Page 55 of Patch's Bride
I stalk off to the armory to gear up. Taking off my cut, I put on body armor and then cover it back up again with the cut. The extra weight doesn’t bother me. I just need to be able to take a bullet for her if I have to. The knife I put behind my belt is sharp, and my gloves are reinforced across the knuckles and wrists.
I can’t help but think about the location Marauder gave us. It’s a washed-out gas station off the highway. It’s also right inside Legion territory, and we never knew it.
When Siege gives the order, I walk outside and get on my bike with no messing around. All I want to do is get to Beth. Nothing else matters right now.
The roar of our engines makes the ground quake. We stagger our time, with six brothers leaving every fifteen minutes. That way it will be less obvious that we’re on the move. Although the ride is short, the last thing we need is to be stopped by the police.
It doesn’t take long to get there and we glide into the back parking lot of the hotel. Marauder is standing in an open doorway to one of the rooms, smoking a cigarette. When we park up, I walk over to him along with the club officers. The rest of the brothers either quietly sit on their bikes or stand around talking.
“It’s getting late,” I tell him.
“My club brothers like to party into the night. My inside man is going to tell me when they’re all asleep. That’s when we move. You might just as well park your asses, maybe even get yourselves some rest. This ain’t gonna be an easy fight.”
We grudgingly do just that. Time seems to tick by slowly as my imagination runs away with all the ways this situation can go bad. The waiting is killing me, but I force myself to sit still and wait.
Around three in the morning, Marauder comes out. “They’re all down for the count. My loyal brother spiked the beer with sleeping pills.”
“Jesus, that’s incredibly fucking dangerous,” I tell him.
“What are you, a fucking doctor?”
Before I can answer, Siege speaks up. “Yeah, he is. Patch has his own office and everything.”
“Well, good. He can patch up any of my men who get injured.”
The moment the words fly out of his mouth, he realizes why my name is Patch. Instead of getting on our bikes, we walk to the gas station. We’re like a flood of leather and righteous fury in the darkness, creeping ever closer while they sleep off their alcohol.
To be honest, the gas station looks empty from the road. Its faded paint, broken signage, and boarded-up windows give no hint of what’s hiding inside. I notice there isn’t a single vehicle in sight.
Siege gives the signal, and we split off. Some brothers go around back. Others move around to cover the sides. I stay with Siege and Rigs, close to the garage. The metal door rattles even though Rider slowly lifts it just enough for us to duck under. The second my boots hit the concrete, I start searching for Beth.
The place smells rancid. The lighting is poor, just a couple of hanging bulbs and a flickering overhead strip. Music is still coming from a half-busted speaker in the corner. At least a dozen Diggers are scattered through the garage, lying around sleeping anywhere they can find. Several wake up. Some are too drunk to stand, but others reach for their weapons. We don’t give them the chance to use them.
I take down the first man with a clean elbow to the throat. His feet stumble, and I follow with a strike to the radial nerve along his forearm. He drops the blade before he hits the floor. Another one rushes me with a pipe. I step in, grab his wrist, and twist it across his chest. The elbow joint folds the wrong direction, and he screams before I drop him with a knee to the stomach. I don’t look back.
I’m already scanning the far end of the room when I see her. There’s a man standing over her. I don’t like him being so close to my old lady. I see Beth in the corner. Her ankle is shackled to the wall and she looks pale and frightened. She’s watching everything, but her eyes look haunted. The only thing I can think of is getting to her.
Suddenly, her eyes lock onto mine, and she opens her mouth. She says my name, but I can’t hear it through the noise.
Two more Diggers step between us. They move faster than the others. One throws a punch that misses by inches. I grab his arm and twist, locking his shoulder into a hold he can’t break. I drive him down, keep the pressure on the joint, and feel it dislocate as his body hits the floor. The other one hesitates and Rider runs right into him, tackling him to the floor.
Then I see Lynch coming from the back hallway. He’s got that same smug look I saw in the photos Marauder showed us. He stops a few feet away and sizes me up.
“You think being with the Legion makes you somebody important?” he yells.
I don’t answer. I walk towards him.
He swings first. Wide and fast. I duck under and drive a punch straight into the muscle that connects his shoulder to his chest. He grunts and stumbles back. I’ve heard he fights dirty. Well, that makes two of us.
He shoves me back and lands a punch to my jaw. It stuns me, but I pull myself together pretty damn fast. Blood runs downmy chin. I grab his arm—the one holding a blade—and slam my other hand down on the inside of his elbow. His arm folds, causing the blade to scrape against the side of his face. I slam his head against the concrete wall, not once but twice. His body starts to sag, but I bring my elbow down on the back of his neck, driving him down to the floor. When he tries to get up, I stamp my boot once across the inside of his knee. There’s an audible pop, and Lynch howls in pain.
I rush over to Beth, bringing my fist up to punch the man standing over her in the face.
He grabs my wrist and slips to the side just in time to miss my punch. “I’m your fucking inside man,” he growls, before walking off.
I kneel down in front of Beth—my poor, sweet wife looks much worse than she did when she left home earlier today. “Are you okay?”
Her expression crumples, and she scrambles backward to press herself into the corner. I hold both hands and try my best to soothe her emotional distress. “Everything is going to be alright.”
