Mace’s Madonna (Pagan Souls of Cherokee MC #5)

Mace Chapter 16

My heart damn near stopped beating when I got a text sent out to the whole club, plus the ones that were helping us with guard duty. We’d set up a mass group to make communication easier.

Iceman: 911 3 men at clinic. Jessa outside in the play area. Maybe more. I’m shot.

I didn’t waste time answering him back or texting anyone. I ran for my bike. The garage was a few miles away from Promises. I heard something crash open and the thunder of booted feet. A glance showed Dare racing up behind me. Coming from the left was Hulk. He’d stopped by to use our tools to do something to his bike. The three of us tore out of there like the devil was chasing us.

I knew we were riding recklessly, but I didn’t care. I had to get to Jessamy. I kept imagining all the things that could go wrong. What if they got away with her? Or she ended up dead. I cranked the throttle. By the time we were almost to the clinic, I heard sirens. I wanted to ask where they were when my woman was being kidnapped and a friend shot, but I knew that wasn’t fair. They had no way of knowing it would happen. Well, no one but Laramie. He was a detective who didn’t automatically think the Pagans were a bunch of lowlife outlaws. He’d asked Agony why so many other bikers were suddenly in town. Pres told him that there could be trouble from an outlaw club and who it was. All Agony told him was we’d heard they had a beef with us.

We went straight around the building to the back parking lot, which was right next to the play area. I braked my bike so hard that I almost dumped it before I could get my kickstand down. I didn’t bother to shut it off before I bailed off. I was running toward Jessamy. She was holding a gun in her hand.

When I was close to her, I saw she had it pointed at a man on the ground who was groaning in pain and begging for help. Nearby were two others who weren’t moving. There was blood on her hands and clothes. As I reached Jessamy, she had tears in her eyes, and I saw that she was shaking. Cautiously and in a calm voice, I told her, “Baby, point the gun at the ground so I can take it. You’re safe. I’m here.”

She blinked and seemed confused, but she did lower it, so I didn’t waste time removing the gun from her. I put on the safety and placed it in the waistband of my jeans. I gripped her upper arms and scanned her body.

“Where are you hurt?” I asked.

“I-I’m not. T-that’s their blood. I stabbed them,” she mumbled.

Relief filled me as I drew her against me. Vaguely, I heard Hulk asking someone what she needed. That’s when Eliana’s voice registered.

“I’ve called an ambulance. We need to get him to the hospital. The two on the ground, not moving, are dead. The one Jessa had the gun on is the only one who didn’t get shot, but she stabbed him. Help me keep pressure on his wound.”

This caused Jessamy to tear herself away from me. She went running to where I saw Dare standing. He was on his phone. Hulk and Eliana were kneeling. Lying on the ground was a pale, bloody Iceman. My woman flung herself on the ground next to him. She took his hand, which made him open his eyes.

“You saved me. I’m so sorry. I never wanted you or anyone to get hurt. Please, hang on,” she pleaded.

Iceman gave her a tiny smile. “It was worth it to get a beautiful woman to hold my hand.” Even as bad as he was, and I had no doubt he was in terrible pain, he winked at her.

Jessamy had tears streaming down her face. She half sobbed and half laughed. Then she leaned over and kissed his cheek. “There, now that I gave you a kiss, and in front of Mace, no less, you have to survive.”

Iceman groaned and mumbled, “If I do, he might kill me.” She giggled.

The sirens came blaring into the lot. We stood with our hands in the air. We didn’t want any trigger-happy cops shooting us. The women remained kneeling next to Iceman, applying pressure and working on him. The prisoner didn’t even try to make a run for it. If he had, I would’ve been on him in a flash.

“Hands in the air. Let us see your hands!” an officer shouted. Dumbass, didn’t he see we had them in the air? The women couldn’t since they were staunching the blood flow for Iceman.

The cops were more worried about us than Iceman or the captive—or they were until Eliana began issuing orders and told them they needed to get out of the way so the ambulance could take care of him. When one of them went to place a cuff on Iceman, I thought the old ladies were going to punch him. He backed the fuck off. He was a smarter one.

Thankfully, as more Pagans arrived, along with the paramedics, the fire department, and additional cops, the patients and staff from Promises came outside. They tried to explain what happened to the officers. It was chaotic as fuck and hard to follow.

I had no idea how long it took to calm down enough to proceed, but thank God, by then, Iceman was already on his way to the hospital. Eliana insisted on riding with him. I knew Agony would flip when he got here and found her gone, but we could reassure him she was okay.

Laramie was the detective they dispatched to the scene. He got the other cops in line, which was a good thing because we were about to go off on them. When Agony showed up, as expected, he demanded to see Eliana. When we told him what happened, he quieted and got on the phone to talk to Bull. He wanted the other president to hear about Iceman from him first, and then the others in town from Hunters Creek would be told about their brother.

As we waited for the police to let us leave, a woman came over to us. She was crying and held a small boy in her arms. His eyes were huge.

“Thank you, oh God, thank you. You saved my little boy,” the woman sobbed.

“He was a smart little guy. When I told him to run inside to you, he did it. He didn’t hesitate or anything. He saved himself,” Jessamy replied.

“The boy was out here?” I asked just to be sure I heard right.

They both nodded. “I was entertaining him while Wanda was at her appointment. We saw the men come over the fence. I knew I couldn’t get inside fast enough with him, so I put him down and told him to run. He made it. I’m so glad,” my woman said.

A cop coming over to us interrupted any more talk. After we’d been standing out there for more than an hour, I’d had enough. While I was glad they hadn’t handcuffed us and taken us away, my Madonna needed a break. The third attacker had been handcuffed to a gurney and sent to the hospital to have his knife wounds checked out.

“We need you to come down to the station. We need to ask you what happened here. How did you get blood all over you? Who shot and stabbed those men? How did this start?” he rattled off.

I wanted to cuss. The guy’s badge read Ingram . It was the asshole, or one of them anyway, that had given Twisted and Zari a hard time not long ago. I wanted to laugh when my best friend came stomping up to us. He glared at Ingram.

“Can’t you see she needs a break? She’s been through a hellish experience. Let her change. I bet they have spare scrubs inside. We know you need the clothes as evidence. She’ll give those to you now. Once she’s calmer, we’ll bring her to the station to give her statement.”

“She’s not going anywhere. She’s coming with us. There are two men dead and one stabbed. She has to account for what happened. You don’t give the orders around here,” Ingram snapped.

“I’d change my tune if I were you. If you insist on taking her in like she’s a criminal, it won’t do you any good. You can’t charge her with anything. And until she has a lawyer present, she’s not saying a word. Are you Jessa?” Twisted asked.

“I want a lawyer,” she stated clearly.

Ingram glowered at us and stomped off to talk to another officer.

“He’s talking to that prick Oliver. He’s his partner. I bet they’re trying to find a way around letting her have a lawyer. Don’t worry. We’ve already got one coming. Until he’s here or at the station, which I think we’ll have to go there sooner rather than later, you say zip. I just wanted to piss off Ingram, so I demanded the other stuff,” Twisted said with a chuckle.

I saw Laramie coming our way. He sighed when he got to us, “I’m sorry, guys, but she does have to go to the station now. However, you can take her. Before she goes, let one of my people go with her inside, and she can get out of those clothes. We have to have them. I heard she invoked her right to wait for her lawyer. She won’t be questioned until he or she gets there. Is it going to be Titus Witham?”

“Sure thing, Laramie. All they had to do was ask. And stop acting like she’s a criminal. And yes, Witham is still our lawyer,” Twisted told him.

Making sure they couldn’t see his face, Laramie smirked. “You love fucking with those two, don’t you?”

“Damn right, I do. After the way they treated my old lady, I always will,” Twisted replied.

“I get it. Just know we’re not all bad. Let me get a female officer over here to go inside with you,” he told Jessamy.

It wasn’t long before I had to let her go with a lady officer, who was sweet. As I waited for Jessamy to return, I huddled with a few of my brothers. Some were at the hospital to see what was up with Iceman and to keep an eye on Eliana. The guys from Oconee were watching the compound and helping watch the other women and kids. Until we knew who those men were for sure and why they went after Jessamy, no one was safe or to be left alone.

“They didn’t have cuts on, but I’ll eat your cut and mine if those three weren’t bikers, and they have to be Black Outlaws,” Dare whispered.

“I agree,” I muttered. The others standing with us were all nodding. I caught Oliver, Ingram, and a couple of others staring at us. I wanted to flip them off, but I resisted.

The staff at the clinic were hustling their patients inside. With Eliana gone, anyone not seen would need to reschedule. The woman with the boy was one of the last ones to enter. It happened that Jessamy was coming out when she did. The mom stopped, said something, and then hugged my woman before she let go and entered. The cop with Jessamy came out carrying a bag. At least Jessamy had no blood on her clothes, but her hands were still bloody.

When she got to us, I asked, “Why didn’t you wash your hands?”

“I couldn’t. Until they do some GSR test on them, I have to stay like this.” She leaned wearily against me.

I glanced around and spotted Laramie. I hollered over at him. “Hey, Laramie, can someone do the gunshot residue test so she can wash the goddamn blood off her hands? She’s got some unknown assailant’s blood on her skin,” I growled.

Laramie nodded, and a tech came over to us within a minute. The crime scene techs were trickling onto the scene. The guy who came to her swabbed her hands in several spots, front and back. He even scraped under her fingernails and collected the scrapings.

“Ma’am, I’ve got everything. You can wash your hands if you want,” he said kindly.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

“Come on, I’ll go with you. And then when you’re done, we’ll go to the station. Might as well get this over with as fast as we can,” I told her.

“We’ll wait and ride with you,” Dare stated.

I knew it was to ensure no one else made a grab for her. I gave him a chin lift. While we were inside washing her hands, I tried to reassure her.

“Madonna, I know it might not seem like it, but you’re safe. We’ll go to the police station and then go home. Hopefully, we’ll find out who those men are quickly. The guys and I think they might be Black Outlaws. They strike us as bikers.”

“I thought the same thing, so I told one that if he shot and killed me, his president wouldn’t be happy, that it would be a third strike. I was just trying to delay them. He more or less confirmed they were bikers when he said he wasn’t the one to mess up the first two times. None of them denied they had a president, Tiergan. Who else could they be other than Outlaws?”

“No one that we know of, but we’ll have to be sure. I don’t want you to worry about that.”

I took out my phone and texted Agony quickly, letting him know what she said. Then, I hugged her close as we rejoined the others. A large group of us took off for the station. A couple stayed behind as club representatives. Agony had left them in charge while he ensured everyone in the clinic was okay and then headed to the hospital.

It wasn’t far to the police station. We did get looks from the officers entering and leaving it, as well as people walking on the street. When we entered, an officer told us to follow him. We were shown into a waiting area and told that someone would be with us soon.

I was keeping watch for Titus. He might be getting older, but he was still sharp. He lived in Gatlinburg, which was in Tennessee, but it was only twenty miles away, and he had his license to practice law in several states, not just Tennessee. He’d been the club’s lawyer for as long as I’d been with them.

We’d been there five minutes when a different officer came and told us we needed to go with him. We did. My brothers and others with us were scattered inside and outside, keeping watch. I didn’t think too much of it when we were taken into an interview room. It wasn’t until the guy ordered us to sit and left that I got uneasy. The door hadn’t been closed for more than a minute when it reopened. I thought Titus would be walking in, but it was Ingram and Oliver instead. I clenched my teeth. What were these fuckers up to? Ingram leaned against the wall by the door, and Oliver took a seat across from us. Both were trying to give us intimidating looks. I had news for them. They didn’t scare me one bit. Neither of us said a word.

“We’re here to take her statement. You’ll need to leave,” Oliver told me.

“No, I don’t,” I said.

“We can arrest you for obstruction of justice,” Ingram said.

“I’m not obstructing. Until you can question her, I can be with her. She’s upset.”

“This is us questioning her,” Oliver barked.

“You can’t until my lawyer arrives. So, we can all sit here and wait in silence, or you can leave until he arrives,” Jessamy said calmly.

They didn’t like that. Both scowled at us. Oliver tried, though. “It doesn’t look good if you’re innocent that you insist on not talking to us without a lawyer. It makes us think you have something to hide.”

“You must have some really ignorant or na?ve people who come in here. If they have ever watched even a few detective or crime shows, they know that this is nonsense. Are you going to start the good cop-bad cop routine next?” Jessamy asked with a smirk.

Ingram darted forward. I was between him and her. He slammed his fist down on the table. “You’re going to go to prison for attempted murder times three and who knows what else! You’ll never be free again. This one will be living it up with hundreds of women while you rot in there,” he thundered.

Instead of talking or crying, Jessamy burst out laughing. As she did, the door opened, and Laramie and Titus walked in. When the detective saw those two with us, he snapped, “Out! You were told to leave them alone.”

As Oliver stood reluctantly, my woman sweetly asked Laramie, “Detective, how do I file a complaint? These two tried to question me without my lawyer present, and they tried to intimidate me into speaking. Something about going to prison for life for three attempted murders.”

Laramie glared at them. “I’ll deal with you two later. Leave. I’m conducting this interview.” As the other two stepped out the door, Laramie slammed it closed behind them. I stood up.

“Now that you’re here, I’ll wait outside. You’re in good hands with these two,” I assured her.

“Sit, you don’t need to leave. This is a preliminary statement. We’re not booking her for anything. If that were to change, then you have to leave. Right now, I want to hear what she has to say about what happened. She’s the only one who was there the entire incident other than the one at the hospital. Break it down for me, Ms. Mitchell. If you need to stop or rest, let me know. But before we get started, can I get you something to drink?”

“Water would be nice, and you can call me Jessamy, both of you.”

Laramie fetched her water. I’d shaken my head no. Titus introduced himself and explained what she was to do. It wasn’t long before she was sharing her tale of what happened after Laramie returned. I was still scared to hear what she’d faced and what could’ve happened despite knowing a lot of it. Laramie would sometimes have her stop, and he’d ask questions. Titus would indicate if she could answer or not. There wasn’t much he objected to while she was recounting it. When she was finished, there were more questions. Only a couple did Titus tell her not to answer. It was a good hour before Laramie brought it to an end. He’d been jotting down notes.

“Jessamy, thank you. This helps a lot. I’d like for you to go home and get some rest. If you think of anything you forgot, give me a call. I might have to ask you to come back in for more questions, or I may just be able to stop by and speak to you. If either is necessary, I’ll give you enough time so Mr. Witham can be there. I’ll keep you apprised of the case. I’m off to question Iceman and the alleged attacker at the hospital. Let me know if there are any changes I should know about.” He gave me a look, which I took to mean he wanted Agony to keep him in the loop on what was up with the Black Outlaws. I didn’t speak for the pres, so I merely gave him a chin lift.

Laramie gave us the room to talk to Titus a few minutes afterward, and then the three of us got up and left. As we made our way through the station, we were subjected to various expressions, but none as intense or hateful as Oliver and Ingram. I wondered what Laramie would do to them. I hoped they got their asses handed to them. By the time we got out to the bikes, our bodyguards were gathering to ride home with us.

We waved goodbye to Titus. As I was sitting on my bike, assisting her behind me, I informed her that we were headed home.

“No, I don’t want to go home. I want to go to the hospital and see Iceman. I need to make sure he’s gonna be alright, Mace. He saved me. I’m not hiding at the compound. Take me there,” she demanded.

“Babe, no one will think you’re hiding. You’ve been through an ordeal. At least come home, rest for a while, and then we’ll go to the hospital later. Iceman isn’t alone.”

“I don’t care if he isn’t. I’m going. Either you take me, or when we get home, I’ll drive myself,” she said stubbornly.

“Better do it, or your life will be hell,” Dare teased.

Knowing he was right and against my wishes, I broke and agreed. Maybe if she knew he would be okay, she’d let me take her home, but I had news for her. She wasn’t staying all damn night at the hospital. If I had to carry her off against her will, I would.

Everyone got on their bikes, and then we fired them up. It was a short ride to the hospital. As we rode there, I prayed that Iceman would survive. As for the third attacker, I was wondering how we could question him without the police being aware. If we had time, we would’ve taken him out of there and to the cabin. That’s the problem with dealing with shit in town when things go wrong. Maybe Agony could get information from Laramie.