by London Casey
It wasn’t a baby in the blanket… it was a bomb.
twenty-five.
When Gaige looked at Max, the crazy asshole was smiling. He then rolled and made a move for the gun Gaige had kicked out his hand. Gaige lunged forward and managed to get Max by his foot. He pulled him back and kicked him in the ribs.
Landon and Erik were there, guns on Max.
“Don’t fucking kill him,” Gaige said. “He had a fucking bomb in his hands.” Gaige pointed to Griffin and waved. “Hang back!”
Gaige looked at the bomb and saw the counter. There was less than a minute left before the damn thing would blow up. This was all a fucking rouse. Max wanted to blow everyone up. He was insane, just like Emily had warned.
“Fuck!” Gaige yelled.
He bent and lifted the bomb in the blanket. He ran to the car and threw the bomb in the backseat.
“What the fuck?” Shay yelled.
“Put a rock on the gas pedal and let it go,” Gaige said. “He had a fucking bomb. We’ve got seconds here, bro.”
“My car…”
“I’ll buy you a new one, man. Come on.”
“Jesus Christ,” Shay said.
Gaige ran to the side of the road and found a rock that he hoped would do the job. He came back to the car where Shay stood with a look of disbelief on his face.
“It’s a fucking car, bro,” Gaige said. “It’ll be fine.”
Gaige put the rock on the gas pedal. The engine roared. Gaige got into the driver’s seat with one foot hanging out of the car. He hit the brake pedal and pulled the car into drive. The vehicle jumped, demanding to take off. Taking a deep breath, Gaige counted to three, took his foot off the brake pedal, and then rolled from the car. He hit the ground with a thud.
Shay’s car sped off into the distance. Emily ran to Gaige and he took her hand.
When the bomb finally went off, the car exploded into a ball of fire. The thundering boom shook the ground for a few seconds.
Gaige put a hand to Shay’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry, bro.”
“Fuck it,” Shay said. “It’s just a car. Is that baby okay?”
Gaige turned and Griffin was walking toward them, holding Chief Jerry’s infant son.
“What the fuck,” Griffin whispered. The baby let out a cry. Griffin touched the baby’s head and bounced gently.
“We should call the chief,” Shay said.
Miller and Blaine arrived to the scene. Blaine pointed to the fire and smokey mess of what used to be Shay’s car.
“It was a bomb,” Shay said. “I’ll explain.”
“I’ll make the call,” Miller said.
“Tell him to wait a few minutes,” Gaige said. “Emily and I have to finish this together.”
Miller stared at Gaige and then nodded. “We’ll go down the road a little bit.”
“Thank you,” Gaige said.
Miller welcomed Gaige with open arms and they hugged. “It’s done for now, okay? Eight Under revenge. This bullshit. It’s done. Make it quick and get back to the clubhouse.”
“Take care of that baby,” Gaige said. “That’s… going to seal the deal with Jerry.”
“Let’s not worry about that right now,” Miller said. “Do what you have to do here.”
Miller nodded and waved for the crew to follow him.
Gaige took Emily by the hand again and walked her toward Max. He stopped where he put his gun and knife on the ground. He took his weapons back and opened Emily’s hand. He put the gun in her hand and looked at her.
“No,” she said. “I won’t… I can’t…”
“You’re not,” Gaige said. “I want you to just feel it. To understand why we do what we do. He had a fucking bomb, beautiful. He wanted all of us to die.”
Gaige took Emily to Max. He nodded to Landon and Erik, who slowly backed away and then left the scene. Gaige took the gun from Emily’s hand and pointed it at Max. He was sitting with his knees to his chest.
“You killed our son,” he whispered.
“There was never a baby,” Emily said. “You fucking hurt me, Max.”
“You tried to kill me,” Gaige said. “That doesn’t fly with me.”
Max looked at Gaige. Then at Emily.
“Look at him,” Gaige ordered Emily. “Stare into his fucking eyes, beautiful. Understand it…”
“Do it,” Emily said. “Kill him.”
Gaige smiled. He fucking loved hearing that.
Max started to close his eyes and Gaige pulled the trigger.
One bullet. One shot. Justice properly served.
Max’s head snapped back and he was gone.
Gaige touched Emily and she jumped. Tears filled her eyes and Gaige pulled her close. “Hey, it’s fucking done now. There’s no more, okay? He’s gone. We’re here. Now we have to go.”
“What about…”
“It’ll work out,” Gaige said.
Gaige wanted Miller to show Chief Jerry Max’s dead body as proof that revenge was dealt. That’s how everything was meant to come together.
At the motorcycle, Gaige took Emily by her face and looked into her eyes. “I fucking love you, Emily. All this was for you. I give my love, to you.”
Emily nodded. “I’m in love with you too, Gaige. I don’t know what else to say.”
“There’s nothing else that needs to be said. Stay with me, beautiful, and I’ll keep you safe. Roads twist and turn, but we always have a destination in mind.”
Gaige kissed Emily, savoring her gentle lips and sweet tongue.
They got on the motorcycle and started to ride. Gaige slowed when he saw the crew on the side of the road. Griffin looked so happy holding the chief’s baby. It made Gaige smile.
Miller approached the motorcycle. “How are we?”
“All set,” Gaige said. “You can show him and let him deal with it.”
“I called and he’s on his way. We’re good in all this now. In fact, I just talked to Johnny at the yard and there’s a fight next week. He wants us there. Appreciation for taking care of business around here.”
“Good to know,” Gaige said. “Listen, Miller, I’ve got one more thing I need to do. I gotta get back.”
“Go,” Miller said.
Gaige hit the throttle and he and Emily were set off on the open road again. Gaige knew better than to let his guard down. Enemies rarely slept and the smart ones already had their next move in mind. However, Gaige knew that Back Down Devil could maintain and protect the town.
Once they pulled into the clubhouse parking lot, Gaige smiled. He parked the motorcycle and looked back at the ramp to the underground garage. That’s where the last line of business waited.
Gaige helped Emily off the motorcycle, took her helmet, and then walked her to the clubhouse. Upstairs, Gaige stopped at the bar and got a shot. It burned, but it tasted great. He then got two beers and led the way to his room. Once he opened the door, he stopped.
“I have something to do,” he said.
“What?” Emily asked.
“I made a promise to someone else. I have business to finish.”
“Are you… are you going to kill someone?”
Gaige stood tall and let out a breath. “Do you want me to answer that?”
“I don’t know,” Emily said.
“Then don’t ask it. I’ll be back. Okay?”
Emily nodded. She blinked fast.
“Don’t,” Gaige said. “You’re fucking safe here.”
Gaige left the clubhouse and went back outside. He saw the gate opening and a few of the guys were coming back. Miller must have decided that there wasn’t a need for the chief to meet with the entire crew out there. Miller, Blaine, Nate, and Griffin were just fine.
Gaige rushed down the ramp and went into the underground garage. He unlocked the door and found Vinny near the door. Bloody from the motorcycle accident. Scratched and clawed from Emily’s attack.
“Hey asshole,” Gaige said.
Vinny looked up at Gaige. “Just f
ucking do it, okay? I’m not telling you anything. I’m not sorry for anything. I don’t give a fuck what you do.”
Gaige smiled. He slid his knife out and looked at the blade. “You’re going to really regret saying that…”
Gaige knelt down and slammed Vinny’s head to the ground. Vinny cried out and looked at Gaige.
Slowly, Gaige brought the knife down to Vinny’s left eye…
One more promise to keep.
twenty-six.
Emily couldn’t sit. She paced the room, her body shaking, heart racing. When she looked around the room all she could think about was Gaige. The smell of the room. The bed where they fucked each other. The way he touched her, held her, loved her. But when she closed her eyes, she saw Max’s face and then heard the sound of the gun and spray of blood and brain out of the back of Max’s head.
Gaige had done it. He had kept his promise to kill Max.
Emily opened her eyes and rushed to the bathroom. She fell to her knees in front of the toilet and tried to vomit. She screamed and coughed, but nothing happened. Her hair covered her face as tears dripped from her eyes to the toilet.
That was it.
There was no getting sick. The feeling inside Emily was unfiltered anger. Anger because revenge had been sought yet it fixed nothing. Rachel was still dead. Max had still beaten the hell out of her years ago. Nothing changed the past and nothing changed the present. It was only the future that had a brighter outlook, if Emily could shed it all from her mind.
Emily stood and went to the sink. She turned on the water and washed her face. She looked at herself in the mirror as she came to terms with it all.
Max was dead.
Vinny would be dead soon.
Mr. Strokner would have no choice but to mourn the loss of Rachel and move on.
Just like Emily would.
Reaching into her pocket, Emily pulled out the necklace that had been around Rachel’s neck. She put it on the bathroom sink.
“I’ll never forget you,” she whispered. “But I have to let go.”
Emily closed her eyes again and took deep breaths. Her life was changed now forever. She belonged to Gaige which meant she belonged to Back Down Devil MC.
The door to the room opened and Emily spun around.
Gaige’s shirt and hands were covered in blood. She reached for a towel and put it under the running water. She walked the towel to Gaige and handed it to him. He stared at her as he wiped his hands free of blood. When he moved his hand to throw the towel, Emily took it from him. She took it to a trashcan and dropped it in.
She walked back to Gaige and slowly stripped Gaige off his leather. She could smell the blood, a smell she would never forget.
Emily then put her fingers to his shirt, touching the blood.
“Emily…”
“It’s okay,” she whispered. “It’s okay…”
Emily ran her hands down to the bottom of Gaige’s shirt. She rolled it up and helped him take it off. Again, she took the shirt to the trashcan and dropped it in. She went back to Gaige and put her hands to his beautiful, chiseled body. She smeared the blood from her hands down his body and stared into his eyes.
“It’s done?” she whispered.
“It’s done. I took care of everything.”
“Now what?” Emily asked.
Gaige smiled and put a hand behind her neck. He pulled her in for a kiss and then licked his lips. “I’m covered in blood, beautiful. I need to shower and clean up… but I’m not fucking doing it alone.”
Emily smiled back. She liked the idea of falling in love with a biker and never doing anything alone again.
Gaige stepped by Emily and dropped his pants.
What a perfect ass…
Emily bit her lip and hurried to strip herself.
All Emily could count on right now was the moment in front her… and that moment she would savor for as long as she was alive.
twenty-seven.
Bob Strokner rolled the fat cigar between his lips. He sat with his chair turned, able to look at the door to his office were looking out the window across the city. He hadn’t lit a cigar since before Rachel was killed. It wasn’t the same without his daughter bitching at him about the look and smell of the cigars. The businessman refused to walk down a path that involved wondering if he could have done anything different. It had been hard enough when Rachel’s mother was killed. Being a single father with a conglomerate business to run didn’t make for the easiest life for Rachel, but Bob always thought she would do just fine. She was pretty. She had money. But to face the fate of bullets from piece of shit bikers wasn’t fair.
On Bob’s desk sat the proposal to overtake the acres of land from Back Down Devil MC. It would cost a shit ton of money, and it would require a lot of backdoor payouts to basically steal the land from the MC, but once they found the bones and bodies in the ground, it wouldn’t fucking matter one bit.
The clock was ticking and Bob’s patience was wearing out. He had made his demands clear with Gaige. If you the young biker wanted to show off his big cock and prove to the MC he could wheel and deal, this was his chance. If not, then Bob would simply crush the MC. They’d end up a prison and more than likely they’d be greeted by plenty of enemies to take care of them.
A knock came at the door.
“Open it,” Bob called out.
His assistant, Trevor, a young kid fresh out of college with peach fuzz on his chin and innocence in his eyes walked into the office.
“Sorry to bother you, sir,” Trevor said. “But something has arrived for you. It’s urgent.”
“Of course,” Bob said. “Bring it here.”
“Oh, and Mr. Riley called. He wants to know if you’ve made your decision on the land deal yet.”
“I’m thinking,” Bob said. “Understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
Trevor put a box on the desk. Bob looked at it. It was unmarked except for Bob’s name on the box and the word URGENT written in big letters and underlined three times.
“This could be a bomb,” Bob said. “And you brought it to me?”
Trevor’s face turned white. “Sir, I’m so sorry. I’ll call the police.”
“Don’t bother now,” Bob said. “I’ll have to face this… turn around.”
Trevor turned. Bob stood and peeled the tape off the box. When he opened the cardboard flaps and saw what was inside, he closed the box again.
“Trevor.”
Trevor turned. “Sir.”
“You can leave now,” Bob said. “Oh, and make the call to Mr. Riley on my behalf. We’re going to put that land deal on hold for a little while longer.”
“Yes, sir,” Trevor said.
The young man rushed from the office. When the door shut, Bob opened the flaps of the box and looked inside. He smirked. Staring back at him was a set of bloody eyeballs.
Along with a note.
Stare into the eyes of the man who killed your daughter. As promised.
-G
Bob crumpled up the note and threw it out.
The MC had come through.
Bob crashed back to his chair and reached for his cigar. He opened the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a lighter. He lit the cigar and took a few big puffs, enjoying its luxurious taste. He put his head back and blew rings of smoke.
Gaige had come through, yes.
But was this done? No.
Bob smiled and wondered what else he could utilize Back Down Devil MC for.
twenty-eight.
Blaine stood as he smoked, enjoying the warm sunshine on his face. They had the gate open, waiting for Shay to return with his new car. Erik and Landon stood at a motorcycle, a new one that Erik picked up on a debt that was owed to him. Gaige and Miller were across the parking lot, each sitting on their motorcycles, talking business.
Griffin sat at a table with Emily, reviewing paperwork.
Jace and Nate sipped beers, gazing upon the ground as though it contained to answers to all the q
uestions they each wore on their souls.
The MC was a large family. Everyone had their own problems to face. However, they all had each others backs and nothing else mattered but that.
“Man, I need to fucking get laid,” Blaine said as he tossed his smoke to the ground and stepped on it.
“How long has it been?” Landon asked. “Twelve hours?”
“I had some wild ass last night,” Blaine said. “But all she wanted to do was suck my dick.”
“Tough life,” Erik said.
“Yeah, but her fingers wouldn’t stop… uh… touching me.”
“Touching you?” Landon asked.
“She wanted to play somewhere I’m not so sure about,” Blaine said. He put up two fingers. “She tried two fingers up there.”
“What the fuck…,” Erik said.
“His ass,” Landon said and laughed.
“You let her?” Erik asked.
“Had to do what I had to do, bro,” Blaine said. “She was a freak though. When she took her fingers out, she started to…”
“No!” Erik yelled. “I don’t want to fucking hear it.”
Blaine had his tongue out and then smiled. “Can’t handle it?”
“Christ,” Erik said as he stepped away from the motorcycle.
“What’s up with you, brother? Your cock getting care?” Blaine asked Landon.
“Why are you so worried about our cocks? What’s with your fucking mind, bro?”
“Hey, a happy cock makes a happy man,” Blaine said.
“Sick,” Landon said.
“But I’m right.”
A black car turned and Blaine started to clap. “Look at this fucking ride coming.”
The sleek black car with tinted windows looked beautiful.
Blaine whistled as Shay turned into the lot. The driver’s window came down and Shay smiled.
“Brothers,” he called out. “The new wheels.”
“I prefer two over four,” Landon said.
Shay threw the middle finger. “Fuck you then.”
“Look at this thing,” Blaine said. He pressed himself against the front quarter panel and groaned. “Makes me want to fuck it.”
“Get the fuck out of here,” Shay yelled. He hit the gas and shot forward.
Blaine laughed as Landon shook his head.
“What?” Blaine asked.
