Page 68 of Sold to the Bikers

When I burstinto the room, it's immediately obvious that I just made a really stupid mistake. Quickshot's going to kick my ass later.

If there is a later.

It's a ballroom turned storage area, in a terrible state of repair. Peeling paint, a couple of broken windows and on the far side, the remains of a fallen chandelier is gathering dust in a corner. There're a couple of chairs and tables on this end, some weight equipment on rubber mats to one of the sides, and otherwise, it's a maze of crates, bags and God knows what else.

Sandra is here. That's good. She's on her butt on the yellowed marble floor and clutching her cheek. A streak of blood is running from her nose.

So is Crusher, Cain, five, no, six more of the Unwanted, and that guy Giancarlo. And at least three of them have guns out, pointing at me and the rest are pulling theirs. That's less good.

"Sandra, are you okay?"

She nods. "Yeah, but… you shouldn't be here. I told you to go."

"And I don't care. I'm not leaving you."

Cain aims a huge revolver right at my head. "Well, this is all fucking heartwarming, but this isn't the time for a fucking family reunion. Get the fuck over there with your sister."

I scramble to her side. Where are the guys? They were right behind me, so I figured they’d have followed me in to do their crazy heroic thing by now, but there's nothing. Just silence. I refuse to believe that they've given up on me just for one stupid mistake.

I drop to my knees next to Sandra. "You're bleeding."

"I'm fine. Really. It's just—"

"It's just nothing. I'm going to get you out of here, and bring you home."

Crusher laughs. "I don't think so. I had one slut, sold her, then got another, and now I've got both of them. Fuck the hundred thousand. You girls are gonna fucking do what I say for the rest of your miserable lives. You've stirred up way too much fucking shit for us to let you go."

I whirl on him. "And if I refuse?"

He pats the gun in his belt. "There's ways of dealing with that too. I'd watch my fucking mouth if I was you."

Right.

Cain looks around the room. "You three, go out and check around. No fucking way she wandered in here on her own I don't want any damn surprises."

They get as far as the door before a massive arm grabs the first one and yanks him out of sight. There's a dull thump, followed by a pained grunt, and then the guy comes flying back into the room, landing in the arms of one of the others, bringing both of them to the floor.

Badass fills the doorway, his face twisted in a furious grimace, looking every bit like an avenging angel. "I'm making knuckle sandwiches. Anyone want some?"

"Jesus Christ, did you learn all your lines watching eighties movies?" Animal bursts past him, both of his guns up. He pulls a trigger and the explosion makes my ears ring. One of the Unwanted screams and slams into the wall, where he collapses, seeping blood. I look away, nauseous. "Keep your fucking hands where I can see them, or it's all of you fuckers going down."

Quickshot doesn't say anything, keeping to the back, but his pistol is up and his shooting hand is rock steady. His expression is dark, like an executioner.

There’s a few too many barrels pointing around in the room for my liking, leaving my guys and the Unwanted in an uncomfortable standoff. The first one to pull the trigger now is guaranteed to get nailed by someone else.

But it's Giancarlo Fabbri who's the first to talk. I'm not sure when he pulled his gun, but he's pointing it right at me. "Bikers, always so fucking messy. You could actually get somewhere if you kept your dicks in your pants and paid attention. I’m so fucking sick of this.Cazzo."

"Natalie!" screams Sandra, but just like me, she sits very, very still. The last thing we want is to make his finger twitch.

Animal bristles, leveling one of his pistols at the Mafia guy. "Aim away from the girl. Trust me, I have every fucking reason to want to take you down right where you fucking stand. If you want to live, you'd better do exactly what I fucking say."

Giancarlo smiles that terrible cruel smile from when he bid on me back when this all started. "So personal. Proving my point. My men are out there right now, massacring your boys. The Fabbris are done hiding. Once your club is gone, South Side is ours. Do you really think you can get out of here alive? Try anything, and your girl's going to be trying to suck air from where her head used to be." He shrugs. "Your choice."

"I'm not going to fucking say it again," snarls Animal. "Aim the gun away from her."

Sandra reaches out to grab my hand, and I take it, squeezing hard. All I see is Giancarlo's barrel pointing at me. It's making my life seem so incredibly short and fragile.

"I don't think I will. Call it short term insurance while I wait for my long term to get the fuck up here and deal with you." His voice sounds almost casual, like this is all just an annoyance for him. And here I'd thought Cain or Crusher would be the real problem.