Chapter 15
Wizard
A s soon as I sent Charlie’s phone the girls’ location, I sent a group text requesting back up from any brother in the area. I ran out of my apartment to the stairs. I took the stairs, leaping down them several at a time. My phone pinging the entire time.
By the time I make it to my bike, so has half a dozen of my brothers. Angel, Demon, Cobra, Saint, Blue, and Everest. We mount and head toward the gate. Flea opens it. So, we roar through without slowing or stopping.
Once we’re on the road, I thumb open an app I created and sync the lights. I’ve been gathering information on Charlie’s ex, JR, and his connection to Teddy the turd. The turd hasn’t contacted Charlie since the initial meeting in the grocery story. I still didn’t like it and I don’t trust the man.
I have enough to move against him. I just need time to talk to Charlie first. I hope she doesn’t hate me, but I can’t see that scumbag skate another day.
We race across town, as fast as traffic will allow. The girls are down in a rough neighborhood and I, for one, would like to know what they were doing there. They’re supposed to be at their dad’s this weekend.
My heart drops to my toes when I see a group of thugs surrounding the car. A few of them have bats. They’re posturing. None of the dumbasses turn around when they hear us. One big fucker takes a bat to the girls’ headlights. I speed up and pull away from the pack. As I drive past the car, I kick out and take out the big fucker’s knee. I hear the snap before his scream. He falls to the ground, clutching his knee.
The remaining thugs turn their attention to us. My brothers and I park our sleds and hurry toward them.
“You don’t know the mistake you just made, dog,” one of them says.
“You’re the stupid mother fuckers who don’t know the mistake you made. If there’s one hair out of place on those girls’ heads, you’ll be gator bait.”
“I’d like to see you try,” another says, pulling a gun from his waistband.
A split second later, the gun is on the ground and the guy is howling in pain, a knife sticking out of the back of his hand. By the time any of the thugs think to move, we’ve all pulled our pieces and they're looking down the barrels of guns. The roar of engines gets closer as more of my brothers close in on our direction.
The punks scatter like cockroaches when you flip the light on. I let them go. My priority is checking on the girls. I run for the car. The doors open and suddenly I have three sobbing girls in my arms. They’re all talking at once and I can’t understand a word they’re saying.
Crab and Tully pull up at the same time. Crab in the wrecker and Tully in an SUV.
Charlie
THE CLOSER I GET TO the girls’ location, the farther my heart sinks into my toes. What are my girls doing here? And where the hell is there no-good father? I’m going to kill him when I get my hands on him. I briefly picture a cartoon version of myself choking a cartoon version of my ex. I don’t condone violence, but when it comes to him, I sometimes fantasize about it.
Messing with me is one thing, but he continually drags the girls into things and lets them down. Ever since the girls told me he introduced them to his girlfriends, I’ve wanted to punch him in the throat.
I mean, who does that? Who puts their kids in that kind of position? I hear the roar of sleds close by as I near my destination. When I turn onto the block, I spot half dozen bikes, an SUV, and a wrecker. The girls are huddled around Wizard. And he’s surrounded by more big, badass, heavily tattooed bikers.
I put the car in park, leave it running, and rush to my daughters. Luciana spots me first and squeals my name. Soon they’re all in my arms with Wizard’s arms wrapped around all of us. I hear more sleds close in on us. When he doesn’t tense, I relax into his hold and put my arms around my daughters.
“Why don’t we get you in the SUV and back to the clubhouse? It's closer than your place,” Wizard suggests. “I’ll drive and get prospects to drive your car and my sled.”
I nod my head and let him lead us to the shiny black SUV parked next to the wrecker.