“Bring my daughter back home. Kicking and screaming if you have to.”
Law’s words repeat in my head as I speed down the highway, not caring what the legal limit is. Boss gave me a job, and I’m not about to fail. I swear I was just here, but that was two days ago. Lots of shit’s happened since then.
We should have seen this coming.Ishould have. The Devils Damned aren’t idiots. Well, not all of them. Especially their VP, Duke. He must have known we were coming. Not sure how or if he actually planned for this shit to happen tonight.
Going after a Hound’s family is the definition of starting a war. Going after the president’s daughter? This won’t end till Duke’s in the ground and most of his brothers are too. I don’t give a shit if he has his club’s backing or not. In my eyes, all of the Devils Damned just signed their death warrant when Duke made the comment that he’s taking out the club’s heart. Our weakness, he thinks.
I growl to myself at that thought. A heart isn’t a weakness but a strength. Having a heart isn’t a flaw; it hasyou seeing things clearly. Sure, sometimes you need to make a call that costs a person’s life. Being emotionless isn’t good. It’s lonely. It gets you nothing in life. I’ve done it. Act it every day. I hide that my heart leads most of my moves. I’d rather let people think what they want. It leaves them more vulnerable than what they think leading with a bleeding heart does.
Boss made a call. He went after Duke instead of waiting to make sure his kid is safe. It’s the smart move, but I’m only one man. I can take out a lot, but I might not get to Ruby in time. Even if I do, I’m still only one man.
I feel my phone buzz and push the Call button to talk through my helmet. “Yeah?”
“I got her still at the school, in one of the auditoriums. Looks like a speaker or some shit,” Mike says quickly.
“You got eyes on her?”
I called in a favor, knowing Flint was too busy with his own stuff to waste a second on tracking Ruby. Domino was manning the comms back home when Flint went to get his old lady. After Flintconfirmed he took out two of Duke’s men to keep them from getting Kitten, the call was put in to secure the rest of the property, to include Ruby. Domino needs to keep his focus on the rest of the old ladies and what’s going on with Mad Max and his girl. A single favor called in from a former DSS operative won’t wipe out the debt he owes me, and it saves everyone time when I do it my way.
“Yeah, third row from the back.”
I take a deep breath, but I know it isn’t over. Just because she’s there doesn’t mean that a threat isn’t.
“I’m fifteen out still. Keep me posted.” I end the call and pull back the throttle even more. A lifetime can pass in fifteen minutes, and I refuse to allow it to be Ruby’s. Not on my watch.
As I pull up to the front of the campus, I get a ping that Ruby’s event ended, and she’s headed out. The next ping is a location drop. I drive across campus, ignoring the wannabe cops and people yelling at me to not drive on the grass. I don’t give a fuck. Till I get Ruby in my sights and secured in a location that I feel is safe, I will do as I damn wellplease.
Chapter 8—Ruby
Istill don’t understand why the college requires us to attend these seminar things. It would make sense if it were a play or something and I was getting credit for writing a synopsis. But no. This is for University Seminar, a required credit that I have to take that’s meant to help me adjust to college life and explore the resources the school offers. You’re supposed to take it in your first year, but I pushed it off, hoping it would just go away. Like parking tickets. But sadly, I still have to take it. And I still have to pay those tickets. I have to attend three of these damn things and turn in the ticket stub or pamphlet they pass out.
Well, joke’s on them because, like the last two, I brought my Organic Chem book and was reading it while sitting in the back row. If I’m going to be forced to attend this when I’ve already gone to the weekly hour-long class, I don’t see a need to waste more time.
I’m sure if I’d taken this course freshman year or even in the fall, the seminars might have been better. As it is, I’m a month shy of the end of spring semester, and I’ve got very little left to choose from. It was either this discussion on Jane Austen in regard to today’s society or the benefits of snails to beauty products and face creams. At least with Jane Austen, I read her bookPride and Prejudice. Well, I saw the movie. It counts. The movie was awesome, and I’m told it’s just like the book. As for snails, to my knowledge, I don’t put them on me or wear them. Maybe I should have gone to thatseminar instead, just to confirm it, but whatever. The credit has been acquired, and I have the pamphlet in hand to prove it.
I walk with the rest of the students down the steps and out of the auditorium hall. Mostly women came to this one—surprise, surprise—and it was pretty packed. I was able to hide easily as I read my class assignment.
The night heat is a breath of fresh air as I pull off my leather jacket and set it over my crossbody bag. There are a few groups milling around, talking about everything from the seminar to what they’re doing after this, and even my boots. I’ve got on killer heels with spikes down the back like a spine. They’re tricky to wear but look awesome. I wear them when I’m feeling feisty, like a dinosaur. Nat calls them my Spinosaurus heels, and she ain’t wrong.
The revving of a motorcycle gets my blood pumping like nothing else does, and I look in the direction I hear it.
“What the hell?” I mutter as I see Kooper flying across campus at me. I’d recognize him and his bike anywhere. Especially since I glared at it half the night two nights ago from my window, wishing it would go away.
There was a party I knew about. I was thinking about going. But I wouldn’t if Kooper was going to be at my side. There was a glint about him that night that said he was in a mood to be squirrelly like that and ruin my fun.
Which he did. Sort of. I also kind of didn’t want to go. So I looked out the window half the night and playedFortnitethe rest of it. And I got to do it in comfy clothes, so it was actually a delightful night for me. Again, not something I’m going to thankhimfor. So if that’s what he’s here for, he can go right to hell.
I haven’t been able to get a decent workout in over the last few days, and my temper is at a boiling point. If he’s looking for a fight, I’ll give him one that he won’t soon forget.
“Koop, what the fu—” The sight of his gun pointed at me has me going stock-still. I know I piss him off, but I really never thought it would go this far.
I duck when I hear the shot, my mind already telling me I would have felt it before I heard it if I was hit. But I still take a second to look at my body to see if any parts are oozing blood. Another shot goes off, this one from behind me. I turn and see some guy coming across campus, sprinting with a gun raised.
People all around me are screaming and running around like they have no idea where to go.
“Get inside,” I yell, but I don’t know if anyone can hear me. “Go back inside and lock yourselves in.” I keep low to the ground as I try to see what’s close to me for cover.
The campus is landscaped like most are, kept pristine with nicely trimmed grass and small round bushes. They do shit for cover.
