Maccoy, p.10
Maccoy, page 10
“He must have thought he had a great cover,” Duly states. “I mean, going head-to-head with your MC the way he kidnapped your woman, no one knows where to find the fucker.”
“Right,” Tango grunts. “Abiel’s not smart enough to think that way. He’s simply grasping straws at the moment. The fucker thinks throwing himself in front of a train is a way to get his life back on track.”
“We’re gonna make sure the fucking train runs him over instead,” Alcide grits through clenched teeth.
“All set, Prez,” Beck says as he palms his gun and adds a silencer while jerking his chin in the direction of some of the guys who also have their gun in hand. “Gotta be careful, though. Not everyone has a silencer. It’s a shady neighborhood and most of the folks are in bed, sound asleep, but it could still mean some are hiding behind their curtains glimpsing outside to see where the gunshots are coming from if things go to hell once we’re inside.”
“That’s why we’re going in first,” I tell him and step forward, letting them fall in step behind me.
We’re in the alley of the house we know Abiel is currently in. It might be late at night but we put a tail on this fucker ever since Delphine’s father was forced to kill himself. It’s why we easily got the information Abiel drove back and forth between the casino and this hole in the wall.
There’s something going on because the prospect watching the house said there were five men entering the house about an hour ago. I’ve seen one glancing through the curtains every now and then in the twenty minutes we’ve stood here watching the place.
The only one we lost visual on is Lou, Abiel’s oldest son, and the one who kidnapped Elodie. We showed her a picture and she recognized him. We’ve left a handful of Duly’s men guarding the clubhouse to make sure Elodie and Delphine are protected while we’re here to kill Abiel and hopefully the handful of men who might cause a stir if we take out the head of his business.
Abiel might be balancing on bankruptcy and doesn’t have the manpower anymore but that doesn’t make him less dangerous. A handful of men can still end our lives if we go in thinking this shit will be easy.
“All good to go,” Duly says.
We’ve split the brothers into two groups, half of us are going in through the front while we’re going in through the back. Risky since we’ll be sitting ducks but now is the time to end this shit once and for all.
Our bikes are parked down the road so we can scatter and run and hopefully, none of us get recognized by witnesses. We’re not stupid. We’ve left our cuts at the clubhouse and are wearing face masks along with bulletproof vests.
It’s not our first confrontation where we risked our lives but for sure as fuck it’s been awhile since we walked right into a gunfight. And that’s what is happening the second we step foot in the backyard.
The people in the house clearly don’t give a fuck about a silencer. Bullets are flying through the air and at this point it’s either retreat or go in guns blazing as well. Their motive for firing first is clearly to scare us off but me and my prez are done with their bullshit.
It’s why we make a run for it straight to their backdoor while we shatter all the windows. Duly doesn’t follow but gives us cover by keep firing. Alcide kicks the door. Once. Twice. By the third time it gives way and we head inside.
A turmoil of voices and gunshots ring out from the front of the house. Guns drawn, we slip through the hallway and I swing my arms in the direction of an opening on my left while Alcide has my back.
It’s a kitchen and a woman is standing near the furnace. She screams her motherfucking lungs out and as I wince I see her reach for the knives. I’m all about keeping women out of the line of fire–and it’s probably this woman’s house I’m invading with a gun aimed at her head–but no fucking way am I gonna take a knife to my body.
The split second of thinking bites me in the ass, though. The door is suddenly slammed against my shoulder and Abiel appears from behind it. A damn kitchen knife enters my arm and my aim is off when I fire in an effort to kill Abiel.
It’s a good thing my prez has a silencer on his gun when he fires right next to me, putting a hole between Abiel’s eyes. The bitch who threw the knife screams louder but has her arm raised, another knife in her hand, and before she can swing that fucker at me as well, I fire off a round and give her an extra hole in her head to let the crazy out and die for good.
“Motherfucker,” I growl and glance down at the knife lodged in my arm.
“That looks painful,” Alcide mutters when he steps around me to enter the kitchen.
“No shit,” I grumble. “Fucking hell, look at my fucking jacket. There’s a damn hole in it.”
I think that little fact hurts me more than the knife lodged inside my body.
Duly appears in the doorway. “All clear, only the good guys are still breathing. We gotta split, though. A prospect is throwing around gasoline and will light the place on fire as soon as we’re out of here.”
“Don’t pull it out,” Alcide grunts when my hand goes to the knife.
Dammit, I know he’s right but it’s uncomfortable as fuck. We rush out of the house. Lou is the last one to leave and throws the match to set the house aflame. In the surrounding houses, there are multiple curtains moving but no one is showing their face. We get the hell out of there and arrive at our bikes a handful of minutes later.
“Get in the fucking truck, idiot,” Alcide growls when I straddle my bike. “You.” He points at a prospect. “Get on your VP’s bike and get the thing home.”
Reluctantly I get into the back of the truck and glance at my arm. Dammit. With all the bullets flying around, why the hell did I get stuck with a knife in my arm? Fucking up my damn jacket I’ve had for years. My mood is blown to shit on the ride back to the clubhouse.
It quickly turns into shock when I see the turmoil of destruction. Alcide and a few of my other brothers are already jumping off their bikes and are running toward the sea of fire that was once our clubhouse.
Terror hits me like a sledgehammer to the chest. Without thinking I jump out of the truck as soon as it comes to a stop and the door hits the knife still lodged in my arm. I rip it out and throw it into the truck. I run toward the flames while my brain is still processing the scene in front of me. Pain hits my arm once more when I’m held back.
“What the fuck are you doing? You can’t go in there,” Alcide hisses.
“My woman,” is all I manage to croak.
I stand there for a few heartbeats before I jump into action. Alcide understands my train of thought when he follows behind me as I jog around the compound. The rooms are at the back and if they would have heard gunshots–because there were two brothers dead on the ground–they would have gone out through the back.
At least, that’s my hope in still finding them alive. Hope shatters when the flames are coming out the windows on this side as well. But then my eye catches movement. I hiss through the pain when I try to reach back for my gun.
All I see is the back of a man who is holding a gun and bellows, “Come out right fucking now, Delphine. There’s no escaping,” as he fires his gun into the bushes surrounding the yard. Alcide fires his gun from beside me and the man’s body jerks before crashing to the ground.
Rushing forward, I roughly kick the gun from his hand and plant my boot in his side to roll the body to its back. Lou is lying dead at my feet and while we were out killing his father and the other men–lighting the house on fire afterward–this fucker right here was doing the same damn thing to us.
“Delphine,” I roar.
“Elodie,” Alcide adds from beside me.
If Lou was out here firing his gun and yelling he must have thought they weren’t in the clubhouse. This gives me a new burst of hope and I rush to the bushes. Shoving branches and leaves out of my way, I glance around but come up empty.
“Where the fuck are they?” I bellow to no one in particular while I keep searching.
I faintly hear my name, coming from behind me. Whipping around, I try to assess where it’s coming from and Alcide is already rushing in the direction of the boxing ring. Running after him, we drop to our knees and hold up the tarp where the women are hiding under.
“Fucking smart,” Alcide compliments as he gently guides Delphine out from under the boxing ring.
Ignoring my arm, I pull her against me while Alcide reaches yet again under the thing to get Elodie out.
“We heard the gunshots,” Delphine mutters against my chest. “Then there was the smell of smoke and we didn’t know what to do but then we heard someone bellowing my name. We went out the back but there was nowhere to go so we crawled underneath this thing to hide. He…he started shooting and then I felt one of the bullets graze me.”
My blood freezes inside my veins and I roughly pull her away from my body to let my gaze slide all over her. Blood is soaking her shirt and fear wraps around my heart. At the same time, her eyes fill with horror.
“You’re bleeding,” she gasps.
I glance down at myself and mutter, “Yeah, knife wound, ruined my jacket.”
“Knife wound? Screw your jacket, we need to get you to a doctor,” she says in horror and I have to admit, I don’t feel all that great and by the look of my soaked shirt and hers I’m losing a lot of blood.
“Yeah, maybe we do need to call the doc,” I agree and have to sidestep to keep myself upright.
Sirens wail in the background, or maybe it’s just my imagination. Fuck. Black spots enter my vision and I’m guessing the adrenaline is wearing off and I’m thinking pulling out the knife was a bad decision.
I want to keep focus, make sure my woman is all right but it’s a lost cause when I feel as if someone flips a switch and everything around me grows dark.
I groan and slowly become aware of my surroundings. The soft bed I’m lying in is the one in Delphine’s penthouse. Thank fuck I’m still alive. Concern about Delphine hits me and I jerk upright.
“What’s wrong?” I hear her sweet voice from beside me.
I try to reach for her but my arm is in a sling and I frown down at it.
“You need to lie down. You lost a lot of blood and the club doctor had to give you a transfusion. So weird how you guys don’t want to go to a hospital with all of the authorities at the clubhouse. I mean, Dad told me about how you were hurt and he ordered someone to check the truck and get rid of the knife. Which was stupid to pull out by the way,” she scolds.
“I know.” I wince and grumble, “When we arrived at the clubhouse and I saw the fire I wanted to check on you and I hit the door, making the knife twist in my arm and I pulled it out. Don’t worry, though. I don’t intend to get stabbed again any time soon.”
“Good. And add bullets to that list as well because one grazed me and that’s also no fun. I’m lucky I didn’t need stitches but cleaning the wound still hurt like a bitch,” she says and she snuggles against me.
“I’m so fucking glad you’re here, lying next to me, all safe and sound.” I let a deep breath flow from my lungs.
“Same here,” she whispers but there’s sadness in her voice. “I know I should be happy everything is over but…Lou killed–” She falls silent and what else is there to say?
“I know,” I croak and place a kiss on the top of her head. “I saw the bodies when we arrived at the clubhouse. They were good men. Men who died protecting you guys. How is Elodie? Do you know? Shit. The clubhouse, they burned the place down. Where the hell are we going to go?”
“Don’t worry about that. Dad stayed to talk to the authorities and when everything was handled, I told him to bring everyone here. This whole floor has always been reserved for family. The floor underneath this one, where the office is, has rooms available as well. So, all your brothers are staying here in the casino. Elodie and Dad are right next to ours. He wanted me to let him know as soon as you woke up but it’s been a few hours, maybe they’re sleeping and we should wait. Or do you think we should send him a text?”
“Let’s just stay here for a few more minutes without any interference.” I close my eyes and let the feeling of her against me soak into my very soul.
Things could have gone so very different today. Both of us tiptoed on the fine damn line of life and death. Something we won’t do again any time soon.
“As soon as we’re all healed we’re going back to normal work like kicking some fucker’s ass for not paying his debt,” I grumble.
Delphine chuckles. “That doesn’t sound shady at all.”
“Fuck shady. Kicking ass is better than catching bullets, or knives for that matter.”
“I’m thinking Dad and the rest of you guys will help me run this casino. Legal business and enough work to keep everyone occupied don’t you think?” Delphine suggests.
I glance down at my old lady. “Are you sure?”
Her smile is blinding. “The idea hit me when I was able to give everyone a room here. You guys had a clubhouse but it burned to the ground and you need a place to live. The hotel part of the casino has enough rooms for hire while we keep the two top floors to ourselves. It’s a perfect solution. Well, in my mind it is or do you think it’s a bad idea? Would the other guys think it’s crazy?”
Words are lacking so I lean in and catch her lips with mine. I groan from the feel of her soft mouth moving against mine. Catching her bottom lip between my teeth I gently nibble and suck before swooping my tongue inside her mouth to deepen the kiss.
My body lights up, desire shooting like electricity through my veins while my dick goes rock hard. This is the bonus part of life. The heat of a relationship where our bodies communicate without words and perfectly fit together; it’s the greatest gift of all.
Pulling back, I have to give her the words that might be too soon to voice but with everything that went down today I want her to know exactly how I feel.
“Fina,” I murmur against her lips.
“Hmmm,” she hums, eyes closed.
“I love you.”
Her eyes fly open and the intensity of both the blue of one and the brown hit me hard. Damn, she’s gorgeous.
“Maccoy,” she croaks.
“I know it’s probably too soon for you to hear but I have to give you those words. I know exactly how my body reacts to a lot of things and what I feel deep down. What I experienced from the shock and despair at the mere thought of losing you today? It’s damn clear I can’t, and don’t even want to imagine a life where you’re not right there by my side. And for sure as fuck I’m not one to bullshit or beat around the bush. I call it the way I see it and when I see you…hold you…all I see and feel is the way you complete me.”
She kisses me hard and when she pulls back she fiercely tells me, “I love you too. So. So. Much. When those shots rang out all I could think about was you. I was so scared but more about not having to spend enough time with you. I want everything. A future. Kids. Growing old. A lifetime wouldn’t be enough and yes, it might be too fast but who cares? This is us and we make our own rules by living the life we chose to live.”
“Damn fucking right,” I croak and kiss her again, relishing in the fact we’re both on the same page and right here, together; alive and stealing one another’s breath for the need to show how damn much we mean to each other.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Three months later
– DELPHINE –
“You look stunning,” I gush and feel my cheeks hurt from the massive smile that slides across my face.
Elodie grins and twirls, her black silk with lace fragments flows around her body.
“His tongue is going to hit the floor as soon as he sees me.” She smirks and I wrinkle my nose.
“I’m happy for you two, believe me, I am, but hearing you say my father will be lusting after you still makes me wrinkle my nose.”
Elodie laughs and pulls me in for a hug. “Oh, come on now. We were friends before I…well, I am about to become your stepmother. Kinda cool when you think about it. I always considered you more than a friend, our age making me wish you were my daughter and yet here we are. Me on the verge of marrying your father. Who knew the old man would pop the question?”
Now it’s my turn to laugh. “Who knew I had a father you could marry? I think if anyone would have told us a little over three months ago where we’d be standing right now? We would have laughed in their face, don’t you think?”
“I would have declared them insane. Over three months ago I would have never agreed to marry anyone. Until I met your father, I didn’t even know there was such a thing as instant lust, instant connection, or a craving so deep to belong in a man’s arms that are molded to fit my body perfectly. Not to mention, the endless talks, the shared interest, it’s like everything fits. Sure, we go head-to-head, challenge each other and that’s just it…the jagged pieces of who we are flawlessly complete one another.”
“Well said and it’s exactly how it is between me and Maccoy.” My eyes sting with unshed tears. “I don’t believe in the saying ‘everything happens for a reason.’ A shitty thing to say but when you think about it, the string of events hitting my life? It completely turned it around. Ripping one family away while shoving me into a completely new one. Being stripped of something and gaining much more in return. Good, bad. The whole knocking off balance and finding my footing once more and having a solid foundation to build our future on. For the first time in months, I feel as if I can allow myself to dream again and I’m thankful to have you in my life. The only person who I’ve known for years and who feels more than family. The whole wrinkling my nose thing is what I’m thankful for. My father deserves happiness as well as you and everyone else I hold dear.”
