Watch Me Burn ( Savage MC Book Three)

chapter two-Too late for the other side

Daria

"Enzo!” I followed him at a run he was moving that fast. He didn’t slow at my voice, nor did he turn. He continued out of the compound and joined the other men as they got ready to ride out.
“Enzo”, I snapped again finally reaching him, I grabbed his arm and spun him, “what is happening? Why the lock down and where is everyone? Where are you-" he cut me off by lifting his hand firmly into the air between us, palm facing me.
“Enough, sister. You don’t ask, you know the rules. Stay inside, we will be back within a few days. Two tops.” leaning forward his kissed my forehead. Turning from me he got on his bike while I took in the commotion around me. Almost the whole club was outside, men suiting up on their bikes, several vehicles spraying dirt as they left the grounds. A large dark van sat at the entrance of the drive ready to go. I had never seen it before.
"What did you do?” I whispered feeling shivers settling into my spine. Enzo didn’t reply, he simply started his bike before pulling out of the compound the other men hot on his tail until only I was left standing alone.
“Inside, Ria. We need to get into the basement.” Cecilia came up behind me wrapped her hand around my arm lighting pulling me toward the building. Turning we moved quickly, gathering the few women that remained in the compound, the rest had been taken with the children to the safe house north of our village long before Enzo had told me about the ride out, Cecilia filled me in as we came inside.“Be back in two days, you’re on complete shut down. You don’t leave that basement until I’m home, sister, you hear me?” he had said when he came into the kitchen earlier today before turning and leaving without another word. As if that was explanation enough. The only ones remaining here were myself, Cecilia, Greta sand Aurora now.
“Move girls, the place needs to be closed down. All Windows all doors, you know the drill.” Greta called, wife of Enzo and my sister in law, she had always been fierce. Like me she grew up in the club, she knew the life well. She and Enzo got together when they were fifteen and have been together since. They had their trouble like every couple but they stood true to each other through it all.
Running through the place we locked it down, through the living room window I could see the few men that stayed behind and were walking the parameters of the compound, guns in hand. I closed the curtain tightly.
“Daria, get in here.” Greta called. I moved swiftly into the room church was held in to see the table and rug moved aside, the hidden basement door open. One of the men stood holding it open, ready to lock us in. I hadn’t even realised he was in the building. I followed the other women down, feeling Greta coming down the unstable ladder behind me. The door slammed shut, the sound of Steel hitting off steel. Small lamps illuminated the basement, the sound of the table being scrapped across the floor above us and the biker upstairs reassembled the room to hide us. Was all I could hear.
The basement was around a quarter the length of the building and only members were aware of its existence. It was stacked full of food and supplies to keep us going for at least two weeks, should anything ever happen that we needed to retreat under here. It was only used on rare occasion, occasions when the club were in a severely compromised position.
“Does anyone know anything?” I asked turning to face the women who had situated themselves on the couch in the far corner. The girls shook their heads no. “Why are we here and everyone else at the safe house?” I asked.
“Decoy.” Aurora answered me, her voice a light twinkle. “Dante said they needed to move the children and keep a few here to make it less suspicious to anyone that could be watching. A few women and children leaving the compound is no big deal... the whole group leaving... That draws attention.” she shrugged.
“We can man the place, we are safe here too, Daria. Enzo wouldn’t leave us anywhere we were in danger.” Greta said with certainty.
“Jesus Christ, what on earth did they do?” I exclaimed before falling into a seat too. It was nearing evening now, I could feel the sleep settling into me.
“Doesn’t matter, we back their decisions regardless.” Greta said moving toward the mattress that needed to be blown up. “I’ve got this one, make yourselves useful and blow up ones for yourselves or you can sleep on the floor.” she said sitting down and starting the process of blowing the mattress up with a small foot pump.
“Of course. But we have never had to lock down like this. Dante said the women and children were split again, half are in a safe house further up state.” Aurora commented again, her words causing unease to set between us all.
“I know.” Greta said lightly before looking back down and continuing the task at hand. I moved to join her on the floor and blow up my own mattress.
“Have we protection?” I asked her watching her face. She looked to me then looked toward the door of the basement.
“There are still men here-“ she started but I shook my head.
“Have we, down here, have we anything?” I asked with emphasis behind my words knowing she got my meaning.
“I bought my gun but if there’s anything else down here I don’t know." she said back and I nodded.
“Cecilia, search babe, everywhere and see can you come up with anything. I’ll start on blowing up the beds.” I said and watched her rise to her feet.
“I’ll throw some food in the microwave.” Aurora said and we all focused in on our tasks at hand, shutting out the reality of our situation and instead put our trust in our men.
In our club.

I came awake suddenly, feeling a hand pressed over my mouth I went to shove backwards a scream working it’s way up my throat.
“shh!” was spat in my face and as my eyes adjusted I saw Cecilia leaning over me, her eyes wide in panic. Her hair a curtain around us both. Looking around I saw Aurora waking Greta in the same fashion as Cecilia woke me. I looked back into Cecilias eyes.
“Guns were fired.” she whispered her voice hitching. Moving to sitting she slowly removed her hand from its position covering my mouth. “I heard gun shots.. a lot of them” on the tail of her words another round went off, the sounds of rooms being blown to bits hit us. Instinctively I covered my ears hiding my face in my knees. As suddenly as they came they were gone again.
Greta rushed into motion and we all followed suit. Moving as quietly as we could we hid in the far corner of the room behind a table. Greta held her gun in hand. We spent what could only be described as hours ripping the place apart and putting it back together to come to the conclusion that whoever put this place together must have thought food was far more important than being able protect ourselves because there wasn’t a weapon to be found down here. No sooner had we settled did we hear it. The sound of feet, walking through the room directly above us. They were enar the door to the basement. Slowly moving across the floor away from the girls I heard their hiss of fear behind me but I continued forward until I had hit off all the light in the room. Making my slow way back towards the girls trying not to make noise I felt fear grip me.
“Boss!” was yelled from above and I automatically froze at the sound of the table scraping across the floor. The sound of heavy boots hitting the room step by step would mark itself into my mind for the rest of my life. One of the girls whimpered in the corner but I couldn’t see who, we were in pitch black.
“Ria?” was barely a sound through the darkness and in response a noise came from me but it was nothing more than that, a noise in the quiet. Then all hell broke lose.
I didn’t have time to react but to do what my instinct told me and continue to scrabble across the floor as the door was thrown open and several men filed down it. I could hear the girls screaming or maybe it was me. Or both, either way the silence of the room was long gone as screams and gun shots morphed together into one. I was grabbed and pulled to my feet a knife at my throat when light filtered through the room. There was more than a few, maybe ten men, all in cuts and all holding guns trailed on the girls in the corner. Greta stood in front, tears streaming down her face but her grip was steady. Cecilia and Aurora were pressed close to her back, all of them pressed into corner, the table half in front of them. I was proud to see Gretas bullets had made contact with a few of the men, although none of the shots were life threatening.
“Let her go.” Greta said slowly and the man holding me laughed.
“I don’t believe you’re in the position to ask for anything.” he tutted, then called up the ladder without taking his eyes from the girls, "Boss, jackpot.” he laughed again before focusing back on the trio in front of us.
“Drop that gun girl, or I’ll slice her throat and let her bleed out on the floor in front of you.” he pressed the knife into me and I couldn’t stop the hiss that left my lips. Greta and I locked eyes and I shook my head the slightest bit no. The sound of heavy footsteps descending into the room grabbed our attention. The man was huge, built like a machine his eyes took in the scene in front of him.
“I would do as he says, he likes to use that knife.” the man commented in a rumble. This was definitely the Pres of the club. I looked back to Greta to see her eyes shift towards me. She muttered a curse before dropping her hand, gun held lose at her side.
“To the floor and kick it away, darling.” one of the men laughed and after hesitation Greta followed suit.
“Smart one, she is.” Another one of the men comment. The stench of fear was overpowering from us all, I could see the men eating it up.
“Get them in the truck.” the boss man said before turning and making his way back upstairs. It all happened in a rush them. The other men rushed the girls who tried desperately to skirt them. But I didn’t see anything else because the man holding me raised the knife high, turned the handle swiftly in his hand and brought it down fast towards my face.
I was out like a light.