Chapter 27
27
Steal
I skid to a stop outside our decoy warehouse at the East docks before jumping off my bike and running to the door, the brothers right behind me.
When we got halfway here, I knew this was where Faith was keeping my little girl. I instantly realized where Piston was heading, and I overtook him, flooring it. Honestly, I’m shocked the brothers managed to keep up with me, and even more shocked I didn’t get pulled over.
I stop near the door and look at Acid. “Your sole job is to grab Moira and get her the fuck outta here.” He nods, standing taller, knowing I’m putting part of my world in his hands, a world he has yet to meet, and I look at Anchor. “Kill Tank.”
He smirks, and I turn and pull the door open, storming into the warehouse, where I freeze at the sight before me.
Cassidy sits on top of Faith, who is trying to grab a?—
Fuck!
I move forward, ready to help my girl as Cassy grabs Faith by the hair and slams her face into the concrete. The door opens again, and we all turn to find a confused Tank rushing into the room, his blue eyes widening in shock at the sight of us.
Did the fucker just miss all the bikes or something?
We lock eyes, and I smirk at the fear radiating from him as Anchor rushes over to him and punches him in the face before he can even blink.
He grunts. “What-what…” trying to act confused as he backs away from my VP like the pussy that he is. But Anchor doesn’t let him finish as he pulls his piece out and shoots him in the head, his body dropping to the floor.
“Fuck,” Acid grunts, and I look his way as he runs to the corner of the room. I tense, seeing my daughter passed out, and the urge to run to her hits hard, but a grunt from the women grabs my attention, and I look in time to see Cass hitting Faith in the jaw with her heard. I move forward again, and everything in me burns as Faith rolls and manages to grab the gun while Cass tries to get her bearings.
I don’t think, I run.
“Colt!” Pitbull shouts, but I ignore him, and it feels like slow motion as Faith grins, then sneers, “I win,” and pulls the trigger.
Roaring out, I push Cassidy out of the way, grunting as a piercing pain hits me, sending me to the ground.
I hear a scream but don’t look up as I put pressure on my leg where the bullet hit, blood soaking my jeans.
Breathing heavy, I move to stand but grunt instead as I’m push to my side, and I look to see Cassidy with a fat lip, and tears coating her cheeks, as she moves my hand out of the way to see where I’m hit.
Her body trembles and everything inside me breaks when I see her terror. I cup her cheek, making her look at me, and I say, “I’m okay….”
She shakes her head. “Piston, give me your knife.” He does as she asks.
“Cassidy,” I say, but she doesn’t look at me. Instead, she slices open my jeans with the blade, and then presses her fingers to either side of the wound. “Trouble!” I snap, and she finally looks up, her face pale. “I’m okay,” I repeat, and she sobs.
“Fuck,” I hear Cannon whisper behind me, but I ignore him, and gently cup her cheek again.
“I promise, I am okay,” I repeat, firmer, hoping to get through to her.
“You shouldn’t have pushed me out of the way,” she cries as she looks down at my leg.
I reply, “What, and have you killed? You think I can live without you?”
Her head shoots up, and she sobs, “And do you think I could?” My eyes soften. She shakes her head and chokes out, “Just because I left, just because things went to shit, doesn’t mean my love for you stopped. You are my heart, and our daughter needs you. I need you….”
I nod. “And I’m not going anywhere,” I promise.
She sniffles before taking a deep breath, then states, “I need to dig into your leg. The bullet is still inside, but I don’t think it hit bone; it’s stuck in muscle….”
Pitbull and Cannon flank either side of me, grabbing my arms, making me snort, but I soon groan when Piston and Anchor grab my legs.
“Really?” I ask, and they all smirk while Cass snaps, “Yes, really!”
I tilt my head, assessing her. I know she is ready to fall apart, so instead of arguing, I nod. She takes another deep breath and then looks at Piston expectantly, who confirms, “She’s safe with Acid in the truck. Medic looked her over. She’s sleepy from the sedative Faith gave her, but she’s fine.”
Anger shines through Cass’s beautiful wet hazel eyes, and I snap, “You couldn’t have left that little bit of information out until after she digs the fucking bullet out of my leg?”
Piston winces as I grunt when Cass digs two fingers into my leg—not so gently.
“Fuck, Cass, aren’t doctors supposed to be gentler?” Pitbull grunts when I nearly rip my arm out of his hold in a knee-jerk reaction, sweat building on my forehead.
“Not to family she’s not,” Piston mumbles from behind, and I keep my eyes on Cass.
She’s barely fucking breathing as she focuses on digging into my leg, and fuck am I scared she’s about to pass out.
“Trouble,” I rasp, and her eyes come my way, tears shining, “breathe for me. Take deep breaths.”
She does as I instruct, taking big, deep breaths, before nodding and getting back to my leg. She furrows her brows as she wiggles around in the wound, and I grit my teeth.
“Keep steady, brother,” Piston whispers, and I nod, muttering back, “Just keep fucking hold of me.”
I think everyone has now realized exactly what I mean to Cass, something they should have noticed years ago; I mean, fuck, I treated her like shit in favor of the club, and she stayed…until she couldn’t.
“Dammit,” Cassidy chokes, her tears falling before she looks at me and says, “it’s lodged too deep, I-I…oh God, I’ve got to make the wound bigger….”
Terror and true fear fill her eyes, and I breathe heavily as I nod. “Do it.” She shakes her head, her body trembling, and I snap, “I picked Faith up the day you walked in on your dad having a heart attack and your sister doing CPR, I forgot your graduation, I forgot to pick you up and left you in the pouring rain when I was the one who arranged the date.…”
“Uh, Prez, what are you doing?” Piston questions while Cannon stutters, “Ah fuck, he’s trying to anger her, so she does what she needs to….”
Cassy’s eyes race between mine as I say, “I chose a fun run with the club instead of your birthday, I chose to drink with the brothers to ensure they knew I was there for them when you went to mourn your father on his first death anniversary.”
“Colt, please,” she begs, but I shake my head and continue, “I stood by Faith every time she caused shit with you, every time she tried to aggravate you. And when you were the one who got the blame, I stood by her.”
“Stop it, Colt!” she shouts.
I ignore her and continue, "On our second anniversary, I was shopping with Faith because her car had apparently broken down, and I sat back, allowing my father, a man who adores you, to ban you from the clubhouse for something you didn’t do.”
“Fuck, Prez,” Pitbull snaps, “stop….”
I grunt and quickly bite my bottom lip to stop the shocked shout as Cass digs the knife into my leg, making the wound larger. The boys hold me tighter as she drops the knife and digs into my leg again for what feels like fucking hours before she gasps and pulls the bullet out, throwing it on the floor, then grabbing the rag off Cannon, and pushing it onto my leg.
I blink and fall back a little. “Fuck,” I grind out, I think you need to ride my bike back for me, Trouble.”
Pitbull mutters, “I think he’s lost his mind from the pain.”
I roll my eyes and admit, “It’s not the first time she’s ridden my bike, and it won’t be the last.”
Cassidy doesn’t say anything as she wraps my leg.
I know I’ve just brought back a lot of shit, but I knew she wouldn’t cut me without getting angry. She may still be mad at me and may be struggling to forgive, but I know she loves me, and causing this much pain was too much for her.
“Cannon, can you get my bike ready, Piston, have Killian ride Acid’s bike, and tell Acid to drive the truck back to the club with Moira and that bitch. Anchor wrap and weight down that fucker’s body, then follow the truck back.”
The brothers nod and move, leaving Cass and me alone.
“Did I just ensure we took twenty steps back?” I ask after the door shuts, and she sniffles but shakes her head.
“No, I knew what you were doing, I just…I should have come to you instead of coming here alone,” she admits.
I cup her cheek, forcing her to look at me, and the pain shining back at me fucking kills.
“Tank was watching us, Trouble. You leaving the way you did, it helped keep them in the dark,” I say, wiping her cheeks with my thumbs. “Help me stand, and let me ride bitch, yeah?”
She chuckles then stand on her shaky legs. I accept her hand and grunt as I stand, then put my arm over her shoulders, giving her some of my weight. I allow her to guide me out of the warehouse to Cannon and Pitbull, who’re sitting astride their bikes next to mine.
“Piston and Anchor are riding back with Killian and the truck, Tank should be near the bottom of the ocean,” Cannon states and I nod as Cass helps me onto the bike.
I take deep breaths as I keep my bike up by my right leg, then wait a beat before I look at Cass when she doesn’t climb on. She’s worrying her hands, flinching as she irritates her already red and busted knuckles.
“Come on, Trouble,” I say, and she swallows hard before admitting, “I haven’t ridden since our last date….”
I nod and say, “Good,” making her snort. I pat the seat. “Climb on in front, and I’ll guide you like I used to.”
She bites her lower lip, says, “Maybe I should ride with one of them,” and nods to the boys, angering me.
I narrow my eyes and snap, “First of all, I can’t fucking ride, and secondly, like fuck are you getting on the back of a bike with someone else, and you know full well why!”
She sighs but doesn’t argue as she climbs on in front of me. I wrap my arms around her and whisper, “Okay, Trouble, just like when you were in college, turn the key….”
Half an hour later, Western lets us in, and Cass pulls up near the clubhouse door. Careful not to jolt my leg, I put the stand down and carefully climb off the bike, then hold my hand for a trembling Cass.
“You did good, Trouble,” I say as she clings to me as she climbs off the bike. When she straightens, she glares my way, and I grin innocently, asking, “What?”
“You know exactly what! This is exactly what you did eight years ago.” She mimics my voice, "Oh, don’t worry, Trouble. I won’t make you go fast. I promise I’ll stay away from the throttle and let you lead!”
Pitbull and Cannon laugh while Piston stands near the door, biting his knuckles to hold his in, when she glares at the brothers.
Chuckling, I wrap my arm around her shoulders and kiss her head before whispering, “Stopped you from panicking over me and our daughter, though, didn’t it?”
She looks at me, and her eyes tear up again. She nods before grabbing my cut and placing her forehead against my chin for a beat. Then, she grabs my hand and helps me walk to the door.
Piston kisses Cassy’s head, and then opens the door for us. Instantly, she gets emotional at seeing Moira still asleep in Acid's arms while Perrie glares at him.
“Give me my niece!” Perrie snaps, but Acid shakes his head and states, “Nope, you’ve had months with her when you decided not to tell me she even existed, and besides, you're pregnant and shouldn’t carry her.”
Perrie glares at him but soon softens when Cass sniffles and whispers, “Acid….”
He turns, and his eyes soften as he walks over to us. Anchor takes me from Cass before she grabs our daughter, whose head lolls on her shoulder. Cass sobs.
“She’s alright, Cass. Medic has done a full workup on her,” Acid whispers, but she pushes her face into our daughter’s hair.
“Acid, guide them over to Perrie for me, brother,” I request, and he nods and stands next to her but pauses when I kiss Cassidy’s head. The whole room gasps when I rasp, “I’m going to finish this shit with Faith, then I’m going to grovel, and we’re going to find a house we’ll share, as a family, after I hand in my patch.”
Cassidy looks at me, her lips parted. I guess she didn’t think I meant what I said to her.
I smile at her and use her shocked state to gently kiss her lips, aware of the cut on her bottom lip. Then, I kiss my little girl's head, and nod to Acid, whose mouth is hanging open.
“Council brothers, outhouse now!” I boom, shocking them into action as Anchor grips my shoulder and whispers, “If you think I’m allowing you to leave this club, your legacy, then you’re fucking crazy.”
I look at him and reply, “My woman and kid come first, Travis, and the club has done nothing but tear us apart.”
That said, I get out of his grip and limp toward the back door, trying to ignore the pain shooting through my leg.
I’ll never put Cassidy last again.