Mad Delights (17 page)

The shooting was still going on, but as Romeo got off the dead informant, he noticed from the angle and sound of the gunfire that Sioux must have distributed the weapons because his Brothers were fighting back with the rifles.

Just as he picked up the dead man’s night-vision glasses, the floodlights at the four corners of the compound flared to life, bathing the grounds in bright light. He squinted, trying to find everyone.

The sudden light brought a quick ceasefire, probably because the invaders were blinded from wearing the night goggles, screaming in agony. Bullet holes peppered the clubhouse—so many he couldn’t count them all. Romeo saw several MOH Brothers in the broken windows on the second floor keeping watch and he thought about Chloe. She’d been upstairs. At least, that’s where he figured she’d been when Dax had come hurrying late to the church meeting. Although panic tried to raise its head, he pushed the freezing feeling aside to focus on what had to be done. Besides, Chloe knew how to take care of herself.

That’s what he had to believe, because if anything happened to her… Jesus, he fucking hoped nothing had happened to her. Just as that thought formed, an agonizing cry roared over the sudden silence, followed by a single gunshot, and Romeo’s heart skipped a beat.

* * * *

At the first sound of gunfire, Chloe rolled out of bed and crouched down. Naked, she shimmied her way over to the discarded clothes on the floor and dressed while lying down. It took her a moment to remember where she’d put her gun, and found it in her medical bag. She slipped a few extra magazines in her jeans pockets.

Romeo’s bedroom faced the back of the clubhouse, and as she made her way out of the room, she realized that all the firepower seemed concentrated on the front of the building. Several stray shots flew through the windows to puncture the hallway walls. She stayed low and moved fast. The last thing she planned on doing was dying that night.

She had to follow the curses of the men since the pitch darkness prevented her from seeing anything. Her memory led her out the back. Where was Romeo? And Dax? All she focused on was finding them, making sure they were okay, because if they were shot… Dead… Her heart stuttered in her chest as her stomach flip-flopped.

No, don’t think about that.

Chloe kept to the shadows and hoped that none of the Men of Hell mistook her for one of the bad guys. She couldn’t see much in the oppressive night that covered the compound. They were too far away from civilization to catch any of the town lights. Logically, to get the drop on them, the power had to be cut and the sentries taken out. She made her way toward one of the towers where the members took turns standing guard to watch the gate. It was the direction from which the attack had come, so she pushed forward, instinctively feeling that that was where Romeo would head.

When a shadow moved toward her, she ducked behind a shed, circling until she leveled her gun at the intruder. She saw the person wore night-vision goggles. It didn’t surprise her because this was obviously a meticulously planned attack, bold and organized, and the idea of treachery swam in her thoughts.

“Stop,” she ordered.

The person froze.

Around them shouts from both sides sounded, adding to the thunderous cracks of the guns. Chloe ignored them as she took a step closer to make sure her aim in the dark was true. The person suddenly spun and kicked upward, snapping her hand and causing her to lose her grip. Her gun dropped, but Chloe couldn’t focus on it. The intruder aimed the semi-automatic. Chloe shoved the gun up as it fired, using her body weight against the attacker. As they fell, she landed on top of the person and the soft breasts that cushioned her fall revealed with whom she wrestled. In one quick move, she ripped off the hood and goggles. Even in the dark, she could tell it was the bitch Shantel. The woman flinched and blinked rapidly to clear her eyesight.

“I thought I smelled something whorish,” Chloe taunted.

“Get off me,” Shantel demanded.

“Why were you following me? What are you trying to do?”

Shantel’s fist flew up, catching her off guard, and Chloe fell back. She grabbed her jaw as she scrambled to her feet. Just as Shantel bent to pick up her gun, Chloe kicked it away. They stood face to face, circling each other.

“I know who you are,” Chloe said.

“Oh, really? You know I’m the girl who sucked off your man?”

“And now I know you’re the girl whose ass my foot is going into.”

Shantel snorted and pulled a knife out from behind her.

Chloe shrugged. “I’ve had worse odds. Shall we test the disadvantage?”

“I don’t think that’s going to be very fair, do you?”

“I’m willing if you are.”

The weapon was a small thing that gleamed dully. Shantel struck out, swiping the blade, and had Chloe not been prepared and ducked back, it would have sliced her face. Shantel advanced, jabbing with the knife, but each time Chloe managed to avoid being stabbed. She knew her luck would eventually run out, though, so on the next swing, she went on the offensive. As it arched upward, Chloe dodged away, falling to the ground and rolling right into Shantel’s legs. Shantel lost her balance, hitting the ground hard with a strangled gasp.

Chloe didn’t give her time to recover, straddling her and punching her in the face. Shantel groaned as she let go of the knife. Chloe scooped it up and held it to the woman’s throat.

“Why have you been attacking the Men of Hell?”

Shantel spat at her. Chloe wiped the trickle of spit off her face. Then she backhanded her. Shantel’s head snapped to the side, but other than licking the trickle of blood that dribbled down her chin from the blow, she didn’t even flinch.

Suddenly, Shantel bucked beneath her, and a pair of knees hit her spine. Caught off guard, Chloe jerked forward, the edge nicking Shantel’s throat, but the other woman didn’t seem to care. She wound her arms around Chloe’s chest, tossing her off.

The knife slipped from her hand and lay between them. Chloe didn’t waste a second, lunging for it at the same time as Shantel. Shantel used her bigger body as a bumper car, barreling into Chloe in an effort to knock her even more off center. But Chloe had learned how to fight dirty because most opponents were bigger than her, so she twisted and used Shantel’s own height against her to bring her down. They fell into a pile of arms and legs, with the blade a power struggle between them.

“I’m going to kill you,” Shantel raged at her.

“Fucking bitch, let go of me!”

Chloe rolled and a second later, Shantel grunted in her ear. Chloe felt the tip sink into flesh and knew that Shantel had been stabbed, only she didn’t know how deeply. She wrenched it out wherever it had impaled and ribbons of blood splattered against Chloe’s cheek. Chloe realized Shantel had been injured pretty bad. She scrambled to her feet and held the knife sure and steady in her hands, waiting for any type of return attack.

Suddenly, the lights blazed to life and Chloe saw the unblinking gaze of Shantel staring up into the heavens. Dead. A big, bloody wound covered the center of her chest.

“No!”

Chloe spun. A man stood not too far away, staring in absolute disbelief and shock at the lifeless body on the ground. He must have pulled off his goggles earlier because they tumbled from his hand to the ground. He turned hate-filled eyes her way, staring at the blood-tipped knife she still gripped in her hand, and raised his gun. She sucked in a deep breath, bracing for the impact of a bullet, and a shot went off. Chloe jerked in response, and it took a moment for her brain to catch up to the fact that she wasn’t in pain and she wasn’t bleeding. Another man rushed forward to yank on the downed man’s arm while leveling his own weapon on her.

“Come on,” the second man muttered as he tugged on the first guy’s arm. “Our advantage is gone.”

Romeo marched out, a pistol in each hand, his face set in a cold mask of determination.

“I’ll shoot her!” the second man yelled.

“No, Romeo, he’ll kill her!” Dax shouted.

Romeo halted. His aim never wavered. “Are you Vicious?”

The man lifted his chin.

Chloe took that as a yes.

“You kill him and I’ll kill her,” Vicious said. “So keep your woman breathing, you’re going to let us walk away.”

Hatred lined every surface of Romeo’s face, but he nodded.

“You take your men and get out of here with the knowledge that as soon as my men have been treated, I am going to hunt your ass down and kill you,” he vowed.

Through all this, the first man never took his hate-filled gaze off her, and Chloe knew if she believed in fate, she was staring at her death. Vicious managed to convince him to leave, and they, along with their men, backed up until they were out of the gate. One of the men rolled it shut, and once again, they were back behind a fortified wall.

She turned and sprinted to Dax and Romeo. A moment later, she was in their embraces and she hugged them both tightly, relishing the fact that they were both with her—and unhurt.

Chapter Seventeen

Dax watched Chloe work on the wounded. She’d already declared that two had to be taken to the hospital, so they’d called the sheriff. He’d find out anyway since gunshot victims were immediately reported. As he looked around, he didn’t see Hawg or Wrench, so he headed toward the shack that held the back-up generator.

It was located in the upper north corner of the compound, and as he approached, his gut tightened, the type of warning he’d learned to heed over the years. He palmed his pistol once more and stood to the side as he slowly pushed the door open. Wrench lay propped on against the wall, holding his bleeding stomach. Next to him lay Hawg, seemingly unconscious, and on the other side of the generator was Bandit. There was absolutely no doubt that he was dead since a bloody, round hole lay in the middle of his forehead.

“He… He sabotaged the generator,” Wrench whispered. “Hawg and I caught him breaking it. He hit Hawg. He shot me. I shot him.”

“And you fixed the lights.”

“Yes.”

Dax pulled out his cell and called Chloe.

“Dax?” she questioned.

“Get to the generator shed. Wrench has been gut shot.”

“On my way.”

She hung up. Dax bent to check Hawg. The man moaned and stirred, so he knew he would be okay, but Wrench had him worried. And by the weary look in Wrench’s eyes, the man knew his wound was serious.

A moment later, Chloe rushed into the small shack with her medical bag. She fell to her knees beside Wrench and pulled on some gloves before gently probing his belly.

“He needs to get to a hospital, ASAP,” she said grimly. She opened a large package that said ‘Sterile’ on it and put the gauze over the bleeding wound. Then she placed one of his hands on top of it. “Hold this as tightly as you can, okay?”

“Okay,” Wrench whispered.

Hawg groaned and sat up. He looked around and his attention landed on Wrench. “Oh, shit!”

Chloe walked over to him and squatted to shine a flashlight in his eyes. “Any dizziness? Blurred vision? Your pupil response looks fine.”

“No,” Hawg said. “I’m just pissed off that asswipe got the jump on me.”

“Then would you mind directing the ambulance here as soon as it arrives?” she asked. “Out of everyone, Wrench’s wound needs to be addressed immediately.”

“Am I gonna die?” Wrench asked.

Chloe shook her head. “Of course not. Dax, why don’t you make arrangements for Petunia to come wait with him?”

“No,” Wrench mumbled. “I don’t want to…to worry her.”

“Well, I don’t want to face her wrath when she learns I sent her husband to the hospital and didn’t tell her,” she said dryly. “Would you?”

One side of his mouth crooked upward in a semblance of a grin and he shook his head.

Dax pulled out his cell and made a call while Hawg left to go wait for the ambulance. Wrench raised his hand toward her and Chloe grabbed it, holding tight.

“Wrench?”

“I need you to tell Petunia something for me—”

“Shh,” Chloe said. “No death bed confessions allowed. You’re going to the hospital because you need emergency surgery, but I’ll be with you, Wrench. Okay? I’ll ask to scrub in so I can make sure you get the best care.”

Wrench nodded, but his face scrunched up into a grimace. Dax hated to see his Brother suffering.

He hung up his call. “Hook is escorting Petunia. She should be here any minute.”

“See?” Chloe said, smiling at Wrench. “You can tell her whatever it is yourself.”

A second later, his wife, Petunia, rushed inside. She took one look at the scene, at the dead man, at her husband with blood all over his belly, and she emitted a little distressed cry.

“I got a hole in my new T-shirt,” Wrench said then coughed.

“Well, now it matches all your others,” Petunia replied softly as she smoothed the hair around his face.

EMTs entered the now-cramped space, and Dax took hold of Chloe’s arm and maneuvered them both out of the way. Except for a quick check to see if Bandit needed any help, the two men seemed focused. They worked on Wrench, asking questions, taking vitals. It seemed to take forever before they finally loaded him onto a stretcher and many times Dax wanted to threaten them with bodily harm. But then Petunia was following them into the ambulance, leaving Dax and Chloe standing in the small shed with a corpse at their feet.

And not just any dead body—a traitor—one of their own.

“I have to go,” Chloe said. “I have to get to the hospital so I can ask to scrub in.”

Dax took her into his arms and kissed her, hard. There was no passion behind the gesture, only the taste of desperation. They both could have lost their lives tonight and suddenly the thought of not having her around, of something devastating happening to her, filled him with a sense of dread. He watched her walk toward the ambulance and talk with the driver before sliding into the passenger seat. Just as the ambulance left the compound, the sheriff’s car drove in. He sighed. It was going to be one hell of a long night.

Chapter Eighteen