Blood (Dark Riders Motorcycle Club) (3 page)

"Figures you'd be late," Asher said. "The action has already happened. It's over. It was a setup."

The cop made a hand motion and all of the other officers put away their weapons. It looked like they were getting ready to leave. But it couldn't end here. This wasn't all for nothing.

That's when I remembered. They shot at us, so they had to be close by. The sniper house! If we were fast enough, we could still catch the Tarantulas there.

"I can take you to them," I said.

"What?"

"I can take you to them," I said. "I remember everything. I remember the way."

Asher smiled at me again and pushed himself off the ground. With one hand, he brought me up and helped me to stand.

"All right then," he said. He turned to look at the Dark Riders. Mav was standing there, observing the whole scene.

"It looks like we have a chase on our hands, don't we brothers?" he asked.

The Riders looked amongst themselves. At first, there didn't seem to be much of a reaction, but the excitement built. Soon they were cheering, pumping their fists in the air.

Still, Asher waited. His eyes locked with Mav's. It wasn't until he gave a small nod that it was
really
on.

"All right then," Asher yelled, "let's find these Tarantulas and show them what they get for messing with the Dark Riders!"

Chapter 7

The sound of motorcycles and the scent of exhaust filled the air. I climbed onto Asher's bike behind him. I didn't like the idea of him riding with an injured arm, but I was going to have to trust him if we were going to catch the Tarantulas.
 

Before we wheeled off, Mav gestured to the cops.
 

"What are you waiting for?" he yelled. "You're going to have to keep up with us if you want to get the guys you came for. "

He laughed and pointed at the chief.
 

"A catch like this might even get you a raise. "

Mav revved his bike then and took off. The only thing he left behind him was dust. As if on command, the rest of the club peeled off behind Mav.
 

With the wind whipping past our faces, I couldn't just
tell
Asher where to go. I brought myself close to him and pointed out the way just at the edge of his vision.
 

Left. Right. Straight on. My body fell into the familiar rhythm. It could feel the way in the road underneath me, rushing past faster than I could see. Each familiar bump and curve told me that, yes, I was on the right path.
 

And that's wasn't the only thing. There were the bikes up ahead of us. They covered the road like a dark cloud. The Tarantulas raced ahead, but the distance between us was getting shorter and shorter. It was only a matter of time before we clashed. And then the fight would begin.
 

I sucked in my breath. My heart knocked around in my chest, pounding at my ribcage. Who was going to strike first?

It turned out it was the Riders. The delicate balance was broken when a shot punctured one of the Tarantulas' tires. The cycle skid out of control and crashed on a light-pole.
 

It wasn't until I saw the brightly colored nursery behind the pole. Obscured by the smoking wreckage, that I remembered. This wasn't some isolated road in the middle of a highway. This was my home.

Shit. We were still in town. People lived here. They didn't need a freakin' gun fight in the middle of their streets. I could see people's faces pressed against the glass. I wanted to tell them to get down. Hide.
 

What if there was a stray bullet? What if it pushed right through the thin walls of one of these houses and into a kitchen or bedroom? Or even a nursery?

But what was I supposed to do? I couldn't say anything because my voice would get lost in the noise of the motorcycles tearing up the residential roads. Roads meant for school buses, bicycles, and moms picking up their children from soccer practice.

We turned, and my body fell to the right as the force pushed me over. We were almost out of town now. Just a little spurt and everyone would be safe. I squeezed Asher extra tight. Maybe he would get the message.

And he did. As I finished squeezing, the bikes sped up. It caught me by surprise and almost made me lose my grip, but still I was happy. We were out!

Instead of being surrounded by houses, there was just the road and a few straggling trees. We weren't out of the woods yet, but at least we weren't bringing anyone else into this fight. Now it was just the Dark Riders and the Tarantulas.

The shooting started again, but this time the Tarantulas were leading the attack. Asher swerved, trying to avoid the rain of bullets. But it was hard. I could see the blood dripping down his arm and leaving a trail behind us on the road. How was he even driving?

Another shot came and we jerked to the left. My stomach lurched as the bike came off balance. It was like the moment when you free-fall off of a rollercoaster. Only instead of being securely strapped in by state-of-the-art seat belts, there was nothing between us and the road besides air.

I screwed my eyes closed. I didn't want to see us fall. And I didn't. Just before we went too far, Asher jerked the bike back upward. We weren't going to crash. At least not right now.

Ahead of us, one of the Tarantulas slowed down. With one arm, he aimed a gun back at us. It looked like he was shooting straight for Asher's head.

A bullet whizzed by. It was close enough to sound like a large, angry bee buzzing in my ear. Only quite a bit more deadly. As I looked ahead, I saw that the bullet had nicked Asher's ear.

Before the Tarantula could get out another, more accurate shot, Asher pulled out his own gun. His hands came off the handlebars, and he steered the bike simply with the movement of his body. I wasn't sure whether I should be impressed or afraid.

I didn't have much time to decide. Before I knew it, he had pulled the trigger. The explosion sounded three times, making my ears ring even with all the noise around us.

Then I saw it. The Tarantula who had been aiming at us dropped his gun. He clutched his stomach, but his fingers weren't enough to keep blood from pouring out onto the asphalt. His mouth opened in a silent scream and he fell over onto the road. As we passed, no one stopped to help him.

As Asher took hold of the handle bars again, he passed me his gun. Without even thinking, I took it. It was hot and heavy in my hand, slick with Asher's own blood and sweat.

At first, I looked at it in fascination, but then I realized what he wanted me to do. Me? Shoot
this
? No way.

I pushed the gun back into his hand, shaking my head as forcefully as I could. When he finally took it back, I was both relieved and ashamed.
 

After everything they did to me, you would think I would
want
to shoot the Tarantulas. Payback was a bitch, right? But I just could't bring myself to do it. It wasn't in me.

Turns out that a gunfight doesn't care about your feelings. While I was busy feeling ashamed, the bullets were still flying. I saw one of the riders go down. The bullet flew through his thigh, shredding right through his jeans and flesh.

Another bullet hit someone in the hand. It actually knocked the gun out of his grip, and ripped a hole in his palm. I remembered from school just how many nerves were in your hand. A lot. I couldn't even imagine the pain.

But as I watched him, there were more casualties. Too many people were getting hit to linger on one. Next time it was a Tarantula. Keg.

He grasped at his side, blood spilling out bright red between his fingers. Keg's face contorted. I imagined the silent scream, loud enough to chill my soul. I felt bad. Not for him, but for Cam. What would she do when she heard?

Keg's bike fell to the ground. He rolled, the asphalt ripping his skin as he tumbled. It wasn't pretty. It would have been different if he took it like a man. Maybe if there was some nobility to it, but there wasn't. As we passed, he was sniveling, crying as his club left him behind.

How long did he have? Beat up like that? Alone? Keg would be lucky if his pain ended soon.

Finally, the building loomed up ahead of us. There was no way I could have mistaken it for another one. I pointed ahead, and Asher nodded. He made a hand gesture in the air, and as he turned the whole club turned with him.

My heart pounded. As I held on to Asher, I couldn't help but wonder. Was this it? Was this where everything was going to go down? And then I had an even
bigger
question. Who was going to win?

The bike stopped in front of the building, and I almost didn't want to get off. But if we didn't win? What then? I was ashamed of myself for even thinking it.

"So this is it?" Asher asked.

"Yeah, I remember this place," I said. "This is where they took me when they threatened to kill you."

Asher's eyes opened wide. But only for a moment. Then they narrowed, filling with anger as he grit his teeth.

"Okay then," he said. "Let's get these bastards."

Chapter 8

By then, the whole club was there. After the gunfight, everyone looked a little worse for the wear. But there was fire in their eyes. They were just waiting for the sign. Then they would have revenge.

Asher looked up at the tall building, and then out at his brothers. He smiled, and then gave the sign.

The swarm filled the building. Riders barged into every room. They broke down doors, turned over cabinets and opened any place that people could hide. In only a few minutes, the entire place had been turned upside down. But there was nothing. No one.

"What the
fuck
?" one of the Riders yelled.

They milled around on the top level, the same room where Keg and Venom had pointed a sniper rifle at Asher's head. Everyone stared at me.

"Did she lead us on another wild goose chase?" Someone yelled.

"Yeah," another person said, "maybe she's even working for them! We saw her kissing Venom."

I wanted to say something, but I couldn't. My mouth dropped open and the sound died in my throat.

Then Asher stepped in front of me.

"If
one more person
says a
single
fucking
thing
about Lilly, they're going to have to deal with me."

The muscles on his neck stood out, and his good hand curled into a fist. He looked around, meeting all of the Riders in the eye.

"So," he said, "does anyone else have anything else to say?"

Asher planted his legs wide, daring anyone to make a move. No one did.

"Good."

Okay, but now what? The Riders stood in the empty room. That wasn't what they were supposed to be doing. They were supposed to be fighting. They were supposed to be defeating their enemies and emerging victorious. Instead, they were just waiting around.

My heart sank. I led them here for nothing. I put them in danger, and there wasn't even anything to show for it. Heck, the cops weren't even here yet.

Apparently I wasn't the only one with these thoughts running through my mind.

"We can't keep doing this, Wild," one of the Riders came forward.

"What?"

"There are too many casualties, and we don't even have anything to show for it," he said. "We trust you, but…"

Asher put his hands on his hips and stared the guy down. "But
what
?"

"Look, did you even know that Mav is down?"

"Mav's
what
?!"

"He's not dead, but it's not looking good," the guy said. He looked down, his eyebrows knitted and his voice low.

Now it was out. I could feel it in the air. The whole club was thinking about their president. Who would they choose: Mav, or a girl who had caused them nothing but trouble?

The answer was obvious.

"I'm sorry Wild, but we can't do this anymore. This isn't about the club. It's about you and your girlfriend," he said. "We always have your back, but this time it's too much."

With that, the guy turned and made his way downstairs. One by one, other members of the Dark Riders followed him. Each one of them gave Wild a sorry look before they turned around and left.

My body felt heavy. As much as I wanted them to stay, as much as I wanted us to fight together, I knew they were right. Good men fell out there. And for nothing. I didn't even know where the Tarantulas were.

When the last Rider left the room, Asher and I were alone. We stood there in silence. While I was about to cry, Asher's fists shook with rage.

"I'm going to kill him," he said. The anger seethed from his voice. I had never heard him so rough before. "I'm going to make that bastard wish he had never even
heard
of me or the Dark Riders."

What was I supposed to say? I didn't know, so I didn't say anything. Instead, I started to look through the hideout again. Even though the Riders had looked in every nook and cranny, I looked again.

Under the tables. In the closets. Behind the blinds.

I looked because it was the only thing I could think of to do. There had to be
something
.
Anything
.

While I looked, Asher raged. He picked up chairs and threw them at the old, thick walls. The wooden chairs shattered, splintering into a thousand toothpicks upon impact.
 

But that wasn't enough for him. He punched the wall with his good hand, going so hard that his knuckles split and bled. Asher didn't even flinch. Instead he growled, baring his teeth as he left his bloody mark behind on the paint.

Then I screamed.

I was still looking for anything to help us, when I found it. A box. It was hiding behind a curtain, and so small that I didn't expect anything important to be inside. But then I lifted the lid.

And there he was. Joel.

Chapter 9

His beady eyes looked up at me, wide with fright. The Tarantulas had left him behind. I guess even
they
didn't want a traitor.

Joel had contorted his body to fit in the little cube where no one would look. No one except
me
.

 
Joel pressed a finger to his lips. Just watching him do that flipped a switch somewhere inside of me.