Burn: Men of Inked Heatwave #2

by Chelle Bliss

  “Word on the street is that your father has a storage locker filled floor to ceiling with cocaine and cash. The dumbass told my buddy on the inside he would split it with him if he’d find someone to track you down and get the fucking key.”

  “I don’t have his fucking key,” I grind out. The man never gave me anything besides misery.

  “He hid it,” Morris explains, resting his hand on my shoulder. “In some small box that was your grandfather’s. I guess he put it in the box years ago. After your mother was killed, he figured he would get the key from you and cash in enough coke to live the rest of his life somewhere off the grid.”

  “Motherfucker,” I mutter, realizing he hadn’t been after Gigi, but the key and me instead. I have no doubt he would’ve killed me to get his hands on that key. No fucking doubt at all.

  “The assholes who killed your mom,” Morris says, pausing for a moment until I narrow my eyes. “They were after the key too.”

  I suck in a breath, knowing my brother went through hell, almost dying at the hands of the same men. Over what? Fucking drugs.

  “You going to have that hanging over your head forever? Do you want to unload that kind of inventory and risk the beautiful thing you’re starting with your girl?”

  “Fuck no,” I howl, squeezing my hand in a tight fist, wishing I could punch something…anything.

  “You know which box I’m talking about?”

  I nod.

  Morris tightens the grip on my shoulder. “Find the key, give it to me, and we’ll call it even.”

  “I don’t fucking want it, but…” I peer up at him, looking him right in the eyes. “But if you’re going to help Colton with the money…”

  Morris shakes his head and barks out a laugh. “That bastard can rot in jail, kid. Fuck him. He doesn’t deserve anything more than the dry ass-fucking he’s going to get for the next twenty years.”

  The visual, while gross, brings a smile to my face.

  “Bring the key, and we’re even. I don’t want anything else from you. I’d never hurt you or Gigi, but the longer you have the key, the more danger you’ll be in. There’re eyes and ears everywhere,” Morris warns, knocking his knuckles against the table to drive the point home.

  “I’ll bring it to you,” I promise.

  16

  Pike

  “I don’t know why I couldn’t come alone.” I stare out of the blacked-out windows in the back of the SUV, annoyed and aggravated that I couldn’t deliver the key by myself.

  “We told you. You’re not going alone. Disciples or not, that’s not how things are done in this family,” Joe says at my side.

  “It’s just a simple drop,” I argue.

  Never in my life have I needed babysitters. I did as I was asked. I told James and Thomas exactly what Morris, Tiny, and the Disciples wanted as payback. A key that led to probably millions of dollars of illegal drugs and cash. All of it gained through violence and death, and nothing I wanted or needed.

  The fact that they threw a fit when I said I was going alone was laughable. I should’ve taken off on my bike, delivering the key to the MC days ago. But no. That’s not how this family rolls. They do everything in packs like wolves.

  James grunts. “Pike, you need to start dealing with the fact that you’re no longer alone in anything you do.”

  I glance up, meeting his eyes in the rearview mirror. “There wasn’t a need for this to be a family affair,” I grumble, resting my chin on my knuckles as the trees swish by so quickly, they’re a blur of green.

  I’ve always been alone. It’s how I’ve operated from the time I was a little boy. I am used to looking out for myself, not worrying about anyone else around me.

  “There’s always a need,” Thomas tells me, turning his neck to glower at me over his shoulder from the front seat.

  “Gallos don’t go into danger without backup,” Joe adds with a straight face, as serious as a heart attack.

  “But I’m not a…”

  “Shut your mouth,” Bear barks in my ear, squished into the third row of seats and sitting directly behind me. “Just say thank you, dumbass.”

  “Thank you,” I grind out, not feeling the words but not looking to have Bear smack me in the back of the head either.

  “You’re welcome,” Joe tells me, probably loving the shit out of my misery.

  “We’re five minutes out, but the Disciples are running behind. Morris said they ran into some shit but will be there in twenty,” Thomas announces.

  “Fucking bikers,” James groans.

  “Watch it now,” Bear growls under his breath. “We’re not all dipshits.”

  I respect the hell out of every man in this SUV. They’ve come to my rescue before, setting aside whatever’s going on in their lives to help. They never asked for anything in return and haven’t given me too much shit—besides Joe. That’s more than anyone in my family has ever done for me.

  “Keep your eyes out as we get closer,” James warns, scanning the sides of the dirt road at the endless trees.

  “You think we’re being set up?” Thomas asks, looking out the side window, eyes trained on the brush.

  “No, but something doesn’t feel right,” he admits, slowing the SUV as we get closer.

  Those words are enough to set off alarm bells. Thomas and James have been in more shit than I’ll ever be able to fully comprehend.

  “Get locked and loaded,” Bear orders, the familiar sound of the metal of his gun clicking behind me.

  I glance toward the ceiling, shaking my head. “What a shitshow. This is why I should’ve come alone.”

  That statement earns me a backhand to my chest. “Stop with your bullshit already. If something’s off, it’s best we’re all here to make it out alive, rather than sending your ass in there to get killed.”

  “What do you care?” I mutter, glancing over at Gigi’s father, who’s done nothing but hassle me since the moment he found out I’d slept with her.

  Joe sucks in a breath, his blue eyes narrowing as he runs his hand through his dark hair. “I deserve that. I’ve been an asshole to you on more than one occasion.”

  “Ya think?” I raise an eyebrow, peering at him out of the corner of my eye.

  “Put yourself in my shoes, kid. The last thing I want is for my girl to be staring down the barrel of a gun.”

  “Me either, Joe. I’ve told you that. I’ll do everything I can to protect Gigi.”

  He nods. “I know, and I believe you. But I’m also not going to hold my little girl in my arms as she cries because her boyfriend had to be a goddamn hero and take a bullet when he could’ve made it back alive with our help.”

  I swallow, thinking about dying and how Gigi would react. “I don’t ever want to be the cause of her tears,” I tell him.

  “Then we do this together.”

  I nod when he glares at me, waiting for some kind of affirmation that I’d heard him. “Understood,” I mutter.

  James pulls the SUV over near the same spot in the abandoned parking lot where they dropped Gigi and me when the shit with DiSantis was about to go down. Night is coming, the navy skies are moving toward us with each passing second, casting shadows in the trees and the fields surrounding the patch of cement.

  James cuts the engine, turning around in his seat to face us. “Don’t let your guard down. Guns out, but keep them tucked in your waistband and be ready for anything.”

  “Shit can never be easy,” Joe groans.

  “I live for this shit,” Bear brags with a hint of laughter, which makes him seem all the crazier than I’ve always thought he was.

  Joe turns his head, giving Bear the glare he’d just been giving to me. “We’re not as old as you, fucker. We’re not looking to die today.”

  “I ain’t dying, fool. I’m like Iron Man. The bullets bounce off.” Bear pounds on his chest, trying to prove his manhood.

  God, I really love these crazy assholes. They are so much like the guys in the Disciples, minus the drugs, w
hores, and constant partying, of course.

  Joe rolls his eyes. “I don’t even know why we’re friends, Bear.”

  “You love me,” Bear teases, letting his crazy show even more because shit’s about to get real. “And we’re not just friends. I’m your uncle.”

  I chuckle to myself, but my laughter dies when Joe cranes his neck and turns those hardened eyes on me.

  “I need out. I gotta piss,” Bear grumbles, pushing between us as he moves to my row, reaching for the door handle as he leans over me.

  “Don’t,” James starts to tell him, but Bear’s out of the SUV, almost kicking me in the junk in the process. “Goddamn him.”

  “Prostate,” Bear mutters before the sound of his zipper followed by a loud sigh are the only noises besides the birds squawking in the distance. “You’ll understand when you’re older.”

  “Everyone out.” Thomas opens his door, boots touching the gravel, creating a cloud of smoke. “Eyes peeled.”

  I step out, ignoring Bear as he moans, doing his business near the tire of the SUV.

  “If you get piss on my tire, I’m going to make you lick it off.” James stares at Bear’s back, shaking his head and snarling.

  “Don’t worry, Sally. I’m in complete control,” Bear tells him, swaying his body from side to side, fucking with James and always looking to get a rise out of everyone.

  James moves to the front of the truck, leaving Bear to finish his business. “Fuck you and your Sally shit.”

  “It’s quiet,” Thomas whispers, scanning the trees in the distance. “Too quiet.”

  Joe’s eyes are on me as we make our way to the front of the truck to join Thomas and James. We’re all on high alert, except for Bear. The man is perpetually doing his own thing, not giving a single fuck about anything else around him.

  There’s movement to the right, and our four sets of eyes follow, drawing out guns. This isn’t the Disciples. There was no roar of their engines, no familiar rumble in the ground below our feet.

  Our guns are drawn, raised out in front of us as a small army of men clears the trees with their guns drawn too.

  “Fuck,” I hiss softly, locking my arms straight out, drifting slightly from side to side, not sure where to point my gun.

  There’re so many of them. At least two dozen to our five. We’re completely outnumbered, and my stomach plummets, knowing there’s a strong chance we’re not getting out of here.

  This is my fault. The bullshit of my family is following me, spilling over onto the only family that’s shown me any love.

  “Goddamn it,” Thomas fumes, eyes locked on the men advancing through the field.

  “What do we do?” Joe asks, gun out in front of him like the rest of us.

  My heart’s pounding, slamming into my chest like it’s trying to escape. My palms are sweating, but my hands remain steady because this isn’t the first time I’ve been in this fucked-up situation.

  “Um, guys,” Bear calls out with a quiver in his voice.

  “Shut up, Bear,” James growls, not bothering to turn around.

  We don’t have time for Bear’s antics. This shit is life or death. There are dozens of guns filled with hundreds of bullets, waiting to draw blood.

  “Put your guns down,” a voice threatens from behind us, coming from Bear’s direction.

  Thomas turns his head, and his eyes immediately narrow. “Goddamn it, Bear.”

  “This is no time for games,” James barks, turning his body and gun in a semicircle because we’re no doubt surrounded.

  The hair on the back of my neck stands up, and my arm tenses, finger tightening on the trigger. Stay calm. Gigi’s words, words she’s told me so many times, float through my head.

  “Put your guns down,” the man warns again, but closer and louder than before.

  “Guns!” Thomas yells out, still facing Bear, back to the others making their way toward us. “They have Bear.”

  “We don’t want to hurt anyone. We’re only here for the kid,” the man behind me explains.

  I turn, knowing they want only me.

  I’m the kid.

  I’m the one they’re after.

  The men at my side, Gigi’s family, are innocent in this entire thing. They never should’ve been here, but I let them talk me into the pack mentality, believing it was better to come in numbers than breeze into the Disciples’ compound on my own.

  “I’m here,” I grit out, dropping my arm and the gun at my side because if they want me, they can have me. “Let him go.”

  The man at Bear’s side has a gun to his head, snarling at me as his beady eyes land on my face. “I knew you were a pussy.”

  I take a step forward, holding out my arms, letting the gun twirl around my finger before it falls to the ground. “Let him go, and you can have me,” I beg, somehow keeping my voice calm.

  “No!” Joe yells out, stepping in front of me, blocking my movement with his back.

  “What are you doing?” I yell as my stomach rolls. “They want me, Joe. I’m not worth losing your life.”

  “Shut up, kid,” Joe barks back, not moving a muscle and not lowering the gun.

  This is so fucked up. More fucked up than I ever could’ve imagined. How would I go back to Gigi and explain her father died because of me? She’d never forgive me. Never love me again. No matter what, she is a daddy’s girl, loving this man more than anything else in her life.

  I place my hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently. “You have too much to live for. Don’t be a fool,” I whisper, my voice cracking because, goddamn, no one has ever stuck their neck out like this for me before.

  He’s rock solid, frozen and not moving. “You can’t go.”

  “We have thirty guys to your five and another thirty waiting behind. You really want to die today?” the asshole with the gun to Bear’s head asks.

  No. I’m not into dying today or any day soon, but I definitely am not into letting these men, the ones I’ve grown to respect, die for me today either.

  I stalk next to Joe, glancing at him, pleading with him with my eyes. “Let me do this, Joe. You have a wife and kids to think about. I’m not worth it. Your life isn’t worth the trouble my family has brought here and has always given me.”

  There’s a softness to Joe’s blue eyes as he studies me, jaw tight with anger. “If they take you…”

  I touch his arm, knowing I need to get these words out because I may not have another chance. “I’d rather they take me than you. I love your daughter. Love her more than my life, but I can’t let you take a bullet for me. I can’t leave her and the rest of your family knowing I was the reason we died today. Not when I can do something to stop it. I’m willing to give my life for her, for you, and for them.” I angle my neck backward. “Just tell her I’m sorry and that I love her.”

  Joe sighs, pain written all over his face as his clenched jaw pulses. “We’ll figure this out.”

  I push down, making him drop his hand. “I’ll figure this out. Just make sure the girls and my brother are safe.”

  “If anything…” he says, and his voice cracks, “…happens to you, we’ll make sure Austin is taken care of.”

  His words give me solace and a sense of peace. I never thought I’d live to be this old. I figured I was dying that day Morris put a bullet in my shoulder. I’ve been living on borrowed time, and now it’s up. My card is being punched, but at least I won’t take my last breath for no reason. I’ll be saving four men, returning them to their families to keep on living and loving.

  “I’ll go with you, but only if you leave them be!” I yell, holding out my hands at my sides again, showing I mean no harm.

  “Goddamn it,” Thomas groans.

  The man with the greasy hair, Viper cut, and grizzly beard ticks his head toward the SUV. “The kid is ours, and so is everything that comes with him.”

  No one moves. It’s like they’re frozen to the ground, unsure what they should do. This is their time to run. Their way to escape. Th
eir fucking freedom.

  “Let me go!” I yell, turning to face three shocked faces, wide-eyed and ready for a gunfight. “Please. I beg you. Just leave. Go home. Go back to your family.”

  “You’re lucky we don’t want your head instead, Thomas. We know what you did to the Sun Devils. You’re a traitor and a snitch. If he—” the man dips his head toward me “—wasn’t so valuable, we’d be coming for you instead.”

  Did Morris sell us out? Would he do that? He’s told me time and time again I’m like the son he never had but always wanted.

  “Goddamn Morris and Tiny,” James growls, thinking exactly what I am.

  “Take him,” Bear tells the guy still pressing the end of the gun to his head. Bear raises his hands higher in the air, and I’m praying like fuck he doesn’t pull his Iron Man bullshit, thinking about getting cute and hitting the guy.

  The man pushes Bear forward and motions for me with his gun. I look back, trying to give Joe a smile. “Tell her I did this for her,” I plead before taking a step toward what I know will be certain death.

  He nods with a scowl, not saying another word.

  I step forward, head held high, walking forward without regret. I saved the life of four men today and sacrificed myself for so many others.

  17

  Gigi

  I cover my mouth, holding back the bile that’s climbing up my throat and the cry threatening to break free.

  They took Pike.

  The words my father uttered on speakerphone replay in my mind on an endless loop, taunting me.

  “You better not come home without him,” Mom whispers into the phone, peering over at me before turning her back.

  They took Pike.

  Rocking back and forth, I whisper to myself, “He’s going to be okay. He has to be okay.”

  Pike always finds a way out of trouble. He has his entire life. Why would this time be any different?

  The drop was supposed to be simple. At least that’s what they told me when they said I couldn’t go.

  I should’ve known better.