I got an uneasy feeling when we pulled up to the dock in Baton Rouge, one the largest ports in the area. At this time of day, you’d normally see people scurrying around as they prepared their next shipment, cranes high in the sky, shifting from one side to the other as they loaded their cargo onto the different ships, and barges creeping down the river as they made their way down south. But as I surveyed the area, I was surprised to see that it was completely deserted. There was no one in sight for miles, not even out on the water, and the fact that Ronin and his guys weren’t there to meet us wasn’t a good sign. From day one, they’d always been there to give us a hand and keep a lookout. It took a good deal of effort to unload all the crates from the two horse trailers, especially when they had to be removed from the secret compartment that was hidden beneath the horses’ feet. Once we’d gotten all the crates out of both trailers, they’d help us carry them over to the storage container on the barge. Even though Ronin knew Gus’s plan and that today’s shipment wouldn’t be like the others, I still expected him to be there when we arrived. Seeing that he wasn’t, I could only assume that Navarro had read Riggs’ dummy email and had used the information that was provided to know exactly when and where our run would be.

Knowing there was a strong possibility that we had visitors, Murphy and I instructed the others to stay put while we checked things out. I eased the truck door open, and as soon as my foot touched the gravel, I knew we had eyes on us. I could sense it, and when I glanced over at Murphy, it was clear from his expression that he felt it, too. It wasn’t like we hadn’t expected company. After talking to Berny, Navarro’s man who tried to kidnap Alex, we knew Navarro had managed to put a small tracking device on one of the club’s SUVs. While we had no idea how long it had been there, we knew he had used it to gather intel on Fury, including our connection to Ronin. It was a definite hit to the club, but we hoped we could use it to our advantage. Instead of immediately removing the tracker, we left it alone, hoping to provide Navarro with misleading information.

As we continued towards the door to Ronin’s warehouse, the hairs on the back of my neck stood tall, making me stop dead in my tracks. I slowly turned, and as I scanned the building to our left, I spotted something glimmering in the distance. I knew from experience that the light came from the sun reflecting off the lens of a gun scope.

“We’ve got company. Two o’clock,” I warned Murphy as we continued towards the door. “I have a feeling we’ll have more inside.”

“Um-hmm. Also have one at five o’clock and nine.”

“Damn.” Just as he was about to reach for the door handle, I said, “Hold up, Murph. We got no idea what’s waiting for us on the other side of that door.”

“Maybe not, but we sure as hell know what’s waiting for us out here.” With his weapon in hand, he pulled the door open and said, “They already know we’re here, so there’s no reason for us tiptoeing around.”

Realizing he was right, I positioned my AR on my shoulder and followed him through the door. Once we were inside, we found Ronin and two of his men sprawled out on the floor. They were all bound and gagged, leaving no doubt that we weren’t alone. When I crouched down to check on him, Ronin nodded his head forward, letting us know that our guests were still close.

Murphy reached for the mic on his headset and whispered to Blaze, “We just found Ronin.”

After a few seconds, he ordered, “Yeah. Look alive, brother. They’re closing in.”

He’d barely had a chance to hang up the phone when gunshots exploded around us, forcing us both to take cover. We hunkered down behind several metal cargo carriers and the warehouse instantly became eerily quiet. My heart raced, but not with fear. It was moments like these that made my adrenaline kick in, giving me a rush like none other. I lived for times like these, and as I watched as Murphy peeked around the corner, I found myself feeling eager for the battle to begin. I got my wish when he spotted one of the shooters approaching on our left. He pulled his trigger, and we both heard a loud thud when the guy hit the ground. Anticipating another round of shots, we remained in our positions for several more minutes. I had no idea what was going on outside, and just the thought of my brothers being in danger made it impossible for me to wait a moment longer. I stepped out from behind the shelter of the cargo carrier, and with my AR aimed straight ahead, I advanced forward, searching for our next victim. Worried for my safety, Murphy hissed, “Dammit, Shadow!”

“I’m done with this shit,” I growled.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as I charged ahead. With each step, I took in every shape, every smell, and every sound; it wasn’t long before something drew my attention to several large barrels that were gathered in the back corner. As I moved closer, I could see the outline of a dark figure cowering behind them. Like the others, he was dressed in all black with a balaclava hat covering his face. Without a moment’s hesitation, I pulled the trigger, killing him instantly.

I continued to comb the area, and once I thought the room was clear, I went over to one of the windows to check on the others. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see a damn thing through the dirt and grim, so I used the butt of my gun to bust the dingy glass, giving myself a better view of the parking lot. When I peeked through the open hole, I noticed two men standing on top of the building. I aimed and quickly took my shot, killing one of them instantly. I was just about to take out the second man, when I heard a gunshot behind me, followed by a burning sensation in my upper arm. “Fuck!”

Before the asshole could take another shot, Murphy came up and shot him from behind. When he noticed my arm, he asked, “You okay, brother?”

I looked down at my wound, and once I saw that it was just a graze, I answered, “Yeah, I’m good.”

When we turned our attention back to the window, we could see several men headed towards our trailers. I looked over to Murphy and said, “Make the call.”

Murphy used his headset to radio over to Blaze and ordered, “Now!”

We both watched anxiously as Blaze and the others stood up, revealing themselves from their hiding spots inside the two trailers. They quickly positioned their weapons in the small, side windows and began shooting round after round. Within seconds, they had killed everyone in sight, leaving the parking lot scattered with bodies. Once I felt certain that the others were safe, I went over to release Ronin and his men. After I took my pocket knife and cut the zip-ties that restrained their hands and feet, I helped Ronin up off the floor. He rubbed his wrists as he said, “Is everyone okay?”

“Not sure just yet. We need to go check on the others.”

They all followed me to the back door, and when we stepped outside, several of the brothers were gathered around Gunner. As we got closer, I noticed the blood splatter across his left shoulder. One of the prospects handed him a towel, and as he held it tightly against his shoulder, he shouted, “I can’t believe I got shot … again! It’s like I have a fucking target on my back!”

Blaze went over and took a look at his wound. “Oh, come on, brother. It’s not that bad. The bullet went straight through.”

“That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one who just got shot!”

T-Bone walked over next to Blaze, and as he looked down at Gunner’s wound, he said, “Blaze is right, man. It’s a clean shot. Mack will be able to fix you up as soon as we get back to the clubhouse.”

“Well, clean or not, the motherfucker hurts like a bitch,” he complained.

“Stop pouting, Gunner. Women are impressed by battle scars,” Blaze snickered.

“I don’t need help impressing the ladies, asshole.”

Blaze would’ve taunted him all afternoon if Ronin hadn’t come over and interrupted them. “We need to clean this mess up before the cops show up. With all the shooting, there’s no doubt somebody called them.”

“I’m on it,” Murphy assured him, then turned to us and started dishing out orders. As soon as he was done talking, we all started gathering Navarro’s men and loaded them into the back of one of the horse trailers, leaving no sign that we’d even been on the premises. Just as we were about to leave, Ronin turned to Murphy and asked, “So, what’s the plan from here?”

“Everything’s on hold. You’re gonna need to torch the warehouse and find a new location for future drop-offs.” Murphy’s tone turned stern as he said, “You’ve got to go invisible, brother. Gus isn’t gonna be happy about how things played out today.”

“That shit isn’t on me, Murphy,” Ronin growled. “It was your guy who let him put a tracker on one of your fucking SUVs!”

“And you’re the one who let him get past your security and almost got yourself killed. You knew there was a possibility that he would show up here today, and you weren’t prepared. That shit is on you.”

It was clear that Ronin wasn’t happy with Murphy’s response, but he knew what he said was true. Ronin had never once dropped the ball, but when it counted most, he’d let the club down. Thankfully, we were prepared and were able to take up the slack. Ronin ran his hand through his hair and sighed. “You’re right. I underestimated that motherfucker.”

“That you did. If you plan to continue working with us, you’re gonna have to step up your game. Use this time to set up a new location and improve your fucking security.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“I have no doubt that you will. Now, let’s get the fuck out of here before we end up with more trouble on our hands.”

With that, we all started loading up. Gunner crawled in the backseat of our SUV and laid down. After taking some pain medication, he just wasn’t himself, and he didn’t spend the six-hour drive home yammering about a bunch of nonsense. Instead, he closed his eyes and tried to ignore the throbbing in his shoulder. It was clear that he was in pain, so as soon as we pulled into the city limits, Murphy put a call in to Mack, letting him know that Gunner and I would need medical attention when we arrived. Realizing we were getting close, Gunner sat up and watched silently as we pulled up to the clubhouse. As soon as we were parked, Gunner and I went inside and headed straight for the med-room. Since it was so late, I was surprised when I spotted Alex walking in our direction. She smiled when she first saw us, but her expression quickly changed when she noticed the blood that stained our clothes.

“Oh, my God! What happened?” she screeched as she ran over to us.

“We ran into a little trouble, but we’re fine, Alex. Don’t worry.”

“Are these gunshot wounds?”

“Just a couple of battle scars, doll,” Gunner smirked. “Nothing we can’t handle.”

While I was amused by Gunner’s change of attitude, Alex was not. She was consumed with worry, and I could hear the anguish in her voice as she asked, “Did my father have something to do with this?”

“We’ll talk about that later. Right now, I need to get Gunner down to see Mack. He needs to look at his wound.”

“And yours?”

“Mine’s just a graze, baby. I’m fine,” I assured her.

“I still want him to check it out.”

“All right. I’ll have him take a look. Why don’t you go back to the room?”

With a look of determination, she demanded, “No. I’m going with you.”

Seeing that she wasn’t going to take no for an answer, I reached for her hand as I led her down the hall to the med-room. When we walked in, Alex stopped and her mouth dropped open as she looked around the small infirmary. There were cabinets on either side of the room that were filled with various medical supplies, and several gurneys were lined up in the center of the room. Knowing we were coming, Mack had already set up one of the stations and was waiting for us when we walked in. When he saw Gunner, he couldn’t help but tease him for being shot again. “I wasn’t expecting to see you back here so soon.”

“Trust me, I’m just as surprised as you are,” Gunner groaned. “I’m just hoping it’s not going to set me back like last time.”

Mack used medical shears to remove Gunner’s shirt, and Alex gasped when she got a look at his wound.

I placed the palm of my hand on her back as I whispered, “Don’t worry. It looks worse than it really is. He’s gonna be fine.”

After Mack checked him thoroughly, he announced, “Looks like Murphy was right. It was a clean shot. You got lucky, brother.”

“So, no surgery?”

“No. I don’t think that will be necessary. Just a good cleaning, a few stitches, and you’ll be set to go.”

Sounding relieved, Gunner replied, “I’m good with that.”

Mack looked over to me and asked, “What about you? Is the wound deep?”

I shook my head. “No, it’s just a graze.”

“Let me have a look.”

Alex watched as he used the shears to cut a slit in my sleeve and grimaced when she saw the burned line of bleeding flesh on my upper arm. While it could’ve been worse, it was a gruesome looking wound. She bit her bottom lip as she tried to keep it together. Mack finally said, “Might need a couple of stitches.”

“It’s fine, Doc. Just give me the stuff to clean it up and a couple of bandages. You take care of Gunner.”

Mack nodded, then turned to get all the supplies I’d need. Once he’d set them down beside me, I reached for the antiseptic, but Alex took it out of my hand. “I’ll do it.”

While Mack started working on Gunner, she reached for a cotton swab and carefully dabbed the solution on my wound. It burned like hell, but I didn’t show any sign of discomfort, hoping that it would ease her anxiety. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. As she continued to work on my wound, I noticed tears building in the corner of her eyes, and it pained me to see that she was upset. “It’s okay, Alex. I’m fine.”

“That’s not the point. I know you deal with this sort of thing all the time, but this time, it’s my fault that you are here.”

“How the hell is any of this your fault?”

“I should’ve stopped him. I should’ve just gone home and convinced him …”

Before she could finish her thought, I reached for her hand, pulling her close to me as I whispered, “No, Alex. None of this is on you. There’s nothing you could do or say that would’ve changed any of this. Deep down, you have to know that.”

“But, I could’ve tried.” She looked up at me with determination as she said, “I couldn’t take it if something happened to you. I have to try to end this thing, Shadow.”

“And how do you plan to do that?”