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Ever since the fight with Pruitt, security had been amped up in the hospital. A few cops wandered the halls on patrol. I slipped out the back and jogged a few blocks until I reached where I’d parked my bike. Brewer, Tank, and Axel served as my own small, private security team—watching my back while I stayed with Lou.
“Mack and Diablo did some snooping,” Brewer said. “Found the Devil’s Disciples camped out at a motel. The cops stopped by with some questions but since they couldn’t find a gun to match the bullet Lou was hit with, and no one actually saw the shooter…” He trailed off and shook his head. “Pruitt is off the hook.”
“Mack reported about fifteen minutes ago,” Tank added. “He said all members of the club are accounted for. It’s getting late on a Friday night so they’ve been drinking a decent amount. If they expect any retaliation, they’re being sloppy about it.”
I grunted as I climbed onto my bike and buckled my helmet.
“Not surprising. Pruitt is cocky enough that he thinks we’ll just roll over and let him have his way.”
Brewer studied me for a long moment.
“Are you ready to do some damage?”
I nodded once, starting my motorcycle with a deafening rumble.
Ten minutes later, we stopped across the road from the motel. Music blasted inside. Beer bottles littered the pavement. Twelve motorcycles were parked out front. Even though we were outnumbered—nine Alpha Riders to twelve Devil’s Disciples—it didn’t worry me. I knew my brothers could fight like hell.
Headlights blazed on the empty road to the west, signaling Bear had arrived with the van. My club and I had worked out every detail while Lou was in the ER. I could just make out Mack’s figure on the roof of the motel. Crow’s silhouette lurked in the shadow of a nearby tree. The rest of my club remained hidden, guns at the ready.
I climbed off my bike, along with Brewer, Tank, and Axel. My own pistol was tucked into the inside pocket of my jacket. The thought of putting a bullet through Pruitt’s heart was tempting, but he needed to know what an amazing woman he was missing out on. He needed to live without her, to know, every second of every day, that he let Lou slip through her fingers.
Because I knew exactly what that felt like. And it was the worst torture imaginable.
Bear turned into the motel parking lot. Then he stepped on the gas and the engine roared. He plowed through the motorcycles, leaving behind a tangled, twisted heap of metal and shattered glass.
A split second later, the shouting started.
“Let’s go,” Brewer said.
The Devil’s Disciples spilled out of the motel as I crossed the road with Brewer and Tank flanking me, and Axel brought up the rear.
“What the fuck did you do to our bikes?” one bull of a man barked.
“Got them ready for the junkyard where they belong,” I replied. “I want a word with your president.”
Pruitt emerged a moment later, half-hidden in shadow as he leaned against the door frame of his motel room.
“You never seem to learn your lesson, do you?”
I fished Lou’s divorce papers from my pocket and held them up.
“Forgot to finish some paperwork. Thought I’d bring it straight to you, for the sake of efficiency.”
Pruitt crossed his arms.
“It’s high time that you admit you lost her, Rooster.”
“I know what I lost,” I countered. “And I’m prepared to spend the rest of my life making up to Lou for that.”
He shook his head. “Too late. I’m not signing those damn papers. Louisa has already agreed to come home with me. She said so herself.”
A cold spike of disgust lanced through my heart. I knew Pruitt must have visited Lou in the hospital at some point, even with the cops hanging around. He was family—he was her husband, at least in the legal sense of the word. As her emergency contact, he was allowed to waltz right into her hospital room. I had to sneak in but Pruitt had a clear path straight to Lou.
“I think you’ll find I’m prepared to be more persuasive this time,” I said.
All around me, the sound of eight guns were cocked as the rest of my club stepped into view. The Devil’s Disciples flinched, reaching for their own weapons but one fierce command from Brewer—don’t even think about it—had everyone frozen in place.
They glanced at Pruitt.
