Crash (Black Ice MC Novella Book 2) (5 page)

But it hadn’t gone that way.
 
The Rattlers were ahead of them, obviously lying in wait until they rode by.
 
They came over the hill, surprised Black Ice, and gained the advantage.
 

Since Red was still a mile back, it was three Black Ice against five Rattlers.
 
Mercer gave the signal to peel and they hit the gas.
 
They gained some distance on the Rattlers, then turned and fired.
 
One of them hit a front tire and it blew, sending the man flying.
 
Mercer then gave the signal to halt and they slammed on the brakes, sliding their bikes longways, dismounted, and crouched behind the bikes for cover.
 
Once behind the bikes, they fired over the seats, keeping the Rattlers at bay.

“We can’t hold out,” said Cruz.
 
“What are we going to do?”

“We’re going to hang on until Red comes up from behind.”

Mercer figured they’d have to wait about a minute since Red was a mile back and would be riding about sixty miles per hour.

One of the Rattlers called out.
 
“Give us what we want and you can live.”

“What do you want?” Mercer called back.

“Don’t be an asshole, Mercer.
 
We want the drive.
 
The one you were hired to deliver.”

Mercer threw a glance to Doc—they both had the same question.
 
How did the Rattlers know what they were doing?

“What are you talking about?”

One of them fired a shot into Mercer’s bike.
 

“Give us the drive and you live.
 
That’s all there is to it.”

Mercer whispered to Doc and Cruz, “Red should be along any second.
 
They’ll hear him come up and turn to find him.
 
When that happens, we fire and rush them.”

They nodded, and not more than fifteen seconds later, they heard Red’s bike coming down the road.
 
They saw the Rattlers turn, but before they could act, one of the Rattlers fired on Red.
 
Red went down to the pavement.
 
Mercer couldn’t tell if he had been hit or had laid the bike down to avoid it.

“Time’s up, Mercer.
 
You going to hand it over, or do we have to come over there?”

Mercer looked to Doc, who said, “Better give them what they want.”

Mercer stood up and the Rattlers ordered him to slowly walk over while the others stayed behind.
 
The Rattlers never took their guns off them.
 
Mercer recognized one of them as a former Black Ice member.

“Here you go, Roscoe.
 
Burn in hell.”
 

He reached into his pocket and threw the flash drive to Roscoe.

“Good going, Mercer.”

“Eat shit, Roscoe.”

Roscoe fired at Mercer.
 
It missed him, but went flying through his new leather cut.

“Black Ice is done, fellas.
 
I knew that a long time ago. Time for you to figure it out too.
 
This area belongs to the Rattlers.
 
We see any of you again, we’ll put a bullet in ya.
 
Now, one last thing, all of ya be good boys and throw those gats into the bushes.”

Mercer threw his pistol into the scrubs.
 
The others followed suit.
 
The Rattlers laughed and took off.
 
When they were down the road, Mercer ran over to Red.
 
The bullet had grazed his temple, knocking him down, but the bleeding had already stopped.
 
The collected their guns and inspected their bikes.

“Everyone good to ride?” asked Mercer.

They reported that their bikes were fine.

“Good.
 
You two head on back.
 
Doc and I got a little more business to take care of.”

Red said, “We should come too.
 
In case they decide to attack again.”

Mercer shook his head.
 
“I appreciate it, but I want you guys back at the clubhouse in case the Rattlers decide to do more damage.
 
We’ll be back in a few hours.”

Cruz and Red protested more, but eventually did as they were told.
 

Once they were gone and the sound of their bikes had faded, Doc turned to Mercer. “What other business do we have?”

Mercer unlatched a secret compartment on his bike.
 
It looked like part of the crankshaft, but opened easily.
 
He pulled out a flash drive.

“We have a delivery to make.”

“You gave them a fake?”

“I sure did.
 
Now let’s get the real one to our man in Billings.”

They climbed on their bikes and took off.

It was a good day for Danni.
 
She woke up to a sunny day outside her window, found a good place for breakfast, and then found a nice apartment.
 
It was just a couple of miles from the clubhouse and not too far from downtown.
 
The price was right, especially when you considered hardwood floors and a deck that looked over a wooded area.
 

She was so excited to find the place, she signed the lease without showing Mercer and moved all their stuff from the hotel room to the new apartment.
 
It didn’t take long—everything had been carried in on Mercer’s bike.

Paying the deposit and first month’s rent completely wiped out her bank account, but her luck continued.
 
When she walked to the car, she saw a hip little bar around the corner from her new place.
 
She decided to press her luck and went in to talk to the manager.
 
After she explained everything she had done for at Stax, the bar back in Calumet, he immediately offered her a job, as long as she could start tomorrow.

Giddy with all the news to tell Mercer, she went to the clubhouse, but found it empty.
 
It was just after noon.
 
She was just deciding whether to wait around or come back later when she heard bikes pull up outside.
 
Cruz and Red came in looking shaken, and Mercer and Doc weren’t around.

“Where’s Mercer?” she asked.

Red shrugged and didn’t stop walking.
 
He headed towards the back and disappeared behind a door.

“Mercer’s fine,” said Cruz.
 
“But we got hit.
 
The Rattlers attacked us and took our delivery.
 
Mercer sent us back here, but him and Doc went on somewhere else.”

“Where?”

Cruz shrugged, grabbing a beer from the fridge.

“He just took off and didn’t tell you where?”

After a long drink of beer, Cruz said, “You know, I’ve been with a few clubs, and I can say the ones that really make it are the ones that communicate.
 
When the leaders start keeping secrets, that’s when shit turns bad.
 
I can already tell this club isn’t going to make it.
 
Your boy Mercer isn’t big on letting anybody in on the plan.”

“I’m sure he has his reasons,” Danni said

“Maybe he does,” said Cruz.
 
He took another pull off the beer, half of it was gone.
 
He leaned back against the counter and Danni could see the muscles beneath his tight t-shirt.
 
Mercer was still too skinny from his time running from Tank, but Cruz obviously hadn’t had trouble finding enough to eat.
 
Danni assumed that Mercer had skipped more than a few meals if money was tight, while Cruz just stole whatever he needed.

“I’m leaving,” said Danni.
 
“I’ll leave a message for Mercer on his phone.”

“Where are you going?” asked Cruz.

“Not really your business,” she fired.

As she turned towards the door, there was a loud bang, followed by windows being blown out of the front of the building.
 
Cruz dove for the ground, taking Danni with him.
 
He pinned her to the floor as another loud bang echoed, followed by engines roaring and tires squealing.

The room was filled with smoke, which burned Danni’s eyes and lungs.
 
Cruz still had her pinned to the floor.
 
Finally, he raised himself, and as he did, glass fell off his back and hit the floor.
 
Danni got up and checked herself.
 
She hadn’t been hit by any debris.
 
The only injury she’d sustained was having the wind knocked out of her when he’d pulled her down.

 
Cruz, on the other hand, had several cuts down his back.
 
The glass had torn his t-shirt and some of it was still embedded in his skin.

“Are you OK?” she asked.

Red came running out from the back.
 

“What the hell was that?”

“Some attack.
 
I didn’t see anyone.”

Red went out the door with a pistol in his hand.
 
He came back in. “No one out there.
 
Did a number on this place though.”

“Just when this place was starting to look livable.
 
Fucking assholes.”

“Was it the Rattlers?” asked Red.

“Who else?
 
There were two blasts.
 
The first one took out the windows.
 
What did the second do?”

“Blew out the security gate,” said Red.

Cruz swore again.
 
Danni was shaken, but recovering.
 
She pulled out her phone and dialed Mercer.
 
He didn’t answer, so she left a message telling him about the attack and to get back as soon as he could.
 
She put her phone away and saw more blood seeping through Cruz’s shirt.
 

“We need to get those cuts looked at.
 
I’m guessing you’re too stubborn to go to a hospital.”

“You already know me so well,” he said, sarcastically.

Danni got the first aid kit out of the bathroom.
 
Cruz sat in front of her, leaning over to expose his back.
 
He took off his shirt and she brushed the glass out of his wounds with a kitchen towel.
 
As he moved, she saw the muscles move beneath his tan skin.
 
Danni was suddenly very aware of his body, but reminded herself of all the reasons she didn’t like him.

“So, what kind of name is Danni?”

“What kind of name is Cruz?” she asked in response.
 

She swabbed some cotton with alcohol and dabbed at his cuts.

“It’s short for Danielle,” she explained.
 
“But I’ve been called Danni all my life.”

“Why’s that?”

“I don’t know.
 
It’s what my mother always called me.
 
I think it’s because when I was younger, I wanted to prove how tough I was.
 
I wasn’t much for tea parties and dolls.
 
Most of my friends were boys and I wanted to fit in.”

“I’ll bet that didn’t last when you became a teenager.”

“It did.
 
I always hung with guys, but yeah, most of them ended up having crushes on me.”

She cleaned out the last of the wounds, then started dressing them.
 
Red wasn’t in the room with them, but she was glad he was around somewhere.
 
She didn’t like the way she was feeling, with her hands on Cruz.
 

“Including Mercer?”

“Yeah,” she said.
 
“Including Mercer.”

Once all the wounds were dressed, Danni snapped the first aid kit shut and quickly got away from him.
 
Even though she was innocently helping him out, it wouldn’t be a good sight if anyone walked in and found them like that.
 
He stood up and pulled his t-shirt back over his head.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“What is it with you?
 
I’ve tried being nice to you, but no matter what, I can’t get you to give me the time of day.”

“I just cleaned your wounds.
 
I think that counts for something,” Danni said, but even she heard the ice in her voice.

“Yeah you did.
 
Thanks,” he said, equally coldly, and started towards the back.