“You won’t get shit from us. None of you. You can suck a dick for all we care.”
“Settle the fuck down,” Casper booms, then looks at his woman. “Krista?” His voice is softer as he uses her real name, something I know isn’t used often between them unless it’s just them. Or in sweet moments behind the bar or in a dark corner when they think it’s the two of them against the world. But the stricken look on her face has him coming over to her and cradling her in his arms as he tries to get an idea of what’s going on.
“She’s dead. Rue’s dead.”
Shit. This complicates things. Of course, the Crazy Eights will be out for blood. They lost one of their own. But maybe we can pool our resources. Use that hatred to find my girl.
“We said we would work with you. We said we would do shit your way. You were told that the only thing we wanted was the same protection for our people as you gave the others,” Jack snaps.
“We did.” Casper looks confused, and Jack turns to King, whose face is stoic as he looks on.
“Did you? ’Cause the security feed I saw showed you leaving her there to bleed out while you helped your friend. Even after they left, you stayed away.”
She pushes Walker’s arms off her and takes a few steps away, then comes back. Walker holds his hands out wide to block her from coming close to any other brother, but that doesn’t keep her from pointing her finger right at King as she speaks.
“Her death is on you. Hers and your kid’s.”
We all turn to King. He looks stricken as his eyes go wide.
“That’s right. She was pregnant. Your kid, King.Yours.No one else’s. And you left him to die. Just like her. The Crazy Eights are done with the Hounds of the Reaper. You need to find someone? Find them your fucking selves.”
She turns and walks away, muttering and cursing as she goes. Billy turns her head into her man, away from the rest of us, and cries. We can’t hear it, but we see the shakes.
I look at King and feel sadness. Dread. The guy had no clue. None of us knew they had hooked up. Was it before she told us who she was or after?
Does it matter?
King looks at us. None of us have judgment in our eyes. How can we? This shit is serious.
“I didn’t know,” he says with a shake of his head. “I… I didn’t know.” He turns and walks a bit, shaking his head. Then he slams a fist into the wall, smashing through the plaster. It comes out bloody, but he doesn’t even stop for aid, just pushes off a nurse who comes to help and walks out. Walker and a few of the other brothers follow.
No one left behind. No matter how fucked up that is to say or think right now, it’s the truth. Hounds don’t do shit alone.
“Casper.” This time when I say his name, I give him the time he needs to pull away from his woman and look at me. I don’t know what this will mean for them. And honestly, at this second, I don’t care. I need my girl. I need to have her in my arms. Till I do, not much else matters. “I need a few brothers to come check on my team.”
I’m asking for help. I’m letting him know that I have others. Others I trust beyond the Hounds to help. Does that make me an outsider? Someone not fit for the club because of who I ask for help and who I don’t?
I see the anger flare in his eyes before he nods. But that look lets me know the conversation isn’t done. That there will be a shit ton more to talk about when we all get the chance to catch a fucking breath.
“Bass, Gator, Jumper, go with him. Report back once it’s done.”
I nod and head out, not questioning who he chose. I get it. Gator’s good with tech. Bass knows his weapons. And Jumper is crazy enough to survive anything thrown his way. He jumps off buildings for fun. Going to look at the damage to my team and what I might have caused this club is a walk in the park compared to what he’s used to.
Finding my team is easy. I track them just like I do with Peaches. But unlike Peaches, whose phone was tossed before she even got into the van, they just left my guys’ phones next to their bodies.
“Jesus,” Jumper says as he takes in the scene.
My team had the trackers too. They followed her from the club to the hospital. They must have expected her to be there for a while, like she usually is. That explains why they’re both on the roof across the street.
Doesn’t explain the other body, though. But if you take in every part of the scene—the carnage, the emptyshell casings—you get the picture. Someone was up here to take out Ruby. Or to just be the eye in the sky. They weren’t expecting my guys to show. To deem that the same building had the best vantage point to see who was coming and going from the hospital.
I check one of my guys, then the next. My brothers stand around and assess while I confirm what’s obvious. My team is dead.
“This the whole team?” Bass asks.
I shake my head. “Two more. One got called away to do another gig, and the other had the day off. Fuck.”
I stand and kick at the gravel on the roof. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go down. My team was good. We survived worse than this in the Middle East.
