Secret Mayhem (19 page)

nineteen.

When Shay emerged into the
clubhouse, it seemed all activity stopped. The Lost Men lined the back wall and
stood as though they were ordered to do so. The guys of Back Down Devil at the
bar stood. The meeting room door opened and Miller stepped out. Behind him came
Griffin, Gaige, and Erik. Shay made eye contact with Erik and his stare was
cold and guilty, much like Shay
’
s.

“
We
’
re gearing up,
”
Miller called out.
“
Get ready to leave in a little
bit. We
’
re bringing bodies
but nothing else. This meeting is to prove a point. We
’
re not using our weapons or our fists. That
’
s what they want. That
’
s what
he
wants. And it
’
s not going to happen.
”

Murmurs broke out amongst everyone.
Miller ignored them all and turned his attention to Shay. He pointed toward the
meeting room and Shay knew he was about to face the heat from his dumb
decision. He followed Miller into the meeting room and was surprised to find
Erik following too.

The door was shut and Shay turned,
keeping his hands at his sides. He was willing to take whatever else Erik felt
he needed to do.

“
Where
’
s your weapons?
”
Miller asked.

“
I
’
m holstered. Why?
”
Shay questioned.

“
Give
me your gun.
”

Shay did as he was told and offered
his gun to Miller. He put it on the table and then stood to the side as Erik
stepped forward.

“
You
deserved getting the shit beat out of you,
”
Erik said.

“
I
know I did.
”

“
But
the bombs aren't your fault. I
’
m
angry at the world, Shay. Even Kaity hasn't been able to take these feelings
away.
”

“
I
had no idea Caius was coming back for me. I take all the blame for the
mechanic, for Kaity almost getting killed, for the prospect. For everything.
”

“
No,
”
Miller said. He reached out and
touched Shay
’
s shoulder.
“
We
’
re
a brotherhood here. There should be no secrets. You did the wrong thing. The
time will come and we will handle it, Shay. But for now, we act as one. Nothing
less than that.
”

“
I
didn
’
t want to be pulled
away from it,
”
Shay said.

“
You
keep saying that,
”
Erik
said.
“
Makes you sound full
of shit.
”

“
It's
the truth. This has been so hard on me. And I've been trying to protect Ava
from everything.
”

“
Again,
with the pussy,
”
Miller
said. He grabbed Shay
’
s gun
and put it back into his hand.
“
Remember
why you have this gun and why you're allowed to wear that cut.
”

“
I
think about that all the time,
”
Shay said.
“
I would never
forget.
”

“
Look
at my face,
”
Erik said.
“
Don't forget what happened.
”

Erik stepped forward until he and
Shay were nose to nose.

“
Time
to ride,
”
Miller said.
“
We are going to end this, one
way or another."

The feeling of being alienated from
his club only motivated him more to find Caius. When he climbed on his
motorcycle and started it, he looked to the clubhouse. There was no choice now
but to leave Ava behind. She had already seen too much. And if Caius was going
to have his way, Shay couldn't bear to have Ava there to witness it.

Miller gave a hand signal and he
pulled forward. He pointed to Trev and offered him the second spot in line. It
was a sign of respect and Trev accepted it. Then the entire Back Down Devil
crew and the Lost Men made their way out of the compound. As they rode, Shay
wondered how and when Miller set all this up. He got the feeling that he was
being left out of something. As much as he deserved to be left out, the club
could not survive a war if they weren't all on the same page.

Miller and Trev led the long line
of motorcycles to a desolate place outside Frelen. They were about ten miles
west of their usual meeting land. It was best that they avoided there since
Strokner figured out what they used the land for. The Eight Under crew was
lined up with a quick count of at least fifty men.

Not once since Shay was patched in
with Back Down Devil had there ever been a meeting like this. Not only was it
larger than most, this time there was more tension within Back Down Devil than
there was between them and the enemy.

They all parked and Miller stepped
off his ride first. He pointed to his VP, Gaige, and then nodded to Nate, Erik,
Landon, Blaine, and Shay. It surprised Shay. He knew Miller said they needed to
be a united front, but he figured he would have been sat out of this meeting as
punishment.

Miller took his sunglasses off and
looked at the group of men in front of him. The rest of the guys, including
Shay, crossed their arms. A sign that they weren
’
t
going to draw their weapons.

“
Where
’
s your leader?
”
Miller asked.

The two front men stepped to the
side, opening a path. A large men sat on his motorcycle. It was a beautiful
ride, all chrome, perfectly clean. High handlebars with weeping skulls on it.
When the man stood up, he seemed to be the same height as Miller, but he was
definitely thicker and covered in more tattoos.

“
I
guess that
’
s our guy,
”
Miller said with a smile.
“
Little Jimmie.
”

The Eight Under crew started to
stir.

“
Not
called that anymore,
”
the
man said as he stepped forward.
“
It's
Jimmie. Or President, if you
’
re
in my club.
”

“
Well,
I
’
m not in your club.
”

“
Makes
me wonder what you want then. You call me desperate for a meeting and then
bring a bunch of goons with you.
”

“
Those
guys?
”
Miller asked.
“
That
’
s protection. An insurance policy. Pretend they
’
re not there.
”

“
Hard
to do. Lots of angry looking men there, Miller.
”

“
That
’
s because we are angry. Someone
has been trying to blow us all up lately.
”

“
So
I
’
ve heard,
”
Jimmie said. He made fists and
cracked his knuckles.
“
Damn
shame what happened to your prospect last night.
”

“
How
’
d you know about that?
”
Gaige asked.
“
You weren
’
t at the fights.
”

Jimmie smiled.
“
I know everything. We
’
ve lost our fair share of
prospects. At your hands, Miller.
”

“
Stay
out of our business,
”
Miller said.
“
Stop sending
your punks around
…”

“
One
tried to fucking kill me,
”
Landon said.
“
So I gutted him.
”

Jimmie stepped toward Landon.
“
How about I gut you right now,
son?
”

“
Show
me your fucking knife.
”

“
Hold
up,
”
Miller said.
“
I called this meeting to explain
who you
’
ve climbed into bed
with.
”

“
Oh,
this a friendly meeting? We
’
re
good now?
”
Jimmie asked.

“
Fuck
no,
”
Blaine said.

“
We
’
ll settle our personal war when
the time comes,
”
Gaige
said.

“
This
is business,
”
Miller said.
“
This is for the greater good of
our clubs and our towns. The man you
’
re
making deals with
…”

“
He
’
s my brother,
”
Shay cut in.

Jimmie let out a laugh.
“
Ah, so that explains it. My good
friend, Caius, did tell me he had ties to Back Down Devil. In fact, he told me
he knew exactly how to bring your club down."

“
You
’
ll all end up dead,
”
Shay said.
“
You
’
ve seen what he
’
s
capable of.
”

“
Oh,
but our new arsenal is so worth it,
”
Jimmie laughed.
“
And my
ride
…
she
’
s a beauty.
”

“
That
’
s a nice bike,
”
Blaine said.
“
Good luck riding it when you
’
re dead.
”

“
Oh,
I didn't mean that ride,
”
Jimmie said.
“
You should
see the women. I
’
ve never
seen my guys so happy before. Women that will do anything.
”
Jimmie looked at Blaine.
“
I mean anything. Fuck, man,
maybe you want to trade in that cut for something better?
”

“
You'll
have to kill me to get this leather off my back,
”
Blaine said.

Jimmie laughed again.
“
Sounds like a plan then.
”

“
Listen
to me,
”
Miller said,
stepping forward.
“
Bullshit
aside, what you
’
re messing
with is bad for business and bad for your club. You need to get that. This guy
is going to tear it all apart, and you
’
re
paving the way for him. For what? Some cash, guns, pussy? He
’
s going to fucking turn on you.
Listen to Shay. Help us get to him and then we can call a truce for now."

“
A
truce?
”
Jimmie asked.
“
How many men have I had to bury
recently?
”

“
That
was your doing,
”
Gaige
said.
“
Our beef can stop
for a minute.
”

“
You
don
’
t get how much Caius
has to offer,
”
Jimmie said.

“
You
don
’
t get what he
’
ll do,
”
Shay shouted. He stepped out of line and at
Jimmie.
“
He
’
ll fucking
…”

Jimmie gave a nod and two guys
grabbed Shay.

A small fight ensued as fists were
thrown. Shay connected a couple times, and he took a couple. Nate broke it up
and Miller pointed to Shay.

“
Back
down,
”
he bellowed.
“
Go to your ride and wait for us.
Goddamnit.
”

It killed Shay to back up, but he
had to do as told. He licked his lip and tasted fresh blood. He was sick of
tasting his own blood. If he didn't find Caius soon, he was going to snap and
start making anyone who got in his way regret it.

“
What
I have with Caius is business. You have your goons behind you, Miller, and I
have my associates everywhere. Watching you. Every day. And when you least
expect it
…
boom
.
”

Jimmie laughed a deep laugh.

Shay gripped the handlebars of his
motorcycle so he wouldn't reach for his gun.

There was silence for a few seconds
and then Miller spoke.

“
Boom,
”
Miller said.
“
What happens when it
’
s you, Jimmie?
”

Jimmie opened his mouth and nothing
came out. Instead, Shay heard the soft sound of a
zing
and the head of
the man standing next to Jimmie exploded. Blood and brain matter sprayed
Jimmie. He hurried to wipe his face just as everyone realized what had just
happened.

“
Fucking
hell!
”
Miller bellowed.

Everyone drew their weapons, but
nobody knew what to do. Shay looked to his right and off in the distance he saw
a small cloud of dust. Caius had been there, waiting to make that kill on the
Eight Under.

Shay didn
’
t know who took the first shot, but one of the Lost
Men bounced off his motorcycle, and just like that, Back Down Devil opened fire
on Eight Under. Bullets zinged by as men screamed, desperate to get the scene
under control.