Zero (2 page)

“He worked for him and got killed for it. I need you to move.” Once Alan’s name was mentioned, Lucas didn’t need to fight her to move her ass. Prue packed up everything she needed, taking birth certificates and the necessary documents. When she was packed and on the back of his bike, he rode to a safe house he knew. The city was perfect for getting rid of folk who needed to disappear. With his focus on keeping Prue safe, he could stop thinking about the pain of losing his best friend.

Lucas bundled her away with an old friend who specialized in fake identities. He knew a lot of people to help him. It was one of the reasons why Butch was securing him a position at The Skulls. They could use him to help them.

He organized for Prue to disappear and that he’d come for her when he was ready. She didn’t want him to go, but he had no choice. He wasn’t finished with his own kind of business. Leaving her alone, he went back to the hotel where Trevor was lying, decaying, dead. Nothing would bring him back. His best friend was dead, never coming back to drink with him.
No, I can’t allow that to happen, but it’s too late, and there’s nothing I can do.
Alan Lynch had guaranteed that. Trevor was gone.

Staring at him on the bed, Lucas couldn’t think of a single thing to say to his one true friend. The pain engulfed him, threatening to tear him in two. He let the tears fall not caring how weak it made him feel. His best friend was dead. The words kept ringing through his head, and he couldn’t believe it. An hour later, his cell phone rang.

“Where the fuck are you?” Butch asked.

“I’ve got stuff to do.”

“What do you mean you’ve got stuff to do? Your life is the club. Lash and Nash are picking up the fucking slack. Get your ass back here.”

Lucas was silent as he listened to his other friend berate him. “Butch, can I ask you something?”

“Sure. I’ve got all fucking day for questions. Why not fire them at me?”

Staring at Trevor, he felt the will to do something that would get him killed. “If someone you cared about was killed, what would you do?”

“I’d kill the bastard dead, Lucas. No one fucks with me and gets away with it, and that means you. I’ve not been patched in that long, but the way you’re going you’re going to get me fucking killed,” Butch said.

“You’d kill them?”

“Yes, no one fucks with me.”

Lucas knew what he had to do. “There’s something I’ve got to do this weekend. I’ll be back on Monday.”

Hanging up the phone, he looked at Trevor. The only thing he could do was get rid of the body. He went to the gas station and loaded up a can. Inside Trevor’s room, he poured the petrol all over the body and across the hotel room. Striking the match, he left the room to burn, getting on his bike to make his way to the city.

****

For the last twenty-four hours, Lucas had watched and gathered as much information as possible from everyone who hated Alan Lynch. Considering the man’s power, he didn’t have anyone who wanted to stick by his side. Most of the people Lucas spoke to were more than happy to give shit up for the man. Lucas knew Alan would be visiting his club, Pleasures, tonight. Pleasures was where he was going to get the man he needed. Leaving his bike and leather cut in a secure holding, he rented out a van.

Lucas made all the arrangements to guarantee he’d get what he needed. The letter in his jacket still lay there unopened. Trevor had written him a letter, his last words. Lucas wasn’t ready to read them yet. First, he needed to get a little payback.

You’re not going to make it out alive.

He was going to take Alan out, and if he went down with him, he’d be happy. Lucas didn’t care if he made it out alive, as long as he hurt Alan in the process. Going unnoticed, he followed Alan to the club seeing his entourage of security men. From the age of ten, Lucas had been learning how to fire a gun. He learned with Trevor, and by fifteen he was an expert shooter.

At twenty-three years old he was a machine, deadly. He could hold his own in The Skulls. It was the only place he wanted to be. Rubbing a hand down his face, he carried the weapons in the back of his jeans. There was no metal security detector on the way inside the club. He entered the bar and ordered himself a beer. Looking around the tight space he saw the women, the drugs, and settled his gaze on Alan. The man was in a VIP section, which was partitioned off with glass. The moment Alan stood, he’d be easy to kill.

Was this some kind of power trip to show everyone else how powerful he was?

Alan fucked with the wrong man.

Sipping at his beer, he checked the security of the men. They were bored and used to working like this to keep him safe. The men were not even on their guard. Didn’t they expect anyone to try to take out their boss? Once he started shooting, he would have to work quickly to get out of there.

He killed Trevor. No walking away, no backing out.

Fight to the death.

He and Trevor had promised each other a lifetime of friendship. Nothing could keep either of them from what they wanted—until this fucker had taken Trevor away from him.

Kill him. Hurt him.

Trevor died slowly. The only person he’d called was Lucas.

Waiting for the right opportunity was his best course of action. Sipping at his beer, he saw the right opportunity as Alan’s security guards turned their backs on the crowd, bored with looking after someone who wasn’t in danger.

They were mistaken. Getting closer was easier. Lucas had learned to fire both guns at the same time. The summers growing up he’s spent the time practicing to fire both as he wanted to be like the cowboys in the movies. Not many men could fire two guns at the same time, but he’d trained to the point of ease.

Drawing them out, he took out the first two men along with the three charging toward them. With them down, he ran toward the glass, knocked Alan out and dragged him out of the back of the club. He had learned the layout of the club easily. Adrenaline pumping through his veins, Lucas continued to move, all the time thinking about his best friend.

He dumped Alan in the back of his truck he’d rented and drove to the abandoned glass building he found in the outskirt of the city. The windows were smashed, and there were cobwebs everywhere. Securing Alan to the chair took little effort. Lucas stared at the man who had taken Trevor away from him and Prue. His morbid thoughts were starting to sound like a broken record.

The man was handsome.
Good for Alan.
Lucas had practiced his carving skills.

Pouring bottled water into the man’s face, he waited for Alan to come around.

“What? What the fuck?”

See, a criminal was just human and easy to get to. No one was above death, not even Alan.

“Hello, sunshine.”

Alan didn’t look a day older than thirty.

“Who the fuck are you?” Alan asked.

Smiling, Lucas grabbed a scalpel and impaled it in Alan’s leg. The other man screamed, cursing.

“What the fuck?”

Removing the blade, he stabbed it into Alan’s leg three more times. “So you are fucking human. People I’ve been talking to think you piss gold or some shit like that.”

“You better release me before my men find me and fuck you up.” Alan struggled against the restraints holding him.

“Good. The moment they get here, find you, I’ll kill you.” Lucas pulled out the two guns and placed them on the tray he’d set up with all of his instruments. “It’s amazing really. You’re not a very liked person. The people I spoke to were more than happy to give me everything I needed. You made a lot of enemies.”

“Being king to the commoners means making enemies,” Alan said, spitting onto the ground.

“You’re king?”

“Someone needs to take care of the whores, the drugs, and the shit-heads.”

“Yeah, I’m sure with your pretty face all the women come to you for help, and instead of getting heaven, you throw them into hell.” Standing up, Lucas grabbed his knife from the back of his pocket. He walked behind Alan, grabbed him by the head, and slid the blade down Alan’s face. “Let’s see how many women want you near them when you look like a fucking monster.”

For the next hour, Lucas worked over Alan’s face. When he was done, he gripped the blade and slammed it into Alan’s back, twisting the knife. The screams gave him little pleasure. It didn’t matter how much Alan screamed. He wouldn’t be getting Trevor back and Alan wasn’t going to get his looks back.

Half way through the torture, Alan pissed himself. Not caring, Lucas pulled out the envelope Trevor left him.

Dear Lucas and Prue,

I fucked up big. I’m not going to make it through the night. I’m so sorry to you both for letting you down. I thought I was doing the right thing. I fucked up my delivery, and the others went back to Alan. They were working for him trying to get more money. Alan shot me, and now I’m fucking dying.

Lucas stopped reading as he saw the bloodstains. The writing was all over the place, the ink showing the pain Trevor had been in.

“Fuck, I can’t feel my legs.” Alan’s voice was disjointed, showing his pain. His face was a fucking mess.

“Maybe I cut a nerve. Don’t worry, it’ll be years of physical therapy if you make it out of here alive,” he said. Lucas shrugged, no longer giving a shit.

“What did I do to you?”

Ignoring the man, he went back to the letter.

Lucas, you were my brother. I have no choice but to beg you to take care of Prue. She needs you now more than ever. I’ve let you down as a friend, and now I’ve let you down as a brother. I’m so sorry. She needs to be looked after. I’ve kept her away from all this shit. If Alan ever finds out about her, it will be you and her he’s after.

There’s a rumor about him. When he goes after the people someone cares about he works out the number, and each time he marks one off, he reevaluates the number. There are three of us, so one down, two to go.

Please, be safe. I love you both, and I wish it could be different.

Love to you both,

Trevor

Folding up the letter, Lucas stared at Alan. The man was drooling from the mouth. “Trevor, he worked for you.”

“I have a lot of Trevors working for me.”

“Did you put a lot of bullets in men’s guts in the last week?” Lucas asked.

“Ah, Trevor Lawson. He’s got a sister and a best friend. I’ve been looking for them.”

Slamming his fist into Alan’s face, Lucas watched the other man crash to the floor. The chair held him in place. Ramming his foot into the man’s stomach, Lucas lashed out, letting all the anger and rage out.

“You’re meeting the friend now.”

Lucas didn’t stop until Alan was gasping for breath and trying to get him to stop. The man couldn’t move. When he was done, he took the last of the petrol and doused Alan’s body, the chair, and the fabric around him.

Lighting a match, he stared down at Alan.

“No one fucks with my family.” Dropping the match, he didn’t look back and left the building. He left the truck outside, climbed on his bike and headed back to Fort Wills to live his life.

Three weeks later he and Prue stood at an empty graveside with Trevor’s name on it. She didn’t live near Fort Wills, and it had taken him time to get to her.

“I can’t believe he’s dead,” she said.

To him she would always be Prue Lawson. To the outside world, she was Lilly Masters, a student preparing for a life of teaching youngsters.

“Neither can I,” he said. He took hold of her hand, and together they would mourn for the loss of their friend. There was no one else to take care of them.

Prue was his responsibility, and he wasn’t going to let her get hurt again.

Chapter One

Present day

“Fuck, what are you doing? We need to get you to the hospital,” Zero said, pressing his hands to the blood-soaked wound. Prue’s eyes were wide as she looked at him, panicking. How the fuck was Alan back? He couldn’t think about the other man. The only person he needed to care about was dying in his lap. No, he wouldn’t accept it. Prue was not going to die. He’d already lost Trevor, and he wasn’t going to lose Prue in the same way.

No more dying on his watch. He’d promised Trevor he’d care for her.

“What the fuck happened?” he asked, turning to Butch. The other man was covered in her blood.

“She was walking inside the compound. I was watching her. I recognized her but didn’t know where from.”

Tiny was barking out orders. Steven was on the phone. The sirens of an ambulance could be heard in the background. Sandy had stayed with Stink away from the clubhouse, and she wasn’t on hand to help them. Fuck, why did they always need Sandy when she wasn’t around?

“Come on, Prue. Don’t fucking die on me.”

“Someone fired a gun. No one else is hurt. None of us were close enough to the gate. Whoever was firing was aiming for her,” Steven said, kneeling beside him.

“He … knows…” Prue gasped, and tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes.

“No, you’re not going to die on me, do you hear? You don’t get to fucking die on me.” He couldn’t think about Alan being back. The other man was supposed to be gone and dead.

“What the fuck is going on, Zero?” Tiny asked, glaring down at them.

He opened his mouth ready to spill everything, but the ambulance arrived. There was no time to tell him about the past. Later there would be more than enough time to bring Tiny and the others up to date. The only person who needed his attention right now was Prue. They loaded her onto a bed and carried her into the back.

“I’ll tell you everything, but I need to be with her.” He climbed in the back of the ambulance, not waiting for his brothers to say anything. Grabbing her hand, he watched the paramedic do what he needed to do.

Alan Lynch was alive. The only man who would leave a message like that was Alan. One night on the anniversary of Alan’s death, Zero had gone to Prue, and in drink, he had told her everything about the past. She hated being kept in the dark, but she knew everything. He told her the truth from then on, never keeping anything from her. Prue was the first woman he was ever open and honest with, and not even Sophia made him feel that secure. Zero had told Prue what he did to Alan, the torture he’d inflicted on another person. She’d not judged him. Sophia was nothing like Prue.