Chapter 8
CHAPTER
EIGHT
Icer
The moment we set our kickstands down and lean our bikes to the side, the roar of engines has our heads turning toward the entrance of the parking lot.
When I recognize the cuts of the Kings and Riptide leading the brigade, I know shit’s about to hit the fan, and I’m here for it. Nobody messes with my princess!
Indiana asks Rip, “Where are they taking off to?”
“Saw some pussies hauling ass down the back road so they went after them,” he briefs us. “Renegade will chase and capture them. You know he doesn’t admit defeat. He’ll stay out there all damn night if he has to until he’s rounded every damn one of them up and has them hogtied in the tomb.”
“We done?” I interrupt, my entire being vibrating. I don’t understand why we’re standing here having a pow wow instead of charging inside and tearing the place apart to find my girl and her mother. With Elodie in danger, I’m wound up tighter than one of those spinner toys.
“We’re done,” Rip answers, his finger twirling through the air. Without further direction, we split into groups. Indiana, Rip, Nova, and me are taking the front while Renegade, Slayer, Shade, and Ozzie track down the pussies who fled.
“Time to play ball!” I roar, lifting my automatic weapon above my head, issuing a war cry.
Sketch pulls a Louisville slugger from the side holster on his bike and takes a practice swing—he likes a more hands on approach. Me, I don’t care how shit gets taken care of, as long as it does. “Let’s hit a home run!”
“They left a few behind,” I tell the others, nodding my head in the general direction where some are scattering about, they’re unorganized and that makes it a little harder to track them.
“They left their disposables behind for us to play with,” Sketch rabidly chuckles.
“Keep at least one alive for questioning,” Rip orders. “Preferably one with more than two working brain cells.”
“If you can, but that’s not necessary,” Indiana tacks on with a straight face. “We know who we’re looking for, even if they manage to vanish, we’ll eventually track them down and end them.”
“I’ll want a piece of them, whoever you catch,” I decree.
“Once I know my princess and my sister are okay, that is, because if they’ve been hurt, I may have to get…
creative in my punishment of the offenders.
” They’re going to pay, in blood, for touching one hair on the head of my princess and Indiana’s woman, Zoey.
One of the only two females I’ve ever trusted enough to give the moniker ‘sister’ to outside of Issy.
“Let’s find them, Ice,” Indiana says. “Check every room and if you find a leftover Dragon, see if you can beat the information out of them. The sooner we find Zoey and Elodie, the sooner Rip can call church so we can fill everyone in on what else we found out earlier.”
“Glad to see I still get to oversee church,” Rip deadpans.
Indiana doesn’t waste time trying to open doors, he simply kicks them in, quickly checks inside, then moves on to the next in the lineup.
He’s taking too long so I shuffle my way around him and start shooting the doorknobs then kicking in the doors.
I’m not a cop, I don’t case joints or check for those hiding, I’m a shoot first and ask questions later kinda guy.
“Icer! Slow your fucking roll, brother,” Indiana yells.
“Gotta find my princess, Indy.” I shout back, tired of everyone’s lollygagging. We’re here for a reason and I intend to follow through with it.
“Don’t shoot my old lady or kid,” Indiana sneers. “A bullet could stray from its intended target and hit one of them whether it’s intentional or not.”
That statement stops me in my pursuit. I’m so blinded by rage that I’m not thinking about the consequences if I were to hit one of my beloved girls. “You’re right. Fine, kick them in, shoot if there’s an enemy, but don’t hurt my princess. Got it.”
“Or my old lady!” Indiana shouts.
“My sister,” I mumble, owning my relationship when it comes to Zoey.
“They’re here,” Indiana announces.
“You feel it too?” I ask, another sound has my head tilting to the side as I rely on my senses. My eyes honing in on two doors where I’m hearing muffled sounds. “Hear that?”
“Yeah, I do,” Indiana says, smiling. “They’re separated but on this floor.”
“Thank fuck for that,” Rip adds, and for a few short seconds, I forgot he was with us. During this mission, we are his problem kids so it’s not surprising that he decided to tag along with us instead of leading the charge to take out the pussies left behind.
“Indiana!” Zoey hollers.
“Daddy! Uncle Icer!” My princess cries, breaking my damn heart. She sounds so damn scared that my entire body starts vibrating with the need to charge in and wrap my arms around her.
“Move away from the door, Elodie,” I instruct her, not wanting her to get hit when the door goes swinging inward. “I’ll get you out, okay?”
“I’m at the back wall, Uncle Icer,” Elodie yells. Less than two seconds later, the door to the room she’s in is in smithereens. Elodie, spotting me first, rushes through the room and jumps into my spread arms.
“I got you, princess,” I coo, looking closely at her. “Did anyone hurt you?”
“The bad man was going to whip me, Uncle Icer,” Elodie whispers. “And he said some really mean things. But then he left.”
My entire body stiffens at her statement. A red tinge coats my vision, but I stay in control. At least, for now. “What did he look like, princess?” I ask, wanting a description of the man I’m about to filet alive.
“He wasn’t as tall as you or Daddy, he was skinny and had no guns, and his hair was long,” she replies.
“How long, Elodie?” Indiana probes, asking for further details.
“To here,” she says, touching her shoulder. “It was greasy too,” she whispers. “He was stinky and I didn’t like him at all.”
I glance up at Indiana and he cants his head to the side, letting me know he’s going after his old lady. I nod back, letting him know I’ve got this and nothing will harm my princess as long as I’m around. That’s a goddamn guarantee.
“I’m okay, Uncle Icer,” Elodie promises, placing her palms over my cheeks. “But I really wanna see my mama.”
“Alright, princess. Let’s go see your mama,” I tell her, lifting her up in my arms and tucking her as close to me as humanly possible.
I will shield her from any harm, even if it’s at the cost of my life.
I march us into the other room, and when Elodie sees Zoey, she begins to do her wiggle worm dance, excitement blazing in her eyes.
“Mama!” Elodie shrieks.
Zoey breaks free and rushes over, snatching Elodie from my grasp.
She runs her hands all over Elodie multiple times as tears continue to flow down her cheeks.
“Are you okay?” she finally asks. “I… I saw you in the room. There was a special mirror that let me see you and hear you, El. You were so, so brave, sweetie.”
Elodie, in her sweet, melodic voice, says, “Mama, I knew he wouldn’t hurt me. Pepaw said so.”
“He did, did he?” Zoey questions. “Well, he was always our biggest protector, so if you talked to him and he told you that, he was obviously right.”
“Yes, because Daddy and Uncle Icer showed up a few minutes later,” Elodie replies.
Well, that’s not eerie at all. Does my little princess have some psychic, precognitive abilities or was she simply traumatized and looking for a creature of comfort? That’s a mystery to be solved on a different day, today, we need to take out the trash.
Once Indiana lifts Zoey into his arms, that’s our cue to begin moving.
I swoop Elodie to me and follow him. Every sense in my body is on high alert as we traipse down the corridor and down the steps, going back the way we came.
When we breach the shipping bay, I scan for any threats that haven’t been neutralized.
Not finding any, I join the huddle and listen in on Indiana and Zoey’s conversation.
“Any of these the men you two saw?” Indiana asks her. I intently watch as she lifts her head from his shoulder and scans the men who are bound and on their knees.
“No,” she whispers. “Never saw any of them, but they kept those stupid masks on most of the time.” Then, as if a lightswitch has been flipped on, she gasps. “Indiana, there are women in cages down in the furnace room.”
Indiana and I share a look then turn toward Riptide. “I’ll keep the girls here with me while y’all go and check it out.” Riptide states, “Not playing, Icer. There are innocents who need our help.”
“Please, Icer,” Zoey begs. “Letti’s down there.”
“Who’s Letti?” Indiana inquires, peering down at the woman still locked in his arms. “And why, exactly, do you know there are cages in the furnace room?”
“I’ll explain later about that, I promise.
This is about Letti, though. She’s a woman about my age, and she’s been kept down there for at least a month by her estimation.
She looks near starved, and the only bath the women are given is with a water hose.
Please, check on her and make sure they didn’t take her with them when they left. ”
“Fine,” I bark. “Not happy about this, Zoe.”
“What the fuck am I, chopped liver?” Rip asks, his voice sounding less than amused. “Don’t care if you’re happy or not, an order is an order.”
I growl, spinning and heading back into the building, Indiana barreling down on me as we pick up the pace. “Don’t like leaving them,” I grunt.
“You think I do?” Indiana queries, his tone rough and gravelly. “I just got them back, but this is important, Icer. There are innocent women being held captive down below, depending on us to release them. From cages!”
“I get it, but we could’ve handed this off to one of the others,” I argue. “We dropped the ball once when it comes to their protection, won’t be doing that again.”
“You can’t guard them twenty-four/seven, Icer,” Indiana states.
“Watch me. If I can’t have my eyes on them, you will, Indy.”
“Don’t call me that, Icer, you know it drives me nuts.”
“Don’t care,” I grunt. “We fucked up, Indiana. I wanna kick both of our asses.”
“Let’s save that for another day and time, huh? The faster we get these women freed the sooner we can get back to my girls.”
“Our girls,” I correct him, finding it repugnant that he left me out of that grouping. “You need to learn how to share.”
“Hello, pot,” he mumbles underneath his breath.
“I share,” I say in defense of myself. “When I have to.”
“Well, you have to when it comes to our girls,” he says, emphasizing the word ‘our’ and drawing it out.
Rolling my eyes, I stomp down the stairs, taking them two at a time, ready to get this shit done and over with.
The quicker I can get back to my princess and sister, the better.
The need to get them away from this warehouse is incessant, playing like an endless loop in my head.
I don’t want them in this place any longer than necessary, their demon kept them here so this place isn’t a good one for them to stay in.