Page 40 of Pike

“Can’t do that. I need to handle this,” he tells me.

“You don’t have. I’m orderin’ you to step down, Rooster.” He shakes his head and smiles at me before grasping my hand in his.

“Don’t watch, Pike.”

“Rooster. Come on, brother.”

“Just don’t watch.”

“Don’t do this shit,” I roar louder as the guys laugh. Rooster pulls his hand away from me before walking to the center of the dingy room. I scream louder this time for him to step down and not do this. I scream for him to walk away and let’s figure this out, but when the first punch is thrown, I know it’s all over.

It doesn’t take long. Rooster threw some good punches, but it wasn’t enough. His body falls to the floor, his head hitting the concrete harder than it should. I close my eyes and try to look away when my face is jerked back in his direction, and my eyes are pried open.

“See that? Two down. That’s just the beginning. Now run back and tell the others we’re coming for them.” The hands leave my face, and the cuffs are undone before I’m punched once more, and my cell is flung at me. My head snaps back and hits the floor, blurring my vision once more.

I lay still, listening to the silence after they left. Knowing Rooster is over there, not even ten feet from me. Dead. He’s fucking dead. How couldn’t I stop this? How?

I shove myself up until I can sit and then scoot on my ass until my back hits the wall. My breathing is heavy as I look up and see the carnage left behind. Two dead. Not just the one. Two. My insides churn, but I don’t throw up. I’ve been around death before, and it doesn’t bother me in that way. But knowing that’s my brother, my family over there. I heave. I throw up everything in my stomach and then some.

“How the hell did this happen?” I ask myself as I run my hand over my face. I wipe the spit from my lips and try to shove myself to my feet on unsteady legs. The room spins, and my stomach somersaults inside of me. I trip as I walk toward the door. I stumble as I walk past the two men who now lie dead. I can’t look at them again. Their faces will never leave my mind. I’ll never unsee this shit. I will never be able to close my eyes and not see what just happened here.

Stumbling out the door, I hit the fresh air. I suck it into my lungs as I drag myself away from the building. It wasn’t even a basement, just some old building. I glance around, trying to get my bearings, when I reach for my cell phone. I dial Mask and wait as the phone rings.

“Yeah?”

“There’s trouble, Mask. Lock down the clubhouse and come get me,” I tell him.

“Where the hell are you?” I look around, having no fucking idea where I am.

“GPS my ass, Mask, and lock down the clubhouse. Rooster and the prospect are dead.” So is a piece of my fucking heart. “Get Feather and get her ass over there.”

“I’m on it, Pike. I got you.” The line goes dead as I drop to my ass and rest my head in my hands. This is all fucked up. How did my day go from fucking Feather to this? Maybe I shouldn’t have left the house the way I did. Maybe I should have stayed; then I wouldn’t have had to witness this shit.

The images of Rooster are fresh in my mind, and I bend over and throw up once more. He sacrificed himself for the club, for me. How the hell do I live with that? I should have taken his place. It should have been me, but they wouldn’t allow it. My head hurts, and my heart aches.

Chapter 20

Feather

My day with Pike was amazing. I wish I hadn’t woken up to an empty bed, but I did. I wish he would have stayed but he didn’t.

I sigh when someone knocks on the door. I shove off the couch and walk over, pulling it open to see Van standing there.

“What’s going on? Pike isn’t here.”

“I know that. I need you to come with me,” he declares as I look at him funny.

“Why? Where’s Pike?”

“Somethin’ happened, Feather. We’re lockin’ down the clubhouse, and he wants you there.”

“What about work?”

“We’ll handle that. Just please, don’t make this harder than it needs to be. I don’t know what kind of shape Pike is in.”

“What happened to him? What’s going on, Van?”

“He was taken. He’s okay, as far as I know. I need you to come with me,” he tells me once more. Inod my head, grab my cell and keys, and follow him out of the house, setting the code before I shut the door. I don’t know what’s happening, and that is freaking me out. My mind whirls with things that could have gone wrong. My heart aches as I think about Pike being hurt again.

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