And then, from the parking lot, more of them fanned out. But they weren’t fanning out like they were taking positions to attack us. They were getting in position todefend.
And that’s when I saw it. A limo, almost certainly bulletproof and heavily protected, sitting in the middle. And then, just to the left, two very tall men walking with someone in between.King.
God, the fucking temptation to drive up, shoot that fucker in between the eyes, and run up to Melissa in triumph was intense. I could see it now, even as I prepared to shoot at one of the guards on the railing. But it took only one gunshot coming my way, striking a club member in the arm, for me to shake out of that absurd proposition.
There had to be over a dozen men creating a pathway to the limo. There were six of us here, plus another six on the other side. The numbers did not favor us, and that didn’t say anything about the skill they may or may not have had. King would live another day.
But now I had to fucking make sure Melissa and Hailey did as well.
So instead of following King, I turned my attention back to the railing where two of the three enemies still lived. I took my shot and nailed the wounded one, who crumpled to the ground. The other one took a few shots before backing away into the corner.
“Coward!” I yelled.
We moved in close to the complex, but then a parade of bikers landed shots on us—too many of them. We had to take cover behind a nearby building, the six of us pressed up against a wall. In the distance, we could hear the north side taking their shots, but for the moment, we were pinned down by the men who had protected King.
And then…
The sound of motorcycles roared to life.
But…they went the other way.
Away from us.
Away from Satan, Lane, and Cole.
Away from the chaos.
“They’re running away,” I said.
“For another day,” Brock said. “We caught them off-guard with a pincer attack. They won’t get drawn into a battle of attrition.”
That was…
Smart.
King was playing the long game, it seemed. He didn’t see a reason to sacrifice his men if he didn’t have to. Why trade one for one when he could pick and choose his spots and do one for zero? I would have to talk to Satan about this later, but I was beginning to think that we couldn’t “just go and fuck ‘em up” anymore. We had to be smart.
But that opened the door to the Cook girls.
“Let’s go!” I roared.
I parked my bike right up by the stairs to her place, up on the curb. I sprinted up the stairs, keeping my gun by my side in case anyone came after me. On the other side, I saw Satan coming up the other stairs.
“There’s no one inside but the girls,” he shouted. “Mason confirmed.”
I nodded and pushed inside, but still kept my gun at the ready. I scanned the room.
“Melissa!”
“In here!” she shouted from the bedroom.
“Are you safe?”
“Yes!”
I waited a beat in case she gave me reason to believe otherwise. I then headed to the door and opened it. She and Hailey were huddled together in the corner, alone.
They were safe.
