Accelerate

by Kay Marie

  “Looks like our Nomad brothers decided to show up,” Raze states.

  “Who are the Nomads?” I ask him.

  “Reaper, Bear, Ruger, Zombie and . . .” he tells me as we walk inside.

  “Ace!”

  “Minx? Holy shit, you’ve grown up!” I run up and hug Ace. Raze growls behind me. “Easy, tiger. Minx is like a sister to me.”

  Moving back to Raze’s side, I tell him about Ace. “Ace is Shadow’s best friend. When Shadow got locked up, he just kind of disappeared. I never thought to ask Pops if he went Nomad.” I look to Ace. “It’s good to see you again.”

  “You too, Minx. I’m sorry I haven’t been around. I just had to get out on the open road.”

  “I understand that. I’ve only just been home from Arizona for a month now.”

  “I heard about you and Rivet moving out there. How was it?”

  “It was . . . interesting,” I laugh out. The energy in here takes a turn and I get an uneasy feeling. I look around the room at the other four Nomads. I’ve never met any of them, but one of them is giving off some nasty vibes. I move closer to Raze and he wraps an arm around me.

  “I also heard that this guy here claimed you.” Ace has a seriousness to his tone.

  “I sure did,” Raze says to him. Ace takes a few steps closer to us.

  “Don’t break her heart.” Ace puts his hand out to Raze. Raze grabs it and shakes it a couple of times.

  “Don’t plan on it.” He hugs me with the arm he has wrapped around me.

  “Good, good. Well, I gotta go catch up with Prez. I’ll catch y’all later.” Ace and one of the other Nomads walk off toward Pops’ office. That uneasy feeling is still there, so I guess I can rule out it having anything to do with Ace and the guy that went with him. I brush it off for now. I’m sure it’s nothing to stress about.

  For the rest of the week, Pops goes to the hospital to visit Jager every day. He FaceTimes with me so I can still see and talk to Jager even if I can’t physically be there. I know Jager understands why I can’t be there, but it fucking sucks. Pops calls off any parties and BBQs for this weekend, but is planning on letting us have something for the fourth of July.

  Today is Friday, my fourth day being on lockdown. There really isn’t shit to do here when you’re stuck here 24/7. Raze and I have kept each other busy, but you can only have sex so much in one day. It has been fun learning each other’s bodies.

  The Nomads are still here. There’s really no telling how long they will be. My guess is that they’re here to help deal with the Iron Lords when the time comes. I still get the bad feeling around three of the Nomads. I’ve come to know them as Ruger, Bear, and Zombie. The one that went to talk to Pops with Ace was Reaper. The cut bunnies have been keeping them company. My phone starts ringing in my pocket. When I look at it, I see it’s Pops calling instead of FaceTiming. Something must be wrong.

  “Hey, Pops,” I answer as I walk back to Raze’s room.

  “Hey, sweetheart.” He sounds somber. “I got some not so good news.”

  At that, my heart drops. “What’s going on?”

  “The doctors found an infection in Jager’s blood. They think it’s caused by one of the IVs up on his collar bone. They can’t give him antibiotics because of how bad of shape his kidneys are in, but they’re afraid if they take the IV out, he could potentially bleed out. The doctors are working on their next move.”

  I let out a heavy sigh. “Oh, Pops. I wish I could be up there with y’all.”

  “I know, sweetheart. Jager is sleeping now though. Just pray to the gods that if anything, he can go peacefully,” Pops says painfully. “We may not be ready for him to leave us, but it could happen anyway. I’ll be back to the clubhouse soon.”

  “Hey, Pops . . .”

  “Yeah, babygirl?”

  “I love you,” I say softly.

  “I love you too.” We hang up.

  I sit on the bed, hanging my head. We knew that things with Jager could have taken another turn for the worse. He was doing so good this week. I wanted to believe that he was going to keep getting better, but this shit is way out of our control.

  There’s a light tap on the door that causes me to look up. I see Raze and give him a sad smile. He moves in front of me and kneels to my level, placing his hands over mine.

  “What’s going on, Kitty?”

  “Jager is going downhill again.” I tell him everything Pops told me. When I’m finished, he sits next to me and pulls me to his chest, wrapping me in his hold.

  “No matter what happens, I’m here for you,” he whispers into my hair.

  After a few minutes, I pull myself together and we head back out to the main room. Staying distracted sounds like the best idea for the time being.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Savannah

  When Pops got home from the hospital, he went straight to his office. He’s been in there all night. I’ve thought about going and checking on him. Knowing him, I know he’d rather be left alone right now to process everything. Raze and I hung out with Rivet, Tink, Lolita, and a bunch of the brothers until about midnight. Half of them stayed in the main room while others, including Raze and I, decided to go to bed.

  I wake up to someone knocking at our door. When I pick up my phone, it’s 2:30 in the morning. I climb out of bed, trying not to wake Raze, and make my way to the door, cracking it open. I see Pops and my heart drops.

  “Is everything okay?” I open the door more, but not too much. All I have on is Raze’s t-shirt.

  “I got a call from the doctor about thirty minutes ago . . . Jager passed in his sleep.”

  “Oh, Pops.” I throw the door open and wrap my arms around his waist hugging him. We knew that this was still a possibility, but it doesn’t stop it from hurting any less. I’m glad he’s not suffering, but shit! I need my brother. A few tears fall from my eyes. Pops kisses the top of my head.

  “I just wanted to make sure I was the one that told you. Go back to bed, sweetheart.”

  He heads back toward his room. I worry about him. Two sons dead, one in jail. This has to be hard on him. I close the door and head back to bed.

  “What was that about?” Raze asks as I climb in bed next to him, his voice rough with sleep.

  I sigh and snuggle up next to him. “Jager passed away in his sleep.”

  He doesn’t say anything. Instead, he wraps his arms around me and pulls me into his chest. Which is all that I need. I cry into his bare chest, crying myself back to sleep.

  The next couple of days pass by in a bit of a blur. The fourth of July is three short days away. I can’t bring myself to get excited about it. Buster and the guys are supposed to be back in town Wednesday. They’re moving out here permanently.

  I haven’t cried again since the night Jager passed. I just feel numb. Raze has been great. He gives me just enough space but makes it known that he’s there if I need anything. I don’t think there’s anything anyone will be able to do to help with this hole in my heart. You never know when it’s going to be yours or a loved one’s last day, yet we tend to take this precious gift of life for granted.

  We’re sitting in the main room when Pops and Tech come rushing in. Tech is typing away on his phone.

  “Time to load up, fellas! Tech was finally able to get a hit on that piece of shit, Brody,” Pops tells the room. Raze looks to me with a worried look.

  “Go, Mason,” I whisper. “I know you feel like you need to be there. I’ll be fine here.”

  His hand goes to the back of my neck. He holds onto me and stares into my eyes. “Are you sure?”

  I nod and he crashes his lips to mine. “You say the word, and I’ll stay here with you, Kitty.”

  “Go get that bastard for the both of us.” I kiss him again before he stands up to join Pops.

  “We need a couple of brothers to stay back with Minx,” Pops announces.

  “I’ll stay behind,” Bear volunteers.

  “Me too.” That’s Zombie.


  Pops nods. “Good. Knuckles and Mouse, you’ll be driving one of the cages. Chains is on gate duty. The rest of you, load up. Let’s go get this fucker.”

  Raze gives me one last kiss on my head. “I’ll see you soon, Savi.”

  They head out quickly, leaving me with Rivet, Bear, Zombie, and a couple of the cut bunnies. Tink and Lolita are both working today, and half the bunnies have the day off. Rivet and I are sitting on one of the couches, talking quietly, while Bear and Zombie are playing pool. Trix is hanging all over them while Candy is behind the bar getting drinks for the four of them.

  “Minx, Rivet, would either of you like something to drink?” She makes her voice so fucking sweet. It’s enough to give you a cavity. I’m sure she’s just being nice because of Jager passing.

  “I’ll take a Coke, please,” Rivet tells her. I nod to let her know I’d like one too. She sets two cans down on the coffee table in front of us, and then heads to the pool tables. Riv and I keep talking about everything from Jager, to Buster and the guys, to the fourth of July. The more I drink my soda, the funnier I start to feel.

  “Ohh . . . I don’t feel so well,” I tell Rivet. “I think I’m going to go lay down.”

  “I think I may take a nap too,” Rivet responds as she lies on the couch.

  I slowly stand up, my vision a little spotty. Maybe I didn’t stand up as slowly as I thought. I make my way down the hallway towards Raze’s room, keeping my hand on the wall to steady myself.

  This can’t just be from lack of eating. I think to myself. I try to send out a text to Buster, he was the last person I was texting. The last thing I remember before completely passing out is hearing a female cackling and someone shushing her. Then everything goes black.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Raze

  I was torn when Prez told us we knew where Brody was. I wanted to stay and make sure Minx stayed safe. At the same time, I knew I needed to go and see for myself that we got him. Thank fuck my girl understood that.

  “I got a hit that he’s in a town called Springacre,” Tech tells everyone as we’re settling on our bikes. “It’s about an hour away from here.”

  “Alright, I want Knuckles and Mouse in the cage ahead of everyone. Tech, give them the address you have and they’ll lead the way,” Prez orders. The roar of all of our engines coming to life at the same time is almost deafening. We get into formation and head out.

  The longer we ride, the more an uneasy feeling grows inside me. Something just doesn’t feel right about this. We’ve been searching for this guy for fucking weeks and nothing comes up. Then out of nowhere, we get a hit on where he’s located. Not to mention, it’s a fucking hour away from the clubhouse. We could be headed toward a trap. Not that we aren’t prepared for that. We came prepared for a fucking war. We’re about ten minutes out from our destination when Prez signals for everyone to pull over.

  “I want Mouse and Knuckles to ride ahead and scope the place out. I don’t want us walking in blind and the cage is a hell of a lot more quiet than our bikes,” Prez announces.

  “I wanna ride with them,” I tell him. He gives me a stern look before responding.

  “Okay, but call us as soon as you get to the spot.”

  I nod then hop in the back of the cage. Mouse and Knuckles both have their cuts off so they don’t draw attention. Even in a cage you’d be surprised at how noticeable they can be. We head into town and it looks damn near deserted. This town has seen better days. That uneasy feeling I felt before, it’s ten times worse now. I get Prez on the phone as our destination comes into view.

  “Prez, he’s not fucking here.”

  “How the hell do you know? Did you go inside?” he questions me.

  “It’s just a piece of shit plot of land,” I tell him. “Whatever building was here has long been torn down.”

  “Fuck!” he curses. “Turn around and get your asses back here now. I’ll have Ranger, Thor, and Rascal head that way to see if they can find any signs of someone being there recently.”

  He hangs up before I can respond. Knuckles floors it back to the brothers. I call Minx as we’re pulling up to the bikes to let her know I’ll be headed back, but her phone goes straight to voicemail. I call Bear to see what the fuck is going on. No answer. I knew I should have stayed with her.

  “Son of a bitch!”

  “What’s wrong, brother?” Saint asks.

  “Minx’s phone is going straight to voicemail,” I say. “And Bear isn’t answering his fucking phone.”

  I hop on my bike. As I start it, I hear Prez yell something but I can’t make out what he says. I take off back toward the clubhouse. Flyin’ like a bat outta hell. I see something out of the corner of my eye and glance over. Saint. Prez must have told him to stay with me. I’m sure he and the others aren’t too far behind, but this is my girl and I gotta get there now. We pull up to the gate of the clubhouse and I don’t see Chains anywhere. I climb off my bike and move to check the booth where he should be.

  “Shit!” Chains is on the floor, hopefully just knocked out. I hurry into the booth and check for a pulse. Thank fucking Hades. He’s still alive. I see a can of soda sitting on the table. Someone must have drugged him to make him pass out. Question is, who?

  “Chains!” I shout, smacking his face a few times. He grumbles and starts to wake up.

  “What the fuck happened?” He sounds groggy.

  “You were drugged. Saint and I are gonna head inside. See if anyone is still here,” I tell him and he nods.

  “He good?” Saint asks as I walk back to my bike.

  “Probably has a headache the size of Texas, but he’ll be okay.” I climb back on my bike and start it up. It wouldn’t have been a far walk but I didn’t want to leave my bike outside the gate. Chains makes sure to close it once Saint and I are through. We park in front of the clubhouse.

  I draw my gun out before going inside. Can’t be too careful. I don’t see anyone when I first walk in. I keep my gun out until I see Bear and Trix passed out on one of the couches and Rivet on the other. I holster my gun and look to Saint.

  “Go wake them up, I’m going to look for Minx.”

  “You’re not gonna find her here, brother.”

  “What the fuck do you mean!?” I growl out at him. He hands me a burner phone that has a picture of Minx with a guy wearing an Iron Lords cut. Says his name is Ghost. He’s wearing a deranged smile and has a dark look in his eye. The text says, She’s mine.

  The clubhouse door slams open. “Minx!” It’s Buster.

  “She’s not here,” I say through gritted teeth.

  “What the fuck is going on?” he questions. “I got a text from her, but it was just a bunch of jumbled letters. Then when I called her, it went straight to voicemail.”

  “Son of a bitch!” I roar. I’m fucking fuming. I slam the burner phone on the bar top. If that asshole Ghost hurts my girl, I will fucking raise hell. Hades himself will be worried.

  “We were set up,” Saint tells him.

  “How?” Buster looks between me and Saint.

  “Tech got a hit on Brody. In Springacre, a fucking hour away. Only when we got there, the town was deserted and the address took us to a torn down building,” Saint explains to him. Rivet starts to wake up and Saint goes to sit next to her.

  “We got back not long before y’all showed up. Chains was in the guard booth, knocked out. When we got in here, those three,” I point to Rivet, Bear and Trix who just woke up. “Were passed out. Zombie and Candy are nowhere to be found.”

  “Ughh. What the hell happened?” Rivet groans. She looks around the room and her face drops. “Where’s Minx?”

  “Riv, what’s the last thing you remember?” Saint asks her.

  “Minx and I were talking. Candy brought us something to drink. Maybe ten minutes later, Minx said she wasn’t feeling well and was going to go lay down. I told her I was going to nap here.” She shakes her head. “Something felt really off, but I couldn’t stop myself from fa
lling asleep.” Saint is rubbing her back, trying to comfort her as she starts to cry.

  “That mother fucker!” Buster shouts. I look at him and he’s got the burner phone in his hand.

  “You know who Ghost is?” I ask, walking closer to him.

  “Yeah, but no one knew him as Ghost. Or that he was in any way affiliated with the Iron Lords.” He looks me in the eyes and so only I can hear, says, “That’s her piece of shit ex.”

  I clench my fists so tight that I feel my nails dig into my palms. I’m trying like hell to keep my anger contained. I feel like the Hulk is about to bust out, I’m so fucking pissed. I start pacing, I feel like I’m a fucking caged animal. I need to do something. Find this mother fucker and make him pay. I stop pacing and head outside when I hear a group of motorcycles pull up. Prez and the brothers are back.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Savannah

  Everything is black. My head feels like someone is pounding on it like a drum. I feel hungover, times about fifty. My eyes flutter open but I quickly squeeze them shut. The bright sunlight shining through the window is blinding, and only makes my head hurt worse.

  My shoulders burn and when I try to move my arms, I can’t. I feel some kind of rope wrapped tightly around my wrists. I wiggle my feet, but they’re tied together as well. I’m lying on a mattress. I want to look around the room, but it’s too bright in here.

  I decide to keep my eyes closed and listen for any talking that might help me figure out where I am. The last thing I remember is being at the clubhouse, talking with Rivet. I don’t know how long I lay there for, but I eventually doze off to sleep again.