by Kay Maree
Throughout the day of the festival I kept in constant contact with the security team. I designated myself Danger’s personal security, I was her shadow, she couldn’t even use the bathroom without me standing guard outside the porta potty.
The festival had gone off without a hitch. There were a few small disturbances when festival goers with too much sun and too much booze got a little out of hand, but they were diffused quickly. My security guys are the best in the business.
Danger was on stage giving the updated fundraising total and introducing the final band. Just a few more moments and I could breathe easy.
“Eyes up.” I was wearing an earwig that connected me with the security team. “Stay alert. I want focus until Danger has left the stage.”
“Position one clear.”
“Position two clear.”
“Position three clear.”
“Position four? Position four are you clear? Position four?”
“Position four clear. Apologies waiting for an obstruction to move.”
“Keep sharp,” I said my eyes going back to Danger who had just introduced the band.
She walked across the stage towards me and I swear I have never seen a more beautiful sight in my life. In another twenty-four hours Willow and I would be sequestered away in Aries cabin in the woods, leaving the world behind.
“Come here Babe.” I smirked, crooking my finger at her. A stage light exploded, she reached out her hand to me and fell into my arms. At first, I thought she was playing, being dramatic but then I heard her gasp as she collided with my chest. “Danger? Babe?” The lights from the stage were flicking and strobing having it hard to see. Something was wrong, Danger was having trouble standing on her own. “Report, I want a fucking report!” I barked into the earwig receiver to my team.
“Position one clear.”
“Position two clear.”
“Position three clear.”
“Position four? Goddamn it, position four check in,” I snapped lifting Danger into my arms carrying her off the stage area. “Someone, find position fucking four and get me a goddamn report.”
“I’m fine Baby, I’m just a little woozy, it must be all the excitement,” she muttered her eyes rolling.
I carried her to the backstage marshalling area behind a few production trucks where the noise was less and the lighting better. I lay her down on a picnic table so I could look her over. I ran my hand over her torso and felt my hand get sticky, then the scent of copper reached my nostrils. She was wearing a black top, so I didn’t immediately notice the pooling blood. I grabbed the material in my hands and tore it from her body.
“Babe, you’re not fine you’ve been shot,” I said looking for the wound.
“W… What? What do you mean I was shot?”
“I need light, a fucking torch, something,” I snapped at Wolf who came running over.
“What the fuck happened?” He barked holding his phone up activating the torch app.
“She was shot,” I said digging the flattened bullet out of the chest plate of the vest.
“How?” Wolf asked looking at the misshapen hunk of metal. “We had security in place. The festival is crawling with them. How the fuck did this happen?”
“I don’t know Wolf, but I intend to find out once I find and stop the source of the bleeding,” I snapped.
“Base, position two.”
“Go ahead two,” I said undoing the Velcro straps on the side of the vest.
“Position four located. He’s been knocked unconscious. Hands and feet zip tied, tape over his eyes and mouth.”
“Fuck, is he ok?”
“A cracking headache but ok. I’m taking him to the medic tent to get checked over just in case.”
“Keep me updated.”
“What the fuck was that all about?” Wolf asked.
“Position four was knocked out, bound and gagged. I’m betting that’s where the shooter was,” I said flicking open my knife cutting the shoulder straps of the vest. Danger moaned as I lifted it off her chest. I grabbed the torn shreds of her top wiping the blood away from her ribs. Six cuts marred her skin, by the looks of them in this shitty light, they would need stitches. “Hold this, apply pressure,” I instructed Wolf taking his phone so I could inspect the vest.
“The bullet hit the vest why is she bleeding?”
I picked up the bullet stuck in the vest, shining the light on it.
“From what I can see, the bullet was a high velocity round. It impacted the vest. The vest did its job stopping the round, but the impact went straight through the Kevlar and shattered the plate behind it. Which makes me think this is an armour piercing round,” I said hitting dial on my phone. “Perni are you on duty?”
“Hey Leo, yeah I’m at work why?” She asked.
“Good, I’ll see you in a few. I’m in need of your x-ray and stitching skills.”
“See you soon.”
“Who was that?” Wolf asked.
“A friend. I’m going to take Danger to get seen too. I want you to find the security team leader and tell him to lock down position four. Do it discreetly no one seems to have noticed what happened. I want to be able to review the site myself.”
I lifted Danger placing her on the back seat of one of the club SUVs parked in the staging area.
“Leo you need to tell me what the hell is going on here,” Wolf demanded to know standing in front of the driver’s door.
“I’ll explain later but first I have to get Willow medical attention. Just do as I ask. Get this place emptied out and cleared as soon as the band has finished.”
Wolf nodded, stepped out of my way and I climbed in slamming the door, leaving him in a cloud of dust.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Leo
“Leo, we really have to find better ways to catch up,” Dr Copernicus Jones said holding the door open so I could carry Willow inside.
“Sorry Doll, I didn’t mean to ruin your evening.” I placed Willow on the examination bed stepping out of the way.
“You didn’t, Pollux is trying to talk Castor out of the bunker so he’s going to be awhile. Ok Willow huni let's check you out.”
Dr Copernicus Jones is the wife of Pollux Gemini another member of Zodiac. Knights Fury have a doctor they can call but I wasn’t going to trust Willow with just anyone.
“Leo, Baby, where are we?”
“It’s ok Babe, this is Dr Copernicus Jones. Perni is going to take real good care of you,” I soothed gently kissing her.
“Doc could have looked after me.”
“Doc can’t take x-rays of your ribs. Wolf and I are the only ones who know you were hurt. Everyone was too busy watching the band. Besides, if anyone did see, they would just think you fell into my arms like you were hugging me. I want to keep it that way for now.”
“Hi Willow,” Perni smiled. “Now this is going to suck out loud, but I need to sit you up to take off your cut unless you want me to cut it off.”
“No, I’ll sit up.” Willow gritted her teeth clutching my hand as I helped her up. There was no way she would allow anything to happen to her cut it belonged to her father it was one of the last things he made her promise. That she would wear her father’s cut that way he would always be with her.
“Leo.”
“Yeah Babe,” I said helping her out of her cut.
“Are we in a Vet’s office? And why am I only wearing a bra?”
“Yes, you are in a Vet’s office. Perni is the best there is.”
“But she’s an animal doctor, not a people doctor,” she groaned as she lay back down.
“I’m standing right here,” Perni grinned. “Actually, it takes longer to become a Vet than a doctor. We study a lot of the same topics as med students do so I’m more than qualified to look after you.”
“As for the bra, I had to rip your shirt to get it off so I could cut the bulletproof vest off to try to find where the blood was
coming from,” I explained.
“How attached are you to this bra?” Perni asked. “I need to remove it to take the x-rays and judging by the bruising on your ribs you’ll feel a lot better without it.”
“Cut it, I don’t care,” she groaned dropping a hand over her eyes.
Perni, placed a sterile surgical sheet over Willows chest and cut the shoulder and side straps of her bra, handing me the scissors so I could do the same. Perni pulling the tattered pink silk out from under the sheet dropping it on the workbench. She folded the sheet down looking at the bruise blooming at the top of Willows breast.
“You don’t have to worry about keeping me covered. They're just boobs, besides he’s seen them before,” Willow grumbled.
Perni flipped the sheet over exposing Willow’s left side. The fact that her full pert breast was on display was lost on me because my eyes were drawn to the ugly black and purple bruises and the blood staining her side. There was a round bruise radiating out. My guess, it was the impact point of the bullet. The other bruises seem to be caused by the plate shattering. Perni snapped on some surgical gloves applying a sterilising solution to the cuts, causing Willow to hiss in pain. I helped Perni roll Willow to her side to slide an x-ray plate behind her.
“So, are you going to tell me what happened?” Perni asked as we stood behind the protective wall while the x-rays were taken.
“She was shot. She was wearing a vest. The bullet pierced the Kevlar, shattering the protective plate. I suspect the bullet was an armour piercing round, but the shooter was too far away for it to do its job, but it did enough damage.”
“Well, she’s lucky,” Perni announced looking over the images. “There’s no broken bones, but she has severe bone bruising, same with the cartilage between the ribs.”
“Perni, can you do something for me?”
“Sure, Leo anything, you know that.”
“I want you to give her something to knock her out.”
“Explain to me why you are requesting I drug your girlfriend,” she said crossing her arms leaning back against the computer table.
“I need to go back to the site of the shooting. I need to make sure the festival is packed up and everything is squared away and then I need to go deal with the club. I can’t do that if I have to keep putting her stubborn ass back to bed. Please Perni, she’s hardly slept in weeks she’s running on fumes. I swear I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t think it was in her best interests.”
Her mind needed her body to shut down and get a decent night's rest. It’s the only thing I can think of to get her to see clearly and take these threats seriously.
“Fine, I’ll do it but if she wakes up pissed, that’s on you.”
I held Willow’s hand as her cuts were flushed and stitched. I kept kissing her knuckles telling her how brave she was, even though, thanks to painkillers and a general aesthetic, she couldn’t feel a thing. Perni stitched and bandaged Willow up, reminding her that breathing was going to hurt like hell, but she needed to keep taking deep breaths. I helped her into a scrub top as her clothing was destroyed.
“I’m just going to give you a shot of antibiotics. It’s a high dose to help you fight any infection, it may make you a little sleepy,” Perni warned, deliberately not looking me in the eye.
“Let’s get you home and into bed,” I said helping her into her seat, kissing her sleepy lips fastening her seatbelt.
“You take such good care of me,” she mumbled, her eyes falling closed. “I love you Leo.”
“I love you too Babe.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Leo
“How is she?” Wolf asked.
“She’s asleep,” I whispered gently closing the door to her room. I pulled out a set of keys locking the door.
“You have a key to her room?”
“I have a key to everyone’s rooms.” I said leaning against the wall beside her door. “How else could I fully investigate you all? Part of my investigation was getting into everyone’s lives; that includes their personal space. Don’t worry I won’t tell anyone about your Hello Kitty underwear.”
“I appreciate it,” Wolf said, disappointing me by not rising to the bait. “Now, tell me, where did you take her?” He asked leaning against the opposite wall.
“I took her to a friend, who was able to give her proper medical treatment. Don’t worry she’s discreet. She did x-rays. There are no breaks, just bruising. The Doc washed and stitched the wounds and gave her a shot of antibiotics.”
“Judging by how out of it she is, I’m guessing there was a little something extra in the shot.” I nodded. “Good, she needs to sleep. She’s running herself into the ground.”
“Wolf I need you to do something for me,” I said rubbing my neck.
“Ok.”
“I am sick of fucking around with this guy. If Willow wasn’t wearing a vest, you and I would be having a very different conversation. I have a plan. I need you to do something for me.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Willow should be knocked out for about twelve hours. I need to get back to the festival and review the site where I think the shot was taken. There may be something there that may lead to who is behind this.”
“Once the gates were closed the venders packed up quickly. The festival is all but packed up. Your security team is still there, and the rigging crew is packing up the stage, light towers and crap. They’re the same guys we use every year. They have everything pulled down within a few hours.”
“Were there any reports of anyone seeing anything? Or members of the public being hurt?” I asked, all the things I needed to do rolling through my head.
“No. Nothing. Anyone who saw anything thinks the light blew out, and Danger tripped on cabling at the edge of the stage and you caught her.”
At least that was one thing I didn’t have to worry about. The last thing we needed was someone seeing what really happened and kick starting the rumour mill initiating mass hysteria. Most of the time rumour and false information is more powerful than the truth.
“Call for a lockdown,” I said scrubbing a hand down my face. My mind was working overtime and my window of opportunity for finding untainted evidence was running out.
“Why?” Wolf asked, he was looking as worn out as I was.
“I want everyone in the one space. Tell them there has been a threat to the MC, I don’t care how you do, just get it done. I want to be able to watch everyone in the same space. The person responsible won’t be able to leave to meet up with any partners.”
“You think he’s working with someone?”
“There’s no way he could have done all this by himself.”
“Lamb, a lockdown normally leads to a party. The fucker will need to make a phone call and will need to find somewhere quiet. It’s going to be hard to keep an eye on everyone,” Wolf said catching on to what I was trying to achieve.
“It’s easier than you think.” I scrubbed at my beard, sighing. It was well after midnight, but my night was far from over. Danger’s room at the club is at the end of the hall, her office and the boardroom are the only other two rooms in this wing. “I want a man posted and the end of the corridor. I should be back before she wakes but I don’t want her disturbed do you understand?” I wanted Wolf to know I was not fucking around with this.
“You truly love her don’t you.” Wolf wasn’t asking a question he was making a statement.
“My life has involved knowingly putting myself in harm’s way. I run towards danger, not away from it. Because of my career choice I never thought I could have that life; wife, kids, the white picket fence. But then I got this assignment, and I met Willow, and everything changed, so to answer your question, yeah I love her.”
“End this Leo, I don’t care what you have to do or what you need me to do, just get it done.
“That’s the plan.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Danger
“I’m here,” he said walking out of the bathroom.
“Leo Baby, where are you?” I woke up, and I realised I was alone; I started to panic.
“Shhh, Babe, I’m right here.”
“Leo… Leo…”
I need to touch him to know he was real, to prove he was ok. I was having a nightmare; I’d dreamt it was Leo who was shot not me. Instead of needing a few stitches he’d been fatally wounded and was bleeding out on my arms.
“Hey, hey now, I’m right here. I’m right here Babe,” he soothed.
Sliding into bed Leo wrapped arms around me. He held me tighter than was necessary, almost crushingly until my panic died down and I finally shook off the haze. I blinked, clearing the sleep from my eyes, realising we were in my room at the compound and not in my home.
“Why aren’t we at home?”
“Because I had to go back to the festival, and I didn’t want you left alone,” he replied. “Besides, we’re on lockdown.”
“Why?” I asked, my head still felt foggy, and I had a bit of a headache.
“I had to go back to the festival to see if the shooter left any evidence behind,” Leo said kissing my cheek.
“Did he?”
“I found a few things. The same scuff marks from a sniper rifle stand and there was a small scrap of fabric. I thought it could have been left behind by one of the riggers. The rigging company is called Tactical Rigging, the crews’ uniform is all black tactical style clothing. It’s all black so the crew can be more or less invisible during a show, they aren’t allowed to have anything of colour on them. The team leader made all the riggers turn their pockets out, none of them had a red anything on them.”
“They could have gotten rid of it,” I said playing the devil’s advocate.
“I spoke to the TL he called a stop work, and they all turned out their pockets at the same time. It wasn’t a rigger.”
“Which brings us back to it being someone in the MC,” I sighed.