Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“It could be any one of their houses.” Hawk was growing impatient and left the living room in search of Danny. When I saw that he’d gone off to check one of the bedrooms downstairs, I turned to Lynch and said, “Let’s go look around upstairs.”
He nodded, then followed me up to one of the smaller bedrooms. It was pretty basic—just a full bed and a dresser. No TV or pictures on the wall. When we were certain it was empty, we’d just started across the hall when we heard Shotgun shout, “Hey! Down here! He’s in the basement!”
Lynch and I raced down the steps and into the kitchen. There was a door open with a set of steps that led to the concrete basement below. Lynch followed me down to the lower floor and to my relief, we found Shotgun and Hawk standing next to Danny. They were working together to remove the restraints that held Danny’s hands over his head. The poor kid was busted up pretty good. His eyes were swollen shut, and his body was covered in bruises. They’d done a real number on him, but he was alive. That’s all that mattered. He was barely able to hold his head up as he muttered, “You came. You really came.”
“Of course we did, brother.” Hawk’s voice was strained as he told him, “Never leave a man behind, remember?”
“Yeah, I remember.” Once Shotgun got Danny down, he scooped him up and started carrying him up the stairs. Danny’s voice quivered as he mumbled, “Badger.”
“We know, Danny.” Shotgun continued up the steps. “We know.”
“They made me watch. It was horrible. They just kept at him. Beat him unconscious, then beat him some more. Then, they burned him...Fuck. I don’t think I’ll ever get those screams out of my head.” It was difficult to listen to him relive the experience, but we knew talking about it was the only way he was going to keep his sanity. “Told me they were gonna do the same shit to me.”
“Not gonna happen, brother. We got ‘em. We got every last one of them.”
Sounding like he was on the brink of tears, he asked, “You sure?”
“Yeah,” Hawk answered. “We’re sure.”
We got him in the truck and rushed him back to the clubhouse. We were about to carry him down to the infirmary when I remembered Badger was there. As we started down the hall, I said, “Maybe we should take him on to his room. Doc can check him out there.”
“Good idea, brother.”
Shotgun took Danny down the hall to his room, and it wasn’t long before Doc arrived. While Lynch, Shotgun, and I went to go join the others, Hawk stayed to give Doc a hand with Danny. By the time we got back to the bar, my adrenaline had worn off, and I was feeling the fatigue creeping over me. Unfortunately, there would be no time for rest. The place really was a fucking mess. Along with all the casualties, there were busted bricks, splintered two-by fours, and broken tables and chairs that would have to be dealt with. And not only that. There was still the issue of the fucking dump truck that was still parked inches away from the giant fucking hole it’d made in the wall. It was hard to see our clubhouse in such a shambles, but I hadn’t forgotten what Viper told Skitz. We’d rebuild and make this place even better than before.
I was trying to catch my breath when Country stepped over to me and said, “Thanks for saving gauges for me. Wasn’t much left of him, but it felt good as hell to finish the motherfucker off.”
“No problem.” I gave him a pat on the back. “Good to have you back, brother.”
“Good to be back. Really fucking good.” Remorse filled his eyes as he said, “Sure sorry to hear about Badger.”
“Yeah, it was tough to lose him like that.”
Before I could say anything more, Billy and his crew arrived. When he stepped into the bar, I wasn’t surprised to see that he was wearing his usual freshly-pressed white button down with a pair of black slacks. His dark hair was combed back, his horn-rimmed glasses were on the tip of his nose, and he was carrying his same oversized duffle-bag. His brows furrowed as he looked around at the mayhem in front of him. “You boys really know how to throw a party.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing you can’t handle.”
“No, but like always, it’s gonna cost ya.”
“I’m sure it will.”
Billy dropped his duffle bag to the floor and pulled out his Hazmat suit. As he stepped into the suit, he asked, “What about the truck?”
“We’re gonna need it to get gone.”
“Good.” He zipped up his suit as he announced, “We’re going to need at least four hours.”