Page 64 of Cries of Cassie

"Parker!"

For every drop of blood that Cassie has lost, will be another hour of torture for Victor. He gets to keep his spine as I dislocate every fucking vertebra from broken hip to strangled neck.

"PARKER!"

Handlebars trembling in the wake of my shock, I suck in a heavy breath and turn my focus back to the road. "Fuck."

"Jesus, man," Koa mutters through the speakers in my helmet. "Are you okay?"

Looking to my right, I see Koa's helmet aimed at me as he weaves his bike around potholes and rocks. The terrain around Victor's property is hazardous, pissing me off even more.

"Parker," Maddox's voice comes through next. "I need you to keep it together."

"No," I snarl, eyesight zipping into pinpricks. All but zooming in on the clubhouse I can't see yet. "Cassie needs my crazy."

Ripley grunts and speeds past us. My rapid breaths fill the suffocating space with humidity and urgency. I want this helmet off. I need to see Cassie alive.

She better be alive.

"Not yet." Mads pulls me out of my spiral again. "Connor and his group will bust the gates down first. We follow behind and let them take care of the Chain Smokers."

Fuck no! "They deserve to die, not just be detained!"

Maddox slows his bike and swaps places with Koa in a move we've done thousands of times. With Koa close behind Ripley, and Mads beside me, we close the distance between us and our woman.

I can practically feel Maddox's glare at me through his pitch-black helmet. "Would you rather beat some guys up or rescue Cassie? Our only goal is her. Not them."

"Killing will be a bonus," Ripley growls above the rev of his engine.

Everything in me screams for blood. Victor has unleashed a beast I had hoped would stay dormant. My worst nightmare has come true. Nothing will keep me from meeting it head on with bullets and fists.

Beneath the angry atoms that fuel my rage is a warm current begging me to prioritize the thing that matters most. The reason we're speeding through the woods and orchestrating a rescue mission.

Because that's what this is. A rescue mission. Not a killing spree.

"We find her. If I happen to get a little blood on my hands along the way, I'll appreciate it," I grind out, battling my inner beast into submission.

Mom told me to set it free for Cassie. Not to quench its thirst for death.

"Pull back!" Maddox orders suddenly. No hesitation. We obey, our brothers following suit behind us. "Let them through!"

It pains me to slow down and let the blacked out SUVs charge past us, but I do it anyway. Just like I'd take a lifetime of torture for Cassidy to live.

Around the curve through the trees, the first few cars disappear from my sight, but the complete shattering of the tall fence can be heard over the rumble of twenty engines.

The pops of gunfire light my insides up in a flame from hell, preparing me for the inevitability of sacrificing my soul for the woman I love.

"HOLD!" Maddox bellows.

White-knuckling the handlebars as other men get to avenge my woman, I feel the tension rising. I'm about to snap. Listen to the boss. Don't fly off the rails.

"Mads," I warn, voice tight with barely restrained fury. I can't hold it in for much longer. Cassie's in there, bleeding, crying, pissing herself with fear and pain. "MADDOX!"

"GO GO GO!"

There's no easing off the clutch this time as I throttle the bike into gear. Cassidy's life is on the line. Hesitation isn't allowed.

Shouts and orders are just fucking background noise as I speed through the crumpled gates. Bodies on the ground and guns aimed in my direction go ignored. I fold over, forcing my body and bike to be as aerodynamic as possible.