Chapter 15 #4
I grabbed Tracey, pulled her back and covered her with my body.
My club brothers pushed them back, giving us space to find proper cover.
I dragged her to a huge metal shelf and shoved her into the bottom shelf.
“Stay here until I come for you. You’re less exposed and the metal might deflect some of the bullets. I’ll try to keep them away from you.”
She clutched onto my arm, hard and fast. Her eyes were filled with tears. “Are we going to die? Just tell it to me straight. I can take it.”
“Hell, the fuck no we are not going to die. Just sit tight. Bryce and his security dudes aren’t a match for the Dark fucking Slayers.”
By the time I joined the fight properly, Grit was crouched about ten feet away, shooting towards the catwalk with his rifle. “Three are still left on the catwalk.”
Celt’s laugh sounded almost feral, “It’s our lucky day, lads. They’re shite shots.” He leaned out and squeezed off a couple of rounds, dropping one of the bastards down onto the cement floor with a sickening thud.
Storm moved like he was fucking invincible, out in the open. He shouted between shots. “Axel! Flank right! That fucker you want to maul is trying to slip out the side door.”
I didn’t hesitate. I took off running towards that door on the right.
My boots pounded the cement floor as I dodged around debris on the floor and old, broken pallets.
Someone was shooting at me. I could tell because bullets tore sparks up from the floor.
I rounded one of the huge metal shelves and there was Bryce, fumbling with the locked door.
The asshole was a fucking coward, all talk and no action.
“Bryce!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.
He startled just long enough for me to see his expression shift to something approaching terrified. Then he shouted, “Fuck off,” and ran in the opposite direction.
His fancy little dress shoes were no match for my steel-toed bike boots.
I caught up with him in no time and slammed into him from behind, driving him face-first into the cement floor.
He twisted on the way down, screaming and clawing at me like a wild animal.
He even managed to land a punch against my ribs before I backhanded him hard enough to make him see stars.
When it came right down to it, Bryce couldn’t take a hit worth shit.
I punched him in the face enough to keep him from ever being handsome again and threw him back against the floor.
His face was bloodied, and he was missing a front tooth but that didn’t keep him from talking pure shit. “Do you think you can take her from me?” He took a second to spit a mouthful of blood on the floor before continuing, “Tracey and the girls are mine!”
I moved back off him and gave him a punch to the gut, hard and fast. “She belongs to herself and so do the girls. You’re the only stupid fucker I know who doesn’t understand that women and little girls are still people. You can’t fucking lay claim to them.”
“They’re my family,” he shot back.
I came to my feet, still standing over him. “They were your family. Now they’re my family. Don’t worry, I’ll treat them right.”
“I’ll never give them up,” he ground out, still spitting out blood.
Suddenly Tracey’s voice cut through the air, “You already gave us up. For money. You chose money over your own family. Nothing you ever say or do will change that.”
“You’re a fucking whore. I gave you everything a woman could want but you left it all behind for a fucking nobody biker.”
He tried to jump to his feet and get to Tracey, but I quickly pinned him down again by straddling his chest. Before I knew what was happening, my hands were on his throat. I squeezed tighter and tighter, until his face started turning purple.
Tracey’s voice rang out, “Axel, stop! That’s enough. Bryce isn’t worth going to jail over.”
I froze, and my hands went slack around his neck. She was right. Me being in a jail cell right beside Bryce wouldn’t do anyone any good.
I heard footsteps coming closer. It was Storm, Celt, Grit, and Breaker. They formed a circle around us, as my other club brothers drifted closer with their guns trained on the last of the mercs they’d zip tied.
That’s when Harvey stepped forward and squatted down beside me. I saw his badge flashing on his belt as he dropped down. He was calm as ever. “That’s enough, son.”
I stepped away, but what I really wanted to do was give him another kick in the nuts for good measure.
Tracey rushed over to me, and I pulled her close with one arm.
We watched Harvey pull cuffs from his belt, flip Bryce over onto his stomach and slap the handcuffs onto each wrist. “Bryce Sterling, you’re under arrest for kidnapping, false imprisonment, assault, and about a dozen other charges we’ll discuss on the way to the station. ”
He hauled Bryce to his feet, and when he opened his mouth to speak, Harvey cut him off. “You have the right to remain silent. I suggest you take advantage of it.”
Bryce coughed again, blood dripping from his mouth. “You can’t do this,” he said indignantly. “Do you know who I am?”
“Today, you’re just some dude who was out on bail for domestic violence and decided it would be a cool idea to kidnap his ex. In case you haven’t realized it yet, that was a fairly stupid thing to do.”
Bryce frowned at him and stated firmly, “I’ll have your badge for this. Mark my words.”
Harvey sighed and tugged Bryce towards the front entrance. “Again, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can be used against you in a court of law. You also have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed for you by the courts.”
Harvey jerked his chin at Storm. “It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Storm. The Dark Slayers always bring me the best crime.”
Storm chuckled and pointed his thumb over his shoulder. “What about the rest of these assholes?”
Harvey replied, “Bring them out front. I’ll call one of our vans to pick them up.”
Watching Harvey perp walk Bryce out of the warehouse felt like closure. It wasn’t as satisfying as punching him in the nuts would have been but there was a quiet dignity in seeing him get what he deserved at long last.
Tracey pulled back just far enough to search my face. “I was worried that you wouldn’t come. That you would think I got back with Bryce and didn’t want you.”
I cupped her cheek, my thumb brushing across her quivering bottom lip. “I’m not quite foolish enough to think you’d leave your girls behind and go running off with the man who abused you. I knew Bryce took you against your will. And I’ll always come for you, sweetness.”
Her head turned and she quickly kissed my palm. Then out of nowhere, she surged up and kissed me. My arms came up around her and I didn’t give a damn what anyone thought. The world could burn around us, and I would rather die than let go.
When she finally pulled back, she seemed more confident. “Are the girls okay?”
“They were upset but safe,” I explained. “Jamie stayed right with them. They’re with Angel right now.”
Her whole body collapsed against me with relief. “Thank God.”
I pressed my forehead against hers. “It’s over, sweetness. Bryce is gone, from you and the girls’ lives. He can’t hurt you anymore. He can’t touch them. I’ll see to that myself.”
I’d fought for her. Bled for her. And I’d do it every damn day if it meant she never had to face him. Tracey clung to me, her breath hot against my neck. I didn’t want to let her go, not ever, but the scrape of boots and the metallic rattle of cuffs brought me back.
By the time we made it outside, there was a police van and two uniformed cops who came jogging up from the road, eyes wide when they saw the bodies on the floor and the blood smeared across the walls. One of them whistled low.
“Yeah,” Harvey said, catching the look. “I called it in. We’ve got multiple detainees, plus this piece of shit. I want a full chain of custody, no mistakes.”
The younger officer nodded, fumbling for his handcuffs.
Bryce was leaning face first over the side of Harvey’s Cherokee.
Harvey had one hand pushed between Bryce’s shoulder blades to hold him in place.
I’m guessing he got his second wind because he was back to acting like an arrogant asshole.
“Do you think a couple cops fresh from the academy and a washed-up detective are enough to make charges against me stick? I’ll be out of jail within an hour. ”
Harvey leaned close, voice low but lethal. “Not this time. You kidnapped a woman that you already had charges pending for domestically abusing, Bryce. No judge is gonna let that slide.”
Behind him, Storm was watching, clearly satisfied with a job well done. Celt muttered something that I didn’t catch, but the sneer in his voice made it pretty clear it was an insult. Breaker paced with restless energy. He always wanted to fight, get back to his old lady or maybe eat something.
Harvey slammed the door, sealing Bryce in the back of one of the squad cars. Turning to Storm he said, “Cleanup’s mine this time. You boys disappear before the guys from the crime lab show up.”
Storm gave a sharp jerk of his chin. “Appreciate it.”
Harvey shot Storm an easy grin. “Appreciate you. You keep feeding me scum like this, I’ll retire with a medal.”
Storm chuckled, “As far as I’m concerned, you have all the degenerate fuckups that cross our path.”
Truth be told, it felt good to leave the cleanup to the police for once. I pulled Tracey closer as we headed out and got onto my bike.