baby,” Mags says vehemently.
I look into the passenger side-view mirror from the back seat. I can see Jemma through it with the back of her head facing the window. I shift my eyes into the car and see Jemma’s arms shaking as she holds out a gun.
Mags is facing the barrel of the gun with her jaw clenched tight. “No, Magdalena, he wouldn’t do anything for you. You fuck up everything you touch. I was fucked up when I met you, but you made me into an even more fucked-up person.
“I hate what we do to people. I hate who people think I am because of you. You’re crazy Mags, you’re so lost in your lies you don’t know the truth anymore. I’m tired, this ends now. I can’t play crazy with you anymore,” Jemma sobs.
Behind us horns start to blare and the atmosphere in the car shifts. It happens so quickly. Mags reaches for the gun and they begin tussling. My good sense tells me to make a run for it now. I’m not waiting around to get shot or to find out the outcome.
Swiftly, I pop the lock and throw the door open. I bolt out of the car. My body feels like lead, but I push with everything I have in me. I tense up when the sound of a shot firing behind me goes off.
Don’t look back, keep going, Eva.
I push forward willing my legs not to give. My heart pounds when Mags begins to call my name behind me. I ignore her and plow forward.
My lungs start to burn. I guess it’s been a while since I’ve had to run. I push that aside. My goal is right before me. I can see the front doors of the Soul Deep building straight ahead.
“Stop running, you bitch,” Mags huffs. It’s clear she’s winded. I can also tell she’s a pretty good distance behind me.
I call on all my strength and push my burning legs forward, hard. I push clear of the buildings on either side of me and that’s when I hear it. A sound that used to scare and excite me when I was a little girl.
The growl of a motorcycle engine. Not one, but multiple. I pray the riders are my family. My family, my Lost Souls. I’ve never felt those words more than I do now.
“Fuck,” Mags hollers and that’s when shots are fired.
A bullet whizzes right by my ear. I pump my legs harder. Moving toward the sound of the roaring engines. Two things happen at once.
I register the sound of a chopper overhead as its light beams on me and the area around me. Then I see them, I would know them anywhere. I’ve looked up to them for as long as I can remember. I falter a step because I can’t believe what I’m actually seeing.
I know the bikes, but one doesn’t make sense. The sight before me doesn’t make any sense. King is leading the formation, but right beside him is my daddy, Cage. I don’t have to see his face. I know the bike, I know the way he rides, I know his frame on a bike.
Flanking King and Cage are Brick and Mix. Behind them are eleven other bikes. Squad. Our family came for us, Baby. I think to my unborn child.
The pink and black bike in the middle of the formation breaks rank and rides around the other bikes. I know right away it’s Reap. She puts herself and her bike between me and the gunfire.
I stop in awe as Reap’s bike lifts onto the front wheel and her arm comes out holding a gun. I watch as the bike rotates on one wheel and Reap starts to spray bullets.
I turn in time to see Mags’ body jerk back once, twice, three times. Mags takes a bullet to each shoulder and her left thigh before she drops backward to the ground. When I look back to Reap, her bike lands back on two wheels with a bounce.
I’m so lost in the action I don’t notice Brick has stopped his Harley right behind me until he scoops me up into his strong arms. He buries his face in my neck and inhales deeply. I can feel his body shaking with rage as he holds me tight.
“Are you okay?” he chokes into my hair.
“Yes,” I try to speak through my heaving chest.
I turn my head sharply when I hear Mags screaming and cursing in Spanish. Axle is standing