SAVAGE ROAD - Layne & Shelby (9 page)

“
Got
it,
”
she whispered.

Then we lingered. Three seconds was
three seconds far too long.

I let her go and she walked away,
just like I wanted her to do.

In reality
…
I needed her to stay.

Now it was time to go face death.

13.

(Shelby)

The clubhouse started to get a
little quiet. I got a few fresh beers for some guys and then slipped into the
kitchen. The prospects were still working. They were always working.

Layne and Finn had been shouting
orders to the other guys. They were gearing up for something with the Mountain
Killers. I didn
’
t know much
about that group of bikers other than they were big, dirty, and they really
loved to kill people. They were sick when it came to women. It shouldn
’
t have bothered me watching
Layne leave the clubhouse, but it kind of did.

Leaving the clubhouse was like
rolling the dice. Eventually your number was going to get picked and you would
die. That could obviously be said for anyone though.

Once the entire place settled, I
snuck out the back door and walked along the side of the building. There were
two other offices in the compound, for the legit businesses. Guys walked around
in jumpsuits, grease on their clothes, hands, even faces. They pointed at cars,
argued over parts and pricing, and kept the front alive and well. I
’
m sure the MC made money at all
this, but I couldn
’
t help
but wonder what kind of secrets were all around me.

I walked to the large cages were
the dogs where kept. I guess they were meant to be big, mean junkyard animals,
but the second they started to trust you, they were mush. Sugar paced and
jumped when she saw me. AJ stood for a few seconds, then opened her mouth,
panting. It looked like she was smiling at me though.

I opened the door and both dogs
came to me. I petted them, and checked their food and water, making sure they
were happy and comfortable. I then took a seat on a bench and started to think
about everything.

My obsession with finding my mother
had definitely taken over my life. Dad painted a clear picture that seemed to
make sense - my mother was a woman who just decided she didn
’
t want the life she had. So she
up and left. She never wanted be to contacted, or found. She really wanted to
be left the hell alone and nothing more.

I accepted that answer for a long
time. But watching Dad slip away made me crave to know the truth. I feared Dad
was going to get himself killed or kill himself. He was paranoid and wouldn
’
t talk about it. He barely
worked, more or less a figurehead of authority. I thought maybe my mother would
know something about why he turned out this way.

Maybe I should have just run.
Gotten in my car and started driving. Gone somewhere to start over. Forget
about my mother and just leave a note for Dad. He wanted me to go. He
’
d love me for it. He
’
d respect me for it, too.

But something inside me wouldn
’
t let that happen. I couldn
’
t just let it all go. I had to
know about my mother. I had to try and save Dad. More so I had my own little
secret.

“
Shit,
”
I whispered.

I took my little notebook out of my
back pocket, along with the piece of paper from Brett. I guess he was trying to
kiss my ass for being a complete dick.

The piece of paper had my mother
much closer than I could have possibly imagined. Of all things, she helped to
find missing people. That was, if the information in my hands was correct. Her
name was Donna and she helped from Reno to Vegas and a little bit west. Not
where I was though. If I wanted to see her, I
’
d
have to do a little traveling myself.

Which wasn
’
t all that bad, I guess. Maybe I could use time
away from the MC. Especially with Layne here. Him going after me was sexy, hell
yes, but it was risky. I couldn
’
t
keep breaking my rule. I had to stop fucking Layne. Or letting Layne fuck me.
Or whatever the hell was going on between us.

I stood up and tucked my notes
away.

In my mind, I couldn
’
t figure out what was going to
happen when I did find my mother. If we
’
d
look at each other and hug each other. Cry our eyes out. She
’
d apologize. I
’
d accept. Then I could ask
anything I wanted, without worry. Or it could go the other way. We
’
d see each other and she
’
d get angry. I
’
d get angry.

My thoughts were chased away by an
approaching vehicle.

All black. Tinted windows. Even the
rims on the car were black. No markings for the make or model but it had the
over all appeal of something very expensive.

The car slowed and started to turn
as though it was going to pull into the compound lot. I watched as Jack started
to open the main gate. They had some kind of system in place to know who was
allowed in and who wasn
’
t.
Jack put a hand out to signal the car to stop.

But it didn
’
t.

The car revved forward and hit
Jack.

The sight made me gasp. I blinked a
few times, wondering if what I saw was correct.

Jack went up on the hood of the car
and then rolled off the side.

Michael -
aka Mack
- started
to run toward Jack.

The car then backed up and the
passenger window opened.

When I saw the gun, I dropped to my
knees.

Sugar and AJ came at me. I threw my
arms around them and hugged them, as though I could protect them. Christ, the
dogs were bigger than me. They were protecting me.

I shut my eyes, hating the sound of
a gun firing.

The gun was very quiet though, a quick
pff
sound and that was it. By the time I opened my eyes and looked, the
car was now speeding away. My mind told me to get the plate number, but it was too
late. The car was too far gone to see anything.

I hesitated for a few seconds,
almost in a state of shock.

My first thought was that nobody
from the table was there to help. Yeah, there were patched in members, but the
true power mostly came from the guys at the table.

I stood back up, patting the heads
of the two dogs.

“
Stay
put,
”
I said.

I left the dogs and rushed over to
the scene at the front of the compound.

The first thing I saw was blood.

A lot of blood.

Pooling on the ground.

“
Holy
shit.
”

I hurried to Jack and dropped down,
wondering what I was going to be able to do. Michael was there, tearing off his
jumpsuit, stripping down to nothing but a white t-shirt and his boxers. He
rolled the jumpsuit up and pressed it to the side of Jack
’
s neck, where the bullet had
penetrated him.

“
He
’
s going to fucking die,
”
Michael said.
“
Fuck. He
’
s my best friend.
”

I looked back. There were more guys
running toward the scene.

I took Jack by the hand.
“
Can you hear me?
”

Jack
’
s
mouth tried to move. His eyes were already glossy. His head moved to the right,
looking at the road.

“
Jack,
”
I said.
“
Did you know who they were?
”

His mouth was still moving, nothing
happening. Then blood started to seep from his mouth.

My stomach flipped. My blood ran
cold.

I looked at Michael.
“
Did you know who
…”

“
No
idea,
”
Michael said.
“
Didn
’
t get a good look though.
”
He glanced back down to Jack.
“
Please, man, just hang on. Just
…
for me
…”

Jack turned his head and stared at
Michael.

I squeezed Jack
’
s hand.
“
Let me call for help. Okay? Keep breathing, Jack.
It
’
s not
…”

Jack
’
s
head fell to the left.

Dead.

Jack
’
s
grip lessened on my hand. I then stood up and stepped back. I bumped into
something, someone. I spun and swung, my hand slapping someone
’
s face.

It was a patched in member - Blaze.

He grabbed my wrists and spun me
around. He slammed me against the gate.

“
What
the fuck is wrong with you?
”
he growled.

“
Yo,
bro,
”
another voice said.
It was Jet.
“
That
’
s Layne
’
s old lady. Take it easy.
”

Layne
’
s old lady?

Is that what people thought?

Before Blaze could do anything
else, I lifted my knee to his balls. That made him let me go. I slipped away
and started to run toward the clubhouse. I looked back, expecting to see Blaze
or someone else chasing me.

But I was alone.

At the clubhouse door, I stopped
and thought for a second.

A black car rolled up, shot a
prospect, then sped away.

I looked in the direction the car
had gone.

It made me wonder what direction
Layne had been going.

And, again, my stomach was fucking
sick.

It was going to be a bad day.

14.

(Layne)

It was a complete shithole. From
the large wooden structure that was their bar, right down to the stack of
motorcycles, junk, trailers, and other shit everywhere. They didn
’
t have a compound. They were
tucked away in the woods of northern California like a bad kept secret.

We went from pavement to rocky
gravel and then into the dirt.

I had to admit it
…
the ride really made it all
scary.

There were two of them standing at
the main part of compound by a large, crooked, and rusty gate. The guys had to
weigh over three hundred pounds, and they looked nothing short of a chunk of
muscle with eyes. They had long, black beards, long, black hair, and were
filthy. They smelled like death and spit at the ground when we approached, leaving
big globs of chew on the ground.

“
The
fuck you want?
”
one of them
growled.

“
You
know who I am?
”
I asked.

“
Bitch
patch says President. Your mother sew that on for you?
”

“
No,
”
I said.
“
But maybe yours did. She a bitch like you? Guarding
a broken gate?
”

The guy stepped at me.

I wasn
’
t afraid of him. I didn
’
t give a shit about their size. Hell, I was almost
matched to them.

The second guy grabbed the first
one
’
s arm and pulled. He
then reached over the gate and lifted a shotgun. He pumped the chamber with one
hand and pointed it right at me.

“
Get
the fuck out,
”
he spat.

“
Shoot
me,
”
I said.
“
You tried yesterday but missed.
”
I nodded to my shoulder.
“
Are you all that bad of a shot?
”

“
Let
me crush his head,
”
the
first guy said.

That
’
s
when Finn stepped forward and punched the guy right square in the nose. The big
guy collapsed like an empty glass in the wind. The second guy took his eyes off
me for a second so I grabbed the shotgun. I twisted it out of his hands and
pointed it at him. His eyes went wide. He shook his head.

“
Last
words?
”
I asked.

“
Go
fuck yourself. And your mother.
”

I pulled the trigger and he flew
back into the gate. He went backwards over the gate and managed to bump the
latch, opening it. The first guy was on the ground, holding his face.

“
Ax,
”
I called out.
“
Keep this guy quiet.
”

Ax lumbered forward and put his
massive boot to the guy
’
s
throat.

The shotgun brought attention to us,
which was exactly what I wanted.

Guys started to pour from the bar
and from the trailers. They all had a similar look to them. They were thick
with fat over muscle, long beards, black hair, evil eyes and faces. Their
fingers were covered in rings, and wore nothing but black leather cuts that
were worn out, with holes in them.

They were really terrifying to look
at.

I pumped the shotgun and pointed.

That didn
’
t stop them.

They kept coming.

It wasn
’
t until the guy in front put his arms out did they
stop.

“
That
’
s Viper,
”
Finn whispered to me.
“
President. Stryker
’
s
next to him. VP.
”

Viper had two scars at the insides
of his eyes. It made him look even angrier. Maybe that
’
s where they got the name Viper from. He was the
only one who didn
’
t have a
beard. Or hair. He was completely bald, his jaw chiseled like shitty broken
stone from scars.

I opened the shotgun chamber and
dumped the shells. I closed the chamber and tossed the gun to the side.

“
Viper,
”
I said.
“
Nice to finally meet you face to face.
”

“
Go
fuck yourself,
”
Viper said.
He opened the gate, pulling it toward him.
“
You
shot him?
”

“
Yeah,
I did. He pointed the gun at me. Only right I defend myself. Considering I was
shot at yesterday.
”

Viper grinned.
“
That
’
ll heal just fine, won
’
t it?
”

“
Yeah,
I
’
m sure it will,
”
I said.
“
Who shot?
”

“
I
did,
”
Stryker said,
stepping forward.

“
And
they call you Stryker?
”

“
If
he wanted you dead, you
’
d
be dead,
”
Viper said.
“
But I wanted to just send a
little warning.
”

“
Yeah?
And what
’
s that?
”

Viper reached out and grabbed at
the bandage on my shoulder. He tore at it, leaving it dangling. He then stuck a
finger into the wound, breaking it open.

I threw an uppercut and hit Viper
in the jaw. He went stumbling back, Stryker catching him. Stryker threw Viper
forward at me. I stepped back and we were then nose to nose.

“
You
don
’
t realize what you
’
re fucking with,
”
Viper whispered.

“
You
don
’
t realize who I am,
”
I said.
“
President of Devil Call MC. No more bullshit,
asshole. Stay the fuck away from my town. My clubhouse. My club.
”

“
All
yours,
”
Viper said.
“
You just show up and that
’
s it?
”

“
That
’
s it,
”
I said.
“
The
biggest mistake you ever made was not making the call to kill me yesterday. I
’
m going to bury each and every
one of you pieces of shit.
”

Viper grinned. He then laughed. He
looked at Stryker.
“
You
believe this guy? He
’
s  got
some balls.
”

Viper then made a grab for me. For
my balls.

His fingers grazed between my legs
and I punched his hand away. I threw another punch at him, hitting him again in
the jaw.

That
’
s
when all hell finally broke loose.

Stryker lunged at me, hitting me in
the side of the face. I side stepped and turned, but Finn was already there.
Like a goddamn ninja, Finn was in the air and then had Stryker on the ground.

Me and Viper were in a stare down
as the rest of our guys were fighting. You could only hear the sounds of
knuckles hitting flesh and bone, blood spraying, and spitting on the ground.

Rylan and Brett were on the ground,
rolling around.

Ax had some guy by the throat,
lifting him up.

Finn pounded on Stryker, taking as
many punches as he was delivering.

I stepped toward Viper. We were
then nose to nose again. I wasn
’
t
backing down. I wasn
’
t
afraid of him. I wasn
’
t
afraid of the Mountain Killers. I knew what they thought they had on me. On the
MC.

I grinned.

“
What
’
s so funny?
”

“
I
actually came here to bring you a present.
”

“
Is
that so?
”

“
Yeah.
Why don
’
t we call off our
men and have a chat?
”

“
Fair
enough.
”

Viper reached back and pulled out a
gun. He pointed it up and shot twice.

All the fights stopped.

Slowly, Viper turned his hand and
put the gun to my temple.

“
You
better plan on pulling that trigger,
”
I warned.
“
You don
’
t want to make another mistake.
”

“
You
’
re not going to last more than a
month around here,
”
Viper
said.
“
We control it all.
From here north. I don
’
t
give a shit where you came from. Our woods, mountains, states. Nobody can stand
in our way.
”

I turned and pointed to Ransom.
“
Back the car up here.
”

“
Car?
”
Viper asked.

“
Yeah,
”
I said, looking at Viper again.
“
I told you I brought you
something. It couldn
’
t fit
on one of our motorcycles.
”

“
The
fuck is this about?
”
he
growled.

I stood defiant, making sure to
make eye contact with all the Mountain Killer MC guys.

“
Devil
Call MC is in control,
”
I
said.
“
Oakville up to the
Canadian border. You want to fight over it? Make your next move. Don
’
t send warnings. Don
’
t underestimate who we are and
what we can do.
”
I pointed
to the dead guy on the ground.
“
That
’
s my warning right there. Stay
the fuck in your little shit area.
”

“
You
know,
”
Viper said,
“
the thing about freedom and
being an outlaw
…
everything
you say is just words. Just like the law. It
’
s
all words. You don
’
t want
to end up
…”
Viper pointed.

I looked and it was quite the
sight. There was an Oakville PD cruiser sitting in the rubble.

These guys were for real. They
killed without remorse.

Which meant I had to stand toe to
toe with them.

We all moved out of the way as
Ransom backed the car completely up. He then pulled the latch and the trunk
popped but didn
’
t open. I
stood next to the car. I waited for Ransom to get out. We then formed a line,
facing off with the Mountain Killers.

“
I
get it,
”
I said.
“
What you guys are doing. What
makes sense to you. A promise of this glorious life. You
’
re smart. But we
’
re
smarter. We
’
re stronger. I
’
m here and in control. If you
want to pursue this war, it will be the end of your MC. If you stay the fuck
away from us
…
actually
…
either way, you
’
re going to die. You
’
re going to be shut down. You
can
’
t win.
”

I opened the trunk and looked down
at Bain
’
s slain body. He
was shirtless, curled up, dead.

“
This
was your guy,
”
I said.
“
Your contact. How you knew it
all about us. You think we
’
re
fucking stupid, Viper?
”

Viper
’
s
eyes were a little wide. He hadn
’
t
expected this.

“
Alan
is dead too,
”
Finn said.

“
Fucking
Christ,
”
Stryker muttered.
“
Fucking Christ.
”

Viper then started to nod.

I knocked on the open trunk.
“
I
’
ll
just leave this with you. Our gift. Our reminder. Our last warning.
”

I turned and signaled to the guys.

We all walked from the shithole
compound to our motorcycles. I almost felt bad for ransom, needing to sit on
the back of Rylan
’
s
motorcycle. It was a funny sight to see; two tough bikers sitting like that.

Our rides came to life with a
beautiful thundering sound.

Up ahead, Viper closed the trunk of
the car. He then jumped up on it, climbing to the roof. He just stood there.

They looked fucking menacing, that
was for sure. But we
’
d have
to fight. We
’
d always have
to fight. It
’
s what we did.
We were Devil Call MC. It was our purpose. To survive.