by Addy Archer
“Way to stay positive D,” Ry grumbles.
Daniela winces. “Sorry.”
The building starts to tremble and we all hold our breath when a crashing sound comes from the other side of the building. For sure as shit sounds like part of the building just collapsed.
“We need to get the fuck out of here,” I press.
“Hear that?” Jace questions.
I strain my ears and assess what he’s trying to say and then I get it. “No more gunfire.”
“Yeah,” Jace grunts and checks his phone again.
“Is that a bad or a good thing?” Coral asks as she keeps her gaze pinned on me.
All I can do is give her honesty. “I have no fucking clue. Could be either way. Good because our brothers might have overpowered them. Bad if they overpowered our guys.”
“Stone!” Erko bellows. “Ryker? Anybody?”
“Over here,” Jace replies.
Erko appears along with two other brothers, Hardy and Ulser.
“Oh, fuck, no,” Erko mutters and squats down next to Ryker.
“What’s the damage outside?” Jace asks.
One of the guys answers while I take Coral into my arms. “Clubhouse is blown to shit, we need to get you guys out of here.”
Jace holds out his hand for Daniela and Ry falls in step behind us as we follow the guys out. When I glance behind me I see Erko carrying Ryker’s body. Fucking hell, we just had a damn funeral and now we need to bury another one of us. And who fucking knows, more could have been hurt because the damage I see when we move through the ruins is devastating.
Ram comes rushing toward us. “I need you guys, come on.”
“We can help too,” Ry says but the look Ram is giving is telling me he does not want Ry involved.
This could only mean one damn thing; Stone.
“Erko, Ulser, Hardy, stay with the old ladies. Jace, come on.” We jog after Ram and round the corner of what once was part of the added rooms to the clubhouse. I’ve counted six dead bodies littering the ground, none I recognize but the man lying partly under a collapsed wall I do fucking recognize.
“Motherfucker,” Jace grunts and starts to lift some of the heavy stones covering Stone’s legs.
There’s one large part of the wall on his left leg. Jace and Ram try to lift it but it doesn’t move an inch. There’s blood coming from a cut on his head.
“Listen, Jace, I know this isn’t ideal but we need everyone here including the old ladies. Daniela needs to look at him because if that cut is any indication, the man could have a serious head injury and who knows what else with that heavy shit hitting him.” He nods at my words.
Ram steps toward me. “I’ll go get them. Neither one of them is my old lady so I can talk a bit harsher and make sure they hold tight when they get here. We don’t need anyone freaking out.”
“Just go and get them you idiot. Our old ladies can handle shit you can’t even make up. They’re nothing like the chicks coming to visit for a good time,” I growl and shove his shoulder. The idiot doesn’t understand the value and strength an old lady can have in a moment like this.
I crouch down next to Stone and start to pull some debris from his body. Fucking hell. “You better pull through, prez. Come on, you’re called Stone for a fucking reason. So, hold fucking strong.”
“He will,” Jace says with ferocity.
But when I look in his eyes the same doubt I have in my gut is staring right back at me.
C H A P T E R E I G H T
– CORAL –
Ram comes running toward us. Ry’s eyes are huge and filled with panic. These guys might think they are keeping things from us but we’re all aware something must be wrong with Stone, otherwise they wouldn’t be this secretive.
Ram points a finger at us. “What I need from all of you is—”
“Oh, shut up and just tell the fucking truth.” Daniela puts her fists on her hips. “Go get one of my medical bags for me while we go ahead and check on Stone, because that’s it, right? We’re not allowed to freak out because you think we can’t handle shit. He’s her old man, asshole. If he’s as bad as you make us think he is, he would damn well want her by his side no matter what.”
Ram releases a string of curses. “Erko, get one of Daniela’s bags and go around the building to find us. The rest of you, come on. We need all the help we can get.”
He spins on his heels and jumps into a run. We all jog after him but my steps falter when we round the corner and see the damage to the building and the body Jace and Dreamer are trying to free underneath all the debris.
Ry chokes on a sob beside me. Daniela switches to full work mode and I can’t imagine doing her job. It seems not much shocks her or she deals with things differently but she’s able to lock away emotions and puts her hands and brain to work.
She starts to bark out orders and when Erko shows up with her bag she rips it from his hands to dive in and slide gloves on before working on a cut on Stone’s head. I saw her check his vitals and because she’s working on the cut he must still be alive, right? I mean, she wouldn’t do anything if he wasn’t, and she can’t see his legs because part of a wall fell on him.
All the men work together to lift the heavy piece while I’m holding Ry. She’s frozen in place and I know Daniela can use this time to work on Stone but I think it’s also good for both Ry and Stone to have each other close. Even if he might not be able to hear her, I’ve always believed in a strong connection reaching out on another level. And I know these two have a deep connection.
“Come on, Ry,” I tell her but she doesn’t move.
Her eyes are filled with tears and her throat bobs but she seems miles away. I give a hard push, making her stumble. It’s all she needs to snap out of it. She rushes forward to kneel on Stone’s other side since Daniela is still tending to his injuries.
From behind me there are suddenly people rushing toward Stone. EMTs. I didn’t even hear any sirens or think to call an ambulance. Ram must have done it before he came to get the others. They have successfully pulled him out from underneath the collapsed building. Minutes go by until the ambulance is rushing out of here, sirens blaring.
“I’m worried,” Daniela’s voice trembles.
I glance to my left. “Staying positive is the key until you face what you have to face with reality right in front of you.”
“I should have gone with him,” she murmurs.
I grab her hand and squeeze. “Only one person was allowed to go with him. Ry needed to go. Come on, we’ll drive there ourselves.”
“Jace and Dreamer, along with Hardy will go with us. Erko, Ulser, and Ram are staying with those who are still here. We’re missing two brothers and we’re hoping to pull them out alive. This is a fucking mess. Come on, we need to head to the hospital before the cops demand we answer their questions first,” Jace says and puts his arm around Daniela to guide her toward his bike.
Dreamer and I get into an SUV and drive to the hospital where we meet Ry who is in the waiting room. They rushed Stone into surgery because of his open leg fracture. There’s still no telling if he has suffered any brain damage but it’s safe to say the man has a concussion with the headwound Daniela treated. All we can do is wait. Wait until he’s out of surgery and has regained consciousness.
Hours and hours pass until Ry is finally allowed to go to him. Stone will need weeks to recover along with PT and such for his legs. Not only did he break his left leg, he also hurt his right knee. He won’t be riding a bike for months, that’s for sure. But he’s alive, and we’re all thankful to still have him with us. We lost three guys tonight.
Well, they lost three guys tonight. MC brothers. I have only known them for a short period of time and still it hits me hard and I can’t imagine what they are going through because they also just lost Leo. Not to mention the fact that I picked up on some hushed talk about retaliation. All while this too was retaliation with Nario striking back again. Back and forth when does it ever end? How
many more lives is it going to cost?
I brought death and destruction to this club. It’s all my fault and I wish I never mouthed the words that I needed help. Leo would still be alive. Ryker. Those other two men they’ve lost today besides Ryker. And Stone, the president of this MC, he would still be able to ride his bike . . . how can I not be the one to blame for the chain of events that followed the second I got out of Mrs. Long’s car?
“Stop,” Dreamer snaps, making my head swing his way.
We’re in the SUV on our way to his house since there’s nothing else for us to do at the hospital. Stone’s two sisters arrived along with a bunch of bikers from Rebel Rage MC. To say he’s well protected and watched over is an understatement.
Jace and Daniela are right behind us—on Jace’s bike—and are also going to stay at Dreamer’s house. Some of the members of Trigger Pull MC have checked into a hotel since the clubhouse turned into a crime scene and some parts aren’t safe. They have to talk about rebuilding or start over somewhere else. Another flare of guilt strikes me hard.
“I said you need to stop. I can see you’re overthinking everything again. You’re not the one who pulled the trigger or let a building collapse due to a fucking explosion. It’s all Nario and he’s going to fucking pay.”
“And when will it end? Because he will strike back when you attack again. Lives lost and yet the ball keeps rolling, it won’t ever stop.” My heart squeezes painfully and I add on a croaked whisper, “Not until I stop breathing or if you get killed too because I won’t survive either way.”
The SUV comes to a stop and Dreamer reaches for my hand, bringing it up to his lips to place a kiss on my knuckles.
“You know,” he starts. “With first my VP raving about a woman he met and couldn’t find since he didn’t have her number or anything. Then my prez meeting both Jace’s old lady along with his own love in that alley where he saved her life. I had no clue what they were talking about or what it would feel like to have everything fall into place. Being a part of an MC isn’t a full roses and sunshine ride. We’re a brotherhood and have each other’s back. But it’s also rival MCs, dirty business, and running into unforeseen shit thrown on our path and have it explode right in our fucking face. Point is . . . life is messy. It’s all about taking one breath and questioning if you have enough air in your lungs to make your body able to take another fucking breath. I never knew a load of everything I go through could be shared with the one person who can take every single worry out of my head and put life on pause long enough to enjoy pleasure. You make my life have these magical moments, Coral. If you didn’t enter my life I’d still be fucking nameless women who won’t ever get a part of me, while I fully and willingly handed a part of me over to you.”
I close my eyes and rub my temples. What the hell is he rambling about? Fucking nameless women. As if that’s the kind of stuff one needs to tell me right now to justify or so much as make me feel better. Asshole.
“Didn’t you hear me?” he questions.
“Oh, I heard the fucking nameless women part all right,” I mutter.
Dreamer sighs. “Figures. I shouldn’t have mentioned it but I thought the whole ‘them not getting what I’m giving you’ would make it special.”
I drop my hands and open my eyes to glare at him.
He looks sheepish when he says, “I guess I’m not good at putting my feelings into words and I should have just said ‘I love you’ instead of indicating I didn’t give other women shit but I gave you my heart.”
The glare falls right off my face to make room to gape at the man. The man who just declared he loves me. Who plainly stated he gave me his heart.
“You have a weird way of saying things,” I mutter and swallow hard at the emotions clogging my throat.
“Life is fucking weird, darlin’. But we’re still alive and kicking, barely starting and we need to enjoy every damn moment we have. No one will take you away from me now that I finally have you.”
A sigh rips from me. “Don’t you see this whole revenge angle is a risk of taking everything away?”
Dreamer’s lips morph into a straight line. “It’s club business.”
I feel my own chest rising and falling. Breathing. Letting your lungs fill with air without thinking. It’s something that happens automatically because it’s what your body started the day you were born. I guess the whole vengeance part is what became natural for Dreamer and all of the others once they became a part of their MC world. Or is it my world now too?
His green eyes, rough features, and scruffy beard have become the one thing I love to see because it brings me joy and comfort. But at what price? The risk of losing it all when I only recently found him? What other choice do I have?
There’s a rasp of knuckles on Dreamer’s window. Jace is standing there. Dreamer opens the door, making Jace step back.
“Any reason why you’re waiting in the car and not entering your house?” Jace questions.
Dreamer throws his thumb my way. “My old lady is on a guilt trip and is questioning the whole vengeance angle while she shouldn’t be concerned with club business.”
Jace’s eyes slide to me and I shoot the both of them a glare. “Playing with lives isn’t a normality or classifies as club business. I brought this to the MC’s doorstep. I’m allowed to question things because, like it or not, all of you have grown on me and lives were already lost. I can’t bear to lose anyone else.”
“Shit happens, we deal with it,” Jace simply states.
“It’s not that simple. If I wasn’t—”
“End that shit right now,” Jace growls. “Open your ears and remember what I’m about to tell you. Lock it inside your brain and never repeat it again because it’s club business. But you fucking realize motherfucking assholes enter lives and fuck shit up for everyone. It doesn’t mean the person whose live is in havoc is to blame. You met Stone’s sisters at the hospital, right?”
I absently nod, wondering why he’s bringing Peyton and Harper into this discussion.
“Stone’s father made his own daughter part of a deal with a cartel. Meaning he willingly threw her into the hands of people who abused her. Stone had no idea how rotten his father, the president of Trigger Pull MC at the time, was. Peyton’s mother was the teacher of Hunt’s daughter. She asked Peyton to watch over Hunt’s daughter because she knew, being a daughter of a biker herself, how hard growing up in an MC was. Even more when a mother isn’t in the picture. Stone, Harper, and Peyton’s mother died, and Payton watched over Hunt’s daughter. That’s how they got involved and how the two MCs became linked. More like a lust connection since he fucked her and got her pregnant, connecting those two for life.”
“Get to the damn point,” Dreamer growls.
Jace sighs. “Right. Well, Hunt came to Peyton’s house right when the cartel was there to pick her up since the cartel lost Harper and were coming for Peyton since their fucked-up father promised them his other daughter too. Stone thought Harper was just missing, and he was searching for her. Turns out Rebel Rage MC found Harper locked away in a space underneath the floor of a dick who kept her drugged up. They didn’t know who she was since she was all out of it. Hunt figured it out from a picture at Peyton’s house. That’s how the two MCs came to work together, taking out the rotten president of Trigger Pull MC and a cartel along with it. So, all of this might sound like a shit-train and not make sense at all, but I’m giving you a hint of what Stone and his sisters went through. Their own father being the one to ruin lives. Did they ask for anything? Fuck, no. But when you have an opportunity where people offer help, no matter who or how, you take it. Trigger Pull MC never would have survived if it wasn’t for Rebel Rage MC’s help. Hell, Stone’s sisters wouldn’t be alive or be slaves of a cartel if it wasn’t for their interference. Get it? You were taken, offered a way out, and you fucking grabbed it. Any butterfly effect after it isn’t on you, it’s on the fuckers who created the waves with their activities. Me telling you this also sho
ws it’s not our first time dealing with life or death club business. And I’m sure it won’t be our last once we’ve handled it. Now get your ass out of this car, and the fucked-up idea you’re to blame out of your head. It’s been one hell of a day and I’d like to get some sleep myself before we fight to live another day.”
I swallow hard while my mind is whirling with the information he just spilled. The two women I met at the hospital looked so strong and beautiful. It’s hard to picture them going through the ugliness Jace just mentioned. But it does put things in perspective because if life didn’t intervene and put the other MC on their path, things would have a drastic outcome.
“You’re right,” I croak.
“I sure as fuck always am.” Jace shoots me a grin. “It’s why I wear this.” He points at his vice president’s patch.
“Back the fuck up, your ego is starting to stink,” Dreamer grumbles and gets out of the SUV.
We head for the house and it looks overgrown with plants but it’s huge. I can’t wait to see the inside. I’m also curious how it looks during daylight because my fingers are itching to draw a sketch. Landscaping. It’s my passion and also makes me relax and I can’t wait to see the backyard.
“Later,” Dreamer says and places a kiss on the top of my head. “There will be enough time for you to get your hands stuck in the dirt.”
How does this man always know what I’m thinking or what I need? But it also makes me smile. We might have been together for a short period of time but we flawlessly connect.
“Looks like I will be spending a lot of time with my hands in the dirt.” The smile in my words make his eyes light up as we enter the house.
“Wait till you see the backyard. Let me know what you need to get started and I’ll get it for you. The way your eyes gleam over with twinkles and eagerness? It gives me the impression this might be the distraction you need and deserve to get your mind out of the shit at hand.”
I beam at him. “I’ll make a list.”
A chuckle slips over his lips. “You do that.”