Page 43 of Protected By the Bikers Next Door
“What happens next?” Bear says more forcefully, holding the walkie close.
I don’t hear his reply over the sound of gunfire as all hell breaks loose outside. I race toward the commotion, my gun drawn. Down in the parking lot, there’s a full-on gunfight between our guys and a rival club, Satan’s Sons. Viktor must have bought them out—no wonder they’ve been amping up hostilities over the last few weeks if they’re on his payroll. They’ve been trying to get us away from Harper so Viktor could strike.
Shit. Harper is a sitting duck down there.
I fly down the emergency exit stairwell, taking two steps at a time, racing to get to her. Oblivious to the others following behind me, to the madness and all-out war descending around us. I need to get to Harper. This is a trap, just not the way Ithought. Halfway down, I lean over the railing, checking to see if Harper’s okay, that the car is still protected. I look out just in time to see the car driving away. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see that no one is following her, they’re all too distracted to notice she’s getting away.
Surely Harper will drive somewhere safe and call us. She’s safe. Our baby is safe.
Those are my last thoughts before the bomb goes off.
Chapter 24
Harper
Ican’t believe I left them behind.
Every fiber of my being wants to turn the car around and go back to help them.
When the distant sound of an explosion rips through the air, I pull the car to an abrupt stop, almost causing a pile-up. Behind us, I can see the smoke from Katie’s apartment. A strangled scream bubbles up from my soul as I realize what’s happened.
“They’re inside. Oh my god, they’re inside!” I wail. I grab the walkie, fumbling in my haste to connect. “Bear, Bear, can you hear me? Please, god, Bear, tell me you’re all okay, tell me you weren’t inside when it went off!”
Static silence answers me, and my heart shatters into a million fragmented pieces.
“We’re okay, Wolf, Hawk, and I are okay. We got out before the bomb went off. Where are you? Are you okay?”
I’m so relieved that tears spring from my eyes, and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “I’m okay, yes, I’m okay.”
“Where are you? Are you on your way to the safehouse we told you about?” I can hear the hope in his voice.
In the background, I can hear the sounds of gunfire and shouting, and my stomach knots in fear, they’re not outof danger yet. The agreed-upon plan was that, should anything go wrong, I was meant to drive to safety and wait for them. Of course, they think that’s what I’m doing. I should let them continue to believe it. To keep them safe.
“Tell him yes,” Paul hisses.
I can’t bring myself to lie. “I’ll see you soon. I love you.”
I turn off the walkie and lean my head against the steering wheel, trying to think about what I’m doing. This is madness. I can’t face Viktor alone. But if I don’t, Katie will die. I don’t know this woman. I owe her nothing. But I can’t let an innocent person die because of me.
“Harper, please, we have to go,” Paul urges.
When Bear told us about the message Vik left behind in Katie’s apartment, Paul knew immediately what it meant, what he had to do. If I’m not at the warehouse on pier 47 before sunrise, Katie dies. If anyone other than Paul turns up with me, she dies too. If I told Bear now, nothing would stop them from protecting me, even if it meant letting Katie die. They might be willing to make that decision, but I’m not. If I can get there first, I can get Katie out of harm’s way.
As a precaution, I fire off a voice note to Pam, telling her everything. By the time the guys realize I’m not sticking to the plan, and she hears the voicemail to warn them, it will be too late to stop me.
I know that Viktor won’t kill me straight away. He’s waited too long for this. He’s going to want to take his time, which gives me an advantage. I can save Katie and put an end to this once and for all. Tonight, I plan to kill Viktor Volkov.
I put my foot on the gas. Already, the sky is lightening with the first signs of dawn. We’re running out of time.
***
We arrive with minutes to spare. I don’t have time to think things through. I untie Paul, praying that I’m not wrong to trust him, aware of the irony that the man who has been terrorizing me for weeks is now my only ally.
“Remember the plan?” I ask him, my voice steady and determined.
He nods, taking the gun from me as if it’s a live grenade. We’re aware that it’ll be immediately confiscated, and that there’s no point in hiding it, as they’ll no doubt search us, so it may as well serve as a prop.
“Help me tie this,” I say, struggling to tie my own hands together in such a way that it seems secure at first glance, but I can break free should I need to.
