41. Summer
Summer
Hammer’s fingers dug into my arm as we walked toward the shed. If Axel was in there, he had to know he was cornered. What would he do? Knowing him, he was arrogant enough to think he could still get away. That somehow he’d talk Mayhem into letting him go.
Or would he do something worse?
Panic might have overwhelmed me if it wasn’t for the white-hot anger flowing through my veins. I wanted to claw Hammer’s eyes out—him and the rest of Mayhem. More importantly, I wanted to rip Axel to shreds.
Gunshots rang out behind us, and a wave of horror washed over me.
Oh, no. Not Reese. They couldn’t have shot Reese.
Hammer didn’t let go. I was about to lash out to get him to drop my arm, when Buzz hurried out from the other side of the pole barn.
“Fucking rooster,” he shouted and glanced over his shoulder.
“You shot a rooster?” Hammer asked.
“Tried to. Fucker keeps chasing me.”
The rooster crowed. Apparently Buzz had missed.
“You dumbass,” Hammer said. “Stop fucking around.”
“I’m not fucking around. It attacked me.”
Hammer groaned and yanked my arm to turn me around.
With my heart racing, he led me to the shed, flanked by two other club members. Another came up behind us and walked around to the other side of the building. They drew their weapons. Hammer nodded and two of them approached the shed.
I held my breath. One grabbed the handle and threw open the door while the other stepped in and pointed his gun.
Nothing happened.
They disappeared inside, one after the other. My body vibrated with tension.
Don’t hurt my son. Just don’t hurt my son.
A moment later, they came out. No Nate. No Axel.
“Nope,” one of them said. “Not in there.”
“You looked everywhere?” Hammer asked.
“Yeah. There’s nowhere to hide.”
“You think the old man has an underground bunker or something?” the other guy asked. “He seems like the type.”
“I’m wondering if they ain’t here,” the first guy said. “Maybe the old man was telling the truth and they didn’t come.”
“Or they left already,” Hammer said. “Car in the pole barn has Idaho plates. The outcast could have driven that here and left in another vehicle.”
“So what’s our next move?”
Hammer paused, looking around, and tipped his head toward another building in the distance. “Any of you guys think to check that building over there?”
“You think that’s the old man’s?”
“Does it matter?” Hammer asked. “They could have run to a neighbor thinking we won’t search that far.”
“I don’t think they’re here.”
“What do you think, Sum Sum?” Hammer asked. “Is your boy out there?”
I didn’t answer. Just shot him a glare.
He grinned. “Feisty bitch. If they took off, we ain’t finding them without help. So we keep searching here. Make sure we don’t miss anything.”
The others nodded. I glanced around, hoping to see a glimpse of Reese, but he was nowhere to be seen.
We set out across the brown, grassy field toward the building in the distance.
The creek snaked by, winding closer, and a livestock fence cut across the landscape.
Hammer let go long enough for me to climb over, grabbing my arm again once we were across.
The rooster crowed, and I half expected to hear more gunshots.
But there was nothing but the wind, rustling in the nearby trees.
The building was a faded barn, the boards gray and weathered with age. There were no windows on the back side, and it was hard to tell if it was still in use. A crumbling farmhouse stood about a hundred feet away, but it was clearly abandoned. The roof had caved in, and one side didn’t have a wall.
Hammer motioned for the other three to spread out. He and I walked around the right side of the building and stopped at the corner. Hammer looked before we continued to the front.
The air smelled like rotting hay. Two sliding barn doors stood closed. Hammer gestured again, pointing at the doors, and two of the club members cautiously approached.
Once again, they had their guns ready. Dust billowed in the wind as they opened the doors, and for a second, nothing happened.
“Okay, okay,” Axel’s voice came from inside. “Don’t shoot.”
Gasping, I lunged forward, instinctively trying to get inside. Hammer jerked me back.
“Not so fast,” he said, then raised his voice. “Axel, get out here.”
Two figures emerged from the shadowy barn. Axel had a grip on Nate’s upper arm, and he pushed him out, slightly ahead of him. He had a gun in his other hand, and although he didn’t raise it, all four club members pointed theirs at him.
Relief washed over me at seeing my son alive. His eyes met mine, full of both fear and defiance.
“Stop,” Hammer said. “Let the kid go.”
Axel glared. “What do you care about the kid?”
“I don’t. But this is over. Let him go so we can get out of here.”
“I’m not coming back with you.”
“Yeah, you are,” Hammer said. “Gotta face club justice.”
“Justice?” Axel spat the word like it tasted bad. “Fuck that. It’s all a lie, Hammer. There’s no justice. No loyalty. It’s all bullshit.”
“You can tell Stryker all about it back at the clubhouse.”
“I told you, I’m not going.”
“And I told you, we’re bringing you in. You don’t have anyone else to blame. You did this to yourself.”
“No, I have you to blame.” He looked at the others in turn. “And you. And you. All of you. You were supposed to be my brothers.”
“We were your brothers.” Hammer almost sounded bored. “You’re the one who chose disloyalty.”
“Disloyalty to what? Mayhem fucked me over. I went to prison for you pieces of shit, and what did I get in return? You fuckers let that bitch take my son.”
“We kept track of her.”
“A lot of good it did. She still had him. And then she thought she could keep him from me. Did anyone help? Did anyone make sure I had what was rightfully mine? No. You assholes left me on my own. Again. Left me to rot behind bars and then wouldn’t lift a fucking finger to help me get my kid back.”
“It wasn’t our job,” Hammer said.
“Brothers would have stepped up,” Axel shouted. “Brothers would have had my back. Instead you shut me down. Dragged me back to be humiliated. You think I could just take that? Live with it? I saw how you all looked at me.”
“You were the one being a fucking loose cannon, tearing shit up along the way. You’re a problem. The club doesn’t need that kind of heat.”
Axel ground his teeth together. Nate’s eyes were locked on me, as if waiting for me to tell him what to do. Helpless rage surged through me. He was right there, just feet away, but I couldn’t get to him.
“That bitch is the problem.” Axel gestured to me with the gun. “She thought she could run off with my kid? He’s mine.”
“He’s not yours,” I said.
“You’re outnumbered,” Hammer said, his tone calm and even. “This can end one of two ways. You let the kid go and come back with us. Or we take care of this here.”
Axel’s expression shifted, the anger appearing to melt away. He almost smiled, as if he actually thought he could talk his way out. “Look, you don’t have to bring me in. You already said I’m a problem. So why bother? I’ll disappear, and Mayhem will never see me again. No one gets hurt.”
“You disobeyed a direct order,” Hammer said. “You disrespected the club and our leadership. You know we can’t let that go.”
“So, I’m out. I already know that. Go back and tell them you stripped my colors. It’s over.”
Hammer didn’t reply. Just shook his head.
Nate tried to wrench his arm away. Axel’s face contorted in rage as he yanked Nate closer, and his eyes met mine.
“This is your fault, you stupid whore.”
“Don’t be an idiot,” Hammer said.
Axel’s face changed again, a disconcerting wildness overtaking his features. His eyes widened and sweat broke out on his forehead.
“Vindictive pieces of shit,” he said, his voice rising with every word. “I just wanted my kid back. He was supposed to be my legacy.”
“Axel,” Hammer warned.
“It’s your fault,” he said again, lifting the gun, almost pointing it at me. “You did this to me. You cost me everything.”
His face hardened with resolve, and in an instant, I knew what he was about to do. I could see it in his eyes.
Lurching forward, I tried to stop him as he lifted the gun and pressed it to Nate’s temple.
His voice growled low. “If I can’t have him, you can’t, either.”
A gunshot rang out. My throat closed around a scream, and for a second, I thought I’d been shot, the pain in my chest was so intense.
Axel’s eyes went glassy and a trail of blood ran from his forehead down his face. A second later, his body crumpled, and he fell to the ground.
The color drained from Nate’s face. Hammer didn’t resist as I pulled my arm out of his grip and crossed the distance to my son. Throwing myself at him, I hauled him to the ground and covered him with my body in case Mayhem decided to start shooting.
Feet shuffled as the club members looked around. Who had shot Axel? Was it one of them?
Something hit the ground with a thud. Still keeping Nate covered, I looked back. Someone had tossed a gun from behind a tree.
Reese stepped out with his hands raised.
I held my breath. Every Mayhem gun was pointed at him.
“I just want my family,” Reese said, his voice clear and steady.
I looked at Hammer. Pleading with him wouldn’t help. He didn’t care about me or Nate. Or Reese, for that matter.
He lowered his gun and tucked it into his waistband. “We’re done here.”
One by one, the other club members put away their weapons. They glanced at me and Nate with disinterest, and one shrugged, as if we were the least important thing in the world.
I got up and helped Nate to his feet. Before I could ask if he was all right, thick arms surrounded both of us, crushing us against a broad chest.
Tears stung my eyes, but I didn’t let them fall. Not yet. I had a big ugly cry coming later, but in that moment, I just breathed while Reese held me. Held us.
It was over.
Things happened around us. They dragged Axel’s body through the grass. Talked about what to do with it. They didn’t seem to care that Reese had killed him. One even chuckled about it, joking that they should thank him. Saved them the trouble of doing it themselves.
Finally, Reese let go, and his eyes moved between me and Nate. “Are you okay?”
I nodded.
Nate gazed at him in awe. “I knew you were coming.”
“Of course we were, chief. Sorry it took so long.”
“Did you find my Lego?”
Reese smiled and pulled it out of his pocket. “Sure did. Found it in the house.”
“I left it so you’d know I was here. I dropped one in the barn, too.”
“That was very brave.” Reese put his hand on Nate’s shoulder. “I’m so proud of you.”
The smile that lit up Nate’s face almost made me burst into tears.
“Nate…” Reese hesitated, and his brow creased with worry. “I’m sorry that I… I had to.”
“He was going to kill me,” Nate said, his tone soft. Despite his height—had he grown overnight?—he suddenly looked every bit the ten-year-old boy he was.
“Yeah, he was,” Reese said. “I couldn’t let that happen.”
With a nod, Nate stepped close and wrapped his arms around Reese. The tears I kept trying to hold back trailed down my cheeks as Reese hugged him back.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked. “Did he hurt you?”
“No.” Nate glanced down. “My feet hurt, though. He made me wear his shoes and they’re too small.”
“You can take them off as soon as we get to the car.”
“Nice family reunion,” Hammer said. I couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not.
“We don’t want any trouble with Mayhem,” Reese said. “I just couldn’t let him hurt our son.”
“We weren’t here for the kid. And Axel was fucked anyway. Our orders were dead or alive. It’s all the same to us.” He paused. “No cops.”
Reese shook his head. “No cops. We found Nate out here after Axel dumped him off. We don’t know where Axel wound up.”
“And no one ever will.” Hammer’s eyes flicked to me, but he didn’t say anything else. Just turned and walked away.
“Let’s get out of here,” Reese said. “Sam Fogel doesn’t know we were here, and I don’t want him to find out.”
Reese led us across the field, stopping to get his gun. We found our way back to his SUV, and as soon as we climbed in, Nate took off the shoes.
A second after that, the smell of dirty socks filled the cab.
Reese glanced at me, wrinkling his nose, and lowered the back windows.
Despite everything, I started to laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Nate asked.
“Nothing,” I said. “I’m just glad we’re all safe.”
“Your feet stink,” Reese said.
Nate sniffed loudly. “Ugh. You’re right, they do.” He pulled off his socks and tossed them out the open window.
Reese glanced over his shoulder with a subtle grin. “Don’t worry, chief. We’ll stop and get you clean socks.”
“And food? I’m starving.”
I looked at him in alarm. “Didn’t he feed you?”
“Not really. The creepy old guy gave me some cereal this morning, but that’s it.”
I huffed in anger and turned to Reese. “You’ve got to be kidding me. He couldn’t have fed him?”
Reese’s mouth lifted in a subtle grin.
“What?” I asked.
“I love you.”
I let out a breath. “I love you, too.”
“Does that mean you’re getting married for real?” Nate asked.
Reese’s smile grew. “We’ll talk about that later.”
My heart skipped. We’d talk about it later? Getting married? Did he mean—
Nate kept asking questions. “How long is the drive home? And can we go to Grandma and Grandpa’s house? And Thomas’s? I need to tell him what happened.”
“Let’s just get home first, okay, chief?”
“Okay.”
Reese turned the SUV around and started down the bumpy road back toward the highway. Filled with relief—and fatigue—I reached over and clasped his hand, twining his fingers with mine.
Glancing back one last time, I could have sworn I saw a rooster off in the distance, raising its head in an angry crow.