Chapter 34 Luca
Luca
Leaving the prospect and two of Darius’s crew at the club to watch over Tor and the place, we follow Darius and his boys to Cross Street.
I coast each street knowing we’re coming closer to taking out what will be the last of the Hogs from my city.
I won’t have to worry so much when Tor heads out.
I won’t have to worry so much when she’s in the clubhouse.
A part of me just wants them dead for causing grief for my club, but mostly, I want them gone for Tor and my son’s benefit.
Life in this world is never going to run smoothly on a constant cycle but fuck me, I can try to give my family that benefit.
Under the full moon, Darius’s car and his boys’ cars start to slow, and I signal for the brothers to slow.
Three Hogs are huddled out front and whoever is in the back of Darius’s car lets off a string of shots and they all hit the ground.
The street becomes a blur as Trey rides up beside me, telling me, “Me and King will go around the back.” I nod and as the Hogs come running out of their hiding pit, the rest of us open fire.
Anyone moving, gets hit. For every Hog body hitting the ground, the worry for Tor’s safety lessens.
Using a car as a shield, I lose sight of Angel and Darius.
Peering through the windows, I watch Max coming up behind a Hog and I aim my gun at a Hog creeping up behind him, I let off a shot and Max shoots his mark then spins around.
He stares down at the dead body then moves on.
I move around the car as two more Hog’s step out of the building.
Between my shot and whoever else’s, they both hit the ground and bleed out.
Police sirens grow louder. We have a few minutes at most before they arrive to this carnage. “Fall back!” I holler.
Brothers make their way to their bikes, Darius’s boys run for the cars, apart from the two that are dead. I reach my bike, and Angel is no where in sight. Looking around, I can’t see him anywhere.
“Angel!” I yell. I listen out but hear nothing. “God damn it, Angel! Where are you?”
Still nothing.
Running toward the dead bodies, I look over each one, grateful he’s not one of them.
“Over here!” Darius yells.
By the dumpsters, Angel is laid on the ground and my stomach knots.
“No, no, no.”
Dropping to his side, I go to feel for a pulse in his neck when Darius tells me, “He’s alive. A bullet must’ve grazed his neck, he’s bleeding but I’m pretty he’s gonna be fine.”
A short burst of laughter escapes me. “You stupid fucker.” Slapping his cheek, he comes around. “You hit your head in the fall,” I tell him.
The fucking sirens are too close. “Come on, we’ve gotta get out of here unless you wanna share a cell with me for the next twenty years.”
He goes to sit up, his face scrunching in pain. “Have I been shot?”
“Nothing so dramatic,” I assure him.
Between Darius and I, we help him up onto his feet and catch him when he stumbles to the side.
“Woozy,” he says.
“Dar, do you know how to ride?” I ask as we help Angel to his bike.
“Yeah.”
“You ride Angel’s bike back to the club.”
“What about him?”
“He’s gonna ride bitch.” It’s a chore getting him settled but once on, I assure him, “Don’t worry, darlin’, I’ll get you home safe.”
“Thanks, sweetheart,” he mumbles, leaning against me.
We ride the backstreets, keeping out of sight of the police. I take each corner with care making sure Angel doesn’t fall off.
Darius helps me carry him into the club and I call for Rudi.
“Here,” Warren offers, clearing the bar.
The three of us lay him down. Rudi runs down the stairs and debates whether to freak out or kick into nurse mode. I help her out. “He’ll be fine, but you need your kit.”
It helps and she moves into action. Dashing into the kitchen, she returns with a box and moves Darius and Warren out of her way.
“Where were you hit, babe? Or is it just your neck?”
Before he can answer, I tell her, “Just his neck.”
While she does her thing, I face the rest of the brothers. “Anyone hurt?”
Most are unscathed, apart from King. He’s holding his arm while drinking his beer.
“Feels like a through and through.”
I nod. “See Rudes when she’s done with Angel.”
“Sure.”
Darius helps himself to a shot of whiskey and holds it up. “We got ‘em.” He shoots his shot back and goes on to pour another.
We fucking did it. I fall onto the nearest chair and exhale the weeks of uncertainty. What I wouldn’t give for a celebratory cigarette right now.
Darius joins me and the lucky prick lights up.
“With two of yours dead, the police are gonna come knocking on your door.”
“I’ll handle it.”
Now everyone has their wounds fixed up, I head upstairs. Tor is fast asleep, her leg poking out of the sheets inviting me to wake her and kiss my way up her thigh. Yet my son has other plans for me. He’s sat up in his cot, wide awake.
“Look at you, sitting up.”
Reaching for him, I pick him up and though it should be illegal to walk past my wife, I take my son downstairs so he doesn’t wake her. The bar is empty, and I walk into the kitchen to find the prospect on the phone. Keeping my back to him, I take out a bottle of milk and warm it ready for River.
“I’ve got him where we want him. He asked me to move in earlier tonight, I told him I could never live in sin, that I would need a ring.”
While the bottle warms in the microwave, I lean against the counter, and me and my son watch the prospect on his call.
“Okay, call me tomorrow.”
He ends the call and focuses on me.
“I take it that was your mom?”
He nods.
“So that’s how you plan on getting us the warehouse?”
“And it won’t cost us a cent. As far as he believes, Mom is infatuated with him.”
I laugh and River smiles up at me. “Trust men to miss a lie cause they think with their dick.”
I like how he thinks out of the box. I would have gone for a different option, forced and corrected the old guy into selling, but this is a better option.
If I gave a fuck, I’d be concerned how he’s using his mother for our gain.
But I don’t give a fuck, and I don’t care how we get it as long as we get it.
“We’re gonna have a cookout tomorrow. Invite your mom.”
“Why?”
“I wanna talk to her.”
He nods then asks, “Can I bring someone?”
“Who?”
“I’ve met someone and I like her.”
“Sure, as long as she ain’t crazy. I don’t have the energy to deal with anymore insane women.”
“Nah, she’s cool.”
“Yeah, King thought the same about Annabel,” I remind him. “Oh, and since you’re the prospect, it’s your job to get your ass out in the morning and buy in the supplies.”
“Sure.”
Taking the bottle out of the microwave, I head back up the stairs and sit in Tor’s rocking chair. River starts to whimper, and I feed him his milk. He settles having what he wants, and I rest my head against the chair.
“We made progress tonight,” I tell River. “By the time you’re old enough, this city is going to be yours.”