Twisted Pieces (23 page)

twenty-three.

The MC had friends all around town.
They were close with the family that owned the cemetery. In fact, each member
of Back Down Devil had their own private plot ready to go for when the time
came. So when Miller and Jace talked to Mr. Harkley about his back road into
the cemetery, it came as no surprise that someone had broken the lock on the
chain.

Strokner was coming to get Jordyn.
And with the worst feeling in the world, Jace had to let her go. He had to let
her be taken by him. All he could do was trust that the crazy son of a bitch
wouldn
’
t kill her before
they could get to him.

Jace managed to count to a hundred
before he looked at Miller and started his motorcycle.

“
I
can
’
t fucking wait,
”
he yelled.

Jace took off and Miller and the
guys followed. Call it good timing or better instinct, but as Jace made the
turn around the cemetery property, the black car came out of the back of the
cemetery from the dirt road. It made an out of control right turn and the tires
squealed.

Jace throttled his motorcycle and
sped right up to the passenger window of the car. He saw two men in the front.
The back windows were tinted black. Wasting not a second of Jordyn
’
s precious life, Jace pulled out
his gun and pointed it at the window. The guy in the passenger seat started to
yell something, but Jace pulled the trigger.

The car darted left to right, left
to right.

Jace shot two more times before the
car cut to the right and spun around. In seconds, the car was swarmed by the
rest of the guys. They all drew their weapons and the driver put his hands up.
Jace got off his motorcycle, walked up to the window, and shot again.

He was taking no chance right now.

The message was clear. If you fuck
with Back Down Devil you will die.

Jace tore open the backdoor to the
car and was ready to blow Strokner
’
s
brains out.

But there was a big problem.

The backseat was empty.

“
Fuck!
”
Jace growled. He looked up from
the car and yelled,
“
It
’
s fucking empty!
”

Before anyone could respond, a car
came flying out of the cemetery.

A second car.

It turned left, almost lost its
edge, but saved it at the last second.

“
No!
”
Jace screamed.

Strokner had Jordyn. And he was
speeding away with her.

Jace ran to his motorcycle and
pointed to Nate.
“
Take care
of what we said. Got it?
”

“
Jace,
”
Miller called out.

“
No,
”
Jace yelled.
“
I
’
m
getting her. I
’
m killing
him. He
’
s not smarter than
us. I can
’
t lose her.
”

“
Nate,
Shay, and Griffin,
”
Miller
yelled.
“
Go to the office.
The rest of us, follow Jace.
”

Jace was already on his ride and
going. He flew down the road and when he came to the end of it, he hung a sharp
right. If Strokner went left, he
’
d
end up going east some more. There was nothing but windy roads and eventually a
desert. That wouldn
’
t be
the place to take Jordyn.

Unless he has a fucking
helicopter waiting.

Jace started to panic. But he
needed to stay focused. He could only trust his heart right now.

He sped back toward Frelen. There
was no traffic this far on the outskirts which gave Jace full sight of any
vehicles. When he saw one black car, he knew he had made the right decision so
far. Strokner was now heading south.

Jace rode as hard and fast as he
could, needing to gain ground so he could shoot out the tires and have his
standoff with Strokner he so desperately wanted.

Fuck. This has to work
…

Jace crept up a few more feet. He
reached for his gun. As he started to eye up the tires, two men poked their
heads and top half of their bodies out of the back windows. They were both
holding guns.

“
Shit!
”
Jace managed to yell before the
men started to shoot.

Jace lost his edge. His wheel cut
left to right, over and over. He was trying to keep the motorcycle up while he
heard the
zing
of bullets flying by him.

When Jace finally dumped the
motorcycle, it came down hard on his right leg. He started to spin, and his leg
was being torn up over and over on the road. The pain was horrible.

The motorcycle stopped moving. Jace
stopped moving. But Strokner didn
’
t.
The car sped away as Jace screamed and fought to get the motorcycle off him. He
heard the other motorcycles in the distance, but they weren't close enough. He
couldn
’
t wait for them. If
by some chance Strokner had a helicopter or any kind of getaway planned, Jace
would lose Jordyn forever.

He closed his eyes and screamed as
he pulled his leg from under the motorcycle. There was blood, and a lot of it.
His jeans were mangled. He pushed himself up slowly. The pain in his right leg
stole his breath, but there was one good thing - his leg wasn
’
t broken.

Jace gritted his teeth and fought
to stand his motorcycle back up. He lifted his right leg over it, crying out in
pain. He didn't hesitate though as he started it and sped off. Each bump in the
road made his leg hurt worse. But this was about Jordyn. About saving her.
About keeping his promise to protect her.
Now and forever.

Jace followed the road, which
turned and split into two directions. To the right would wrap back around to
Frelen near the land Strokner wanted to steal. And it was in the direction of
where Shay had his final stand with his brother Caius. To the left was a small
commercial development that was mostly shut down. There were a few small
factories that still operated and a small junkyard that was managed by an old
miser who was rumored to have ten million in the bank even though he lived in
an abandoned car.

But all Jace could think about was
the flat, open space next to the junkyard that would be perfect to land a
helicopter.

Jace turned left and when he spotted
the black car, he slammed on the brakes. There was a small office building
smack dab in the middle of the abandoned factories. Jace had never noticed it
before and it scared the hell out of him. Strokner had been building in
secrecy.

Jace parked his ride and put a new
clip in his gun. Miller and Gaige pulled up right behind him.

Jace put his hand out and said,
“
Shut those fucking things off.
What the fuck is this place?
”

Miller looked.
“
Son of a bitch. He
’
s got a hiding spot.
”

“
Wonder
how many he has,
”
Gaige
said.
“
We can
’
t let Jordyn out of our sight.
”

“
Happened
once already,
”
Jace said.

Christ, for all he knew, Strokner
had already moved her. This could just be another ploy.

Jace pointed.
“
Go that way and start killing
everyone you find. I
’
m not fucking
around anymore.
”

Jace knew he was going to catch
hell for talking to Miller like he just had, but he had no choice. He would
take a beating if it meant getting to Jordyn and saving her. This was not part
of their plan. They were supposed to get Jordyn, kill Strokner, and leave him
on the road. Then he would be buried in the back of cemetery. No one would ever
find him.

As Jace ran toward the car, he
still got an uneasy feeling that the damn thing was going to blow up.

Jace took a deep breath and opened
the backdoor.

It was empty.

The front was empty too.

A side door to the office building
opened and a guy came out. He had a cigarette between his lips, on his cell.
The cigarette wasn
’
t lit. He
was still holding his gun.

“
I
don
’
t know,
”
the guy said.
“
He
’
s
in a meeting, okay? Working on some details on a big deal. Yeah. Land. Town.
Everything. Busy for us, okay?
”

The guy turned and crouched down.
He put his gun to the ground and Jace took his chance. He ran toward the guy, kicked
the gun out of his reach, and then slammed his gun down on the guy
’
s head, splitting it open and
knocking him out cold.

“
Peter?
”
a voice yelled from the phone
on the ground.
“
Peter?!
”

Jace stepped on the phone and
shattered it. He took a black glove out of his pocket. It was time for a new
plan.

Jace ran and got the guy's gun. He
held it with his gloved hand and shot the guy in the head, making sure he was definitely
dead. Then Jace held up his gun and started to shoot. One. Two. Three.

Someone from inside the building screamed.
Jace dropped back around the corner. He crouched and waited. The door flew open
again.

A second guy came out. He tripped
right over his dead buddy.

“
Fucking
Christ!
”

Jace shot his gun two more times
and then charged up to the sobbing baby who had just found his friend. With
both guns aimed at him, the guy put his hands up and got to his knees.

“
Fuck,
please,
”
he said.

The tears were pouring down his
face.

What a fucking baby.

“
Where
is he?
”
Jace asked.

“
Back
corner, his office. But it
’
s
bulletproof. Bombproof.
”

“
What
is this place?
”

“
It
’
s his shelter,
”
the guy said.
“
That
’
s what he calls it."

“
The
woman with him?
”

“
Yes.
”

“
Is
this how you wanted to live your life?
”

“
He
told us you kidnapped her. Offered us a million each to protect him and her. He
told us he was going to marry her. I don
’
t
know, man, I
’
m just doing
my fucking job.
”

“
Yeah.
So am I.
”

“
Jace
pulled the trigger with his gloved hand.

Two dead. One to go.

Jace opened the door and went
inside. It looked like a normal office. There was a desk against the back wall
with a computer and a phone. There were chairs as though this were a waiting
room. The walls were a pale white and the place smelled very clean.

But when Jace started to walk down
the hall, it got darker. There were four small offices, each with all the
lights off. The back corner one had a sliver of light showing through. He
approached with caution, wondering what Strokner could be doing right now. Jace
touched the door handle and closed his eyes for a second.

Please
…
please
…
please
…

Jace started to put pressure on the
handle but then he felt something hit him in the shoulder and drive him into
the back wall.

Everything went dark.

twenty-four.

Jordyn stood in the corner of the
office. Mr. Strokner sat in a chair behind his desk. His hands were folded.
There were two pictures on his desk. He
’
d
shown them to Jordyn; a picture of his wife and a picture of his daughter.

He stared at the pictures
hopelessly.

Outside, Jordyn heard the sound of
guns firing. It scared her, but Mr. Strokner didn't even flinch.

“
No
worries,
”
he whispered.
“
Nobody can hurt us. My guys will
kill them. The helicopter will be here soon.
”

“
Helicopter?
”
Jordyn asked.

Her body still shivered from him
touching her. Grabbing her. Taking her to the car. From the second she saw the
other black car, she knew this was going to end up bad. She tried to fight
back. She tried to slap Mr. Strokner and he slapped her back. So she had calmed
herself down, knowing that if she acted rash, she
’
d
die.

Or end up in the corner of an
office.

Mr. Strokner tied her hands behind
her back and then to the closet door in the office. She couldn
’
t move, but that didn
’
t matter. She had nowhere to go.

“
I
want to show you something,
”
Mr. Strokner said. He opened the top drawer of his desk. He took out what
looked like another frame and turned it around.
“
See
this?
”

It was a frame. Jordyn nodded.
“
I see. It
’
s empty, sir.
”

“
It
’
s for us,
”
Mr. Strokner said.
“
Our
picture will be in here soon. Then I can forget about my wife and daughter.
”

Jordyn thought she heard something
at the door. She swore she saw the door handle move. Her eyes were focused,
hoping the door would open and Back Down Devil would come charging in, guns
blazing to save her.

But then there was a loud thud and
a scream.

Jace
…

Jordyn shook her head.
“
No
…
no
…
no
…”

“
I
’
m sorry,
”
Mr. Strokner said.
“
They
’
re tough, yes. But I have money.
And money is power.
”

Mr. Strokner was so calm. He put
the empty frame on his desk. He reached for a bottle of scotch. It had to be
the tenth drink, if not more. More than half the bottle was gone. The scotch
kept Mr. Strokner calm. Jordyn was anything but.

Jace let out another scream and tears
filled her eyes. If Jace was dead
…

Then I want to die.

“
Kill
me,
”
Jordyn said.
“
You piece of shit! I
’
ll never love you. I fucking
hate you.
”

Mr. Strokner looked at Jordyn. He
started to stand just as the door busted open. Jordyn cried as Miller, Gaige,
and Blaine came rushing into the room. Blaine had his gun drawn and pointed it
at Mr. Strokner.

“
Motherfucker,
”
Blaine said.

“
What
is this?
”
Mr. Strokner
asked.

“
This
is the end,
”
another voice
said.

Jace walked into the room. His
right leg looked torn up really bad. The left side of his face was bleeding. He
had a gun in his hand.

“
Keep
him alive,
”
Jace said. He ran
over to Jordyn and touched her face.
“
Fuck,
babe, I can
’
t believe
…”

“
Shut
up,
”
Jordyn said.
“
Kill him. Kill him, Jace."

Jace nodded. He kissed Jordyn
’
s forehead.

He nodded to Miller.
“
Can you untie her?
”

“
Of
course, brother,
”
Miller
said.
“
Take care of
business.
”

“
You
’
re all fucking dead,
”
Mr. Strokner yelled.
“
All dead! You don
’
t know what I have
…”

“
Shut
up,
”
Gaige said.
“
You know what you did. You know
you tried to set us up. We didn
’
t
kill your daughter, asshole. We only tried to make it up to you.
”

“
She
’
s gone!
”
Mr. Strokner cried out.

“
And
you tried to sell us out,
”
Blaine said.
“
The land. The
pictures. Sending Jace to prison. The judge
…”

“
I
had nothing to do with him!
”
Mr. Strokner yelled.
“
He
’
s got something else on the
side. Trust me, guys.
”
He stood
up and put his hands out.
“
Listen
to me. I had the evidence for muscle. For me. For protection. You got to get
out of here. Listen to me.
”

Miller untied Jordyn and she
stepped forward. She couldn
’
t
look away.

Jace walked up behind Mr. Strokner
and put a hand to his shoulder. Mr. Strokner sat down. Slowly, Jace placed the
gun into Mr. Strokner
’
s
hand and placed it under Mr. Strokner
’
s
chin.

“
This
is how it ends,
”
Jace said.
“
With a sad, lonely
businessman killing himself. With a picture of his wife and daughter on his
desk. A half empty bottle of booze. Tragic. So fucking tragic.
”

Mr. Strokner closed his eyes and
swallowed.

That was all Jordyn could handle.

She closed her eyes too.

The gunshot thundered in the room
and it was over. Just like that.

Jordyn opened her eyes and she
turned her head to avoid the grisly sight.

Everyone started to race around.
Miller barked orders but Jordyn couldn
’
t
hear them. Her ears were ringing from the gunshot. Jace wrapped his arms around
Jordyn and lifted her. He carried her out of the office and rushed her to his
motorcycle

“
Babe,
I need you to hold on,
”
he
yelled.

Jordyn blinked and looked at Jace
’
s leg.
“
Is your leg okay?
”

“
It
’
ll be fine. It
’
ll heal.
”
Jace looked back at Jordyn and lifted his
sunglasses. His blue eyes were gorgeous.
“
Everything
will heal, babe. I promise.
”

Jace started his motorcycle and sped
away from the secret building. Away from hell. Away from death. Away from a
memory that Jordyn knew she would never forget.

Once they were back at the clubhouse,
Jace tried to help Jordyn off the motorcycle. She swatted him away and climbed
off herself. When she turned around, there was a wall of motorcycles behind
her. Miller throttled his ride once and then everyone else did the same. The
door to the clubhouse opened and more people piled out. More members.
Prospects. Even the
old ladies
as Jace called them.

Jordyn felt Jace
’
s hands touch her waist.

“
You
did it, babe,
”
he said into
her ear.
“
You helped us kill
that scum. You were perfect.
”

Jordyn turned around and put her
arms around Jace
’
s neck.
“
What happens now? With
him
…
?
”

“
Miller
will make the calls,
”
Jace
said.
“
You have nothing
else to worry about. I
’
m
here, right now, and forever. I
’
ll
take my last breath one day loving you and protecting you. And I don
’
t care if it
’
s today, tomorrow, or a hundred
years from now. I
’
m going
to love you the same
…
with
such fucking intensity
…
I
’
m going to give you everything.
”

Jordyn leaned up onto her toes and
kissed Jace once.
“
And I
will do the same."

Behind them the line of motorcycles
rumbled. A growling call that was as sweet and even soothing as waves crashing
to a shore.

*

Nate had what some would call a
silent meeting. The club was celebrating their current victory and Nate planned
on doing the same damn thing shortly. Blaine had already made a call for some
extra entertainment on top of the usual
relievers
that hung
around the clubhouse. That was just fine with Nate. He could use the company
and the attention. Hell, he desperately needed the distraction.

Time was the worst enemy Nate ever
encountered. If he didn
’
t
have the MC riding with him, he
’
d
have nothing. He'd be dead. He should have been dead a long time. The scars on
his chest were evidence of that.

Now, the sun was starting to set in
front of him. Day turning to night. He thought about the people that were
coming home from work. Dinner on the table. Sharing stories of their day with
their loved ones and kids. Maybe having a playful fight to get homework done,
because it was
so important to do
…

That wasn
’
t Nate
’
s
life. That was never his life. He never did homework. He cruised through
school, worked dumb jobs for cash, and bought a motorcycle before he could
legally ride it. Nothing stopped Nate. Not life, love, death. Or bullets.

Nate wasn't dumb though. He knew he
wasn
’
t invincible. Nobody
was. He had gotten lucky a few times and nothing more. Eventually time would
catch up to him, grab him by the throat, and rip him away. But for right now,
with a smoke in his mouth and the blazing colors of the sunset against the
ocean, it was good to be alive.

When Nate saw a white van down
under the boardwalk, he cursed under his breath. It looked like the van that
Coast Road had been seen using. The van that Chief Jerry said was just used for
seafood and nothing more.

Things lately had gotten so real that
there was no way anyone could be trusted. Nate killed the engine on his ride
and stepped off. He took a drag of his smoke and walked to get a better view of
the white van. Nate noticed a black car waiting next to the van, facing the
road. Someone got out of the passenger seat of the car and walked to the back.
They looked around, opened their suit jacket to show a gun, and then opened the
backdoor.

Out stepped a man that Nate knew
all too well.

“
Holy
fuck,
”
he whispered.

It was the judge. Everyone called
him
Judge Jake
. A big prick. An asshole who hated the MC. The guy who
ignored Jace and left him sit in prison for weeks.

Out of the van came two men. One
from Coast Road MC, and one Nate didn
’
t
know. The guy from Coast Road's crew gave a nod to Judge Jake and then the
other man offered his hand. The judge took it and it was obvious a deal was
done.

Nate took a deep drag and then
threw his smoke down in the sand. He stepped, twisted his boot, and took a
couple steps.

The guy from Coast Road and the
unidentified man got back in the white van and drove down the beach until they
had a clearing to get back onto the road. Judge Jake walked to the front of his
car with his arms crossed. Nate waited to see what happened next.

He didn't have to wait long.

Another vehicle pulled up. It was a
big green SUV.

“
No
fucking way,
”
he whispered.

The SUV stopped and the driver
’
s window went down. Judge Jake
walked to the window and said something, then nodded his head. Out of the window
came a hand. Judge Jake and the driver shook hands.

Chief Jerry.

He was shaking hands with Judge
Jake. And Judge Jake just shook hands with the man driving the white van that was
moving drugs through Frelen.

Nate regretted putting his smoke
out too soon. This was going to put a damper on the celebration for sure.

“
Motherfuckers,
”
he said.

There was one thing in the MC life
that always proved true. When one war ended, another waited right behind it.
Some were easier than others. If what Nate just saw made any sense at all, this
next one
…
was going to be the
most dangerous one yet.

Nate shook his head and reached for
his pack of smokes. He thought about how to tell Miller all this without having
the President of Back Down Devil go off the deep end.

Before Nate could finish his
thought, something metal cracked against the side of his head. Everything went
dark
…
but not silent
…

“
You
’
re fucking dead
…
and so is your entire
club
…”