“Thanks for giving up your family time,” I said. “I think it’s time to make a plan about what to do with Sugar Bear.”
“Kill him,” Doom suggested.
“Slowly,” Alamo added.
I nodded. “As much as I agree with both of you, if we do this, we’ll have a spotlight the size of Oklahoma on us, and I’m not really interested in law enforcement being anymore up our asses than they already are.”
“Are we gonna get to play with him a little at least?” Badger asked.
“Take a pinky, maybe?” Dash piped in and the room laughed.
“I absolutely plan to have a conversation,” I said. “But first, we gotta find him. He’s gone to ground.”
“Like the pussy he is,” Dash grumbled.
“No doubt. But Rabbit’s got a lead and he’s gonna follow that lead all the way. The bottom line? This is war, and like Minus said, it may have started in Portland, but it’s gonna fuckin’ end in Savannah.”
The room erupted in hoots of agreement and I banged the gavel for order.
“Orion, how long are you staying?” I asked.
He knew the question was loaded, so I wasn’t entirely sure how he was going to answer.
“I’m here until this shit is resolved,” he said, and now I knew his answer was just as loaded as my question.
I nodded and turned back to my brothers. “Okay, we’ll reconvene tomorrow once I have more information on where Sugar is. Lock your families down. Be prepared to have them here for a few days, but I want them guarded until lock down.”
I banged the gavel. “Dismissed.”
We dispersed and I made my way upstairs to our room, stripping and climbing into bed beside Olivia.
“It’s late,” she whispered, rolling to face me.
“Yeah.”
“You okay?”
“I am now.”
She stroked my cheek. “What’s going on?”
“We’re going to war, baby.”
“Shit,” she breathed out. “Okay. I’ll get the women ready.”
“That’d be good, sweetness.”
“Hey.”
“Hm?”
“We got this,” she said, kissing my neck. “But you need to promise me you’re going to make him hurt.”
“Jesus, you’re as blood-thirsty as Badger.”
She chuckled. “Well, he’s a smart man.”
“We need to keep the cops off our back, Liv, so we’re not gonna kill him.”
“Dalton would understand.”
“I don’t think he would, sweetness, and you know it.”
“Okay, we can talk about this tomorrow.” She bit back a yawn.
“Sounds good,” I said, kissing her gently. “Sleep, baby.”
“’K.”
I felt our babies move as I laid my hand over her belly and I smiled. “I love you.”
“Love you, too, honey,” she whispered, and then I let her sleep.
* * *
Olivia
I felt Doc roll out of bed and opened my eyes to watch him walk to the bathroom. Lordy, I could watch that man do anything, especially naked. When he returned, he smiled, leaning down to kiss me quickly. “Like the view?”
“So, so much. Are you coming back to bed?”
He shook his head as he got dressed. “Got shit to do, sweetness, but you don’t need to be up yet, so go back to sleep.”
“I need to go to the condo today and pack up a few things. Can you go with me?”
“Yeah. Later though.”
I yawned. “Okay. Sounds good.”
He kissed me one more time, then walked out of the room. I stayed in bed until my bladder screamed for relief and then I forced myself to get up and get dressed, before heading downstairs.
Rabbit met me in the kitchen and handed me a burner phone. “You need to use this instead of yours for a few days.”
“Okay,” I said. “What do I do with mine?”
“Turn it off. I’ll let you know when you can turn it back on.”
I nodded and slid the new phone into my pocket.
“Doc wants all of you on lockdown, but if you want to give me a list of food and shit, we’ll do a run.”
“I need to get the women together first. Do you know when they’ll be here?”
“Willow and Alfie are already here, Jasmine’s coming after work, as is Quin. Doom is bringing Lyric and Sterling in about an hour.”
“Is the basement set up?”
He shook his head. “I figured you’d want to make sure it was the way you wanted it.”
“Yeah, that’d be great. Anyone around to help me move stuff?”
“I’m here until Doom says otherwise. Otter, Milky, and Ozzy are here as well.”
“Okay, thanks, bud. I’ll go down and see what I need to do then I’ll grab you.”
“Sounds good.”
He left me and I went looking for Willow. I found her in the kids’ playroom, trying to wrangle her daughter away from the bookcase.
“Alfie, baby, you cannot climb that,” she ordered, and pried Alfie’s hands from one of the shelves.
“You look like you’ve got your hands full,” I said, walking in.
“She’s climbing everything,” Willow complained. “She’s like a freaking spider monkey. I’m sure it’s Dash’s influence because I’m a chicken. Are you ready to make the food list?”
“Whenever you are. I still have to figure out what we need in the basement.”
“I just need to get her down for a nap, then I’m all yours.”
“I can help with the kids,” Raquel offered, appearing out of nowhere.
“That would be amazing,” Willow said. “I’ll get her down and then if you can just man the monitor, I can focus on everything else.”
Raquel smiled. “No problem.”
I nodded. “I’ll do the basement first.”
“Okay,” she said, and I headed downstairs.
“Liv?” Ozzy called down the stairs.
“Yeah?”
“Why the fuck are you down here alone?” he admonished, turning on more light.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m fine, Oz. No one can ‘get’ me here.”
“Babe, you’re pregnant, you just endured a serious car crash, and if you screamed, no one would hear you.”
He had a point.
I sighed. “Okay, sorry. I should have told one of you.” I handed him my notepad and pen. “Do you mind taking notes?”
“Fuck,” he breathed out. “I shoulda sent Otter.”
I laughed. “Let that be a lesson to ya.”
For the next twenty minutes, Ozzy dutifully took down a list of everything we needed in our ‘coffers’ in case we were forced to go into hiding.
The basement of our compound had been fortified as a safe house should anyone breach the walls and manage to get in. Doubtful, but if they did, the basement was bomb proof and had three secret exits that spit you out into various areas around the property where vehicles were stashed for a quick getaway.
“I think that’s good,” I said to Ozzy. “I’ll get with Willow and figure out what we’ll need food-wise.”
“Okay, babe,” he said, handing me the notepad and following me back up the stairs.
Willow was already in the kitchen moving cans and jars from the walk-in pantry to cabinets around the room. “Oh, hey,” she said. “I finally got Alfie down, so I got started.”
“Otter!” Ozzy bellowed and Otter walked into the room.
“Yeah, brother?”
“Help Willow move shit around.”
Otter smiled. “I’m at your disposal.”
“Thanks,” she said. “Liv, I started a list. It’s over there,” she said, nodding to the counter next to the fridge.
I grabbed the list while Willow showed Otter what she needed moved, and we worked in tandem like the well-oiled machine we’d become, finishing just as Lyric and Doom arrived with Sterling.
“Sorry we’re late,” Lyric said, breezi
ng into the room. “I kept adding stuff to our bags.”
Willow smiled. “There’s always something you forget when you have a new baby.”
“Seriously,” she breathed out. “I’ll just put him down for his nap, then I’m all yours.”
“Sounds good,” I said, and Lyric headed upstairs.
* * *
Doc
Rabbit hacked into a few of the cameras around the industrial area just outside of Savannah, and he and I watched from our position in the back of a buddy’s shop near where Sugar Bear and some of the Spiders were holed up.
“And you’re sure he’s in there?” I asked.
Rabbit nodded as he scrubbed through the time-stamped footage. “Yeah. Looks like he’s been in that cabinet shop for over three hours.”
“How many Spiders are in there with him?” I asked.
“Five or six, best I can tell,” he replied.
“Good. We should be okay as long as Sugar Bear doesn’t have a secret army stashed inside.”
“What’s the move?” Rabbit asked.
“I’m thinkin’ it’s time we roll out the welcome wagon,” I replied.
Rabbit smiled. “Aren’t we the visitors?”
“Yeah, but Mama always told me not to show up empty-handed when dropping in on a friend.”
“Let’s give this fucker a handful then,” Rabbit said.
Doom, Alamo, Rabbit, Otter, Badger, Dash, Orion, and I piled into the panel van, and drove the quarter mile to where Sugar Bear and the Spiders were hiding. Ozzy and Milky followed close behind in the Scout and we parked on a small ridge overlooking the group of industrial buildings. The entire complex was surrounded by a cyclone fence but was otherwise unsecured.
“The plan is no one dies,” I said as I checked my weapon. “We go in, grab Sugar Bear, and get the fuck out before anyone gets shot.”
“What if the Spiders aren’t too keen on your plan?” Alamo asked.
“That’s what you’re here for,” I replied. “Remember. I want heavy cover fire from you, Otter, Dash, and Badger the second we’re in. Doom and I will grab Sugar Bear, and Ozzy and Orion will cover the exit point where Milky will be waiting to pick us up.”
Nods all around signified that everyone was ready to roll so we climbed out of the van and gathered behind the Scout.
Otter ran his hand gently along the rear fender of the Scout. He looked like he was about to puke, so I placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Send me the bill,” I said, but knew it would do little to comfort him.
Milky got out of the still running Scout and put his rig in place, making a few adjustments before giving me a thumbs up.
“Okay, let’s go,” I said, and the seven of us moved, quietly down the ridge towards the cabinet shop, careful to stay hidden out of sight. When we’d almost reached the fence, I sent the signal text to Milky and immediately heard the roar of the Scout’s V8 engine.
Seconds later, the unmanned Scout flew down the side of the ridge, past us, barreling towards the complex. The large SUV tore through the cyclone fence like it was tissue paper and crashed into the side entrance of the shop with full force. The massive reinforced grill did its job by tearing an extra wide hole for us to fit through. Doom and Ozzy tossed several flash grenades through the opening, and moments later, we filed inside.
As soon as we were in the shop, Alamo, Badger, Dash, and I sprayed the interior of the building with a barrage of non-lethal, rubber riot control bullets, while the rest stayed behind them in tight formation. Although we currently had the element of surprise, that wouldn’t last long and we knew the Spiders would be returning fire with lead, so we had to move quickly.
“Holy shit, man. What the fuck?” one of the Spiders yelled out amidst the chaos, and then, sure enough, the sound of gunfire exploded.
Through the haze of grenade smoke, I could make out at least four Spiders in the main shop area but didn’t see Sugar Bear anywhere. Ozzy jumped on Snapper who’d been knocked down by Alamo’s shots, removing a knife from his belt before zip-tying his hands behind his back.
Another Spider took off, firing haphazardly behind him as he ran toward an office located at the opposite end of the shop floor. Badger and Dash took off after him, and Alamo and Doom split up to search for Sugar Bear, leaving Otter and me to deal with the last two Spiders on our own. One was a guy I recognized as Snots. He was curled up in the fetal position on the floor near where one of the flash grenades had detonated and was clearly concussed.
I grabbed Snots by his cut and sat him up. His eyes were completely bloodshot, and he was bleeding from both ears.
“Where the fuck is Sugar Bear?” I asked, shaking him violently, but he was barely conscious. I zip-tied him and left to check on Otter, who had his hands full with a massive Spider who I didn’t recognize. The guy towered over Otter, who was doing his best to avoid total annihilation by his opponent.
Otter and the Spider I decided to call ‘Brick Shit House,’ were standing toe-to-toe, slugging it out, and let’s just say our boy was not ahead on the judge’s scorecard. As I approached, Otter took a shot to the ribs that would leave the other biker pissing blood for two days, and rather than stick around to see him take another, I decided to give him a hand. Or, more accurately, a butt.
I came up behind ‘Brick Shit House’ and cracked him as hard as I could in the back of the head with the stock of my semi-automatic rifle, hoping he’d drop instantly. That hope was soon dashed when he spun around and punched me in the chest with what felt more like a sledgehammer than a fist. I staggered back and fell on my ass as ‘Mr. House’ advanced toward me, loading up his right hand for another shot. However, before the giant could reach me, Otter flew in low from the left side, taking him out at the knees with a sickening snap.
The giant Spider hit the ground with a thud, hands to his knees, groaning in agony. I’d seen career-ending hits on the football field that were nicer than what I’d just witnessed, and admittedly, as a doctor, I felt bad for him. As a soldier at war, however, it was either him or me, and I’d like to dance at my daughter’s wedding one day.
“Stay the fuck back!” I heard Sugar Bear shout from the direction of the office, and I looked to see Dash, Alamo, Orion, and Ozzy’s cuts. All four men had their hands up and were walking backwards toward me.
I got to my feet and raised my rifle and could then see Sugar Bear walking toward the Dogs and he wasn’t alone. He held Badger close and he had a pistol to his head as they walked.
“I mean it,” Sugar Bear, shouted. “Anyone comes toward me, I do this prick!”
As my fellow Dogs got closer to me and fanned out, Sugar Bear caught sight of me and my rifle.
“Don’t fuckin’ move, Doc, or I’ll blow a hole in this kid,” Sugar Bear said as he continued moving toward me.
“I heard you,” I replied, calmly.
“I don’t see you lowering that gun,” he barked back.
Time slowed and all five of my senses heightened the same way they did when I was in surgery. In these heightened moments, I was able to weigh options and make high stakes decisions within nanoseconds. I watched Sugar Bear carefully and waited for the right surgical moment.
“I will,” I replied, and kept the rifle leveled at him.
“Is Doc short for Doc Holiday or somethin’? You fancy yourself a real-life sharp-shootin’ cowboy? You think you can hit me from over there without putting a bullet into your guy as well?”
“Nope.”
“Then drop the rifle,” Sugar Bear growled.
“I will.”
“You think I’m fuckin’ around here, Doc? I said put your gun down or I’m gonna shoot this fucking—”
Sugar Bear moved the barrel of his gun slightly away from Badger as he yelled, and I unloaded. I wasn’t lying when I said I had no intention of hitting only him.
Both Sugar Bear and Badger hit the ground from the force of the rubber bullets and Dash, Alamo, and Ozzy dogpiled Sugar Bear while I went to Badger.
“You…fucking…shot me. Ow, oh…shit,” Badger said, clutching his side.
“Sorry, man, but I knew he wouldn’t be expecting me to fire. I tried my best not to hit you.”
“Try harder next time, will ya? I think you hit me twice.”
“Looks like three from my count,” I said as I gave him the once over.
The Dogs got Sugar Bear to his knees after restraining him and I pulled out the black hood from my inside cut pocket.
“You should have never fucked with our families, Sugar,” I said before placing the bag over his head and turning to Dash, Orion, Doom and Alamo. “You guys help Badger, and Ozzy and I will take Sugar Bear. Milky should be out back with the van by now.”
We exited the building, and I threw Sugar Bear into the van, before sliding the door closed and yelling, “Drive!”
Milky floored it but didn’t get far.
A loud pop caused my ears to ring and the familiar smell of gunpowder filled the air of the van. Although his hands were zip-tied behind his back, from the floor Sugar Bear had managed to pull a Deringer pistol from his boot and fire directly into the back of the driver’s seat.
Milky’s body lurched forward and he spit up blood all over the inside of the windshield. The van violently swerved as I struggled for the gun, punching wildly at Sugar Bear’s hooded head, until I’d broken two knuckles and he stopped moving entirely.
“Jesus Christ, Milky!” Doom shouted, grabbing the wheel from the passenger seat before reaching over with his left foot and hitting the brake. The van came to a stop and I yelled to Alamo.
“Watch Sugar Bear, I need to check on Milky,” I said before getting out of the van. I could hear sirens approaching from the distance and knew we had to get the hell out of here fast.
I opened the driver’s side door and could immediately see that Milky had been shot somewhere in his mid-section. His t-shirt was soaked in blood, and color was already draining from his face.
“We have to get him to the clinic right away,” I said.
“Shouldn’t we take him to the fucking hospital?” Doom asked as I examined the wound.
“It looks like the bullet went clean through his right side and missed his liver and kidney. I’ll know as soon as I get him on my table. If I can’t handle it myself, we’ll take him to County Hospital. Help me move him into the back.”
Keeping the Biker's Oath (Dogs of Fire: Savannah Chapter Book 5) Page 14