There was a mild complication, but thankfully, she made it through the surgery. She lost a lot of blood, so they had to give her a blood transfusion. She’s in the ICU now, recovering. She hasn’t woken up yet, but she’s stable.
And Carter?
I ground my teeth, waiting.
Carter’s safe. I promised you I’d take care of them. Did youdoubt me?
Blowing out a breath, I typed in my response.
Maybe a little. Thank you, Spike. Thank you so much. I love you.
I love you too, Phoenix. Take care of business, okay? I’ll message you once she wakes up. We’ll see you soon.
I tossed my phone on the bed, so relieved all I could do was clasp my hands together, stare up at the ceiling, and thank God over and over again for sparing Charlotte and not taking her away from me. Fromus.
And Percious…
That mother fucker was lucky he was in custody and that I was currently prepping for a drug bust. Once all of his charges had been brought against him, I was going to convince Harley into seeking the death penalty. After all he’d done to us, Charlotte, Karl, the SPD, and Felix, the bastard deserves to die.
Casting those thoughts aside, I got back to the bigger task at hand. Crow refused to mention what was going down tonight, so I had to ensure I was equipped for any unexpected surprises. I finished loading my service pistol and the other two I had locked away in the safe I kept under my bed. After putting the ammo away, I stocked everything in the holsters attached to my hip and then threw a solid black hoodie on to hide them from prying eyes.
Once I was in the car, I fished through the Five Finger Death Punch CD, searching for the right song to fit my current mood. Finally, I settled onJekyll and Hydeand then I was off to Daggers, arriving just as the sun began to set.
A shiver spider-walked down my spine as my eyes raked over Crow and at least a dozen of his crew members lined up in front of the bar, waiting for me on their bikes which were all powered on, their engines revving at my approach. Toothpick, who was standing next to Crow holding what appeared to be two jackets and black beanie masks in his hands, offered me a toothy grin as he whispered the word “Bonecrusher” under his breath. I watched carefully as Crow turned to him and accepted the jackets and masks.
“Bonecrusher.” Crow’s brows furrowed as he gaped around and over my shoulder. “Where is your partner?”
“He couldn’t make it. Something came up and he had to stay behind.”
Crow and Toothpick shared troubling looks as the rest of the crew began dispersing in discouraging whispers.
“Is that going to be a problem?” I asked.
“We’ll make it work,” Toothpick said loud enough to summon a loud wave of silence. “It’s fine.”
Crow nodded his agreement. “Before we get started, I need you to take off that hoodie and spread your legs and arms wide.”
“What?” I blinked incredulously at him. “You think I’m wired?”
Crow lifted his shoulders, dropping them as he gave me a bitter smirk. “Better safe than sorry.”
I scoffed, rolling my eyes and doing as instructed, and waited as Toothpick thoroughly checked me over, finding nothing except for the extra guns I’d brought.
“I see you came prepared.” Crow grinned wickedly at me before offering me the Rolling Rebels jacket tightfisted in his right hand. “Welcome home, Bonecrusher.”
“Let me make one thing perfectly clear to you.” I grabbed the jacket and put it on, my brows lifting in frank surprise. It was a perfect fit. As I gaped down to the familiar worn-down badge with my old nickname stitched inon it, my lips parted. This was my old jacket from my teenage years. It had to be.
Crow actually held onto it after all these years?
“I amnotback, and this crew isnotmy home. I’m only here to settle the bargain between us and that’s it. After that, I’m done. We’ll go our separate ways and hopefully never see each other again.”
Crow’s jaw ticked, but he didn’t fight me on it. “Understood, Bonecrusher.”
I swiped the black beanie mask from his hand and then stuffed it inside the left jacket pocket before grabbing my hoodie and throwing it over my shoulder. “The plan?”
“It’s simple, really. Intercept the shipment before it gets too deep inside the Ravens’ territory. Once the truck is secure, you can go back to being a good little piggy and all the bad blood between us will be wiped clean.”
“What do you intend to do with the shipment once it’s in your hands?”