Page 6 of Enforce This

The poor woman had done everything she could to see me out of this backwoods hellhole. She supported my enlistment at seventeen, and even came to my graduation from basic training. She never gave up, always holding out hope that I’d learn to deal with the trauma of my past and step away from all this ‘darkness and outlawry’as she so delicately called it.

I’d done an outstanding job of fucking that up when I ruined my military career, but I’d managed to convince her that I was on the straight and narrow. As far as she knew, I was just another one of Miller Trucking Company’s employees, until now.

I turned back toward Mak, but he had his hand in the air and was running inside, well aware that he couldn’t discuss club business in front of my aunt. She was staunchly against anything criminal. The woman hated the club and everything it stood for. My father and the Steel Disciples had cost her a sister.

My lips floundered as I mentally ticked away excuses that simply wouldn’t work anymore. My adrenaline raged, and I eventually, jerked a shoulder toward my ear and shrugged. “I… We can talk about this later. Right now… I need you to go home, Aunt Daisy. Please… I need you to trust me. You can’t be here right now…”

The sirens grew louder, and I began to frantically look around, running the hand that wasn’t gripping a pistol through my short hair. I needed someone to get her in that car and get her the hell out of here.

I didn’t have time for this, and she didn’t need or deserve to get caught up in any of our bullshit.

Daisy hadn’t stopped staring at me. Disbelief and disgust conflicted across her delicate features. She was ghostly pale as she slowly shifted her gaze and took in the panels of shattered glass and the bullet riddled entrance of Miller’s Trucking Company.

“How many children?” she demanded once she was finally able to get past the initial shock.

“Aunt Daisy, please…” I tried to blow past her, we had to get to that cemetery.

She’d never been much for conflict, but she grabbed my arm and hurled the news like a punch, “Janice Miller Briggs was just shot to death outside my hair salon.”

The wind rushed from my lungs on a groan, and I twisted back toward Mak and the compound. A life-altering sob rang out from within the building, and the slamming and shattering that followed told me Mak had found his wife. It also told me his infamous violent temper was on full display.

“Fuck!” I repeated, a bit louder than last time. I didn’t have time to reach through his meltdown and break the news of his mother’s death to Mak… I had to get to his father. Our club and brothers were in danger.

I didn’t bother wasting any more words, Daisy was shell-shocked. Nothing I said now was going to be of any use to her and those sirens were only blocks away. I jumped on my bike and fired it up.

“Go home!” I shouted, as I rolled past her and turned onto the highway.

Stop signs and traffic didn’t exist for me as I blurred past them without a thought. I raced toward the cemetery, the speedometer climbing to ninety in no time at all.

It didn’t take me long to reach the hill that overlooked the cemetery. It was only a couple of miles from the compound, but I was still too late. As I mounted the hill and rolled toward the rocked lane of the cemetery, I saw Mark fall and the people around him scattering. The popping was slower, more controlled than the sound of the automatic that had been used at the compound, but people were dropping all the same.

The loose rock caught my tire wrong, and the bike slid. I gained control of it, slowed it enough to lay it down without too much damage, and immediately began to return fire as I made my way toward our fallen Prez.

Dark, expensive-looking cars slung rocks and shot off down the highway, one after another. The familiar sound of police sirens began to scream in the distance as I passed the upturned chairs that had been set up along Princess’s grave. I froze when I saw Mark lying on the ground with his eyes closed.

It was like I was right back in Afghanistan.

Fuck, I hated that feeling.

“Mark…” I managed, as I gravitated toward him and sank to a squat. I reached out and felt around for a pulse on his neck. It was faint if it was there. I shook him, not expecting much to happen.

“Mark!” My voice rose as I noticed Big Vick laying lifeless beside him.

We both sucked in a violent breath when he snaked his hand out and grabbed my leather jacket.

“They hit the compound,” Mark guessed, his voice hoarse.

“They did. We lost two brothers, and—”

He grabbed my arm, and squeezed with a sudden show of strength, “Mak?”

“Mak is fine. His wife…. And Janice…”

“Janice…” Mack closed his eyes, only to bug them as they opened, panic filling his voice as he blurted out, “If they went for Janice they won’t stop there. You have to get to Feloni, Eric. She’s in nursing class at the community college in Rochester.”

“I got you. I got you, just breathe, brother.”

“Go!” He threw my hand away. “Goddamn you, let me die in peace. Just go keep my little girl safe, would you? You’re my Sergeant at Arms now.”

---