“Wake her up.Go.Go get her.Hide in the wardrobe together or...”
There is a huge bang.A door crashing open.
Scarlet catches her breath, a terrified whimper.
“Search the fucking place!”A deep male voice.“Find her.”
The phone goes dead.
Something in me dies too.My heart turns black with terror and fury.I’m on my bike now, my brothers around me, and we are tearing out of the clubhouse lot.People stare.Cars get out of our way.The roar of our combined anger vibrates through my chest.
If I was mad before, now I’m beyond that.I would sell my soul to the devil to secure retribution.They’ve brought Scarlet into the crossfire, not once but twice, and for that they’ll burn.
Getting to Belly is bad enough, fucking hideous, but Scarlet, sweet Scarlet who I dragged into this.I can’t live without her.
That thought jumps into my brain.But it’s quickly replaced with the need to decapitate anyone who hurts even one hair on her head.
I speed up.The wind hits my face and the engine roars between my legs.I don’t let myself imagine what is going on at the safe house.What good will that do?I just have to get there with my brothers at my side.We are bound by steel and sin and there is no one else I’d rather have fighting beside me.
****
Scarlet
“Consuela, wake up.”I shake her, my hands trembling and my heart skipping to a crazy tempo.Sweat pops on my brow.
“Mmm ...what?”She opens her eyes a fraction.
“They’re here.”
“Who?”She must see the look of terror on my face because she springs to sitting.
“The Hyenas.”I look around and spot a wardrobe.It will have to do.“Come on, we have to hide.They’ve burst the door open downstairs.”Quickly I remove her drip.She’ll be okay without it.She’s taking fluids well now.
She moves with surprising quickness and I guess she’s had a spurt of adrenaline.
There’s banging downstairs, shouts too.
We move across the room.I have my arm around her waist, half-dragging, half-supporting her.In my other hand I hold Reaper’s gun.It’s cool and heavy and feels strangely alien but I’m really glad I have it.
We go into the cupboard and I shut the slatted door.We’ve left evidence, lots of it, it will be obvious we’ve been here but with no vehicles outside perhaps they’ll believe we left.
“Where the fuck is she?”A deep angry voice.“Find the little bitch.”
Consuela cowers in the corner, her dark eyes wide and her bottom lip trembling.
“It will be okay.”I squat next to her with my arm around her shoulder.
“Shoot them.”She nods at my gun.“Shoot them all.”
“How good is your aim?”I ask.
“I’ve never held a gun in my life.”
“Me neither.”The gun is shaking as I aim it at the cupboard door, about halfway up so I’ll hit mid-torso if someone opens it.
It sounds as if the place is being ransacked.Banging and crashing.Something smashes.Heavy hands and footsteps combined with loud angry voices switching between Spanish and English.
“Where are the men?Your men?”Consuela whispers.
