As Jager walks past me towards the door, he pulls me aside and mutters, “You kill Addison Bell, or you die trying, do you hear me?”
I nod in agreement, watching him pass through. But before he can make it through the door, there’s a shout, a man screaming at us in the distance, “They’re here! They’re here! Grab your guns! The Coyotes are here!”
My heart races as I struggle to find my bearings. The rest of the men are running around me in a panic, each racing to get upstairs towards the attack. I push past them, blood surging through my head as I hear the pops of gunfire begin. I make it to the kitchen where I see Mustang’s taking position, removing the bits of wood covering the shot out windows.
Upstairs, the clubwomen are panicking. I see one huddled and crying in the bathroom while two more are holed up in my bedroom, attempting to barricade the door. I scream at the top of my lungs over the shouts and fire from the floor below, “Where’s my daughter!”
The door to her room creeps open a bit and I see the top of her brown, messy curls opening it for me. I scoop her in her arms and motion for the rest of the women to follow me. Two of them hold onto my hips, holding onto me for protection as I slither down the stairs with my train of club girls. Several of them scream as they watch one of our men fall backwards, a bullet entering and exiting through his shoulder.
I kneel down lower, taking the girls and my daughter with me towards the floor. We slowly sink towards the entrance to the basement, the only place I think to be safe. I shut the door behind me and set Maddie down on a beat up old couch.
She looks at me, tears welling in her eyes, “Dad, you can’t go up there! Did you see? Did you see?”
“I did, baby,” I console her, “but that’s exactly why I have to go back. The guys need me.” I wipe a tear that has fallen to her chin and remove her hands from around my arm. “I’ll be okay. C’mon. You know I’m a tough guy.”
“But you can’t go!” She screams at me as I walk away, “Daddy! No!”
I haven’t heard her call me “daddy” in years. In that moment of panic, I make myself a promise that I will be back for her, no matter what. I won’t leave this house a dead man. And she sure as hell wasn’t going to leave it fatherless.
When I make it back upstairs, Jager throws me a gun as he shouts at me, “Where the fuck have you been, Cal? We need you up here!”
I don’t bother answering him. He wouldn’t understand. No one except a father could possibly understand my need to put her first. I take the rifle he tossed at me and sling it over my shoulder. For the first time, I can take a moment and see what is going on and get my bearings.
Outside, men are on their knees, hiding behind bushes and parked cars as they shoot into the home. Our men are at every single window and door, returning each shot as they come. Jager is standing behind the main group as if he is leading his troops into the battle. The rest of the gang is taking up positions outside the back, guarding the rest of the potential entrances and exits.
That’s when it hits me. I run towards Jager, yelling at him in hushed tones, “The basement. They’re gonna try to get in through the basement. If they know anything about this house, they know we’ll be too busy watching the front and the back to think about that side entrance.”
Jager looks around, weighing his options. There’s not another person to send. Everyone has their place and role to play in this war. But I’m left alone. “Let me go, Jager. My daughter’s down there, and I’m not about to let any man get within a hundred feet of her.”
He nods in agreement, and I run off. I grab Ace, who is helping one of the younger guys load up rifles, by his sleeve and pull him with me. As we walk through the alcove towards one of the unguarded bathrooms, he asks me, “What the hell are you doing, Cal? Jager said everyone to positions!”
“Jager didn’t think about the storm entrance to the basement. And if Addison Bell and the Mountain are smart, they know about it and are going to try to use it.”
“How the fuck are we gonna get out there, huh? That’s a suicide mission.” His eyes are darting frantically side to side as he realizes that I’m taking him away from his cushy, safe position backing up the rest of the men.
“Maddie’s down there, Ace. Someone needs to guard them, at least.”
He hesitates, looking down at the ground. A sudden hail of gunfire sends us ducking towards the ground. From the thin walls and the shared vents, we can hear the girls sobbing downstairs. When we stand back up, Ace looks at me and nods. He’s with me for Maddie. I knew I could count on him to care enough about her.