Page 9 of Stonewall

I looked down into Gael’s face, so like my own, and said, “Well, then let’s go before you fall over in hunger,” I kidded him giving him another tummy tickle and making him giggle before walking him out of the park to the truck. I couldn’t give Gael many material things, but I knew the most important thing was love and attention. Two things I lacked growing up in that dreary clubhouse.

My son would always have both.

CHAPTER SEVEN

I SAT ATthe bar inside the clubhouse,having a beer and texting Brooke. I worried about her and needed to be in contact with her throughout the day. That way, I knew she was okay. Brooke was always either at work or with her son. Brooke was a damn good mother. That was clear, and it caused my respect for her to grow even more.

I felt a touch on my shoulder and turned to find Tildie standing there. Reader was working, so she was alone. Tildie and Brooke had the same eyes, crystal blue, and hid nothing. Tildie was nervous about approaching me. She held her notebook for me to see:Did you see Brooke? And is she okay?

Shit, I thought Shadow would have gotten with Tildie.

I smiled at Tildie to ease her fears that I wouldn’t bite her before taking the notebook from her. I couldn’t tell her everything, but I would tell her enough to stop worrying about Brooke. I wrote:I saw her. She and Gael are fine. I watched for two days to make sure. I will get Brooke away from Flex and bring her here if I have my way.

Tildie read what I wrote, and her signature smile appeared big and wide, again so much like Brooke when you could get her to smile. Tildie wrote a reply turning her notebook around:That would be wonderful. Please bring her and Gael here where they are safe.

I looked Tildie in the face. “Consider it done,” I said slowly so she could understand. I tended to forget she could read lips. Tildie gave me another smile and patted my hand before walking away. Reader was defiantly the best man for Tildie. With his care and patience, she is coming out of that shell she surrounded herself with when first coming here. I don’t regret killing the man who beat her, and Mouth is next, along with Flex. Cross belongs to Shadow.

“Stonewall, we need to get ready to ride; they have Reader and Silver,” Shadow growled, coming up behind me. “Kickstand is tracking them, and we should have a location soon.”

Reader and Silver were brave going in alone. But Reader wanted to do it for Tildie, which I could understand. But they could really fuck with him in the few hours it takes to get him out. Silver was more experienced in dealing with this kind of shit, being a life member. “Is the van and everything loaded?”

“Yeah, we’ve been ready since Reader decided to do this. We’re meeting out front and riding out,” Shadow informed me on his way out.

I ran upstairs, shoved my other two guns in the waistband of my pants, put a couple of knives in my boots, grabbed a jacket, and went to get my bike. My adrenaline was already high, and we hadn’t even started. I wanted Flex so bad I could taste it. But first, we have to get Reader and Silver.

By the time I pulled my bike out front, we had an estimated location; other than a few brothers staying back to guard the clubhouse, every member was in on this. Shadow threw his arm up, and we road out. An hour and a half later, we pulled over to get a strategy in place.

“They are holed up ten miles down the road in a bar they took over. We will park a mile out and walk in so they don’t hear us coming. Soldier and Vampire are going to ride closer and scope the place out before we go in after them,” Shadow said, then looking at his phone and cursing. “Fuck, They have already gone to work on Reader. They want to trade Reader and Silver for Tildie and me.” Shadow started typing a reply.

“What did you tell them?” Viking asked, scowling when he saw the picture of Reader. I didn’t need to look. I was going to kill them all anyway. I didn’t need to get worked up to do it.

“They sent the message from Reader’s phone. I replied, telling them to give me twenty-four hours to decide. Vampire, you and Soldier head up the road and let me know what you see,” Shadow ordered. “The rest of us will ride closer and wait until we hear from you.”

We headed further up and stopped until Vampire told us about twenty men and several women were inside the bar. Reader and Silver were tied up in the basement. With that information, we rushed the building. As we entered, the Fire Dragons scrambled for their weapons, but they didn’t have enough time to prepare. Most of them were drunk and in the middle of fucking. I took out a couple of men, hoping one was Flex, but neither was when I turned them over. I grabbed a blonde woman who was crawling away. “Where is Flex?” I snapped.

“H..He r...ran downstairs to the door in the basement,” she stuttered.

“Fuck! There is a door in the basement,” I shouted, already knowing many of the men escaped. I ran downstairs just as Vampire shot Mouth. Shit, as they got Reader down, I saw he had been shot. Silver was beaten up, but nothing he hadn’t been through before. I looked through the dead men looking for Flex.

He had gotten away!

I went over to Shadow. “Flex got away; you know where he’s gonna go! Just like my old man, he’s gonna go take this shit out on his wife,” I hissed. I needed to get to Brooke.

Shadow dropped his head for a second, then sighed; he looked at me. “Go, make sure she’s okay, but be fucking careful, Cross got away too, and they could be together.”

I didn’t tell Shadow I wasn’t asking permission; I was telling him I was leaving since it worked out in my favor. I said, “I can take care of myself. I’ll check in.” With those parting words, I walked back, got back on my bike, and headed back to the clubhouse. I needed my Jeep; Brooke and Gael were coming back with me; I wasn’t giving her a choice. I texted her and told Brooke to go next door and wait for me. I don’t know if she’ll read it since it’s the middle of the night.

Back at the clubhouse, I got in my Jeep, and I put my foot on the pedal, pushing my Jeep as fast as it would go. Memories of the rage my dad unleashed on my mom when things went bad at the club flashed through my brain. Please let me be in time.

CHAPTER EIGHT

AS I GOTcloser, my stomach was in knots,and Brooke never saw my text because it remained unread. Shit, it was now eight in the morning, and I knew she was always up and starting her day.

Something is wrong.

I parked in front of her house and jumped out, going to her front door and knocking.

No answer.

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