Page 51 of Warrant
He gave one sharp nod and the look on his face told me not to bother speaking about it anymore. He was completely closed off. He had one hell of a war face and was wearing it now. Gone was the grin he wore like armor. He was ready to rip that warehouse, and anyone inside it who wasn’t a child, apart with his bare hands.
I’d feel sorry for the shitheads inside—except they’d asked for this—because watching Demo come at you was like seeing a silverback gorilla charge. A pissed off silverback. Not the last thing you wanted to see before you died.
We got out of the vehicle and went around to the back. Cypher had already opened the hatch and was handing out rifles. I took an AK, checked the chamber, and accepted the additional magazines he handed out. I stuffed them into the pockets inside my cut and waited for his orders.
He glanced at me. “Take Demo and Jury around to the left.” He motioned to Scythe. “You, Toxic, Butcher, and Axel go to the right. Cover any doors you find. Me, Riggs, Pyre, and Steel will go through the front.”
“Saving all the fun for yourself, Prez?” Jury asked with a grin.
Cypher shrugged. “Pays to be the boss sometimes and I have this burning need to put some lead into some motherfuckers.”
His words had us all wearing grim smirks. The assholes inside had no idea what was coming for them.
“Let’s go,” I said to Demo and Jury and we all jogged off to the left side of the building. As soon as we rounded the corner there were two doors at the front and the back of the warehouse. “You two go through this one,” I said, pointing at the first door. “I’ll take the back.”
They eyed each other, but then nodded. I knew they didn’t want me to go alone, but they knew as well as I did as soon as our club started infiltrating this building the shitbags inside would be on full alert and might try to bolt. We needed someone going through every door to prevent that.
I ran over to the end of the building, glancing back and found them waiting for me. At my nod, Demo opened the door and entered with his rifle ready. Grabbing the handle, I did the same.
Squinting, I tried to get my eyes to adjust to the low light inside. There was a single bulb swinging from a cord from the ceiling back here, but it barely made a dent in the gloom. A shuffling sound had me freezing just a few feet from the door.
The area was sectioned off with ratty curtains, making a large square. There wasn’t much time to investigate however, because movement had me swinging the barrel of my rifle toward a dark corner.
“You the father?”
The deep voice had me squeezing my rifle harder, but I didn’t shoot. “Uncle,” I replied. Friend of the family didn’t have the same ring and by the time this was all over we were all going to consider these kids family. Already did if I was being honest.
The man stepped forward until the faint light showed that he had his hands up, and that they were empty. “No one’s here except me and the little bear.” He nodded toward another corner.
Narrowing my eyes on him, I took the chance and let my gaze snap over to the spot he’d motioned to. There, on a grubby mattress with a moth eaten blanket over her, was Aella. I focused on him again. “Why did they take her?”
He shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. “Didn’t ask what they were up to.”
“Why were you left here?”
He snorted. “I stayed to make sure no sick fuckers tried anything.” He scowled. “I didn’t sign up for this bullshit.”
“What bullshit?”
“Kids,” he said, turning his head then spitting on the ground. “Wasn’t in the fucking plans.”
“What was?”
“Like I’m going to fucking tell you that,” he said with a chuckle.
“Had to try,” I replied with a grim smile. I hesitated a minute, then asked, “You going to let me take her?”
He looked at the end of my rifle, as if he had any choice in the matter, surprisingly he stood his ground. “How do I know you’re who you say you are?” he countered.
For some reason, this rough looking guy was looking out for Aella, and I was fucking relieved about that. “Her name is Aella.” He nodded for me to continue. “She’s from Texas. Has a brother named Jared. They were kidnapped a little over a week ago in front of a grocery store while their parents ran inside for something.”
“Good enough,” he replied. “Go ahead and take her. Get her the fuck away from here.”
“You’re coming with me.”
“The fuck I am,” he said with a smirk. “You can’t wrangle her and me at the same time. I’m guessing you want her more than you want to keep me around.”
Dammit. He was right. As soon as I turned toward the bed, he walked over to the door. Bastard didn’t even have the decency to hurry. It was like he had all the time in the world.
