Page 2 of Tarnished

“I have a proposed one, if I may?” Miguel asked, looking at Alejandro.

Alejandro nodded once, giving Miguel the floor. Miguel cleared his throat, looking at me. “You’re the nicest one out of all of us,” he began. Drake coughed to cover his laugh. I cut him a dark look. “I think you should run the rescuing part of the operation. Infiltrate the building with a team of your choosing and get out as many victims as you can. We’ll run interference on the outside to do our best to protect those of you who go in.”

I leaned back in my chair. “You want me to run a team,” I stated more than asked.

Miguel nodded once. “You’re calm in high-stress situations. You think clearly, no matter what’s at stake. And I know your history.” I clenched my jaw. All eyes in the room went to me, but I ignored them. No one, not even River, knew my history. My childhood was a mystery to all of them, and it would remain that way. “You’re the best for this operation. You know what those victims are going to be like.”

I nodded once, mulling the thought over in my head. “I get to choose my own team?”

Miguel nodded. “Whoever you trust the most. Because you’re going to need whoever you choose to be able to not only watch your back, but also their back, everyone else’s back, and protect whoever you rescue. Your team will have the hardest part of this entire job.”

“And what do you propose we do with the victims?” River asked Miguel. Joey remained silent, leaning against the wall with one booted foot propped up behind him. He was using his knife to clean out from beneath his nails, appearing disinterested, but I knew he was listening to every word that was being spoken.

“Alejandro will organize transport for them,” Miguel said, looking at his boss. Alejandro nodded once in agreement.

I looked at River. “Thoughts, Prez?”

He scrubbed a hand down his face. “I trust you, Tank,” he said. When we looked at Sam, the VP of the club, he nodded as well. Curiosity shone in his eyes, no doubt wanting to know what Miguel knew about me that they didn’t, but he kept his mouth shut. We were family, and we stuck together like glue, but we didn’t pry.

“If you want it, you’re the head of team A,” River finally said, looking at me.

Did I want it? Did I want to see those victims and relive every fucking shitty thing done to me? Not really, no. But I would. Because I wished for so long someone would rescue me.

No one had really come to rescue me, but I could save them.

I nodded once at River. “I’ll take it.”

2

Tank

Holden’s breathing was deep and steady as we waited for River to let us know it was safe to emerge from the woods and infiltrate the building in front of us. Sam was eerily calm on the other side of me. Joey was behind me, still as a statue, but I knew he was just as ready to get in there and get the fuck back out just like I was.

Gin and Link, one of the patched members of the Fathers of Mayhem, were leaning against a huge oak tree, seemingly relaxed, though I knew their muscles were coiled to spring. And Tyler, Joey’s road captain, was sitting on the ground, a vape between his lips as he waited. Had anyone else been sitting on the ground like him, I’d have snapped at them to get their asses up. But I’d seen Tyler in action, and I knew how fast he was.

Fucker was there one second and gone the next.

There were seven on my team—eight if I was included in the count. I’d chosen the best we had. Gin and Link had served together in the military. I was pretty sure there was more going on between them than just being battle buddies, but they were tight-lipped and secretive about it if there was. All I cared about was that they worked like a well-oiled machine.

Tyler had actually once been a member of Sons of Death until Joey snatched him out from under Tristan’s nose. It was just one of the many causes of contention between the two men when Tristan had been alive, though Adelaide had been their main reason for being enemies.

Tristan and Joey both had loved the same woman… and neither of them had actually gotten her in the end. River had, and honestly, neither of them had deserved Adelaide. They hadn’t known how to love her in the way she needed, but River had. And he did so on a daily basis.

Tyler was one of the best snipers I’d ever come across, and he was also an excellent shot in the middle of a battle. He never missed his mark. Ever. I was relying on that since we were going in blind. Alejandro had been able to get us a layout of the building, but we had no idea how many people were inside.

Joey was cold and calculated, and I knew if something happened to me, I could rely on him to make sure the mission was still carried out, my life be damned. And that was what I wanted. Joey was capable of shutting off all his emotions to carry out the mission.

Sam was… a bit unhinged. He liked blood and carnage. And he never grew tired when dropping bodies. It just made his adrenaline surge more and more with each life he stole. He’d have my back and the back of everyone else on this team without question… and he’d probably maniacally grin while he was at it.

Holden was a second-generation Fathers of Mayhem member. His father had been part of the original men who started the club. Holden hadn’t grown up around the club, but his mother hadn’t been a decent human being by any means. Holden had grown up on the streets and had seen what happened to victims like the ones we were going in to rescue. He treated his body like a weapon, but I also knew he would have the compassion needed when we started trying to get the victims out.

My earpiece crackled a little, and then River’s voice came through, saying a single word. “Go.”

We moved as one, quickly going through the door one of Alejandro’s men was holding open for us. It was dark and eerily silent. The building reminded me of a hospital—sterile and white with the scent of disinfectant hanging in the air.

We split up into four teams of two, and Joey flanked me to the hall to our left, watching my back. A guard looked up, and before he could utter a word, I put a bullet through his skull. He hit the ground, and the noise had doors opening in the hall. Joey cursed, and we both opened fire just as gunshots exploded from the other halls as well.

We ducked into the first room. I slid my rifle across my back, heading to the girl tied to the bed as Joey quickly reloaded his gun in record time and began firing back, dropping bodies. The girl couldn’t have been older than twelve or thirteen, and while her skin was clean—clinically so—she was covered in dark bruises, cuts littering her skin. She trembled as I neared her, silent tears running down her cheeks, but she didn’t utter a word.