SAVAGE ROAD - Layne & Shelby (2 page)

4.

(Layne)

The compound was well secured.
Mostly by junk. Cars and trucks were up on lifts, stripped down to skeleton
frames. Cinderblock walls stacked maybe twenty feet high or more, a large
square design. Hell, it had the appeal of a prison. The parts without concrete
walls had thick chain fences with barbed wire rolled up around the top. I saw a
few Rottweiler
’
s hanging
around the gates. They watched me with careful eyes and I pulled up to the main
entrance.

Two guys stood there wearing dark
blue jumpsuits. They had an oval logo on their left breasts -
Damage Control
Salvage & Custom Parts
. On their right breasts were stitched Mack and
ack.

“
ack?
”
I asked over the rumble of my
motorcycle.

“
Jack,
”
the guy said.
“
The
J
fell off.
”

“
Good
to know.
”

“
What
do you need?
”
Mack asked.
“
Here for some parts?
”

“
I
’
m here for my patch,
”
I said. I turned my shoulder
and showed the back of my leather cut.

“
Holy
shit,
”
Mack said.

“
You
’
re
…
him
…
,
”
Jack said.

“
Yeah,
I
’
m him. Name
’
s Layne.
”

“
Sir,
”
Mack said.

“
No,
”
I said.
“
I don
’
t
do that
sir
bullshit. Are you two prospects?
”

“
Yes,
”
Jack said.

“
Is
your name really Mack and Jack?
”

“
I
’
m really Jack. His name is
Michael. But all they had was a jumpsuit that said Mack.
”

“
Got
you. What
’
s happening
today?
”

“
We
’
re not allowed to
…”

Layne gritted his teeth.
“
Tell me about the Rotty
’
s over there. What are their
names?
”

“
AJ
and Sugar. Both female.
”

“
Got
AJ because she bit one of the guys right at his balls and he called screamed
out
‘
Asshole!
Jerk! Fuck!
’
and
the name stuck from there.
”

“
AJF
didn
’
t sound right,
”
Jack said.

“
Why
Sugar?
”
I asked as the two
dogs still stared at me.

“
Because
that
’
s her name,
”
Mack said.
“
She
’
s ten years old. She
’
s
seen a lot of shit.
”

I looked and realized there was a
noticeable difference between the dogs. AJ on the left, a firm, beautiful dog,
with muscle and worried eyes. Then on the right, Sugar, a seasoned animal who
had probably a lot of fights, wars, and death. Her eyes were much calmer than
AJ
’
s, but that didn
’
t mean she didn
’
t want rip my fucking arm out of
its socket.

“
They
get taken care of well?
”
I
asked.

“
Better
than us,
”
Jack said.

“
Good,
”
I said and grinned.
“
Now get the fuck out of my way.
”

The guys moved and I rode right up
to the clubhouse. I climbed off the motorcycle and stretched my neck. The beer
with Pep had long since worn off and I could go for another. Hell, maybe six or
twelve. Why not? I was here to settle in and take control. The last thing I
wanted to do was be a raging asshole. I wasn
’
t
going to kick in the door, pull my gun, and just start commanding.

I pulled open the door and stepped
inside.

I opened my mouth and caught two
sights at once.

First, there was a woman behind the
bar. Arms folded, resting under a beautiful set of tits. In a white shirt,
really tight, her off-white bra showed through. That gave me a subtle reminder
that I needed a woman. It
’
d
been too long since I fucked someone.

The second sight was the biggest
man I
’
d ever seen in my
life, holding another man
’
s
head in place. A second man - wearing a Devil Call MC cut - had a knife to the
man
’
s throat.

He started to move it as the man
screamed.

“
Hey!
”
I bellowed and grabbed for my
gun.
“
What the fuck is
this?
”

So much for a calm entrance.

The man with the knife turned,
grabbing his gun. I saw his patch -
Finn
- and pointed with my other
hand.

“
Take
it easy,
”
I said.

“
Hey,
Finn,
”
someone else said.
“
That
’
s
him
. Put your gun down.
”

“
Fuck
that,
”
Finn growled.
“
Nobody comes into my clubhouse
and pulls a gun on me.
”

He walked toward me. I walked
toward him. We were in a stare down.

“
Your
clubhouse?
”
I asked.
“
If it was your clubhouse, I
wouldn
’
t be here.
”

“
You
ain
’
t wearing that patch
yet, are you?
”

“
Good
as mine, Finn. Put your gun down.
”

“
Don
’
t say my name like you know me.
”

“
Tell
me what
’
s happening here,
”
I said.
“
Now.
”

“
Fuck
you.
”

I put my gun to the floor and
pulled the trigger. Finn jumped back, eyes wide.

“
What
the fuck
…”

I tucked my gun away and went for
Finn. I grabbed him by his shirt and spun him around. I threw him toward the
bar, sending him crashing into the barstools.

That
’
s
when the giant let the other guy go and came at me. He was lumbering with
footsteps that sounded and felt like boulders crashing to the floor. His
massive hands outreached, like a goddamn monster seeking death.

I caught sight of his patch -
Ax
.

Small name for the largest man to
ever attack me.

“
Ax!
”
someone shouted.
“
You can
’
t do this!
”

I threw a punch to his gut and my
fist ricocheted back. The pain that went through my wrist and arm told me I had
shattered bones. Ax had the hardest stomach I ever punched. He was made of
steel.

His left hand clamped on my
shoulder and it felt like getting bitten by an animal. I had to act fast or
this lumbering asshole was going to kill me.

I made a fist again, wincing in
pain, and punched forward and up. I hit Ax in the throat, right at the Adam
’
s apple. It startled him enough
that he let me go. Now, I should have ran, right? Gotten the fuck out of the
way and explained things. But I had a message to send now.

I punched Ax again and again at his
throat. I then gripped his windpipe like a vise. I twisted and pushed, swinging
my right foot. I hit Ax
’
s
leg and I had him off balance enough that he went down. The sound of him
crashing to the floor could have been measured on the fucking richter scale.

The second he hit the ground, the
entire bar went silent.

I pulled out my gun and put it
between his eyes.

The man on the pool table was
sitting up now. He looked beaten to fucking death. I don
’
t know how the hell he was sitting up. His throat
pulsed as blood leaked out from the cut.

“
Don
’
t fucking move,
”
I yelled at Ax. Then I looked
around.
“
That goes for
everyone. Nobody fucking move.
”

I looked back and saw Finn sitting
on the floor, arms resting on tipped over barstools.

“
Now,
”
I yelled,
“
I
’
m
going to ask again
…
what
the fuck is this?
”

“
They
…
attack
…”
the man on the pool table tried to say.

I pointed the gun at him.
“
I don
’
t want to hear you talk. You don
’
t have a cut on.
”

I put my gun away and offered a
hand to Ax. He took my hand, and wrist, and half my fucking arm.

I pulled and helped him up to his
feet. He towered over me, staring down.

“
Sorry
for that,
”
he bellowed in a
slow, deep voice.

“
Don
’
t sweat it,
”
I said. I turned and went to
Finn. I offered my hand.
“
Stand
up, Finn.
”

“
Fuck
off,
”
Finn spat.

He didn
’
t take my hand. He instead kicked up to his feet
and tried to save face.

We stood there in complete silence.

“
There
’
s something going on around
here,
”
Finn said.
“
I
’
d
rather talk in private.
”

“
You
have a guy beaten almost to death on a pool table. You were going to slit his
throat when I walked in. It
’
s
looks pretty fucking wild in here. Who gave you authority to make that kind of
call, Finn?
”

Finn bumped his chest to mine. We
were eye level.
“
I did.
”

His black hair and black eyes were
intimidating. There were scars in this man
’
s
soul that ran deep and were terrifying.

“
Then
let
’
s talk for a second,
”
I said.

I walked along the bar, all eyes on
me. I didn
’
t know any of
the guys. Some of the faces looked somewhat familiar, probably from a time or
two when we had to make a call for backup down in Brocke.

I grabbed the door handle to what
would be my
conference room
…
my table
…
my clubhouse
…

It was a lot to take in and accept.

I stood and held the door open.
Finn raced inside and stopped at the table. I looked over my shoulder, the
clubhouse still looking at me.

“
Ax,
”
I said.
“
Keep that son of a bitch on the pool table. And
keep him alive.
”

“
Yeah,
”
Ax grumbled.

I met eyes with the woman behind
the bar.

Fuck
…
she
’
s gorgeous. Hair, face,
eyes, tits
…

I shook my head. I needed to get a
decent fuck, and soon.

I shut the door and leaned against
it.

“
Are
you going to take your fucking seat?
”
Finn asked.

“
No,
”
I said.
“
I don
’
t
have the patch, remember?
”

Finn turned. He pointed at me.
“
Someone inside this clubhouse
has been giving out information. I reported it down to Brocke a little while
ago and it must have gotten misplaced.
”

I nodded.
“
Well, in case you didn
’
t hear, it hasn
’
t
been all roses down there.
”

“
Hasn
’
t been roses here either, man.
”

I stuck my hand out.
“
Layne.
”

Finn stuck his hand out.
“
Finn.
”

We shook hands. The respect of the
Devil Call MC patch.

“
Who
is that guy?
”
I asked.

“
Name
’
s Alan. He
’
s a small arms dealer near the
Canadian border. He helps people move shit back and forth without a hassle.
Makes a nice little piece for himself. But lately, man, there
’
s been too many coincidences
going on. So I took it upon myself to do something about it. I poked around and
there
’
s someone out there
talking. Telling Alan and another crew our every move, conversation, decision.
Fuck, Layne, I was worried of an attack. I haven
’
t
fucking slept in weeks. Waiting for the call about
…
you
…”