Beautiful Outlaw by Emily Minton
Finding Shay
Bowie
Pulling my bike behind the trees, I cut off the engine and look around for Rollo. A shadow crosses the grass, just before he steps into the light. “About damn time you got here.”
“We’re here now,” I reply as I slide from my bike.
He steps up, placing his face only inches from mine. “Do you know how fuckin’ hard it was just to stand here waiting on your ass to show up? Shay’s in there, and I couldn’t do a damn thing because you ordered me not to. What the fuck was that about?”
It was hard to give him the order to hold, but I learned a lot when I was in the desert. Most importantly, never go in without backup. If you do, someone can die, and that someone can be the one person you wanted to save. “I couldn’t let you go in.”
“Why the hell not,” he nearly shouts before remembering where we are. “Tell me, brother. Why the fuck did I have to sit on my hands when I could’ve been saving Shay?”
“You didn’t get a visual on Shay. If you had, I would’ve let you go in. Without that, you have no idea who’s in there.”
Before I can go on, Tin pulls his bike behind mine. Turning from Rollo, I look at him. “I want you to stay out here.”
“No fuckin’ way. I told you before, I’m by your side on this one,” he says as he climbs from his bike.
“I need you to be look out. If someone comes out of that house, I want you on their ass.” As much as I appreciate Tin having my back, Lock is who I need right now. We’ve been side by side many times, taking out insurgents without them even knowing we were there. It’s Lock’s stealth I need now, not Tin’s back up.
His eyes blaze as he asks, “So you want me just to sit back and watch?”
“No, I want you to make sure no one else shows up. I know Cash is gone, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t anyone else coming,” I explain, hoping he’ll drop the attitude without me having to kick his ass.
All of this has been too easy. Finding Cash in the bar, Shay being at my house, Marcus’ car still sitting out front; it’s like one thing after another is falling into my lap. If there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that nothing ever comes easy. When it does, you better watch out, because shit is fixin’ to hit the fan.
“No,” he says, stepping forward. “I’m not letting you go in there without me.”
Grabbing his shirt, I pull him even closer. “You’ll do what I say, because I’m your fuckin’ President. If you don’t, I’ll put your ass on the ground. Do you understand me?”
He nods, and I push him away. “Just keep your eyes open.”
“Fine, I’ll sit out here playing with myself, but I’ll make sure to keep a look out while I do,” he growls out, pissed as fuck.
Not having time for his shit right now, I ignore his smart ass mouth and turn to back to Rollo. “I want you to head back to the hospital.”
His ass decides to argue too. “No, I’m going in with you.”
“Lock and I are going in alone. I need you at the hospital to watch Tag. When he wakes up, the cops are gonna be asking questions. I want you there to supply him the right answers.” That’s the last I’m gonna say on the matter, so I look back to Tin. “If we’re not out in thirty minutes, hit the road. I don’t want you here when the cops show up.”
His anger flares again. “You want me to just walk away from you? Are you fuckin’ crazy?”
Shaking my head, I tell him the rest of my plan. “If something goes wrong, you’re President of the Outlaws. I’ll need you on the outside to make sure that everything goes down like I got planned. I also need you to take care of Shay.”
“You sure this is what you want?” he asks, still not liking my plan but no longer looking so pissed.
“Yep, just keep your eyes open. If Red or Marcus tries to run, fill them with lead.” Motioning to between the spot where Lock is parking his truck behind my bike, I go on. “I don’t care who it is. If it’s not one of us, take them down.”
He nods then looks to the house. “I’ll play look out if that’s what you need, but save Red’s ass for me. I brought him into the club, and he betrayed us. I’m gonna be the one to make him pay for that betrayal.”
“Red’s not there,” Rollo says, stepping between Tin and me. “It’s only Marcus and Shay.”
“How the hell do you know that?” Tin asks, looking back at the house.
“There’s bloody footprints heading off the porch and none coming back in. I’m figuring Red walked through the blood in the kitchen floor before heading out.”
I don’t question Rollo, knowing from experience to depend on his word, but Tin does. “How do you know it was Red? Marcus could’ve been the one that left.”
He shakes his head. “First of all, that bastard’s car is still out there for everyone to see.”
“He could’ve….” Tin starts, but Lock cuts him off as he gets out of his truck.
“My dad says Marcus is in the basement.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” How the hell would Lock’s dad know anything?
“She made it to your safe room and called Dad.”
I think of the room, one that I barely walk into. Its sole purpose is storage, has been since before I bought the place. When I had it redone, I left the room as it was, just reinforced the walls and added the security system and door. Other than that, everything else has stayed the same, including the old phone.
“Thank fuck I didn’t take the phone out.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I have a clear picture of what’s going on inside the house. Somehow, Shay made it to the safe room. Red left, knowing there was no chance to get to her, but Marcus wasn’t willing to leave his wife behind.
“She told him to get hold of you. Guess she didn’t remember your number, but he called me instead.”
As his words sink in, I let out a relieved breath. “How did she get in the safe room?”
“I don’t know. All I know is that she’s in there alone, but Marcus is doing his best to get to her.”
“That ain’t gonna happen.” As long as the lock is engaged from the inside, nothing short of a nuclear bomb is opening that door.
Lock nods. “That’s what I figured, so all we need to do is take Marcus’ ass down and get her to open the door.”
“Is she okay?” I ask, praying that his answer is yes.
Lock nods, agreeing with me. “She’s hurt. Dad says she claims it’s just a few broken ribs. He wanted to call 911, but she begged him not to call the police. She said, if he did, you would be in trouble.”
“Fuck!” I shout, fighting the urge to hit something. My woman, the person that I promised to keep safe, is protecting me. She’s probably scared out of her fuckin’ mind, and she’s more worried about me getting in trouble than herself being caught by a mad man. I’d spend the rest of my life in prison if it meant getting her out of this shit quicker. “She should’ve called the police, not fuckin’ worried about me.”
“He’s giving us an hour to get her out. If not, he’s calling the police.”
“Fuck,” I hear Rollo mumble.
Looking to him, I bark out my orders again. “Get your ass to the hospital.”
He nods before stepping away. “Be careful, brother.”
“I always am,” I reply before turning to Tin. “Keep your eyes open.”
Knowing that our time is ticking, I step away from them, head toward the house, and call out to Lock, “Let’s get this shit done.”