CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Sadie

My heart pounds furiously as Haven pulls up the van at the gates. She loosely tied my hands behind my back to make it appear more official. As the van comes to a complete stop, my breathing stutters upon seeing the gates of the place I fled from so long ago. My instinct is to break free, jump out of this van, and run like hell.

But I know I need to do this.

Fight or flight be damned, this is going to be all fight.

The prospect at the gate steps up to the van, tapping Haven's window. She winds it down, and he aims the gun at her head. "What the fuck do you want?"

Without even batting an eyelid, she scowls at the prospect. "I brought a gift for Grave. Let me in, or I will ram the fucking gate down."

He presses the gun right against Haven's head, turning it sideways as if that move is somehow more threatening.

This idiot obviously doesn't know her or the fact she could break his arm in three places before he could even pull the trigger. He brings the radio up in his other hand and calls for backup. "Guys, there's a crazy lady out here with some beaten-ass chick saying she wants to talk to Pres."

There's no response on comms, but a few moments later, the gate opens to Grave standing there. Seeing him, his gray hair, long beard, broad muscles, and deep scowl instantly make me shudder.

The second Grave spots me, his eyes shift to the prospect, his face turning bright red, his nostrils flaring as he storms toward him. "Do you not know who this is, you… fucking… idiot?" he screams.

The prospect instantly cowers. "It's hard to tell with her face all beat up like that, Pres."

"You're fucking useless!" Grave growls, drawing his gun from the back of his jeans, and not hesitating, he shoots off three rounds into the prospect's torso.

I flinch with each shot, but Haven doesn't even bat an eyelid, merely shrugging like it doesn't bother her as the prospect falls to the ground. Fucking dead.

Grave steps up to Haven's window, glancing inside. "Drive in and park the van."

Haven nods and takes off like a shower of shit. She whispers to me, "Here we go. Game time."

Haven parks the van, then gets out and walks around, grabbing me by my hair, yanking me out of the van, and pulling me toward the clubhouse. The pain ripples through my scalp like razor blades, and I whimper, my feet hardly keeping up as I drop step every now and then so she has to almost yank me along for me to keep up.

For show.

This has to look legitimate.

As she drags me through the parking lot toward the clubhouse, I don't miss the decaying bodies strung up on pikes. Their heads are decapitated and scalped, sitting on the ground beneath the bodies. The smell of rotting flesh lingers in the air as Haven pulls me into the clubhouse.

The blackboard is still in prime position, listing the number of rapes. The lines have increased by so many since I was here all those years ago. My eyes flood with tears when Haven pulls my hair tighter, forcing my tears to flow over onto my flushed cheeks. The fear overwhelms me as I begin begging and truly mean it.

"No, please, no. Don't do this," I scream at her.

"Shut the fuck up. You have no right to talk," Haven throws back at me with pure venom in her tone.

Grave steps up, a gleam of victory in his eyes. "I'll take that. That bitch belongs to me."

I tense all over, but Haven pulls out her gun, aiming it at Grave as she tuts her tongue to the roof of her mouth. "Uh, uh, uh… not so fast. You don't get things for free in my line of work. Let's talk deals."

Grave folds his arms over his chest as I see Wes step out of the back rooms. My eyes widen in shock as I take in the sight. His face is almost unrecognizable, his left eye socket is so swollen. Wes' arm is in a sling, clearly broken. As he walks, he hobbles with a limp, his arms covered in bruising and deep cuts. My stomach rolls with the grief that hits me. They tortured him because of me, but it's the fear in his one good eye when he spots me as he stands back watching that truly terrifies me because he's giving himself away. If Grave turns to look at him, he will wonder why Wes is showing concern for me. Putting himself on the line for me yet again.

The last thing I want is for Grave to hurt Wes any more than he already has. So even though all I want to do is run to my brother, my eyes divert, trying to focus away from him so I don't draw unnecessary attention.

Grave steps up in front of me, a bright smile lighting his horrendous face as he chuckles to himself. "I always knew you'd find your way back to me. When your father promised you to me, Sadie, the union of our families was always going to be so fucking sweet." He lets out a scoff. "I mean, needless to say, your father knew I had already taken you multiple times before you ran out on me."

My bottom lip trembles as my eyes meet the devil incarnate, remembering every single thing this asshole put me through.

"That's right, you're remembering, aren't you? Your father promised you to me, Sadie, not because he wanted his legacy to be a part of this club moving forward but because I had put my spawn inside you. My legacy was growing inside your stomach, and if my kid was a son, he would be the next generation of this club."

Tears stream like rivers down my face as Haven subtly side-eyes me like she's trying to hide her shock, but then she faces forward again, tightening her fist in my hair, making me whimper a little more.

"We were going to rule this club together. You, me, and our kin. Why do you think I killed your father? I did that for us, for our family, Sadie. So what I want to know is, where the fuck is my kid?"

Letting out a sob, I shake my head against Haven's hand. "I… I never carried the baby to full term," I whisper.

Grave steps right up, his fingers gripping my chin, forcing me to look at him. "You lose it?"

Fear sweeps through me, my bottom lip trembling as I shake my head, unable to answer him for fear of his reaction, knowing what I purposely did to his unborn child. He understands well enough, though, as he lets out an animalistic growl, thrashing his hand across my face. The back of his hand connects with my cheek, and I begin to sob.

Hard.

Haven glares at Grave. "Tsk, Tsk, Tsk. Don't touch the goods before you purchase them, asshole!"

"Hand her over. She's fucking mine now!" Grave yells, his tone becoming more unhinged.

My heart slams into my chest, my fight or flight kicking in so damn hard. I begin to thrash against Haven, not faking it anymore. "Haven, please don't do this! Don't hand me over to them. I can't go back to hi—" Haven shoves me by my hair onto my knees before I can finish talking. They scrape along the concrete on my already badly open wounds, and I land on my hands. Snot bubbles out of my nose while I continue to fall apart.

Grave steps in front of me, his hands moving to unbuckle his belt, a chill flooding me at the sound. "You're in such a good position. I'll take advantage of you while you're down there."

My stomach churns, hating that I'm back here, but Haven steps up, putting her hand on Grave's chest. "No sampling the goods till they're paid for, in full." Then she pulls out a gun aiming it at his head without giving two shits of what the consequences might be.

Grave looks Haven up and down, then in a shock move, takes two steps back from me.

I let out a relieved exhale as Grave buckles his belt. "All right, I'll play. What do you want for her?"

Haven tilts her head. "You know me. I've worked for you in the past. I take out people. I don't deliver them. I'm doing you a fucking solid here, Grave."

"So why did you bring her to us?"

"Think of it as a sign of good faith. You've used my services more than once, so consider this a token gesture. A quid pro quo."

"And what is it that we can do to help you, Blue Jay?"

"See, that's just the thing. I've gone out on my own. I'm not a bird anymore. So, what you can do for me, other than pay me for this gift I bring you, is send your hits directly to me. And, of course, referrals would be greatly appreciated."

Grave nods. "I think that can be arranged. As for payment, does your usual fee apply? I'm assuming 250K cash?"

Haven bursts out laughing, gripping my hair tighter, making me whimper, then she places the gun to my cheek. My entire body shudders as I watch Grave step forward, raising his hands in surrender. "Bringing someone to you alive is worth far more than contract killing. She means something to you, which means the price goes up. You don't pay? I put a bullet in her face without even blinking. I don't give a flying fuck what happens to this whore. But you do. You need her for your baby-making fantasy. That's why you will pay."

Jesus, she even has me believing her.

Grave steps forward, his breathing quickening as his eyes drop to mine. "Name your price."

"One mil. Cash. I need it before I hand her over. Once I have it in my hands, she's all yours to do whatever the fuck you wanna do to her, old man."

Grave glances over his shoulder at my brother. "Prospect!"

Wes glances his somber eyes from me up to his president. "Yes, Pres?"

"Go get one mil from the safe. Do it quickly."

Wes swallows hard, then turns, rushing off.

Haven waves her gun around the clubroom. "The shit you do here at the club, the dead bodies on the pikes outside, the rape scoreboard. That shit all for show?"

Grave chuckles. "For show? No. It's to remind us every day of who we are, what we stand for."

Haven raises her brow. "And what is it that you stand for, Grave?"

"We're 1%ers. We're dangerous. We are the club that other pussy bikers fear coming up against. No one wants a war with the Steel Serpents. We're un-fucking-touchable."

Haven purses her lips. "Mm… and why haven't the cops swung by? I'm sure the bodies on the pikes draw alarm bells?"

Grave smirks. "We have the Rojas Cartel on our side. They have the heat on their side. If you're protected by the cartel… I repeat… we're un-fucking-touchable."

Haven shrugs. "I'd call it more of an overinflated ego, but potato patahto."

I'm unsure why Haven is antagonizing Grave. Maybe it's part of the character she is portraying to them, but either way, I can't stop freaking the fuck out, hoping like hell the guys arrive soon.

It doesn't take long for Wes to return to the main room, holding a couple of duffle bags over each arm. "Got the cash, Pres," Wes calls out, clear pain radiating through him as he holds one of the bags with his wounded arm.

My eyes widen, hating that Grave is using Wes to punish me and also knowing we're running out of time.

Grave gestures for Wes to bring the bags over and drops them at Haven's feet. When the bags fall, his sling almost going with them, he lets out an almighty groan.

Grave waves his hands through the air. "Pleasure doing business with you."

Haven chuckles, shaking her head. She leans down, grabbing both bags, hoisting them over one shoulder, then grabs me with the other, dragging me toward a table. I race to keep up with her, my body aching like a motherfucker as she shoves me to the floor beside the table. "Kneel," she orders.

So I do. Grave storms over while Haven places the bags on the table, opens them up, and starts pulling out wads of cash.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Grave growls, clear annoyance in his tone.

Haven places her gun on the table beside the bag, glancing up at Grave like he just said the stupidest thing in history. "You don't think for one single second that I trust you scumbags with the right amount of money, do you? I'm counting every. Last. Dollar. Someone get me a drink. We're gonna be here a while."

Grave curls up his lip but nods. Then Justine, one of the club girls, moves behind the bar, fetching a drink for Haven. My eyes slowly shift up to look at Wes. His are darting around the room, taking everything in. I see his mind ticking over like he's trying to figure a way out of this, but I subtly shake my head at him while Haven counts aloud the money, obnoxiously slowly, buying Defiance as much time as she can.

I feel like this is taking so damn long.

Too long.

I can't even figure out how long we have been here.

Time isn't running like it normally would for me because any time here at the Serpents feels like a lifetime.

I'm anxious.

Grave is getting antsy.

Suddenly, he slams his hand down on the table so loud the wood splinters beneath his fist. "Dammit, woman, will you hurry the fuck up!"

Haven lets out a huff, throwing her hands in the air. "You fucking dickface, now you've gone and made me lose count. I'm going to have to start again."

Grave lets out a deep, throaty growl, grabbing the table and upending it. It flies, and I duck out of the way when it almost hits me on the way back down. Mountains of money freefall through the air as he rushes forward, backhanding Haven across the face with such force, her head snaps to the side, her lip instantly begins to bleed.

I gasp, my breath catching from the shock.

Grave shifts right into her face. "You fucking whore! I don't have time for this. Take your money and leave. I won't ask again."

Haven slowly wipes the blood from her lip, then stands taller, a fierce look in her eyes while she clears her throat. "You really want Blue Jay to come out to play right now?"

Grave rolls his shoulders, cracking his neck from side to side. "You're one little girl. I have an entire club backing me. I think you're outnumbered, Blue Jay."

Haven chuckles, a bright smile lighting her face. "Then you really don't know who you're messing with!"

Grave steps right up to her, chest to chest. A knife slides down his arm to his hand while he grins at Haven. "Well then, little bird. Let's dance!"

A slow smile lights Haven's face, and before Grave can move the blade in his hand, she pulls back, slamming her forehead into his so violently that he stumbles back, clearly in a daze, and a line of blood trickles down his temple.

Oh shit!

Maverick

We pull the shipping trucks up out the front of the Serpents' clubhouse, but the plan is to make our way in through the rear of the clubhouse. As we all gather, my anxiety has my hands shaking, but I hide it from the guys. I don't need them to know how I feel as I wonder what is going on inside that clubhouse right now with my girl and sister.

Loki sends a delayed alarm through the Serpents' tech hub, which should signal the club to exit the rear entrance to check on the farm.

Loki dips his head. "Okay, alarm sent. They should be coming out any second now."

Alpha rolls his shoulders. "Let's meet them. Give them a little welcome present, shall we?"

We all chuckle, rushing for the back exit of the clubhouse, guns drawn, ready to take on the club as they exit, but the closer we get, we realize they're not coming out as planned, and there's one hell of a noise coming from inside the clubhouse.

My adrenaline spikes as we stop and stare, listening to the chaos.

I snap my head to Alpha, panic washing over me. "Something's gone wrong. We have to go in, Pres."

Alpha rolls his shoulders like he's uncomfortable but nods. "We don't know what we're walking into. We were supposed to mow them down outside, but going into their clubhouse puts us at a huge disadvantage. Have your fucking wits about you."

He turns to face the others. "Strings, Ink, Noah, get on the roof and come in from the top. They won't be expecting that."

He turns again. "South, Hayes, Eggs, you head 'round the front. The rest of us will come in through the back entrance, so we'll be hitting these assholes from all angles. Whatever is going on in there right now, it sounds like a fight is already underway."

He exhales, shaking his head. "If we need to retreat, we grab our girls and get the hell out of there. Everyone understand?"

"Got it," we all reply.

We head off to our designated positions, waiting for Loki to signal us to move in. The alert comes through on our watches, and we all shift forward. I move with Alpha, Dutch, Weaver, and Rip as we enter through the rear of the club, but as we rush in, the five of us abruptly stop when we spot Haven in a fight with the entire Steel Serpent MC by herself.

The thing is, she is kicking their asses.

I turn to Alpha, who's wearing a giant smirk on his face.

We shrug, then take off to help her.

The Serpents not fighting Haven, spot us, turning and rushing for us as we begin hand-to-hand fighting. I slam my fist into the nearest guy, taking great pleasure as I knock at least three of his rotten teeth from his face. He drops to his knee as Strings, Ink, and Eggs repel down on ropes from the ceiling, taking the other Serpents by surprise when they open fire, taking out a row of Serpents as they descend.

Noah races through the clubhouse, a baseball bat in hand—who knows where he found that— and starts swinging at anyone who moves who isn't wearing a Defiance cut. I chuckle as I move my gun to the Serpent I just punched, who is swaying from the hit, and I pull the trigger. His head explodes like a balloon.

I spot Sadie kneeling by a turned-over table, hiding from the fight, and right now, as the chaos erupts around us, an all-out fight in the clubhouse, my goal right now is to get to my girl and get her the fuck out of here so she doesn't get hurt. As I take off running full speed for her, my stomach lurches when I watch Grave get to her first. Gritting my teeth, I run faster, my heart beating so rapidly, while I watch Grave land his fist into Sadie's face.

I jerk with every hit I see him land on her body. My anger rages inside me like a thunderous bull ready to pummel with all my might. Sadie's screams tear through me.

After what feels like slow motion, I finally reach Grave, yanking him off her with so much force he stumbles back, loses his footing, and falls onto his back. I don't hesitate, moving in over the top of him, landing my fist into his face as hard as fucking possible. His head hits the concrete, making his eyes roll around in his head before I smash my fist into his face again. Blood splashes up onto my shirt as I can't control my rage.

I hit him again, and again, and again, but the sound of a gun going off right next to my ear makes me pay attention. The bullets aren't aimed at me. Instead, they land in Grave's face. His head rips apart as bullet after bullet pummels into him, and I slide back, my eyes shifting to Sadie. Tears are streaming down her face as she continues to pull the trigger until the clip of my gun empties.

I didn't even feel her take my gun from me.

But I see the relief flooding her face as she sinks back onto the floor, dropping the gun and shrinking into a ball. I go to rush to her aid, but another Serpent moves in to grab her.

My eyes widen seeing him reach for her. "Fuck!" I yell, gaining Sadie's attention. She glances up as I pull my second gun from my ankle strap and aim it at him, pulling the trigger, but Sadie screams. "No!" She jumps in front of the Serpent right as I fire off the round.

It slams into her side, blood instantly seeping from the wound as she drops to the floor, out cold.

My eyes shoot open wide, instant shock electrifying every atom in me, as the shakes I had in my hands earlier now cover my entire body.

The Serpent she defended stares at Sadie, and then he turns to me, fear clear in his swollen eyes. "Fuck! You shot her."

Breathing heavily, I shove him aside, rushing for Sadie and pulling her into my lap. My eyes well with tears while I press down on the wound as she bleeds out. "Fuck, Sadie. Fuuuck!"

I rock back and forth as I stare down at her, panic washing over me like I've never felt before as the asshole she was protecting kneels by her side.

"I'm her brother, Wes. Let me help you."

My head races all over the place.

This guy is her brother?

She took a bullet for him.

But I am the asshole who shot her.

What the fuck are all these other wounds on her?

What the hell did they do to her?

I should never have come up with this plan.

She can't die.

Fuck, what if she dies?

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck.

My breathing is fast and frantic as I rock her back and forth in my own personal hell right now.

I need help.

"Haven!"I scream as the fighting dies down.

Haven races over, eyes showing shock as she leans down, feeling for a pulse. "She's alive. Let me check the wound."

I can't stop rocking Sadie back and forth, my hand pressing on the wound, and Haven looks into my eyes. "Mav, I need to check the wound. You're going to have to let her go for a moment."

It's hard even to get a breath, I'm panting that hard as I stare at my sister. "I shot her, Haven. I… I shot her."

Haven stops, her concerned eyes meeting mine, and she places her bloodied hand on my face. "Jesse, look at me. She's going to be okay. Breathe." Hearing Haven use my birth name somehow makes my breathing steady a little as she turns, looking at Wes. He looks pretty fucking messed up himself. "You're the brother, yeah?" she asks him.

He nods. "Wes. Tell me what you need."

"A med kit. If you don't have that, I need fishing wire, a needle, and some alcohol. Go. Now!"

The rest of Defiance come over and stand around while I continue to put pressure on Sadie's wound, Haven pressing her hand against mine to help stem the bleeding.

Everything is a damn blur.

The only thing I know for sure is that I won't let Sadie go. Leaning down against her ear, I close my eyes before I whisper, "I told you not to die, remember? You're not allowed to break that promise to me."

Sadie doesn't move. She doesn't even murmur. She's completely out of it, which isn't helping my anxiety.

Haven quickly moves when Wes returns. "Mav, I know you want to hold her, but I need to get to her wound so I can try to stop the bleeding."

With a stuttered breath, I slowly lay her flat on the concrete floor and step back, letting Haven work on her.

Rip steps up, wrapping an arm around my shoulder for comfort. "It's gonna be okay, bruh. She's one gnarly babe."

Scrubbing at my face, I feel the warm liquid of Sadie's blood smearing across my cheeks. Goddammit! I need Haven to fix her.

Alpha steps up to me as I stand back, watching. "Whatever you need, brother. Whatever you need."

I glance at him and nod. I can't say anything. I'm too fucking consumed with worry and fear.

I can't fucking lose her.

Fuck, I shot her.

Haven glances up at me and furrows her brow. "I don't know why she's passed out. Probably the shock of everything she's been through. She needs to rest. But we have to get on the road. The bleeding has stopped. She'll be okay until we get back. Then she can see Livvy."

A lump catches in my throat and tears well in my eyes, but Haven weakly smiles. "Mav, we gotta go."

It takes a minute for her words to sink in, my focus completely on Sadie's unmoving body. All I can see is blood. So much blood. It knocks the breath from me as I feel my chest tightening—slap. My head snaps to the side when Haven's palm connects with my cheek. I blink rapidly, the hit waking me and yanking me back into the moment.

Nodding, I pull my shit together as Noah quickly moves in and helps me lift Sadie. We carry her out to one of the shipping trucks. Her brother, Wes, follows—the only surviving member of the Serpents. "I'm coming with you!" he demands.

Alpha snorts out a laugh. "You're one of them. No fucking way. We should shoot you where you stand."

Wes raises his good hand. "I was in contact with Sadie this entire time. I've been on her side since she left. Whenever Grave got close to finding her, I would get him off her trail. She's my sister. I love her. Please, I am begging you, let me come with you."

Alpha glances at Loki, and he nods. "She was receiving calls from this area. I can trace the call right now. It'll only take a second."

Alpha nods, and Loki types something into his computer. A moment later, a cell in Wes' jeans begins to ring. He glances into his pocket, pulling out his cell. "This is my burner. Only Sadie has this number."

Alpha groans. "Fine. Get in the fucking truck. But first, this club took everything from Sadie, so we'll take everything from them. Before you get on this truck, you go back inside and get us every single scrap of money from that safe."

Wes nods emphatically. "I also know the codes to the armory and tech hub. I can get you every-fucking-thing. I have no loyalty to these cunts. I've been sneaking around figuring out all this shit for months in case this day ever came. So take it. Take it all," Wes offers.

Alpha smiles wide, signaling to the other guys. "Wes, help my men, then once it's all loaded onto the trucks, we burn this shithole to the ground leaving no trace of us being here. We don't want another Serpent Chapter coming after us."

I shift my gaze to Sadie's brother, panic racing through me. "I need to get her back home. Now," I tell him.

Wes nods without hesitation. "Go. Get help. I'll stay back and get this place taken care of. As long as my sister is okay, that is all I care about."

I shift my gaze to Alpha, and he nods. "We won't be far behind you. Take Dutch, Noah, Rip, and Haven with you. The rest of us will be on our way as soon as this is taken care of."

I don't need to be told twice. All I care about now is making sure Sadie makes it through this.

She has to.

Because I can't fathom a world without her.

Especially if I am the one who dulled her bright spark.