25. Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Five
Evie
I wrapped my arms around Jenna and squeezed my eyes closed as more gunshots filled the air. I’d never been a religious person, but I was definitely praying right now, begging for protection, for safety, for a damn miracle. I didn’t want anyone in Rocky’s hurt, but I was going to be selfish and put Jenna and myself at the top of the list of people I wanted to walk out of here unharmed when this was all done.
We were huddled behind our table, the chairs knocked to the side when Jenna had acted faster than I’d thought possible and flipped the table onto its side. I didn’t know if the wood was thick enough to stop a bullet, but it was all we had right now, and with the shooters outside, the odds seemed to be in our favor. If they decided to come in, though, all bets were off.
I was still thinking about what to do if that happened when I heard the screeching of tires and then several seconds of complete silence as we all registered that the shooting was done.
Unless that was what the shooters wanted us to think.
Jenna started to stand up, but I grabbed her arm and pulled her back down.
“They could be trying to trick us,” I hissed. “Don’t move until we know it’s safe.”
“Evie! Jenna!”
I closed my eyes as relief flooded me. I’d never been so happy to hear Levi so pissed.
“We’re in here!” Jenna shouted back. “Is it safe to come out?”
“Stay where you are!” Levi barked the order. “Everyone stay put, and if you have any weapons, drop them or I’ll drop you.”
“Evie, you all right?” Mason’s voice came from outside.
“Nice to know my brothers are taking this protection thing seriously,” Jenna muttered before answering him. “We’re both okay. Thanks for asking.”
“Doesn’t look like there were any shooters inside,” Levi said.
“No, just the guys outside,” I answered even though no one had asked. I just wanted to stand up and see them and know that we were safe.
“Is anyone hurt?” Tucker called out.
That was when it hit me that he hadn’t asked me or Jenna if we were okay. The fear that had coursed through me shifted into something that made my stomach ache. I’d known the guys wouldn’t be happy that I left the clubhouse, but I had a bad feeling this was going to be so much worse than I’d expected.
Shit.
A chorus of people answered, most sounding like they were saying they were okay or just bruised. As people began to come out from where they’d been hiding, Jenna and I exchanged a look before getting up too.
The bar was trashed. My jaw dropped as I looked around at the mess that’d been made. Tables were flipped and chairs turned over. Food mixed with broken plates and glasses, liquid pooling around them. At least none of it looked like blood.
“You sure you’re not hurt?” Mason grabbed my arm, his expression grim as he looked me over. “You have a single scratch or bruise and I’m gonna rain hell down on them.”
“Hey there, big brother.” Jenna punched his arm. “I’m here too. Don’t you wanna rain hell on my behalf?”
“Sorry, Jenna.” Mason flushed, letting go of me. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good,” she said. “Shaking a bit, because I’ve never been shot at, but I’m not hurt. We got down behind the table after the first shot. Who the hell were those guys?”
“They weren’t Thunder Riders,” Tucker said as he came up behind Mason. “But I wasn’t close enough to see any patches.”
“Probably Cobras,” Mason said. “Sons of bitches already shot me. Probably know some of us come here sometimes and thought they could take us out that way.”
“So they just decided to shoot up a bar on the off chance they’d hit one of you guys?” I frowned. “I’m just a singer, but that doesn’t seem like the best way to kill someone.”
“Yeah, well, they’re not known for their brains,” Tucker said dryly.
The wail of police sirens cut through the air and Levi was suddenly there, looking at his brothers. “We need to go.”
“We can’t just leave,” I protested.
Levi ignored me and kept talking to Mason and Tucker. “RJ said he’ll take care of things.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
Levi barely glanced at me, but he answered my question. “He’s gonna tell the cops that you were worried about your safety and had us take you back to the clubhouse. If they want to talk to you, they can do it there.”
“Why can’t we just wait here for them?” Jenna asked, just as confused as I was.
Mason raised an eyebrow. “Because we’re three bikers with guns who just fired at a bunch of strangers.”
“Because they were shooting at the bar,” Jenna said.
“I love you, Jenna,” Tucker said, “but trust us on this. Bedford PD will arrest us.”
“All right,” she agreed. “Let’s go.”
“Tucker, take Jenna,” Levi said, grabbing my wrist. “Evie’s riding with me. Mason, I want your hands free in case anyone gets any ideas.”
And with that, Levi headed for the door, dragging me behind him as we went. He didn’t say a word as he climbed onto his bike, just sat there, waiting for me to get on. I could hear the cops getting closer and climbed onto the motorcycle behind him, barely getting my arms around his waist before he took off.
Every muscle in his body was tense as we made our way back to the clubhouse, and I didn’t think it was because he was concentrating on driving. I knew he was upset, and I had no problem going toe to toe with him if he wanted to argue about me leaving the clubhouse, but this didn’t feel like the sort of thing that would turn into an argument. This felt more like he was just shutting down. Icing me out.
Hell. No.
The entire ride back to the clubhouse, I kept remembering the way Levi had barely looked at me. How Tucker hadn’t spoken to me. Mason’s anger. A part of me really wanted to believe that it was all because they were so worried about me and Jenna that they didn’t know how to express it, but the tension that kept twisting my stomach into tighter and tighter knots wouldn’t let me believe it.
My gut said that they were furious because I hadn’t done as I was told, and that wasn’t going to fly with me. I’d already taken a step outside my comfort zone by agreeing to be with all three of them, and I knew that if I wanted this to work, there’d be things I’d need to compromise on.
This was not one of them.
I’d been taking care of myself since I was a kid, and while there were things I understood I needed help with, I refused to lose all of my independence in the name of “protection.” Not when it meant that they weren’t seeing me as their equal.
By the time we parked at the clubhouse, I felt ill and just wanted to get inside so we could talk this all out. As crazy as the idea of the four of us was, I didn’t want it to be over before it really even started. Except, as soon as we got off the bike, Levi’s attention was on Jenna.
“Call Isabel from inside the clubhouse and get her to come pick you up. Stay in there until she gets here.” He used the tone we used to refer to as his “big brother knows best” voice, and the look on Jenna’s face said she appreciated it even less now than she had as a kid. But she didn’t argue. Then he turned to Mason and Tucker. “Gather the men. We need to have church.”
I gave Jenna a questioning look as a couple of the Thunder Riders came onto the porch, their expressions irritated but otherwise unreadable.
“That’s what MCs call a meeting of their members,” she explained quickly. After a glance at her brothers, she pitched her voice even lower and asked, “Do you want to come home with me and Isabel?”
“She’s not going anywhere but inside,” Levi snapped. “And this time, she’s going to stay there.”
“Levi—” I started.
“Not a word.” Grabbing my hand, he started for the door, his pace fast enough that I almost had to jog to keep up.
I gritted my teeth and went along with it, but only because I didn’t want an audience for this. When we were in private, I had a few choice words for Mr. Asshole Bradshaw.
We went past Mason’s and Tucker’s rooms to the one at the end of the hall, and the fact that I was going to see his room for the first time when I was this annoyed just irritated me even more. So when he opened the door and flipped on the light, I barely registered anything other than the massive bed on the far side of the room.
Yanking my hand out of his, I spun around to get this thing started, only to find that he was already halfway out the door. I was still standing there with my mouth hanging open like some fucking fish when the door closed behind him. And then I heard two locks click into place.
“You did not just lock me in here!” I shouted as I stomped over to the door and tried to open it. It didn’t budge. Jiggling the handle like it would actually make a difference, I yelled, “What sort of psycho has a lock on the outside of his bedroom?”
I didn’t get a response, but I honestly didn’t expect one. Not after how shitty he’d been from the moment he told me I wasn’t going with them to talk to Becca. I kicked the door, cursing at the sharp pain that shot through my foot. Glaring at the door, I tried to figure out the lock situation only to see that both the doorknob and the dead bolt were the sort that required a key, probably on either side.
“Let me out of here!” I hit the door with the flat of my hand, ignoring the sting. “You can’t lock me in here, you fucking bastard! Mason! Tucker! Let me out!”
When no one came, I continued shouting insults until my throat started to hurt, but I didn’t hear a single peep from the hallway. No one guarding the door or telling me to shut up. Nothing.
Then I remembered that Levi had told his brothers to gather the men, and realized that he’d locked me in here so he and the rest of the testosterone club could discuss their business, like I hadn’t been right there in the middle of the mess.
I reached for my purse, determined to get my phone and tell Jenna that I wanted to take her up on her offer to have me stay with her and Isabel, but that was when I suddenly realized that I didn’t have my purse. I knew I had it when we left the bar, because I remembered adjusting it when I was sitting down behind Levi. As I mentally went back over my steps, it hit me what must’ve happened.
When Levi left his room, he’d slipped my purse off my shoulder and taken it with him so that I couldn’t make any calls.
He was going to be lucky if I didn’t castrate him with a rusty butter knife when he came back here.