“It’ll never come down to that. We took out Jamie and his entire fucking tribe, your family, friends and associates are next on our hit list,” Gunner profusely proclaims; his tone is chilling and full of malicious intent. “Get that motherfucker inside and chain his ass up. I’ll deal with him later.”
Tyson, Blaze and Stinger go and escort our guest down to the basement. I look over and notice that Malice is swaying on his feet, his pallor is taking on a greyish hue. The color is beginning to fade from his eyes. Texas reaches out and grabs him before he has a chance to collapse. “Come on, man. No falling down on the job,” Texas says, but the panic is clear as day in his tone.
Gunner and I rush over and lend a helping hand to Texas. Malice is a big ass motherfucker, there’s no way only one of us would be able to manage and keep him upright, as a matter of fact, it takes all three of us to get him indoors.
We’ve lost one brother today and two that have potentially fatal wounds. Country’s is because of a gut shot and Malice is losing an unhealthy volume of blood from his dangling arm.
I’m not a praying type of man, but right now, I find myself praying to every god that people believe in. I don’t give a fuck if Buddha is the one to step in, or if it’s the man upstairs that my grandmother swore to me existed… someone—anyone needs to step in and save my brothers.
Chapter Twenty-One
Star
At first, I thought someone was popping fireworks outside, then a window shattered and all of us women freaked out as the kids began screaming. Charlee became a drill sergeant, screaming at us to get the kids in the bathroom. Seeing as there’s no window in there, it’s the safest place to keep the kids away from flying glass and debris.
There isn’t a whole lot of room in there, so we put Jessia and Amara in charge of keeping an eye on the kids. Charlee, Cameron, Stella and I run to Cam and Gunner’s room and get into the safe that holds all of his spare guns.
I’ve never fired a handgun before, so I get a quick rundown on the safety and trigger. “Shoot and aim, got it,” I stutter out as I follow the other women out of the bedroom. My nerves are flying high and my hands are shaky. I’ve never contemplated taking someone’s life before, but I’ll do whatever needs to be done to protect my family. Even if that lands me in a suit of orange and black behind bars.
By the time we make it out into the main room, Country is being dragged in the doors by several of the members. At first, my mind doesn’t grasp the concept that he’s injured, it’s not until I hear an ear-splitting scream escape Charlee that it finally sinks in how severe this situation is.
Gunner looks ready to commit murder, not that I can blame him by the appearance of Charlee’s old man alone, he’s pushing people out of the way as Country is being carried in. I can still hear the whizzing of bullets being shed outside. Their pinging off the side of the building causes a cringe to cross my face.
Not knowing what I can do to help since I have no medical training, I decide to stand guard over them as they all work on saving him. My heart begins to palpitate as my eyes stay glued to the door, worried about Shamus. Kruger grabs my attention as he comes rushing through the room with his arms filled full of medical supplies. I say a small prayer that everyone is going to come out of this with their lives intact.
Guilt begins to swamp me as I realize that this is all my fault. If Charlee loses her old man, that will be on me. I brought danger to their doorstep by agreeing to leave with Shamus. I should’ve known how this would play out. I know Jeremiah, I know how he reacts when he feels like his back is in a corner. What the fuck was I thinking? I should’ve just begged them to take Ella and run, hide her, I was selfish, thinking about myself.
I was only thinking about the fact that I wanted to see a life that wasn’t behind bars and dancing nude in front of disgusting men.
“Whatever you’re thinking, stop it,” Gunner comes up behind me and states with a tone that tells me that he’s in no mood to argue. “This was bound to happen with or without you here. We were going after Jamie regardless, who’s to say that Jeremiah wouldn’t have come to seek revenge. So, whatever you’re throwing around in your mind, get it the fuck out now.” He swats me on the shoulder as he stomps toward the front door and walks through it.
There’s someone shooting a damn gun off out there!
These men need to see a damn therapist, every goddamned one of them. I stomp my foot in agitation. I don’t do well when I feel helpless, and I’m feeling that times ten over, right about now.
What is it about men that makes them think they are invincible? They can’t run faster than a speeding bullet, they don’t have a shield to protect them, they are just ordinary human beings.
“Star, call 911! Cameron hollers out as she, Kruger, Charlee and Curley apply pressure to Country’s wounds. I rush over to the
