Chapter Eleven
Rooster
“HEY,” I BARKED as Train and Jester inhaled the contents of the greasy paper sacks. “Hands off the Flingers.”
I knew that Katie’s clinic closed early on Saturdays but that she always worked for a few hours after closing to catch up on office administration work.
I also happened to know that Katie’s favorite guilty pleasure was Derby’s Onion Flingers and since I’d grabbed two large orders, I was hoping she’d appreciate the gesture.
Let’s face it, I was looking to score points with her any way I could.
As soon as we pulled into the clinic parking lot, I knew something was wrong. Katie’s car was parked in the lot, but the entire building was blacked out.
“Why are the lights off?” I asked out loud.
“I thought you said they’d be closed,” Train said.
“They are, but the sign out front and the external flood lights should still be on. Somethin’s not right.”
“I’m gonna pull around to the back,” Train said.
“Good idea.”
As we reached the rear entrance of the building, we saw two bikes parked near the door.
“Hey, that’s Ratcatcher’s chopper,” Jester said.
“You recognize those bikes?”
“Yeah. They’re Ratcatcher and Ripper’s bikes. Those guys are fucking assholes.”
“You heavy?” I asked.
Train opened the glovebox and pulled out a .38. “Yup,” he replied.
“Stay put,” I said to Jester, pulling my Beretta 92 from my waistband.
We climbed out of the van and just as our boots hit the ground, Ratcatcher came out the back door. He had a pistol in his hand and he wasn’t alone. With him was a Spider I knew from the old days named Ripper, and with him was Katie, whom he held at knifepoint.
“Take one more step and I cut your girlfriend’s throat,” Ripper ordered.
Ratcatcher aimed his pistol at Train and vice versa. I kept mine trained on Ripper.
“Drop the knife and let her go,” I growled.
“No fucking way, cockface,” Ripper replied. “That’s right. I remember you. You shoulda stayed out of town, chicken boy. Now you’re gonna have to see your sweetheart get chopped up into little pieces.”
“She’s got nothing to do with club business,” I said.
“Apparently, Warlock doesn’t agree with you,” Ripper said. “He told us to grab the girl and bring her to him, so that’s what we’re gonna do. And if you try and stop us, I’ll kill her and bring her and your dead bodies to Warlock.”
“Alright, then. How about a trade? Your hostage for ours.”
“What the fuck are you talking about? Ratcatcher asked. “What hostage?”
“Shut the fuck up,” Ripper yelled. “He’s fuckin’ lying.”
“No, I’m not. He’s in the van and I’ll give him to you if you let the lady go.”
“I’m warning you. Fuck with us, and I’ll make sure she bleeds out right in front of you,” Ripper said.
I slowly slid the van door open, my back to Ripper, obscuring our cargo.
I looked at Jester. “Do everything I tell you to do. I swear I won’t hurt you. Just play along so I can keep my woman safe. You’d ask me to do the same for Mia if our roles were reversed.”
He nodded.
I reached into one of the Derby’s bags and palmed a packet of DerbyQ sauce. Then I engaged the safety on my gun before pointing it at Jester, spinning him around to face Ripper with me behind him.
“Keiran? Is that you, you little shit?” Ripper asked.
“We know his old man is one of yours,” I said. “You hurt the lady and I’ll mail the kid to your clubhouse one piece at a time.”
Ripper laughed. “That’s the biggest fuckin’ bluff I’ve ever heard. The Dogs of Fire only know how to bark, they never bite.”
“Maybe some of them, but not me. You’re right, Ripper, I’ve been away for a while, which means you have no fucking idea what I’ve been up to and what I’m capable of doing when the people I care about are threatened.”
“Bullshit,” he yelled back. “You ain’t gonna hurt him.
“Showtime kid,” I whispered before slamming the butt end of my pistol grip down onto Keiran’s skull. Blood instantly gushing from the top of his head. Katie cried out in horror as Keiran fell limp into my arms, blood streaming down his face.
“Let her go or I’ll bash this fucking kid’s brains out,” I yelled.
“Alright,” Ripper relented, taking the knife away from Katies throat.
He then motioned for Ratcatcher to lower his gun, giving me just enough time to turn my gun’s safety off and put a bullet straight through his forehead.
Likewise, just as Ratcatcher lowered his gun, Train landed two center mass shots into his chest. Both men dropped to the ground, leaving Katie standing alone, freaked out and shivering.
After making sure Jester was okay, I ran to Katie, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her close. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, just freaked,” she said, pointing a trembling finger towards Keiran. “Is he alright?”
“Oh, shit. Yeah, hold on,” I said, retrieving Keiran for Katie to inspect. “See? He’s perfectly fine.”
“Fine, nothing, bro. You got some of that spicy sauce in my eye,” he complained, wiping his face with his t shirt.
“Sorry, man,” I said, pulling a bandana from my pocket and handing it to him.
“Is that DerbyQ sauce?” Katie asked.
“Yeah. You didn’t think I’d actually pistol whip a kid, did you?” I challenged.
“Well, I didn’t, but you had me fooled from where I was,” she replied.
“You can thank a summer at theater camp and the use of an extra-large sauce packet.”
“Theater camp?” she asked. “Was it that summer you left sophomore year? You went to theater camp?”
I nodded. “I’ll tell you all about it someday, but right now, we have to get these dead guys loaded into the van and their bikes hidden out of sight before the cops show up and throw us all in jail.”
“Why didn’t you press your panic button, sweetheart?” Train asked.
“I did,” she said, just as the roar of engines sounded, and a dozen of my brothers rode into the back parking lot of the clinic, led by Razor.
“Good girl,” Train said.
* * *
Katie
The look on Rooster’s face almost brought me to my knees. He was pissed, but most of all, he was hurt, and I knew I needed to get him added to my ‘In Case of Emergency’ ASAP.
“What the actual fuck?” he hissed. “Why didn’t I get a notification?”
“Don’t freak out,” I said. “You have been back for five minutes. I haven’t had time to update you on all the paperwork, so to speak.”
“Razor, though? Jesus,” he snapped, dragging his hands through his hair.
“He’s one of my best friends, Kam. Hatch and Flea are also on the list.”
“That’s different, they’re family.”
“So’s Razor.”
Rooster scoffed.
I laid my hand on his chest and he looked at me. “You and I still have things to sort out, honey. And first things first, we need to do a double date with Razor and Waverly.”
“No, first things first, I need to be the first one you contact in an emergency.”
“Well, yeah. Then, second, double date with Razor and Waverly.”
“Yeah? Why’s that?”
I nodded. “Because you’ll figure out pretty quick, he’s totally in love with her and he sees me as nothing but a big sister.”
Before Rooster could respond, Hatch, Razor, and Flea interrupted our moment, and they all pulled me in for a hug, almost at the same time.
“You okay?” Razor asked.
“Yes. Rooster got here just in the knick of time.”
Hatch gave me a sideways hug and kissed my head. “If Train hadn’t already killed these assholes, I’d fuckin’ kill ’em again.”
I sighed. “Thanks, big man. I appreciate that.”
My brother was next, but he kept his arms around me after his hug. “You want me to stick around?”
“No, do whatever you gotta do. I’d like Rooster to stay with me if you don’t need him.”
“All good with me,” Hatch said. “You got anything on these cameras we need to worry about?”
“I have already remotely deleted it,” I said, holding up my phone.
Hatch grinned. “There’s my girl.”
“I just want to go home and soak in a bubble bath and curl up with my man.”
“Well, I’m gonna throw a wrench in that plan, sweetheart,” Hatch said.
I frowned. “Why?”
“Because we’re lockin’ you down.”
“What about the clinic? What about my mom and her chemo?”
“Sweetheart, they got to you at your clinic. We can possibly figure out your mom situation, but right now, you’re gonna have to take a few days off.” Hatch cocked his head. “You wanna lock down at the compound or at mine and Maisie’s place?”
“Can I talk to Rooster and figure that out?”
“Yeah.” Hatch turned to Rooster. “Take her home, pack a bag, then text me what you decide. We’ll take care of the kid.”
Rooster nodded, sliding his arm around me. “You got it.”
“Can we go now?” I whispered.
“Yeah, baby,” he said. “I’ll come inside with you while you lock up and grab your shit.”
I nodded, and we did just that, then he drove us home. I waited until we got inside the house to completely melt down, and Rooster grabbed me before I hit the floor.
“Shit, baby, you okay?”
I shook my head, crying so hard I could barely catch my breath.
“They… they…”
“Don’t,” Rooster crooned, lifting me and carrying me to the chair in the living room. “Just cry for now. Let your body get it out. You can tell me about it when enough of the trauma’s exorcized.”
He settled me on his lap and held me while I did just that.
It took a good twenty minutes before my sobs turned into hiccups and then I was able to take a few deep breaths as I burrowed deeper into Rooster’s neck, breathing in his cologne. It was my favorite.
“Are you still wearing Acqua di Giò?”
“You bought it for me, so yeah.”
I sat up so I could meet his eyes. “You’re still using the same bottle?”
He chuckled. “No, baby, I bought more.”
“You’re still wearing the same cologne I bought you for your birthday when we were sixteen years old?” I asked.
“Why does that surprise you?”
“Because I just assumed you left and forgot about me,” I grumbled, flopping back against his chest. “But I’m learning you did not.”
He gave me a squeeze. “I absolutely did not.”
“Didn’t it make things harder to have things that constantly reminded you of me?”
“Sometimes. Mostly, it made me feel closer to you.” He smiled. “But in the midst of all of it, I learned to do hard well.”