Page 39 of Brick's Redemption

Five seconds after Brick entered the building, the clubhouse exploded.

Chapter 11 Brick

They were all dead.

Every fucking member of the club. Judge. Titan. Every man I’d come to know and consider a brother since I prospected for the Desert Titans nearly twenty years earlier.

I rushed inside the clubhouse, not pausing to consider that I would be facing my worst nightmare. That awful, gut-churning feeling that Ginny and I had since we left the safe house was grounded in reality.

The Crimson Skulls had come for us, and somehow, they got the jump on Judge and everyone else. I couldn’t pause to consider it right now as I dropped to my knees, staring into Judge’s lifeless eyes. He’d been dragged toward the door and left to die as a warning.

The Crimson Skulls MC were back, and they intended to take over Vegas, our territory, and wipe the Desert Titans from existence. Tonight, they nearly succeeded.

My gaze swept over the bodies, taking in the carnage. Bodies of the fallen were strewn across the bar, riddled with bullet holes. Blood splatter covered the walls.

This was a massacre.

I could tell there hadn’t been any warning. No way to fight back. My club brothers had been playing pool, throwing darts, and drinking at the bar. They’d been taken unaware. That pissed me off because we knew the Crimson Skulls were out there after the threat against Ginny. How did Judge not prepare the clubhouse for war?

It took less than five seconds to make this assessment.

And that’s when I smelled gasoline and a fuck ton of it. The stench of rotting eggs burned my nostrils. I had the presenceof mind to jump up and bolt toward the door as something exploded behind me.

My body catapulted forward and slammed into the wall closest to the door. Every bit of air in my lungs was forced out of my lungs as I grunted. My head throbbed, and I could feel the trickle of warm blood as it dripped into my eye.

Fuck!

My ears were ringing. The high-pitched noise made it impossible to hear anything outside the building. I didn’t know if Mike’s truck took any damage when the explosion occurred. Were Mike and Ginny okay?

Disoriented, I tried to push myself to my feet. I had to get outside to Ginny. Unable to support my weight, I collapsed, groaning as I rolled onto my side. Thick smoke began to clog the air around me. Confused, I felt the air growing warmer.

My vision blurred and refocused as the ringing in my ears began to fade. I thought I heard Ginny screaming my name.

“Ginny.”

It was the only word I managed to say before I fucking passed out. But before I did, I saw flames traveling closer.

And I hoped help arrived before I was roasted alive.

“THERE HE IS,” AN UNFAMILIARmale voice announced. “Got him back.”

Back? From where?

“Brick!”

Ginny’s tear-filled voice cut through the fog in my head.

“Ginny?” I mumbled, slowly opening my eyes. I was flat on my back outside the clubhouse with a paramedic on my left and Ginny kneeling beside me on the right.

“Oh, thank God.” Tears slipped down her flushed cheeks as she clutched my hand to her chest.

“You okay?” She had a scratch on her cheek. Now that I was checking her over, I could see more scrapes on her skin. “Fuck, baby.”

“I’m okay. Just a few scratches from broken glass.”

“Mike’s truck?”

“Yes. When the clubhouse exploded, the force of the blast shattered the windows.”

---