The dream was ripped from me when I heard the cell door squeak open and the C.O. step inside.
“Got yourself a cell mate Petra,” he crooned, crossing his arms against his chest as he looked over his shoulder. “Try to play nice, will you?” He added, before stepping outside the cell and allowing the man about to invade my small space step inside.
My eyes narrowed as Stryker walked into the cell, holding his linens under his arm.
“Good luck,” muttered the C.O. before he slammed the bars close and strut his ass down the cell block. I stood from my cot, walked over to the bars and looked out to see where the guards were before turning around and narrowing my eyes at him.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Stryker threw his linens on the top bunk before turning around and facing me.
“I heard the bologna was top notch,” he said sarcastically before glancing around the cell. “This blows, huh?” He shook his head and diverted his eyes back to mine. “Do you snore?”
“Stryker,” I seethed, clenching my fists as I took one step, making us almost nose to nose. “What are you doing here?”
“Drug charge, nothing crazy just possession,” he stated.
“And it’s a coincidence that you’re my cellmate?” I questioned.
“Nope, not a coincidence at all. I come bearing news and instructions,” he said, pointedly. “But I should warn you, none of it is good.”
“Christ,” I hissed, running my fingers roughly through my hair before I lifted my eyes to his. “Lacey?”
“She’s fine,” he paused, cocking his head to the side as he peered at me. “You fucked the Bulldog with that one.”
“Yeah, well, he needs to get over it. It’s not like I don’t have good intentions when it comes to her but, he wouldn’t know that because he’s too busy being a bitch.”
“He’s too busy fighting a war to even consider what kind of man you’ll be to his daughter,” he argued. “But he’s decided that your life matters, whether it’s to him or her, I don’t know but that’s one reason I’m here,” he paused, ran his hand over his head before continuing. “The Dragons came after us,” he informed me.
“How bad?”
He blew out a breath, rolling up his sleeves and glanced down at the ink that covered his arms before he lifted his eyes back to mine.
“Stryker, how fucking bad?”
“We lost Bones,” he muttered.
I stared at him in shock as I dropped onto my cot and processed his words. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a fallen brother. You start to think your club is invincible and nothing will ever get you down. Then something like this happens, you lose one of your own, and you realize everybody bleeds. We all die and none of us are ever safe.
“They attacked us at the compound, got us good, Pipe was expecting a shipment of automotive parts and when the truck pulled into the gates we thought it was the delivery. They opened fire, Riggs’s baby mama was there…”
“Oh God,” I groaned.
“She was hit and would’ve been again but Bones stepped in front of the second shooter and took the bullet for her,” Stryker continued. “Bones didn’t make it out of surgery, they delivered the baby, kid was born three pounds and was put a respirator.”
“And Lauren?”
“Took her awhile to come back to the land of the living but she finally got to meet her boy,” he said, taking a seat on the john across from the bunk.
“Jesus,” I muttered. “How did Riggs not lose his fucking mind?”
“Man, I don’t know but, shit, he stepped up. He didn’t leave that hospital for a second, if he wasn’t sitting with his woman then he was holding his baby—telling him stories about the mom he didn’t meet yet and the uncle he never would.”
I brought my hands up to cover my face, processing what he said and thought about Bones and Riggs’ friendship. We all talk about brotherhood, call one another brothers by choice but those two, they were tight, they were a younger version of the old Jack and the old me.
“Tell me we got them. Tell me we made that motherfucker pay,” I growled, dropping my hands back to my sides.
“It’s taken care of,” he confirmed.
“How?”
“We waited because Jack wanted to give Riggs the respect—Sun Wu nearly took out his whole family, it seemed only fair he’s the one who put Wu in his grave. We hit his club as planned but Riggs had a different plan, one he concocted with Bianci. They took out Wu personally.”
“Shit,” I ground out.
“Yeah, it’s been fun.”
“What about the Corrupt Bastards?”