Page 99 of Beyond the Cut
“You’re jealous,” Gunner said. “He’s younger and prettier than you. You’re afraid he’s gonna steal your girls away.”
“He’s welcome to them.” Cade stepped out into the cool, dark night. “Only one girl I want. But I need someone to take up the mantle, otherwise there are a lot of good titles out there that will be lost.”
“How ’bout Hacker?” Sparky tapped the prospect’s laptop. “He’s not much use in the field, but he sure as hell knew his stuff when it came to finding you and getting into that system—”
“Don’t forget the screensaver.” Gunner cut him off. “Pretty damn cool to have our patch on every piece of tech in the clubhouse.”
“Vote,” Jagger called out from his bike. He’d parked between two police cars in a brazen show of sticking it to the cops.
Everyone lifted a hand.
“Hacker it is. Now let’s go save an old lady and kick some Brethren ass. The rest of the brothers are waiting for us.”
TWENTY-SIX
I will let nothing stand in the way of justice. I will never hold back in the pursuit of revenge.
SINNER’S TRIBE CREED
The first notes of White Stripes’ “Icky Thump” filled the room and Dawn stared at Jimmy. After everything that had happened, she was back where she started, except this time she was twenty-six instead of sixteen, and when she danced, it wouldn’t be with fear and humiliation feeding Jimmy’s ego. She had a confidence she’d never felt before. She had people who cared about her. And she had a man who would do anything to keep her safe. But first she had to save herself. But she needed a gun.
Dawn kicked out one leg and twirled around the pole, checking out the room for weapons and an exit. A low hum from the street muffled the pelvic-throbbing beat of the music, and she paused midstep. What was that noise? She looked to the front door and a few bikers did the same.
Thunder? The rev of an engine? The roar of a train?
The sound grew louder.
“What the hell is going on?” Jimmy pushed Gail off his lap and pointed at the biker nearest him. “Go. Find out.”
By now the sound was unmistakably that of a vehicle in full acceleration. Jimmy reached for his gun. The front door crumpled and the side of the building went with it, the sheet-metal-and-wood-frame structure collapsing under the weight of the massive black SUV barreling into the building. The clubhouse groaned under the impact. Pictures fell from walls. Beams crashed to the floor. Bikers shouted. Someone fired a gun.
Dawn ran. She didn’t care who was in the vehicle or why it had come through the wall, but it was a chance of escape and she wasn’t about to lose it.
The driver’s-side door of the SUV swung open and Cade stepped out of the vehicle, his face a mask of fury. Using the door as a shield he sprayed bullets across the room, covering Dawn as she ran toward him. Cold, determined, calculating, he moved with confidence and purpose, scattering the Brethren in a shower of steel.
Dawn hit the vehicle running and reached for the door just as two pit bulls came racing through the hole in the wall. They went straight for Cade, knocking him to the ground. Cade lost his weapon as he fell. “Run, Dawn. Get the fuck out.”
Like hell I will. She dropped to the ground and rolled under the vehicle, staying behind the wheel well as she reached for Cade’s gun. She dragged it toward her by the handle, struggling with its weight.Okay. It was some kind of submachine gun. Not quite the same as her little .22 but she just had to pull the trigger.
Cade struggled with the dogs. One of them bit his arm and he cursed. The other clamped its jaws firmly around his leg, and Dawn slid her finger over the trigger, hoping a few rounds would scare them off.
“Heel.” Jimmy’s voice echoed through the clubhouse. He snapped his fingers and the dogs released Cade. “Not so brave now, are you?” He crouched beside Cade with his weapon pointed at Cade’s head while the dogs salivated beside him. Dawn couldn’t see Jimmy’s face but she could imagine the smirk. He always smirked before he hit her.
“Up.” Jimmy barked the command and Cade heaved himself to his feet. Dawn shifted closer to the edge of the vehicle, and one of the dogs growled.Damn.
“You picked the wrong fucking brother and the wrong fucking club to mess with when you got involved with my old lady.” Jimmy’s voice slid through her like ice. “Shootin’ you dead is gonna be too easy. Your death is gonna be nice and slow. I’m gonna film every minute of it and send it the Sinners so they know what’s coming for them.”
“I think you better be worried about what’s coming for you.”
Dawn drew the gun close to her chest. The dogs barked. A furry black face appeared under the vehicle and she slid back. The SUV rocked above her. Was someone inside?
“Hiding, love?” Jimmy raised his voice loud enough for her to hear. She could see his boots just in front of her. The same boots he’d used when he’d kicked her repeatedly in the stomach, trying to make her lose her babies.
“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you. Just in case you feel left out, you’re gonna suffer, too.”
Dawn leaned up on her elbows, shoved the gun between her breasts and fired. Jimmy screamed. The gun whacked her chin on recoil and her head jerked back, hitting the undercarriage with a painful thud.
Jimmy fell to the ground and into Dawn’s line of sight. His weapon dropped to the side. “Jesus fucking Christ. The bitch just shot my fucking toe.”
