Promise - Book 3 (Hope)

I held Snake for what seemed like an eternity before Slade picked me up and carried me to my room. No matter how much I didn’t want to leave him there, I was too weak to put up a fight. Once I was laid in my bed I felt numbness taking over and I welcomed it with open arms. I could hear everything around me, but I didn’t have the will to react.

“I am sorry about down there. Do you want to stay with her?” Slade offers with a stern but concerned tone.

“If that is ok with you, yes.” Marco…I completely forgot about Marco.

“No funny shit. I need to get back down there and help the men. Yell if either of you need anything.” I hear the heavy footsteps fading and the door closes. The bed shifts and I feel warm arms wrap around me.

“I am so sorry, Hope.” he pulls my runs his fingers through my hair. We lay there in silence for god only knows how long.

“I first met Amara when Slade saved me and my mom. She was so outgoing and friendly…it fucking terrified me. She was the only person my age here and she was everything I wasn’t. She was girly and sweet…she is…was my best friend.” I spend the next several hours sharing memories with him as he stayed mostly quiet, only making noise when he laughed or hummed in understanding. I don’t even remember feeling tired, but at some point I drifted to sleep with his arms wrapped tightly around me. When I wake in the morning I slide carefully out of bed and sneak into the bathroom, quickly showering and brushing my teeth before heading downstairs. As I enter the common room I see that they are holding a group meeting, only it is not just men in attendance. Everyone from our chapter as well as people I recognize from our sister chapter are present. Slade was in the middle of discussing the events of yesterday when he sees me coming down and falls silent. As I walk toward where Slade is standing, everyone parts and allows me through. I stand before Slade and I can only manage to form one sentence, the only question that I need him to answer.

“When are we going to get the mother fuckers?” I hear the whispers erupting around the room, but my eyes never leave Slade’s.

“Hope, I need you to stay here. We’ve got this.” I take a step closer, grab him by his vest and pull him so close that our noses are nearly touching.

“I am going. They murdered my best friend and I will be there to bring them down. This is not me asking.” Slade gently grabs hold of my hands and looks to mom for help.

“Let her go.” her words are a shock, even to me, but I hold eye contact until he nods in agreement.

“Ok, we have the location of the shooters. They are held up in a warehouse about 65 miles out. We go in locked and loaded and we are not taking prisoners.We will be breaking into 3 groups, 1 group per exit. Hope, you will be with me and Rain. The rest of you already know who you are with. We leave at dusk.” As I turn to head back to the stairs I see Marcos sitting half way up then watching everything unfold. I take each step slowly until I reach him and hold out my hand for him. I guide him back up to my room, closing my door behind us. I lean against the door and watch him, waiting for him to say something, but his expression is chaotic.

“I have to do this.” he nods as he walks over to me.

“I knew you would. After you fell asleep I made a few calls.” what the fuck?

“What? Who? Who did you call?” a sad smile dances across his face.

“I called my father. It took some convincing, but he agreed it was in his best interest where his business is concerned to firm his alliance with the club. I told him that it will help create a buffer in case I fuck things up. We called around and some of our contacts located the men for us. My father is sending some of his men to help and I am going too.” he wraps his arms around me and for a moment I almost forget how fucked up everything is.

The common room is filled beyond capacity when Marco and I make our way down. I see many familiar faces wearing their club’s cuts proudly and toward the back are at least a dozen men in suits that I assume were sent by Marco’s father. The voices that would likely be a reasonable tone in a smaller setting are nothing short of a roar in this small room.

“I will be right back.” Marvo kisses me gently on the cheek and makes his way toward the men in suits. I spot Slade by the bar and beeline straight to him, everyone parting for me to pass by.

“So, how did you find the people who did this?” Slade puts an arm around me and smiles.

“Your boy called in a favor to his dad. Hector found them for us and has his people watching the warehouse for us to make sure they don’t leave.” I don’t know why I felt the need to ask, but the reassurance comforts me.

“I can’t believe he was willing to help.” I brush away a stray tear with the back of my hand.

“Listen, you were right. We should not have been so quick to judge. Marco is a good man.” he squeezes my shoulder, pulls out a chair and steps up onto it. “Shut the fuck up and listen. We are about to roll out and rain down hell on the assholes responsible for taking one of our own from us. These men are the lowest lifeforms and will not be shown mercy. If you have a shot, you will take it. Amara was so many things to each of us. She was a teacher, a daughter, a friend…she was a light in our world of darkness. Blood for blood!” the entire room roars in response with a unified chant, “Blood for blood!”

Everyone files out the door as the sound of more than 60 bikes roar to life, shaking the ground beneath our feet. Marco hops on behind me and in a matter of minutes our convoy exits the dirt parking lot and turn left onto the highway with Hector’s men behind us in black SUVs. The tension is high and everyone rides with purpose, but tonight we are not seeking revenge. Tonight is about justice. We ride for just over an hour before Slade leads us off the highway onto a dirt road that stretches for another 6 miles before we can see the dim lights of the warehouse. We kill the engines half a mile out and proceed on foot. As we approach the main door with Slade in the lead I feel my heart racing and the only thing keeping me grounded is Marco’s tight grip on my left hand as I grip my 45 in my right. Slade gives the signal and all the groups move at once, kicking down doors. There is gunfire coming from every direction, but I stay behind Slade with Marco behind me and Snake at my side.

“Clear!” one of the men shouts from the central room of the warehouse. We file in and find 7 men on their knees with various injuries from their capture while dozens of bodies lie strewn across the warehouse floor. I watch as Snake marches past everyone with his eyes set on a specific target. He swings down hard into the face of the man in the center of the line and is quickly pulled back by several men.

“We have a positive ID!” Slade shouts out. I feel like I am possessed as my body carries me closer to the man Snake just laid out as the other men struggle to subdue Snake. Snake is the only one who catches my movement as I lock eyes with him and he nods. All I needed was that one motion to know exactly what I needed to do. I straddle the man as he tries to rise from the ground, as his eyes lock on mine I raise the barrel to his head. I offer only 1 word before I pull the trigger.

“Armara.” *bang*

Time stands still. I hear gun fire, but my eyes are locked on the cold dead eyes of the man below me. I feel warm liquid on my shirt. Oh fuck…his blood. My knees give out, my head is spinning. Warm arms wrap around me…Marco.