I saw Maggie on her ass, holding her knee.
I ran to her and dropped down.
“Maggie! Are you okay?”
“My knee,” she said. “I fell. I got lost. Where is everyone?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I went to get the money… shit. You don’t know where Belle is?”
“No. She was with Trent and Jim. Jim said he was coming to get me…”
I helped her to her feet. She hobbled a little but had her balance. I heard the cry of sirens way off in the distance. I looked at Kye. We both knew if we were anywhere in the vicinity of the place when the police showed up we’d get tagged for it.
“Come on, Maggie,” I said. “We have to get out of here.”
My heart was in my throat, pounding hard.
There was no sign of Belle anywhere. But there was also no sign of anyone else from the MC either. That meant they were all on their way back to the clubhouse.
I got Maggie to my ride and helped her on. Kye was right next to me. The rest of the motorcycles were gone. Another good sign. Hell, a great fucking sign. The entire MC had gotten out of there.
We started to ride and I felt slightly better.
I throttled my ride and rode as hard as I could back to the clubhouse. Lucky for me and Kye we dodged anything to do with the police. We were far gone by the time they arrived to the site. And even then, nothing would come of it. Just a bunch of unruly bikers throwing fists and someone blew something up. The only big deal would be if someone died, and even then, it wasn’t on Back Down Devil MC’s shoulders to bear that weight.
I turned to go into the lot and saw the guys all standing around a table. Trev looked up and saw me. He stepped forward and then ran a hand through his hair. I saw Jasper on a phone. He looked livid.
I stopped the motorcycle and jumped off. I felt bad for leaving Maggie hanging.
I charged forward and yelled, “Where the fuck is my Belle?”
Trev put his hands out and stopped me. I almost took him out I had been charging with such force.
“They want the earnings,” Trev said.
“What? What are you talking about?”
Jasper screamed motherfucker into the phone and then ended the call.
He turned and looked at me and Trev. “We do this right now.”
“Do what?” I asked.
“Duke, take it easy,” Trev said.
“Prez…”
“Hell Five,” he said. “Police found the body and opened an investigation. That’s the good. The bad is that Hell Five were undercover at the fight. They did that to create a distraction. They grabbed Jim and Belle. They want the money from the fight.”
I took a step back.
I had taken Belle from her house to protect her but now she was taken from me anyway.
“Give it to them,” I said. “Right now. Where are they?”
“I’ve got the location,” Jasper said. “We have to approach…”
I turned and started to run. I pointed to Maggie. “Get the hell inside, Maggie. Stay there!”
“Where’s Jim?” she asked.
“I’m going to get him.”
She grabbed my arm and I shook her away.
“Belle… where is she?”
“With Jim.”
“Save her,” Maggie said.
“No shit,” I growled and climbed on my ride. “Nothing is going to get her. I’ll die to save her.”
“You really love her?” Maggie asked.
“Of course I fucking love her,” I said. “I’ve loved her my entire life. I fucked up before but not again. This time, I’m making it right. Even if I lose the war.”
I started my motorcycle and had nothing else to say.
I sped out of the lot, my brothers hurrying to tail me. I couldn’t go far because Jasper knew the location.
I should have thought it all out better. The Hell Five were desperate. I never thought in my wildest dreams they’d pull a stunt like this though. But I got it. They were on the verge of losing everything.
Then again, I was on the verge of losing everything.
**
We stopped a little bit away from the small building. It was a shipping office that had seen much better days. It used to be a used car lot but after changing its name five times to five different foreign families, it was shut down for good. A local shipping company ate it up on the cheap and made it a small office since it was close enough to a northern port. That shipping company took a turn for the worse after not working closely with the Irish O’Nuall family so they were all but shut down, leaving the building barely used.
My first thought was that the O’Nuall family was somehow tied to this. That was scary to imagine. But first things first - save Belle and Jim.
I was walking the second my feet hit the ground. Trev darted in front of me and grabbed a handful of my shirt.
“Hey,” he growled. “We go in there like assholes and we’re going to lose it all.”
“She’s in there. What would you do if it was Eden?”
“The same thing you are,” Trev said. “But I’m here to tell you to calm the fuck down. Take it slow. Understand what we’re up against.”
“Do you have the money?” Jasper asked.
I nodded. “We’re solid. Are we just giving it up?”