I let go and he lies still. I could spend all day here taking that motherfucker apart, but there’s no time to lose.
“Blade?” Faith’s voice is barely above a whimper now.
“I’m okay, baby girl. One sec, and I’ll get you loose.” My fingers are raw, but quickly untie the knots around my legs. With my eyes to see and my arms unbound, it’s a whole different world. I kick the chair aside. Fuck, it feels good to have my legs again.
“Are you okay? I thought he was killing you.” Faith says while I untie her. As soon as her arms are free, she tears off her blindfold, and when I look up at her, she gasps. “Oh God, your face!” She reaches out to touch it gently, and though it stings, I let her. “That’s got to hurt so much. I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have—”
“Faith, stop. This was Shovelhead’s fault. Crow’s fault. Maybe even my fucking fault for not stopping you, but I refuse to let you blame this on yourself. I chose this. Ripper chose this. Alpha chose this. And now we’re going to get you the fuck out of here.”
Just as I help Faith up on shaky legs, Shovelhead groans. Part of me’s annoyed that he’s not dead yet, and the other part’s glad he’s still there for me to kill. I steal the big knife he’s got in his belt, grab his hair and put it to his throat.
“Ok, motherfucker, what’s the code for the door? You get exactly one fucking chance.”
He groans again, still clutching his arm, but answers groggily, “Six, two, nine, nine. Fuck. Don’t kill me. Please. Fucking please.”
He shuts up when I slit his throat.
33
RIPPER
The mall’s falling apart,just like Razor said. I can’t imagine this place has been in use for at least ten-fifteen years. Looks like shit, and if Razor spoke the truth, it’s filled with it too. And we’re here to flush the place out.
They must be used to being left alone here. Outside one of the loading docks, there’s a mess of bikes parked, giving the fuckers away. I put a hand on the grip of my pistol, making sure it’s sitting loose. These fuckers are going to learn exactly what it means to fuck with the Screaming Eagles MC.
More importantly, they’re going to learn what happens when they fuck around with our girl.
King splits Eagle-eye’s army into divisions, assigning them different angles of attack. But Alpha and me he knows well enough to give us point.
With us, we’ve got Animal, Badass and Quickshot, who’ve been working as a unit lately on the edge between South Side and Blackworth, and of course Eagle-eye, who’s not going to miss an opportunity to do to Crow as he did to his fucking old man.
These fuckers aren’t going to know what hit them.
Quickshot pulls out the rifle he’s got slung in a holster attached to the back of his bike. It’s got a silencer on the end of it. We use some old garbage containers for cover as we close in. Alpha holds up a hand, ordering us to stop, then points.
I nod. Two guards just inside the gates at the top of the dock. They look bored. I’m sure Crow would be pissed if he saw it, but I’ll take it.
Eagle-eye gestures. “Quickshot.”
I still think of him as a fucking kid, but I guess by now he’s in his twenties. He got shot a few years ago, and instead of scaring him off, it gave him focus. He was always a good shot, but that rifle has turned into an extension of his own body. He flashes a cocky grin as he positions himself. If he takes them out from here, I’ll be impressed. Especially with the silencer attached. If he was Army, he’d do well as a sniper.
He puts his weight on the container, using one of the truck connectors as an armrest, then gets into firing position and aims. A moment later, he pulls the trigger twice in a row. Down at the loading dock, both of the Pit Vipers drop to the ground, lifeless.
Holy shit.
Cloak and dagger tactics aren’t our usual approach, but the longer it takes before we’re discovered, the better Faith’s odds are.
No one else moves and no sound comes from the loading dock, so it looks like we’re good. Alpha waves for us to go, and then we’re running. I draw my gun on the way, the grip comforting in my hand. I’ve been through a lot with this thing, both in service and later, and it’s a little like an old friend by now. An old friend who’s going to help me save my woman.
Our woman.
The guards have both been shot in the head. Jesus Christ. And Quickshot always seems so fucking cheery and easygoing. Naive. Never judge a book by its fucking cover. He could give marksmanship classes.
No one else is here.
“Where’s the fucking red carpet?” I make a show of looking around. “You’d think they didn’t even know we were coming.”
Animal laughs, but Alpha glares and puts a finger on his mouth. Right. I’m too fucking used to this game to have nerves, but they’re there anyway. I remember what it was like before firefights when I was deployed, at least to start with, but that’s a long time ago. Having Faith’s life on the line makes all the difference.