SAVAGE ROAD - Layne & Shelby (11 page)

3.

(Layne)

I was pretty sure they were
stomping on my head. Just for the hell of it, too. Nothing quite like taking a
beating without a fucking clue why it was happening. A lot of guys would try
and fight back. I knew better. If I just took it, they
’
d get tired. Then I could get my revenge. I wasn
’
t going to die without a fight.
Hell, I could die on my first day as President of Devil Call MC, but I wasn
’
t going to do it without
defending myself and my club.

“
Hey,
hey, hey, Tommy, come on.
”

“
What?
”

“
Just
get him up. Nicolas is coming soon. We can
’
t
kill him. He
’
s worth more
alive.
”

Thanks.

I was then picked back up.

They never tied my legs. Just my
hands behind my back. Even then, I could have found a way to wrestle my way out
of this if I really wanted to. Hell, another head stomp and I would have to do
something.

“
Take
the shit off his eyes.
”

Being able to see for the first
time in a while, my eyes needed a few seconds to adjust. Plus, my head spun
from being beaten up.

I blinked fast and saw two men in
front of me. They were wearing suits - really nice suits - with black ties.
They had gold rings on their pinkies, expensive watches on their wrists, and
looked nothing like I had expected. Then again, sniffing their cologne for the
past
how fucking long
had hinted that maybe they were well connected
with money or power.

Their faces were off though. They
had scars, mean yet weak eyes.

In other words, they were grunts.
They were the equivalent of prospects, but they would never get bumped up. My
mind raced with what I stared at, almost in disbelief that guys who were
connected were in Oakville and that they wanted me.

“
Got
something to say?
”
the one
said. He was shorter, thicker, grinning with big white teeth.

“
Were
you the one punching me?
”
I
asked.

“
No,
that wasn
’
t me. That was
Tommy here.
”
He patted
Tommy on the back.
“
Tommy
loves to fight. Real good at it.
”

“
I
can see that,
”
I said.
“
Especially when the other guy is
tied up.
”

“
Hey,
fuck you,
”
Tommy said.

“
Stay
calm,
”
the other guy said,
putting his hand in front of Tommy.
“
He
’
s just trying to fuck with us.
Wait until Nicolas is here. You
’
re
going to wish we killed you.
”

“
And
who are you?
”
I asked.

“
Fucking
disrespect. You stupid leather fucks. That
’
s
all you are. Motorcycles and ugly women. Such a goddamn shame.
”

“
So
you have no name?
”

The guy rubbed his chin and then
spit on the floor.
“
You
look at me. You listen once and close. Paul. I
’
m
with the Reinitelli family. Everything you know and believe is about to burn
down.
”

“
I
’
d love to know what I did to
deserve this gracious treatment,
”
I said.
“
Considering I just
came to town.
”

Paul laughed. He smacked Tommy
’
s arm and Tommy started to
laugh.

“
Glad
I could be funny,
”
I said.
“
I really fucking am.
”

“
Us
too,
”
Paul said.
“
Really sorry about your friends.
Your
…
what do you call
them?
Brothers?
Right? Is that what you call them?
”

I shook in the chair a little.
“
Fuck you. Both of you. Untie me
and let
’
s see how fair this
is then?
”

“
Whoa,
”
Paul said putting his hands up.
“
Whoa. We
’
re not here to fight or kill.
No.
”

“
I
couldn
’
t tell,
”
I said.
“
Not with this asshole stepping on me.
”

“
Oh,
that
’
s just Tommy. He
’
s having a bad day. His girl was
fucking the pool guy. You believe that?
”
Paul approached me. He put a hand on my shoulder. His eyes were a dark brown.
His hair black, slicked back. He was straight up connected.
Not good.
“
And the thing is
…
they didn
’
t fight back.
”

“
Who
didn
’
t fight back?
”
I asked.

“
Both
of them,
”
Tommy said.

“
What
the fuck does that have to do with me?
”

“
Nothing,
”
Paul said.
“
But when me and Tommy went to
check on his girl, we found her taking it from the pool guy. Edge of the bed,
the guy behind her. I mean, just real
…
fuck.
”

“
I
don
’
t want to talk about
it,
”
Tommy said.

“
You
’
re not,
”
Paul said.
“
I
am. I
’
m talking to our new
friend. The President here.
”

“
Fuck
you,
”
I said.

“
Hey,
hey, take it easy,
”
Paul
said.
“
Let me finish my
fucking story. So we bust in and the pool guy is behind Tommy
’
s girl. She
’
s screaming too. Like you think
he
’
s hurting her or
something. So I see Tommy
’
s
eyes flare up. I
’
m thinking
…
oh, fuck
…
He takes out his gun and shoots the pool guy in
the back of the head. Boom. One shot. Skull, brains, blood, it
’
s all thrown across the bed. The
fucking guy fucks the girl a couple more times before falling over. Like a nerve
dying thing, you know? So Tommy
’
s
girl turns around, trying to figure things out. I mean, she
’
s getting fucked one second,
then there
’
s a gunshot
…
it
’
s all confusing. Poor girl, right?
”

“
Yeah,
I feel terrible for her,
”
I
said.

“
Don
’
t worry about her,
”
Tommy said.
“
I drowned her with my own two
hands. In the fucking pool. She
’
ll
never fuck anyone else again.
”

“
Very
true,
”
Paul said.
“
Very true. See, that
’
s how we deal with things.
”

“
Did
I fuck one of your girlfriends?
”
I asked with a blood grin.

Paul snickered. He stood up and
waved a finger at me.
“
You
’
re pretty fucking funny,
President. But if you were fucking someone
’
s
girl, you
’
d be dead. You
wouldn
’
t have the chance to
talk to defend yourself.
”

“
My
hands are tied. I hardly think I can defend myself.
”

“
He
makes a point,
”
Tommy said,
then cracked his knuckles.

“
You
want to fight him?
”
Paul
asked.

“
I
’
ll fucking kill him,
”
I said.

Tommy stepped forward. Paul threw a
hand out and stopped Tommy.
“
Whoa.
Whoa. Whoa. Let
’
s
…
let
’
s just hang tight. Talk about your girl, Tommy.
Think about that fresh kill on your hands.
”

Tommy looked at his hands and
nodded.

In that moment, I thought about
Shelby. I thought about the rest of the guys. If they were going to look for
me. If they gave two fucks about me or not. Christ, how the hell did Shelby
feel right now?

A door squeaked open and both Tommy
and Paul were quick to jump to the side. Light flooded in the small office I
was in. Three figures appeared in the doorway. Two were tall, one was short.
The short guy stepped forward. The light spread across him. His eyes were
narrow and tight, dark as midnight, pure evil. He adjusted a ring on his pinky
finger, turning it. His suit was more expensive than Tommy and Paul
’
s. I didn
’
t know much about dressing up, but I could tell
this guy meant power.

He walked slowly and nobody dared
to move or speak.

“
Old
logging business,
”
the guy
said.
“
My uncle had
investments in it. Always nice to have a burial ground, right? Place in the
woods to take the evidence and let nature do its proper job.
”

He kept approaching me.

When he stopped, just inches from
me, he looked around the office, then down at me.
“
Worked a few jobs in here. Hell, I fucked a
secretary in here once. But we
’
re
not here to talk about that, are we?
”

“
I
have no idea why I
’
m here,
”
I said.

The guy reached down and ran his
thumb along my swollen cheek. He then showed me blood on his thumb.
“
My guys do this to you?
”

“
Nicolas,
”
Paul said.
“
You know Tommy, right? I mean,
we had to do something. The entire MC was with him. Had to make our move.
”

Nicolas put a hand up and Paul fell
in line, shutting up.

“
Untie
my friend here,
”
Nicolas
said.
“
Then get him a
towel. Let
’
s get him
cleaned up so we can have this meeting.
”

Tommy rushed to the chair and
started to untie me.

I winced in pain when my shoulders
moved.
“
You could have just
called.
”

Nicolas smiled.
“
We don
’
t do calls.
”

“
You
know I just took the patch today? Trying to clean some messes up.
”

“
Funny.
So are we.
”

I was finally untied. I brought my
hands forward and made fists. I let out a deep breath and looked at Tommy.
“
Thanks, asshole.
”

“
I
want everyone out,
”
Nicolas
said.
“
Now.
”

“
Should
we check him for any other weapons?
”
Paul asked.

“
No,
”
Nicolas said.
“
We can figure out some kind of
trust.
”

“
Trust,
”
I said.
“
You can start by telling me what the fuck is going
on.
”

The guys all left the room. The
door clicked shut.

Nicolas took out a gun and put it
under my chin. I made fists again, this time ready to really strike.

I gritted my teeth.
“
You suit and tie fuckers keep
pushing the limits
…”

“
I
’
ll keep it simple, Layne.
”

How the fuck does he know my
name?

“
I
’
ll keep it very simple,
”
Nicolas said.
“
Someone is going to die. And you
…
you get to choose who.
”

4.

(Shelby)

I shouldn
’
t have called about the situation. That was part of
the deal for me. So I could work at the MC clubhouse and do my best to survive
and somehow stay off the radar. After watching Ax carry Jack
’
s lifeless body from the
clubhouse, and then watching Finn carry that goddamn map around like it held
the meaning of life, I had to take my own action. The entire thing wasn
’
t fair to Layne. He had nothing
to do with the Mountain Killers. Or the guys in suits and ties.
The mafia.
Just thinking it almost made me laugh. I mean, weren
’
t there movies about that stuff? And even if it
were a real thing, wasn
’
t
it a long time ago when that stuff really happened? Imagining it in today
’
s world actually made it so I
couldn
’
t laugh. Because it
was terrifying.

The men in suits were equipped with
power, money, image, and an infrastructure that was just far beyond anything
Devil Call MC could ever compete with.

I knew it because Daddy had a book
about it, an old notebook that he tossed on the hood of the car. We were in a
back alley, Daddy swore we were secure and nobody would see. I could tell he
was pissed by the way he kept pacing, adjusting his sunglasses, always looking
over his shoulder, knowing we shouldn
’
t
have been doing this.

The notebook was full of scribbled
notes. Sketches of really bad drawings. Thoughts. Even written out
conversations. It was very sloppy, but well detailed. Hell, I never knew Daddy
could produce this kind of work.

“
This
is all yours?
”
I asked.

“
Nobody
knows about it,
”
he said.
“
You shouldn
’
t know about it. But the second
you told me
…
what you saw
…
shit, Shelby, you have to get
moving. If they
’
re circling
in, it
’
s going to get bad.
”

“
They
’
re not circling in,
”
I said.
“
They took
…”

Daddy nodded.
“
That
’
s the way it works.
”

“
He
had nothing to do with anything.
”

Daddy smiled.
“
Think about what you just said.
Think about what you
’
ve
seen. You think anyone in that MC has their nose clean of shit? Hell, they don
’
t even clean themselves up after
they step in shit. They pride themselves on it. That they
’
re messy and rough and tough.
”

“
You
need them. You know you need them.
”

Daddy slammed his hand on the hood
of the car.
“
Don
’
t fucking tell me what I need
and don
’
t need.
”

He reached for the notebook and
grabbed it. He closed it and rolled it up. He pointed it at me like a person
would a rolled up newspaper to a dog who had pissed on the floor.

“
I
’
m sorry,
”
I whispered, knowing it was easier to be defeated
in front of Daddy than to defy him.

“
You
can
’
t get involved with
them,
”
Daddy said.
“
You know that. You want to find
your mother, that
’
s up to
you. I
’
m not helping. I
never have and never will. That bitch deserves everything she has gotten. You
’
re walking a dark road that
’
s going to end up with you hurt.
”
He then looked at the notebook.
“
Don
’
t fuck with this, Shelby. You will get hurt. You
will get killed. I cannot protect you from it.
”

“
I
don
’
t think you can protect
me from anything,
”
I said.

I didn
’
t mean it in such a bad way. I just meant it as the
truth. Daddy could never protect me from anything. Not with the way the MC ran
itself. Not with me behind that bar. Not with Layne in my panties.

Christ, my one rule
…
one damn rule
…

As I thought about Layne, my eyes
faded for a second. That made it so I couldn
’
t
see the hand swinging toward my face. By the time I realized Daddy had struck
me, I was on the ground, on my ass. Leaning against my own car, I stared up at
him as he swung again. The second one hurt worse because I was expecting it.
That
’
s the thing with pain
…
when you expect it, it fucking
hurts. When you don
’
t
expect it, you could just roll with it.

Daddy pulled his hand back like the
hammer of a gun. And I just stared up at him. He only did it because he worried
about me. His version of beating common sense into me. I wondered if he used to
do that to my mother. If that
’
s
what chased her away and made her decide she didn
’
t
love me anymore.

My heart beat in my lip and my
cheek was already swelling, both still stinging. My nails clawed at the
pavement. I could have screamed, but it would have done nothing. Remember, we
had met here secretly. And if there was one thing Daddy knew, it was how to
maneuver around Oakville. I could scream, cry, and yell all I wanted and nobody
would find me. And if by some dumb chance someone did see us, it was Daddy
versus me. He controlled the scene. He controlled me.

I thought about Layne again.

Taken by the mafia. They were going
to fuck him up. The notebook had two schools of thought when it came to those
guys. They would either put a bullet in the back of your head which was either
a sign of respect or impulsive anger, or they
’
d
slowly torture and kill. Cut off fingers, toes, tongue. Take out an eyeball.
All that fun, dark stuff that was best left for nightmares and not reality.

Daddy
’
s
hand came down again. I could have absorbed it. He
’
d only do it a few more times and then get mad at
himself. He
’
d jump back,
grunting, and turn, shaking his hand. Then he
’
d
start to cry and give some attempt at a heartfelt speech. That was just hit
style.

A little fire sparked and I thrust
my right foot forward. I smashed it against his left shin and sent him back. I
couldn
’
t believe it
actually worked. His leg bent awkwardly and he stumbled back, grabbing for his
leg. I reached up and grabbed the door handle to my car. I pulled myself up and
opened the door. The keys were in the ignition. If it were a movie, this would
be the part when the car wouldn
’
t
start.

My car started.

I looked out the window and watched
Daddy as he leaned against the wall of a building, his right hand on the butt
of his revolver. He could have taken the weapon out and killed me. But he didn
’
t. Maybe he was in complete
shock that I actually fought back. Maybe he wanted to make me suffer later.

I didn
’
t stick around to ask questions. I put my foot on
the gas pedal and took off. My tires squealed and I peeled down the alley. When
I cut from the alley, I turned the wheel to the right and just kept going.

Oakville wasn
’
t the smallest town in the
world, but it was far from the biggest. It was beat up, rundown, trying to
revive itself in certain points. The MC kept things under control, but they
were always fighting. The Mountain Killers were very bad people. Suits and
ties, the mafia, whatever they were, were even worse. They belonged somewhere
else.

And if they were here, it was big
trouble, like Daddy said. It also meant Daddy would stay away from it. He and
everyone else with a sense of power would turn their eyes and let it play out.
They were supposed to be the justice, the law, to keep the town safe.

Guilt flooded me.

I needed to tell Layne exactly who
I was.

I stopped at a stop sign and sat
there much longer than a few seconds. I wondered what Layne would do to me when
he found out who I was. I wondered if Layne would return. Or maybe the mafia
would return a piece of Layne.
Or just his leather cut.

My stomach turned and I swallowed
hard, my mouth dry.

I looked up in the mirror to make
sure there were no cars behind me, waiting for me to go.

There were no cars waiting.

Just a small group of motorcycles.

The Mountain Killers MC were
behind me.