Shadow Chapter 19
Shadow:
My blood hunger was barely contained, even though Truce was unconscious on the floor, being zip-tied by Tinker.
What snapped me out of it was Hail calling Aubrielle’s name urgently.
I whipped around to find her on her knees.
I raced to my woman, pushing past Hail. Vaguely, it registered that Ink was restraining a bleeding Rome. I dropped to my knees next to her.
“Ellie, baby, look at me,” I said urgently, tilting her head up with a finger under her chin.
Staring back at me was the shocked gaze of my woman. She was pale and shaky. Without wasting my breath, I brought her tight against me. She clutched me hard.
“Are you okay? Did he touch you?” I asked.
Her head shook as she replied. “No, he didn’t get a chance to do it. What about you? Did you get hurt?” she asked, trying to put distance between our bodies. I refused to let her.
“Other than some bruises, I’m good. Here, let me help you off the floor.” As I spoke, I lifted her. I kept her wrapped safely in my arms.
“We need to get out of here. Not sure if anyone heard the shots. We’ll get these five contained, then we can come back to go through things,” Tinker said.
“Got it. Anybody on our side get hurt?” I asked him.
“Nope. The Carters are looking worse for wear, along with this one, but that’s fine.
“Let’s go,” I stated.
“Wait. I need to shut off the oven. As much as I hate this place, I don’t want to burn it to the ground until after you’re done checking through everything.
As for someone hearing the shots, it’s not like they’ve never heard them before.
More than a few times, my brothers got drunk and fired off a bunch of shots.
No one ever came. But I’d like to leave if we can.
Being here gives me the creeps,” Aubrielle admitted.
“We can do that. Is there anything you have left here that you know you’ll never be able to live without? Or would you rather come back later and look around?” I asked my woman.
“Not that I can think of off the top of my head. I’ll have to think. Excuse me.”
Instead of letting her go alone, I stayed with her while she turned off the oven. Then, she began rummaging in a cabinet.
“What’re you doing?” I asked.
“I’m not leaving the food here. We’re taking this home with us,” Aubrielle said, outraged.
Chuckling, I helped her get the steaks, corn, salad, and dressing from the fridge and the potatoes from the oven. She placed them in a shopping bag she took from a drawer. With everything packed, we locked the back door, then, after hauling Truce and Rome outside, I secured the front door.
Outside sat my car. The guys, anticipating having to transport people, had driven a couple of SUVs and a truck rather than bikes.
In addition to the three brothers who came inside the house, there were Mayhem, Crusher, Ruckus, and Sandman outside.
I got her into my car, and as soon as the prisoners were placed in the backs of the SUVs and truck, we left. My brothers weren’t gentle with them.
I noticed the hate-filled looks her dad, uncle, and brothers cast at us.
The only one who didn’t was Truce. He was still out cold.
On the drive home, Aubrielle was quiet. I tried to get her to engage a bit, but all I got were one-word responses, so I stopped trying for now. I held her hand the entire way.
When we reached the compound, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Her stiffness eased. The vehicles containing our unwilling guests were driven directly to the rear of the compound to storage building one.
Underneath it was an underground bunker from when the compound had been part of a military installation.
Within the bunker was an interrogation room.
The other storage building also had a hidden bunker, but it was equipped with a safe room.
I took Aubrielle to the clubhouse. We had to debrief with Reaper and the others before taking her home. I parked outside the clubhouse. Shutting off the engine, I watched her. Aubrielle was staring sightlessly out the windshield.
“Ellie, look at me,” I said.
When she didn’t react, I tried again, only putting force behind it.
“Ellie, I said, look at me.”
Her gaze flickered to mine. “What?” she asked.
“I know this is a lot to take in. You’re not used to this kind of thing. I promise, as soon as we fill in Reaper and the others and they have a chance to ask questions, I’ll take you home.”
“Where did they take them? What’ll happen next?”
“There are storage buildings on the back part of the compound. Underneath each of them is a hidden bunker. This whole thing used to be part of a military installation. We built the buildings over the bunkers. Both have storage, but one has a safe room and the other a prison, for lack of a better term. It’s where we keep someone we need to question. ”
“Is that where you’ll extract information and kill them?” she asked.
“I don’t want you worrying about any of that.”
“I’m not worried, Braxton. I want to know. Will they leave there alive? Do I have to worry that they’ll find a way to escape justice? If they get away, we’ll never be able to breathe easily,” Aubrielle countered.
“No, they won’t leave there alive. And you have no reason to fear them escaping. Now, are you ready to go in and see the club?”
She thought for a moment or two, then nodded.
“Yes, let’s get this done.”
And just like that, we pushed forward. I counted the seconds until I could free her forever from her awful family and that stalkerish fucker, Truce. I hadn’t imagined he was Nataraja.
I didn’t waste any more time. I got out and opened her door. We walked inside the clubhouse together. Gathered there, waiting for us, were the remaining club brothers. Old ladies and kids were nowhere to be seen. I guess Reaper had ordered they stay away, at least for now.
Our president was pacing the room. Seated at a table was Spawn. Others stood, sat at the bar, or at tables. When they saw us, Reaper came straight toward us. His face was tense. He scanned both of us.
“We’re all fine. A few bruises, but the only worrisome injury is Rome's. He was shot in the upper right chest near his collarbone,” I reported.
“Tinker called it in. Pax is taking Kimera and Alisse out to check on him. Sit. Elle, you look ready to drop. Jonas, two whiskeys,” Reaper shouted.
While Jonas fetched the drinks, I walked Aubrielle to a seat. I sat next to her. Reaper and the others gathered around the table. The murmur of voices grew louder. Everyone was dying to know everything. Even if they could hear part of what was said through the earpieces, they wouldn’t know it all.