Page 41 of What He Wants

I ignored his question. “Shooter knows we’re here.” I looked around for Shooter and Whistler. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’d brought in the other members of his club to distract us.

“He could be waiting to take you out in the ring,” Cooper remarked. I’d already thought of that. He’d be cutting his own throat if he did that. Covacks wouldn’t let that shit slide. What went on outside the barn was one thing, there was always trouble brewing between clubs who were finally able to let loose after a fight, but any interference during one of his fights would be taken care of by his men quickly and lethally. Too much money at stake. Shooter had to know that, too.

“He’d be stupid to make a move like that inside. He’ll wait and take action after I fight and he knows where I am.”

“Lazy fuck. He knows you’ll be wiped out after you lose a fight.”

I scoffed at Clay’s comment. “Thanks for your confidence in me, brother.” I hadn’t lost a fight yet.

“So we’re just gonna wait around until they make a move?” I could hear the impatience in Cooper’s tone.

“Hell, no,” I grumbled. I was just as anxious as he was to get back to a woman. “Keep your eyes open, I’m going to move around, make myself visible to the fuckers.” I was already on the move, walking casually through the crowd, heading closer to the ring.

I paused near a suit, drawing the attention of the woman on his arm. She smiled big, and gave me lazy wink, an invitation in her eyes revealing that she wasn’t exactly loyal to the suit. He was thoroughly into the fight, ignoring her completely. She was young and a stunner, and before Daisy had come along I may have wooed her away and fucked her out behind the barn. Tonight my dick didn’t even twitch, much less raise his head to acknowledge the scent of a tight pussy nearby. I smiled absentmindedly and turned to take in the fight.

I recognized Rebel, a brother from Dark Menace, tearing into another brother I knew as Bear. Both men were beat to fuck and covered in blood, but Rebel looked to be coming out on top. Bear was leaning weakly against Rebel, exhausted and ready to collapse, not even protecting himself from Rebel’s punches. The crowd was going crazy, fists pumping high in the air as they shouted for the fight to be over so they could collect their blood money. I knew who would win. I hadn’t seen him lose a fight yet.

Rebel was a mean motherfucker in the ring. He was mean and moody as fuck outside of the ring, too, but he was different from the man he’d been in the past. Years before he’d gone undercover with Red Devils, back when Wildman had still been alive, and he’d come out a changed man, and not in a good way. He’d seen and done some sick shit while with the Red Devils. No one really knew the details of what he’d done, but it was clear that he was carrying a lot of darkness inside.

As Bear slipped unconscious to the ground, I shifted a few feet closer to the ring. Covacks’ men surrounded it, there not for the purpose of stopping the fight if things went south, but to prevent anyone else from interfering. It wasn’t uncommon for someone to lose their life in the ring. Covacks made big money at these fights, and his men saw to it that he collected every fucking penny, because they got a cut, too. Sometimes they fought, and you had to be a tough fuck to get into the ring with one of them.

When they fought, it was usually to the death.

Two of Covacks’ men entered the ring to remove Bear. Someone tossed Rebel a towel, which turned crimson fast once he started wiping down his face and chest. The announcer held up his arm, declaring him the winner. Christ, I didn’t feel like fighting tonight, but it looked like I was going to have to. It would be a clear, sure way of showing Shooter exactly where I was so he could make his move when the fight was over. The Trouble Makers I’d stepped in front of must have been told to stand down, because they didn’t acknowledge me.

“Anything yet?” I said into my mouthpiece.

Clay. “No.”

Cooper. “Nope.”

Jumper. “Not yet.”

“Wait a minute, I got something,” Clay said. “I see Whistler. Back of the barn at the left.”

Shit. I looked in that direction, wondering where the fuck Shooter was. “Point him out to Cooper and Jumper. You brothers make your way behind him, but don’t do anything unless he makes a move.”

“Where the fuck is Shooter?” I asked no one in particular.

There was a significant pause. “Fuck.” Clay’s tone sent a warning through me that was too late. “Right behind you, brother,” he said at exactly the same time I felt the barrel of a gun jammed hard into my back.

“Hello, brother,” Shooter said with smug self-assurance in his gruff tone. “Let’s finish this.”

Well, fuck.

I knew Shooter wouldn’t shoot me inside. Shit was working out as planned.

Until a fucking shot rang out, and then there was chaos.

Chapter 18

Big John

Chaos. In a heartbeat, screams, shouts, people scrambling for cover, a stampede toward the door to escape, as more gunfire sounded. Covacks’ men were suddenly everywhere, their weapons drawn as they tried to identify the shooter. I saw two rival MC’s, the Sinners and the Disciples pointing guns at each other and firing blindly as they backed up and ran for cover. Everyone close to them had fanned out in every direction, hoping to avoid being shot.

Other MC’s began brawling, caught up in the situation, and suddenly the whole fucking room resembled one big ring.

I didn’t have time to look for my brothers. I had my own situation to deal with, and now that shit was going down there was no reason to worry about consequences. Shooter hesitated a second too long, his reflexes having slowed over his years in prison, giving me the chance to swing around and grab his gun arm. I twisted it away from me and chopped down on his wrist at the same time. His gun dropped to the ground, someone in the crowd kicked it away as they rushed toward the door, and then we were in a full-out brawl.

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