Survivor's Remorse: Brothers of Ink and Steel (12 page)

“Is that a promise?”

“You will be sick of having me around.”

“We’ll see about that. But in the meantime, you get on the phone and tell Ron to hurry his ass up! There is a horny woman about that needs relief!”

Leo was still snickering as she turned the truck into the HNH parking lot.

***

Over the next two days, they settled into a routine. Leo would spend the early evening in the bar with Jamie until either Tuck or Two-Tone would show up. While they babysat for a while, he would spend a couple of hours in the office, catching up on paperwork.

At about eight he would return to the bar. Sometimes his replacement would leave, other times they would stay a while and talk. It hadn’t taken long before they picked up on Leo’s improved mood and the connection he seemed to have with Jamie.

Leo would spend the rest of the night with Jamie, first in the bar, then sitting in a chair in the living room, his weapon near at hand. They would talk for a while as Jamie wound down from her day, then she would go to bed, but not before she sampled his lips in a tender but meaningful kiss.

The next day when she woke, she would find Leo nodding in the chair, looking haggard from his long night. Once she was up, he would usually nap for a few hours in the chair as she moved about, trying to be quiet. At about one he would rouse himself and shower, check on his crews and then return… and their routine would start all over.

Jamie hoped the ordeal would be over soon. Leo had seemed improved, emotionally, but physically, he was looking more and more tired as the strain began to wear on him.

Thursday she pulled Tuck aside while Leo was gone. “Tuck… can you or Two-Tone cover for Leo tomorrow night so he can get some sleep? He’s sleeping only about four hours a day.”

“You need to stop wearing him out.”

“Tuck, I’m serious. He’s killing himself.”

“I know, Jamie. Don’t worry. I have already talked to Two-Tone about it. After the bar closes Friday, put him to bed. And let him sleep! Two-Tone will take the three to six shift, and I will take six to whenever he wakes up.”

Jamie smiled at Tuck. “Thank you.”

“No… it’s I who should thank you. You have done him more good in the last… what… week, than the entire club had in three years. I don’t know what you’re doing, but keep doing it. It’s working.”

“I just listened to him.”

“He told you?”

“Yes. It’s eating him from inside.”

“It was, but I think that maybe now it has stopped. Now he just needs to heal.”

“He’s a good man.”

“Yes, he is. Don’t hurt him, Jamie. Please don’t hurt him.”

“I won’t, Tuck. I promise.”

He pulled her across the bar and kissed her on the cheek before letting her go. “Thank you. Thank you for being there for him when he needed someone. I’ve tried to help him, but… well… just thank you.”

***

“I have a surprise for your tomorrow night,” Jamie said brightly as they finished closing up the bar for the night.

“What’s that?” Leo asked.

“Friday night, after the bar closes, I have arranged for you to get a good night’s sleep. Two-Tone and Tuck are covering for you.”

“That’ll be good. I’m not as young as I used to be,” he said then yawned hugely.

Jamie snickered as they piled into her truck. “Yeah… and before you take over my security again, I have something I need you to do for me.”

Leo grinned. He could guess what that might be. “What’s that?”

Jamie’s grin matched his own as she started the truck. “I’ll show you Saturday morning.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

The buzz of his phone pulled Leo out of his semi-awake state. Blinking madly, trying to get awake, he picked up the phone from the side table. It was Ron, and the time was five-twenty in the morning.

“Leo,” he whispered.

“Leo! It’s Ron. We made the hit, but we’re in deep shit. We took out their lab, but they made us. We’ve gone to ground, trying to wait for the hornet’s nest to settle, but you, Tuck, and Two-Tone need to be on your toes. The cartel, they’re going to be pissed, and they will probably come at us head-on now.”

“Fuck…” Leo whispered. “Everyone okay?”

“We lost Noodles and Skip. Lonnie is shot up, but he can still ride.”

“Let me call Tuck and Two-Tone and get them headed…”

“No! That will only get them killed or lead the cartel right to us. We’re hurt, but we kicked them right in the balls. The drug lab? It was a fucking
warehouse!
We are three or four miles away and I can still see the glow from that bitch burning! That’ll teach ‘em to fucking mess with Lima 6!”

After Ron hung up, Leo paced around the room as he thought.
How could Ron be so stupid as to let Lima 6 be recognized? They had set it up so the Prieto Cartel wouldn’t know if it was the Cuervo Cartel or Lima 6 that had hit them. The cartel might have suspected Lima 6 was responsible, but if they didn’t know for sure, they wouldn’t know who to retaliate against. But now that they knew, they may come in and raze the town. Fuck! That was the problem with Ron… he always charged into shit without thinking things through.

At seven, he called Two-Tone and Tuck on a three-way call, and gave them an update. At first they were jubilant, but when Leo reminded them that the Prieto Cartel was known for killing the family and friends of their enemies, they lost a lot of their enthusiasm.

“I need you and Two-Tone to come to the bar as soon as you can tonight. Bring Maggie, too, Tuck. You have anyone, Two-Tone?”

“No, I’m clear,” Two-Tone said.

“We’ll setup a perimeter on HNH and watch the front and the back. We’ll keep Maggie inside where she will be safe,” Leo continued.

“Where will you be?” Tuck asked.

“Inside, as always. If the cartel comes in guns blazing, it will fall on you and Two-Tone, but if they play it smart, and come inside first, we need someone in there.”

“Why don’t all three of us set up inside? We can mount a better defense from there,” Tuck asked.

“Yeah, but if they hose the place down with heavy weapons, we will all be pinned down, too. Better to give ourselves some options. Don’t worry, Tuck; I will keep Maggie safe.”

“Maybe we should come there now,” Two-Tone suggested.

“Place doesn’t open until four. If they’re going to hit there, it will be after that for maximum shock value. Tuck, just have Maggie come straight to the bar from work.”

Tuck was quiet and Leo could tell he was thinking it over. “Sounds like a plan. I’ll see you right after work.”

“Me, too,” Two-Tone said just before he dropped out of the call.

“Tuck!”

“Yeah?”

“Bring the Ars for you and Two-Tone.”

“How about you?”

“No. I don’t want to start a panic. I’m depending on you and Two-Tone to pick them up if they show up with heavy firepower.”

***

“Jamie… we have an issue,” he said the moment she stepped into the living room.

“What?” she asked as she struggled to throw off the mantle of sleep.

“Lima 6 hit the drug lab last night. Well, early this morning, actually, but the cartel made us. It may have not made any difference, but now they know it was us and not the Cuervo Cartel.”

“What are you telling me?”

“I’m telling you that you are in danger. Don’t go to the bar tonight. Don’t open.”

“It’s Friday, Leo – one of my two biggest nights.”

“I know, but I can’t predict the cartel’s next move. I’m afraid they may hit the bar since it is associated with us.”

“Leo, I appreciate all you have done for me, but this is my livelihood. I can’t close just because something
might
happen. If I do that often, I won’t
have
a livelihood. Do you
know
they’re going to hit the bar?”

“No.”

“Then I have to open. I will do whatever you want me to do to keep my customers safe, but I can’t close because you are nervous. I’m sorry.”

“I know… but I had to try. I’m bringing Tuck and Two-Tone in to help. They’re going to be watching the outside. Maggie is going to be inside with us.”

“Maggie… Tuck’s girlfriend, old lady, whatever you call her?”

“Yes. She will be safer at the bar than at home alone.”

Jamie looked into Leo’s eyes. “You’re really worried, aren’t you?”

“Yes. Very.”

“Shit… I’m going to get my shower. Coat closet by the front door, on the shelf, right side, is the double-ought buck. Get it. Better safe than sorry.”

***

Leo was sitting at the bar, grinning like a fool, as Maggie teased him mercilessly about how now that he had found himself a woman, he would be settling down in a nice little house with a white picket fence, two point five kids and a mortgage. He would deal with Tuck, the obvious source of her information, later.

It was a little before ten and
He’s Not Here
was rocking when he saw the man come in. That little voice that whispers in a soldier’s ear that prevented him from becoming a dead soldier was shouting. Leo was already rising, drawing his weapon as the man began to pull his own sidearm.

Leo’s world went into slow motion. He took a step to the right to clear his firing line as the man recognized Leo as the threat. The gunman’s shot was rushed and it missed, smacking into the wall behind him. At the report of the man’s gun, the crowd began to turn and scramble in panic. The gunman shot again and a man directly to his left cried out as the back of his shoulder sprayed blood and he fell out of his chair to the floor. His wife or girlfriend began to rise in panic, spoiling his firing line, so he stepped once more to the right. The man fired a third time and the bullet shattered something behind him.

With his firing line clear, Leo pulled the trigger on is Glock 9mm, the gun roaring in his hand. The gunman took a staggering step backwards just as he fired again, a wild shot pointed up and to his right. Leo took a step forward and fired again. Another step, and another shot. The man continued to stumble backwards as each 9mm slug slammed into his chest.

The gunman fired again, but he was off balance and out of control and the shot struck a young woman in the leg. The woman’s scream of pain was drowned out by the roar of Leo’s gun as he took another step forward and fired again.
Armor! He’s wearing armor!
The little voice screamed.

Without thought, Leo’s gun angled up slightly as he took another step forward and squeezed the trigger. The gunman’s face disappeared in a spray of blood and bone as he stepped forward and squeezed the trigger again, tracking the man’s fall to the floor.    

Jamie saw Leo leap to his feet out of the corner of her eye. She barely had time to turn to see him take two quick steps to the right as his gun came up and pointed at a man just inside the door. Before she could react, the gunman started shooting. She saw a man go down in a spray of blood beside Leo as he walked straight into the gunman’s fire, Leo’s gun popping up with each pull of the trigger. She couldn’t believe that the man was still on his feet after obviously being hit each time Leo’s gun barked, but then Leo shot him twice in the face… and the bar fell deadly silent. It was all over in less than five seconds.

Leo still had his gun trained on the gunman when the screams of panic reached him, followed by several sharp cracks of high powered rifle fire outside.

“Everyone get down!” Leo screamed, moving toward the door in a combat crouch with his weapon at low ready. He yanked the door open and stepped out, his weapon coming up and settling on a figure just pulling a rifle from his shoulder. He moved back to low ready when he recognized Tuck.

“Clear!” Leo shouted.

Tuck whirled on him, his rifle coming up to the ready before freezing as he recognized Leo. “Clear!” he shouted in return as the muzzle of his rifle dropped. They both heard the pounding of running feet and whirled toward the noise, their guns coming to the ready as Two-Tone burst around the corner of the building in his own crouch, gun at the ready, before he pulled up sharply, his rifle muzzle moving to point at the sky.

“What the fuck? I heard shots!” Two-Tone shouted.

“Maggie?” Tuck asked, his eyes wide with fear.

“She’s fine, Tuck. Two-Tone, stay out here with Tuck. We’ve got injured inside. Call 911 and get them rolling. Watch your backs, guys,” Leo ordered as he holstered his gun and burst back through the doors.

The quiet scream of several women called Jamie’s attention away from the man she was tending. She instinctively reached for her shotgun before she recognized Leo. “Leo, over here!”

He hurried to her side. “Is it bad?”

“I don’t know! I’m not a doctor!”

“Let me see,” he said gently as he pulled her hand away. “You’re going to be okay, buddy. Just stay with me, okay?”

“It hurts like
shit!”
the man snarled.

“That’s good. That means you’re going to be okay.” Leo peeled the man’s shirt back and looked at the wound. It was a clean through and through. “You have a hole all the way through you, but you’re going to be fine. 911 is on the way. Jamie, keep the pressure on; you’re doing great,” he said before he rose to look at the woman.

“How you doin’?” he asked the crying woman.

“It hurts!” she wailed.

“I know. Let me see, okay,” he said as he tried to peel her finger from her calf, but she held tight. “You need to let me look, okay? You’re going to be okay, but you need to let me look.” He gently removed her bloody hands. “I’m just going to cut your pant leg so I can see, okay?” he murmured as he pulled his knife. “Nothing to worry about.” As gently as he could, he sliced open her pant leg and peeled the material back. The bullet had passed through her leg, but it looked like it had hit the bone on the way through. He grimaced in sympathy. “I know it hurts, but you’re going to be okay. Paramedics are on the way. I want you to lay back here and relax until help arrives, okay? You!” he barked at a young man, pointing and snapping his fingers. “You sit here with her. Watch her. Don’t touch her leg. If she gets faint, you find me, got it?”

The man nodded as he helped Leo ease the woman to her back. “You’re going to be okay,” he said as he gave her hand a squeeze. He looked at the doors when he heard the far off wail of a siren. “Help will be here in a few minutes and they can give you something for the pain, okay? Hang in there.”

***

As paramedics and police milled about, trying to get organized, Leo looked at Jamie. She was standing in the middle of the room as if in shock, her hands red with the man’s blood. “Come with me,” he said, taking her by the arm and steering her to her office. She moved without protest. “Maggie, Bobi, you, too,” he said getting the other women’s attention. Leo led the women to Jamie’s office, picking up Tim, the cook, along the way, and parked them. “Jamie, go wash your hands then stay here until I call for you, okay? There is nothing you can do out there. I will be back in a bit. Tim, can you shoot?”

“If I get close enough.”

Leo handed him his weapon. “Watch them.”