Shade

by Jamie Begley

  “I don’t think the first one was.” Jason sat on the edge of his chair. “Where did all the waitresses and strippers go?”

  Bernard stared around the room. “Don’t know. Guess they’re taking a break.”

  “All at the same time?” Jason said sharply.

  “They’re coming back. See, the lights on the stage are coming on.”

  Jason looked to the stage. Everyone in Queens City would recognize the man walking across it. His harsh features and elegant suit were his trademark.

  “I know him. That’s King. I remember him from when he was first starting out.”

  “You’re from King’s neighborhood?”

  “Used to be. I moved in with my son and his wife ten years ago. You, too?”

  “Yeah, I moved away twelve years ago when I got married. I live with my daughter and her kids after my wife died, and she got divorced.”

  “You have grandkids? How old are they?” Bernard asked with a gleam Jason recognized too easily.

  “I’m getting the fuck out of here.” That big son of a bitch might be at the front door, but the place had to have a back exit.

  A hand landed on his shoulder, and Jason looked up into the creepy biker’s face.

  “Sit down. The show is just beginning.”

  Jason nodded as he felt a drop of piss roll down his leg. He sat back down, but the man’s hand didn’t leave his shoulder.

  Jason’s attention was drawn back to the stage where King began talking. “Good evening, gentlemen. I want to thank you for showing up for the free lap dance. Please show your card if you have one. Anyone here who doesn’t have a card?”

  While the cards were being waved eagerly in the air by the others, Jason left his lying on the table.

  “Good. I see we only have one missing tonight. The turnout was much better than I expected. You can place your card down now. I’d like to turn the stage over to my son-in-law.”

  Jason thought the biker standing behind him was scary; however, the man walking out onto the stage was the stuff of nightmares.

  “I’m not going to say a lot to you filth. You’ve already taken too much of my time.” He walked to the stage to a large square which was covered by a cloth. Then he reached out, removing the white cloth and dropping it to the floor. “Remember her? Each of you should.”

  Several men tried to make a break for it, but the bikers had spread throughout the room. They knocked the men down to the floor as they tried to escape.

  “Tonight, each and every one of you are going to die, and I want you to remember her face. The little girl you raped and paid money for is King’s daughter and my wife. Her name is Callie, so when you enter Hell tonight, you’ll know why you’re there.” He reached down to his boot, pulling out a lethal-looking knife. Taking a step forward, he jumped down from the stage.

  Screams and yells filled the bar as the group of men were beaten. Jason didn’t feel anything after the first ten minutes.

  He was being kicked in the ribs when he saw Bernard’s cane laying on the floor and him trying to crawl away from the blond biker kicking him. When the biker reached down and picked up the cane, smashing his head in, Jason started crying.

  “Please don’t kill me … Please don’t kill me.”

  The one on the stage who said the little girl was now his wife crouched down next to him, staring down mercilessly into his eyes.

  “Did she beg you not to touch her? Did the thought even cross your mind to help her? I’m going to show you the same mercy.”

  The flash of a knife was all he saw as his shirt was ripped open. Jason felt the first cuts then the sensation of the warm blood leaving his body until the darkness came and carried him away.

  * * *

  Shade stood, looking at the motionless bodies lying on the floor. King stood, as well, having finished with the last one before walking across the room to stand next to him.

  “Damn. You better hope that comes up or Henry will be pissed,” he said, commenting on the pool of blood at their feet.

  “Sorry,” Shade lied.

  “If you’re all done, Ice and his men will get them loaded into the truck out back.”

  “I’m done. We’ll help load them. It’ll be quicker.”

  It only took them twenty minutes to get the bodies loaded. Then Ice sent several women in through the back door to begin straightening and cleaning. One even had a shampooer.

  “You ready to head home?” Lucky asked, wiping the blood off his leather jacket with a bar cloth.

  “Yeah, I’m ready. Where’s Razer and Viper?”

  “Over there by Ice. They’re thanking him for his men’s help.”

  Shade nodded as The Last Riders gathered by the door. Shade watched as King shook Henry’s hand then the Predators’ before joining him at the door.

  They started to go outside, but King’s hand on Shade’s arm stopped them.

  “You used the excuse last time that you went hunting, so what reason did you give Lily for leaving town this time? I told her and Evie that I had to sign some papers, selling the bar.”

  “I told her we were going to a funeral.”

  Chapter 79

  “Everyone here?” Viper asked, coming into the kitchen.

  “Yes,” Shade answered, leaning against the kitchen counter.

  Having missed dinner, Viper was finally coming downstairs to the meeting he had called. The room was filled with only the brothers since the women had left after dinner.

  Viper walked to the front of the room. “A few weeks ago, Stud asked for a meet with Cash. Once I gave the go-ahead, they met, and he asked Cash to find out what he could about a new biker club which had recently moved into his territory. Stud wanted to be cautious before he made a move to drive them out. He was smart.

  “Cash found out they call themselves Freedom Riders. Their leader is called Scorpion, and Vaughn is his vice. They are anti-government, and their numbers are large—bigger than what Stud is going to be able to handle even combining The Blue Horsemen and Destructors.”

  Viper paused briefly before continuing, “They want to buy a large piece of property to train their men, land which is isolated and easily defended. Once the purchase goes through, they’ll bring in even more men, assuming Stud won’t be able to stop them.”

  “Who owns the property?” Shade asked.

  “Curt Dawkins, the football coach here in town,” Cash answered.

  “Cash told me they' are fanatical and deadly,” Viper continued. “So, the question is, do we back Stud up with our numbers or leave this mess in his lap? I’ve thought about this all last night and today. Truthfully, I made my decision only a few minutes ago before I came in here.”

  “Which is?” Shade asked, already knowing the choice Viper had made. Not only would the brother never turn his back on someone who had asked for help, but Stud had also helped them a couple of times; therefore, Viper wouldn’t leave the debt unpaid.

  “We’ll stand with Stud. I studied the map of where the property is they want to buy, and it’s not far from Treepoint, so there isn’t going to be a way to avoid fighting them anyway. I think they just want to get Stud out of the way before they turn their attention to us.”

  “I agree,” Shade said.

  The other brothers stated their agreement, as well.

  “Shade, I want you to handle Dawkins. I don’t want him selling that property to them, even if you have to buy it. I don’t care how you do it.”

  Shade nodded.

  “There’s also something else we need to discuss.” Shade saw the flash of anguish which crossed Viper’s face before it was hidden. “I have refused to name a VP out of respect to Gavin. It was his idea to begin our club and I didn’t want to name another, but Gavin wouldn’t have wanted it that way. Shade, you’re too valuable to me as an enforcer to give you that title, though you deserve it.”

  “Fuck, I wouldn’t have wanted it anyway. I have enough on my hands as it is, saving your asses,” Shade joked, easing
the tension in the room.

  “Razer, you’re our best rider, so I need you at our back,” Viper stated. “Plus, you have kids. I need my vice to put the club first.”

  The members waited for Razer’s reaction.

  “Don’t blame you, brother. If I needed decisions made, I would want the man making them not to be worried his wife will marry a jackass after he’s dead and gone.” Razer shrugged.

  Viper smiled. “Rider and Train, you’re my soldiers, always will be. I need men I know can carry out my orders and see the other brothers do, too, without question.”

  Both men nodded.

  “Knox, you’re too valuable as the sheriff.”

  “Diamond would kick my ass, anyway,” Knox stated.

  Viper paused, clearing his throat. “Lucky, the job’s yours if you want it. You’ve put your time in longer than any brother here, and I think Gavin would be proud if you took his spot by my side.”

  Lucky stiffened next to Shade while the room waited expectantly for his answer.

  He stood up straight, walking forward to stand by Viper’s side. Then he held out his hand to shake Viper’s. “I’d be honored, brother.”

  Viper smiled, jerking Lucky to him and hugging him before slapping him on the arms. “Rider, get the women back in here. Nickel, pass out the beer. We’re going to celebrate.”

  The women came back in the room and Lily came to his side, slipping an arm around his waist.

  “What’s going on?” she asked worriedly.

  Shade smiled, taking a beer from Nickel. “Viper just made Lucky his vice president.” Shade purposefully left out the issues with the Freedom Riders.

  “Oh.”

  Shade had thought she would be relieved the meeting was over; instead, her troubled gaze went to Lucky who was being congratulated by the other brothers.

  “I take it you don’t agree with Viper’s choice.”

  “I guess I was hoping Lucky would eventually realize he missed the church.” Lily shrugged sadly. “I miss having him as my pastor; a lot of the church members do.”

  “Angel, the only reason he remained a pastor so long was for his investigation.”

  “Perhaps, but I think it was an excuse, too.”

  “For what?”

  “For what he was called to do,” Lily answered softly.

  “Yeah? Well, he’s getting called to do something else now, and he looks a lot happier doing it.” Shade motioned to Lucky, who was opening his beer and kissing Raci on the mouth as she congratulated him.

  “Does he?” Lily said.

  * * *

  Shade and Curt Dawkins looked around the heavily wooded property in Jamestown that Friday. It would be useless to The Last Riders.

  Shade didn’t like the thought of forcing the man not to sell, but he really didn’t want The Last Riders to spend half a million dollars on a property which would take years to resell.

  “What do you think?” Curt asked.

  “I think you need to reconsider putting it up for sale,” Shade told him.

  “Why would I do that? I have an offer for the asking price—”

  “From a buyer who belongs to an anti-government organization. Think you’ll be able to keep coaching if the school board finds out?”

  “If I sell this land, I won’t need to work,” Curt boasted, but Shade didn’t miss the glint of worry in his eyes.

  “You get to keep the money all to yourself, or do you have to split it?” Shade asked.

  “I have to split it. My mom gets the biggest chunk then my brothers and me.”

  “How much is your part?” Shade questioned.

  “Sixty thousand.”

  Shade stared back at him. Sixty sounded a hell of a lot better than five hundred thousand.

  “The Last Riders will give you seventy-five for your part.” He shrugged. “That way, we get what we want, and you get some extra cash and keep coaching.”

  “What will I tell my family?” Curt frowned.

  “That’s up to you. We have a lawyer who can draw the papers up. You can sign and have the money in your hands by tomorrow. Of course, the stipulation will be that the rest of the property can’t be sold for five years.”

  “Make it three, and we have a deal.”

  “Fine.” Shade would have gone down to a year. He didn’t think the Freedom Riders were going to hang around that long and wait for the property to become available again. They would either move on or try to find another piece of land. This was going to get expensive if they did the latter.

  The men shook hands, and then Shade, Lucky, Rider, and Cash walked back to their bikes.

  “That was easier than I expected.” Cash nodded his head as Curt drove away.

  “I’m just grateful we didn’t have to drop that kind of cash on this place.” Shade started his bike. “Lucky, when we get back to town, call Knox and tell him to have Diamond draw up the papers. Make sure she puts in there that we have access to hunting up here.”

  “Damn, this might have a bright side after all,” Rider said. “I saw a couple of deer trails while I was looking around.”

  “Not only that, but we can take it as a tax deduction.” Shade grinned. “We can have survival workshops out here.”

  “Damn, Shade, I like the way you think,” Lucky laughed.

  “Let’s head back to town. Since I saved the business so much money today, you can buy my lunch.”

  They were still joking around when they went inside the diner. Shade had turned to say something to Cash when his expression went cold. He was staring at a table by the window where Rachel and Willa were sitting with a group of bikers Shade recognized from Cash’s files.

  They took a table themselves. Unfortunately, it wasn’t close enough to hear what was being said, although Rachel was smiling and talking and Willa seemed her usual nervous and shy self, uncomfortable with the attention the men were showing her.

  The waitress came and took their order. Shade and Rider both ordered sandwiches and fries, while Lucky and Cash only ordered coffee.

  “I thought you two were hungry?” Rider said, putting sugar in his coffee.

  “I’ve lost my appetite,” Cash said.

  Shade ate his sandwich thoughtfully as he watched the table. He knew of only one thing which made a man lose his appetite, and that was a woman. . He decided it had to be Rachel he was interested in; not because of the looks, but because of the attitude. Cash had never been attracted to shy women; the bolder a woman was, the more Cash liked her.

  Shade turned his attention to Lucky who was talking to Rider without looking at the table at all. As vice president, he should be studying them and memorizing the faces of the men with Scorpion and Vaughn.

  “Did Willa just give her card to one of those sons of bitches?” Lucky snarled.

  Shade looked up, understanding dawning on him. Lucky had been watching the table using a mirror placed in the corner of the ceiling for the waitress to see if anyone had come through the door when she was out back.

  “I believe she did. Maybe he wants to get something sweet off her.” Shade picked up his coffee cup to take a drink.

  “Shut up, Shade. Willa isn’t that type of woman.”

  “Brother, they’re all that type of woman; it just depends on who’s asking.” Shade picked up the check, tossing it toward Lucky.

  As the women left, Shade could see Rachel holding a to-go order he was sure was for his wife. It better not be another burger and fries. The woman was constantly craving hamburgers and junk food. He had put a strict limit on how many she could have in a week, and she had reached her quota when she had sent him out at one a.m. for one the previous night.

  “Rachel should know better than sitting with strangers. Someone should tell her brothers.” Cash looked toward Shade.

  “If you’re wanting me to tell ‘em, you’re shit out of luck. I’m not pissing off Rachel—she’s the one who bags our weed. I’ve heard they add stuff when you piss them off.”

  “I’ve
heard that, too,” Rider confirmed, dropping another sugar in his fresh cup of coffee.

  “With your sweet tooth, I’m surprised you aren’t chasing after Willa,” Shade said to Rider, watching Lucky’s reaction from the corner of his eye.

  Rider sat back in his chair, as if considering the thought. “I’m not into virgins.” He grinned cockily. “They get too serious, and I don’t want to set a standard another man can’t match.”

  “Jesus,” Lucky said, looking heavenward.

  Shade stood up. “Rider, I’m going to leave because I have nothing I can say to your asinine remark.”

  Shade had passed his chair, headed for the door, when he heard Rider’s next comment.

  “He’s lucky I didn’t fuck Lily first,” he boasted.

  “You did not just say—fuck, Shade, let him go!” Lucky yelled as both he and Cash tried to pull him off Rider.

  Shade threw them off him, banging Rider’s head on the table then putting his hand in his hair to jerk his head back so Rider was staring up into his deadly eyes.

  “Do. Not. EVER! Think it’s okay to mouth off like that again about Lily, you got me? Brother or not, I will take you out.”

  “Shit, Shade, I was only kidding around!”

  “Don’t care.” Shade released him, still furious.

  “What in the fuck are you smiling about?” he snarled at Lucky.

  “Because you can dish it out, but you can’t take it,” Lucky laughed.

  Shade took a second then regained his composure. “I was trying to get one of you jackasses to make a move on her.”

  “Why?” Lucky asked with a puzzled frown.

  “Have you tasted her cupcakes? None of the women at the club like to bake, and I’m tired of running out in the middle of the night for cupcakes and hamburgers.”

  Chapter 80

  The women were standing at the counter when Shade entered the church store, his mouth tightening into a thin line when he saw Brooke was standing beside Lily. He took off his glasses as he went behind the counter, placing a kiss on his wife’s lips while ignoring Brooke.