by J. L. Drake
“How long have you been around the Devil’s Reach?” I liked Minnie. She was really genuine.
She closed one eye as she thought. “Been with the crew for five years, been with Brick for roughly a year. And to answer your next question, no, Trigger hasn’t had a steady girlfriend. In fact, I don’t think he’s ever had a girlfriend. He just fucks a few women, and then we never see them again. But,” she held up a finger, “watch out for Tammy and Peggy. Peggy’s a slippery little bitch, and now that you’re on her radar, she’s going to make your life a living hell. She’s had her eye on Trigger, as you know. Now, Tammy,” her face twisted uncomfortably, “she’s different. She’s normally Trigger’s go-to. They are always screwing in the pool. She talks less and knows not to touch him, so he puts up with her.”
“Great,” I muttered while my stomach turned. “So, you’re saying whipped cream bikini?” We looked at each other and burst out laughing.
“I’m so sticky.” She laughed harder when she opened her robe. “Oh, shit. It’s everywhere.” She turned so I could see.
“Oh no!” My hands covered my face as I bucked with laughter. Everything was hysterical. Damn, I needed more bubbly drink.
“Really, now?” Brick raised an eyebrow from the doorway, but I could see he was happy. “As hot as this might seem, I don’t do incest.” Minnie tossed a pillow at him as I tried to stand, but it was hard.
“Night, Min.” My wave was sloppy. I hugged Brick and headed back toward the bar.
I ducked under the counter and popped up next to Morgan with a happy grin.
“Hi, Morgs.”
“Tiger,” he studied my face, “you’ve been partying?”
I held my fingers up. “A little. I needed something.” I suddenly tuned in to the music. “Oh, I love this song.”
Morgan tossed his head back and let out a husky laugh.
I belted out the lyrics to “Cryin’” by Aerosmith very dramatically, but the music was so loud hardly anyone noticed.
“Sing it, sweetheart!” Morgan shouted and slammed down a shot.
***
Trigger
The guys were in full swing with the prospects. Brick was close to breaking down Ty, who had a bit of a chip on his shoulder. Pissed me off, but he also had balls, so I respected that.
“We all set?” Rail paused. “Someone is having fun.”
I decided to check it out. Tess was singing at the top of her lungs with Morgan rocking out next to her.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Morgan dance.” Cooper shook his head. “I don’t think I want to anymore.”
Tess slapped the bar and took a shot with Loose, who it seemed to me was wherever she was. My fists clenched as I fought the urge to stab him in the neck.
“We ready for this weekend?” Rail asked, but he was cut off by a scream.
My eyes went immediately to Tess, who had thrown her arms in the air, her face a picture of fear.
It only took me a moment to see why. One of the Serpents had a gun pointed at her.
I was behind him in three strides and calmly spoke. “I’m going to ask you this only once, so think carefully.”
The man turned slightly to eye me but didn’t back down.
“Why the fuck do you got a gun pointing at my girl?”
“Bitch went for the piece,” he spat out. “I was just here to deliver a message.”
I glanced at Tess, who wasn’t breathing. “Which was?”
“We are accepting your invite to the desert.”
I made a show of scratching my beard while I got my guys in sight. “Well, I have a message for you.” I elbowed him in the throat and grabbed his head and slammed it to the bar top. He bounced back and fell to the ground.
“Get ’im out of here,” I shouted to Big Joe, who dragged him out by his feet. “Why the fuck wasn’t he patted down!”
“You can put your arms down now, Tiger,” Morgan whispered to Tess who looked frozen in time. The music turned back up and everyone went right back to drinking.
“You okay, Tess?” Loose tried to grab her attention.
She shook her head and dropped the rag in the sink. “I think I’ll head to bed.”
Morgan looked worried but returned to serving. I followed behind her.
“Hey,” I called after her.
“I’m fine, Trigger.” She wouldn’t look back.
I caught her arm just as she was about to turn the corner. “Don’t walk away from me,” I barked, but the moment I saw her face, I felt like a dick. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were flushed.
“I said I’m fine.”
“Really? ’Cause you’re shaking.”
Her eyes closed and she swallowed hard. “I swear, I didn’t know there was a handgun there.”
“You think I care if you did?” She was crazy. “Are you okay? Look at me in the eye, and don’t you dare lie to me, Tess.”
Her face flinched, almost like she remembered something.
“What?”
“Nothing,” she sighed. “Don’t mind guns now. Your club broke me of that. But he looked unstable, and I wasn’t sure—”
“Trigger?” I turned to see Tammy in a towel, her bright green nails stroking her chest. “I was just going to go for a swim and thought you might like to join me?” She dropped the scrap of fabric and was ass naked in the hallway.
I cursed before I turned to Tess, but she was no longer in front of me.
“Is that a no?”
“That’s a fuck no, Tammy.”
“Why do you look like that all the time?” Vanessa, a local girl who seemed to think I was her personal project to fix, joined me on the steps of the movie theater.
My fight got out four hours ago, and I liked to watch the sun rise to remind me that I lived to see another day. Sometimes I wondered if it was a good thing or not. Maybe lying in the dirt would be better than walking on the grass.
“You just like to fight people?”
I spat some blood on the ground. The shit had sucker punched me in the lip. It was dirty, but I knew dirty all too well, and three hits from me and the fucker was done. “Don’t really have a choice.”
“Everyone has a choice.”
I smirked. Spoiled brat probably had everything handed to her. She’d never known what a hard time really was.
“You know,” she moved down to my step, “if you smiled more and didn’t act like you were about to snap and kill us all, maybe you’d have some friends.”
“You think I want friends?” The chick was insane.
“You’re what, fifteen? I have never seen you speak to another person. Gotta be lonely.”
“It’s not.”
“You know they call you the boy with bruises?” She eyed me for a reaction. Well, she didn’t get one. I learned a long time ago to mask everything. If you showed a reaction or an emotion, you became weak. Weakness was cancer for people like me. She moved forward with her keys around her fingers. “You could tell me your actual name.”
“I could.”
“But you won’t.”
“Why? What’s the point?”
Why the fuck couldn’t she leave me be?
Her face twisted and she looked annoyed. She stood and brushed her long black hair off her shoulder with huff.
“I know you have a different life than me, and that you think I have everything easy. Well, you know what, I do. I won’t apologize or excuse what I have. I’m fortunate. But I just wanted to let you know that your bruises and ripped up knuckles don’t scare me off. I just thought you could use at least one friend.”
“I don’t.” No one would be my friend if they really knew me. I was unlovable, untouchable, and frankly, unreachable mentally.
“Such an ass.”
“Pretty much.”
Her face flushed and her hands flew to her hips. “Good luck being lonely.”
I nodded as she rushed down the steps and into her awaiting car. Vanessa lived in a different world than I did. Even if I wan
ted a friend, I wouldn’t drag someone who had the potential to be something good down into my hell. She might see me as an ass, but really, I was saving her.
“Boy!” He slapped my head hard.
Yikes, I didn’t even know he was there.
“Who the hell was that?”
“No one.”
“You lying to me, boy?” His voice sent a chill across my achy muscles. “She’s way out of your league.” He chuckled while he cupped his hand around his cigarette to light the tip. “You’ll never be enough for anyone. All you’re good for is fighting. Don’t ever forget that.”
Always so inspiring with the pep talks.
“You keep that head on straight and remember where you came from and who raised you.” A puff of smoke passed by and stung my nose. “You ever forget, and I’ll make sure you remember.”
That was a promise I knew he’d keep.
That night I sat in my dirty little excuse for a room and stared up at the poster on the wall. Most kids hung movie posters. I hung one of the ocean. I promised myself that someday I would live by the sea where I could sit and hear the waves and be alone and not have him next to me. I would find my own freedom.
The door opened, and I saw his silhouette.
“Get up. It’s time.”
My feet swung to the edge of the bed, and I slipped into my sneakers. Tonight, I’d fight three guys. If I won, he’d make fifty thousand. If I lost, I’d be locked in the room in the basement. I cringed at the thought. It was so quiet. I hated the quiet. I tossed my headphones aside and followed him downstairs.
That night I won all three. He was fifty grand richer, and I was left with a broken hand, three cracked ribs, and a swollen face.
Least I didn’t get the room.
I jolted awake and saw him at the end of my bed. Only for a moment, but he was there with that same ugly look that haunted my nightmares.
“Fuck!” I flipped on the light and grabbed the clock. Four a.m.
I can’t stay here. With my sneakers and hoodie, I headed for my rooftop.
***
“Where were you?” Brick sipped a coffee as he poured a bottle of beer in his Cheerios.
“How does that even taste good?” Rail made a face. “You make an alcoholic look sober.”
I grabbed a water from the bar fridge and sank onto the stool next to them. “I needed to clear my head.”
“How long did you work out?”
I glanced at the clock and did the math. “A few hours. I need a shower.”
“You want some company?” Rail asked over the lip of his beer.
Brick and I both stared at him.
“Not me. Shit, I mean Tammy. She’s eye fucking you from over there.”
I shook my head and reminded myself to lock my door when I went to get ready for the drive to the desert.
“You sure you meant Tammy?” Morgan laughed.
“Morning, sweetheart.” Brick glanced over my shoulder. “You need some help?”
“Nope.” Tess struggled to roll her suitcase to the door. “The wheels are just a bitch.”
I hopped off my stool and took the handle from her. “Give it to me.”
“Thanks.” She tossed her hair out of her eyes before she looked up at me. Her gaze dragged across my face. “You didn’t sleep last night?”
How the hell could she tell?
“I barely sleep,” I grunted.
She eyed the guys then looked back to me. “You slept pretty well the other night.”
I stood her bag upright and whistled for Ty to take it to the van.
“Different.”
“How?”
“Van.” I pointed to her suitcase.
“Sure, boss.”
“Trigger?” Brick had his phone to his ear. His face lit up, and my excitement heightened. “We got a treat for you.”
“Bring him in.”
I turned to see Tess watching us.
“Who?”
“Just kickin’ off this weekend with some fun.”
“That comment scares me.” She half laughed, but I could tell she was uneasy.
“Nice to know you do scare.”
She rolled her eyes and headed back toward her room. Her leather skirt made my erection hurt.
“Ready?” Brick grinned.
The hum of the lights, the heat of the room, and the smooth floors under my bare feet sent sparks of exhilaration through me. This was what I loved, what I craved, what I lived for. That was what I was shaped into as a man. This is who I am.
With one last glance in the mirror, I saw him behind me and made eye contact.
It was time.
Fernando, the Stripe Backs’ newest sworn-in member, had his arms hung from chains that were attached to the wall. He was on his knees in only his jeans. The rest had been stripped away so I could see the damage I was about to inflict.
I nodded, and Brick dipped his cut into a bucket of gasoline then lit the corner and tossed it in front of him.
Fernando fought the chains as he stared at his future slowly turning to ash. It was my prologue to what was to come.
I removed my t-shirt and cut and pulled my hair back out of my face. Pointing the remote to the far corner, I turned on the music to Radiohead’s “Bodysnatchers.” There was something about Thom Yorke and what I was about to do that went hand-in-hand for me. It awoke the demons and rattled their cages.
The heavy spiked ball fell from my fingertips and dangled from the leather strap. A flicker of light danced crossed his face then his chest as he tried to rise above it. His eyes were locked onto the massive beast, but I could smell his fear. It stung my nose much like a drug would.
Rolling my head slowly side to side to snap and relieve the tension, I let out a long sigh.
Let’s do this.
Before he could prepare himself, I twisted and swung hard. The metal barbs hit and bit deeply into his skin in one smooth, satisfying motion.
He screamed out loud, but to me it was a silent cry. The music pumped out a beat and muffled all his sounds of terror.
I hopped back and forth, jacked up on the high that raced through my veins. When the chorus came on, I quietly sang the words, feeling my adrenaline surge.
With a flick, I removed the weapon from his flesh and swung it over my head then dipped low and drove it into his kidneys. Blood sprayed everywhere and coated my chest as I dragged it around his front. His flesh tore from his bones and hung in jagged pieces.
I repeated the same action on his other side. This time I heard his screams and his pathetic cry for mercy.
All of this was his choice, not mine.
I stepped back a few feet and lined up with his stomach. Swinging the strap in a circle, I lunged forward and drove the spikes deep into his lower abdomen. Skin ripped, and I was covered with his insides.
That was when Brick caught my attention. His face fell when he glanced at his phone.
Shit.
Chapter Eleven
Tess
“Anyone see Brick?” I asked Morgan as he was locking up the liquor cabinet. His bag was on the bar, and his gun was next to it.
“Slaughter room,” Loose answered for him.
“What’s that?”
“Last room down in your wing of the house.”
“What the fuck, Loose?” Morgan snapped so quickly I jumped.
I stared at both of them before I headed that way.
“Tess, you can’t go in there!”
“Watch me.”
Morgan jogged down and tried to block my path, but Big Joe came out of his room and made a block so that Morgan was stuck behind me.
“What’s up, Morgan?” Big Joe asked, totally unaware of what he just did for me.
I slipped around the corner, past my room, and stopped at the big double doors which I was told by Brick led outside.
Pushing it open, I disappeared into the darkness. With both hands out, I felt the wall and followed it toward the strobe light that could be seen fl
ickering up ahead.
Music pounded my ears, and a bad smell attacked my nose.
I stopped dead in my tracks as I saw Brick’s horrified face before he looked at Trigger.
Trigger slowly turned, and my stomach plummeted. Blood dripped from the ends of his hair, rained down his face, and pooled along where his jeans hit his waist. His chest heaved and his muscles glistened in the pulsating light. He was jacked up on something.
Brick and Rail stood beside him. Their faces all wore horrified expressions, and their body language alone made me realize I had majorly transgressed.
I moved my gaze over to the man whose arms hung like Christ on the cross from his chains fastened to the wall.
“He’s a Stripe Back, and he tried to fuck with Trigger’s bike, messed the steering up,” Morgan whispered in my ear from behind. “You and Trigger would have been killed on the way to the desert.”
Somehow, in a flash of clarity, I knew that in the MC world, the term eye for an eye was being played out here. I also knew with no uncertainly that this was a make or break moment for me.
And on another sick level, I was relieved to know that the blood dripping from Trigger’s chest wasn’t his.
I nodded once and moved toward him. The music switched to “Jigsaw Falling into Place.” I knew this song well. Once in front of Trigger, I held his gaze as my hand slipped down his strong arm and removed the weapon he held.
“This is who I am,” he whispered as if it were a confession.
I turned away from him and took a few steps back before I tightened my grip on the handle and swung it with all my might toward the man who had wanted us dead.
The ball smoked him across the face, and his body jolted backward and hit the wall with a splat.
Brick’s face fell, but it was more from shock and amazement than disappointment. Trigger held up a hand, and the three men left, but not before Brick placed his hand on his chest as if to tell me he understood I was okay.
It was true; I was. I now understood their world, and to prove it, I fully embedded myself in it.