Lady & The Biker (Royal Bastards MC: Charleston, WV 2)

“You aren’t doing it tight enough.” Lynn lays the handgun she was holding on the couch and my mom makes her move. With her hands free she grabs the gun and points the weapon at Lynn and the men.

“Step away from my daughter or I’ll shoot.”

“You might get one of us before I get you,” one of the men snarls.

My mom says nothing, instead she opts for shooting right away, going for the man holding the gun. The shot hits him in the leg and he drops his gun. I go to grab it but I’m not as fast as the other man. He gets to it before I can. I determine the only thing that will give me a chance at survival is to make a run for it. I run for the door.

Two shots fire behind me. Lynn’s blood curdling scream sounds through the room. The other man shoves past me, knocking me to the ground and darts out the front of the house.

Pushing up from the floor I look back and my heart sinks to my feet. Lynn has been shot in the chest and my mother has a gunshot wound to her abdomen. I get to the phone in the kitchen and dial 911. The other man my mother shot in the leg is trying to drag himself out the front door leaving a trail of blood behind him while I’m on the phone with the emergency services operator giving her as many details as I can through my tears. My mother somehow manages to sit up like a total badass and fire another round. This time she shoots him in the back, and he collapses.

“Ma’am what’s happening? That sounded like another gunshot. Are you there?”

“I’m here.” I clutch the cordless phone and drop to my knees at my mother’s side. “Her face is pale, and blood is seeping quickly through her shirt. What should I do?”

“Put pressure over the wound until help arrives.”

Bile rises in my throat and I grab the throw blanket off the back of the couch pressing it to her stomach. “I’m so sorry, Mom. I’m sorry.”

“Shh. It’s okay, Sweetpea.” She strokes my cheek starting to fade in and out.

“Stay with me. Help’s coming. Don’t close your eyes. Please, Mom, don’t die. I’m sorry. I love you.”

Sirens sound in the distance growing closer with each passing second.

“Ma’am is the front door accessible in the home?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Okay, there are police arriving now you should see them coming through the door.”

“I do.”

“I’m going to hang up now. You’re safe.”

“Th-thank you.” I drop the phone as four police officers enter my childhood home.

“We’ve got a victim down, appears to have a gunshot to the back,” an officer speaks into his radio. “Female victim gunshot to the chest and she’s pregnant.” His gaze meets mine. “Female victim gunshot wound to the stomach.”

“House is clear, sir.” I glance up at the same detective who showed up the night Nickel got shot.

EMT’s rush into the house loading Lynn up and then my mother. The man is dead.

“You’ll need to get checked out at the hospital but I’m going to need you to tell me what happened here today, Mrs. Reed.”

“Can I call my husband?” The second I ask East comes rushing through the door with my father at his back.

“Baby.” An officer puts a hand to his chest.

“This is a crime scene. You can’t be in here.”

“That’s my wife.” East shoves him away and comes to me wrapping his arms around me. “Christ, I thought the worst. What happened?”

“Lynn. There was two men with guns, and she had Mom tied up. I thought they were going to kill me. They said they killed Nickel for her.”

“Who’s Lynn?” The detective questions.

“The pregnant woman.”