Chaos Bound (10 page)

The door flew open and Holt burst into the room, chest heaving. “Jacks are coming. I heard their bikes coming down the mountain. We got seven, maybe ten minutes at most. Grab your stuff.” He raced out of the room and Naiya followed him down the hallway.

“How did they find us?”

“Viper probably had someone watching your friends.” Holt pushed open the door to their room and grabbed the duffle bag Ally had stuffed with clothes for both of them. “And your work, your gym, any hang outs … It’s what we … the Sinners, would have done.”

Dammit. She should have thought it through. Holt had warned her, and now she’d put Ally and Doug in danger.

Holt checked the gun holstered beneath his shirt, while Naiya balled up his cut. She’d stuffed it under her shirt when they escaped the Black Jack clubhouse and she wasn’t about to leave it behind now.

“You go with Ally and Doug.” He handed her the bag. “I got business with the Jacks.”

She stared at him aghast. “But you can’t fight. You’re still injured. You barely made it into the parking lot with Doug. It’s suicide.”

“I got a gun, darlin’, and today I’m gonna kill me some Jacks. I lived through those last three months for only one reason—revenge. And it starts right now.”

Ally banged on the door, and Holt yanked it open. “She’s ready to go. Get her out of here. Fast.”

“What about you?” Doug took Naiya’s duffle bag and stood to the side as she stepped into the hallway.

“Got shit to do,” Holt said to him. “Not something I want to share with a cop.”

Doug stepped into the room, pulling the door behind him, and their conversation dropped to a hushed murmur.

“We’ll take you somewhere safe.” Ally gave Naiya’s arm a squeeze. “Let’s go. Doug will meet us at the car.”

If it had been yesterday, or any day in the last thirteen years since her grandmother died, Naiya would have followed her friend. She had learned the hard way how to survive in the biker world, and those lessons included running from danger at the earliest possible moment and never looking back. Easy to do when it had only been her, but this time she had someone else to think about. Someone who was still suffering the effects of months of torment. Holt had saved her from the dungeon as much as she’d saved him. How could she abandon him now?

“He’s going to kill himself, Ally.” Naiya looked back over her shoulder. “He couldn’t take on even one Black Jack in his condition much less the number I’m guessing Viper sent after us.”

“You have to think about yourself.” Ally tugged her hand. “Holt’s a big boy. He knows the score. You have to respect his decision.”

“He was tortured.” Naiya gritted her teeth together. “And all he thought about was getting revenge. He says it was the only thing that kept him alive. He can’t see past it. He can’t see that he doesn’t have the strength to make his dream a reality. His mind needs to heal as much as his body. The same thing happened to me after Viper raped me. I was blinded by hopelessness and revenge. I couldn’t see beyond the moment I pulled the trigger. Father Doyle saved me from myself. Holt needs someone to save him.”

“And I can’t see why you’re going to risk your life for someone you barely know,” Ally snapped. “I like him. And I know you like him, but maybe you’re just rebounding after finding out about Maurice. Holt’s an outlaw biker. There are lots of hot guys out there who won’t drag you back into the biker life you’ve been running from all these years or get you killed.”

Naiya scrubbed her hand over her face, torn between the man who had helped her escape and held her in his arms so they could share their pain, and the fierce survival instinct that had kept her alive when she had no one to care for her.

Run. Run. Run.
But she couldn’t run and leave him to die. Not just because she felt a moral obligation to save him, but also because she felt a connection with him. When she’d curled up on the bed with his strong arms around her, she felt safe in a way she hadn’t been since her grandmother died. She liked how he hadn’t laughed at her quirks, and how he’d wanted to share her pain. Holt wasn’t like any of the bikers she knew, and that alone was reason enough to help him. But dammit, there was no time to plan.

“Do you have something in your medical kit that will knock him out fast?” The words came out before she could catch them, uncharacteristically impulsive, driven by desperation and a desire to help the man who had helped her.

Ally’s eyes widened, and she nodded. “I brought a sedative just in case he was difficult. It’s an intramuscular injection. But it might take a few minutes to work. How will you get him to stand still?”

“Just give it to me.”

The rumble of motorcycles grew louder, and Naiya’s heart drummed in her chest. She never did anything without a plan. But Holt was a stubborn man, and she wasn’t going to change his mind by banging heads with him. If there was ever a time for a rash decision, this was it. She needed to throw aside her calm, ordered, controlled life and live a little to save a life.

Ally fished around in her medical kit. She quickly prepared a syringe and Naiya palmed the needle just as Holt and Doug joined them outside the door.

“Come with us, Holt. Please.” She gave him what she hoped was a beseeching look, praying he would make the right decision instead of forcing her hand.

“I’m not going anywhere when there are Jacks about. I got a mission. You gotta survive. Now go.”

She slid the needle between her fingers until her thumb was on the plunger. Then she slid one hand around his neck and pulled him down toward her. “Do I get a kiss good-bye?”

Holt’s gaze fell to her mouth. “Naiya…”

She licked her lips and leaned closer, so close she could feel the heat of his breath. “Please.”

He leaned in, and she jammed the needle into his tattooed arm and pushed the plunger.

With a roar of anger, Holt shoved her away, ripping out the syringe. “What the fuck? What the fuck did you do?” He came at her, backing her up against the wall, and for the first time since she met him, she felt truly afraid.

“I’m sorry.” She held out her hands in a placating gesture. “It will just make you sleep. They’ll kill you, Holt. I can’t let you die so soon after you got out of that dungeon.”

His handsome face twisted into a curious mask of rage and despair, disbelief and betrayal. “Fuck, Naiya. This was all I wanted. A chance to get back at the Jacks.”

“You want Viper,” she said, struggling to keep her voice firm as the veins in his neck throbbed. “You know he won’t come out on a mission like this. He’s back at the clubhouse, and you won’t get your revenge if you die now.”

He reached for her, his hands just brushing the sides of her neck before he staggered back and into Doug’s chest.

“Christ.” His gaze never left hers as he struggled to stay upright. “You shouldn’t have…” His eyes closed, and Doug caught him as he fell.

“That was so wrong.” Doug heaved Holt over one shoulder. “So damn wrong. A man has the right to choose his own destiny. You can’t take that choice from him.”

“His destiny isn’t to die right now before he gets what he really wants,” Naiya bit out, surprising herself with the conviction in her tone. “Now let’s get him to the car.”

Naiya and Ally supported Holt’s other side and they carried him to the passageway that led to the back of the motel.

“He was a prisoner for three months.” She heaved in a breath as she tried to take more of Holt’s weight. “He’s not thinking straight. He has no chance against a bunch of Jacks alone, barely able to walk, and with only one gun and no ammo. I won’t stop him from going after them and having his revenge. But not now.”

“I wouldn’t want to be you when he wakes up.” Doug tossed the keys to Ally and she opened the passenger door of their sporty green SUV. “I’ll take you up to my brother’s cabin. It’s only a few hours away and very isolated. We can pick up some food along the way. No one will find you there. Ally and I will stick around until he wakes up. Run interference.”

“No. I want you guys as far away from me as possible,” Naiya said as they eased Holt into the vehicle. “If anything happened to you, I couldn’t bear it. I made this choice. I’ll pay the price.”

SEVEN

TANK

Tank wandered into Big Bill’s Custom Motorcycles and Artwork dazed and floundering, his senses numbed by alcohol and lack of sleep. In all his imaginings, he had always pictured himself picking up T-Rex’s bike because his friend had come home. He had saved it from the original Big Bill’s shop after Viper burned it down, and brought it to Evie after she’d rebuilt the business in a new location. He’d made sure it would be as good as new and ready for T-Rex to ride. And then Snake had ruined everything.

Dax had worked him over the way only Dax could, and Snake never changed his story. T-Rex had survived three months in Viper’s dungeon. Three months in pain. Three months in agony. Three months alone and believing until the end the Sinners would come for him, that Tank would have his back.

Tank pulled out his flask and finished the last of his whiskey. Hope no longer burned in his chest, but the whiskey soothed his pain.

“Hey, Tank. How can I help you?” Evie looked up from the counter and Tank forced a smile. It wasn’t Evie’s fault that Viper had become obsessed with her, or that Viper had gone to the shop that day because her former boss, Big Bill, had tried to rip Viper off. And it wasn’t Evie’s fault that T-Rex had saved her from Viper by offering himself in Evie’s place.

“I came for T-Rex’s bike.”

Evie’s smile faded and pain flickered across her face. “I’ll tell the guys in the garage to bring it round.”

Tank checked out the bike gear as he waited for her to return. Evie had kept everything from the name to what was left of Big Bill’s inventory when she rebuilt the shop. She sold everything from new and used bikes to gear and parts. Out back, the mechanics did fixes and tune-ups, and Evie did custom paintwork. He’d thought about getting some artwork for T-Rex as a welcome home present, but now he knew his buddy was never coming back.

“They’ll have it for you in a few minutes.” Evie came around the counter and held out a folder. “These are the designs I had worked up after we talked about artwork for the bike. I thought you might like to have them.”

His hand shook as he took the folder and he held it against his chest. If he looked at them now, he’d embarrass himself and dishonor T-Rex’s memory, just as he had done at the funeral three months ago. He sniffed, inhaling the scent of leather and the new bike smell that T-Rex loved. Tank had gone with T-Rex to pick out a bike the day after T-Rex had patched into the club, and T-Rex had cracked him up breathing in the new bike smell so deep he’d choked himself. That was the same day Tank had given T-Rex the knife his grandfather had given him, repaired, polished, and sharpened to celebrate T-Rex’s patch-in. He’d had a message engraved on the hilt. Something straight from the fucking heart.

“I heard about Snake,” she said softly, pulling him back into the moment. “I’m so sorry, Tank. I knew from the fact you hadn’t picked up the bike that you still hoped.”

Fuck
. He wished she’d stop being nice. Zane’s old lady was T-Rex’s type, slim and pretty with dark hair and green eyes. T-Rex had tried to hit on her when they were first assigned to protect her, not realizing she’d been the woman Zane had held a torch for all the years they’d known him.

He nodded his thanks, unable to speak for the lump in his throat, and headed outside where Shooter, the newest full-patch member of the Sinner’s Tribe, was loading T-Rex’s bike into the trailer under the guidance of Shaggy, the oldest member of the club.

Stocky, and broad-shouldered, with a short blond buzz cut, Shooter looked like he should be playing high school football instead of running with an outlaw MC, but he knew his way around a gun and was one of the best marksmen in the club, albeit a little out of control.

“Careful,” Tank shouted. “Don’t scratch the paint.”

“What are you going to do with it?” Shooter grunted as he pushed the bike up the ramp.

“Not up to me. It’s club property now that…” Tank choked on his words. He couldn’t say it. He couldn’t say that T-Rex was gone because he still didn’t believe it. T-Rex had been closer to him than a brother. They had a bond, and that bond was still there. He could feel it, taste it. If T-Rex were dead, he would be dead, too, like those old couples who died within days or hours of each other because they couldn’t bear to live without their partner. Not that he and T-Rex were together in that way, but they were as close as friends could be. Closer.

What the fuck was he doing? His head said it was over, but his own damn heart was still beating. He couldn’t give up. Until he laid his eyes on an actual body, he just wouldn’t accept that T-Rex was dead.

“You gotta let it go, man.” Shaggy clapped him on the shoulder, the ring on his finger digging through Tank’s shirt. “I lost a lot of brothers over the years and at some point, you gotta tell hope to take a hike and move on with your life.”

Gray and grizzled, with a bushy silver beard, Shaggy had been with the Sinners almost since the club’s inception, and yet he had never run for any of the executive positions, preferring to remain a member-at-large. As far as Tank knew, Shaggy had no kids or old lady, although he enjoyed the attention of the sweet butts, and would take two or three to his bed at a time. Jagger often bounced ideas off him and he was well respected in the club. But his biggest claim to fame was that he hadn’t cut his beard in twenty-two years. Tank didn’t know how long a beard would be after twenty-two years, but it sure as hell smelled like it had never been washed.

“Not giving up yet.” He shook off Shaggy’s hand and shouted at Shooter who had lost his battle with gravity and dropped the bike on its side. “Jesus Christ. I don’t know why Jagger gave you that patch if you can’t even push a bike up a ramp without dropping it. Take it back inside and ask the mechanics to touch it up. Then I want you to detail it like your fucking life depends on it. Make sure there isn’t a speck of dust on T-Rex’s bike. I want it to shine like the goddamn sun, so when I bring it to him he’s blinded by the fucking light.”