Chapter 32 ABBEY
Standing outside the shipping containers, I take in the carnage Tups left behind.
One man dead, one fighting for his life, and two stirring from their concussions.
“How the fuck did this happen, Lewy?” Ringo snaps at his IT guy, who shrugs, his eyes wide with panic.
“The cameras didn’t pick him up leaving his cabin.”
“He went out the window,” Mex calls as he rounds the corner, heading our way. “I just checked it out. The door is locked, but the back bathroom window is wide open.”
Ringo’s glare shifts back to Lewy. “So how didn’t you spot him on any of the cameras?”
“I dunno, Prez. I’ll check over them again, but I really didn’t notice anything.” Lewy takes off his cap, running his hand through his dark hair in distress.
“Check them again,” Ringo barks and points to Mex. “Go with him. He needs a second pair of eyes. He’s fucking exhausted.”
Mex nods, leaving with Lewy, and I move to the container Maggie is in. Looking through the peephole. She’s huddled in the back corner crying, her wide eyes trained on the door like she’s waiting for someone to come in.
As Ringo checks on Murf and Teddy, who are sporting the concussions, I move to the next container to get a look at my mother.
The light inside the container is flickering on and off, and my mum keeps glaring at it like the light is doing it on purpose.
“I was in and out after he hit me over the head,” Murf mutters, drawing my attention, and I turn to see a trail of blood running down the side of his face. “But I heard enough. Tups was going to free the mum and kid too, but Banes told him not to. Said they’d just slow them down.”
My brows shoot up.
Huh, does Priscilla know that her daddy dearest ditched her?
“How long ago?” JD snaps right next to Murf’s ear, making him groan, his hand coming up to his temple like he has a pounding headache.
“The sun was rising. That’s all I know.”
“They can’t have gotten far. Check to see if any vehicles are gone, and get every fucker out of bed,” Ringo orders. “I want them manning the perimeter.”
“Got it.” JD claps right before barking orders into a handheld radio.
I take a step back, trying not to get in anyone’s way, watching my husband so naturally step into his role.
I wonder if he realises that he was made for this. To lead. To govern. I feel like he’s been doing this sort of thing for a long time. Making sure things got done when his role was the Sergeant-at-Arms.
Gunfire sounds from the thick treeline across the clearing, and I stiffen, half expecting bullets to spray our way as JD barks into the radio.
“Where is that coming from?!”
“Perimeter bordering the Bossier Estate. They are running across their field,” the voice says, and I quickly fumble for my phone.
“The Bossier Estate is Shaun’s property,” I rush out, opening my phone contacts to find his number and hitting call.
It rings twice before picking up, his voice breathless.
“Abs, are you okay?”
“There are bad men on your property. Three of them,” I blurt, my eyes flicking to Ringo to see him watching me. “Make sure your parents are safe.”
“I can see them running across the field. Heard the gunshots,” Shaun confirms. “There are more running after them.”
“Yeah, they are the good ones,” I tell him, not wanting to go into detail right now. There’s no time for that.
“Gotcha. My brother is getting the dirt bikes ready now. Simon is with me. The three of us will herd them back your way.”
“Wait! No!” I yell, but the line is already dead, and I lock eyes with Ringo.
“What is it?” he asks, moving to me.
“Shaun and two others are going to try to herd Tups, Spud and Banes back this way on their dirt bikes. You need to tell your men not to shoot them,” I cry, and JD is on his radio relaying that information a second later.
“It’s okay, Angel. Your friends will be fine.”
I shake my head, scoffing, because he doesn’t know that.
Ringo ignores me, turning to the few men nearby.
“Get the mum and kid out, but keep them apart. Let them hear and see what happens when you mess with the Southern Sadists.”
A round of wolf howls come from a couple of men, and I shift out of the way as they do what Ringo asked.
Gunfire echoes in the distance, with some yelling, and the sound of dirt bikes.
I should probably call Rhys and let her know two of her boyfriends are risking their lives right now, but then again, what will that help? She’s better off being oblivious to it all until after the fact, because knowing her, she’ll get here by any means possible, and end up getting hurt herself.
I don’t want that.
Jols sidles up next to me as my mum and sister are led out of the containers, Maggie moved up one end, and my mother up the other.
“You hear that?” Ringo asks my mum, who simply curls her lip in disgust at him. “That’s the sound of traitors getting what’s coming to them. Banes being one of them.”
My mum pales then, and Maggie’s sobs meet my ears, so I glance over my shoulder to see her hands tied in front of her as her eyes scan the treeline where the sound is coming from.
The radio crackles right before a voice comes through.
“Got ‘em. Heading back.”
Everyone but my mum and sister visibly relaxes.
Mex and Lewy return while we wait, and JD orders the men lining the perimeter to head back to the clearing.
“You doing okay?” Jols asks, and I flinch a little, realising I was so focused on everything happening around me that I kinda forgot she was there.
“Yeah. I guess. I just want this to be over.” I mutter the truth as the dread of it all sinks in.
For this to be over, justice needs to be served. Or perhaps revenge? I’m not sure, but it means more death. More violence. More of what the monster in me craves, but everything that the angel in me fears.
“How does it feel to be married to the President of an MC?” she snickers, urging a grin out of me, although it’s only slight, because shit… Smitty was her stepdad.
“Jols… Smitty… You must be—”
“Relieved.” She cuts me off. “I know he saved me and my mum, and on the outside, it looked like he’d done a good thing. But we were beholden to him. And not in a good way.”
Jols chews on her lips, looking around like she’s checking to make sure no one is listening.
“I did care about him, Abbey, but he held saving me and my mum over our heads. They may have been living separate lives mostly, but he had her working for him on the side. Always controlling her money, and reminding her that he had me in his care. She was scared of what he’d do to me.”
“Like when he dragged you back here after the raid on the Rebels compound?” I ask, and she nods.
“He’s gone now, and learning what he did…” Jols shakes her head, her blue eyes flaring wide with anger. “If Ringo didn’t kill him then I would’ve.”
There’s so much conviction in her voice that I don’t doubt that for a second.
“So, let’s not talk about that fucker anymore and stop dodging my question.” She wags her brows, and I frown.
“I’ve already forgotten what it was.”
Giggling, Jols reaches out and grips each of my shoulders.
“How does it feel to be married to the President of an MC?”
This time I giggle, remembering what we were talking about.
“Feels the same as always so far.” I shrug. “I can’t really picture how it will be after this though.”
“Well, there will be celebrations once this is all over. And, just FYI, if Ringo says it’s a rule that the President fucks his wife in front of everyone at those celebrations,” she uses air quotes when she says celebrations, “then he’s lying.”
A laugh bursts from me, and we both giggle, leaning against each other, receiving some sharp glares off our men.
“Stop it. You’re going to get me in trouble,” I snicker.
“Don’t act like you don’t want him to spank you.”
“Oh my God, stop!” I squeak, and Jols cackles next to me.
It’s in that moment that a horde of men start showing through the trees, stepping out into the clearing and leading three prisoners towards us.
I go rigid at the sight of my grandfather limping, and Jols must notice because she takes my hand in hers, giving me the extra support I need.
“Let him go!” my mum yells, but no one pays her any attention, or my sister, who is sobbing again.
I can’t look at her. I feel weak when I do. Like I’ll cave and give in and just let her go.
I don’t know what to do with her yet. She’s just a misled kid. Groomed. She needs some sort of rehabilitation.
Shit. Does that even exist for a situation like this?
“Ringo, you need to take a look at this,” Mex grumbles as he passes us with Lewy on his heels.
He hands Ringo some papers, and I watch as Ringo scans them, a frown tugging at his brows before he looks up to Lewy.
“Is this the list from the hard drive?”
“Yes. And the last page has some locations,” Lewy answers. “As you can see, some of them were used to store things, some as safe houses, some as ahhh… recording studios.”
“And some used as clubs,” Ringo mutters, handing the locations page to JD before he scans the other list again.
When his eyes flick up to me, I know he’s seen something I probably don’t want to know about, but he quickly redirects his gaze to Lewy.
“You find footage of what Tups did to break those fuckers out?”
“Yeah, caught it all from the hidden camera over there.” He points to some trees nearby, but I don’t see any camera. “Tups came out of the dark with a cricket bat and a knife. Moved faster than I’ve ever seen the old fucker move.”
Ringo scoffs. “Adrenaline will do that.”
Chatter washes through the crowd of gathered Sadists and Doxies as they congregate outside the shipping containers. Tups, Spud and Banes get shoved to their knees before us, a Sadist behind each one, and guns pressed to the back of each of their heads.
I try to ignore the sounds of Maggie’s sniffling, but it’s hard as I look at the scene the way she must be seeing it.