***Doll***
“Fuck, no.” Deeds.
A woman’s voice filled with terror, I recognize as Roan’s, screams for her ol’man.
“Call a fucking ambulance.” Lochlan.
“He’s not responding, man. Come on little brother, you can’t do this. Don’t fucking leave us.” Deeds.
Sirens.
More voices of different people I don’t recognize.
All I see is the darkness of Ramrod’s leather cut. His scent that surrounds me, his arms that hold me tight before he guides me back in the house. Ramrod walks the both of us straight to the kitchen where Diamond and Lips are.
Lips puts a cup of coffee in front of me. “Get some heat inside of you, it’s going to be a very long day. You too, Ramrod. And you fucking know our VP will pull through. He has to.”
“I can’t do this,” I mutter and feel Ramrod tense up beside me.
Glancing around the room, I find the one face that isn’t looking at me with concern…Lips. “I need to do something, anything. I feel useless.”
“Hold your tits, Doll. My ol’man will barge in any second and will be pissed as a hellhound, ready to bark some flames.”
Footsteps stomp in our direction as Deeds’ words roar through the kitchen. “I want his blood on my hands and I want it now. If the fucker thinks he needs justice for his brother dying in the line of fire, blaming the ones who were close to him, Goffa’s only fucking true friends…then I’ll bring the fight to him. I will teach him my own version of justice for a brother he didn’t deserve. Goffa would turn over in his grave if he fucking knew that his brother is a rat.”
Lips raises her hand to belly level and points before she mouths ‘hellhound’ in my direction. All of this gives me strength knowing they got this, that they are there for any situation, no matter how hard or what happened.
Standing up, I catch Deeds’ gaze. “How can I help?”
It doesn’t take long before we’re on our way. One truck is in front, one behind us, while Deeds, Lochlan, Kray, North, and Chopper are on their bikes around us. I’m plastered against Ramrod’s back, on his bike that’s roaring underneath us.
I offered to sit in one of the trucks but Ramrod didn’t want to hear it. Something about his woman needing to be on the back of his bike. He made me wear one of the bulletproof vests that all of them are wearing.
It’s like one of those TV shows where a SWAT team fully gears up, ready for any type of action. I have to admit it is kinda hot to see Ramrod like this. He didn’t even suggest that I needed to stay behind with the other ol’ladies. Well, except for Broke’s ol’lady, Roan, she’s already at the hospital.
We’re all praying Broke pulls through. Deeds got the information that he’s in surgery right now. Broke was beaten pretty badly but also had two gunshot wounds, one in his gut and the other in his leg.
It was a miracle that he was able to drive. I think he was determined to reach, and see, his wife. The thought ‘before he died’ flashes through my head and I hug Ramrod tighter to shake that feeling. He lost consciousness but woke up in the ambulance on his way to the hospital. He managed to say some things to Roan right before he lost consciousness again.
Deeds told us that Roan said he got Lochlan’s text and that it saved his life, otherwise the first shot would have been in his heart. Broke managed to grip Arlo’s arm so when the gun fired, the bullet ended up in his leg. They fought and struggled where another shot went into Broke’s gut. Arlo got hit too but fled. That’s when Broke dragged himself into his truck and drove to the compound.
I hope Arlo is out there bleeding to death. It sounds harsh and I would never wish for another person to die, but when I saw Broke in that truck...the thought of my sister, what he’s capable off.
Even when we’re riding, cutting through the wind as the sun starts to rise this early in the morning, I feel safe on the back of Ramrod’s bike. I was foolish to think that they would choose the side of the bad guy over me. Trusting their friend blindly instead of a stranger. Yet these guys fight for what’s right, they fight for me, with me.
The truck in front of us slows down and Deeds signals for us to turn right. I gave them the address where my sister wanted us to meet.
They all park and Ramrod taps my hand, so I take the hint to step off the bike. I’m looking down at myself but get pulled into a hard chest. Ramrod presses his mouth against mine but I pull back. “Remember, Lips said no kissing or other oral things for two weeks or so.”
Ramrod groans. “I bet she made it up, some kind of wicked torture. Lips has that weird sense of humor.”
I slap his chest. “It has to heal and besides, my tongue is burning and swollen. Why did I tell her to pierce my tongue?” I sigh in frustration. “I really want to kiss you so bad right now.”
His chuckle only fires up my desire for him some more. “Well, we can survive the two weeks easy without using your mouth, but rest assured we will use it in full force as soon as that tongue of yours is healed.”
“We need to fast forward in time, get all of this over with,” I whisper and place a gentle kiss on his lips before I step back and walk over to where Deeds, Lochlan, and the other guys are standing.
“I need two guys to stay with the bikes and trucks. Prospects, that’s you. I’ll also need two to keep an eye out, cover our backs,” Deeds states.
Two guys step up and I recognize them as Kray and North. “That’s us,” the one with dark hair says.
“Chopper, Ramrod, Lochlan, guns pointing forward. The two prospects will keep an eye open facing the road while Kray and North keep an eye out here.” He points behind him where the ruins of the house are. “I’m gonna take point but I don’t see any fresh tracks.”
It’s frustrating not to know where Arlo is, it’s terrifying to feel like he can jump out from behind a tree any second.
Ramrod gets his gun ready, startling me. “Relax, sugar. We’ve got a lot of guys here. We’re all wearing vests. Gotta stay positive. We got this.” He brushes his knuckles along my cheek. “We’ll be done here before you know it. We’re just checking to see if there’s something around here that might push us into his direction or help bring him down otherwise. There’s already an APB out. Hell, maybe he’s out there dying from a gunshot wound Broke gave him. He’s laying low, because there’s nowhere to go. We’ll get him.”
“I hope so,” I mumble as Ramrod holds out his gun for me to take. My eyes go wide.
The smug smile on his face needs to be wiped off. “Take it. Point in Arlo’s direction when you see him and squeeze the trigger. Humor me, Doll, I’ll feel better if you’re holding one too. Just point it to the ground so you don’t hit one of us when you trip.”
He chuckles! The man is laughing when he talks about me accidentally shooting one of his buddies. But I know he’s right, so I reluctantly take the gun from him and wrap my fingers around it.
“Doll, Ramrod, can you two walk behind me so Doll can point out the spot her sister told her to meet?” Deeds questions.
“Oh, it’s just around that wall, walk straight back. There’s an old fireplace, you can’t miss it.” Dammit, I can’t help but squeak a little. I hate being afraid.
None of them around me notices, or no one says anything as they jump into action. I feel Ramrod’s hand on my lower back and see his other one is holding a gun, pointing forward.
“I’m okay,” I mutter while I glare at the hand that’s holding the gun. “I watch those cop shows and they’re always holding a gun with two hands. Only cowboys and in movies do they go all superhero waving it around and hit the target exactly where it should be without any effort. Just hold the damn thing with two hands.”
Ugh. Another chuckle.
“Will do, Doll, will do.” He gives me a quick peck on the cheek and dammit…he looks even more sexy now with two hands up in front of him.
There’s a slow whistle from behind us and Deeds stops to look back over his shoulder. He gives a tight nod and does some hand signals to Ramrod…I am missing so freaking much with these nonverbal things. Ramrod switches sides with me as we keep moving forward.
When we get behind the ruins and walk over to the old fireplace, only Deeds and Ramrod are with me. Lochlan and Chopper are standing back to back with their eyes scanning the trees around us.
Ramrod points at a stone where the words ‘Warmth Comes from Within’ are engraved. “Special meaning?” he asks on a whisper.
I move closer to him. “Why are we whispering?”
His eyes flick to Deeds before they hit mine again. “Company,” he says in a tight whisper before he adds, “Don’t look around.”
Shit. I was just about to go all fanatic and whip my head around to see for myself. Ugh, I’m not made for these situations. I make stuffed animals for crying out loud. I’m all fluffy business while my ol’man is in the ‘kill now, ask questions later’ business. Although I know he wouldn’t kill without a legit reason.
I take a deep breath and hold on to the thought that I have to trust these guys know what they’re doing. “Yes.” I answer the question he asked me before. “Special meaning. It’s a loose brick. We used to hide little notes in there over the summer when we spent time with our grandparents. Like wishes, seeing if they came true.” I sigh as I remember how silly some of that stuff was.
Also, because I miss my sister and the connection we used to have. Life drifted us apart but that’s on the both of us. It’s the little things you need to take time for and a text here and there doesn’t make up enough for a hug or some quality time over some food or coffee, meeting face to face to be able to do so.
Something whooshes past me and shatters in the stone of the old fireplace in front of me. I gasp but I don’t have time to react before I’m being pulled down and pressed against the side of the fireplace, making me drop the gun I was holding. I’m soooo not cut out for this stuff.
The soft rustle of leaves is the only thing I hear besides the loud beat of my heart in my ears and the hard breathing from panicking. Ramrod is frozen in front of me, his eyes are hard and take in every inch around us. All I see is the black of his bulletproof vest and I try not to think how dark it is, how dark this moment in time is. Another bullet hits the stone above me before Ramrod grunts and stumbles back.