Page 11 of Medusa's Revenge

“I think you need to tell TJ because this affects him just as much as you. They’re coming after his business. We can pretend all we want it’s not them, but we know it is. Plus, you keep him in the dark, and if something happens to him that he could’ve prevented, he may not forgive you.” I groan out loud, like a hungry bear. “Wearing the crown isn’t so much fun, is it?” Arthur winks at me.

“I feel like this is my battle because of what I lost because of DeMarco.” I flop onto the mats and lay down.

“And that is where you’re wrong.” I open my mouth to say something, but Arthur holds a hand up, “But everyone in this neighborhood, the old one, your girls in the MC, and some businesses have lost someone or something because of the DeMarco family. We all need to see that man and his business gone before he takes more lives.”

“How? He’s still in hiding.” I say, sounding like a teenager.

“We need to start playing offense and not defense. We’ve been twiddling our thumbs, waiting for the next strike. Maybe we strike first.” I sit up and look at the man who has been trying to teach me patience for over fifteen years. I raise an eyebrow at him. “Just listen. We need to make sure you and your girls are trained, not just here but on firearms. They need to watch old cop shows on how to do stakeouts and learn about how the DeMarcos run these. Find a weak spot and exploit it.” I mull his words over in my head. Why didn’t I think of that? I say it out loud and think about it. “Sometimes, when you’re in thethick of things, you don’t always see it. It’s best to get an outside perspective.”

“I know you’re right. I’m just pissed I didn’t think of it. Do you want to schedule some sessions for us?” He nods. “All right, I’m going to head back to my place. I didn’t sleep well.”

“The nightmares came back. I heard you screaming.” Arthur holds out his hand to pull me up. I hugged him. “I’ll let you know when I am available.” I nod and wave as I head out the door after putting my boots back on. Walking toward my bike in the back parking lot, I pull out my phone to call TJ.

“What's up, sis?” He sounds tired.

“Are you busy?”

“No. I’m standing in front of my fridge, trying to decide what I want for food.” He tells me.

“Want to come to my place, and we can order from that Italian place we love?” He agrees. I climb onto the bike and look up to see Noah staring out the window while he’s on the phone talking to someone. He’s laughing, and he is more handsome when he doesn’t realize someone is watching him. His eyes meet mine, and he waves to me. I wave back as I blush, knowing I was caught staring. I back my bike up some before starting it to head home. I let the wind whip my hair, feeling it sting my face and reminding me how alive I am. The thoughts of DeMarco leave me for now. The open road always frees my mind.

Turning to my road, I see my brother’s truck opening the gate. I follow him in and pass him to my garage. I never keep my vehicles out in the open. I change the code on my gate, garage, and security every six weeks. It keeps things fresh, and no one has them but a select few. TJ ducks under the door before it closes.

“Wild hair.” He comments. “No helmet tonight?”

“I needed to clear my thoughts.” TJ holds up a bag. “You grabbed dinner? Awesome.” We walk into the house, and there’sno beeping, so the alarm is disengaged. TJ and I both reach for our guns. His is always at his back, mine at my side inside my cut or jacket. TJ sets the food down on the table next to the garage door. He looks around for keys, but nothing. I motioned for him to head toward the upstairs, and I’d sweep downstairs. I clear the office game room and head to the dining room when I see movement out of my way. Someone comes crashing into me. We both land on the ground hard. I land on my back, the air rushing out of me. The man is in a mask. He had a knife, and I was two seconds too slow because I felt the cold steel at my throat.

“I know you didn’t come home alone. You'll be quiet if you don’t want your brother to get gutted.” I nod my head. I swallowed hard, feeling the knife nick me as I moved my neck. “I have a message for you. He’s coming for you.” My body trembles. I try to be this badass woman, but I know he is my boogeyman.

“Anything else?” My voice quakes with my fear. The man chuckles as he licks my face before slapping me. His eyes sparkle at what I can only assume is the handprint burning my cheek.

“I hope the boss is okay with me having a taste of you before he kills you nice and slowly. This body is too damn good not to sample.” The man grinds his hips into me, and I feel his cock hardening. He’s disgusting. He’s too busy to realize I’m moving slowly. He’s opened himself up for me to defend myself. I raise my head, knife be damned, and I strike my head against his nose. He screams as he holds his face, allowing me to get away from him.

He recovers quickly. The man in the ski mask grabs my red hair as I try to run away from him to hold my gun. He places the knife at my throat again.

“I should just end you now, but the boss would kill me for doing it for him.”

“What a pity. You won’t be able to tell him you scared me.” My voice is strong. He doesn’t have my hands tied, so I’m ableto grab his hand with the knife, and we struggle for control. I bring up my knee, banging his wrist against it to get the knife loose. It breaks free, and I can grab it, but he keeps hold of my hair. I twist around and yell out in pain as he pulls on it. I take my left hand, stab the masked man in his stomach, and pull up before twisting the knife. His eyes widen as I push him into a wall, knocking pictures off it and making a loud crash. TJ comes running. I pull out the knife, and the masked man slides down the wall onto the floor. I take TJ’s gun and shoot the attacker in the crotch, then between the eyes.

“What the fuck was that?” TJ asks. I hold up my finger.

“Bubbles, are you at the club?” I have the phone on speaker as I search the pockets of the dead man. TJ removed the mask, and he went pale.

“This is the guy who came to the shop today.” He mutters. I stare at him, and he shakes his head.

“Yeah, why?”

“I just had a visit from one of DeMarcos's men. Could you get ahold of Tripline? I need a body removal. Then have her get some prospects she trusts to get the blood out of my house.”

“Your house? Why weren’t you notified?” I heard her door slam and commotion, so I knew she had left her bedroom at the compound to go to the standard room. “Tripline, Medusa has a priority acid at her place. She also needs clean up.”

“Where?” I hear Tripline’s voice, and a chair scrape against the floor.

“Her place.” I hear more voices. I know I’m about to get swarmed. “See you soon, Medusa.” She clicks off with me.

ME: Tommy sent a man to threaten me.

“Care to explain what’s going on?” TJ asks. He has a cell phone and uses the man’s finger to unlock the phone. He searches the phone for something. I tell him about the note from last night. He’s pissed I didn’t call him.

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