Page 57 of Single Mom for the Bikers

By the timewe’re out of the clubhouse, the attack is on. The first explosion is so fucking close it feels like it's inside the compound. The ground shakes, a couple of bikes fall over, Shel screams, and the loudness of it has my ears fucking ringing. Black clouds billow past the gate and several armored vehicles charge straight in.

Shit has hit the fucking fan.

The courtyard is full of people. “Quick!” Havoc yells as he takes one look at us and draws his iron, running to the front. “Get armed. Fucking Defcon One.”

“Get her back inside,” Phoenix yells, seeing that I’m the closet.

“Mia!” she screams, fighting my hold.

“We'll get her, but we can’t run through whatever's going on out there.” I yank her back up the stairs and into the clubhouse. “The girls know what to do. She'll be in the shelter with the others.”

“But—”

Another explosion sounds just as Havoc reaches the open garage door, throwing him against the wall. Motherfucker. Phoenix hauls him back on his feet and they duck inside to take cover. “Go!” Phoenix snaps.

Reaper and Mad Dog burst out of the thick cloud, their guns out. They were watching the gate, so at least they're alive. “It's the Outlaw Sons, and they brought the fucking big guns!” Reaper yells.

Jesus Christ.

Bullets ping off the stair supports, throwing sparks as we race to the top, but when we throw ourselves through the door, we're unhurt. Just a tear in my cut.

“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,” she's chanting like a fucking mantra. “Mia, we have to find Mia.”

“We are. Come on.”

We race through the clubhouse. Along the walls facing the front, all the members at home are using them for cover while they take shots out the front door and windows. It's a firing line the Sons are gonna lose a lot of men to if they insist on this shit show.

“Is that a fucking armored car?” Chef, old-timer and bar-minder, fires his shotgun through one of the windows. Jewel is kneeling next to him, handing him shells as he needs them.

Eagle-eye himself fires a big old hand cannon, and having only one working eye doesn't seem to hamper him none, given the screams that follow each time he pulls the trigger.

This is a fucking warzone.

But Shel and I keep going, staying low and running for the back door, where the homes and utility buildings are. We burst outside, only to jump right back in as something whines through the air, only inches from my face.

It slams into the storage shed on the other side of the shooting range and blows up in a fireball. The heat washes over us like we just stepped into a fucking sauna. Was that a fucking RPG?

“Jesus Christ! They're fucking everywhere.” We can barely hear each other over the constant gunfire and explosions. I peek out through the door, leading with my gun, then fire two shots. I don't think I get the guy, but now he's more worried about cover than shooting back, at least for a few moments.

“Sledge, we have to get there.” Shel looks ready to charge out, with or without me. Fuck, never get between a mother and her baby. “You said the club was safe.”

“I said there was nowhere safer. Fuck. We can argue later. First we have to get to the shelter, and Mia's gonna be fine, okay? Okay? All the old ladies here know the drill.”

She swallows hard, then nods. “What do we do?”

“See the stack of tires? On three, we roll out to them. I'll go first in case I have to draw fire, but be really fucking close behind.”

She nods, scared shitless. Fuck, I'm not eager to do this either, but we can't just fucking stay here.

“Okay. Let's fucking do this. On three.” I nod, wait a second, and then count down, “Three!”

We roll out, covering as much space as we can quickly. A bullet pings off something nearby, but we make it behind the tires with no extra holes in our bodies. I pop up, aim, find a guy I don'trecognize, and put two shots in him. His fault for being caught out in the open. Did he think he got us?

“Shit,” Shel hisses, but she's with me. She's a tough girl.

“Okay, see that car? When I say go, I'll cover you while you run to hide behind it. Stay behind the engine, okay?” Fuck, I shouldn't even have her out here, but where the hell would I send her that's safer than with me?

“O—okay.”

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