Chapter 16
Fuse
As we stood there getting more and more amped up, Storm’s phone rang. He pulled it out and had it to his ear within two seconds flat. His expression froze as he listened to what the other person was saying. I saw his jaw lock and the hand holding the phone tighten.
When he spoke, his voice was low and tight and dead serious.
“Are you sure it was Viper?” Then he asked, “How many were there?” Finally, he told whoever he was speaking to, “Lock it down. Nobody gets in or out. Block the gate with the vans if you have to. Put someone on the roof with a rifle. We’re twenty minutes out. ”
When he ended the call and Storm looked at me, I just knew. I said, “Viper attacked the clubhouse, right?”
“Yes. That was Jimmy. Viper showed up, tore the place up, shot and fought with the prospects and tried to torch the clubhouse on the way out. Levi got hit, but he’s okay.” His eyes stayed on mine. “They took your old lady.”
“I’m going to fuckin’ kill that bastard,” I gritted out.
Storm’s jaw tightened. “Prospect says she fought with them. They dragged her to go with them. Rosie and the club girls locked themselves in the basement.”
My entire world narrowed to just that image. Viper or one of his dirty crew with their hands on my old lady made me see red.
Storm took a second to text Siege and Jasper. Then he raised his voice enough for everyone to hear. “Viper attacked the clubhouse. We ride. Now.”
The twenty-minute ride flew by in a record twelve minutes. We didn’t pass Viper or his crew on the way to the clubhouse, which was disappointing as fuck. I ran through every scenario I could think of for rescuing Winter. I ended up with a short list to work from. All I needed now was a location.
I couldn’t help but think about the PATCH rally, the auction and the cursed favors we promised to do. Viper had used those things to his advantage, crafting the perfect trap for me and my club. It was one we hadn’t seen until it was too late.
The floodlight from the clubhouse came into view first, then the gate hanging off its hinges and finally all the club vans blocking the gaping hole where the semi had been.
The second one van moved up to let us in, I gunned my motor and rocketed through, coming to a skidding stop in front of the still-smoking clubhouse.
The whole clubhouse was an absolute mess. The door had been busted off the hinges, the windows were smashed and there was blood. Inside it was even worse. The floor was covered with glass, and tables were overturned.
Evan was sitting on the floor near the bar with his back against the wall looking shell-shocked.
His hand was pressed against his left shoulder.
I felt bad that the two Savage Legion prospects had gotten hurt defending our clubhouse.
Levi was in hospital and his old man, Tex, had gone to be with him.
Rigs rushed to his son’s side and had a look at the wound, announcing with relief, “Flesh wound. Rage can patch him up when he gets here.”
I looked around the room and immediately asked, “Where did they take Winter?”
Rosie ran up to me with Thunder at her side.
Her expression was frantic. “They swarmed us. We barely had time to make it to the safe room. Winter went back for the kittens. I told her not to, that cats can take care of themselves, but she insisted. We found the kittens huddled under the shelves after everything calmed down. Jimmy said Viper came straight for her. They were outnumbered and couldn’t stop him.
They all left in a swarm and took her with them. ”
She reached out and grabbed my arm. “You’ve got to find her, Fuse. She told me that getting taken by Viper again was her worst nightmare.”
“How long ago did they leave?” Storm asked in a gruff voice over my shoulder.
“Twenty or twenty-five minutes,” Rosie responded.
Storm turned to Breaker. Breaker already had his phone out.
As I stood there trying to decide where to start my search, a primal rage came crawling from the dark recesses of my mind.
It was murderous and willing to do absolutely anything to get my old lady back.
I would track Viper and his crew to the ends of the earth and burn down the world to save her.
Before I realized it, I had a death grip on the back of a broken chair and was breathing heavily.
Storm’s hand landed on my shoulder from behind, sure and fast. He gave my shoulder a little squeeze. “Don’t let the fury swallow you whole,” he said quietly. “I need you here. We need to work together to get her back.”
Suddenly, Jasper was standing in the doorway with Siege. They were taking in the damage with grim expressions. Siege pulled out his phone and began thumbing a message. Other brothers from both clubs came in and started helping to right the clubhouse.
“This has to be Bran’s doing,” Storm said as Siege and Jasper approached. “He was the only one who could lure us away. He knew exactly how long it would take us to ride out, hold position and ride back. He fed Viper every piece of information about our clubhouse and security.”
“How long has he been theirs?” Siege asked, looking at Jasper. “Long enough for Viper to get in his head? Long enough to turn him?”
“Yeah,” Jasper responded with a worried expression. “This shit is jacked. It makes me second guess everything. Did he come to Viper first, and Viper sent him to me? Or did he come to me first and somewhere along the way Viper got him to turn? Either way that little traitor’s ass is mine.”
Siege looked at the broken glass and blood on the floor and his jaw locked. He ground out, “That bastard played us. They made it all up, that story about Viper’s strike team going after the Rats. It was a fuckin’ ruse to draw us away so they could attack the clubhouse.”
“They struck when they knew we were sitting on a back road waiting for a strike team that was never gonna show,” Thunder pointed out.
Siege chimed in, “This all started because Fuse wanted the girl. Attacking the clubhouse was punishment for what he saw as breaking the deal. Taking your old lady was to put you back to square one. He’s not gonna let you do the last favor his way.
That deal went out the window when you tried to force him into a situation he didn’t want.
Now, if you want the girl, it’s gonna be a whole fuckin’ new negotiation. ”
I cursed under my breath because this whole situation was fucked up. “Talk to me,” I said. “What do we know about where his club holds up?”
Jasper spoke up. “You don’t need to find him. He’s gonna contact you, probably pretty damn quick to gloat and force you into making another deal.”
Siege said, “That’s the way men like Viper operate.”
Storm asked me, “Are you gonna be able to hold it together long enough for us to work out a plan?”
I felt like I should be doing something, anything to find her. But that wasn’t realistic. I couldn’t just run off half-cocked and expect to bump into her. “Yeah,” I told him. “I can hold it together. We need to find her as soon as possible.”
The door opened and we all turned to see who it was. Tex came striding in, his face like thunder. Shit. I hoped that nothing bad had happened with his kid.
“You okay, brother?” Rigs asked. He was still sitting with Evan who looked like he had a bit more color in his face now.
Tex nodded. “My boy’s out of surgery. He’s gonna be okay. Visitin’ ain’t until tomorrow, so I’m here to kick some ass.”
He wasn’t the only one. But right now we had nothing to go on. So I went back to pacing the floor of the clubhouse wishing I could get my hands around Viper’s fucking throat.
Storm’s phone rang and he answered immediately. We looked up expectantly, wondering if it was Viper, but Storm shook his head and listened to whatever his caller was saying. It was apparently good news because his expression turned excited.
“Say that again, baby,” he said. “How many riders did you see?” Then, “You’re sure it was her? Which direction did they take?” Turning his back on the rest of us, he assured his old lady, “Yeah, we’re gonna get her back. I promise.”
He ended the call and whirled around. “That was my old lady. She and Grace stopped for gas on Route 9 just now. A formation of Stolen Oath bikes came through the intersection heading northwest.” He paused.
“Winter was on the back of the lead bike. He tied her fuckin’ hands around his waist. They saw her plainly under the gas station lights. ”
Suddenly, my mind and body came alive with excitement. Winter was seen alive by Storm’s and Celt’s old ladies. And they were heading northwest. I didn’t know what those two were doing out in the middle of the night, but I was grateful for it.
Celt pulled up directions on his phone. “Northwest out of Griffinsford on Route 9, there’s only one highway connection that makes sense if he’s heading for their new Stolen Oath territory. He has to pass through the Route 9 and the County 14 intersection. There’s no other way through.”
Storm was already looking at the same map on his own phone. “Is it possible to get there ahead of him?”
“Yes, but only if we move right now, ride like a bat outta hell and we don’t stop for anything,” Celt said. “We might be able to beat the fecker there by about five minutes.”
Storm looked up and announced, “Mount the fuck up. We can still catch them.”
***
As we rode off into the night, the thought of my old lady on the back of Viper’s bike, literally tied to him, provoked my rage in the worst way. All I could think of was prying her away from his nasty ass and beating the shit outta him for taking her again.
My mind kept thinking of how scared she must be. Of her worst nightmare coming true again and me helpless to stop it because we were off chasing shadows.
All three clubs slid into place with minutes to spare. We killed our engines and Storm spoke. “Nobody fires until I say. We can’t take a chance on hitting Fuse’s old lady. Spread out.”