Page 75 of Mischief Mayhem
“It was a coordinated attack,” Thor answered from his spot where he had Selene’s hand in a death grip. “They must have known the FBI would raid the clubhouse today. They knew our locations and our run routes.”
“How?” Alba asked, running her hands under her glasses to wipe at her eyes. “Is there another spy?”
“It was the Hell’s Knights MC,” Castor said, running a hand over his dark curly hair. “They were spying on V and selling information to the Caputis.”
“He said Dad killed his brother,” I said. “Anyone know who his brother was?”
“A former SRMC brother,” Bear said. “He betrayed the club to the Feds back in the ’90s. Dad tore him to pieces.”
“I’ll have Switch check out your laptop to see if there’s anything I missed,” Castor added. “But we might want someone to reach out to whatever remains of the Hell’s Knights to make sure no one else is after us.”
Bear gave our brother a nod. “The prospects have cleaned up the mess from today,” he said. “We’ll regroup tomorrow to figure out next steps. Everyone get some rest. Try to heal.”
Heal. When he put it like that, it sounded so easy. But nothing would ever scab over the events of today. I’d watched my family’s sworn enemy take us out, one after the other, in the most callous way. I closed my eyes and I saw Hollywood’s chest exploding, his limp body falling to the ground. My stomach churned with helplessness over the simple fact he’d needed me, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.
My body went numb, everything except for the scar in my chest, which burned hotter than it ever had before. I rubbed it, yanking my necklace out of my shirt so I could look at the bullet again, the one that Hollywood had taken for me so many months ago.
You better survive this, Hudson, I thought, knowing somehow he could hear me. Whatever connection had been formed between us that day had solidified in the months since. I can’t lose you. Please stay alive. Please.
Hours later, after I’d been stitched up, I learned Hollywood had made it through surgery. Relief swelled inside me, but I couldn’t fully relax until I saw him, until I could hold his hand in mine and kiss every inch of him again.
I pieced together the events after I’d been taken as everyone talked. I’d barely made it out the door before Selene, Hollywood, KC, and Lore jumped into action. Ru and Alba fought off their attackers while Selene and KC drilled bullets into whatever henchmen didn’t run off. Gabriella, the slippery cockroach, still managed to get away.
It had been a coordinated attack between the Hell’s Knights, the Caputis, and the FBI. While we were getting our asses handed to us by the mafia, the pigs were raiding the clubhouse.
“Detective Jordan finally had everything she needed,” Bear said, his tone defeated and weathered. “She had a warrant for what had happened two years ago at the Holabird Docks. She said she had undeniable proof Crow and Aris were there, that they’d led the attack on the Caputis.”
“Is she going after Gabriella?” Ru asked, her gaze emanating with the same rage brewing in all of our hearts. “Is she going after them, too?”
Bear shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“We’ve elected Bear as interim president,” Saint explained. “KC as interim vice president, at least until the lawyers can get Crow and Aris out.”
“Slip, Picasso, Skulls, and Coins”—Bear rubbed at his tired eyes—“they didn’t make it. We’ll talk about a new road captain and treasurer after we lick our wounds.”
“You can’t let this stand,” I said, eyeing my brother with fury. “You need to find Gabriella and you need to kill her.”
“It’s not that simple,” Bear said, glancing around to make sure we were out of earshot from any pigs that might be lingering around. “We had plans in motion, we had things brewing.”
“Plans can change,” Thor said. “We may need to move up your impending nuptials.”
“Nuptials?” I narrowed my eyes at my brother. “What nuptials?”
Bear took a deep inhale and let it out on a sigh, shaking his head before running his hands back through his hair, tangling it up further. And that was how I found out my eldest brother was getting married to Julia Caputi in a desperate attempt to end this thing once and for all.
26
HOLLYWOOD
“Look at your sorry ass,” Trojan said, giving me one of his killer smiles. “Don’t tell me you got shot again.”
I laughed and nudged him with my shoulder. “Fourth time’s a charm, or whatever they say.”
My brother shook his head, his long chestnut hair glimmering in the dreamy sunlight. The sounds of bird, crickets, and cicadas sang from the trees on either side, accenting the calming rush of water over the rocks in the river in front of us. He held a fishing pole in one hand and a beer in the other, and all of it felt so damned familiar.
We’re in a memory.
He’d taken me here during the weekends when things got tough, when it was just him and me trying to take on the world. I couldn’t count the hours we’d spent in this exact spot.