by Vera Quinn
“I’m going in. We can’t just keep sitting here with our thumbs up our asses talking while my woman is in there. We’ve waited long enough.” I look at Devil for support but he is shaking his head.
“We need to watch some more to make sure we are not walking into a trap ,” Devil says, and I know that is the logical thing to do but I know Joy needs me. I feel it. Somehow that woman has gotten to a part of me I didn’t even know existed and I am not letting her slip through my fingers. I don’t care if that makes me sound like a pussy.
“No. I am not waiting and you can either go with me or stay the fuck out of my way. Your ol’ lady is sitting at home with your children safe and if this wasn’t for the shit you and Callie have pulled over the last few years then it wouldn’t be happening so deal with it.” I know I am stepping over a line but right now I am running on instinct. That’s the reason I did not see what happened next coming. Devil rounds on me with his fist a flying and knocks me on my ass. I jump back to my feet but Devil grabs me by the front of my shirt and pulls me to him. I am inches away from his face.
“Listen motherfucker I am your President and you will not disrespect me or I will end your shit right here.” Devil pushes me back and I catch myself before I fall. “Don’t you see, this is what the asshole who is orchestrating this wants for us to turn on each other and don’t you ever disrespect my ol’ lady again. I am the reason this is happening.” Devil turns away from me. I immediately regret my words. I know this is not Callie’s fault no more than it is Devil’s.
“You both need to take a step back and get a hold of yourselves. Neither one of you are any good to anyone as tightly strung as you are,” Bourbon tells us. “Old man, don’t tell me how to run my club or you can leave,” Devil tells Bourbon. Bourbon laughs. We all look at him. “I got your old man , boy,” Bourbon says, glaring at Devil. “This isn’t helping matters. We have a woman across the street who needs our help. We can sort the rest of this out later. Let’s go get Hacksaw’s woman.” Devil looks at me.
“I get that you are pissed about Joy and I understand it. We have been doing everything that we can to get her back safely. We have been friends since school and brothers since we prospected together but you ever disrespect me again I will have your patch. Everything I did about Bri was voted on by the Feral Steel MC. There were a few things that I kept to myself but they wouldn’t have changed anything. Callie was an innocent in all the shit that went down. You of all people should know that. You also should know that I did not nor did any Feral Steel MC member order a hit on Bri or Kizzy. Sarge did that himself and we don’t even know for sure that this has anything to do with any of that matter. Subject is closed until we have concrete proof. Are we clear on that Hacksaw or anyone else who has something to say about it?” Devil is seething mad and I get it but it doesn’t matter. Joy still needs our help and we are still not doing anything.
“I’m still going in to get my woman,” I tell Devil. Devil looks at me and then to Tito.
“How many gas masks do you have and how many cannisters of tear gas?” Devil asks Tito.
“Ten gas masks and three cannisters of tear gas.” Tito has the gas masks at his feet and is holding the tear gas cannisters in his hands.
“Are there any windows or doors that aren’t boarded up besides the front?” Devil asks.
“None. Everything is boarded up,” Bowie answers. “Text Crockett to make sure their vehicles are inoperable. Oz, you and Bo stay with our bikes and be ready for anything coming your way. Oz get a cage here in case we need it for Joy.” Devil looks at Bowie to send the text and then looks at Oz and Bo to get their directions. “Bowie tell Crockett to position himself to be our backup when we go in. Everyone remember that tear gas is flammable and a fire may start so be ready to get in and get out. Our main objective is to get Joy out. We need to get information from anyone that is in there so if you can, take them alive.” Devil looks straight at me and Tito. “I know that you two want retribution. We all do but we can’t put a stop to it all if we cannot find who is responsible and stop them.”
“I want blood. They didn’t give Sarah a chance to live. I need this,” Tito speaks up. “Tito if you cannot do this we understand but we need answers. You will get your chance,” Devil tells Tito. Tito nods his head yes. “We are going to hit that front door hard. Hacksaw, Tito, Bourbon and I will go in first. Rye, you position yourself with Bowie and Crockett to be the second wave in. Everyone else stays outside. I want the rest back a little. Bowie and Rye have five minutes to get to Crockett and then we are hitting that door.” Tito hands them their gas masks. Bowie and Rye take off. “Hacksaw you and I are hitting the door. Tito, you throw in the gas. Make sure it’s not all in one spot. Bourbon you are Tito’s cover and we will be right behind you. Hacksaw you roll right and I’ll go left. Anyone moving try to put down but not kill. Whoever finds Joy get her out of there. If the PD shows up and we are jailed then keep your mouths shut and ask for a lawyer. Callie has bail money so she is your one phone call. She’ll call the suits.” Devil is looking at his watch. “Let’s do this.” Tito hands everyone their gas masks. We make our way over to the building watching as we go. When we get to the front door, I try to twist the door knob and it doesn’t turn. We put on our gas masks and Bourbon has his gun out. Devil gives me a head shake and he and I hit the door with a run and give it everything we have and the door busts open under our weight with a loud crack. I go right and take out my gun and I hear shots ring out. Tito is through and he throws a canister of tear gas to the back of the room and it goes off. I see Devil went left and he is firing his gun. I see a man running at me and I shoot him in the leg but he is still coming so I shoot again. I don’t know where I hit him but he goes down. I hear a scream on the other side of the room but I don’t take time to look. I see another man jump from behind Devil and I shoot at him and he goes down. Just as soon as the shooting began it is over. I look around but it is hard to see with the gas and these damn gas masks aren’t the easiest thing to see through. I walk back through the room. I don’t see anything anywhere. I hear a crash and I see Devil is kicking the plywood off a window. I see Bourbon and he is motioning he is going upstairs and I watch him. Devil finally gets some more light in the room and I hear one man making a noise like he is choking and I know that is the reaction to the gas. I look around the room and there were only four men down and none of them are ours. I hear a crash and look over to the stairs and Bourbon is backing away. Devil is pointing towards the front door and we all walk outside. We take our gas masks off.
“No one could go up those stairs. They’re rotte n. There is a door that goes under the stairs. I put some old papers under it. I didn’t want to jerk it open in case Joy is in there and she would get the tear gas in her eyes. That shit burns,” Bourbon says. I want to run back in there but we can give it a minute to clear. To hell with it. I’ll give her my gas mask. I turn to go back in but Tito is carrying her out. I can tell by the way he is carrying her that something is wrong with her and then I see the blood. I run to Tito and take her. I hear the cage pull up behind me and I turn, and Devil has the back door open. I hand Joy to him and get in and then he puts her in my lap.
“Tell the hospital the truth about how she got hurt. We’ll clean this up before the PD arrives.” Then Devil shuts the door. I see Bo is driving and I know this is going to be the longest ride of my life. I put my lips to the side of Joy’s head and kiss her and then I whisper in her ear. “Sugar, hang on. We are going to get you help and then I am going to love the shit out of you for the rest of your life. Do you hear me sugar? I don’t know when or how it happened sugar but I love you. Hang on for me.” I pull her to me and I know this is my woman. That scares the hell out of me but not having her in my life is not an option.
I wake up and just from the smell I know I am in the hospital. When I open my eyes, I see I am right. It is bright in the room I am in which makes it hard to keep my eyes open. My head is pounding and my body feels weak. The c
enter of my back hurts and I am having cramp-like feelings in my stomach and then the memories hit me. We were trying to get away from someone shooting at us and I was in the floorboard of Joy’s truck. My hand goes to my stomach and I am scared. Is my baby alright? I start feeling around on the bed for a nurse call button when the door opens and a nurse walks in. I am wondering where Rome is but that is not what comes out of my mouth. “Is my baby alright? My stomach has small twinges in it.” It’s not bad like my period cramps but still it is there.
“I will get your doctor Ms. Blount in just a few minutes so he can answer your questions. How are you feeling? Any back pain or a headache?” The nurse asks me, but she won’t look me in the eye.
“I feel like I have been hit by a truck. My back i s hurting and my head. Can I have something to drink? My mouth is dry and my throat is sore. Where is Rome?” I answer her questions and then give her questions of my own.
“I’ll get you some water as soon as the doctor sees you. You came in the emergency room with a few people but they must be down the hall or on the second floor. After the doctor comes in I will see if I can find out for you. I’ll be right back.” The nurse goes back out the door she came in. My head is still foggy but I run my hand down to my stomach again and I know my baby is gone. I feel empty. I feel the tears start to fall. No, it can’t be true. This is a nightmare. I’ll wake up in a minute and Rome will pull me in his arms and hug me to him and kiss all my fears away. Please, please let this be a horrible, horrible nightmare. IT CAN’T BE TRUE! I try to sit up but I feel dizzy. I can’t breathe. I am gulping for air…
“Mr. Steel, can you open your eyes for me?” I hear the voice but it seems far away. “Mr. Steel can you hear my voice?” I will my eyes to open. “Do you understand me, Mr. Steel?” My throat is dry and I try to swallow. It burns but I do it again, which is hard since my mouth is dry.
“Yes,” I croak out. “Good, good Mr. Steel ,” the man says. “Can you tell me your name?” I think about it and I start to say Rome but I know I am in a hospital so I know they mean my birth name. I’ve been through this drill many times.
“Kane Steel ,” I say. At least this time I can understand my own self. “Very good Mr. Steel. Can you tell me what year this is?” the man asks. “2017,” I answer.
“Very good. Mr. Steel, I am Dr. Walker and I am the surgeon that removed a bullet from you. The good news is you are going to recover and the bullet did not hit anything major and the damage was minimal. You did lose a bit of blood and you have a concussion from the bump to your head and your ribs are bruised from airbag impact. You are a very lucky man.” I listen to the doctor go on. Then I remember Tara. Oh shit, she was in the floorboard and Joy, she hit her head hard when that other vehicle hit us in the side.
“How is my woman, Tara? She was in the truck with me and Joy, the other woman.” Dr. Walker’s face changes. I see the look of pity in his eyes. I don’t know why he would look that way but I am taking the time to ask. I try to raise up but I feel a bit nauseous but that is not stopping me. I try to sit myself up. I am finding my woman.
“Mr. Steel, you need to lie back down before you bust open your staples.” The doctor hits the call button and he tries to push me gently back down but it is not working. I need to find my woman and make sure she and our child are alright. No one is going to keep me from getting to them. I push the doctor back and then I hear the nurse from the call intercom.
“Can I help you?” The nurse’s voice comes through. “Can y ou get Dr. Wray in here to talk to Mr. Steel about Ms. Blount.” I relax a little but I still am not happy with this situation. Tara needs me or she would be here. “Mr. Steel if you would just relax for a few minutes. Dr. Wray has been waiting to talk to you and Ms. Blount.”
“Is Tara hurt? Is she in the hospital?” I ask. I need some damn answers. “Mr. Steel, I was not Ms. Blount’s attending so I do not know if or what her injuries are, but I do know she was admitted to the hospital and I am only telling you this because just like she is your emergency contact, Dr. Wray said you are Ms. Blount’s. There are certain rules and confidentiality procedures in a hospital.” I am done listening to this man. I start to get out of the bed and Tara’s doctor, Dr. Wray, walks in. Dr. Walker walks out the door as Dr. Wray approaches my bed.
“It’s good to see you awake Rome ,” Dr. Wray tells me.
“Where’s Tara and, how is she?” I cut to the chase. I don’t have time to waste.
“Tara is right up the hall.” Since there are only two floors to this hospital that makes sense.
“How are she and the baby?” Dr. Wray looks me in the eye. “Tara is going to be fine but she miscarried. I’m sorry Rome. I know how much you both wanted the child.” I know what the doctor said but it can’t be. We were going to hear the baby’s heartbeat today. We were only ten minutes away from the doctor’s office. “Tara is in a bad way Rome. I had to sedate her. She is going to need you to be strong for her. You are both young and you still have plenty of time to have children.” How can a doctor spew this shit?
“I want this child! This cannot be happening. Where is Tara? I need to see my woman.” I see Dr. Walker walk back in and walk to the side of my bed. He is doing something with my IV. I start to get up.
“Mr. Steel you are not going to do anyone any good if you rip those staples out,” Dr. Walker says. “Dr. Walker is right, Rome. Tara needs your strength. She’s resting now but when she wakes up she is going to need you so you need to get better so you can be there for her.” Dr. Wray tries to convince me. I am not waiting. I am going to get to my woman. I try to pull myself up by the handle on the side of the bed but my head feels dizzy and my head is groggy. I try again and it is no use. Dr. Walker walks to the other side of the bed and puts my legs back straight in the bed.
“The sedative I gave you will let you rest a few more hours , Mr. Steel. Don’t fight it.” I can’t fight it. What kind of man lets his woman get hurt and lets his child die? I can’t think anymore. I just lie back and let the dark take me under.
The van picked up the only man that was left living when everything settled. He was wearing a cut from the Possessed Blood Souls. The name on his cut was Diz but he doesn’t hold an officers position. There were four other bodies but only two were wearing cuts. Bowie and Thrasher took Diz back to the clubhouse. Rye and Bourbon left to go to the hospital to check on everyone there. The PD that showed up was on our payroll but he alerted us to the fact that no calls went out during all the gunfire. It’s not like this is a busy part of our small town but there should have been a call from some busybody. Gunshots in town, no they should have gotten a call. That tells me that someone or more than one in the sheriff’s office is either being paid off or in on what is going on. Either way it works to our advantage this once. Tito has blocked all the street cameras. It was easy since we had access because we are the ones that helped having them installed. Our deal with Hempcan got street cameras for all the main streets in our small town. I know we are going to torch this place and we need to do it fast, but I have been looking for anything that could help find out if anyone else has been here. This place is disgustingly filthy and I can’t see anyone setting up shop in here for any amount of time. The guys that were here were stupid and careless. Who brings someone they kidnap to a place inside the city limits and only has one way out and why did they not do anything more to Joy the way they did to Sarah and Becky? None of this is making much sense. I have texted Trigger more than once to make sure the house is secured, and I have been in touch with Tex at the clubhouse and nothing. I texted Chief earlier and made sure he was updated but this is leaving me with more questions than answers. I know there are no questions I am going to get answered here. “Torch it!” I yell at Ridge and Edge. I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket and take it out and look at it. It’s text from ZMan.
ZMan: BlackPath clubhouse hit. We were ready. Tazer and Driller took lead and at hospital. Sending details to Oz. I think about it and know we were probably just
a distraction and they hit the BlackPath MC clubhouse with more force. It’s time to get back to the clubhouse and get some damn answers.
I’m lying here in Callie’s den and trying to fall asleep. It’s not easy when so many things have been running through my mind. I bend down and kiss the top of Betsy’s head. This little girl is the thing that has kept me from going crazy for close to two years. I rub my chin on top of her little head and run my fingers through her soft baby hair. She’s my little B. She’s everything good in my world. I don’t understand the danger that we are in or how we got here. My life has never been dangerous. The biggest danger that I ever encountered before I met my older sister Callie is I forgot to watch where I was walking and walked into a horse shit pile one of horses left in our yard on the ranch. Yes, I have lived a sheltered ranch life in the small Lake Cypress community. Where everyone has known everyone their whole lives. I’m not an adventurous person like my twin sister Micah. Where she likes the rodeo circuit and riding barrels and then hitting the bars afterwards. I am more the stay at home type and snuggle up in a chair and get lost in a hot romance e-book on my kindle. Where Micah has had many real boyfriends, I prefer the book boyfriend. They never lie to me or let me down. That I can deal with. I should get up and go in the kitchen so I don’t wake my daughter but I can’t bring myself to let her go. Ever since Chief’s man picked us up on the front steps of our home it has been crazy. I am so worried about Micah. When I arrived here Callie didn’t even know everything that has been happening. I hate to be a fly on the bedroom wall when Devil gets home. My sister, Callie, doesn’t get pissed very often like Micah but when she does Callie is a force to be reckoned with and she does not like being kept out of the loop of her family. Any of her family. I envy Callie and Micah’s way of letting their feelings be known. The way they just let it out is something I could never do. I don’t want to upset anyone or make them mad. I have my moments when I can be hard to handle but it is when my family is threatened. My aunt said I need to learn to take up for myself and voice my likes and dislikes the same way I do when it comes to my family but I have never been able to do that.