I’m greeted by chaos.
We’re in a large SUV that’s surrounded by men riding Harleys.
Twisting in my seat, I can identify Mad Dog near the passenger-side front window with his gun pointed at the red-headed guy Maddi kneed in the balls earlier, another man on a bike flanking him with a gun in his hand as well. Lucas is on the driver’s side, slightly in front of where I am sitting with his gun pointed at the driver. I discover that it is Connor seated next to me.
His weight crushes me against the door as he leans over and presses the button for the electric window. The window starts lowering quickly, Connor aiming his gun at Lucas’s back. His finger is on the trigger, ready to squeeze.
I don’t take the time to think about my actions.
All I know is that Lucas is in danger.
Without acknowledging the potential repercussions, I throw my whole weight against Connor and jab him as hard as I can in the trachea with my fingertips. I’m not quick enough to stop him pulling the trigger, the booming resonance of the shot filling the vehicle. Connor slumps back in the seat and grabs his throat. I pay him no mind, too concerned with whether Lucas has been shot.
Peering out of the window, I can’t see him.
I can still see Mad Dog and the other rider, but there’s no sign of Lucas.
We’re driving along a deserted, windy road, and all I can see at the moment are the green trees on the side of the road whipping past us as we careen down the backroad.
My heart’s pounding, and vomit tries to choke me as my worry takes over.
If Lucas was shot and crashed his bike, he’ll need help.
He could be hurt.
I need to help him.
Bang. Bang.
Bang. Bang.
More shots are fired, hurting my ears, and vibrating through my head.
The car spins, and I brace myself against the door and the back of the driver’s seat.
We’re going to crash.
I’m not sure how many times the car turns, but it feels as if it continues for an eternity.
I’m dizzy, disorientated, and stunned when we come to an abrupt halt when the car hits a tree. My head slams against the driver’s seat and then the window, pain blooming upon impact. I can’t see for a moment, my eyesight filling with floating black spots.
My door is wrenched open.
I still can’t see properly, but I know that it’s Lucas, the bulk of the form I can barely make out, and his familiar scent, confirming what I can’t with my vision. He grabs me around the waist, swinging me like a child out of the car, his long stride quickly putting distance between the mangled vehicle and us.
“Fucking hell, Doll. You okay?”
He has me cradled like a bride against his heaving chest. Ice-blue eyes pierce my soul as his worry for me emanates from him. I begin to nod my head, but pain bursts in my temple and vomit rises into my mouth.
Slapping his chest as I clamp my mouth shut with my other hand, he regards me with bewilderment before he catches on to what I need. Lucas lowers me to my feet and holds me by the waist as I heave bile all over the ground in front of us. My empty stomach is convulsing, cramping pain gripping me with each spasm. He gathers my hair around his wrist so it doesn’t fall into my face, and rubs my back.
“Shhh, Doll. It’s okay. It’s just shock,” he soothes me as I continue retching.
It’s not just shock, but he doesn’t need to know that.
The sound of struggling erupts in the background, drawing our attention as the air fills with angry male voices. So many men—all of them cursing in loud voices. As my stomach finally settles down, Lucas passes me a bottle of water. I swill it around my mouth, spitting it on the ground as we watch a van pull onto the side of the road near the wrecked SUV.
Lucas wraps his arms around me, pulling me hard against him as four men pile out of the back of the van and start wrestling the three men who were in the SUV with me into the back of it. They all look much worse for wear than I am from the crash. I can see at least one broken limb, and they all have blood running down their faces from various cuts and gashes.
Mad Dog strides toward the pair of us, his face tight as anger billows from him, gravel crunching under his heavy boots.
His expression scares me. I step back into Lucas’s chest.
“Where the fuck is Lainey?”
He stops half a step in front of us. The full force of his rage is directed at me, making me seek further refuge in Lucas’s chest. He’s an intimidating man at the best of times, but seeing him like this is terrifying.
“Fucking back off, Mad Dog.”
Mad Dog growls at Lucas, balling his hands into fists and bouncing them off his thighs as he glares at him. Lucas doesn’t even flinch.
“Well?” Mad Dog’s tone is slightly less threatening.
Remembering Maddi’s message, and her warning about only telling Lucas and Mad Dog, I glance around us. We’re far enough from everyone else to talk without being overheard if we’re quiet.
Shifting in Lucas’s arms, I gesture with my head at Mad Dog.
He leans down toward me.
“Maddi’s still at the house we were being held in.” His face drops, Lucas’s arms tightening around me.
“She’s all right,” I continue quickly when I see his temper begin to build again. “She talked them into letting me go so I could find you two and pass on a message.”
“What fucking message?” Mad Dog throws at me in a tight voice.
“You can’t tell anyone else. I think she only wants you two to know.”
“All right. Just us. Now fucking spill.”
I pause briefly. I need to get the words exactly right. Maddi was very specific.
“The Beast is trying to marry the Princess to the Wizard to unite the kingdoms.”
“Say that again,” Lucas demands.
Mad Dog reacts like I’ve slapped him. His mouth hangs open, his eyes squinting at me under eyebrows that are nearly touching as he regards me with disbelief.
“She said to tell you that the Beast is trying to marry the Princess to the Wizard to unite the kingdoms.”
“Fuck. Two-Ton Tony was right. He just didn’t know the whole story.”
Turning in Lucas’s arms when he stops speaking, I ask, “Who is Two-Ton Tony?”
He shakes his head at me. Oh, that’s right. The unbreakable, never-ending code of silence that surrounds the Black Shamrocks is still in effect.
I glare at him, but he ignores me, looking instead at Mad Dog, who still hasn’t moved.
“Mad Dog?”
Mad Dog comes back from wherever he disappeared to in his head to question me.
“Can you describe the house, JJ?”
“I can’t, but I can help you find it.” I nod to myself as I think about it. “I didn’t see much because I had a blindfold on, but it wasn’t long after we made a sharp turn like we were turning onto a new road or leaving a driveway that you surrounded us on the motorbikes.”
Mad Dog’s worried, hazel eyes flick up to Lucas’s. I feel Lucas nodding in response to the unspoken question his eyes are posing.
Looking around us at the tree-lined road and seeing that there aren’t any houses around, I start to feel more confident that I can help them. There can’t be many houses along this road, so if they can show me where they met us, I think I can work it out from there.
“Mad Dog. Timber. We’re ready to head out.”
A tall, skinny man dressed in a Shamrocks vest comes to a stop in front of our odd threesome.
“Thanks, Butch. Hang them in the bunker. Separately. And gag them. Don’t let anyone see them.”
Butch lights up a smoke, and offers the packet to Mad Dog. He takes one, lighting up and inhaling deeply. His eyes close, and he stays like it for a moment as smoke billows from his nose and lips.
“If Beast’s there, make sure he stays there. If he tries to split, don’t make a scene, but keep eyes on him. Same goes for Lenny.”
“Can’t say yet. Just keep your eyes open until we get back.”
Lucas pushes me toward Butch as he dishes out his orders.
“Take JJ back to the Compound with you. Put her in my room, and keep Kid on her. Call Doc and get him to check her over. She’s in shock. I think she hit her head when they crashed.” At his words, I touch the throbbing lump on my head. It’s bigger than I expected. Tender too. “We’re taking Smoke with us, so you’re our eyes and ears at the Compound.”
Butch lifts his chin in agreement, dropping his cigarette butt to the ground, and grinding it out with his boot. Holding a gnarled hand out to me, he gestures for me to come. I look at it, and then up at Lucas.
“Don’t you need me to help you find the house?”
“No, Doll. I need you safe. We have a fair idea where the house is. That’s what we were looking for when we found you.”
Relief fills me, speedily followed by a bolt of disgust. I’m happy that I don’t need to help them find the house, but I feel guilty for not being there for Maddi. As annoying and bossy as she is, she looked out for me today. I know, deep down, that the whole ordeal would have been a lot worse if it wasn’t for her.
“Okay. If you’re certain.” I offer a weak smile, stepping away from him.
“We’re good,” Mad Dog barks at me before he jerks his chin toward Butch, who grabs my hand and pulls me toward the van. I’m about to pull myself into the front passenger seat when I’m lifted off of the ground and spun around by Lucas. Dizziness tries to grip me, but I push it aside as I wrap my legs and arms around his bulky frame. Bringing our mouths together, he bestows a quick kiss on me.
“Don’t run. We need to talk. Wait for me to get back. Please?” His rough voice is pleading. His eyes meet mine—their depths haunted and appealing.
I shouldn’t wait for him. I don’t owe him anything, considering the situation I was just in—the situation I am in if I think about what’s more than likely residing in my uterus.
I should be running away from the lot of them, screaming for the authorities.
“I’ll wait,” I breathe against his lips. I instantly regret my acquiescence, common sense telling me it’s the wrong choice, but I’m unable to resist Lucas’s pained face.
“Good. We can sort this out, Doll. Promise.”
Placing me on the seat, he tosses the bottle of water he was holding gently onto my lap. Slamming the door shut, he slaps the hood as he jogs past on his way back to his bike where Mad Dog and another Shamrock wait.
TIMBER
Present Day
JJ’s bleak eyes are all I can see as I follow Mad Dog down the deserted road.
She’s fucking rattled, and I’m not looking forward to the confrontation that’s bound to happen when I get back to the Compound. If she’s there for it, that is.
An outcome I haven’t much faith in.
Mad Dog slows down. Signalling Smoke and I to follow suit as we pass the spot where we intercepted the SUV with JJ in it. It was pure luck that Mad Dog spotted Connor in the back seat when we passed by earlier.
Let’s hope our luck holds out and the house just up the road is the one we’re looking for.
Coming to a stop on the side of the road behind the other two, I cut my engine and kick down my stand. I roll my shoulders and neck, and flex my fingers, as I walk with Smoke toward Mad Dog, loosening my muscles. Tension’s engulfing me, fucking with my equilibrium. It’s getting worse the closer we get to Maddi.
“What’s the plan?”
Mad Dog shifts his eyes to me, the blackness that’s been present since he killed Two-Ton Tony more prevalent than it was before. He’s on edge, and I pity any fucker who gets in between him and Maddi when we get to the Mavericks’ safe house.
“We walk from here. Don’t want anyone to hear the bikes.”
Smoke grunts at the mention of walking. He’s not a fan of anything physical unless it’s fighting or fucking. It’s not the moment for it, but I can’t contain the chuckle that rolls from me at the disgust on his face.
“Then we secure the perimeter of the house. The cunts in the car said that there’s two Mavericks left behind.” He shrugs like he doesn’t give a shit if there are twenty fuckers waiting for us. He’s probably betting on them being full of shit anyway. For the first time, I’m heading into a situation blind. I don’t have a clue what was said back at the car wreck or if they were telling the truth. I was too busy making sure JJ was okay.
“Sounds good to me.” Smoke grins, bouncing around on his toes, shadow boxing. Fucker looks amped for the fight he’s picturing ahead of us. “Let’s get this done.”
Jumping the wire fence that surrounds the fields leading up to the house, we keep to the trees lining them, and approach together. Once we’re in the main house block, Mad Dog motions for Smoke to head around the back and for me to follow behind him.
Grabbing him by the shoulder, I jerk my head behind me.
“Stand down. I’m going first.”
He’s ready to argue when we’re interrupted by an urgent scream from inside the house.
“Fuck! That’s Lainey,” Mad Dog yells at me as he breaks into a sprint, pulling his gun from the back of his jeans as he goes.
He closes the distance to the house, and without breaking stride, turning his shoulder to the front door. The door splinters around the latch from his impact and flies open, hitting a wall and bouncing back. He kicks it out of his way and charges through.
I regain my wits, running after him as more screams fill the air.
Following Mad Dog, we run down the hallway and into the depths of the house. It smells of piss, stale beer, and cigarettes. Garbage litters the floor and every other flat surface we pass. The house is a huge, old colonial that’d be worth a mint if it’d been looked after.
Typical fucking Maverick pigs.
Smoke meets us at the center of the house, his eyes wild, and his gun drawn as he tries to decipher where the screaming’s coming from. It’s a fucking maze with closed doors, and hallways branching off in all directions. The sound of Maddi cursing up a storm erupts, helping us finally get a lock on her location.
“Get the fuck off me,” she yells.
She sounds scared and breathless. Mad Dog takes off in her direction, kicking open another closed door as we progress toward her.
We hear slapping before she shrieks again.
Mad Dog bursts through the door in front of us, his handgun pointed at the fucker who has Maddi pinned on the bed. He’s trying to wrestle her shorts off her, her top already ripped down the middle, and exposing her breasts to everyone in the room. A second asshole has his arms wrapped around her waist, as he lies under her on the bed, attempting to subdue her so the other cunt can undress her.
Maddi’s fighting with all she has, blood running faster down her chin when she cops another blow to the face after she kicks out at the fucker trying to pull her shorts off.
“Get your filthy fucking hands off my woman,” Mad Dog states with lethal intent.
The room falls silent as the cockhead with his back to us stiffens, registering our intrusion, before raising his hands in the air on either side of his head. The prick lying half undressed under her turns his head to us, the blood draining from his face as recognition dawns.
He lets go of her waist, but doesn’t make a further move.
“Now step the fuck away from her.”
When Mad Dog speaks, the goateed asshole shoots a wary glance over his shoulder, and shuffles toward Smoke after Mad Dog’s arrogant jerk of his gun in that direction. He turns to face us as he moves, his pants falling past his ass, giving us all an eyeful of his erect cock.
Fuck, I could have lived without seeing that.
Averting my eyes quickly to his face, I�
�m stunned when I recognize him.
I hear Mad Dog growl when he sees the asshole’s dick. Fucking hell, with his and Maddi’s history, it’s the last thing he needs to see.
Rushing forward, I move to grab him when he throws his gun on the floor and pulls his hunting knife from the sheath on his belt.
I’m too slow.
He lunges for the dumb fucker, who just stands there with his hands still in the air.
“Mad Dog. NO!” I bellow.
Grasping the guy’s cock, he brings the knife down and severs it with one slash. His target squeals like a stuck pig, dropping to his knees. Not stopping at cutting off the guy’s cock, Mad Dog catches him with one arm as he falls, plunging his knife into his gut, and wrenching it upwards.
Reaching him, I wrap my arms around his waist. Summoning all of my strength to lift my enraged best friend, I throw him on his back on the solid wooden floor, away from the asshole he’s just gutted. The fucker he stabbed hits the deck, gurgling as he clutches his stomach.
It’s apparent he’s not long for this world, the death rattle that erupts from his chest moments later justifying my assessment.
“Fucking stay down. It’s Wizard,” I tell Mad Dog as he tries to struggle to his feet. Smoke jumps on him, pinning him to the ground for me. “You’ve just gutted the motherfucking President of the Mavericks of Mayhem, you stupid son of a bitch.”
Dropping my hands to my knees when Mad Dog stops fighting, I rest for a moment. I’m panting, fighting to catch my breath. Mad Dog’s a fucking handful when he snaps like this.
My brief rest is disrupted by a new commotion.
Maddi shrieks when she’s grabbed by her hair, and pulled off the bed by the other Maverick—the one I’d forgotten about until now. The fucker points his gun at her head, shoving her in front of him. Fuck. I’m dropping the ball all over the place this afternoon.
I immediately recognize him as Wizard’s nephew and heir apparent.
Just what we fucking need. This has potential to turn further to shit if I don’t shut it down.
“Come on, Cam. Just let her go.” I pick up my gun from the floor at my feet, thankful it landed so close to me after I dropped it when I was wrestling with Mad Dog.
Making Choices (Black Shamrocks MC Book 2) Page 13