Page 2 of Hellraiser

But I was too late. He threw it to the ground and stomped on it, smashing it to pieces under his thick black boot. My heart clunked to my feet, having to witness my crucial evidence being destroyed as the pieces of my recorder scattered across the floor.

All my hard work—doing the research, preparing the questions, risking it all to meet my source to have my inquiries answered—seemed to have slipped through my fingers like grains of sand. Knowing I hadn’t had the chance to transcribe or upload the recording to the cloud made the loss even more devastating. All that I’d worked so hard to obtain was gone.

“Consider this a warning,” the biker growled, leaning in close. “You know what we do to snitches around here, especially when they’re as pretty as you?”he asked menacingly.

Fear clawed at my throat as dread consumed me.I knew I should’ve thought of ways to bounce back from the setback. After all, pivot was my middle name. I couldn’t afford to give upbecause giving up meant getting fired…again. The thought of losing my job and the career I’d worked so hard to rebuild was almost overwhelming enough to make me scream.

I had to find another way to get the information I needed for the story. It was the only way I’d be able to prove to myself that I had the chops to make it in journalism, and see the Outlaws fall for the things they’d done to women.IfI survived the night in the presence of those monsters, I’d take it as a sign to turn my lemons into lemonade. But that was a big ass if.I closed my eyes and prayed to God almighty for a miracle, hoping for a way out of my fucked-up situation.

At least if I die, I’ll still have a story that ends up on the newspaper’s front page.

I sat on my bike,hidden in the shadows of an alley across the street from the Outlaws’ Den—a notorious bar belonging to our rival MC, the Chicago Outlaws. As the vice president of the Hell’s Savages, I’d taken it upon myself to handle the surveillance mission personally. My father, president of the Hell’s Savages, expected nothing but perfection from me, and I was determined to prove my worth.

The cool air blew past me, getting colder as the sun went down. I remained focused, my eyes trained on the bar’s entrance. I’d been here for hours, watching for any signs of unusual activity. The Outlaws had been getting bolder lately, going from drug trafficking to selling women, and I needed to find out what they were planning next.

As I considered calling it a night, I spotted a lone figure walking down the road. It was a woman with a swinging ponytail and her arms wrapped tightly around herself, shivering from the cold. She looked out of place, too innocent for the rough crowd that frequented the Outlaws’ Den.

My heart sank half a foot as I watched her slow her stride as she gazed at the bar’s entrance. She hesitated for a moment.

What the hell are you doing out here, girl? Keep walking. You don’t want any part of this. Don’t go inside. Don’t do it. Don’t do it. Fuck. She did it.

She pushed open the door and stepped inside. I groaned while rubbing my temple in frustration.

Just what I fuckin’ needed. Now I have to worry about you too.

I watched the scene unfold from the shadows, feeling an intense internal pull to go in and save her. I knew it would blow my cover, jeopardizing the mission, but I couldn’t stand by and let her get hurt or worse. I’d seen what the Outlaws did to women, and the thought of that innocent creature falling into their hands filled me with a cold rage. She wouldn’t stand a mothafuckin chance.

I knew I couldn’t let her wander straight into the lion’s den without protection. I quickly texted Prez—my father—asking for backup. I needed my brothers to ensure shit didn’t turn into a full-scale war. After sending the message, I tucked my phone away and focused on the task.

I hopped off my bike with my Glock in tow and headed across the street, sticking to the shadows until I reached the bar’s entrance. I gulped down a steadying breath, mentally preparing myself for the chaos I was sure would unfold as soon as I burst through the door. The bar was as seedy as I expected, filled with a crowd of rough-looking niggas and a thick cloud of marijuanasmoke. I spotted the woman standing a few feet from the bar, her expression riddled with fear.

My gray eyes narrowed as I saw Cannon, their president, grab her arm. He started mumbling something to her, but I didn’t need to hear his words. The terror in her eyes told me all I needed to know. I stepped forward without wasting any more time, instantly drawing attention and sticking out like a sore thumb. The room fell silent for a split second as everyone turned to look at me.

“Get your fuckin’ hands off her. Now,” I demanded, voice booming over the music and murmurs.

Cannon snapped his neck in my direction, and looked me up and down, his grip on the woman’s brown wrist tightening.

“Seems to me you’re in the wrong mothafuckin bar, nigga. You think you can just walk in here and start dishing out orders? Your authority don’t matter here.

Without hesitation, I reached for the gun on my hip and fired a warning shot into the ceiling, my eyes dead-locked on Cannon’s. The sudden noise startled the bikers, but it wasn’t enough to make them back down, their intentions clear.

“I said, let her go. Or I’ll make sure you fuckin’ regret it.”

Cannon hesitated, assessing the situation. The tension in the room was apparent, and I was outnumbered a million to one, but after a long moment, he released his grip on her. She stumbled back, grabbing her wrists to rub away the pain. The fear in her eyes was replaced by relief as she locked her gaze on me.

The woman was initially frozen in shock. Soon after, she ducked behind an overturned table, keeping her head down and trying to make herself as invisible as possible. Before I could grab her, the room quickly plummeted into chaos as the bikers charged at me. Punches were thrown left and right. All hell broke loose as some bikers grabbed bottles from the bar, smashingthem to use as weapons during the brawl. All I heard was the sound of breaking glass around me.

In the heat of the brawl, tables were flipped over, sending drinks flying. The floor was a slippery mess with spilled liquor and broken glass, making it difficult to maintain my balance.

Still, I fought through the crowd, dodging flying fists and debris as I forced my way through the madness. My fists were bloodied as I used a combination of flying punches and kicks with my gun at the ready. One of the bikers grabbed a chair and swung it at me, connecting with my back. The heavy wooden chair splintered upon impact, adding to the debris scattered across the floor.

Just as things started to look grim, a few of my MC brothers burst through the door, coming to my defense with bullets and blows. Their brutal reinforcements gave me the edge I needed. I fought my way to the woman, roughly grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the exit as my brothers held off the remaining bikers.

“Come on. We need to get the fuck out of here!”

She followed me closely, trusting me to usher her to safety. She kept her head low and moved quickly, avoiding the chaos.

More of my brothers were coming, but we couldn’t wait. I wouldn’t let her become another victim. I pushed through the chaos, finally reaching the door and bursting into the cold night air. Once outside, she clung to me like a second skin as I led her to my motorcycle and quickly helped her onto the back before passing her my helmet for safety.

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