by Logan Chance
Keegan silently watches me, knowing well enough to leave me alone.
Shaking with anger, I start to pace. Every step I take has me thinking of Fallon. I picture her bound and gagged, fear emanating from her every pore. She’s only nineteen years old, just shy of her twentieth birthday. Despite her father being President of Aces and Eights, she’s led a sheltered life. Mick has kept her as removed from club workings as much as possible. She doesn’t have any idea of the horrible things we’ve done and she never will. That’s just one more reason on a long list of why we can never be together.
We race back toward the clubhouse, my hands tightly clenched on the wheel. Keegan fills all our brothers in on the latest development while I drive. Except for Liam. That fucker’s not answering his phone.
The ache in my chest increases with every minute that passes. It’s becoming unbearable. It’s only by picturing my hands around Tyler Black’s neck, as I slowly squeeze the life from him, that I’m able to push through it. Staring at the words tattooed on my fingers, the very same tattoos my five brothers have, RIDE - DIE, I resolve to do whatever it takes to see Fallon through this safely.
I’ve always known I’d willingly sacrifice my own life for one of my brothers, but now I realize I’d do the same for her. My fingers squeeze the black leather steering wheel, turning my knuckles white.
She needs to be okay.
8
Liam
Fuck my face. No, like seriously fuck it. This day was only getting worse by the minute. By the time I reached the clubhouse, Mick was going out of his mind with worry.
Crawl tried to settle him down but that was like sending a sinkhole to a knife fight. Fucking worthless.
Crawl only made things worse.
I walk into the bar, and Six hands me a beer before I even get two feet past the door.
“Thanks, I needed this.” I take a long pull from the Budweiser and run a hand through my thick hair.
“Mick needs you, man,” he says as he heads back to the bar.
I straighten my shoulders and put on my game face, heading into the back room to see Mick.
The room is empty. All the chairs are pushed in, and the light is off.
“Sitting alone in the dark, boss?”
His head is down on the table, and I don’t know if he’s sleeping or crying. Fuck that, I’ve never seen this man shed a tear in all the years I’ve known him. And it’s been many years that I’ve known the son-of-a-bitch.
He saved me and my brothers in a way. He was the one who was there for us after our mom died. Not our shitface father. Don’t get me started on that pile of shit. Another story for another day. Right now, we have other problems.
“Mick, man, we’ll find her.” I offer the only advice I can stomach, because the other option is unthinkable.
If I had to put money on it, I know the Devil’s Way is behind this shit. And, they’d be stupid to harm one hair on her pretty head.
Mick lifts his head, his eyes red with pain. “Yeah, any word from Rory?”
“No. Where’d he go?”
“Him and Hollywood went to check out some warehouses. Where’d you go?”
I take a seat next to him. “I went to see Audrey.”
He pushes his chair back, visibly upset. “Oh man, fuck that bitch. Why’d you go see her? Need to get your dick sucked off while my daughter is lying dead somewhere?”
I crack my neck to the side. Thing is, everyone around here thinks I’m all about pussy. Which, don’t get me wrong, I do love pussy. But, little do they know, I actually have a brain too. Audrey is a Devil’s Way member, why wouldn’t I go see her?
“Mick, she’s cool. She plans on helping us find Fallon.”
He huffs as he runs a hand over his grizzly beard. “Yeah, I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“Well, believe it. She’s heading down to the clubhouse to see if there’s any static on the situation.”
“Liam, listen, that little girl means everything to me,” he says, talking about his daughter, Fallon.
“I know, man. We’ll find her.”
He stands and pats my shoulder with his tattoo-covered hand. “I hope so. There isn’t anyone else I want by my side helping me. You’ve made me proud over the years.”
I smile up at him. “Aww, don’t start that shit. You’ll make me cry.”
He laughs at my joke as he goes to look out the window. “I just wish she was here.”
I stand up and join him. “She will be.”
His phone rings from his pocket, and he puts it to his ear.
When only hearing half of an important conversation, it’s frustrating. I don’t know a fucking thing of who has called, or who he keeps saying ‘yeah’ to, but my curiosity has me gripped to his side.
He hangs up and grabs his jacket.
“Whoa, what’s up?” I stop him before he makes it out the door.
“Vince. He has Fallon and wants to talk. Says to come alone.”
Our eyes fight each other as he tries to get past me. “Yeah, fuck that. I’m coming.”
Following him through the bar, we hide our faces from the prying eyes of the other members. Patrick stands as we rush by. “What’s going on?”
I raise my hand to ward off his advances. “Stay here. We’ll be right back.”
That five second convo with Patrick put me behind Mick. He takes off like a bat outta hell. I try to keep up.
But he’s faster than I’ve ever seen the fucker ride before. We race through the streets of Vegas on a mission, and my gut tells me something isn’t right.
We pull up to a house, not just any suburbia house in the middle of happy family land. No, this house is in the middle of nowhere. Down an abandoned street. Crows cry in the distance, and my eery feeling is back.
My phone rustles in my pocket, and I grab the call. “What’s up?”
“Liam, where are you? I’m back at the clubhouse. Pat says you and Mick took off,” Rory’s panicked voice says.
“Mick got a call from Vince. Told him to meet him at some house.”
I glance to the front door, Mick has already gone inside, and every bone in my body says to get in there.
“No, it’s a trap. Tyler set up a meeting with us. Tonight.”
“Fuck.” I take off running, my phone flying out of my hand as I grab my Kimber from my waistband.
Shots fire off before I reach the door. Shit.
I halt and then take off to the side of the house. Peering through a window, I don’t see a fucking thing. Grime and dirt cover the crank window, and all I hear is shouting. Plywood hangs from the next window, and I keep moving, trying to gain a vantage point.
I’m locked and loaded, ready for some action, but I can’t see what the hell is going on.
More shouts. More gunfire.
Crouched by the side of the house, my heart slams inside my ribcage. A pounding in my ears drowns out the sound of more screaming. This time from a woman, and I pray to God it isn’t Fallon.
I need to get inside.
I rush to the back door as the adrenaline in my system urges me on.
Being on the outside sucks ass. I click the safety off on my gun and ease the door handle open.
Another shot rings in the air, and my foot makes it past the threshold into a broke-down kitchen.
Scrambling feet and then bikes rev in the front of the house. Everyone is leaving, and I rush into the living room of the house.
Empty.
I’m too late.
I take it all in, my eyes searching for any clue as to what the fuck just went down.
Blood catches my attention. Oh fuck me.
Dropping to my knees, I hover over Mick’s body. “Mick. What the fuck happened?”
He’s been shot, bad. Fuck.
I press my hand to his chest where blood spills onto his flannel shirt. He tries to speak as he coughs up blood. “It was a trap.”
“Yeah, shit. Where’s Fallon?” My eyes make a quick sweep of the living
room, and I don’t see any signs of her anywhere.
“I’m sure she’s dead,” he coughs.
“Don’t speak.” I fish out his phone and call 911. Then, my hands fly over the numbers trying to reach Rory.
Blood covers me, but I don’t even think about it as I wait for the call to connect. “Rory,” I say when he answers.
“Mick’s been shot.”
My mind can’t even register Rory’s responses, and I’m not entirely sure I’m even talking to anyone. The phone drops to the floor as I yank my shirt off to press into his wound. Nothing’s working.
Fuck.
Shit.
One thought keeps spinning around my dizzy head. Vince is a fucking dead man for this.
“Just hold on you goddamn son-of-a-bitch. Don’t die.”
“Liam. Liam. Promise me something,” he says through spitting blood from his mouth.
I lower my ear to hear the words he croaks out.
“Just promise me you’ll find my little girl.”
“I will. But, you’re going to make it,” I lie to him. I’ve seen gunshots before, and this is a bad one. Where the fuck is that ambulance?
“You’ll make a good president,” he whispers.
“Stop. You’re fine. You’ll be fine,” I try to reassure him as he dies in my arms.
On his last breath, he fights to say, “Have Rory keep her safe.”
“I will. I promise.”
The next few hours are a fucking blur I wish to forget, would pay good money to erase. And, I pray never happens to anyone I know ever again.
People rush by me. The dead body of Mick is hoisted away from me. My brothers are there in a memory.
I shake my head, washing the blood from my fingers.
Someone mentions shock to me. Rory punches him. I walk away as I try to gain my bearings.
No closer to finding Fallon and now Mick is dead.
Rory tells me he still has to meet Tyler, and I beg him not to go. I think we fight about it, but I’m not too sure.
My couch in my own home comforts me. My thoughts are a fucking mess as I try to recollect what happened today.
A knock at my door awakens me from the daze of the past few hours.
I open the door and there she is, my fucking ray of sunshine in this dark world.
“Audrey.”
She moves past me to enter my house. Her amber eyes plead with me in understanding of what I’ve just been through.
“I spoke with Tyler this afternoon. After you left my house. He’s meeting with your brothers in about an hour or so. He had nothing to do with what Vince did to Mick.” She fetches me a glass of water from the kitchen.
I sip it, my mind coming back to the present. “What does Tyler want? Does he have Fallon?”
She purses her fine as fuck lips together. “I’m not entirely sure what’s going on. Vince sure threw a wrench in whatever Tyler had planned. But, my money’s still on Tyler having her. I think he wants Rory’s help with something.”
“Has he touched you?” The thoughts I’ve had for the past couple of months come to surface.
She steps back, eyes wide. “What? Who? Tyler? No.”
“Don’t lie to me. Has anyone in that club touched you?” I try to fight my anger but it’s no use.
Audrey steps closer, her arms wrapping around my neck. “You’re the only one for me. Now take a shower so you can join your brothers. They need you.”
“I don’t know.”
She kisses my cheek. “I do. You’ll get through this one step at a time. We need to find Fallon, and then we can make Vince and his fuckers pay for what they did to Mick.”
“He was like a father to me.”
“I know. But, you’re the president now. Aces and Eights needs you. So, as you always used to say to me…man up and ride.”
I grin. “Will you be there?”
“No. I’m heading over to one of Tyler’s friends houses. I think he may know something about Fallon.”
I lean in and claim her sweet lips. Her kiss heals me as I cling to her body.
I break the kiss. “Be careful.”
After she leaves, I get ready and head out to meet my brothers. Rory and Tyler used to be friends. They used to ride together before we ever thought about joining a club. Tyler has good in him, but I think his father has twisted him to the point of no return, and I wonder what in the hell he wants to meet with us for.
Audrey needs to find Fallon before anything else bad happens.
I call Audrey one last time as I meet my brothers at the club before heading out. Her phone rings and rings. I try a second time and it goes straight to voicemail.
“Liam, you ready to fuck some shit up?” Rory calls from his Dyna.
“Yeah, let’s do this.”
9
Rory
We pull up outside of Slide, the strip club owned by the Devil’s Way. Bikes are shut down, helmets are removed, and we all climb off at the same time like some synchronized routine, and in a way, it is. Liam and I have been riding together since before we had our driver’s licenses, and the rest of the boys joined in as soon as they could.
Old Man McGray, one of our neighbors, had a garage full of bikes. He would spend hours in there fixing up those dinosaurs, and we would be there right by his side watching, sucking up all his knowledge like a sponge. He taught us both everything we know, and no one but the two of us ever works on our bikes.
Once Old Man McGray had them mechanically sound, he’d let us take them for a ride. Liam and I fought over who was going to get the honor of being the first one to ride those vintage bikes. More often than not, one of us ended up with a bloody nose or a fat lip. I learned how to ride on a 1940 Indian Chief, not too many people can say that.
“Liam, are you up for this?” I ask with a raised eyebrow. I can’t have him going in there half cocked and fuck shit up because his head’s in a bad place. We’re all devastated about Mick, but Fallon’s my priority right now, and all that matters is getting her back safely. That’s what Mick would want.
“Yeah, let’s do this.” His voice is flat and devoid of all emotion.
“Liam,” I bark and take a step toward him. “Wake the fuck up, dude. I know Mick’s gone and it sucks, but we all need to be on the same page here.” My hand grips the top of his shoulder. “Focus on this meeting, and later tonight you can drink yourself into oblivion - even get your dick sucked.”
He shrugs my hand off his shoulder, and I slap his chest with the back of my hand.
Liam’s eyes flash anger at me and his fists clench. Good. Pissed off Liam I can deal with.
“Everyone follow Rory’s lead. We don’t need any shit going down in here with eyes all around,” Liam says.
“Right. We’re here to find out where Fallon is and what we must do to get her back. End of story.”
Pushing through the door, we’re stopped before we can go any further by Bull, one of Tyler’s guys. He earned his name because of his bulldog like appearance. His head sits right on his shoulders. If he has a neck, I’ve never seen any indication it’s there. His large, loose jowls shake when he moves. He’s one ugly son of a bitch and an asshole to boot. There’s no love lost between the two of us.
“Bull, what’s up, buddy?” I slap him on his chest twice and flash a cocky grin his way.
“Knuckles,” he grits out, calling me by my club name. I earned it with my love for settling arguments with my fists. He glares at me from his beady little eyes.
“Take a picture it lasts longer.” I wink and pat the back of his arm.
His tiny eyes narrow even more and his teeth clench. I’ve pushed his buttons enough for now. “Where’s Tyler?” I ask.
He gestures with his head and then says, “Out back.”
Immediately my feet are in motion and my brothers follow as we make our way to the room where we’ve met with Tyler before.
Though it’s been awhile since I’ve been inside this place, I’m well acquainted with the
layout. Back in the day, when we were still friends, we used to play poker in the back room, and I got more than a few blowjobs from some of the dancers when I wasn’t even old enough to drive.
Rapping my knuckles on the wood, I wait.
Jones another old friend pulls the door open. He nods his head. “Knuckles.”
“Jones,” I acknowledge him with a chin raise and then push past him. It’s time to get this fucking show on the road. I want answers, and I want them now.
Tyler’s seated at a round table. Pulling out a chair a few away from him, I sit down. I can’t be too close to him or I might be tempted to make his face meet the wooden table top. I can picture it in my mind. I’d grip the back of his head just above his neck and slam his face straight down onto the table. I can even hear the crunch of his nose breaking in my mind. It’s a satisfying sound, one I’ve come to enjoy.
“Tyler,” I say. My fingers twitch. I’m itchy to get my hands on him and beat out Fallon’s whereabouts. That’s not how this needs to play out, though. My adrenaline is already starting to kick in. All it took was thinking about the possibility of fucking him up.
“Rory,” he answers and then continues to greet each of my brothers one at a time. What the fuck?
“We’re not at a fucking tea party, Tyler. We can forgo the niceties and get right down to business. Where the fuck is Fallon?”
Liam’s seated beside me and his boot nudges mine under the table, reminding me to calm down. A slight nod of my head lets him know his message is received.
“She’s safe for now,” he says. He’s so fucking smug. I want to be the one to wipe that expression off his face.
“She better stay that way Tyler, or you’re a fucking dead man. History or not, I’ll put the bullet in you myself.”
“Why are we here?” Liam asks, his question well timed. I’m having a difficult time controlling my anger.
“My father has gone off the deep end. He has been for some time now and I need some help to get him to step down.” He makes air quotes and we all understand he wants his father to disappear forever.