Talon

by Savannah Rylan

  Glock came to the last step, and I glared at him, relieved to see him. I wanted to run into his arms, to have his big muscular body envelop me.

  Glock scanned me, as though he was checking to see if I was hurt, and then he turned his attention to the man again.

  “You are Brick. You’ve kept yourself hidden for a long time, what’s the matter, man, are you scared of me?” Glock spoke, and I could see that he was trying to rile the man up.

  Brick, behind me, laughed lightly and tightened his grip on my mouth, making my face hurt. He removed his hand from around my waist.

  “I think your beautiful girlfriend here is the one who’s really scared. Man, you got yourself a knockout!” he said, and his hand that was wrapped around my body traveled up so that he was cupping my left breast now.

  I could see the rage in Glock’s eyes. Bloodshot green eyes, under sharp, heavy eyebrows. He had his jaw clenched, just like his biceps were as he clutched his gun tightly.

  “Don’t fucking touch her!” he growled like an animal and took a step towards us.

  Brick pulled me back, pressing his back against the wall.

  “You’ll have to get to her first, Glock, or have you not figured that out yet?” he hissed, and Glock stopped in his tracks. Our eyes met, and I could see the tension in his. He was deciding what to do.

  I tried wriggling out of Brick’s grip again, but the man was strong and was keeping me in position.

  “Also, there’s this small little detail,” I heard him say and then I felt the cold touch of metal on my belly, through the fabric of my t-shirt. I looked down, and a scream escaped my lips, muffled by Brick’s hand. He was pressing a knife lightly into my belly. I was mistaken, he wasn’t completely unarmed.

  Glock took a step back when he saw the glint of the knife’s metal.

  “That’s better,” Brick said, and I could sense him smiling, even though I wasn’t looking at him.

  “You keep your distance, and I keep mine, from you,” he added, and Glock’s face had darkened. I tried squealing and writhing, but there was no use. I wasn’t strong enough to escape this man’s grip. He was holding me tightly to himself, and his knife was pressed to the side of my belly.

  “Let Sage go, she has nothing to do with this,” Glock said, and I could hear his voice faltering. He had been so strong and brave until this point, but the moment he saw the knife, I could see him losing his grip. He still had the gun pointed at us though.

  “If I let her go, I’ll get shot, so no thank you. What I’ll do is keep this beautiful woman stuck to me, so that if you make one wrong move, her guts are out there on the floor. And you can watch her bleed to death,” the man hissed, and another shrill cry escaped my lips.

  I wanted to fall on the floor, at Glock’s feet and beg him for forgiveness. I shouldn’t have come here, trying to be brave and rescue a woman. I didn’t realize how this world worked, I shouldn’t have done anything without speaking to Glock first. When I got that call from Noelle, I had been so amped up to prove myself to Glock and Axel that I hadn’t stopped to think about whether this was a trap.

  I was desperate at the chance to rescue a woman. I should have realized that I was inexperienced and I should have waited for Glock’s help. Instead, I was now responsible for getting the Bad Disciples involved in this mess…and chances were that I could lose my life, and Glock could too. I didn’t even want to imagine what might happen to Casey who was still cowering in the corner.

  She was broken, her experience with the Dragon Knights had shattered her. She had no strength left to stand up for me or even herself, and I didn’t blame her. Weeks and months of torture would do that to a person.

  So, we were standing in the basement, Glock glaring at Brick, and me under his control, waiting for that moment when I’d feel the metal of the knife slide into my abdomen. I wished that Brick would just take his hand off my mouth so that I could beg Glock to just leave. I didn’t want him to lose his life over this, along with me. He still had work to do and other lives to save. I tried screaming again, biting into Brick’s palm but nothing worked.

  “Shut up, or this knife goes into you!” Brick shouted, and I looked at Glock who was begging me with his eyes to stay calm. I could feel my chest rising and falling, my body ached, and every nerve under my skin was on fire. I felt dehydrated and weak from all the crying. Where did mom think I was? What was she going to do if I died here?

  “Why don’t you slowly back up the stairs and leave us alone, Glock? That way, Sage and I can peacefully get out of this place, and nobody gets hurt,” Brick said, in a calm but firm voice.

  Glock had his jaw clenched, and he hadn’t lowered his gun yet.

  “Let her go and then we can talk,” he hissed, and Brick laughed again.

  “How stupid do you think I am? I wasn’t born yesterday. I’m not letting her go, if you want to talk Glock, we can talk now. Sage stays right where she is, and so does my knife,” Brick barked and I watched as Glock gulped. More gunshots were fired upstairs, and I stopped myself from whimpering.

  “This bad blood between our clubs have been going on for too long. Don’t you think it’s time for a truce, Brick?” Glock asked, and I could see how difficult it was for him to say the words. I had a pretty good idea that Glock had no interest in making peace with the leader of the Dragon Knights.

  Brick laughed again, he knew it too.

  “Bad blood? Is that what you pussies are calling it? When have we ever settled a war through negotiations? I’m not a fucking politician!” Brick yelled, and Glock remained silent. I knew he was trying to calculate whether he could shoot Brick before he had the opportunity to slide the knife into my stomach. It would be a big chance, and one that I could tell, Glock wasn’t willing to take.

  “How else do you want to settle it then?” Glock asked, and Brick tightened his arm around my waist.

  “Oh well, I don’t know, kill each and every one of you motherfuckers? I don’t know, I haven’t decided yet. Axel is too old anyway, but that bastard just won’t conk off. I’ve been waiting too many years, to see him die,” Brick continued, and I could see the visible rage in Glock’s muscles.

  His hair was in his eyes, his handsome face was clouded over. I had never seen Glock like this before, and despite the position I was in, I couldn’t help but be thankful that we had a chance to be together. I wanted to scream out and tell him that I was in love with him, that I always had been, but Glock wasn’t even looking at me anymore, he only had eyes for Brick.

  “You want to kill Axel? Go and get him then,” Glock growled, and Brick was laughing again.

  “No, you stupid fuck. This is about killing all of you, and I’d like to begin with your pretty little girlfriend here because that is what you deserve,” Brick said, and the pressure of the metal became stronger on my belly. A few more seconds now, and it was going to puncture my skin.

  I glared wildly at Glock, begging him with my muffled pleas to look away or go away. There was no hope left for me, and the Dragon Knights were going to win.

  Chapter 19

  Glock

  I had Brick right under my nose. Right, where I had been dreaming of having him, and instead of hiding from my gun; he was grinning at me like he was sure that he was going to win. The truth was that he was going to.

  This was the moment that probably each and every member of the Bad Disciples, including Axel had been waiting for. To have the president of the Dragon Knights standing a few feet away from them, with nothing more than a knife in his hands. Which was technically useless against my gun.

  It was crazy and frustrating that I couldn’t shoot him. If I did, and I missed, or I was too slow, he would have enough opportunity to kill Sage. Chances of missing a clean shot were high; Brick was keeping Sage tightly held in front of him. I couldn’t possibly get a direct shot in him without also hitting Sage. She could die by my hand, by my bullet. I wouldn’t take the chance.

  “What’s it going to be, Glock?” Brick’s v
oice interrupted my thoughts. I looked at Sage, whose t-shirt was torn. Her face was streaked with tears, and her mouth was covered tightly by the man’s hand. There were drops of blood on her chin, which told me that she might have a split lip. He had definitely hit her, he had hurt her, and for that, I was determined to punish him.

  I was going to get him, if not right now, I was going to kill him before long. He was going to pay for laying a hand on Sage.

  “Do you want to shoot your girlfriend to get to me or are you going to let me leave?” he asked, and I heard Sage try to scream again.

  Brick’s arm was wound around her waist. He was holding her tightly, clutching her, touching her. I could feel the rage pump wildly in my veins. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to watch him bleed.

  The other girl, who I assumed was the one who Sage had come here to rescue, was cowering in the corner, whimpering and crying.

  When I looked into Sage’s dark hazel eyes, she looked frightened. I had never seen Sage frightened before. She was a strong-willed brave girl, who had always stood up for what she believed in. It was crazy to see her like this now, under a man’s brutal control.

  “Tick tock, Glock,” Brick chimed in, and I saw the glint of the knife that he was pressing lightly into Sage’ belly. I knew that he wouldn’t hesitate to dig it into her. It had already ripped a hole in her t-shirt, a little more pressure and it would puncture her skin and then her organs, and I would have to watch her bleed to death. There was no way that I could call for help in time, or take her to a hospital before she lost too much blood.

  “I’m going to go upstairs to my men, and then I’m going to leave, and I’m taking your girlfriend with me,” I heard Brick say and I blinked blankly at them. My mind was clouded with thoughts. If I allowed Brick to leave this basement with Sage, there was a high possibility that I would never see her again. He was a ruthless monster. He would kill her the first opportunity he got, or sell her off to the flesh trade—just to get at me.

  But what else could I do? How was I supposed to stop him without harming her too?

  Brick had taken a step to the side and dragged Sage with him. I was tracking them with my gun, but I had nothing to say. I couldn’t stop him. Sage’s muffled shrieks filled the room. She was still trying to put up a fight.

  “It was nice talking to you Glock, but I have to go now. I’m bursting for a piss,” Brick said with a laugh and took another step sideways. I could see that they were inching closer and closer to the steps that would lead them up through the door.

  I could hear voices and gunshots upstairs. My brothers were still engaged in a crossfire with the Dragon Knights. There was a high chance that more of the Dragon Knights had turned up. It was why none of my brothers had come looking for me in the basement yet.

  “Say goodbye to your hero, my beautiful,” Brick hissed into Sage’s ear with a sickening smile. Her face was damp with sweat, her eyes were large and wild, and she continued to struggle in his grip.

  “Let her go,” I tried again because there was nothing left for me to say. Brick laughed and shook his head like he was exhausted with my pleas.

  “Don’t worry Glock, I’ll take good care of her,” he said, and I watched as Brick’s hand holding the knife slid up from her waist to her breast, and he was cupping it now.

  The bullet left my gun with a crack. I hadn’t even realized that I was taking aim. I wasn’t even expecting myself to pull the trigger. It was like the whole thing was happening in slow motion. It left the barrel of my gun and pierced right through Brick’s skull.

  This was the loudest gunshot I had ever heard, and it echoed in the empty dark basement. I watched, in slow motion, as Brick’s hand left Sage’s mouth and then his body slumped to the floor. The bullet had gone right through his skull, he was dead, on the ground, next to Sage’s feet and the other girl’s scream filled the room.

  ***

  The girl in the corner was still screaming, while Sage stood next to Brick’s slumped body on the floor, with her hands clasped to her mouth. There was a sound like white noise in the room, and my eyes were shifting, still taking time to adjust to the reality of what had happened here. My gun was still pointed at Sage, I hadn’t moved since the bullet left the barrel. She wasn’t hurt.

  Brick’s blood was pooling around her feet, his head with the bullet hole was right beside her. Neither Sage nor I had moved. She just stood there, as the blood trickled like a stream around her, it was like Sage was frozen to the ground. I didn’t even know what to say to her. It was like if I said something, the spell would be broken like Brick wouldn’t be fucking dead anymore. Had I even done the right thing?

  “Sage,” her name had barely left my lips before she leaped towards me. The gun dangled from my hand, and she was in my arms. She was too warm, and her t-shirt clung to her from the dampness of her sweat. I stroked her long ruffled red hair and breathed in her scent. Even though it was me who had fired that shot, I still couldn’t believe it had happened.

  Sage buried her face into my chest and wrapped her arms around my torso. Even though we had known each other for so long, we had never hugged like this before. We had never shared this kind of a relationship, but now, it felt natural. She was alive, and relatively safe and in my arms. I had never been this thankful for anything else in my life before.

  “Glock, you got him,” she whispered through her tears. I hooked a finger underneath her chin and lifted her face up towards me.

  “You’re safe now,” I said to her, and she nodded her head.

  “I can’t believe you did it, you got him, I thought he was going to take me captive, that he was going to get away,” she was breathing hard and talking too quickly. I stroked her hair some more and held her tightly to myself.

  “We have to get you out of here, Sage,” I said, as I heard another round of gunfire upstairs. Brick was dead, the leader of the Dragon Knights was killed, but that didn’t mean she was completely safe yet.

  “And Casey,” I heard Sage say and my brows crossed with confusion. She looked over at the cowering girl in the corner, and I nodded my head.

  “Yes, of course. You both need to get out of here right now,” I said, and Sage stretched a hand out towards the girl who walked towards us. She stepped over Brick’s fallen body and whimpered. It was like, even though he was dead, she was still afraid of him.

  “You killed Brick! It’s over!” Casey said to me, and Sage clasped her hand and pulled the crying girl to herself.

  “No, it’s not over yet. There are more Dragon Knights members upstairs, and I need to get the two of you out of here first,” I said and then pulling my gun back in position, I walked towards the stairs.

  Sage and Casey were behind me, huddled together. I could still feel Sage’s warmth in my arms as I took the steps two at a time. At the metal door, I pushed it open and peeped out.

  Just as I predicted, my brothers were in a crossfire with some other members of the Dragon Knights. There was a shootout underway, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to get the girls out of this place unharmed.

  I looked over my shoulders at Sage.

  “You need to do as I say, no questions, okay?” I said to her.

  “Yes, Glock,” she replied, and I looked back at the hallway. At both ends were sets of men. On one side, were Hunter, Tank, and Gunner; and on the other side were the Dragon Knights, at least four of them but there could have been more who had joined them.

  I caught Gunner’s eye, who nudged Tank and they saw the girls and me behind me at the top of the stairs.

  I raised up my hand and held out three fingers. On the count of three. Tank nodded his head.

  “Keep an eye on my fingers, girls. On the count of three, you’re going to run left, as fast as you can. I’ll cover you,” I said to them.

  We were in the middle of the hallway at the top of the stairs. This was going to be the only way out. I held up my hand again, one finger, two, and then three. I ran, and so did Sage and Casey. The Dragon Knight
s rained fire on us, but I turned around the girls and shot back at them. My brothers were shooting too, while the girls ran towards them.

  I kept shooting, taking steps back.

  “They’re out!” I heard Hunter scream, and that was when I stopped shooting, turned and ran in the direction of the front door of the house. It was swinging open; Sage and Casey had already made it out.

  I ran out, the cold air rushed into my lungs. It was only the moon that illuminated the darkness around us. Sage and Casey had run up to her pickup truck, and I followed them.

  Casey banged open the door and jumped inside, but Sage didn’t follow. She was waiting for me with heaving breasts. When I came up to her, she wrapped her arms around my neck.

  “Let’s go, Glock, let’s just get out of here,” I heard her whisper in my ear. More gunshots fired through the house. As much as I wanted to take Sage and drive as fast as I could away from here, I would never leave my brothers behind. I leaned down and kissed her hard on the lips.

  “I can’t leave yet, Sage,” I said to her.

  Chapter 20

  Sage

  “Glock, no…” I pleaded with him, as he slowly started lifting my arms off his shoulders. I wanted him to come away with us, to get to safety.

  “I can’t leave now, not when my brothers are in there. They need all the help that they can get,” he said, and I looked into his eyes. Glock’s green eyes were dark and deep, and his face was hardened and strong. He had just killed a man, and now he was willing to go back in there and maybe kill some more.

  We had just run through gunfire, I knew exactly how dangerous it was in there.

  “Oh, my God! Glock, you’re hurt!” I squealed when I saw the gash on his shoulder. A bullet had grazed past him, and there was blood oozing from the wound now.

  “And you are too, and so are some of my friends in there,” Glock said, and he held my hands tightly to reassure me. I knew I had a split lip from the slaps I’d gotten from Brick and the other guys. That dull aching throb was still there at the back of my head.