by Erin Osborne
Grave and Chains pull out his arms and hold them tight while I give them the same treatment that I just did to his feet. The only difference is that I slam a hammer down on the backs of his hands to make sure he won’t have the use of them. There are tears streaming down his face, a puddle of piss on the floor, and snot covering his face.
This asshole is nothing once I pull out my knife and stick it in his thigh. The high pierced scream he lets loose is one that all the guys hold their ears for. I’ve never heard a guy scream that loud; it’s like I chopped his nuts off or some shit. Knowing he’s a guy that likes to piss his pants, I’m not going anywhere near that shit.
Sweat is pouring down my face, and I know I’m in dire need of a shower. It feels like I’ve been down here for hours going at this man. So, I slide out one of my knives and begin to peel his flesh from his body. I’m tired, but I’m nowhere near done with him after hurting Hadliegh.
Once I’ve worked on his stomach, back, and arms, I lay that knife down and grab the same one I killed Chris with. Slicing his neck from one side to the other, I never once take my eyes from him. He’s going to know without a doubt who just ended his life and sent him to hell.
I lie the knife back down and make my way out of the room. The Prospects will clean the room and tools, take care of the body, and make sure nothing can be tied to one of us. The entire room will be cleaned down until we’re ready to use it again. So, I make my way to my room and take a shower. When I’m done, I leave my bloody clothes out so that Bishop can add them to the fire further burning anymore evidence of my part in killing that bastard.
“Headin’ out?” Renegade asks, turning from his stool at the bar.
“Yeah. I wanna be home before Hadliegh wakes up,” I answer him.
“See ya later, brother. Watch your back and call me if you need to,” he tells me, turning back to drown his troubles away. Well, not really because Renegade barely gets drunk since he never knows when something else is gonna pop off around here.
My night will consist of hanging out at the house with Axle and Hadliegh. We’ll order something for dinner and just chill with no visitors or anything like that. I want to hold her in my arms and know she’s safe and sound within the walls of the house. Our house. Tomorrow’s a new day, and we’ll go from there.
Chapter Seventeen
Psycho
I DON’T WANT to leave Hadliegh, but I have to get to the clubhouse. Renegade is getting ready to call Slim, and he wants a full table. Hadliegh is still sleeping off the meds that doc gave her because he wanted her to be able to relax after being kidnapped once again. So, I spent the night with her wrapped up in my arms unless I was up with Axle. He’s probably confused why I’m up with him and not his mom, but I’d rather let her rest while she can.
“Hadliegh, I need to get ready to leave,” I tell her, kissing her lips gently as she still snoozes.
“Okay,” she mumbles, opening her eyes and focusing on me.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I tell her, knowing we could be gone all night with prepping to take Snake’s Revenge out.
“I’ll be here. Is anyone gonna be here with me?” she asks, becoming more alert.
“Yeah. Trin is comin’ over to hang out, and Bentley will be outside. Keep everythin’ locked up and call me if you need anythin’,” I tell her, giving her one more kiss before heading out the door to my bike.
Bentley is already outside, and I make sure that he knows the doors need to remain locked until I get home. As I’m riding out the driveway, Trin is pulling in. I give her a wave and make the short drive to the clubhouse. Bear joins me as I pass his house and we pull in together. Bishop closes the gate behind us and takes off on his own. I guess he’s going to the garage to watch over Callie.
“You good?” I ask Bear as he watches Bishop leave.
“Yeah. Just hate havin’ my family separated like they are. Knox and Jazz are inside because Trent isn’t ready to come back just yet. He’s got a little more time before he gets released,” Bear answers.
“Who’s here with them?”
“Rusty,” he answers as we walk inside.
“Why don’t we send her over to my house with Trin and Hadliegh? I’m sure she’d like the company today,” I ask him, knowing he’s not comfortable with his kids being with one person and one person only. He’d rather have more girls on them and a Prospect.
“I’ll send her over,” he says, walking to find her before we all head into the meeting room.
“Church. Now!” Renegade finally yells out and we all file into the room and take our seats.
As soon as he bangs the gavel, we go over all the regular business. He wants to get that out of the way so that we don’t have to worry about all that shit for the rest of the meeting.
“Before we call Slim, Hawk, I want you to let us know what you’ve found out,” Renegade says, giving him the floor.
“I installed cameras so we could figure out when they’re comin’ and goin’. Not to mention what they’re up to that they’re tryin’ to hide so bad from the rest of us,” he says, pulling up the feeds on his laptop that’s connected to one of the screens on the wall. “For the most part, they don’t leave. They stay there and everyone comes to them. I’ve seen a few cargo vans going in and out the last few days, but I don’t have a clue what’s in them.”
“Okay. So, we don’t know if there are any innocents in there or if it was just guns or drugs. We’ll need to be cautious goin’ in. I don’t want any casualties other than the men we’re after. If there are girls in there, we’ll make sure we get them out. Our girls will be locked in the clubhouse, and we’ll have Bishop and Bentley drive vans out there in case we need them. Plus, we can use them to transport weapons, ammo, and anythin’ else we think we’ll need to finish the job,” Renegade says, pulling his phone out so he can call Slim while we’re all in here.
Before he can make the call, his phone goes off. “What’s up, Crazy?” he asks, putting the phone on speaker.
“Just had an interestin’ call. Wrecker from Snake’s Revenge just called me. Wanted me to buy a load of girls’ off him. He gave me a good deal and wants to do the exchange in the next day or two. I told you I wouldn’t do that shit in your territory, and I’m not gonna. I just want to get your idea of what to do here,” Crazy says.
“You mind if I bring Slim from the Phantom Bastards on this call? I was just gettin’ ready to call him when you called in,” Renegade asks, figuring we can all help one another rid the world of the vermin.
“Not at all,” Crazy answers.
Renegade puts him on hold while placing the call to Slim. He answers on the first ring and tells us to merge the calls so that we can get this shit figured out. Hopefully, the three of our clubs can figure out a way to end Wrecker and his crew.
“Now, Slim, Crazy has been contacted by Wrecker about pickin’ up some girls from his club. While we have an agreement in place that no girls go through our territory, I think we can make this work to our advantage. Wrecker isn’t goin’ to think anythin’ is out of place if Crazy shows up with a van or two. We can be in the vans when they pull up and then have ours waiting out by the road. One van can have our guys while the other van has Slim’s club. That’s if you’re all on board with that idea,” Renegade says, putting his thoughts out there for us and the other two clubs.
“I like it. What about the rest of the guys in the clubs?” Crazy asks.
“We can have them pull over about a mile down before you’re set to meet them. They’ll have the time to walk down there while Crazy and his guys are pullin’ up. A certain number of bikes won’t be a problem, they’ll expect that shit,” Slim says.
“Sounds like a plan. Is everyone in agreement?” Renegade asks, waiting for the other two men to agree or disagree.
Slim and Crazy both agree. Renegade stays on the phone long enough to finalize the details before agreeing to bring it before their tables. As soon as Renegade hangs up, we take a vote and agr
ee to the plan that was set forward by the three clubs. We’ll wait for word from the Phantom Bastards and the Scavengers. In the meantime, we’ll prepare as if everyone has agreed.
Renegade tells Grave and I to check the weapons and ammo. They all need to be cleaned and checked so we are ready for the hell we’re getting ready to reign down on them. We take each weapon to disassemble and clean them before putting them back together and getting enough ammo for each brother to take care of business.
We then put the bigger guns into the rifle cases with extra ammo for those as well. It looks like we are building our own militia, but when we are done, no one will be able to mess with us or our women again.
We spend hours going about our different tasks. Once we’re all done, we meet in the common room. I seek out Hadliegh and Axle to see if they’re here yet. While we’ve been busy, the babes have made sure that the extra rooms are clean, there is enough food for however long they’re here, and that there are enough blankets for the men that will need to camp out on the floor in the common room. Soon, this place will be packed with the guys from the Phantom Bastards.
Chapter Eighteen
Hadliegh
WHEN PSYCHO LEAVES to go to the clubhouse, I decide getting a little more sleep is needed. My body is aching from all the activities of yesterday and from Doc’s cleaning up and fixing my wounds as well as whatever he gave me to help with the pain and to relax.
After a few hours, I wake up and go looking for my son. I find Trin and Rusty in the living room with Axle as well as Callie’s kids. Sitting down, I reach for my boy to get some much-needed cuddles. The girls and I try to decide what to do for dinner. The least I can do is to feed them since they have spent so much time making sure the kids are okay, and that I’m not alone. The prospects are outside and they are making sure I’m safe, but having the girls here makes me feel better.
A few hours later, Bear pulls up with Hawk and Chains. He lets me know Psycho, Renegade, and Grave will be arriving in a bit along with Slim and some of his top guys, while most of them will head to the clubhouse. It is decided we will just order a bunch of pizza to be delivered here for us and some to the clubhouse as well.
“I guess we should order like twelve pizzas for each location,” I hear Renegade tell Trin who seems to be making a list of types of pizzas to get. “Make sure we have several with all the meats on them.”
“Can we get a Hawaiian Pizza too?” I ask Renegade since he is the one buying them. “I have wanted one for so long, but never think to order one until it’s too late.”
“What the hell is a Hawaiian Pizza?” Hawk questions before anyone else can.
“Oh, it’s so good!” I exclaim excitedly. “It’s a pizza with the regular red sauce and it has ham and bacon and lots of cheese. The best part of it though is the pineapple that covers it. It’s heaven in your mouth!”
“What the fuck?” Bear says with total disgust. “Who is stupid enough to put pineapple on a pizza? That shit can go on upside down cake, but not pizza. Makes me want to hurl.”
“I don’t think you know what the hell you’re talking about, Bear. Pineapple on pizza is one of the best things I’ve ever tasted before,” I tell him, placing my hands on my hips.
“As long as I don’t have to eat the shit, I don’t care what you eat. I’m just sayin’ that it’s not right. Pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza at all,” Bear says, trying to hide his smile as he takes in my sass.
“Bear, have you even tried it before?” I ask him through my giggles. “It’s a rule that you must at least try any pizza brought into this house. Just ask Psycho if you don’t believe me.”
“Bullshit!” he chuckles out as the rest of us crack up in laughter. “You think that I won’t find a way to pay you back? I’ll find somethin’ gross, and make you try it if you think you can force that pineapple shit my way.”
“Why in the hell are you threatenin’ my ol’ lady, Bear?” Psycho growls as he struts to my side and kisses me. He leaves me in a such a fog, I don’t even see Slim, Killer, and Grave come into the living room with him.
“She’s tryin’ to make some shitty house rule that says we have to try some crazy pizza she wants that has fuckin’ pineapple on it,” he says trying to keep a straight face so he looks fierce but fails miserably “We can get her that shit, but I ain’t eatin’ it!”
“Babe,” Psycho grins in my direction, letting me know he’s finding this hilarious. “You can make that rule as long as it doesn’t apply to me. Pineapple belongs on that upside cake thing you make, not pizza.”
The room explodes with laughter as everyone else realizes this is exactly what Bear had said. Renegade steps up and say he will get me my pizza as long as he can have a piece, making the rest of the brothers look like idiots. The men all get beers while I make up some fruity drinks for the girls, including Callie who is now here thanks to one of the guys from the garage.
At one point, the men go down to the finished basement so Psycho can show them what he plans to do with it down there. After talking, we decided that he could have his man cave down there as long as the women weren’t gonna be banned from stepping foot over the threshold. There are times we like playing pool and things like that too.
Before the men that are staying at the clubhouse leave, they all sit down and have a talk with us girls that are at the house. Basically, when they all leave tomorrow morning, we’re gonna have to be at the clubhouse on lockdown. They don’t want to have to worry about us being out and about while they’re walking into danger. That’s why all the businesses are closing down for the night and no one is going to be walking around.
Psycho and I go to bed once everyone has left or found spots to sleep at our house. We spend some time talking and laughing quietly. I know he’s not trying to worry me about what’s going to happen in a few hours. But, he’s worried he’s not gonna come back. Without him saying the words, I can feel it in his body. He’s wrapping himself around me and making sure he’s spent as much time as possible with Axle and me before anything else.
Psycho walked around with Axle in his arms for hours tonight just to have constant contact with him. Whenever we were in the same vicinity, he was touching me. Don’t get me wrong, he’s always touching me but tonight was different. There’s almost a desperation about it.
Chapter Nineteen
Psycho
I BARELY GOT any sleep last night. Even keeping my body wrapped around Hadliegh’s, I couldn’t get close enough to her. The same with Axle when he was awake. Last night, I made sure I gave him his bath and put him to bed. There’s no way to explain it other than feeling like yesterday might be the last chance I get to hold them or spend time with them.
It’s not a gut feeling, just a feeling that I’ve taken my woman and son for granted, that I assumed they’d always be there for me. Never once have I taken into consideration I might not be there for them. It’s a sobering thought and one that I need to push to the back of my mind for now.
We all meet at the clubhouse and go over the final details of the plan. The guys that are gonna be surrounding the warehouse Wrecker uses ride out first while the rest of us wait. The ten of us that need to meet Crazy will leave in a few minutes since we have to meet him a few miles away from the road to get to Wrecker and the Snake’s Revenge.
Crazy called Renegade last night to let him know what Wrecker told him. He’s to pull the vans in around the back of the warehouse while his guys on bikes remain in front. Once they’re inside, they’ll open the doors so the vans can go in and the doors can be shut behind them. That way everything is done in the safety of their ‘clubhouse’. It works to our advantage because they won’t be able to get out once we’re inside and the doors are shut. If anyone does manage to escape, our guys on the outside will take care of them.
Renegade and Slim gave us strict orders that no one is to leave alive. Wrecker is the only one we want alive, and he’ll be tortured there if we think he has any information to give us that we don�
�t already know. Otherwise, we’ll kill them all and then torch the warehouse. There’s no point in keeping any of them alive when I’m sure they’ll just keep coming after us for revenge or some shit.
Crazy also agreed he’d help us get the girls to safety so they can all find their way back home. If any of them don’t want to go home and are of age, we’ll figure that out when we meet after everything else is taken care of. I’m sure one or two of them won’t want to go back to live their ‘normal’ life after being held by who knows how many different men or clubs before finding their way to the Snakes. Those girls will be given a chance to stay with one of the clubs for help and to eventually become an ol’ lady or club girl.
“Everyone ready to ride?” Renegade finally asks as we all make sure we have our own weapons and enough ammo until more can reach us.
We all nod our heads and make our way out to our bikes. I’m glad Hadliegh, Callie, and the kids aren’t here to say goodbye this morning. None of the guys are in a jovial mood, and I don’t want the girls to have to pretend this is a normal run for us when we all know there’s a good chance some of us will be injured or worse before the smoke clears.
Renegade and Slim lead our group out to meet Crazy at the end of town. There’s a store there that Crazy has talked to about leaving our bikes there in the back of the store until we’re ready to come back and pick them up. The manager of the store is his cousin, and she didn’t have a problem with it.
The entire way to the meeting point, I try to keep my head in the game and not think about what will happen to Hadliegh and Axle if I don’t make it back. I know Renegade and the club will take care of them, but I want to be there; I want to spend the rest of my life with Hadliegh and Axle, and any other kids we have to grow up and have kids of their own. Hadliegh being alone and raising our son is not something I want her to have to go through.