by KJ Dahlen
“Don’t you read your history you damn fool?” Dani called out. “Old man Diangleo won the stones in a card game and he cheated to win, he had them for ten years before the cartel stole them. It cost him everyone in his family except his daughter Carmen. Then they cost the cartel five members until they got smart enough to trade them to your uncle. So far, it's cost the MC ten members and if we give them to you, they will take even more of you.”
“That’s nothing but hogwash. Pure lies and nothing more.” Digger scoffed.
“Fine, you can have the stones. Send one man in but know there will be a gun on him the whole time. He has to leave his weapons out there. Let him come and get the stones. Tomorrow’s headlines will be about the curse and that the stones are in the Fury’s hands. You will all find out just how worthless they really are.”
Digger wasn’t about to send one of his men, so he climbed over the fence and walked slowly to the front door.
Boone stepped forward while holding a gun on hi,
Digger raised his hands. “I got nothing, no weapons.”
Dani opened the door and handed out the small box of jewels around Boone.
“Just what kind of game are you playing at, you little bitch?” Digger asked.
“I’m not playing any games Digger. You look up the history of the Diangelo jewels and read it for yourself. They’re cursed for a reason and when you can’t sell them, your men will turn on you, and you’ll be just another one that died for nothing. The only thing is your men will go to hell with you because of what’s in that box.”
“BS... that superstitious shit is not real and you know it.” Digger snarled at her.
Dani just smirked at him. “Whatever you say asshole.” Then she leaned out a little ways. “Now keep your word and get the hell out of here. You got what you came for, what you murdered your uncle and his men for. Go back home and take those stones with you. Maybe if there are any of your men left when the curse comes around, they can bury them with you.”
Digger smirked as he shifted the box in his hands. “We should live quite well on the sale of these stones. No wonder my uncle wanted them back so bad.”
Dani shrugged. “They didn’t do him much good now, did they? Or Bonecrusher, Torch or any of the other members.”
“That's because all of them were fools.” Digger sneered. “I’m no fool.” He turned to go then paused and looked over his shoulder at her. “Would you have really flushed them down the damn toilet?”
“In a heartbeat.” Dani coldly stared back at him.
“Then you’re a damn fool too.” He walked away to join the rest of his men.
They all started their bikes and as they drove away, it wasn’t too long before the men inside the clubhouse heard a loud boom and saw a fire burning in the not so far distance. Someone must have crashed their bike.
By this time, Dani was not interested and didn’t even bother to look. She just closed her eyes and hung her head.
Thor came over, picked her up, and carried her down the hall to their room. All, without saying a word.
Chapter Ten
The men inside the clubhouse remained alert until the Sheriff’s car pulled up to the gate. Certain members watched from the roof and others through the windows as Gunner, Boone and Cobra walked out to speak to him.
Braden Kyle got out then started looking around the area and shook his head when he saw Tank’s body lying in the dirt. Swinging his head over to Gunner he asked, “What the hell is going on here Gunner?” He nodded at the body. “Who the hell is he and is he involved with the bikers who died not far from here?”
Gunner nodded. “You could say that.” He looked over at Tank. “We had nothing to do with his death though. One of his own brothers slit his throat.”
“Your neighbors have been calling my office practically all night,” Kyle told him. “We’ve had a play by play since the original six rolled up on you last night. I did send a man out here to watch the situation but he was informed not to interfere.”
“I swear Braden we never left the clubhouse,” Gunner reported.
“Yeah, our man said the same thing.” The Sheriff nodded. “Are you going to tell me what they were after?”
“Somewhere between here and Trinity you’ll find a spot where five other bikers were killed. They were ambushed by the men who showed up here this afternoon.”
“Yeah, we know all about that. They were found a couple of hours ago. The bikers were from Satan’s Fury MC but there were only four found. My deputy overheard something about some stones that both groups wanted turned over? What was that all about?”
Gunner frowned as he looked quickly at Cobra and Boone. “Are you sure there were only four?”
Sheriff nodded. He checked his book and read off the four names.
The only name they really knew other than Hellspawn whose name wasn’t one of the four, was Expo.
Gunner for one found it odd that the leader of Fury's name wasn’t on the list. But they didn’t say anything not yet anyway.
Sheriff Kyle watched the men in front of him then issued his own order, “I’m going to need you and your men to stay behind the fence and keep this gate locked until we can get the body out of here.”
“Before you go, can you tell us who it was that crashed last night?” Boone asked.
The sheriff pulled out his notepad again and stated, “Yeah, a man named Ricco Santos.”
“Ok thanks.” Gunner and the others turned and went back to the clubhouse.
They were met by a lineup of men looking for answers.
“What’s going on here boss?” Jett asked.
Cobra growled out, “Somebody, get Thor and his lady. Hopefully they can help us figure this out. There’s a new wrinkle in the mix.”
A few minutes later, Thor and Dani came into the room and Cobra motioned for them to sit down.
Gunner stared at them and spoke, “I just had a talk with the local Leo just now and he had some odd things to tell us. You know how Digger was bragging his uncle and the four other riders met up with an accident on the way back to the compound?”
Thor looked over at Dani then back at him and nodded.
“Well, according to the Sheriff, only four bodies were found and Hellspawn wasn’t one of them.”
Dani got to her feet abruptly as her chair fell over and clattered on the floor. “That lousy bastard!”
Cobra frowned at her actions. “What are you thinking, that we aren’t?”
“Hellspawn is cheating death again.” She turned to Thor, “Remember when Digger said Hellspawn told him about the stones? He sent Digger and his men in here to collect them because he knew I would never give them to him. By now, he’s got the stones.”
“No darlin,” Cobra shook his head. “He doesn’t.”
Everyone swung their gazes over to stare at him.
Dani shook her head while looking confused. “But I gave the box to Digger last night. By now he’s handed it over to his uncle and Hellspawn has the stones.”
Cobra snorted with a chuckle and shook his head. “All Hellspawn has is that box your mom stored for her friend all these years. I took the stones out of it and filled it with gravel.” He turned to look at Gunner. “I also spoke to my MC down south. I had to warn them there might be trouble coming and that Fury might be looking for Thor. I had to warn them. I couldn’t let them be wiped out by Hellspawn and his goons.”
Gunner nodded. “Yeah, I would have done the same, but what does that have to do with this?”
“One of my men knows who Hellspawn is. And he told me not to trust a word that man has to say. He told me if Thor had something he wanted, we should do everything in our power not to give it to him. When I told him about the stones and what we figured Hellspawn’s plans were, he told me I should never allow Hellspawn to get his hands on those stones.” Cobra shook his head. “He continued to tell me about a conversation he heard a couple months ago. When he went on a run, down close to the border. While there, he
stopped in a cantina when he heard a couple of well dressed men talking and laughing about some bumfuck mc biker who found the Diangelo stones. One man said he had a line on them and the poor slob was willing to sell them for a paltry two million. The other man laughed and asked if the rumors were still circulating about the stones being cursed. The first man said he hoped so and he prayed the rumors were true because he was going to send one stone to each of his enemies and hoped the stones would do what they were cursed to do. And that he would gladly pay two million to get his hands on the stones.”
Everyone in the clubhouse listened intently to his story.
Cobra shifted in his seat and continued, “He also mentioned something curious about the stones. He said it was only the rubies that held the actual curse. The diamonds and emeralds were just regular stones and that they would sell for five times what he would pay for them.”
“Did he ever say where the stones came from in the first place?” Thor wanted to know.
“Actually he did.” Cobra nodded. “He said the men laughed about the story that followed the stones about how they were part of a pirate’s treasure. The pirate pulled into Tortuga then into Jamaica and just before they pulled into Jamaica, his crew mutinied. You see, the pirate captain hadn’t paid them and when the crew asked about their prized bounty, the pirate told them they wouldn’t get paid as he had no buyer for the load the ship was carrying. When the sailors found out their captain knew when they left port that he had no buyer they were pissed. And rightfully so. The story says that when they killed him his blood ran among the rubies and were covered in the old pirate’s blood but the sailors didn’t care. They just washed the blood off and sold the stones anyway. Within three months the sailors from that voyage were caught in a maelstrom and all died when their ship broke apart and sank to the bottom of the sea. And thus the legend of the stones was born. Death has followed them for over a hundred years now.”
Gunner ran his fingers through his hair. “So in other words, when Hellspawn opens that box and finds the gravel he’s going to come at us again and this time, he’ll come straight through without stopping.”
Dani spoke up now, “Well, we know he didn’t go back to the compound, so he’s in hiding until his nephew gets wherever he is with the stones and you can also bet the men who were riding with Digger will be dead. Digger won’t want to share his money or power with them either. So it could only be the two of them who come back here.”
“You really think they will be stupid enough to still come back for the stones?” Gunner had to ask.
Dani nodded as she wrapped her arms around her body. “Oh yeah, Hellspawn and Digger will come back,” she whispered. “Hell couldn’t keep them away now.”
Thor got to his feet and wrapped his big arms around her, holding her tightly against him. He could feel her shivering in their embrace and he leaned down and whispered in her ear, “He won’t get to you, I promise. He will never hurt you again.”
She looked up at him. “You don’t understand. He’s coming for both of us now. He figures he’s got nothing to lose now.”
“If they come back here,” Gunner stated. “He’ll have to go through all of us to get to you and Thor and he’ll find out the Savaged Souls are tougher than we look.”
“And the Soldiers of Hades.” Cobra growled. “More of my men will be here later in the day. As Thor is one of us, we aren’t letting a lowlife like Hellspawn get to him. Between the Savage Souls and the Soldiers, he won’t live long enough to see the next dawn.” He got to his feet and glared at every man there. “No one screws with us, not now, not ever. Especially, not someone as stupid as Hellspawn and his shithead of a nephew.”
Dani looked up at Thor.
He shook his head as if he knew what she was thinking. “Not fucking likely, woman. You belong to me now, and I’m not letting you go.”
“But one person can disappear and stay gone longer than two or more,” she argued. “I know how to hide in plain sight. I know I can avoid him.”
“Not a chance sweetheart.” Thor glared down at her. “No fucking hope in hell. This is where we’ll take our stand... this is where that bastard will die and ride into hell.”
She looked around the room at all their faces. Then she looked back at him. “I never should have climbed on the back of your bike the other day. I’ve brought you nothing but chaos and trouble.”
Thor smiled at her. “I was born in chaos and it will follow me the rest of my days. Ask anyone here, I thrive in chaos, always have but this ends here and now. You don’t have to run ever again, you hear me? You aren’t running.”
“But I don’t want anyone here to die for me.” She shook her head.
“The only ones dying here will be Hellspawn and Digger,” Boone assured her. “We’ve got home field advantage and we will use it. They may come here looking for trouble but they ain’t leaving here alive.”
“Hellspawn is gonna be so pissed when he doesn’t find the stones.” Dani shivered.
Thor snorted. “I’ve seen that man pissed before. He’s all bluster with no power.”
Dani still looked scared. “You may have seen him seventeen years ago but he’s changed since then. He’s gotten to be a pig in the last five years. He came back from visiting your dad about five years ago and he’s been in a bad mood ever since. He’s just gotten so mean, nobody and I mean nobody wants to be around him anymore. I’m thinking that includes his own men. I think that’s what gave Digger the idea to get his own men and go out on his own. The men despise Hellspawn. That was until he found out about the ambush that killed his old man. At the time when it happened, there were only rumors. Some of the guys didn’t want to believe them but that all changed when Bonecrusher went on trial. Club secrets came out then and Hellspawn began losing control inch by inch. He knew it and his men knew it. He’s been barely hanging on, the men no longer respect him and I don’t think he respects himself anymore either. I think this was his last chance and when the guys found out about the stones? That was the end of things on his end.”
“So you think he hooked up with Digger’s guys and took out his VP and own members? Is that what you’re telling us?” Gunner asked.
Dani shook her head. “I didn’t believe this until you informed us they didn’t find his body at the ambush but yeah, I think that’s exactly what he did. After they took out the men he was with, he told Digger what to do. Then Digger came here and took care of Tank and we verified that we had the stones.”
Gunner looked around. “Sheriff Kyle confirmed that last night's explosion was a crash. The guy you called Ricco crashed his bike.”
“No he didn’t,” Dani assured them. “Digger forced the crash. He knew Ricco as well as anyone and he knew Ricco would eventually talk the others into getting rid of the stones before he could sell them. By now, Digger is working with his uncle to get rid of his own men, thinking he’ll only have to share the stones with his uncle or maybe he thinks he’ll kill Hellspawn off too, and have all the money for himself. I don’t think he realizes that once his uncle gets his hands on those stones he himself will be as good as dead.”
“Well, neither of them has the stones yet.” Cobra growled.
“And now, neither of them has anything to lose by coming back for them,” Thor grumbled.
Just then, they heard the rumble of many bike engines coming toward them.
All in the room heard music playing the closer the bikes came to the compound and Cobra smiled. Looking over at Gunner and Boone, he grinned. “Backup is here.”
They moved toward the front door and about six bikers stopped at the gate waiting. Six huge hogs with equally huge bikers on them. Their engines growled and the ground shook slightly as the machines themselves idled.
Their cuts said they were Soldiers of Hades and when Gunner saw them, he could almost believe hell had opened up and soldiers of hell had come to escort someone home. He turned to Cobra and asked, “These guys belong to you?”
“Oh yeah,
these are my guys.” Cobra walked out and punched in the code that opened the main gate.
His men nodded as they drove their bikes inside the gate.
The engines were loud but the silence was even louder when the men parked and shut off their rides and the music that was blaring. Then one of the men looked over at Cobra and asked, “What the hell kind of trouble did you get yourself mixed up in, now old man?”
Chapter Eleven
Cobra looked over at the men from his club and smiled. “Glad to see you boys.”
Hawk, the ranking VP in charge of the club nodded. “Good to see you too, but we didn’t come here for social hour if you get my meaning. So what you got us here for? Cuz, it sounds like it’s going to be fun.”
“Well fuck, where are my manners,” Cobra declared with a laugh. “Boys, I’d like you to meet Gunner, his VP Boone and the rest of the Savaged Souls. Gunner, Boone... these are my men, Hawk, Razor, Tigger, Luca, Jax, and Spirit.”
Gunner and Boone lifted their chins in acknowledgement at the intro.
Cobra’s men did the same back as they all nodded.
Hawk looked over at Cobra, “So did that bastard Hellspawn get the stones yet?”
Cobra rubbed his chin. “Well, his nephew got his hands on the box the stones were in but they are going to be highly disappointed when they open it.” He laughed loudly. “I’m afraid that Gravel just don’t sparkle like diamonds and rubies do.”
Thor spoke up as he stepped outside to greet his brothers, “Oh, and Hellspawn is killing off his own men, so he won’t have to share his treasure with them.”
Hawk turned his head and grinned as he held out his hand. “Glad to see you’re still alive brother.”
When they shook hands, Thor nodded at the others. “I’m a hard man to kill you know? My old man tried hard enough but I’m just too damn stubborn to die.”
Hawk’s smile left his face. “And the old man? Is he still breathing?”
Thor shook his head. “Fucking hell no, Cobra and I watched him breathe his last and the world will never miss that shitty bastard.”
