“Again, exactly.” Roger nodded at him knowingly. “But if Mike can’t do it—”
“Then we’ll have to face him.”
Candy stepped forward, “Or we might can lay low long enough that he decides we were never here.” She cast a look at Roger that he missed. “We can’t be sure that he knows we’re here and—”
“Roger here is saying that the people in that group are worth saving,” Hatcher said, interrupting her. “That means what? Women? Children?”
“There are families in the group, yes.”
Hatcher turned back to Candy. “So, if he decides we don’t exist, those people are trapped with a psycho at the helm. And we don’t want that, do we?”
Roger shook his head. “And if he’s aware that the chopper came through, odds are, he’ll be on guard constantly. We couldn’t get close enough to take him out quietly.”
Hatcher absorbed the information and eventually nodded his head. “So, it’s agreed. We won’t be quiet about it.”
Simon beat on Savage’s trailer door. “Open up you overgrown son of a—”
The door flew open in Simon’s face and Savage stood in the doorway in a pair of boxers. “What do you want?”
“We need to talk.” The look in Simon’s eye was borderline feral.
“It can wait ’til I’m done with Stella.” Savage reached for the door to pull it shut, but Simon stepped into the path, blocking it.
“We can talk now.”
Savage growled low in his throat and stepped down from the trailer. The entire thing rocked as he stomped down the metal steps. When he reached the ground, he glared at Simon. “You ain’t near as pretty as she is, so make it quick.”
Simon’s face twisted and he looked up at the larger man. “You’ve been pushing your luck lately, Savage.” He poked the big man in the chest with a finger. “Have you forgotten who’s in charge here?”
Savage raised a brow at his actions. “Oh, you’re definitely in charge. But you wreak of whiskey and your decisions have been pretty stupid.” He extended an arm and leaned against the side of the trailer. “Like barking at me and accusing me of lying to you out there when you were looking for the chopper? What the hell, man?” Savage leaned down and lowered his voice to a hoarse whisper. “Who’s had your back since day one? Who’s stepped between you and the members when they all thought you went off the deep end? Who’s acted as your main enforcer and bodyguard all this time?” He poked himself in the chest. “Me, that’s who. And then what do you do in front of the other lieutenants? You question me and my motives? You paint me to be a traitor?”
“Your actions of late have caused me to question your loyalties, man.”
Savage leaned back and shook his head. “That’s fucked up, man. I’ve always been loyal to you.”
Simon stepped back and cocked his head to the side as if he were trying to comprehend what Savage said. “Funny. You don’t look loyal.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Simon struck faster than Savage expected, sinking his blade deep into the big man’s midsection. “I mean, you don’t look loyal!” He let the knife slide out of Savage’s body as he fell to the ground. He leaned over the larger man and stared him in the eye while Savage gripped the wound with both hands, his breath coming in rapid pants. “You said you were coming back here to bone your old lady, but it don’t look like you were. I don’t smell sex in the air. You aren’t even sweaty.” He leaned down and spat in his face. “If you ain’t breakin’ a sweat, then you ain’t doing it right.”
The smaller man cackled as he spun and threw the knife at Savage’s bike. “Let that sink in, you disloyal bitch!” Simon kicked at the dirt and pulled the bottle from his back pocket. He bit the cork and spat it into the air, then tilted it back and took a long pull.
Savage watched him dance away and he raised his arm and beat against the side of the trailer. “Stella!”
In moments she appeared at the doorway. The shock on her face was obvious as she dropped to the ground and tried to hold the blood back. “Oh my god, Mike! What happened?”
Savage swallowed hard and felt himself getting colder. “Simon.” He turned and stared at her. “Fucker stabbed me.” His voice sounded dry and raspy.
“What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?” Stella felt panic begin to shoot through her body as she looked around for some answer that she knew wasn’t there.
“Get me in the truck. Then drive.”
“Where Mike? There’s no hospitals anymore…”
He pulled her face close to his. “I know a place.”
“The new beginning? The start over?”
He nodded and clenched his teeth. “They got people. Maybe they can help.”
Stella reached down and lifted his arm over her shoulder as she lifted. “Come on, Mike. Move!”
Simon tossed the bottle to the side and watched from behind a large tree. The darkness of the night was enough to conceal him in the shadows, but the tree ensured Savage wouldn’t notice him.
“Did you have to stab him, boss?”
Simon nodded slowly. “You see, Scud, in order to force him to show his hand, I had to call his bluff.” He turned and patted the man’s face hard. “If the bastard dies…well, too bad, so sad. But if I’m right—”
“What?”
“He’s gonna lead us to where that chopper landed.”
Scud shook his head. “I don’t see how. He told the guys that it landed and picked up a guy.”
Simon turned and glared at the man. “And how many uniformed soldiers have you seen marching around this piss-ant town?”
Scud shook his head. “Well…none, boss.”
“Exactly. He’s up to something, and now we’re gonna find out what.” Simon turned and dragged Scud behind him. “You disconnected the headlights on the bikes, yeah?”
“Yeah, yeah, boss. Just like you said. But I don’t know how we’re gonna see without—”
“We’re
