Crash and Burn

by London Casey

  Blaine lifted his other fist and did the exact same thing. The son of a bitch punched himself a second time. He didn’t flinch and he definitely didn’t hold back. His mouth bled everywhere as he stepped back to Shay.

  “Want to do this?” Blaine asked. “I’m warmed up now.”

  Shay pulled a knife and in a quick move, he had a handful of Blaine’s hair, pulling his head back and putting the tip of the knife right under Blaine’s chin. The entire bar came to a stop and everyone stood, ready to help Blaine.

  Blaine put his hands out. “Let him go. Let him do this. He needs it. He’s got some survivor’s guilt, right?”

  “I’ll fucking gut you,” Shay warned.

  “Then gut me, man. Come on…”

  Landon had seen enough. He walked forward and knocked the knife out of Shay’s hand. Shay looked at him with eyes of fire.

  “What the fuck?” he growled.

  “You fight,” Landon said. “With fists.”

  Shay grabbed Landon by the shirt and Landon wasn’t going to take any shit tonight. He grabbed Shay by the throat and soon they were grappling with each other. Landon felt his thumb pressing hard against Shay’s throat. Shay tried to punch, but it was weak. The left hook barely hurt Landon. Landon threw his head forward and slammed it against Shay’s nose. He couldn’t believe he was battling Blaine’s fight now.

  Before Shay could retaliate, Blaine let out a cry and jumped on both men. Landon felt Blaine’s weight and he lost his balance. Soon the three were on the floor of the bar. Fists were thrown just to be thrown. It smelled like smoke, whiskey, weed, and body odor.

  “Goddamn this,” a voice said. “Break it up, assholes.”

  Landon threw elbows until he was clear and able to stand. Miller stood before the three of them, his own hands in fists.

  “Just working things out,” Blaine said as he wiped his mouth.

  “Aye,” Shay said.

  “Looks like a fucking threesome to me,” Miller said. “You boys forget about the beautiful women we have here?”

  Landon looked away as Blaine let out a laugh. When Landon looked back he saw Blaine helping Shay up. They hugged and turned to find Landon. The three men hugged and that was the end of all the bullshit fighting. Everyone returned to their personal parties and agendas for the night. Landon returned to bar next to Nate and finished off his beer with one big gulp and then ordered another one. That beer was even colder, tasted better, yet it didn’t get rid of the shit feeling inside Landon.

  Even Nate noticed and questioned him about it. “Too much on the mind will weigh you down. My old man used to tell me that.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Then again, he took two bullets to the heart,” Nate said. “Maybe if he fucking cared more, he’d be here.”

  “Sorry about that,” Landon said.

  “That was a long time ago. There’s no use in being sorry for the past forever, right?”

  Landon drank and then felt someone touch his back. He looked to his left and saw a pretty woman slither to a barstool. She had on a skimpy top, nice tits, and ripped jeans. She was dirty and sexy, with nice lips and blue eyes.

  “Drink?” Landon asked.

  “Fuck,” she replied.

  “I’m good.”

  The woman leaned and bit at Landon’s ear. “It wasn’t an offer.”

  “Is that how this works?” Landon asked. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

  The woman smiled. She took Landon’s beer and drank from it. “I just watched you get into a fight with your own MC. Little tension there, huh?”

  “You haven’t been around here that long then,” Landon said with a smile. “We love to fight. And if there’s nobody around, we fight each other then.”

  “Sexy.”

  “Listen, I’m not looking for conversation or a friend.”

  “Neither am I,” the woman said. “If you don’t want to fuck, that’s fine. At least let me suck you off and take care of some of that tension built up in you.”

  Landon had no interest in this chick, even if she had a nice body and fast personality. But damn, Landon didn’t need a distraction for a few minutes.

  “Tell you what,” Landon said. “Go down the hall, to the right, and wait at the fifth door. I’ll be there in a second.”

  “If that’s what you want, you’ve got it.”

  The woman started to stand and Landon grabbed her by the wrist. “Let’s get one thing clear. You want this. I’m letting you suck my dick. Be humble.”

  The woman nodded and walked away.

  Landon ordered another beer and then stepped away from the bar. He walked the hall slow and alone. He reached into his leather cut and pulled out something else that could calm him down. A joint. He put it between his lips, lit it, and inhaled the burning sweet taste. By the time he reached his room, he had the joint half gone. The woman stood at his door with one leg up.

  “Here,” Landon said. “Take a hit.”

  She took the joint and did just that.

  Landon unlocked his room and allowed the woman inside. He then shut the door, locked it, and fell back against it. With the joint between his lips and his beer in his hand, he wrestled with his belt buckle and pants. The woman knew her place as she fell to her knees and pulled his pants and boxers down. Landon wasn’t fully hard yet, but when the woman basically attacked his cock with her eager mouth and swirling tongue, it took all of two seconds for him to stiffen completely.

  He put his head back and inhaled on the joint. He listened to the wet sounds of the woman sucking him off. Life wasn’t perfect, but it felt pretty damn good in that moment.

  five.

  Avery heard a slam and she opened her eyes. It was only supposed to be a few minutes since she closed her eyes.

  “Fuck,” Avery said when she looked around.

  It was morning.

  It was fucking morning.

  She had slept in the bakery all damn night. There was a little sunlight coming through the window she broke.

  “We need to get everything from yesterday out front,” a voice boomed. “Let’s hurry the hell up.”

  Avery froze, trying to wake up her body. Her back felt like someone had run over it and her legs were tingling and wobbly. She bent her knees and bit her lip to keep from groaning.

  “Hey, Freddy!” the same voice yelled. “You left a light on in the back again.”

  The light. Shit. The broken window. Fuck.

  Avery needed to make her escape right now. She hurried to her feet and stomped them a few times to bring life back to them. When she had her balance she checked her bag and saw it was empty.

  “Damn,” she whispered.

  She forgot to put bread in her bag. There was no time now though. When she heard footsteps approaching, Avery turned and darted to the window. She jumped through the opening and then tipped over a few trashcans that echoed with thuds. In her mind she hoped the owners of the bakery were dumb enough to maybe believe an animal had been rooting through the trash and broke their window. There was no cash stolen from the place. No equipment either. The only thing missing was a small loaf of bread. Did that matter? Would they notice?

  Who cares…

  Avery ran down the back alley and cut to a main street and slowed. She blended in with the morning the best she could. The sun rose and the day quickly warmed up. It sent Avery down to the beach where she stood and watched the waves crest and crash to the shore. Some people ran down the beach, getting fit. If Avery was running on a beach it would be because someone was chasing her. Other people were on their backs or bellies, soaking up the warm rays of the sun.

  By afternoon, Avery couldn't take the hunger anymore. She never thought her life would come to a point like this; staring at a trashcan, wondering if anyone would notice if she dug through it, hoping to find a half of a sandwich or something edible.

  It made her angry.

  She left the beach and felt disgraced. That’s when she spotted a small, corner pizza s
hop. The building looked beat to hell and the hand painted BEST PIZZA sign out front was faded and chipped.

  Avery made her pass twice. She saw an old man behind the counter making pizzas. He looked like he struggled in every move he made. After making a pie, he put it in the oven, took off his apron, and walked to the back. Avery had snuck inside and scanned the shitty looking place. She could make a score here. She had to. Slipping behind the counter, Avery kept her ears open and her eyes searching. There were slices of pizza on the counter. The register was cracked open too. Avery was tempted. She could grab a slice to go and grab a handful of cash. She still had money from the sale of the motorcycle, but that was traveling money. Right now, she needed to survive in this town until she had a better plan.

  When Avery touched the pizza, she broke off a piece of crust and ate it.

  It was absolutely delicious.

  Avery grabbed the slice and then felt something touch the back of her neck.

  “You fucking cunt,” a shaky voice said. “Turn the fuck around.”

  Avery knew the routine. She put her hands up and slowly turned. She faced the old man and a handgun with a long barrel. The gun shook and the old man had bloodshot eyes.

  “Come here to the wall, you whore,” the man said.

  “Listen to me,” Avery said. “I can explain this…”

  The man put the barrel of the gun under her chin. “No talking.”

  Avery turned and backed up to the wall. Her eyes looked left to right, but she couldn’t come up with a good escape plan. Not yet at least.

  When her back hit the wall, she let out a fake whimper. “I’m just hungry. I have nothing…”

  “You don’t fucking steal from me,” the man said. “Nobody does. You don’t know who the fuck I am, cunt. I’ve killed people for less.”

  “Please,” Avery said. “Let’s work this out.”

  “Yeah, work this out,” the man said. “Tell you what, baby… suck me off and I’ll put a bullet between your eyes. You won’t feel a thing. If you don’t suck me off, I’m going to tie you to a fucking chair and slowly kill you.”

  Holy fuck…

  This guy was serious.

  What kind of fucking town was this?

  “Okay,” Avery said. “Calm down.”

  “Five seconds to decide, cunt.”

  “Don’t call me that. You don’t…”

  The man pushed the barrel harder under Avery’s chin, hurting her tongue and throat. She whimpered, this time for real.

  “Please,” she whispered. “Give me a second…”

  “Two… One…”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa…” It was another voice. “Pop, what the fuck is going on here?”

  Avery turned her head and lost her breath for a second. There was a tall, strong man in a leather cut standing with his hand around the barrel of the gun. His eyes were dark and sexy, and when he looked at Avery, she felt like she could faint. It was the guy she saw just before she dropped the motorcycle and just before the explosion went off.

  “Landon, let me handle my business,” Pop said. “This cunt…”

  “Stop calling me that,” Avery said.

  Pop slapped Avery across the face. His old hand was like a damn brick. It sent her hair sailing around and Avery turned, gripping her cheek. Tears fill her eyes and she tried to stand tough, but damn, it hurt.

  “Hey,” the biker yelled. “We don’t fucking do that right now.”

  “Don’t tell me…”

  “Pop, calm down for a second. Your heart is going to explode. What the fuck happened?” The biker then looked at Avery. “Did you take it up the ass?”

  “What?” Avery asked.

  “That’s what Pop likes. If he ordered it… paid for it…”

  “I’m not a fucking whore,” Avery said.

  “Okay then,” the biker said.

  “Landon, she stole from me,” Pop said.

  Landon… the second time Avery heard it, it stuck.

  Landon.

  Landon was muscular. Landon was sexy.

  Landon also had his hand around the barrel of the gun still. He slowly worked the weapon from Pop’s hand and placed it on the counter.

  “What did you steal?” Landon asked Avery.

  “Nothing,” Avery said. “Yet. I was going to grab a slice. I’m hungry.”

  “She’s a cunt thief!” Pop yelled. He touched his chest.

  “Pop, you know how we settle this,” Landon said. “Give me a number.”

  “Five hundred. Right now. You pay me.” Pop slapped the counter.

  “Five hundred dollars?” Avery asked. “For a slice of pizza?”

  Pop turned and Landon stepped between Avery and Pop. Landon was just inches from Avery’s face. She looked up at him as he towered over her.

  “It would be nice,” Landon said, “if you shut your fucking mouth, sweetheart.”

  “My name is Avery, not sweetheart.”

  “I’ll call you what I want. Sweetheart.”

  Landon turned and Avery felt her legs wanting to give way, just like in the bakery earlier. Only now her legs weren’t tired and weak, her body was melting because of Landon.

  “Five hundred?” Landon asked.

  “Right now,” Pop said.

  Avery watched Landon reach into his pocket and he counted out five one hundred dollar bills. He handed it to Pop and the old man stuffed the money in his pocket. He then looked at Avery and pointed.

  “You stay away, cunt,” Pop yelled.

  “No more of that,” Landon said to Pop.

  “Yeah?”

  Landon reached for the gun and grabbed a handful of Pop’s shirt and threw him against the counter. The old man started to cough, but Landon didn’t seem to care. He put the gun to Pop’s head and smiled.

  “We don’t talk like that anymore,” Landon said. “You gave up your leather, remember? You walked away when you had a chance to come to the table. That’s fine. Your blood runs through two wheels, but that doesn’t mean you can act like that. Got it?”

  “Yes,” Pop said and kept coughing.

  “Hey, sweetheart,” Landon said to Avery. “Get yourself a slice and sit down to eat.”

  Avery hesitated for a few seconds before moving. She slowly took a slice of pizza and started to eat it as she walked away. Landon stood with his gun pointed at Pop the entire time she ate. When she finished, Landon threw Pop to the ground and then took a slice for himself. He bit into it as he walked toward Avery.

  “Good pizza, isn’t it?” Landon asked.

  “It’s really good,” Avery said.

  “Want more?”

  “Kind of.”

  Pop reached up and pulled himself to his feet. Landon went back to the counter and took the rest of the pizza pie. He reached into his pocket and put another hundred on the counter.

  “That should cover it,” Landon said. He went back to Avery and smiled. “Come on, sweetheart, let’s have lunch.”

  Avery looked back at Pop. He rubbed his neck and then waved. “Come back again…”

  Avery was flabbergasted by the power Landon had. He walked into a pizza place, paid the owner off to stop him from killing Avery, then roughed him up. It was crazy. It was sexy.

  “Let’s hang over here,” Landon said. He walked outside to a motorcycle and put the tray on the seat. “Eat up.”

  “Thanks for that,” Avery said. “Like seriously, thanks.”

  “You realize he would have killed you, right?”

  “I picked up on that after he put the gun to my mouth, yes.”

  “How was he going to do it?”

  “What?”

  “It’s Pop. He offers options. That’s his thing. Sex and you die easily. Resist and you die hard.”

  “He wanted me to…” Avery felt her cheeks turning red.

  “What?” Landon asked. “Take it up the ass?”

  “No,” Avery said. “Gosh, do you always talk like that?”

  “I talk however the fuck I wan
t, sweetheart,” Landon said. “What did he want?”

  “Blowjob,” Avery said.

  “Okay. Good to know.”

  “Why is that good to know?” Avery asked.

  Landon grabbed another slice of pizza. “Well, I’m out six hundred bucks for a cold pizza pie. Someone owes me something.”

  Avery’s mouth fell open. “You don’t think I’m…”

  Landon laughed as he chewed. He swallowed and then touched Avery’s face. His touch was rough and the rings on his fingers made him even hotter. Fuck.

  “Sweetheart,” Landon said, “if I want you to blow me, I’d order it and you’d listen. I’ll find another way for you to earn your keep.”

  “What if I told you to go fuck yourself?” Avery asked.

  Landon’s hand slid around her neck and tightened. “That would only turn me on more. Now, take that tray back to Pop before I bend you over my motorcycle right in front of everyone.”

  Avery grabbed the tray and succumbed to the order from Landon. He did have a hell of a point. He saved her life. He paid Pop six hundred dollars. Avery walked away and as she turned to go into the pizza shop, she heard a voice yell, “GET DOWN MOTHERFUCKER!”

  When Avery whipped around, she saw another man running at Landon. The man had a gun and when he got close enough to Landon, he swung and smacked Landon in the face it. He was tall, skinny, and really young.

  “I’ll fucking kill you,” Landon yelled.

  “One through your fucking head,” the man said. “One in the heart. That’s the order, brother…”

  Avery sprung into action before she knew what she was doing. She ran toward the scene, fearing that Landon would be shot and killed. Something inside her triggered. She couldn’t face the dumb fate of a man who just saved her life to only end up dead ten minutes later.

  “You get it?” the man yelled at Landon. “You get what’s happening?”

  “Fuck yourself,” Landon said. “You don’t know who I am. Who we are. What’s going to happen to you and your crew.”

  Avery rushed up behind the man with the gun. If he really had been paying attention he would have known Avery was there. But he was focused on Landon. He was sweating like crazy, telling Avery he was afraid. With only the metal pizza tray in her hand, Avery brought it over her head and swung down. The tray hit the man in the head with an almost gong sound. It did nothing to hurt him, but it caused him to turn around to see who had hit him.