A perfect McKenna-shaped shield to keep him safe.
From Ace and the Reckless Souls.
Chapter Thirty
Ace
We pull up to the Hollywood bungalow just as the sun sinks below the horizon, casting the city in a hazy orange glow that makes all of this shit feel surreal. The fact that I’m here with damn near my whole club to rescue a pair of rich sisters because they mean something to the MC, to me, is about as far away from reality as I can get.
Yet here I am.
Bikes rest in the alley behind the bungalow, six in total, and I relay that information to the men in front. No bars on the windows. A few of the blinds are open to give the impression that nothing nefarious is going on inside. It’s the perfect fucking cover for whatever this house is, whatever allows the house to be free in the middle of the day.
“Are all exits covered?”
“Not yet. Four fucking exits. Too many to get the girls out without risking their lives. Wild Man is on it.”
I frown and shake my head, staring at the phone. “What does that mean?”
Shades laughs. “It means he ran down the block to get some shit from his bag of goodies.”
After a long and unnecessary pause, he laughs again. “Padlocks for the side doors. The flaps are in place, and they lock from the outside, probably to make sure the girls that usually stay here can’t get out.”
I bite out a curse at the thought of those two madmen and what they might have put McKenna and Kelsey through. “Motherfuckers.”
“Yep. Wild Man is back, and the doors are locked. Thirty seconds?”
“Yeah,” I agree easily and suck in a few deep breaths, letting them out slowly to calm my racing pulse.
Whatever condition the girls are in, I’ll deal with it. No matter how battered and bruised they are, I will deal. I will keep it together and cope long enough to get them out of the house.
And only then will I wreck those assholes.
I stare at the countdown clock. When it reaches fifteen seconds, I approach the house slowly, letting my eyes drag across every window searching for movement.
Lights are on, and I glance inside the first window closest to me. Three Iron Kings smoke cigarettes in the kitchen, laughing like they don’t have a care in the world.
Like the Reckless Souls are just some pieces of shit they don’t need to fear. Like we won’t come for our women and make them bleed for what they’ve done to them.
The timer vibrates in my pocket, the signal it’s time to act. I lift my gun and strike one blow to the kitchen window, sending glass shattering and drawing the attention of three Iron Kings on me.
“I got your back,” Joaquin whispers behind me a second before he kicks the back door with a wicked grin. Without hesitating, he raises his gun, takes aim, and squeezes the trigger twice.
“We’re good.” He steps inside, and I follow, staying behind him on the narrow staircase until we reach the kitchen.
Two shots sound and I duck, grabbing Joaquin’s collar to take him out of the line of fire.
“Three,” I grunt as we both stand tall and take aim at the three Iron Kings aiming their guns at us. “Expecting someone else assholes?”
Joaquin and I fire off about eight rounds in a row. They fall as one, bodies going limp with their hands on guns they couldn’t fire in time.
“Fuck, yeah.” Joaquin crosses the kitchen and stands over them, putting a bullet in each of their heads. “Just to be sure.”
I nod at his smirking face. “Let’s go find the girls.”
We move toward the back of the house, checking the pantry and a small back bedroom. Both are empty, and we reverse our path toward the front part of the house.
Gunshots ring out, and we pick up our speed, stopping in the archway at the sight in front of us. Coop and Shades are behind an overturned table, taking fire from two Iron Kings. I look at Joaquin, and he grins with a nod.
“They’ll have to reload in a minute.”
Exactly. I nod, and we both have just enough ammo left to finish them off before they can even think to reload.
“Oh, I don’t fucking think so,” Joaquin growls, lifting his gun at the same time and squeezing the trigger until nothing comes out. I do the same, and within seconds, those fuckers fall to the ground just like their friends in the kitchen.
Coop stands, Shades right beside him. “Damn, that was close. Too close.” Coop shakes his head and rakes a hand through his hair with a sigh. “We find Kelsey yet?”
I shake my head. “Only one place left to look,” I told him, and my gaze swings toward the basement door.
“Let’s do it.” Coop’s jaw clenches tight. His gaze is deadly, with an intense focus on that door. It’s as if he knows Kelsey and McKenna are on the other side of the door. “All right.”