Bound by Affliction

by Ryan Michele

  “Fuck!” I growl as Cooper, Rhys, and Buzz enter the room. I point to the asshole on the ground with the tip of my gun. “Not him.”

  “Shut up!” I growl at the woman who looks back and forth between the guy on the floor cowering and us. Finally, she shuts the fuck up.

  Rhys steps out of the room and demands, “Jacks, details.”

  “Not them!” I hear and fuck if it doesn’t piss me off more. Looking around the place, nothing seems out of place, everything dingy and old as hell.

  I move over to the guy. “Where’s your fucking phone?”

  His eyes widen in fear. “It’s not mine! They gave it to me!” he says quickly, obviously just too fucking stupid to know what the hell he’s just opened up for himself.

  “Phone!” Rhys growls. That man could make a gladiator piss his pants. God love him.

  The asshole crawls then rises to the table, lifting his jeans and pulling out a phone. It’s a cheap piece of shit flip phone. He tosses it to Rhys, still shaking. Rhys hands it off to Buzz so he can work his magic and find out where these fuckers are.

  “What’s your name?” I ask, taking a step closer to him and watching him panic more.

  “LeRoy,” he chatters.

  Buzz pipes up, “This is the right one.”

  Fucking hell, I need answers.

  A step closer, I push, “Where’d ya get the phone?”

  He takes a step back and tumbles over the lone chair in the room, falling on his ass. He’s as scared as a jackrabbit with a wolf on his tail.

  He starts stuttering, and I put my hand out. “Stop the shit. We aren’t gonna hurt you as long as you tell us what we wanna know.”

  He nods, but it’s more to himself than us. “Met two guys at the bar. We got ta drinkin’ and they slipped me some cash, gave me the room and the phone. I told em’ I couldn’t, but they said they were ridin’ out and weren’t gonna need the phone or room anymore. They didn’t say nothin’ else.”

  I pull out my phone and hold up the pictures of the assholes in question.

  “Yeah…” He stumbles again. “That’s them. They in some kinda trouble?”

  “No, we’re the fuckin’ welcoming committee,” Rhys says with anger in his voice.

  “Son of a motherfucker!” I yell out, putting my gun away.

  That’s the moment I hear it. Bike pipes close but not too close. Then the loud pops and pings coming off the old brick building.

  “Fuckers are shootin’ at us!” Buzz yells, moving into the room and taking cover. Peering out the window and clutching my gun again, there sits Jonny and Troy fucking firing at us.

  “It’s them!” I yell as each of us start firing at the two bikes. We quickly get out of the ground level room, still shooting. A bullet whizzes past my face so damn close I can feel the air shift. Fuckers will pay for that.

  The two dickheads take off on their bikes riding hard and fast. We hop on our rides and take off like shots. My brothers surround me as we chase in a pack. Cruz looks over at me pointing down to the wheels, telling me without words to shoot the fuckers.

  A car starts coming the opposite way, quickly moving past us. Then the assholes move into the oncoming lane of traffic. What the fuck are they doing? They pull out their guns just as an eighteen-wheeler starts blaring their horn. The two assholes slide back over, and I don’t waste anymore time. I shoot, aiming for the tire. He shoots back. Ravage shoots back.

  The bike closest to us with Troy on it gets hit several times, but it’s not until he fires back am I able to clip the fucking tire. He loses his balance, over-corrects, and the bike starts to roll. Troy is tossed off the bike and into the rocks on the side of the road.

  Instead of stopping, I keep motoring along wanting Jonny like no tomorrow. Some of my brothers will stop for Troy.

  Looking around, Rhys, Cooper, Tug, Dagger, Cruz and GT are riding with me.

  Jonny stops shooting at us and focuses on accelerating his speed. He gets a little jump on us, but not much. A small white car pulls out in front of him and he veers out of the way, getting in front of the car. We throttle it and one by one get around the car. Jonny’s gained a bit, but we’re able to catch up quick.

  I pull my gun out, ready to shoot his bike, when out of nowhere a farm fresh box truck swerves in front of Jonny. Jonny has a good handle on the bike, but it’s not enough. The bike lays on its side, taking Jonny with it. Fuck, that burn is going to hurt. Good.

  We make our way to Jonny, who is screaming in pain. The guy in the truck slows down along with the white car that was behind us. Dagger and GT make their way to those vehicles, hopefully getting them to get the fuck out of here and not call the damn cops.

  Jonny is pinned down by the bike, his leg trapped under it, blood everywhere. Getting off my bike, I approach and bend down to him. “You did this shit to yourself, fucker. But don’t worry. What I have in store for you will be much worse.”

  “Fuck you!” he bellows, while trying to rip his leg out from under the bike. His gun sits just out of reach, having flown off of him during the tumble. Rhys goes over and picks it up.

  Cruz is on the phone barking orders. “Right!” I hear him say as he makes his way over. “Stone’ll be here in five. Need to get somewhere where we’re not drawin’ so much fuckin’ attention.”

  “You fuckers aren’t takin' me anywhere.” Jonny goes in his jacket, but I’m there first, grabbing the gun from him and giving him a swift punch to the leg where the peg of the bike ripped open his calf. Fuck that has to hurt, good.

  “Let’s get the bike off and drag em’ over there. Make it look like we’re stoppin’ for a rest,” Rhys says, pointing over to a large oak tree. It’ll work.

  Jonny starts to talk again, and I rip off my boot, pull off my sock, and stick it in his mouth then grab his arms and put them behind his back, zip tying them. He groans from the pain, trying to hold it in.

  “Little help?”

  Rhys just laughs at me, grabs Jonny under the arm, and we drag him over to the tree as he fights to get the sock out of his mouth. Tug and Cooper grab the bikes, even Jonny’s shit, and brings it over.

  Jonny mumbles something and spits out the rag. “You assholes. I will fuck you up. I’ll destroy you and that fuckin’ bitch who took out my brothers!”

  A solid punch to the jaw comes from my fist. He slumps to the side as Rhys pulls him back up.

  “You fucker,” he groans, and I’ve had enough of his mouth. Going to my saddlebags, I pull out the duct tape then stick the sock back in and tape over it.

  “That should keep him quiet.”

  The large truck and car pull off, and I see GT and Dagger striding, grabbing their bikes on the way.

  “Gone. Told em’ we’d handle it. They were pretty easy to convince,” GT says to us all with a smile on his face.

  “How’s the other one?” Tug asks as Cruz gets off the phone again.

  He slips the phone into his cut inside pocket. “Guy’s still alive, but barely. Stone’s pickin’ him up then coming here. Be ready to move.”

  “They gotta spot for us?” I ask, ready to make these two pay. Almost dead means he’s still alive and needs to feel what I can do to him.

  “Sinister Sons has a place, and Stone’s gonna take us there.”

  “Nice.” Rhys’ smile is purely evil. He’s been with the club forever and still gets a kick out of this part of the job. My blood’s pumping to do the same.

  Minutes later, Stone pulls up in a large van with a trailer and blacked out windows. He jumps out of the vehicle as our brothers follow behind him.

  “Let’s get movin’. Too out in the open,” he says. We bust ass getting Jonny inside the van, him fighting and yelling through his sock the entire time. When we toss him in, Troy lays there, his lids closing and then opening. Cuts and road burn cover him everywhere. Yeah, he hurts but not enough.

  We hop on our bikes and follow Stone. He’s become a very good ally in all of this. He is Bristyl’s brother even if they hav
e some rocky shit going on.

  Anticipation bubbles as all the anger I’ve felt over the last few months comes to the surface. Seeing Leah bleeding on the bed. Watching her in a coma fight for her life. Feeling every fear roll off her day in and day out. Hearing her cry out in her sleep when the only thing I could do was hold her. Touching every single scar on her body and knowing how she suffered. Everything balls inside of me, feeding the raging beast that has been kept dormant the last few months.

  Getting off my bike and walking into the tall building with nothing surrounding it, Stone meets us at the back of the van. “You’re all set. No one’ll know you’re here. You’ll have everything you need in there. If not, improvise,” he says on a chuckle.

  I hold out my hand which he takes. “Thank you.”

  His other hand pats my shoulder. “Make em’ pay.” Stone helps unload the bikes while we get the two men inside the building. After shaking hands with my brothers, Stone takes off.

  Then it’s just us and two dickheads who threatened my girl.

  The room is damp and dark. There’s one fluorescent light overhead that looks like it’s missing a bulb. Chairs sit in the middle of the room, and off to the side is a table filled with toys. Not really toys, but tools. Payback tools for Leah. Sinister Sons knows what they’re doing. I spot some eye holes attached to the cement walls and begin my search for rope and tie it off to the side. Plans start in my mind, and I haven’t even set this fucker down yet.

  The assholes are tossed on to the floor and they hit with a hard thud, echoing in the confined room. Unable to hold back, I kick Jonny’s stomach hard with my boot, the sound of his grunts muffled through the sock.

  Jonny kicks out and I barely jump in time to miss his attack, but I do and land a hard boot to his injured leg. His cries of pain bring me joy.

  “What’s the plan?” Cruz asks, surprising me. He nods to the floor where the assholes lay. “This is your party. We had our fun. You’re the lead.”

  A sinister smile tips up my lips. “Hold him.” I point down to Jonny. Cooper is the one to pull him up to standing.

  The anger boils over, splashing to the floor and spreading like a spider’s web throughout the room. One punch, two. Three. Over and over I lay into the man, my fists as bloody as his face. He pleads, but there is no mercy.

  Cooper throws the guy down to the ground as he moans, turning his body. I look to the next one who has barely moved.

  I bend down to him. “One last thing before you die.” Moving over to the table, a jar marked acid sticks out. Without any thought, I cover Troy with it and only then do I hear the screams from his body. Each scream of pain is one that Leah doesn’t have to feel. That she doesn’t have to experience.

  Leaving him there, I move back to Jonny. “Jacks, you’re up for this one.”

  Jacks walks up and grabs Jonny, holding him up, his leg hanging on by a little muscle. “Fine by me.”

  Troy’s screams lessen to whimpers, and I know he doesn’t have much time left. He’s getting more dignity than I should allow for his death. There’s just something about killing a man who’s going to die of his own stupidity that makes me want to wait for that to happen.

  The adrenaline is still fresh and demanding as I lay into him, causing cuts along his chin and head. The punches keep coming until my anger settles, and I couldn’t even tell you how long that is.

  My brothers stand back. Cruz is on his phone. GT is talking to Dagger. Rhys is watching both the guys on the floor carefully. Buzz, Breaker, and Tug are huddled in the corner. Everyone is doing their thing like this is just another day in the life of Ravage. It is, but it makes me smile because that’s who we are—family. They’re giving me this, but still staying close to keep it all in check.

  After Jacks tosses the guy to the ground, I grab the rope, looking at both Cooper and Jacks. Us three can withstand anything with each other at our backs. I nod to the eye holes in the wall. “Strip him and let’s tie him up.”

  “Fuck yeah.” This catches several of the brothers attention as Jonny screams and thrashes, trying to get away. It doesn’t help. Knotting the rope to the wall, I yank it to see how tight it is. Rhys comes over to help tie the last two for me.

  Jonny continues to move while we tie him, and it only amps me up more and more. He will pay for wanting to hurt my woman.

  After he’s tied up, only his ass on the ground while his arms and legs are spread wide and attached to the wall, the biggest knife I can find off the table lays in my hand. Ripping the tape off and tearing the sock out of his mouth, he screams and thrashes.

  “You fuckers! Do you know who I am? What I can do to you!” he yells.

  I laugh. “I know exactly who you are. I also know you fucked with the wrong woman. My woman. You think Nick, Poe, and Len didn’t deserve what they had comin’? Batten down the hatches, pissant, and let’s see if you can hack it.”

  He screams as the knife pierces his flesh then continues, making its way around his body. Each insertion of the blade is for Leah. For every drop of pain that she felt. For every fear she had I continue around his body, knowing in his chest I’ve hit some organs as he bleeds on the floor.

  I take the knife and rip a line from his hair, down his eye and lips. The knife digs in as he screams. “No one fucks with my woman.” The knife slices into his neck close to his artery, but not close enough. He doesn’t deserve to have an easy death.

  Blood pools underneath Jonny as his head falls back, him losing the strength to hold it up. I grab his hair and pull it hard. “Those three fucks deserved what they got. As do you for fucking with my girl. Shit ends now.” His neck snaps back as I move over to the table where a bottle of acid sits. Ever so slowly, I start to pour it on Jonny’s face. He screams like the pussy he is. I toss a little on Troy to see if he’s still alive, but he doesn’t move.

  Rhys goes over and checks him. “Dead.”

  “One less asshole in the world.” The acid touches every cut and scrape on Jonny’s body as I circle him. His cries are a cleansing reminder that he will never touch my girl again.

  The smell of burning flesh and cries of pain permeate the air. My brothers sit back and watch me work.

  As I watch Jonny crying out, it hits me. Fuck these guys. They don’t deserve my time or efforts. I need this shit to be over because Leah is waiting at home for me. That’s the only thing that matters.

  Grabbing the Zippo off the table, I light the flame.

  “Brother, don’t know if we got shit to put that out with,” Cooper, the ever voice of reason, says.

  “It’ll be fine. The ceilings are high, and there’s nothin’ around them that can catch,” Rhys says with a nod to me. “Ropes’ll go up, but it’s concrete walls, won’t go anywhere.”

  Not taking another moment, I toss the flame on Jonny and just as I suspect he screams, thrashing and trying to get away from the fire but unable to.

  Lighting Troy on fire is just to make it easier on cleanup.

  The smoke in the room is the worst part of it, and Tug opens two of the doors, letting it out.

  I’ve never liked the smell of burning flesh before, but smelling theirs is fucking worth it. It’s a vengeance I needed, that Leah needed to know she’s safe. She can let her fear go and live. This rights the wrongs. While Leah will never forget what happened to her, I’ll damn sure know and remember this moment, when these two lost their lives because they threatened my woman. It’s a relief they are gone.

  A hand touches my shoulder. “It’s done now, brother. Everything is clean,” Cooper says in my ear. “No one will hurt your girl.”

  “Or yours.” Cooper nods.

  Only then do I let the anger go as Tug and Buzz throw blankets over the bodies, putting out the flames.

  “Let’s get this shit cleaned up and get out of here. We need to meet with the Red Devils prez and get shit sorted,” GT orders, and that’s what we do.

  The ride to the Red Devils isn’t far from the Sinister Sons place. On the
ride, I let it all go. The anger will not rule me, but I’ll never forget. Let this be a sign that no one will get away with fucking with my woman. If there is ever a next time, they will have it worse. Much worse. I guaren-damn-tee it.

  We pull up to the Red Devils and have to stop at the gated entrance while a little pipsqueak of a man comes out and up to Cruz. I can’t hear what they’re saying, but my guess is ‘let me see your president,’ or however Cruz will put shit to get his way through things. He always does.

  The guy motions us through the gate. The clubhouse isn’t like ours. It’s more run down as in no green grass, picnic tables, or really anyone around. At Ravage, we always have something or someone present so fuckers know not to screw with us.

  Cruz pulls off into a spot and we all follow him, parking side by side. An older man comes out of the small house, which I suspect is their clubhouse, and moves directly to us as we get off the bikes. Not going to lie, I don’t want to be here. I want to be on the road back to my girl, but if we don’t get to an understanding with the Red Devil’s, shit’s going to get bad.

  Considering we thought we had an understanding and their prez had two rogues, that doesn’t fly with us.

  The guy holds out his hand, and Cruz takes it. “Hello, you’re here to see our prez.” They give a shake and let go while the guy holds Cruz’s gaze.

  “Yep. I’m Cruz, president of the Ravage MC, and these are my boys. Can you lead us to Piney?”

  “Dogtag,” the guy says, instead of answering the question.

  We all move up just a bit, waiting to see what this guy has up his sleeve. No more getting jumped with shit. Troy and Jonny pulled one over, not again.

  My gun rests against my left side in its harness, ready for whatever is about to happen.

  “Well, Dogtag, we need to see Piney. You gonna take us to him or are we gonna take ourselves?” Cruz asks as GT and Cooper step in line with him while the rest of us take their backs.

  “Calm down. Just introducin’ myself.” He shakes his head like we’re funny or something. I’ll show him funny. We’re all amped up and more than ready to fight again if necessary. “Come on.”