Murphy

“Because when I’ve been beat down, I know Tate’s going to be mine at the end of it.” Straddling his bike, Murphy turned the key in the ignition. “You keep up?”

“Yeah.”

Gunning his machine, Murphy headed to her apartment. Parking outside, he went straight through the front doors. Killer was seconds behind him. He didn’t order the other man to get Kelsey. The only person Murphy wanted was Tate. Going up the three flights of stairs, Murphy knocked on her door waiting for an answer. He grabbed his piece from the back of his jeans and checked to see that it was loaded. A bad feeling was settling in the pit of his stomach. Something bad was going to go down. Tate opened the door. She held a single case in her hand.

“Let’s go,” he said.

“Hold on, what about Kelsey?” Tate asked.

“She’s being taken care of.”

“No, she has to come with us.”

Holding her face between his hands, Murphy stared into her eyes. “She’s being taken care of. Killer is getting her now.”

Taking her hand he led her down the steps toward Kelsey’s front door. Knocking once, he wasn’t surprised to see Killer packing.

“You getting a bad feeling?” Murphy asked.

“Yeah. Something’s not right. It could be me, but I don’t know.” Killer nodded at Tate before returning his gaze back to Murphy. “They’re too desperate, and I think The Lions are going to do something stupid.”

“I’m heading out. Be careful, and I’ll see you at the compound.” Murphy shook the guys hand and headed out. He kept Tate by his side, looking all around him. There was a tingling at the back of his neck. He glanced around, but nothing stood out to him. It was a quiet apartment block.

“What’s going on, Murphy?” she asked.

“Keep down.”

Something glinted off his mirror followed by the shattering of a window off his right shoulder. Falling to the ground he crushed Tate underneath him. Grabbing his cell phone and gun, he dialed the club’s number.

Tate screamed. Her hands covered her head. “Murphy!”

“We’ve got to get cover,” he said as more bullets rained down. Fuck, they were all over the place. Whoever was shooting were shit shots.

Glancing up he saw Killer covering Kelsey in the main building. No one had seen him yet as otherwise the doors would have been shot out.

Silence fell over the square, and he used the opportunity to move Tate. Grabbing her arm, he hauled her up and ran toward the back of the building. There was a wall overlooking the garden. Pushing her down, Murphy growled as something hit the side of his leg.

“What’s going on? Someone is shooting at us? No one shoots at us.” Tate was losing control. Her voice was high and grating on his nerves.

He slammed his lips down on hers trying to silence her. “Right now, baby, I need you to be quiet.”

Glancing down at the burning pain in his leg, Murphy saw a bullet had grazed his outer leg. Fuck, that was going to sting when the adrenaline wore off.

He moved to glance behind the wall. Two men were arguing in the middle of the street carrying guns. Neither of them were wearing a cut. They looked insane to be arguing in front of him. Seeing the decoy, Murphy glanced behind them. There was a van with a window partially open. Squinting, he saw the guns pointing out. Whoever was firing the guns were not desperate men. Could it be The Lions? Fuck, he couldn’t concentrate. His woman was with him, and he needed to get her to safety.

Fuck, his leg was stinging.

Putting the cell to his ear he waited for the guys to pick up.

“Hello, The Skulls place,” Angel said.

Fuck, his f**king luck. A lot of f**ks were needed.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!

“Angel, get Lash or any one of the guys.”

“Murphy, how’s Tate? I heard she’s coming in?” Angel asked.

Fuck. She was too nice to get angry with.

“She’s good.”

Angel started talking, and Murphy was losing patience. Another round of firing, followed by shouting happened.

“Fuck, Angel, shut the f**k up. I’ve got bullets coming, and I’m open. Get one of the f**king guys now.”

The woman screamed over the line. Hysterics erupted around them. Murphy tried to deal with it. Tate was crying; shouting was going, and then the sound of bikes in the distance interrupted him. Bullets sounded, and he looked over the wall in time to see Time and Whizz pulling up. Time fired at the van, running at it while Whizz took the two decoys on

Turning to Tate, he calmed her down. “I need you to stay here. Don’t move until I get you.”

Kissing her lips, Murphy left her side, ignoring the pain in his leg.

Whizz had both men restrained, and the van was open.

“I couldn’t save the men,” Time said. “I don’t recognize them. They’re not Lions.”

Killer and Kelsey left the building. Murphy collected Tate from where he’d put her.

“I don’t know the club’s number, so I called my guys,” Killer said.

Looking at the mess in the van, Murphy shook his head. “This was a real hit. Something is going down.”

“Lions go after family. I thought The Skulls didn’t include family into the bargain,” Killer said.

Tate wrapped her arms around his waist. Murphy held her close. His heart was racing. Whoever had come to kill her had meant business. Tate was not supposed to survive this day.

“Something bad is going down,” Murphy said.

“Talk to me.” Her voice was small.

“Baby, you shouldn’t even be here.” There were two dead men on the floor and a third hanging out of the truck. Covering her eyes, Murphy left the van waiting for his club to arrive. Ten minutes later, the van was charging down the street. Hardy, Lash, Nash, and Tiny were clearly visible.

The moment the van was parked Tiny was out of the door. He ran toward Tate pulling her in close. Murphy watched the scene.

“Honey, you’re okay? You’re all right? Nothing happened. You’ve not been shot?” Tiny cupped her face, turning her head this way and that.

“Dad, I’m fine. If anything Murphy hurt me when he pushed me to the floor. I’m fine. Nothing happened.”

Tiny stared into her face, shaking his head. “Nothing can happen to you. Do you f**king hear me?”

“I hear you, Dad.” She was crushed in a hug, and Murphy smiled.

“Get in the f**king truck and take your friend with you. You’re back at the compound. Eva’s already there.”