Part 29 (1/2)

After he walks away, through the smolder and dust, I quickly turn around and find Callie standing near one of the doors close to the bar. She looks lost and confused as men move around her with quick speed.

Rus.h.i.+ng in her direction, I talk loudly so she focuses only on me. ”Callie,” I call, but she doesn't bring her eyes to mine. She's scared. My hands reach to her upper arms and I shake her gently. ”Callie, we need to go.”

Her eyebrows furrow, not understanding. Her voice is calm, but her body is shaking. ”What's happening?”

Ignoring her question, I ask, ”Do you need me to carry you?”

”What's happening!” she cries with wide eyes.

Brus.h.i.+ng the debris from her hair and dust around her eyes, I tell her, ”We're goin', we're okay. Hold onto me if you need to.”

She nods in response and her hand squeezes mine in rea.s.surance.

”Follow close.”

Once outside, I see the debris fallen around the gate. A car, which looks to have exploded must have been the first initial blast. It's in pieces, many of them still on fire in the driveway leading up to the clubhouse.

”Where's everyone?” Callie asks once we're standing on the debris-covered porch. The stairs are clear of men except for one.

He's dressed as the others and he's holding his hand out at the bottom of them. ”Move, move, move!” he shouts to her.

Turning back to look at me with sheer terror on her face and a firm grip on my arm, Callie refuses. ”I want to stay with you.”

”Sweetheart, I'm goin' back in. Go with him.” I point beyond the gate where a series of onlookers are being held back by the men dressed in camo and holding guns. Seeing this quickly convinces her.

Still with an unsure nod, she releases my arm and runs down the steps quickly. My eyes dart around for any member of Creed. There are none, but the sound of sirens in the background tells me it won't be long before this mission is interrupted.

Rus.h.i.+ng back the way I came, I find Brayden. The large man is now stepping over bodies. One of them, I see, is Iron. His eyes are open, looking toward the ceiling, his body positioned on top of his left arm, which appears to be set beneath him at an unnatural angle. He's been shot in the chest and there's no doubt he's dead.

f.u.c.k, but I didn't want that. Iron wasn't bad; neither is Wick. The two men were caught up in a circ.u.mstance they had no control over.

”Have you seen Casey?” I ask Brayden, moving the smoke from my view then holding my hand over my nose.

”Negative,” he returns. ”But Tessor has some of the others.” I don't know who Tessor is, but continue to listen. ”He's taking them out through the back now. The front entrance is closed. Local PD is locking it down. Too much to get through with all this s.h.i.+t comin' down.”

”The blasts?” I ask, already knowing what I just left behind.

”We didn't start all this, man. Only the first few blasts just to get inside.”

The alarming statement paralyzes me momentarily. Hoss and his crew are scattered. And working.

”I need to get Anna,” I tell him. ”She's down this hall.”

I start to pa.s.s him, but he pushes at my chest and stops me mid-motion. ”There's no one in those rooms. We've checked.”

”Do you guys have her?”

”I don't know,” he tells me. ”Me and Tyler are working this grid. Aimes and four others are outside securing it. When you see one of us inside, you'll know it's us.” He holds up his mask in place for emphasis and recognition.

”I'll take one more pa.s.s. You got an extra?” I signal to his belt and he offers me a small handgun. I check the ammo quickly and stuff it in the back of my jeans. ”If you see any of the women wearing...”

”Go,” he tells me, already knowing my thought. ”Most have been led out already.”

Taking his advice, I slap the back of his shoulder and move through the debris littering the floor down another hall. It's there I find Dee Dee.

As she lies on the floor with her eyes opened wide, I waste no time as I bend to check for a pulse. Her hair is matted with debris and dust, the body lying as Iron's did in an unnatural position, but the blood on her clothes is already drying.

She's dead and looks to have been here a long while.

As I say a silent prayer for those who made it through, I stand and turn from the room without looking back.

Chapter Thirty-Seven.

The haze of black smoke is even thicker as I make my way to the back exit of the club. Voices mix around, sharing in only one-sided conversations; an indication those having them are part of Aimes' crew. They're communicating with each other.

When I finally reach the outside, I immediately look around for Cilas, Casey, and whoever else may look familiar. I don't find any of them, so I start to traipse back around the building near where Casey's room is. The long line of storage units, which include the shrine I once found Hangar mutilating himself in, has been left untouched. The damage to every other building is evident as smoke billows through almost every rooftop.

The uniformed police officers are now inside the compound, mainly scattered around the perimeter. Cuffed men wearing Creed vests are being taken through the front entrance. The others wearing camo have now backed off and don't stand in the way of those working through the rubble and ash.

”Max!” a voice cries from behind the small building. When I turn to look, I see Casey standing unsteadily next to it.

She's dressed in only a nightgown and she's looking up at me with terror. I don't understand all of her fear until I feel a heavy blunt object as it hits sharply in the middle of my back. I stumble forward a few steps before turning around in place to find it was Dog who struck me.

”Max!” I hear Casey cry out again. This time, I also hear another name, but one which sends chills racing down through the pain now radiating through my spine. ”Aunt Emma!”

When I look beyond Dog, who stands seething in front of me with a tire iron in his hand, I notice Hoss' face is masked with absolute fury. Emma stands in front of him, his arm draped tightly around her neck, and he has a gun pointed directly at her temple.

Instantly, all outside noise and distractions fall away.

In this moment, everything is clearer than it's ever been.

”Max,” I hear Em say. Her tone is controlled and she's nowhere near as panicked as I thought she'd be. Her eyes move to Casey, standing at my right and back to me. ”Max,” she says again before Hoss pulls at her throat and her hands move to clutch his arm.

”Taylor,” Hoss calls to draw my attention, using my last name, which he's never done before.

Dog takes two steps back, leaving him standing next to Hoss holding Emma hostage. I take a quick look around, hoping like f.u.c.k someone's spotted us out here alone. Unfortunately, I find no cops, no camo, which means no interference or distraction. Casey's body is hiding behind the small building. I see her face and hair come into view then she quickly backs away.

”It's your turn,” Hoss spits.

Emma whimpers when his arm tightens around her neck. Dog pulls a gun from the back of his jeans and aims it in my direction. He smiles. I realize then he's the next tyrant in line to take Hangar's place.

”You took all I had left of Ursa,” Hoss accuses. ”Hangar was sick, but he just needed help.”

Putting my hands in front of me, proving to him my unarmed status, I tell him the truth. ”He was a killer, Hoss. You said yourself he wasn't always right in the head.”