Severed Justice (Severed MC Book 3) (7 page)

I can’t believe how lucky I am to have found Elle, nor how stupid I am to have nearly lost it all with that fucking stupid episode in the tattoo shop with Emma.  I think we’re okay now, but I’m going to have to try harder to make sure Elle understands she really is the only woman for me now.

I’m sitting at the bar drinking a coffee before heading to the shop when one of the prospects walks in looking confused.

“What’s up?” I question.  He hands an envelope over to me.

“Found this fastened to the gate when I got there this morning.  Not sure what it is.  I don’t get a good vibe from it though.”  Typical bloody Gypsy.  Daft sod thinks he has some kind of second sight.  He’s always having his leg pulled as a result.  A lot of the guys think he’s too soft to patch in, but I’m not so sure. There have been a couple of times when he’s said something and later been proved right.  I don’t believe in all this hocus pocus shit, but I don’t disbelieve in it either.

I take the envelope and inspect it. Looks like any other envelope you’d buy from the post office, aside from the pasted on letters that have been cut out of a newspaper and addressed it to Severed MC.  What the fuck?  It’s probably some sick joke is all, but just in case I decide to take it to Prez.  He’d kick my ass if I didn’t take it seriously.  All this crap with Satan may be over, but it’s left the club in a heightened state of awareness.  It’s still too recent, some wounds still too raw for us to have gone back to normal yet.

I thank Gypsy then go in search of Prez. I rap on the door, the letter and my coffee in my other hand. Hey, what can I say; I need my morning caffeine fix.  “Yo, you in there Prez?” 

He yells for me to come in.  Prez is sitting slouched at his desk, his legs on the tabletop.  Teresa will kill him for having his boots on.  He’s such a pussy when it comes to his old lady.  He sees me looking at the boots on the desk and just laughs.  He knows exactly what I’m thinking.

“What’s up Ink? Your old lady planning any more fights today? Might have to sell tickets next time.” He smirks.  “Take a seat.” He gestures to the worn sofa where I see Angel already sitting.  I hand the envelope over to Prez before easing myself down and taking a seat next to my friend.

“Gypsy brought this in. Found it fastened to the front gate.  Says he’s got one of his feelings about it.” I offer.

Prez looks the envelope over carefully.  There’s nothing much to see other than the glued on letters.  Taking a knife from the pen pot he slices the envelope open, revealing an A4 sheet covered in yet more cut out writing.  He glances over it, a frown on his face before passing it over to Angel to read.  I look over his shoulder.

Severed MC

You’re gonna pay for what you did to Satan

Say goodbye to someone you love

If this is serious I can’t believe that fucker Satan is still haunting the club from beyond the grave.  Not that he’s got a proper grave.  We buried him traitor style in the backwoods.

Prez looks over to us. “What ya think, Angel? Should we take it seriously?”

Angel scratches his head, deep in thought, before answering. “I dunno Prez.  I can’t think of anyone who’d want to revenge that piece of shit brother of mine. There’s no other family, and even his own club disowned him.  Doesn’t make sense.”

Angel’s right. I can’t think of anyone who’d want to avenge Satan.  The guy brought nothing but misery.  I shake my head at Prez’s silent question when he looks at me.

“I guess I’d best call Scalp, set up a meeting with the Carnal guys. See if they’ve heard anything.” Angel and I agree with him.  Whilst we’ll never be best buddies with Carnal, we’ve reached an understanding.  We stay out of each other’s way.  They’re not pushing their drugs in Severed and that’s all we want.

Prez has a short conversation on his phone; I assume it’s with Scalp.  When he hangs up the phone he sighs loudly. “Scalp’s none the wiser but he’s agreed to meet up with us at two.  Get Cowboy in here, I want the four of us to go.”  Prez informs us.

“You think this is serious then boss?” I ask. 

“I dunno Ink, but after what the club’s been through this past few months I can’t risk ignoring it.  Let’s see what Scalp has to say before we decide how to play it.  Just keep your eyes and ears open.  I’ll double the security shifts, and just to be safe we’ll keep eyes on our women as well.” He sighs, knowing how welcome a move that will be.  Teresa will throw a hissy fit as usual.

“The girls can be pissed all they like,” Angel mutters. “They go out with prospects or they’re on lockdown.  Simple choice.”  He’s right.  The girls hate lockdown even more than being escorted. 

“Angel, get the prospects sorted.  Ink, you go round up Cowboy.  He’s probably sleeping off his hangover again.” There’s no anger in Prez’s words, just concern for his friend.  Cowboy hasn’t been the same since everything with Satan.  He can’t forgive himself for not saving Disney’s sister.  He’s been taking it out on the bottle instead.  I wish I knew what to do to help my old friend escape his demons.

***

The meeting is taking place at a bar on Carnal’s turf.  Scalp is already here with three of his guys when we arrive.

We all manage to fit into a booth in the back corner of the bar.  It’s too early for serious drinking, although Cowboy looks tempted.  There are only a handful of other patrons, finishing off a late lunch. The smell of stale fried food fills the air.  The floor is sticky with spilled beer.  It’s not a classy joint that’s for sure.

“Prez.”

“Scalp”

The two presidents greet each other in that biker hug thing we all do.  One arm clasped around the other’s shoulder, pulling them in and using the other to pat them on the back.  It’s a greeting that shows respect.  The rest of us nod at each other before taking our seats.  Severed on one side of the table, Carnal on the other.

Prez takes the now crumpled letter out of his pocket and passes it over to Scalp.  I almost laugh when Scalp takes out a pair of reading glasses before inspecting the letter.  Here’s this big, tough ass biker wearing tiny old man reading frames.  I don’t laugh though.  Last man that did that to Scalp lost his hand over it.  Scalp doesn’t have a great sense of humor.

Scalp shakes his head. “None of this makes sense.” He mutters to himself, and then looks up at us.  “I’ve spoken to the guys, we haven’t come up with any leads,” he gestures to the three men sitting with him. “Satan didn’t have anyone.  You know as well as us what a cruel fucker he was. No one ever got close to him.”  He’s right.  None of us can think of anyone who’d go to bat for him.  The only family he had left was Angel.  He almost killed Angel and Eve.  Disney only ratted us out to him because he’d threatened his sister. But Satan’s dead.  I know the fucker’s dead because four of us emptied guns into him that night before we buried him. 

“We can’t think of anyone either.” Prez offers. “That said, we can’t risk taking this as an empty threat. Not after the last few months.”

Scalp nods in agreement. “I’ll ask around among the chapters, see if anyone’s heard any rumors.  We’ve had nothing arrive yet, but who knows.  This crazy fucker might think we’re part of it all and come after us as well. You’ve upped security I take it?”

“Yep, doubled security and all the old ladies are being escorted for now.  I don’t wanna call lockdown if we don’t need to. Causes too much misery for everyone.” Prez looks troubled.  This could all be nothing, some sick prank.  But we’ve learned the hard way not to take anything at face value any more.

“I’ll keep in touch.” Scalp turns to Angel.  “How’s that house of yours coming along? Can’t believe you’ve done the whole white picket thing.” He laughs. 

Angel looks surprised by the question. For so long we’ve been at loggerheads with Carnal, but that was down to Satan.  Scalp always was a reasonable guy till Satan joined Carnal.  Looks like Scalp’s trying to go back to how things were back in the old days. 

“Going well. We’ve almost finished remodeling. We’re having a party for Elizabeth’s birthday soon.” He stops and looks at Prez for reassurance. 

“I don’t see why you shouldn’t still go ahead VP.  We’ll have some prospects on duty just in case. Besides my old lady would kill me if I asked you to cancel it. It’s all she’s been talking about for the last two fucking weeks.” We all laugh.

This bloody birthday party is going to be way over the top thanks to the old ladies.  Elizabeth has stolen everyone’s hearts as it is, but they’re using this party as an excuse to try and get us back to how things were before.  It’s never going to be the same though. We’ve lost too many good people in the crossfire.  That said, we’ve also welcomed some new people to the family.

Angel looks over to Scalp, mulling something over he makes a decision. “Your little boy is just a bit older than Elizabeth isn’t he? Why don’t you and your old lady come and bring him with you.  Elizabeth will enjoy his company.”  I look between Prez and Angel.  That’s a fucking big olive branch that he just offered there.  I’m not sure how Prez will react. 

“Sounds good to me VP.” Prez nods. I’m instantly relieved. “Would be good to see you there, Scalp.  It’s about time we put the past to rest and looked to the future.” 

“Look forward to it.” Scalp smiles.  I never can get the image of him as a family man in my head. He’s a bad assed biker.  Granted he’s not much older than us, but he’s tough.  Rumor has it he earned his nickname from scalping his enemies in the early days of his club.  He’s not a guy you’d want to meet in a dark alley any time that’s for sure.

Business done we settle in for some drinking.  There’s no rush to get back.  The old ladies are having a ‘girls’ night out tonight and we’re politely banned from turning up.  What that means is that Angel and I will be driving over to pick up their drunken asses come closing time.  I smile.  I love drunk sex with Elle, she’s so fucking horny.

I finish handing over the beers to the men standing at the bar, and then make my
way over to where Eve’s standing. “Are you sure you don’t mind us having girls night here?” She’s looking absolutely stunning in a little black dress, and I have to admit, I’m jealous of her. Who wouldn’t be?

She’s a gorgeous woman with a beautiful daughter. She also has her man. Yes, their story has been full of danger and heartbreak, but they’ve finally got their happy ending. Even Elle, with all her anger issues towards Emma, has got her biker. Meanwhile, I’m still not sure what I’ve got. I’m afraid that I’m falling for Justice. Unfortunately, asking if I’m okay with him sleeping with Emma, just proves he doesn’t feel the same way about me. 

“No problem.” I smile at Eve. I really don’t mind the old ladies having their night out at the bar. I love working here, and it’s the perfect place for them. They’re having a great night away from their men. There are some Severed members in here, keeping a distant but watchful eye on the girls. The members of Severed MC have started dropping by of late, it’s almost home away from home for some of them, after the clubhouse. I love seeing them in here. It certainly keeps my days interesting; I always have a good laugh. After the stress these women have been through lately, they need to let their hair down.

Teresa runs up to the bar and orders another drink. “Enjoying yourself?” I ask her.

“Hell, yes!” She shouts. “Don’t you think we all look hot?”  She gives me a twirl, although she’s barely wearing that dress she has on, it’s so short.

I laugh and look over at the rest of them, enjoying being on the tiny dance floor. Normally they’re dressed in casual jeans and shirts, as I am now, but tonight they’re all decked out in fancy dresses and high heels.  Their faces made up, hair shiny and styled. Yeah, they all look fucking hot. Including Sue bless her, who’s also joining in with the dancing. It’s nice to see her having a good time after the shit she’s been through.

“Come on.” Eve giggles. “Diane’s waving us back to the dance floor.”

“The woman can wait.” Elle smiles, moving to stand by Teresa’s side. “I need another drink.”

Once they’ve returned to the dance floor I serve some more customers before noticing the man sitting in a dark corner at the back of the bar. He’s sitting on his own, a drink in hand. I leave the bar and walk over to him. As I get closer I can see the table already a handful of empty glasses.

“Hello stranger.” I greet him.

He glances up at me, returning my smile. He looks troubled, and my heart sinks for him. I collect the empty glasses.

“Are you ok?” I ask him.

“I will be when you fetch me a fresh drink, babe.” He hands me his now empty glass, and I take it.

He didn’t mean anything by it; he’s a good man. He’s just going through some bad shit.

“Will do.  Have it over to you in a mo.” I walk back to the bar and send another waitress to deliver his drink.  I don’t want to be near Cowboy while he’s in this strange mood, especially when he’s drunk and sitting on his own.