Chapter Four
I stared at Ryan for a long moment, my arms wrapped around Chloe who was sobbing uncontrollably. She clung to me, shaking her head back and forth as she whimpered, the tears pouring down her cheeks.
“What do you mean they were after me? How could you possibly know that?”
He slammed on the breaks and stared at me. “We did recon. How do you think I knew to come get you?” he snapped.
I just glared at him as the truck came to a stop in the parking lot of the bar the gang owned. It acted as a meeting place and hangout for the people who lived in our community. Apparently, there was a meeting going on. I was pissed at Ryan, despite the fact that he’d probably just saved me, but that didn’t mean he suddenly got to treat me like a child.
He led us into the bar, throwing the door open. I followed him inside, my arms still wrapped around Chloe. She was shaking and crying as she held onto me, stumbling through the doors. Chloe hadn’t really had to deal with anything like this since her kidnapping and that was years ago. I didn’t really blame her for being shaken up.
Damien was sitting on the edge of one the pool tables while the gang started to mill around, mumbling under their breaths about whatever was going on. I felt a bit out of the loop and I didn’t like it. Damien hopped off the table and walked over to me and Chloe. He wrapped his arms around Chloe first, holding her for a moment.
She shook in his arms, holding him tight. She refused to let him go and didn’t release him until he gently put her hands to her side and led her to the pool table, sitting her on the edge and kissing her nose. One she was settled on the edge of the pool table, he walked over to me and pulled me close, holding me tight and kissing my forehead.
“Sis, is everything okay?”
I wrapped my arms around him and nodded slowly, looking up at him when we parted from our embrace. “I don’t know what happened. We were at the shooting range and everything was fine,” I whispered, my voice cracking just a little.
“I know. May was listening to the CB and she caught some chatter on the line. It was Uroboros talking about you.”
Uroboros was one of our rival gangs and one of the biggest in the area. They were the bad guys. They were the drug dealers and the criminals. We got involved with them when we caught them selling drugs in our area. We didn’t let that shit happen so we went after them. I was a part of that mission and I was the one who took out their leader.
That’s how you took a gang down after all. Killing the leader was like cutting off their head. Without him they couldn’t function – at least that’s what happened most of the time. Since I’d taken out their leader, it only made sense that they were after me. I frowned a little and nodded, sighing.
“That makes sense, I guess,” I murmured.
“They have a new leader and they’re organizing. It’s clear they aren’t interested in taking you hostage. They want you dead.”
I frowned deeply and crossed my arms over my chest. “Well they’re going to have to try harder than that,” I murmured.
Damien frowned and gripped my shoulders. “Don’t take this lightly, Kisha. These guys mean business.”
“So do I,” I said simply. “I’m not going to freak out because some bikers came up with a half-baked plan to kill me. It’s clear they’re unorganized,” I pointed out.
“They’re getting more and more organized by the day. You know how important you are to this gang. You know how important you are to me,” he said firmly. “I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you. Do you understand me?” he asked firmly.
I sighed and brushed his hands to the side. “Yeah, yeah. I know.”
“You aren’t taking this seriously,” he admonished.
“I am! Jesus! What do you want me to say?” I snapped, pulling away from him. “Do you want me to break down in tears and sob? What do you want?”
“I want to know that you understand how much danger you’re in!” he growled back, slamming his hand on the pool table.
Chloe jumped and I could tell all the yelling was upsetting her. I turned Damien and took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down a little. Things were getting heated and I knew I needed to bring us back to reality.
“Alright. Okay. I get it, Damien,” I said softly, reaching up and touching his arm. “I’m taking the threat seriously. I promise I am. I’m running on adrenaline, alright? I just got shot at.”
That seemed to calm him and he nodded, running a hand through his hair. “Okay.”
I stood up straight and smirked a little. “We aren’t going to let these bastards get away with it though, right?”
He looked over at me and frowned. “No. We aren’t. We’re going after them.”
“I’ll load up my stuff then,” I said.
“No. You aren’t coming with us this time.”
I looked up at him, my eyes wide. “What?” I asked, hardly believing what I was hearing.
“You can’t be a part of this. It’s too dangerous.”
“What are you talking about?! I always go on raids with you guys!” I said, starting to panic. The idea that my brother might take the gang head long into a battle with dangerous men without me, made my heart stutter. I couldn’t let them risk their lives while I was back at home.
“You aren’t going this time. You’re going away from here. It’s too risky for you to be here. They know where you are and they’re going to come for you.”
“And you think I’d be safer somewhere else?! You can’t send me away! Who is going to watch my back?” I knew how to take care of myself, but I had to remind him that I would be left alone so that he could change his mind about me staying behind.
Damien looked at me seriously. “Ryan.”