Page 50 of Brooks (Dirty Misfits MC 1)
I slowly looked over at Porter, watching his face turn beet red before the voice sounded again. “Let’s just say her day care will need a new employee if you don’t wish to play nice.”
Porter shook his head, but it was Raven’s life on the line. And as far as I was concerned, it was my decision and mine alone to make. A bike approached us from behind and Porter drew his weapon at lighting speed. But when I looked into my rearview mirror, I recognized those faded black jeans.
Archer had finally caught up to us.
“So, what’s it gonna be?” Sid asked.
Archer rushed up to my side and whispered in my ear. “Whatever he’s asking, don’t do it.”
I looked over at him. “They’re going to kill Raven if I don’t leave the club.”
He blinked. “You’re fucking kidding.”
Sid chuckled. “I’m really not. You have ten seconds.”
Porter shook his head. “No idea.”
“Nine.”
I licked my lips. “I want proof of life.”
“You’ll get it once you turn in your jacket. Eight.”
Archer leaned toward the phone. “We will figure you out. We’ll figure all of you out, I hope you know that.”
Sid barked with laughter. “Are all of you so cute? Six.”
Porter leaned forward as well. “Wait, wait, wait, you missed—”
“Four.”
I growled. “Let me speak with her.”
“Three. Do you really want to see how quickly I jump to one?”
“All right! All right, I’ll do it!”
The world around me fell silent as I heard shuffling on the other end of the line. There was whimpering and sniffles, and anger unlike anything I’d ever felt in my life shot through my body. My hand trembled as I gripped my phone so tightly I thought it was going to crack. I hung onto every sound, wondering if maybe—just maybe—I’d hear Raven’s voice.
“Say it,” I heard Sid command in the background.
Then, I finally heard her. “I’m home, Brooks. I’ve been home this whole time.”
I nodded at Porter and Archer to get the fuck down there and they rushed back to their bikes.
“Are you hurt?” I asked.
She sniffled. “Just my pride.”
“It’s gonna be okay. Everything is going to be just fine, all right?”
“Are you close?”
Raven cried out and Sid’s voice reappeared. “You have two days to hold up your end of the bargain. Failure to do so will kick in a Plan C. Got it?”
Holy shit, Raven had been their Plan B. “Got it.”
“Good. And I hope your men rolling up onto the scene were told to stand down. Because let me tell you, if they start shooting? Tsk tsk, I’d hate for friendly fire to take out your new girlfriend.”
I shook with fury. “Get the fuck out of her home. Now.”
“Meet me at the Santa Cruz wharf. If you’re smart, you’ll hand that jacket right over to me.”
Then, the line went dead.
“Fuck!” I roared.
Before I even struck up my bike again, I shot a text message off to Cole and Tanner. I wanted them to hunker down at the wharf as quickly as they could get there, and I wanted them to come stocked with guns. I knew we had some grenades in that back closet somewhere, and I wanted everything we had down at that fucking wharf. No one was stripping me of my cut, and no one would lay another fucking finger on Raven.
As far as I was concerned, this was war.
My phone rang and I saw Porter calling me. And I knew damn good and well it wouldn’t be good news when I picked up the phone. But when I heard gunshots popping off, my eyes widened.
I answered the phone call and heard Porter screaming at me. “Set up! Don’t come down—”
More gunshots popped off and I heard Archer yelling some incoherent nonsense.
Porter continued to yell. “She’s not—”
My stomach churned with the red that dripped around my vision. All of this had been a set up. Raven is nowhere fucking near her place. The gunfire seemed to go on forever and it took all I had not to plunge down into that complex and pick off every single last one of them myself. But I knew that was what they wanted. They wanted to draw me into that trap before someone took one well-timed headshot and ripped me out of the game for good.
Then, the gunfire stopped. “Porter?”
I waited for him to respond. “Archer?”
The silence was deafening. “Anyone there!?”
The sound of rustling finally appeared before Porter coughed. “We’re good. Archer and I are good. There were five of them waiting for us.”
I shook my head. “Get a clean-up club in there. Pick up your casings. The whole nine. I’m headed to the wharf with Cole and Tanner.”
“You know it’s a set up, right?” Archer asked.
I licked my lips. “Yeah, but I also think that’s where they’ve really got Raven. She was always their target. She was always their target to get to me.”
