Montana was about to utter something when I sneered at him to shut the fuck up. Placing the speaker of my phone close to my mouth, I clearly said, “I’m gonna fucking gut you from fuck hole to pie hole, bitch.”
She sighed. “I figured you would say that, Mr. Doherty. You have three minutes, gentlemen, and then the kid will go boom. I believe that needs no explanation. Oh, please tell my dearest Jackson, I look forward to seeing him soon.”
Not even a second later, I received an incoming text message. Opening it, I dropped my phone and ran from the clubhouse.
The air was thick with tension as I ran like my life depended on it and in a way it did, because if anything happened to that kid, we were fucking screwed.
I knew it and so did Montana.
Never in this fucked-up mess did I ever think Sypher would be so fucking stupid as to use himself as bait. It was bad enough that I involved him in this crazy fucking scheme, but if anything happened to him, the repercussions would be severe and deadly. And that was just what the table would do. I really didn’t want to think what his brothers would do.
Quickly looking at my watch, I noted the time as very second felt like a thunderous beat in my ears while I raced toward the Harbor on 5thbuilding. Bathed in the unsettling glow of the setting sun, the structure stood like a menacing silhouette against the darkening sky, concealing within its walls the one man whose life hung precariously in the balance.
It had been mere moments ago when that fucking cunt called, laughing as she demanded Jackson before sending a picture of Sypher chained to a pipe, beaten black and blue. The bitch had tortured him, and I vowed to gut that bitch like a fucking fish when I got my hands on her. Her parting words were ominous, but I would worry about that later.
She gave us three minutes.
Three motherfucking minutes to save Sypher or he would go boom. I didn’t need a magic eight-ball to fucking tell me what she meant by that. All I cared about was getting that kid out of that fucking building before it blew.
I never hesitated. The second I saw his face, I ran as if the hounds of Hell nipped at my feet. There was no other option. I had to get him out before she killed him. She fucking knew with Sypher dead, no one would be able to stop her, and she was right.
Every second wasted was a step closer to an unimaginable tragedy.
With adrenaline coursing through my veins, I rushed from the clubhouse and sprinted toward the looming building, not more than a city block away from the pier. My heart pounded heavily in my chest, my breaths urgent, pressing hard against my chest as I ignored the burn in my lungs. The weight of the situation weighed heavily on my shoulders.
I had to save him.
Failure was no longer an option.
The ground beneath my feet seemed to tremble with the impending doom, each footfall echoed like a death knell when I heard emergency service sirens blaring off in the distance.
Fuck!
The cunt called the police and first responders.
The entrance to the building was in sight. I had to get inside that building before the police showed up and quickly blockaded off the entire area.
Still, I pressed on, my determination unwavering when I heard the roar of the motorcycle engines echoing from behind me as a horde of bikers raced against time, shooting past me. I could see the adrenaline pulse through their veins, driven by the singular goal of saving the young boy trapped inside the building. The fading sunlight glinted off their helmets, reflecting the intensity of their mission.
When I approached the building, its facade loomed ominously, the air thick with an unspoken tension as brothers didn’t waste time and laid down their bikes, running for the building. With every step toward the entrance, my heart pounded louder, my breaths coming in short, urgent gasps.
“Sypher!” Their voices broke through the chaos, their pleas mingled with the futility of the situation. I was close, so very close. With every passing second, I prayed for just a little more time, just a few more moments to bridge the gap between hope and despair.
But as fate would have it, time was not on my side.
I don’t know what made me stop, but when I did, I looked up to find Danny staring down at me from the seventh floor. A look of peace on his face right before a deafening blast shattered the air. A fiery explosion engulfed the building, sending debris and flames spiraling into the sky. The sheer force of the blast flung the club brothers into the air and me off my feet, throwing me backward with a violent intensity.
The world spun in a cacophony of sound and blinding light. I felt the ground rush up to meet me. The impact jarring every bone in my body. The acrid smell of smoke filled my nostrils as I struggled to regain my bearings, my ears ringing.
I absently rolled onto my side, coughing as I wiped my nose with the back of my hand, seeing blood smeared along my skin. Shaking the fog from my brain, I slowly turned to see the Harbor on 5th, gone. Only a pile of rubble where an eight-story building once stood. Staggering to my feet, I walked forward, when someone tried to stop me. Yanking my arm free, I continued forward, determined to find him. He was in there, somewhere under the rubble. I knew he was. I had to find him.
Someone stepped in front of me. I couldn’t hear what they were saying. All I cared about was getting to Sypher. Trying to get away from the man, I walked around him and took another step to find Montana in my path. The grim look on his face told me what I already knew, but I refused to believe it.
He wasn’t dead.
He was alive and I was going to prove it.
I just needed to find him.
