Broken Deeds MC: Second Generation #1

by Esther E. Schmidt

  There’s no one in sight. I put my gun away and glance at the destruction. Shattered glass and bullet holes in the door along with ricochets in the walls.

  “What the actual fuck?” I grumble and rip a hand through my hair in frustration.

  “I’m going to check out the security feed,” Ganza says and jogs into the clubhouse.

  My father comes rushing toward me, Depay and Broke hot on his heels.

  “What the actual fuck?” he snaps and glances at the clubhouse.

  “My words exactly.” The gate is still closed, damn lucky they couldn’t come closer.

  On further inspection I now notice the electronic gate isn’t opening, the electronics system is blown to shit. Damn, what if this shit started a minute or two later? I could have been walking right here along with my woman and kid when the bullets started to fly. Shoving the heart ripping thought out of my head, I turn the tables and have a sudden thirst for revenge.

  I grab my phone and call Bee, she picks up on the first ring. “Queenie is okay, she’s in the playpen shaking her rattle as if nothing happened.”

  Thank fuck. “How about you?”

  “Nothing a little coffee can’t fix to calm my nerves.” She tries to play it off with a joke but I hear the slight tremble in her voice.

  “Ganza is checking the security feed. Can you do the same and also check if you can trace the car with other camera feeds if there are any? We need all eyes and brains on this.”

  “On it,” she says and instantly disconnects.

  “Any open cases you can connect with this shit?” Depay questions.

  I share a look with Wyatt and we both give a little shake.

  “I confronted Sven and his partner about files of criminals that were all opened on Woolerton’s computer. I pressed the matter how he had no damn reason to check on any of it. Just like we discussed since the tail I did on both of them resulted in nothing. And they quickly turned from friendly to annoyed and angry. They’re cops but I don’t trust either of them,” Vachs says.

  “I don’t have any active cases but we’re also working on Baton’s girl’s case, a stalker issue. There are three other cases but they aren’t as advanced where there would be someone trigger happy coming at us since they aren’t aware we’re on their ass yet,” Wyatt states.

  My father puts his hands on his hips and looks at my uncle before his gaze lands on me. “There aren’t any old cases or disputes going back when we were handling shit. I think that kinda narrows it down to the case linked with Galen, or the one with Baton.”

  “Agreed,” I rumble. “Let’s head inside and get a few prospects to clean this shit up. Maybe Ganza or Bee found something we can work with. But we have to do something with the gate. The system is blown to shit so overriding it won’t work.”

  We take a moment to force the gate to open by ripping it off its hinges. Risky, but necessary, otherwise we’re locked in here ourselves and we need to head out later. I order two prospects to stay put near the gate and keep their eyes open so no one goes in or out without us knowing. Strolling inside I’m surprised to see Bee sitting next to Ganza.

  She shoots me a quick glance. “Lynn is at our house keeping an eye on Queenie. Roan is with her and so is Diamond.”

  I give her a curt nod and again pride hits me. A mere moment ago bullets were flying, our lives as well as our daughter’s in the hands of the balance of life and death and yet she’s sitting here, strong as fuck, handling it like any one of my brothers.

  “Make more grandbabies later, son,” my dad chuckles. “We have someone to hunt down and bring to justice first.”

  “No license plates and the one behind the wheel was wearing a mask, the other person hanging out of the back window was wearing a mask too. Fuck,” Ganza grumbles.

  “Hang on,” Bee muses and I step closer, as do all the others.

  Her fingers dance across the keyboard and there’s a lot of codes flying over the screen and she flips through different windows she has open on her screen until she pulls a feed with a car going around the corner two blocks from here.

  The one driving the car reaches for his mask and we all watch as he pulls it off. Curses fill the air as recognition and realization hits who was driving the car and responsible for the attempt to kill me, my woman, and our daughter…along with anyone else who could have been standing near the windows inside the clubhouse.

  “Hunting season is fucking open,” Wyatt growls.

  “Right. Fucking. Now,” I thunder in agreement.

  CHAPTER NINE

  – BEATRICE –

  My eyes are still set on the screen in front of me while the men are cursing and firing words back and forth, deciding to head out right now and hunt down those responsible for the drive by shooting.

  “Hey,” I snap, but no one is responding.

  Heated words are still filling the air while their boots stomp in the direction of the door.

  Getting to my feet I turn my laptop, point at it and bellow at the top of my lungs, “Can you fucking listen to me and watch the damn screen?”

  All heads turn my way and all their anger is suddenly aimed for me, leaving me to add on a whisper, “Please?”

  Archer and Deeds are the first ones heading in my direction.

  “What are we looking at?” Deeds questions.

  “Ugh, they’re gone now, hang on.” I quickly put the feed a few minutes back and now there’s a huddle of bikers surrounding my laptop.

  We all watch how the two men get out of the car and start talking on the sidewalk. A moment later they start to push and shove at each other. One gets right in the face of the other, jabbing his chest before he turns and disappears out of sight into an alley. The other guy follows and disappears for a moment before he comes back. He takes out his phone and holds it to his ear as he steps into the car and drives off.

  “Did you see that?” Wyatt questions.

  Vachs grunts while Archer says, “I think we’re looking for one motherfucker instead of two.”

  Confused I ask, “Why only one?”

  Deeds points at the laptop. “Back up the feed a bit.”

  I do as he says and Deeds starts to explain. “They argue and then Woolerton, who was driving the car, threatens Sven before he stalks away. Look at Sven, right here.” He waits a moment and then adds, “There, see?”

  I nod and am in awe how these guys see a lot more details within seconds then me. I mean, there’s so much happening during a fragment of a moment and all I paid attention to were the two cops arguing and then one walking away and one going after the other before he…I dunno…changed his mind and walked the other way?

  But what they saw was Sven going after Woolerton, reaching for–what Deeds pointed out–his gun, and then he comes out of the alley alone while tucking his gun back. I now agree with all of them…Sven must have killed his partner in the alley and then he simply got in his car and left.

  “Vachs, Broke, Pax, Ganza. You guys head out to Sven’s place and see if the fucker returns home. Depay, Deeds, Baton, we’re going to head over to the alley and secure the scene. Let’s hope no one called it in yet and we can get ahead of this shit before the cops find one of their own shot to death on the streets,” Archer orders.

  Everyone jumps into action. Archer steps closer and pierces me with an intense look. “Thanks for stepping up.”

  “Just doing my part,” I tell him with a tiny smile.

  He slides his fingers around the back of my neck to pull me closer. “I need you safe. That shit came way too close but I know damn well it’s how we live and ride.”

  “Life always puts you to the test. Either in a relationship, health, safety…we passed this one and we will make sure to always pass with flying colors. Because together, we have the right knowledge and strength to pull through.”

  “Fuck, yes,” he growls and slams his mouth over mine in a hard and quick kiss. “It might take a while before we’re back, but I’ll keep in contact, okay?”
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br />   I point at my laptop. “I’m going to head over to our house and join the old ladies. But I’ll work on finding more feed and I might be able to track where he is if he doesn’t dodge any street cams.”

  We say our goodbyes as he heads out, leaving me to grab my stuff before I head out the door too. I could stay at the clubhouse but with the windows all shot up I’d rather be in the company of the other women and my own home.

  The prospects will clean up and board the windows, or they will wait for the contractors they called to come and replace the glass. But for now, I know the prospects are handling it while I can do some more work to help the guys out. I find Roan and Diamond in the living room with Queenie while Lynn is in the kitchen, making cocktails.

  “Isn’t it a bit too early for booze?” I question.

  Lynn raises one of her groomed eyebrows. “Alcohol doesn’t need a timestamp when bullets slice through the day.”

  “In that case…I’ll take one of those,” I tell her and head for the living room.

  I take a seat at the table and get back to work. Searching different angles of street cams to find out in what direction Sven went, but I quickly lose track of him. All there’s left to do is wait and drink the cocktail Lynn puts in front of me.

  I don’t want to bother Archer because I know he has his hands full. My phone indicates I have a message and when I check, I see it’s from Archer. A smile spreads my face, and I know it’s silly but the one line he texted me is comforting.

  “We’re retracing their steps, love you.”

  I type a quick “I love you more,” back and glance at the screen while the words filter through my brain, putting another thought into my head. Pulling up the feed I start to retrace Sven and Woolerton’s steps digitally. It might be nothing but maybe there’s a hint to follow up on if I find out where they were before they shot up the clubhouse.

  With just a few keystrokes I’m now sitting back and staring at my screen. I’m absolutely stunned and don’t have a clue how I’m going to make sense of the images I have before me. I reach for my phone, but I’m not sure how I’m going to tell Archer what I just found.

  My eyes slide to Lynn, who is standing in front of the window that has a view of the clubhouse. The rest of the women are chatting away while Queenie is in her playpen. Maybe I should talk it over with Lynn first. She’s the former president’s old lady and smart as a whip, not to mention she’s handled more active cases and can give me some advice on how I should handle it.

  Standing, I join her in front of the window. She doesn’t take her eyes off what she’s looking at when she says in a hushed tone, “With the gates not working since the shooting, the prospects are supposed to keep an eye on who comes and goes. A hard job to do with the contractors who have come by to fix the damage to the clubhouse. They should be working on the gate first.”

  “Jeez, what are they thinking?” I mutter and watch how men stalk in and out.

  “They aren’t thinking. At least one is keeping an eye out but he’s also giving a hand to the contractors. And their focus is on the damage in front of them, not the gate they just went through. It’s the prospect’s job to keep watch and not help, and dammit…they should have ordered the contractors to start with the gate or have a specialist swing by,” Lynn murmurs.

  I cross my arms in front of my chest. “Should we do something? Call Archer or Wyatt? Call a specialist for the gate ourselves or have the prospects handle it after we smack them upside the head?”

  “Let me think.” Lynn glances back to the living room and sighs. “Are you staying with them or coming with me if I head out to shove my boot into some prospect’s ass?”

  I can’t help but grin and reply, “I polished my boots this morning just in case there was a need to kick some ass.”

  “And this is the reason you’re my daughter-in-law.” Lynn chuckles and raises her voice. “Roan, Diamond. Those prospects are screwing up. Bee is going to give me cover while we’re going to make sure they keep an eye on the gate since it isn’t functioning. Okay?”

  Sounds of agreement flow through the air. Lynn stalks to the table where her purse and jacket are. She pulls a gun out of her bag and glances at me.

  “Do you have one of your own or do you want to borrow my backup gun?” she questions.

  I have to blink a few times but quickly put my ass in gear when I tell her, “I have my own.”

  Heading for the closet in the hall, I open the safe and take out a gun, double checking if it’s loaded and ready to use. The safety is on as I shove my hand in between my body and the jacket I just put on.

  As I close the door behind me, I ask, “Can I bounce something off you?”

  “As long as it doesn’t involve bullets,” Lynn jokes.

  “I need to discuss something about someone with Archer but when I brought up the same person yesterday I got this ‘are you jealous’ look from him.”

  Lynn stops in her tracks and turns to fully face me. “Why the hell would he give you that look? The both of you won’t piss on a good thing.”

  “I know,” I squeak. “But that bitch is trying to catch his attention and it’s as if she’s always there. And she was linked with Galen and now this shit with Sven and Woolerton shooting up the clubhouse. And I–”

  “Wait.” Lynn’s eyebrows scrunch up. “This is about Zuri? Galen’s old lady? You know Archer needs to pay her a visit every now and then to show she’s not alone, right? We always take care of our own and Zuri was Galen’s old lady when he died.”

  I stomp my foot and snap, “Don’t you think I know that?”

  “Yes, you do. But you and I are also aware Cora and Zuri are friends and both single with their cunt drooling for a high-rank dick.”

  It says a lot for Lynn to use the word cunt. She absolutely hates it and only uses it when she’s pissed.

  “I think Zuri is involved with Sven or Woolerton somehow,” I tell her and we both fall silent while we stare at each other.

  A voice draws our attention and breaks through the silence. “Is Archer home?”

  Lynn and I both face Woolerton. How is this even remotely possible? We saw Sven head into the alley behind him, and Deeds pointed out Sven pulled a gun. It all indicated Sven shot him. Hell, we all thought he was killed because why fire a gun and leave your partner who you just did a drive by shooting with? Nothing makes sense.

  “What are you doing here?” I snap and flip the safety off the gun I’m holding.

  “I need to talk to Archer,” he grunts and I now notice he’s favoring his left side and there’s a dark stain on the black hoodie he’s wearing.

  So, Sven did shoot him? The question goes through my head at the same time Woolerton pulls a gun on us.

  “I need to talk to Archer. Now, dammit.”

  “Calm your tits, asshole,” Lynn snaps.

  From the corner of my eye I notice Lynn pulled out her gun at the same time I did. Two guns against one. It might sound like the odds are in our favor but when it comes to bullets…there are rarely any winners.

  “You don’t understand. I have to talk to him, it’s a matter of life and death.”

  I snort. “You have to do better than that. The whole life and death part isn’t any of our concern when we know you were involved in shooting up our fucking place. I was holding my daughter when bullets started to fly, asshole.”

  He shakes his head and lowers his gun to the ground. “It wasn’t my idea. Sven, he wanted to cause a distraction. We needed…there wasn’t…I didn’t want…I…”

  “You were driving the car. You could have gone in any direction but you drove that fucking car so you might as well have pulled the trigger yourself.” The words pour out of me in anger.

  “You don’t understand,” he mutters and stumbles back.

  He shakes his head and my gut clenches. There are times when you have a bad feeling or know when something is coming; how the next few seconds are going to play out. It’s like a ball you see rolling and inst
inctively know where it’s going.

  This is the exact reason why I pull the trigger a fragment of a second before Woolerton swings his arm in our direction. The deafening sound of bullets ripping from guns fills the air as I dive to my right and try to take Lynn with me to the ground, and out of harm’s way.

  Woolerton crumbles into the dirt and I dash up and toward him with my gun aimed right at him, but it’s unnecessary because his eyes hold no life. I’ve always had a steady aim thanks to all the lessons my father gave me.

  Even if the fucker is dead, I kick the gun away and tell Lynn, “He’s dead.”

  “Dandy. Now come and help me,” Lynn grunts and when I glance over my shoulder I see the blood coming from her hand.

  Diamond comes rushing toward us while a prospect comes running from the direction of the clubhouse.

  “Call an ambulance. Lynn was shot in the hand,” I order Diamond who runs back to the house. I swing my gaze in the prospect’s direction. “Call Archer, tell him what happened. And for fuck’s sake, asshole. Cover the damn gate instead of leaving it unguarded and let fuck knows who enter the property.”

  The prospect looks torn but bobs his head as if his life depends on it before he grabs his phone and starts to rattle into it while he runs toward the gate to guard the entrance. A little too damn late.

  “Stay there to let the ambulance in,” I bellow, to make sure there won’t be any delay for when the EMTs get here to help Lynn.

  “How ironic,” Lynn grumbles. “I get shot in the damn hand this time instead of my husband.”

  Diamond comes rushing back with a clean cloth which I take from her and tightly wrap it around Lynn’s hand.

  “I’m glad shit isn’t worse. Dammit, how stupid could those prospects be? This could have ended so damn bad.” A string of curses leaves my mouth.

  “We’re still breathing because you jumped into action first,” Lynn compliments.

  Sirens come closer and it doesn’t take long for the EMTs to come rushing toward us. Right when they guide Lynn into the ambulance, there’s a rumble of bikes and Deeds is one of them. He quickly parks his bike and jumps into the ambulance to be with his wife.