Chapter 14
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
Logan
My heart is pumping fast and I don’t think I’ve ever moved so quickly in my entire life. I can hear my club’s straight pipes not far behind. As I draw my gun, I glance to the right and see Hustler coming toward me.
“You’re not plannin’ on goin’ in there alone, are you?” he says, an eyebrow raised.
“It’s Payden…” I start to explain, but trail off.
He nods as I draw my gun. People from the other offices in the building are fleeing this way and that. It’s chaos.
“I’ll cover you,” he says.
I nod. “Appreicate you gettin’ here so fast.”
Muso, his cafe, isn’t far from here. “Cash put the call out.”
Of course he did. Payden is not only on retainer for the club, she’s Luna’s best friend. A club sister.
I take the stairs two at a time behind Hustler, rounding the corner. He signals me once he’s cleared the stairwell, then we’re on floor two. Payden’s floor.
“We’re clear,” Hustler says, his back to the exit door as I move past him toward the office opposite the desk, just as Payden explained. There are bodies strewn down the hallway but I don’t think about that. I have to get to her.
“Payden,” I call out, frantically searching the huge expanse.
Cupboard. She said she was in a fucking cupboard but there are so many.
“It’s me! Where are you?”
Suddenly out of my periphery, a door flies open. “Holy fuck,” Payden says, crawling out of the space. I drop to my knees in front of her.
Our eyes meet and she’s a whiter shade of pale.
“C’mere..”
She does, folding into my arms as I pull her into a hug. She’s shaking like a leaf.
“Oh my god, Logan, that was… my god, that was so… I-I didn’t know w-what to do.”
I brush her hair back off her face. “Listen, I need to get you out of here, okay? The club isn’t far away, but we need to move.”
Glad we’re not relying on the NOPD, she takes my hand.
She nods. “I’m so scared.”
“Don’t gotta be scared, I won’t let anythin’ happen to you, but we’ve gotta move.”
I pull her up to standing, her crossbody bag still over one shoulder as I take her hand. “Are you good to run?”
“Y-yes.”
“Let’s go.”
We head for the door and Hustler is still guarding the hall when he turns and says, “Cash is pullin’ up to the back entrance. We wanna go that way, avoid the cops.”
“Shouldn’t I stay and give a statement or something?” Payden asks, looking between the two of us.
“Later,” I say. “Right now gotta get you outta here.”
“Help me!” someone screams from down the hall as we head past more bodies and Payden squeezes my hand.
“Stop!” Payden tells me. “I know that voice…”
Frankly, all I care about is getting her to safety, then I’ll come back and help, but then a girl appears from another office, holding her shoulder with one bloodied hand.
“Molly!” Payden shrieks.
The girl stumbles as Hustler catches her. “Oh my god, what just happened? Holy shit… Deidre… Is she… Is she okay?”
“We need to get downstairs,” Payden says as Hustler takes off his bandana and ties it around her shoulder as best he can. “I don’t know who made it.”
I know from her tone Deidre is no longer with us.
“He… He shot me…” Molly blurts, her tears flooding down her face. “W-who are these guys?”
“They’re my friends,” Payden tells her. “They’re the good guys.”
Friends. I guess I can’t be mad at her about that, even if I don’t like the sounds of it one bit.
“Did you see which way the shooters went?” I ask.
Molly shakes her head. “N-no, I just ducked for cover. They had masks on.”
“She needs an EMT,” Payden stammers the obvious.
I stroke her cheek, knowing she’s in shock. The scene before us is harrowing. “They’re on their way?—”
“I can’t…” Molly starts to sag into Hustler’s arms even more as she glances around. “So many people…”
We need to keep fucking moving.
Hustler picks up Molly, who looks as if she’s about to faint, and we head down the back stairwell. As we’re descending, Harlem and Tag, the Sergeant at Arms, are running up.
“Multiple gunshot victims,” I tell them. “Think the suspects are gone, but didn’t check the entire buildin’. It’s a mess in there.”
“Got it,” Harlem says. “Ambulance is pullin’ in the back, cops are out front.”
“Okay.” I nod.
“Molly…” Payden turns to her colleague, brushing a hand over her face. She’s clammy and shaking. “Is she okay?”
“She passed out,” Huster says. “She’s breathin’, but she’s lost a bit of blood. No doubt she’s in shock.”
Understandable. The girl can’t be more than early twenties, and I’m sure she’s never been involved in anything like this before.
“Gonna have the cops surroundin’ the joint soon,” Tag tells us. “So anythin’ you need, tell me now.” He directs that last part to Payden.
“My briefcase has my files inside. I need those to…” she trails off, then looks up at me. “There was a safe house. What if Becca isn’t okay? What if they got to her, too? I need to call her… She left me a message and I couldn’t get hold of her again…”
I don’t know who Becca is, but I’m sure as shit gonna find out.
“Tell us everythin’ back at the clubhouse.” I kiss the top of her head, not caring who sees.
The boys take off and Payden leans against me like she may collapse at any given moment.
My protective streak takes over and I want to haul her into my arms and hide her from the world.
We bust out the back into the alleyway, and the twins, Rock and Jett, are waiting with a van along with Bronco, our other Tail Gunner. I’m glad they thought to bring the van.
“Get her out of here,” I say, turning Payden toward them.
“No,” Payden says. “W-where are you going?”
“I need to go back and see if there’s anyone else alive and needs help. You’ll be safe with the guys.”
“But the cops and the medics are coming,” she whispers.
Just as she says it, an ambulance pulls into the driveway. Hustler flags them down as the EMTs jump out and help Molly.
“Please,” Payden whispers. “Please, Logan, I need you.”
I swallow, then nod.
I glance at Rock. “Got it,” he says, then to his brother, “You good with Bronc?”
“Hey, how come I get to babysit?” Bronco complains, then he glances at Payden. “Shit, that came out wrong.”
Payden shakes her head. “It’s okay.”
“Leave Titan and get gone then,” Jett replies, muttering under his breath.
Bronco turns and leans into the van, and I know he’s patting his monster-sized dog before he takes off.
Titan, his Cane Corso, is a protector from way back, and though he’s a wall of muscle, he’s only a killing machine when Bronco, or any of us, are threatened.
Then he turns from a playful pup into a mean, growling, fighting machine.
When Bronco shifts out of the way, Payden shrieks when she sees Titan.
“Holy fuck!” She tries to get around me but I hold her in place.
“You’ve seen Titan before?” I query.
“Yes, but he’s always on Bronco’s heels,” she says.
“He’s only mean to look at. He’s a good boy,” I tell her. “A big softie for the ladies. Hop in, you’ll see what I mean.”
I help her up as she steps over the huge dog, who doesn’t even attempt to move. He keeps his eyes on her though, just as Bronco calls out. “Titan, protect her. Dad’ll be back soon.”
Titan makes a gruffing noise, then turns his head to look at Payden as she sits in the seat farthest away from him. He turns in a circle, moving toward her, then dumps his big ass body at her feet and stays there, his head resting on her knee as she glances down at him.
“Okay, big ass dog,” she says, her fingers splayed out as if she’s not sure if she can pet him or run for the hills. “So you’re not so mean after all, huh?”
“Only if you come at any of us in a threatenin’ way,” Jett says cheerfully. “Then you’ll see another side to this big brute.”
I pat his head as I climb in next to her. Hustler hops in the front seat and Jett takes off.
“I need to call Molly’s family,” Payden says suddenly. “I need to be with her at the hospital. She doesn’t have anyone close by.”
I don’t like that idea, not one little bit. “Some crazy people just came in and shot everyone in your office, Payd. We don’t know yet what their motives are…”
“It has to have something to do with Cini Media,” she says. “The big case we’re all involved in. Molly is young, she needs me there.”
I sigh. “We’ll swing by as soon as the cops have spoken to her, okay?”
“B-but I’ll need to give a statement.” She’s already said that, but I give her some grace.
“I’ll call Willow. It’ll be okay.”
She nods, wringing her hands together. I’ve never seen her like this before and it’s unsettling.
Granted, she just suffered a horrible ordeal, and I’ve no clue how many people are dead up there, but from what I saw? Plenty.
“J-Jeremy.” She swallows. “My boss. I think he’s dead. I heard the guys talking and they said their boss won’t be happy because someone put a bullet in his brain.”
“What else?” I encourage. “What else did you hear?”
“That some guy called Cristoph was there and he was getting all the files but he needed more time.”
I pull her into my chest, cradling her. “Cristoph? Okay, baby, that’s good. I’ll tell Sawyer, he knows all the good hackers around here, assuming your files are encrypted?”
She nods. Not that it means much to a hacker.
“The system would’ve gone into lockdown. We have a recovery process in case we get hacked or the system fails,” she says.
“Okay.”
“I feel like I should be back there, trying to help people,” she whispers.
I don’t tell her there’s nobody left to help, not that I saw. Instead, I just pull her closer.
Titan looks up at us, giving me a once over because now she’s his subject, apparently I’m getting too close.
“Easy boy,” I say. “I know your dad said to protect her, but I’m one of the good guys.”
He doesn’t buy it, pawing at her leg until she tells him she’s fine, scratching him under the chin. “He’s definitely more placid than he looks,” she observes.
I wouldn’t have minded a Cane Corso. They’re awesome dogs, and scary as hell for intruders. Yet, Titan is good with the kids, loves a game of fetch, and is a huge pile of mush around babies. Like I said, he’s been trained and right now, he’s not in stealth mode, only Payden mode.
Instead, I got a three-legged French bulldog.
Speaking of which, I need to swing by and pick him up because we’re gonna be at the clubhouse until we get to the bottom of this.
“Need to stop at the bar,” I tell Jett. “Looks like Titan’s gonna have a new playmate to keep him company.”
“Heard about your new mutt,” he replies. “Gonna give Titan here a run for his money.”
That makes Payden laugh. For a second in time, she forgets about what just happened, and it’s then that I know she needs to be around the people who care about her.
Hustler keeps an eye on things while Jett waits in the van with Titan and Payden. I’m gonna have to call the contractors and either postpone, or tell them to let themselves in. Usually, I’d be there to supervise, but I could always ask Cash to send a couple of guys over, or even my brothers.
Speaking of which, I’ve had several missed calls from both of them.
I mount the stairs to fetch Dozer when I call Brew back.
“You okay? Heard about the shoot out,” he says the second he picks up.
“I’m fine. Got Payden.”
“Thank Christ.”
“She’s pretty shaken up. The entire office was slaughtered, bro. It was a fuckin’ massacre.”
“The place is swarmin’ with cops.”
“I know, but I had to get Payden outta there. Do me a favor and call Willow?” I ask.
“Done. You comin’ to the clubhouse?”
“Yep. But then Payden wants to check on her colleague at the hospital.” I take a breath, unlocking my door as I approach Dozer in his crate. He didn’t break out of it today.
Glancing up at me, he wags his little tail and starts to whimper.
“See you back here. We’ll work out a gameplan.”
“Okay,” I say, letting the latch free so he can jump out. “We’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
I hang up and pick up Dozer.
Goddamn it, I think I missed the little guy.
So much for not getting attached.