Page 140 of Malice and Surrender
One thing that the MC had given me was a place where favors didn’t come with an expiration date. I yanked my other leg out from under Sparky and got to my knees to pull at the Velcro sides of the bulletproof vest. Air was still hard to get in without the feeling of someone pressing on my chest, and I needed to take a moment to rest and assess the damage. The Desert Vipers had other ideas. Shadows could be seen passing the furthest window. I stayed low and crawled to the wall.
I couldn’t hear any gunshots, but the yelling told me Wilder was picking guys off. The third window shattered with what sounded like an explosion, and I pulled up on my leather jacket to protect myself from the raining debris.
Guns were firing, and bullets were randomly sailing through the window, hitting boxes. Pieces of history and memories from members long past were torn apart with the rain of bullets.
A Viper jumped through the middle window. He landed and rolled before looking my way, and I sneered as I glared at my enemy. My hand moved fast, experience and instinct putting two bullets in the Viper before he got his gun up. Another member tried to jump through the window, but he wasn’t as graceful. He screamed as he landed on the bottom portion of the shattered window piercing his stomach as he hung half in and half out. He fell back out a moment later, leaving a trail of blood sliding down the wall.
I knew they would keep trying to get in. This was the only decent access point, and we were so low on men that they would easily overwhelm us.
If I ever wanted to know what being on The Walking Dead was like, I’d just gotten my wish as more men tried to pile through the windows. Their moans and yells were loud as bullets hit them. The floor and the boxes were now coated in blood.
Sparky had planned on giving them an easy in, but I’d fucked with that. What started as five guys turned into ten. I fired as men yanked the dead out of the way and leaped through the frames to find me on the other side. My guns clipped empty, and I quickly reloaded one, but I didn’t have the right size clip for Sparky’s gun and dropped it to the ground. I fired faster than I could keep up with the sheer number of men crawling over one another to get into the windows. The pile of dead, dying, or groaning people on the floor was building up like a wall.
“What the fuck zombie movie did I wake up in?” I grumbled as one of the guys I shot pulled himself across the floor, leaving a blood trail in his wake. I quickly put a bullet in his head as he reached his hand out for me.
“Get the fuck in the window. We need to get in there.” A loud voice boomed as my gun clicked empty for the second time. Shit. I reached for another clip, but it was missing. Fuck. It must have fallen out when Sparky shot me.
Dropping to my knees, I crawled to one of the dead Vipers. Each movement felt like being stabbed in my side. Grabbing the gun, I pried it out of his hands and checked the clip.
“Full, thank fuck.”
The gunfire outside was getting louder. I wasn’t surprised. We’d been sitting with a bleeding limb in a frenzy of sharks and no boat to save us.
Sliding across the floor to my vantage point, I caught my breath. I really needed to get this fucking vest off. Leaning against the wall, I managed to pull myself upright when the sound of heavy boots coming down the hall drew my attention. Gripping the gun tight, I shifted positions slightly to see who it was. The cool metal felt heavy in my hand, my finger rubbing over the trigger. Was this going to be it? I figured I would die like this at some point, but I didn’t think today would be the day.
If it wasn’t my guys, I would have a hell of a fight on my hands, but as the shadows stepped into the light, I sighed and slumped against the wall. It was fucking Tanner leading the charge. I’d never been so fucking happy to see his face.
“What the fuck took you so long?” I barked out as Tanner jogged the rest of the way to me and then shot a guy that stuck his head through the window.
“Traffic was a bitch. What the hell are you doing starting the festivities without me? You know I like to party.”
I snorted. “Have at 'em,” I said.
“You heard him. Let's have some fun! Yippie ki-yay mother fuckers!” Tanner did his Bruce Willis impression. I shook my head as he hooted and hollered, firing at the living and the already dead. More men piled through the door, and soon anyone outside the windows was retreating.
You needed to be careful when it came to Tanner. He had a knack for taking a shit storm and somehow turning it into a shit hurricane and not in your favor.
I let my leather jacket drop so I could peel my vest off and winced, reaching around to grab the velcro.
“Snake, fuck,” Roach said as he joined the room now filled with Lost Souls members. “Shit, you okay.” His worried eyes scanned me as I leaned, panting against the wall.
“I need help getting the vest off,” I said. Roach grabbed the Velcro sides, pulled hard, and lifted it off over my head. He dropped it to the floor with a thud. Without the weight of the thirty-pound vest, I took a shuddering breath.
“I have no idea how cops wear those all the time, fuck, they’re terrible,” I said.
“Lift your shirt.” My hands shook from the boost of adrenaline still coursing through my body, but I got the T-shirt lifted enough to show Roach.
“We need to have you looked at,” Roach said, ignoring my cop joke. My eyes flicked to his as he pulled out his phone, and I knew he was calling the doc we always used for the club.
Reaching out, I squeezed his forearm as he spoke into the phone. His eyes found mine as he relayed the information and location. Roach said nothing as we stared at one another, but I knew what he was thinking. I was fucking lucky. We may not have been blood brothers or even childhood friends, but we had a friendship that had seen the worst and lived to tell the tale.
“Thanks,” I said, as he hung up the phone.
That one word held so much weight for me. I didn’t thank or rely on people, but Wilder had just saved my life, and I knew Roach would’ve jumped in the way of that bullet if given the chance. I was grateful for their friendship, something I hadn’t fully realized until now.
Looking down, there was a black bruise already forming. I gently touched the spot and knew I had at least one cracked rib. I knew the feeling all too well, having had more than my fair share in life.
I was fucking lucky, though. If the bullet had been a couple of inches higher, it would’ve been a direct blow to my heart. From such a short distance, it could’ve stopped it for good.
