by K. J. Dahlen
“Why?”
My eyes rounded. “Why? Because I am here in the MC compound. I’m trapped here, in fact! I’m engaged to the President. My best friend is now married to the VC of this club! I have paid my own dues here. I have a right to know what shitstorm is coming next.” I looked into his eyes. “Because there is always one coming!”
He sighed and dropped his arms.
“Tell me I’m wrong?” I asked with my hands on my hips.
“I won’t. But you cannot just parade around like this badass biker chick!”
I crossed my arms over my chest now. “And why not?” I held my stance. “I have kills under my belt. I have used guns. I have fought men…”
Jaxson let out another sigh. “I never wanted that—”
I threw up my arms. “Well, it’s a bit late for that. This time, I will be ready when some fiend comes after me or you!”
He looked stunned. “I am the one who will protect…” He seemed to deflate, as his shoulders dropped.
Shit! Now he feels bad. “Jaxson?”
He raised his gaze to me. There was so much pain there.
“I’m sorry. I am. But this is what… who I am now.”
He turned away.
Dammit, he was so infuriating. How could we have this out if he refused to see? See me as I am now? See that I have a point about knowing what is coming.
Jaxson then seemed to ignore me as he walked around the room checking the dresser, then checking the walls. He bent down at the nightstand and looked under it.
What the fuck is he doing?
He raised his gaze to me…then raised his fingers to his lips.
I paused. What the fuck?
Curling his finger, he motioned for me to come over.
I did.
He pointed down
I knelt and looked to where he pointed. My brows furrowed. What is that?
Grabbing my arm, Jaxson shook his head pressing his fingers to my lips.
I bit at my lip. Was that what I thought? Someone was actually listening to us? Fuck! I stood up. “I’m going to take a shower if you refuse to talk to me!” I marched over to the bathroom then stopped to look at him.
He stood and came over, grabbing my elbow he steered me in. He then shut the door and his eyes scanned the bathroom.
Oh, fuck no! A bug in here? Oh, my god! This pissed me off to no end!
Kneeling down, he looked under the sink. Then he crawled over to the toilet and looked behind it.
This was too much. We had all this shit happening and someone was tapping us?
He then stood, put his knee on the counter, and raised himself up onto the sink.
I watched while clenching my fists. If there was a bug in here, I was sooo going to lose it!
Next, he checked behind the light. He peered down at me and shook his head.
I let out a relieved breath and looked around. Then I peered up to the fan in the ceiling. I caught a light there. A little red one, blinking. I immediately looked away. I grabbed Jaxson up and hugged him to me. “I’m sorry Jax. Please just hold me?”
He looked confused.
I whispered in his ear, “Camera in fan.”
His body went rigid in my embrace. He pulled away from me and his face looked almost red with rage. He led me out and we went out into the hall. Shutting the door, Jax turned and punched a hole in the wall.
I jumped as I stared at the plaster falling onto the floor.
He grabbed my hand ignoring the fact that his knuckles were bleeding.
“Jax!” I tried to get a look at his hand.
Without a word, Jaxson dragged me down the hall. He made a turn and marched down the next hall.
I nearly tripped because he was stalking so fast… I couldn’t keep up.
He stopped and righted me.
I studied his face and I don’t think I had ever seen him this angry.
He turned again and marched to Thunder’s door. He pounded on it.
We could hear their voices and Thunder cursing.
Jaxson pounded again on the wood.
The door swung open to a shirtless Thunder who looked like his name… Thunderous. “What the fuck?” he shouted.
I peeked in and saw Bella putting her bra back on. My cheeks flushed as I grinned. “Having fun Thunder?” I asked.
He glared at me. “I was until you two…” He was looking at Jaxson’s face as his words fell short.
Jaxson glared. “Hey bro. I thought we should all take a ride?” His tone was light as it belied his stern expression.
Thunder titled his head and mouthed, “What the fuck?”
“A ride?” Bella came up to the door. “I would love to get the fuck out of this building!”
Thunder rolled his eyes and looked back at her. “Ok. Let me get my…jacket.” He turned and went around Bella.
She stared after him then looked at me.
I raised my fingers to my lips.
Cinching her perfect brows together, she went over and put her boots on. Tying her hair back into a ponytail.
Bella was a soldier. I already knew this. I’d spent time with her and she was quick. She got it that something was up here.
They both came out into the hall.
Thunder locked the door.
I rolled my eyes. As if that was going to help at this stage when someone was probably bugging them and had a camera on them too!
We all four went down the hall.
When we got to the main room, we saw a few of the men.
Reaper, Miggs and Tacks.
I looked around for the one man here that I did not like. Spider. He wasn’t here. Good.
“Hey guys, we’re going to go out to get some air,” Jaxson called to them
Miggs looked concerned. “Bruno said no one goes out.”
Jaxson glared at the huge biker. “We are safe for now. We will be right in the parking lot. “
“Or maybe out back,” Thunder added.
Reaper and Tacks looked worried.
“We will come and flank you.” Reaper got up and motioned to the guys.
Jaxson took out his gun.
Thunder took his out too.
I looked over at Bella and took mine out.
Bella rolled her eyes and pulled a .357 Desert Eagle magnum out from her back waistband.
I snickered at this. It was one of the guns I sneaked to her before.
The three men halted.
“Where the fuck did that come from?” Thunder stared at her.
Jaxson also stared at the huge weapon and rolled his eyes. “We got this,” he stated to the 3 bikers in a hard voice.
“But Prez, we have orders,” the largest biker protested.
Jaxson glared at Miggs. “And I am your President. I am giving you these orders. We got this,” he growled.
The men looked stunned and nervous. They were torn now. They knew Bruno would kill them himself if they allowed Jax to get hurt or Bruno’s VC and niece.
Reaper shook his head. “No. We don’t wanna die man! We will stay a few feet back, K?” He looked like he was pleading, begging.
Jaxson pushed his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Ok, but stay back. We do not want ears on us. This is to be private, you hear me?” He stared at each of them.
The men all looked relieved as they nodded, like they had just missed a bullet to the head. In fact, they may have in reality, considering what Bruno would do to them for failing.
Miggs rushed to the door faster than anyone could probably believe due to his size. He opened it and raised his hand to the group. He gazed around then nodded and went out.
We, as a group, moved outside.
Miggs got ahead of us with his hand in his vest. Gazing back and forth.
Reaper and Tacks were behind us.
We all moved around back to where the biker’s bay was, where they worked on the bikes.
Jaxson walked with me by his side as he motioned for Bella and thunder to follow.
&nbs
p; The other bikers stayed a few feet away.
“What the fuck is happening?” Thunder asked. “I mean man. I was just …” He glanced at Bella.
Glancing over at her, I noted that her face was a bright pink. I gasped. I’d never seen her blush. Oh, my god! I giggled. Thunder and her were really going at it when we arrived.
Thunder stopped and glared at me.
I bit at my lip and grinned at him then looked around.
Jaxson went into the main bay and got on a bike as we watched. He started the bike up. Then got down and came back over to us. The bike was loud as he strode back over. “The shit we found in the meeting room…” He looked pissed. “…it extends to our rooms.”
Thunder looked stunned. “I-in our…” His eyes widened.
“What?” Bella asked as she gazed at all of us.
I sighed and pulled her aside whispering, “Our rooms are bugged, and we found a camera too.”
Her eyes widened.
Thunder yelled, “Fuck!”
“Shhh…” Jaxson looked just as mad as he was.
“So what do we do?’ I asked as I looked around.
As promised, Reaper and Tacks were like four feet away, looking all around. Miggs stood ahead of us a few feet.
“We gotta talk to Bruno,” Jax replied.
Bella and I both rolled our eyes.
“What. In. The. Fuck!”
We whirled around at this booming yell.
Speak of the fucking devil…Bruno stood there with his shadow, Marco.
Jaxson glared at him.
“Why are you all moving fucking targets out here in the god damn open?” he shouted.
Jaxson went over to him and leaned close.
We all couldn’t hear what he said, but we didn’t have to.
Bruno remained expressionless as he nodded. He never showed a thing on his features. It was like Jaxson just talked about the damn weather, for all the emotion he showed.
Did he know already? I wondered. Oh, my god. Is it him watching us? I felt my body tremble all over. Watching, while Jax tied me up and… I shook my head I couldn’t even finish the abhorrent thought. I thought I might throw up right here where I stood.
Jaxson glanced over at me as he took in my stance and rage. He shook his head at me in warning.
I wanted to take my gun out and shoot out Bruno’s huge kneecaps. I looked over at Bella. Her face looked the same as mine. Rage. Her green eyes sparkled like emeralds in the sunlight. Yes, she had the very same thought.
Thunder took her hand.
She peered up at him.
He shook his head slowly.
Her body seemed to relax as she let out a breath and nodded at him.
Oh, wow. Thunder really had some kind of effect on her. She just quieted down like nothing had ever happened.
Well, I wasn’t the same. I was so damn tired of all this. My life, not my own, controlled by this mobster whom Jaxson idolized. Never having any say in what I could do or couldn’t do.
Bruno held a quiet but secret conversation with Jaxson under the noise of the bike.
Our three body guards were on high alert.
Then I heard a strange noise. A ping? I looked around and saw Tacks lying on the ground in a pool of blood. I opened my mouth to scream as my body was tackled and I went down to the cement.
Pings clinked all around us. There was so many and they were so loud you could still hear them over the bike engine running in the machine bay.
All hell broke loose as there was shouting from all over and guns were blazing. Fuck, it was like a war zone now.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Bella
A hail of bullets hit bikes, the cement, and the wall in front of us. Shouts rang out as Thunder threw me to the ground and covered me with his body. I couldn’t see anything or anyone.
Chloe screamed.
Oh, god! Did she get hit? This is my fault and if she…
“Fuck!” Thunder growled from above me.
Did he get hit?
He grabbed me and crawled along as he pulled me into the bay.
“Wait!” Bruno yelled as I heard his large boots stomping by. “No Jax!” he yelled.
Thunder sat up and slung me to the inside metal wall.
I fought him. I had to see what was happening. Where is Chloe? My heart pounded so hard in my chest.
The pinging stopped as a hail of gunfire sounded.
What the hell was happening? I tried to peek out and Thunder held me back. I looked over at him. He had blood on his tee-shirt. Gasping, I turned to him. I felt around on his shoulder and my hand came back bloody. “No…”
He grabbed my hand. “It’s just a nick.” He clutched my head and pulled me to his chest. “You stay here.”
I was breathing heavy while feeling more scared than I had in all my life.
“Dammit Jax!” Chloe shouted.
Raising my head I saw Jaxson carrying Chloe in.
She was yelling at him, “You can’t just leave that man out there!”
I looked over and saw Bruno with a semi-automatic firing away as he must have been laying cover fire for Jaxson.
“Miggs got hit in the leg but he kept firing. I think he ran the shooter off,” Bruno came into the bay.
Miggs came in limping and Reaper came in holding his shoulder.
The bay doors came down as Marco slammed his hand onto the control button.
“What in the Fuck?” Bruno yelled.
“Totally a sniper,” Reaper gasped out breathless. “I covered Chloe, but Tacks got it in the head.”
I put my hand over my mouth.
“No shit,” Bruno grumbled as he came over to Thunder and I. “Where’s the injury?”
I looked from him back to Thunder. “His arm.”
Bruno knelt down and tugged on his arm.
“Fuck! Bruno!” Thunder yelled in pain. “It’s a nick, that’s all.”
Bruno then stood up and went over to Chloe and Jaxson. He knelt down in front of them. “No injuries?”
Chloe looked pale as she shook her head.
Jaxson was feeling around on her body with both hands. “I-I don’t…”
Chloe then fell over, limp and unmoving.
“Shit!” Bruno reached forward and tugged her up.
Jaxson was shaking as he tried to grab her back.
“Just a damn minute, Jax! Let me see where she got hit.”
I felt my stomach heave. “No…” I cried and crawled over.
Thunder finally let me go.
“She’s got a bullet in her,” Bruno whispered.
“Where?” Jaxson yelled.
“Looks like the shoulder so…”
Jax grabbed her up and stood with her in his arms.
“Doc has already been called,” Marco called out.
Jax carried her through the bay and down the hall.
I was right behind him as I watched Chloe’s face as her head and hair hung down limp in his arms. She looked so white. God, let her be okay!
We went through the main room. The MC brothers were all armed as they directed weapons at us with huge sound of triggers being cocked.
“Total lockdown!” Bruno yelled. “Get the camo and the scopes and see where those bullets came from. Send a team out… vests and helmets. Find out where this fucking sniper’s nest is!”
He walked on through as all the men scattered to do as he’d ordered.
Jaxson didn’t see anything but where he was going. He seemed not to give a crap about anything else.
“Jaxson, take her to the master hall,” Bruno ordered.
Jaxson slowed and looked over his shoulder.
“It’s clean and we already got the doc there.”
Jaxson turned down another hall, away from his room.
Thunder and I followed him.
Bruno was behind us, grumbling all the way, “Fuckers attacking us here. Gonna be dead by dawn. Mother fuckers…”
Jaxson stopped at a door.
“The VIP!” Bruno called out to him.
Jaxson then went a few doors down.
Thunder ran up, grabbed his keys from the pocket of his jeans, and looked through the small key ring. “Just a second Jax. It’ll be okay.” He found the right key and shoved it in.
“Oh?” Jaxson seethed. “If Bella was bleeding would you believe that?”
Thunder glanced over at me. “No. buddy, no.” He grabbed me and we went in.
This was a huge room, it had double queen beds, kitchenette and a full bar. I stared all around. “What the…?”
Jax laid her down on the soft comforter.
“Where is she?” Mason, the doc yelled out from the hallway.
“Here!” Jaxson sat next to her holding her hand.
“You gotta move Prez,” Mason whispered to him.
Reluctantly, Jaxson stood up. He then went to the window and paced there.
Thunder patted my arm and went over to him.
I stayed next to the bed as I heard Thunder’s low tones as he tried to console Jaxson.
Poor Chloe looked even worse now. Like a ghost, she was so pale.
I clasped my hands together as Mason looked her over.
“This bullet has to be removed.” Mason raised up his bag.
I climbed on the bed and put my arm around the pillow where Chloe’s head was. “I will help?”
Mason nodded at me distractedly as he got things out.
Bruno came in. He stood silently at the end of the bed. He swung his gaze over to Jaxson then back to Mason. “Is it life threatening, Mason?”
“She’s lost a lot of blood.”
Jaxson came back over and looked down at her. “What are you doing?”
“I have to take the bullet out of her shoulder. I also need blood. She’s lost a lot. That’s why she looks so white.”
Jaxson looked like he was going to lose it. “Dammit!”
Bruno pulled his phone out and hit a button. “Do you know what her blood type is?”
We all just stared at him.
“It never came up.” Jaxson trembled a bit.
“Never mind, I have a way of finding out.” Bruno turned away and spoke in low tones on the phone.
Mason had everything set up. He pulled on some gloves. “Jaxson, you need to get on the bed and hold her down.”
He froze. “What?”
“Come on, this is going to hurt and she may come out of it while I’m doing it.”