And that’s where I come in. Really, I’m only doing this to prevent more problems for me. Ruby not dating anyone keeps my job easy. Her dating, hooking up with guys, sleeping somewhere besides her own bed? Yeah, that’s a problem.
And not just for the job, but for my own damn sanity as well.
Heading back in after the heat gets to me, I find Bass at the bar with his head hanging low. A beer sits in front of him, but it looks untouched.
“Trouble in paradise?”
He can deny it all he wants, but he has it bad for Milly. The girl is tough, like any of the old ladies. Knows when to protect and when to shoot first. Hounds seem to attract a certain type of woman around here, that’s for sure.
“There’s a price on Ollie’s head,” he says without emotion, but the fact that he’s closing down his feelings speaks more than he probably wants. Ollie is Milly’s. And Milly is Bass’s. So that makes Ollie part of the family, and no one comes for our family.
Before I can even think about consoling him, every damn alarm in the place goes off, and a crash from outside tears through the clubhouse.
“Perimeter breach. I repeat, perimeter breach. Multiple assailants. All heavily armed.” Flint’s voice echoes through the building.
The vamps take off running to the bunk room for safety, screaming like banshees. A few Hounds rush to the place we stash guns. But the rest of us? We just pull out the piece on us and aim it at the door as people come in shooting.
I grab Bass by the collar of his vest and throw him over the bar. He was looking out the back, probably thinking about Milly or some shit, and didn’t think to cover his own ass. I hop over, too, and we take cover as bullets and glass rain down on us.
“Shit. Boss is going to be pissed,” he says. And he’s right. Law doesn’t have a ton of rules. But one he does have is to not get blood on the bar. It’s a bitch to clean.
“Ask for forgiveness later,” I say a second before I stand and start shooting at anything I don’t recognize.
Boss can yell his head off later about the amount of blood I spill. But something tells me he’ll only be mad if it’s mine or another brother’s and not the enemy’s.
When the last one goes down, silence falls over the place. I look over the dead on the ground. “Call out,” I say.
“Clear” comes from all around me.
I hop over the bar top as if it’s a small fence and move to the guys on the ground. They’re all in suits. Looking back over my shoulder, I see Bass doing the same as me, assessing the situation. “These for your girl?” I ask.
He nods. “Think so. Don’t know many who wear suits and carry Uzis other than the Russian mafia.”
I nod in agreement.
“Sweep inside, groups of two and three. Once clear, head out and bring in our people.” I can still hear the war outside, but I don’t go running out. We need a secure place to bring in the wounded and protect what’s already inside.
The boys fan out. I stick with Bass as he and I head out the back. He’s on a mission to get to his woman, and I’m not about to let him go alone. We take a few out as we cross the playground. I see Chains getting dragged inside by General as blood leaks out of one of his legs.
We round the building, and I hear Bass scream at Milly a second before I see her standing in what looks like popping sand as bullets fly around her, catching her a few times. She falls to her knees and then shrieks as she stands and keeps going to a vehicle with a screaming kid being thrown into the back seat. I fire at every one of those assholes, but by the time I get them, the SUV is gone and Milly’s in Bass’s arms. She looks half dead from what I can see, even as Law comes out and shouts for General to come help.
The plan comes quick from the boss. Our clubhouse is shattered. Our people are down. And a kid is missing. We’ve got four bikes left that didn’t get smashed when the first SUV crashed through the gates. I grab any gear lyingaround and hop on my bike. Law, Bass, a prospect, and I speed after them. We have a tracker on the vehicle. Flint’s telling us where to go, and drones are flying ahead to alert us of ambushes.
We’re as prepared as we’ll ever be for a rescue mission after being attacked. I don’t have time to check my phone like I want. To see if Ruby’s safe. I have to trust that she is. She was so far out last time I saw my tracking software, there’s no way she was caught up in this.
I have to hope that the pain of what happened is the only pain she’ll face. Another thing to keep her up gaming all night to keep the nightmares away. Here’s to hoping that knowing her dad’s club is no longer untouchable is the only bogeyman to haunt her dreams.
“We’ve got to tell her.” Casper’s words have the room going quiet.
I close my eyes and just let it sink in. Everything that’s happened in the last few hours. Everything that’s happened in the last few weeks, months. Even years. Everything led up to this moment, and yet none of it did.
Law’s out. It seems impossible, but it’s true. The one pillar the club never thought would fall, has. He’s not dead, but that’s not the tale we’ll spin. And it’s all because of her. Ruby.
She has enemies. Duke. The Russians. She’s lost so much for this club already, but in order to keep her safe, she’s about to lose even more.
“I’ll tell her.” I speak before I realize I’ve decided. But as I open my eyes and look around at the boys, they all agree. Everyone knows I’m her protector. They don’t know all of it, but they know Law has me watching her. They think it’s just because of my background with security. They don’t know about me getting the club.
But this isn’t how I wanted it. And with him in a coma, I doubt Law told anyone of the plan. If I say anything, I’ll look like a fucking dick for seeking a position when a body ain’t even cold in the ground.
