by Amy Cecil
All right, Captain Obvious, just get to the point. His beating around the bush was pissing me off. I knew Caden had changed, and so had I. What did that matter, and what did that have to do with the dead body in the basement?
“Hawk, I don’t mean to be rude, but I know he’s changed. I know he is not the boy that I knew as a child. But really, what does all that have to do with the dead psychopath in the basement?”
“I don’t think you are understanding me. I’m trying to be delicate, but I see that’s not working. So, I’m just gonna lay it out for you.” He paused for a moment, looked over to Honey—for support, I guess—then continued. “Caden—no, not Caden … Let me rephrase that. Ice is responsible for that bloodbath in the basement.”
I immediately shook my head. “No! No, Caden would never do that!” I yelled.
“I know, you are right. Caden wouldn’t have done that. But Ice would. He’s done this before. I’ve seen this same type of handiwork before and Ice confirmed it himself that he did it.”
“Are you trying to tell me that Caden—Ice, whoever—tortured Mark and murdered him?”
“Yes, that is exactly what I am telling you,” Hawk replied.
“Why? Why would you think that?”
Just then, we heard the roar of several Harleys. The rest of the club had arrived. Hawk got up from the table and met the boys outside. A few minutes later, Ryder, Spike, Dbag, and Doc walked into the kitchen. They nodded to Honey and I. Then Ryder asked Hawk, “Where do you need us?”
“Go down that hallway. There are several rooms that need to be searched, and the basement needs cleaned up. I’m gonna warn you, it’s not pretty down there,” Hawk said. Ryder nodded and he and the others proceeded down the hall to the search the house. Hawk watched as he walked down the hallway, then said, “Where were we?”
“You were about to tell me why you think Caden is a cold-blooded killer,” I stated angrily.
Hawk sighed took a deep breath and began. “After Ace was killed, Caden took the retaliation for Ace’s death solely upon himself. When the club was sent in to clean up his mess, Ice told me everything that had happened …”
Chapter 6
Caden (Three Years Ago)
The only person who was ever a real father to me was dead. I knew I would never forget how he, a total stranger at the time, took me under his wing, taught me what I needed to know to make a life for Ari and myself, and treated me as if I was his own son. Ace had never let me down, until now. How could that crazy bastard get himself killed? I’m so fucking pissed at him! But I’m more pissed at that lowlife Satan who got the best of him. That Satan is going to pay. It’s time to get my revenge. It’s time to claim the blood that was stolen from this club.
After Ace’s death, I’d been voted in as the new club president. I could have taken advantage of that position and pulled the whole club into my revenge, but … not this time. I knew they believed that this retaliation was theirs; after all, Ace was their president. But this fight was mine. Ace’s revenge was mine. I wasn’t going to share that with any of them. Maybe it made me a bad president. Maybe I was just selfish. Either way, I was getting this shit done. Every last Satan involved in his death was going to pay.
The Satans had messed with my town and my club for the last time. All I wanted to do was hunt and kill those fuckers one by one.
I parked my bike outside Dirty Dick’s. The Satans loved that hole in the ground. Personally, I thought the place was a dump. I waited and I watched. It was a slow night at the bar: there were only three cars in the parking lot, along with seven Harleys, including mine. I was the only one in the parking lot except for a guy, who looked to be rather young, sitting on one of the Harleys. I didn’t think he was a member of the Satans; he wasn’t wearing their colors, or even a cut for that matter, and his bike was parked away from the other five. I temporarily got lost wondering who he was and why he was there. I had to stop myself. I couldn’t do that shit now. I needed to focus and take care of what I came for.
As I got off my bike I reached in my saddlebag and pulled out my KG9 and my Glock. Fully armed, I walked toward the door. Next thing I knew, someone behind me called, “Ice, wait.”
What the fuck? I’m carrying two guns and this idiot calls after me. And the little fucker knows my name. How does he fuckin’ know my name? Didn’t anyone ever teach this him that you don’t approach a guy carrying two guns, especially a biker? Fuck, I really hate stupid people and will never understand the shit they do. I don’t need this now. I turned to see who was calling after me, assuming it was the guy on his bike. Sure enough, I was right. He was walking towards me with a hopeful look on his face.
“Look, man, you better get out of here. Something is about to go down that you don’t want to be a part of.”
I turned to leave again and again he called after me. “Wait, Ice, you don’t understand. I do want to be a part of this. I know who you are and I have a pretty good idea why you are here.” Before I could shut him down again, he hurriedly continued on, “I know you are the president of the Knights of Silence MC and I also know that this place is not your normal hangout. This is Satans’ territory, and there is only one reason why you would be here.” After hearing him speak more, I realized this kid had a bit of an Irish accent.
I took a step closer to him to get a better look at him. “And why would you want to get involved in this shit?” I asked curiously. He intrigued me.
“Because I know what they did. I know they killed Ace.”
“How do you know who Ace is?” He’d piqued my curiosity again. I knew I shouldn’t be engaging him in conversation, but there was something about him that was strangely familiar.
“Ace sent me to find you. I’ve been watching you and your club for a while now. I can help you.”
What the fuck? How did this guy know Ace? I laughed. “You’re just a kid. How do you think you can help me?”
“You’re planning on going in there and taking down as many Satans as you can. I doubt you can do it alone. But with my help, we can wipe out every Satan in there.” He sounded so confident, and I realized why he seemed familiar. He reminded me of myself when I was his age.
I laughed again and started to walk toward the door. He grabbed my arm. “Please, let me help you. I owe Ace that much.”
I could see desperation in his eyes. Again, that desperation reminded me of myself. After my parents had been killed and I had nothing, I had that desperation. I’m sure Ace saw it when I asked him for a job that day. He took a chance on me.
The kid then repeated, “Ace told me to find you.” This kid knew Ace. I didn’t have time at the moment to find out why, I just knew that I had to take a chance on him. Ace had trusted him for some reason, therefore I trusted him. I questioned myself briefly, wondering if it was fair of me to put him in a position where he would most likely get killed. After a second, I decided: fuck it. I was probably gonna get killed too.
“Fine, it’s your neck. Can you shoot?” I asked.
“Hell, yeah!” he said as he walked over to his bike. He grabbed a KG9 from his saddlebag and said, “I’m pretty good with a knife, too.”
Holy shit! I looked the gun over closely. It was perfect: street-converted, full auto, no marks. Where the fuck did he get that? Ace could sure as hell pick ‘em, and this kid was no exception. It was obvious he knew his shit.
“Ok, then … let’s go. The only thing I’m gonna tell you is shoot to disarm, not kill. If they are wearing Satan colors, they get shot—but don’t kill anyone until I tell you. I need answers, so I can’t have them all dead at once. I’ve got plans for these assholes. Got it?”
“Yes, sir!”
I shook my head. This kid was too fucking eager. He definitely reminded me of myself. I had to laugh at the irony of it all. “By the way, what’s your name?” I asked.
“Balefire.”
What the fuck kind of name is that?
As if he knew what I was thinking, he added, “It’s Irish.
”
No shit, Sherlock. “Well then … looks like I got myself a rebel Irishman.”
We walked into the bar quietly. The doorway was dark and off to the side. It didn’t appear that anyone noticed us at all. I scoped around the room. Other than a waitress, a bartender, and five Satans sitting smugly at the bar, the place was empty. Perfect. I wanted to do damage, but I didn’t need any collateral damage. I realized I was in control of this situation. Fear no longer existed and I knew without a doubt that the kid and I were going to walk out of there very much alive.
The waitress walked by us and I touched her on the arm. She turned toward me and I said quietly, “Sweetheart, I suggest you get your pretty little ass out of here. Take the bartender and anyone else who may be working with you.” She looked at me, then at my cut, and then fixated on the guns I was toting. She nodded. She could see that I was there to take care of business and that I had no intention of harming her or any other innocents that worked there. She walked casually over to the bar. I watched patiently as she whispered to the bartender. He nodded and they both went into the back room and hopefully out the door. I turned to the kid. “Ready, Rebel?” He looked at me quizzically. Then, realizing that I had just given him his road name, he nodded.
Guns cocked, we walked directly to the Satans seated at the bar. As I got closer, I could see that we had four patched members and a prospect at our mercy. Shit was about to hit the fan, and I couldn’t have been more stoked.
“Enjoy your drink, boys, it’s about to be your last!” I said as I approached. It was clear that they had no idea that we had even entered the bar. This element of surprise gave us the advantage we needed. With two KG9s and a semi-automatic handgun on them, there was nothing they could do. We quickly shot and disabled every one of them, and they all fell to the floor in total shock. “Rebel, get their weapons!” He did as he was told as I kept my aim on those fuckers.
Then I asked, “Which one of you fuckers killed Ace?” They were silent. “Come on, boys. I know you all can talk. The way I see it, you have two choices. You can tell me what I want to know, or you can sit there like a bunch of dumbasses and I’ll keep shooting until you can’t do anything but scream in pain. Either way, I win. So, what’s it gonna be?” Again, they were silent. I called over to Rebel, “Hey Reb, what do you think? Should I go for the kneecaps next?”
“Oh yeah, I hear that when you’re shot in the kneecaps the pain is unbearable. Grown men will cry like babies,” he said. He paused for a moment and then added, “God, I love that sound.”
Damn, he loves this shit just as much as I do! It didn’t take me long to realize that I liked this kid. I made a mental note to talk to him about prospecting with the club.
One of the Satans said, “Go ahead, you assholes. We’re dead anyway!”
Son of a bitch, he thinks that I am just gonna put more bullets in him and make it easy. He doesn’t know me very well. I pointed my gun at his knees and fired twice, one shot per knee, dead center in the kneecap. He screamed in pain as the blood poured from his legs. Served him right.
“Who’s next?” I asked. I looked at the guy next to the asshole. “You, prospect? Do you want to know what it feels like to get shot in the knees? Do you love your club so much that you’d take a bullet for them?” He shook his head. “Oh, so perhaps he is the smart one of the group. Did you kill Ace?” I asked. He shook his head again. It was pretty sad to see these tough bikers trembling with fear. If I was going to get anyone to give me the intel that I needed, it was gonna be this prospect. It usually doesn’t take much for them to crack. “So, tell me, smart guy, who killed Ace?” He didn’t say anything. “I’m not gonna ask again!” I stated as I pointed the gun at his knees.
“Ok, ok! I’ll tell you!” he yelled. We were finally getting somewhere.
“You weak fucker, you just signed your death warrant!” one of the other members yelled.
Fucking smug asshole. Didn’t he realize that they were all about to meet their maker? He pissed me off so much I shot him right between the eyes. One down. Maybe that will teach these assholes to speak only when spoken to.
“Well, rat-boy? Start talking.”
The guy hesitated at first. He looked around to his brothers fearfully and then said, “Psycho did it.” He glanced guiltily at the guy lying next to him.
Bingo. I’ve got my man! I walked over to the guy lying next to the prospect and looked at his patch. Sure enough, he was the guy. I dragged him away from the others. I then turned to the kid and said, “Kill them.” He shot all four of them point-blank in the chest. “Nice work! Now kid, go outside and wait for me. I’ve got this.” He hesitated. I added, “Go! This guy is mine!” Reluctantly, he turned to leave.
Psycho and I were finally alone. Now it was going to get fun!
Chapter 7
Emma (Present Day)
Hawk said, “I’ll spare you the gory details of what happened to Psycho, but after what you have witnessed in the basement, I’m sure you have pretty good idea.” Hawk paused for a moment to let his words sink in. He then continued, “After Ice told us what he did to the Satans, the club took care of the cleanup. When we arrived at Dirty Dick’s, what we saw was very similar to the scene we just discovered downstairs. He and Rebel had killed five Satans, torturing the one who’d killed Ace. The last thing he did was carve flames into his chest, just like our friend downstairs.”
When he finished, I sat there in disbelief. Sure, Cade had told me that he’d killed people. He’d said it was bad guys killing bad guys for the greater good, or some bullshit like that. He justified it. But this? Could he be cold-blooded enough to torture someone in that way?
Quietly, I asked, “That’s why you call him Ice, isn’t it?” It all made sense now. And to think that I was naïve enough to believe that he got his name because of his eyes.
Hawk nodded. “Yes. It seems when those that he loves are hurt, something takes over in him and he turns cold. He becomes a predator that you don’t want to mess with. You were threatened, and we all know how much he loves you. It only makes sense that he would react like that again.”
“What happened after that?” I asked. I wasn’t sure I really wanted him to continue his story, but something morbid inside of me had to know.
Hawk continued, “After the massacre, we knew that the Satans would come looking for us. So, we voted to take down the Satans once and for all. We commissioned other Chapters in the area to assist. Anyone who refused was given the opportunity to leave or face punishment. Everyone stayed. I think after hearing what Ice had done, they not only respected him, they feared him. When people fear another person, it gives that person power over them and at times can be a bad thing. But in this situation, it worked to our advantage. The plan was easy, simple, and clean. We were going to blast the Satans straight back to hell. And that’s exactly what we did. Unfortunately, it was only temporary, because as you and I both know, they came back.”
“How did they come back?” I asked.
“Funny thing about revenge. As you know, it’s fueled by emotion. When emotion is involved, common sense seems to hide in the back corners of your mind. We thought we had destroyed their club. But we didn’t get them all. A few members survived, bided their time, and recruited new members. A few years later, they reemerged.”
“Oh. I guess that makes sense.” He nodded and then I asked, “I know that my knowledge of the MC life is very minimal, but why did everyone stand behind Ice, knowing that he took action without consulting the rest of the club? I thought that was a big no-no in the MC world.”
“Good question. I think we all could understand Ice’s rage. Ace was very special to him. We all knew about him losing his parents and the history behind that. We all knew where he came from. Ace had given him something that he needed: a father.” He paused for a moment and then added, “I know, it makes us sound like a bunch of pussies. But what Ice proved to the entire club that day was that his loyalty ran deep. We all knew that if anything
like what happened to Ace happened to any other brother, Ice would avenge them with everything he had, even if it meant losing his own life. We were his family and he would protect anyone associated with this club with his last breath. That kind of fierce loyalty is hard to find and we seek it out every day. Without loyalty like that, a club won’t survive.”
Just then, Ryder and Spike walked into the kitchen. Hawk asked, “Find anything?”
Ryder replied sarcastically, “You mean besides the dead body in the basement?” He laughed at his own wit, but Hawk was not amused at all.
“Very funny, asshole. You know what the fuck I’m talking about.”
“Yeah, we found some clippings and shit in the office.”
“What type of clippings?” Hawk asked.
“Creepy shit, Hawk. All kinds of stuff about Ice.” He looked over at me apologetically and then continued, “You want us to take it to Betty’s?”
Hawk asked, “You bring the van?” Ryder nodded. “Yeah, take it all. Then I want you to go see Reaper, see if he is burning anyone tomorrow. Get Grayson added to the lot. Wait until dark before you take the body out, then burn this place to the ground. Keep this contained, you got me?”
“You got it, boss. We’ll be back to get this shithole cleaned up tonight,” Ryder replied. They left without another word. I felt like I had been dropped inside an episode of Sons of Anarchy and that none of this was real. But it was real. Grayson’s dead body in the basement was very real. Is this my life now?
After Ryder and Spike left, I asked Hawk the one question that had been plaguing me since we discovered Mark’s body. “So, with this new discovery, do you think Caden is alive?”
