“None of this makes any sense,” Lash said. “Every run is spaced out, yet this one is on a specific route. Tiny, we never got the route we’re ordered to.”
Tiny slashed his arm down. “Look!” His voice carried, and all the bikers stopped. “This is what we’ve been ordered to do. We’ve got no choice but to see it through otherwise we’re up shit creek. Alex deals with the order, and this is what he’s said. They want this specific route or no deal.”
When Tiny was told there was a route requested by the dealers he’d wanted to turn it away. Alex didn’t feel there was a problem as the supply was coming from Ned Walker. Tiny wasn’t about to tell Eva who he was running for. Alex was happy with Ned, and the supplier didn’t seem to have any priors and it certainly didn’t sound like a trap.
Still, he understood his men’s anxiety for this run.
Every other run they made their own path and got the job done. “Sandy’s at home, and if anything happens we can return to plan B and our failsafe. Never forget to be prepared, boys. I’m always prepared for on the road.” He kept prospects and some of the women at the compound during runs for a reason. They were his failsafe if something was to go wrong.
“Let’s ride.” He straddled his bike, turning the key in the ignition and kicked off. Tiny was in front of all of his boys as they made their way out of Fort Wills. The route was ingrained in his mind, and he wasn’t going to be forgetting about it anytime soon. He’d never taken the route before as he liked to map his own destination. Two hours passed, and they made their first stop to get some food, fill the bikes and recoup.
Unlike so many other runs this one was silent. No one was saying a word as they went about their business.
Tiny didn’t like the silence. He was used to his men messing around and fussing around. Murphy stared at his cell while Nash and Lash were muttering to each other. They had vulnerable women at home.
Shouldn’t have let them come.
All three men had wanted to go. It would be one of their last rides in the coming months as they all wanted to stay at home. Lash, Murphy, and Nash wanted this final run, and then they were out until after their babies were born.
He ignored the warning, got back on his bike and started back on the road. The journey was another three hours in when the road darkened. An incline was to his right with trees and what looked like a forest to his left. There were no track marks on the road, and Tiny felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He slowed the bike down, and in his mirror he saw the boys do the same.
Something was off. His senses were on high alert. Tiny didn’t have the first clue what was going on or why he was feeling concerned. His piece was down by his leg out of reach as he concentrated on the road.
The first bullet ricochets off his bike. He jerked at the impact. Out of his mirror he saw the other bikes coming from the distance. Tiny couldn’t focus, and then chaos ensued. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lash and Nash crash off their bikes seconds before they blew up.
Seeing those boys hit the tarmac made Tiny sick to his stomach. He slipped and skidded off his bike as another wave of bullets hit. His leg hit the tarmac scraping along. He was pulled off and landed on the hard ground next to the trees. His leg, back, and arm were on fire, but he didn’t give himself chance to assess the damage. The pain was excruciating. Glancing over the grass verge, he saw Lash stand and take a bullet to the thigh. The men were still coming on their bikes. The guns glinted in the sunlight. The attack on The Skulls was intentional. Tiny couldn’t move.
“Failsafe,” he said, hoping his men could hear him. One by one he watched his men fall all around him. Killer was charged off his bike at the back. He didn’t see what happened as Killer stood and started to fight. They were all outnumbered, and there was nothing any of them could do.
Zero was on the ground, grunting. Butch was trying his best to hold on, and Murphy’s bike was down and burning with no signs of the other man. It was a bloodbath, and Tiny couldn’t wait to see what happened. Getting up from his position he headed into the trees. His cell phone was by his leg, and he pulled it out.
He quickly dialed Alex’s number.”
“Hello, I thought you weren’t—”
“It’s a trap.”
“The cops are there?” Alex asked.
“No, another f**king club.” He glanced behind him in time to see the symbol he hoped to never see again. Tiny recognized the symbol for The Darkness, and he knew in that instant Snitch was alive.
“This couldn’t be. I know Ned, and he wouldn’t f**king betray me,” Alex said.
“He may not know. Where are you?” Tiny asked.
“I’m in Vegas.”
Tiny nodded as he heard a scream that sounded a lot like Stink. “My men are dying out there. I don’t know who survived, but I’m implementing the failsafe. You’ve got to make sure Tate is fine.”
“She’s pregnant, Tiny. I can’t give her that news. She might lose the baby.”
Cursing, Tiny knew he wouldn’t be able to tell his daughter or any of the women. “Then you make sure they’ve got an eye on them. I’ll call you when I can. I’m destroying this phone.”
“What? Why?” Alex asked.
“It’s Snitch, and he’ll know how to track me even when I don’t want him to.” Without waiting, he slammed the cell phone against the trunk of the tree. He needed to get moving otherwise they were all going to be dead. Taking a step away, he gasped as the pain was unbearable.
Keep moving.
His leg was bleeding from being scraped along the tarmac. The jeans and protective leathers he’d worn had saved him from a lot of the damage, but even he knew they weren’t f**king invincible.
Checking behind him, Tiny hated leaving his men, but it was something they all agreed on. From the beginning nothing had changed. They’d all agreed if they were attacked they got out. The same discussion never changed even when new men had joined. Blaine, Killer, Whizz, Time, and Steven had all agreed with the terms.
If at any time they were hit by the cops or by another biker group and were outnumbered they had to disband and get out of harm’s way. No one stayed behind. Their life depended on them leaving and regrouping at a later date. Until today Tiny had never had to leave his men behind. He felt like a coward, and yet there was nothing for him to do. If he tried to take on the men, he’d be dead before he made the first kill. Tiny sent a prayer to whatever God listened to him to keep his men safe. Pulling his gun from his leg he started walking.