Page 56 of Ride or Die
The grenades all go off. Gunner leads half of us into the building. We pan out checking for any survivors. A few shots go off behind me. I turn around and there's a dead cartel member on the stairs.
"I count four dead in here," Gunner calls out. Shots ring out at the back of the building and we take off toward where it came from. Raze is holding Saint up, while Diesel has his gun trained on one of the cartel members and there are three others dead on the floor. Two we didn't plan for.
"Where's he shot," Thor asks about Saint.
"In the side, it was straight through though," Raze tells him. Gunner and Ratchet come walking in.
"What's the cartel's issue with the Savage Menaces?" Ratchet asks with his foot hovering over a gunshot wound on the guy's leg. The guy spits at him and Ratchet drops his foot onto the wound. His scream rings out. "Tell me!"
"You killed our informant. You killed the Ghost. Jefe wants your club to pay," the man cries out.
"You killed one of our men over that rat bastard Ghost?" Ratchet shouts. The guy nods his head and Ratchet shoots him in his head.
"Building is clear. Let's light it up and get the fuck out of here," Gunner says. Trigger and Thor hang back to get the building set on fire while the rest of us go back to the SUVs. Rachet tells Bull everything that happened and what the cartel member said.
"And we just killed eight more of their men. This isn't the end of this shit." Bull sighs. "It's only the beginning."
* * *
Almost a week has passedsince we took out those eight cartel members and there hasn't been any retaliation. Bull is convinced they're waiting for us to let our guard down and forget about them before they come after us again. Today is Thanksgiving, and since everyone has been on lockdown, we're having a huge clubhouse feast. All the women have been working their asses off all morning trying to prep everything for all of us.
When we sit to eat, we take a moment of silence for Buster. A couple of tears fall down Cali's face. Emma and Minx are on either side of her while I sit across from her. I'm glad she's continued to stay. She has so much support here.
About halfway through eating, my phone buzzes. Glancing at the screen, it's Sammi, a girl I've slept with a couple of times who happens to be a nurse. I hit ignore. A minute later, it buzzes again. I excuse myself from the table and walk down the hall to my room as I answer.
"Hello?"
"Shade, I'm sorry to bother you on Thanksgiving," she says. "But there's something you need to know."
34
Cali
Shade comes backinto the room after taking a phone call and goes straight to Bull. I tense as he whispers something to Bull and they both leave the room. I keep eating but I tune out the conversations around me.
"Cali." Emma nudges me. "Are you alright?"
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine." I smile at her.
"You did a great job with the turkey," Minx tells me.
"Thank you. It's honestly super easy to cook one," I laugh out. Bull comes back out and walks straight to me.
"Can I steal you for a minute," he asks. I nod, stand, and walk with him to his office. Shade is sitting on the couch with his head in his hands.
"What's going on," I ask.
"Come sit," Shade says, patting the spot on the couch next to him.
"Before we tell you this, I need you to stay calm. No matter what," Bull tells me. Getting anxious, I clench my fists, digging my nails into my palms.
"Okay," I draw out. Bull nods his head at Shade.
"I got a phone call from a friend, who happens to be a nurse," Shade says. "She got a new job at a hospital in Killeen."
"What does this have to do with anything," I question, glancing between Bull and Shade.
"There's a John Doe there who looks identical to Buster. He's in a coma and from what she said, he has been since he arrived at the hospital," Shade tells me.
