MC Sinners Boxed Set #1-7

CHAPTER 20 | PRESENT – CIARA

CHAPTER 20

PRESENT – CIARA

H ogan’s compound is huge, and when I say huge, I mean it. There are six large sheds, two houses, a large building and a mass amount of Harley-Davidsons lined up. God, Spike is putting himself into a death trap.

I spent the entire day following the two bikers, and when they caught up to Spike’s group, I followed them to a long, empty dirt road that has a perfect view of Hogan’s compound without them being seen or heard easily.

I parked my car far down the road after they went down it, so they wouldn’t see it. Then I got out and I walked the rest of the way. Now I’m crouched behind a mass of trees, peering over at the compound. Spike, Cade, Jackson and Granger are all huddled together in a group, talking frantically amongst themselves.

There’s also a man in a car. He’s only young, but he’s wearing Jackson’s colors, so I guess he’s one of Jackson’s guys. He’s on the phone, talking quickly. I watch as Spike turns, and waves at the man in the car. He gets out, and joins the group. I can’t hear what they’re saying, and if I move closer, they’ll see me. I have to pick the right moment to show myself - if I don’t, I could get us all killed.

My heart is thumping, and sweat is running down my face. I’m so terrified, my entire body tingles with fear. I wipe my hand over my face as I watch them talking to the strange man, and pointing to the compound and the car. The man nods, listening, and then he turns and gets back into the vehicle.

Then the car moves. I get out of my crouching position to see where it’s going. I realize when it pulls out onto the road, and then turns, that it’s going to Hogan’s lot. Oh. My. God. They’re sending someone in? That’s so dangerous, so incredibly dangerous. I get on my tiptoes, trying to see more, and I end up falling backwards. I land with a loud crash into a bush behind me. I curse and squirm, trying to get up. It takes me a few minutes, and when I look up, I see four bikers standing and pointing guns down at me. I squeal, and suddenly I’m being hurled up and Spike’s hand is clamped over my mouth.

“What the motherfuck are you doing here?” he snarls into my ear.

He lets my hand go, and I shove at his chest. “You lied to me!”

“You fuckin’ followed me. Ciara, what the fuck? Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?”

“You could be killed! You didn’t think that would matter to me?”

“You fuckin’ stupid girl,” he growls, his body heaving. “You don’t fuckin’ mess with a bikers business. You need to get the fuck out of here, right now.”

“No,” I cry.

“Prez, she needs to fuckin’ leave, now,” Granger hisses. “Fuck, she’s goin’ to get us killed.”

“Fuckin’ right she does,” Cade adds. “Ciara, what the fuck were you thinkin’? Biker business is just that, and it ain’t none of yours...you need to go.”

“You guys can’t do this, you can’t...”

I’m cut off, because I hear a mass amount of bullets being fired. I yelp, and Spike spins around. All four of them begin running toward their viewing point, and I follow. When I look down, I see a very dead man on the ground. It takes me a moment to realize who that man is. It’s the guy they just sent in. Suddenly, the bikers around him look up to where we are standing. Spike pulls everyone back, cursing and swearing. He drives his fist into a nearby tree, then he spins to the group. “He fuckin’ knows. He didn’t even get in. That fucker knew!”

“We gotta go, Prez. Like now,” Granger says, his voice full of panic.

“Get fuckin’ Ciara outta here, now!” Spike growls, pulling out his keys.

Granger takes hold of me, and begins pulling me backwards. I struggle in his grip, but my protest is cut off when an almighty boom rocks us. I scream, but no one can hear it, because the sound is deafening. Little bits of god knows what are flying everywhere, and I’m on the ground before I know what’s happening. I feel blood trickling down my head, and panic rises in my chest. Oh god, Spike!

Granger releases his hold on me for a second to try and roll, and I scramble out of his arms, crawling toward the bikes. I see Spike, Cade and Jackson on the ground, but all of them are okay. They’re bleeding a little from bits that were flying round, but they’re ok.

I’m about to call out to Spike, when I see what’s happened. Half of Hogan’s compound is in a heap - I mean, it’s literally in a heap. What was once buildings, is now burning masses that are crumbling to the ground. The car that Cade’s guy drove in with just blew up. It’s now sitting there, nothing more than a crispy shell.

People are running around frantically, Harleys are roaring to life, and women are screaming. I feel my heart leap into my throat, and I feel sick. Oh god, they blew up the compound. That was the plan all along?

“Was he in there?” Spike hisses to Cade.

“Yeah, he was, we fuckin’ checked.”

“Good, let’s fuckin’ ride.”

Spike spins around to see me, and his eyes flare. “Ciara, fuck, what the hell!”

“Y-y-y-y-you...you...you...”

“She’s in shock, fuck. Where’s Granger?” Jackson barks.

“We got no time to fuck around, we gotta go,” Cade says.

“You two go, find Granger. I’ll get Ciara on the bike. We’re outta here.”

Spike takes my hand and tugs, and the other two disappear through the fine cloud of smoke that is slowly filling the spaces between the trees. I can still hear screaming, and god, it’s a sound I’ll never forget. Spike wraps his arms around me, holding me tightly, as he hurries us toward his bike.

Then everything changes. It’s funny how quickly something can go from bad to worse. It happens so fast you barely get a chance to blink, let alone think.

I didn’t get a chance to think, I didn’t even get a chance to say I was sorry—nothing could be done about what happened next. Spike is moving me, and then suddenly bullets are being fired. It takes me a moment, a stupid moment, to realize what those bullets are hitting.

Spike’s body jerks with each bullet, almost like he’s having a fit. He manages to spin himself, and shield me. He finds a moment to protect me, yet I couldn’t find a moment to do the same. His entire body jerks, and jerks, and jerks, as bullets are fired into his torso. His eyes roll back, his mouth is suddenly open and he’s making a gagging, strangled sound. I know I’m screaming; yet everything seems to happen in slow motion.

Spike’s body slides down mine, and drops to the floor. Blood is pouring from the wounds, and it’s covering his entire body. I look up, my eyes hazy, to see a man standing about fifty meters away, loading his gun.

I do the only thing I can think of. I pull the gun from my pants and I aim it at him. I pull the trigger.

Blood splatters fill the air for a second, and then he slumps to the ground. I just killed someone, and yet it doesn’t even register. The only thing that registers is the bleeding form in front of me. I drop to my knees, and I crawl over, strangled, broken sounds sliding from my throat.

I don’t know how I move from one thing to the next, I just know that by the time Cade and Jackson come back, I am pumping Spike’s chest over and over. I’m covered in blood, from head to toe. Spike is gurgling, blood bubbling from his mouth. I’m pumping and pumping, begging, pleading, screaming, choking.

“Fuck, fuck.” I hear, but I don’t know who says it. “Get her outta here, now.”

Someone tries to touch me, but I slap their hand away. I can’t let him go. If I let him go, he’ll die. There’s so much blood. God, it’s everywhere. He’s making strange sounds, his eyes are open, but he’s not focused on anything. If I stop, I lose him. I can’t stop. I have to help him. I have to save him. Spike, oh god, please wake up.

“Spike, please,” I hear myself rasp. “Baby please, you’re going to be okay. Spike, wake up. Spike, please don’t close your eyes.”

“We gotta get out, now. Get Spike.”

“Ciara.” I think that’s Jackson. “You gotta move.”

“Spike,” I wail, as his body begins jerking, like he’s having a fit. Blood begins to splutter from his mouth as he coughs and chokes, and his eyes continue rolling. It’s without a doubt the scariest thing I have ever encountered in my entire life. I start screaming again, loudly, desperately, and my hands begin pumping harder and harder on his chest. “SPIKE!”

“Ciara, we gotta move!”

Frantic voices. Screaming. Gun shots. Bikes. I can’t pinpoint one noise, they’re all haunting my mind. I clutch Spike’s shirt and I keep pumping, my fingers curled in the blood-soaked cotton, his blood pooling and flowing like a tap.

“I’m sorry, Ciara.”

It’s the last thing I hear, before something hard hits me over the head.

After that everything goes black. But darkness doesn’t remove pain, it just numbs it...

For a moment at least.