129

Zane heard the low click from the gate that let him know it was about to open. Seconds later he heard the group led by Ryder opening fire. As soon as there was an opening in the gate, he and Jax were opening fire with their men. The enemies were now being attacked from two sides. They took cover best they could behind their cars. As the gate opened fully, Zane’s men moved out in the opening with shields made from armoured steel and glass. They made it possible to take cover but at the same time return fire and get an overview. The men that wasn’t manning the shields took up place behind them and slowly they moved forward. Zane had got the idea from a book on Roman military tactics his angel had given him for Christmas. Jax had laughed his ass of when Zane first had suggested it. He wasn’t laughing now as they slowly made their way forward. Their opponents had a hard time knowing how to handle the wall that advanced towards them with bullets flying from the gaps between the shields. As they were trying to figure out what to do, they also were being shot at from the treeline to the right. That was easier for them to handle as they blindly shot in that direction. Some of the enemies tried to shoot at the shields, but they proved to be as durable as Zane had hoped. A stray bullet found it’s way in between the gaps and a man in front of Zane fell to the ground. Another of Zane’s men dragged him back behind the wall, to safety, before returning. It took them less than fifteen minutes to eradicate the men blocking the driveway. When the silence was restored, Ryder and his group stepped out of the woods. Ryder was limping and one of his pants legs were stained red.
“How bad is it?” Zane asked.
“Stray bullet, the fucker got lucky,” Ryder grumbled.
“I will note it for the fucking record. How bad?” Zane asked again.
“Not bad. It graced me.” Ryder pulled up his pants leg with a scowl on his face. There was a wound on the outside of his left leg, going from just below the knee and ending half way down his calf.It didn’t look deep but it looked as if it had bleed quite severely.
“The doctor will be here in five minutes, make sure he takes a look at it. Any other injuries?” Zane asked.
“One dead and three other minor injuries. I’ll live, he can look at the others,” Ryder said.
“Just fucking do it! We will need you again before this fucking day is over and then I’m dragging you with me back to let Ava and Gabriel out. Gabriel will go into panic if you show up looking like that,” Zane barked and turned his back to Ryder. Jax had taken a couple of men and were moving between the enemies that lay dead. “These were quite useful,” Zane said to Jax and tapped on one of the shields.
“Really? You are rubbing that in now?” Jax asked. Zane shrugged and made a note to himself to thank his angel for the idea.
“Anything interesting?” he asked Jax.
“Two of them are ours, from the list we isolated,” Jax said. Zane cursed and kicked one of the bodies in frustration. Jax walked up to him.
“You feel it too?” he asked in a low voice.
“Yeah, this isn’t over,” Zane agreed.
“He can’t have thought this would work?” Jax asked.
“Maybe all the drinking and fucking has finally rotted his brain,” Zane suggested without believing it. Jax grunted, he didn’t buy it either. Zane’s phone rang.
“Spencer, what is happening?” Zane answered.
“Boss, they are getting antsy. They keep saying that someone should have checked in. My guess is that the welcome waggon they sent your way were to check in regularly. My other guess is that the waggon is no longer working,” Spencer told him.
“The waggon is dead,” Zane confirmed.
“I miss all the fun. Well, your father seems pissed and the others don’t seem as cocky as they have been. They are wandering around and then stopping to talk,” Spencer told him. “Wait, they are saying something. One minute, boss.” Zane waited. Around him his men were cleaning up the mess his father had made. Jax and Ryder were organising the clean up as Zane impatiently waited. He was about to call out for Spencer to ask him what was taking so fucking long.
“Boss,” Spencer said in the phone.
“What?”
“I have news.”
“Good, I didn’t think this was a fucking social call. You don’t usually hold back, spit it out. I have things to do,” Zane told him.
“Yes, boss. I think I have learnt what this is all about.”
“If you think I will fucking guess, you are wrong.”
“It seems your father has got a woman pregnant, he is looking to regain the organisation to have a do-over,” Spencer told him. It was clear how uncomfortable it was for him to give Zane the news. Zane felt his world shift as he tried to grapple with the fact that he was no longer an only child.
“A boy or a girl?” he asked Spencer.
“As I understand it, she hasn’t given birth yet. That is why your father is in a hurry. He want’s the take over to be done and his place to be secure before the baby arrives,” Spencer said. Zane tried to understand that he would have a sibling that would be the same age as his own child.
“Keep me posted,” he grunted to Spencer and hung up. Zane desperately wanted to talk to Ava, he wanted to tell her what he had found out and hear her tell him her point of view. Instead, he rolled his shoulders, sighed and signed to Jax and Ryder to come with him. Their men knew what needed to be done. They walked back to Zane’s office. They had grabbed water in the kitchen and they sat down and drank it as they sat in silence. Then Zane decided to get a fucking grip and he told the other two what Spencer had told him.
“Fuck. Didn’t see that one coming,” Ryder said.
“Are you okay?” Jax asked. Zane shrugged. It was to big of a question for him to answer.
“Will you track her down?” Ryder asked.
“Yes,” Zane said.
“Eliminate?” Jax wanted to know. Zane hesitated. He knew the right answer should be yes. If the child was born it would always be a threat to him and the organisation. It would be a threat to Ava and any children they had. There was a risk the other families found out and tried to use the child against him, for the child to grow up and feel they had the claim to the organisation. It would be safest if the child was never born. But then he thought about his angel and the child she carried and he hesitated. She had asked him to not do anything he couldn’t take back, she had asked him to do it for her. Zane would have happily given the order to end the life of his sibling if it would keep Ava and their child safe, he could keep it secret. Ava didn’t need to know about it, he would take it to his grave. But Zane knew that it it would take his angel less than a day to know something was up. She would find a way to get the truth out of him.
“We’ll take her in and decide what to do with her after this fucking nightmare is over,” he told them. They both nodded. “This information does not leave this room. Spencer is the only outside of us who knows. Let’s keep it that way.” Both Jax and Ryder grunted their agreement.
“What is our next move?” Jax asked. “Your father?”
“Yes. I want Lars, Mark, Louis and Bo gone. I want my father in our basement. But first, let’s give the civilians the all clear so they than get out of there,” Zane agreed. They left his office and gave the order to let the people who had sought shelter in the basement be brought back up. Anna lead the group and she smiled as she saw Zane, Jax and Ryder.
“Master Velky, everything is okay I hope?” she asked.
“It is Anna. I hope everyone stayed safe?”
“We did. Thank you for looking after us. Mrs. Ava?” Zane smiled at her question.
“Safe in another location. As is Gabriel and Linda,” he informed her.
“Good, I’m happy to hear it. We will start dinner so it will be ready for when you bring them home.”
“Thank you, Anna,” he said. He took out his phone to send a message to Spencer.
Z: We are ready to bring him in. Send information.
Spencer delivered withing minutes. He sent the specific location along with pictures of the layout. He sent a list of men that were on site and two suggested points of entry. Zane smiled as he walked into the library where Ryder had put together a team for the mission. He knew Jax and Ryder would come with him. This was something they would make sure was taken care of in person.