Page 52 of Cruel Savior

“I don’t suppose you’d consider taking me with you?” I asked.

“Nope. Not while you likely have a concussion. You need to take it easy until we get a doctor to assess you.”

I could have argued that I felt fine, but not only did I not want to waste my breath, it might have been a lie. My head ached, and the accompanying nausea made him likely right about a concussion.

“Then don’t get hurt.”

He smiled, reaching out to cup my cheek. “You worried about me?”

I was, but that didn’t mean I’d say it. “Just hoping to save anyone the hassle of having to go rescue you,” I lied.

Axel roared with laughter, and it felt good that in the light of this nightmare that I’d seemingly brought to their doorstep, he could still find a moment of levity.

On that note, he walked away as two other club brothers filed in behind him, and they all disappeared into the kitchen. Tel, who I’d almost forgotten was still standing close by, moved in and motioned for me to look at the tablet.

“We can surveil them from here. At least until they get past the line of trees that surrounds the casino. All the cameras out there are either damaged or cut off. We won’t know for sure until Axel lets us know what he finds.”

Goosebumps erupted across my skin. That nagging bad feeling intensified.

“I really don’t like this. He could be walking into anything.”

Tel nodded. “If anyone will be fine, it’s him. Axel has at least nine lives, and I don’t think he’s used up more than a few.”

I knew that was supposed to be a joke, but it didn’t feel funny. I hated waiting on the sidelines with my hands essentially tied. It was total bullshit.

However, I had no—

“Wait. What the hell is that?”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Axel

We sprintedacross the open field in the direction of my cabin, taking no more than a few minutes to get there. There wasn’t a lot of cover between the clubhouse and there, and I didn’t want us to take any chances if someone was waiting for us.

Plus, I knew that Tel would still be watching us and whoever had set these explosions likely knew that. But once we got into the tree line, we were completely on our own.

Fortunately, the sun was about to dip below the horizon and we could use the shadows for cover as we approached. We reached the tree line without incident but opted to avoid the open pathway we usually traveled.

All three of us were on alert, guns at the ready, expecting the worst. Or so we thought, until the building came into view. Out here, the smoke was uncomfortably thick, and in a few minutes it was going to be tough to breathe easy.

The first thing I saw was a body on the ground. Shit.

Putting on speed, I made it there first and dropped down to check for a pulse. I was so focused on whether or not he was breathing I didn’t register right away the mangled condition of Brody, one of our newest prospects.

“Boss.” A hand landed on my shoulder right at the moment I realized. He was gone.

Anger and grief welled inside me, warring for control. This wasn't my first experience with this kind of loss, but it had been a while since we'd suffered a direct attack like this.

I surveyed the front of the building, flames licking along the front wall that had a giant hole in the middle. Like the clubhouse, it seemed that this explosion had originated from the front door as well. Only this one was bigger with smoke pouring from every crack, break or hole in the building.

"We need to find him."

"If he's inside the building that's going to be difficult before the FD gets here. It looks like the entire building has been caught up."

I was about to tell him too bad when a small explosion busted one of the front windows. "Help!" A warbled and weak, but clearly feminine cry came from the inside, striking my chest with fear.

"Holy shit!" Rooster, one of the prospects cried. "Someone's in there."

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