“The fucker is
going to open fire,” he said, getting onto his knees and turning me around.
“Crawl towards the hallway.”
Before he
finished his sentence, the shooter let loose with dozens of shots, destroying
the front windows. As glass shattered nearby, we crawled into the hallway where
he opened a closet and pushed me inside.
The closet held
his weapons locker. Vaughn grabbed a handgun and gave it to me. Then, he took a
rifle from the back.
“Stay in here.
Don’t come out.”
“Vaughn,” I
said, wanting him to join me.
“I’m not letting
that fucker come in here. I’ll protect you.”
“Stay with me.
We can both be safe.”
“Until he sets
the cabin on fire,” Vaughn said calmly while checking his rifle. “He won’t come
in looking for us. The guy might shoot for shit, but he’s not dumb enough to
think he would be safe walking in here. No, he’ll burn it down and shoot
whoever comes running out.”
“Please,” I
whimpered.
Vaughn leaned
forward and kissed me softly. “Do you trust me?” When I nodded, he caressed my
lower lip. “This is what I do. Let me save my woman, okay?”
Nodding again, I
wanted so badly to force him to stay with me. We could hide or wait for help. I
knew they were both stupid ideas, but as he shut the door to the closet, I was
certain I would never see him again.
I held the gun
and waited. Outside the closet, I heard more fast shots followed by silence.
The shooter would pause before letting loose again. My mind imagined Vaughn
dead a million times.
Rocking myself,
I thought back to when I saw Phoenix floating in the pool. I ran towards him
and jumped in, all while thinking about how he would be okay. As I pulled him
from the water, I begged God to save my little brother.
“Please, don’t
take him,” I had said again and again as I tried to get Phoenix to breathe.
Kneeling next to
me, Lark had wept and held her doll. Our idiot stepfather called for an
ambulance once our screams woke him from his hung-over nap. Giving Phoenix mouth-to-mouth like I saw on TV, I tried to get him to breathe. All the while, I
begged God not to take him.
As I waited for
Vaughn to return, I begged God again. “Please, don’t take him,” I whispered
over and over. The silence outside the closet taunted me. Was Vaughn dead?
Would the cabin burn to the ground with me in it? I didn’t care if I died. Not
if Vaughn was gone. Not if God took him from me like He’d taken Phoenix.
After an
eternity, the door opened and I looked up to find Vaughn unharmed. He held out
a hand to me and I took it immediately. Once he pulled me up, I grabbed at him,
needing to know he was real and unharmed.
Vaughn cupped my
face and studied my panicked gaze. “You still in this with me?” he asked and I
heard fear in his voice.
“Till the end,” I
said, meaning every word. “He didn’t take you.”
Smiling, Vaughn
kissed me. First slowly, tasting and savoring. Soon, the kiss was nearly
frantic, hungry and possessing. We were together and he was claiming me. Not
just me, but a future. If the Devils wanted a war, Vaughn was ready to give
them one.
Before he became
my mentor, Stinky lost his wife and baby son in a car accident one stormy
night. The grief was so unbearable he literally drank himself to death. Even though
the doctors resuscitated him, some guys in the club said Stinky never really
came back. He was a shell of a man.
The one thing
Stinky taught me was patience. Maybe it was because he was dead inside, but the
bastard had more patience than anyone I ever met. We spent long stakeouts in a
car where Stinky ate baloney sandwiches and listened to baseball on the radio.
To avoid going insane from boredom, I learned patience and it made me a better
man. It also made me a better killer.
Shutting the
door on Raven, my biggest concern was returning to her. The best way to keep
her safe was to stop thinking about Raven. Focus on the perfect shot. That was where
patience came in.
When I built the
cabin, I made sure to sit it on top of a sizable crawl space with an entry
point near the closet. Dropping into the hole, I took my rifle and wormed my
way towards the shooter.
Testing for
resistance, the bastard continued shooting then paused to look for movement. When
I reached the front of the cabin, the shooter poked his head out to study the
area. I sensed he was considering escalating the attack, but was afraid to come
out in the open. An amateur had come to take out Outlaw and would pay with his
life.
The guy didn’t
have the balls to attack. He fired a few more times and waited. I waited too.
My rifle held steady as I slowed my breathing. I was in no hurry. Raven was
safe in the closet. I’d stop the shooter before he ever got within feet of her.
I just needed to be patient. If I fired too early and missed, he would know my
spot and everything would get more complicated.
Twice, I had
decent shots. They weren’t sure things, so I waited. I wanted the first shot to
be the last. I also wanted to ensure the idiot didn’t have backup.
He didn’t come
out of his hiding spot for a long time and I knew what he was thinking. It had
been too easy. Had we died immediately? Were we lying in wait? If he came out
of his spot too early, would he end up dead? What if we had called for help and
he was wasting time? He finally decided he had to make a move.
I made mine too
and took the shot as soon as he stepped out from behind the tree. As soon as he
went down, I crawled out from under the cabin and hurried to his lifeless body.
Kicking him over, I didn’t recognize the guy. Based on the tats on his arms, he
did time in prison. His ID said he was from Arizona. The Devils’ patience was
up, but they sent an amateur to do the job.
Returning to the
cabin, I thought about the recent reports of a suspicious man stalking my hangouts.
Twice, security interrupted someone breaking into my apartment. Both times, the
guy got away. He’d obvious tracked me out here and found a perfect spot to do
his dirty work. No one would have thought to come looking for me and Raven for
days.
I texted a quick
message to Judd before reaching the closet. Never did I worry Raven wouldn’t be
waiting for me. She was smart enough to know when to obey. Just as I expected,
she sat on the ground, still holding the gun. She looked like a fallen angel
when the light hit her, but I knew she would have used the gun if I had been
anyone else.
“You still
sticking with me?” I asked, holding out a hand.
Eyes tired and
afraid, Raven took my hand and stood up. “Till the end,” she said, grabbing
onto me. “He didn’t take you.”
“Never,” I said,
kissing her head as she clung to me.
“Who was it? A
local guy or someone from the Devils?”
“An out of town
guy sent by the club. Judd is on his way with a clean up crew. I don’t know if
they’ll be able to get here if that asshole’s car is blocking the road. I
assume he didn’t walk all the way out here.”
Raven finally
released me and we walked into the family room covered with glass.
“The guy wasn’t
a pro. He had a decent rifle, but didn’t take into account the thickness of the
windows,” I said, grabbing a broom. “They aren’t bulletproof obviously, but I
paid more to have them extra thick because of the storms. That and in case
someone came shooting.”
Raven picked up
a chair knocked over by the gunfire. “Did you build this cabin all by
yourself?”
Frowning, I glanced
at her and caught her grinning.
“Actually, I
did. Every nail. Every curtain was all me.”
“Once this crap
with the Devils is over with, I’d like to come out here for the weekend. It’s
beautiful and quiet.”
I smiled at how
damn perfect she was until she frowned at the curtains.
“I’m buying new
ones.”
“We’ll see.”
Raven smiled
then fell silent while studying the quiet day. I set aside the broom and walked
to her.
“Is his body out
there?” she asked. “I feel weird talking about curtains with a dead body not
far away.”
“He would have
killed us both and gone on with his life with extra cash in his pocket.”
“I know. I just
feel weird.”
“Don’t think
about it. When ugly shit happens, you have to push it aside and think of
something else. Think of tomorrow and the next day. Down under the house, I
didn’t let myself panic because I knew I was spending tonight with you. I had
better things to think about. You need to do that now. Think about whether we
should spend the night at your place or mine. Do you want to have dinner this
weekend with Lark and Aaron? Want to go bowling afterward? Think about that and
not what’s outside.”
Raven reached up
and caressed my face. “I really like bowling with you. I’ll think about that.”
Holding her
against me, I kissed Raven and didn’t stop until I heard Judd’s Harley on the
road. Despite our embrace and her happy bowling thoughts, she clung to me as we
walked outside to meet him.
After he got the
details, Judd said Cooper and Kirk were calling a meeting. A few club guys were
getting the car off the road and would dispose of the body. I needed to get
back into town and drop off Raven before I met up with the Reapers leadership.
“Should I be
worried about this meeting?” I asked Judd before leaving with Raven. “Like I’ll
survive it, right?”
“Shit met the
fan today, but I don’t know what Cooper will do. He’s been in a state of
indecision for months. Being a husband and dad has made him fucking stupid.
Either Kirk steps up to take over or Cooper pulls his head out of his ass. This
shit can’t keep going on. Not with them sending killers into the Johansson
hometown.”
Judd studied
Raven who was glued to me in the truck. “Take her home then get your ass to
Whiskey Kirk’s. No detours or quickies.”
“Sure, bud. I’ll
find a way to nail her while driving.”
Judd smirked,
but it was Raven who made me jump by cupping my balls.
“Really?” I
asked, pulling away.
Raven removed
her hand then cuddled closer. “I don’t appreciate the term ‘nail’ when
discussing our hot fucking. I’m your woman and deserve to be spoken of in a
classier way. Also, I don’t want a quickie. I want to stretch out and enjoy my
hero.”
Pulling away, I
said nothing while making my way down the road. Finally, I sighed.
“I am a hero,
aren’t I?”
“Supercock.
Batcock. Spidercock. Which one fits you best?”
“Yes. I’d like
to be referred to by all three preferably while I’m inside you.”
“Can I be Wonder
Pussy?”
“Hell, darling.
In my head, I already have that exact tat sketched out.”
“Make sure my
boobs look good in the tat,” she said, stroking my chest. After a moment, her
mood shifted. “I’m still scared something bad is going to happen at this
meeting.”
“Kirk isn’t
going to kill me after years of protecting me.”
“Promise.”
“I promise,” I
lied.
Maybe she knew I
was guessing because Raven fell silent for the rest of the drive. Her fingers
gripped my shirt, less sex kitten, more terrified little girl. Raven barely
released me as we arrived at her place and walked upstairs.
“It’ll be fine.”
“You’re saying
that because I give you hope. You’re delusional.”
Grinning, I
cupped her delicate face and studied the fear in her sky blue eyes.
“Do I give you
hope?”
Raven’s
expression immediately warmed and she smiled. “You’re more than I ever dreamed
and I don’t want to let you go.”
“You only have
to let me go long enough for me to go to this meeting then head to my place to
clean up. I’ll be back in a few hours to take you out for dinner and some of
the sexiest bowling your pussy can stand.”
“I have a job
tonight.”
“Cancel it,” I
said and instantly she stiffened. “Babe, someone tried to kill you today. I
can’t have you getting bruised up. I just can’t handle seeing that right now.”
“I’ve won all my
matches except one.”
“Yeah, but you
got bit in the first one I saw and bruised up in the second. Just let me have
this.”
“I don’t have
the skills for another job, Vaughn.”
“You can be my
woman,” I said while my hands cupped her butt. “Trust me that’s a fulltime job
and the hours are a pain, but the benefits are outstanding.”
“Come back to
me,” she whispered in my ear.
“We’re going to
have a lot of fun tonight. It’s a done deal.”
Raven smiled,
but her eyes were tired and afraid. Even after I kissed her breath away, she
watched me leave like I was going off to my death.
A part of me
wondered if she was right. My gut said Kirk invested a lot of time and effort
into protecting me and flipping off the Devils. While Cooper might be
indecisive, he wasn’t going to dismiss his father’s efforts these last three
years.
The parking lot
at Kirk’s was empty except for Harleys and one van for Danny. Inside, I found
Tucker and Cooper whispering in a corner. Kirk sat nearby, legs stretched out,
a beer in one hand and a corndog in the other. The older Johansson was enjoying
his retirement evidently.
Judd stood with
Tawny at the bar while a half dozen other guys surrounded Danny’s wheelchair.
Back in the day, Danny was a rough guy. He also had a long history with Kirk.
When he got into a bar fight and ended up paralyzed, his friend gave him a job
at the bar. I knew Danny had an old woman and a few kids in middle school. In
the past, he would have once gone head first into any fight. That behavior was
what cost him the use of his legs.
Now, he waned to
play things safe. Judd said it was more of an age thing than the injury. Either
way, Danny was a guy who thought war with the Devils was always a bad idea. He
made this clear as soon as we were all sitting around the table.
“We can’t be
sure what happens when those fuckers are dead. Do we even know who they’re tied
with? Who their suppliers are? Taking out these guys could be the opening shot
in a war. Do we really need that shit right now?”
Tucker crossed
his arms and glanced at his brother. “They’ve been attacking our territory for
nearly a year. They turned one of our fucking guys. Now, they’ve sent a killer
into our town to kill one of our guys. If we don’t hit them hard, we’re saying
we’re pussies.”
“There’s more
here than ego,” Danny said, his rough voice unnaturally calm. “We have people
and supply lines to worry about.”
“How many
fuckers might think about turning on us because we’re seen as weak?”
Cooper never
reacted to the rising tempers. Two seats away, Judd sat just as still, but I noticed
his jaw twitching. Normally, the enforcer was unreadable. When I glanced at
Tawny, I saw why Judd was grumpy. Her hands were in fists and she finally
pounded them on the table.
“Why do you keep
talking about this shit?”
Danny looked
about ready to tell her to shut up. Likely, he remembered why Tawny sat in on
our meetings, so he said nothing.
“You keep talking
and talking,” she said to Cooper who showed no reaction. “You want the answer
to be obvious. If you do nothing while they shoot up Ellsberg, you look weak.
If you shoot up Tucson and kill them, you look like a crazy fuck. Who gives a
shit what the odds are of one or the other? You’re obsessed with thinking
things out, but your strength isn’t you brain.”
“Tawny…” Cooper
muttered.
“No, shut up. Do
you think your pop thinks shit to death? No. He goes with his instinct and you
need to the do the same fucking thing. You already know the answer. You want
him to signal you the right answer. Waiting for him has made you stupid. Fuck
your brain. Logic says you and Farah don’t make sense. Your instinct said
otherwise. What should you listen to?”
Cooper’s jaw relaxed.
“Your sister is the hottest thing in town.”
Tawny exhaled
hard. “You’ve known what to do all along, but you think you have to listen to
others and wait for your pop to give you the answer. He knows it and so do you.
Just do it already.”