Page 19 of Hook
"Someone's at my storage facility. I just got a message from the alarm company. I'm being robbed." He barks and rushes outside. I hear the sound of bikes roaring up. I look from the door to Bea. I can't leave her here on her own but I've never not been around when my brothers needed to ride out. I'm torn.
"Shit, come on!" I yell at her and race to the front door.
"Where are we going?" Bea asks as she follows behind me.
"Don't ask questions, and do everything I fucking say." I snap at her and am surprised when she just nods her head and follows me.
Racing out into the courtyard I go into the garage and hop on my bike.
I rev the engine, feeling the familiar rumble beneath me. Bea hesitates for a moment, eyeing the bike warily.
"Get on," I growl, tossing her my spare helmet. She catches it clumsily, fumbling with the straps.
"I've never been on a motorcycle before," she admits, her voice barely audible over the engine's roar.
"There's a first time for everything. Now move your ass!"
She swings her leg over the seat, settling in behind me. Her arms wrap around my waist, grip tightening as I kick the stand up.
"Hold on tight," I warn, then we're off, tearing out of the garage and onto the street.
The wind whips past us as we weave through traffic, following the distant rumble of Brick and Light's bikes. Bea's arms are like a vise around my middle, her body pressed flush against my back. I can feel her heartbeat pounding, matching the adrenaline coursing through my own veins.
We race through the city, the scenery blurring into a smear of colors and shapes. I can see Brick and Light up ahead, their leather cuts unmistakable even at this distance. We're gaining on them, the storage facility can't be far now.
Brick and Light screech to a halt, and I pull up alongside them. Before I can even cut the engine, Brick is off his bike, storming towards the entrance with murder in his eyes.
"Stay here," I order Bea as I dismount. "Don't move, don't talk to anyone. If shit goes sideways, you run. Got it?"
She nods, eyes wide with fear and excitement. I turn and jog after Brick and Light, my hand instinctively reaching for the blade tucked into my waistband. Whatever's waiting for us inside, we're ready for a fight.
As we approach the entrance, I can hear muffled shouts and the sound of things being thrown around. Brick pauses at the door, looking back at Light and me. We nod, ready for his signal.
With a roar of rage, Brick kicks the door open, and we charge inside, ready to face whatever – or whoever – is stealing from our president.
"Do we know who it is?" I ask out of breath as I catch up with the two of them.
"If I knew who the fuck it was, do you think we'd be sneaking around like fucking assholes?" Brick snarls at me in a hushed whisper. This is the last thing we need, and the stress of it all is written all over his face.
I close my mouth and follow behind Light and Brick, hoping to find whoever it is inside the warehouse by surprise. The best-case scenario is that it’s a few kids doing some shit they have no business doing. The worst-case scenario is that it’s one of the gangs that frequent the area. If they try to steal from Brick, that means they no longer hold any respect for my president, and that could mean a war is coming—something no one in the crew wants anything to do with.
The three of us move silently as we walk up and down the aisles of cement and sheetrock that Brick has in the storage facility. He’s a contractor, so there’s a lot of expensive equipment in here that he can’t bear to have stolen from him.
Just as we turn one of the corners, there’s a small skid of someone’s foot behind us.
The three of us turn like tops in that direction.
"Shit!" Brick hisses as he sees Bea step into the light, her eyes wide and her hands up.
She’s so lucky that none of us are walking around with guns right now, or she’d be blown away.
"Get your girl," Light mutters before the both of them turn around and continue looking through the place.
"What the hell did I tell you?" I lunge forward and grab hold of Bea to pull her closer to me.
"You were taking so long I thought something was wrong," Bea says as an excuse. I can see the concern in her eyes. She doesn’t even know me, but she’s concerned about what happens to me. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel the same way about her.
This isn’t the time to go into that, though. "Stay close to me and don’t make any noise." I place one of her hands against my back so she understands how close I want her and continue to follow Light and Brick through the area.