“Just shoot them,” I yelled, starting my engine. I’d already holstered my gun. “Hurry!”
“They’re dogs,ese.”
“Who will bite off Hollywood’s dick and maul your pretty face,” I snapped.
Snickers echoed in my earpiece. Every one of my men had heard what was going on if they were wearing an earpiece. It might sound funny, but they wouldn’t feel that way with three salivating beasts zeroed in on their asses.
Hollywood waved his hands wildly for help. He wasn’t riding bitch with me.
I pointed at Hero and took off.
“We’ll take him to the cage on Sixth Street!” I shouted as I zipped away. “Will someone give me an update on Ire?”
“He’s still out cold,” Boxer replied. “Want us to take him to the hospital?”
“That bad?”
“Don’t know. He hasn’t come to yet, and blood is soaked through his beanie. I don’t want to remove the wood.”
I shuddered as I recalled the bat connecting with Ire’s head. “Jesus. Call Patch and get his professional opinion.”
“Will do. Out.”
Once all brothers were accounted for and safe, we busted our asses to get home fast. As far as I knew, the Vipers didn’t know what had hit them. It didn’t mean they wouldn’t figure out it was us. I couldn’t worry about that now.
We had one bargaining chip: the president’s daughter. If he loved her and wanted her released, he had to agree to a ceasefire. I wanted to sit down, be civilized about it, and hopefully stop fighting.
However, the odds were against us.
We’d left many dead bodies in their clubhouse and had the girl. They should’ve expected immediate retaliation after they fucked with the Knights. We didn’t take shit from no one. If we knew where their nest was, we’d strike. It’d been different with the nomad MC two summers ago. They’d had help hiding right under our noses. I’d also wanted to avoid a full-blown war in our small town.
Tonight had been different. The Vipers retaliated with force by hitting the gym, and we hit back in a deadly way. It didn’t have to go down this way. They could’ve demanded money as payment for entering their territory without permission. No question they’d come for us after we struck their club. It was why I’d called for backup before we left. The Fallen Soldiers would arrive in the morning. Cobra and his men were already at the compound. My dad’s club was on standby.
We were ready for anything the Vipers threw at us.
Patch was outside the clubhouse when we pulled into the compound. I was scared for my brother in the back of the cage. We hadn’t had enough men to keep one with him on the drive back to Bastion. Art was in no condition to drive. His eyes were practically sealed shut. We sure as hell could’ve used Track and Ryder tonight.
Per Patch’s orders, we’d stopped every thirty minutes on the side of the road to check on Ire’s condition. I was fuckin’ stressed to the max. He was in and out of consciousness, slurring his words and distressed. But I could tell he’d asked for Ava when we’d awakened him. Patch didn’t think he needed to go to the hospital, but I wasn’t so sure. The brother had a piece of the fuckin’ bat sticking out of his head.
“Get him into the emergency room!” Patch yelled, running toward us.
Boxer and Lynx lifted Ire out. The damn woman in Copper’s cage screamed at the same time Sugar and Tina exited the clubhouse. It was after two in the morning, and I didn’t want Angel and Birdie or anyone else waking up to the sound of a wild woman yelling.
“What happened?” Sugar asked, a panicked expression on her face as she searched for Maddox. “Who’s in the van?”
“Mom, can you help me?” Maddox came around the side with Art hanging on him. His face was swollen and bruised, eyes puffy and purple. He wheezed, struggling to breathe. I hoped to God he didn’t have a broken rib piercing a lung.
“Oh my God!” Sugar ran to them. “What the hell happened tonight?”
“No questions, Mom. Just help me get him inside.”
I followed Boxer and Lynx, ignoring Sugar and the others. Until…
“Where’s Drew? I mean, Ire?” Ava asked in a soft voice. “I heard the motorcycles.”
I held the door for Maddox and Sugar, then turned toward Ava. Dammit, I didn’t want to be the one to deal with her. What if she freaked out?
“Storm? Where’s Ire?”