Page 52 of Hell Yes
“Nice hickey,” Avery muttered and turned to Vanier. “This one here wants to help Sonny and the crew with digging out the tunnel. Show her the way.”
“Nope. I ain’t leaving you here alone. President’s orders.”
Avery glared at him.
“Go. I’ve got my guns and the dogs. I’m fine.”
“No.”
“I’m telling you to go,” Avery snarked and gave Vanier her middle finger.
“Hey, I’m just doing what I’m told. The last thing I need is Gage’s boot up my ass.”
“Go,” Avery urged. “Or you’re gonna get my boot.”
“Fine,” Vanier sighed and motioned to Val. “Come on. Might as well have two more people digging the guys out.”
Val nodded at Avery and followed Vanier back outside. He passed her a flashlight.
“Where are we going?”
“Exit of tunnel two, it’s at the north end of our property.”
“We can’t go in the other way?”
“Nope. Jesse said that they’re now trapped. They’re near the closest exit.”
Val didn’t ask any further questions.
Ten minutes later—it felt like an hour—they reached the end of the property. There were several crew members in the area, but they were on ATVs with trailer hitches. Val didn’t ask what was in the plastic tarps being loaded up, but she had a pretty good idea.
But she couldn’t see any kind of entrance to any tunnel. Until Vanier shifted several rocks sitting on the periphery. Underneath it sat a circular piece of metal, like a sewer cover, that was hidden by a fake patch of grass.
Vanier moved to open the hatch and they made their way down into the damp tunnel, flashlights illuminating the way.
Not ten steps from where they’d started, she spotted Sonny and Dante, along with Gage and Jackson. They were hauling large blocks of cement out of the way and only then did Val notice that the rubble was covering the entire width and height of the tunnel.
“What the fuck is she doing here?” Sonny bellowed at Vanier. “And you’re supposed to stay with Avery!”
“She insisted she was fine and ordered me to go. And I’m sure you can use two more sets of hands to dig the guys out,” Vanier replied. “You head back to Avery if you wat, and I’ll take over your spot.”
Sonny looked at Gage and Gage nodded.
“Okay, I’ll take a break,” Sonny muttered. “But I’ll be back.”
Val cautiously stepped forward as Sonny walked past them.
“Get ready to work,” Sonny muttered as he gave her his hard hat, his pale blue eyes glittering in the darkness. “You’re getting your hands dirty now, Val. Ain’t no going back.”
She knew what he meant. Val was a conspirator to the killings. There was no way she could go back to her regular life. Either she became one of them or she joined the fate of the Krypt crew.
It was already too late. And then she wondered, what if she was pregnant? Would Xander and Jesse want the baby? She had a feeling that neither of them would let her leave. For some weird reason, that didn’t scare her like it should. She hadn’t felt a part of anything since leaving home. But now, here, as crazy as it was, she was all in. That day in the diner changed everything. Val’s instinct was telling her that somehow, this was her destiny. Even if it meant a life with outlaw bikers.
She ignored the strange looks from Dante, Gage, and Jackson, and started removing bits and pieces of the concrete. She kept going and the faster they all worked, the lower the wall. Until she could finally see over the top.
“Xander? Jesse?”
“Val?” Jesse called out. “What the hell are you doing down here?”