Page 96 of Savior

“I tried talking Dakota into getting some air too, but—”

“But, we’re almost done, and I’m wearing the mask thingy,” she argued. “Remind me again, how is burning this place to the ground part of the plan?”

“Cap, sweetie, we’re destroying evidence. Evidence that would look really bad for me and Big Guy should the cops decide to show up. Your mom’s right, you need to stop huffing the gasoline and get some fresh air. By the way…”

I was going to straight to hell, but couldn’t resist. “How’s the old foot doing?”

Her cheeks reddened, and she turned her back to Celia before flipping me off, mouthing, “You’re a dead man.”

“What happened to your foot?” Celia asked as I made my way down the hall.

“You should ask Zane,” I called over my shoulder. “I hear he has in-depth knowledge of the situation. From what I understand, he went deep undercover. Really penetrated the fortress of, uh, mystery.” At Dakota’s snarl, I added, “Alright, good talk, kids. Five minutes. Let’s finish strong… or high—whatever.”

The bedrooms reeked of accelerant, but I forced myself to enter each one, ensuring that everything was in place. Rogers and his wife lay awkwardly against the large whirlpool tub in the master bathroom, their bodies still stiff with Rigor Mortis.

It had taken both Zane and me over an hour to move them, neither of us keen on the idea of the girls seeing the Sons’ handiwork up close. Celia had already dealt with one dead body in the last twenty-four hours, she didn’t need another one.

I’d helped clean up more than a few messes for Grey over the years but never imagined I’d be covering up a double homicide for the Sons.

If we wanted to come out on top, we had to stay one step ahead. With or without our fingerprints, there was still a trail leading back to us.

I smiled at the thought of the Sons second-guessing themselves when they realized we were here, wondering if we’d found something they’d missed. Some clue that was going to lead us right to their front door.

It was time they had a taste of their own medicine.

To know your enemy, you must become your enemy.

They burned down my storage facility, I was simply returning the favor. Tit for tat.

As planned, everyone was gathered on the back porch by the time I came out. “Alright, time for phase two.”

Beads of sweat appeared on my forehead just as a wave of nausea swept over me. I barely made it over to the rose bushes before I was vomiting up what little food I’d eaten throughout the day.

Once I finished, I ran the back of my hand over my mouth and placed my palm against the brick siding to steady myself before dropping my mouth to the garden faucet. I lapped up the cool water, swishing and spitting until the bitter taste of bile no longer coated my tongue.

“It’s alright,” Celia said softly, rubbing in between my shoulder blades. “It’s going to work.”

I waved off her concern as I straightened. “Think the fumes just got to me. Let that be a lesson to all of us. Don’t do drugs, kids. Anybody got a breath mint?”

Lauren seemingly came out nowhere, throwing herself into my side with a terse, “Are you sick? Should we call it off?”

The dizziness persisted, along with a feeling of weakness in my legs. I wrapped my arms around her body, anchoring myself just as much as her. “Calm your tits, darlin’. I’m fine.”

Her chin rested against my chest as she looked up at me with eyes that seemed overly bright. “Are you sure? What if they figure it out? They’ve already taken so much from us. My mother… Grey—”

“They won’t,” I assured her. She’d been a nervous wreck since we’d come up with the plan, even though this was the last place the Sons expected us to be. “Is Jimmy ready?”

She nodded. “He said to text as soon as it caught. Kate’s got the truck in position.”

I crushed my lips to her forehead. “Good. Last thing we want is the house burning down around us and no getaway car.”

Celia stood rigidly off to the side, spinning her wedding band in a slow circle around her finger. “Mikey, we have to be prepared for things to get worse once we do this—”

“Oh, it’s gonna get worse. See, those motherfuckers have called the shots for years now. They’re convinced they have us all figured out.” I pulled the matches from my back pocket with a smirk. “What do you say, Celia? Ready to blow those misconceptions to shit?”

She clapped me on the back again before pressing a kiss to my temple. “You’re just like your father. Alright, let’s do it. Lauren, the minute it goes up, alert Jimmy. Dakota, you’ve got Kate. And remember, stick with your partner.”

“Hey,” I interrupted. “Who’s robbing this train—me or Jesse James? Now…” I turned back to Lauren, lowering my head until our noses were touching. “You good, Red? Practiced your breathing? Remember what I told you, there’s no crying in biker wars—”

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