Chapter 58 Second attack
Ryder's POV
The call came at nearly six in the evening, just a few minutes after Snake left the gym disappointed at Sage and I for still fooling around despite her agreeing to marry Diego.
Marcus' voice was tight with pain when I answered. "The garage just got hit. We need help."
I was already moving out of the gym, out of the clubhouse and running toward my bike before he finished talking. Sage was also running with me without even asking what the issue was. "How bad is it?"
"Two brothers went down, just me and Johnny. They jumped us when we were closing up. The way they attacked us looked like this was a professional job." He coughed and I heard him spit probably blood. "Ryder, whoever this was, knew exactly when we would be vulnerable."
"I'm on my way. Have you called an ambulance?"
"Yeah. Diesel's with me but Johnny's bad. Real bad."
I hung up and looked at Sage. She was standing by my bike with her arms crossed and worry written all over her face.
"What happened?"
"The garage. Someone attacked Marcus and Johnny." I handed her a helmet. "Get on."
"I should stay here where it's safe."
"You're staying with me. That's the safest place you can be."
She didn't argue and just climbed on behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist.
The ride to the garage usually took eight minutes. Police cars and an ambulance were already there when we arrived. Red and blue lights painted everything in harsh colors.
Marcus sat on the curb with a towel pressed to his head. Blood soaked through the white fabric. Diesel stood nearby talking to cops but his eyes kept darting to the ambulance where paramedics worked on someone.
Johnny.
I parked the bike on one side of the road and helped Sage off. "Stay close to me." I said to her a bit harshly.
"I will."
We crossed the lot and I got my first look at Marcus up close. His face was really in a mess. He had a swollen eye, split lip, and bruises were already forming across his jaw and cheekbone. But he was conscious and talking so that was something.
"What happened?" I asked.
Marcus pulled the towel away from his head and I couldn't stop my facial expression from changing to a shocked look. A deep looking gash ran along his hairline. Blood started dripping from it as soon as he removed the towel. "We were attacked by four guys, maybe five. It's hard to tell with everything happening so fast."
"Did you recognize any of them?"
"No. They wore masks. Ski masks, all black, so you could not even tell their skin colour. They wore gloves too." He pressed the towel back against the wound. "They came in right as we were locking up and caught us by surprise. Good thing Diesel was close by. He helped me fight them off until they ran off."
Diesel walked over. His knuckles were bloody and his shirt was torn. "Johnny's in bad shape. They beat him with something metal. A pipe maybe or a bat. They broke his ribs and fractured his skull."
My hands clenched into fists. "Is he going to make it?"
"Paramedics don't know. They're taking him to County General." Diesel looked at Sage. "You shouldn't be here. This place isn't safe."
"Nowhere's safe," I said before Sage could respond. "Someone's targeting the club systematically. First the bar, now the garage. They're hitting our legitimate businesses."
"Why though?" Marcus asked. "If they want to hurt us, why not go after the clubhouse? Why not target where we actually live?"
"Because they're trying to bleed us dry financially first." I looked around at the damaged garage. Tools were scattered everywhere and some equipments were smashed. The big bay door hung crooked as if someone had rammed it with a vehicle. "They are trying to destroy our income sources and we can't afford to fight back."
"The Blood Sisters," Sage said quietly. "This is definitely Diego reminding me what happens if I refuse."
"Maybe. Or maybe it's someone else using the situation to their advantage." Diesel kicked at a broken wrench. "Either way, we can't keep taking hits like this."
Jaxon's truck pulled into the lot. He jumped out before it fully stopped and strode over to us.
"Marcus, you okay?"
"Been better. But I'll live."
"And Johnny?"
"He's critical. They're taking him to the hospital now." Diesel jerked his head toward the ambulance. "Might not make it through the night."
Jaxon's face went hard. "Did anyone see who did this?"
"There were four or five guys in masks. That's all we got." Marcus struggled to his feet. "But they knew what they were doing. This wasn't random thugs looking for tools to steal. This was a planned attack by professional fighters. I don't know whether they just wanted to do some damage to the garage or whether they just wanted to jump and beat up some guys. Or both."
"Just like the bar." Jaxon looked at me. "We have a serious problem."
"Yeah. Someone on the inside is feeding our information to enemies." I kept one hand on Sage's shoulder. "They definitely planned these coordinated attacks."
"So what do we do?" Diesel asked.
"We tighten security everywhere. We put cameras all around and every brother goes around with a weapon for self defence." Jaxon pulled out his phone. "I'll call another emergency meeting for tonight. We need to figure out who's leaking information and plug that hole before more people get hurt."
The paramedics wheeled Johnny past us on a stretcher and I got a good look at him. His face was so swollen I barely recognized him. Blood soaked through the bandages on his head and his breathing sounded wet and labored. He looked and sounded terrible. Why would they beat him up so badly? I asked in my mind.
Sage made a small sound and pressed herself closer to my side as if the action shielded her from the violence that showed on Johnny's body.
"He's going to die," she whispered.