Owning Destiny (Forsaken Sinners MC Series Book 4) (17 page)

He had gotten back about ten minutes ago, so we’re all pouring over the blueprints like they’re treasure maps when Toby’s phone rings.

“Yeah,” he answers, and we all quiet down, listening in on what he’s saying.

“Okay. You sure?” we hear him ask, and then he nods to himself before saying, “Got it. Thanks, brother.”

He hangs up the phone and glances at me with a look of disappointment. “Sorry, Prez. That was Bones. He’s scoped out all of their business locations and there is no movement there. He was even able to get close enough to each to confirm that there is no one there. They aren’t holding her there, brother.”

I release the breath I was holding and nod. “Thanks, brother.”

Not even three minutes later, his phone rings again and it’s the same as the last phone call. Rose isn’t at any of the warehouses. But I guess that doesn’t mean all bad news. That only leaves one location―the clubhouse. I just hope they don’t have a location we don’t know about, because if they do, then we’re fucked.

Toby calls our brothers located outside of the Kings’ clubhouse and fills them in. Then he calls everyone else and tells them to meet us there. We leave the prospects with the girls and the kids at our clubhouse, then we take off on our bikes.

We make great time and pull in a few blocks away from their clubhouse, then we walk the rest of the way to where the rest of the brothers are hiding and waiting.

“So what do we have here?” I ask Tom Tom and Bic, since they are the ones who were sitting on the clubhouse the longest.

“We haven’t gotten eyes on Rose, but we think she’s in there. They had the whole damn club here for a while, but most of them left ten minutes ago. If our count was right, there are only four more left inside, probably guarding your girl,” Tom Tom says.

“Why did they leave?” Blaze asks, just as confused as I am. If Rose is in there, why leave her there, even with a few guards?

“Not sure, brother. We spotted four members carrying something big out, looked like a box. They loaded it into a van and they all rode off together,” Bic answers.

“How many left?” Louie asks, trying to get specifics on how many men we are dealing with in total. We know there are at least four inside, but how many left?

“I counted seven.” This comes from Bic as well.

“Was Tyke one of them?” Toby asks, but the only answer we get is a shake of the head from both Bic and Bones.

Where the hell is he? Hopefully he’s there taking care of the men inside so we can just storm in, grab Rose, and get the hell outta Dodge.

“All right, Blaze and Toby, tell us what we’re doing,” I order, leaving the details to them. They’re the ones most skilled in areas of search and rescue, so I’m going to let them take point on this mission.

We spend the next few minutes listening to Toby give us directions and then Blaze adding anything last minute. Once we have our plan together and no one has questions, we all move forward to where we’re supposed to be.

Blaze takes Jax and Slayer to the back of the clubhouse. Tom Tom and Bones take the left side of the clubhouse, and Louie and Bic take the right side while me and Toby have the front. We are fewer numbered than we’d like, but with the prospects with the other girls, Tyler dead, and Tyke out of contact, we’re limited. But once this is all said and done, we need to do some serious recruiting, that’s for fuckin’ sure.

As soon as we’re sure everyone is where they should be, we send a mass text that we’re going in in ten seconds. We all silently countdown, and as soon as we hit one, you can hear doors being kicked down, glass breaking, and feet pounding.

I spot two guys sitting at the bar, which is the first room our door leads into. Blaze and I are able to take them both out simultaneously with a single shot each. Once they’re down, we move further into the room, looking to see if there’s anyone else in here hiding, but we find none.

We hear a few shots ring out coming from the back, so we rush that way, making sure to keep our eyes open for anyone else.

Toward the back door, we find Blaze standing over top of one guy with a bullet hole in his head and Jax standing over one with two holes in his chest.

“You good?” I ask them, to which they answer with a nod.

Turning back around, we meet the rest of the brothers in the middle of the clubhouse.

“Are there any more besides the four we took out?” Toby asks everyone.

“None on my end,” Tom Tom says.

“I had one on my end, but he was sleeping. Was able to take him out quietly,” Louie says with a grin. Sick bastard loves this shit. I probably would too if we weren’t here for Rose.

“Anyone see Tyke at all?” I ask, but everyone shakes their head. Where the fuck is he?

“All right, everyone split up. Look in every room, every crevice, and every fucking hole in this place. We have to find Rose and get the fuck outta here before the rest come back,” I order. Everyone takes off in search of my girl.

Toby stays with me, insisting he’s got my back. We check the rooms in the back and come up empty. She’s not here. Moving down the hallway, we start re-checking those rooms to make sure no one missed anything when we hear a blood curdling scream come from the opposite side of the clubhouse.

Taking off at full speed down the hall, not feeling any pain from my once-numb legs, I make it to where Slayer is fighting off Rose. She’s scared and probably doesn’t know what’s going on or that we’re here to save her. Shit, she probably doesn’t even know who we are. Lord knows what she’s fuckin’ been through while being held here, but I swear on all that is holy, I will make sure they pay. All of them.

Rushing toward her, I take her in my arms. “Rose! Baby, it’s me. Calm down,” I soothe until she finally stops fighting and finally sees me.

“Michael!” she yells, sobbing and trying to put her arms around me but she can’t because they are tied behind her back.

Pulling out my buck knife, I tell her to hold still so I can cut her free. She obeys and quietly cries into my chest as I work on her bindings.

As I cut through the final rope holding her here, I start to massage some feeling back into her arms, but she shrugs me off and wraps both arms tightly around my neck. Her hold is so tight, I worry she’s going to suffocate me, but I don’t fuckin’ care. She’s here and she’s safe in my arms where no one will hurt her again.

“I got you, baby,” I whisper in her ear.

Toby comes up behind me and places his hand on my shoulder. “We need to get out of here, Prez.”

Nodding, I start to pick Rose up, but she jumps out of my arms. “No! You have to leave me here. Get out of here before they come back,” she cries.

I try to step toward her to calm her down, but she holds her arms out for me to stop. Fuck, we don’t have time for this shit!

“Rose, baby. We need to go,” I try to soothe her so she’ll calm down enough that I can get her out of here, but if I have to, I’ll pick her up kickin’ and screamin’ if that’s what it takes to get her out of here.

“Michael, you don’t understand! They are going to kill all of you and everyone you love! They already have it planned out. I can’t let them do that. The only thing Gutter wanted was me. Please, you have to leave me here. I have to save you,” she says. I want to kiss her and slap some sense into her at the same time. This woman is stupid beyond all reason, but her heart is in the right place. The fact that she would sacrifice herself for me and my club means more than her telling me she loves me.

“Baby, I’m not going to let anything happen to you or my club. But if you don’t shut up and come with me right now, I’m going to hogtie you and carry your ass out of here. Either way, you’re coming home with me, where you belong.”

I don’t give her time to think about what I said. Instead, I take the few steps that separate us and pick her up into my arms. Thankfully, she doesn’t fight me anymore.

We make it just outside of the room she was being held in when she says, “You have to find Tyke! They beat him so bad because he tried to save me.”

Her words make me falter. “Is he here?” I ask, my anger spiking.

“No. He was in my room when they beat him. Oh God, Michael, it was so bad. He wasn’t moving,” she cries. “But then I passed out and I’m not sure where they took him.”

Looking back to my brothers, they each shake their head. He’s not here. If he was, we would have found him already.

“We’ll find him, baby. I swear to you, we’ll find him,” I promise.

I’m raging mad, but I’m also scared as fuck for my brother. For all of my brothers and all the people I care about. We just got thrown into a war. But I swear on everything I have that I will not stop until I see the last member of The Street Kings dead at my feet.

Chapter Sixteen

Rose

I can’t believe Michael came for me. Even though he’s risking a lot, I trust him fully. I know he’ll do everything in his power to make sure no harm comes to me or his club and family.

At first when I heard the commotion outside the room I was being held in, I thought they were coming back to kill me. It wasn’t until Michael took me in his arms that I felt the first thread of relief hit me. But it didn’t last long because I knew what my brother and his club had planned.

I tried to get Michael to leave me, to save himself and his family, but he wouldn’t. A part of me is happy about that. I know Michael would do everything in his power to make sure no harm comes to me or his club and family. He’s risking a lot, but I trust him fully. I just hope I’m not making a huge mistake. That we’re both not.

After we exited the building, we run down the street to where I see motorcycles parked.

Michael doesn’t even slow as we approach his bike. He must have done this a few times before because he makes it look so easy; running and getting on his bike without falling over.

Pulling me on behind him, he starts up the bike and signals his brothers with a circular motion of his finger. Everyone else starts their bikes and we’re taking off down the street like a bat outta hell.

I tighten my hold around Michael’s waist so I don’t fall off. It’s a little scary going this fast, but I know there’s an urgency in the air to get the hell out of here.

We drive for a few minutes and then stop in an abandoned parking lot. The rest of the guys pull up alongside us.

“You doing okay, Prez?” Blaze asks Michael, and it’s then that I remember his legs.

“Oh my god, Michael! Should you even be doing any of this?” I ask frantically. Did he hurt himself even more coming after me? And what about riding this bike? I don’t think he should be doing that just yet.

“I’m fine,” he growls, then points toward Toby. “Call the clubhouse. No one comes in unless it’s us and no one leaves without my say so. I want it on lockdown.” Toby nods and lifts his phone to his ear.

“Blaze, call our contacts at the DPD. I want them looking for Tyke,” Michael orders again and Blaze doesn’t hesitate to do his bidding.

“Michael, are you sure you’re okay?” I whisper in his ear. I’m so worried he’s going to hurt himself with saving me and then all of his hard work will have been for nothing.

“Baby, I’m fine. Better than fine. Don’t worry about me, okay?” he says in a soft voice, but I can hear the undertone of demand. I need to drop it.

A few moments later, everyone has done their task and we are ready to hit the road again.

“You ever ridden before, baby?” Michael asks me, and it causes me to flush out of embarrassment.

“No. This is my first time.”

“Well, as happy as that fuckin’ makes me, I’m sorry that your first ride is under this circumstance. But I promise, I’ll make it up to you. Now hold on tight,” he says before revving the engine and taking off again.

This time when we take off down the road, I allow myself to relax and really feel the vibrations all the way through my body. It’s kind of thrilling being on top of such a beast like this. But I don’t have much time to think about the thrill. I just wish we were going on a leisurely ride and not racing back to the clubhouse to prepare for a war.

It seems like only minutes later we’re pulling into Dixon, and a few minutes after that, we arrive at the Forsaken Sinners’ clubhouse.

Michael gets off his bike, then lifts me up and carries me in his arms toward the door. I struggle a little, worried that I’ll hurt him, but he stops me cold with a look. “Hold still,” he growls, but it’s not a mean sound.

“I could walk, ya know,” I say, a little irritated at him but loving it all the same. I love being in his arms. And every time I’m there, I feel safe and wanted. Loved even.

As soon as the door opens and we walk through, Dani, Harlow, and Sara rush up to us. “Oh my God, Rose, are you okay?” Harlow asks.

“We were so worried about you,” Sara says.

“Glad to have you home, babe,” Dani adds on with a smile.

I smile and hug each one of them, but Michael soon pulls me away. “All right. She’s back home where she belongs, but shit still needs to get done,” he says, then he turns to face his men.

“Toby, I want you to call in our nearby support chapters. Tell them we need them here like yesterday.” Toby nods and makes his way into what they call the chapel.

“Louie and Blaze, call our contacts and see if they have any news about Tyke. We need to find him and get him medical attention,” Michael orders, and I just pray it’s not too late for Tyke. From the few moments I had with him, he seemed like a good man. Please don’t let him die because of me and end up like the prospect. Which reminds me, I need to ask Michael what his name was.

“The rest of you, get all of our weapons together and take them into the chapel. We need to know what we have so we can come up with a plan to take care of the rest of the Kings.”

When the rest of the guys leave, it’s only the girls remaining. “Where are the twins?” Michael asks Dani.

“They’re in Zane’s old room napping,” she replies.

“Okay, good,” he says, then addresses them all. “Could you all go into the kitchen and see what we have for supplies? We’re on lockdown as of right now and nobody leaves without my say so, do you hear me?”

Sara and Harlow nod and take off toward the kitchen. Dani stays behind, but I’m not sure why, until she says, “Mack, is there anything I can do?”

Michael looks at her, then smiles softly. “No, honey. I just need you to keep the kids safe and help the girls in the kitchen. We’re going to have more guys here soon and we need all the food and supplies we can get with this lockdown in effect until further notice.”

Dani seems pissed, but she keeps a handle on it. When she speaks, you can barely even register her anger. “Mack, you know I can do more than that. Let me help.”

“I said no, Dani. I need you safe and to help the other girls. That’s what you can do to help, and that’s final. Now go,” he demands in a hard voice, but I know he’s not trying to be mean. He’s just trying to keep everyone safe, especially his girls and grandkids.

Dani huffs out a breath, but nods and takes off down the hall, probably to check on the kids.

“And you…my room, now.” He doesn’t give me any time to reply, he just takes my hand and leads me down the hall to his room.

Once there, he sits me down on the bed before pulling up a chair and sitting in front of me. “Tell me everything.”

God, I don’t even know where to start, but I guess I’ll just start at the beginning.

“Do you remember when I told you at the hospital that when I first met you, that I didn’t want to like you?” I ask, and wait for him to acknowledge that he does remember. “That’s because I swore to myself I would never be a part of or associate with anyone in a motorcycle club. You see, my brother―he’s a member of the Street Kings MC. He’s not a good man, never has been. Since I could remember, he was always a bully and hurting people, me included. I don’t know how many times I went to the hospital from a wound he had inflicted on me,” I say, remembering all those times in full detail. I can still feel the pain of those injuries like they’re still there.

“When I was nineteen, I tried to get away, but he would always find me and bring me back. I don’t know why because he hated me, but it was like he wouldn’t let me go, either. I even went so far as to change my name so he wouldn’t find me, but it didn’t work. I finally learned it’s because he needs me from time to time. Like when he’s short on money or needs me to get one of the doctors to write a prescription for a ‘friend.’ He’d come barreling into my life and ruin everything. One time, he even broke into my apartment, took everything of value, and trashed the place.” I hate that I have to tell him about who I’m related to, feeling like he’ll think of me differently, but he needs to know. I just hope it doesn’t change anything.

“Anyway, I would just try to stay quiet and forget about him until the next time he’d show up, praying that what he’d want or need was something I could give him so he’d leave me alone. But then one night after I was leaving the hospital right before you were released, I got down to my car and found a note from him. It said he had a surprise for me. I knew it wasn’t going to be anything good, and most likely worse than anything he’s ever done in the past, so I went home and came up with a plan that I would leave. I was going to pack all my shit and leave town for good, get as far away from here as I could and hopefully he wouldn’t find me.” Thinking back on it now, I can see that it never would have worked anyway. Anthony had always found me before and I’m starting to wonder if it’s because of Gutter.

Anthony told me his president had a thing for me, even went as far as putting a camera in my apartment and following me around. He probably had a tracker or something on my car and that’s how they always knew when I was running and where I would be. I’m so fucking stupid. I never even knew someone was following me, let alone watching me inside my personal space.

But back to telling Michael the truth. “The next day, I got to the hospital late because I overslept. I’d been up all night, waiting for my brother to show. I was going to talk to my superior when Dr. Yorkshire told me he needed me to sign off on your release papers. I didn’t want to go back into your room for fear that if I saw you again I would chicken out and not leave. And I was right, except for a whole other reason. You see, before I stopped by your room, I had looked at my bank account and knew I wouldn’t have enough money to live off of when I left here. So when you offered me the job of being your in-home nurse, I knew I had to take it.”

I feel horrible making it seem like I was using him, but it was so much more than that. Hopefully he’d give me the chance to tell him.

“I took the job with you, planning on just staying until you were better, and then leaving with the money you’d pay me. But during that time, I fell for you, Michael. I fell hard and never wanted to leave.”

Michael looks at me with a blank expression, and I don’t know if he’s mad or hurt.

“So what changed?” he asks in a monotone voice.

Blowing out a deep breath, I tell him about the mall and how I was afraid when I couldn’t find the girls that my brother had taken them. He hadn’t, but that didn’t stop me from worrying that if I stayed here, that he eventually would.

“And that’s why I left. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you all this before, but please know that I did believe you about that woman. I know you’d never do that to me, but I couldn’t stay and I thought that was the easiest way for you to let me go. And you did, or so I thought, but when I got to my apartment, my brother was waiting for me. And then that prospect showed up and tried to save me, but Anthony shot him. Right in front of me. I passed out after that and woke up in the room you found me in.”

He’s quiet for a few minutes, thinking about all the information I just unloaded onto him. Then, looking back up at me, he asks, “Did your brother ever tell you what he wanted with you?”

A shiver runs through me, remembering what it was he needed me for.

“He wanted a promotion and his president only wanted one thing,” I say, leaving the sentence hanging because I’m pretty sure Michael could figure it out.

His face pinches in pain and then he growls, “You.” I nod and more tears slip free.

“But when they found out I was with you, they said it was a better deal. They want you all dead. Said they were going to kill all your loved ones in front of you and make you beg for them to kill you. But I couldn’t let them do that, so I told Gutter I’d stay with him if he left you all alone.”

This seems to anger him more than what I told him about what they were going to do to his family. “Like hell you’re staying with him,” he growls.

“I’m so sorry, Michael. I didn’t know what else to do. He was going to kill Dani and the kids. Sara and Harlow. And make you all watch! I couldn’t let him do that, so I was going to sacrifice myself so you would all be safe,” I tell him, needing him to understand.

Blowing out a long sigh, he looks at me. “I know why you did it, but it was still stupid. Baby, I wouldn’t let anyone hurt my family and that includes you. Just trust me, please. No one is going to hurt Dani or the others and no one is going to take you away from me.”

Nodding, I start to sob again.

“I’m so sorry, Michael. I should have told you all this right from the start. I just didn’t want you to know who my brother was. And now the prospect and possibly Tyke are dead.”

I can’t stop the tears that are flowing fast and hard.

“Baby, it’s not your fault,” Michael says as he grabs my face and wipes the tears away.

“Shit was going to go down with The Street Kings eventually. I can’t tell you everything, baby, but it’s not your fault. It’s theirs, and I swear to you and everyone else they’ve hurt, I will make them pay.”

Looking into his eyes, I see he means it. He’ll protect me and make sure nobody else gets hurt. I don’t condone murder, but my brother is always the exception.