"I'm on it," Murphy assured him, then turned to us and started dishing out orders. As soon as he was done talking, we all started gathering Navarro's men and loaded them into the back of one of the horse trailers, leaving no sign that we'd even been on the premises. Just as we were about to leave, Ronin turned to Murphy and asked, "So, what's the plan from here?"
"Everything's on hold. You're gonna need to torch the warehouse and find a new location for future drop-offs." Murphy's tone turned stern as he said, "You've got to go invisible, brother. Gus isn't gonna be happy about how things played out today."
"That shit isn't on me, Murphy," Ronin growled. "It was your guy who let him put a tracker on one of your fucking SUVs!"
"And you're the one who let him get past your security and almost got yourself killed. You knew there was a possibility that he would show up here today, and you weren't prepared. That shit is on you."
It was clear that Ronin wasn't happy with Murphy's response, but he knew what he said was true. Ronin had never once dropped the ball, but when it counted most, he'd let the club down. Thankfully, we were prepared and were able to take up the slack. Ronin ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "You're right. I underestimated that motherfucker."
"That you did. If you plan to continue working with us, you're gonna have to step up your game. Use this time to set up a new location and improve your fucking security."
"I'll take care of it."
"I have no doubt that you will. Now, let's get the fuck out of here before we end up with more trouble on our hands."
With that, we all started loading up. Gunner crawled in the backseat of our SUV and laid down. After taking some pain medication, he just wasn't himself, and he didn't spend the six-hour drive home yammering about a bunch of nonsense. Instead, he closed his eyes and tried to ignore the throbbing in his shoulder. It was clear that he was in pain, so as soon as we pulled into the city limits, Murphy put a call in to Mack, letting him know that Gunner and I would need medical attention when we arrived. Realizing we were getting close, Gunner sat up and watched silently as we pulled up to the clubhouse. As soon as we were parked, Gunner and I went inside and headed straight for the med-room. Since it was so late, I was surprised when I spotted Alex walking in our direction. She smiled when she first saw us, but her expression quickly changed when she noticed the blood that stained our clothes.
"Oh, my God! What happened?" she screeched as she ran over to us.
"We ran into a little trouble, but we're fine, Alex. Don't worry."
"Are these gunshot wounds?"
"Just a couple of battle scars, doll," Gunner smirked. "Nothing we can't handle."
While I was amused by Gunner's change of attitude, Alex was not. She was consumed with worry, and I could hear the anguish in her voice as she asked, "Did my father have something to do with this?"
"We'll talk about that later. Right now, I need to get Gunner down to see Mack. He needs to look at his wound."
"And yours?"
"Mine's just a graze, baby. I'm fine," I assured her.
"I still want him to check it out."
"All right. I'll have him take a look. Why don't you go back to the room?"
With a look of determination, she demanded, "No. I'm going with you."
Seeing that she wasn't going to take no for an answer, I reached for her hand as I led her down the hall to the med-room. When we walked in, Alex stopped and her mouth dropped open as she looked around the small infirmary. There were cabinets on either side of the room that were filled with various medical supplies, and several gurneys were lined up in the center of the room. Knowing we were coming, Mack had already set up one of the stations and was waiting for us when we walked in. When he saw Gunner, he couldn't help but tease him for being shot again. "I wasn't expecting to see you back here so soon."
"Trust me, I'm just as surprised as you are," Gunner groaned. "I'm just hoping it's not going to set me back like last time."
Mack used medical shears to remove Gunner's shirt, and Alex gasped when she got a look at his wound.
I placed the palm of my hand on her back as I whispered, "Don't worry. It looks worse than it really is. He's gonna be fine."
After Mack checked him thoroughly, he announced, "Looks like Murphy was right. It was a clean shot. You got lucky, brother."
"So, no surgery?"
"No. I don't think that will be necessary. Just a good cleaning, a few stitches, and you'll be set to go."
Sounding relieved, Gunner replied, "I'm good with that."
Mack looked over to me and asked, "What about you? Is the wound deep?"
I shook my head. "No, it's just a graze."
"Let me have a look."
Alex watched as he used the shears to cut a slit in my sleeve and grimaced when she saw the burned line of bleeding flesh on my upper arm. While it could've been worse, it was a gruesome looking wound. She bit her bottom lip as she tried to keep it together. Mack finally said, "Might need a couple of stitches."
"It's fine, Doc. Just give me the stuff to clean it up and a couple of bandages. You take care of Gunner."
Mack nodded, then turned to get all the supplies I'd need. Once he'd set them down beside me, I reached for the antiseptic, but Alex took it out of my hand. "I'll do it."
While Mack started working on Gunner, she reached for a cotton swab and carefully dabbed the solution on my wound. It burned like hell, but I didn't show any sign of discomfort, hoping that it would ease her anxiety. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. As she continued to work on my wound, I noticed tears building in the corner of her eyes, and it pained me to see that she was upset. "It's okay, Alex. I'm fine."
"That's not the point. I know you deal with this sort of thing all the time, but this time, it's my fault that you are here."
"How the hell is any of this your fault?"
"I should've stopped him. I should've just gone home and convinced him … "
Before she could finish her thought, I reached for her hand, pulling her close to me as I whispered, "No, Alex. None of this is on you. There's nothing you could do or say that would've changed any of this. Deep down, you have to know that."
"But, I could've tried." She looked up at me with determination as she said, "I couldn't take it if something happened to you. I have to try to end this thing, Shadow."
"And how do you plan to do that?"
Alex
When it comes down to it, all you have is strength and hope. Hope that you can get through the tough times to find your way to the good, and the strength to keep it together until you get there. I was holding onto both as I followed Shadow down to Gus's office. After seeing both Shadow and Gunner come back with actual gunshot wounds, I knew I couldn't stand by and let my father continue on his path of destruction. I had to try to find a way to convince him to let go of his plans to destroy the brothers of Satan's Fury and move on to his next target. If he refused, I'd use all the strength I could muster and use what Marcus had taught me to find a way to kill him myself. I simply couldn't let him cause the brothers anymore harm. It wasn't going to be an easy task. He'd set his mind on winning, and I knew he wouldn't walk away without feeling like he'd come out ahead. I hoped that by going home to him and being the daughter he always desired me to be, it would be enough to satisfy his lust for victory, but more than that, I hoped I'd have the strength to see it through. Leaving Shadow and the life I'd created for myself would be the hardest thing I'd ever done, but one way or another, I had to stop my father before it was too late.
As soon as we walked into Gus's office, he looked over to Shadow and asked, "How's the arm?"
"Good. Not much to it."
"Sorry, but I don't agree," I argued. Even if they'd both survived the attack, Shadow and Gunner had been shot, and I couldn't take the chance that it would happen again. "This has to stop. I need to talk to my father and end this thing once and for all."
"Not sure that's a good idea."
"You have to know that I'm the only one who is going to be able to get through to him."
His eyes narrowed as he replied, "I don't disagree, but after what transpired today, I think we need to give it some time."
"Don't you see … It's only going to get worse from here? You have to let me do this before anyone else gets hurt," I pleaded.
"And just how do you plan to do that?" Gus pushed.
"I'll tell him the truth." I glanced over at Shadow as I said, "I'll tell him that I'm involved with one of the men of Satan's Fury, and that I will come home if he promises to end this feud between you."
"You're not going back there, Alex," Shadow growled.