CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Phoenix
I pulled into a parking lot roughly a mile from the warehouse. A few of Boar’s members were already there waiting for us. Boar stepped out of a cage and walked over to my bike. “I just talked to Copper. No one has been in or out of the warehouse since Crystal arrived. Can’t say for sure, but it doesn’t sound like anybody is in there except the four of them.”
“Thanks, man. Appreciate you helping us out like this,” I said to Boar. I was surprised he actually came with his boys. He was still recovering from being shot during the same incident that injured Coal. His recovery was slower than Coal’s due to the location he was shot and his age. Boar nodded in acknowledgment of my gratitude. We would probably owe him a marker for this, but I was okay with that.
“Here’s how we’re going to do this. We’ll ride up some more and stop about a half mile from the warehouse. We’ll leave the bikes and approach on foot. Once there, we’ll split off into groups and surround the warehouse. Carbon and Shaker, once we breach, you two get Nathan out as fast as possible. The rest of you shoot to kill anyone in there except Octavius. I’ll be the one to send that fucker to hell,” I growled.
With that said, we rode to the half-mile point Byte mapped out for us and walked the rest of the way. We functioned like a well-oiled machine. Half the group went one way while the other half went in the opposite direction to surround the building. Badger and I inched along the side of the warehouse until we found a door that was stupidly ajar. I made eye contact with him and nodded. Holding my fist down by my side, I ticked off one, two, three with my fingers. On three, I eased the door open and stepped inside.
The door opened to a large room with concrete walls and floors. In the middle, Nathan was tied to a chair, head slumped to his chest. Off to the side, Octavius and another man, who I assumed was Annabelle’s father since I couldn’t see his face, were in a heated argument. At their feet, Crystal’s lifeless body lay in a pool of her own blood. Badger and I simultaneously raised our guns, took aim, and fired.
Octavius and the other man dropped to the ground. Annabelle’s father didn’t so much as twitch thanks to the bullet Badger lodged in his skull. Octavius, on the other hand, was rolling around on the ground, clutching his leg, and screeching like a banshee. I went straight for Octavius and quickly tied his hands behind his back.
Carbon and Shaker rushed in and began untying Nathan who was starting to come around. As they were carrying him out to the van, I heard Carbon mutter, “Well, that was anticlimactic.” I shook my head. I wondered about that boy’s sanity sometimes.
Boar strolled through the door and looked around the room before his eyes settled on Annabelle’s father. “What in the hell did Gnaw have to do with this?”
“Who’s Gnaw?” I asked distractedly. I was still hovering over Octavius, contemplating shoving a gag in his mouth. I was so grateful we had accomplished our goal without incident, I hadn’t bothered to take in any details of our surroundings.
Boar pointed to the man on the ground. “That fucker right there with the Disciples of Death cut on. He was a vicious son of a bitch.”
“Fuck me! That’s Annabelle’s father. Fuck, this just keeps getting better. On top of everything else, now I’ve got another club to deal with.” I pinched the bridge of my nose and shook my head. “I’m going to get this piece of shit secured and see how Nathan is. Then, we can start on the cleanup.”
The rest of the guys followed me outside as I drug Octavius by his bound hands to a cage. I guess no one wanted to wait in a poorly ventilated warehouse with two dead bodies in the middle of a scorching summer. I shoved Octavius in the back of an SUV and told Judge and Batta to stand guard. Then, as I opened the door to the van containing Patch and Nathan, a loud boom sounded behind me and I felt the ground shake, followed by an intense heat at my back.
I whirled around to see the warehouse in flames and several of my guys, as well as Boar’s, on the ground. Fuck! Boar was also sprawled out on his back. I knew that was too easy. I ran back to check on the men and was relieved to find that no one was seriously injured. It looked to be just a few bumps and bruises.
I extended a hand to Boar and helped him to his feet. He winced in pain and rubbed his chest. “Somebody see if Patch can take a quick look at Boar,” I called out to no one in particular.
He waved his hands dismissively. “No need. I’m okay. Just rattled my cage a bit,” he said, continuing to rub his chest.
“You sure, man?”
“Yeah. Ain’t nothing some whiskey and rest can’t fix.”
“All right, brothers, let’s get out of here. That fire is going to draw attention, but at least we don’t have to worry about evidence. Carbon, you and Shaker toss some fuel on the flames. Wouldn’t hurt for it to burn hotter and faster,” I ordered.
Shaker nodded and looked to Carbon. “Was that climactic enough for you?”
Carbon chuckled. “No, but it’ll have to do.”
“Well, it sure as fuck was for me. Let’s get moving,” I barked.
We walked back to our bikes and rode home. I was truly thankful to have rescued Nathan, captured Octavius, and taken care of Annabelle’s father with ease. It was rare that any of our missions of that nature were carried out without at least a few people getting hurt.
When I pulled through the gates to the clubhouse, Annabelle was standing outside the front doors waiting for us. As soon as she saw my bike, she ran to me and grabbed my cut right as I came to a stop. “Where is he?” she demanded.
“Relax, doll face. He’s in the van with Patch. He’s a little banged up, but he’s okay,” I told her.
“I need to see him,” she said, tears running down her face. The doors to the van opened and Nathan stepped out. “Nathan!” she yelled and took off running. Nathan barely had time to brace himself for the impact. He grunted when she threw herself into his arms.
“It’s okay, Mom. I’m okay,” he said, trying to soothe her.
“Incoming!” Patch shouted from behind Nathan. Nathan looked up in time to see Ember barreling toward him. He lifted one arm and wrapped it around her when she got to him.
“Come on, girls, let’s get him inside,” I said.
