Fueling the Edge

by Liberty Parker

  Mercenary holds his fist up in the air, halting our movement. He crouches down low and takes a few steps. He pulls an electronic device from the buried ground and presses a few buttons. I can hear a zap and then the fence is disabled. He waves us forward and we follow his lead onto the property. Sandman and Pyro are behind him and the rest of us fall into line after them. Merc once again makes a fist and points to the top of the roof. Fox exchanges his dart gun for his sniper rifle. Lining his eye up with the scope, he fires a shot and I see a body fall from above. He holds his finger up in the air, then a second shot is made. Fox nods to Mercenary who then waves us on. We aren’t as trained as he is, but I’m proud of the way we move as one unit under his command. He points to the first group who then go around the side of the building heading toward the front of the club. When they move, he then points to the second group. This one is the group I’m in, we head toward the back.

  He and Sandman are taking the side door of the building. This is where it’s believed that Aria is being held. Our timers on our watches go off in the form of quiet vibrations, and like it’s done in the movies, at the same time, we enter the areas we’ve been assigned. Everything moves in slow motion as we come into a kitchen and see three members sitting around sniffing cocaine from a straw on the table. When they look up, their eyes are glassy, and the high they’re on, makes their movements sluggish and uncoordinated. Making sure to take in each of their faces, I’m aggravated that none of them are Frank. I was hoping to have a long period of torture time with him. Enough to make him regret ever laying so much as a pinky finger on Talia. Our guns raise in the air, and we each hit a vital part of them, ending their pathetic excuse of a life.

  We hear gunfire erupt from the other room almost simultaneously to ours. With our kills quickly forgotten, we rush out stepping over their lifeless bodies to assist our brothers. As I case the room, my eyes land on Rogue who is in a fist fight with the other club’s president. He’s holding his own, so I scan the room and my eyes narrow when I spot Frank cowering in the corner and to my surprise, using Angie, in front of him as a shield. She’s trying to get out of his arms, but he’s holding firmly onto her. Ducking and weaving between bullets and fights, I manage to make it over to him. Somewhere in my subconscious mind, I feel my calf catch on fire, but I quickly ignore it as I now have tunnel vision.

  As I’m a few steps away from him, his attention turns to me. His eyes widen in surprise when he sees that my sight is intentionally set on him. Frank grabs Angie roughly by the arm and begins to run away from me. She’s slowing him down as she digs her heels in. He then grabs her by the hair of her head and drags her behind him. I hear her scream out, “Snowman! Stop it you’re hurting me.” With that statement voiced loud enough for me to hear over all the fighting, suddenly Angie is replaced with a vision of Talia. How many times did she say this same exact thing to him I wonder? My pace picks up as I let my temper take over. Finally catching up to the two of them, I grab her by her wrist and yank her hard enough that I free her from his grip. I hear her wrist snap with my roughness, but I don’t have the time to give a fuck about what happens to her. She screams out in pain, but I block out anything having to do with her from my mind.

  “You’re mine, motherfucker.” I point to the pussy. He turns to try and escape me, but there’s no hope of him getting away from me. I’ve been dreaming of this day, and there’s no way I’m letting him out of my sight. Launching myself in the air, I land on his back causing him to lose his balance. We end up falling to the ground with me firmly on top of him. Grabbing him by the back of the neck with one hand, I use the other one to bury his face into the floor. I can hear the bones in his face crunching as blood squirts out from underneath him. The miniscule pleasure this brings me is nothing in comparison to the fun I’m about to have with him. “You like beating on women, you pussy?” It’s not really a question, I already know he does. “Let me show you how it feels to be on the opposing side of a beat down.” He’s screaming and hollering like the little bitch that he is, yet I can’t seem to understand a thing he’s saying, seeing as he’s eating tile. Oh, there goes a tooth. Needing a fair fight, I stand up and move backwards, never letting my eyes leave him. “Get up and face me like a man.” He rolls over onto his back, eyes darting around the room looking for someone to help him as his nose and mouth are gushing blood. When comprehension hits him that he’s alone, since everyone else is locked in their own fight or already dead, he begins to scoot himself back. His hands and feet lift up and he crab walks backwards. “Get up and fight!” I roar at the top of my lungs. When he doesn't move fast enough to my liking, I reach down and grab him by his colors. Placing hands on another man’s cut is the highest form of disrespect that can be shown. His hands come up in front of him in a defensive gesture.

  “I-I’ve got no beef with you, man.” His glazed look and slurred speech don’t deter me in what I plan on doing to him.

  “Well, I’ve got a big one with you, man. Seen Talia lately?” His face turns from pensive to one of outrage.

  “Where’s my old lady? You have her?” The spit flies from his mouth, further pissing me off as some of it lands on my colors. My fist automatically flies, landing a punch to his jaw. He stumbles back, but manages to catch his balance when he lands against the wall. “You fucking her? That pussy should be nice and broken in as much as I used and abused it.” He has the gall to laugh at his own words.

  “You must be thinking of that slut you were using as a shield. Talia’s pussy was nice and tight when my dick entered her pussy. We fit together perfectly, like a glove to a hand. But, it could be because my dick is big enough it doesn't need to be placed under a microscope to be seen,” I taunt him. He finally grows some balls and lunges at me. I grab him under his arms as his arms try to wrap around me. “I know I’m good looking, but that doesn't give you the right to try and hug me, asshole. Let’s not fight like the women do. Show me what you’ve got, Snowman,” I use his road name like it’s full of poison leaving my tongue.

  “I’ll fucking kill you!” he threatens as he comes at me once again. Finally, I get the fight from him I’ve been itching for. Our blows to each other aren’t evenly matched. He’s weak from all of the drug use and the weakened state I’ve already put him in, and my powerful hits are full of rage and revenge. I land a solid hit on the bridge of his already broken nose. His eyes roll back and he falls flat on his back. I reach down using my two fingers and check for a pulse. Feeling nothing I’m pissed that, that’s all the fight I’ll get from him. I knew as soon as the punch landed that I’d shoved his nose into his skull. Damn, I had so much more planned for him. Still needing to feel his blood coat my hands, I pull my knife from its sheath on my belt, and slit his throat from ear to ear. Blood bubbles from the open laceration spraying my face and body, but satisfaction that he’ll never be a threat to my woman again satisfies the monster inside of me. The demon that’s been clawing its way out of my skin since Talia shared their history with me.

  As I promptly scan the room, I see lifeless bodies all around me. There’s no surface untouched by the fight that just took place. Checking each one, one body stands out. Angie, good riddance is all the time I’ll allow myself to dwell on the loss of her life. I’m satisfied to see that none of my brothers have lost their lives. The adrenaline must be starting to wear off because the fire that was blazing in my calf earlier has come back full-force. Pulling the bandanna from my back pocket, I make a tourniquet in an attempt to slow down the bleeding. Things are still moving at a quick pace not giving me the time to stop and inspect it. Instead, I push it to the back of my mind. When I begin taking stock of the brothers, it hits me that Mercenary and Sandman haven’t joined us. When Fox’s eyes meet mine, I see that he’s come to the same conclusion that I have. We need to go and find them.

  Without further thought, my legs eat up the distance to the side of the house where the two of them went in. When I follow the woman’s screams, I find a room down a set of stairs t
hat are behind a hidden wall. How the fuck did they find this? I would have missed it. It’s so inconspicuous that it blends into the structure of the building. Withdrawing my gun from its holster, I take the steps two at a time in a rush to find out what is going on down there. When I hit the bottom step, I’m having a hard time understanding how Sandman and Mercenary can stand back while Aria is beating the VP of Henchmen with a...no, it can’t be? Motherfucker! She has the end of a long chain wrapped around her hand and is wildly swinging it, her intended victim is her torturer, Viper.

  Sandman has a wide smile on his face and Mercenary is chuckling as Viper is begging Aria to stop. “Who gave her the weapon?” I casually ask walking over to the duo.

  “We were going to chain him up to the chair but she held her hand out for it, so I handed it to her. She deserves some payback, so we’re keeping guard and letting her do her thing,” Sandman declares proudly, and in no way seems worried for her safety. Deciding it’s better to join them than question their sanity, I lean against the wall but keep my gun in my hand in case things go awry.

  “She’s a spitfire,” Mercenary chuckles as Aria makes contact with Viper’s face. When he bends over grabbing his nose whining like a little bitch, she walks up behind him, rears her leg back and lets her foot fly between his legs. My spare hand automatically goes to my dick and cups it in protection. I can almost feel that and it didn’t even happen to me.

  “Fuck. You know that hurt.” She’s putting on quite the show. Before I know it, Rogue and Bane have joined us.

  “What’s going on down here?” our president questions with an eyebrow raised. I know he’s wondering if we’ve lost our sanity.

  “Aria wanted to get hers in and our boys here have decided to grant her wish,” I answer, pointing my finger in their direction.

  “I see. Think we can wrap this up? We need to get this place leveled and get the fuck out of here. There’s no way someone didn’t hear all of the gunfire and I’d prefer to be miles away from here when the cops show up.” With that said, he turns and walks away.

  Bane however, laughs and stays behind. “If we gave that girl time, she’d make him regret the day his mom and dad decided to procreate. End it, Sandman.” With that, he then also turns and marches back up the steps.

  “You heard the man.” Sandman gets a sadistic look on his face as he pulls his knife from his pocket and walks over and slowly jabs it into Viper’s jugular. Blood begins squirting out in streams covering him and Aria. They turn and face each other and time seems to stand still as they take a moment to themselves. Revenge can be a gruesome yet profound experience to bond over when done with the right person. Makes me think of Talia instantly.

  “Hate to break-up the reunion, brother. But we need to get the fuck out of here. Rogue’s about to blow this place sky high,” I warn them. Sandman grabs her hand and checks her over to make sure she can walk out of here of her own accord. When he looks down and notices her ankle is twice the size that it should be, he picks her up in his arms and begins to tread quickly out of there.

  We barely make it past the gate and into the treeline when the place blows. I feel the heat on every inch of my flesh. I even run my bloodied-up hands through my hair to make sure I still have some. Now that my woman is safe, I’ll take a day or two to decompress, but then I’m going hunting. There’s no place my woman can hide that I won’t find her. That’s right, my woman is exactly what she is and I should’ve never questioned what my gut and instinct were hollering. I care deeply for her, and she’ll never go a day questioning if it’s true or not.

  Chapter Twelve

  Talia

  Ever since my last conversation with Briggs, my sleep is afflicted with nightmares filled with Edge. They always begin the same way, perfect with him smiling at me. He begins to tell me how much he loves me, but right before my eyes fly open he’s surrounded by the Warped Henchmen and my heart breaks into pieces. Every one of these nightmares end with the same scenario. Edge has blood trickling down his chin, asking me to help him before he turns angry, crying out how could I have done this to him? I can’t help but worry that this is some kind of omen for things to come. I can’t even fathom a world without him in it. I was so mad at Briggs the last time we spoke that I’ve been avoiding our daily check-ins.

  Feeling like I’ve let yet another person down in my life, I grab my lunch and head to my table at the park. Unwrapping my sandwich, I pick at the crust. Sighing in frustration at myself for not having the courage to pick up the phone and make that call. My fear is that he’ll tell me that the entire Twisted Iron MC is no more. I know they are all fierce and can fight with the best of them, but the unknown has about taken its toll on me. I also know how dirty Frank and the others can be. Scolding myself for not having the courage I need, I pick up my phone and dial Briggs.

  “Took you long enough to check in, Talia. Are you done with your pity party?” He holds nothing back as he berates me.

  “Give me a break, Briggs. My emotions are all over the place. Is there anything new?” I ask the same question I do every time we speak.

  “I’m meeting with my source in a couple of hours. I’ll be able to update you better come tomorrow. Same time?” Feeling horrible at being incognito the last couple of days, I promise that I will call him at our pre-agreed upon time. The rest of the day I walk along like a zombie, I receive wary looks from several co-workers, but I ignore them and do the best I can to focus on my work. The anticipation of tomorrow’s phone call consumes me, making it difficult for me to function. This is going to be another long and dreadful night.

  Lunch time the next day slowly approaches. This time my phone is out and to my ear before I even cross the street. It rings several times before voicemail picks up. The sting of my heated cheeks alerts me to just exactly how much my blood pressure has risen from his lack to communicate with me. Briggs knew just how important this conversation today was to me. Again, I dial his number and again, it goes to voicemail. Now, I never want anything to happen to him, but he better have a damn good excuse for this. As in, he better be dead or incapacitated.

  * * *

  Edge

  * * *

  Briggs is not in the least happy to see me as announced by the sheer look on his face as I walk into his bar. “Not sure why you’re here, Edge? You know I’ll never tell you where she’s at. Yes, you and your brothers can kill me, but you still wouldn’t be any closer to finding out. Everything’s been destroyed. Any trace of her whereabouts.”

  I take a seat on one of his bar stools and he grumbles, but I don’t give a single fuck. Leaning in, I wiggle my finger, commanding him to come closer. As he dries a glass with a hand towel, he amuses me and does what I request. “You think you’re so smart old man, huh?” I flash my gun. “I have no fucking problem shooting every goddamn one of your innocent patrons if you don’t give me something. Am I making myself clear?”

  He huffs out an exaggerated chuckle. “Your empty threats don’t frighten me. Tell me, did operation rid the world of the Henchmen turn out successful?” His phone begins to ring and he briefly looks at it before tucking it back into his pocket. Before I can begin to speak, again, it rings. Only this time, he doesn’t bother checking it. This has me overly suspicious now. He not only knows who it is, but he purposely isn’t answering it because I’m here and it doesn’t get past me.

  “Why don’t you answer your phone?” I reach over the counter, causing him to jump back as I grab myself a glass and a bottle of whiskey. Pouring myself a nice big shot, I ask him, “It’s her isn’t it?” Slamming back the liquor I just helped myself to.

  “You need to leave, now,” he orders me.

  “So you’re not going to answer?” I ignore his request as he does with mine and pour myself another shot. “That’s fine. I know what game we’re playing now and it’s one I’m familiar with and excel at.” I draw my weapon, turn around and aim at a patron’s beer mug before firing off a round. Screaming commences as my shot is fired an
d glass flies everywhere. He grabs for his shotgun, but failed to realize that my brothers were valiantly waiting outside for any sign to help if needed. They storm the bar and allow patrons to scurry out and Briggs once again finds himself in a place of defeat. “To answer your earlier question, the Henchmen are about as intact as that mug I just obliterated. One week. That’s all you have to get a message to Talia. That’s more time than I should give you, but being the thoughtful gentleman that I am, I’ve decided that’s the least you deserve. You tell her that Frank and those fuckers will never be a problem for her ever again. You probably won’t, but tell her that I love her.” I watch as a single brow arches on his face at my declaration. “Yeah, you heard me right. I fucking love that woman. Oh, and I will stop at nothing to say it to her face and we have the most excellent IT man. So, I will stop at nothing to get the chance to say it to her face. If she rejects me then, I won’t like it, but I’ll at least have some form of closure.” I push the stool backward as I stand and begin to exit. “You know, I’d really hoped we could’ve come to some sort of an agreement where Talia is concerned. But, I guess you’ve made up your mind about men that live my lifestyle. Not all of us are Frank.” And, with that, I exit.

  * * *

  One week later