“You come near her, I promise you the Kings will be the least of your goddamn worries.”
“Crow!” Bear’s voice has me turning around just as one of the goons clashes the end of a rifle right into my face.
Falling to the ground with a blooming heat right at the edge of my mouth, I spit out blood.
“Did you see that, boys? He attacked an official officer.” Brinker adjusts his tie, cracking his neck to the left as if my threat and shoving him up against the wall was a slight inconvenience, but he’s going to make a big deal out of it.
Pulling his gun from his holster, he aims it at me and Maybelline screams. Dime tries to climb over the counter, to get to me or her sister, I’m not sure.
Without a second thought, he pulls the trigger and a bullet pierces my leg. It takes a second before I feel the unbelievable pressure and pain.
“Fucking hell!” I shout, mindlessly grabbing at the wound that is pouring blood all over the floor.
“Stop it!” Maybelline cries, and my heart constricts at the sound of her sorrow.
I don’t want her to worry about me. Glaring up at Brinker, my teeth clenched to bear through the pain, he puts his gun back in its holster.
“Sorry it had to come to self-defense, but you’ve really lost your head, Sharp. You think you’re one of them now? Let’s see if your so-called brothers will have your back when I have you arrested for interfering with an investigation and racketeering.”
“What the fuck ever, do whatever you want to me but leave Maybelline out of it.” Shaking my head, I look down at my leg, seeing the bullet wound, making the pain that much more painful.
“Oh I plan to.” Stepping over me, he heads toward the doors, the goons opening it for him as if he’s goddamn royalty.
The sound of SUV doors can be heard and before we know what’s happening, Dime has jumped over the counter and is rushing to the doors with a gun in her hand. Where the fuck did she get that?
“Bear, stop her!”
Bear jumps over the counter and runs to her. One shot is fired before he knocks the gun from her hand and her to the ground. Dragging her back inside kicking and screaming, he unloads the gun, letting the bullets drop to the ground, the casings raining around her as she sits on the floor staring up at him like he’s an asshole.
Maybelline is suddenly at my side, her hands trembling as she looks my wound over.
“Oh my God, are you okay? We need to call an ambulance,” she cries, dabbing my leg with a handful of napkins.
“Nah, we’ll take care of it,” Bear states.
The door to the café opens up, Chaos and the boys are right there with guns drawn.
“What the fuck happened?”
North steps over to me, inspecting the scene.
“Boss caught on to what I was doing, threatened Maybelline,” I tell him with a tight voice, my fucking leg hurting worse by the second. “Told him to take me down instead and leave her alone.”
“I guess he didn’t like that?” Chaos chuckles.
“Yep, he didn’t take it very well.”
“He’s going to come after Crow now, stacking up some bullshit charges!” Maybelline tells them, her voice shaky.
My poor little mouse isn’t used to this kind of shit and I just want to cradle her in my arms and tell her it’s going to be okay.
“So you got rid of the DEA and the Mad Doggs.”
“Let him try, we have an awesome lawyer, prospect,” Chaos says with an exhale. Pulling his belt from his jeans, he wraps it around my leg to stop the bleeding.
“Call our doc. Let’s get this cleaned up.”
“Wait, so you’re letting me in?” I clarify.
All the guys nod as if they all had a meeting while Bear and I were out and decided if I came through, they would give me a second chance. That’s a relief. I gave up my whole life on faith the club would see I can be trusted and that I am one of them. I also took a fucking bullet to the leg to prove it.
“You’re on probation, but you’re in and if we don’t make you change your mind by making you a bitch maid, then I think you’ll be alright,” North explains a little further, making me laugh.
“Sounds like a plan. Now can we get this fucking bullet out of my leg?”
Epilogue
Three Months Later
Crow
Heading back from Centerfolds, I pass Latte Da and head into the driveway of the club. North is outside talking to Mako when I arrive and I give them a curt nod before going inside.
Heading straight to Saint, I give him the payout for the week and he takes it.
“Prospect! Get in here,” Chaos hollers from the room they hold church.