Chapter 13
Cole
I’m wearing a shit eating grin when we walk out of the back office into the clubhouse. Rex and I stand on either side of Lena, proudly showing her off, letting people know that she’s ours. I can still taste her on my tongue, one taste and I’m hooked, already I want to carry her back into the back office and fuck her. From the way she looks up at me with those seductive eyes, I know she wants the same thing. She’s fucking perfect.
We head to the bar for drinks. “A bottle of champagne for us and our old lady, we’re celebrating,” I say to the barman, Hank, who’s been here for years.
“Coming right up. So, you’ve finally met a girl brave enough to take on the lot of you, have you?” he says as he sorts our drinks. “Good on you, Lena. I’m glad to see you and Rex sorted things out. He’s been a miserable asshole since you left,” he chuckles. “And now you’ve taken Cole on, too. You’re one hell of a gal,” Hank adds, winking at Lena, who blushes.
“Here’s to us,” I say, holding up my champagne glass and clinking it with the others who echo my cheers.
I feel on top of the world as I look at Lena and Rex, amazed that my best friend would willingly share the woman he loves with me, for it’s evident that Rex is hopelessly in love with Lena. Mind you, after that mind-blowing sex, I’m falling for her too. I hope that she has feelings for Judge and Doc, too. It hardly feels real that we might have found our dream woman. I know it’s a strange fantasy, wanting to share your woman with othermen, and I’m not sure why I desire it, but I’ve always wanted this. My cock twitches in my pants as I recall Lena’s face as she came on my cock while sucking Rex off. I can only imagine how incredible it would be to watch her fuck all of us.
I’d forgotten all about the events that led us to hook up with Lena tonight, about Mary Beth’s confession and subsequent dismissal, that is, until someone hurls a brick through the clubhouse window.
The sound of shattering glass and screams of surprise pierce the room. We barely have time to register what just happened before the shooting starts. We all drop to the floor as the room explodes around us, bits of glass and wood flying everywhere as the bullets break glassware and splinter tables and chairs. I cover Lena with my body, trying to protect her from the hail of bullets that rains down on us. She looks utterly terrified. Rex does the same, and we both shield her with our bodies.
Although the gunfire feels never-ending, it stops almost as quickly as it started. “Protect Lena,” I order Rex as I jump up and retrieve my gun, ready to return fire.
Several other people jump up, having the same idea. I rush to the window and look out, gun raised, as I return fire at the retreating bikes that speed away. I can tell by the insignias on their jackets that they’re Iron Vultures. I curse as they disappear from view. So this was a drive-by shooting. But why?
The timing seems too convenient that the first time Lena surfaces and comes to the club, the Iron Vultures attack us here. Now that the shooting has stopped, shell-shocked people rise from their hiding spots. Mercifully, no one was hurt—a small miracle.
“Prez, you need to see this,” one of my men says, handing me the brick that the attackers initially threw through the window.
Wrapped around it is a piece of paper, a note.
She belongs to me. Return her or suffer the consequences.
Zeke knows he doesn’t even need to mention Lena by name, that we’ll know exactly who he’s talking about. Even so, the fact that he doesn’t mention her name sends a wave of fury through me, as I know he doesn’t see her as a real person. To him, she is something to own. He doesn’t want a relationship with Lena, nor does he want to get to know her. My brilliant, smart, beautiful Lena. He just wants to own her. He can’t handle that she rejected him.
There’s no way we’re giving her up. Not now, not ever.
“We should have fucking killed that bitch,” Rex mutters as he comes up and sees the note. “Mary Beth has to be the one who told them. She ran straight to Zeke and told him Lena is here. We should hunt her down and make her pay.”
I sigh and run my hands over my face. I take one look at Lena’s stricken, fearful expression, and I know that despite everything, we did what was right tonight. “No. We aren’t stooping to our enemy’s level. We aren’t like them. Mary Beth was punished according to our rules. We should have known that she’d tell them. We should have taken Lena straight home. They would never have attacked if our bikes weren’t parked outside, letting them know she was still here.”
“You don’t know that. The Iron Vultures’ attacks are escalating. This is war, Prez.”
“Maybe so, but we won’t change who we are because of them.”
“What about the safehouse? Are Mia and the others okay? Do they know where it is?” Lena asks, panicked.
I shake my head and pull her into my arms, kissing the top of her head and breathing her in. “No. They’re safe. The Iron Vultures attacked here because they don’t know where our safehouse is. They saw a brief window of opportunity, and they took it. Mia is safe.”
She starts to cry, and my heart breaks for her. “This is all my fault,” she says, gesturing to the destruction that surrounds us.
“No,” I say fiercely, cupping her face in my hands and forcing her to look me in the eye. “None of this is your fault. I don’t want you ever saying that again. Zeke is a madman who was looking for an excuse to start a war with us.”
“You should just hand me over to him. People will get hurt, and someone could have died tonight. I don’t want that on my conscience.”
“I’m not giving you up, Lena, not now I’ve got you. You’re mine. You’re one of us. And we protect our own no matter what.”
“We’d all gladly fight to protect you. We don’t abandon our own,” Hank interjects, and I feel grateful that my people are banding together and accepting Lena. I know that we share the same moral code. I nod my thanks to him, and he smiles grimly back before resuming clearing up.
The mood is somber as we chip in to tidy up the clubhouse. Repairs are needed, and several members have offered to return tomorrow and work on the place. Rather than pushing us apart, this attack has brought us closer together aswe band together to discuss how we will face our enemy. I feel grateful for my friends—my family. We stick together no matter what, and I am happy that they have so readily accepted Lena as one of us. No one seems to disagree with Mary Beth’s banishment. In fact, most seem pleased to see the back of her, stating that they never trusted her.
I know that war is coming, that things are going to get worse before they get better. Yet, as I look around the room, I feel confident that we will come out of this fight triumphant and stronger than ever. You can’t keep a Soaring Eagle down.
