Soothing His Madness (9 page)

Chapter Sixteen

Sunday night, three
days into the lockdown, the call went out to all Bantorus members that Los Li
were making their move. Taylor stood in the hallway in front of the door to the
spare room at Cactus Cove, where Tori had all the kids entertained and away
from any talk happening in the bar, and studied Slade. She wasn't planning on
anyone getting past her.

Of course, Los Li
members would have to get past the Bantorus members outside and then the men stationed
inside the building too, before even seeing her standing guard in front of the
door. Call her crazy, but she had a new family to protect and nothing in her
control was going to touch them anymore.

Slade slid an extra
clip for his pistol in his back pocket. She eyed the tension in his body, and
wished she could take it all away. Staying inside the club during the day and
in the cabin at night gave her no privacy to ease his strain of the last couple
of days.

"No matter
what, you stay inside." Slade hooked her neck, bringing her off the door
and to his body. "When this is over, we can go home. I need to know I'm
taking my whole family with me."

"You will."
She kissed him hard. "Don't do anything stupid."

"Me?" He
grinned, and she saw through his attempt at easing the stress of the situation
for what it was. His eyes remained dark and intense. "Baby…"

"It'll be
fine. You've taken care of your kids, your club, and your town many times
before in situations like this. Today is no different." She pushed him
away. "Besides, if they mess with you, you'll shoot them in the
knees."

His body hardened
and he frowned. She rolled her eyes. "I'm joking. Go. I want to sleep in
your creaky old bed tonight and have a break from this place before I'm
scheduled to come back and work."

He leaned toward
her, kissed her hard again, and walked away. Alone in the hallway, she leaned
against the door and let herself slide to the floor until she sat on her ass.
Lack of sleep, stress, and not eating right had taken its toll. She was weak
and on the verge of bawling her head off.

Her loyalty went
with Slade, the kids, her job, and even the club because everyone had become a
huge part of her life, but enough was enough. Was she supposed to ignore Slade
had an ex-wife that invaded their spare time, stand back when his kids needed
help, and obey Slade every time he snapped his fingers?

All she wanted to
do was have a normal life with the man she loved and so far, she still hadn't
seen anything resembling a normal relationship. She rubbed the back of her
neck. Only a few more hours and hopefully one threat to their happiness would
be over.

Bruce entered the
hallway and sat down beside her. He nudged her with his arm. She leaned against
him. They'd been friends and coworkers for over four years.

"Slade made
you come and protect me didn't he?" she said.

Bruce chuckled.
"How'd you know?"

"Because
that's the type of man he is." She straightened. "I've watched him
for years and then he knocked on my door one night. He never asked to come in
my house like a normal person. He just walked in as if he owned the place…and
owned me. I don't think I've told anyone that before. Weird, huh?"

Bruce sat with her,
not saying a word. She remained confused. At almost thirty years old, she
should know what kind of relationship she wanted. She'd dated all kinds of men,
from business owners to bus drivers to ones who lived off an unemployment check.
In her line of work, she was around bikers all the time, she understood them,
or so she'd thought.

"Do you think
a woman can be happy when so much of her life is out of her hands? I mean, it's
sick to enjoy the chaos and believe someone will always bail you out and
protect you, right?" she asked.

"You enjoy
lockdown and having Slade dogging your tail?" Bruce shook his head. "Women.
I don't understand a damn one of you. You want your independence, you want
coddled, you want it all and how are we supposed to figure it out?"

She frowned. "Honestly?
I don't know."

Bruce laughed,
filling the empty hallway with amusement. Warmth crawled up her neck. Even she
couldn't understand what she wanted out of a relationship. How was she supposed
to discuss her feeling with Slade?

He'd look at her as
if she was crazy, have sex with her, and call it good. He solved all her little
upsets with sex, which wasn't bad, in fact it was hot, but someday soon, she'd
have to figure out what their relationship meant past the next stressful
situation that came their way and shook them up.

"Are we going
to sit in the hallway for the rest of the night or do you want to go in the bar
and sit with the other women?" Bruce shifted onto his hip and stretched
his leg.

"I'm staying
here. Tori's got the kids settled in the room, and the older ones are watching
a DVD on television." She stood and held out her hand. "Stretch your
legs."

Bruce heaved himself
to his feet and a blast, followed by several gunshots, rocked the building.
Bruce pushed her back down to the floor. She grabbed his arm.
"Slade?"

He shook his head,
kneeling over her. "I'm covering you. Slade can take care of
himself."

"What about
the children?" She pushed at him to sit up.

Before she got the
answer she was looking for, babies cried and another blast drowned out all
sounds. She pushed against Bruce again, but he wasn't budging. "Let me up.
I can help Tori with the kids."

"That door is
not coming open. Tori's armed and Rain told her to shoot anything that comes
through that door, and she will. The kids are safe." Bruce gazed down the
hallway.

"Okay.
Okay." She squirmed, until she was on her stomach and pushed to her knees
beside him. "Then we'll—"

"Ginger!"
Rain's voice bellowed over all the crying and male voices yelling in the other
part of the building.

"Shit."
Bruce hauled Crystal to her feet and grabbed her arm. "Come on."

"But the
children?" She dragged her feet, tugging against his hold. "I need to
stay here."

"They'll be
fine." Bruce stopped at the end of the hallway, pulled Taylor into his
chest, and planted his hand on the back of her head, smothering her. "Jesus
Christ. Don't look."

"Dammit, get
some towels and the medicine kit from my office," Rain ordered.

Taylor opened her
eyes, but Bruce had her turned in the wrong direction to see what was happening
in the bar, and only caught Ronny skidding into the office and disappearing.
She turned her head, but Bruce's hand over her eyes prevented her from seeing
what was going on. Chairs scraped the floor, people yelled, and she strained to
hear Slade's voice. She couldn't distinguish what anyone was saying through the
commotion happening around her. The urgency and anger deafened and overwhelmed
her.

"Oh, fuck."
Bruce stiffened, and then grabbed Taylor's face and framing her cheeks, held
her in front of him. "Look me in the eyes, sweetheart, so I know you're
hearing me. I need to help them, and that means you're going to see what
happened. I need you to dig deep and hold it together."

Her stomach rolled.
"I-is it Slade?"

"No.
Torque." Bruce yelled out for the prospect, Tim. "I want you to stay
with Tim. Can you do that for me?"

"Yeah. Go, help
Torque." She pressed her hands against her stomach. "Shit. Just go
help him."

Nauseous and
worried, she hoped Torque was okay. He always went out of his way to help the
girls when they were working, including her. Slade considered Torque one of his
best friends, and they were both part of the first riders of Bantorus.

Tim stood beside
her, running his hand across the back of his neck. She touched his arm, but he
wasn't even aware of her standing beside him. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Tim
nodded, pulling his gaze from the activity around the table and looked at her.
"You okay?"

She squeezed his
arm. "I'll be fine."

Nothing prepared
her for the devastation in the room. A body—she assumed was Torque—lay sprawled
on two tables shoved together. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth.
Ginger kneeled on the table, working on Torque's upper body with a towel and a
pair of surgical scissors.

"Oh,
God." She covered her mouth, scanning the faces, the bodies, and the
commotion.

Blood ran from
Ronny's nose, going unchecked, while he handed a bottle of whiskey to Jedman who
poured it over his hand, which also ran red from blood. Taylor grabbed Tim's
vest. "Come on, we need to find Slade."

"Bruce ordered
me—"

"I know what
he said, and I'm not going anywhere. We'll stay inside, I just want closer to
the door in case Slade comes in." She tugged him with her.

Whatever happened
outside to cause so many injuries was probably still going on. Slade still
hadn't come inside and that meant he had less protection and less Bantorus
members watching his back. Even Rain worked on Torque inside—that left only three
members of the first riders to deal with Los Li if the others riding hadn't
received a call for help. Her stomach rolled and she swallowed the bitter taste
of bile.

Torque had no one
close to him, but the club, and never talked about family members in his life. She
shook her head, not willing to think about the what if's. Torque would recover.
She had to believe that.

"Do you know
what happened?" she said.

"No. I was
inside. Prospects weren't allowed around Los Li," Tim said, his voice
breaking. "Shit. Did you hear the noise and Torque, I don't…"

She rubbed his arm.
"It'll be okay."

The prospects were
between the age of twenty and twenty-two, babies really. Certainly not prepared
for bloodshed and fighting. Even at her age, reality was never easy to accept.

She stayed to the
wall, away from direct line of the glass door. She couldn't see out the opening
anyway, because of the protective shield coating on the glass, blinding the
inside to people passing by and giving privacy to those who frequented the bar.

"Dammit, I
can't even see the bullet." Ginger rocked back on her heels, looked to the
ceiling, and closed her eyes. "Someone make him stop bleeding so I can
work."

"Take your
time, honey. You're doing great." Rain applied pressure to Torque's
shoulder. "Someone give him more whiskey and let him pass out."

Taylor blinked back
her tears. Where was Slade?

A gunshot echoed through
the walls of the bar. Taylor screamed, grabbing for Tim. Her ears rang but in
the sudden silence in the room, a solid
thunk
came from the back of the
building, followed by a male grunt.

Rain hurdled
himself over Torque lying on the table, hitting the floor running. He pushed
men out of his way, and other members followed their president down the
hallway. Taylor forgot about Tim, forgot about her promise, and ran with the
crowd. Around the shoulders of all the men crowding the hallway, she spotted
Slade's head and his fist coming back.

A scuffle broke out
at once. Bantorus men dove into a pile, and Slade completely disappeared.
Taylor wanted to help, but she had no idea who was on the bottom of the pile
and Slade was nowhere to be found.

Another blast
deafened her ears. She jolted, covering her mouth. Her scream stole her breath,
because the gunshot came from within the mound of men on the floor.

Chapter Seventeen

Heavy weight left
Slade's back and hands lifted him off the Los Li man he'd tackled as he was breaking
into the back door of Cactus cove. He grasped the pistol in his hand and stared
down at a dead man.

Rain pushed his way
in front of Slade and backed him to the wall. "Back down. We've got you
covered."

"What?"
He looked at Rain, surprised to find his president inside the bar.

"Man, we
got
you covered." Rain gripped Slade's wrist and pried the weapon out of his
hand. "That's it…easy, man."

He glanced at Rain,
the dead man, the gun. His fingers curled, yet his hand still vibrated from the
shot.

Rain turned.
"Take him to Taylor."

Ronny escorted
Slade down the hall. He peered over his shoulder back at the man sprawled on
the ground. The Los Li member had tried to gain entrance to the bar through the
back door. Taylor was inside. His kids were inside. He had to keep them safe.

He whipped his gaze
around and found Taylor standing at the entrance of the hallway. He pushed his
way through, and caught her as she flew at him.

After a quick hug,
Taylor pulled back and put her hands everywhere on his body, under his shirt,
down his arms, around his back, even patting down his hips and then his face.
He grabbed her wrist. "You okay?"

"Yeah. You?"
She dove at his chest again and held on tight.

"Fine." He
cupped the back of her head, surprised to find his heart racing. "The
kids?"

"They're safe
and locked in the back room still." She looked up at him. Angst and worry lined
her eyes, which were usually lit up and laughing. "D-did you shoot
him?"

He looked down the
hall. He'd wrestled for the gun, wanting to grab the weapon before the other
guy could get off a shot. In the scramble of the takedown, the barrel of the
gun pointed in Slade's ribs and he'd thought of his kids, of Taylor, of letting
the madness win, and somehow found the strength to turn the man's hand, until
the bone cracked and the gun no longer pointed at him.

He turned Taylor
around, so her back was to the dead man. "Everyone is safe now."

He remembered
everything. After hell broke loose outside when Los Li opened fire on Bantorus,
the club tapped the danger down by returning fire. Los Li members drove away in
a long string of cars, heading away from Cactus Cove. He'd stayed outside to
secure the area. Somehow, the man he killed had stayed behind and got past
security in the back of Cactus Cove, and Slade caught him.

"Honey,
Torque's hurt." Taylor slid her fingers into Slade's hand.
"Bad."

That explained why
the back door was accessible and left unprotected. Slade had gone by himself to
cover the back door of the bar and the cabins. "Jesus…," he muttered.

Rain walked toward
him. Slade stepped out into his path. "Torque?"

"Gunshot to
the shoulder. Ginger got the bullet out as you were coming in the back. Missed
the bone and looks like the muscle wasn't damaged." Rain glanced at Taylor
and then back to Slade. "Give me ten minutes, and then first riders meet
in the room. Then you can take your family home. Areas been secured, and riders
have reported that Los Li are heading north on I-5. They'll follow until they
hit Seattle, so everyone here is okay. Lockdown is now lifted."

"Good." Slade
held Taylor tighter.

Rain put his hand
on Taylor's shoulder. "Can you look in on the kids and help Tori. Tell her
everything is locked and tight."

Taylor glanced at
Slade, who nodded, and she said, "Sure…Torque? He'll be all right?"

"Yeah,
sweetheart, he'll be fine." Rain left them alone and returned to the bar.

Slade ushered Taylor
down the hall, thankful the dead man he'd shot was gone. He made eye contact
with Ronny, Tim, and Jedman. At the door to the kids' room, he knocked and
shouted out his name. Taylor inhaled deeply and moistened her lips. He wanted
to take away her worry, but today's shit went down bad. Until he met with the
club, he had no idea what would come of today's results.

The door cracked
open and Tori peered out. "Rain?"

"He's
fine." Slade put his hand on Taylor's back. "She's going to help you
get the kids settled, while we hold a meeting. Then we'll come and pick up the
kids."

Tori slumped
against the door. "Okay."

He closed the door
once Taylor walked inside, and pushed the thought of his kids hearing the gun
outside their door. A piece of two-inch wood separated them from witnessing a
killing. If he had his wishes, Lee and Kurt would never know what their father
did today. But he couldn't hide reality from them. He couldn't take away the
danger. He couldn't kill the madness surrounding him.

By the time Slade walked
into the bar, Torque lay on the table, covered with a blanket and knocked out
cold. He clenched his empty hand, still feeling the shape of the pistol handle
as he squeezed off the shot that killed another human being.

"Heads up.
We've got company." Jedman motioned for Ginger and Ronny to get rid of the
bloody towels. "Clear the area. It's the cops."

Slade's chest
tightened. The implications of killing a man, having his kids on the other side
of the door where he murdered a Los Li member, would kill any chance of keeping
his boys. He moved over to the door on shaky legs and waited for a sign that he
was to let their visitors inside. When the sign came, he flipped the switch and
pulled the door open.

Officer Bob Corbin
and Deputy Stellor walked inside, looking around. "Evening,
gentlemen."

Both of the police
officers' gazes skimmed over Torque lying on the tables. Slade stepped up to
them. "Something we can do for you?"

Officer Corbin
raised his brows. "I'm investigating a disturbance of gunshots in the area
and a rash of cars speeding toward I-5, followed by a
group
of
motorcyclers. You wouldn't happen to know anything about what sounded like a
war zone on this side of town, would you?"

Slade rearranged
the stocking cap over his hair. "Nope. I haven't heard a thing."

Corbin's mouth
tightened and he turned, heading straight toward Torque. Jedman sidestepped,
blocking him from getting too close. "I wouldn't do that."

"Is something
wrong with Mr.…Torque?" Corbin put his hand on the butt of the pistol on
his holster.

"You mean
something other than drunk off his ass and pissed off over the price of new
wheels for his Dyno?" Jedman shrugged. "Not that I know."

Deputy Stellor eyed
Jedman's swollen nose, the cut above his brow, and said, "I've never known
the Bantorus to hold a beat down during club meetings?"

"Then you
haven't been around much. Last week, I dislocated Rain's shoulder after he
tried to give my turn to ride away to Ronny." Slade walked backward, put
his hand on the door, and swept his other arm through the air. "Let me
escort you two out now that you've done your civic duty and you can see that the
town of Pitnam is safe from the bikers."

The tension in the
room stunk. Members were primed to retaliate against Los Li, and not even the
police department would be able to stop them. The club came first, especially
when one of their own got took down.

Slade looked behind
his shoulder at Rain as he walked out the door following the officers. He
wanted to assure his prez that Corbin wouldn't be a problem going forward.

Corbin hung back,
letting Stellor walk alone to the patrol car. Slade hooked his hands under his
armpits and waited. When they were alone, Slade said, "I trust this won't
go any further?"

Corbin slammed on
his hat. "There's only so much I'll ignore before my job is in jeopardy. I
can delay the inevitable, but when the outside of the bar is sporting bullet
holes and there's a California plated car with its windows bashed in at the
edge of the parking lot, people are going to ask questions. What am I supposed
to say?"

"It'll be
cleaned up by morning." Slade lowered his voice. "The situation is
covered."

Corbin then turned
his way and pinned him to the spot. "Get Torque to the hospital before he
dies."

"Can't do
it." He shook his head. "All gunshots will be reported, and his
insurance company will investigate. We'll take care of him here."

Slade hoped he spoke
the truth. He didn't know enough about Torque's condition to feel comfortable
forecasting how Torque will recover. He only knew Ginger worked as a paramedic
before landing in Pitnam and working tables at the bar. She never shared her
background, but Bantorus members trusted her and she knew how to stitch up
wounds better than any nurse he'd seen.

Corbin sniffed and
cleared his throat. "You get this shit cleaned up and make it soon."

"We
will," Slade said.

The police officer
walked off, stopping a few feet away, and turned. "Sorry to hear about
your kids, Ramchett. Bum deal."

His muscles seized
and he schooled his features. "Yeah," he mumbled.

Corbin continued to
his rig, and pulled out of the parking lot. Slade remained outside, getting his
thoughts together. Too many people knew he'd lost his boys. If Corbin or
Stellor got a whiff that he'd taken his boys back, they'd question a court
ordered judgment. He headed back inside the bar.

With attention on
Los Li, the shooting aimed at Bantorus MC, his kids hiding out; he had the
devil breathing down his back. He had no idea if he'd slipped up and not
covered his tracks. He couldn't think or plan for a disaster. How many people
knew he'd swiped his kids out from under Jodie's nose?

The secretary at
the boys' school had his back. Taylor had his back. The club had his back. Yet
there were still too many guns pointing at him, ready to kill everything he
worked hard to keep, and he had to contain his troubles.