Page 37 of Chaos Claimed

Matias entered, inhaling sharply. “Jesús Cristo.”

Suero stood to one side, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white, his voice trembling with barely contained fury. “I called an ambulance,” he said through gritted teeth. “I’m going to find him and rip him apart.”

Matias nodded, eyes fixed on Macey. “Tell everyone to hunt him down. I want him brought to the tavern once he’s found.”

Santiago had never heard Matias’s voice carry a mix of anger and anguish. He knew how his alpha felt. Santiago wanted to make Jacob suffer slowly. Macey was barely five feet tall, maybe a hundred and twenty pounds. She was a dainty woman who stood no chance against someone as brutal as Jacob.

Turning away, Santiago walked out, taking a deep breath. Now he understood why Suero had stopped Percy from entering. That scene inside would have haunted his mate forever.

Santiago’s lip curled as Deputy Gilmore rolled through the sea of motorcycles, deliberately parking dead center in the street. Wrong time to stir the wolves. If he was looking for a fight, he’d just cracked open the gates of hell.

Behind him, Matias stepped out of the house.

“He tried to stop me on my way here,” Santiago said, eyes locked on Gilmore as the deputy climbed out, glancing at the bikes like their very presence insulted him. “I didn’t stop.”

Matias slowly descended the steps, each stride deliberate and coiled with power. Santiago fell in behind him. The last thing he needed was Percy catching even a whiff of this bullshit. His mate was already dealing with too much.

Matias crossed the yard, and Gilmore turned to face him.

“That many bikes on the street is illegal.” Gilmore’s chin raised, fingers resting on his utility belt.

The side of Matias’s mouth twitched. “Is that so?”

“Your gang needs to move them, or they’ll get ticketed,” Gilmore continued, briefly glancing at Santiago before focusing back on Matias.

While Gilmore was acting his usual arrogant self, Santiago noticed a hint of hesitation in the cop’s eyes. Understandable when surrounded by over two dozen men.

An ambulance arrived behind the police car, the driver’s eyes widening at the sight of the crowd.

“Looks like you’re the one blocking access, deputy,” Matias said, stepping closer and lowering his voice. “I suggest you move your cruiser. Now.”

Gilmore huffed, his biceps flexing. What a little bitch.

“Get off my fucking property!” Percy shouted. “That ambulance is for my mom! Nobody wants you here, you—” Santiago quickly covered Percy’s mouth, though he felt tempted to let him loose on the deputy.

“Are you seriously gonna block the ambulance just to write tickets?” Elijah asked, his fists clenched.

The pack started closing in, forming a circle around Gilmore. The deputy glanced around, then snorted. He turned and walked back to his car, slamming the door before driving off, pausing just long enough to glare at Santiago before heading down the street.

The ambulance eased to a stop out front. Two paramedics hopped out, circling to the back of the rig to haul out a stretcher, red lights pulsing.

Neighbors began stepping out of their homes, straining for a glimpse of the commotion.

They wouldn’t see shit.

Macey’s house sat too far back from the street, tucked behind a patchy lawn and flanked by Santiago’s place, which blocked the view from the west. Luckily, the house on her other side was vacant. Across the road, there was a parking lot for some office rentals that’d been sitting empty for a year thanks to a health code disaster.

Macey’s porch action? Basically invisible from curbside.

The paramedics crossed the yard, the pack moving aside for them. Suero met them at the steps and led them inside.

“That pendejo is really pushing it,” Santiago growled, still fuming over Gilmore’s power trip.

“There’s a time and a place.” Matias glanced at the pack. They began to disperse back to their bikes, on the hunt for Jacob.

Santiago knew Matias was right, but it didn’t lessen the anger simmering in his gut. He took a deep breath, trying to center himself. He sent up a silent prayer to the universe, to whatever gods might be listening, that Macey pulled through.

When the EMTs came out with Macey on the stretcher, Santiago joined Percy and wrapped his arms around him. “Please, don’t look,” he urged. Percy clung tightly to him while Matias blocked Elijah’s view of Macey’s condition.

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