Soldiers of Chaos- Chaos Abounds: Book 1 in the Soldiers of Chaos series (25 page)

Nikki called in the first of many favours Bull owed her. She couldn't leave the compound so she couldn't go to him. If he came to her that brought the MC further into the Bridges fray and while King was not one to run from a fight he was also hesitant to bring one straight to his doorstep especially one where he was not clear on all the players. But it was the modern age and the miracle of smartphones meant sharing info didn't have to happen in person. Bull was all too happy to help. All she had to do now was wait and hopefully not long. In the meantime she was stuck in lockdown. She tried to go to her room alone but they wouldn't allow it and after this morning’s spectacle she didn't need to add any fuel to that fire. She was sitting at the clubhouse bar her back to them. She hadn't been home in over a week maybe longer and she missed the quiet space they had there. The three of them just hanging out having a drink, shooting the breeze, watching TV. It was their sanctuary in this sometimes incredibly mental life of theirs. She hated being caged up it made her fidgety always had. She stared at her phone and waited. She hadn't heard back from Bull yet and she also hadn't heard from Alex. No news was not good news in either case. She needed something to take the edge off the anxiety building inside her. She was about to flag down Brodie for a drink when her phone rang. It was Bull “We found where he was hiding.” Finally some progress.

"Can you wait a second?" She asked him as she stepped away from the bar and into a quiet shadowed corner of the main room. Tex and Trace went to follow and she held up a hand to both of them. They'd been on her like glue all night and it was getting to the ridiculous stage. She was in the bloody clubhouse surrounded by brothers nothing was going to happen. “Where?” An awkward silence followed. “Where Bull?” She leaned against the wall. “A house on Carmel Street, Roach’s old place.” What the fuck? Memories of that night rolled through her at the mention of his name. Something inside her began to rise up out of the depths of her gut. She shook her head to clear it. That was more than a fucking coincidence. “What?” she spat out at him. “We were tying up some loose ends in regards to our mutual friend and one of the boys went to search Roach’s place for anything we may have missed and stumbled across some shit. He wasn’t there when we hit the place but he’s been following you everywhere. There are pictures. A lot of them. This guy is sick Ace, seriously sick. The pictures. You don’t wanna know.” She sank down to sit on the floor. If it wasn’t for the fucking Crows this shit wouldn’t be happening at all. “Have you got no fucking idea what is going on in your own backyard?” she was running a risk speaking to him like that. “Watch it Ace. I know we ain’t had a clean house up until now and I know you were wronged because of that but I will not have my abilities questioned. I am trying to help you here.” He paused to let that settle. “We have someone on the house don’t know if he’ll show up but if he does we’ll get him.” Her gut twisted and her muscles tensed as that familiar feeling rose within her. “You get him I want him and I want him alive Bull” the ice in her voice was foreign to her own ears. “Know that.” He disconnected the call leaving her sitting in silence on the floor with that all too familiar ugly dark feeling in her gut.

Her phone rang again "Hello." "Hello Angel." Cole's deep gravelly voice slid through her like a hot knife through butter. She felt her body reacting even as guilt began to bubble in her gut. "I miss you Angel." He missed her? It had been less than twenty four hours. The tone of his voice suggested it was her body he missed. "I miss you too." She sounded entirely too genuine and it made her wince. "I want to see you, to touch you. Are you able to get out tonight?" His voice dropped an octave lower and she felt a shiver of arousal. "I can't. Cos of this shit with Lenny I'm on full lockdown. I can't leave the compound and I have a twenty four seven escort despite the fact that I can't leave the bloody gate." "Why do you need an escort inside the compound?" She glanced at Tex and Trace eyeing her intensely. "Because I have a habit of sneaking out of lockdowns. So now I've been awarded a pair of shadows to watch me day and night." "Day and night?" She was too distracted by the boy’s stares to notice the change in his tone. "Yep even when I'm bloody sleeping." "And let me guess, your shadows are Tex and Trace right?" She still wasn't paying attention. "Yep." "And they'll be in your room watching you sleep and other things." "Yep." "I'm going to kill them." That caught her attention in fact she visibly flinched at his words. "Whoa back up. It's not like they'll be sleeping in my bed with me." At least she hoped they wouldn't a girl could only take so much. "I don't care Angel you belong to me now and no one but me gets to see you like that." "Like what Cole?" There was a pause on the other end. "Vulnerable and beautiful" His voice was softer, sexier that of a lover. His words surprised her and told her the extent of his feelings for her. She had dug this hole so deep she had no idea how she was gonna dig her way out. “Cole” she breathed his name and it was filled with regret. “Don’t Angel. We’ll see each other again soon and when we do I’m going to reclaim every inch of that beautiful body of yours.” Her breath hitched at the thought. Damn her traitorous body.

“Well unless you can find Lenny and sort him out I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.” She thought about her phone call with Bull. “Found out where he was hiding.” “Where?” Cole’s voice got low and menacing. “Empty house belonged to one of the guys who killed my Mum. He was a Crows member.” “What the fuck?” She had to agree with that statement. “We got someone watching it. He shows they’ll grab him but I doubt he’ll show there.” Silence followed her comment she could hear the wheels turning in Cole’s head. “What? What do you know?” “Nothing yet but I have an idea. You may be out of lockdown sooner than you think.” While she certainly liked the sound of that, what she didn’t like was not knowing information that might finish this shit. “What is it Cole?” “Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it Angel. I’ve got it sorted.” The man was so fucking frustrating. She glanced up at Trace and Tex who were now both frowning at her. “I have to go now but I’ll call you later. Ok?” “Ok” silence again. “Tell me Angel.” She hung her head in her hands “You own me Cole. All of me.” “And you me Angel.” The line went dead. She was fucked. She had to end this shit with Cole sooner rather than later. She just didn’t know if she could cope without him.

“You ok baby girl?” She felt Trace’s strong hand on her shoulder. She was getting sick of that god damn question. “Sure, Bull came through with some info. He thinks he found where Lenny’s been staying.” She got to her feet using the wall for support. “Where?” “Roach’s old place.” Trace frowned “What the fuck?” She nodded at him. “There’s more going on here than we know about, a lot more.” This had to be tied to Bridges somehow she just didn’t know how. She didn’t meet this guy till months after her mum died and he couldn’t have known she’d be at the club. “How’d they know it was him?” “They found photos of me, a lot of them.” “Sure they weren’t from before.” She shook her head “No he said the place was clean after that shit happened. They went back to tie up some loose ends and found the pictures. They’re sitting on it now in case he comes back but I have a feeling he won’t.” The guy had to be getting desperate after all he’d hit her in daylight hours when she had the boys with her. “Let’s just hope you’re wrong about that.” “Yeah but I’m not.” How the hell did this guy end up in Roach’s place it made no fucking sense at all. She needed more info. His file was still in her room and seeing as how she wasn’t going anywhere she may as well try and work this shit out. Then she needed to call Alex and see if he had any information that might help. If he was somehow connected to Bridges then maybe she could get some info out of him. “I’m heading to my room.” He nodded “I’ll come with you.” She glared at him. “Sorry Nikki you know the rules.” She knew alright and she also knew there was fuck all she could do about it. She turned and headed for her room with Trace in tow.

Nikki went through the file over and over again and nothing came together. No friends in that area, no names that rang a bell, no link at all to Bridges. Trace had sat and watched her for hours as she read every word in that file till she was cross eyed and he’d begged her to give it up and go to bed. She had another option, Alex. Nikki stole into the bathroom and locked the door behind her turning on the water. She dialled Alex’s mobile and waited. “Nikki?” he sounded surprised. “Hi Alex. How are you?” “I’m fine Nikki but we both know you’re not hiding in the bathroom with the shower running just to ask after my health.” What the hell? Was he watching her too? As if answering her silent question “I can hear the water running in the background.” She sighed “I need to where our friend has been.” “He left your location and went back to his home dockside. He only made one stop on the way.” “Where did he stop Alex?” “A house on Carmel Street.” Roach’s place. “I fucking knew it.” “What did you know Nikki?” Alex’s tone was wary. “Can’t get into it, not yet.” “Nikki” he growled her name down the phone in warning. “I’m sorry Alex, sorry for everything. I gotta go.” It was his turn to sigh “I know. Just be careful ok?” “I will. Bye Alex.” “Bye Nikki.” This created more questions than answers but it seemed that Lenny was somehow linked to the Bridges thing. The only way to get the answers she needed was to ask Lenny himself. This was a massive problem. She needed to find a way out of this lockdown.

Forty eight hours she waited. Forty eight fucked up hours with no opportunity to escape in si
ght. Forty eight hours that included another phone call from Cole demanding she find a way out of lockdown and come and see him or he was coming in after her, Trace and Tex all over her making her restless with need and her father giving her those strange looks every time she was out in the main room. All that meant she was wired, entirely too testy and craving a dose of Marcus Cole’s dark medicine way too much. So when her phone rang she wasn’t prepared for the voice on the other end “Hello Nikki. If you won’t come out then I’m coming in to get you.” “Lenny” she growled his name down the phone and both the boys tensed beside her. Then there was silence. The sound of crashing metal exploded into the quiet followed by the sound of gunfire. "Someone's crashed the gate there's guys everywhere." The brothers mobilised some heading straight out into the fight others collecting guns and ammo from the armoury. Nikki made it to the nearest window and peered out. Shit was bad. The gates were torn open and a mangled F-truck sat in the middle of the compound. A few guys had slipped through the gate and were now firing at the brothers and the clubhouse. The sound of glass busting out had her ducking her head and covering it with her arms. She reached instinctively for the pistol she kept tucked into her waist band but it wasn’t there. She hadn’t left the club house in two and a half days so she hadn’t really needed it. Then she felt two warm bodies at her back shielding her. Tex fired off a string of profanities “Brodie. Armoury now. KG-9’s.” “Will you two get off me I’m fucking fine” she wriggled trying to dislodge them from her. They moved back slightly. “Give me a fucking gun and let’s get out there.” One of them thrust a Glock into her waiting hand as Brodie handed them the KG-9’s. “Fine but you stay in here and fire from cover. No going out there and no hero bullshit. Go it Ace?” Tex narrowed his eyes on her. “Fine I got it.” Then both of them moved over to the next windows and began firing.

More bullets ripped through the glass over their head. Trace peered over the window ledge at the melee taking place outside. The crumpled body of the F-truck was providing cover for the guys to come through the gate. There was maybe fifteen guys including the two that dove out of the truck after it came through the gate. “I thought you said his friends were all dead?” Nikki was looking out of the window next to him “Obviously I was wrong.” “No shit” Tex retorted from the other side of him. Trace raised his weapon and fired on a couple of guys coming through the gate and heading left. The first one tucked and rolled behind a dumpster the second one hit the ground hard after bullets ripped through him. The rat-tat-tat-tat of Tex's weapon sounded to his right. He ducked back down behind the ledge as the first guy snuck his gun over the top of the bin and began firing. The bullets sprayed across the front of the building splintering the window sill above his head. Fuck! He swung his head towards Nikki who was not ducking. She had his Glock in her hands perched on the window sill and she was eyeing a target. She fired and the burst of gunfire stopped suddenly just short of her position. The girl was fucking crazy and she was gonna get herself killed. He jumped back up to the window and as he watched she brought down another guy. He surveyed the half of the yard in front of them and could see one of the guys teeing off on her. As he went to take a shot at the guy a volley of gunfire had him ducking again. He watched as Nikki held her position bullets whizzing past her as she fired. He launched himself at her bring her down onto the floor. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?” he screamed at her over the noise around them. He looked up at her. Her nostrils flared and her chest heaved as she dragged in heavy breaths. Her eyes were dark with fury and death and vengeance and he knew this wasn’t right, this wasn’t her.

"Get her to her room now" Tex shouted above the noise. He closed his hand around Nikki’s upper arm and hauled her to her feet. She blinked a couple of times then suddenly snapped out of whatever had a hold on her "No. Let me help." Trace picked her up trapping her arms to her body with his embrace. He moved quickly down the hallway with her and shoved her into her room. "C'mon Trace I need to get out there and help." He thought she needed a lot of things and this shit wasn’t one of them "For fucks sake Nikki will you do as you’re told for once! Just stay in here and keep out of the way. Last thing we need is you getting yourself shot. We've been through enough." He watched as hurt and guilt flickered over her face. It was a dick thing to do playing on her emotions like that but sometimes people needed tough love. She just nodded at him in reply. "Lock the door and arm yourself. Someone comes to the door if it's not us you know what to do." He shut the door and waited for the click of the lock before he barrelled back down the hallway and into the fray.