Pyro whistles low and points to the glass wall of a booth. A reflection of two men glares back at us. A bullet whizzes past ZZ’s head, and I laugh out loud. If the idiot is going to use a silencer, he should at least know how to use the damn thing. ZZ isn’t even mad they shot at him. He chuckles alongside the rest of us. Braxxon aims at the booth and shoots low to wound them. Their pussy ass cries echo around the room. Pyro and I round the corner and aim at their heads. They drop their weapons and grab at the bullet holes in their bodies as they speak Spanish to one another.

I really have to learn fucking Spanish. This is ridiculous.

“Get the fuck up,” I say with an even tone. “Now. Don’t make me fuckin’ repeat myself.” I shove my silencer into one temple. “Up!”

Pyro does not need to repeat my words. The one he has his gun pointed at follows my orders and his buddy’s movements. They make this too easy. What a shame. I guess I will have to torture them even more for making my job too fucking easy.

“My show, Prez?” I ask my brother.

He snaps his fingers at ZZ to pull up two chairs from a nearby table, and Pyro and I shove the two fuckwads down. They beg and plead in a language we don’t fucking understand. All of us look at one another and our thoughts are the same. These fuckers are the pussy members. The weak little fuckers. The diversions.

We are being stalled for some reason.

“You think they are having trouble getting Piper and Jinx out in time and these idiots are to distract us and keep us here longer?” Pyro shakes his gun at the two of them.

I believe he is on to something. The Cartel knows we have this town under lock and key and we run this shit. What if they are worried that Juan and other people are on our payroll and are afraid we will catch them moving the women?

I know it is a tough needle in a haystack idea, but fuck, we have a handful of chapters here. All roads are being monitored.

“Kill them fast. We gotta get back and fuckin’ figure this shit out,” Braxxon orders.

Pyro and I shrug and pull our triggers at the same time. When blood splatters my leather cut, I look up towards the ceiling and vow that I will slice someone’s arms off for the mess this caused my fucking clothing. I fear I am losing touch with my humanity. Losing someone you care about will do that to you, I suppose.

“Sniper… my man, your head’s all fucked up,” ZZ coaxes.

No shit. I have not felt anger like this in my entire life. Something has to be said for it. I guess you really don’t know what you have until it is gone. When she was taken, the very thin good graces I held were stolen right along with her.

“I’m gonna get her back,” I mumble as I walk out the door into the sun while I lower my shades over my eyes. Berry is going to be pissed that she has to clean this blood out of mine and Pyro’s clothes. ZZ says one day she is going to up and leave us all.

“Looky what I found,” ZZ says as he marches outside. “The little fuckheads had a half of kilo on them. I wonder if they robbed their boss?”

Fucking drugs. I love blow just as much as the next person, but I will never be a tweaker.

“Good, we’ll use it as payoffs for info.” Braxxon snatches it from him and shoves it into his saddle bag and then turns around to smack ZZ in the shoulder. “Wave it around in the air for all to see, brother. As if the blood on Pyro and Sniper ain’t enough,” he laughs.

“My bad.” ZZ chuckles.

The sound of ZZ laughing after his loss is another hill he has defeated. If only I had my reason to laugh again. Time is ticking by too fast, and if I don’t get her back soon, she’ll be gone forever. When the reality of that hits me, my eyes do something they have never done before. They threaten to spill droplets of salt water.

***

Chapter Nineteen

Sniper

I sit at the bar of the clubhouse and twirl this stupid strip of photos in my hands. Well, I used to think it was ignorant, but now that I think about it, deep down I know it isn’t. I wouldn’t have shoved it in my wallet to begin with if it was. I stare at the beautiful, goofy face Piper was making in the photo and then I look at myself. I was full on laughing in the three photos on this strip. It was during one of the lockdowns, and Piper insisted I get her off of the compound, so I did. She dragged my biker ass all over the Jamaica Mall. I admit, at the time, I acted miserable but I wasn’t. I was actually having fun that day, but I wasn’t about to let her know. I slide my thumb over her face and slump further down on the barstool. If I don’t get her back, there is no telling what I will do or what I may become without my best friend, a woman I love, a woman I very much want to explore love with.

“Sniper,” a voice behind me whispers.

I don’t bother to hide the strip of photos when Lucy sits down next to me. She isn’t supposed to be in the clubhouse. She is supposed to be over at the live-in, but by her tone, I assume she wants to apologize to me. So I let her sit down and wait for her to speak.

“She’s really pretty,” she says as she stretches her hand towards the snapshot. I jerk it out of her reach. This may be all I have left of Piper if something does happen. I will be damned if I let anyone touch it.

“I have to tell you somethin’, and you might very well kill me for it,” she sighs.

Her statement gets my attention. The word kill coming from Luce has my curiosity piqued. “Go on,” I say as I tuck the mall members into my wallet and my wallet into my back pocket.