16
The breath rushed outof Jazz as she hit the ground. It took her a few moments to realize Wolf had tackled her and rolled to place her body underneath his. The deafeningrat-tat-tat-tatof automatic rifles made her heart skip a few beats.
“Stay down,” he ordered in a harsh growl.
Jazz didn’t move. Her ears rang from the gunfire, and she barely made out the muffled sound of shouts and screeching tires.
“Fuck!” Wolf barked before shouting to the other people around them. “Cam, report!”
“I’m good. Got the sister with me. She’s okay.”
“Denny?”
“Check.” The gravelly voice sounded like it floated up from a deep well. “What kind of shit show have the Knights gotten into?”
“Club war. Slaggers MC.”
Denny tsked as he got off the ground where he crouched. “You’re kidding me. The Slaggers aren’t a club. That one is an out-and-out gang.”
Wolf grunted. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
Jazz cleared her throat. “Um… this is fun, but I’d really like to breathe now.”
Wolf’s eyes came down to hers, and he lifted himself off her just enough to take his own weight. “Did you get hit?”
Jazz inhaled and took a quick mental inventory of herself. Her back and elbow hurt where she struck the ground, but nothing severe. Then again, she’d never been shot before, so how would she know? “I don’t feel any major pain, so I’m gonna say no.”
More voices pierced the air, mostly male.
“What the hell’s goin’ on out here?”
“I thought I heard a gun.”
“Someone get shot?”
Wolf stood up and extended his hand to Jazz. “Real smart. Bullets flying and everyone comes out to see.”
She accepted the offer and rose on wobbling legs. Thoughts raced through her brain at warp speed, and she felt her body start shaking.I hope Liz is okay. If she dies, would the children go into the foster system? Would they come live with me? Why did we get shot at? What would Madge and Bill do without me? Do bullets hurt?Her synapses misfired and overloaded. The muted roar in her ears took over, and shutdown was imminent.
Wolf cupped her chin and pulled it gently up to make her face him. She noticed his hand was warm against her cold skin. It helped her focus and brought her back to the present. “Stay with me, babe. Keep it together for a little while longer, yeah?”
She nodded against his grip, her eyes boring into his.
“That’s my girl.”
Officer Denny took over. “Nothing to see here folks, just some kids with Daddy’s guns firing into the air to make trouble. Go back to your business or go home.” To Wolf, he gave a pointed look and stated, “You realize I’m gonna hafta report this. Get statements and shit. You still want me to arrest the banshee?”
Wolf inhaled through his nose at the nuisance. “No, I’ll let her off the hook this time. Mind talking to the ladies tomorrow? I want to get them home.”
The uniformed man gave a sharp nod. “I can do that.”
Some men grumbled and went back into the club. Others started walking down the street to cars or the few blocks to residences. Officer Denny detained a few and took out his pen and paper to get a few statements while the incident was fresh.
Cam joined Wolf and Jazz, dragging a white-faced, subdued Liz with him. “We can’t let this go anymore. This was a direct challenge. We gotta answer back before something else goes down and someone really gets hurt.”
Wolf’s mouth turned down. “Scrap will call a church meeting ’bout this, probably tomorrow. I wanna know where that Leo fucker is right now.”
Cam kept his voice low, but Jazz still heard him. “Took off down the street like a fucking coward. Left everyone in the dust.”