Chapter 20

Sage

“Glock, no…” I pleaded with him, as he slowly started lifting my arms off his shoulders. I wanted him to come away with us, to get to safety.

“I can’t leave now, not when my brothers are in there. They need all the help that they can get,” he said, and I looked into his eyes. Glock’s green eyes were dark and deep, and his face was hardened and strong. He had just killed a man, and now he was willing to go back in there and maybe kill some more.

We had just run through gunfire, I knew exactly how dangerous it was in there.

“Oh, my God! Glock, you’re hurt!” I squealed when I saw the gash on his shoulder. A bullet had grazed past him, and there was blood oozing from the wound now.

“And you are too, and so are some of my friends in there,” Glock said, and he held my hands tightly to reassure me. I knew I had a split lip from the slaps I’d gotten from Brick and the other guys. That dull aching throb was still there at the back of my head.

“You need to get that looked at. It could get infected. You could lose too much blood!” I was gushing, trying to persuade him to come away with me and Glock pressed a forefinger to my lips and I clamped my mouth shut.

“I’ll be fine, Sage,” he said, and he tipped his face close to mine. I opened my mouth, which still had some dried blood caked around it but Glock didn’t care.

He pressed his lips to mine and I sunk into him. He had wrapped his arms around me and our hips fused as we kissed. It was a slow passionate kiss, a lot like the kisses we used to experience when we were teenagers before I’d left for San Francisco.

Glock’s hands bunched up the fabric of my t-shirt before his hands traveled down to my ass. He held me tightly, while I remained pressed to his chest, sinking further and further into that kiss. My heart was thudding against my ribcage, my body was warming. I felt safe in his arms, even though we were only a few feet away from the house, inside which there was still a war raging.

Just as abruptly as he had started kissing me, Glock pulled his lips away from mine. Our lips smacked, and I stared at him from under my heavy lids, breathing hard. I hadn’t wanted that kiss to end, I wished we could have kept kissing forever.

Glock lifted a hand and tenderly tucked a bunch of my stray hair behind my ears. His eyes shifted, and he looked at my pickup, inside which, Casey had already safely deposited herself.

“I have to go back in there, Sage, I’m sorry, I want to drive you back to safety, but my brothers need my help,” he said, and I had no other choice but to nod my head.

We were looking into each other’s eyes. I knew what this meant. This was a sort of goodbye. There was no guarantee that Glock was going to get out of there alive. The Bad Disciples were already outnumbered, and I knew that once they found out that Glock had killed their leader, all Hell was going to break loose.

“Glock, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done this, it was very stupid of me,” I said to him, still holding onto his hand because I was too afraid to let go of him. He clutched the side of my face and squeezed it firmly, before he ran a finger over my lip.

“Just go back to the warehouse, and stay there. Get Kylie or Noelle to have a look at your bruises, and Casey’s,” he said, and I nodded my head. I could feel tears rolling down my cheeks. It was now or never. It was time for me to admit the truth to him, that I had always been in love with him. That I couldn’t leave Long Beach now because I knew that I would never be able to find a man like him anywhere else.

“Get in the truck and drive, Sage, go!” he commanded me, and Glock stepped away. His voice was firm and harsh. The spell was broken. He was itching to go back into the house and fight alongside his brothers, and he wanted me to get out of there.

I held back my tears and rubbing my cheeks with the back of my hands, I opened the truck door and got in. It was like Glock was forever pushing me away, punishing me for that time ten years ago, when I had disappeared from his life without a word.

He had rescued me now, saved my life; and now he was about to walk back into the line of fire and fight. This could be the last time that I ever saw him.

A cry rose up in my throat as I pushed the key into the ignition and started the truck. Casey was sitting beside me, still shaking and whimpering from the shock of everything that had happened.

“Thank you, Sage, thank you for everything that you and the Bad Disciples have done for me…” she whimpered through her tears. I didn’t even have the words to respond to that, all I could do was watch the diminishing figure of Glock as I backed out down the dusty driveway.

Glock waited until the truck was back on the main road, and then I saw him turn and run towards the house, up the steps, and the sound of gunfire filled the air.

I was driving, and I was crying at the same time.

“Is he going to be okay?” I heard Casey ask, and I lost my patience with her for a moment.

“I don’t know,” I said honestly as tears streamed down my face.

***

Casey and I were both banging on the secure door of the warehouse. She was still crying, and I was looking over my shoulders in panic, still afraid that we had been followed somehow.

A small hatch opened at the side of the door, and I recognized Brooklyn’s eyes peeping through it.

“Oh, my God! They’re here!” she screamed, and then I heard hands pulling up the door collectively until it gave way and we were facing a group of women who were pulling us in.

Casey fell into their arms, quickly whisked away by some of the other girls so that her bruises could be looked at. I knew that it would be a long time before she could properly recover from the attacks and the torture, both physical and mental; which she had faced at the hands of the Dragon Knights.

Brooklyn had her arms around me, and she along with Kylie and Noelle were leading me into their office space, which was just another section of the warehouse.

“Sit down, here, Sage, sit here,” Kylie was moving pillows and cushions around on the single bed in the room, making space for me to sit.

“Hun, would you like something to drink? A coffee maybe?” one of the other girls had poked her head around the door of the office to ask.

“No, thanks,” I replied, in a soft muttering voice. Noelle was already crouched on the ground, in front of one of the cupboards, extracting bandages and creams to apply on the wounds on my face and arms.

“Get her a shot of whiskey, Sandy, thanks,” Brooklyn told the girl, who immediately went away.

“Is Casey going to be all right?” I asked them, as Noelle hovered over me now, busying herself with the first aid.

“She’ll take some time to recuperate, I’m sure. We haven’t had a chance to speak with her yet, the girls will help her settle in and get a good night’s sleep first,” Kylie explained, and I nodded my head.

“Now, hold still, Sage. This might sting, but I need to disinfect the gash,” Noelle said, as she dabbed a cue tip in the cream. I held still and did as I was told. I had a feeling that these women had already seen a number of these cases and knew exactly what to do.

Nobody talked, while Noelle worked away. She had bandaged the open wounds on my face and applied a soothing cream to the spots on my arms and neck where Brick and the other men had pinched my skin by holding me too tightly.

“Glock is hurt, and he’s still out there,” I murmured when Noelle finally stepped away. The three of them were staring at me with horror on their faces.

“What’s going on out there?” Kylie asked, and I gulped before I spoke.

“There was a shootout, with them and some members of the Dragon Knights. Glock had to kill the president to rescue Casey and me,” I blurted out, and I saw the shocked expressions on their faces. The women were exchanging horrified looks.

“He killed Brick? Are you sure?” Brooklyn asked, placing an affectionate hand on my shoulder.

“Yes, he did,” I replied and the women stared at each other again. I could sense that this was a very big deal.

“What do you think is going to happen?” I asked I could hear my voice cracking. I knew I was about to break into another burst of tears again. I couldn’t remember the last time I had cried this much. I didn’t think I had ever cried this much.

Kylie crouched down in front of me and placed her hands on my knees and squeezed.

“They’re going to make it out of there, that’s what’s going to happen,” she said, holding my gaze firmly. It was like she was telling herself the same thing, she had convinced herself of it because it was the only way for these women to keep living their days. I realized that they faced this every other day, knowing that their men were out there, fighting wars and walking into lines of fire. How did they live their lives like that?

“We trust them, Sage, that they will never get themselves killed without saying their goodbyes to their families and their women first,” Brooklyn said, and I could feel my throat going dry.

“But Glock said his goodbyes to me, he said that he had to go back in there and fight with his brothers,” the tears had welled up in my eyes, and the women tried to console me as I cried.

“No, he hasn’t, the others haven’t. They’re going to make it out of there, don’t worry, Sage,” Noelle said.

“Besides, Axel’s reinforcements would have reached them by now. There is strength in numbers,” Brooklyn added, and I tried to nod my head.

Sandy was back, she was carrying a tray with four shot glasses filled to the brim with whiskeys. She handed the glasses around, and we each took one.

“How is Casey doing?” I asked her, and she smiled encouragingly at me.

“She ate a sandwich, and now she’s trying to get some sleep. We’ll talk to her tomorrow, hun,” Sandy said and then she left.

The other women and I were sitting together, huddled on the bed now, with the shot glasses in our hands. Our men were out there, and we were waiting for any news. Glock wasn’t even my man, he was my friend! Wasn’t he? Friends who kissed and fucked, a friend who I was desperately in love with. Did I even belong to this group? Wasn’t I the one responsible for getting all these Bad Disciples men into the situation they were in right now?

“Drink up Sage, and then I’ll drive you back to your house okay? You need to spend the night in the comforts of your own home,” Brooklyn said. I lifted the shot glass to my lips, but I shook my head.

“No, I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying right here with you guys,” I replied.