The thought ran through my mind as I hurried along the street. I wasn’t afraid that I would be shot, or even that any of the other members of the MC would see me. Hell, they would recognize me, but it was too late now. I was here, and I was going to stand up for what I believed.
I was going to stand up for my kids.
I reached the school and let myself in with my key, and I walked the halls. It was dark, it was quiet, and there was something unsettling and eerie about it. The minutes ticked by, and I waited, confused that none of the other teachers were there. It didn’t make any sense.
There should be some people arriving and getting the place ready for the students. The buses were set to be there in half an hour, so of course there had to be teachers on the way. But where was everyone?
“Megan? Fuck!” Cutter’s voice came out of the blue, and I was roughly grabbed by the arm and yanked into a classroom. “What the fuck are you doing here? Where’s Trip? Why the fuck aren’t you with him?”
“I left!” I snapped, folding my arms. “I got a message yesterday – they’re going to burn down the school with the kids inside. Trip didn’t think I should come, so I slipped out last night. I’m not going to let anything happen to this school because of you and your bullshit Cutter!”
“Fuck!” Cutter shook his head. “You are so fucking stupid! The kids have been evacuated for the past week! Someone tipped them off that shit was going down with the cartel and they declared an emergency and shut down. What the fuck?”
“But the note –”
My voice only hung in the air for a moment before a bullet whizzed past me, the buzz of it ringing in my ear. Cutter shoved me against the wall as he took the other side. “Stay the fuck down!” he shouted.
My heart raced. I suddenly began to piece it together. It was a trap. Trip had been right. I hadn’t listened to him. I’d insisted on doing things my way and now I was going to die.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, my back against the wall and my head down.
“We’ve been using this as sort of a compound since they hit our clubhouse last week,” he hissed. “Why the fuck did you have to come?”
“Why do they want me?” I argued. “I’ve never been a part of this shit.”
“One of the kids who was killed that night was Pedro’s brother. In his eyes the only satisfactory retribution is an eye for an eye. Or in this case, a sibling for a sibling,” Cutter replied, wiping his hand over his face as we scooted inside a classroom and quietly shut the door so it didn’t make a sound and alert the shooter or shooters to our whereabouts.
“Were you the one that killed him?” I asked. I hesitated to ask, but I had to know. I had to know if he really was responsible for killing those men. I had to know if it would be my own blood that caused my death.
“For once in my life, no, I didn’t do it,” Cutter replied. “Which is part of the reason I’m so fucking pissed off that he has a target on your back. I’m so goddamn sorry Meg. I was supposed to take care of you after mom and dad died. I’ve failed and I’m sorry.”
For the first time in a long time, I saw genuine regret on my big brother’s face. It was a look I hadn’t seen much in the past ten or so years. He’d become so hardened by the life he chose to lead that he rarely felt remorse for the consequences that came along with his choices.
But this, this I see, is different. He may not care what happened to him, but he sure as hell cared what happened to me. I was suddenly very sad for him. How lonely and angry he must fell most of the time. I wanted to reach out and tell him it was ok, that he’d done the best he could, but now was not the time. We had to get out of this clusterfuck alive first.
I wished that Trip were there, despite the horrible, hurtful things he’d said to me the night before. He had been the one who was smart enough to see through the bullshit ruse and I had stubbornly refused to listed. Like always. My own bullheadedness was finally going to get me killed. If I could only take it back. I wished I’d listened to him. I’d rather be sulking on his couch, nursing a broken heart than on the floor under a desk with gunmen after me. More bullets whizzed through the windows, and Cutter swore again.
“Come on, we’re hiding out in the gym on the south side,” he said. “We’re going to have to make a run for it. They’re watching through the windows and taking aim when they can.”
I nodded. I thought back to the attack in the parking lot of the diner, and I knew I was going to have to hold it together if I was going to make it through this. Cutter needed me to hold it together; he didn’t need to be worrying about carrying my frozen ass while trying not to get his shot off. I couldn’t crumble like I did in that parking lot with Trip.
We each took a deep breath and ran. The bullets continued to whiz through the windows, hitting the wall on the other side, but we kept going. I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry, but I knew I had to press on. It’s what Trip would do. If he was there, he’d tell me straight up that I had to toughen up and get myself through it. There would be time to freak out when I was safe.
I was the one who had put myself in the situation, now it was up to me to get myself out of it. And if I was going to do that, I was going to have to keep my head on straight.
We made it to the gym and ducked inside. It was one of the few places without windows allowing for no one to see inside. If the cartel wanted to come in and start shooting, they were going to be exposed, which gave the Souls a chance to fight back.
“Where is everyone?” I asked, looking around at the shockingly small handful of men who looked as miserable as I felt.
“This is who we have left,” Cutter replied. There were only five of his men in the gym, and he shook his head. “We haven’t been able to send for help. No one can go in or out, which is why it’s remarkable you weren’t shot walking in here.”
I didn’t want to think about it, so I sat down. I felt sick, and I wanted to break down in tears, but I knew I couldn’t. That could wait. Right now, we had to figure out a way to get out.
“What’s that?” I asked, pointing out the window across the hall from the gym doors. There were several men pulling something out from behind the fence, and Cutter walked over to see what I was looking at.
“Oh fuck,” he said. “Get down!”
He grabbed me once more, yanking me down to the ground. I wasn’t sure what happened, but at that moment, all the glass shattered in the hallway and concrete dust rained down on us from a hole blown in the wall of the gym. Smoke was everywhere, and I couldn’t see a thing, but I heard shouting and gunshots.
Cutter was suddenly gone from my side, and I couldn’t breathe. I put my hands over my ears, trying to stop the ringing, but it was coming from inside my head so I just had to ride it out.
The smoke was blinding, making it impossible for me to see anything. It stung my eyes, and though Cutter was shouting to me, I couldn’t tell which direction his muffled and distorted voice was coming from.
I knew what the plan was now. They wanted to get me there, to kill both of us in the same place. They didn’t care about the kids, Trip had been right about that. Now, they were outnumbering us, and they could move in without us being able to see where they were coming from.
The shouting and the cries made it impossible for me to know what was going on. All I knew was that we were under attack, and I didn’t know how to fight back. I felt a sudden sharp pain pass through my abdomen, right above my belly button.
I crumbled to the ground once more, holding myself. The wet warmth that ran over my hands told me I was bleeding, but I didn’t know how bad the wound was. All I could think was that I wasn’t going to make it out of there alive, and I had made the biggest mistake of my life in coming back.
Not only had I put myself in danger, but I had given the cartel what they wanted, and they were hitting us hard. They were going to take their revenge on my brother, and they were taking me with him.
As the noise started to fade around me and darkness crept in
at the edges of my vision, the only person I could think of was Trip. I hoped he wasn’t still angry with me, and that he could come to forgive me for going against what he said.
I wished I had the chance to tell him the truth – not that I was sorry for leaving, but that I was sorry for not telling him sooner that I loved him. I saw now with a clarity that I hadn’t had before that he loved me to. Everything he’d said the night before had been a lie. He’d wanted to save me; he’d wanted to guard his own heart. I knew that now.
I loved him with everything in me and I wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with him. But the rest of my life had come, and I was fading fast. I couldn’t think straight anymore, but the pain had faded, and warmth had washed over my entire body.
I closed my eyes as an easy peace settled over me.
Then everything I knew faded to black.
23
Trip
The wind whipped through my hair as we flew down the freeway, ignoring any sort of speed limit that was in place. Gunner, Axle, Odie, Javi, and Brutus rode with me, all keeping up with my breakneck speed.
I didn’t blame Gunner for Meg being gone that morning. I blamed myself. I had been beyond an asshole the day before, and I was paying for it now. I had thought I was doing the right thing, but I now knew that I couldn’t have been more off base.
That woman was the love of my life, and I had broken her heart. No, I had shattered her heart. Not only had I told her that there wasn’t anything between us, but I hadn’t even acknowledged how she felt about her kids. She was worried for their safety, and though I had a feeling it was a trap, I had blown it off as though it was nothing.
No wonder she had gone. She was heartbroken, and she thought I didn’t care about the place she called home. Hell, I had told her so many times that I didn’t, no wonder she had believed me.
How many times had I told her that it was their choice to do what they wanted? How many times had I insisted my way was right?
Now, we flew into town without a care for the cops who were trying to pull us over. We had somewhere to be and we knew we’d need back up when we go there. Let the cops follow.
I knew she would be at the high school. That’s where they wanted her, after all. And, I was right. Smoke was rising in the air. We could see it from the moment we headed into town. We didn’t stop as we roared up Main Street, weaving in and out of traffic, blowing through stop signs and street lights.
Hell, we didn’t even stop to take cover when we reached the school. We rode right into the thick of it, bursting through the flames and the smoke with our guns blazing.
The cartel clearly had their ambush planned, but they didn’t plan on us being there as well. With military training and aim better than anything the Souls could bring to the table, Gunner and Brutus started dropping men left and right.
I was on a mission, however; I wasn’t interested in shooting, I had to find Meg.
There was rubble scattered everywhere, and glass on the floor. But it didn’t take me long to find her. She was lying on her side, her hand over her stomach. Blood was oozing out between her fingers, and I felt sick to my stomach as I ran to her. I scooped her up in my arms, holding her close as the gunfire faded around me.
“Call for an ambulance!” I screamed. “Get the EMTs here now!”
There were still men running around, some firing shots, others taking cover. The cops who had been trying to pull us over had been drawn into the fight, and the cops that had been holding back, trying to assess the situation as the battle raged on were also now involved.
I didn’t know where Cutter was, and I frankly didn’t care. Shit, I didn’t even care if the man had been killed in the battle. All I cared about was the woman in my arms.
“I’m so sorry,” I said as I held her limp, lifeless body. “I’m so sorry. Hang in there, baby, help is on the way. Please, hang in there. I love you! I can’t lose you.”
“How is she?” I asked as I leapt from the seat. The doctor had just entered the room, and both Cutter and I rose at the same time. He had only taken a bullet to the arm and had been waiting alongside me for his sister to come out of surgery.
We didn’t talk much. He thanked me for not only taking care of her, but for coming to their aid when the cartel was closing in, and I made sure our agreement was still in place. But besides that, we had sat in silence.
There was nothing to say to him. We had fought for so long over the years, I didn’t want to fight with him anymore. I didn’t want anything to do with him. All I wanted was Meg.
“She pulled through. She’s resting now, and her recovery will be long, but she’s going to be okay. She was really lucky. If that bullet had been an inch in any direction she could have been paralyzed, or even killed,” she said.
I breathed a sigh of relief. I wanted to fall to my knees and break down, but I’d never show that sort of emotion in front of Cutter. Even though he seemed to be thinking the same.
“Can I see her?” I asked.
“She’s resting, but you can both come back and see her in an hour or so, after she wakes,” the doctor said before leaving the room.
“You can go,” Cutter announced as soon as we were alone.
“What?” I looked at him.
“I said, you can go. You did what you were hired to do, and now it’s time for you to fuck off,” he said. “Do you think I didn’t see the look on your face as the EMTs arrived? Something happened between you two. It was written all over your ugly mug.”
“Have you always been so observant?” I replied condescendingly.
“Tell me I’m wrong,” he challenged.
I hesitated. My first instinct was to tell him he was wrong, but I couldn’t. I had made that mistake once, and I wasn’t going to do it again. I loved Meg, and I would tell her and anyone else how I felt. I wasn’t going to lose her. I’d come too close to that today already.
I thought I was doing the right thing by letting her go, but I couldn’t have been more wrong, that was for damn sure. Now, I was going to stand by my emotions, and my feelings for that woman. I was going to be there for her, no matter what. And if he had a problem with it, Cutter could go fuck himself.
“I’m going to make sure she’s okay,” I said as I sat back down. “If you want to make a scene, go for it.” But he didn’t.
We waited for another tense hour until the nurse allowed us to see her, then we both fought to be civil as we followed her to the room.
“This is going to need to stay brief and quiet,” she said. “Fifteen minutes.”
“Thanks,” I pushed through the door, letting Cutter straggle behind. Meg was laying on the bed, her eyes open, staring at the ceiling. She looked tired but seeing her alive brought me more relief than I knew possible. I walked up to the bed, smiling as she looked at me.
She said nothing, letting her eyes fall.
“Meg,” I started. “I’m sorry. For everything.”
She looked up at me in surprise, and I continued. “I love you, and I thought I was doing the right thing by letting you go. I didn’t want you to have to choose between your home and me, between your blood and me, and I think we both know that’s what was going to happen. But I went about it the wrong way. It was a mistake, and I’m sorry.”
Meg was clearly surprised. She looked at Cutter who was clearly pissed, then back at me. “You came for me?”
“Of course. I always will,” I said. “But by the time I showed up, it was too late, you’d been shot.”
“That was my fault,” Megan replied. “I should have listened to you, and I’m sorry.”
“I want you to come home with me,” I said, feeling bolder now. I didn’t care if Cutter was right there. “I want you to work from Ridgecrest, and I want you to be in my life. Shit. What am I saying? You are my life.”
“Trip I --” Meg started. There were tears in her eyes, but a smile was at the corners of her mouth. I knew she was forgiving, just as I was willing to forgive her for ru
nning away and nearly getting herself killed. I didn’t hold it against her, and she didn’t hold my mistakes against me.
It was part of the reason I knew we’d be great together.
“Don’t listen to this asshole,” Cutter butted in. “Your place is here.”
Megan sighed, laying back on the pillow as though defeated. “I don’t think it is anymore, Cutter.”
“What the fuck are you talking about? What about the kids? What about all the work you do here?” he asked. I could see in her face that his words were hitting home, and I knew my chance to keep her was fading. The thought of losing her again filled me with rage, but I knew that wasn’t going to get me anywhere.
So, I took a different approach. Cutter clearly controlled her through manipulation, but I’d use his tactics to set her free.
“What about love? What about your own happiness? You don’t have to be here to make a difference, Meg. There are a lot of people in Ridgecrest and the surrounding towns who need you, and you know that’s true,” I said.
Cutter looked outraged, but before the conversation could go further, the nurse poked her head back in the room. “Okay, times up. We’ve got to let the patient get her rest.”
“I’ll be back to get you as soon as the doctor says you can leave,” Cutter said. “And I’m going to take you home, and we’re going to forget about this entire thing. The cartel is gone, and we aren’t going to have to worry about them anymore. You’re going to go back to your teaching, and I’m going to get back to the way things used to be, too.”
Megan nodded, though I could see the uncertainty in her eyes. She was used to the way things had been. It had just been her and Cutter for so long, she didn’t know any life outside of that. But I would gladly show her one.
She had spent her entire life living for other people, doing what she thought was best for them, what she thought they wanted her to do. She didn’t think about herself at all. Sure, there were some ways that was good, but there were many ways I knew it was slowly killing her inside.
Protecting Her: An Enemies to Lovers Romance Page 13