Page 60 of Sweet Revenge for the Bikers

They come to a full stop, Clutch and Rocco dismounting slowly like a couple of fucking drama queens, and then the rest of their men. A couple steps forward to give the van room to park in the middle of it all, and then they’re ready to start the show.

Eagle-eye has been waiting, seated on his classic bike, watching calmly. We’ve got a van for getting Joker outta here and bringing Killjoy, but the rest of us are here on our bikes. Other than that, no theatrics. We know who we are. There’s no fucking way the Devil’s Brigade would dare try something at this point. If they did, there would be no more forty-eight-hour reprieves. We would fucking destroy them.

“I’m nervous.” Melody presses against me.

“Say the word, and we take you away from here right now.”

“No. I need to do this for Dad. I don’t want anyone else to be killed.”

Riptide, on the opposite side of her, huffs. “If it comes to it, I’ll kill every single one of those fuckers to keep you safe.”

“Well, let’s hope it won’t come to that.” She rests a hand on his arm, getting that last moment of connection.

Rocco walks out confidently in front of his crew, or at least with the intention of seeming confident. He’s one costume change short of a cowboy hat and revolvers at both hips. If he stands any wider he’s gonna look like he’s fucking riding. Getting a real ‘this town ain’t big enough for the two of us’ vibe.

“Eagle-eye!”

Prez dismounts, briefly rolling his eyes. There’s a time for grandstanding, but right now he just seems sick of it all as he steps up to the front. “Rocco. I’m not interested in waving our dicks at each other. Let’s get this over with and go home.”

“You have the hostages?”

“Aw, fuck. Knew I forgot something.” Eagle-eye scoffs. He raises a hand and motions for us to bring Melody and Killjoy. “Of course I’ve got the fucking hostages. Bring out Joker, and we’ll start.”

Standing behind her, Rebel puts comforting hands on both of Melody’s shoulders. “Guess it’s showtime. I expect you to keep an eye on your phone, okay? Especially for the next day or so. We’re gonna be checking in to make sure you’re not in trouble.”

“You sound like my mom,” she quips quietly, but she leans into him before taking the first step forward.

“Your mom was a wise woman then. Fucking call us.”

The Devil’s Brigade pulls someone out of the back of the van. Pillowcase over his head, his hands are still cuffed but his legs are free for him to walk. Joker moves slowly and carefully, even with a couple of the guys there urging him ahead. After locking him up like that, they could at least let the fucker see. Just wasting time now.

The guy at his side pushes him to the front with a rough shove that almost has Joker going on his face. Clutch pulls the pillow case off. Joker’s looking rough. His face is bruised, and his hair greasy like he hasn’t washed in days. A cloth gag is shoved into his mouth and kept in place with duct tape. The cloth is stained with red, and I don’t think it started that way.

“As promised, Eagle-eye,” Rocco yells. “Show me the goods.”

“Here goes nothing.” Melody brushes her hand over each of us briefly, a subtle but no less meaningful goodbye. Making a big show could create problems for her with the Brigade. Besides, I don’t think any of us want to share what we have with the enemy.

Schooling her expression and wiping away a tear that made its escape, she sends a wan smile our way before walking up to the front.

Shadow and Thunder pull Killjoy out of the back of the van, nudging him up to the front next to Melody. Outlaw follows close behind, his hand on his piece. All three of them insisted on being here, leaving Harper to take care of Lightning. They’re not being gentle.

“Alright, send him this way, and we’ll send ours.” Eagle-eye crosses his arms over his chest and glares at Rocco until he looks away. “Take your time. Don’t want anyone getting twitchy.”

The hostages start their march across the open space between us, walking steadily. There’s an eagerness in Killjoy’s step despite his limp. Joker walks proudly, like this was his idea all along. Melody isn’t exactly dragging her feet, but it’s obvious this isn’t what she wants. She and Joker exchange a look as they pass each other, but his is hard to read and I can’t see her face. I think she says something to him, but it’s too quiet for me to hear, and then the moment is over.

Killjoy takes a moment to veer toward Joker, and leans in to say something. Whatever it was, it pisses him off. With a muffled roar, Joker charges Killjoy with a shoulder tackle that knocks him right on his ass. Joker follows up with hard kicks to his side and head. Fuck.

Melody veers hard left, glancing over her shoulder at what’s going on just long enough for me to see the fear in her eyes. Clutch comes out to meet her, putting himself between her and the fight. He guides her away, out of the line of fire. At least she’s fucking safe.

Devil’s Brigade members rush forward to protect Killjoy, and then we’re rushing in to pull Joker the fuck outta there before someone kills the bastard. And then it’s all fucking chaos. A couple guys pull Joker back, others pull Killjoy back to his feet, but then someone throws a fucking punch, and all hell breaks loose.

This was going so fucking well too.

Even with his hands bound, Joker is a force to be reckoned with. He throws his head back and nails the guy holding him in the face, sending him reeling and spurting blood. Shadow and a Brigade member tug Killjoy in opposite directions, but Bear is on his way to settle that argument.

A different member throws a punch at Joker’s unprotected gut, but I capture his fist before he gets that far. “No fucking with our property. Take your guy and get the fuck outta here.”

It devolves into a fucking brawl. A guy swings for me. I block it, but then another guy barrels into him, and I fucking swear that’s another Brigade member. What the fuck is happening? Why are they fighting each other?