Burn Up (Steel Veins Book 2)

by Jackson Kane

Hendrix was right.

  Just like that, running away seemed so foreign to me that I couldn’t believe I had even considered it.

  “I’m his niece.” That definitely stopped Hendrix’s descent, and he craned his neck up at me curiously. I didn’t know why I was telling him this, but it felt like the right thing to do. “Robbie is my uncle. I just found out that my mother had a safe-deposit box in California, and he’s trying to help me get there. I’m hoping it has something I can use to get Anna away from our father and his club or something that might explain my mother’s disappearance ten years ago.”

  Hendrix gave me that same searching look he had done right before he kissed me... like he was looking for something inside of me.

  “I’ll stay,” I announced, slowly coming to peace with my newly found resolve. No doubt I was still terrified at what might happen to me or at what I might have to do, but I felt like I had a purpose again. What a spectacular feeling.

  Hendrix grinned then climbed down the ladder.

  “Hey!” I sprinted over to the hatch and gazed down at him. “Thanks for all… uh.... Thanks. Oh, and seriously, you owe me a bra.” At last, a smile crept onto my face.

  “That’s what you get for tangling with outlaws. You should know better, Lawyer Lady.” Hendrix glanced up at me before stepping out of the small room into the hall.

  “Where are you going?” My real question should have been Why are you leaving? I didn’t know what I wanted, but whatever it was, I wanted it to be with him.

  “I’ll be in the room.” He poked his head back up, grinning. “I find determination sexy. That hot, little, half-Korean body of yours got me too wound up to not get off, so don’t interrupt unless you’re willing to join in.” He winked and disappeared.

  He made my smile almost eat my whole face. I felt compelled to chase after him because after that dirty talk, I found him even sexier, if that was even possible. Just the thought of him, cock in hand below me, made me flush with heat again. I sighed and slumped against the half wall that held the hatch door then gazed up at the stars again. Tonight wasn’t the right time. I would feel absolutely horrible if I made him stop again. “I think one major, life-changing affirmation was enough for one evening,” I muttered aloud to myself.

  Another benefit of seeing this through was that I’d be stuck with Hendrix, at least for a little while. I had a sneaky suspicion that I might be able to steal away some time with him at some point. God, I hoped so.

  Hendrix would be my crucible. If I could survive him, I’d be tough enough for anything. Maybe even strong enough to rescue my sister permanently.

  Chapter Seven

  Hendrix

  The sun was at its highest when we arrived at the abandoned railway station on the outskirts of town the following afternoon. Concrete platforms ran along on either side with intervals of riveted, iron columns suspending the thick, curved latticework of steel that hung defiantly above our heads. Harsh, seasonal shifts eroded the paneling on the ceiling, stripping the structure of its function. The bubbled yellow caution paint was mostly eaten away by a plague of rain, rust, and ruin.

  Hazy, pollen-filled sunlight filtered through the spiderweb mockery of the station’s ceiling, sending crisscrossing square, shadow patterns before us as my bike stamped down the tall weeds that had reclaimed the buried tracks. The labyrinth of oxidized metal made the place smell like old blood. There was definitely an ominous sense of dread and inevitability in this place.

  Maya felt it too and squeezed me a little tighter.

  I perpetually scanned for anything that appeared suspicious and kept the bike at a low roar to focus on our surroundings. Last thing I wanted was to ride into another trap, but there was nothing here but ghosts and echoes.

  I followed the grooved tire tracks of the other bikes that arrived before us. Why would Tex have us meet in a place like this? Between the manmade and natural barriers, it was tough enough to get two wheels out here, let alone a van. How the hell would Skids get the van—

  “Goddammit.” I frowned, suddenly piecing it all together. Skids didn’t have the van... and that meant no coke, which meant that we were completely fucked.

  The platforms all funneled into a central hub. I couldn’t imagine what it looked like when it was operational, but now it was just like any other derelict inner-city park. And over there, a row of Coffin Eater’s bikes sat where I would’ve expected a broken swing set would have been.

  Of the nearly two dozen members and friends of the Coffin Eaters that left our clubhouse yesterday, only six made it out of last night’s slaughter. To think, I was one shotgun misfire away from missing this little get-together. It reaffirmed my need to get out of all this MC bullshit before my luck gave out.

  The greeting hugs were somber. Tex was already on the phone with the Iron Legion, explaining what had happened. Everyone else waited for the only news we could get because there was only one way that phone call would end. To be honest, I was surprised Tex even bothered contacting the Legion at all. In this game, there was no forgiveness or second chances.

  In the Legion’s eyes, it would be our fault for trusting that club. That coke was our responsibility regardless of the circumstances. We fucked up and would pay a heavy price for it. I didn’t know yet what happened with Skids or why he didn’t have the van, but none of that mattered right now. This was all on Tex. Running drugs for protection was his deal to begin with, and it was his guy that flipped on us and set us up with his old crew. If this deal collapsed, I would make damn sure Tex was crushed beneath it.

  I spied Skids and Miles leaning against an ages-old ticket booth as we made our way to them when Tex snapped his phone shut.

  “Any luck with the Legion?” one of Tex’s guys asked.

  Tex answered the man with a dour look and a shake of his head. Then he stared at us, or rather, just at Maya. It was a curious, intense look that Tex had, which put me on edge. “I have one more lead to shake down.”

  The hair on the back of my neck tingled the same way when I caught the Wild Boys locking the gate. Something didn’t sit right here.

  “I was beginning to worry.” Skids picked up on Tex’s stare at Maya. He checked his pocket watch, snapped it shut, then toyed with it in his hand for a moment, his casually hooded eyes boring at Tex with a stern mask on his face.

  I wondered if he thought Tex blamed him for wrecking the van. Tex was a mean, manipulative son of a bitch, but he’d never be able to convince the other members that it was Skids’s fault. Skids should be safe from the backlash, at least within the club.

  “Had to stop. Little lady needed a few... articles of clothing.” I winked at Maya, who immediately scowled and began to glow a beautiful shade redder.

  I loved making her blush. There was an innocence there that I found intoxicating.

  “I don’t want to know.” Skids shook his head and replaced his watch back into his pocket. I hugged him then Miles, which was always customary when greeting after a tragedy.

  “Why the hell didn’t you pick up your phone, old man?”

  “Lost it in the shuffle,” he replied as he smirked, clamping down on Miles’s shoulder. “I was too busy keeping this knucklehead alive.”

  “Don’t drag me into your lover’s quarrel.” Miles abstained, throwing his hands up. He was obviously still recovering from a bad hangover. “Hi, Maya.”

  “Hi.” Maya gave him a genuine smile. By now, she’d heard it from both Skids and me that Miles was the only other person in the club worth his damn salt. “How did you two escape?”

  “It was messy,” Skids replied, the shift in tone almost palpable. He squeezed her tight and kissed her on the cheek.

  I drew a deep breath and asked, “The coke?”

  “All over the interstate. Wild Boys took out one of our wheels. The van flipped, and all the coke that didn’t burn became snow. It was one hell of a sight,” Miles recalled, wide-eyed, and stared off into the far distance, almost completely lost in the memory.

>   I figured as much, but I had to know for sure.

  “The wounded guys?” My eyes flicked over at the bikes, two of them I didn’t recognize. They must have been Wild Boys’ bikes. Those must’ve been how Skids and Miles made it here.

  “Ratchet died in the crash, but we got everyone else out.” Skids pulled out a pack of smokes and offered them up. I was all set, but Miles snatched one up. When he saw that Maya wasn’t smoking, Skids slid his own cigarette back into the pack and put it away. Apparently, he wasn’t planning to smoke around her if she wasn’t a smoker.

  So Skids really did care about this girl. My guess that they were related had been correct, so why not come out with it then?

  “They were in too rough of shape to take with us once we got rid of the Wild Boys. Had to leave them. Must’ve been picked up by the cops by now.” Skids shook his head like a humiliated soldier forced to abandon his comrades. After a momentous pause, he then asked, “Give me a minute with the girl?” He then grabbed my arm before I could get too far away, leaned in, and whispered, “Thanks for getting her outta there.” He patted me on the shoulder and returned to Maya.

  I joined Miles and the others to give the estranged family some room. Obviously, Skids and Maya probably had a lot to talk about. After everything she had gone through so far, she deserved some answers.

  That initial feeling of dread I had when we arrived lingered no matter how I tried to rationalize it away. By now, it had burrowed into my bones and was screaming like a klaxon in my head. Something was very wrong, but I didn’t know what it was. I scanned the area with my thumb behind me, casually hanging off my waistband right next to my gun. No one else appeared nervous or shady, and there was no sign that we were being watched or had been followed. Maya was with Skids, and they both seemed fine.

  “We’re good with the Legion,” Tex bellowed, walking back toward us.

  We’re good? That was a death row pardon, and we didn’t know any governors. A massive weight was lifted off everyone, and they visibly began to relax. Everyone except for Skids, and that made me concerned.

  What weren’t Maya and Skids telling me?

  “How’d you swing that?” I kept as much skepticism from my tone as possible. What I really wanted to know was whose bed we were in now and how much did they want to fuck us?

  “I told them about our other cargo.” Tex cocked his head toward Maya.

  “You fucking did what?” I growled.

  “It was the only real play we had.” Tex put his hands up in an appeal to the rest of the club. “Maya’s club, the Hangers, is the Iron Legion’s chief rival. It would look good that we could hurt the Hangers by escorting their president’s daughter away from their club to turn evidence against them.”

  “That was icing when the job was done for additional leverage,” Miles, nursing a headache, was quick to chime in. “A protection run, even the Hanger’s daughter wouldn’t have enough weight to offset the loss of a small fortune in drugs.”

  That had to be what Skids was worried about, but why? Hangers didn’t have the reach to retaliate all the way out to Topeka. It had to be something else. There was a pit in my stomach as I waited for the other shoe to drop.

  “Yeah, well, it’s a damn good thing I made the call,” Tex bitterly spat back. “It turns out the girl isn’t who we thought she was. Turns out she’s Maya Merritt, daughter of Bruce ‘Slick’ Merritt, the president of the St. Louis Steel Veins MC chapter.”

  Oh shit! Dammit, Maya! Why didn’t you tell me?

  The Steel Veins was one of the biggest MCs in the country, dwarfing both the Iron Legion and Hangers combined. They were One Percenters, some seriously bad news. I had heard that their old national president Deadeye was ousted by an even meaner bastard. Everyone had heard the rumors of the new SV national president, Remy Daniels. Los Lobos, the Steel Veins’ main rival, claimed they killed him, but I guess it didn’t take because Remy came back and shattered their whole club.

  They said the guy was fucking unkillable.

  If this Bruce Merritt guy was anything like Remy, Tex just made a deal with the fucking devil.

  A lot of other things started falling into place like how she and Skids could actually be related. That’s why Maya was so guarded about her family. I could only imagine how rough she and her sister had it growing up. No wonder she came to Skids. She thought only family would be willing to help her.

  “What did you do, Tex?” I unsheathed my pistol but held it down by my thigh. I didn’t like where this was headed. He had to have made a deal with the Veins to get the Legion to back off. I was not about to let that fucking weasel touch Maya.

  “I saved our lives is what I did. Put the gun away, Hendrix.” Tex raised his empty hands slowly.

  I glanced back at Skids and Maya. Maya paled. Skids planted himself in front of her, his military background brandished in his posture and fixed, defiant gaze as he remained steadfast. He wasn’t about to let anything happen to his niece.

  “What does that mean for us, Tex?” I thumbed off the safety.

  “It means that if we just bring her back to Slick, her father, not only do we get protection against Iron Legion blowback, but we also get a full patch over. Apparently, he’s real interested in gettin’ his second daughter back.”

  “Second daughter?” Maya spoke up. “What did he say about Anna!”

  “Slick’ll kill her.” Skids was too single-minded to keep from interrupting and talking over Maya. Skids didn’t raise his voice; he simply made the statement to Tex as matter-of-fact as claiming that the sky was blue or that water was wet. “That’s not going to happen.”

  I could tell that nothing Tex said would make Skids’s resolve waver. As long as Skids was with Maya, she wasn’t going anywhere near her father. That was admirable.

  I imagined how having someone I cared about relying on me like that could make a man even stronger by giving him a sense of purpose. Something larger than just himself to fight for. I wondered if I could ever have something like that. A thought like that would have never trespassed my mind before having met Maya.

  “He told me explicitly that nothing would happen to her. He just wants to talk to her. He’s her father, for fuck’s sake! Let’s all calm down for a sec,” Tex reassured. “We’ll put it to a vote. All in favor of taking the deal? Aye!”

  The vote wasn’t even close; this time even Miles caved. Only Skids and I were nay votes. I didn’t trust a slimy word out of Tex’s mouth, and I sure as hell didn’t want to be indebted to yet another club. Our record for buddying up with bigger clubs had been pretty shitty so far, and I wasn’t eager to try it again.

  Behind all that, if I was being honest, my hesitance with the vote was all about Maya. I couldn’t deny that I’d grown to actually like the girl. I had to hope that her father didn’t know why she was with us. Even among criminals, he had a cruel, ruthless reputation. Could he really kill his own daughter, though? It was hard for me to wrap my head around that. But it didn’t matter now because we were outvoted. There was nothing I could do for her, so I had to put my gun away. Maya was going home after all... at least for now.

  I headed over to Skids, thinking about convincing him to let Maya go, or else things would get messy quickly. I’d tell him that it was a long ride back to St. Louis and that between the two of us, I was sure we could figure out a way for her to get lost in transit. It was going to be a tough sell, but he’d listen to me, for the most part.

  “There was one other condition that was a deal breaker otherwise....” Tex let the words hang. He shook his head, then looked at his guys for support. Without warning, he quickly drew his gun and shot Skids in the chest three times.

  Maya screamed. My gun was out and on Tex by the third round with everyone else following suit. Tex immediately dropped his gun and put his hands up as if in surrender.

  “Skids! Say something!” I cried out for him to answer, briskly jogging to him while keeping my gun trained on Tex.

  “Skids’s rea
l last name was Merritt. He was Slick’s brother. If we didn’t kill Skids and deliver Maya, Slick told me that the Steel Veins would erase us. Our clubhouse, our businesses, our families... everything. It was him or us. I had no choice. I’m sorry.”

  “Shut your fucking mouth, Tex!” When I got to Skids, his plaid, button-up shirt bloomed in deep crimson. He lay there, eyes wide open, awake and alert but struggling to breathe. Seeing that the other guys had Tex, I dropped my gun and ripped open Skids’s shirt.

  One of the wounds was bubbling blood, meaning the bullets had pierced his lung, collapsing it. He was dying.

  Maya, obviously rattled, shoved passed and immediately applied pressure on his wounds. “Robbie! Uncle Robbie, stay with me! We’re going to get you to a hospital!” She then glanced up at me with watery, pleading eyes. “Hendrix, we have to get help!”

  I grimaced because I knew a hospital wasn’t going to happen. Skids couldn’t ride, and with the van gone, we had no way of moving him. If we called for an ambulance, there was no way paramedics were showing up to an abandoned train station in response to a gunshot victim without a police escort. With the wake of destruction we left at the Wild Boys’ clubhouse and a highway full of coke from the wrecked van, the police were the last thing the rest of the guys would go for. We needed an off-the-books doc.

  I ripped long shreds off Skids’s shirt and assisted Maya in attempting to stem the blood flow. “Hold on, brother.” My crimsoned hands rifled through my phone, urgently scanning for any contacts that might be able to help. The first few numbers I tried were disconnected, the result of five years removed from a culture of people who used primarily disposable phones. Five years might as well have been an eternity. I was probably the only motherfucker that had the same goddamn number!

  Skids’s breathing went from labored wheezing to ragged gurgling as he was choking on his own blood. Frustrated that we were running out of time to help my friend, I crushed the phone in my hand then whipped the worthless marvel of technology into a steel beam, shattering it. “What the fuck are you all standing around for? Call someone!” I screamed at them.