Page 28 of Hatter

Blood and sweat dripped from my brow as the firefight raged on. But in a split second, that rage was punctured by three sharp cries of pain. Shake and two of his men were hit. My heart pounded in my chest, blood roaring in my ears. I glanced over to find them clutching their injuries.

“Shake, hang in there, man!”

“Fuck… It isn’t fatal,” he said through gritted teeth, gripping his shoulder where blood seeped between his fingers.

“Rabbit, Knave! Cover me!” I ordered, my voice hoarse from shouting. I sprinted across the room, Jo still hanging onto me, as bullets zipped past us. I reached Shake and his men, assessing their wounds. One of his guys had taken a bullet to the thigh, another in his side -- both bleeding heavily but still conscious.

“Stay with me, boys,” I urged them, pressing makeshift bandages against their wounds to stem the flow of blood. “We’re not losing anyone today.”

“Damn right,” Shake rasped, his eyes locked onto mine with fierce determination. “Eddie’s going to pay for this.”

“Fucking coward,” one of his injured men spat, bracing himself against the pain.

“Bastard slunk away already,” I said.

My brothers took down two more of Eddie’s men, then the rest turned tail and ran. “Let them go for now. We have wounded to tend to.”

The silence was nearly deafening. Every window within sight had been shattered. Bullet holes decorated the walls. Every piece of furniture would have to be replaced. But at least we were all still alive.

“Any ideas where he might’ve gone?” Knave asked, eyeing me carefully.

“His operation’s got to have a base somewhere nearby. We find that, we find him,” I replied, my gaze flicking between each of my brothers. Their expressions mirrored my own -- determined, unyielding. We were ready for whatever came next.

“All right, then,” March said, nodding in agreement. “Let’s get everyone back on their feet and hunt that son of a bitch down.”

“The rat… I saw him,” I muttered. “It was Teddy. Fucker escaped with the others.”

Teddy? Of all the damn people… He wasn’t one of us, but we’d allowed him to get close. Had even considered him a friend. It never occurred to me he’d picked up enough things to leak intel on our club. It seemed we’d been sloppy.

“Shit,” March mumbled, running a hand over his head. “We’ll get him.”

The tension hung heavy over us as we prepared for the next phase of our war against Eddie and his men. We were battered, bruised, but not broken. And as long as we had each other, we’d keep fighting -- until we drew our last breaths or finally brought that sadistic bastard to his knees.

Jo clung to me like a lifeline, her body trembling as she surveyed the devastation. I could see the fear in her eyes, but also iron-clad determination -- she was a fighter.

“Are you okay?” I asked, keeping my voice low so only she could hear.

“I’m fine,” she whispered. But her pale face told me otherwise. Her body was shaking in shock, and there was a haunted look in her eyes that made my blood run cold.

“We’ll get him,” I promised, squeezing her hand reassuringly. Her grip tightened momentarily before relaxing. “You’re safe.”

But I knew that was far from the truth right now. Eddie was still out there, and he’d proven he could hurt us. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but it didn’t mean we were going to give up.

“We’ve got a score to settle with Teddy and Eddie,” Knave said harshly, his gaze as cold as ice. I merely nodded in agreement.

Cheshire snickered. “All right, Dr. Seuss.”

Knave flipped him off.

In that moment, I vowed to bring Eddie down no matter what the cost. For Jo, for my brothers, and for our club. We were the Underland MC, and we wouldn’t be bullied into submission.

I lifted Jo into my arms and carried her down the hall. The main part of the clubhouse might be trashed, but it looked like the bedrooms were intact.

“Get some rest,” I told Jo as I laid her down on the bed in her room. “We’ll be right here. Just call out if you need me.”

I pressed a kiss to her forehead and walked out so I could help those who were injured and confer with everyone. We needed a plan. A better one than before.

Chapter Ten

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