Page 1 of Redemption in the Dark (The Righteous 5)
Wolf knew this job was going sideways the moment he was handed the damn order. You don’t just stroll into a notorious biker bar, take out their leader, and think you’re walking back out again like it’s a fucking coffee shop.
Luckily, he’d been provided with some backup, but the place had quickly turned into the Wild West. The leader of the motorcycle club, Hammer, gave the order to ‘fuck shit up.’ The guy seemed more like a box of loose screws than a hammer, but that was a personal opinion.
Wolf ducked away from a fist coming for his face just in time for a chair to collide with Hammer’s head. He had no idea who threw it, but he owed them a beer. The big man stumbled to the side and grabbed the bar for support. Seizing the opportunity, he grabbed the leader of the biker crew by his cut, and with a good old heave-ho, threw him over the bar. Half-drunk beer mugs smashed to the floor as the large man kicked out wildly.
Grabbing the faded brass rail like it was a hurdle, Wolf leaped over the bar and landed beside the dazed man.
“Look out,” someone yelled.
Wolf covered his head as he dropped low behind the bar. The mirror on the wall behind the bar smashed into a million tiny shards, raining down on himself and Hammer. The man groaned and shielded his head, but they were both going to have cuts and abrasions from the onslaught.
Glancing at Hammer, Wolf caught the glimmer of a shiny blade and managed to snatch Hammer’s arm before the switchblade could slice into his calf.
“Just give up already,” he growled. “You have nowhere to go.”
“Only over my cold, dead corpse.”
“Don’t fucking tempt me,” Wolf said, teeth gritted as they wrestled over the weapon. Fighting this man was like trying to fight a bear. Or at least what he assumed it would be like since he hadn’t tussled with a bear…yet. Sure, a mountain lion and an alligator, he’d wrestled both a time or two, but not a bear.
“Oh, fuck it.” Bringing his knee in toward Hammer, he hit the man in the crown jewels as hard as possible. It wasn’t a great shot from the odd angle, but it did the trick.
Hammer’s eyes bugged out, and his cheeks filled with air as the pain registered. Hammer’s arms weakened, and he was able to disarm the man and roll the guy over onto his stomach to put the zip ties on his wrists. Besides, he really loathed the idea of getting stabbed again. The last time he’d been knifed, it cost him over a month of work, and they’d had him riding a desk until he was able to get back out into the field.
He flopped back on his ass, breathing hard. Sweat streamed down his face in the unairconditioned, unseasonably hot bar. Wolf’s eyes scanned over him as he continued to groan in pain. It wasn’t his finest fighting moment, but he was more than done with this Hammer and his biker buddies.
His patience had disappeared a while ago. After sleeping in his car for weeks while he kept surveillance on this clubhouse, waiting for the okay to storm it and take Hammer. There were only so many times you could piss in a bottle and eat bags of junk food for meals before all you craved was a hot shower, a half-decent meal, and your bed.
Hammer had been important enough to sacrifice the hours for—the man was wanted on multiple charges, including four counts of murder they could prove and who knew how many more they couldn’t. He wanted to ensure the evidence was airtight before handing the case over to his higher ups for the prosecution.
Hammer was regaining his wits and was pushing himself along the floor like a massive worm as he tried to get his feet under his body to stand.
“Come on, man. You’re just annoying me now,” Wolf said as he stood and followed. Reaching down took some effort, but he managed to roll the man over onto his back and cracked him as hard as he could across the face a couple of times. The blow only seemed to antagonize Hammer rather than have any real effect. “Are you fucking high?”
“Give me the pain. I like it.” Hammer spit a little blood onto the floor.
“You’re going to love prison then.” Wolf grabbed the man by the front of his cut and hauled him onto his feet.
The room had been reduced to shambles. Broken tables and smashed glasses crunched under his boots. Pictures hung at odd angles or were off the wall and had been used as weapons. Wolf cringed as he stared at the rookie he’d brought with him for backup. He was unconscious on the pool table, but his pants were pulled down to show off his ass and the long pool cue sticking out of it. Wolf shook his head. That was going to be a story the guy never lived down.
“Marcus, can you go help the new guy?” Wolf pointed to the pool table, and Marcus’s face twisted in horror. He then proceeded to laugh and shake his head no. “At least make sure he’s still breathing, you fucker.”
Marcus continued to laugh like a braying donkey as he pulled a phone from his pocket. I knew what he was planning and there was simply no point trying to stop him, Marcus always did what he wanted.
Wolf pushed Hammer through the shattered bar door and out into the bright sunlight. It was going to be another scorcher of a day, and he was looking forward to a cold beer and an even colder shower.
“Here,” he said as he handed Hammer over to the men loading the prisoner van.
As he walked away, he assessed his injuries. Nothing major. A few cuts and bruises, but nothing life-threatening. He limped his way toward his car and took a deep breath as he undid the Velcro sides of the bulletproof vest and pulled the heavy thing off. He quickly brushed off some mirror shards from the front of the kevlar that had stuck to the U.S. Marshal symbol before tossing it into the back seat.
He slipped behind the wheel with a sigh and turned the key in the ignition. As soon as he did, his phone rang, and his special phone binged a text.
“Really, people? You can’t let a guy have one night’s rest before you go harassing him?” he mumbled, picking up his work phone first. “Wolf, here.”
“Executive of Special Operations, Wigfield here.”
He sat up a little straighter even though the man couldn’t see him. “Executive, this is a surprise.”
“I wanted first to commend you on your operation today. I heard it was a success.”
