by Lila Rose
“Blue, brother, we can fuckin’ deal with this dick. He can’t do this. We need to make plans. Come to the goddamn compound and we’ll sort something out.”
Looking up to the sky, I said, “No. I’m going in alone,” and then hung up. It started ringing straight away. I hit the end button and rang the next person before I hit the road.
“Hey, babe. I’m nearly done, probably about another twenty. You’re going to love it, Blue, and when you tell me that, I expect you to show me how much you love it,” my woman said with a smile in her voice.
My throat got thick. Shit, I was going to miss her.
Fuck. I was going to miss my life with her.
For a selfish reason alone, I wished I had put that ring on her finger sooner.
“Clary,” I whispered.
“Blue, what’s wrong?”
Christ, she knew something was up from just my voice.
“Baby, you know I love you, yeah?”
“Blue,” her voice caught, “you’re scaring me, handsome.” I heard her shoo someone away.
Taking a breath, I said, “I have to head out of town for a couple of days. Family shit. Not that you aren’t family, but it’s somethin’ only I can deal with it.” Another breath. “Clary, you are everything to me. You remember that always.”
“Blue, please, whatever it is, we can do it together. Please, babe…please don’t leave without me.”
“I love you, baby.”
“Blue, please,” she whispered into the phone.
Hell, she was crying now.
“Clary, I love you.”
“Blue…”
“Sugar, please. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Blue Skies. I love you more than my own life. But I want you to wait for me. I’m leaving now. I’ll come with you. I need to be with you, Blue.”
“I’ll always be with you, Clarinda,” I uttered and then hung up the phone.
No, please no. I ran from the hairdresser’s with tears streaming down my face. Something was wrong, so very, very wrong, and I had to get to my man. I had to help him.
In the car, I took a breath but realised I was wasting time. I just hoped I wasn’t too late.
God, please don’t let me be too late.
As I sped through the streets, I picked up my phone and pressed the call button. “Hey, hun. How’s the hair look?” Zara asked.
“Something is wrong, Zara. Blue called while I was at the hairdresser, telling me how much he loved me and I meant everything to him. Zara…honey, he sounded so deflated. Something is wrong; I need to know what. He said he’s going out of town for a few days. I asked him to wait for me. I’m on my way to our house now.” A pause, and then, “Zara, I’m scared. I know it has something to do with his family, and I’m scared that if he doesn’t wait for me, he’ll go on his own and I won’t see him again.” A sob tore through. “I don’t know what to do. I can’t lose him. I can’t live without him, but I just know he’s gone and thrown the gauntlet down on whatever the situation is.”
“Clary, listen to me. I’ll get the girls. We’ll meet you at your house and if we can’t get answers, I know who will give them to us.”
“Okay, okay, thank you,” I uttered and threw the phone to the passenger seat. Five blocks from home and I had never driven Blue’s truck so fast before. I pulled into the driveway and got out, leaving the door open. I ran for the house and twisted the handle. It was locked.
No. Fuck, no.
My head leaned against it.
It was locked.
It meant I was too late. Either he had come and gone already, or he hadn’t even been there in the first place. Though I needed to confirm, so I unlocked the door with shaking hands and pushed it open. The house smelled of Blue, but then again, it always did. I frantically ran from one room to another, calling his name.
He didn’t answer.
“Clary?” Zara yelled from the front door. I ran back down the long hall and into the living room, where Zara, Deanna and Ivy were walking in.
“He’s not here,” I cried. “He’s not here, and I just know he’s out doing something silly, something dangerous. What do I do? I don’t know what to do.” I went to my knees on the hard wooden floor.
Deanna was at my side first. “We’ll find the dick, and we’ll figure out what’s going on, and then once we find him, I’m going to rip his dick off and give it to Julian for Christmas.” She knelt down next to me, rubbing my back. “Come on, get up. We know where to go to get the right answers.”
I pulled my Harley into the drive of some old, ratty joint. The weatherboard home had seen better days. Climbing off quickly, I made my way to the front door, but then the noise of the garage door being opened caught my attention. I turned my head toward it and found Motley walking out. He stopped to the side of it and smiled at me. A car started up and drove forward, a white van with some plumbing signage on the side of it.
Motley gestured with his head to the van. “Get in the back.”
“Where’s my brother?” I growled.
“We’re taking you to him. Get the fuck in the back, Blue.” He turned to some other guys I didn’t know and ordered, “Load up his bike in the other van. I want no trace he was here.”
Striding to the van with my fists clenched at my sides and a foul look in my eyes had Motley taking a step back. I smiled, letting him know I saw it, and then I walked to the side of the van and climbed in the back.
I needed to get to my brother.
As soon as Motley was in the passenger side, we took off. I was passed a blindfold and told to put it on. I knew they were waiting for me to fight back, for me to argue, but there was no way in Hell I would do anything until my brother was safe.
We drove for what seemed like almost an hour. The van stopped, my side door came open and I was roughly pulled from it. The blindfold was taken from my eyes and I blinked up at the sudden glare of the sun.
I searched my surroundings and saw we were in bushland somewhere, and they were forcing me toward an old, beat-up farmhouse. The front door opened, and another guy stepped out and held it open as Motley shoved me over the threshold.
I scoffed. “What, you’re not gonna carry me over? It is our first night together.”
“Shut the fuck up!” Motley yelled and pushed me through another doorway to the right.
That was when I saw my brother.
And I did not like what I saw.
He was bloodied and bruised, sittin’ on a mattress in the corner of the room.
A roar filled my lungs and tumbled over. They hurt my brother. They made my brother bleed.
They would fuckin’ pay.
Ripping my arms from Motley, I tackled the closest guy, and sittin’ on him, I landed punch after punch to his face. When I knew he wouldn’t move again, I was on my feet, ready to take on the next fucker.
“Blue!” Motley screamed.
I turned to look at him, my gaze low, my breath heavy. I wanted more fuckers to pay. I wanted blood on my hands for what they did. I wanted them to drown in so much pain.
Standing straight, I tried to calm myself and let the fight flee my body, because Motley had a gun trained on my brother.
“Jason?” I called.
“I’m okay,” he whispered and tried to smile, only it wasn’t real. He was in pain and was trying not to let me see it.
“You can blame him for this. He tried to escape. We couldn’t have that now.”
“He was to be unharmed, and he was to go free when I arrived,” I snarled.
“Change of plans.” Motley grinned, and then all lights went out for me as I was hit in the back of the head.
I awoke tied to a chair in the middle of the living room. Shaking my head to clear it was a bad fuckin’ idea; the pain throbbed through the back of my skull. Still, I looked over to the side to see Jason lying on a dirtied mattress.
I’d failed to protect him.
I’d failed my brother.
That hurt. It hurt so ba
d.
Motley came charging into the room with paper flapping in his hand. He dragged a damaged, old coffee table over in front of me, slammed the papers down and held out a pen. “Sign,” he barked.
I laughed. “What, you want me to hold it in my teeth? Won’t look fuckin’ real then.”
“If I untie you, you better sign.”
Sighing, I said, “I ain’t signing shit until my brother’s free.” I kicked the table over on its side. Jason jumped from the sound of it clattered to the ground. He sat up and eyed us both as we glared at each other.
“You stupid, motherfucking arsehole. You think you’re so good being under Talon? I’ll teach you you’re nothing. You’ll have nothing when I’m done with you,” Motley spat as he leaned over me.
Fuck. It killed me Jason would be witness to all this.
To his brother being tortured and beaten.
“You’re the only stupid fuck, Motley,” I growled. “If I don’t get what I want, then you don’t either.”
Motley laughed. “I’ll go after your sweet girl. I saw the both of you walking the street with your mum and brother. Smiling, laughing, being happy. If you don’t sign it all over to me, I’ll make her pay, as well.”
“You will not fuckin’ touch her,” I roared.
“Blue, Blue, just do it. Just sign, Blue, please,” my brother pleaded.
“Jason, no.”
“He’s gonna kill us anyway; at least I’ll go with my brother at my side.”
Fuck. Shit, shit, shit.
“Jason—”
“Don’t let him hurt Clary. She’s too good. Don’t let him do that to her.”
“Christ,” I uttered. “I’m sorry, Jason.”
“I’m not. I’m not sorry about anything. I’m proud to call you my brother. You came here for me anyway, knowing we wouldn’t come out of this. I love you, Blue.”
“Goddammit, I love you, too, kid.”
“Yeah, yeah, this is really sweet and all, but sign the fucking papers!” Motley yelled.
Looking from Jason, I turned my hard stare to Motley. He would never get what he wanted. I would never let that happen, because I knew Talon would keep his word. He would take care of Clary, and he would take care of our mum…until his last breath.
“No,” I whispered harshly.
“Blue!” Jason yelled.
“Jason, brother. Don’t you see? Motley here has already seen it in me that I won’t sign anything over. He should have taken the chance with Clary, but he was stupid enough to accept my offer. He’ll never get his hands on her. Talon will protect her with his life, and not only her, but he’ll take care of Mum, too. He made that promise to me before I came…and a brother in arms never goes back on a promise. Do they, Motley?”
Jason actually laughed.
But then, Motley’s scream soon filled the room.
Since he knew he was never going to get what he wanted, it was time to move onto the next stage.
And that stage was ending my life.
Only, it’d be with a fight on his hands.
He pulled a gun from behind him and raised it. I stood, taking the chair I was tied to with me, and jumped in front of Jason as he fired.
The door to my office burst open and then slammed shut after Griz marched in with Stoke, Killer, Pick, Billy and Dodge. As soon as I got off the fucking phone with Blue, I had called all brothers out to play. Most were out searching for him, and two—Judge and Tank—I’d sent to Vi’s office. Not many knew, but I had her guys install trackers on my brothers’ bikes, and thank fuck I did. As soon as they found out which way Blue was heading, we were getting on our bikes and ridin’ out.
“Have you rang Memphis?” Killer asked.
“Yeah, brother. He was at the compound, but he’s on his way to his woman and informing her that her boys are in deep shit.” Fuck this and the goddamn situation.
Jesus, Blue had just gotten to a motherfuckin’ happy place, and then another arsehole messed it all up.
They were gonna pay. Pay in blood.
I stood from my chair and swiped everything from my desk onto the floor. “Fuck!” I yelled.
“Talon, why in the fuck did the jackarse not wait for us? Not wait for some type of help?” Griz snapped.
Shakin’ my head, I said, “I think he was worried he was gonna be too late. He was worried his brother was gonna do somethin’ crazy.”
“Fuck,” Stoke hissed.
“Where’s Clary?” Billy asked.
“I’ve sent brothers out to look for her. I need eyes on her now. Blue was worried Motley would make a play to get her, as well.”
“Motherfucker,” Pick growled.
My door burst open once again. We all looked over to see Clary with wild eyes, Hell Mouth with determined ones, Ivy with angry ones and my woman’s eyes fell on me, and they were pissed.
“Look—” I started.
“I don’t want bullshit,” Clary said. “My man called me and I could hear something in his voice which has me freaked out. Something is going on with his family, and I need to know what it is, and now, so I can get there and help him.”
“Billy, go call Shift, Gun and Watt, and tell them Blue’s woman is here and safe,” I ordered. Billy gave me a chin lift and left the room. “Clary, it’s good you’re here. Blue wants you to stay here and safe.”
“What’s going on?” Clary asked in a quiet voice.
“Not sure if you should know.”
“Not sure if I should know? You’re not sure if I should know something which concerns my man? Something which obviously has stirred you all up to have everyone running everywhere. Something which is goddamn dangerous, and something my man has just fucking walked into, and still, you don’t think I should know?”
“Jesus, I can see why Blue fell hard for her,” Stoke muttered.
“Just tell her,” my woman uttered.
“Kitten.”
“No, honey. If it was me, I would want to know, and if someone didn’t tell me, then I would hate that person with a vengeance, because if it was you, Talon, I would be…” She shook her head, “…it wouldn’t be good. Please, just tell her.”
“Fuck,” I hissed. “All right.”
Never have I hated someone so much before. Not even my sister. But right then, I hated the man who took my lifeline from me, who took the man I loved and who took an innocent boy from the safety of his family, just to have payback because he wasn’t man enough to run a goddamn bikers’ club. Because he was lazy, sleazy and dirty in every way and form.
After Talon and Griz told me all they knew, I was ready to rip shreds through anything and anyone to get to Blue and Jason.
But then, Talon informed me fucking Motley wanted me in replacement for Jason…for money.
Why did it always come down to money?
Blue was smart enough to trade himself for me, because if I had found out first, I would have been where Blue was. I would not have left Jason in the hands of the cruel bastard.
Blue was protecting me once again.
It was time I protected him.
I needed to get him back.
The only comical side to the situation was when Talon and his men tried to stop me from coming to Blue’s rescue, because that was when Ivy stepped forward before me and let them have it.
She must have read every furious emotion I had upon my face, because she relayed everything I wanted to say.
With a hand on my arm, she stepped beyond me, and with a glare in her eyes, she said to Talon, Griz, Stoke, Killer, Pick and Dodge, “Listen here, you bad-arse mofos. We get that you want to go in all gung-ho; it’s your biker brother, so of course we understand that. But you need to understand Clary needs to be in on this. It’s her man in danger, and I can tell you now if it was any of you, we’d,” she gestured to us standing in front of Talon’s desk, “be doing the same. You all helped us through our Hell. You sacrificed yourselves through our Hell; let it be our turn to help to sacrifice. Now, I’m not saying w
e’re going to go in there without you and be stupid-like. We need guns and other shit, too. But what I’m also saying is you either accept that we are coming, not only for you, but for Clary, or else we’ll go it alone, and I’m sure you all know that could be just as dangerous. I can promise we’ll listen, we’ll do as we’re told and we won’t be more of a distraction to you to get Blue and Jason out safely. We will be the best teammates you’ve ever had. We will listen…okay, I will, and I’m sure Clary and Zara will. Deanna, I’m not so sure about.”
“Hey,” Deanna snapped, and then sighed. “If I’m in on it, I promise I’ll be on my best fuckin’ behaviour.”
“Please,” I begged. “Please let us do this, and now, so I can get Blue back in one piece.” I held back the urge to cry at the thought of Blue being hurt. I held back the sob that wanted to fall out of me. I held it all back, because it was what I wanted to do. I needed to be there to help my man.
“Shit, I’m going to regret this.” Talon sighed. He turned to Griz and said, “Get a brother at Vi’s on the phone. Find out where we’re heading so we can roll.”
That was when I smiled for the first time since Blue’s phone call.
We had a plan, and it was a good one. At least, I hoped it was. We were still trying to figure it out on the way. Vi had told Talon that Blue’s Harley stopped at a house in Caroline Springs, but then, after moments, it continued on. Now it was parked in outer Melton. From the Google Maps app, it showed he was in a secluded area surrounded by bushland. The Hawks crew dumped their Harleys to ride in vans. Altogether, there were four vans with around five to ten bikers in each one. I was riding in the back of one with Deanna, Zara, Ivy, Talon, Griz and Killer. Dodge, Pick and Stoke were up front.
“We can’t just go running in there. We don’t know what type of situation Blue and Jason are in, and we don’t know how many men this Motley guy has. If we run in there, we could risk hurting Blue more. I won’t have that,” I said.