Nova - The Kings of Retribution MC, Louisiana - Chapter 23

R eloading my gun, I hang another target, then press the button, watching the paper flutter as the track pulls it to the far end of the shooting range.

Everything is finally getting back to normal. I had my hearing on the charges I was facing a few days ago. Luckily, I didn’t have to do any jail time.

The judge reduced my charges, leaving me to pay a heavy fine, which I paid in full before I left the courthouse the same day.

Even though the dust has settled, and the threat of the Punisher’s wayward brother is no longer an issue, I still feel a sense of unease. A looming feeling that won’t go away.

Which is why I’m here, at the range, instead of the bar tending to my usual duties. I know Promise needs to get back to life, and her law practice, but the need to make sure her and Piper stay safe is still strong.

So, for several days now, I’ve stayed close enough to put my mind at ease but far enough to give her space to work.

Sliding my ear covers on, I widen my stance and aim at my target. Before I can pull the trigger, Kiwi’s raised voices shouting my name alerts me to something being wrong.

The headphone is ripped from my head, and I toss them to the counter in front of me. I take in his expression and my gut wrenches.

“Promise is gone,” he tells me.

“What the fuck do you mean gone?”

“Let’s talk while you follow me to the security room.” Kiwi turns on his heel, and I follow.

“London burst through the store doors seconds ago. Said she found the trunk of Promise’s car open, her keys laying on the ground, and Promise nowhere to be found.”

The door to the security room flies open, bouncing off the wall behind it with a loud thud. Tapping feverishly, Kiwi pulls up the feed from outside Promise’s building across the street. As he rewinds the history of the footage, my breath catches in my throat.

“Shit.” Kiwi’s eyes dart to mine, before looking back at the computer screen. We watch the twelve seconds of footage.

A giant of a man, wearing a black suit comes up behind my unsuspecting woman. I hone in on what he’s holding in his hand but can’t quite make it out.

That is until he points it at her, and I watch her body convulse before her knees buckle, and she falls to the pavement. The man scoops her in his arms, just as a black sedan rolls into view.

I instantly recognize the man the moment his face comes into focus. He’s one of Velasco’s men. His goon loads her in the backseat, then disappears into the car himself before the vehicle takes off. Everything happens in less than a minute.

My phone is at my ear, calling my brother as I rush toward the front of the store.

“How’s it goin’?” Riggs’ voice sounds chipper.

My voice cracks. “Promise was taken.” Stalking into another room, I punch in a code unlocking a gun safe. Reaching inside, I grab a sawed-off double-barrel shotgun, then load my pockets with shells.

There’s a commotion in the background as my brother barks out orders. “Who?”

“Velasco.”

“Fuckin’ hell.” He knows what this means. We are about to go up against a notorious drug kingpin.

I also know my club will go to war against anyone. “Kiwi, still with you?”

“At my side,” I tell him as Kiwi loads himself with a few extra clips.

“Location?” Riggs asks, and I briefly take my phone from my ear, texting him the details, then press it to my ear again.

“Just sent his address.”

“The rest of us will meet you there.” He disconnects the call, and I shove my phone in my pocket.

“Fuck!” I put my fist through the wall. He took her right out from under my goddamn nose.

For the past two years, Velasco has been one of the leading criminals bringing drugs, and death to our city, Louisiana and the surrounding states.

Velasco is not your run of the mill street dealer and has not been much of a problem locally. Up until his recent run-in with the law. Up until now, his bullshit has never been enough to start a war.

Today I plan to end it before it begins. “Shit. Where the hell is London?” I remember the moment we hit the front of the store.

“I told her to take her ass to the clubhouse. The girls will let her in.”

“Good thinkin’.” We bust out the double doors, stepping out into the muggy air, the skies ominous with dark storm clouds. Cain. I hear Promise’s voice in my head as I strap the shotgun to the side of my bike. “I’m comin’ for you, babe,” I say out loud as if she were here as I fire up the engine.

Dread pools in my gut with thoughts of something awful happening to her and the baby. I take off down the road, with Kiwi riding at my side.

As we maneuver our bikes through the city streets, I can’t help but feel like I’ve let my woman down. I was supposed to protect her, and that doesn’t sit well with me. I should have killed the motherfucker weeks ago. Nerves eat at my insides, knowing two lives are at stake.

Doing my best, I shake those thoughts from my head. Right now, getting to her in time is all that matters to me. Even if that means giving my life to save hers and my unborn child.

Before long, the building Velasco resides in comes into view. So do my other club members who merge with us as we cruise down the road, with Riggs leading the way.

Our approach becomes muffled by the sound of thunder overhead, just before heavy sheets of rain begin to fall. Throwing his hand in the air, we roll to a dead stop, keeping out of sight on the side of a vacant warehouse.

Riggs signals, warning us of the men posted at each side of the building’s front entrance.

We kill our engines, and I reach down, unstrapping my shotgun. Rain-soaked, we seek refuge within the abandoned building.

As Riggs goes over how we will execute our following actions, I zone out. My imagination starts fucking with my head. Visions of what my woman could be going through and what we might walk in on consume my every thought. Fear of the unknown takes up all my headspace.

“Cain.” My brother’s voice cracks the surface, and I look at him.

“Focus.” He eyes me for a second until he is confident that I’m paying attention. “Good. Now, listen. We’re going in completely blind. So, we have no idea the odds that may be stacked against us.

Wick, Fender, take out the two fuckers keeping watch, then I want you both covering all outside exits.”

Wick and Fender nod, then take off. Riggs finds Everest and Kiwi to his left. “Once Nova and I gain entrance, I want the two of you to start searching the first floor. Take out anyone associated with Velasco.”

Kiwi and Everest nod.

My brother averts his attention to me, grasping my shoulder with a firm grip. “She’s your woman. You take the lead this time. We’ve got your back.”

“Velasco is mine,” I say with venom.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” Riggs confirms. “Ready?”

“Let’s do this.”

From there, everything moves so fast you hardly know it’s even happening. We hear the signal to go the moment gunshots ring out.

Charging toward the entrance, I notice Velasco’s two men, on the ground, unmoving. The rain is still pelting at our backs, but I can make out their faces as the same men Kiwi and I ran into weeks ago.

We enter the building guns raised. Riggs fires off a shot, and a man, sitting behind a desk with his weapon aimed at us, hits the wall behind him, then falls to the floor before he gets the chance to pull the trigger.

Following orders, Kiwi and Everest take to the stairs, as Riggs follows me to the only elevator.

Pressing the penthouse button, the doors close, and we ascend three floors to the top. The moment the doors open, exposing the hallway leading into the suite, we’re met with silence.

Advancing down the short corridor, we approach the door with caution.

A suited man, with his gun raised, suddenly appears, and bullets whiz by my head, piercing the wall behind us. Falling back, Riggs and I take cover by jumping back into the elevator.

“Shit.” I breathe heavily. “That was too close for comfort, brother.”

Riggs tries peering around the opened door, and Velasco’s goon fires off several rounds, luckily missing my brother, who wastes no time returning fire. The thud I hear lets me know the man is dead before we step out of the elevator.

Stepping over the man’s lifeless body, we pause just outside Velasco’s door. Grasping the handle, I give it a turn, finding it unlocked.

Dumb fuck.

Giving each other a look, my brother and I ready ourselves for what could be waiting for us on the other side. Bursting through the doors, we rush in, guns raised.

The fuck?

The place appears to be empty. Riggs goes one way, and I the other. We canvas the entire top floor suite, searching every room, only to find each baron. We meet back at the entrance. “No one’s here,”

Riggs states, appearing to be just as frustrated as I am.

No. I’m certain Promise is here. I feel in my bones. “She’s in the building. Don’t ask me how I know, I just do.” Riggs nods, not questioning how I feel.

His phone rings. Taking it from his pocket, he answers, while we take off for the elevator once more. All this running round, cat and mouse shit is wasting time. “Report,” he barks. Putting it on speaker, I hear the desperation in Kiwi’s voice.

“We found Promise, but we can’t get to her.” In the background, I listen to what I believe to be muffled screams for help. Every hair on my body stands on end. My eyes fix on Riggs, as the elevator descends, feeling more like a long ride to the gates of hell. “Shit!” Kiwi yells with frustration.

“Location,” my brother demands.

“Basement. You can only access it using the stairs. A keypad is the only way into the room. I managed to pry the cover off to attempt an override of the system. I’m cross-connecting wires now.”

“Keep at it. We’re on our way.” Riggs shoves his phone away.

We dart for the stairwell as soon as the elevator doors open. Exactly one flight down, we run into Everest, his gun aimed in our direction. His arm lowers immediately.

Behind him, we find Kiwi fumbling with wires in a desperate attempt to disarm the system. On the other side of the metal door-silence.

Nothing like the fearful screams heard over the phone just seconds ago. I place my ear to the surface of the door, straining for signs that my woman is okay.

Crying.

I hear Promise crying, followed by pleas—her asking the sorry son of a bitch to let her go.

“I think I’ve got it,” Kiwi says, and my head jerks back, waiting for something to happen. The locking mechanism in the door clicks, and I hold my breath when I push the handle down.

In the fraction of a second, the four of us enter the small, dank room, none of us prepared for what we see.

Promise is strapped to a table. An older man in a lab coat is looming over her. He’s caught off guard by our intrusion and spins around. The slug from my shotgun finds its mark, dropping the guy on the spot.

Promise cries out for me. “Cain,” her voice hoarse from screaming.

Before we make another move, Velasco steps from the shadows. He presses the end of a 9mm against the side of Promise’s head, and her body physically trembles with terror.

My breathing stalls, and I push back the bile, threatening to rise up my throat. “Move one more inch, and I’ll kill her.”

“You have nowhere left to go, Velasco, and the four to one odd aren’t in your favor.” The shotgun in my hand feels like an extension of my arm as I keep it aimed at his chest.

“Cain,” Promise whimpers, her eyes full of fear. “He was going to kill our baby.”

“Shut up,” Velasco yells. “Just. Shut. Up. I could have given you anything you ever wanted, and you chose this good for nothing biker trash over me.”

A rage I’ve never felt before makes its way to the surface from the depth of my soul, and my body starts to vibrate. My woman being strapped down to a table with a gun trained on her will forever be ingrained in my memory.

What would have happened had I not made it to her in time?

Shaking those thoughts away, I focus on the here and now—on retribution. “Promise,” I call to her, keeping my voice neutral, but firm. “Eyes on me.” She listens, locking her eyes with mine. “You trust me, babe?” Without hesitating, she nods.

“Don’t fucking talk to him, you cunt.” Velasco’s eyes become wild, darting from face to face in the room. To my right, something falls, and the already jumpy Velasco swings his weapon in the direction of the noise, shooting off a wild round.

His carelessness gives me the opening we need. Riggs fires a shot of his own, right through Velasco’s hand. The gun he was holding, slips through his fingers, falling to the floor.

Without missing a beat, I close the few yards between us. Holding his bloody hand, and with nowhere to run, Velasco’s back smacks against the concrete wall.

I press the sharp end of my sawed-off shotgun into his flesh and blow a hole in his chest the size of Texas. His eyes widen, and he gurgles as blood bubbles from his mouth.

Immediately blood seeps from his chest wound in massive quantities, soaking his crisp white shirt in crimson.

I watch the life drain from his eyes before his legs give way, and his body slides to the floor, where he takes his last strangled breath.

Knowing Velasco is dead, I rush to my woman’s side, my eyes roaming her body as my brothers unbind the leather straps pinning her to the cold hard table.

My hands exam every inch of her looking for injuries. “What the fuck is in the IV bag?” I notice the needle stuck in the flesh of her arm.

“Simple saline fluid,” Riggs skillfully removes the needle. “But there’s an empty syringe on the table—a mild sedative.”

“Cain, I think he gave me something that knocked me out earlier too. Oh my God, Cain. The baby.”

Promise throws her arms around my neck as I lift her from the table. Pulling her to my chest, I carry her from the room.

“I’ve got you, babe.” I keep moving as my brother, Kiwi and Everest lead us out of the building.

Worry settles in my stomach, knowing whatever Velasco injected her with could harm the baby.

“Someone get a hold of Teagan,” I order to no one in particular. All that matters is that she’s waiting at the clubhouse when we get there.

The rain has stopped, and the sun beats down on our faces the instant we rush out the door, into the street, where we find Wick and Fender in wait.

“I think I should go to the hospital, Cain.”

“No hospital, babe. You saw what just happened back there. They’ll ask questions we can’t answer. I promise we’ll take care of you. You need to trust me,” I tell her.

“I trust you,” Promise says, and it’s all I needed to hear.

Realizing Promise will need to ride on the back of my bike, I carefully set her on her feet once we get back to where we left them. She seems a little wobbly at first but otherwise okay.

“Babe, I’m going to need you to hold on as tight as you can. Think you have enough strength to do that?” I brush the hair from her face.

“I won’t let go.” Her red-rimmed eyes stare back at me.

With weapons stowed away, and Promise huddled against my back, holding me tight, we roll out, headed for our side of town.

Finding it hard not to think about our baby, the ride back to the clubhouse house feels longer than usual. I’m not much of a praying man, but I do believe in a higher power. So, I pray, hoping he hears me.

After arriving at the clubhouse, everything is a blur. London is near frantic as I carry Promise upstairs to my room where Teagan examines her.

“She seems to be okay, considering all that she’s been through, and Riggs was smart enough to bring the syringe found at the scene. They used a mild sedative,” Teagan states as she tosses her stethoscope into her bag.

“It would take several strong doses of sedatives to cause any concerns when it comes to the baby. To be sure and ease both your minds, I brought a portable ultrasound machine.”

There’s a light knock at the door, followed by Piper’s concerned voice. “Daddy. Is everything okay?”

I open the door to find not only Piper but damn near every set of eyes in the clubhouse huddled in the hallway, staring back at me. Piper glances past me at Promise, who is lying in bed.

“Teagan was just about to check the baby. Would you like to come in?”

“Promise won’t mind?” She is hesitant to step into the room.

“I don’t mind,” Promise states, her voice hinting at how exhausted she is. As Piper crosses the room, I go to close the door. “Wait.”

Stopping, I look over my shoulder.

“Leave it open. I want the family to hear it too,” Promise adds, and the emotions I’ve been holding back for so long make themselves known. My eyes become misty as I reopen the door. Everyone squeezes their way into my small room, including her best friend, London.

Piper slides into bed beside Promise, as Teagan rolls the waistband of Promise’s jeans down, stopping just shy of her panty line. Teagan warms a small packet of jelly between her hands before peeling it open and squeezing it out onto Promise’s abdomen. Promise holds out her hand, and I take it in mine.

I hold my breath, as Teagan moves the doppler around. There’s a faint whoosh, and the room falls silent. Reaching over, Teagan turns a small nob, increasing the volume output of the machine.

The room fills with the sound of our baby’s heartbeat.

Promise starts to cry, and relief washes over me. Releasing the breath I was holding, I lean down, kissing my woman. “I fuckin’ love you so much.”

Emotions cause my voice to crack. I gather my girls into my arms, thankful for all that I have, and grateful my prayers were answered.