“I’m not letting you go. I’m motivatin’ you. As long as we get to my wife before Darkness ruins her, your role in all this will remain hidden. I’ll exact my pound of flesh by allowing you to work out your punishment by being my man on the inside. You’ll do what I say, when I say it.”
“What if we don’t get to her in time?”
My booted foot comes out to kick Weaver off the straw bale. “If we don’t get there in time, it’s going to be a fuckin’ blood bath and you’re the very first person I kill.”
Cray steps forward and Weaver scrambles back, trying to lean away from him while his wrists are still zip-tied.
“Get up, asshole. We need to move now.”
***
The area is just how Weaver described it. Jasper is there with what looks to be about forty men, far in excess of what we need for this operation if the intel Weaver gave was accurate.
Speaking of that asshole, he scrambles off the back of one of the bikes and pulls the heavy chain aside and we ride in nice and slow, careful to cut the engines just before we’re close enough to the clearing to be heard.
We surge forward, intent upon getting to Nova as quickly as possible. After hearing what Darkness has in store for her, I can’t get to her fast enough. If he’s touched a hair on her head, I’ll kill him slowly while he screams for mercy that never comes.
There’s a campsite visible through gaps in the tree line. A dying campfire, beer cans scattered on the ground, and a line of men going in the cave Weaver mentioned. This is a sloppy situation.
We creep forward and move through the cave entrance in pairs. There are a couple of men standing guard just inside and we dispatch them easily. A short passage opens into a larger chamber with a stone fireplace built into the wall with crudeventilation cut through the roof of the cave. There are bed rolls and supplies scattered around. Crates are stacked everywhere. The air smells like a cross between a gym locker and a dive bar bathroom.
That’s when I hear his voice. Darkness is addressing his crew. He’s talking shit. All bluster about what he’s gonna do to Nova and how he’s gonna ruin her. This fucker isn’t even drunk. He’s completely sober, just rotten to the fuckin’ core.
My heart jumps into my throat when I see Nova with her wrists tied to a large c-hook embedded in the wall. Her hair is a mess and there’s a bruise on her jaw. But she’s sitting upright, shooting Darkness a look of complete loathing. I can’t be sure, but it looks like we got here in time.
I hold up my fist and everyone behind me stops. We listen, partly for the evidence, but mostly because I want every man in our crew to understand exactly what we’re dealing with. I glance over my shoulder and see Mac is recording every word Darkness says.
“Once we’re done with her, we’ll dump her body in public, maybe in town. I want to send the message loud and clear. The Sons make promises they can’t keep and Vulture’s precious granddaughter paid the price for their arrogance.”
That’s enough for me. I make the gesture for us to move forward and we move as one. We come around the corner hard and fast, flooding the chamber. Darkness’s remaining men scramble. Two go for weapons, but Jasper and Rock are on them before they clear their holsters. Bran tries to run. Cray picks him up and slams him face first onto the stone floor.
I cross the room in three strides and drop to my knees in front of Nova. I cut the zip ties binding her. She reaches for me, running her hands over my cut. “You really came for me.”
“Of fucking course, I did. I’d die for you, kill for you, whatever it takes to keep you safe.”
Her expression turns emotional and she throws her arms around my neck, whispering, “Deep down inside, I knew you would.”
“Everything’s gonna be alright, darlin’,” I assure her because it’s true. I’m gonna make sure Darkness ends up with as many criminal charges as possible. If and when he gets out of prison, I’ll be waiting for him.
When Nova pulls back, she says quietly, “Told you I wouldn’t break.”
I just pull her close again, because she’s equal parts breaking my heart and making me so fuckin’ proud of her.
When I pull her to her feet, Darkness growls, “This ain’t over Rager. At some point, you’re gonna be under my knife and I’m not gonna hesitate to go for the kill.”
I step out to face this enemy that I never knew I had. Darkness’s face is twisted with anger. Before I can speak my old man does.
“Goddamn, Darkness. Where’s all this hate coming from? We’ve been cordial our whole lives. What happened?”
Darkness spins around and snarls. “I’m sick of every fuckin’ thing in our world landing in your favor, Rock. Everything comes easy to your club. It always has. You getterritory handed to you on a fuckin’ plate, your businesses make money hand over fist, and you’ve got men beating down your door to ride with you. And beautiful women who dote on you like you’re the fuckin’ second coming.” His voice drops, becoming bitter and raw. “And you’ve got four strong sons to carry your name and your legacy forward. That’s more than any man has a right to.”
I move closer to stand beside my old man, and Darkness points a finger at me. “Me and Vulture were cut from the same fuckin’ cloth. We built our clubs from nothing. His territory should have gone to someone who understood that. Not some college-educated weekend biker from a club that already has everything. Nova and the territory were supposed to be my chance to finally get ahead, but you had to fuck it up.”
I don’t care about all this bullshit justification. He stole my old lady with intentions to use her to break me. “It’s over,” I tell him. “Your men are down, including the perpetual turncoat, Bran. You really picked a winner with that one.”
Darkness isn’t amused. He shakes his head, not taking his eyes off me. “You’re just an arrogant asshole who thinks he’s better than everyone ‘cause he’s got a fuckin’ college degree. You deserve everything I’m gonna do to you.”
My voice turns steely. “You’re not gonna do anything, asshole. This ends right here, right now.”
