And Ghost is dying.
I fire until my magazine runs dry, then slam in a fresh one and keep going. My shoulder aches from the recoil. My ears are ringing so badly I can barely hear the orders I’m shouting. Sweat and smoke sting my eyes.
The Savage Legion launches another assault on the front gate. At least eight riders converge on the weakened section, laying down suppressive fire while two of them plant what looks like more explosives.
“Front gate!” I bellow. “Don’t let them breach!”
Our brothers concentrate their fire on the gate. The two riders planting explosives go down in a hail of bullets, but the damage is done. The charges are already set.
“Everybody back!” I grab the nearest brother and shove him away from the windows. “Get back from the?—”
The explosion tears through the front gate and blows it completely off its hinges. The shock wave rattles every window left intact and knocks two brothers off their feet. Flames and smoke pour through the opening.
For a moment, there’s silence. Eerie and wrong after so much noise.
Then engines roar and three Savage Legion bikes pour through the gap.
“Kill them!” Titan’s moving, firing as he runs toward the breach.
I’m right behind him. We converge on the opening with every brother who can still fight. The three riders make it maybe ten feet into the compound before we cut them down in a cross fire that leaves their bikes leaking oil and their bodies sprawled in the dirt.
But the gate is destroyed. The compound is wide open.
“Seal that breach!” I point to the nearest prospects. “Drag anything you can find! Bikes, furniture, bodies if you have to! Just block that opening!”
They scramble to obey, hauling wreckage and debris to pile in the gap while the rest of us provide covering fire.
The Savage Legion pulls back slightly, regrouping beyond the fence line. I can see them talking, gesturing. Planning their next move. We have maybe two minutes before they hit us again.
Titan leans against the wall beside me, chest heaving. “We’re not going to last much longer like this.”
“We will.” But my voice lacks conviction.
“Ash.” He turns to look at me. “What happened on that phone call? I heard you talking to Bonnie. What’s going on?”
Ghost is shot. Bonnie is alone. And I’m here.
“Ghost got shot,” I say. The words come out flat and empty.
Titan goes completely still. His face drains of color beneath the dirt and blood. “What?”
“He went out for supplies. Ran into Savage Legion on the road. Got shot in the side.” I reload my weapon mechanically, not looking at him. “Bonnie’s trying to keep him alive. She’s terrified.”
“We need to go.” Titan straightens, already moving toward the door. “Right now. We need to?—”
“We can’t.” I grab his arm and stop him. “Look around, Titan. We’re in the middle of a war. If we leave now, everyone here dies.”
“So we let Ghost die instead?”
“I didn’t say that!”
“Then what are you saying?” He shoves my hand off his arm. “Because it sounds like you’re choosing this compound over our brother!”
“I’m choosing all our brothers!” The words explode out of me. “Ghost knew the risks! He volunteered to take Bonnie to the safe house. And now we’re under attack and if we don’t hold this line, the Savage Legion will slaughter everyone here and then go after Bonnie and Ghost anyway!”
Titan stares at me like he doesn’t recognize me. “You’re really not going.”
“Not until this is done.” My hands curl into fists at my sides. “I can’t. You know I can’t.”
