“Need me to update the Pres?”
“Already done. I’m sorry about this. I’m taking her there, then I’ll get back and you can go. I’ll grab a spare helmet on my way back to wait with her, just in case I need to take her anywhere else.”
“Is she okay?”
He scratched his jaw as he glanced back at the huddled figure. All I could really see was long dark hair covering her face as she hunched in fear. Nothing about her was okay, but I had to ask.
Finally he looked at me again. “She will be. If it’s the last thing I fucking do, she will be. Thanks, man. I’ll be quick.”
I watched as a taxi swooped by and parked beside them, and then they were gone, and I was waiting some more.
V
When I arrived atthe club, ready to help swing a sledgehammer, or even better, get to swing a wrecking ball, the first thing I noticed was nobody on the gates, which was weird. I knew Rocket told me he was on gate duty, because he was pissed he was missing out on smashing the place to bits.
I leaned on my horn until someone approached the gate, and it was Harley. He waved before he dragged the gate back, andthat’s when my eyes focused on the mess of the compound. The largest building, the dorm, was still being smashed down, but the office and lounge building was already just rubble, as was the storage building, and a few men were approaching the meeting room they called ‘church’.
I parked up in the area marked off as ‘safe’ and stepped outside, still surveying the carnage as I joined Harley at the gate.
“Where’s-”
“He went out with Henley, some rescue or something. He’ll be back soon.”
Rescue? “Is whoever it is okay?”
He shrugged. “We’ll find out when we’re meant to, love. You wanna smash some shit up?”
“Fuck yes!”
He led me over to the meeting building, where a bunch of bikers were standing staring at it, like it needed some kind of reverence before it got trashed.
“What are we waiting for? A blessing? Take it down,” he snapped at the bikers, who all frowned at him.
“Isn’t it sacred or something? It’s our church.”
I sighed, snatching a sledgehammer from one of them, a prospect, and stomped over to the building. To be fair, I hadn’t considered how heavy a sledgehammer even was, but I wasn’t about to back down now. I still had something to prove with this lot, and this was my moment to make a start on that.
“Shall I, Harley?”
He laughed. “Do it, V. Get them going for me. Be careful though. Caroline will kick my ass if you get hurt.”
I rolled my eyes, because she’d no more kick his ass than she’d raise her voice. She might glare a bit, and hiss angrily at him though.
I staggered back a half step as I raised the sledgehammer, and positioned myself at the main door, figuring I should be able to at least break that without looking like a twat.
“I name this door Ted, and I’m going to FUCK IT UP!” I yelled the last part as I swung the sledgehammer, and it smashed into the door with a satisfying crack. It didn’t split it like I’d hoped, but it definitely did damage.
I whooped out with exhilaration as I did it again, and then others joined me and began smashing at the double doors and frame, and the trundle of a heavy vehicle told me shit was about to get real.
A few hits against the jarring solidness of the door, and wall, and my arms were aching and I needed a break. Pretty pathetic, right? I passed the sledgehammer to the prospect, and he went to join his brothers.
“Thanks, V. I get that they felt weird about doing it, but it had to be done,” Harley said, standing beside me as he watched the demolition in progress.
“Is it weird for you?”
He sighed, rubbing his jaw as he gestured around.
“I’m one of the members of the old club that was here, so yeah, kinda. It was a place I wanted to call home, but it never became that until Phoenix arrived. Trashing it is the best way forward, but it does feel a little sacrilegious doing it.”
