Shade saw the conflict in Viper’s eyes as he directed the men. He wanted to go with them, but he had a responsibility to the brothers left behind.
“Cash, you take one of the working bikes. If the roads are blocked, you might get through easier on it. I’ll call the FBI and give them the address. Maybe, with the weather clearing, they can get there to back you up.”
The brothers climbed into the sheriff’s car as the others threw the pieces of their bikes out of the way for Knox to back out of the driveway. Once on the main road, Knox turned on his lights and siren, speeding through town.
Shade looked out the window at the passing town. Most of it had been spared. It seemed the destruction had only happened toward their side of the valley.
It took an hour for them to reach the sister church. Knox turned the siren and lights off two miles before they reached the large building sitting on the hillside.
“Don’t get to close, or they are going to see us coming,” Shade warned. “Pull over here and let me out.”
Knox pulled off the road behind two large trees, and Cash parked the bike he was riding behind the squad car.
The men went to the back of the car where Knox opened the trunk. Shade and the men reached inside, pulling out weapons. He hadn’t taken the time to run to his house for his own, knowing it would take too much time to find them in the wreckage.
Cash took out a rifle, loading it, and Shade tucked a Glock into his waistband before reaching for the M4.
“You need a gun?” Cash asked Train.
“Fuck no. I had mine in my saddlebag.” Train pulled his leather jacket back to show his revolver.
Knox slammed the trunk closed.
“Take no chances, brothers. Shoot to kill.” Shade changed his mind. “Except for Beth’s father if you can. If not, then blow the motherfucker’s brains out.”
The men took off at a fast clip. Knox, even being the biggest, kept up with Train and Rider, who were the fastest; however, the rest of the men weren’t far behind. Each had diligently kept their bodies in the same shape they had been in during their military service.
As they came up on the building, Shade motioned the men in the direction he wanted them to take. As they moved into their positions, the growing darkness did what Shade had thought would be impossible: provided cover enough to allow them to go unseen.
Shade nodded to the side of the house. Using the tree line to shield him, he stopped by the largest one. Handing Knox his rifle, he shimmied up the tree and reached down for the rifle then climbed several more inches before he stopped moving.
Bringing the rifle up, he used the scope to look through the church window. Quickly counting, he raised his hands, showing five fingers then another four, indicating there were nine people he could see.
Shade recognized a few of the faces inside, many he had seen on Sundays when he would wait for Lily at the diner after church. Some of those same people she had attended church with were inside watching something, their fanatical gazes turned toward the front of the church.
Shade had learned earlier from Knox that the diner’s owner had explained how his and Razer’s bike had been destroyed without it being caught on video. Then Dr. Jones, who was in practice with Lily’s obstetrician, had showed how they had managed to get near to Lily at her appointment. However, it was from the bitch standing toward the front of the church—Kaley, that really set his trigger finger to itching.
He couldn’t see Lily or Razer, but he could see Beth.
Shade’s hand tightened on the trigger as he watched Saul use the belt in his hand to beat Beth. Her dress had been torn down the back, and her head had fallen forward. She was unconscious.
He almost fucking shot everyone through the window when he saw one woman standing in the group, watching Beth being beaten. The only reason he didn’t kill the evil bitch before he climbed down was the promise he had made Lily.
“Each of you get to a window. We’ll attack at the same time.”
“Weapons?” Knox asked.
“I only saw two,” Shade answered. “One by the front door and one by the back.”
“A church with a lot of windows isn’t the brightest place to hide out,” Rider commented.
“Saul needed a church to carry out his judgment,” Cash reasoned. “The sadistic bastard uses God as an excuse to do what he gets off doing—hurting someone.”
“It will be the last time that bastard touches Beth.” Shade took off, heading for the left window. It would be the hardest to get through, but it was the one closest to Beth. If he could get to her, he could untie her and get her behind the podium for cover, if she was still breathing.