Swallowing Mayhem

by James Cox

  Evernight Publishing ®

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2015 James Cox

  ISBN: 978-1-77233-384-8

  Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

  Editor: Kerry Genova

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  This is for the good guys. You're never last in my book. And to my publisher, ya'll are amazing!

  SWALLOWING MAYHEM

  Outlaw MC, 5

  James Cox

  Copyright © 2015

  Government File:

  Name: Mark Almstedt

  AKA: Mayhem

  Affiliations: Sergeant at Arms, Outlaw MC of Mars

  Description: Shoulder length black hair, blue eyes, light beard

  with mustache, very muscular

  Distinguishing Marks/tattoos: Skull and vines on back of neck.

  Letters D and C over pec.

  Outlaw in bold over Belly button and MC of Mars below.

  Notable history on file: Suspected of smoking cigars, no proof collected.

  Previous prison time: 6 years for alcohol and explosives.

  Prologue

  Earth was considered a desolate planet and is used as a prison. Humanity lives on Mars in a single but always expanding city. Technology being what it is keeps us humans breathing. Our government is ruled by a man named Max Wexmen. He’s a twisted fuck and changed our entire structure. Now it is illegal to drink alcohol, do any drugs, have kinky sex, and, of course, smoke. Homosexuality was a death sentence. Women were to be kept for breeding. Dark-skinned men were used as slaves like back in the darkest days of history. The bad guys ruled the world and the good guys were the outlaws. That’s why we created the MC. We take our hover bikes and fight the injustice on Mars. The battle is going to be bloody.

  My name is Torrin, prospect for the Outlaw MC. The guys have taken to calling me Number Two since they have another man they call Prospect. It’s also a shit joke. How original. What I should be called is undercover. I’m working the club, trying to find undeniable proof to take them down. Welcome to the Peacekeepers.

  Chapter One

  Not all men can work undercover. You need steel fortitude, the ability to adapt quickly, and the strength not to throw up when you see your fellow peacekeepers slain by the men that you see every day. I watched the holograph silently. They were talking about bombings. Someone had taken out both peacekeeper’s buildings. Our forces took a serious hit and so did our stability. The city was changing. Mars was becoming as volatile as Earth had been. Maybe it didn’t matter that we switched planets to survive. Maybe the human race is just destined to destroy itself.

  “Body count yet?” Outlaw, president of this club, walked into the room. It was a living room sparsely furnished but hidden within was real, illegal booze. However, the government wanted enough evidence to execute, not just a prison sentence for this club. Which is why I was still here.

  “Fifteen they said.” Fifteen of my fellow peacekeepers. It should have broken me, but I felt oddly calm. A little angry but many of those men were ones that I knew and several that I didn’t like. I pretended to be watching the screen as my mind wandered. I’d been with the club only a few weeks and already I was questioning myself. Questioning my government. I had to have a stronger will than this.

  “We’re going in the chapel. Keep an eye on the bar upstairs.”

  I nodded. The Outlaw MC had a hover bike garage attached to the clubhouse where the guys slept. Above that was a bar, not that they could serve alcohol. It was illegal. They served fresh juice, which was expensive as hell, and twice-filtered water, also expensive. Outlaw walked past and went into the chapel. The room where they discussed their club shit. If only I could get a bug in there, their asses would be done but they had precautions that prevented me from taking the easy way out.

  Whip walked past. He was the club’s treasurer and apparently the local pervert. I heard he liked to use devices on his lovers. Not that there were any women around here, which made me wonder if he used men. If I could get proof of homosexuality, I’d be able to get them all on the executed list. They did have one member, Romeo, who was on that list for being gay, but he took off into the dark side of Mars. The parts we hadn’t yet built on with another MC of all black men. They too were illegal. According to our law, men with dark skin should be locked up as slaves. I didn’t agree with that one too much or the law that women were for breeding. However, those were our directives and I wasn’t a lawbreaker.

  Mayhem was next and this time my gaze lingered. He was one of those men that physically dominated the room. I think he was the tallest in the club at six feet five. And he wasn’t a pushover. The man had enough muscle to make a fight seem unfair. He had a beard and a mustache, both coarse and black. Why was I thinking about that? I shook my head to clear out the strange thoughts. Mayhem was the sergeant at arms for the club. He handled the guns and explosives. The smell of his cigar drifted toward me. Those were also illegal. A six-month sentence but like I said, the government wanted a permanent solution to our MC problem.

  I stood from the clean, plain couch as Grim entered. He was another oddball. He barely spoke to anyone. Grim was the road captain so he did the navigating. He was also the medic and the best mechanic in the club. I watched him work one time and it was impressive. He fixed things that seemed like a lost cause and when done they worked like new. “Grim.” My greeting was short.

  Grim tilted his head my way and walked to the chapel. I told you he was a talker.

  I walked to the bottom of the stairs Chaos and Beau climbed down. I moved out of their way. “Hey, guys.” Those two were lovers. I had proof of their homosexuality, but the government wanted an execution order for all the members. So, I had to sit on this revelation. Seeing them together—they were holding hands—didn’t revolt me like it should have. Maybe that’s why I stayed away from them. Their touching should have been more uncomfortable for me. Beau winked at me and Chaos nodded. I heard they met in prison. I watched them walk toward the chapel doors then took the stairs to the bar.

  There was a long counter with a few stools, some tables, and not many windows. This place was dimly lit and smelled fruity thanks to the juices. The bar was where many cover stories were held. We, the government, knew the club was behind the bombings, but they always had their asses covered with witnesses that placed them at this bar or in the garage. Somewhere so they couldn’t be liable, and they wore masks that jammed radars on their runs so we couldn’t get a clear picture of anyone. Well, we did find blood at a scene several months ago. It matched the VP of the club, Liam, who was serving fifteen years in Earth’s prison for the club. Outlaw didn’t talk about that much. I think it was a sore subject, but I wasn’t entirely sure why.

  Behind the bar was Deviant, a scary motherfucker. He was a strawberry blond with long hair and muscles like Mayhem. These guys were built like steel walls. He was also fiercely protective of his lover, Tage. More proof of homosexuality but again I couldn’t act on it. Deviant looked up, his blue eyes boring into me. “I’ll take over. Chapel’s filling up.”

  Deviant frowned then took Tage’s hand. He was Deviant’s contrast—dark hair, shorter, no muscle. He was a twink and many nights I heard them going at each other. The sounds made me so uneasy that I always left the living room and bunked
in the bar area.

  They walked past and I took my place behind the bar. Not that there was much to do. Until I became a patched member, I was stuck with the menial, dirty, or downright boring jobs around here. Well, the other prospect and me. He was the one they called Prospect. His real name was Reilly. He was young, only twenty, so he was six years younger than me. Nice guy. I didn’t know what he was doing with this group. “Any action?”

  Prospect scoffed.

  Being the bottom of the totem pole must be lonely around here. I knew Tage and Beau were patch members because of their lovers. That meant Prospect and I had to do it the old-fashioned way, work up to it. That meant more time around these guys. I did get some good information last time, the bombings of the peacekeeper buildings. I managed to overhear that tidbit and alerted the government right away. Of course, I didn’t know that the mission also included the Underground MC and the Amazon MC, which was a bunch of women who didn’t want to be breeders anymore. They outnumbered us and had firepower we weren’t expecting. Despite putting up a hell of a fight, the peacekeepers had lost and our buildings were rubble.

  It was all part of my life now, the bombs, the guns, the chaos, the homosexuality. This was the MC and I was immersed. I was the sheep in a den of wolves.

  Chapter Two

  “Prospects!” A voice bellowed from the bottom of the stairs about an hour later. I dropped the rag I was using to wipe off the counter and followed Prospect down. What did they want us for? Did they catch on about a rat? I hesitated at the thought. Prospect walked in front of me, into the chapel. I’d never been in there before. I stayed near the door until Beau closed it. He was a recent patch member and only because of his lover. I was tense and tried not to look it. The unique smell of Mayhem’s cigar filled the room. It was subtle in the big room, woodsy with a hint of cinnamon. The white smoke flittered through the air. There was a large wooden table here with two old-fashioned guns carved in the center. The word Outlaw was below the guns in bold lettering. The MC president was at the head of the table. To his right was an empty seat for their imprisoned VP. After that was the treasurer, Whip. Mayhem sat at the other end sucking on that cigar. I looked away from him quickly. I don’t know why my gaze always loitered on him. I wasn’t gay. It was illegal anyway. Maybe it was because he looked like the biggest badass here and as a peacekeeper we’re trained to keep an eye out for threats. Grim was beside him, silent as usual, slouched in his seat. There was another empty seat. I’m assuming for Romeo, the member hiding at the Underground MC. There was a rumor going around that he was their president’s lover. Too much of that gay shit going on. Then sat Chaos with Beau standing behind him. Finally, it was Deviant with Tage. This was a packed room.

  “What’s going on?” Prospect asked, frowning.

  Apparently he was worried too.

  Outlaw stood. “Some serious shit went down recently.” He watched us both intently then continued. “Things that should have been confidential were leaked, and it caused the club to face some harsh situations.”

  They were talking about the bombings but not exactly saying it. Did they think one of us was a rat? Shit.

  “I’m not saying we have a problem in this MC, but somewhere, somehow we have a leak.” He sat. “And it needs to be plugged.” Outlaw was going on forty-one but he wasn’t slacking on muscle. When he sat, his muscles bulged against his clothes. He usually had stubble on his face, but lately it’d been growing in, getting thicker. His eyes constantly had bags under them, which made me think he slept less than he let on. “We’re keeping things tight around here. No strangers. No friends of the club. Only patch members are allowed in the clubhouse. We’re not letting anyone in the garage either. Someone comes for a mechanic, talk in the fucking parking lot. And we are scanning for electronics every day. You see something, call it in, and then check it out.” He rubbed his hand through his dark brown hair. “You two understand me?”

  I nodded.

  Prospect was the one who spoke. “Is there...is there some kind of rat?”

  Outlaw sighed. “Yeah, we got a cowardly fuck somewhere but I don’t think it’s in our house. Could be in another MC’s area but...”

  Mayhem blew out a thick cloud of smoke. “Never hurts to be too careful, though.”

  “Exactly.” Outlaw grabbed the wooden gavel that was lying on the table. “You both can go now.”

  I eagerly followed Prospect out. My pulse was racing. I was surprised they couldn’t see it against the skin of my neck. When the doors closed behind us, I let out a breath. They knew about a rat, but they had no idea it was me. At least that was a plus. So why didn’t I feel any better? I still had a nauseous feeling.

  “That was intense,” Prospect said beside me.

  “Yeah it was.”

  “I think something big is going to go down,” he whispered and headed for the stairs.

  Really? “Like what?” I followed, talking quietly. The bar was empty.

  “I don’t know, but the club’s needed more alibis than usual lately.” Prospect maneuvered around the bar and picked up the rag I’d left there.

  While he cleaned, I moved to the tables. I was about to ask him if he thought it had to do with the peacekeepers but paused when I heard the sound of heavy boots coming up the stairs. I smelled him first, the deep scent that I enjoyed too much. The fucking cigar was illegal. Mayhem trudged up the steps with a frown. Not that he smiled often. In fact, I don’t think I ever saw him grin.

  “Prospect, Outlaw wants you.”

  He nodded, dropped the rag, and headed back down.

  “You’re coming with me.”

  It took me a minute to realize he was talking to me. He never said my name or even the name the guys gave me. “Sure. What for?”

  Mayhem sighed and put out his cigar on the rag we’d used then stuffed the remaining cylinder in the plant by the door. “Got to pick up parts from Harley’s. Outlaw doesn’t want us traveling alone. You’ve been volunteered. Now, get in the fucking truck.” He held the door open.

  I shuffled out, moving to the hover truck that was parked in front. It was on the smaller side because the hover tech couldn’t hold over a certain amount of weight. The outside was painted gray and it had a large logo of an engine with the words Hover Car Parts under it. I moved to the driver’s side and hopped in. I figured Mayhem would want his hands free for trouble and with me driving, I didn’t have to go into Harley’s. It would have been great to get that data though. Maybe. Ah, fuck. I doubted myself too much to be a productive member of this investigation.

  Mayhem got into the truck. He sat with his legs apart. His long black hair was pulled back into a short tail. It showed off the tattoo of a skull on the back of his neck. It was covered with a few green vines that wound their way to the sides of his neck.

  That was another part of Mayhem that I constantly stared at. His clothes smelled like a cigar and I found myself inhaling deeply. What the fuck was wrong with me? I started up the truck. I needed to get laid is all. I was horny, in a den of testosterone. Nothing more. I drove off, frowning, heading toward Harley’s car parts. It was daylight so the sun made the city seem brighter, bigger. Almost like the photos of Earth I’d seen in school. Behind those buildings were red hills and untouched sand. But right now, in the sunlight, it looked beautiful. Hopeful would be the word for it. Hover cars were starting to fill the street. Just enough to let you slow down and enjoy the view. This was Mars. This was a new planet that we were living on. The buildings were high enough to create shadows and give our dying species new life. What we created was amazing but I knew it had flaws. They became more obvious as we drove through the street. There were only white men walking around, going to work, getting some frivolous item. I saw one black man, older with gray strands of hair mixed in. He was following a man around with his hands full of goods. He looked like he was starving. So thin that his ragged clothes hung on his frame.

  That bothered me. Why starve the man? I didn’t understand that. E
ating was a basic necessity. My family had slaves. My father fed them, clothed them, but he never treated them fairly. The thought made me frown as we passed the dark-skinned man. Our slaves lived in old shacks and worked nearly twenty hours a day. What kind of life was that? I remember as a kid there was this brute of a man. He was all muscle from working the field. Despite me being rich, despite the fact he was my family’s slave, he was always nice to me. He’d let me talk about school and any issues I was having with my father. He was a good guy. We sold him after my mother died. My father said we had to downsize because of expenses. I never knew if that was true. Until this moment, I had pushed the memory of that man out of my mind. Why the fuck did it surface now? Because I was conflicted. Yeah. I was feeling bad as I watched that slave walk behind his master. Was it right to give a human being a master? The car in front of us stopped and our vehicle automatically braked. A proximity alert went off in the cabin and I frowned.

  “What the fuck you doing over there?”

  I waited for the traffic to move then kept my foot lightly on the gas. “Thinking.”

  “Well, stop that shit. I want to get to Harley’s in one fucking piece.” Mayhem’s voice was deep and reverberated through the small area.

  “Sorry.”

  Mayhem grunted.

  We turned the corner. The dark thoughts rescinded as we moved between two buildings. The light here was so bright it made the window automatically tint darker.

  “Is that why you joined us, the club?”

  I glanced at Mayhem then back to the road. “Lots of reasons.” Vague but I didn’t want to think too deeply.