by Colt, Shyla
She clamps her mouth shut.
Shadow takes a menacing step forward and hovers over her. “I said…do you understand me?”
She looks at the floor. “Yes, Shadow,” she spits the words out.
“Good, now I think you need to head out and cool off.”
“I was trying to save you. Reputation is everything. You come off like a club girl, instead of an Old Lady, and you’ll never have the respect you deserve.” With that last dig, she spins on her heels and walks out of the room.
“You all right, Blue?” Shadow asks.
“Yeah.” I nod. “It feels good to get it out there. Pretending never makes the problem go away.”
“You sure?” Shadow glances at the door.
It’s never a good idea to keep Stone waiting, but I appreciate the effort he’s taking to make sure I’m okay before he goes to handle club business.
“Yes, positive.” I raise up on my tiptoes and cup his face. Those eyes so deadly one minute are now soft and full of something I’m afraid to explore too deeply. “Thank you for defending me.”
“I will always take care of you, girl. You should know that.”
I smile. “It takes getting used to.”
“Better adapt fast.” He kisses me until my knees weaken and I’m hanging onto him for support.
“You named Bolton after me,” I whisper with a silly grin.
“I’ll name the next ones after you, too.” He slaps my ass, then slips off with the stealth and speed that earned him his name.
“Sneaky bastard,” I say, touching my swollen lips. His Harley starts up outside, and I realize that I’m way past halfway to head over heels and completely insane over this man.
This is really happening.
Reality crashes in like a wave and my legs turn to jelly. Next week, we’re having a localized club meeting. The chapters from the surrounding three states will show up, which always makes for one hell of a party. In true Shadow fashion, he’s going to publicly claim me. He’s always been a man of action versus words. My stomach bottoms. Everything will change.
I find myself longing for the support of someone who knows the life from the inside out. Glancing at the clock, I realize Dixie might be home. It’s early enough. I hit speed dial and pray.
“Hey, girl.”
The sound of my best friend since childhood’s voice is a soothing balm. “Dixie.”
“Oh, I can tell by your voice you are in the midst of something. Is it Bolton?”
“No, he’s been good since the fight. Great actually. I think Shadow spooked the bullies.”
Dixie’s laughter rings out. “Yeah, he has that effect on most people.”
“He’s not that bad.”
“Oh, you are so blind. It’s adorable, really.”
“Shut up, Dix.”
“Okay, so he’s fine. What’s wrong? Or right.”
I hear the hint in her voice and I laugh. “Shadow and I decided to give it a chance. I know I told you that. But now—he’s claimed me. He wants to make it official ink, vest the whole nine yards.”
“Holy shit, it’s finally happening.”
“What?”
“True love meeting back up. I always knew what you two had was more than attraction,” Dixie explains.
“How?”
“We saw a lot growing up. You learn to tell the difference. How do you feel about this?”
“Terrified, excited, content. Like a part of me that’s been missing has been found.” The words pour out like water in a bucket with holes that I can’t stop.
“You know it means giving up a chance on civilian life for good,” Dixie whispers.
“I know. I know.” I sigh. “I can’t do this without you, Dixie. I need you here.”
“You know I don’t do the club thing.”
“You’re family.”
“Doesn’t mean I’m welcome.”
“Fuck those old heads. Not everyone feels like that. The bylaws are antiquated and unnecessary.”
“Trust me, I agree. But it doesn’t change the way things are.”
“It’s a handful of people. The rest of us love you. Please, Dixie. You know I’d never ask you, unless it was really important.” I hold my breath.
She always felt like an outcast. “Damn you, Strong.”
I exhale. “Thank God.”
“I know the dates, times, and places. I get the emails same as everyone else. I just choose to ignore them. You know Pops comes out here and see’s me. He doesn’t like it, but he understands.”
She’s not too far. Santa Monica is about two hours away, depending on traffic. It’s also the home of a sister charter, so she’s not completely alone.
“Thank you for doing this.”
“Are you kidding me? How could I miss you getting hitched to the man of your dreams?” she asks.
I smile. She gets it, and sometimes, that’s exactly what you need. A person you don’t have to explain anything to. “I love you, Dixie Rose.”
“You know I love you, too. How’s your mother taking that? God, how’s Calla taking it?”
“Those bitches.”
She barks a laugh. “Oh my God! He’s already influencing you. I love it.”
“Mom just came over and threw a bitch fit. I haven’t seen Calla, and I got to tell you I don’t plan on making a trip anytime soon, either. The things I’ve learned about that girl.” My anger grows.
“Whoa. You haven’t filled me in on this.”
“I been processing. You know who I am.”
“Yes, I do. You want to talk now?”
“That night, at her party. She tricked him, Dix. Made him think he was sleeping with me in a dark room, all because she got it in her head that Mommy and Daddy loved me more. She made it her lifelong mission to completely fuck me over as much as possible.”
“Oh my God. I am so sorry.”
“Me too. He named Bolton after me, Dixie. It runs that deep.”
“Good, you deserve nothing less. Where are you at?”
“Further than I’d like to admit. Trust is a difficult thing for me.”
“Well, with family like yours, who needs enemies?” Dixie says.
Girl, you don’t know the half of it. “Shadow scared the shit out of my mom, and it was glorious.”
“What? I need a play-by-play, like yesterday.”
I laugh and relay the situation, feeling a thousand times lighter. The road to happiness had started out bumpy, but it would be worth in the end. I hoped.
Shadow
“You took your sweet ass time,” Stone says when I walk into the meeting.
“Had to set someone straight about my girl.”
“You want to tell me what’s going on with that? Because I don’t want my club ripped apart over some bullshit.”
“Hey, Psycho’s square, and I can’t see how it’s anyone else’s business. She’s going to get my ink and wear my vest. After the club’s get together, it’ll be clear to everyone. So this can be squashed. If someone has a problem, they can bring it to me and we can settle it in the ring and walk away after. No harm no foul.”
“Sounds good to me, brother. I think it’s past time for my sweetheart to find some happiness. She’s got a softness to her most people lose. Hold tight to that, you hear me?”
“I hear you, Pres. You want me for something?”
“We need your…expertise.”
I go into game mode. “What kind of job we talking?” I ask, barely leashing the monster that lives inside me. I got a taste for it. Torturing is easy when it’s for my family. I know how to get inside people’s head and wear them down, until they’re spilling their guts. It’s how I protect what matters. You can’t be soft out here, there’s no room for it. People will attack any weakness and exploit it.
“We need some information from a certain tight-lipped individual.”
“This about the leak?” I ask.
“Caught a narc among us.”
“What? A member?”<
br />
“Nope, Hang Around. A new one. Hasn’t been here that long. Found a bug in the clubhouse.”
“Son of a bitch.”
“Yeah, so we know how the word got out about the guns,” Stone says.
“He with the cops?” I ask.
“That’s the thing, man. Not anymore, went rogue. Thinks we wronged him and the cops did nothing.”
“He’s a dangerous fucker then. Nothing to lose. Where we at on him?”
“Took a beating and kept his mouth shut. Figured we needed to up the ante. They’re waiting for you at the old warehouse.”
“I’ll get the information.” I stand, rap the table with my knuckles, and walk to my old dorm room to retrieve my kit.
To anyone else, I was just a man with tools. But those who know me, know I’m a fucking surgeon with the simple instruments inside my saddlebag. I can feel the bloodlust rising up inside of me. If you’re not with me, you’re against me and there’s no love lost. I see the faces of the brothers I’ve lost in these assholes. The ones in the ground and behind bars. People call us savages, but we live a simple life. We follow a set of rules, punish those who break them and give respect as long as it’s given. To us, the rest of the world has gone mad. We’re the Kings of Chaos, because we know how to control it.
It’s dark when I pull up to the run down building we use to do our dirt. I see the door open and nod my head at the lookout. Taking my black bag out, I walk up to the door. As soon as I enter, I find a mess of a man, tied to a chair. It’s hard to tell what he looks like underneath the blood and bruises. But I would guess mid-thirties with dark hair and a lanky build. Standing, I would put him at about six foot. He’s held on this long, so I know a few things about him. He’s loyal, or more afraid of the person who sent him on his mission. He’s also strong mentally. It takes more mental strength than pain tolerance to keep your trap shut when someone is working you over and asking the same question over and over.
“Now, we’ll see if you’ll stay quiet. This man will make last night look like a walk in the park,” one of the brothers says loudly.
I nod at the brothers posted against the wall. Their swollen knuckles and the beads of sweat on their brow tell me they’ve all taken a turn. “What do we have on him?” I ask.
“His real name is Joshua Davis. Used to be one of San Diego’s finest up until a year ago, after his sister, Shannon, died. Funny thing about Shannon, she used to hang around the club. Got mixed up in the wrong crowd and got herself deceased. I’m betting our boy here blames us for it.”
“That true, Joshua?” I ask, walking over to examine him. “You blame us for little sister’s bad decisions.”
“She was a good girl until you,” Josh growls.
“So, he can talk when he wants? I never met her personally, but something tells me she wasn’t the saint you’re making her out to be.”
“Fuck you.” He pulls at the rope binding him, rattling the chair.
“Good, you still got some fight in you,” I say. “What did you think you’d do, get the place raided?”
Joshua smirks. “The game’s still being played. You’re just too stupid to realize it.”
The smug expression makes my blood run cold. He knows something.
“You ruin families. It’s time you know what that feels like.”
“String him up. Get a cold buck of water now. He got anyone, family?”
“A brother. Private detective. Small shit, cheating, fraud. That type of thing.”
“Name?”
“Jameson Davis.”
“Jameson?” The coincidence doesn’t sit well with me. The best lie to tell is one close to the truth. “We need to check on all the old ladies and kids now.” I watch the flurry of motion as a hook is lowered and chains are set up. He’s hoisted up with his feet just reaching the ground. They throw a bucket of water on him and he flinches. “Bring in the car, and hook up a battery.”
His eyes widen, but there’s still a look of pure determination in his brow eyes.
“I will break you, Davis. Once I’m done, you’re going to wish you never heard of us.”
“I already do.” He spits on me.
I laugh. “You think I give a fuck about spit? I’m going to have a lot more than that on me soon enough.” I walk back to my kit, retrieve a hammer, and slam the end into his knees.
The crack of bones and his screams mingle together.
I do the same to the opposite knee, not giving him time to breathe. This information is time sensitive, I feel it in my bones. “You ready to talk yet, Davis?”
“Fuck you,” he croaks.
The car pulls up behind me and I grin. “Don’t worry, I can be more persuasive.” I watch them hook the jumper cables up. “You know how this is going to play out. Why don’t you save yourself the trouble?”
“You’re going to kill me either way.”
“Yes, but it’s your choice whether it’s clean or dirty.”
He clamps his mouth shut. His jaw flexes.
“I know you’re scared. I can smell it.”
His eyes dilate.
When I take the jumper cables and press them together, sparks fly and my hands vibrate. I press it to his chest and he jerks around. I pause. “What you got to tell me?”
“N-nothing.”
I light him up again and again. He’s a marionette on strings being shook like a rag doll. I stop and he continues to suck down air.
His head hangs down, and sweat pours off him in sheets.
“You ready to tell me what had you so damn amused earlier?”
He grunts.
Stubborn fuck. I move over to my bag and pull out a scalpel. It catches the lights streaming in through the window. “I see I got your attention.” I trail the blade across his chest, careful to apply little pressure. A thin line of flesh opens, and scarlet droplets of blood roll down. “We both know it all depends on how much pressure I apply.” This time I dig the blade into his flesh, cutting him open down his side.
He cries out, but remains silent.
I walk over to the table, and pick up a large cylinder of salt.
As he sees the girl holding the umbrella, panic appears in his eyes.
I let him watch me pour the grains into my palm. “You could stop this at any time with one word.” I rub the salt in his wounds and he begins to scream.
“Man, you need to get over here, Blue is missing.”
“Now! Now, you’ll see!” Joshua screams insanely.
It all clicks in my head. Whoever Jamie truly is, he’s a part of this revenge mission. I pull my .45 from my holster and aim a shot in the center of his forehead.
Brains splatter out behind him and the light in his eyes goes out.
No one fucks with my family.
Chapter Eleven
You’re a Sociopath
Blue
I’m flying high after my talk with Dixie, until I realize why Shadow left. They’d been keeping him legal and out of the game, just in case the cops were watching him. Six months back, that had worn off. This is what it means to date an enforcer. Late night calls, long trips, and secrets. I sink down onto our bed. Thank God, it’s a weekend or there’d be hell to pay tomorrow. I run my fingers through my hair, and stand. A cup of tea sounds about my speed right now.
I’m on my second cup when my phone rings. My heart speeds. I see Jamie’s number and relief floods me. He’s been a ghost since the incident at the high school. I close my eyes and let his call go to voicemail. The ringing starts again. His number flashes almost angrily. A sense of unease sets in. I let the phone go to voicemail again.
Almost immediately, he calls again.
I reach out with a shaking hand and answer, “Hello?”
“I tried to do this the easy way and be nice. But I should’ve known you liked things rough.”
“What the hell are you talking about, Jamie? Are you drunk?”
“No, I’m fed up. We’re going to play this my way. Do you want to know w
here I am right now, Blue?”
Everything in me is screaming no. “Do I?”
“I think you do. Right now, I’m trailing your outlaw boyfriend. I bet he’s up to something interesting.”
“Why would you be doing that?”
“Because I’m all out of options.”
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
“You will soon enough. If you want to keep lover boy safe, you’ll do exactly what I say.”
I hesitate. Shadow is smart. He’ll see a trail coming a mile away.
“Trust me, I’m not the novice you think I am, and I don’t have a damn thing to lose. I’ll run the bastard down and let you listen to his death.”
There’s a lack of emotion in his voice that makes me sick. I lick my dry lips. “I’m listening.”
“Good girl. You’ve always been a smart one. You and I are going to play a game of Jamie says. You’ll get dressed, get into your car, and follow my directions. I’m timing you, Bluebell. I’ll know if you linger. And I’ll be on the phone the entire time. Place me on speaker.”
My heart is pounding in my chest. I have to get a message out fast. Something that hints toward what’s happening to me. “Okay.” I place him on speakerphone. “I’m moving to my closet now.” In my family, we have a code word if shit goes down and we can’t talk about things. It’s Bogus. I grab the note pad on my nightstand and move to the closet, rifling through my clothing to cover up the sound of my scribbling. “I’m setting the phone down to get dressed.”
“Good, wear that low cut black shirt I like.”
I cringe mentally, wondering how I missed this. This couldn’t be about our breakup. We’d been together for a year, not five. I’m missing a huge piece of this puzzle. I pray I’ll be alive long enough to figure it out. I put on a pair of bootcut jeans and the black shirt, tucking the knife my father bought me into a bootstrap. It was the first piece he’d given me for protection. I rarely wore it, but right now, I’m grateful for it. I slip my feet into a pair of worn cowboy boots, and call myself dressed. “I’m dressed, tell me what to do next.”
“Go to your car and follow my directions.”
I walk out of the house and get into my Charger. It’s the only time I wish I had a slower car. The engine purrs to life.