by K E Osborn
I hear a loud thud and the assembly doors open forcefully as Mad Dog storms out of them with the guys following behind. I watch as Mad Dog runs his hands through his hair, his face bright beetroot red and his nostrils flaring out so much I’m worried they might split. He turns to face the five brothers all deserting him. “If you ever, and I mean ever, step foot back on my premises again, I’ll cap you all. You’re a disgrace! I can’t stop you from going Nomad. But I swear to God, if I find you in another chapter, I’ll hunt you down and string you up by your shriveled little balls.”
He pulls out his Glock aiming it at Techie’s head, and I sit up taller as a shiver runs down my spine.
“Now get the fuck out of here before I shoot you all.”
Techie nods, and looks at the other four. They all pull off their cuts, placing them on the table, and Techie turns walking with the others following. They step past me, and I half-smile as they walk out of the clubhouse. My entire body slumps watching them leave, I feel like a part of me is leaving with them. They’re the good guys of this club, and now I’m left with pure scum.
Maybe it won’t be so hard to take down this club now after all?
Mad Dog screams as he grabs the edge of a table and upends it. It flies through the air and catapults back to the ground smashing everything that was on it to smithereens. He grabs a pool cue and hurdles that through the room. It smashes into the sound system, turning the music up louder then falls to the floor, all the while he’s screaming and cussing. His gun comes up and my body stiffens as he takes aim at the dart board, putting his finger on the trigger he pulls.
The sound of gunfire echoes through the clubhouse as Temper Temper by Bullet For My Valentine aptly plays on the stereo. The bullets fly through the air pummeling into the dartboard, sending shards of cork flying off into the air, as he sends round after round into the circle. Pieces fly off in every direction as the dartboard wobbles against the wall ricocheting in every direction with the force of the bullets. Eventually, the board detaches from the wall, disintegrating and cascading to the floor in tiny pieces of metal and cork.
He curses loudly as he brings his gun down to his side, finally ceasing fire as his chest heaves from heavy breathing and adrenalin.
Mad Dog has seriously lost his shit!
Chops and Penetrator run out from down the hall frantically with their guns drawn.
“What the fuck was all that gunfire?” Chops asks looking around the clubroom.
Mad Dog huffs and starts to pace the floor. “Techie, Lookout, Jigsaw, Behemoth and Crash. They’re all gone. Went fucking Nomad! Couldn’t hack it here no more, the fucking pussies!”
Chops furrows his brows and shakes his head walking in further and up to Mad Dog. “And you just let them go?”
“I should’ve killed them. I know! But too much blood has been spilled this year. Let them go. If they can’t handle it here, we don’t fucking want them!”
Aimie walks in on her crutches and takes in the mess around her. She goes to walk back out, but Mad Dog grabs her by her hair and pulls her to him. She whimpers out in pain and he rubs himself on her. “I need a service.”
She exhales as he lets her go and she nods. He turns and walks with her in tow through to the assembly room.
I fucking hate how he treats her.
Shaking my head, I can’t believe how today is panning out… five of my friends, my brothers, are gone. The good guys left me in the club with the lowest of the low.
I turn around and grab a drink at the bar, as Chops and Penetrator leave me alone with Acid and Blade.
“Is it always this chaotic here?” Blade asks walking over to me with a fresh beer.
Chuckling at the humour in that, I shake my head. “No, only lately.”
Acid laughs and smiles. “I like the drama, it’s entertaining.”
“It won’t be entertaining when the bullets are flying at your skull,” I suggest.
“That’s super entertaining,” Acid quips excitedly.
Shaking my head in amazement, I swallow hard. “You’re a freak, you know that?”
He smiles and straightens his posture like he’s proud of himself. “Thank you.”
I furrow my brows. “It wasn’t a compliment.”
He bares his teeth at me snarling like a dog, and I roll my eyes at his usual display of stupidity. I swear this kid has rabies. Swiveling on the stool, I notice Skye walk in and my chest warms at the sight of her.
She looks at me and then at the mess in the clubroom that Mad Dog has created and raises her eyebrows. “What happened here?”
“Mad Dog got angry, had a temper tantrum, and played darts with bullets.”
She looks at the dartboard in pieces on the floor and nods smirking. “Wow, he really is losing his shit.”
I nod. “Yep.”
“Should I ask?”
Shaking my head, I sigh. “Nope.”
“Okay, well, I have news.”
I straighten up, wondering if my bad day is about to get better. “Okay, spill.”
“So, my brother wants me to go and work for him and live on the farm. He said he’d pay me the same wage as Strapless, and I would be out of the club and doing something with my life that actually has a purpose. Working with the animals, it would mean something.”
I nod slightly trying to take in what she’s saying.
“Stealth… I wanna go. I want to leave here. After being abducted and the Cartel coming after Mad Dog, and him obviously losing his shit, I don’t feel safe here anymore.”
My heart sinks into my chest and down out through my feet. I frown as she looks at me with her beautiful blue eyes sparkling like she’s happy, and it only makes me feel worse. “So you’re leaving?”
She smiles grabbing my hands and rubbing her thumbs over my skin, sending a shock wave running up my arm. “I want you to come with me. Make a fresh start, you’d be a good farmhand, and you and my brother would get along so well—”
I put my finger to her lips to stop her from talking. “I’d love to run away with you—”
Her eyes light up and sparkle intensely. “Great, we can leave tonight—”
“I’d love to… but Skye, I can’t. My place is here with Mad Dog. Someone has to keep him in line, and there’s no one else here besides Sentinel and I can’t leave my brother.”
She smiles and tilts her head. “Then he can come, too. Please, Adam?”
It’s the first time she’s called me by my real name, and it sends a shockwave right through me, and not in a good way. Hearing her say my birth name makes me think of Hannah. She’s the only woman who calls me Adam, and she’s the only woman I want to call me Adam.
Here, I’m Stealth.
It’s a persona, a character, it’s not the real me.
The real me loves my wife and kids.
He has all along.
Stealth was just trying to move on, but the whole time Adam was craving for his true love—Hannah.
I pull my hands from Skye’s and I look her in the eyes. “Skye, I’m not leaving… but you should. You don’t belong here. You never have. You came here broken, but you’re stronger than you know. You don’t need me to become the amazing woman inside of you. You just need to let her out. Go to the farm, blossom, and be the real you. Find a real man. Someone who can love you.”
Her eyes fill with tears as her bottom lip quivers. “So, this is it for us… isn’t it?”
Exhaling, I nod as tears begin to cascade down her cheeks. Moving my thumb in, I wipe away her tears and caress her cheek. “You’re beautiful, you can be absolutely anything.”
She sniffs and nods. “You’re a good man, Stealth. I know you struggle with demons and believing in yourself, but you have to do the right thing for you. That’s all that counts.”
“And you have to do the right thing for you, which means me letting you go.”
“I was never really yours to begin with was I?” she asks and I tense up slightly knowing the answer in my heart.
“Skye, I—”
“It’s okay, I think I always knew, I didn’t want to admit it because I’d fallen for you… but I knew. You love someone else, and that’s okay. Honestly, it’s not your fault. You love who you love, you can’t turn off your feelings, but I can’t stay around and play second fiddle, Adam.”
I sigh and shake my head. “I’m so sorry, I wanted us to work.”
She smiles and caresses my cheek. “I know, I know you did and you tried. I know in my heart you tried, but your heart can’t deny who it wants and that’s not me. I’m okay, I promise. This is a good thing, at least we know now before we got in too deep, right?”
Exhaling as my heart thumps hard, I nod. “Skye, I wish I could have been a better man for you.”
She nods and chews on her bottom lip. “Adam, you’re a good man. You are doing the right thing and you’ll continue to do the right thing, of that, I am sure.”
I take a deep breath and look in her eyes. “Goodbye, gorgeous.”
“Goodbye handsome.”
I lean in gently pressing my lips to hers and kiss her softly. There’s no urgency or passion about this kiss. It’s merely a couple of good friends saying goodbye. Is there a spark, yes. But is it earth shattering and the world moving off its axis, no. And that’s how I know this is right because with Hannah I get that. The world shifts, the planets align and everything moves into the right orbit.
Pulling back, I look in her eyes and they’re glistening as she stares at me. We don’t say anything and she nods, letting me go and turns without a word, heading back down the hall to her room, to where I’m assuming she’ll pack her things.
I feel like shit.
I had a good thing with Skye, but she isn’t my girl.
Swiveling around on the stool, I face the bar and pick up my beer and take a long gulp. The cold amber liquid soothing my dry throat. I hate breakups. Skye and I were never technically an item, but this definitely feels like a breakup.
Resting my elbow on the bar and my head in my hand, I drink as quickly as I can. Shogun comes up to me and pushes into my side. I lean down and pet him knowing, at least, he’ll be sticking around and not leaving like everyone seems to be doing these days.
The sound of the wheels of luggage being dragged breaks my attention, and I look up to see Skye walking toward me dragging a suitcase and hauling some bags over her shoulders.
Opening my eyes, I swallow hard. “Wow, you were already packed?”
She half-smiles and nods. “Yeah. I wanted to save time so I could help you pack. But um… looks like I can just hit the road even sooner.”
Chewing on my bottom lip, I nod and stand up grabbing her head forcing my lips to hers one last time. I’ll probably never see her again, so I better make it count.
Her mouth parts, my tongue finds hers and I kiss her passionately this time. I don’t hold back. This is it, the last hoorah. My cheeks feel wet as she cries while we kiss. I feel terrible that I’m not going with her and making her dreams come true, but there’s only one way this ends for me, and that’s bringing down this club and going back to my old life.
She pulls back from me with a small sob, and I wince at her pain. She looks me in the eyes and I want to say something, anything, I just have no idea what.
So I say nothing.
She smiles with a sniff and leans down petting Shogun and then hoists the bag on her shoulder a little higher. She looks at me again and a moment passes between us. A silence, an understanding that this is our last moment together. Swallowing hard, I take in all her features—her beautiful blue eyes, her cute button nose, and her freckle right under her left eye. The way her blonde hair falls effortlessly over her shoulders. She’s gorgeous and I’m so glad I got to know her. She smiles and takes a deep breath. I smile back and without a word she casually nods, and then turns dragging her luggage and walks with her heels clicking on the concrete floor out of the clubhouse and out of my life.
I exhale and sit back down on the stool resting my forehead on the bar. A gentle tapping on my head should make me look up, but it doesn’t. “There, there, plenty more fish in the pond.”
I look up this time to see Acid smiling at me. “Sea.”
He furrows his brows. “What?”
“Plenty more fish in the sea.”
He laughs. “That’s stupid, why would you say sea?”
I huff. “You’re so weird.”
He grins, then bares his teeth at me growling like a dog. I nod and sigh resting my head back on the bar tapping it for another beer.
I need to drown my sorrows because my vision is now becoming clear.
The reasons why I was having trouble taking down this club have all walked out of the doors today.
So there’s nothing stopping me now.
I have to complete my mission.
I have to bring down The Virginia Satan’s Savages.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Even though my bed is as comfy as fuck, tonight I’m uncomfortable. Everything is running through my mind at a million miles a second. Skye’s gone, the guys are gone, leaving me here with the arseholes. Even though I know I’m going to do my job, and be the cop I’m supposed to have been the entire time I was here, I feel guilty for betraying Mad Dog. Even after everything he’s done, I still feel guilty for turning on him. I’m just glad the guys got away, and won’t be taken in when my unit arrives and brings everyone else in this club down.
My mind flicks to Hannah. I was using Skye as a Band-Aid. A mask of sorts, to cover up the fact that I miss Hannah and the fact that everything in me really wants her. I tried to make it with Skye, but I think she knew as well as I did, that my heart wasn’t in it. I think Skye knew it before I did, and that’s why she left. If she thought I loved her she would have stayed, but she knew, somehow, she knew.
Hannah’s face flicks into my mind and my chest tightens. Scrunching up my face as I think over the last time I saw her, pregnant with Molly and glowing beautifully. I feel so fucking shit for not being there at the birth of my daughter Molly. I was here, being a brother, abandoning my family for the sake of the job. It’s no wonder she left me. I’m a fucking failure as a man. I mean for fuck’s sake, I haven’t even met my God damned daughter yet. How fucked up is that?
A sharp stab resonates through my chest and my breath becomes short. My limbs tingle and a sudden urge to stand up overtakes me. I jump out of bed and take in a few deep, harsh breaths while running my hand through my hair. Starting to pace around my room at the uncomfortable feeling invading my body, I look around for some sort of sign, something to tell me what to do. Seeing my jeans, I purse my lips and stride over to them rushing to put them on. Following that, I madly put on a shirt and leather jacket, then my boots and rush as quickly as I can out of my room, down the hall and toward the clubroom. There’s still a few stragglers up and about, it’s not that late by any means, only around eleven thirty at night, so I’m not surprised.
Acid looks at me as I storm toward the exit. “Going somewhere, brother?” he calls out but the ringing in my ears and the pounding of my heart forces me to ignore him as I pull open the heavy black door and move out to my bike. Luckily Sentinel is on a break from the gate, so I don’t have to run the gauntlet of twenty questions from him as to where I’m headed. I don’t even really know what I’m doing myself, all I know is I have to ride.
Shoving my lid on my head, I step over my bike starting the engine riding to the gate. Rover opens it for me without any questions, and I hammer down as fast as I can out of the compound and out onto the street with no idea where I’m headed. Just the glorious vision of Hannah on my mind.
***
Pulling up, my chest is heaving so fast I’m not sure if I’m hyperventilating, panicking or just excited. I know this is not a good idea, but I’ve had a terrible day and all I could see in my mind was Hannah. My Hog was the one taking the directions on this ride, so I shouldn’t be surprised that I ended up at our home. I guess after so
long and the shit day, I needed to see her.
My heart needed to be home.
I’m parked across the street and I climb off placing my lid on the handlebars, and then turn toward our house. It looks exactly the same as when I left. The lights are on, and as my eyes move to the front room, I can see her through the window watching television. I always told her to close the Venetian blinds at night, but she never did listen.
My heart lurches into my chest at the thought that she’s mere metres away from me. My chest is rising and falling so fast as my stomach flutters at the thought of touching her, even just once. How I ever thought I could leave this life behind’s beyond me. I must have been having a midlife crisis or something. All I know is I’ve fucked up! My life is here, with my wife and kids. I need to end this sting, so I can come back and work a desk job and be here for them.
Suddenly Hannah looks up and notices my figure watching her from across the street. My breath catches at her natural beauty as her eyes lock onto mine. Her hair is a little longer but is still the same beautiful brown colour. She stands up, her chest now heaving too as she rushes toward the front door. I take a deep breath and start to run across the road and up the driveway to meet her.
The front door flings open and she steps down the driveway smiling so wide. When I look at her, her face contorts and she starts to cry. I frown as she reaches me, and we stop a foot away from each other. She looks into my eyes, hers watering profusely and a surge runs through me, a jolt of electricity so strong it nearly knocks me off my feet. Suddenly, her hand comes up so fast I have no time to react before her palm slaps across my cheek. The sting reverberating right through my face. My head flicks to the side as she starts to really cry, then she moves in, her fists connect bashing hard against my chest in quick succession.
Looking down at her losing her shit, I sniff grabbing at her wrists as she falls apart. She struggles against me, but I hold her tight stopping the pounding as she sobs loudly. I pull her to me as I ache so badly. Watching her like this is something I never wanted to see. And I caused this. This is on me.