Fractured & Formidable: The Sacred Hearts MC Book V (23 page)

Minutes crept by, the small hour hand, it made its slow,
lazy crawl around the face of the clock. Detectives asked questions and when I
woke up from the nightmare it was to find I had slept but it wasn’t really a
dream. Not at all. I lay curled in the fetal position, my head in Zander’s lap,
covered by a jacket and a Sacred Hearts cut. The club filled the small waiting
room to overflowing. Evy sitting beside Dray, her head on his shoulder, Ashton
curled up in Trigger’s lap, a ball of sightlessly staring nerves, clinging to
her man who held her like she was a treasure that he’d nearly lost and maybe in
some ways he had… nearly lost her.

I looked up at Zander whose fingers were tangled in my
curls. He had a peculiar look in his eyes, on his face and after trading a look
with Evy, I suspected they had spoken. I blinked slowly and sat up, stretching.

“How yah doing Red?” he asked me softly. His hands rested on
his thighs, and I grabbed for one, twining my fingers with his.

“I think I’m okay,” I murmured, but my voice was somber and
tentative at best. I drew in a deep breath and looked over at Shelly who was
pacing nervously, her thumbnail which was in her mouth, nearly chewed to the
quick.

Ghost sat on the floor, back to the wall, legs outstretched
in front of him and crossed at the ankle as he followed his woman’s pacing with
his gaze and my heart broke for Shelly all over again. I hugged Zander’s arm
and he swept my face with his gaze, opening his mouth to speak but the doors to
the waiting room burst open and Hayden appeared. Dragon, who was by the door,
caught her by the elbows and she raised her face, her expression stricken.

“Is he..?” she asked and held her breath.

Dragon sighed, “Still in surgery Doll. We just don’t know.”

And the waiting went on, another hour then two, and then
three until they all just blurred together into this agonizing length of time.
Cutter and several other men of the Kraken arrived, was that who had been on
the line? Was that who Reaver had called? It must have been, else why would
they be here?

Dragon and the President of the other motorcycle club
stepped out into the hall while Ashton and Hayden clung to each other and
cried, Trig doing his best to comfort them. When the two men returned it was
with Doc, looking smart in his scrubs and white coat, a funny little matching
blue surgeon’s cap on his head. Hayden pulled away from Trigger and Ashton and
swallowed hard. Cutter went to the other small woman’s side, and put a hand on
her shoulder.

“Just,
tell me!
” she pleaded of the older man and his
face, which was pinched collapsed into sorrowful lines.

“I’m sorry…”

Hayden’s face was stricken. She hugged herself around the
middle and bent at the waist, her mouth open in a scream except there was no
sound, just an eerie hissing silence that came from her throat. She sucked in a
great breath and the sound came this time, low and broken and defeated, she
wailed her agony to the room and were it not for Cutter, doing his best to hold
her up, she would have gone to her knees.

It was the most painful, heart breaking, gut wrenching thing
I had ever seen in my life and it was the thing that made me want to crawl into
a bed somewhere and simply never come out again. I had never, not once in my
life ever questioned if there was a God but right then, right there, I
questioned everything. I questioned everything there ever was and then some
while Zander held me, my gaze locked with my soul sister’s. Everett and I cried
to the sound of everything Hayden ever loved or held dear burning down to ashes
all around her.

Zander…

Sober, Somber, Stoic… those were the best words I could come
up to describe my Red as she held it together in that God Damned waiting room.
The firefight had already started when I’d pulled up. I’d left my car in the
turn lane of the highway and streaked low and fast up the drive, taking out the
motherfucker that’d gotten Reave. Trig was topside, the roof and had downed two
fuckers in the driveway.

My adrenaline pounding through my veins and the rabid fear
that they’d got my girl had to take a back fucking seat to me calling an ambulance
for Reaver. Once that was done I’d immediately dialed my P and my VP who should
be back any minute from their run… What a fucking thing.

Disney had texted from the back of our club compound to say that
he, Blue and Duracell had one of them. There had been six of the little cock
bites. I called him from the burner in my pocket and told them to get the fuck
out to my car, which was running out front on the highway, and to get the son
of a bitch out to Point Nowhere and keep him locked down. They’d made it away
before emergency people started showing up.

Then there we were, hours and hours later, one of our
brothers, one of our council dead, and one of our women gone with him. Were it
not for Red, trembling in my arms, I would be out burning the whole fucking
world down.

Hayden was a near catatonic ball in Cutter’s arms. He knelt
on the floor holding her to him. Shelly had disappeared, Ghost hot on her trail
as she’d run from the room and hit the stairs with a crash. He’d texted the
club saying that he’d meet us there with her later. Zeb and Disney had been
back cleaning up busted glass and boarding up the club’s front windows as soon
as the cops had cleared out.

As soon as Doc delivered the bad news to Hayden, Dragon and
Trig had led the older man into the hallway and delivered the news about his
woman. He’d shouted and crumpled to the floor himself, back sliding against the
wall, his chest blown open, his heart ripped out… plain as day for all to see.

It’d taken some logistics and Zeb to come with the van to
get us all back to the club. Ashton, Red and Ev were all in with Hayden. Shelly
was locked in Ghost’s room and refused to deal with anyone or anything. Now
here we all were, Doc included, standing in the boarded up half shell of our
club house with five of The Kraken, trying like hell to come up with a plan on
what to do.

“I can’t do it anymore,” Doc said plaintively, “I’m sorry. I
will always be a part of this club, I will always be a Sacred Hearts man but I
can’t be this club’s Secretary anymore. Not with a clear head, not with a clear
conscience. Not and do what I have to do.” He crumbled, folding in on himself and
no one said a damned thing when he sobbed. His pain the paramount thing, we all
waited somberly for the storm to pass. Not a single damned one of us about to
tell him to suck it up. He and Chandra had been together over twenty
years
.

“Right, so we got Treasurer and Secretary up for a vote.
Nominations?” Dragon intoned.

“Do we really gotta do this right now Pops?” Dray asked.
Dray’s Old Man searched his son’s solemn face.

“No, no I don’t suppose we do, I don’t suppose we
should
until Archer, Rush and Nox get back. Just… just be thinking about it. All of
you.” He dropped heavily into his seat to a round of grunted agreements.

“When they back?” I asked.

Trig answered me, “’morrow, maybe the next day.”

I nodded, “What about the girls?”

“I think maybe we can help with that. Y’all’re gonna have to
get real down and dirty over this. The last thing you need is to worry about
your women. You got a bit of time, what with the cops sniffing around and the
like. Me and mine can stay up through the funeral, have your girls make
arrangements, they could use an extended stay down in my town. We got a
comfortable safe house. They’ll be looked after and you can do what needs doing
with a clear conscience, at least where they’re concerned.” Cutter crossed his
arms, expression unreadable but it was a hell of a thing he was offering.

We all exchanged looks, Ghost spoke first, “Think they’ll go
for that?”

“We don’t give them a choice.” Dray said with about as much
conviction as I’d ever heard come out of him. I nodded my agreement.

Trigger sighed, “While I agree it needs to happen, I’ve
never been away from Sunshine for longer than a day or two.” He pulled a
cigarette out of Dragon’s pack, sitting on the table, the real deal, and put it
between his lips. Dragon handed my partner and our Sergeant-at-Arms his Zippo
lighter without a word and Trig lit it with that clear and concise snap. He
cupped the flame, an old habit from being used to lighting up outside and drew
in a great breath laced with tobacco and nicotine.

He held it, for a real long time, the expression on his face
somber, one of greeting a long lost love that he’d never really have a chance
with again, lines of regret, sorrow and grief etching their way into his face,
his posture, before he let a cloud of the rich smoke out towards the ceiling.

“How long are we talking?” he asked.

“To do this right? To move careful so none of us get
arrested, to make sure we’ve eradicated every last one of these fuckwits..? I’d
say six months. Maybe more.” Doc said and downed a shot that one of The Kraken
poured for him.

Cutter nodded, and Dragon spoke, “Sounds about right.”

“Jesus fucking Christ. How are we going to keep them
occupied for six fucking months!?” Ghost said what we were all thinking. It was
Dray who had the idea; he was a smart fucker for being so damned young.

“Soul Fuel is doing good; Everett showed me the books. Her
and Mandy been planning on hiring on more help.”

“What’s Soul Fuel?” Cutter asked, puzzled. Dray laid it out
for him.

“You thinking new location?” he asked, and color him
impressed.

“I’ll convince them.” Several of us startled and whirled, I
chuckled. Only one of our girls was that quiet.

“Baby this is club business, you shouldn’t be here,” Trigger
was saying, but his voice was gentle and he was making the few short strides to
where Ashton huddled miserably in one of his oversized hooded sweatshirts. Her
golden eyes were already welling and she was the picture of heartbreak. So
small as to be childlike.

She surprised us all when she dodged Trigger’s outstretched
arms to come around him and more completely into the room.

“That’s precisely why I’m here.”

She sniffed, swallowed hard, and looked at Dragon, “You’re
all I have, all of you, my family. I need you all to be okay and I know…” she
swallowed again, “I know what you have to do and that it will be dangerous, but
I want us all safe. So take this,” and she held out a piece of paper that
looked suspiciously like a check.

“Fix the club house and pay for…” she sobbed, “Pay for
Reaver’s funeral and I will convince them to come with me, come with Hayden,
and open a new store in your town.”

Dragon, as solemn as I had ever seen him, plucked the piece
of paper from Ashton’s fingers and pulled her into a hug. He looked at it over
her shoulder and frowned.

“Baby, while I’m willing to do what you say, I’m not going
to take all your money,” he said gently and held her back so he could look at
her.

Ashton scoffed, “That’s not all of it… Shelly is good at
what she does. That’s only a quarter.” She sniffed and wiped her eyes with the
sleeve of Trigger’s sweatshirt and the big man, standing just behind her,
looked as soft as I had ever seen him which did my heart glad. Dragon nodded
and dare I say, looked a touch emotional himself.

“It’s only money. Reaver… I don’t want to lose anyone else.
Ethan, Andy,
you
, the
people
of this club. None of them can be
replaced. So take it. Fix this place, fortify it, do whatever you have to. I
just want us all to be safe. Once and for all.” She stepped back from our
President and hugged her man once before untangling herself from his grasp and
drifting back to wherever she’d come from.

“You got some damned fine women,” one of The Kraken
remarked.

“You don’t know the half of it,” I muttered, and shortly
after that plans were laid and meeting fucking adjourned.

“Trig, Rev, go make some peace with your women then get on out
to Point Nowhere. The boy ‘n’ me, we‘ll meet you there.” Dragon heaved himself
to his feet.

“I’m going with you,” Doc’s voice was full of steely
determination.

“Not sure that’s a good idea old friend,” Dragon eyed the
man speculatively.

“Yeah, probably not, but I’m a doctor,” Doc’s voice dropped
low, if I had to guess, his mind toward any eavesdropping women in the back,
“I’m the only one that can keep the bastard breathin’ long enough to get all
our questions answered.” He swallowed hard and devastation flickered across his
face like heat lightning.

“You just said it yourself; you’re a fucking doctor man!
Don’t you got some kind of an oath or something?” All eyes turned to The Kraken
man who’d spoke.

“If it were your woman?” Cutter asked quietly and he was
very still, eyes fixed on a distant point while he waited for his man to
answer. It was quiet and tense for several long moments. The man, who was
young, very young and wearing just a prospect’s cut, looked queasy and then
resigned.

“I don’t know Captain… I just, I really don’t know,” he said
truthfully.

Cutter nodded, “That’s a good lad. You might want to get to
thinking real hard on that. This is what this life is about, not always, maybe
not even in your time… but sometimes this is how it is.” Cutter straightened
and gave a hard sigh.

“You can trust me and mine to look out for things here. I’m
goin’ on in with Li’l Bit in a minute. You do what you boys gotta do.” Cutter
held out his hand to Dragon who, with a nod, clasped hands back.

“’preciate it man. More ‘n you could know.” Dragon turned to
the rest of us.

“No sense standing around here, let’s do this, send the boys
out at Point Nowhere back…” He bowed his head and shook it. “Let’s get going.”

I slipped back towards Reaver’s room where I’d left my Red
and the girls with Hayden, but when I poked my head in it was just Sunshine
with her best friend.

“Your room,” she murmured, and I nodded and let Trig brush
past me and go to his girl.

Just as Ashton had said, Red was in my room. Dray was
drawing Ev out into the hall and she nodded somberly to me as I slipped in and
shut the door. Red was curled on her side and fully in the throes of her grief,
the day having finally caught up with her. Her pale face even paler, her
freckles standing out stark beneath the slick moisture of the tears that coated
her face. She lay curled on her side, sniffing, hands tucked beneath her cheek,
and I lowered myself to the edge of the mattress by her stomach.

“You’re going out, aren’t you?” she asked miserably.

“Yeah Sugar, I’m needed by the club.”

This touched off some fresh weeping that she tried valiantly
to stifle. I smoothed some of her stray copper curls from her face and she
closed her eyes, turning her face into my touch.

“Just… come back to me. Please? I need you to come back to
me.” She sat up abruptly and fell into my arms, hers twining around my neck as
I curved mine around her back and held her close to me.

“I’m coming back, Baby. I promise, I promise you.” I
clutched her to my chest and rocked her, planting the odd kiss to her hair.

“I love you so much,” she sobbed and it tore at me, having
to leave her when she was like this, but a gentle rap at the door let me know
it was time. I looked up into the sympathetic eyes of my VP and nodded, my
brave girl withdrawing from my embrace of her own accord.

“Just be safe,” she looked at Dray, “You watch him. You take
care of each other! You promise me Dray.”

“I promise. It’ll be okay,” he said solemnly and I gave
another nod in his direction, this time one of appreciation. Everett came back
and took my place with Mandy.

“We’ll be here,” she told us, and with how everything was
going down, spiraling out of control, wreckage raining down around our club, it
was all any of us guys could ask for. That our women would stick it out, see us
through, and be there for us at the end of the day. You never really appreciate
what a fine and true gift it was until you were either in danger of, or had
lost it. I bent and kissed my Red one last time before heading out the door.