CHAPTER NINETEEN
– LUELLA –
Movement behind Macsen catches my attention.
Instantly I recognize the threat, and I automatically throw one of the ninja stars.
My aim always hits its mark and in the split-second I knew it was safe to throw the ninja star between Jocko and Macsen, even if I saw both their stunned reactions.
To be honest? I didn’t have a choice, and no damn time to explain.
I hiss at the burning pain in my upper arm and know Jocko just fired a bullet at me.
“Motherfucker,” Macsen roars and I can feel my eyes widen when he turns to Jocko and fires his gun.
Jocko screams in pain and I snap into my mouthpiece to Lenz, “Macsen shot Jocko, someone come in here. Now.”
I grab Macsen’s Kevlar vest and give a hard yank but the man doesn’t move. He has his club brother locked between a wall and his body, his forearm is pressed against Jocko’s neck and he has his gun glued against Jocko’s temple.
“I should blow your fucking brains out, you fucking traitor,” Macsen snarls and he’s got his finger twitching on the trigger.
“Don’t,” I tell him and worm my hand between them to cover Jocko’s face.
Voices are coming closer, but I have to focus on the here and now. “Macsen, look at me. Jocko didn’t see Gideon behind you.”
Jocko’s eyes are showing his panic, and he slightly turns his head to glance inside the bedroom where Gideon’s body is bleeding out.
He whips his head my way while Thorsten and Falcon are now also grabbing Macsen.
“I’m sorry,” Jocko croaks. “I thought you were gonna kill us.”
“Sorry? Sorry doesn’t fucking cut it when you could have killed my old lady. My fucking kid in her belly. Who the fuck do you think you are shooting to kill? You want her dead, don’t you? Eager to torture, trigger-happy finger...”
“Enough,” Thorsten bellows. “Step back, Macsen.”
“Falcon.” I tap Thorsten’s brother on the shoulder.
He gives me his attention, and knowing he rarely speaks a word due to issues with his vocal cords, it’s easy to explain without being interrupted.
“Macsen and Jocko were facing me. Gideon came up behind them and I took him out. Jocko thought I was aiming for them because it must have looked like it when I had to throw straight between them.” I place a hand on my arm and wince.
Pulling back, I can see my black glove is darker and wet.
“I’m sure he only grazed my shoulder; it doesn’t hurt all that bad. ”
Falcon nods and snaps his fingers at two EMTs who are rushing toward us. To my surprise Falcon points at me to be looked at first instead of Jocko, who is still having a hushed discussion with Thorsten and Macsen.
“Don’t you need to make sure Jocko is okay?” I glance at Jocko’s leg and wince. “He’s bleeding pretty bad.”
I glance down at my arm while the EMT cuts away the fabric to expose the wound.
“Great,” I grumble. “I have a matching one on my side.”
Falcon shoots me a grin and I notice Gideon’s body again.
“Hey.” I point at the body. “Would you mind checking his wrist for a small tattoo?”
Falcon nods and walks over to check. He’s still squatting down next to the body when he holds up three fingers.
“Three lines in a small circle?” I ask to double check.
He gives me a tight nod. I glare down at the EMT who is disinfecting the wound and bandaging it up. Gritting my teeth, I wait until he’s done and thank the man, even if my voice is anything but nice.
I’m about to step closer to Jocko when Macsen grabs my arm.
“Don’t come near that asshole,” he grunts.
I hold back an eye roll and calmly say, “I’m sure you made your point by using a bullet to shoot him through his leg.”
Shrugging him off, I ask Jocko, “Are you okay?”
Jocko’s gaze goes past me. “I should be asking you if you’re okay.”
“We both acted out of instinct...” I start but Jocko grimaces.
“Split-second decision,” he states, cutting me off. “You made the right choice, I didn’t.”
I’m about to say something when Thorsten rumbles, “Take him to the ambulance. Lu, are you cleared to go back to the clubhouse?”
Turning to face Thorsten I shrug. “Another graze, it’s nothing really.”
“It wouldn’t have been fucking nothing if I didn’t shove his arm. See where her wound is? If I didn’t do shit the bullet would have gone straight through her heart,” Macsen spits with a load of venom.
Glancing down at my arm, I let my eyes travel to the right in the length of the wound and the realization of everything makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Macsen is right...if he hadn’t shoved Jocko? I wouldn’t be standing here right now.
Swallowing hard, I blurt the first thing on my mind, “I think I need a chocolate milkshake with fries and pickles. Can we make a stop somewhere on our way to the clubhouse?”
“Macsen,” Thorsten grunts and shoves him to make sure his attention is dragged away from the EMTs taking Jocko away on a stretcher. “Get your old lady whatever she needs.”
Macsen snaps his head in my direction and instantly steps closer to sneak a hand around my waist.
“Wait.” I turn to Thorsten. “Falcon saw three lines on Gideon’s wrist. Did we also kill the number one? It’s the only Gideon left, right?”
Thorsten shakes his head. “The house is clear. Dudley and this Gideon are dead along with a few guards. Which means there’s still one on the run. Lenz is keeping an eye on the cameras in the area, but as far as we know no one slipped out.”
“He was never here,” I muse.
“Right. We’ll get him,” Thorsten states with a load of determination in his voice. “For now, we have eyes on everything and will take this as a small win. Go home, get some food and rest. We’ll go back at it tomorrow morning, bright and early.”
I nod in agreement while Macsen leads me down the hallway. An SUV is waiting for us outside with Falcon behind the wheel. We get in the back and Macsen gives Falcon instructions to make sure he makes a stop along the way to get us some food.
An hour later we’re in our room and I’m sitting on the bed dipping my fries into my chocolate milkshake. Macsen watches me. The corner of his mouth twitches every time I dip a fry into the chocolate icy goodness, but he doesn’t say a word.
“Are you going to eat that?” I jerk my chin in the direction of his burger.
“Are you going to dunk it into the milkshake as well if I say no?” he fires back.
I shrug and the man simply hands over his burger. Placing the milkshake on the bedside table, I take a huge bite of the burger and chew slowly while I think over my next few words.
When I’ve cleared my mouth I say, “Jocko thought I was going to kill you.”
“We’re not discussing it,” Macsen grunts and stalks off in the direction of the bathroom.
Placing the burger next to my milkshake, I follow him and watch as he strips down and turns on the shower. Damn. Macsen naked is really distracting. Shit. Focus.
“He didn’t see Gideon coming up from behind you,” I press.
The anger in Macsen’s eyes when he looks at me is venomous, even if I know it’s not directed at me, I still feel a chill run up my spine by the force of it.
“We were both standing in front of you. There was only one fucking star in your hand, Lu. One. You couldn’t have killed us both with one fucking star.
If you wanted to kill me you wouldn’t have survived it yourself so what was the fucking point in doing it?
” he snarls. “He knew what the fuck he was doing when he pulled the trigger. Shoot to fucking kill. Instinct or not? The fucker is off his damn rocker. He can thank his lucky stars I only shot him in the damn leg. Let’s hope he doesn’t come near me soon ’cause I still want to kill the fucker. ”
My lips part and yet words are lacking. Shit.
I didn’t see it that way. Is Macsen right?
Why would Jocko want me dead? I mean, yeah.
..I might have hurt his feelings when I managed to get the jump on him and gave him a sedative, so I was able to kidnap Livi and Kenz, but come on.
..we didn’t even know one another back then.
Besides, I didn’t hurt anyone and was following orders from my father.
Macsen turns and steps under the steaming water.
Not caring about both my wounds, I strip away all my clothes and join Macsen.
Bringing my body close to his, I hug him from behind.
He stays rigid for a few breaths before he turns and wraps me in a crushing hug, burying his head into the crook of my neck.
We both take a shuddering breath, knowing deep down things could have gone terribly wrong tonight.