by K E Osborn
I let out a heavy breath as he releases the bar then slaps my shoulder. “Look, all I’m saying is don’t go into this without the knowledge Luc might not want to come with us. If you’re prepared for that outcome… you might handle it better.”
I slide out then sit up. My hand rubs through my sweaty hair as I turn to look at Ace, his man bun looking particularly messy this morning as his eyes assess me. “Fuck… he’s not going to want to come with us,” I murmur.
Ace shrugs. “He might, or he might not. You have to be prepared for both outcomes.”
I exhale looking at him raising my brow. “Why the hell are you up so early?”
“Cindi woke me when she left my room this morning.”
I let out a laugh. “Girl’s a fucking sex addict, I swear.”
Ace looks as happy as a pig in shit. “Yeah, don’t I fucking know it. She’s got the mouth of a—”
“Mornin’. What the hell are you two fuckers doing up this early?” Torque asks as he strides in from around the side. I didn’t even hear him ride in. I guess I was so lost in my thoughts I missed his grand entrance.
“Chains was working off his anxiety about today,” Ace advises as he glances to the boxing bag on the lawn.
Torque raises his brow with a heavy sigh. “I see it’s going well… you gonna be able to keep your head in this, brother?” he asks stepping up to us.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I need to get Luc then get back here so we can assess where he’s at.”
Torque looks at Ace with an unspoken question.
Ace bobs his head. “Yeah, I found out where he’ll be today. He seems to go out without guards or security on him. I think he might be in the leadership group, so he leaves without a tail. He’s trusted in their ranks. I’m assuming this won’t be easy,” Ace offers.
Now I see why he was talking that way. He already thinks Luc won’t want to come willingly because he’s already made his choice.
Well, maybe when he sees me, it will be different.
When Luc knows there’s an out, he’ll chose me.
He has to.
Luc won’t fail me twice, will he?
CHAINS
The light of day has dwindled to nothing. The darkness of night creeps through the windows of the clubhouse as I step up to Torque looking over the plan once more. “You sure this is going to work?” I ask.
Lift exhales, slapping my shoulder. “Hey, we can count on Noah. Once we realized the whorehouse he worked at was run by the Sovereigns, Noah was down to help us out again. Especially after last time with Pyro.”
Watching Pyro beat Renegade, a disgruntled ex-brother who betrayed us, to a bloody pulp was a highlight for me. Sure, I got a little wounded in the fray, but it was nothing I couldn’t handle, and seeing Pyro come alive like that was something special. He really took on the role while giving Renegade the payback he truly deserved. All the while, Lift’s blood brother, Noah, guarded for us on the inside of the whorehouse he works security at.
Noah’s come in handy for us twice. First for Pyro—now for me. We kinda owe him.
“So, the brothel… why is Luc going to be there? I mean is it for…” I pause letting the meaning sink into the room.
Torque chortles. “No, he runs the money from the brothel to the Sovereigns. From what Ace was able to uncover, Luc is basically the Sovereign’s high-ranking bitch boy. He does their runs for them. Does their shitty jobs. But they obviously trust him enough to be out doing their work, so he must be on their side, Chains. You have to expect for him not to want to come with us.”
A shudder runs through me as I prepare to ask what I knew I was going to anyway. “If he doesn’t want to come, Torque, my whereabouts will be blown. The Sovereigns may come after me. If he doesn’t want to come, I want to bring him back, see if we can switch him. Turn him. I know I can do it.”
Torque rubs the back of his neck. He knows I’m making sense. If Luc won’t come willingly, my location is out there on the wind. I’m screwed. It’s this or nothing.
“Yeah, all right. But it’s not going to be easy. He’s been with them for thirty-five years, Chains. If we can’t break him…” He leaves his words hanging in the air. I know what the alternative means. As much as it pains me, as much as it will fucking kill me, I know what will have to be done.
“If it comes to that, I’ll do it myself. I’d rather see him dead and at peace than brainwashed by those fuckers any longer.”
Torque nods in understanding. “As long as you stand by it, we’ll be okay.”
Ace gestures to us, so we walk over as he taps away on his handheld device. “I have Luc making his move toward the brothel now. Noah’s going to tell him there’s an issue, then lead him to the alley, the same one where we dealt with Renegade. From there, we can grab Luc, put him in the back of the van and bring him here. Should be a simple snatch and grab.”
Nerves roll through me. I haven’t seen Luc in nineteen years, not properly anyway. Only the one glimpse on the road, and, of course, in my nightmares. Seeing him now is going to be damn hard. I never knew if he was still alive, dead, or something worse. There were a few reasons I didn’t go back for Luc.
One, because of the betrayal I felt from his actions on that night with him making me leave without him. He chose to stay behind. That doesn’t sit well with me, even now.
Two, because of the fear of actually going back into that place, of being held against my will again, of being taken back in and never being free. Them killing me would have been fine, but holding me, torturing me again—no, I couldn’t bear that.
Then the biggest reason of all was Bex. Numerous times she begged me not to go find him. When I wavered, when my guilt overran me, and I wanted to pull Luc from the depths of hell, she always held me back. I knew she was scared about what might happen if I did go back there, so I always capitulated to Bex’s wishes. Every. Damn. Time. Not that I blamed her, she only wanted what was best for me at the time.
But I can do this now.
I know I can.
“Right, let’s mount up and get this done. Tell Noah we’re coming in hot and to get Luc ready.”
Torque whistles through the clubroom gaining everyone’s attention. All our brothers look at us. Game faces on. They know we’re riding out tonight. They know this is for me.
“Brothers, we have a job to do. We’re going in to get Luc. So, mount up. Disperse.”
I watch as Trax strides up to Sparx who’s with the twins making sure to kiss them all. Pyro does the same to Neala. Torque and Sensei stand together. I know they will be wishing they could be giving their old ladies a sendoff farewell, but Foxy’s at work and Sass is still at the garage. It makes me think of Bex. If there was anyone I would want to give a sendoff farewell to, it would be her. But she wouldn’t understand this. Bex would fight me on it. She would try to smack some sense into me, and tell me I was being a nostalgic fool. Trying to recover a friendship with someone who clearly isn’t capable of being saved.
But everyone’s capable of being saved at some point, it’s just if they’re willing to be or not. I believe Luc, the sixteen-year-old boy I knew, will still be inside him somewhere. I just need to find him. That’s the Luc I’m going to find and bring back.
That’s the Luc I’m going to save.
We all turn striding out of the clubroom. Adrenaline is seeping through my veins. I’m getting Luc back. I’m getting my brother back with the help of my brothers, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Stepping to my ride, I watch as Vibe and Lift move to the van. We need to take it so we can transport Luc back here. If we all rode, we’d have no way to transport him. Knowing he’ll be in the back of the van soon sends a sliver of hope running through me. I glance up to see Gatekeeper at his post. His face still recovering from the blast when the Gentlemen invaded the clubhouse and blew up the gate, taking him out in the process. He had second-degree burns on his face and down his left side, but he’s doing okay now.
He’s one tough son-of-a-b
itch.
My engine roars to life as I turn it over. Anxiety washes over me even more. This shit’s getting real. Scratch takes off out of the compound followed by Torque and Trax. I hammer down after them. The vibration of my engine generally soothes me, but right now all it’s doing is making me feel like my entire body is shaking. Whether it is or not I don’t fucking know, but I need to pull my fucking shit together. I know I’ve been thinking about this moment for the last nineteen years, but my brothers have my back. This can’t go wrong. No, this won’t go wrong.
A few minutes later, we’re pulling up at the edge of the alley. The van backs into position by the exit, out of prying eyes from the main street. No one will see us. We have to keep as quiet as possible. The noise from the bustling city is alive, so we can move about freely, but any loud noises, and we’ll have a problem.
We have to play this just right.
We stride up the alleyway we’re fast becoming accustomed to. I glance at Pyro, but his face is stern, like he’s proudly reliving the moment he beat Renegade to a bloody pulp right over there. I want to say something to him, I just can’t find the strength.
We walk to the back door. Lift moving ahead of us as he raps on the wood twice. I stand back wiping my palms on my jeans, the sweat beading on them again almost instantly. All my muscles tense as Noah opens the door with a bob of his head. “Hey, he’s here. Everything’s in place. You just be ready, he’s in a shit of a mood.”
Swallowing hard as I take it all in, Torque steps forward. “Thanks. Noah… we owe you.”
Noah glances to his blood brother, Lift, then back to Torque. “I’ll get to that later, but for now let’s get this done. I’ll be right back, be ready, he won’t hesitate to make a scene.”
Scratch steps forward along with Sensei. My body tightens all over as Noah closes the door, walking back inside.
Torque grabs my shoulder. “Chains, maybe you should take a step back?”
I scoff. “If anyone’s going to get him to go quietly, it’s gonna be me, Pres.”
Torque goes to reply, but the door quickly flies open as we all turn to see Noah ushering Luc outside.
“What the fuck, Noah? What the hell could be in the alley?” Luc grumbles then turns to see us all.
His eyes roll like he actually finds this amusing as he folds his arms over his chest. “Right, first things first… Noah, you’re fired. Secondly, what do you fuckers think you want?” Luc snaps.
I look him over, his shoulder-length silky black hair falling in his face like some fucking Italian model. He’s grown into himself. No longer the tiny boy who couldn’t fend for himself, he’s grown into man who I’m sure could kick some ass if the event ever called for it.
“Luc,” I murmur.
His eyes widen as they shoot to look at me. His breath catches as he assesses my face like he’s not sure what to make of me. I’m covered in tattoos, my hair’s longer, I have a beard. He won’t recognize me I’m sure, but he’s studying me anyway to try and figure out who the hell I am.
“No one calls me Luc, no one has for fucking years. Name’s Lucian… you better tell me what the fuck you want, or I’m gonna start throwing down some shit, boys.” His cocky attitude shocks me. This is so far removed from the innocent boy who couldn’t defend himself. From the boy who I fought for all that time ago.
I step forward, right up to him. His eyes look me over. I feel Torque grab my elbow as if in warning, but I ignore him. I look into Luc’s electric blue eyes as they assess me, like he knows there’s something about me that’s familiar, but he just can’t place it. “Luc—”
“Why are you calling me that?” he interrupts me.
I exhale. “Because I know you.”
His nostrils flare as he peers down the alley to see bikers blocking his exit in both directions. He looks back at me. “Okay, I’ll bite… who the fuck are you?”
Tension rolls through me as Torque places his hand on my shoulder. “No,” Torque demands at the same time the word leaves my mouth.
“Chains,” I murmur, making Luc’s brows knit together as Torque grunts.
“Chains?” Luc’s tone is more curious, his past was linked to those damned chains too, so this should be starting to click into place for him now. I turn back to assess Luc, his eyes really looking at me now as my brothers begin stepping closer like they can sense shit’s about to get real.
“Your name is Chains. You’re calling me Luc. You’ve got to be what? Thirty-five?” he asks.
He knows.
I slowly nod as his lip turns up in a sneer. Suddenly, he reaches around his back as he pulls out a blade, he’s moving so fast I don’t have time to think as I lunge for him at the same time he lunges at me. I grab for his wrist holding the blade, pulling it to the side as we fall to the ground, rolling around. My brothers all move in to try and disarm him as I use my other hand to punch into Luc’s side. He gasps letting the knife go as I land on top of him pinning his arm to the ground.
“It’s okay, I got him,” I tell my brothers as they step back.
Luc pants for breath as he lays there looking up at me, one arm pinned beneath my weight as he shakes his head. “Fuck you, Ty. Why the hell are you here?” he spits out, his face hard as he glares at me.
“I’m here to get you. To free you from them.”
He lets out a loud, mocking laugh. “After nineteen years? Now, you come back for me? You can fucking rot in hell, you piece of shit,” he spits. His free hand swiftly moves to his hip, grabbing at something as Ace rushes in beside me, but Luc’s too quick as his hand slams into the side of my neck.
I feel the warmth before anything else as Ace shoves me.
I fall off him to the ground.
Scratch and Sensei move in quickly on top of Luc with the chloroform rag as Ace slides in beside me. My eyes flutter as I grab my neck feeling my blood flowing with each beat of my heart. The warm liquid seeps through my fingers while Ace frantically looks over me.
I can’t hear what’s going on with Luc, all I know is my neck is cut, and I’m in shock. I don’t know how bad shit is, whether I’m going to bleed out in this fucking alley, or whether I’m just startled that Luc tried to cut my jugular.
Either way, I’m freaking the fuck out.
“Chains… Chains, look at me,” Ace demands.
My foggy eyes make eye contact with his as I try to keep calm.
He grabs at my hand, slowly pulling it back from my neck as Surge steps in behind him. Surge has medical training too, so they both sit down beside me looking over my neck.
“Talk to me, Ace,” Torque calls out.
I can only just take in what’s happening. My body’s numb as I focus on Luc’s still body lying on the alley ground. Scratch is over him tying his hands together with cable ties. I can finally take a much-needed breath.
“He’s okay. It didn’t get the carotid artery. It’s just a laceration. He should be fine with some sutures, but he’s in shock, Pres,” Ace calls out.
“Fuck,” Torque groans.
I hear a door, but I can’t register anything that’s going on around me.
“Here’s a first-aid kit. I saw what was going on through the security feed, but don’t worry, it wasn’t recording. I’ve made sure of it,” Noah’s voice rings through my ears as Surge stands up beside me.
“Thanks, lad, you’ve been a big help today,” Surge offers dropping the box next to me. Ace pulls something out placing it on my neck as I lay here wondering what the fuck to do.
“Lift, Chains is gonna have to go back in the van. You take his ride back to the clubhouse for him, okay? He’s gonna have to go in the back with Luc. Vibe, you’re gonna have to keep your ears on them.”
It’s the shove I need. Suddenly, I sit up just as Ace tries to apply something to my neck. He grunts as I turn looking at Torque. “I’ll be fine in the back with Luc. I’m okay, I just needed a moment.”
Torque looks at Ace. Ace shrugs as he continues to apply pressure to my wo
und wrapping some gauze and tape around it to try to stem bleeding.
“You just went into shock, Chains, from being sliced in the neck by your fuckin’ so-called childhood friend,” Torque replies as I glance at Luc out cold on the ground.
“I know. It took me a second, but I’m good. I can handle riding in the back with him. Trust me, I got this, Pres.”
He exhales with a shrug. “Like I have any other choice anyway. You can’t fucking ride, so you have to go in the van. Keep your wits about you. Do not let him out of those hand ties, Chains, no matter what happens. I think he’s proved he’s not the little boy you once knew.”
My nostrils flare. “Yeah, you got that right.”
Ace helps me as I move to stand, stumbling to my feet. I feel fucking woozy, but I’m okay. I glance at Scratch and Sensei carrying Luc then they shove him in the back of the van.
I exhale as I throw my keys to Lift with a hard glint. “Scratch her, I’ll kill you,” I tell him.
“I got it. Your ride’s safe with me, brother. You just keep that friend of yours under control,” Lift replies.
I nod, the movement sending a searing pain through my neck as he slaps his brother, Noah, on the shoulder then turning heading for my ride. I turn to Noah, exhaling as he shifts to walk inside the brothel. “Noah,” I call out. He turns to face me. “Thank you.”
He dips his head as I see Torque watching Noah’s every move like he’s assessing him. I’m not sure what that’s about, but I stride over to the back of the van sliding in next to Luc.
Ace looks at me. “Try to keep pressure on your wound for the ride. Won’t take us long to get back to the clubhouse, then when we’re there we can patch you up properly.” He closes the door behind me locking me in with a soundly sleeping Luc.
Taking a deep breath, I look over him.
The fucker.
I can’t believe he tried to kill me.
I kick his foot with my boot as Vibe climbs into the cab starting it.
“You ready to rock and roll, Chains?” Vibe asks. I grunt in return. He snickers in his usual way pulling out of the alley into the street on the way back to the clubhouse.