CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Cane

 

Not knowing where to take aim, Karl’s men shot their guns willy-nilly into the night. They ricocheted off the building and the stacks of lumber Blaze and I hid behind. The Pistons stationed on the roof jumped down on top of them, several of their club brothers swarming out of the shadows to assist with the ambush. Blaze and I leaped out from our cover and ran toward the door that was now vomiting people into the cold night, most of them yelling hysterically for help. Several others—most likely Karl’s clients-took off, but the Rogues rounded them up before they could make it past the building to the street.

“Get the captives to safety!” Blaze yelled as more shots fired and sirens started up in the distance. Door now clear, I left the others and crept into the building, shining my light first into the empty room and then into the tunnel.

Again, empty.

“Fuck. Where the hell are you, you motherfucker?” I muttered. I ran outside and circled the building, staying close to the wall, avoiding the melee going on around me. Suddenly, I spotted a shadow rising from the ground and immediately recognized the hulking form of my cousin.

“Stop!” Gun in hand, I ran toward him, but he took off across the adjacent lot toward the street. I went after him, sprinting full tilt. Bulked up as Karl was, his added muscle weight worked against speed, and I soon ate up the distance between us, tackling the bastard to the ground.

“Get the fuck off me!” He struggled underneath my weight. I pressed the gun to his temple and he stilled, looking up at me with one eye, the other pressed to the ground. “You actually want me to believe a pussy like you is gonna shoot me?” he scoffed. “Family? My father gave you a home, Cane. Now let me the fuck up and I just might forget about this!”

I growled and smashed the muzzle of the gun into his flesh. His talk of family didn’t mean anything to me. He’d tried to hurt Tony. Tony could be dead. “You’re going down, Karl. You’re done.”

With a roar, Karl heaved upward, his massive frame bucking me onto the ground. A well-aimed kick to my head sent me reeling.

“Fucking pansy,” Karl muttered between panted breaths. I struggled to focus on him as he split into two, three, and four Karls. My head suddenly felt like a cannonball, too heavy to lift.

“I can’t believe you had the nuts to go after me,” Karl said, staggering over me. He grinned maliciously. “You know where your darling little computer whiz is right now? He’s in my car getting all cozy with King. One move and King will inject enough venom into the brat to kill him within minutes.” He chuckled, spat at me, and then made the mistake of thinking he could step over me. Mustering all my strength, I swung my leg out, sending him sprawling face-first into the dirt.

“Motherfucker!” he yelled. Yards away, the fight seemed to be dying down as Karl slowly dragged himself to his knees while I managed to roll over and aim my gun in the general direction of his heaving, barrel chest.

“Goddammit, you’re pissing me off, Cane! I should have done this a long time ago.” Karl reached into his jacket just as the moon inched from behind a cloud and glinted off the steel of a gun.

Hands shaking and sweat dripping into my already distorted vision, I focused as best I could and squeezed the trigger.

Karl hit the ground like a felled tree.