Page 39 of Total Carnage
My breath caught, ice coursing through my veins. They'd found the barrels where she was supposed to be safe, hidden from the world's prying eyes. Time slowed, every second an eternity as they pried them apart, metal scraping against concrete.
"Look what we have here," crowed the guard who’d beaten me senseless moments ago, triumph lacing his words like poison. He was second on my list—Stansfield a safe first.
A series of curses raced through my mind, every instinct screaming to tear these bastards limb from limb. Instead, I lay there, forced to listen to the sound of Raven’s sanctuary being invaded, powerlessness gnawing at me more savagely than any physical blow they'd dealt. I was about to lose her again.
The guard hauled Raven out from behind the barrels, her dark eyes defiant as they dragged her into the light. The clubhouse air, thick with tension and gasoline fumes, shivered as Stansfield stepped forward. In his tailored suit, he looked like a king among peasants—a predator in a room full of prey.
"Quite the little hideaway," he sneered, voice oozing contempt. His hand moved in a blur, and the sound of it connecting with her cheek cracked like a whip through the silence. Raven's head snapped to the side, a red imprint blooming across her pale skin, but she straightened up, her gaze searing holes into him.
"Is that all you've got?" she spat out, blood tingeing the corner of her mouth. That’s my girl.
I fought against my restraints, my muscles screaming and blood boiling. I couldn't stand seeing her hurt, yet there she was, standing tall, unbroken. It filled me with pride as much as it fueled my rage.
Stansfield turned his attention to me then, kneeling down so close I could smell the arrogance wafting off him. "Listen carefully, Reed," he hissed, his steel-blue eyes locked onto mine. "You and your mongrel crew have been a thorn in my side for far too long. I don’t know how the fuck you’re here, but I’m going to send you back to Hell.”
I wanted to tear his throat out, watch the life drain from those cold, ruthless eyes. But I could only glare back, every musclein my body coiled like a spring. She was being taken again and there wasn’t a fucking thing I could do about it.
"Your little Raven here will pay the price for your defiance," he continued, each word laced with venom. "Consider this a demonstration. A taste of what's to come if you don't fall in line. And you can pass that on to Jameson. Although, he knows there’s a storm coming."
"Go to hell," I growled, my voice nothing but a low rumble of fury.
"Perhaps," he replied, standing up smoothly. "But you'll find I'm the least of your concerns if anything happens to me or my business associates."
He signaled his goons, and they tightened their grip on Raven, dragging her away. My heart raced, panic clawing at my insides. Stansfield had laid down his terms, and although my body was battered and bruised, my spirit wasn't even close to broken. I'd get her back, no matter what it took.
The sound of gunfire ripped through the clubhouse like a hailstorm, Stansfield's goons indiscriminately spraying bullets into walls lined with memories and blood. They left behind a graveyard of shattered glass and splintered wood, an aftermath that stank of gunpowder and betrayal. I made a mental note to make sure Stansfield’s horses were clear of his compound before I burned the fucker to the ground.
"Shit," Moab muttered, kicking aside a spent shell casing as we watched them peel out in clouds of dust and exhaust. The rest of the guys were on their feet, anger rolling off them in waves thick enough to choke on.
"Those motherfuckers," Canon spat, his hand instinctively reaching for a weapon that wasn't there. We'd been disarmed, a humiliation that sat heavy in my gut.
"Easy," I commanded, my voice hoarse with suppressed rage. "We'll get our chance."
Toolie nodded, his eyes hard as flint. "Vin's right. We hit 'em back twice as hard, but smart."
"Fuck smart," Shivs growled, pacing like a caged animal. "They took Raven, Vin. We can't let that slide. And look what they did to our club."
I clenched my fists, feeling the beast within me clawing its way to the surface. My kinship with the wolf was a secret I'd keep close to the vest, a dark gift that marked me as much as it empowered me. But now, the fury boiling in my veins demanded release. "Stand back," I warned, my voice dropping an octave, the world tilting as the transformation took hold.
Muscles tore and reformed, bones snapped and shifted beneath my skin as I surrendered to the change. It was agony, a fire that consumed me from the inside out, but I welcomed it. Welcomed the freedom. My brothers stepped back, their faces a mix of shock and awe as the man they knew contorted into something primal. The last vestige of humanity slipped away, replaced by instincts older than time. I threw back my head, a howl ripping from my throat, shattering the remaining windows and sending a clear message to the night: This was war and hell itself wouldn't stop me from getting Raven back.
The dust hadn't yet settled when I felt the shift receding, muscles and sinew snapping back into their human configuration. The beast within retreated, sated by its brief reign of terror. My brothers circled around me, their faces etched with raw respect.
"Damn, Vin," Toolie murmured, his voice a rumble in the tense silence, "that's some serious mojo."
I pushed myself off the ground, joints popping as I reclaimed my human posture. The torn remnants of my shirt hung off my torso like tattered flags. We were a brotherhood bound by steel and leather, but now they'd seen the feral truth of what lurked beneath my skin.
"Never seen anything like that," Bump said, his eyes wide, reflecting the moonlight that bled through the shattered windows.
"Neither have I," I admitted, feeling their awe mixing with my lingering rage. But there was no time for astonishment or fear. Raven was out there, her life hanging by a thread. We gathered around the scarred oak table, our sanctuary desecrated by gunfire and malice. The clubhouse might've been battered, but our spirit was unbreakable. "Alright, we need a plan," I growled, my gaze meeting each pair of eyes in turn. "We're getting Raven back, no matter what it takes."
"Vin," Moab cut in, his voice calm as still waters, "charging into Stansfield's horse farm is suicide. It's exactly what he wants us to do."
"Moab's got a point," Shivs added, leaning forward, his knuckles white as he gripped the edge of the table. "Stansfield's not an idiot. He'll be expecting an assault. He probably has Raven held somewhere else, somewhere less obvious."
“We can’t fucking let him have her!” I threw a chair against the wall, feeling the animal wanting to emerge again. “Sorry,” I said and paced the room. "Then we need intel," I said, the cogs already turning. "We find out where he's really keeping her, then we make our move. Fast and hard."
"Let's dig deep, pull out all our contacts," Canon chimed in, his resolve matching my own. "Someone's gotta know something."
