Duke Page 16

  We pulled into a bar in a little town about five miles or so from the cabin. We parked the bikes in the lot and all went inside for a drink. A few brothers stayed to keep up appearances while the rest of us slipped outside one at a time. We loaded up in two cages and continued on toward the cabin.

  Phoenix had Coal and Edge driving the cages. They dropped us off on the side of the road with orders to continue driving around the area, but to stay close in case we needed to be picked up ASAP.

  We silently trekked through the wooded area to the lookout spot Phoenix had pointed out on the map. It gave us a perfect view of the cabin. I had no idea how in the hell that thing was still standing. There was no way anyone could be using that place as a hideout. Surely, even homeless people would turn their noses up at it.

  Phoenix had everyone stay back except for Shaker and himself. They got down on their bellies and started scanning the area. I hated this part, the waiting. I was chomping at the bit to get my hands on this guy and here I was having to wait, quietly, for who knows how long.

  Finally, Phoenix put his binoculars down and rolled himself to a sitting position. “Doesn’t look like anybody’s here.” He looked back toward the shack. “I don’t think we should go in though. Could be a trap.”

  Carbon picked up a piece of a branch that had fallen and chucked it toward the house. It fell to the ground, immediately being snapped in half by the sharp teeth of a bear trap. Carbon said wryly, “Yeah, I don’t think we should go in either.”

  Suddenly, gunfire erupted. Bullets were whizzing by and raining down on us from above. Above. What the fuck? We ran for cover, but found little. Standing behind a tree or crouched behind a rock did little to protect you from bullets coming at you from above. That fucker was in the trees.

  I poked my head around the tree I was attempting to use for cover and tried to get a visual on the shooter. I saw a thick cloud of smoke around several trees. I poked my head out again, this time looking for the waterfall of casings. Bingo. I aimed the best I could and started firing. When my clip was empty, I ducked behind the tree, pulled out my backup piece, and started firing again.

  I couldn’t tell you if it was me or another brother, but sweet relief washed over me when I saw a body drop from the trees, landing right on another bear trap. Well, if that wasn’t karma at her finest. The agonized scream that followed let me know that he was indeed not dead, or at least he wasn’t when he fell.

  I put my guns away and started looking around for my brothers. I knew from the second the first shot rang out that not all of us would make it out unscathed. I just prayed no one was critically or fatally injured.

  I made it back to the clearing to find that my prayers had not been answered favorably. Boar was on the ground, blood pouring from his torso. Phoenix was doing his best to stanch the flow. Carbon was bleeding from his arm, but he was actively helping Phoenix and seemed to be okay. Shaker was on the ground, his body bent over someone, but I couldn’t tell who it was. I figured it was Byte since I didn’t see him anywhere else.

  I ran over to Shaker to see if I could help since Phoenix and Carbon were working on Boar. I looked down and saw Coal lying there, pale and limp. “Where the fuck is Byte?” I barked, my eyes frantically scanning the area for our missing brother.

  “He went with Edge to bring the cages closer. Coal and Edge came running when they heard the shots.” He looked up at me. “I don’t know if-”

  “Don’t say it, man. Let me help you get him to the cage.”

  Shaker and I carefully lifted Coal and carried him to the cage. Phoenix and Carbon did the same with Boar. Byte told me to drive so he could find the nearest hospital. I hopped in and floored it, hoping I was headed in the right direction.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Reese

  We were shuffled into the panic room while the guys went to handle some “club business.” Seriously, they were so transparent. I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, they were going to look for Omen.

  Harper’s voice interrupted my thoughts. “So, Shannon, how did you meet Boar, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  I was also dying to know how she ended up as the Old Lady to the president of a motorcycle club that was a quasi-rival to her estranged husband’s club.

  Shannon smiled wistfully. “We met at a biker rally in Arizona. We were attached at the hip from the moment we met. When the rally was over, he asked me if I wanted to come home with him. I did, and here I am.”

  “And Melissa? How did she end up in this area?” Harper continued.

  Shannon sighed. “A little over a year ago, she had a falling out with our parents and they cut her off completely. So, she moved out here, claiming she wanted to be close to me, but I’ve only seen here a handful of times since she arrived.”

  “How did she hook up with Omen?” I wondered aloud.

  “She what?” Shannon asked, clearly surprised.

  “Yeah, her and Omen have teamed up, so to speak. You didn’t know?”

  “No, I didn’t know. They met when she came to visit one time, but I had no idea they formed any kind of friendship. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised with how fucked up both of them are.” She shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I just don’t get it. What are they trying to accomplish?”

  “Well, I don’t know what Omen’s end goal is, but Melissa wanted to kill me and pin James’s kidnapping on you so she could have Duke for herself.”

  Her mouth dropped open for a brief moment and then snapped closed. “I can’t believe her. I mean, I can, but really? In what fucked up world would that plan actually work?”

  “Yeah, we thought the same thing,” I said, gesturing to myself and Harper.

  “Hopefully, this will all be over today. It sounds like they’re both beyond help,” Harper added.

  After being cooped up in the panic room for several hours, I was just about out of patience. Dash had been by to check on us frequently and bring me anything I needed for James. You would think being locked in a room with Duke’s wife would be what was tipping me over the edge, but it wasn’t. Much to my consternation, Shannon was pretty nice, someone I might have been friends with if the circumstances were different. No, it was the fact that for the last two months, I had been locked up in some form or fashion and I was just damn tired of it.

  The buzzer sounded, alerting us that someone was opening the door. I hoped it was to set us free. Ranger walked in, a grave look on his face. “Ladies, we need to get to the hospital quickly. Before you ask, I don’t know any details, but we need to get moving.”

  The four of us filed out of the panic room at a quick pace. Thankfully, James’s diaper bag was fully stocked and ready to go. I just needed to put him in his infant carrier and grab the car seat base.

  We rode to the hospital in silence. I hadn’t heard from Duke or Carbon, which was tearing up my nerves. Carbon would always text me to let me know he was okay, even when he had no communication orders. After we lost our family, it was imperative for us to know the other was okay. Not hearing from him was not a good sign.

  I was so lost in my thoughts, it didn’t even dawn on me that we were pulling up to a hospital in Devil Springs. Had we really been in the car that long?

  Byte met us at the emergency room doors. Byte, not Duke or Carbon. “Follow me. We’ve got a private waiting room. I’ll fill you in when we get there.”

  Ember wordlessly walked over and took James from my arms. I looked at her curiously. Did she know something? Was I about to get bad news? She softly said, “My man is right there and has spoken to my dad. Go find out about your man and your brother. I’ve got James.”

  I looked around the room. I saw Byte, Edge, and one of Boar’s men. “Where the hell is everyone? Start talking, Byte,” I snapped.

  “Okay, okay. Here’s the quick and dirty. We were ambushed with machine gun fire. Phoenix and Carbon were hit, but nothing serious. They are being tended to now. Boar and Coal were hit in the torso, not sure exactly where,
but they were both in a bad way when we got here and are now in surgery.”

  Shannon fell to her knees, sobbing loudly and gasping for breath. Harper crouched down beside her to try to comfort her. She looked up at me with pleading eyes. “Where is Duke?” I demanded.

  “He’s not hurt. He’s either talking with the police or seeing if he can give blood.”

  “What? Why is he doing that?” I asked.

  “Because Coal lost a lot of blood and has a rare blood type. They have some they can use, but the nurse said they prefer to have a match or something like that. Anyway, we all agreed to get tested,” Byte explained.

  Ember had a funny look on her face. “Where is my dad?”

  “He’s trying to donate. He’s a match, but he was also shot, just a graze, but still, they don’t want to let him donate because of it,” Byte answered.

  “Where do I need to go?” she asked frantically, looking wildly around the room.

  “Hey, calm down. I’ll show you where you need to go,” Byte said.

  She handed James back to me. “I’ll be back soon.”

  “Are you okay?” I asked. She didn’t look good. She was pale and I think she was trembling.

  “I’m fine. I just...I have the same blood type as my dad. If he’s a match, so am I. I need to go so I can help Coal,” she rambled. She followed Byte out of the room.

  Harper was still holding Shannon on the floor, though she didn’t miss any of that conversation. “What was that about?” she asked.

  “I have no idea. Um, Shannon, I’m going to see if I can find someone to give us an update on Boar, okay?”

  She raised her tear-streaked face to look at me, “Please.”

  I nodded and walked out into the hallway, looking around for the nurse’s station. My eyes landed on Duke. I wobbled as fast as I could to him. “Duke!” I shouted.

  He opened his arms as soon as he saw me coming. Scooping me up in his arms, he held me close and placed a kiss on the top of my head. “Sugar,” he breathed against the side of my face. He gently placed me back on my feet, but still held me against him.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, trying to pull back from him so I could see his face. It was then that I noticed the blood staining his hands and clothes. Gasping, I pointed at the blood and asked, “Is that yours?”

  His face dropped. “No, it’s Coal’s. Shaker and I did the best we could to help him, but I don’t know if…” his voice cracked. “He was hurt bad, sugar. He’s just a kid, you know? We had him as a driver, to keep him out of harm’s way, but him and Edge came running when the shots started. Coal was in front of Edge, took one or two right to the gut. Would have been worse, but when he fell back, Edge took him to the ground and rolled them behind a rock.”

  “What about the shooter?” I asked softly.

  Duke stiffened and pulled me back to him. He cleared his throat, “He’s here.”

  “What?” I shrieked. “Where? Where the fuck is he?” I asked, getting progressively louder.

  Duke placed his hand over my mouth. “Shhh! I don’t know where he is. He’s under arrest and will have a guard with him at all times until he can be discharged from the hospital. It’ll be a while, though. He was shot twice, fell from a tree, and landed in a bear trap. Don’t know if it was the fall or the trap, or both, but he’s paralyzed from the waist down.”

  “It was Omen, right?” I asked. I knew it was, but I needed to hear it.

  “Yeah, sugar, it was.”

  “Who shot him?” I asked. “I know you aren’t supposed to tell me stuff like this, but I need to know, please.”

  He sighed. “I don’t know for sure. He was hit twice, both bullets were .45 ACP, which means it was either your brother or me, or one from each of us.”

  I nodded. That was enough for me for right now. “Um, I told Shannon I would come out and see if I could get an update on Boar. Have you heard anything?”

  “Yeah, one of the nurses came out about 20 minutes ago and said things weren’t as bad as they thought when they originally got in there. She said he was doing okay and should be out of surgery,” he looked down at his watch, “any time now.”

  I tugged on his shirt to get him to lean forward so I could kiss his cheek. “Thanks. I’ll be in the waiting room.”

  I left him where he was and headed back to Shannon. She hugged me tightly when I delivered the update on Boar. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” I wasn’t sure if she was talking to me, to God, or who knows. She let me go and took a seat in one of the chairs. She straightened and squared her shoulders. “Did someone kill that little bastard?”

  I couldn’t help myself, I giggled. “I asked almost the exact same thing moments ago.” Glancing around the room, I noticed Phoenix had taken a seat near Dash. Phoenix nodded his head once. “Uh, he’s in police custody, here at the hospital. He was shot and fell into a bear trap or something. Apparently, he is paralyzed now. In any event, he’s going to jail when he gets out of here.”

  She sighed with relief and almost immediately stiffened again. “What about my sister? She can’t be let go.”

  Phoenix leaned forward and kept his voice low, “She won’t be, but let’s save that discussion for the clubhouse, yeah?”

  She lowered her head. “Yes, of course. My apologies, Phoenix.”

  Carbon came walking into the waiting room, wearing only his cut over his bare torso. He had a bulky bandage on his upper arm and was holding it close to his body. Before I could ask, he met my eyes and stated, “I’m fine. It’s a small flesh wound, but apparently, I’m a bleeder.” He shrugged. “How are Coal and Boar? Any word?”

  “Boar is doing okay right now, should be coming out of surgery soon. Last I heard, it was still touch and go for Coal. He lost a lot of blood…” Phoenix trailed off, his gaze fixed on the wall.

  Just then, Ember rushed through the door, startling everyone in the room. “Daddy! I need to talk to you, in private. Right now!” She was damn near hysterical.

  Phoenix stepped into the hallway with Ember. Damn it, he closed the door when he left. I desperately wanted to know what had my friend so upset. Harper leaned forward, “I think I need to use the restroom. Please excuse me.”

  “Sit your ass down, Harper. You’re not going out there to eavesdrop,” Carbon ordered.

  “Since when do I take orders from you?” she huffed, her plan clearly thwarted.

  Carbon smirked. “Since I-”

  He was interrupted by Phoenix storming back into the room with Ember right behind him. “Byte, I need you to look up something, like now. Do you have what you need for that?”

  “Depends, Prez. What is it?”

  “Birth records,” Phoenix said flatly. “For Coal.”

  “I can probably use my phone for that. I assume he wasn’t born as Coal Martin since he was adopted by the Martins. Adoption records are usually sealed with a ridiculous amount of security. You got anything else to go on?” Byte asked.

  Phoenix swallowed audibly. “Yeah, can you pull up any records listing Annabelle Burnett as the mother, particularly on the same day Ember was born?”

  I sucked in a breath. “Does that mean…?”

  Ember turned to face me with tear-filled eyes. “We don’t know. He, Dad, and I have the same blood type and it’s rare. When I donated, I found out that Coal and I have the same birthday. He’s adopted, he grew up on the farm...it just seems likely that he might be-”

  Byte broke in, “He’s your brother, your twin brother.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Duke

  I walked into an eerily silent waiting room. Everyone was sitting there with mouths agape, eyes wide, not saying a word. “What happened?” I barked, causing some of the girls to jolt.

  “They just found out that Coal is Phoenix’s son, Ember’s twin brother,” Reese said softly.

  “What? How do you figure?” I asked.

  Ember tried to explain, but she wasn’t making any sense. “Blood type, birthday, farm, Mom.”
<
br />   Byte filled in the gaps. “They all have the same rare blood type, he and Ember have the same birthday, he’s adopted, he grew up on the farm, and last but not least, his birth mother is listed as Annabelle Burnett on his birth certificate.”

  “Holy shit,” I breathed. “Have you gotten an update on him recently?”

  Phoenix shook his head. “No, but I don’t think we should tell him about this right away. He doesn’t need the shock of it. Oh, fuck me sideways, has anybody called his parents?” His face fell when he realized what he just said. He cleared his throat, “Mr. and Mrs. Martin?”

  “I did,” I said, “right after we got him inside. They should be here soon.”

  “Thanks, brother. For the time being, let’s not mention this to the Martins. Kathleen has had a rough time recently and this isn’t going to be easy for her,” Phoenix said.

  The waiting room door opened behind me, revealing two uniformed police officers. “Sorry to interrupt. We need to speak with Phoenix Black, William Anderson, John Jackson, and Chase Walker.”

  Phoenix rose to his feet, striding toward the officers with an outstretched hand. “I’m Phoenix Black. I’m afraid William Anderson is in surgery right now, but the rest of us are here. Shall we step into the hallway?” It wasn’t really a question. Phoenix was already using his big body to move them into the hall. “What can we help you with?”

  “We actually have a few things we need to share with you. We sent a team out to search the cabin and the surrounding grounds. Thanks for letting us know about the bear traps. They were everywhere. We confiscated 27 illegal traps.” The officer cleared his throat and gave Phoenix an appraising look. “You’re Copper’s cousin, right?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “And you’re a member of Blackwings?”

  “I’m the president of the original Blackwings MC chapter. What’s that have to do with anything?” Phoenix asked.

  “Copper gave me a call when we first started getting the calls about all this. We aren’t going to try to pin anything on you, we just need to know what happened, more so to keep things from blowing back on you, you understand?”