Beautiful Outlaw by Emily Minton
Bullets and Blood
Bowie
“What the fuck was that?” Rollo says as we step out of the office.
I look over my shoulder at him, my voice still filled with anger from our earlier discussion. “What are you talking about?”
He passes me without meeting my eyes, heading toward the hallway. “I think I heard a gunshot out back.”
I don’t hesitate, just take off for Shay’s room. Entering the hallway, I see the back door of the clubhouse open, allowing a slice of sunshine into the darkened space. Something about that light causes my pulse to quicken. I know, just know, Shay is out there and something has fuckin’ happened to her. With only a quick glance into the empty room where I had left Shay, I race past Rollo through the back door. Stepping outside, my eyes are drawn to Tag’s bloody body lying on the ground.
I start to go to him, but stop when the sound of tires crunching over the gravel lot hits my ears. I jerk my eyes to the gate, just in time to see Domino’s car hit the road. She’s driving the car, but she’s not alone. Just before the car disappears from sight, the passenger turns to look back. When my eyes meet Red’s, I know for sure he’s been working with Cash all this time. Tossing my head back, I let out a roar. “I’m gonna kill that motherfucker.”
“I’ll help you kill the bastard, but first, we have to get this kid to the hospital,” Rollo shouts, leaning down to roll Tag over. “He’s losing a lot of blood.”
“Is he going to make it?” I ask, looking down at the kid that reminds me so much of myself.
Rollo looks up at me while shaking his head. “He’s still breathing, but he won’t be for long if he doesn’t get help.”
I know he’s right. I have to put my anger aside and do what must be done. My military training kicks in as I crouch down next to Tag. I use Grandpa’s knife to split his shirt down the front and exam the damage. As soon as I touch him, he starts to mumble. I can’t quite make out what he’s saying, so I focus on the spot blood is pouring from his body. The bullet tore through him just below his collarbone, only an inch or two shy of his heart. Jerking off my cut, I pull my shirt over my head and use it to staunch the blood flow. “We gotta get this bleeding stopped. If not, he’ll bleed out before we can get him to the hospital.”
“Why the fuck would they shoot him?” Rollo asks.
Tag’s eyes open briefly before closing again. I watch as he takes a deep breath and opens his mouth. “I was trying to help Shay. Red was trying to put her in Mom’s car.”
The urge to jump up and chase after them fills me, but I know it would be no use. By the time I got to my bike, they’d be long gone. I close my eyes, trying to calm myself. “What did they want with Shay?”
He tries to say something, but it comes out as a bloody cough instead. Knowing I’m losing him, I look to Rollo. “Damn it, this is bad.”
“I think it’s time you tell me what the fuck is going on. We’re fixin’ to go to war for your woman, but I have no damn idea why. What the hell is happening here, brother?”
“Cash made some sort of deal with Shay’s husband.”
The words barely leave my mouth before Tin-Man rushes out the door with his gun drawn. “What the hell is happing now?”
I don’t bother replying, just continue to add pressure to Tag’s wound. Rollo does the explaining. “I’m not sure, really, but Tag has a damn bullet in his chest, and Red and Domino just burned rubber getting out of here.”
“Red?” Tin asks, his voice filled with uncertainty. “No fucking way. He wouldn’t do this shit.”
Rollo starts to tell him about his suspicions, but I cut him off. “We can talk about that shit later. Right now, we gotta get the kid to the hospital.”
Tin looks down to Tag then back to me. “I don’t think you should move him.”
He’s right; I shouldn’t, but I’m going to anyway. If we call this shit in, the entire clubhouse will be swarming with police. That’s the last fuckin’ thing I need right now. I don’t want the kid to die, but if I don’t put a stop to Cash’s plans, Shay could die too. I run my options through my head, settling on the best, then motion toward Rollo. “Pick one of the bitches to ride with you. Y’all take him in, say he was target practicing behind your house and somehow shot himself.”
Not giving him time to reply, I look to Tin and use my free hand to toss him my knife. “Cut some strips from your shirt. I wanna wrap him up before we try to move him.”
Tin does as I say without hesitation, but he does add his opinion of my plan. “They ain’t gonna buy that shit.”
“No, they won’t, but I need a little time to get things straight here before the boys in blue come our way.”
How the hell I’ll do that, I don’t know. In fact, I have no fuckin’ idea what’s even going on. If Red is part of all this shit, the entire game has changed. Cash has probably known what was going on from the get go. I just wonder why in the fuck he didn’t stop me before I went to Alabama. My mind races, trying to find the answer. Suddenly, it all clicks in place. Cash set me up; he fuckin’ set me up.
Cash wanted me in Alabama. He wanted me away from here so he could set up this shit with Marcus. How the fuck he figured out about Shay’s past, I don’t know, but I damn sure plan to find out. When I do, someone is going to die.
Tin lets out a whistle, drawing my attention. I look at him just as he tosses me a strip from his shirt. I lift Tag and start to bind his wound. The movement causes him to let out a pain filled moan. “Help her,” Tag sputters out as he opens his eyes again. “You gotta help Shay.”