by London Casey
“Exactly,” Gaige said. “I’m sorry for what happened. That’s then, this is now. You care about that woman in there? Then you shut up and stick to the plan. You wait here with me. The call will come and then we end this. There’s no other choice. There’s bigger things on the horizon for this club, bro. I’m sorry your world is hurt right now, but we’re hurting all around. It’s time to fix shit. Make it all right.”
“Fair enough,” Brody said. He let Gaige go and backed away. “Sorry.”
Brody turned and ran a hand through his hair for what felt like the millionth time since he woke up.
This was so dangerous. This was so risky. If anything went wrong - anyfuckingthing - it would be Heather’s life that would be sacrificed.
Brody took a couple breaths and looked over his shoulder. It was just in time to see the little black speedster cutting through the hospital parking lot. With a whistle, Brody nodded to Gaige. Gaige looked and nodded back.
It was time. Lyle was here.
sixteen.
Heather made her rounds but couldn’t focus on a damn thing. Luckily there wasn't anything pressing happening. Just the normal check on vitals, give out medicines, coordinate checkout times and routines. Everything was going along smoothly. It was hard to imagine the guys and prospects from Back Down Devil weren’t just in the hallway looking out for their injured brother Erik, but they were there to watch over Heather and protect her. She didn’t like that Brody was outside, but he told her this was the plan.
What the entire plan was she had no idea, but she was told to work her shift and wait for Lyle. He had sent a text a half an hour ago.
A second one came through.
“He’s here,” Heather whispered.
Brody gave her strict orders not to leave the hospital with him right away. Make him come inside so the guys in Back Down Devil could see Lyle and know the plan was going down.
Again, what’s the damn plan?
Heather walked around the entire floor of the hospital and waited at the elevators. They were the same elevators where Peter had come and gone. The spot on the floor had no stain from the coffee that was spilled. In Heather’s mind, she pictured Peter. Tied to chair. Beaten half to death. In the end of it all, Peter would be killed. Not that he didn’t deserve it. The way he talked to Heather, grabbed her, wanted to touch her.
The elevator doors opened and Lyle came flying from them. It was like he knew Heather would be there waiting. And as he came at her, Heather had nothing but flashbacks from all the years of being with Lyle.
As reality set in, she realized she had no air, no breath. Lyle had a hand around her throat and was squeezing damn tight. She reached up and grabbed his hand, pulling, wanting him away from her.
“You… fuck… I’ll…”
“Stop,” Heather whispered. “I can help…”
“No,” Lyle said. “I’m going to kill you right here. Like I should have done…”
From the corner of Heather’s eye, she saw someone coming around the corner. She hoped it was help from the MC, but it wasn’t. Just some guy in a suit.
When Lyle saw the man, he took his hand off Heather’s throat and pulled her close to him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. As Heather gasped for air, Lyle rocked her.
“It’s okay, baby,” Lyle whispered. “He’s in a better place now.”
Heather wanted to scream but couldn’t. This was how Lyle moved. So smart. So cunning. And by the time Heather could push away from Lyle, they were alone again in the hallway.
“Are you going to kill me now?” Heather asked.
“Why? So you could have your new boyfriend punch me again?”
Heather looked left to right. “No…”
“Fuck, do you think I’m stupid? Do you think I’d trust you? They’re here, aren’t they?”
“Lyle, listen to me.”
“You listen to me,” Lyle growled. He grabbed Heather by the wrist. “You want out of this? It’s in a body bag. You fuck…”
“They know,” Heather said. This is part of the plan. Lead him on. Scare him.
“They know what?”
“The truck,” Heather said. “They know there’s a truck coming through town. They have someone on the inside.”
“How the fuck do you know about the truck? I never told you…”
“They told me,” Heather said.
She could see the worry in Lyle’s eyes. He backed up and started blinking fast. Really fast.
“It’s okay,” Heather said. “They don’t know I’m telling you this.”
“What?” Lyle asked.
Lead him on, sweetheart. Tell him what you know. He’ll storm away. Leave it to us from there…
“Lyle, I’m sorry.” Heather forced herself to step forward. “I was scared, okay? I didn't know what to do. They were there. They hit you. They hurt your guys. I didn’t want them to kill you.”
“So you went with them?”
“I used them, baby. Like you taught me. I flirted and found so much out. They’re afraid of you, Lyle. They’re afraid of your power. That’s why the truck is such a big deal.”
“It is a big deal,” Lyle said. “I have my life on it. This goes bad, I’m dead. Fucking dead.”
Heather reached out and touched Lyle’s face. She was cringing and feeling sick on the inside. On the outside, she was smiling. Holding it all together.
“Don’t let it go bad,” Heather whispered. “They’re here, watching me. They think they’re helping me. You can go stop the truck, right? Take a different route. There’s got…”
“I’m dead.”
“Not if you stop a threat, right? You can prevent something big from happening. You look - and are - smarter than everyone else around you, Lyle. You have the power. You have the ability to make everything right.”
“And you want that with me?” Lyle asked.
“Yes,” Heather said. “I want what’s right. That truck can’t come through Frelen. Right?”
Lyle nodded slowly. He stepped back and took Heather’s hand. “You’re right. If I can stop the truck, I can save the shipment. The bikers won’t realize it. They’ll know later I outsmarted them.”
“Yes. They’re so afraid of you already, Lyle.”
Lyle smiled. “They want to kill me. But I can’t die. I’m like a doctor. I get to be God in all this. I write the story.”
“Yes. Write it.”
Lyle reached back and hit the button for the elevator. It let out a ding and the doors opened.
This was the part of the plan when Lyle would let Heather’s hand go and be off to face his fate. He’d probably drive away fast and the MC would chase him. They’d get him. They’d get the shipment. They’d take care of it all.
All Heather had to do was stay in the hospital and wait for Brody to call her. Or better yet, come to her. Run down the hall and scoop her up. Spin her around and whisper into her ear that everything was okay. That nothing else bad could ever happen to her. That he would be there to protect her.
It all seemed to come together in Heather’s mind.
Reality didn’t take hold in her mind until she was inside the elevator with Lyle. And he had a gun pulled and stuck into her ribs.
“What…”
“You’re coming with me,” Lyle said. “We’re doing this together.”
Lyle grinned and Heather felt her face flush. She was stuck, trapped, and worse yet, she had to face the fact that Lyle really was a smart man. And a very bad man.
That’s when another harsh dose of reality hit Heather.
I’m going to die.
seventeen.
Brody stared at Gaige as the call came in. When Gaige gave a quick nod, Brody was already on his motorcycle, starting it. Gaige did the same and grabbed at Brody’s leather.
“Bro, he has her.”
The words made Brody tense with anger.
They all knew Lyle would grab Heather and take her, that’s why they were on the look out. Lyle
wasn’t dumb enough to trust her and just leave her. She was his insurance policy in all this. Part of Brody had hoped Heather would end up in the hospital, safe and sound.
But she wasn’t. She was in the passenger seat of Lyle’s car, scared to fucking death. Because she didn’t know about this part of the plan. Miller and Gaige demanded she not know so she could play it with real fear. If not, Lyle would have killed her by now.
Brody and Gaige took off through the parking lot. They cut onto the main road in Frelen and Gaige pointed when he spotted the black car. Lyle was darting in and out of traffic, tires crying out as he did so. The car was made for this kind of driving, but the other people on the road weren’t. All it would take was one person to suddenly turn left or right and cause a big accident.
There was nothing that could be done right now in Frelen. It all had to come to an end beyond the residential and commercial part of town. And it was important for Lyle to get the clear message before he met his death. Behind them, Brody looked and saw Griffin and Jace catching up. Soon enough the traffic would thin out and Lyle would know he was being followed. That was okay though, because the end result would be the same. Lyle would watch his fucking shipment explode.
It made Brody grip the handlebars tighter, throttle the motorcycle harder.
Once through the main part of Frelen, the four motorcycles spread out. Jace and Brody were in the oncoming lane of traffic. Griffin and Gaige in the right lane. The black car ahead swerved to the left, then to the right, fixing itself.
Brody looked at Jace and nodded.
He knows.
The car sped up and the motorcycles did the same. They were going to run him into a trap. It was that easy. Run him right to the pickup truck. Then they’d get Heather out of the damn car and to safety. Lyle would do his thing, trying to be big and tough, and then Griffin would press a button and the truck would explode.
There was a wide turn up ahead. Brody throttled harder and started to take the lead. He cut into the right lane, not wanting to run the risk of someone coming the opposite way and crashing into him and Jace. They went around the bend and up ahead was the black dot of something coming.
It’s the truck.
Lyle sped up some more and the motorcycles weren’t going to be able to keep up.
Brody tried to go faster but quickly realized he wasn’t alone. Griffin and Gaige came up on each side of him. Gaige was screaming something and when Brody looked, he was pointing to the side of the road.
“What the fuck?” Brody screamed.
Gaige moved to the side of the road. Griffin cut up and in front of Brody, almost clipping the front wheel of Brody’s motorcycle. Brody quickly hit the brakes and moved to the side of the road, the back tire of the motorcycle cutting along the pavement and then dirt.
“What the fuck are we doing?” Brody yelled.
“He’s not stopping,” Gaige said. “Time to do this right now. He’s not taking the lead in this.”
“What the hell are you talking about, bro?” Brody asked. “He’s going to stop the truck.”
“He’s taking off,” Griffin said. “Okay? Look at him up there. If he gets too close to the truck, I can’t light it up then. Unless I take out the woman, too.”
“Just end this shit,” Jace said.
Brody stepped off his motorcycle. He made a line for Jace and both men readied for a fight.
“Say that again,” Brody said.
“Cut it out,” Gaige yelled. “Griffin’s right. We don’t have time. We’re going to creep up and Griffin’s going to hit the switch.”
“What if he kills her?” Brody asked. “What if he freaks out and…”
“I’m sorry, man,” Gaige said. “This has to end.”
Brody wanted to argue, but he knew better. Right now, there was someone he cared about in a car that could end up hurt, or dead. He set his sights to his motorcycle and waited for Gaige to take the lead again.
They were back on the road and up ahead, the car looked so small and so far away. The truck was approaching and while they all started to attempt to catch up, that wasn’t going to do a thing.
Griffin came up next to Brody and gave the signal. He took out a small black box and showed it to Brody. All Brody could do was look straight ahead. He had no control over anything right now and he fucking hated it.
The truck suddenly exploded, leaving the ground in a large fireball. Pieces of metal hit the ground, some burning, some just rolling away.
The four motorcycles kept riding. Brody watched and saw the black car turn, coming to a spinning halt. The car was facing the motorcycles as they approached. Brody wanted to just fly up and save Heather.
But he couldn’t do that. He had to play this thing out right now. There was no choice. Everything to do with the fucking plan was a mess. The truck was in flames, the drugs wasted. The message was sent and clear. But now they had to take care of Lyle and save Heather.
Brody wondered if he was the only one who gave a shit about saving Heather.
The car suddenly made its move. The back wheels spun and screamed as the car started to turn. It spun around and tried to take off.
“Fuck!” Gaige yelled.
He took out a gun and shot at the car.
“Not Heather!” Brody growled.
Gaige shot two more times. One of the back tires exploded and the car spun again. This time it went off the road and echoed with the crunch of metal as it rolled once and came to its final stop.
“No,” Brody said. “No, no, no…”
He rode past the wreckage of the blown up truck and got off his motorcycle before it came to a complete halt. The motorcycle rolled and fell to the ground. Before Brody could take two steps, Lyle climbed from the car. He had a gun in his hand and pointed it at Brody.
Brody drew his weapon.
It was on now. Brody wasn’t going to back down.
“Everyone wait a fucking second,” another voice yelled.
It was Gaige.
Soon there was four men wearing Back Down Devil patches, all standing with guns pointed at Lyle.
But Lyle had the trump card in all this.
He still had Heather. And she hadn’t moved or made a sound. The front of the car was facing the opposite way, so Brody couldn’t even see if she was alive.
“What did you do?” Lyle asked.
“We blew up your shit,” Brody said. “Now give me Heather and let’s end this.”
“That was… important to me.”
“Sorry to hear that,” Gaige said. “We don’t allow drugs in our town.”
“But you want this whore?” Lyle asked. “You know what she did for me? All those deals…”
“None of that matters,” Brody said.
“Oh, so pussy makes everything okay. You fucked her, didn’t you? You let her go wild on you? That’s good. Hope you enjoyed it. She’s dead.”
Brody lunged forward, expecting a bullet to eat through his flesh. Instead, Lyle moved the gun and pointed it into the car. He smiled and Brody froze, putting his hands up.
“Easy,” Brody said. “Is she okay?”
“She’s alive right now,” Lyle said. “Not for long though. I’m going to put a fucking bullet in her skull. Then we’ll see how tough you are.”
“You don’t know what you’re doing,” Brody said. “You don’t know who we are. What we’re capable of.”
“And here I am, the one with a gun pointed at the woman you so desperately care about. What is it? Because she’s hurt? Sad? Because I taught her a few lessons? You think you can save her. She’s gone, man. She’s gone. Now let me do what I have to do here.”
“What’s that?” Brody asked.
“I need a ride out of here. I’ll take one of your motorcycles. But I’m taking her with me.”
“Fuck you, you’re not,” Brody said.
“Then she dies…”
Lyle turned his head and Brody lunged forward again.
A gun went off, the shot echoing lik
e a crack of thunder. Brody lost his balance and got ready to shoot Lyle right between the eyes. But he didn’t have a chance to do that. Like a flower blooming on his chest, blood seeped everywhere on Lyle’s shirt as he stumbled back, dropped his gun, and collapsed to the ground.
Brody looked back and Jace nodded.
“Gone, brother,” Jace said. “Go save your woman now.”
__
It all moved so fast. Riding in the car with Lyle felt like speeding toward certain death. The way he yelled, the way he threatened Heather again and again, she kept herself composed by hoping when it was time to finally die, it would be fast and without pain.
When the truck exploded, Lyle turned his head and looked her dead in the eyes.
“What did you fucking do to me?”
His voice was icy venom, his eyes like a wounded predator desperate for one last attack. Right then Heather figured he was going to kill her.
But he didn’t.
He cut the wheel, spun around, and faced the oncoming traffic of four motorcycles. Four guys from Back Down Devil. One of the guys being Brody. That was the only glimmer of hope Heather had in the entire ordeal.
“I’m taking them into a trap,” Lyle said. “I’m taking them right out of Frelen. And you’re going to kill them.”
“What are you talking about?” Heather asked.
“I’m taking them through an ambush of my guys. Nobody needs to know about the truck yet. I’ll use what I can until I have to kill you and make a run for it. But you’re going to call my guys and make the kill.” Lyle laughed. It was sick, maniacal, sad. “Hold on tight, whore.”
Lyle hit the gas pedal and the car spun around again. Heather screamed and then felt something like a thud and then a second one. Maybe a third, she wasn’t sure, because the car quickly lost control. It was like watching the world ripping to the left, then to the right. Finally, the world cut hard to the left and the car rolled.
That was the last thing Heather remembered seeing.
There was the sound of metal twisting and crunching. Then silence. A little hissing sound and nothing more.
Lyle groaned and got out of the car.
Heather came and went from the darkness to some sound. She swore she heard Brody’s voice but wasn’t completely sure of it. There was yelling, arguing, talking.