Chapter 44 #2
I look at Zeus. “Do you have the money on hand?” Loretta is my trump card, but the money is still needed as a backup.
“Of course, but you’re not going alone.”
I shake my head. “I won’t risk my family.”
“They’re my family too,” he counters. “We go in this together and send those fuckers to Hell.”
I nod, and we embrace in a quick hug. I don’t let it show, but I’m scared out of my mind. If they die, I die.
“Draco, go to the hospital and keep me updated on Snake’s condition,” Zeus orders, then singles out Tank and Smokey. “You two go with him and watch his back.”
All three make a swift exit while the rest of us gather and plan our next move.
“I never should’ve been dragged into this,” Loretta gripes from the passenger seat. “It’s not my fault Zilphia got mixed up with a criminal. Men like you are for fun, not for building a life with. Frankly, I knew you were trouble the day you nearly burned my house down.”
I’m already on edge and this bitch won’t shut the fuck up.
“I happen to enjoy trouble.” I brandish my weapon, lying it across my thigh, making sure the barrel is pointed directly at her.
Loretta shifts in her seat, my actions having the desired effect.
“Especially killing. I use my Glock most times, but for a more personal touch, my Bowie knife is my go-to choice. Wanna see it?”
“No,” she responds, a slight tremor in her voice.
“Sure you do.” I pull the Bowie from the sheath at my hip and hold it out to her. “Take it.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t want to.”
“I said fucking take it,” I demand, the threat underlying my words unmistakable. With an unsteady hand, she takes the twelve-inch blade from my grasp. “Feel how heavy that is?”
“Y-yes.”
“I remember gutting some poor bastard for saying some disrespectful shit to me.” I chuckle, but no one would call the sound humorous. “My knife slid into his belly like a perfectly cooked steak. Guess what happened next.”
She lets out a soft whimper before answering. “I-I don’t know.”
“The fucker shit and pissed himself,” I continue, flashing a smile at her.
“Guess what happened after that? What the hell, I’ll just tell you.
I disemboweled him and stuffed his intestines down his throat.
The interesting part is he was still alive while I did it.
” I bore into her eyes. “I don’t think you should talk anymore. What do you think?”
“I-I’ll be quiet.”
“Good.”
The rumble of engines echoes through the night, and every muscle in my body tightens. If the plan goes south, I could lose them.
Butch up and get your shit together. Now is not the time to second-guess myself.
I’m a God. I will not falter. I will bring my family home.
“How certain are you that Spider’s her father?”
“One hundred percent certain.”
“You better be,” I warn, stashing my weapons. “Stay here.”
I exit the vehicle, leaving the money on the backseat for now. We’re deep in the desert, away from prying eyes, with only the moonlight keeping the darkness from swallowing us whole.
In the distance, riders emerge from the pitch black and slow to a stop about six feet from where we stand. Their arrival kicks up a thick cloud of dust, obscuring visibility and making a dangerous situation even more dangerous.
I lock my gaze on Spider and the woman sitting behind him. It takes every ounce of my self-control not to shoot her dead as she climbs down from the bike.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Katherine?”
“Is that any way to speak to your mother?” she mocks, striding forward until we’re barely a breath apart. “Oh, that’s right. You told me you didn’t have a mother and never to show my face again.”
“Where is she?” I growl, fighting to keep my cool.
“We buried her alive,” she taunts, fluttering her eyes up at me. “She begged for her life and the lives of your bastards.”
I close my hands around her throat and squeeze as hard as I can. Abject terror replaces the triumphant glint in her eyes as she struggles to pull oxygen into her lungs.
Spider comes to her rescue, leveling his gun between my eyes. “I can’t let you manhandle my bitch. That’s my job. Be a good stepson and let her go.”
I shove her away from me, though I would like nothing more than to break her fucking neck. “You’re pathetic.”
“How dare you treat me this way after all the sacrifices I made for you!” she rages between gasping breaths.
“It’s okay, baby,” Spider croons and nestles her against his side. “He just needs a little discipline.” His gaze narrows past my shoulder, trying to see through the tinted glass. “I told you to come alone.”
“Oh, that’s a surprise for you,” I say, then wave for Loretta to come out. The door slams, and seconds later, she’s standing beside me.
Spider looks at her, then back at me. “What’s this pregnant bitch doing here?”
“I thought it was time for a reunion,” I state sarcastically.
“What the fuck you talking about? I don’t know this bitch.”
Loretta bristles. “We had a fling nineteen years ago.”
Spider throws his head back in laughter. “So? Is there a fucking point to all this?”
“Well, this fling produced a child,” she deadpans.
“I’m going to take a wild guess about what’s going on here,” Spider drawls, his voice dripping with amusement. “You want to do an exchange, right? Your gash for a kid I supposedly fathered nineteen years back?”
“Zilphia is your daughter,” I bark, my hands clenched at my sides. “Where is she?”
He scoffs. “Bullshit.”
“I know who my child’s father is,” Loretta snaps at him. “We met at a bar in Vegas called District Lights and hooked up for a week. Your friend’s name was Bear. I stayed at The Gold Orchid, and you were at Motel Sin. Ring any bells?”
Spider regards her contemplatively, which is a good sign. Maybe he’s starting to remember.
“Oh, and your sister’s face is tattooed on your left shoulder blade. She died in a store robbery, right?”
“Name?” he grits out.
“Loretta Kensley.”
“Don’t listen to them, baby,” Katherine purrs, running a finger down his chest. “They’re lying. Let’s do what we came here to do.”
That’s Katherine for you, always the manipulative bitch. “You’re going to kill your own daughter? Your own grandchildren?” I ask, playing on his soft spot for family.
“For heaven’s sake,” Loretta huffs, rolling her eyes. “Just get a DNA test from the drug store and be done with it.”
Spider nods. “I’m on board, but the girl stays with me until the results come in. If she’s my daughter, I’m willing to let bygones be bygones and negotiate a partnership beneficial to both clubs. After all, we’ll be family.”
“What?” Katherine screeches. “If doesn’t matter if that little bitch—”
Spider ends her tirade with the back of his hand, hitting her so hard she lands a good three inches away from him. “Speak when spoken to.”
“I’m-I’m sorry,” she stutters, staggering to her feet. This woman gave birth to me, and I give zero fucks that Spider just laid her out.
“No deal. We get the DNA test done tonight, but Zilphia comes home with me.”
There’s no way in fucking hell I’m leaving her with the Disciples. I need to get to her ASAP. By now, she’s running out of air. If she had an asthma attack, she could already be…
No.
I refuse to finish that thought.
A man pushes through the crowd, moving toward Spider with grim determination. “This piece of shit killed my father,” he snarls, his eyes locking on me. “You promised me his murder would be avenged tonight.”
His brothers echo his rage, hungry for violence. I inch toward my car, sensing the imminent mutiny.
“What about the money, Spider? It’s as much ours as it’s yours.”
The shouting grows louder and more volatile as tempers ignite.
“Disciples, fall in line!” Spider bellows and the complaints die down. “I am the founder and president of this MC. My word is law!”
“Fuck that!” The guy, whose father apparently met his demise at my hands, centers his weapon on me. “Burn in Hell.”
Before he can pull the trigger, his brains are splattered all over the ground.
“Sniper!” someone shouts.
About fucking time.
I yank Loretta behind the car just as gunfire lights up the night. My brothers swarm in with lethal precision.
Spider picked the wrong place for this meeting. The ridges and outcrops provided the perfect cover for an ambush.
Bullets and death rattles serenade the night as blood spills and bodies drop. The Disciples don’t stand a chance—we’ve got more manpower, the element of surprise, and bulletproof vests.
“Stay here and keep down.” Ignoring Loretta’s screams not to leave her, I join my brothers, pouring lead into any Disciples that find themselves in my sights.
A few get away on their bikes. If they’ve got half a brain, they’ll leave Kent for good. We’re taking hits too. I never want to see a brother fall, but unfortunately it comes with the territory. One day you’re fucking your favorite twinkie, and then the next day, you’re dead.
I spot Spider making a run for his bike. Not today, motherfucker. I sprint after him but don’t shoot, even though my trigger finger is itching to do him in. I need him alive… For now.
I catch up to him with ease and tackle him to the desert floor. He scrambles for his weapon, inches from his fingertips, but a hand snaps in and plucks it away.
“Not so fast, dipshit.”
Cricket. He’s saved my ass too many times to count. I climb to my feet, pulling Spider with me.
“It’s over. We kicked their asses.”
I was so fixated on my target; I hadn’t noticed the shooting had stopped. Cleanup’s already in full swing. The brotherhood works as a unit—rounding up the wounded, collecting our fallen, and hunting down every last Disciple who bolted on foot.
“It’s not over until I get Zilphia back,” I growl and stand toe-to-toe with the man who fathered her. “You’re going to take me to her, and you better pray she’s still alive.”
I pat Spider down, taking a gun and several mags off him. I slide the former in the back of my jeans and store the latter in my cut.