by Sam Crescent
“If you let Butch die, every single person you hold dear will die,” she said, letting her words sink in.
“They’re safe.”
“Are they? Have you heard from Lexie? Eva? Tate? They’re all where Butch put them, and I know I can end their lives if his heart stops beating.” She gritted her teeth as the blood seeped through her fingers and the lies poured from her mouth. She hoped none of them tried to call their women as they’d see through her lies immediately.
Cheryl was willing to do everything to save her man, even put the lives of the clubs’ women at stake.
She would say anything to get Butch the help he needs.
“Please, he didn’t do this. He told me it was all going to be okay.” She held onto Butch’s hand, while covering up his neck.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw that Gonzalez was indeed dead. The Savage Brothers had come in, killed Gonzalez and several civilians. She even heard some gunfire as they left the town hall. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
“Fine,” Tiny said. “We’ll get him to the hospital.”
The words were by no means comforting, but she wasn’t going to argue with him.
“I’ve got your back, Butch. I’m going to make sure everything is okay.” She was going to stay by his side until all of this mess was cleaned up. Tiny wasn’t at war with Devil, but the two were not getting along. She’d heard Butch tell Gonzalez that Devil and Tiny were at war.
Why didn’t you take care of this?
****
Standing outside of Butch’s hospital room, Tiny was so fucking angry. The bastard was alive, barely alive. He didn’t know what Butch had been trying to do, but he was sure going to find out.
“None of it makes any sense,” Zero said, standing with them. Cheryl wouldn’t let any of them in the room, probably out of fear of what they would do. Tiny couldn’t blame her. He wanted to kill the bastard, but he needed to find out the truth before he decided to end one of his men. Gonzalez was dead, and the threats he posed were all dead.
He, Ned, Alex, and even fucking Devil had planned today down to the last detail. Civilians in his town had died because of his interference, and he was fucked off. This should have been clean and finished, not like the way it went down. The Savage Brothers may have come from a fucking MC, but they didn’t act like it. They were fucking amateurs.
“Tiny and I had Butch gathering information from Gonzalez,” Alex said, speaking up for the crew to hear. Sasha was sobbing against Pussy, who was badly bruised and beaten. There had been a lot of men to fight off. Sasha had hit the deck, and Pussy had stayed in front of her, fighting. Tiny, in between everything that happened, had seen the couple. Pussy was holding her tightly, whispering against her head.
Lash held Angel tight to him as the woman shook in his arms. She was a lot stronger than people gave her credit, even him.
No one knew where their women were being kept. The club had agreed on the warehouse, but Tiny wasn’t willing to risk the safety of his woman in case Butch had taken them elsewhere. He truly thought Butch had taken them to the warehouse. Frowning, he wondered if they were in fact at the warehouse. With everything that went down, he’d not even tried to contact Eva. The only person who knew the details were Cheryl and Butch, at least if they weren’t at the warehouse. She was keeping their location very close to her chest. Unless there wasn’t a different location and she’d said what needed to be said in order to get them to help with Butch. Fuck, he didn’t know what to do anymore.
Pulling out his cell phone he dialed Eva’s number, and it went straight to voicemail. He was pissed, scared, and he didn’t know what to do. Every time he called her, there was no answer.
He didn’t see any reason to stop Alex from explaining everything they had planned. Gonzalez was dead, but knowing that didn’t fill Tiny with happiness. In fact, he was fucking angry. The Savage Brothers were alive, and he wanted them dead. They had come into his town without his fucking permission, and now he had blood on his hands because of them. He didn’t give a shit about what they’d suffered years ago. There’s always a way around getting revenge, especially in his fucking town. He’d fought off so many other clubs intent on taking on Fort Wills, and the Savage Brothers were no different. Tiny wanted them all dead, and Butch was going to help them. He wanted the truth, and he wanted that truth now.
“It seems Butch wasn’t working for just us,” Alex said. “I had no idea he was talking to another club. I should have looked into it.”
“No, he wasn’t working for us,” a blue-haired woman said, appearing in the room. Tiny recalled seeing her blue hair in the town hall. What the fuck was she doing here?
Whizz tensed up. “What the fuck are you doing here?” He was speaking Tiny’s thoughts aloud. The man was refusing to be cleaned up. He was determined to wait for Sandy to fix up the cut along his side. Whizz was a stubborn bastard when he wanted to be.
“You’re one of them,” Tiny said, glaring at her. It was against his principles to kill a woman. He never killed women, but with his anger right now, he was more than ready to kill.
“I had to come and make sure you didn’t kill Butch.” She had her hands fisted at her sides. “He didn’t give away your location. Danny—he’s our leader—he found out that Gonzalez was at the town hall today. I tried to get him to stop, to back off, but he wasn’t listening. I’m sorry about what happened and for the damage we’ve caused. There was no talking him out of this revenge. He’s been determined to get what he wants for a long time. I did try, but he wouldn’t listen to me. He’s not trusted me for a long time.” She stopped, and Tiny saw her eyes were on Whizz. “Butch isn’t a traitor. Danny asked him, and he talked about their fathers and stuff. He’s a loyal Skull. Please, don’t take this out on him. I promise you all, Butch didn’t want to hurt any of you. You shouldn’t kill him or hurt him. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.”
Tiny looked at the door to see Cheryl standing in the doorway. “He didn’t want to help the Savage Brothers,” Cheryl said. “He was scared, and by the time he realized what he was doing, he was scared that you’d turn on him. After everything that happened he didn’t want to tell you for fear of what you’d think. He knew The Skulls was his home. He just wanted to end Gonzalez. That man had hurt all of us at some point, and another MC could have helped.” Tears were falling down her cheeks. “He’d never put any of you in danger nor would he put the women. They’re all at the warehouse outside of town. I lied to you so that you’d take care of him. He told me to tell you. He didn’t want you all here waiting for their location. I’m sorry for lying to you, but Butch, he means everything to me and to Matthew.” She wiped the tears away. “They’re all in comfort as well. Butch saw to that. He didn’t want any of the women to suffer. He followed your orders exactly, Tiny.”
Looking into the room, Tiny knew he had a choice. He could kill Butch or believe that the brother who’d been serving loyally for the last ten years truly had the club’s best interest at heart. Tiny had once been part of another MC, The Darkness, but they didn’t deserve any kind of loving loyalty. They’d been a bunch of monsters intent on causing pain. Butch had been part of a very different MC. For all he knew, Butch had been with a loving club that had been taken from him. Some of that club had survived. Fuck, he didn’t know what to do.
Looking over his shoulder at the blue-haired woman, Tiny nodded his head. “Thank you for telling me. Get the fuck out of this hospital before I kill you my fucking self. I don’t give a fuck that you’re a woman. Get out of my fucking sight, now.”
She scurried away, giving Whizz one last look.
“You’d kill a woman?” Whizz asked.
“Right now, I’d kill anyone related to the Savage Brothers. They invaded our town and almost got us all killed. One of the brothers shot Butch. I don’t trust them.”
Tiny turned toward the room holding Butch. He didn’t want to kill Butch as he believed the brother’s heart was in the right place. Ten years of
loyalty, he wasn’t going to throw it out of the window. Tiny was better than that. He was going to find out the truth before he did anything he might regret.
Entering Butch’s room after Cheryl agreed to let him inside providing he didn’t kill Butch, Tiny stared at the brother. He was awake but could barely speak.
“I’m sorry,” Butch said, licking his lips. The fear in his eyes was clear to see, but Tiny also saw acceptance. Did Butch expect to be killed?
“No, I don’t want you to speak yet,” Tiny said. “You were a fucking idiot to do what you did. By doing this alone you risked the lives of our club and our women. The moment you knew the Savage Brothers were in town you should have come to me.”
“I tried to get them to come to you. They wouldn’t listen.” Butch stopped talking. Tears leaked out of his eyes, sliding down his cheeks. “I’m so sorry. If you’re going to kill me, will you please send Cheryl away?”
“Butch, no, I’m not going to let them kill you,” Cheryl said. “You’re not getting rid of me. You didn’t do anything wrong, not really. This is wrong, and they should see that.” She sat on the chair beside him, taking his hand.
Tiny didn’t want to kill Butch. Butch had been used by the Savage Brothers to get what they wanted. “I’m not going to kill you, Butch. The Savage Brothers used your compassion against you. I’m not interested in taking out one of the men I consider a friend. If you want to remain a Skull then you know the Savage Brothers need to go, and I don’t mean to take a vacation. I want them dead. I will forget all about this, but you’ve got to make that final choice, Butch. The Skulls or the Savage Brothers.” The town was in chaos because of this. Tiny would need to spend a great deal of money repairing the town hall and also reassuring the locals that they were, in fact, safe.
Butch nodded. “I know.”
“Then you need to start now. You need to make a choice.”
“Butch, baby, you know what you’ve got to do,” Cheryl said. She squeezed Butch’s hand. “It’s them or us.”
“I don’t want to be part of the Savage Brothers. I’m a Skull, through and through. I fucked up, but I know how to fix it.” Butch turned from Cheryl to look at Tiny.
“I want them gone, Butch, and I need you to write down where they were.”
Cheryl grabbed some paper and a pen. She didn’t say another word as Butch wrote the address down on paper. “They’re not going to come to you, Tiny. I can lure them out, help you resolve this,” Butch said.
Taking the piece of paper, Tiny looked down at the address. It was an old, crumbling house. It made sense for a group of people who were not part of The Skulls to locate at a part of town where they wouldn’t be noticed. No one would pay attention to men coming and going out of this old house. Tiny had been so preoccupied with Gonzalez that he hadn’t paid any attention to his own town.
After everything that happened, Tiny wasn’t prepared to take a chance.
“Will you let me live?” Butch asked.
Cheryl gasped, tears falling down her cheeks. “I’m not going to let them kill you.” She turned to look at Tiny. “Please, don’t kill him. He didn’t mean to do this. Please, you can’t turn your back on him.”
Staring at Butch, Tiny knew the man had meant well. “I’m not going to kill you, Butch. I understand what you did and why you did it, but until further notice you’ll no longer be part of meetings. You’ll be with the prospects. Until I can completely trust you, you’re back down there.”
“I understand.”
“Good.” Tiny stared at the address. Gonzalez was gone, and now it was time to take out the other MC that had put all of their lives in danger with their stupidity.
“Thank you for this. Now you concentrate on getting better.” He turned to walk out of the room then stopped to look at Cheryl. “You surprised me today.”
“Why?”
“I never had you pegged for the kind of woman to lie or to risk the lives of the other women.”
She shook her head. “The Skull women were never in danger. I’ll lie, cheat, and fucking steal to protect Butch and my son. I’m an old lady, Tiny, and I’m part of The Skulls in a way. I’ll do whatever needs to be done to protect the club.”
Respect for Cheryl grew as she turned her attention back to her man. Butch was a good man, but he was fucking lucky to have a woman willing to go that far to protect him. If Cheryl hadn’t been willing to lie, Tiny would have let him die back in the town hall without a second thought. He walked out of the hospital room, moving toward Devil. The leader of the Chaos Bleeds crew wouldn’t be part of the hospital meeting nor any other meeting for that matter. They were done as far as he was concerned. Eva had already kicked his ass over what he’d said to Devil. Calling the Chaos Bleeds women whores had been a low point, even for him. Tiny, thinking back to what he did, was ashamed of it. He was much better than that, but their relationship was dead, gone. Hearing Devil was going to leave when he needed him had filled Tiny with hate. Gonzalez had sent a man to kill Eva, and then Devil was leaving. It was all too much for Tiny, and he’d lashed out in the worst possible way. The verbal insults were not something he could take back. They wouldn’t be at war as far as Tiny was concerned, but they were no longer friends to call in a fight. He’d come to rely too heavily on Devil and the Chaos Bleeds crew. The Skulls would never change who they were. Tiny had his rules whereas Devil lived by as few rules as possible. Neither of them was ever going to change who they were. This was it. From this moment forward neither of them was going to be calling on the other in a fight.
“Tiny, I need a word,” Whizz said, invading his thoughts.
Glancing at the other man, Tiny nodded.
“We’re going after the Savage Brothers?” Whizz asked.
“Yeah, I’m not allowing them to live. Butch gave them up, and we’ve still got time to get them before they try to escape.” He held up the piece of paper holding the address that held their location.
Whizz ran fingers through his hair. “We’re not backing down from Butch?”
“No. He gave their location. He’s back to being a prospect to a point. We’ll give him time. I understand why he did what he did, but I don’t agree to him lying to us or keeping shit from us.”
“I want Lacey.” Whizz didn’t beat around the bush; he stated what he wanted. “The woman with the blue hair. She’s the woman I’ve been seeing. I don’t want her as part of this.”
“You know I can’t let that happen. She’s a Savage Brother, and she needs to die.”
“You’re not a murderer of women. She killed Gonzalez, and I need her. Ever since Alan attacked me I’ve not been able to focus. The nightmares, the memories, they claw at me every day. When I’m around her, she makes me feel different. I wouldn’t ask this if I hadn’t thought it through. I wanted to kill her in the fucking town hall, but I couldn’t. I’m asking for you to let me have this.”
Whizz hadn’t needed anyone in such a long time. Simply hearing the words from Whizz made Tiny pause. Could he take away the brother’s crutch? Ever since he met Lacey, Whizz had been different. He’d started whistling, smiling, and looking like his old self. There was no way that Tiny could take that away from him, no matter what he wanted to do.
“Fine, but you’ve got to keep her away from the group, as otherwise she’s dead along with them. Get her away from the rest of the Savage Brothers, but you better make sure she doesn’t try anything. I’m not in a mood to be fighting a crazy bitch when she realizes the rest of her club is dead.”
Whizz nodded and rushed off out of the hospital, holding his side.
Tiny didn’t know what the other man had planned, and he wasn’t interested.
“Did you get the girls’ location?” Devil asked.
“Yeah. Butch hadn’t moved them anywhere else. They’re at the old warehouse. Cheryl lied to save her man. I respect her for it. I’d have let him die, and I wouldn’t have listened to him back at the town hall. I wasn’t interested in listening to anyone.” He st
arted to talk about an attack about to happen, but Devil cut him off with a fist to his face. The blow was unexpected.
“We’re done, Tiny. I mean it. Gonzalez was the last person we’re dealing with. I’m taking my woman and my crew, and I’m getting the hell out of here.”
Tiny followed Devil outside. He watched Devil climb behind the wheel of his car, starting up the engine.
“What about our women? They’re friends,” Tiny said, accepting the punch. He leaned on the open window. “I’m not going to stop Eva from talking with Lexie.”
“I’m not going to stop Lexie from talking with Eva either. There’s no way we could stop those two women from talking to each other. They’ll do whatever the hell they want. I can’t blame Lex. She knows what she’s doing, and I trust her. We’re done though, Tiny. I’ve got a town to protect.” Devil started his engine and pulled away from the curb.
“You’re just going to let him get away with punching you in the face?” Alex asked, standing beside him.
“I had no choice. I insulted his woman and his club. I’d do the same to him.” Tiny was filled with regret. He’d fucked up big style, and there was nothing he could do to change it. Glancing at the rest of his club, he saw they were waiting for him to take charge. “I’m not going to turn against Butch. I know why he did what he did.”
“We’re not going to kill him?” Zero asked.
“No. He’s given us the Savage Brothers’ location. We’re going to take them out and finally rid our lives of everything that Gonzalez touched. However, Whizz asked to have the blue-haired woman. He wants to keep her by his side. I’ve agreed.”
“Do you think that’s fucking sensible?” Lash asked. “She’s part of a club that almost fucking killed us. There’s no way that makes any fucking sense to me. It’s fucking wrong.”
“Whizz asked this of me, and until I hand you over the fucking gavel, you’ll accept my word as fucking law, understood?”
Lash nodded, still looking pissed.