Wild Marauders MC: Lynch Part 11

I shook my head without looking at Fat Boy. I'd give the couple ten minutes to leave before us, and if they didn't, I'd have my answer. They didn't. No sooner had I motioned to my brothers that it was time to take off, than the couple mounted their bike. They tried to make it look natural, but I noticed that the man purposely controlled his movements to coincide with ours so that he eventually followed us out of the rest stop.

They got off at the exit that we were originally supposed to get off, and I figured they'd made up their minds that we were going all the way to New Hamps.h.i.+re. By the time we got off the interstate, darkness had fallen. We rode the back way to Cutter Pa.s.s, taking a couple back country roads before cutting through the same trail in the woods that we'd used the day of the warehouse shooting. The only way that we could have been seen making our way to the warehouse back door is if someone was using night vision goggles. There wasn't a moon or star in the sky.

"You're a f.u.c.kin' cheat!"

I swung my head to see two brothers kicking their chairs back and getting to their feet in anger. They'd been playing poker from the looks at it; the other guys at the table were leaning back and crossing their arms. The tense atmosphere surrounding them said that they were about to f.u.c.king explode.

"I don't have to cheat, you f.u.c.k!" This came from one of my brothers, Joker.

As the two men lunged at each other I crossed my arms and waited. Normally I didn't interfere, and let the brothers fight it out and settle their own differences. I could trust my men to act reasonably, and after they got a few licks in and felt better, they would back off and go about their game. Only now the brothers rolling on the floor weren't both Wild Marauders. I searched for Stone, locating him not far away, and doing the same d.a.m.ned thing that I was. We exchanged looks and laughed. Everything was going good until the rest of the guys at the table got involved.

My phone started vibrating in my pocket. Christ, I was glad I'd set it to ring and vibrate because I'd barely heard the ring. I gave Stone a signal and walked away from the noise to better hear Wizard. A gut instinct warned me that this was it.

"Yeah?" I could hear gunfire and gla.s.s breaking in the background. f.u.c.k!

"f.u.c.k, boss, you were right! Those Devils are here and we're under attack!"

I didn't bother responding, Wizard knew we'd be there as soon as we could. I crammed my phone back into my pocket and swung around. A full-on brawl met my gaze, brothers working off steam because they had nothing else better to do. s.h.i.+t just got real, and I knew we didn't have time to waste. We needed to get our a.s.ses back to the clubhouse. Without giving it a thought I pulled my weapon out and shot a couple of rounds over their heads. The result was instant. All activity halted and every eye swung my way.

"Let's mount up! We go in fast and we go in shooting!"

My words produced what looked like chaos, but I knew better. Men scrambled to their bikes, and it seemed that the warehouse shook with the rumbling sound of so many bikes starting at the same time. Someone hit the b.u.t.ton to the rolling metal door and bikers poured out onto the dirt road in front of the building. I made my way to my Harley, mounted, revved the engine, and squealed out of the warehouse along with Dark Menace and my brothers. Jesus, I knew some were going to get hurt tonight. Some would die. But so would many of the Red Devils. f.u.c.king cowards!

Right now they probably thought they had us. I didn't want to think of what would have happened if we hadn't found out about Kirby being patched-in. My brothers and I pushed our bikes as fast as we could go, unable to go full throttle like we wanted. We didn't have time for accidents. A cloud of dust trailed behind us as we raced toward the clubhouse. I could hear gunfire in the distance, and I pulled my gun as we got closer. Brothers at the very front were already shooting their weapons.

"This is it, brother!"

I looked over to see Stone, the thrill of going to war evident on his face. He f.u.c.king loved this s.h.i.+t. Who was I kidding? I did, too. This is what club life was all about, territorial wars, partying hard, easy money. The adrenaline high was like nothing else. I knew that if I died that night I'd die knowing that I'd lived my life the way that I wanted. I knew my brothers all felt the same way.

It was f.u.c.king anarchy when we arrived at the clubhouse. Red Devils were everywhere, easily identifiable by their filthy, scruffy appearances and the Red Devils on the backs of their cuts. We went in shooting, aiming for anything that moved on two legs. That we'd caught them by surprise was f.u.c.king evident by the way they were running in all directions, as suddenly they were being fired upon by the enemy from both sides. Shouts and screams filled the night air, mixing with the whizzing noise of pa.s.sing bullets and loud motorcycles.

That would teach the Red Devils to f.u.c.king underestimate us.

I jumped from my bike and let it hit the ground, automatically looking for Wildman and Kirby. Some of the windows had been shot out at the clubhouse and I saw smoke coming from somewhere out back. s.h.i.+t! That told me that the garage was on fire. It wasn't connected to the clubhouse, but a little gust of wind, a spark, and the whole f.u.c.king thing could go up. I raced in that direction, taking out a couple of Red Devils along the way. My gaze lit on some of my men.

"The garage is on fire!" I hollered.

"Red Devils have surrounded the place!" I heard someone yell.

As soon as I rounded the corner of the building I was fired upon. I swore, skidding to a halt and throwing myself behind a dumpster. Their relentless shooting told me that they wanted to keep us away from the burning building. f.u.c.k! I thought about the small fortune of motorcycle and car parts that was stored in there, as well as the few vehicles that we were working on for clients. As I edged my way around the dumpster to see where the shooters were, I was joined by Lenny, Joker, and Yank.

"What the f.u.c.k is burning?" Joker asked.

"The garage." I peeked around the dumpster and got shot at. "f.u.c.kers! Don't want us reaching it to put it out." I glanced at the s.h.i.+t going down out front to gauge where we stood.

There were a lot of bodies on the ground, and I watched as a few Red Devils ran across the road toward the woods on the other side. They must have their bikes stashed in there. I chanced another glance at the same time that a Red Devil decided to make a run for it. He was shooting blindly as he raced toward the front of the club, apparently seeing his brothers retreating. I took aim and fired, hitting him.

"I'm f.u.c.kin' tired of this s.h.i.+t." I gave Hulk a glance. "Come with me. Lenny, Yank, cover us." The four of us stepped out from the protection of the dumpster, and Hulk and I ran toward the garage, shooting at anything that moved as we went, while Lenny and Yank opened fire in the direction of where the remaining Devils were hiding. When the shooting stopped I knew they'd taken care of them, and that the threat was over.

By the time we made it to the garage a few other brothers had arrived from the front side of the club and were working at putting the fire out. Wizard and Dirk came running out of the back door, carrying fire extinguishers. Joker and Fat Boy began battling the flames with some old packing blankets that were stacked on the ground, and one of Stone's guys showed up with a water hose that was connected to the side of the clubhouse. Thank f.u.c.k the fire was put out quickly and that we were able to save the contents of the garage.

I turned to Wizard. "Everyone okay inside?"

He nodded. "Yep. Got a f.u.c.kin' mess to clean up, though. They busted out some windows. Lot of s.h.i.+t is shot up."

"Hey, Lynch."

I looked up. Stone was walking toward me, his gun dangling from his hand. "The Red Devils took off. Couple of your boys has rounded up some of their wounded."

"What about our losses?"

"We were f.u.c.kin' lucky, surprise was on our side. I have three men down, but it looks like they'll pull through. I've seen a couple of your guys limping. Red Devils aren't very good shots."

"No, but they're good at torture. Trust me, brother, you ever get caught by them, do yourself a favor and put a bullet in your head." I glanced back at the boys near the still-smoldering garage. "You brothers stick around and make sure this is good and out." I turned to Stone. "Wildman among the wounded?"

"Nope, saw his a.s.s running for the trees early on."

"f.u.c.k."

"I know. I want him as bad as you do."

"We have to take care of him."

"We can work on it," Stone said. "But for now I want to head back home in case the f.u.c.ker decides to retaliate on my club. We're on lock down, but most of my brothers are here with me."

"I hear ya. If you ever need us for anything . . ." I exchanged a meaningful look with him. "I mean anything, call. You hear me?"

"Loud and clear, brother."

We reached the small gathering of wounded Red Devils. A quick glance revealed that Kirby wasn't with them. "Kirby among the dead?" I asked Moody. He shook his head no. I growled with disappointment. "How many dead?"

"Eight." He took out a pack of cigarettes and offered one to Stone and me before lighting one for himself.

I watched him blow out a cloud of smoke. "Thirteen," I corrected, taking in the five wounded. "Lenny!" I hollered.

"Coming!" he yelled back. "Yeah?"

"Get a van for the dead, including these five. You know what to do with the bodies. But first, remove their cuts and burn them. Take a couple of brothers for help."

"You're going to f.u.c.kin' kill us?" one of the wounded asked. He made a pitiful attempt to spit at me. "f.u.c.ker!"

I stared down at the man, smirking. "A bullet between the eyes is a lot quicker than anything you would have done to any of my brothers."

"I'm not even patched-in," said a younger man, clutching his side.

He looked about eighteen. I shook my head with disgust. "Tough luck, kid." I turned my attention to Stone. "I know you want to get back home but why don't you stay the rest of the night?"

"You think Wildman will come back?"

"Not any time soon. He's a f.u.c.kin' coward and likes to plan his attacks when he thinks his rivals are at their weakest. Right now he's lickin' his wounds, realizing he's been mislead by my inside man who he was stupid enough to patch-in. With any luck he'll take care of Kirby for us."

We both laughed.

"Kirby?" This coming from the kid on the ground.

I narrowed my gaze down at him. "What do you know about Kirby?"

The kid shrugged, and then winced in obvious pain. "He-"

"Shut the f.u.c.k up kid!"

I kicked the Red Devil trying to intimidate the boy, keeping my eyes on the kid. "What's your name?"

"Deke," he said "Tell me what you know about Kirby, and I'll let you live."

"I'll f.u.c.kin' gut you myself," said the man I'd kicked. What the f.u.c.k, did he think that he was going to get out of this mess alive?

My gun was still in my hand. I raised it, pointed it between his eyes, and fired. He flopped back to the ground, dead. Deke's eyes rounded and he turned pale. I glared at him. "Tell me what you know."

"I don't know much. I overheard some guys talking about Kirby being sent to pick up something for Wildman."

I had a bad feeling about this. "Something or someone?"

He thought for a second. "Someone, I think."

f.u.c.k! "When?"

His eyes were glazing over and I knew he was in some serious pain. "Now." He coughed, wincing.

Stone and I exchanged looks. "f.u.c.king h.e.l.l," I growled.

"Who?" Stone was the one who asked.

Deke shrugged. "I don't know. I heard something about collateral. In case-in case we messed things up tonight."

Collateral...f.u.c.k! My first thought was Kat. "A woman? Did you hear a name? f.u.c.k, kid, think!" I snarled, moving closer to him. It made me sick to think of Kat in Wildman's clutches. But Red and Bullseye were with her, and I knew that they'd protect her with their lives. Just in case, I was going to call them.

"I-" The boy looked like he was about to throw up. He shook his head, actually appearing sorry.

"How old are you, kid?"

"Seventeen."

He was going to die before he had a chance to live. I reached for my cell.

"Any ideas?" Stone asked me, pulling me away from my thoughts.

I glanced over at him and nodded, and then started to scroll to Red's number.

"Wait!" Deke rushed out, drawing my attention back to him. "They mentioned a clinic."

Motherf.u.c.kers! I hit Red's number. "My woman," I said to Stone. His expression turned grim. After six rings without an answer I dialed Bullseye, but got the same response. "f.u.c.k! f.u.c.k! f.u.c.k!" I swore, panic rus.h.i.+ng through me. I thought for a moment, and then texted Kat. I needed to know what we could be walking in on.

Kat, you awake babe?

A couple of minutes went by before she responded. Yes.

It's late. Not tired?

I've been thinking of you.

Thinking about that time we f.u.c.ked in the lake?

Yes.

The water was sure cold, huh baby?

You kept me warm.

I closed my eyes and clenched my jaw. Kat wasn't the one texting me back. Be home in a few days, babe, I texted, just in case Kirby hadn't heard yet that I'd never gone to New Hamps.h.i.+re.

I had to get to her. "They have her," I told Stone, turning in the direction of my bike.

"I'll go with you." Stone was right behind me.

Lenny pulled into the lot with a van. "What's up, prez?" He frowned.

"Kirby has Kat." Then I remembered Deke, and paused. "See that kid with the red hair?" Lenny took a look and nodded. "Don't kill him. Lock him up in one of the rooms inside until I decide what to do with him. Round up some of the boys and tell them to meet me at Kat's!"

I reached my bike and pulled it upright. Stone was already on his and revving the engine. He pulled over to where I was and we rode off together. I'd never been to Kat's house, but I knew her address and had programmed it into my GPS. As soon as we left the dirt road and were on smooth asphalt I went full throttle. My heart was pounding full throttle, too. I'd rather see Kat dead than in Wildman's hands. I could only hope that we made it in time, because once she was gone I might never get her back.

f.u.c.k...I had to get her back!

Chapter 13.

Kat As soon as I got home from work I headed to the shower. Bullseye and Red remained outside, smoking and doing whatever it is they do. Grace wasn't sitting under her tree and her house seemed quiet so I a.s.sumed that her great granddaughter must have come by to take her for the day. I'd only met Lizzy a few times. She was a sweet and attentive girl who came by a couple of times a week to take Grace out to lunch or to doctor's appointments. If Lizzy didn't spend the day at Grace's house then she took Grace to spend the day wherever she lived.

I toweled dry and slipped into a pair of boy shorts and a tank. Dinner would be easy that night. Leftovers from lunch would be enough for me, and Red and Bullseye had stopped at Super Subs on the way out of town. Two huge subs took up a shelf in my fridge. I glanced out the window to see them sitting beneath the tree. I watched as Lizzy's little Volkswagen Beetle pulled up to the house. It was a vintage one from the early seventies that she'd recently had painted a bright yellow.

I watched Red and Bullseye, to see what their reactions would be when Lizzy got out of her car. She was a tiny little thing, pretty, with full curves and blonde hair down to her b.u.t.t. She had the most amazing hazel eyes. Sometimes they were greener than brown or vice versa, depending on what she was wearing.

Lizzy exited her car, looking more like a twelve-year-old girl than the twenty-three year old woman I knew she was. Of course, her curves were eye catching and gave away her mature age. I chuckled at the immediate reaction of the two bikers sitting in Grace's chairs. They perked right up, elbowed each other, and put their heads together as they talked.