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I stumble against a body on the floor and immediately bend down to find Silk and She-Devil cowering under a table. Grabbing them both up, I point them in the direction of the kitchen before giving them a shove to get them moving.
“Ted and Harry are in here somewhere,” Silk tells me, coughing as she inhales smoke. “I think they were going to check the back of the club for anyone hiding out.”
“Okay. You two get the fuck out now. I want you both to start takin’ the head count for me. She-Devil, can I count on you?” I ask, needing her to know how serious this is despite the fear radiating from her.
“Y-Y-Yes,” she stammers. “I won’t let you down.”
Turning my back on the girls, I continue moving through the room searching for anyone else I need to help get the fuck outta here. Male shouting comes from the front of the building as the door explodes open.
“I want that fucker taken out,” a voice says. “His bike is out back which means he’s in here somewhere.”
I don’t recognize who’s talking. Either their wearing a mask of some sort to help with against the smoke already filling the room, or my hearing is going.
“Ah, you made it easy,” the same man says. “We got your girl and soon, the rest of your club will be fuckin’ burned to the ground. Rot in fuckin’ hell you pussy.”
Fire and pain explode in my chest. I immediately fall to the ground as laughter sounds from above me.
“Get the fuck outta here. It won’t be long before someone shows up and I want to be long gone from here,” the man says, his voice a whisper as my entire body shuts down.
Blackness takes me over as I realize I’m about to die from a gunshot wound to my chest while burning in this inferno that’s been created. As everything fades away, my vision is filled with the sight of Jaelyn. I’ve had her as mine for a few hours and I’m already being ripped away from her in a violent manner. Then the fucker’s words penetrate‘We got your girl’.No! Jae, my baby girl, is at work. She had to open this morning. Austin’s with her. Nothing is wrong with her.
A vision of her smiling as she looks up at Zeus fills my brain. My best friend is smiling down at her and they look perfect together. This is my happy place; seeing my ol’ lady and best friend living their best life. Even if I’m not around to share it with them. They’ll heal one another and be there to support one another when the day is too hard to get through. For the first time in my life, I truly fear death and what’s being taken from me. Unfortunately, I have no choice but to let it claim me as I’m surrounded by fire, ash, smoke, and blood. Hopefully Zeus will tell her how much I love her.
WALKING INTO THE common room at the clubhouse with my laptop, I can’t stand being in my room alone right now. The thought of Jaelyn at work while Sabotage and I are working on club business has my stomach in knots. Digging into Bastard and his club isn’t exactly something I can do at the diner though. Sabotage would have gone with her, but he’s got paperwork and internal problems at Jaded Outlaw to handle. He’s pissed because he hates dealing with the bitches when they argue and fuck with one another. I can’t say I blame him either. The girls at the strip club are horrible when they start going at one another.
As I take my seat at one of the tables in the corner, Austin walks through the door and heads for the hallway leading to the offices for Lash and Talon. He’s not supposed to fucking be here. Austin is supposed to be at the diner with Jae. Jumping from my seat, I simply shut my laptop and follow him to find out what the fuck is going on. It’s not like the guys to let one of the men know if something changes with their ol’ lady. I’ve not heard a single word about Austin not watching over Jaelyn today. That’s fucked up.
Just before I hit the door of the offices, my phone goes off. Not with a message or a phone call. No, I’m getting an alert from one of the businesses. Pulling it from my pocket, I see a fire has broken out at Jaded Outlaw. My chest aches at the knowledge my best friend is there, and he hasn’t made a call to me about anything going on there. I pull up the footage from the security cameras to find several fires burning. They’re at the front and the back of the club. The entire front is engulfed in flames. Men in black clothing, with their faces covered, are hiding out in the parking lot. I keep waiting to see the girls and Sab race out of the club on any of the cameras as I continuously switch angles. No one’s leaving though. Throwing open the door, I interrupt Talon and Austin with no fucks given.
“What the . . .,” Talon begins before looking at me.
“Somethin’ is goin’ down at Jaded Outlaw. It’s on fire, I’m pretty sure some explosions have been set, and no one’s leavin’ the inside. Let’s fuckin’ go!” I state before turning and racing back through the clubhouse toward the front door so I can get my bike.
As I’m racing from the compound, barely allowing the time for Cole to get the gate open, more guys race from the clubhouse. I’m not waiting for them when something could be wrong with my best friend. I know Sabotage would do everything in his power to make sure everyone gets out of the building as safe and injury free as possible without a thought of his own well-being. But, when I don’t see anyone leaving a burning building and I know there was going to be at least a few dancers and a waitress or bar tender there, something isn’t right.
Ripping into the parking lot, I don’t see anyone outside anymore. There’s no point in checking the camera feed since the fire has taken them out. Yes, I have many cameras at each business, but with the entire place on fire the way it is, maybe only one or two cameras will still be up and working. Pulling to a stop, I barely take the time to put the kickstand down before racing as close to the building as I dare. The deafening roar of multiple bike engines pulling in behind me is barely heard over the roaring fire.
Moving around the side of the building, I take in the bodies littering the pavement. Racing toward the girls, I find three dancers, one of our waitresses, and no one else. Silk and Sasha are down on the ground by Angel while She-Devil sits off on her own. Her head is down against her knees as her body trembles.
“Where the fuck is Sabotage?” I bark out, startling the women as they jump and look in my direction.
“H-H-He’s still inside,” Sasha informs me as I look toward the kitchen door.
There’s no hesitation as I race for the door. All that matters right now is getting to Sabotage and getting him the fuck out of the building. Lash is at my back as we go to push through the door, the heat from the flames and smoke already consuming us. We’re gonna have a hard as fuck time finding anyone in here with how thick the smoke is filling the kitchen. There’s nothing going on in here so I can’t begin to imagine the rest of the building that’s actually on fire.
“Is someone there?” a panicked male voice calls out from several feet away. “We need fucking help!”
Lash and I force our way through the room, not being able to see two of the club’s bouncers with a man between them. I know without having a clear vision of him, Sabotage is the man they’re carrying. Together, Lash and I move the men from him and lift him in our arms. He might be my best friend, but Sabotage is Lash’s brother, and I can’t think of what he must be feeling right now as we carry his limp, unconscious brother through the smoke-filled kitchen.
It takes us mere minutes, but feels like endless hours, to make our way back through the kitchen to the outside where we can all get out of this smoke that’s choking us. My own body is wearing down as I inhale lungfuls of smoke and the heat makes us feel as if we’re moving through quicksand. When we get closer to the door, more of the guys see what we’re doing and race to help us. Talon and Death take Sabotage from us while Shank and Austin help Lash and I from the burning building.
“Two. More. Guys. Inside,” I warn them, panting as I try to catch my breath.
Cole and Boxer race past us to get the bouncers from the kitchen wherever they ended up having to stop after being inside for so long. I drop to the ground next to Sabotage, not being able to move an inch further than what I’ve already gone. Lash drops down next to me, covered in sweat and panting himself. My eyes never leave Sabotage as I take in his clothing covered in soot and blood blooming across the tee-shirt covering his body and disappearing under his cut. What the fuck?
Talon pulls his cut off, trying to find out where the blood is coming from. As we try to figure out what happened to my friend, my phone vibrates in my pocket. I don’t want to pull it from my jeans, but it could be Jaelyn at the diner. I won’t ever ignore her if she needs me for any reason. Even just having a conversation while she’s on break. A smile tries to break out on my face when I see her name on my screen. Despite the fear I have for Sabotage, this woman will always make me smile.
“Jae Bird, what’s goin’ on?” I ask, not wanting to tell her about Sabotage until I know more.
