Page 66 of Rogue

We may have no chance to break through the wall of Hydras but we’re gonna try.

Then the roaring of bikes comes from everywhere and nowhere. The rest of our brothers and sisters are finally here, the headlights of their bikes blinding both us and the Hydras.

The ones still standing know they’re outnumbered now. They try to make it to the cars, the trucks, into the darkness. I take out any and all that get in my way.

Then I’m kneeling in a pool of blood next to Blade. His blood. Thick and dark. I hold his head in my hands and look deep in his eyes.

“Hold on, Blade,” I tell him. “Just hold on. I’m getting you to a hospital. I’m sorry.”

“No worries,” Blade says and actually grins. “If I have to go down, I’m glad it’s this way. Like a warrior.”

“Don’t talk like that,” I say.

Creed is by my side now, as is Alice. Together we lift Blade up off the ground and carry him to the closest van.

“We did a good thing tonight,” Blade says in a weak voice as I climb behind the wheel.

“A very good thing,” I assure him.

I tell Alice to stay and organize everything here and see if anyone else is hurt. Creed gets in the back with Blade, applying pressure to his wounds which doesn’t seem to be doing much to step the blood flow.

I start the car and floor it.

“Then this is a good day to die,” Blade says in a faint voice.

“You’re not dying, not today,” Creed says, his voice cracking.

I know exactly how he feels. I feel worse. Seeing friends die is something that haunts my nights and my days. And I can’t shake the feeling that I’m to blame here. I pushed us into this battle. A battle that looked like a losing one from the onset. But I wanted us to be more than we were. And I failed. And now one of my closest friends is dying.

I’m driving as fast as I’ve ever driven, the streetlights and other cars just a blur. I’m feeling my way to County General Hospital more than seeing it. It’s not hard to do, because Melody is there. She has my heart and I will always find my way to her no matter where she is. And she will save my brother like she saved me.

And then we will all celebrate a battle well won. Together.

32

Melody

The ride took forever and was so bumpy I’m car sick and wobbly as we finally stop and they pull me out the back of the van. We’re in a clearing in some sort of a wooded area, with only a filthy, lopsided trailer. A heap of garbage of all sorts—mostly empty cans and old tires—litters the space around it. The headlights of the van are the only thing illuminating the scene, which just makes it look that much more like something from a bad crime thriller.

This could be the place I die. After they all rape me. Because this place looks like somewhere that kind of thing happens.

I don’t want to think about that. But now that I thought it, I can’t stop.

“What do you want with me?” I ask no one in particular.

Two of the five guys went ahead to open the trailer, two are holding my arms and Tito is walking beside us.

“You’re gonna help some guys get revenge on Devil’s Nightmare MC, which is gonna help me get my revenge,” Tito explains in a casual voice. I can’t see his face but it sounds like he’s smiling as he speaks.

“How do you figure that’ll go?” I ask. “I have nothing to do with the Devils anymore. I left them years ago.”

“Yeah, but you were one of their club girls back when,” Tito says, turning to me an eying me up and down. His gaze feels like something slimy slithering over my body. “And I have to say they’ve got good taste. Even though they’re total bastards that don’t deserve to live.”

“The Devils won’t move a finger to help me,” I say. “Why would they? I’m just an ER doc now.”

He chuckles. “Save your breath. You’re no good at lying. I know you’re close with their president’s and the VP’s sons. They’ll ride for you. Unholy assured us of that before he tried to take you all to himself. He spent some time with them in the past. He knows how they think.”

They have the trailer door open and some candles lit inside. The two guys let me go so they can shove me through the narrow door.

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