Page 56 of Baja
I fight back, adrenaline pushing me through the throbbing pain radiating at the back of my head. I take one of the motherfuckers down with an elbow to the face, then manage to knock another one down with a solid heavy boot to his knee.
I square off with the last man standing.
A gunshot cracks through the air, and I watch the two other men scramble to their feet and bolt into the darkness. I don’t need to look behind me to know who stands there.
“You assholes have no idea who you’re dealing with.” The lone man sneers. The motherfucker is stupid enough to pull a gun from beneath his shirt. Before his arm is fully raised, another gunshot rings out, and a bullet rips through his chest. His eyes widen with shock before he drops his weapon as his shirt turns crimson. The man falls to the ground, blood pooling beneath him.
Salem steps to my side, and we look down at the damn idiot who’s dead.
“Now what?” I ask, my head throbbing.
“I’ll get Harlem out here to give us a hand.” Salem pulls his phone out, but before he can make a call, the wail of sirens cuts through the silence. He sighs. “Jesus fuckin’ Christ. I don’t need this shit.”
“How the fuck did the law catch wind of this?” I let out a heavy breath.
“I’ll give you two fuckin’ guesses,” Salem says with a sharp tone, and my thoughts go straight to the two cowardly bastards who ran.
It’s not long before Sheriff Huxley pulls up in his patrol vehicle, with another car not far behind. He steps out, his boots crunching on the gravel. “I should have known the moment I heard dispatch give this location that nothing good would await me.” He glances at the dead man before turning his attentionto us again. “Another fucking body? Either one of you care to explain?”
“Self-defense,” I tell him, pointing to the gun close to the man’s body.
The sheriff sighs, shaking his head. “Well, the dead man can’t speak for himself, so start talking ’cause neither of you are leaving until I have answers.”
After giving him our account of events and security footage, Huxley eventually lets us go.
We roll up to the clubhouse as the sun rises, and I head inside straight to my room. Ozzy strolls toward me, letting out a soft meow as I head down the hallway to check on Alice. I find her sitting in bed, her back against the headboard.
“Hey.” She eyes me wearily, taking in my disheveled state. “What happened?” Her voice is filled with concern.
“Assholes jumped me.” I move across the room, stripping my clothes, the scent of sweat and dirt clinging to them. I go to the bathroom and start the shower, rubbing the back of my head, feeling the evidence of tonight’s cowardly attack. I step into the shower, the hot water soothing my aching muscles and washing away the grime. I don’t linger. Once clean, I get out, dry off, and approach my woman, who pulls back the covers. Exhaustion pulls at me as I collapse into the bed, laying my head in Alice’s lap.
She caresses my hair, and I find it soothing. “I’m here to listen.”
I shut my eyes, sinking into the room’s silence before I spill the truth. “I found out today that my mom and dad aren’t my biological parents.” I wait for Alice’s reaction, but she remains silent. So, I keep going, “Uncle Jax is my real father.”
“Lily’s your sister.” Alice pieces it together, her voice steady.
“Yeah, babe. Everything I thought I knew is a damn lie,” I spit out the words with venom.
“But that doesn’t change who you are, Nash.”
Her words don’t penetrate beyond the surface because I won’t allow them to. I should share more with her, but right now, I prefer to keep those feelings locked away.
Accepting my silence, Alice slides down in the bed, shifting closer to me, seeking comfort. I pull her back into my chest, wanting to offer her the warmth and safety she deserves.
The room is quiet, filled with the soft sound of our breathing. My eyelids grow heavy as time passes, and I surrender to slumber.
After a few hours of restless sleep, I finally muster the strength to drag myself out of bed when Mystic pounds on the door, letting me know Salem is calling for us. I glance over at the other side of the bed, which is empty, and see that Alice is nowhere in the room. I throw my clothes on, shove my feet into my boots, strap my weapon to my hip, shrug on my cut, and stroll out of the room.
Problems are exploding left and right, and I don’t fucking like it. Uncle Jax and Lily brought in a potential threat from another MC, then Sukie and Alice had their damn store wrecked. We’ve been drowning in questions for over two weeks with barely any answers, and it’s got everyone on edge.
Ever since the break-in at Belladonna’s, every member of our crew and our families have been holed up in the Fallen Ravens’ sanctuary like it’s the apocalypse. We’re packed in tight like sardines, but it’s the only way to keep everyone safe while we dig for the truth. Love it or leave it, we have to brace for potential retaliation from the Phantom Riders.
We need to figure out if the mess at Belladonna’s was a one-off or if it’s blowback due to any club business. We’ve got the incident from this morning hanging over us, too, and you can bet Salem PD will be breathing down our necks for a bit. I’mguessing Prez is calling church before heading out for the day to check and see if Laredo has turned up anything good yet.
Luckily, no one breathes a word of what they may or may not know about my personal affairs when I enter the room. Like it or not, life doesn’t stop with the upheaval the club finds itself in or the personal bullshit I’m dealing with. We have businesses to run and bills to fucking pay. Not to mention, the children’s hospital charity event date is closing in on us, and I’ll be damned if we let this situation affect the outcome.
Harlem is the last to walk into the room. He closes the door and sits at the table.
