Page 70 of German

I shrugged.“Stripped him naked and left him stranded in the woods with the word “rapist” carved into his chest.”

“And he let you do that?”Pipe asked in amazement.“Just sat there while you carved him up like a Thanksgiving turkey?How do you know the rich asshole won’t talk?”

“He didn’t have many options,” I explained reasonably.“If he came forward about what I did, he’d have to explain what he’d done to incur my wrath.We might both end up in prison.But I assured him, if we did, I had friends on the inside.He didn’t.Plus, the spoiled fucker was soft.He passed out before I finished the first letter!”

My Brother burst out laughing.“You crazy son of a bitch!Does Reaper know about this?”

“Nope.Didn’t think it was important.”I’m sure I would eventually tell my Prez, but Richie Rich was a story for another day.

“Goddamn, you’ve got it bad for that girl.I actually kind of envy you though,” Pipe unexpectedly said.

I could still see Maddy from where I was standing.Her beautiful red hair was loose and flowing.She was holding Evie’s hand and dancing to the music.Just the sight of her being so relaxed and carefree, made my heart grow three sizes.I’d do anything to keep my girl safe.Even if it required something ugly.So be it.Let the sin be on my soul.I’d gladly incur the devil’s wrath to protect her from harm.

Pipe placed the call to his buddies then tucked his cell back in his pocket.“It’s done.You’re about to have two new friends to play with in the Club’s shack in the woods.You want some company for the interrogation?”

“Sure,” I said, tipping back my bottle and killing the last few sips of my beer.My Brother wasn’t just good with electronics.He was good with reading people.And making them talk, when necessary.

After about twenty minutes had passed, Pipe checked his phone and frowned.“Fuck.You’re not going to like this, German.”

That was not the most promising way to start a conversation.“What’s wrong?”

“My connection just broke into the house and someone beat us to the junkies,” he explained.

Anger boiled up inside of me at the missed opportunity.“They’re missing?”

“No.They’re at the apartment.Problem is, they have bullet holes where their brains used to be.And it’s fresh.Probably only a few hours old.”

Fuck!“Robbery gone wrong or something more professional?”

Pipe whistled as he glanced at the photos his buddy had sent over.“Looks like a professional job.Probably the mob keeping them quiet after their failed kidnapping attempt.”

If we’d only been a day or two sooner, I’d have been able to question those assholes about Maddy’s attempted abduction.Now that was never going to happen.Everyone involved had probably gone to ground or was dead.

Pipe patted me on the back.“Don’t worry, German.I’ll find more leads.Just give me a day or two and I’ll figure something out.”

Shouting started near the pavilion, and my eyes immediately swung over in Maddy’s direction.A couple of hang-arounds of the Knights were arguing and shoving one another back and forth.

One of the douchebags in a wife-beater and baggy pants that sagged so far down his thighs they threatened to hobble him, pulled out a gun, and began wildly waving it around.

Turning it sideways like a real amateur, he stepped closer to the man he’d been arguing with.To my horror, the loser being threatened stood only a few paces from the Club’s women.From Maddy.I immediately saw red.

Closing in on the man with blind rage, I cut through the crowd and was on him before he even realized I was there.Acting swiftly, I disarmed the cocksucker and purged the gun of its ammo.

Grabbing him by the neck, I used the butt of the gun and clocked him upside the head.He screamed and clutched at the cut that opened and began effusively pouring blood.

Striking him a second time, I raged, “Shut the fuck up, pussy!”Then dropped him to the ground where I began to pummel his face.“You don’t get to cry after pulling a gun and nearly shooting a group of innocent women with it!”I shouted, booting him in the ribs, hard.

Reaper, Bishop, Hawk, and Pipe were at my back, getting in a few licks of their own.The man was a bloody mess before some of the Knights intervened and dragged his unconscious, broken body away.

Maddy was in my arms before I could call out her name.Her presence, like a balm to my soul, soothed the fever burning through me at an alarming rate.

“Are you okay?”she asked, checking me over like it had been me, not her, in mortal danger just now.

I nodded and my gaze ate up her beautiful visage like I’d been starved of it for decades, instead of seconds.That was close.Too close.Those wannabe gangsters could have injured her.Or worse.My anger flared anew and murder shone in my eyes.

Maddy glanced down at my hands and she quietly gasped.“You’re bleeding.Let’s get you cleaned up.”

Following the woman blindly, she pulled me around the side of the building where a hose was looped around a reel.Twisting on the water, Maddy gently cleansed my hands until the stream ran clear.

---