Chapter 15
King
Elwood had called Church, and my brothers and I were standing in a circle around him, discussing what our next moves against the Muerte Viviente were going to be. We were all in agreement that we needed to act fast before they retaliated. Even though they were small and useless against the Rogue Rebels’ authority, chances were that they were going to try and seek vengeance. Especially since I had stolen their prized possession, Valentina, from them as well.
“Do we know where they like to hang?” one of the guys asked and I nodded my head.
“Hiputi, it’s a gambling bar downtown, in their hood,” I told them. As far as I knew; the Muerte Viviente hadn’t changed their congregation location in all these years.
“We could hit that?” Slade suggested, and Elwood was thinking.
“Are there more kids?” he asked, and Commando shrugged his shoulders at his father.
“There could be more. The ones we rescued were the ones on lease to the Black Skulls,” he said, and I shook my head.
“There aren’t anymore. The gang is running massive losses at the moment, and I sniffed around. There are no other fighting rings in operation right now. My guess is that they put all their kids to work with the Black Skulls,” I told them.
“So, the only reason for us to attack the Muerte Viviente would be to teach them a lesson?” one of my other brothers spoke up, and Elwood took in a deep breath.
“Yes, and also to make sure that they are so far defeated that they can’t do the same thing to any other children anymore,” he said.
“The best way to do that would be to take out Juan Castillo,” I suggested, and Elwood met my eye.
“He’s their leader now, but what is to stop them from appointing another leader after he’s taken out?” Girth asked from beside me, and I turned to him.
“Because without Juan, and if they’re reduced to rubble by us, it will take them a very long time to band together again. The gang is running low right now, technically, they don’t have the power or control they used to. Now is the best time to hit them where it hurts,” I told him, and when I turned back, I saw that Elwood was nodding his head, he agreed with me.
“King is right. Now is our opportunity and we should strike when we have the chance. Put an end to these scumbags,” he growled, and a cheer rang out in the bar. We had all been waiting for Elwood’s approval to take them out. Everyone who had gone to the warehouse and seen the way the kids were being treated, knew that this needed to come to an end once and for all.
Commando thumped my back like it was my own personal victory…and I knew that in a way, it would be. Once the Muerte Viviente were eliminated, it would mean that Valentina would be finally safe. It would mean that we could start living our lives together.
The front doors of the bar slapped open, and we looked up to see Moira charge into the place.
“Moira, my darling daughter…you’ve arrived just in time. We were going to start celebrating!” Elwood greeted her, and I could see that he was clearly in a good mood.
Unlike Moira, who looked like she had something on her mind. Instead of responding to her father, she weaved through the crowds of the gathered MC, and it appeared like she was heading directly in the direction of Commando and me.
Even before she had spoken, I knew this had to be important. Despite having her whole family connected with the MC, Moira made sure that she stayed as far away from this life and our environment as possible.
When our eyes met, I knew this was about Valentina.
“King, she’s not at my place. Please tell me you know where she is,” Moira came to a stop directly in front of me. There was silence in the bar, everyone’s attention turned to us, and I could hear myself breathing hard.
“What are you talking about? When we left church this morning, she said that she was going to go back to your apartment directly,” I hissed, and my fists were clenched on my sides. I knew I shouldn’t have let her walk home by herself. Moira’s eyes widened, and a sudden fear had entered them. She considered Valentina to be her responsibility, and she was already beginning to blame herself.
“I came home an hour ago. She wasn’t there, and I waited for her, she didn’t show up. You think something’s happened?” she was speaking too fast, but I caught every word of it.
“They’ve got to her,” I growled.
“Who?” Moira asked, her mouth dropping open in horror.
“The Muerte Viviente,” Girth said from over my shoulder and then I felt Commando’s hand on my shoulder.
“We’re with you, brother. Whatever you need to do,” I heard him say.
“We need to go to Hiputi and beat the shit out of some assholes till they tell me where they’ve taken her,” I said, and I looked up at Elwood. He was staring at me, turning the information over in his head. Then he tipped his head once in agreement.
“Commando and Girth, go with him,” Elwood said, and within seconds, the three of us were charging out of the bar and towards our bikes.
“Hey! King! We’re going to get her back,” Commando said, as we revved up our bikes. I couldn’t respond to him. I couldn’t do anything but zoom off. This had quickly turned from the happiest to the worst day of my life. I couldn’t lose Valentina again, not after I’d promised her that I would keep her safe.
I cursed myself under my breath as I rode. I shouldn’t ever have let her go back home on her own. I should have known that it wasn’t safe yet.