His hand shot out and grabbed my throat, walking me back into the apartment.
I couldn’t speak his name because his grip was stealing my air.
So I said it in my mind. And I knew I was all but dead.
Daxton…
thirty-five.
(trent)
It was time to finish the deal.
I walked to the van and Austin opened the door. We eyed each other, playing this thing off as cool. As calm and collected. Max helped me pull a long, black box out of the van. We placed it on the ground and went for the second one. Once the third box was on the ground, we collected together around it.
This was the do or die moment for all of us.
I climbed into the back of the van, along with Duke, Austin, Jasper, and Cash.
What the other guys couldn’t see were the black bags at the front of the van.
Outside, Trev stood with Kye and Xavier, keeping the scene moving forward.
“Here you go,” Trev said. “Pop the lids off and check your hardware. Three cases. I believe that was the original deal.”
I was in the van and watched as Conor and Bullet approached the crates. Bullet took out one of the shotguns, adding another variable to the situation.
Conor whistled for three of the guys to come up and open the boxes.
I looked to Duke. He was stoic and focused. The years of military experience and true war experience coming to life right then. Austin, Jasper, and Cash were on my left. We had to keep our hands down so we didn’t give ourselves away.
Up until then Night Soul MC thought they were getting their guns.
Like fucking hell we would deliver guns to them. They’d only turn and use those weapons against us. The town, the crews and clubs around us, they were going to have to learn a lesson. Sorry to Night Soul MC, but they were going to be the first.
As soon as the boxes were open, reality set in.
“What the fuck?” Conor asked.
That was my cue.
The boxes were empty, showing the guys in Night Soul they were getting nothing.
The guns we had purchased from the O’Nuall family? They were in the back of the fucking van still. Well, except the ones me, Duke, Austin, Jasper, and Cash were carrying.
I was first to pull the trigger. I had to take out Bullet.
Then all hell broke loose. As we emerged from the back of the van, we emptied clip after clip, taking out all the Night Soul MC members. Granted, it wasn’t the ones we wanted, but it would make a statement to Rocco and Gunner.
It took no more than a minute before it was all said and done.
“Load it all up and move,” Trev then ordered as he stepped over Conor’s body.
Kye and Xavier loaded up the boxes into the van and shut the doors.
Austin walked to the front of the van, got inside, and started it.
The guys all dispersed to their motorcycles except for me, Jasper, and Trev.
Trev stood there, hands at his sides, looking at the destruction. The guns were still echoing in my head, ringing in my ears. It was a bloodbath. When the PD would find the scene, it would be a big mess to clean up and investigate.
“It was the right decision,” Trev said. “There was no way they could get guns. Everything with Ripper is now behind us.”
“They’re going to rebuild and attack,” Jasper said. “I wish the table was here.”
“You know they weren’t going to come,” Trev said.
“I thought they would,” I said. “Rocco and Gunner…”
“No,” Trev said. “They’re like cockroaches. They slink around, you know?” He looked at me. “This was the right plan, Trent. You did good here.”
“Now we sit and talk to Garvan and Bryant about your old man,” Jasper said. “We’ll go to bat for you. I know you’d do it if it needed to be done, but they aren’t going to win this.”
“Just let me get Harlee to safety first,” I said.
Before I could finish the sentence, my phone started to ring.
Speak of the sexy devil…
It was Harlee calling.
“Hey, darling,” I said.
“Hey, shit face,” a voice said.
My eyes went wide as I scanned the destruction around me.
All these members of Night Soul taken out.
“You there, asshole?” Daxton asked.
He was calling from Harlee’s phone.
That only meant one thing.
I looked at Trev. “Daxton has Harlee.”
**
I sped too fast and was too close to the back of the van for my own good. If Austin hit the brakes for any reason, I’d end up crashing. But what was I supposed to do? I had to get to Harlee. Fuck, if anyone reported back to Rocco and Gunner about what we had done…
I cut to the right and ended up in the opposite lane.
All I could do was throttle the motorcycle harder, going faster.
Daxton had demands and I had to meet them.
He wanted to meet just outside Daurian, in a heavily brushed area. He assumed his MC had their guns and now he wanted cash. The money Night Soul had paid for the guns was to be refunded or else he was going to slowly kill Harlee.