Chapter 3 - Amy
"Keep your head down!" Blade shouts as he hustles Kelly and me across the compound.
I run as best I can, ignoring the sharp pain in my ribs and the throbbing in my face. Gunfire erupts from our left, and Blade shoves us behind a rusty dumpster, returning fire. I pull Kelly close, shielding her with my body despite her protests.
"I'm fine, Amy," she insists, trying to check my injuries. "You're the one who's hurt."
"I’m fine." I gasp, attempting a smile that pulls painfully at my split lip.
A door bursts open to our right, and a man with a shaved head charges out, firing wildly.
Blade pushes us further behind the dumpster and meets the attack head-on.
The other man is huge. At least six-foot-four and built like a tank, but Blade moves like water, ducking under a wild swing and delivering three precise blows to the man's ribs and kidney.
I watch, transfixed, as they grapple. The other man manages to knock Blade's gun away, and for a moment, I fear the worst. But Blade simply smiles and draws a wicked-looking knife from his boot. The blade catches the sunlight as he slashes forward, opening a deep gash across the man's forearm.
The man howls in pain but doesn't retreat.
Instead, he barrels forward, trying to use his size advantage.
It's a mistake. Blade sidesteps at the last moment, driving his knife deep into the man’s side before ripping it upward.
The man's scream cuts off abruptly as Blade's hand clamps over his mouth, holding him up for a moment before letting the body crumple to the ground.
Blade retrieves his gun, wiping the knife on the dead man's jacket before returning it to his boot. The entire fight lasted less than thirty seconds.
"We need to move," he says calmly, as if he hasn't just killed a man. "Stay close."
For a moment, the chaos around us fades, and I simply drink in the sight of my sister—alive, unharmed, and somehow fiercer than I remember. Kelly has always been the softer one between us, more trusting, more willing to see the good in people. It’s different now.
"I'm so sorry," I whisper, gripping her hands tightly. "Kelly, I'm so, so sorry."
She shakes her head fiercely. "Not now. We'll talk later, when we're safe."
Blade checks around the corner. "We're clear to the gate. Once we're through, the bikes are about a quarter mile down the road. We run straight there, no stopping. Understand?"
We both nod, and then we're moving again, sprinting across the open ground toward the gate. My lungs burn, and my legs feel like they might give out at any moment, but the sight of freedom just ahead keeps me going.
An explosion rocks the compound behind us, and I risk a glance back.
The building where I was held is now engulfed in flames, thick black smoke billowing into the morning sky.
Somewhere in that chaos is Viper, the biker with the intense eyes who killed Mike without hesitation, who looked at me like he could see straight through to my soul.
We reach the gate, and Blade ushers us through, keeping his weapon trained on the compound. "Almost there," he says. "Just a little further."
My mind races as we run down the road. Outlaw Order? Kelly seems to trust them, but they’re the Vultures’ enemies. Dangerous bikers, criminals, vigilantes. The kind of men I would have crossed the street to avoid before all this.
But they came for us. For Kelly. For me. And Viper...
"There!" Kelly points ahead to where several motorcycles are partially hidden among the trees.
As we reach them, I finally allow myself to believe we might actually escape. Blade guides us to a spot between the bikes, checking around us before lowering his weapon.
"We wait here for the others," he says, eyes constantly scanning our surroundings. "They shouldn't be far behind."
Kelly sinks to the ground, exhaustion finally catching up with her. I join her, wincing as my battered body protests the movement. For a moment, we just sit there, breathing, existing, free.
"How did you find them?" I finally ask, nodding toward Blade who stands guard a few feet away.
Kelly's expression softens.
"I didn't. He found me." She glances at Blade with something I haven't seen in her eyes before. "I was running, barefoot in a wedding dress, and he just... appeared. Like some dark guardian angel."
I take her hand, squeezing gently. "I thought you were dead," I admit, my voice breaking. "When you ran and they couldn't find you... Mike was so angry. I thought for sure they'd caught you and..."
"I wanted to come back for you," she whispers fiercely. "The moment I reached safety, I wanted to turn around. But Blade wouldn't let me. He said it would be suicide."
"He was right." I look at the biker standing guard, reassessing him. "They all came for me because of you?"
Kelly nods. "The whole club. When I told them about you, about the compound..."
"Thank you," I say, my throat tight with emotion. "For not giving up on me."
She looks at me like I've said something absurd. "You're my sister. I'd never give up on you." Her expression hardens. "Even when you were being an idiot about the Vultures MC."
I flinch, the guilt washing over me anew. "I really thought they were legitimate. That Daniel was—"
"A good guy?" she finishes, her tone gentler than I deserve. "I know. You wanted to believe someone finally saw value in us. In you." She squeezes my hand. "But Amy, we've always had value. Even when nobody else could see it."
Tears spill down my cheeks, stinging where they touch my cuts. "I put you in danger. I practically delivered you to them."
"Look at you. You took beatings meant for me. And you always made sure I got the better food, the safer assignments." She touches my bruised face gently. "I saw what you did, Amy. All of it."
Another explosion from the compound interrupts us, larger than the first. Blade tenses, his hand going to his weapon.
"That wasn't planned," he mutters, more to himself than to us.
"What's happening in there?" I ask, pushing myself to my feet despite the pain.
Blade's expression is grim. "War."
Kelly stands beside me, her arm slipping around my waist to support me. "Will they be okay?" she asks Blade.
He doesn't answer immediately, his eyes fixed on the black smoke now rising from multiple points in the compound.
"Viper, the man who saved you" he finally says, glancing at me. "He's one of our best. Smart. Calculated. If anyone can make it out of there, it's him."
I blink, surprised by his assumption that I'd be concerned specifically about Viper. But he's not wrong. There was something about the lean biker with the sharp green eyes that had lodged itself in my thoughts.
"You'll be riding with him when we leave," Blade continues. "He's got the fastest bike after mine, and we might need that speed if the police show up before we're clear."
I clench my fists at the thought of being pressed against Viper on his motorcycle, arms wrapped around his waist as we race to safety. It's an inappropriate reaction given the circumstances, and I quickly push it aside.
"And if they don't make it back?" I ask, voicing the fear none of us wants to acknowledge.
Blade's jaw tightens. "They'll make it."
Another explosion, followed by sustained gunfire. Kelly's grip on me tightens.
"Maybe we should try to get closer, see if they need help," she suggests.
Blade shakes his head firmly. "Reaper's orders were clear. Get you two to safety and wait. Going back would just give them more to worry about."
I understand his logic, but standing here helpless while others risk their lives for us goes against everything I've ever believed.
I've spent my entire life fighting. First to keep Kelly safe in the foster system, then to make a life for us after we aged out, and finally to survive the Vultures MC. Waiting has never been my strong suit.
"How long do we give them?" I press.
"As long as it takes," Blade answers, his tone leaving no room for argument.
So, we wait, the minutes stretching endlessly as the sounds of battle continue in the distance. I find myself straining to hear the rumble of several men approaching, silently pleading for Viper and the others to appear on the road.
Kelly leans her head against my shoulder. I thought I'd never feel this again. My sister safe beside me, both of us free. Whatever happens next, whatever unknown future awaits us with these dangerous men, at least we're together.