Me and Kye pushed through the crowd.
The plan was simple. Get back to the clubhouse and arrange to meet with Ivan. Once that was settled then we’d make the necessary calls to the PD to ensure the land deal was falling apart for good.
It was going to be busy so we had to move fast.
There was a small building that handled all the money. We showed up looking like the bad guys. The amount of money we had won off Jim’s fight was a huge amount. The money was all stacked up in thick bricks of cash and put into a bag. Not quite a cheap shopping bag but definitely not some nice briefcase either. I took the bag and trusted the count. All eyes were on me and Kye. Last thing we needed was to get jumped or heisted with money owned to Ivan (for the second time).
I tucked the bag under my arm and we walked toward the outside of the crowd. We got to the perimeter where the crowd thinned out. I kept my other hand near my gun just in case I needed it.
We made it a few steps before Kye stopped me.
He pointed toward the crowd.
There was a fight going on outside the ring. There had to have been twenty people going to town on each other. I carefully considered my options. The key was to get to Belle. I regretted not bringing her with me to the get the cash. All I could hope for was that she’d be safe…
My thoughts were rattled at the sound of an explosion.
Kye grabbed me and we went to the ground.
The entire crowd started to break up with screams and yells.
Black smoke billowed into the air, mushrooming over itself.
Someone had just attacked the fight.
And Belle was nowhere to be found.
chapter thirty.
(belle)
I lost hearing for a few seconds. It came back with a heavy buzzing sound. I looked around and people were running all around me. People bouncing into me, knocking me back. Someone grabbed my arm and I turned to see Trent. He had a weak grip on me and an army of people broke us apart. I heard screaming and watched as the crowd swelled even more. It was like being swallowed up in a wave at the ocean.
I heard someone scream my name and saw Jim.
I pushed against the crowd but stood no chance.
Jim plowed forward and managed to grab my hand.
“Run!” he yelled.
I went with the motion of the crowd. People everywhere. Nobody I knew except my brother. I tried to look around, desperate to see Duke, but I wasn’t tall enough. People scattered to their cars, motorcycles, whatever vehicles they had. Fights started to break out again, everyone wanting a piece of each other. I felt like I had stepped into the middle of a riot.
Then I heard gunshots.
I looked at Jim. His head swiveled left to right.
“We have to go,” he said. “We have to bolt out of here right now.”
“I have to find Duke,” I said. “I can’t…”
“Fuck! I couldn’t find Maggie! She was with the other guys. With Cade and Max. Fuck!”
“Maybe she stayed with them. Let’s go find them, Jim.”
“No,” he said. “We have to get out of here. Belle, trust me.”
Jim pulled at me and I had no choice but to go with him. We started to run, staying near a fence. I didn’t ask if he had a motorcycle or a car, not that it mattered. As long as we had a way out of there to get back to the clubhouse. I hoped that Duke would do the same. Knowing him, he’d look for me and end up getting hurt.
We ran for what felt like an hour.
I finally looked back one last time, praying I would see Duke.
Of course, I fucking tripped over my own two feet.
My hand slipped from Jim’s and down to the ground I went.
My knees hurt and throbbed in pain. I hurried to reach up and felt someone grab my hand. I looked and saw tattoos on the hand and knew it wasn’t Jim’s. I tried to pull away but the grip was fierce. I looked up and into the eyes of a man who had murder pouring from them. Jim came up behind the guy ready to hurt the man but a second later someone tackled Jim.
He went flying into the fence and the guy punched him, knocking him down.
I was then pulled to my feet and an arm wrapped around my throat.
I tried to kick back but it was no use.
“Easy, fine pussy,” a voice said in my ear. “You’re my payday.”
“Let me go!” I screamed.
I felt pressure against my throat and couldn’t get away. Heat rushed through my face and within seconds I had nothing but tunnel vision. I threw my arms out, reaching for nothing but a false sense of freedom.
Then the world went black.
thirty-one.
(duke)
I punched my way through the goddamn crowd. Nothing was going to stop me from getting to Belle. Behind me Kye was yelling at me to stop acting like an asshole. The crowd finally started to thin out a little from everyone charging. Right next to the ring there was a small fire. Tables were flipped over. The placed looked chaotic. Someone had set off some kind of bomb. But why?
There were people on the crowd, hurt, bloody, calling for help.
Someone screamed my name and I whipped so hard to the left I thought my neck was going to break.