Chapter 17

Ven

W hile in the air I’ve slowly come to the conclusion that I might have to kill some people in cold blood in order to get the women in my life back. I check my guns to make sure everything is in order, feeling surprisingly okay with the probability that I might end up killing a man before the day is out.

Rage points down below. “Isn’t that Amy’s vehicle? It looks like someone ran her off the road.”

My brother is not wrong about that. I let loose a long string of curses under my breath. This is bad. No wonder she hasn’t been answering her phone. Those assholes got to her. There can be no other explanation for her abandoned vehicle.

“Go to the farm,” I tell the pilot, and he does a tight circle and heads east.

After five minutes the Grayson ranch comes into view and something else catches my attention, “Rage, look,” I shout. “It’s my mother’s SUV.”

“Yeah, it looks like it,” Rage answers. “I see Rufus’ pickup truck that he came to the clubhouse in, but I don’t recognize the other truck though.”

Dan’s hand comes out to rest on my shoulder from behind. “I recognize it. It belongs to Boyd and Brock Sanderson. They’re Rufus’ neighbors.”

Glancing back at Dan, I say, “Fairly stupid ones, I imagine.”

He nods. “Yeah, those two will do anything for a few bucks. I’m guessing as my brothers all came to the clubhouse, he hired those two to keep an eye on Carol.”

Great, I think to myself. Two men with zero moral compass have possession of my mom and the woman I swore to protect. What an abject failure I am when it comes to keeping the women in my life safe.

Rage turns to the pilot. “Change of plans, Jose. Can you land the chopper half a mile away, maybe behind the woods?”

“You got it, my friend.”

The helicopter manages to land behind the trees and the three of us jump out and start humping it towards the farmhouse where we know the women are being held.

Dan doesn’t say much but he keeps up and points out the most direct route. It’s as if he’s trapped in his own little world, trying to figure out how to reorganize his life around not being part of the Grayson clan anymore, now that he’s betrayed them trying to save Carol.

I ask him, “Have you ever considered joining an MC, Dan?”

His head jerks up and his expression turns bewildered. “Me? No, not for a second. I don’t even ride a motorcycle.”

“You could learn. I have an old soft tail that you can have. Consider it my thanks for helping us rescue Carol.”

“I might enjoy riding, especially since I’m gonna have an endless amount of time on my hands moving forward.”

Rage shoots me a strange look, so I drop the conversation for now. Maybe, I’m putting the cart before the horse. We need to get the women clear of this situation and then burn that fucking farmhouse to the ground and give Rufus and his band of merry idiots a dirt nap. They’re all out of control and think they answer to no one. I don’t think the old man is ever going to give up his happy families obsession and that puts both Carol and Amy in ongoing danger. Since I can’t have those assholes popping up all the time to harass my woman and her mother, I’m gonna have to do something drastic. I just know it.

When we approach the farmhouse, we see Big Joe and another man sitting on the porch with shotguns. Dan states quietly, “It makes the most sense for me to try to sneak in and check on the women. I’m betting not everyone got the memo that my father disowned me. That will make it easier for me to slip in.”

“Fuck that,” I tell him in no uncertain terms. “I’m going in there and nothing is going to get in my way.”

“Me too,” Rage chimes in. “What the quickest way to get into the house?”

Dan glances at his watch. “I say we wait until it gets dark and go in through the skylight in the master bedroom, that’s where Carol sleeps. My father sleeps downstairs because he doesn’t like the steps, but he keeps the master bedroom just like it was when his first wife died all those years ago. It’s a lot creepier than it sounds.”

“I’ll bet,” I tell him, trying to envision what that would look like. “And no one else goes in there?”

Dan nods. “No one is allowed in that room apart from Carol. Edmund’s room is on the first floor next to my father’s. Me, Big Joe, and Hal stayed in the barn.”

“Why the fuck didn’t you protest about your accommodation, can’t have been good seeing your brother getting the special treatment,” I say.

Dan shrugs, “Ed was the brains, I guess we all just thought it was fair. But in hindsight, fuck that piece of shit.”

“Sounds like there’s no love lost between you and your brothers,” Rage mutters.

“Ya think? Seeing as they set me up and were willing to let me get caught in that fucking explosion. No, there’s no love lost at all,” he says sounding all kinds of pissed off.

Still, I know he’s probably feeling conflicted about everything, I don’t want anyone getting killed today unless they’re asking for it, so I say, “I’m gonna text Siege and let him know our plan so he doesn’t come charging into the farm, unloading both barrels on these assholes.”

“For fucking sure,” Rage agrees. “Let him know we’ll be needing back up and transport out of here, Jose had to take the helo back to the hangar.”

I pull out my cell phone and quickly send an encrypted message to Siege. Then we wait and wait and wait some more.

***

We stay crouched down and out of sight for what seems like forever but was only a couple of hours. Once it gets dark, we wait for the lights to go out. Once the last light is switched off, that’s our cue that they’ve all gone to bed.

Dan leads the way, and we follow. He climbs up an apple tree and onto the roof of the house from there. We drop silently onto the flat roof without anyone below noticing. As well as Big Joe at the front, there’s Hal and a bunch of other men at the back.

Dan leads us right to the skylight and I elbow Rage out of the way wanting to be the first inside. I was hoping that when we looked in the window, we’d see the women, but the room was in darkness. Obviously, the old man had decided to hold them elsewhere. We open the skylight, remove the screen and I slip down into the room. When I hit the floor, I wait for a moment to see if I attracted any attention, when there’s no sound of approaching footsteps I gesture for Rage and Dan to join me.

We gaze around the room in quiet awe. It’s like something from the seventies with a groovy bedspread, lava lamps on each bedside table and thick shag carpet. There is a large tube TV with a manual dial. I walk up and look it over because I’ve never seen anything like this before. Realizing this is not the time to be checking out antique electronics, I say, “We really need to get moving before the women start panicking and thinking we’ve forgotten them.”

Dan gives me a nod, “Follow me and whatever else you do, stay quiet.”

He does not need to tell us that because our situational awareness is outfuckingstanding. I don’t hold it against him though. He’s inexperienced and not familiar with all the things our club has been through.

Dan is stealthier than I would have imagined him to be, he slips past several doors until he reaches one at the end of the corridor. He puts his ear to the door then nods.

I grab his shoulder and pull him back. “Is this the room they’re keeping them in?”

He nods. “I can hear them whispering. Something about tying sheets together and escaping through the window.”

I frown. “Looks like we got here just in time, if they did that then I have no doubt Big Joe or Hal would put a stop to it. I’ll break the door down if the two of you cover me.”

“Not a chance,” Dan states firmly. “The last thing we need is to wake up every fucking person in the house.”

I open my mouth to object but he’s already pulling out a credit card and going to work trying to breach the door lock. Danny-Boy’s got some hidden talents, I think to myself. Though just when I think it’s not going to work, the door pops open.

I go in first with my gun drawn, followed by Dan, then Rage brings up the rear, staying near the door and peering out. He’s taken up the position of lookout and will alert us if anyone is coming.

I see the women sitting on the bed. All three of them freeze and stare at us with big eyes when we come in.

Before I can say anything, Amy jumps off the bed and flies into my arms. I catch her in the biggest bear hug imaginable. I just hold her while my mom gets to her feet and approaches. I hold out one arm and when she comes closer, I hug her with my free arm.

Rage comes quietly to our side. “Nobody came out of their rooms. So, I’m sure no one heard us enter the house, but we gotta get out quickly. Maybe save the reunions for another time?”

My maman steps away and gives Rage a quick hug, “Thank you for coming to rescue us, Rage. You’ve always been such a good friend to Serp.”

Rage actually blushes like a schoolboy under her overt praise. It takes him a second to get his composure back, and then he states sternly, “Not joking about us needing to get the hell outta here. We do not have the advantage numbers wise or weapons wise.”

“He’s right,” Carol states as she gets to her feet unsteadily. She walks over to Dan and gives his shoulder a squeeze. “Thanks for helping my daughter’s friends find me, Dan. You’re a good boy.”

Dan flushes red in an instant, even more so than Rage. “I’m a man, not a boy.”

My mom pats his chest affectionately. “Yeah, I get that. You’re about the same age as my daughter, maybe a little younger. I just think of you as another youngster.”

He rolls his eyes, “Can you not?”

She gives him an indulgent smile. “Whatever you say, baby brother,” she murmurs indulgently.

We decide there are too many men still outside to risk leaving the conventional way. We take a vote on all leaving though the skylight, which will take some maneuvering.

Amy points out, “My mom is not strong enough to hoist herself up.”

“I agree, that means one of us will have to carry her,” I tell them.

Dan automatically steps forward. “I’ll do it. I’m used to taking care of her.”

Carol shoots him a grateful smile. “Thanks again, Dan. You’re a godsend.”

We head back to the room with the skylight and take turns getting the women up through the window and off the roof ASAP. We send Carol and Dan through first, then Rage and my mother. When it’s time for me to help Amy out, all hell breaks loose. The door to the master bedroom flies open and Rufus, Big Joe, and Hal come storming into the room.

Rufus screams, “Grab them. Don’t let them get away.”

I don’t have to yell for Rage and Dan to keep going without us. Rage will make sure that at least two women manage to make a clean getaway. I wrap my arm around Amy, pull her close, and take a running leap towards the skylight, grabbing it with one hand, I’ve almost heaved us up and through it, when someone grabs my leg and gives it a good jerk. It’s Big Joe, looking for a little payback for the beatdown I gave him.

I keep a hold of the frame and use my free foot to kick him in the face. By the grace of God, we manage to clear the skylight and land on the roof. Grabbing Amy’s hand I lead her to the tree and help her get her footing.

When we reach the ground, I hear my mom and Rage calling from the distance. I think we’re free of our pursuers, when suddenly armed men surround us about a hundred yards from the house. I shove Amy behind a thick oak tree and try and block her with my body. Fucking hell, we were so close to making a clean getaway. With no other option, I draw my weapons and tell Amy, “No matter what happens, stay behind me.”

Unfortunately, none of these men are bothered that I’m fully armed because they all have weapons too. I’m out manned and out gunned but I’m gonna do everything I can to protect the woman I love. I’m wearing body armor, but I’m not a fucking fool. I know it doesn’t make me invincible, but as long as these fuckers aim at my chest and not my head, I’ve got a chance.

I start shooting, starting with the ones who have their weapons raised and working my way down to the ones who are still dicking around. I think I’m doing okay on my own until I realize that Rage and my mom are taking pot shots at them from behind a rusty oil drum about fifteen feet away. The problem is, there are just too many of them and too few of us.

When we’re about to be overwhelmed, Siege, Rigs, and the rest of my club brothers come charging into the mix. I’ve never been so relieved to see my brothers as I am tonight. It takes only a few minutes for the shooting to stop. When the dust settles, I see several dead bodies and several more that are in distress. Rage gets to work on the ones that are still living, and I realize that no matter who is injured, the medic in him kicks into action. My mom has gone to check on Carol and Dan who are both standing looking shell-shocked.

Meanwhile, Amy clings to me for dear life. I don’t blame her. My tough little woman has never been exposed to the kind of violence taking place tonight. I hold her close and let her bury her face in my chest.