“Sorry to wake you, love. Just needed to hear your voice and let you know you’ll be getting your life back soon. I’ll make sure of that.”
“Please be careful,” she whispers.
“I need you to know this wasn’t about proximity. I meant every word I spoke to you. I never thought I’d go this route again. You showed me life had others plans.” I laugh. “The man upstairs has a way of making us all liars. I said I’d never love, but here I am falling hard.”
“So am I.”
Her admission is freeing. “Better be, ’cause you belong to me now.”
She laughs. “That goes both ways.”
“If anything happens to me, everything I own goes to Alexandria. Promise me you’ll help her navigate that.”
“You’re scaring me,” Queenie whispers.
“I don’t mean to, Flower.” I need the reassurance that she’ll do what I can’t.
She swallows. “You’re worried you might not come back.”
“Just being proactive.” With the Navy I never left for a deployment without all my ducks in a row. The habit’s stuck with me.
“You have two women waiting here for you.”
“Nothing will keep me away from my garden.” The words short of death float between us, unsaid, but understood.
“Be safe.”
“Right back at you, Flower.” Disconnecting before her sweet voice tricks me into lingering too long, I move into the dorm to prepare myself for war. I open the closet, push the clothes on the hangers aside, and pull out the foot locker full of tools and Kevlar. After dragging it to the end of my bed, I toss the towel over a chair and dress in black from head to toe, wearing my oldest pair of black boots. Praying silently, I put on my ankle holsters, one for a gun and the other a knife. Straightening, I pull on my vest and add my firearms in their holsters.
Zipping up my front jacket, I walk to my dresser and remove the holy water. Many of the boys will appreciate prayer and anointing. Like the warriors of time gone by, some seek out the favor of a power greater than themselves. I grab a small, black bible and leave the room ready to administer and do things I know will scar my soul.
* * *
Dispersed to different locations like black clouds, we spill out of the club house in the early hours of the morning. There’s nothing stealth about us, we’re coming in hot, in full force. Our contacts have made the law in the areas go dark long enough to see who’ll land on top. Tech has been tripping club alarms, keeping the RRR on edge and giving us an advantage. Following behind the heavily armed van, I keep to the rear, protecting Grimm from attack on the back end. We’re hitting their major compound. I won’t be satisfied until I watch the light go out in Flint’s eyes personally. He’s taken too much from my woman already, I won’t have him come back later to send us all into a tailspin.
Rounding the curve of the land, we see the two bikers posted as scouts. The windows on the van slide open and the automatic rifles do the talking for us. Dust flies up as their bodies jerk like marionettes and everything kicks into high gear as we race forward to sandwich the RRR between us and the other team we have approaching them from the rear. The darkness is cut in half by headlights and the gunfire, creating a hellish firework show. My nostrils sting with the sweet smell of gunpowder and my ears ring from the shots firing around me. Sweat drips down my face, pooling around my forehead and soaking my back.
The vans in front of us plow through their barbwire gates, and skid to a halt sideways, giving us cover. Lining up behind them, we climb off as the riders jump out, storming forward with Molotov cocktails. Glass shatters and flames erupt. Men dash toward the smoldering flames with blankets, beating at them, before they fall to gunfire. Crouching down, I take aim, shooting men as they rush out the front door. Bedlam surrounds us as the area becomes a scene from a western. Bodies lay prone on the ground as we hold our position. More firebombs are tossed, adding to the bonfire slowly engulfing their building. A bullet pings off the van to my right and I hit the ground, seeking out the source. Rolling, I land on my belly beside the van’s tire.
A bullet hits the patch of land where I’d crouched and I realize someone is shooting from the second floor. Approximating, I fire a few rounds, and move back to reload my weapon. The door flies open, and a massive man unleashes hell with a semi-automatic rifle. Parting like the Red Sea, we dive for cover, rolling and running as we flea. Spotting trash cans, I lurch forward, eating dirt when I land hard. My heartbeat pounds in my ears as I gather my wits and continue to return fire. Screams fill the air and a form swathed in flames comes out of the house like a freight train. Bodies follow close behind him, using him as a distraction. I know our objective. No one leaves here alive. Trailing the men who break to the left, running right past me, I take aim and fire two shots to the head, dropping them in their tracks. The man who lingers fires sideways, hitting me in my side.
I grunt, and he looks back to reveal his face. Flint. Ignoring the blood pouring from my wound, I give chase. I have a promise to keep and a reign of terror to end. Hugging the wall, I narrowly avoid the bullet he sends my way, and use it as a guide for my next shot.
Thwap.The unmistakable sound of a round meeting flesh is followed by a cry and a thud in the dirt. Cautious, I round the corner and find Flint struggling to stand. Without thought, I empty the rest of my clip into his back. If I do nothing else, my trip here has been worth it. Energy waning, I lean against the wall and unzip my jacket, gritting my teeth against the pulsing pain as I reach inside of the black med kit attached to my belt. Unzipping the top with a shaky hand, I remove the quick clot and a gauze pad. After ripping both open with my teeth, I move my clothing aside to sprinkle the powder, and press the bandage on tight.
“Fuck.” The scream rips from my mouth as pain explodes through my body. Open mouthed, I breathe through it and toss the empty package onto the ground. Readjusting my clothing, I allow the adrenaline to keep me on my feet as I move back into the fray. I’m not sure when the battle officially ends. I just know we’ve survived and their base is in flames. I can’t call it a win. There’s no true victory when the causalities are on both sides. There are good men burning in the flames beside the RRR corpses. Leaning against the van, I watch as the enemy’s lair begins to collapse on itself. Sagging as the urgency disappears, I feel the injury I pushed aside loud and clear.
“Preach?” I peer up at Shadow as my vision tunnels and darkness rushes forward to greet me.
* * *
Queenie
“It’s over.” The words echo in my mind as I sit silently beside Alexandria in the waiting room. Flint will never be an issue again and I can return to my regularly scheduled life. Grimm delivered the news personally on the phone. But I can’t feel an iota of joy because the next words out of his mouth damn near stopped my heart. “Preacher’s been hurt and he’s in surgery.” I hadn’t wasted a moment gathering what we needed and rushing Smiley to the black sedan he’d arrived in.
I peer up at the clock to find another hour has gone by with no word. Time plays tricks on my mind, speeding and slowing in strange intervals as I dream up terrifying scenarios. The doors swing open, and Dr. Jones walks out dressed in a white lab coat, and we all turn our attention to him. The waiting room is packed with bruised and battered men waiting to hear news about the man who’s always been there for them.
“I’m looking for the family of Edmund Goodwin.”