by Evie Nichole
“But you did.”
I laughed a bitter laugh. “That’s still to be seen, isn’t it?”
“It’ll be over soon. I’m going to make sure this is all over, Red.”
“I hope so.” I looked out the window at Jackson flying by and tried to feel even an ounce of joy to see my home city again. There was nothing. “How is it that you can live in a place for so long and it still never feels like home?”
With a light squeeze to my neck, he slid his hand down and held my hand. “It’s easier than it should be. I felt that way about Jackson while I was here. I felt that way about every place I was until I settled in Memphis again with my brothers.”
I traced my finger along the window, following building after building. “After Snake, there’s no one else connected to my childhood. No one who will remember my mom. No one who will remember me. Not really. There are two people in this town who would be sad if I faded away. One, if you don’t count Carly, since she’s in the hospital because of me. And Margie is used to my coming and going. I’m a ghost in this place. Almost two hundred thousand people in this city, and here I am.”
Jack was quiet until he parked the truck a block away from the clubhouse. “You have people in Memphis.”
I was afraid to get into what his words meant, so I just sat up straighter in my seat and looked toward the clubhouse. “Will we be able to see anything from here?”
“We can see if anyone is coming or going. But, we’ll have to get closer eventually. The guys should be here soon, too. They hung around the office for a while, making sure things looked normal.”
We sat in silence, watching the clubhouse as best we could. The radio was off, so I had all the focus in the world to think about Jack and what was happening.
“What made you leave the DEA?”
He looked over at me, and then back out the windshield. “It’ll probably sound bad, but I was sick of following all the rules. I’m all for the law, but when it’s obvious it’s not going to help, I like to handle things…a different way.”
“Like Brent?”
He nodded. “It just works better sometimes to get your hands dirty. We’re working around criminals in our jobs. Manners don’t always get us very far.”
I lifted the binoculars and checked out the area again. “I get it. Clean living isn’t for everyone.”
“Is it for you?”
I handed them over to him. “I don’t feel comfortable around people who are good all the time. I want to be, but I was raised by a drug addict and then forced into a life of crime and dirt. I hated those people, but I got used to their ways. What you and Brent do makes sense to me.”
“Do you want to live a normal life?”
I thought of what normal meant for most people. “Two point five children with a white picket fence? Marriage, church, school, work… I don’t think so. I haven’t really thought about any of it, though. I never knew if I was going to live until the weekend, much less long enough to have children. What about you?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never really stopped to think about it.”
I turned to face him and watched as he shifted in his seat. “Why not?”
“I’ve been busy.” He opened the glove box and pulled out a gun. “This one’s for you. Don’t shoot me in the back.”
“Now, why would I ever do that?”
“Come on. Let’s go check this place out. We’re going in quiet and staying that way. The gun is an emergency only solution. Got it?”
I nodded. “Decided you’d rather sneak around a biker clubhouse than have that conversation, huh?”
He chuckled and then pulled me into a bone-melting kiss. His tongue slid into my mouth and I moaned as his taste overwhelmed me. With one last gentle nip to my lips, he pulled back and grinned at me. “I can think of something else we could do.”
I removed my hands, which had somehow ended up on his thighs, and rolled my eyes. “Let’s get to work.”
“Are you sure? Because these seats recline.”
“I have a gun.”
“And I have an erection.”
I laughed, despite myself, and slapped his arm. “Shut up. Come on. Get serious. We’re supposed to be sneaking up on people or something.”
With a heavy sigh, he pocketed the keys and then got out of the truck. “Alright, but if things go to hell, just remember what I wanted to do.”
We crept toward the clubhouse, Jack in front and me in the back. The closer we got, the worse I felt. I had goosebumps rolling all over and my stomach had dropped straight to my feet. My heart was pounding so hard I didn’t know if I’d be able to hear any commands Jack gave.
“I don’t know if I can do this, after all, Jack. I think I’m going to throw up.”
He turned around and quietly pinned me against the side of another abandoned warehouse. “You can do it. I need you here, Red. If you don’t have my back, we’re going back to the truck and we’ll wait for my team. Make a decision.”
I glanced at the clubhouse, which was only a few feet away at that point, and blew out a rough breath. “Fine. I can do it. Come on.”
He cupped my cheek and then was gone, back in the shadows. He moved like a ghost, barely appearing, even to me. Jack in the field was a huge aphrodisiac. His body was graceful as he glided toward his target.
We moved along the entire perimeter of the clubhouse, only seeing two men inside through the windows in the back. I recognized one as Bust’er Calhoun and the other wore a leather with no patches, so I figured he was a prospect. Bust’er was about as evil as they came. I saw no problems in lighting the building on fire with him inside. He was one of the first brothers to take my mother for a ride.
When we were back at the truck, Jack looked down at me and raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure I like that look on your face.”
I shrugged. “It’s a war, right? I just don’t know if I’d cry if the big guy ended up being a casualty.”
Jack nodded. “I get it. One step at a time, though. The team will be here in a bit. We do this safely. I don’t want to lose anyone else or draw the attention of authorities just yet.”
“Okay. We wait. Then we burn this fucker to the ground.”
Chapter 22
Jack’s team arrived with several cans of gasoline and enough firepower to take down a small army. That was fine with me. Snake had started a battle, and I was ready to end the war. Jack and his team easily took out the two loners who were hanging around the clubhouse. The prospect went without any trouble, away to be locked up until we were finished. Bust’er put up a fight and ended up taking the stock end of a rifle to the face. No one shed a tear over that blood being spilled.
I chose not to go in. I didn’t want to see the inside. I didn’t want to remember the things that happened there. Instead, I made my way around to the side of the building, where I noticed Snake had his father’s motorcycle parked. I rolled it around to the front and parked it.
Jack walked over and nodded. “What’s this?”
I gave him a slow smile. “This is Snake’s father’s bike. Really sentimental shit we’re looking at. It would sure be a shame if anything happened to it.”
Around us, men poured gasoline in and around the building, wordlessly sloshing the liquid up and down walls and all over floors. The night sky was cloudless, and in that part of town, I could see every star in the sky. There was even the slightest of breezes, blowing the fishy smell of the river to us. I’d never felt more like the stars were perfectly aligned for me to get my revenge on Snake.
“How about we send a picture to him? When we’re ready for him to come.”
Jack kicked the bike over and pulled out his cellphone. “Sure. How about we send it now?”
I let him snap the picture and send it, while I grabbed one of the jugs of gasoline and poured it all over the bike. When the jug was empty, I tossed it on top and then grabbed a match from Jack.
“This is for my mother. He took her from me, so I’m
taking his father from him.” I dropped the match and flames shot up. Jack hooked an arm around my waist and pulled me away.
Someone else dropped a match somewhere else and, in what felt like a second, the large building was up in flames. It lit up the night sky and warmed the air until it was physically uncomfortable to be so close.
Still wordless, Jack’s team piled back in their trucks and left. Jack and I walked back to his truck, slower and lighter. At least, I felt lighter. A weight I hadn’t even known was sitting on my chest had been lifted and I could see a finish line for the first time. I could get rid of Snake.
“Rage MC just got evicted. How do you think they’ll handle the notice?”
From the front seat of Jack’s truck, I stared at the orange glow and shook my head. “Not good. We’re counting on that, though, aren’t we?”
He nodded. “We are. Come on. We can get a couple of hours of sleep before everything happens.”
I leaned back in my seat and let Jack drive me away from the scene of so much of the torment from my past. “I feel like I’ll never sleep again.”
“It’s the adrenaline. It’ll pass eventually.”
I closed my eyes and still could see that building, burning bright. It was all I could see. I’d never been violent, but nothing had ever felt as right as ending the existence of the Rage clubhouse.
We went back to the hotel and we stripped down to nothing before crawling into bed next to each other. He held me in his arms and I hugged him to me tightly until the burning slowly turned to black in my head.
*
Jack woke me up just before the sun rose. “We have to get ready. Just like we planned.”
I nodded and got myself dressed. Jeans, black T-shirt, hair in ponytail. I was ready for war. At least, that’s what I told myself. I was nervous to come face to face with Snake.
Jack had some of his team watching over the clubhouse and they’d reported that the fire department was there, still trying to put out the flames. We needed somewhere more private, so we were going to an abandoned shipyard that I knew Snake had used before when running drugs.
We got there and set up. Everyone hid so Snake wouldn’t see the ambush. He’d probably know it was coming, but he wouldn’t see it, at least. I was hoping that he’d be so mad that he’d just blow in.
Jack and I stood next to a broken-down forklift, waiting. Once Jack messaged Snake, it wouldn’t take long for him to get there.
“You okay?”
I shivered. “Just a little nervous.”
Jack pulled me into his chest. “When this is over, let’s go back to the hotel room and forget all of this. I could use another shower.”
I laughed and pulled back enough to look up at him. “Let me think about it.”
He kissed me, distracting me from some of my worry. When he pulled back, he patted me on the ass and then pulled out his phone. “Nothing to think about, Red. For some reason, my shitty ass attitude hasn’t run you off yet.”
“Maybe it’s because I’ve been trying to stay alive. Don’t get cocky.”
He gave a purposeful look down at the bulge in his pants and raised an eyebrow. “Okay, message sent. You hear that, men?”
Someone said something through his earpiece and he laughed. “The men think you should just give in to me, Red. Apparently, they think I’m pathetic and have no chance at getting you, outside of begging and your good will.”
I put my hands on my hips and scowled. “They’ve been listening to us? Perverts.”
Jack laughed again and shook his head. “No comment on my being pathetic. I see how it is.”
I stared up at him and noticed the tension around his eyes and mouth. He was stiff, ready to take on Snake, but trying to make the situation a little lighter for me. In that moment, I felt myself fall for him a bit. He was kind and fighting for me. I couldn’t help but feel as though I’d lucked into finding him the second time around. I had to doubt that anyone else would’ve ever done half of what he’d done for me.
“When this is over, a shower sounds really nice. Any kind of shower you want.”
His grin was charming as he rocked back on his heels and cheered. “Any kind?”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t push your luck.”
He tuned in to his earpiece and his face grew deadly. “Behind the forklift. They’re here.”
My heart skipped a beat and I stumbled to the ground, out of sight. I pressed my hand to my chest and looked up at Jack.
He didn’t take his eyes off the entrance and kept checking in on his guys, but he reached down and squeezed my hand, letting me know that he knew I was panicking and that it was okay.
I heard the roar of motorcycles nearing us and swallowed. It was time. Snake was going to be within feet of me in just a few more seconds. I had to remember that Jack was going to be there, fighting for my life, because all I wanted to do was turn around and run.
“He’s right here, Red. Keep your cool, okay?”
I nodded. “Sure. Cool is being kept. Got it.”
Just when I thought the bikes were going to run right over us, the engines cut off and I heard the murmurs and anger coming from the group of them. I wanted to peek and see how many men were there, but I couldn’t make myself move just yet.
“Why the fuck should I not just blow your fucking brains out right here? You destroyed my home, boy!” Snake’s voice was angrier than I’d ever heard it.
“You destroyed my brother’s home. You tried to destroy my business. Don’t you biker types believe in an eye for eye?”
I wanted to scream at Jack. He was going to get himself killed. He seemed so calm to be facing down a lunatic.
“You took my woman.”
I noticed the subtle change in Jack, the slight tensing in his arms.
“She was never your woman. She was a girl when you forced her into your life, and then a woman who decided she’d rather leave her home than be anywhere near you. I didn’t take anything that you ever had.”
A beat followed and then Jack made a tsk-ing sound. “I wouldn’t do that, if I were you. There are several trained snipers with their targets on your head, right now. You touch that gun and your buddies are going to be wiping your brains off of those pretty leathers.”
My eyes were so big, it felt like they were going to fall right out of my head. Jack had balls. Balls that I couldn’t help but thinking were a little too big. Snake wasn’t sane. He would snap soon, and then all hell was going to break loose, with Jack in the middle of it.
“Snipers, huh? Why’d you go and do a thing like that? Not man enough to stand here and fight me on your own?”
A shot rang out and I whimpered.
“What the fuck?!” Snake screamed, so obviously, the shot hadn’t taken him out. I couldn’t help but feel sad about that.
“Your guy tried to draw. I suggest you keep your hands off your weapons, unless you want to end up like your buddy.”
“This isn’t going to fucking go down like this. You have to pay. You burned my clubhouse down! You took my woman! You fucking burned my pop’s bike! We came here for a fight. Take these pansy guns off of us and let’s do this the right way.”
I stood up and moved to Jack’s side. “Actually, I burned your dad’s bike.”
Snake’s eyes seemed to burn brighter. “Bitch. I’ve been nothing but good to you! This is how you pay me back? I’m going to rip you apart, you little slut.”
Jack shook his finger back and forth. “Nope. You’re not. You’re never going to touch her again. You don’t deserve her.”
“And you do?!” Snake jerked his hand in Jack’s direction and a shot rang out as dirt flew up from just beside his foot. “You’re a pussy. You won’t know how to handle her. Give her to me and this whole thing is over.”
I tilted my head to the side and studied Snake. He wasn’t the same as he was before prison. There was a long scar down the side of his face that looked rough. I hadn’t seen it while running from him the first night.
“What happened to your face?”
He glared at me and threw his helmet down. The men behind him seemed to shift and sway, a little uncomfortably. “Mind your own goddamn business!”
“You okay, Snake? You seem a little tense.” Jack taunted. “That scratch happen in prison? Did someone beat the shit out of you and then force you to do things that you didn’t want to do? Because that would just be fucking karma, wouldn’t it?”
“Shut the fuck up!” Snake screamed, his face turning bright red and the veins in his forehead and neck standing out until they looked like they would explode.
“You have two options here, Snake. You sit here and wait for the FBI to arrive, like a good little boy, or you try to fight and my men take yours down in less than thirty seconds. Then, I put a bullet between your eyes while Red watches and we go about our life, happily as can be. Your fucking choice.”
A new brother inched closer to Snake. “Man, the FBI? What the fuck did you get us into?”
Snake spun around and had his gun against the man’s head in a second. “Shut up! I’m not leaving without the girl.”
Chapter 23
I moved back a step, fear twisting my stomach. Snake was unhinged. I hadn’t noticed it before, but looking at him now, all I could see were the signs. He’d lost it. “Jack, he’s not going to go out without a fight.”
“Anyone who doesn’t want to be involved, go. Obviously, Snake here has a few screws loose. You want to leave and we let you.”
Snake scanned his group with increasingly insane-looking eyes. They shifted back and forth constantly, while staring without blinking. “You try to walk out, and I’ll kill you myself.”
The men shifted, glancing between Jack and Snake. The one with Snake’s gun resting on his forehead spoke. “Snake. Let us go. This is insane. We’re not going to prison for this bitch. This is your problem. You’ve got us involved in shit that we don’t want to be in.”
The gun fired before anyone could stop Snake. The man’s brains exploded out of the back of his head, spraying the men behind him. His body slowly dropped to the ground, lifeless.
