Most men would have hesitations about firing a bullet into the skull of another man, but that’s not me. Rex and his crew are well-deserving of the fire and brimstone that’s about to rain down on them. Not just for Kane’s sister, but for all the women they’ve sold.
“You ready?” Raze asks with a slap to my shoulder.
“Ready as I can be, Prez.” I finish checking my weapon one more time. You can never be too sure.
I click the magazine back into the hilt before sliding it into the band of my jeans. I watch as Kane runs through his mental checklist next to his bike. Even from just a few yards away, I can see the scowl on his face and an unease about him. I’d be anxious too if it was my sister that was a few hours away from being sold into slavery.
“Men!” Raze yells out to the group. “Keep your heads cool and your guns hot. You all know the plan. Time to ride or die. Good luck to you all.”
The men standing in our dusty parking lot hoot and holler as they mount up on their bikes, even those not in our club. It’s amazing that we’re all banding together with one common goal. Kill them all.
I mimic their actions, as Kane rides up on my right. He nods as I fire up my bike. Looking at him now, he’s a completely different man. For the short time I’ve known him, he’s been hotheaded and quick to anger, stupid and careless. But the man in front of me now is the complete opposite. He’s cool, levelheaded, and calculated. If someone out of the know were to ride up on us now, they would never know he’s got the most to lose.
Nodding back, he follows next to me as we pull away in the cover of darkness.
We ride for nearly twenty minutes before pulling off in our determined park before we hike the rest of the way. It’s not ideal, leaving our form of a getaway, but we couldn’t risk being too close for fear the fuckers at the top of the hill would hear the rattle of our pipes. They’d no doubt tuck their tails and hit pavement, taking the girls and our only shot of saving Mikayla.
Like clockwork, we all move quietly into our positions in the woods. Well, everyone but us. Kane and I had volunteered to take the more dangerous route. The others will set the diversion while we go on the inside and get the girls out. It would be far easier for two of us to sneak in than a group of twenty. With their focus on the front of the building, we can slip in the back and move undetected if everything goes to plan.
The rusted building comes into view. Kane’s breaths are coming harsher now, but I know it’s not from the exertion. He’s geared up for the fight.
“Stay calm, Mohawk,” I urge him. “Don’t stroke out before we get there.”
Kane flashes a forced, cocky smile, before looking at his weapon one last time. Now, all we have left to do is wait for the fun to begin.
Each minute ticks by in agonizing fashion, which only makes the anxiety level rise. I can tell Kane is about ready to flip his shit, knowing every second we wait is another second closer his sister is to being sold.
I exhale deeply, just as a flash grenade thuds against the metal of the building.
“Go time.” I start to step out of the clearing we’re holed up in before he grabs me.
“Look, man, I know we didn’t get off to the best start, but I want to thank you for what you’re doing. You and your crew, you didn’t have to help us. You could have pushed us out as soon as you found out we were here, but you didn’t. And as soon as you found out what we were up to, instead of calling bullshit or rattin’ us out, you all stood with us.” Taking a deep breath, he continues. “I don’t know if you’re doing it for my sister or those girls. Shit, maybe you just want that fucker dead as much as we do. No matter the reason, I want to thank you for your part in helping me get my baby sister back. But, I need you to promise me, that no matter what happens, you get her out.”
I’m a little surprised by his words, and more by what he’s asking of me. But for the sake that we need to get the show on the fucking road, or risk being too late, I nod.
“You have my word, but it’s going to be you carrying her out, Kane. Not me.”
Gunfire starts to ring out as Rex’s men shoot toward the group from the front door. Without thought, Kane and I run toward the back entrance.
Kane reaches the door and tugs at the handle, but it doesn’t budge. “Motherfucker!” He pulls harder, but I shove him aside and aim my gun, firing the handle off the door.
“Well, there goes our silent entry,” I growl, a little pissed at myself, but it couldn’t have been avoided.
Kane’s eyes widen before he charges into the building with his gun drawn. I follow quickly behind him. The hallway is empty, but begins to fill with smoke that only obscures our vision.
Feminine screams and men yelling echo off the walls the further we move inside. Kane charges around the next corner, the sounds that may be coming from his sister lighting a fire under his ass. But as soon as he clears the corner, he runs right into one of Rex’s men, startling him. The man doesn’t hesitate, grabbing Kane by the throat. Before he has time to react and get himself out of the situation, I put a bullet between the goons’ eyes, and we both watch as he drops to the ground at Kane’s feet.
Looking up at me, I can tell he wants to say something, probably that he could have handled it, but then he does something I never would have thought possible. He thanks me a second time in less than five minutes.
“Thanks, man.” Bullets begin to fly past our heads, sending us retreating around the corner for cover.
Kane sucks in air, trying to center himself and get his mind back into the game. The firefight outside intensifies as explosions begin to shake the foundation under our feet. The thuds of heavy footsteps move closer to our position. Stepping past Kane, I lie in wait for the men heading our way. Switching out my gun for my knife, I notice Kane doing the same.
The first guy rounds the corner with his gun pointed right at me. His fingers twitch on the trigger, but my reaction time is faster. I throw my knife and plunge the blade deep into his temple. His legs go limp below him as he staggers backwards. Then another man comes into view. Kane throws his knife and I watch in awe as the man falls instantly, the knife sticking out of his forehead.
Another grenade explodes, rattling the beams above our heads, kick-starting us both back into action. “We’ve got to move our asses before this whole place comes down on us,” I say as I step over the bodies we just dispatched.
“No shit,” Kane barks, right on my heels.
I take off down the hall. It’s even smokier than before, but it looks like our company is otherwise engaged, just like we’d planned.
As we make our way further down the hall, we come to a dead-end, with a room on either side of us.
“You take that one,” Kane yells, pointing to the room on the right. “I’ll take the left.”
We kick open the door and separate.
The room I enter is a sick and twisted fucking playroom. Blood lines the walls, along with whips and chains, but it’s the center of the room that draws my attention. A metal cage, at least eight feet tall, filled with women dressed in only their bras and panties.
I scan, trying to find his sister’s face among them, but they all have the same scared look plastered on their faces. I move swiftly toward the cage and shove my gun back into my waistband, trying to not frighten them more.
The door is locked, but locked doors were never something that stopped me before. My misspent youth definitely plays into my favor today. I pull out my lock pickers and get to work. It takes me less than a minute for the lock to pop open. The girls rush toward me, pushing hard on the door.
“Ladies, I know you want out, but it’s a firefight out there. Keep your heads low and go out the back. Get to the woods and lay low until we’re finished here. I promise, we’ll get you all home safely,” I order.
Each of the women run past me, but none of them are fucking Mikayla. I studied her picture longer than necessary, but I couldn’t help myself. Her beauty was unlike anything I’d ever seen before.
> When the last woman is freed, I cross the hall and find Kane, jerking relentlessly on the locked chains attached to the wrist and feet of a beautiful woman against a wooden cross. Not just any woman, though—his sister.
“Need a hand?” I call out to him, trying to not get myself killed in friendly fire.
“Think you can get her out?”
“Locks are kind of my thing, Mohawk. Let me take a crack at them.”
I stalk closer to his sister and grab at the lock on her wrists, but she jerks away from me.
“I get it, doll face. You don’t know me, but I’m with your brother, here to save you. Let me do my job, and I promise you’ll be living the life of the rich and fucking famous in no time.”
I almost recoil at the sound of my own voice, filled with anger and resentment. I don’t know where it came from, but the thought of her leaving here, and me never laying eyes on her beauty again, makes me see red. But that’s not something I need to think about. Right now, I have to be the white night and save the girl.
She casts her sad and tortured eyes to Kane, and as soon he nods his approval, she relents.
I can’t help but notice as I free her hands, how delicate her small limbs feel under my large, calloused ones. It’s like touching a fucking china doll. I suddenly want to be the bull in the china shop, destroying her and making her mine at the same time.
Shaking the dirty thoughts from my mind, I move to her feet. Kneeling below her, I can’t believe I just thought about making her mine. I’ve never been a one-woman man, and I don’t intend to start now.
Looking up at her nearly naked body, my dick jumps in my pants. Fuck, she’s beautiful.
Stow it, Thor. Now’s not the time to think about fucking this bitch.
Just as the chains fall from her feet, someone starts to clap from behind us. I jerk in reaction to the sound, as Kane shoves Mikayla behind him. I can’t believe neither of us heard this fucker sneak up on us. I was so consumed with X-rated thoughts of the girl we came here to save, and the man next to me was probably thanking his lucky stars that we got to her in time.
“I have to hand it you to bikers. You sure do know how to make an entrance,” says the man dressed in a nice fucking suit. “Where you excel in the theatrics, you fail in the art of not touching things that don’t belong to you.”
“She doesn’t belong to you, motherfucker,” Kane hisses, keeping Mikayla firmly behind his back. His fist clenches, and the look in his eyes is enough to make me glad he’s on my side. He’s fucking scary when he’s protecting his family.
“I take it your Rex?” I shout, reaching for my gun.
“Aren’t you the observant one?” he chastises me before following my movements with his eyes. He tsks me before saying, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.
My hand falls away from my gun, but my eyes remain trained on him, while trying to figure a way out of this fucking mess.
“Now, hand over the girl, and I might just let you live.”
“Bullshit,” I growl.
“Give me the fucking girl,” Rex bellows at us, seeming to lose his cool. He knows that it’s only a matter of minutes before the place comes down on top of him, or my brothers come rushing in after me.
“No,” I say, standing tall. I’m surprised Kane is letting me do the talking, but he’s busy being the human shield.
Rex raises his gun, leveling it right at my head. I know I won’t have enough time to reach for my own before he fires his shots, but I won’t close my eyes. I’ll stare this fucker down and pray that I get to see Kane kill him before my world goes black.
The shot rings out, just as I feel something solid hit me, then I’m tumbling to the ground. I don’t feel the pain I’d imagine a gunshot would cause, though. Only a little discomfort from the blow and hitting the ground, hard. Maybe one of my brothers came in behind Rex and shot him before he could shoot me. But looking up, I see Rex is standing tall, seemingly shocked by whatever the fuck just happened, but definitely not shot.
That’s when I hear Mikayla screaming, so I move my focus from Rex to her. She’s thrown herself on the ground beside me, and that’s when I see all the blood.
“Fuck, Mikayla!” I yell, scared that she was the one hit by the bullet, but she’s shaking her head. And that’s when I realize one very important fucking person who is definitely not freaking the fuck out when he damn well should be. Kane.
He’s sprawled out on the ground, mere inches from me, breathing raggedly. His chest is crimson where the bullet tore through him. By the amount of blood I see, and the way he’s breathing, I have no doubt Rex’s shot will prove fatal.
“Well, that wasn’t how I saw this going, but it’ll do,” I hear Rex say, causing me to react without even thinking. My gun is in my hand, and before he says anything else, or level his gun once again on me, my bullet is barreling its way through the air, hitting its target—his heart.
Rex’s spray-tanned face begins to pale as he falls to his knees, while blood spills from the wound in his chest. Knowing he won’t be getting up from that kind of wound, I turn my attention back to Kane and Mikayla, who is currently sobbing over her brother’s body.
I kneel beside her and look down at Kane. His eyes are closed and his chest doesn’t look like he’s breathing. Reaching down, I check for a pulse. It’s there, but weak.
Moving his cut aside, I’m able to confirm what I already knew. The bullet tore through his chest, probably hitting his lungs, and maybe even his heart.
Mikayla crouches over him, crying, as she tries to stop the bleeding. But there’s no way he’ll survive this. Kane was a dead man as soon as that shot hit.
“Thor,” Kane hoarsely calls, his eyes still closed. “Get her out of here.”
I try to protest, but it’s cut off by another explosion that rattles the beams above us loose. Rusted metal begins to fall around us.
“You promised,” he forces out as he opens his eyes to look at me.
I nod as he takes his last breath.
Not even a few seconds later, the beam directly above us starts to shudder, forcing me into action. As much as I want to carry his body out of here, I know I can’t. There’s no time.
Picking Mikayla up, she cries as I carry her kicking and screaming out of the room and away from her dead brother.
The hallway seems so much longer than before, as I struggle to carry her. Reaching the door, there’s one final explosion, sending us both flying.
Debris hits my body as I turn midair to shield Mikayla from any flying rubble, but also from hitting the hard ground.
The wind is knocked out of me, leaving me unable to move for a few seconds. But I don’t have a few seconds to recover because the compound is collapsing. I need to get her out of here.
Standing, I pick Mikayla up again and haul ass as far away from the falling building, as fast as I can. But something isn’t right. I’m slower than I should be. Out of breath, even.
Familiar voices begin echoing around us as my body gives in and I fall to my knees, the weight of what just happened pulling me down.
“Somebody help him,” I hear Mikayla yell, but her voice sounds far away. I try to find her, but my vision goes black, just as I feel myself falling into nothingness.
Chapter Eleven
Mikayla — Kane’s sister
It’s been two days since I was rescued from my captors, but I still can’t bring myself to fully believe what happened. I lost my brother, my best friend. He’s always been there for me, and now he’s gone. I’ll never again see his handsome face, one that resembles my own. I’ll never hear him laugh or scold me for being childish and stupid. What I wouldn’t give to trade places with him. He shouldn’t have died, and it’s all my fault.
I’m sitting in a room with a man I’ve only met once, if you can call it that. He’s the one who pulled me out of the crumbling building, the one who is fighting for his life. Again, my fault.
When the last explosive hit, flying debris pelted us like
hail, which is why this man before me is still unconscious. Pieces of metal and wood lodged themselves into his body, puncturing vital organs. If it weren’t for the quick work of his friends, and a doctor that makes what I’m guessing is a very expensive house call, he’d be dead right now.
The people who are here have tried talking to me, wanting me to eat and drink, but I can’t. Not because I have no idea who any of these people are, but because I’m just not hungry and I could care less about drinking anything. Do these people not understand what I’ve been through? And not just my brother dying while saving me either. I was kidnapped by a couple of men who intended to sell me as a sex slave to the highest bidder. I was stripped of my clothes and forced to eat scraps of food off the floor like a dog. I was smacked around and told every sick thing the men wanted to do to me. What they would do to me. It’s not something that a hot meal and a cold drink is going to erase. I doubt even years of therapy would help me make sense of it all. Those men took an innocent girl into their dark world, but when I came out, the girl my brother died to protect no longer existed.
Then, there’s the man lying in the bed next to me. No words can describe what I feel when I think of him. I want to hate him because my brother died, not only saving me, but saving him. I want to leave this room and never look back, keeping my hatred and anger, but I know it’s misplaced. My brother stepped in front of the bullet, not because he had to, but because he felt this man was worth saving above himself. He trusted him to make sure I was taken care of if he was gone.
So, as much as I want to leave, I need to stay. He makes me feel closer to my brother, and if I’m being honest with myself, when he stepped into the room back in that compound and helped free me, he took my breath away. I’ve never seen a man as rugged and gorgeous as him. He was tall and looked lethal, and I knew deep down I was safe with him, even if my body wasn’t quick to follow.
When Clubs Collide Page 5