Page 28 of Blood Revealed

“Right. Where are we going?” Caitlin asks.

“Wearen’t going anywhere. You’re keeping your butt here, where it’s safe.”

“Girl, surely, you don’t think you’re going at this alone?” Frankie asks, leaving little room for argument.

“You all have kids. I appreciate that you want to help, but that can’t happen. Just help me get off the compound and we’ll be good.”

“Fuck that.” We all turn to look at Brighton of all people. She rarely curses the small curses, let alone dropping the F-bomb, and she goes from work to home. Doesn’t leave the compound. Doesn’t participate in Lords activities. She’s a conscientious objector to the whole biker life, by her own account.

“Excuse me?” I ask.

“You heard me. Fuck that. I’m tired of being scared. Crass is a good man. He takes care of me and I’m lucky to have him. I love the big lug, but I’m tired of being scared. And Elise brought me into the fold right away—without question. You can’t do this alone and we won’t let you. So let’s figure this shit out. We need a plan.”

“Someone’s embraced her inner biker bitch.” Frankie chuckles, giving her best friend a hug.Shit.This is exactly what I don’t want, these women getting involved. They could get hurt or worse, but at the same time, Brighton’s not wrong. I stand a better chance of getting Elise back with help.

“Okay,” I say, taking in a deep breath. “Let’s plan.”

6.

Raif

Following a lead…

“Get down, get down, get down,” Boss yells and I drop at the same time I watch him drop and yell, “Fuck.” He’s hit. God damn. He’s been hit.

I replace the clip in my Glock and look up over the edge of the ditch I’ve taken cover in. Sludge soaking my jeans, it smells like rotting plants down here. I’m getting low on ammo and take aim more carefully, trying to make every shot count.

Bullets zip through the air. It’s a fucking bloodbath out there, but we have the Riot outnumbered and when the last one falls, the last one not retreating like a coward, I climb out of the ditch to check the casualties.

This is too much for Hatchet and his son to take care of alone. We have to call the paramedics. It’s going to be a nightmare explaining what happened here. But my Lords brothers all have registered weapons and we were fired on first. It was self-defense.

Boss is the first wounded man I get to. His thigh is torn up. “I’m good,” he says. “Get to Chaos and Crass.”

Not Chaos. When I get to my best friend, he’s got a gaping hole in his hip region. His eyes are closed, but he’s breathing. I tear my T-shirt and use it to put pressure on the wound. Drac, Hammer’s VP, is gone.

Crass is down. It looks like Drac fell protecting Crass when he got hit. Someone called the paramedics because I see their red lights flashing, getting closer. There’re sirens blaring. Police are on the scene along with them.

I wave the medics over to Chaos and Crass, who are in bad shape. They take over, shoving me out of the way. Another medic heads to Boss. Duke is up directing traffic, too. Scotch doesn’t appear hurt, but he’s standing over someone and with the pain on the man’s face, I know it’s going to be bad.

It’s fucking bad. “Fuck no!” I scream and drop to my knees at his side. Not Carver. God fucking damn. Not Carver. This can’t be happening. He’s been my friend since we prospected.

Duke runs over to Scotch and me. He grips my shoulder, but I shake it off and bend down to bury my face in my friend’s cut as I scream again. Scotch continues to stand, staring down at our friend, and he looks almost catatonic by his lack of movement. Shock.

Another medic lays a blanket over Carver’s lifeless body. And these Illinois cops, the way they come at us, show they don’t have a soul. I get they have a job to do, but we lost our brother and might lose others. How would I tell Liv if Chaos doesn’t pull through? Carver didn’t have an old lady. We were his only family.

Duke identifies himself. They want to speak to Hammer, but he’s distraught over losing Drac. I can’t blame him. This doesn’t happen to us, and yet it just happened.

Someone is going to pay for this and it won’t be the Lords. The Riot don’t know the can of vengeance they’ve opened. I give my name and my statement to the Sheriff asking me questions.

We were here, searching out a suitable location to hold the Lords’ annual rally, when we were attacked by the Riot. They caught us off-guard, but we were able to fight them off. It appeared they weren’t prepared to face our numbers, having two chapters, Missouri and Kentucky, on site and they ran away when we turned the tables on them. That’s the story we’re all supposed to stick to.

They get my information and how to contact me if necessary. Since they don’t get trouble from the Lords but have had lots of run-ins with the Riot, they appear to believe the story. Time will tell. But they aren’t arresting us.

I have to get to the hospital to check on my brothers. It’s located about thirty minutes from where we were at. How in the hell could Chaos and Crass survive a thirty-minute drive? I guess it’s better in an ambulance.

Those of us uninjured head in a group to the hospital. It’s a sad scene. We’re directed to surgery when we enter the emergency. I have to call my sister. I don’t want to. But she deserves to know.

I pull my phone from my pocket and as I search for her contact, a hand comes down over the screen. I look up and Duke’s shaking his head. “Know she’s yer sister, Blood, but wait ’til we know more. Best not upset her ’til we know she needs to be upset, yeah?”

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