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  Mud shook his head. "They're chompin' at the bit to go after the Knights, Jace. You're not going to be able to hold them back. They want all them Chirons dead."

  Jace heard Mud's voice, but it seemed far, far away.

  "You have to choose what you say wisely. If you just say the word then they’ll hit the road, Jace. We have to be careful. How you gonna handle this? We have to use some diplomacy here. We don't want a bloodbath out there on the highway. You want a war? Or you want to hide? Or die trying to protect your brothers? Think it through."

  Jace tried to focus on Mud's words. He looked into Mud's face and whispered, "Fork’s dead. DC’s gone and… and…” He swallowed. “Classic could lose her arm, Mud. She fuckin' might lose her whole damn arm. She’s torn apart and half dead. All because I told her to get lost."

  Mud put his hand on Jace's shoulder. He pressed down hard and long, squeezing until Jace's shoulder hurt with the pressure. "Tough up, bro. This isn't the time. Bros before hoes. What the hell, Jace? What’re you going to tell the Legends? You're their friggin' leader. They chose you."

  Jace swallowed. His face burned red. His green eyes scanned the men waiting for him to speak. He stood up slowly and the crowd of bikers became immediately silent. He took them all in. Most men were wearing their leather jackets with the three-headed Cerberus on the back. The men of the Cerberus Legends, his brothers.

  He felt Mud grip his wrist as a warning, but he shook off his friend's hand.

  Mud whispered, "Be careful Jace. Think it through."

  In a voice fortified with the sound of the devil himself, Jace stepped up to the wooden podium, leaned toward the microphone, squared his shoulders, and roared, "Nobody touches our brothers. Nobody.” He swallowed, all he could see was red. “Ride and kill!"

  ***

  Wrangler and Quake had no trouble taking Jace's frenzied words and running with them at full speed. They discerned that the Knights would be headed toward the Legends' customary hideout, so it was a simple thing to lay a boobie trap that would purge Knights one by one. Wrangler punched Quake's bicep. "It's like waiting for jackrabbits to appear." He scanned across Route 66 in the curve.

  Quake's eyes were watching the highway, too. He didn't want to trip the wire trap on the wrong biker. "I tell you, Wrangler, this one's exclusively being put down for DC," he snarled deep in his throat. "DC was a damn good guy. You know, one of the white hats. So our first kill we gotta dedicate to DC."

  Wrangler nodded. "Not like you and I, Quake. He wasn’t a bit like you and me." His whole face turned into a sneer, where the whites of his eyes lit up in an unnatural manner. Wrangler's face was unadulterated pure evil. Wrangler looked briefly into Quake's black eyes.

  His eyes were deep black bottomless pits of too much booze, too much pain, and too much of life's struggles, with the edge of a bottom-dweller killer. There just was no limit to Quake's anger. Once unleashed, the two together, Wrangler and Quake, become like a two-headed evil demon of death.

  They heard the bike before they saw its rider.

  Wrangler put the night vision goggles to his eyes. "Yup, I see that damn Chiron as clear as day on the ass’ chest." The rider was wearing a leather vest with no shirt. "Let's see if he thinks he’s going to turn to head up to the clubhouse or not." They both watched in silence. "Oh bad choice, asshole." The biker signaled to make a right.

  The biker was turning into the trap they had laid for anyone who tried to go up the mountain. Quake hit the thin steel wire and it snapped full and quick across the road as the biker rode unsuspectingly into its stinging wire blade. The wire sliced the biker's body clean in half, as if he had ridden into a torso-designed guillotine.

  The bike kept going and the man on it seemed to be doing okay, riding forward, but then, the top half of his body fell neatly to the ground like a piece of cake that someone had sliced cleanly in half, it fell and rolled grotesquely to the side of the road. The bottom half of the rider continued on the bike for a few feet and then the bike wobbled and fell, its engine sputtering on the side of the road.

  Satisfied that one more Chiron Knight was no longer a piece of this world, they hopped on their bikes and drove by the biker. The torso and head lay on the side of the road, the eyes staring surprised and wide and full at the starlit sky overhead. The legs clung to the bike, as the engine continued to whir and sputter until it ran out of gas. It was late.

  “Let’s go.” Quake revved his engine. “The coyotes and buzzards will find the body long before the first car of the morning winds its way around the bend.”

  Chapter 10

  Jace needed to do one thing before he sat down with his brothers to decide what to do. Plans were talked about and arguments started at the meeting but the men needed time to think. He knew some would be up to no good right away but he was fine with that. Stirring the pot would start the payback.

  He left the meeting and sped west on Highway 15. His goal was war, but at the moment, he just wanted enough courage to enter Classic's room. The Chirons wanted his brothers dead, and would go through wives and girlfriends to get to them. He wasn’t sure Classic was anyone’s, let alone his, but the Chirons had gone after her because of him. He had to make sure it didn’t happen again.

  This time in the hospital he donned the blue booties, gown and the mask, and before he had second thoughts he strode into her room.

  In many ways it reminded him of his last moments with Fork. Classic had tubes coming out of her body and bandages everywhere. Her arm was heavily bandaged. All he could see were the tips of her fingers and they were badly scraped and bruised. The bandages were soaked with old blood.

  His stomach wretched, but he managed to control himself. She was breathing softly on her own, no tube was coming out of her neck like Fork had. Her face was a mass of bruises, stitches, cuts and scrapes, but there was her cute little nose and… His thoughts paused and he stared at her lips. They were still perfect, not a scrape on them. How could that happen? He wanted to bend down and kiss them softly but the mask prevented him. Damn, she's even hot when she's almost half dead! Am I a sick fuck or what?

  Somebody cleared their throat and he jumped back in surprise. An old lady sat at her side, quietly knitting.

  He stared at her in surprise.

  "Who’re you?" She peered up at him with sad, watery grey eyes. Her hand brushed back her wiry grey tight curls.

  "A f-friend.” Jace cleared his throat. “I didn't know anyone was in here with her. They said—"

  The old lady interrupted him. "They don't have to know everything. They think they do, them in their white coats and cold stethoscopes." She rolled her eyes. "I'm her Nanna, Alice." She held out her hand to shake Jace's. "The white coats tell me she’s going to be okay. Hard to believe looking at her this way, but I know she is. I just know it.” She stared at Classic and sighed before slowly pulling her eyes away from her granddaughter. “Those boys with horse patches aren’t coming in here. Over my dead body.”

  Jace stared at her. Horse patches? Shit, Chirons. “Have they been in?”

  She shook her head as she gave him a hard stare. “What did you say your name was, fella?"

  "I'm Jace. I'm her, uh, boyfriend. Or was working on being that."

  “Not one of those damn horse riding fools?”

  “Damn fool, but I’d never wear a Knights’ patch.” He almost turned to show the Cerberus on the back of his jacket but changed his mind. The less the old woman knew about him, the better.

  The old lady's eyes lit up, the grey taking in a little more light and seeming to twinkle. "Ah, you're the one the nurses told me was her fiancé.”

  Jace opened his mouth, but no words came out. Shit! What am I supposed to say?

  “Funny, the nurse never mentioned you to me. But then, of course, she doesn’t tell me everything. I guess not, huh." She snorted a funny laugh. "But fiancé, that's a pretty big deal. You'd think she would tell her Nanna that one. Nurses don’t know everything ’eh?” She winked at Jace.<
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  Jace nodded, his cheeks burning. He turned to stare at the heart rate monitor, wondering if the woman knew he had lied trying to get in to see Classic.

  "Do you love my granddaughter?" The grandmother caught him by surprise. She was straightforward for an old woman. "Go ahead, kiss her, I won't tell." The old woman snickered behind her wrinkled hand and turned her head.

  He stared down at Classic's face and felt an incredible warmth deep in his soul. He wanted her to live. Maybe even give him a chance. Maybe the old woman saw more than he did. He leaned over and pulled his mask down a moment and kissed her, pressing his lips softly against her warm soft ones, trying not to touch any other part of her bruised face. It felt so right. She was warm. She wasn't dead. She wasn't dying.

  He straightened and slipped his mask over his mouth again. He stared at her, half wishing he could be the prince who woke the sleeping princess. He’d give anything to see Classic’s pretty blue eyes open and look at him. Except this was no fairytale.

  He knew he wanted her, even as she lay there battered and bruised. He must’ve known the moment he laid eyes on her. Open your eyes! If you do that, I’ll tell you exactly how I feel! I’d tell you that I knew I was falling for you even before I fucked you! Damn it, Classic, open your eyes!

  But Colleen O'Hara did not open her blue eyes. They didn't even flicker or move. Her entire body didn't move. The only noise in the room was the heart monitor.

  He glanced at the old lady as she began to stand. "I'm going to go get myself a nice hot cup of coffee. Would you mind sitting with her until I get back, Jace?"

  He nodded silently and went around the bed to sit in the chair where the grandma had been sitting. When she left, he lifted Classic’s cool little hand in his and encircled it with the warmth of his large palm. Wow, she is petite. He looked at the silhouette of her tiny body covered by white sheets. Except one of her legs, the lower part, looked broken by the size of the cast around it. "I’m going to love you Classic. Can you hear me? I’m going to fall in love with you, little wildcat." He ran his thumb over the top of her hand. "Why’d you run? Were they going to kill you? Fuck, I should have protected you. I should have done better… tried harder…" He squeezed her hand and then put it to his lips still covered in the mask. He gently kissed each one of her fingers.

  The door bumped open and he jumped up quickly, ready to kill anyone who came in to hurt Classic.

  Chapter 11

  “What the hell?” Darcy swore as she swayed by the hospital door, reaching for the handle for balance and missing it. “Fuck Jace! I told you to stay away.”

  In three strides he was beside her, reaching for her waist to steady her. “Are you drunk?”

  She giggled. “Maybe.” She hiccupped and laughed. “Maybe a little high too.” Her hand went to her shoulder in a protective way. “I think I fell on my way up here.”

  Jace moved her hand, sliding her shirt off her shoulder at the same time. “That’s one hell of a bruise.” He didn’t like the way it looked. That wasn’t from today. “Who did that?”

  Darcy straightened and glared at him. “I did. Why the fuck—”

  “Shhh!!!” A nurse came by and pressed her hands to her lips. “Do I need to get someone to escort her out?” She looked at Jace for assistance.

  “I got her.” He didn’t know what else to say.

  “You’re in ICU. She can’t go in there dressed in street clothes. She needs to be dressed properly.”

  Jace looked down and then half pushed, half carried Darcy out into the hall. “She’s not staying. I’ll help her back to her car.”

  The nurse wrinkled her nose. She could probably smell the booze coming off of Darcy’s breath from where she stood. “Good.” She grabbed a mask and gown and pushed past Jace to Classic’s bed. “I need to check on the patient.”

  Jace nodded. If the nurse was there, no bloody Chiron would show up to finish what they started. “Her grandmother should be back shortly.” He wasn’t sure if the nurse heard him but he turned his attention back to Darcy as she pressed her body up against his.

  “You finally got in.” Her hips rotated against his thigh and she clumsily pointed to the door behind them. "They're not manning the guard post too well. I slipped in and that's two to a room and I just saw granny leave. Kind of lax of them, isn't it?" She glanced at the glass window where the nurse pulled the curtain around Classic’s bed. "Poor Colleen. When she wakes up she is going to be one crazy gal when she hears what happened to her."

  Jace guided her to the sliding doors, out of ICU, and toward the main entrance of the hospital. "But she's alive."

  Darcy nodded and let Jace pull her. "But for how long? It's war out there. The word on the streets is that you declared war on the Knights. That was kind of a rash move, wasn't it?"

  “It was necessary.”

  She jerked away from him when they reached the main lobby. "That’s a big move on your part, Jace. You gave an order for rivers of blood to flow." She stumbled and pushed his hand away when he reached to help her. She shuffled to the front door. "It's all kinds of stupid. Grown-ups playing war."

  He stared at her as he followed her outside. "All war is played by grown-ups. That's nothing new or strange. And it's not a game like people think. Baseball and football are games, people laugh and have fun. This is…" He paused. "This is…" He groped for the right word as he watched Darcy collapse onto the bench they had sat at earlier.

  "Revenge?" Darcy's eyes held his. "It’s personal now ‘eh? It's just the ol' primitive eye for an eye." Her fingertips brushed along his forearm.

  “Maybe.” He stared down at her, wondering what had happened to her. Why had she stopped hanging around him and Fork?

  She giggled suddenly. “There's a bull's eye on your back now, big boy. You’re just a dead man walking." The laughter disappeared suddenly and she looked ready to cry. "Be careful, Jace.”

  Jace shook his head. She was stupid drunk and high, not making sense. “You’re drunk, Darcy. You need to go home and sleep it off.”

  She stood, wavering, but held her ground as she stared straight at him. “Just keep your eyes open, Jace. Watch your back." She suddenly seemed sober.

  "I always do, Darcy. Always do.” When she suddenly swayed again he grabbed her hand. "You too. You should stay clear of me, and Classic too, until this is over. I don't want any targets on your back."

  She scoffed. "I move too fast for anyone to take a decent aim." As she turned to leave she stopped and looked at him one more time. "I'm glad we've always been friends, Jace. I valued that, you know. When all else didn't seem to matter, we always had our little Three Musketeer pact, way before there were Cerberus Legends and Chiron Knights. We were tight, weren't we, Jace? The three of us?"

  "That's right. We took care of each other." He smiled and thought of Fork.

  Her voice dropped almost to a whisper, "I guess it’s just the two of us now." Without waiting for him to reply she walked away, her feet slowly shuffling down the sidewalk, as if she didn’t have the energy to pick them up.

  Jace scratched his head as he watched her leave. Something had happened to Darcy. He’d lost touch over the years but Fork might not have. He sighed. He couldn’t ask his buddy, the damn Knights had wrecked that. Shit, for all he knew, they had Darcy too.

  He shook his head. He didn’t believe that. She would never side with them. Darcy wasn’t the club kind of girl. She always ran solo.

  Chapter 12

  Out of the corner of his eye Jace saw a motorcycle move into the fast lane and pass him. He thought he knew the rider but didn’t recognize the bike. The rider drove on without looking at him.

  Jace had ridden home late last night and spent the morning trying to clear his mind. The smell of the hospital lingered in his clothes. Images of Fork lying on the hospital bed kept flashing through his mind as he showered. What the hell were they going to do? He’d told the Cerberus brothers he wanted blood, but at what cost? He’d spoken the words in anger. M
ud had tried to warn him and he hadn’t listened.

  So he’d gotten on his bike to Highway 15 just to ride. Another biker pulled into the fast lane and passed him. Jace didn’t know the biker. He wore all black and drove a black bike. Probably a joy rider.

  He slowed and signaled to pull into the right lane, ready to get off on the next exit. The ride wasn’t solving anything.

  As he changed lanes, a third biker passed. Blood boiled in Jace’s veins. He saw the leather jacket insignia on the guys back: Chiron Knights. He quickly pulled behind the biker, prepared to chase the asshole down.

  He looked in his mirror and saw a familiar bike behind him. Mud was trailing him. He glanced behind and could see Wrangler and Quake. He let the air out of his lungs. Okay, they have my back. He lost the Chiron Knight and continued on the 15 trying to find him. No luck.

  He stopped before he made a turn that would take him and the guys behind him up to the ranch and got off his bike.

  Highway 15 was buzzing with Friday traffic. Soon the line of cars would form all the way into Vegas as the weekend fun seekers snailed their way to Sin City. "You guys been tailing me long?" He put his foot on a rock on the side of the road.

  Quake nodded. "Long enough to know that the Knights have a mark on you. I saw six since you got on your bike, maybe more hiding. You're a walking dead man, Jace."

  Wrangler shook his head. "More like ten Knights back there.” He pointed behind him. “I saw two more across the Wal-Mart parking lot we passed and two sitting at the curb of a side street. Things look bad, Jace."

  Mud idled his bike, but he waited until they were all done speaking. "Turn back, Jace. Head for a motel or something. I don't trust what's going down. There's a place in Temecula you can go to. We’ll let you know when it’s safe."

  “This is crazy!” Jace spat. “I’m not going to hide. I called war.”