Chapter Twenty-Three
It had been over a decade since Zach left the army, but some shit stayed with a man for life. Like the ability to silently creep through the forest with the butt of a rifle secured against his shoulder. Granted, jungle training took a back seat to desert drills, but there were quite a few places in the world where it came in handy, so it was still practiced.
Over and over.
For years.
Until it became as second nature as scratching his balls.
As a young enlisted soldier, it sucked. Now? As he tiptoed through the dense backwoods of Tennessee with an M16, yeah, he was damn grateful for muscle memory and all those drill sergeants who rode his ass over the years.
“’Bout a hundred feet up. Twelve o’clock.” Rocket’s eager voice came through his com unit. The former Marine loved this shit. Sometimes it surprised Zach he didn’t join some swat team after he left the corps. Then he remembered Rocket’s hatred for authority, which was the reason he’d left the Marine Corps in the first place. It was a testament to Copper’s leadership that Rocket was willing to fall in line and obey orders.
The Handlers were spread out, making their way toward the Gray Dragon’s compound. Six of the men had done at least one tour in the military and the other four were just crazy motherfuckers who’d jump at any chance to get in on some action.
About two hours ago, the sun had set, throwing a thick blanket of darkness over the entire area. The only reason any of the men could see was thanks to Rocket and some crazy ass connections.
After hours of planning, Rocket had placed a call to someone and within forty-five minutes, com units and night vision goggles were waiting for them at a warehouse outside of town. Didn’t matter where they came from, which was good because Rocket would never out his source. All that mattered was when they needed the shit, it was there.
Weapons were even easier to obtain. The club had plenty of those stashed in an underground vault beneath the clubhouse.
“I got eyes on two rooftop guards. No one on the ground,” Rocket said.
“Copy. Same,” Zach replied as the old cabin came into view. The building pretty much fit Toni’s description to a tee. One story, boxy log cabin in a clearing. Nothing fancy. According to Toni, the place had four bedrooms. It was used by the higher ups in the gang. A place for them to party and engage in some of their more questionable recreational activities.
Shark’s great grandfather had died a few months after Toni started dating Shark. At the time, he’d been working to prove himself to the gang’s leadership and he offered the house up for use by the inner circle in exchange for a seat at the table.
The property wasn’t listed anywhere as owned by Shark or the gang, which explained why so few people knew its whereabouts. Low level gang bangers weren’t even allowed on the premises, per Toni. They had to be initiated into the inner circle or some shit before they were invited. Unless they were guarding the place.
For men in the gang, getting a golden ticket to Shark’s love nest meant offing someone of his choice. For women…well, it meant being fucked by the top three leaders in the gang. If a man wanted his woman to be invited to the compound he had to give her up to the leadership.
Made Zach’s stomach turn to think of Toni going through that. Not because he was ashamed of her or her past. Fuck no. But because the thought of her being used, of her childhood need for love and affection being exploited like that made him want to toss a match at the place and watch it fucking burn.
With everyone inside.
“All right,” Copper said through the com. He was not the type of president to sit on the sidelines. “Let’s move in. Like we planned. Wait until the guards move to the back of the roof. Zach, Rocket, Jig, Screw, and Dope, you five head in and get to the basement.”
Toni had sketched out as much of the interior layout as she could remember. Most of her time spent there she’d been wasted or high, so her memory was fuzzy, but she recalled the way to the basement.
A basement she’d seen Shark and his piece of shit cronies coming out of bloodied on more than one occasion. Looked like the house was used for more than just the Dragons’ fuckfests.
Probably where Mav was being held.
If he was there at all.
He had to be. There weren’t any other leads. So, if Maverick wasn’t there, they were all fucked.
The five chosen men inched their way out of the woods and toward the dark cabin. The other five stayed scattered at the edges of the woods, backup in case it all went to shit. Which there was a very high possibility of. They’d specifically chosen to go in the middle of the night because of the potential for fewer Dragons being present.
As he made his way toward the side door Toni had described, the back of Zach’s neck itched. Never one to ignore his gut, he checked his six before continuing. The heebie-jeeebies had to be coming from knowing Toni was nearby, waiting. Sure, she was guarded by a prospect, but Zach hadn’t wanted her anywhere near this shit.
She’d threatened to castrate them all if they shuttled her home. Zach hadn’t cared. He’d give up his dick and each of his brother’s dicks to keep her away from any more of this shit, but Copper had overruled and said she could wait in the truck parked a mile out of the woods.
As pissed as he’d been, Toni’s triumphant grin made him laugh.
He was fucked in the head where she was concerned.
Nodding to Rocket, who reached the door first, Zach checked his surroundings once again.
Something wasn’t right. It was no longer a little scratch at the back of his neck, now it was full-on dragon-lady nails raking over his skin.
Rocket gave a quick shake of his head and started to inch away from the door.
Fuck.
He felt it too.
Together, they silently circled the building. Neither rooftop guard was in sight when they came around to the front.
As he turned to check behind him once again, Zach’s sight bloomed-out. Everything in his entire field of vision turned bright green.
Which could only mean one thing.
Someone turned on some lights.
They were fucking outed.
In one simultaneous move, Zach ripped his head gear off with one hand and raised his rifle toward the roof with the other while backing away as quickly as his legs would carry him. About fifteen feet away, Rocket did the same.
He could hear the muttered curses of the rest of his brothers, all reversing toward the woods, weapons at the ready.
Giant flood lights illuminated the open space between the woods and the cabin, making it as bright as fucking day.
The two guards on the roof stood at the edge of the building with their guns trained down on the Handlers as they all convened in the center of the clearing.
Zach’s first instinct was to take out the guards. Two or three bullets would be all he needed. As he steadied his rifle, a slow clap accompanied by a mocking laugh filled the air.
“Fuck me! You found me!” Shark stood in the open doorway of the house’s entrance. “You assholes cost me three hundred bucks just now. Did you know that?”
What the fuck?
Out of the corner of his eye, Zach caught Rocket shift his gun from the guards to Shark.
“Uh uh.” Shark tsked and wagged his finger back and forth like a parent scolding their toddler. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. I got somebody here I think you’d all like to see, and my men have orders to shoot on sight should anything happen to me. So, let’s just keep the trigger-happy fingers nice and still, okay?”
No one responded, but then Shark couldn’t really expect anyone to. He just wanted to run his trap, show he was the big swinging dick in charge at the moment.
“As I was saying,” Shark went on. “Me and my men had a little bet going.” While he spoke, he pointed to the guards over his head. “I said there was no fucking way a bunch of dirty ass, shit-for-brains bikers would find my playhouse. I bet three hundred fucking dollars on it. Someone’s gonna pay me back.”
Enough listening to the asshole. “The fuck you want in exchange for our man?” Zach called out.
Shark’s gaze swung wildly as he tried to locate the speaker. He had the crazed, glassy-eyed look of someone hopped up on something. That would be to their advantage if it slowed his reflexes, but it could swing the other way if it made him impulsive and rash.
“Who the fuck’s interrupting me?” Shark’s voice grew shrill and it sounded like the banger was nearing an all-out hissy fit.
“I fucking interrupted you, asshole.” Zach stepped forward from the group. If he could divert some attention to himself, maybe his guys could figure out a way to end this.
“Zach.” Copper’s warning voice filled his ear.
Shark started to pace in front of the open door. “You want to know what I want in exchange for your friend. You mean this friend?” He reached in the door and yanked a very roughed up Maverick outside.
Zach’s finger flexed against the trigger, but he couldn’t pull it because Shark shoved Mav in front of him human-shield style and held a wicked looking knife to his throat.
God damnit.
“I’m thinking you wasted your time coming here, bikers. I’ve had a shitty week and Maverick here has been great. He let me work all my frustrations out on him.” Shark cackled like some kind of witch as he jerked Mav from side to side. “I’m not ready to give him up.”
Both Maverick’s eyes were bruised and swollen to twice their normal size. His head lolled to the side, blood dripping from both his nose and mouth. Shirtless, his torso looked like it had been used for a punching bag. For a moment, Zach wondered if he was drugged, but it looked like he was just in severe pain.
Shark was a big man, and he held Maverick up with ease. The knife at his throat dug into Mav’s flesh, leaving a shallow gash dotted with blood. It was impossible to assess the extent of his injuries, but they appeared severe.
“See his fucking arm?” Rocket whispered through the com link.
“Fuck me,” Copper said. “Shark’s a fucking dead man. No matter what happens in the next few minutes, Shark dies today.”
Zach couldn’t agree more. Maverick’s left forearm was one of the few parts of his body free of ink. He left a wide space of clear skin around his Hell’s Handlers brand. That skin now looked charred and infected. Whatever Shark had taken to it had completely destroyed the brand and the surrounding skin. If he had to guess, it was a fucking clothes iron.
Zach’s heart clenched in his chest. The brotherhood of the club was everything to Mav, who grew up bouncing from one miserable foster home to another his whole childhood. No matter how grave his other injuries, the destruction of that brand would be the most devastating.
Rule was, no brand, no club membership.
Somehow, an exception would have to be made.
“Enough bullshit,” Zach called out, taking three steps toward Shark. If he could piss the gang leader off enough to distract him and get him to loosen his hold or remove his focus from Mav for a moment, one of his brothers could take Shark out. “You don’t fucking need him and we aren’t leaving without him. Why not hand him over before we shoot you in the face and burn your palace to the ground, princess?”
Shark laughed again and Zach clenched his teeth. Hopefully, Shark would survive long enough for them to have a little payback fun with him.
“The interrupter. You know, I still didn’t get to finish what I was saying. Hey, Mav? You think I like being interrupted?” He shook Maverick like a rag doll, scraping the knife across his neck and making a second shallow cut.
“Fuck,” Jig said into the com. He was somewhere behind and to the left of Zach. “We need to move this along. He ain’t looking good. One wrong move and he slits our boy’s throat.”
“Just get on with whatever the hell it is you want to say so bad,” Zach yelled.
A creepy smile curved Shark’s mouth. “I couldn’t fathom how I lost the bet. How did a bunch of idiots find me out here, off the grid?” The smile grew. “Then I got my answer. And I feel better knowing that you are all, in fact, a bunch of stupid fucks.”
“What’s the answer then?” Zach asked.
“It’s coming.”
In the next second, Zach’s entire world came crashing to a halt as Toni walked out of the woods and into the clearing.
Actually, it was more like she was dragged out of the woods literally kicking and screaming.
With a gun to her head.