Fight(48)

Of course, Stoney was in front.

When he saw me, he put up a fist. He then climbed off the motorcycle and took his sunglasses and helmet off. He approached my car.

“Tripp,” he said. “I think it’s time I get sick of seeing you around here.” A second later he asked, “Where’s Winter?”

“Not with me.”

“Everything okay?”

“Not your business. Just so you know, Aldo’s son died. Couldn’t survive the coma or the bullet. It’s not going to be good around here anytime soon.”

“You came all that way to tell me that?” Stoney asked. He was defiant and had a smirk on his face.

Like he enjoyed this shit.

“No, I came here for directions to Skull X.”

Stoney’s face dropped. “Are you f*cking serious?”

“Give me the goddamn directions.”

“You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, Tripp.”

“I’m willing to take the risk.”

“They’ll kill you.”

“I know that.”

“What’s the point then?” Stoney asked. “Christ, you’re willing to do this for a woman? For Winter? Trust me, when you get to know her better…”

I took out my gun and pointed it at Stoney. It was a bad move to make, considering he was the President of the Red Aces and there were two dozen bikers that would die for him, that would kill for him.

“You want it that bad?” Stoney asked. “Fine. Enjoy your f*cking funeral.” He shook his head. “Too bad Endo died. We had a good relationship. That pains me.”

“You look really upset,” I said. “Now give me the f*cking directions.”

Stoney told me where to go, what to do. Honestly, there wasn’t a piece of it I trusted other than the general direction of where to go. It wouldn’t surprise me if Stoney hadn’t planned on me going right into Skull X and getting killed before I could say a word.

I knew the risk.

I thanked Stoney and he stuck a hand in my car. “Nice knowing you, Tripp.”

“Is that what you said to Rocky before he left?” I asked.

I backed away, forcing Stoney to jump away from my car.

I took off.

One man ready to fight a war.



~



It was a large warehouse. It looked like the kind of place where Aldo would have fights. There was a tall chain linked fence with barbed wire across the top of it. The inside of the property had broken concrete, growth pushing through it. It had all the signs of being abandoned but it was certainly anything but that.

I circled once and then waited across the street in another parking lot, along the side of a white building with faded blue letters that read Jimmy’s Auto & Body. This was definitely a forgotten part of the town. Probably forgotten for good reason. This looked prime for crime and drugs.

Sitting for a while, there wasn’t much traffic. A few cars here and there. A couple motorcycles. And then came the big vehicles. The massive SUVs, some of them looking like they belonged in the damn military. The first one pulled up to the gate. The passenger door opened and a huge guy climbed out. He had a gun slung around his shoulder like a rockstar would have a guitar. He grabbed the gun and surveyed the area. With a nod, two more men came out. They ran to the gate and unlocked it.

They were all big guys. Thick with muscle from who the hells knows… lifting weights, beating people to death, shooting shit in their bodies to get bigger…

The convoy of five vehicles all went into the lot and around the building.

This was Skull X territory for sure. Stoney hadn’t lied about the directions. Now I just needed a plan. A way to get inside the building and find Autumn. Find Andrea. Find out what the f*ck waited, what it had to do with Endo, with Aldo, and how to save everyone, including myself and Winter. Especially Winter. Hell, if anything, she deserved a chance to run away the most.

I slowly climbed out of the car.

Yeah, I was nothing more than some lowlife thug fighter. I beat up people for money when I needed it. I beat up the guy who trained me to fight. I beat up all the men my mother brought home. Yeah, that was all true. I was stuck with Aldo as his toy to earn cash. I may have had muscle, a little bit of a crooked nose, and scars on my knuckles for days.

But it didn’t make me an idiot.

There was only one way to get inside the Skull X compound.

I had to get caught.

And a group like this wasn’t just going to have one building.

That I knew.

That’s why I parked where I did.

“Put your f*cking hands up,” a voice said behind me.

I grinned.

I was caught.

Which was exactly what I wanted.





30.


(Winter)



I chewed my nails until there was nothing left. I bit at my fingers until they were soggy and sore. I got dressed, changed twice, stood on the balcony four times, and paced the room three times. And it barely killed a couple hours.

Being stuck in the motel room the first time was bad enough because I couldn’t get Tripp to even look at me, let alone talk to me, touch me, fall in love with me. Now was worse. I had no idea how long to wait.

Would his boss, Aldo, call me if something happened? Or would Aldo just have me taken out then too? I had nobody to call. I had nowhere to turn. Everything I knew seemed to be a lie, except the feelings I had for Tripp. They were painfully real. And they were painfully dangerous.