by Sam Crescent
“I always want to thank Whizz. Where is he?”
“I’m here.”
Sandy saw he was standing by the door, and Lacey was holding his arm.
“Out of all of us here, you’ve done the best. The fight with Andrew is not a fight just with our fists. If it was, we’d have gotten him weeks ago. This fight needed you, and we’re a lucky bunch of men to have you with us.”
“Thank you.”
“To all of our clubs, whether it be Skulls, Nomad, or Chaos, we’re going to win this thing.”
Another round of cheers erupted.
The music was turned up, and Sandy turned around in Stink’s arms. “So, Stink, what do you say to carrying me over the threshold, taking me to your room, and having your wicked way with me? Do you think you can handle that?” she asked.
Stink bent down, picking her up in his arms, and holding her close.
“That’s one order I’m more than happy to oblige.”
There were catcalls and some dirty words spoken as Stink carried her toward the threshold of the clubhouse. He didn’t drop her, and he took her to their room, where he placed her on the bed. Stink left to go and shut the door, returning to her.
“I want you to make love to me, Stink.”
She never had to ask her man twice.
****
Spider rubbed his head as he stared into Paris’s sterile room. He couldn’t just walk in and see her. The doctors wore protective equipment, and they demanded he suit up before going inside. He was limited to how much time he could spend with her. It fucking sucked, and it pissed him off.
Pussy was walking down the long corridor returning to his woman. He held a cup of coffee in his hand, and he paused to take a seat.
“How are you holding in there, brother?”
“I’m sick and tired of the fucking crutches. I want to get out, and pummel the shit out of the fucker who thought they could put a hand on my woman. Look at her, Pussy. Look at how fucking weak she looks. He beat her, raped her, tortured her, and now I’ve got to find a way to make it all fucking better for her. How the fuck do I do that, huh? How do I make shit like that better?”
Pussy gripped his shoulder. “First, you start by realizing that you can do that.”
“What?”
“I’m not saying this shit will be easy. In fact, I bet with you and with Paris, shit is about to get really fucking complicated. She’s been hurt in ways that are going to require patience. You’ve never been known for your patience before.”
“I have to do this for her.”
“And you will. I have every faith in you. You’ve got to realize you can do it. Paris, she got that girl to send a message to you, didn’t she? She helped to fight this. Paris called out to you. On some level, you’ve got to see that it means something.” Pussy took a sip of his coffee, sitting back.
“Doesn’t Sasha want you?” Spider asked.
“Not right now. She’s sleeping.”
“I heard she can go home soon. That’s good.”
“Yeah, home. We’re living in Fort fucking Wills. With the Nomad Chapter turning up, people are sleeping on the fucking ground. You’ve got more chance of her resting here.” Pussy shook his head. “I just want this shit to be over. I want Andrew dead, and whoever he’s working with to be gone so we can head home. I’m missing Piston County.”
Spider chuckled. “I never thought I’d hear it or be feeling the loss of my own town. It’s not right, is it?”
“We’ll be there soon, and this will be a passing memory.”
Staring into Paris’s room, Spider wondered how she would feel waking up after everything that happened. Andrew was a sick fucker, and his poison was trying to spread to those that they loved. He was an animal.
“I need a smoke.” Spider got to his feet.
“I thought you were giving up smoking?”
“I will, when I’m no longer hanging out in a hospital. Until then, my only comfort is this.” Grabbing his crutches, he gave a nod at Pussy. “Chat soon.”
“Look forward to it.”
Spider went to the elevator. It was pointless taking the stairs. He couldn’t navigate stairs with his leg. Pressing the button, he leaned against the wall, rubbing at his eyes as he did. So much had happened in such a short period of time. Spider was tired, he was exhausted, and he wanted it to all be over. The doors opened, and he walked out, leaving the main entrance, and someone bumped into him. Spider paused, and stared up at the man.
“You’re right. I work for Master, and you can call me ‘Sir’.”
He had spent many days remembering this fucking man, hating him, loathing him. Even as his leg killed him, Spider gripped the bastard’s jacket.
“Hello, Russell. Do you remember me?”
Spider somehow managed to get them both out of sight. Slamming his fist against Russell’s face, he landed blow after blow. Seeing Paris’s wounds play in his mind, he gripped the back of Russell’s head, and slammed it against the brick wall. With all of Spider’s rage, Russell was no match for him. Like a spider, he had locked Russell close, and now there was no mercy. Over and over, he fought Russell, beating the shit out of him, until finally, Spider couldn’t do anything more. He sat on the floor with Russell’s still body beside him. Pulling out his cell phone, he dialed Devil’s number. His hands were shaking.
“What’s going on?” Devil asked.
“I’ve just killed the man who put me in crutches. I’m outside of the hospital.”
“Fuck!”
The call was disconnected. Resting his head against the wall, Spider wasn’t surprised when he heard the hospital doors. Opening his eyes, he saw Pussy standing over him. “What the fuck? You went out for a smoke.”
“Yeah, and this fucker who took me down, fucking Sir, bumped into me. I tell you, it was the wrong fucking thing to do today. My head, it’s fucking ready for them, Pussy.” He put the smoke to his lips, and lit it. “This man was not innocent.”
His hands were shaking as he took a deep draw. He needed to calm himself. His heart was racing, and he was covered in blood.
“I’ve got to go and see Paris.”
“Dude, you’re covered in blood. The only place you’re going to is the clubhouse and getting cleaned up. Damn, is that brain on the wall?”
“Don’t know.”
Minutes later a large truck was pulling up outside of the hospital, carrying Devil, Lash, Tiny, Sinner, and Snake.
“What the fuck did you do?” Devil asked.
“Told you on the phone. I exacted a little payback from this son of a bitch.” Spider slapped Russell’s ass. “It’s about time really. I was owed some.” He started laughing.
“Has he gone crazy?” Tiny asked.
“Don’t know. Load him up in the truck. We’ve got to do this quickly.”
“Whizz already has access to the hospital footage. He’s going to erase all trace of Spider.”
Spider sat in the truck, smoking a cigarette as he listened to the guys clean away Russell.
I knew I was going to have you, you little punk ass prick.
He hummed to himself, giddy at what he’d achieved. Time passed, and finally, the guys were climbing back in the truck.
“Let’s get out of here.”
“Come on, you’re not mad at me, are you?” Spider asked. “I simply saw an opportunity and took it.”
“You took an opportunity. You fuck! Why didn’t you knock him out, huh?” Devil asked. “We’re still hunting for Andrew, and you’re killing off people who knew how to find him. Russell shot you. Andrew gave that order. What you did was kill a nobody with a shit ton of information,” Devil said, climbing behind the wheel.
The buzz Spider had been having started to die. The danger was still out there. Andrew was the danger.
Throwing his cigarette out of the window, Spider sat back. “Sorry.”
“Yeah, you should be fucking sorry. Your leg was hurt, but your girl back there, she’s been fucking tortured. She has a right to feel
safe, and with Andrew still out there, we can’t give that to her. You’re the reason for that.”
Spider glanced in the back of the truck, and he saw the same look on everyone’s face, including Pussy’s.
“Shit, I’m sorry. We’re going to get Andrew.”
“You better hope so,” Lash said. “Andrew has proven himself to be an expert in not getting caught. You had a perfect opportunity here. A perfect one, and what did you do? You beat the shit out of him. Did you even ask him where Andrew was? Bargain?”
Spider stayed silent. He hadn’t thought. He had reacted.
“Sorry.”
“Take your sorry, and shove it up your ass. We know you’ve got fucking issues,” Lash said. His voice suddenly went high-pitched. “Oh, my leg. Someone help me, I want to kill the fucker who shot me.” His voice went deep again, normal. “News flash, this was just fucking bait to a larger fucking fish. Men and women have fucking died! Men and women, even fucking kids are in the hospital because of these two fuckers.” Lash hit the roof of the car. Spider was under no illusions that given the choice, Lash would rather be pummeling him.
Once they got back to the clubhouse, they parked toward the back, and Spider climbed out, watching as they carried the body to the back. He lost sight of them, but he heard Lash ranting and raving.
“I’m sorry, man, I didn’t think,” Spider said. Pussy was leaning against the side of the van.
“No, you didn’t. The club is about more than you, and you failed it tonight, Spider.”
“But—”
“You don’t need to explain why you did it. I get it. We all get it. We’re just seeing the bigger picture. That guy could have led us to Andrew. It could have been over tonight. Instead, it’s going to keep on going on now.”
Spider watched as Pussy walked away. He’d fucked up, in a big way. This was not going to be easily solved.
****
Andrew paced up and down the length of the small room. Russell had gone out to do some recon on the hospital. No one but Spider knew what he looked like, and Russell could see what was going on with The Skulls. Going to the clubhouse was too much risk. Besides, Andrew wanted Lola and Paris taken care of. No loose ends. Maybe Russell was right. He should have left The Skulls alone. Russell had been gone for well over an hour. Andrew had not heard from him, and he didn’t like that. Yes, he had fucked up, and Whizz had taken him by surprise. Both clubs had been more than he could handle. Instead of leaving them alone, he hadn’t, and now, he was fucked. There was no doubt that The Skulls and Chaos Bleeds were going to win, but even as he thought it, he couldn’t believe it. Andrew was not one to be beat down. He always found an out. Now, he was trapped, and relying solely on what little money he had on him and on Russell. He’d been stupid not to find some way to pay Russell. Instead, he’d always paid the kid in cash.
Being locked in a motel for the past couple of days was driving him crazy. Especially as the money he’d spent taking the room was running out. Russell had to go and get them food, pay for housekeeping, and all that shit. His face was on the news, every fucking day. If he was playing a game of chess, he’d be in check.
Not checkmate. Not yet.
Andrew still had a few contacts. It all depended on how loyal they were to him. Once the money was gone, he didn’t have anything else. Whizz had royally fucked him.
I’ll get him back.
Even as he thought it, he had to wonder how.
He’d built himself up because people had forgotten who he was. No one had cared about Gash’s brother, or what had become of him. Over the years, he’d appealed to lonely old women. He’d fucked them, married them, gotten them to change their wills, killed them, and gotten rich. Andrew had a knack for acting like a victim.
Sometimes the police had asked him about his previous wives, and he’d sob, asking why it was always him? Why did he lose the women he loved?
If they suspected anything, they could never prove it. His money, his wealth, his power had only grown until he was able to do it without diving into some wrinkled old pussy. There he’d found Gonzalez, and he was granted access to as many women and girls he wanted. Master was born, and the power had been all his.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he thought about all the women over the years he had begging at his feet. They had wanted to leave, but he wouldn’t let them. No, he’d held their freedom in his palm, and each day he gave a little ray of hope, only to squash it into the dirt. He loved doing that. Andrew loved to break them down until they were empty shells. Only then would he finally give them peace, killing them.
It wasn’t over. He didn’t accept that it was over, not now, not ever.
Grabbing his cell phone, he put a call through to Russell’s phone. They would get out of this, he was sure of it.
****
“The fucking corpse is ringing!” Lash said, stepping back.
They all glanced down at the remains of Andrew’s little sidekick, the sound of a ringing telephone seeming so loud in the quiet of the fields outside the back of the clubhouse. Lash had stored many dead bodies out here. Sometimes he’d left them for the wild animals to come and take. He’d never let his kids or his woman wander around here.
Devil stepped toward the man, touching his pockets.
They found a cell phone. The name of the caller was Andrew. “He’s fucking calling,” Devil said.
“Answer it,” Tiny said.
“Wait.” Sinner held his hand up. “What if Whizz can trace the call?”
“Do we even know what Russell sounds like?” Lash asked.
The call went to answer phone. Lash stared at the phone, and seconds later it started ringing again.
“If we don’t answer this soon, he’s going to stop calling,” Devil said.
“Answer it,” Death said.
Devil slid his thumb across the green phone sign, and clicked it on speaker.
“Russell, where the fuck are you?”
“Busy,” Lash said, speaking up.
Glancing up he saw the men looking at him. Holding his hands up, he shrugged. He was taking a fucking gamble.
“What’s it look like at the hospital? We good to leave?” Andrew asked.
“What?” Lash kept it to one word answers. A weird-sounding person was hard to detect with one-word answers.
“Are we good to go? You were going to pay Paris a visit, right? I told you I didn’t want any loose ends. She’s got to go, and so does Lola.”
Lash looked at Devil. The leader of the Chaos Bleeds crew was struggling to keep it together.
“Yeah, clear,” Lash said.
“Clear? What the fuck does that mean? Did you kill her or not? Have you killed Lola?”
“She’s dead. They’re dead.”
There was another pause on the phone. The sound of Andrew’s heavy breathing was easily detected.
“This isn’t Russell, is it?”
“Long time, no see,” Tiny said, speaking up. “Surely you remember me?”
Another short pause where none of them spoke.
“Tiny, leader of The Skulls.”
“Former leader.”
“Ah, how is Lash handling The Skulls? Personally I think you need a change of leadership. He’s not doing well at all. Then again, you did send a baby to do a man’s job. No wonder he’s not holding up to it.”
“Send a baby to do a man’s job. Isn’t that what you’re doing with Russell?” Devil asked. “Not even man enough to finish the girls off yourself. You’re nothing but a coward.”
“Ah, Devil. How is your son? Does he know Lexie’s not his real momma yet? You see, nothing gets past me.”
“Apart from money. Tell me, Andrew, what’s it like to live in a little box, and never be allowed to go anywhere? Your face looks really beautiful on the news. Cops are raiding your places. I have to say, it sucks to be you right about now,” Lash said.
“You think you’re so fucking smart. I’m going to kill Angel, but first I’m going to take m
y time with her, get her used to the feel of my dick as I tear her apart. After I’m done, I’ll give her to Russell—”
“Russell’s dead, asshole,” Lash said.
Andrew was beaten, and he heard it. Looking at the men beside him, his brothers during this war, he saw the same on their faces. Andrew had lost, and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it.
“No!”
“Wrong. Spider beat him to death. He’s got no brain left,” Devil said. “Why don’t you just hand yourself over, and we end this? Clearly, you’re not a very good enemy if we’re having to do the damage for you.”
“You made a big mistake.”
The call ended, and Lash looked around at the men. “Does anyone care?” he asked.
“No,” Devil said. “He was bluffing. I heard it in his voice. He doesn’t have anything to go on.” Devil sighed. “You know, this has actually been interesting.”
“Interesting?” Lash continued to dig down. He was tired, and he wanted to curl up with his woman, and instead, he was digging a fucking grave, for a bastard who didn’t deserve it. “I’d call this fucked up, not interesting.”
“It brought us all together. We’re out digging a grave. I’d say that’s pretty fucking great,” Sinner said.
Lash shook his head. “Remind me to never get on your guys’ bad side. Tiny, I thought our club was badass.”
“Our club is badass.”
Laughing, Lash climbed out of the pit that he’d dug, and they shoved Russell into it.
“Does anyone want to say anything?” Lash asked.
None of them did.
“What can I say, buddy, next time, pick your friends wisely.” Lash started to scatter the dirt over the body.
Before he let his woman kiss him, he was going to take a shower, and scrub his skin. He was fucking filthy.
“So, when is the wedding going to be?” Lash asked.
“Wedding?” Devil spoke up.
“Yeah, Simon and Tabitha. It’s going to happen. Will you make them do it in secret, or after he’s gotten her pregnant?”
“Lash, I love you like a son, but if you don’t shut your fucking mouth, I swear I’m going to hurt you,” Tiny said.
Lash laughed, putting the finishing dirt on the grave. “Done.”