“What are you going to do? Kill them?”
I grinned again. “Exactly.”
The color left Everly’s face. I rushed to her to keep her from falling over. I put a hand to the small of her back and the other to her face. We stared at each other for a few seconds.
“I need to do this,” I said. “I need to send a clear message to everyone. I was gone, Everly. Ripped out of my club. Ripped away from the President’s seat. I still don’t have my patch back. And Layne isn’t wearing it. That means right now Devil Call is a bunch of wild outlaws. And they all need to understand that there needs to be some kind of control and power in this clubhouse.”
“Okay,” Everly whispered. “I just… death…”
“Is the main part of life,” I told Everly. “There’s nothing you can do about it. And I know this… if I don’t get the drugs out of here and now, then we’ll all end up hurt or dead. That shit will destroy this club. If Layne couldn’t tackle the problem, then I will.”
Everly just nodded.
There wasn’t much more to say. I didn’t have to explain myself to anyone. I could take advantage of not having the President patch on my cut right now. I didn’t need to go to the table and talk and argue and eventually vote. I would simply do the right thing. Kill the piece of shit that dealt drugs to Gabel (and whoever else in the club) and make sure the message was sent clearly to Devil Call MC.
Get clean or get the fuck out.
It was that simple for me. And for the club.
I kissed Everly’s forehead one more time and then broke away from her. I grabbed my leather cut and threw it on the bed. I started to gather up what I needed. A knife. Two guns. More than that, I had my head. My mind and my focus, something that Layne didn’t have. I knew why he wasn’t focused and I had to just let it roll off my shoulders for now.
Once Everly was dressed, we left the room. I grabbed her hand and as we walked, sure enough, Layne came walking from his room. The look in his eyes as he looked at Everly and then me made me feel pissed off. I could imagine what was running through his mind. But it wasn’t my problem. He had plenty of time to go after Everly and he didn’t.
So fuck him.
I nodded to Layne and kept a damn tight hold on Everly’s hand.
“What’s going on for today?” Layne asked.
“I’d like to discuss the President situation,” I said. “But I have business first.”
“What kind?”
“You and Everly saw something. I’m going to fix it.”
“Christ,” Layne said. “You can’t take a breath after getting out of prison, can you?”
“If things were handled the right way…”
Layne stepped toward me. “Don’t.”
Come on, big guy. Let’s do it.
I grinned. I would love to take a few shots at that pretty face of Layne’s.
“I have to send a message,” I said. “To everyone. You should be there with me too. You were the one in some kind of control around here while I was behind bars. We both should be able to make sure that everyone else out there knows to stay away from drugs.”
“I say we clean out rooms,” Layne said. “Find all the shit we can…”
“Fuck that,” I said. “Kill the dealer. Then the drugs are gone.” I started to walk, Everly at my side. I stopped a few seconds and looked back at Layne. “We’re leaving in ten minutes. I don’t give a shit about how you feel. Or what you think we should do. This is the right thing to do. I’m thinking like a President, Layne. Try it out for once. You should be there with me. Make sure the message is clear to everyone. Devil Call MC is still the power and muscle in this town.”
That was enough for me. I had nothing else to say. Because if I did, Layne and I would go at it.
I grabbed some food and made sure Everly had something too. The clubhouse was coming alive from the night before. I kept to myself and kept a distance between everyone. Personally, I needed my own time to cope with prison and being free. It was a strange feeling to just walk around now.
A few minutes later, I took Everly outside. I gave her my helmet and sat her on my motorcycle. She was a fucking dream to me as I stared at her, the fear in her eyes and the beauty of her face.
“You’ll be fine,” I said to her.
“I don’t want to see someone die.”
“I know. But you have to, Everly. You have to see the good and the bad. It makes us whole. Just hang on tight for the ride.”
I kissed her lips and wondered what I had meant by the last statement. Maybe it was just for the ride today. Or maybe it was for a much longer ride.
I started my motorcycle and looked back one more time. Layne came bursting through the door and ran to his motorcycle. I really hadn’t expected him to do this. It showed balls and that was good.
Layne started his ride and I gave the nod. He would need to lead the way to where Gabel had made his little drug deal.
We cut out onto the road and cruised through town. Everly had her hands around me, fingers locked tight. I kept my eyes open and looked around, wondering just how bad things were in this place. Just how far the Los Ahn had come into town with their crap. Not to mention the Rilen Lost and their need for blood.
We were bad guys, yes. Very bad guys. But we were the good of the bad. I cared about the town and people that lived there. I wanted it to be protected enough that kids could ride their bikes and play basketball without getting hurt or getting pressured into trying drugs and other shit. And if the worst thing was a few motorcycles riding around with bad guys on them, it didn’t matter. Because those bad guys - including me - would take a bullet to keep the town safe.
Layne led the way just as Everly told me. Right toward the end of town. Where the old factories and beat up buildings stood. Where there once flourished opportunity and an economy that made the town happier than it was today.
When Layne stopped, I pulled up next to him.
We leaned toward each other and Layne pointed. “Between those two buildings.”
I took the lead this time and throttled my ride. I raced between the buildings. I felt Everly grip me tighter, fearing I was going to hurt her. One thing I never did was crash a motorcycle. Hell no. I could maintain balance no matter what.
I flew down the space between the buildings and it opened into a parking lot.
Sure as shit, there was an old car sitting there. A light tan car with chunks of rust like open wounds along the trim around the tires and at the hinges of the doors. There was a small crack in the windshield, but most important, there was a guy behind the wheel.
And he was fucking sleeping.
I turned off my motorcycle and Layne was right there with me. He grabbed me and shook his head.
“What?”
“I don’t like this. If he’s part of something bigger…”
“The message,” I said.
“It’s fucking Tommy though, man,” Layne said. “He’s…”
“He’s a dickhead,” I said. “And he’s dealing to our club.” I grabbed Layne’s leather. “Not my fucking club, man. Our fucking club.”
Layne let me go.
I climbed off the motorcycle and grabbed my gun. The piece of shit behind the wheel, Tommy, should have been gone a long time ago. But he was a nuisance and nothing more. Now it was more serious.
I walked to the window and slammed my gun off it. The window exploded and Tommy jumped to life. He looked around and let out a scream. I grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him out of the broken window. I let him fall to the ground. He scrambled around on all fours, his body probably still in shock from waking up the way he did.
I grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him back up. I threw him into the side of the car and he turned around, hands up.
“What the fuck?” he yelled.
“What the fuck… you’re dealing to my guys,” I said. I put the gun to his head. “Is that true?”
“Whoa, man. It’s not what you think.”
“Did you sell to Gabel? Because my boy right there and my girl both say they saw you.”
Tommy swallowed hard. “Hey, whoa, wait. Talon? Right? You’re out of prison now… whoa…”
“Stop saying fucking whoa,” I yelled. “I’m out and I’m pissed off.”
“Look, wait. Hey. I sold something to Gabel, yeah. Sure. He’s a client of mine. But it’s not what you think, man.”
“You fucking scum,” I said.
I threw my head forward and smashed it against Tommy’s face. He let out a cry and fell to his knees. He looked up at me, blood all over his face. I brought my knee forward with a sickening thud and crunch sound. Tommy cried out and spit. Blood and teeth hit the ground. He reached for me with a shaking hand.
“They were drugs, man,” Tommy cried. “I wouldn’t…”
“Save it,” I said. “This is a message. And a fucking lesson.”
I took two steps back and fired twice.
Heart. Head. Dead.
Tommy was a heap on the ground now.
I looked to Layne and gave a nod. He stepped off his motorcycle. To my surprise, Everly started to come toward me too.
That’s when I heard the sound of another motorcycle. I rushed to Everly and told her to stay behind me.
“Open the trunk,” I ordered to Layne. “Find out what he was selling.”
I had my gun in the air, ready for whatever was coming.
What I didn’t expect was to see Gabel flying into the parking lot.
It took him a few seconds to see me, but when he did, he slammed the brakes and came to screeching stop. He hurried from his ride, dropping his helmet on the ground.
“Talon?” he called out.
“Get over here,” I ordered. “On your knees.”
Gabel approached. He looked and saw Tommy on the ground, dead. That’s when he dropped to his knees.
“What did you do?” he asked.
“You were buying drugs from him?” I asked. “You piece of shit.”
“No…”
“Hey, Talon!” Layne yelled.
I looked back at Layne’s face which was white and angry. I looked down at Gabel. A surge of fear went through my body.
Gabel was shaking, weeping. “No… Talon… no…”
“What the fuck is this?” I asked. I put the gun to Gabel’s head. My own brother in this MC. A man I trusted and loved. That’s what had happened to us now. Everything and everyone broken.
“They were pills,” Gabel whispered. “To help me.”
“Help you? With what?”
Gabel looked at me. “To help me… fuck.”
“What?”
Layne stepped up beside me and slammed a large bag against my chest. I tucked my gun away and looked. It was a bag full of what looked like stolen pill bottles.
“He was selling scripts,” Layne said. “These are dick pills, man.”
“What do you mean dick pills?” I asked.
“To make you harder. To make you bigger. To make you last longer.”
I looked down at Gabel. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“I was having problems,” he said. “Tommy knows people. He could get me anything like that… you know him.”
I looked back at Tommy. I looked at Gabel on his knees. Then I looked at Layne.
Layne shook his head. “Way to go, President. But that’s just you, right Talon? You act before you fucking think. Good luck cleaning up this mess.” Layne grabbed Gabel by his leather and stood him up. “Come on, Gabel. Let’s get out of here before he fucking kills us for no good reason.”
I stood, cold and empty, and watched Layne and Gabel leave.
Prison hardened my soul, my emotions. It left me hungry to get to my club. And my club was broken. Then again, I had just gotten done telling Layne that it wasn’t my club. That it was our club.
I looked at Everly and felt another surge of anger.
I couldn’t help but see the way she looked at Layne ride away.
What else was I sharing with Layne?
12.
(Everly)
Everything had happened so fast. One second I was on the back of Talon’s motorcycle and the next second there was a man shot to death and it looked as though Devil Call MC was breaking apart for good.
I watched Layne leave the parking lot and my heart ached for him. Whatever he had just said to Talon meant more than what I knew. Something had happened between Layne and Talon. Something that went back further than Talon being in prison.
When I looked at Talon, his eyes were wide.
“Talon…”
He walked to the dead body on the ground. “He was a piece of shit. He deserved to die.”
Talon then walked to the trunk of the car. I followed him and saw that the trunk was filled with all kinds of random junk. Most of it all sex related. There were boxes of condoms. Weird looking toys. Lots of pills that were labeled for different purposes. This was what this guy - Tommy - had been doing. Just peddling crap like this to make ends meet. And Gabel had been buying pills to help him perform. To make him feel like a man.
And I had told Talon otherwise… I was responsible for this…
I took a step back and Talon lunged at me.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“I shouldn’t have said a thing,” I said. “I made it seem like a drug deal. Like I knew what I saw.”
“Stop it.”
“Layne was…”
“Don’t fucking say a thing,” Talon ordered.
He started to shake me. I couldn’t look away from the dead body. It was as much my fault as Talon’s.
“Fucking hell, Everly, look at me.”
I forced myself to look at Talon. “You killed that man.”
“He deserved to die. If not for this, then for something else. Justice works its way out when it’s ready. Just like me in prison and just like this shit between me and Layne. It’ll work itself out.”
“Between you and Layne,” I said. “What is it? Tell me, Talon.”
Talon slipped closer to me. His hands touched me and I melted. Part of me didn’t want to melt, but all of me couldn’t help it. I felt tears fill my eyes.
Why hadn’t Layne fucked me? Why had I been walking on that day Layne saved me? Why was I so torn… over everything? And why the fuck was I falling so hard and fast for Talon?
He was everything wrong. He was everything bad. He was everything that I should have been running from. If I asked Layne to help me escape he probably would help.
Talon shook his head. “One thing at a time. We need to get out of here. I need to clean this up so I don’t end up where I just was.”
“Fuck you,” I yelled. I pushed Talon away and slapped him across the face.
That’s when it looked like Talon broke. With one slap.
He looked in the distance. He made fists. It looked as though every muscle in his body was flexing. He gritted his teeth and when his eyes met mine again, they looked lost and glossy.
Was he going to cry?
“I fucking saved him,” Talon whispered. “And if I fucked this one up, so be it. But I fucking saved him… I saved Layne.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
Talon approached me again. I saw the red mark on his face from my hand. He took me by the hands and kissed me. A gentle, sweet kiss.
“I went to prison for Layne,” he said. “I was locked up for him.”
“How? Why?”
Talon swallowed hard and squeezed my hands tighter. “Judge as you want, Everly. But know that you’re mine now. I’m not letting you go.” Talon waited a second and then hit me with a confession that changed my life again. “I killed Layne’s girlfriend…”
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This bo
ok is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
First electronic edition January 2015
Copyright © 2014 by Ana W. Fawkes
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part of any form.
INSIDE BROKEN (A Devil Call MC Book) (Talon & Everly Book One) (Devil Call MC - Talon & Everly 1) Page 8