by Chelle Bliss
“Yeah. You know, our real jobs. Or have you forgotten about them?” He rose to his feet, placing his hands on his hips and glaring at me.
“Motherfucker, they are on my mind every minute of every goddamn day. They will never know about this. Do you get me?”
His mouth hung open as his eyes grew wide. “But that’s wrong.”
“Jesus.” I threw up my hands, trying to do anything but wring his neck and add him to the pile of bodies that had accumulated during my time in the Sun Devils MC. “It was self-defense, but there would be backlash. Do you want to lose your job? If they find out about Izzy and how you mixed your personal life with your undercover work, what will they say?”
His mouth snapped shut as he began to rub his face. “Fine. You’re right. We all fucked up on this one.”
I pulled my knife from my boot. His eyes widened as he backed up.
I swear to shit my patience for this man is hanging on by a thread. “I’m not going to kill you. This is for the carpet.”
“Oh, okay.” His face softened as his shoulders visibly relaxed.
What type of requirements did they have to get into the FBI? Either his IQ was off the charts but he was lacking in common sense or something wasn’t right. I’d like to believe he was a clueless genius. What a goddamn oxymoron.
We didn’t speak as I cut the bloodied carpet then rolled Rebel’s body inside to carry it out. It basically screamed, We’re hiding a body! But at this point, I didn’t give a fuck. The motel was deserted and I just wanted to get the fuck out of there.
After cleaning the room, we carried out the evidence and wiped it down, ridding it of prints. Luckily, I found Rebel’s keys on the table near the door, since we were now carless. I hadn’t thought the entire plan through. We were winging it. Clueless geniuses weren’t cut out for winging shit, but I, on the other hand, had grown used to it.
After tossing his body in the trunk, I headed to the reception desk to handle the front desk girl. With a smile and a couple hundred dollars, I explained how the woman inside the room had turned into a tiger in the sack, trashing the room. Sliding the bills across the desk, I asked for her discretion, and she reassured me that privacy was of great importance to her.
“In the passenger’s seat. I’m driving, Flash,” I said, reaching for the driver’s-side door handle.
He nodded, not putting up a fight as I climbed in and turned on the engine. After he sat down, closing the door behind him, I took off, not wasting another moment.
“Where are we going?” he asked, buckling his seatbelt and taking a deep breath.
“To a place they’ll never find him.” I had the perfect spot picked out. There was a forest nearby, and I knew there was plenty of wildlife there that would take care of his body. I had left out the part of how exactly we were going to place his body.
We couldn’t leave him whole. He needed to be broken down into smaller bits and scattered throughout the forest. It was a necessary evil, and one I didn’t want to think about, but fuck it. Sometimes, shit needed to get done.
In all my life, I’d never thought I’d be a part of covering up a murder, but it had been self-defense. If one of us hadn’t killed Rebel, he’d have come after us or at least gotten his hands on Izzy again. That wasn’t something I could have let happen. He’d needed to be taken out, and James had done it before I’d been able to pull the trigger.
Twenty minutes south of the motel was the Withlacoochee National Forest. Covering miles upon miles, it was desolate and expansive. Parts of him would be placed by the lake and in the dense underbrush, waiting for scavengers such as vultures to eat the remains and dispose of the evidence. At least enough of it that it wouldn’t lead the authorities straight back to us.
Bikers turned up dead all the time. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Hopefully, it would be chalked up to gang violence and quickly forgotten, thrown on the bottom of countless unsolved cases sitting on a desk.
“Are we dumping him in a lake?” Flash asked as we turned down a dark road.
“Part of him,” I replied, glancing at him before returning my eyes to the road.
“What the fuck do you mean, part of him?” His voice cracked on the last three words.
I laughed, shaking my head. “We can’t leave him in one piece. We’re going to scatter him around.”
“How the fuck are we going to do that?”
“Easy. A few simple cuts and it’s done.” I knew it was a crock of shit. There was nothing easy about cutting up a body. I’d seen it done during my time with the Sun Devils.
“What are we going to do it with—your pocket knife? This should be fun to watch.”
I shook my head again, laughter bursting out of me. There really wasn’t much funny about the situation, but his stupidity was priceless.
“Rebel has a bunch of shit in the trunk that we can use. I said we. You’re taking part in this shit too. You’re going to be just as culpable as I am if you decide to open your fat mouth someday.” Finding the spot that offered some cover, I pulled into the brush and turned off the car, including the lights.
“You’re a fucker, Thomas.”
“I’ve always been one. I’ll do anything to protect my family, Flash. Anything. Don’t ever forget it. Now, get your ass out of the car and help me finish this.”
“Fucking bastard,” he mumbled as he climbed out, slamming the door behind him.
I smiled, happy that he realized I’d easily kill him to protect my sister. Flash didn’t want to tangle with me. I’d end him in a hot fuckin’ second. At this point I was pretty sure James would gladly take up the task for me.
Rebel’s head clunked against the trunk as we pulled his body out and let it fall to the ground. Using my phone for light, we searched the trunk to find the tools needed for the job. Inside, he had a hacksaw, a hammer, an axe, and a couple of other small hand tools that would make the job easier.
It took us thirty minutes of sawing, hacking, and chopping until I was satisfied with the size of the pieces. The entire time, I wanted to vomit, but I kept telling myself that there was no other way.
We took a couple of handfuls each trip, wandering apart and throwing pieces of Rebel in the forest. I instructed Flash to place brush and debris on top. The animals would easily find them from the smell.
We met back at the car when the deed was done. The laws we’d broken tonight were very clear, but sometimes the law was meant to be broken. No one could say that they’d never do it, especially when it came to protecting family.
After throwing the tools in the trunk, we headed back toward Izzy’s in relative silence to get my car. As we got closer, Flash finally piped up and interrupted my thoughts.
“Now what?” he asked, fidgeting with the radio.
“I’ll hide the car and keep it under wraps. Take my car back and leave it a block from the compound. I’ll grab it after I store Rebel’s car. See if anyone is talking about Izzy or me. I’ll head to my friend’s to spend the night. Call me if you hear anything.”
“Okay,” he said, his voice still shaky and unsure.
“It’ll be okay, Flash.”
“What if they know about you, Thomas?”
“You let me handle it if they do. I can bring an end to the club tonight if needed. I want to try to get them on record for a few more things before I end the operation, but it can end at any time. I have enough to put most of them away for their natural lives.” Coming to a stop in front of Izzy’s house, I felt like I could breathe, seeing James’s car in the driveway and knowing Izzy was home safely.
“I’ll call if I hear anything,” Flash said as he opened the door. Stopping before he climbed out, he turned to me. “I’m sorry, Thomas.”
“For what?” I asked, caught off guard by his statement.
He didn’t look me in the eye when he said, “For involving Izzy and putting your entire family at risk.”
“Flash,” I said as I jumped out of the car. “What’s done is done. It’s
in the past. The only thing to focus on now is keeping them all safe from this point forward.”
Staring at me with soft eyes, a small smile on his face, he replied, “There’s nothing more important. I have your back, brother.”
“Then no apology necessary. Let’s get changed and get the fuck out of here before someone sees us. I have extra clothes and some shit to wash up with in the trunk of my car.”
“Always prepared, aren’t you?” He followed me to the trunk.
“I’ve learned to be.” I nodded, popping the trunk and rifling through the contents.
After grabbing two fresh T-shirts, I tossed one to him and set mine down. Once I’d removed the one I was wearing, which was covered in blood and dirt, I reached for a rag and a jug of water. I wet the rag, wiping away the traces of Rebel left on my flesh before slipping on the new shirt. Then I repeated the process with my pants before I washed my face and hands.
I tossed the water and a new rag to Flash, waiting for him to get cleaned up. After gathering our clothes, I put them in the trunk, covering them with the other contents inside. I didn’t want blood-soaked clothes to be visible. Then Flash caught the keys I threw at him and still looked unsure about the entire situation.
“You got this. Just go back and rest. I’ll call you tomorrow. Remember, leave the car a couple of blocks away and I’ll find it.”
“Okay, man. Follow me back toward the compound, though?” he asked, twirling the keys in his hand.
“Fine. Let’s go.” I motioned for him to get in as I slammed the trunk and headed toward Rebel’s car.
I’d hide the car in the storage unit I’d rented months ago just in case I needed to hide out or hide something in a pinch. Never in my life had I thought I’d have to hide evidence of a murder.
I wasn’t worried about the cops finding his car, but I was concerned that the club would start searching for Rebel. And I needed time.
I followed Flash back toward the clubhouse, breaking off once he parked my car and handed over the keys. After hiding the car, I knew exactly where I needed to spend the night. There was only one person I trusted. I’d head to Roxy, get cleaned up, spend the night, and have her as an alibi. I wouldn’t ask her to lie for me outright, but she’d say anything to save my life, and I knew it.
I had a lot of thinking to do on the mile-long walk to Roxy’s. Hiding my face, keeping my head down, I walked with quick steps, the future on my mind. There were so many variables, so much unknown, that I couldn’t quite wrap my head around it all—Roxy, the club, my family. Where did I fit in anymore?
I wasn’t the same man I’d been when I joined the DEA. If you had asked me then if I’d kill a man and hide his body, I would’ve looked at you like you had three heads. But I had done it. That was the new Thomas Gallo. I was just as guilty as every club member, but my motives were different. They cared about money and hate. I only wanted to keep my family safe—and Roxy too. My sole purpose was bringing down the MC and getting the fuck out and back to where I belonged.
Where did Roxy fit in? What would I do about her? She and I had met a couple of months after I’d been patched. We weren’t a couple and I sure as hell wasn’t exclusive. I couldn’t be. Fuck the shit about leaving someday. It was more about keeping up appearances. All the guys in the club fucked around if they had an old lady or not. The bonus to it was the ladies liked to talk. The girls in the club knew some deep, dark secrets. Stupid fuckers would get shitfaced and spill their secrets when their cocks were buried deep in pussy and they were out of their fucking minds.
I’d spend my time with them, getting them hammered, having some fun, and pulling information from them. I hadn’t been careless in how I’d gleaned the details, but I’d made them feel comfortable enough to tell me. I knew more shit about every bastard inside the MC.
Could I leave this town and Roxy behind? The thought of it made my stomach constrict. She was too good to be thrown out like a piece of trash. When she found out the truth about me, would she be willing to forgive me? I had to think about that too. There were more than just my thoughts to take into consideration. Maybe she wouldn’t want me. I wasn’t a total cocksucker. The thought had crossed my mind a time or two.
The other issue was my family. The Gallos are a clan. It wasn’t hard to get membership, but would she fit in? I knew they’d welcome her with open arms. If I loved her, they’d sure as fuck love her too. The real question was if Roxy would like them. Would she feel adequate enough to be around them?
They could be overwhelming. Smothering people with love and affection was something they had perfected over the years. Roxy was a lot like Izzy. Headstrong, a ball buster, didn’t take shit from anyone, and could bring a man, specifically me, to his knees. They’d hit it off and be nothing but fucking trouble.
My family had always been close. We were a tight-knit group. A moment of silence was just a fairytale, as we were always up each other’s asses. “Loud,” “obnoxious,” and “rowdy” were words that could be used to describe my family. But Roxy had grown up alone, surrounded by the club, with no real parental guidance. The Gallos could be overwhelming for her.
I didn’t know what the future held. Was she just someone I’d smile about as I looked back on my time with her? A faint memory lost in the past?
Chapter 6
I couldn’t sleep. Blue always returned my messages. Always. Even if it was a quick message to say, “Not tonight,” he never forgot. I didn’t like being ignored, and unlike most people in my life, Blue was always mindful and acknowledged me. I knew he usually had more important things to do, but damn it, it still hurt.
Tossing and turning, I punched my pillow, trying to find a position comfortable enough to lull me to sleep. Staring at the ceiling, I wondered where he was. It’s dangerous for a woman in a… whatever this relationship was, to think of where the man she loved might be.
I did love him, and for that, I could be a fool, but you can’t turn your heart off and tell it to shut the fuck up. No matter how hard I tried, it never listened.
Every time I thought about him with someone else, my chest ached. I felt weak each time I allowed myself to think about how he wasn’t mine and never would be.
The room was hot, and the humidity felt heavier tonight. Giving up on sleep, I climbed to my feet and headed toward the living room. I didn’t see a point in lying there, staring at the ceiling, and thinking of stuff that I couldn’t change.
As I rounded the corner to the living room, I heard my back door open. Stopping dead in my tracks, I held my breath and listened. A scratching noise, as if the person were trying to jimmy the lock, made my heart start again, slamming into my sternum and beating in a rapid rhythm.
Gripping the wall, I flattened my back against the cool, smooth surface and debated my next move. Should I make a run for the front door or try and hide?
Fuck. Why didn’t I grab a robe or some shit?
A loud creak as the door opened made me jump, and a small whimper escaped my lips. I was frozen with fear, rooted in the spot, and unable to move.
“Roxy,” a voice called out in the darkness.
The sound of my blood whooshing through my ears muffled the voice. Closing my eyes, I said a prayer that they weren’t here to hurt me.
“Yes,” I replied, keeping myself glued to the wall.
“Angel, it’s me.”
It took me a moment to register the voice. Blue.
Sucking in a breath, I began to shake. As my knees gave out, my body started to slide down the wall until strong hands grabbed me around my ribs and propped me up.
“Roxy?” Blue asked, his forehead crinkling as he stared at me. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?” I asked, my legs feeling strong with his help. “What’s wrong?” I repeated, raising my voice at the stupidity of his question.
“Yeah.” He squeezed my ribs, keeping his eyes locked on mine.
“You basically break in to my house and give me a goddamn heart attack and yo
u’re asking me what’s wrong? Seriously.”
He started to laugh. Glaring at him, I reached up and slapped his face. His laughter died immediately, his smile disappearing as his face snapped back to mine.
“What the fuck?” he seethed, releasing my body before wiping the corner of his mouth.
“You’re an asshole, Blue. I thought someone was here to murder me.”
“Aww, baby. Come on. Don’t get upset with me,” he whispered, sliding his hand up my thigh.
His snarky, carefree attitude for once had become too much. I didn’t know if it was the adrenaline still coursing through my veins, but I reached up and smacked his face again. This time, he didn’t budge.
“You wanna play rough tonight, Rox?” The corner of his mouth turned up as his jaw ticked. “Come on, baby. Hit me harder.”
His cockiness and smug bullshit were just the ticket. Reaching up, I moved my hand toward his face one more time, but he grabbed it, stopping it from connecting.
“I knew you were in there, tiger. It’s been a while,” he said, grabbing my nightie.
“Don’t fuckin’ touch me, Blue. I’m so pissed at you I can’t see straight.” My body was on high alert. My heart was still pounding from being scared, and my mind was reeling at the bad shit that could’ve really happened if it hadn’t been him breaking in.
Sliding his hand farther up my thigh, he watched my face. Sucking in a breath, I tried to hide the small moan that wanted to slip from my lips. As he cupped my pussy, rubbing his palm against my clit, I snapped. My opposite hand, the one free from his grip, flew through the air and connected with his cheek.
Whoops. He wasn’t expecting that one.
His eyes flashed before he released my hand and slapped me back. Shock filled me; my breath was lost, and a slice of pain radiated through my cheek.
Fuck, the man knew how to press my buttons.
I liked it rough.
I’d never shied away from it. Blue never hit me hard enough to cause damage, but he did set my body on fire.
Before I could react, his hold on my pussy grew rougher and he crashed his lips to mine, sucking out what air was left inside, leaving me breathless.