by London Casey
“Hey, why do you do it?”
“Do what? This life?”
“No. The bullet.”
“I have no good reason,” Trev said. “Stupid, right?” Trev grinned.
Pete laughed and leaned against the Ashburne’s headstone. He put the cigarette on the stone and crossed his arms.
“I thought you would have more respect,” Trev said.
Pete nodded. “My name… Pete Ashburne. These are my parents.”
“Ah, fuck, man,” Trev said. “I’m sorry.”
“No, no. It’s okay. You didn’t know.”
“What the hell makes you want this kind of job?” Trev asked. “Just curious.”
“Freedom,” Pete said. “Quietness.”
“Freedom…”
“Look at this. Nobody is breathing down my neck. All the people here are already dead. They can’t complain. I just keep things in order, keep it clean, get to be outside all day. Not a bad job at all.”
“When you put it like that…”
Pete pointed at Trev’s leather cut. “What about you? Your job.”
“Freedom,” Trev said. “Not quite as quiet though.” He laughed. “But it’s always about freedom. Live for it. Fight for it. Die for it.”
“Amen to that.”
Pete then blessed himself.
“Let me ask you,” Trev said. “Do you believe in the heaven and hell stuff? You watch souls rise up out of the ground and float away?”
“Belief comes from within here,” Pete said as he touched his chest. “It’s not about sight. That’s what makes it even more powerful. That you have holds such belief inside your heart that your sight doesn’t matter.”
“Sounds like a load of bullshit to me,” Trev said.
“Life is a load of bullshit. And we all end up in the same place.”
Trev laughed.
His cell started to beep.
It was a text message from Gaige.
Conference room, ASAP. Death in the family.
*
Miller poured another shot and slid it down the table. Trev grabbed it and placed it in front of him. Miller poured two more shots and made sure everyone had one. When he nodded, they all lifted their glasses. His face was stone like, hurt and worried. He looked around the table.
Trev knew the look. As President your table is all you really have in life. Without a strong, full table, you weren’t going to accomplish shit. Losing someone was like losing family. It was losing family. They were all so close, exchanging punches, hugs, tears, drinks, and even pussy.
“I got the call about an hour ago,” Miller said. “We’ll share details in a second. First, we honor a fallen brother. A man who put on the cut, wore the patch, went out on the road, and did the work for this club. Not this charter, but this club. We’re all close. We’re all family. Ripper called when he wanted to patch in Giovanni. Said he was a tough as nails Italian boxer who served as a prospect for two years, made the charter tons of money by fighting, and took a bullet for Ripper once during a botched gun run. He earned his cut. He died wearing his cut. Lift your glasses, men. The reaper got one of our own. The reaper will get all of us someday. But today we remember Giovanni.”
“Aye!” Shay yelled and slammed his fist to the table.
Jace, Erik, and Landon started to hit their fists. Down around the table, all the way to Trev, they all started to pound their fists. Trev did the same and when Miller took his shot, the rest of the table did the same at the exact same time. They all then flipped their shot glasses upside down and pushed them to the middle of the table.
Miller slowly took a seat and gave everyone a second to collect themselves.
“Ripper was out on a run,” Miller said. “We knew that already. Any communication about Griffin’s daughter is dead right now. Pardon the pun. We need to focus and help our brothers up north get through this bullshit.”
“What happened?” Trev asked.
“Ripper said they were ambushed. It was just he and Giovanni on a run.”
“For what?” Blaine asked.
“Some kind of deal,” Miller said. “His charter, his problem.”
“Point is,” Gaige cut in, “we lost a brother and we need to go and honor him. We’ll attend the funeral up in Daurian. Just the table though. The rest of the guys are going to stay here just in case.”
“We have to find out what happened,” Trev said. “Could someone be attacking us through other places?”
“How so?” Nate asked.
“Look what happened with Eden,” Trev said. “A blatant attack and murder. Whoever did that knew what they were doing and wanted her. Now someone up in Ripper’s crew gets hit? Maybe someone is trying to move us, keep us distracted…”
“Maybe,” Miller said. “We’ll have to keep our eyes open on everything. We’re going up north for the dark ride. We have to send our brother off the right way. Ripper’s table is voting on what to do with his cut and then they have to fill a seat. I know that the VP up there, Jasper, was close to Giovanni. They’re all in a fragile spot. Talking to Ripper proved that. He sounded numb and distant. We can’t let that charter get shaky. Especially with Jenn and this Eden situation.”
“Agreed,” Gaige said. “Suit up, brothers. We’re riding tomorrow.”
“Now get out there and let this shit sink in,” Miller said. “The reaper’s close. Too fucking close.”
Miller hit the gavel.
He then pointed to Trev and gave a nod.
Stay behind.
When it was just Miller and Trev, they stared each other down for a few seconds.
“What are you thinking?” Miller asked.
“I don’t know what to think,” Trev said. “Seems too convenient to me.”
“You think it’s all connected?”
“I think something is going on up north. I have a weird feeling, Miller. Hard to explain. We’ve always had problems with Ripper. He runs a little strange of outlaw. Taking one lone guy on a run? They get ambushed? Ripper wasn’t shot?”
Miller nodded. “Let’s just get up there first. This is still touchy. Now it’ll get even worse.”
“We can’t hide Eden forever,” Trev said. “She knows her father is dead. Maybe shit with Jenn could work out somehow. Someone sent that letter to Eden. There’s no way in hell Eden is going to stay down here while I’m gone.”
“Jesus Christ,” Miller said. “You want to take Eden up there? She and Jenn see each other…”
“Exactly. Let them see each other. See how everyone reacts to it. That’ll tell the story.”
“That’s a risk.”
Trev stood up. “Everything we do is a risk, Miller. I feel like we’re preparing for a really shitty war.”
“Me too, brother. Me too.”
Trev walked away and left the conference room without looking back or being dismissed. It was a bit of disrespect toward Miller, but Trev wasn’t worried about respect anymore. He was worried about survival. For the first time in his outlaw life, he gave a shit about living.
And that was Eden’s goddam fault.
__
fifteen.
Eden stood at the door as two prospects stared at her.
“What?”
“Clubhouse,” one said. “Come with us.”
“Why?”
“Trev.”
Eden felt her heart sink. “Is he hurt?”
“No.”
“Oh. Good. Why can’t he come here?”
“Clubhouse,” the prospect said again.
“Right now,” the other said.
“Fine,” Eden said.
She followed the prospects down the metal stairs and walked across the lot toward the clubhouse. It seemed fuller than normal. More motorcycles. More guys with leather cuts lingering around. It was a scary sight as Eden wondered how many people all these men had collectively killed, but then again, weren’t they just protecting themselves and their club?
When Eden entered the clubhouse, it was
bustling. She recognized all the main table guys and their girlfriends. The President, Miller, stood with two kids in his arms. One kid was older than the other, laughing as Miller tickled his ribs.
“Daddy! Stop!” the kid cried out.
The other guy was just a baby, clutching Miller’s leather cut tight.
“Be careful,” a woman said as she stood with Blaine. “Don’t drop my baby.”
“Come on,” Miller said. “I’d never drop the future of Back Down Devil MC.”
“My baby isn’t getting patched in,” the woman said.
“Oh shit,” Blaine said.
“What do you want him to do in life, Jessa?” Miller asked the woman. “Look at his eyes. He’s got his father’s evil eyes.”
“And he loves Jessa’s tits just as much as I do,” Blaine said.
“Asshole,” Jessa said and slapped Blaine.
Eden smiled and saw the life they all lived for something greater. They really were a family together.
A hand touched Eden’s back and she turned to see Trev standing there.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey you,” Trev said. “Figured you could use a break from the apartment. Can we talk?”
“Of course. Everything okay?”
“Come on,” Trev said.
He slipped his hand into Eden’s and they walked to the side of the bar. They sat down and a prospect was there with two beers.
“Anything to eat?” the prospect asked.
“This asshole makes the best burger,” Trev said. “Fire two of those up.”
The prospect walked away and Trev faced Eden. “Someone was killed up north, Eden.”
“Okay…”
“Different charter, same MC,” he said. “One of our brothers is dead.”
“Oh. Shit.” Eden looked back and saw the way all the guys were looking around, assessing their lives. “Shit, Trev. I’m sorry.”
“Hey, look at me, beautiful.” Eden looked at Trev. He touched her face. “It could be pretty serious depending on how things shake out.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t like any of it. The guys are buying it for face value, but I’m not. I told Miller. Something is happening with Ripper. He’s the President up there. I think… shit, beautiful, I think Griffin wrote that letter to you a long time ago.”
“I got it a year ago,” Eden said.
“No. Not that, Eden. I think he wrote it a long time ago. Years ago. And he gave it to someone to send to you in case he ever died.”
“What?”
Trev nodded. “I think he was watching out for you, beautiful. The picture you have…” Trev sighed.
Eden touched Trev’s leg. “What is it? Please, Trev. I’ve done everything I could since I showed up. Please trust me.”
“I do trust you,” Trev said. “That’s what blows my mind in all of this shit. Griffin’s your father, right? He was patched down in here in Frelen. He ran outlaw a few times, because of his own beef with the MC. He’s always had a purpose for it. The thing is… he was working with the charter up north. With their President, Ripper. Ripper’s old lady… she’s…”
“We got lights!” someone called out.
“Ah, shit!” Miller bellowed.
Trev looked to a security camera and Eden looked too. There were two police SUV’s in the lot. She quickly grabbed Trev’s hand and started to shake.
“What is this?” she asked.
Trev got close to her and pulled her tight. He kissed the top of her head. “Just relax, beautiful. We know why they’re here.”
“Everyone stay,” Miller said. “Nobody move an inch. We act normal. Just make sure all the guns are out of sight. They have no warrant to be here. Just questions.”
Eden didn’t care how many bikers were in the clubhouse, this situation bothered her a lot.
She looked at Trev.
He was about to say something to me.
“It’s okay,” Trev said. “I promise. Just stay with the story. They won’t bother you.”
“What about Dimitrio’s murder?” Eden whispered. “Won’t they ask…”
“No. That’s not their jurisdiction. That’s a breakin gone wrong. Drink your beer. Laugh at the stories everyone is telling. We’re going to send a clear message to the PD about true family.”
There was something stoic in Trev’s eyes when he spoke. It was like he was the one calling the shots, like he was the leader in all of this. It was really sexy to watch.
Blaine took his son from Miller.
Miller put his boy down and stood there, holding the kid’s hand.
“Someone break this up,” Trev yelled.
“Okay,” Blaine said. “Let me tell you the story about the first time I tasted Jessa’s milk…”
“NO!” ten voices yelled at the same time.
“I can’t stand you,” Jessa said to Blaine.
He wrapped an arm around her and laughed.
“How about this one,” Gaige said. “The time Blaine thought a rock was a bear in the road and he dropped his ride. Right down on his left leg, spun the motorcycle, and ended up skidding so hard on his ass that he ripped through his pants.”
Everyone laughed.
“Come on, brother,” Blaine said.
“It gets better,” Shay said with a big grin. “He stands up and puts his hands to his hips. That’s when he realizes the rock ain’t a bear. But as he’s standing there, his jeans are ripped right open in the back. His ass is hanging out and he doesn’t even realize it.”
The clubhouse laughed again.
Blaine put a hand out. “Okay, okay. If I can give my side…”
The clubhouse door busted open.
Trev squeezed at Eden’s side.
“Relax,” he whispered.
Two cops came walking into the clubhouse, one holding a shotgun.
“Whoa,” Miller said. “I, uh, didn’t realize we had invited you, Ethan.”
“I’m here,” Ethan said. He was the guy without a gun. He stepped forward. “What are we eating?”
“We’ve got some diapers in the trash,” Blaine said. “I mean, we all know how much you love to eat shit.”
“Come on, Blaine,” Miller said. “That’s no way to treat our guests.”
“When one of them is holding a shotgun and my kid in the same room, I take offense,” Blaine said.
“Fair enough,” Ethan said. He looked back to the other cop. “Go outside and make sure nobody tries anything funny.”
The cop left and Ethan sat down on a barstool. He looked around. He looked right at Eden. Then at Trev. He pointed to Trev. “Surprised to see you all enjoying life.”
“Why’s that?” Trev asked.
“Funny how things work out,” Ethan said. “You guys tell me about a couple rogue prospects for your MC, huh?”
“What about?” Miller asked. “Only seemed right to do since there were issues with you and club. I mean, I think we’re a peaceful group of bikers. Right?”
“The two guys you talked about washed up on shore,” Ethan said. He took out pictures and slid them along the bar. “Take a look. What do you think?”
Eden didn’t want to see the pictures. But she couldn’t help herself. Just like rubbernecking at a car accident. When she saw the bloated dead faces of the prospects, she felt her stomach turn. One of their throats was slit. She looked up at Trev. She instantly knew these were the men Trev had killed.
Their blood was on my breasts… on my body… their blood washed down the drain as Trev and I…
“I guess you’re here to thank us for the tip,” Trev said. “Right?”
“Fuck that,” Ethan growled.
“Hey,” Blaine yelled. “Little kid ears are here.”
Ethan shook his head. “That’s my fault. Forgot I was in the company of such honorable men, who would never cause harm to a child.”
“What the hell do you want?” Trev asked. “We told you about these guys. They’re tied right to that m
urder you were pegging us for. What do we have business in killing off scum like Emilio?”
“Heard he owed you money,” Ethan said.
“A lot of people owe us money,” Miller said. “Shit, half this town would be dead if we started hitting people for money.”
Ethan smiled. “Isn’t that convenient? You realize that Emilio was talking to me? And one of your prospects was talking to me?”
“No clue about that,” Trev said. “That’s upsetting. I hate backstabbing people. You know?”
“Another hint at murder,” Ethan said.
“By all means,” Gaige said. “Search the clubhouse. Search all of us.”
Eden tensed up. She looked at Trev.
The guns? What if he searches and finds the guns?
“I could do that,” Ethan said. “But I won’t find shit. We both know that. My eyes are on you. All over you.”
“We’re going on a ride,” Miller said. “Just in case you want to follow us. Up to the Daurian charter. Lost a member. Senseless gun violence.”
“Makes me wonder if that’s not something you should be worried about,” Gaige said. “You know, instead of chasing us in circles, Chief.”
“I’m more worried about the knife violence,” Ethan said. “These two men were stabbed to death. Emilio stabbed. Then I heard a report of someone else who was about to come forward with information about your club having their tongue cut out.”
“Wow,” Trev said. “That sounds rough.”
Ethan pointed a finger right at Eden and stood up. “And don’t think for a second I don’t know who you are, sweetheart. I should take you in right now because you’re wanted in questioning for a murder…”
Eden tense up and leaned back into Trev.
“Get the hell out of here,” Trev said. “You’ve got nothing on any of us. We’ve been peaceful and open. You come near Eden and there’s going to be a big problem.”
“More murder?” Ethan asked.
“Try me, asshole.”
Ethan smirked. “Threatening an officer…”
“Not a threat,” Trev said. “You know you’re an asshole, Ethan. Eden has a target on her back and we’re protecting her. Go find the real murderers out there. Because if you don’t, we will.”
“Is that a confession?”