had laughed roared now. “Come and face me!”
Dropping the shotgun at my feet because it took too much time to reload, I checked to make sure the magazine in one of the Glocks was full.
“Goddamn it, Raven,” Bash snarled, sounding closer now. “Stay where you are. I’m coming to get you.”
That wasn’t going to happen. I made myself as small as I could as I ducked and ran for the next vehicle that was big enough to give me some protection. It was Willa’s massive Suburban. It was off the ground a little more than my own was, and I crawled under it. Using my new position to hide and protect myself, I aimed at the guy who was now calling me names in Italian.
But one of the other suits kept getting in my way. “Fuck it,” I muttered under my breath and pulled the trigger. Once. Twice. A third time. The first shot lodged in his arm, the second missed him as he jerked at the pain, but the third got him right in the neck.
Blood gushed from the artery I had just hit, then poured out of his mouth as he choked on it. The first squirt of blood from the wound hit the guy I had wanted to shoot, and he pushed the other man to the ground in disgust. I aimed again, but something seemed to catch his attention, and he ducked down and ran for the first of the four cars he was hiding behind.
In the distance, I thought I heard sirens. As they grew louder, the idiots in suits seemed to realize they were about to have the law to deal with, something their boss had already figured out because he was pulling out onto the road and hauling ass in the direction of the highway.
A hand snaked around my ankle, and I kicked out in instinct before I realized it was Bash. My booted foot made contact with his chin just as I turned to look at him. Blood spilled from his mouth, and he spat it out before grabbing me. Pulling me to my feet, he crushed me against him. “Thank God you’re okay.”
I hugged him back, but only for a few seconds. The cops pulled into the parking lot, their sirens and lights pulling us apart. I turned and started running again, needing to get to Lexa to make sure she was okay.
There were women still lying on the ground, crying and sobbing in fear. I stepped over them to get to Rory, who was still lying on top of my daughter. “Lexa!” I cried, and Rory’s head snapped up.
The other woman’s face had small cuts, and I figured it was from some of the glass that was in her hair. “Is it over?” she asked in a shaky voice.
I nodded as she got to her knees, and Lexa jumped to her feet. My daughter threw herself into my arms, her sobs making both our bodies shake. “Momma, I thought you were gonna die!”
“No, baby. No.” I held her close, stroking her hair back from her face. Kneeling down in front of her, I moved the dress that I had used to slow the bleeding and saw that her arm was still bleeding pretty freely. She was going to have to have stitches and some antibiotics.
“Rave…” Bash had been slower to follow me, and when he saw our daughter in only a pair of panties with her bloody dress tied around her arm, he seemed to lose his shit.
He pulled his cut off and then undid his shirt. He wrapped the shirt around Lexa before putting his cut back on, and then he turned and left us. If Enzo or whoever the fuck that had been shooting at us had still been out there, I knew he would have been hanging by his entrails from a tree.
Outside, the cops were all over the place and so were paramedics and the local news. I stood outside the ambulance as Lexa was given an IV, and they prepped her to be moved to the hospital. Uncle Chaz had been taken immediately to the local hospital, but by the time the EMTs had gotten him inside the ambulance, the old man was already looking poorly. I had a bad feeling about him, and my heart broke as we waited for news on the Original.
Bates was ready to arrest anyone wearing an MC cut, but after the recent shooting of Quinn and Kelli’s house, and having taken statements from everyone, they realized all our guys had been shooting back in self-defense. Bates didn’t arrest anyone, but he told everyone not to leave town.
“We’re ready when you are, ma’am,” the paramedic told me after making sure Lexa was strapped onto the gurney.
“Just a minute,” I muttered and glanced around for Bash.
He was standing in the middle of all the brothers, his face set in stone. I waved to get his attention, and he broke through the men to come over to me. Like this, Bash Reid had never looked scarier, but I wasn’t afraid of him. He was in killer mode, but he wouldn’t hurt me or his children even if a gun were put to his head.
I touched his bare chest, but he didn’t even blink. “Lexa is ready to go. Give her a kiss, and tell her you love her.”
“I don’t want to scare her,” he bit out.
“You won’t,” I assured him. “Just a small kiss, Bash. She needs to know you love her.”
Without another word to me, he ducked into the back of the ambulance and kissed Lexa’s forehead. “Daddy loves you, pumpkin.”
Her little hands caught the flaps of his cut and held on. “Love you, Daddy. I hope you get those bad men.”
He stroked a tender finger over her cheek. “Don’t you worry, little one. Daddy will make sure you’re safe.”
“Is Max safe too? Are Aunt Flick and Uncle Jet okay?”
“Your brother is fine. Uncle Jet is taking good care of both of them,” he promised, then stepped out of the emergency vehicle. “Be a good girl for Mommy, okay?”
She nodded, looking small but brave, and my pride in her doubled. She may not have been mine by blood, but she was one hundred percent mine in spirit.
Bash grabbed me and pulled me roughly against him. For a second, I saw the flash of emotions churning in his electric-blue eyes. The rage, the fear, the need to maim and kill those who had hurt his family. I stroked a hand over his jaw, letting him know it was okay to feel those things—to do them. His dark lashes lowered for a moment, and when he lifted them, they were emotionless once again.
“I love you. Take care of our daughter.”
“Always.”
Chapter Twenty Two
MATT
“BOOMER WAS SPOTTED IN PORTLAND, Oregon,” Hawk told me as soon as we were outside and alone. “Dutch caught his ass, has him at one of the cabins up that way. He’s waiting on us before he does anything to him.”
“I’m going,” I said without hesitation. “Boomer’s mine.”
“I told you he was. Jet and I will go with you first thing in the morning.” Bash laid out the game plan for the next day. I was ready to go tonight, right fucking now, but this night was still about Tanner and Warden.
Plus, I needed to tell Rory I was going to be gone for a few days. The thought of being away from her for more than a few hours set my teeth on edge, but there was no damn way I could take her with me. My gaze went to Hawk and Spider. “You two will be here?” They both nodded. “Take care of Rory for me.”
“You don’t even have to ask that
, brother,” Spider assured me.
“We got your back, man,” Hawk seconded.
Relieved that two of the men I trusted the most were going to be watching out for my girl, I took the beer Spider had snagged on the way out and swallowed half of it. “Fuck, man, I’m starving.”
“When aren’t you hungry?” Bash complained. “Go find your woman and eat, cousin. Tomorrow’s going to be a long day.”
“I’m gonna find Willa and take her home. She needs to rest,” Spider grumbled as he started to follow me back inside the bar. I hadn’t even reached the door when there was the sound of screeching tires behind us, followed by doors opening and slamming shut.
I glanced over my shoulder, my brows already raised, when I saw the four black sedans and the fuckers getting out. The streetlights in the parking lot were bright enough to show us who it was—and the fact that they had semiautomatic guns in their hands.
“Fuck!” Hawk yelled as he dropped down behind a trash can.
I didn’t have time to do more than drop behind the two motorcycles I was close to as bullets flew over my head and into the concrete wall of the bar. “Rory!” I whispered her name, wanting to get inside and make sure she was safe. But she and everyone else weren’t going to be safe at all if we didn’t take out these motherfuckers.
I opened the satchel on the side of the bike I was ducked behind, realized it was Uncle Jack’s, and wasn’t surprised when I found two guns inside. I tossed one to Spider and then checked the mag in my own before shooting back at the fuckers who wanted us all dead.
It was a blur of bullets and shouting for the next ten minutes, but when it was over and the cops were making their presence known, all I could think about was getting to Rory. I rushed into the bar and found her on the floor beside Raven. Seeing the blood on Rory’s shirt, I went a little crazy.
“Baby!” I was across the room and pulling her up into my arms in the next second, my trembling hands skimming over every inch of her. “Where are you hit? Does it hurt bad?”
She caught my hands and gave them a weak squeeze. “It’s not my blood, Matt. Lexa got shot in the arm.”
“But your face…” I stroked my thumb over one of the cuts on her cheek. “You’re bleeding here. You have cuts all over your face.”
“The glass cut me,” she explained in a voice that was even weaker than her touch had been. “I…” She swayed, and I caught her. Blinking her eyes a few times, she sighed. “It’s just a delayed reaction. I’m okay.”
I lifted her into my arms and carried her over to the first chair I could find. Sitting her in it, I barked at the sheep who was still cowering on the floor at her feet. “Get her some wet paper towels.”
“Yes, Matt!”
A glass of water was shoved into my hand, and I gave Aggie a thankful nod as I lifted it to Rory’s lips. She swallowed a few sips then pushed the glass away, gagging. “I’m okay.”
The wet paper towels appeared, and I unfolded one to place on the back of Rory’s neck, using the other to wipe some of the blood from her face. She was right; they were just little cuts from the glass that was still clinging to her hair. I cleaned them out, noting how white her normally honey-kissed complexion was now.
“Hey, man, I’m taking Gracie and Willa back to the clubhouse. You want me to take Rory too?”
I lifted my head to find Spider standing behind me with Willa tucked into his side. I didn’t want to let Rory out of my sight, but she needed to be away from all of this shit. Wordlessly, I stood and lifted Rory into my arms again. I carried her out of the bar, ignoring Bates as he told me no one could leave yet, and put her in the back seat of Willa’s SUV beside Gracie.
“But I want to stay with you!” Gracie was crying. “Trigger had blood on his shirt, and Jack wasn’t running his mouth. Something’s wrong with them both.”
Hawk leaned in closer to her and lowered his voice. “Trigger has Uncle Chaz’s blood on him. He got shot in the gut. Uncle Jack isn’t running his mouth because there are about fifteen cops milling around here. Please, baby. Go back with Spider so I can concentrate on this shit right now and not have to worry about you.”
“Then I need to be here. Bates is trying to question everyone, and I need to make sure that you’re not arrested!”
“Jenkins will be here soon.”
“I want to stay with you,” she sobbed. “What if they come back? What if—?”
He shut her up with a quick, hard kiss. “Go, Gracie. Don’t do this to me now.”
Rory was oddly subdued as I fastened her seat belt and kissed her cheek. “I’ll be there as soon as I can,” I vowed. “Flick can clean up your face. Listen to Spider and Jet, and don’t leave the clubhouse unless they say otherwise.”
She nodded as she finally turned her eyes on me. There was fear in those green depths, but I saw the flash of fire. “Kill them all, Matt,” she whispered.
I kissed her lips then stepped back, not promising her with words, but my eyes said everything she needed to know. With a firm nod, she turned her gaze to the back of the seat where Willa was already safely strapped in. Spider gunned the engine, and I watched as they left, before going back inside to see if I could help.
The paramedics arrived, and Uncle Chaz was loaded up immediately. Trigger rode with him, but we all had a sick feeling in our stomachs. Gut wounds were dangerous. We could end up losing him tonight.
Lexa was bundled up into the back of another ambulance, and while Raven watched them work on her, everyone moved to flank Bash. We all stood there, waiting, ready to jump into action the minute he gave the order.
“Hawk, have Dutch bring Boomer to us. I can’t leave my family right now, but that fucker is still going to get what’s coming to him,” Bash ordered. “When you’re done with that, tell Jet to contact Vitucci and let him know about this latest attempt to take us out. Warn them that Enzo is still focused on us, but that idiot can’t focus on shit for more than two seconds. He could be going to hit Dante or Ciro next.”
“On it.”
“Matt.” I stood up a little straighter, ready to fulfill any command my cousin gave me. “Colt isn’t answering his phone. Take two men and go bring his ass back here.”
“Are you sure?” I muttered low enough so that only those closest to us could hear. “What if…?” I didn’t finish, but he knew what I was asking.
What if he hadn’t gotten it out of Kelli yet?
What if he was still in the process of getting it out of her?
What if I had to bring that bitch back too?
“Do what you have to do,” he instructed. “Follow Colt’s lead on that for the most part, but do what your gut tells you to do where that bitch is concerned.”
“What about Enzo?” Uncle Jack asked in his emotionless voice that was low and controlled.
“Bates showing up gave him enough of a head start that he’s probably back at Santino’s by now. But as soon as we are all under the same roof again, we will make a plan to deal with them all, Uncle Jack. I’m not willing to make a mistake with this motherfucker, but we can’t wait any longer to take care of this.”
The old man nodded his head. “Good. Good.” He turned his eyes on Hawk. “You take care of my grandbaby, boy.”
The command caught us all off guard. He knew Hawk would take care of Gracie, so what the fuck was he talking about?
Then the old man dropped to his knees, holding his chest. “Promise me,” he choked out as I moved to grab him and turn him onto his back.
“We need a medic over here!” Bash bellowed, catching everyone’s attention.
The EMT who was about to close the doors on Lexa and Raven rushed over, but when he started to check Uncle Jack over, the old man pushed the guy away. “Get the fuck off. I don’t need you, dumbass.” His desperate eyes went back to Hawk. “Promise me!” he whispered fiercely with the last of his strength.
Hawk fell to his knees beside him, his eyes glazed with emotion that was choking us all up now. Uncle Jack, like all th
e uncles, was a father to all of us. He had taken over attempting to keep Tanner’s and my noses clean when our own father passed away. “I promise.”
“Tell ’er… I love…’er…” he muttered weakly as he sucked in one last gasping breath.
“Uncle Jack.” Hawk tapped the old man’s cheek. “Open your fucking eyes, old man. You can tell her yourself. Don’t you fucking die.”
But Uncle Jack’s skin was already bloodless, the life fading from his eyes right in front of us.
“No!” Hawk said with a growl. “No, you can’t fucking die. She loves you too. Don’t die. Don’t leave her.”
The EMT knelt on Uncle Jack’s other side and felt for a pulse. Sympathy flooding off him, he looked up at Bash. “He’s gone, sir.”
Hawk grabbed the EMT by the shirt and jerked the poor bastard forward. “Bring him back. Gracie needs him.”
“He refused my help, sir.”
“Hawk, brother, you know he wouldn’t have wanted to be attached to tubes and shit.” Bash pulled the other man’s fingers from the EMT’s shirt. “Let him go.”
“Bash…?” I turned to find Raven standing only a few feet away, her stricken gaze on her brother who was still kneeling beside Uncle Jack. “Is… Is he…?”
“Matt, go with her to the hospital,” Bash commanded, his focus on his brother-in-law, but I still saw the raw emotion in my cousin’s gaze. The same emotion that blasted out of every one of my MC brothers’ eyes. The same emotion that was churning in my gut and burning the backs of my eyes.
I gently took hold of Raven’s upper arm and turned her back toward the ambulance that the EMT was now standing beside. “Let’s go, Rave.”
She walked beside me, but her head was turned so that her gaze could stay on her husband and brother, on Uncle Jack’s lifeless body. “He’s gone?”
“Yeah, honey.”
“But he can’t be gone,” she whispered. “He’s Uncle Jack. He’s immortal.”
Over the years, it had felt like that at times. I swallowed around the lump in my throat that was trying to suffocate me. “I’m sorry.”