Page 51 of Unmasked Anarchy
I turn and rush inside, closing the door and locking it before yelling, “Mera, Nia, someone’s out front,” but I already hear boots stomping the porch.The locks do little to stop them entering, and after three solid kicks, it swings open.Mera has just pulled her phone out, but the moment she sees the four-armed men, she drops it.
None of us scream.For a second nobody moves.Then Mera grabs Nia by the wrist and tries to pull her behind the bar, but a man with a chain in his hand barks, “Stay where you are!”in a voice so cold, I actually freeze.
“All of you, down,” the one with the bat snarls, motioning to the floor.
Nia is crying now, but she’s silent, her shoulders shaking.The glass tumbles from her hand and rolls under the table.Mera moves in front of her, arms spread.I get down, but not before memorizing every detail—the way the tallest one limps, a tattoo of barbed wire around the wrist, the shoes, the smell, and the way none of them look at us head-on.
“We can do this the nice way, or the difficult way,” a man growls.
I glance at Mera and her eyes are on me, wide.I mouth that it’s going to be okay, but I’m not sure I actually believe that.
“One of you is going to take a beating and deliver a message to the club.Either we choose, or you do.You have five seconds.”
I am moving before he has even finished his sentence.Mera cries out to me, but I don’t stop.
“There’s a good girl.”
I hold my breath, my stomach twisting.From the corner of my eye, I can see Mera slowly inching toward her phone.
Chain-Guy moves behind me and wraps the cold links around my arms, pinning me before I can react.Bat-Guy lands a punch to my ribs, sharp and deliberate.I gasp, fold over, and he hauls me back upright by my hair.They work me over, not random, but clever—kidneys, ribs, cheekbone, shoulder.I stay standing as long as I can.
Nia is crying out.
Mera is screaming at them to stop.
I have stopped screaming, there is no point.
Gun-Guy kicks my knee and I crumple finally, landing on my hands and knees with a wail.He leans down near my ear, breath hot and mean, and says, “Tell them to back the fuck off.Next time, we burn it down.That’s a promise.”
He wipes the gun on my shirt and the three of them back out, bat dragging over the furniture and anything else they can get their hands on, smashing things until they’re satisfied.Then they’re gone.Mera and Nia don’t move for several seconds.Someone is making a high whining noise, and I realize it’s me.
Rushing over, they help me sit up.“Oh God, Sable.Why would you do that?”
Mera rests my head in her lap while Nia gets a warm washcloth.
“I wasn’t going to let them hurt you,” I croak.“Or Nia.”
Tears roll down Mera’s cheeks.“I’m so sorry.”
Nia returns, dropping to her knees and pressing the warm washcloth to my bloody face.“They want us to go to the shed and lock down.”
Mera nods.“Do you think you can walk?”
Honestly, no, but I will.
They help me up, pain coming in waves.We don’t talk.Every sound outside seems ten times louder.The house is trashed, splintered wood and smashed glass everywhere.We manage to make it to the shed where we sit and wait, unable to do anything more.Mera lays me on the sofa and I close my eyes, trying to breathe through the agony getting increasingly worse with every passing second.
Soon after, the roar of bikes fills the night, headlights flooding every window.Kael is first through the door, gun drawn, and I see his eyes go flat when he sees me laid out on the sofa.He is beside me in three strides, dropping down and taking my face in his hands.“Who the fuck did this?”
“Four men,” I croak.“No accent.Faces covered.Said it was a message to the club.”
Wolfe is already on his phone, yelling at someone that he wants names, not excuses, and to run every camera on the street.Kael pulls me into him, holding me there like I might break.Then he releases me and turns to Zane.“First aid, pain killers, whiskey.Now.”
I should probably go to a hospital, but I know how this works.
“Warehouse?”I ask, voice cracking.“Did you make it?”
“Gone.Whole place was rigged and blew when we arrived.We lost everything.”
