Chapter Twenty-Two

Allis saw two guards standing guard over the compound. The bikers were big and menacing and she had the sinking feeling they might not let her leave. One watched her curiously, as she unlocked Givon’s SUV.

“So where do you think you’re going?”

She jumped at the question and spun around, her heart pounding with fright. Pistol Pete stood there, hands on his hips. His gaze cut to the gun she clutched in her hands.

“You’ve got to open that gate,” she said instead of answering him.

“We almost had a showdown—all for you—and now you’re going to walk away?”

“Actually, you almost had a showdown for North,” she corrected.

“You’re his old lady.”

“And the role of a woman in a club is to shut up and support her man, right? Look the other way. Let him protect her.”

“Damn straight.”

“But I have a plan, Pete.”

He cocked his head. “What kind of plan?”

“The Tribe is a snake and there’s only one way to kill a snake.”

“Cut off its head.”

She nodded. “And to lure one out, you need bait.”

A frown settled between his eyes. “You’re not going out there alone.”

“I have to go alone,” she insisted. “This isn’t a war the Wolves should fight.”

“Are you suggesting the Wolves can’t handle a war?”

“That’s not what I’m saying! You made peace with the Demon Devils to prevent a turf war where people in Destiny could be hurt. I’m trying to prevent the same thing.”

“This is hardly the same thing,” Pete said. “Your house was shot up. They’ve already declared war.”

They studied each other for a long moment. She was getting frustrated and ran a hand through her long hair.

“Do you like Givon?” she asked abruptly.

The question clearly surprised him. “He’s decent, I suppose. Hell, truth be told, he shocked me, standing up for the club like he did.”

“They’re my men,” she admitted. Pete cocked his head. “Both of them. And if I’m going to be part of this club then I have a right to defend it. I brought this to the club’s doorstep and I have an idea on how to solve this problem. But I need to get out of here.”

“North will knock the shit out of me if I let you go.”

“You can say I held you at gun point.”

He chuckled at that, but his mirth died quickly. Silence stretched between them. “Will this idea of yours get you killed?”

Her stomach bottomed out a little at the thought. She wanted to say no but the truth was that Daniel was unpredictable. He would either shoot her on sight or toy with her. She was hoping for the later.

“I see,” he said quietly. “If you die, North and Givon will never recover. And I’ll probably die a slow agonizing death by both of them.”

“I’m not going to die,” she vowed. “I’ve got too much to live for. Please, Pete. I have to do this now because I’ll lose the edge if I don’t. Daniel is too focused on revenge to realize he could be out played.”

Pete sighed. He looked over her head, thinking. “Don’t you dare fucking die. You hear me?”

Tears of relief clogged her throat so she nodded instead of answering.

“Reports say the Tribe has been spotted at Bull Lake,” he told her. “There’re lots of hunting and fishing cabins around there.”

He turned to walk to the gate and she jumped into the SUV, waiting until the barricade was open before starting the engine. She pressed on the gas, careful not to hurry too much and cause any unnecessary noise. Once she was away from the safety of the compound and away from the loving embrace of the two men who meant everything to her, she stepped on the gas.

* * * *

Something woke up North and he lay there for a moment, trying to figure out what it was. Dawn was just about to break and he blinked, realizing he was back at the clubhouse. Only he wasn’t alone in bed. He sat up abruptly and saw that Givon lay on his stomach, one arm hanging off the bed, since it wasn’t big enough for both of them.

No Allis.

Dread washed through him, a sense of foreboding so strong it made his heart stutter and he reached over and shook Givon, hard.

“What?” Givon sleepily muttered.

“Allis is gone.”

Before he even finished the sentence, Givon jumped up and opened the bathroom door. She wasn’t there. He grabbed his clothes and paused.

“My keys are gone,” he said.

North got up and they both dressed quickly, not saying anything. All North kept thinking was that he hoped she wasn’t foolish enough to confront Daniel Two Feathers by herself. Seconds later, he marched downstairs, Givon hot on his heels. People were lying everywhere, sleeping, but he ignored them all as he stormed outside.

“Shit!” Givon muttered. “My SUV is gone.”

“Pete!” North yelled.

A second later, Pistol Pete walked from one of the garages, wiping his hands on a rag.

“Where is she?” His heart sank when Pete braced himself.

“She left.”

North hauled back and decked the man. Pete fell hard to the ground and North grabbed him by his leather cut and yanked him back on his feet.

“What’s going on?” Charlie asked as he jogged up to them.

Givon frowned. “What are you still doing here?”

“I wasn’t going to leave you to face the Tribe alone,” Charlie said. “What’s happened?”

“Allis left,” Givon told him.

“Left? For where?”

“For Daniel Two Feathers.”

Charlie frowned and looked around. “She took the SUV?”

“Yeah.”

“It has a vehicle tracking system,” Charlie said.

Givon pulled out his cell phone and activated the GPS. “She’s headed toward Bull Lake.”

“Fuck!” North muttered. “Let’s go. Giv, take one of the cars around back.”

“You don’t think I let her go by herself, do you?” Pete demanded. Everyone halted in their tracks and North swung around to face him. “She has a plan and she is determined to protect this club. I agreed with it. She’s got guts, North.”

“Who went with her?” Givon asked.

“I kept her talking,” Pete said. “Long enough for Nimrod to sneak into the back of the SUV. He’ll watch out for her.”

North wanted to deck him again but didn’t want to waist the time or frankly, his knuckles.

“Give me your keys,” Givon demanded from Pete, holding out his hand.

“What?”

“I’m taking your bike,” Givon said.

“The hell you are—”

“Give them to him,” North ordered.

Pete glared at him.

“Next time you might want to wake up me up before you make executive decisions about my old lady,” North replied. “Give him your keys. You get to stay here and hope that Giv remembers how to ride a bike.”

Pete snarled as he dug in his pocket and pulled out his keys, flinging them toward Givon before stomping back into the garage. North didn’t bother giving him a second look as he and Givon headed over to the bikes.

“I’ll follow in a car,” Charlie called and ran to where the shared cars and trucks were located.

Seconds later, the roar of bikes cut through the morning air as North and Givon started the engines and peeled out of the compound followed by Charlie driving an old Buick.