Zero Regret (Lost Kings MC 13)

“Who’s shooting?” I shout, pulling my own piece. If one of my guys started flinging bullets, I swear to fuck, I’ll shoot ‘em myself.

Murphy whips around. “Shit!”

My gaze flies in the direction he’s pointed and we’re both pounding over the grass before I process the scene in front of me.

More bullets soar over us and I crouch low, firing in the direction I think they’re coming from.

“Jesus.” Murphy drops down, sliding over the grass on his knees to get to Teller’s side. “T, you all right?”

Teller groans and pushes himself up with one arm. “I’m alive.” He cranes his neck. “But I fucked up my bad leg.”

“Come on.” Murphy wraps one arm around Teller while I keep an eye on the space behind them.

“Fuck,” Murphy groans. “How can your scrawny ass be so heavy?”

Teller’s feeling well enough to poke Murphy in the side. “Muscle weighs more than fat. Shouldn’t you of all people know that?”

“Shut your mouths and keep moving!” I snap.

Murphy glances at me. “Are we clear?”

“I don’t know. Let’s get him to the truck. Cut through the woods. I’ve got your back.”

The situation with the building isn’t getting any less intense. It’s a roaring inferno now. Orange flames lick the dark sky, lighting up the surrounding area. Metal creaks and groans.

More bullets thwack into the trees as we race by them.

Steer reaches us and helps Murphy carry Teller. I drop down and jam a new magazine into my gun, not that it’s going to do me much good when I can’t even see who I’m shooting at. But we can only dodge the bullets for so long before one ends up hitting something vital. Teller’s already taken a hit, I won’t have any more of my brothers get hurt.

I scan the area for anything out of the ordinary. Any movement.

Nothing.

The gunfire has stopped as well.

Maybe they’re done and took off. Maybe they’re reloading. I don’t plan to stick around to find out.

Turning, I jump up and race over the uneven ground until I catch Steer.

“Where’s everyone else?”

“Waiting for us,” he answers over his shoulder.

At our vehicles, the guys are tense and waiting.

Once I’m sure Murphy has Teller safely inside my truck, I slam the back door and turn to the rest of the guys. “Take it slow. Cops and fire department are probably on their way. Don’t give anyone a reason to pull us over.” My gaze strays to Shadow. “Are you okay to ride?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He scowls toward the fire. “No one came out of the building.”

“Two cars whizzed by right before I saw the first flames,” Grip says.

“Any bikes?”

“Not that I saw. And I heard the pack that went in not long after you guys left.”

“Let’s get out of here.”

“What the fuck, Prez?” Rooster says once we’re in my truck.

I squint out the windshield, watching Shadow for signs he’s not okay to ride. We need to get clear of this place now. “Shadow all right, you think?”

“He’s gonna wish he was dead,” Murphy growls from behind me. “I’m gonna gut him for getting Teller shot.”

I glance sideways at Rooster. “Easy, brother,” I warn Murphy.

“I’m with the ginger.” Rooster shakes his head. “This whole night is bullshit.”

I glance into the back of the van. “He all right?”

“He’s bleeding a lot. Teller’s always gotta be a showoff.” The tension in Murphy’s voice betrays the joke.

Jigsaw pokes his head out from behind Rooster’s seat. “Already sent Doc a text. He should meet us at the clubhouse.”

“Thanks, brother,” Teller groans.

“I knew this was a bad idea,” Rooster grumbles.

“Anyone even see a fuckin’ Viper?” Jigsaw asks. “Because I sure didn’t see shit. But someone wanted us dead.”

“Shadow was already near the wood line when the bullets started flying,” Murphy says grudgingly. “It wasn’t him.”

“Doesn’t mean the fucker didn’t light the fuse,” Jigsaw says. “Create a little chaos.”

“What’s he got against me?” Teller says.

“He was probably aiming for Murphy.” I glance back and lightly punch Murphy’s shoulder. Not in the mood for jokes, he grunts and takes the hit without responding.

He and Teller have been friends their whole lives, even before the club. As much as they love busting each other’s nuts, they’re closer than brothers. The crash that almost killed Teller a couple years ago had rocked Murphy hard.

Forget Murphy. How am I gonna explain to Rock that I got his son shot?

Worse, what the hell did we stumble into tonight?

Chapter Nineteen

Z

Our clubhouse is lit up and the parking lot is full when we pull in.

“I’m fine,” Teller bitches when Steer and Murphy try to pull him out.

Shadow’s inside being looked at by the doctor when I walk inside.

“His bump can wait, Doc. We got a bullet wound.”

“You guys love to keep things exciting for me, don’t you?” Doc mutters.

“Stick with Teller,” I say to Murphy, even though it’s obvious he’s not going anywhere.

“Everyone else in the chapel. Now.” I point to Shadow. “You too.”

“What the fuck was that clusterfuck?” I roar as soon as everyone’s seated.

“Prez, they were coming. I know it,” Shadow insists, sounding a lot less sure than he did when he was convincing me earlier.

“Well, whoever was inside is dead now,” Jigsaw says. “No one could’ve survived that blast.”

“Not like there wasn’t acres of woods surrounding the place anyone could’ve disappeared into,” Shadow mutters.

“How’d the girl know to run?” Rooster asks.

“What girl?” Shadow asks.

“Some chick took off right around the time we lost contact with you.”

“My girl wasn’t working tonight.”

Wait a minute. “Earlier you made it sound like she was there?”

“I got the nights mixed up,” Shadow says without looking at me.

“Who else knew we’d be up there?”

“No one,” Shadow insists.

“DeLova never showed.” Steer crosses his arms over his chest and glares at Shadow. “No Vipers showed.”

“There were bikers there,” Shadow counters.

“None were wearing colors, bro.”

“Did they get out?” Steer asks.

“I don’t know.” I glance at Shadow. “I was too busy ducking bullets.”

We go round and round for a while, but Shadow can’t remember anything and he’s got no explanation for what went down. The fact that he actually seems remorseful and he’s got a pretty solid crack to the back of his sk

ull are about the only things stopping me from choking him.

“Go see the doc when he’s done with Teller,” I say, jerking my head toward the door.

Shadow stands and looks around the table. “It was a good tip. Either someone played me or they spotted us and didn’t come.”

“Sure, bro,” Jigsaw says.

After Shadow’s gone, the other guys glance at me. Everyone’s on edge and it’s my job to calm them down so they don’t do anything stupid. No matter my feelings about Shadow, the brotherhood needs to stay tight.

“We had to act on our VP’s information,” I say slowly. “I’ll call Chaser tomorrow and feel him out.” I nod at Steer. “You still got your connections?”

“Yeah.”

“See what you can find out.” I tick off each item on my fingers. “Who was inside the building. Possible suspects. Known associates. Whatever you can.”

“You got it, Prez.”

I release everyone from the table and Steer approaches me slowly. “That was a shitshow.”

“What the fuck you want me to say?” I growl.

He holds up his hands. “I’m not blaming you, Z. You took the only action you could. Everyone made it out okay.” One corner of his mouth kicks up. “We all needed a little excitement.”

“I would’ve been fine not getting shot at tonight.”

“Yeah, that was dicey.” He shrugs. “Guess Malone won’t be a problem for DeLova now.”

“Yeah, funny how that worked out.”

“He’s gonna be pissed if Malone went up in flames before his debts got paid.”

“No kidding. Not our problem, though.”

“Nope.” He claps me on the shoulder and heads out. I follow behind him and run into Doc in the hallway.

“How’s Teller?”

“Fine. Bullet didn’t hit anything major. Had to dig it out, which he didn’t appreciate.”

“I bet.”

“He needs to rest. Don’t let him do any activities that will disrupt the stitches.”

“I’ll do my best, Doc.”

“Make sure he takes the antibiotics I gave him.”

“Got it.”

“Don’t let him drink, either.”

Teller’s not a big drinker so that shouldn’t be an issue.