Sierra

 

The guards at the mansion parted ways along the steps going into the house to let Gunner enter with their boss at his side. They’d even surrendered their weapons, and without having to be told, members of The Immortal Devils approached to take the guns away. They took the guards down and lined them up along the edge of the driveway.

 

“What did he say?” Duncan asked as I walked down.

 

“He said he needs a few guys to go inside and quickly secure the house. He said everyone else needs to hang back. Someone needs to handle the guards,” I told him.

 

Duncan’s almost black eyes sparkled. “I can handle these assholes,” he said, pulling a gun from behind his back. He nodded to a few other guys standing together, and they ran inside, already working the house without even being explicitly told to.

 

I was impressed to see how these men handled their work. Tonight, I had seen a side of Gunner and his MC that I didn’t think really existed. He seemed like such a businessman that I had ignored the fact that he was the same Gunner who lead The Immortal Devils. He had founded the MC along with Duncan and three other men, and the word on the street was that they had earned their name.

 

It was overwhelming to assume a role in all of it, though. It was one thing to witness it, or to know what went on. It was another thing entirely to actually be part of it. I stepped back and crossed my arms. I didn’t have to issue any of Gunner’s orders. The men were already handling everything that needed to be done. The members left out front were securing the perimeter and making sure there weren’t any security guards hiding or coming up the drive from beyond the wall surrounding her property.

 

They even went as far as to close the gate to keep anyone else out. The MC truly was a fine-tuned machine. The discipline and focus of the men set them apart from other biker gangs. They weren’t just a bunch of street thugs. They were organized. They had a goal in mind, and they worked together to make it happen. It was almost like they had trained for what they were doing.

 

I laughed as I imagined them running siege drills at the clubhouse or headquarters. They’d probably used Gunner’s mansion since it was so similar, which I still found rather odd.

 

I looked behind me at the house. I wondered how the men inside were doing. I hadn’t heard any gunshots or anything from in the house, so I assumed they either hadn’t found anyone or had subdued them with minimal violence. It wouldn’t have surprised me. They operated with almost military precision when it was time to really get down to business.

 

Even back on the highway, they had quickly taken down the men coming at them, and I knew what kind of training went on here at Coyote’s mansion. I had seen the men in uniform come in to get her men in fighting shape. To take them down the way the bikers had was incredibly impressive. They made Coyote’s men look like amateurs.

 

Then, I heard gunshots out front. I turned around and saw that Duncan was executing the guards. He had commanded them to get down on their knees and put their hands behind their heads. In what looked like a wartime scene, he was shooting them in the back of the head one at a time. The bodies were slumping forward as he shot them.

 

I couldn’t look, but I couldn’t turn away either. My gaze was fixed by the terror I felt. They presented no threat to the MC or to the current operation. It was unbelievable that he would feel the need to kill them. It was incredible that he had thought to execute them the way he was. It both appalled and amazed me to watch him handle the situation.

 

That was when I realized what the look in Duncan’s eyes had meant. All of Gunner’s men were power hungry and enjoyed taking control, just as he did. They also seemed to greatly enjoy murdering people the way they had been doing all night. They were bloodthirsty. They were monsters.

 

More horrifying than the fact that they were so in touch with such bestial, primal desires was the fact that I was watching over them as Duncan took it upon himself to execute relatively innocent men just because of their boss. They hadn’t done anything. In fact, considering the circumstances, they had been rather welcoming.

 

Given my position, I felt like I could have done something to stop him, to prevent at least a couple of the unnecessary deaths, but I couldn’t find my voice when the time came. I moved my mouth and nothing came out. I was powerless.

 

I was also learning the ropes, I realized. I was getting an education as to what The Immortal Devils were all about. It was essentially a crash course, but at least I wasn’t a new member being made to dole out the punishment. I just had to witness it.

 

When the last body fell over, Duncan turned to smile at me.

 

“I handled security,” he said proudly, almost jokingly.

 

“I see,” I said flatly, letting him know I wasn’t amused. I didn’t find any of this funny, but I also wasn’t going to protest. This wasn’t my MC, and their culture of punishment and abuse had already been in place long before I came along.

 

“Don’t pretend you didn’t know what this was all about,” Duncan teased me. “You had to know something about us. I’m sure Coyote warned you before she sent you to infiltrate Gunner’s home.” His tone was teasing, but there was something vaguely threatening behind his words as well. I didn’t like it. He was too unpredictable. They all were.

 

He put his gun away and started walking up the steps to me. He stopped next to me and turned around to look out over the grounds with me.

 

“Just tell me this,” he said. “Are you planning anything else after this? Or are you done?”

 

“I’m definitely not done,” I said, smirking at his reaction.

 

“You better not be messing around,” he warned, reaching behind his back for his gun again. “You’ve already seen that I won’t think twice to put a bullet through your brain.”

 

“That’s not what I mean, Duncan.” I laughed. He was going to be a fun one to play with.

 

“Okay. Then what the hell do you mean?”

 

“I mean I’m not done with Gunner. We’re not finished, man. We’re just going to work to redefine our relationship after this. I’m not trying to screw him over again, or anything like that.” It felt good to explain myself to him. It gave me the opportunity to get some of my thoughts out of my head.

 

“We’ll see about that. Just know that if you fuck up, we’ll all be there to take you out,” he warned. His tone was hard and serious. He wasn’t playing around.

 

“Hey, Duncan, chill out, man. I don’t know you, and I’m not really in the mood to play around, especially after watching you shoot those guys who posed no threat to you. I understand that intimidation is a big deal for The Immortal Devils. I know your reputation. At the same time, you should know that my boss pointed two guns at me over the course of the night tonight.”

 

He stared at me while I talked, speechless.

 

“She also knocked the shit out of me with the diamond Gunner is trying to get from her right now.” I pulled my hair back to show him where she hit me with it. It still hurt like hell, but it was starting to subside from all of the adrenaline that was drowning out the pain.

 

“Hey, we’ve all been there. I’m just saying, don’t fuck over our boss.” He shrugged and walked off.

 

It was a good thing I didn’t have a gun on me right then. I would have pulled it out and shot his ass while he walked away from me for the way he had talked to me. I was pretty sure Gunner wouldn’t have appreciated it either, but I wasn’t going to be the kind of woman who went and told on his friends like that. If it continued, I would just have to handle it myself, I figured.

 

I started to wonder how things were going inside again. I wondered if Coyote had actually taken Gunner to where the diamond was and got it out of the safe for him. I wondered what would happen once he took the diamond from her.

 

I watched as the men out front kept watch over the house. Even though it was pretty obvious that no one was coming up to the house and that there was no further threat to the operation except for maybe Coyote, they guarded their posts with dedication.

 

“Don’t worry about Duncan,” a voice said from behind me.

 

I turned around and saw Luther, the behemoth they called The Boulder.

 

“He’s probably just jealous because it’s pretty obvious how Gunner feels about you, and it’s pretty obvious he told you to watch over everyone,” he continued.

 

“You think?” I asked.

 

“Look, he probably feels threatened. He’s kind of our unofficial second in command, so you’re doing his job right now.” As big and intimidating as he was, Luther was turning out to be the nicest one I had met so far.

 

“Well, I think the reason Gunner put me here was so I could see how you guys do things. I don’t think he really meant for me to actually take charge of anything,” I confessed.

 

“That may be true, but I don’t think Duncan sees it that way. You know, you have screwed Gunner over once already with this diamond, so don’t hold it against him if he’s suspicious, alright? Just do what you need to do to earn his respect. And don’t go out of your way to do it or he’ll know you did.” He walked off after saying his piece and joined Duncan at the bottom of the steps leading down to the driveway. I could hear him saying something to make Duncan laugh.

 

I turned around and looked at the house. I really wanted to know what was going on inside. Luther hadn’t been the only one to go in with Gunner, but he sure as hell was the only one who had come out.

 

“Hey, Luther,” I called down to him, running down the steps to seem a little less controlling.

 

“Yeah,” he said, turning around and putting a calming hand on Duncan’s shoulder.

 

“What’s going on in there? You’re the only person who has come out.”

 

“Nothing, really. The other guys went and secured the back of the house. Gunner and Coyote went to her office, and a few minutes later they went out back. I’m not sure what he’s doing, but I’m pretty certain she isn’t coming back with him,” he told me.

 

“Okay. Thanks. I was getting really concerned,” I said absently as I turned around and looked back at the house.

 

“If there’s anything you need from inside, go ahead and get it. We’ll probably be leaving as soon as Gunner gets back,” he added.

 

“Yeah, I don’t think there’s anything I need,” I told him. “Thanks, though.” I walked aimlessly back up the steps towards the front door. I considered going inside and checking everything out for myself, but with one of the guys thinking I was trying to move in like that already, I didn’t want to risk really turning everyone off to me just yet.

 

I didn’t want a position of power in the MC. I just wanted to be at Gunner’s side when it was all said and done. But what the hell was he doing taking her out back like that?

 

The only answer I could come up with meant she definitely wasn’t coming back.