Page 61 of Havoc

“All done,” Havoc intoned.

“Good,” the deep voice on the other end of the line said. “Now get your asses moving. Me and the other club officers will come out first thing in the morning. Storm has already sent prospects to guard the outside of the cabin and shelter. They should be arriving anytime.”

“Yeah, okay. We’re heading out now.”

Chapter 18

Havoc

Before leaving the cabin, we headed down to the basement. Most of the brothers left either a large duffle bag or footlocker with their sports gear there. Mace preferred a large duffle bag because he could loop his arms through the handles and carry it on his back. I preferred a generously sized footlocker because it could hold more. We went about gearing up as quickly as possible.

Riley loomed over my shoulder, watching me open mine. “Not you too?”

I glanced over my shoulder and grinned at her. “No way. I just store the gear for all my hobbies down here. Fortunately, that includes a rifle and two extra pistols that I usually use for target practice. I think I even have some spare ammo in here.”

She wrapped her arms around her stomach and stopped chewing on her lip long enough to say, “And let me guess, after what happened tonight with Slater, you decided it’s better to be safe than sorry. Am I right?”

“Yeah, that’s the mantra I live my life by. Being prepared has saved my ass more than once.”

“I just bet it has. You don’t seem like you’re a stranger to danger.”

“No sweetheart, I am most certainly not,” I murmured to her as I pulled out my rifle and handguns.

She watched curiously as I fished out all the things I felt I needed for this trek to the bunker. Not knowing what to expect, I prepared for everything.

I strapped my hunting knife to my right leg about six inches above my ankle and pulled my pants leg down to cover it. Then I slung my rifle over my shoulder and tucked one handgun in the back of my waistband and held the other out for Riley.

Her eyes got big, and she backed away. “I don’t know anything about guns.”

“You point and squeeze the trigger. This is a nine-millimeter Glock. It has a bit of a kick, so be prepared for that. Never draw your weapon unless you have to in order to save your own life or another person’s life. Keep the safety lock on and the muzzle pointed away from yourself and anything else you don’t want to kill. That’s the basics.”

“I don’t think me carrying a gun is a very good idea,” she stammered.

“Suit yourself,” I told her, thinking she was making a big mistake. I don’t normally foist badass weapons on innocent, unsuspecting women but I had a bad gut feeling about this situation. I reached down and pulled a sheathed knife from my stock of cool gear. Holding it out to her, I asked, “What about a blade?”

Her eyes shot up to mine and then back down to my humble offering. One shaking hand reached out to grasp the handle. I tugged the sheath, so the knife slid out. I watched her eyes crawl over every square inch, warming to the idea of carrying a weapon. I honestly thought she needed a means to protect herself, something to level the playing field if she was forced to face off against a larger and more experienced opponent, like Slater.

She eased it back into its leather housing and took it from my hands. “My grandfather and I used to practice with throwing knives. Blades don’t scare me, and I know how to use them safely.”

I reached out and gave her arm a squeeze. “Good. Don’t be afraid to use it if your back is against the wall.”

She gave me a stiff nod and handed it back. I clipped it to the waistband of her jeans. Another knot of tightness loosened in my chest. I asked her, “Are you ready for a night hike?”

“Not really, but it looks like I don’t have a choice.”

“Where’s that adventurous spirit you used to have?”

She perked up a little at being reminded of her own inner strength and bravery. “I think she’s waiting to jump back into action.”

Mace made a strange sound from the doorway. He’d always used sounds instead of words to get my attention, so I didn’t think much of it. When I glanced over at him, he made the gesture for let’s move out.

I guided Riley in front of me, telling her, “Stay between Mace and myself. Don’t step out of formation unless one of us tells you to.”

We walked out the back door of the basement to find a lone figure in the distance looking down on us. They were partway up the hill on the very path we needed to traverse. The moonlight was at their back, obscuring their features. My guard went up, especially when two more figures emerged from the trees, one on either side of the first.

Nine made a strange sound and went racing towards the middle figure. They moved back one leg in a traditional fighting stance. I didn’t know who they were, but fighting a huge animal that was part wolf and part some kind of large breed dog was a really dangerous thing to do. Mace surged forward after him, shouting, “Nine, don’t do that. You guys are gonna fucking kill each other one day.”

Just then he got close enough to take a running jump onto the poor hapless soul. My hand automatically went up to Riley’s eyes because I didn’t want her to see the heroic animal she’d recently fed treats to, ripping out someone’s throat. I knew he would kill if he felt we were under threat. He killed and ate his own fresh meat, after all.

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