Adversaries by T.L. Hodel

Riley’s hair flew behind her as she ran down the stairs at record speed. How did someone so small move so fast? Part of me thought I should just let her go. Riley was just mad.

Eventually, she’d come around, but a bigger part thought, what if she doesn’t? I couldn’t lose the last piece of Sam I had left. Don’t get me wrong, Naomi was growing on me, but I loved Riley. I couldn’t let her leave like this.

“Riley, stop,” I called out as she tore through the lounge.

Tanner tipped his chin in her direction. “What’s going on?”

“Naomi,” was all I had to say.

He nodded and muttered, “Oh yeah, good luck with that.”

As tempted as I was to beat the fucker, I continued chasing my niece.

I didn’t catch up until she burst out the front door and stopped dead in her tracks. Standing just outside, leaning against his Jeep, was Micha.

“Tell me something, Mouse.” He tipped his head, looking over his sunglasses at Riley, “What the fuck are you doing in Miami?”

Wait… she didn’t tell Micha she was coming? That wasn’t like Riley. As much as I hated it, I knew she loved that boy, listened to her whine about how much she’d miss him when he went to college, and he wasn’t her first stop. What the fuck did Tanner say to her?

“Micha?” Shack flashed across her face, which Riley quickly came back from. Rolling her shoulders back and hardening her expression. “I don’t have to tell you everything I do.”

“Like fuck you don’t!” He barked back at her.

Every fiber of my being screamed at me to knock the prick out. I got where he was coming from, though. If I was pissed as hell that she drove down here, then I could just imagine what Micha was feeling.

There was a war brewing, which had already spilled onto his campus once. Neither one of us wanted her anywhere near this city. And since clearly, she wasn’t listening to me…

“I didn’t think you’d mind.”

Even I cocked a brow at that one. I had to hand it to Micha, though. He was a lot calmer than I was.

“Let me get this straight,” he pushed off his Jeep and took a few steps closer to her. “You thought you could drive into the middle of an MC club in Miami, and I wouldn’t give a shit?”

Riley rolled her eyes. “Well, when you put it that way.”

Micha took off his sunglasses, blew out a breath, and brushed a hand down his face.

“I blame this on you, by the way,” he said while looking at me.

“What the fuck did I do?”

“If you’d have answered her calls, she wouldn’t be here now.”

Couldn’t really argue that.

As if to reiterate my thought, Riley crossed her arms and huffed out, “He’s right.”

How did this go from them arguing to a gang up on me?

“At least then I wouldn’t have had to see you with her.”

“Naomi?” Micha asked.

Riley swung her eyes his way. “You knew about that?”

“I suspected.” He shrugged.

Son of a bitch! Did this motherfucker plan this shit? Is that why he brought me all that info on Naomi’s old man. I knew that shit was too easy. All that shit he was spewing about standing up for their own. I thought for sure he was trying to pull me into his society crap. His old man sure was.

“You want to tell her why Naomi’s here?” I cocked a brow at Micha. “Or should I?”

“What’s he talking about?”

Micha glared at me, making me snicker when his jaw ticked. Go ahead, little boy, try me.

In an instant, things changed. Micha’s face went from challenging to curious as he twisted his neck to look at the road behind us. That’s when I heard it. The quiet rumbled of bikes in the distance.

Not something out of the ordinary, especially around here. That’s not what froze my heart dead in my chest.

ACDC’s ‘Back in Black’ mingled in the air with the sound of roaring engines. Only one person I knew played that, and it was never for a good reason.

Panicked, I went for Riley, but Micha was faster. He grabbed her, curling his body around hers as a stream of bikes rode by, reigning a hail of gunfire on the compound. Naomi chose that moment to step out of the clubhouse.

All I could think as bullets sliced through the air was, not again. I bolted, dodging the rides parked around us and jumping over obstacles to grab her and throw her down on the ground, covering her frail body with mine.

Naomi screamed and tucked herself into me, but all I could hear was the unnatural growl rumbling by.

The compound came alive, men ran out, yelling and returning fire. I stayed where I was, protecting my girl from the onslaught of my brother’s wrath. Bullets whizzed by, cutting into buildings, tinking off metal, and cutting into the ground around us.

Tanner came bursting out, jumped over my curled-up form, and kicked a bike over to give me some cover.

I yelled one word at him, “Riley.”

He took off, scouring the chaos for my niece.

The bike helped some, but not enough. As I lay there, coving Naomi, three rounds burrowed into my flesh. At least I thought it was three.

The first one hit me in the side, burning a path of fire across my gut. The next got me in the thigh, and the last the shoulder. Couldn’t really feel anything after that. My whole body went numb. I could barely hear Naomi’s voice.

“Oh my God, Chase.”

“Stay down,” I told her and pressed her further into the ground.

I could take the agony and pain. What I couldn’t take was losing her. Not again…

“Can you say, Daddy? Daa-dee.”

I snickered and shook my head. “Babe, he’s only six months old.”

“Six months tomorrow,” Sam pointed out.

I sat back and watched as my wife bounced Maddox on her knee. His face lit up, and he laughed, filling my heart with joy.

“Who’s a big boy?” Sam sang to him.

This right here, this was what life was all about. A beautiful wife and perfect baby, a man, couldn’t ask for anything more, which was exactly why I planned this trip. I’d been so busy trying to handle things since my old man passed, I’d been neglecting my family. A nice quiet day at the lake was just what the doctor ordered.

“You want some chocolate?”

Sam rolled her blue eyes. “Duh?”

“Okay, fair enough.” I laughed.

She’d live on the stuff if I let her.

“How about you, little man? You want some chocolate too?” I held my hand out, and Maddox quickly grabbed my finger, wrapping his tiny little digits around mine. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

I stepped out of the car and strolled into the store. It wasn’t a big place and kind of in the middle of nowhere, but everything I needed was here. Including Carl, who was waiting for a drop-off. Nothing wrong with doing a five-minute transaction during family day.

After giving Carl his kilo and collecting my money, I loaded up on chocolate and walked back out. The sun was shining down, lighting up Sam’s face as she turned Maddox to look at me and raised his little arm.

“Wave to Daddy.”

“Chase!Chase! Oh my god, wake up.”

My eyes fluttered open, revealing the blue sky overhead. Was it over? Was that why I was on the ground? Where was Naomi? I wanted to call out her name, but nothing came out when I opened my mouth. I couldn’t move either. Pain rocketed up my spine every time I tried. I needed to know that she was okay.

“Oh, thank God.” Naomi’s sparkling green eyes appeared above me as her palm brushed against my cheek. “Hang on. The ambulance is on the way. You guys are going to be okay.”

Why was she so worried, and what did she mean by you guys?

I rolled my head along the ground the same time Riley’s screams pierced my ears. She was curled over Micha with tears streaming down her face while she screamed at him to wake up. But he didn’t even flinch, just laid there limp as the pool of blood beneath him seeped into the ground.

He wasn’t the only one bleeding. A deep crimson puddle soaked into the leg of Riley’s jeans. She was hit. My niece came here to check on me because I couldn’t take the time to send her a text, and she got shot.

Jax’s voice rang out in the back of my head.

‘You’re gonna get them killed.’

He was right. I wasn’t a curse. I was the finality. The tortured misery that brought only pain and suffering. Riley would be better off without me.

They all would.