Maniac

by Winter Travers

  They both nodded their heads.

  I raised my hand and couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face. I was going to enjoy this too much.

  My hand rapped on the door, and I stepped to the side. Slayer and Freak planted their shoulders into the door, and it exploded open. I pulled my gun from the waistband of my jeans and walked through the door with my arm raised and the gun cocked.

  Slayer and Freak both had their guns drawn, scanning the members, and Pipe strolled in after me like he was the damn Pope. “Did anyone here order a pizza?” he drawled.

  He was nailing the sarcastic asshole bit.

  Someone moved out of the corner of my eye, and I turned to point my gun at them. “Going somewhere?” My finger hovered over the trigger, waiting for him to make another move.

  He gulped and shook his head. He was nobody. Probably a poor prospect who had liked the idea of being in a club and had fallen in with the Hell Captains. Sucked to be him.

  “What the fuck is going on?”

  I nodded at Freak, and he moved closer to me. He pointed his gun at the buffoon who was about to piss his pants, and I moved to the head of table.

  “You don’t know who we are?” I asked who I assumed was the president.

  “Not a fucking clue,” he growled.

  “Hold on, hold on,” Pipe called. “I got this.” Brinks pulled another gun from his waistband and took over for Pipe.

  Pipe slowly turned around, his back facing the table, and he looked over his shoulder at everyone with a big smile on his face. “We’re the fucking Fallen Lords. Also known as the guys you thought you could fuck with.”

  I watched recognition dawn on everyone's faces. “I see you’ve heard of us.” I laughed. “We ain’t got any beef with the Fallen Lords,” he lied.

  Pipe turned back around and slowly walked around the table the rest of the members were sitting around. “You should really clean this table. Our prospects like to use Pledge. Right, Freak?”

  Freak nodded his head. “Yes, sir.”

  I was starting to like this kid more and more.

  I moved closer, trying to read each members names. “Has anyone heard the name Wren before?” My eyes traveled over each name tag ‘til I saw the name Rack. He was sitting at the end of the table, a cocky look on his face. I pointed my gun at him. “I bet you’ve heard of her.”

  He shook his head. “Never heard of the bitch.”

  I held up one finger. “That’s the first lie. You don’t get more than that with me.”

  I watched his Adam’s apple bob.

  Pipe moved behind him and pressed the muzzle of his gun against Rack’s ear. “Tsk, tsk, mother fucker. Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to lie?”

  “You really just busted into my clubhouse over some rancid pussy?”

  I turned to my left, back to the dumbass sitting at the head of the table. “You the president?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” he growled.

  I hitched my thumb over my shoulder at dear old Rack. “Were you the one who won Wren in a card game?”

  “Don't play fucking cards.”

  I nodded. “She didn’t, by chance, get passed to you at any point, did she?”

  “Got an ol' lady who would chop my balls off. So, no. I didn’t touch her.”

  I again nodded. “But you knew what was happening to her?”

  “If I didn’t know what was going on in my own clubhouse, then I wouldn’t be a good president. So, yeah. I knew what was going on.”

  “But that shit wasn't your problem, right?” I laughed. “I mean, she was just a bitch, right?”

  Pipe and Slayer both laughed along with me. They knew what was about to happen. “This is going to be my favorite part,” Pipe whispered loudly.

  “What his members were doing wasn’t his problem, Pipe. You think Wrecker would let shit like that fly back in Weston?” I walked behind the president, whose name I saw was Troll. What a dumbass name. I put my hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “Whose problem should it be then, Troll?”

  He physically shook under my hand.

  I pressed the end of my gun to the side of his head. “Not yours,” I whispered in his ear. I pulled my gun away and took a step back. His body relaxed, thinking he was in the clear.

  I didn’t fucking think so.

  My finger squeezed the trigger and I watched the bullet smash against his head. The seven other members sitting around the table jumped back, while Pipe, Slayer, and Freak didn’t make a move. Poor Troll’s body went limp, and he fell to the side, knocking the chair he was sitting in over.

  One down.

  Pipe laughed. “It wasn’t his fault.” He grabbed an extra chair that was along the wall, spun it around, and sat on it backward. He held out his hand to the guy sitting on his right. “Name’s Pipe. Come here often? First time for me.”

  Slayer chuckled. “Such as ass,” he mumbled under his breath.

  “Freak, go get the other guys,” I ordered.

  Freak nodded and headed out the door.

  I managed to pull the chair out from under dead Troll and righted it. I sat down at the head of the table and laid my gun down in front of me. “Bet you wish you had one of those, huh?” I asked the guy sitting to my right.

  He nodded dumbly.

  “Can I ask you a question?”

  He again nodded.

  “Did you know Wren? Oh, and don’t lie. That won’t end well for you. Poor Rack used up the one lie permitted.”

  I glanced down at the patch on his chest.

  Cheeto. Where the fuck did this club come up with their road names. Fucking Troll and Cheeto. Good God.

  “No, sir.”

  I studied his face, trying to see if he was lying. “Doesn’t ring any bells?” I asked again.

  “I...I...I’ve only been a part of the club for two months.”

  I titled my head to the side. Now this was something I didn’t see coming. “Two months, huh? How the fuck did you manage to become VP?”

  “I’m his... kid.” He nodded to poor Troll on the floor.

  “Plot twist!” Pipe called.

  Slayer chuckled, and even I couldn’t keep a straight face. “We’ll come back to you, Cheeto.”

  I then went around the table asking each guy if they knew who Wren was. They all said no, and they were all lying bastards.

  Freak, Brinks, Clash, Warrior, and Snapper filed into the room and stood against the wall with their guns drawn.

  “I see we’re late to the party,” Clash said, nodding toward Troll.

  “I couldn’t help myself. He told me he was the president but he didn’t care what his members did.” I shrugged and leaned back in my chair.

  I had talked to everyone except Rack.

  Pipe put his arms around his shoulders. “I’ve heard things about you, Rack. So many things,” he mumbled.

  “This is bullshit,” he shouted. “She was a dumb cunt who didn’t know her God damn place. What the hell else was I supposed to do with her?”

  My blood boiled at the word cunt. I leaned forward and rested my elbows on the table. “Cunt, huh?”

  He gulped and regret washed over his face.

  “Cunt was the wrong word to use,” Pipe muttered to him.

  “This is bullshit,” Rack repeated again.

  Oh, he was right. “It is bullshit, Rack. It’s bullshit I had to watch my woman try to kill herself, watch her cry for days. It’s complete bullshit she now doubts me because of the things that were done to her. It’s all bullshit. But you know who is responsible for this bullshit?” I grasped my gun and pointed it at him. “You are. What right did you have to sell a woman for a couple of bucks? What right did you have to take everything away from her and leave her with nothing? Can you tell me please why you thought you could even breathe the same air as her?”

  Pipe cupped his hand to his ear. “Speak up, Rack. We can’t hear you.”

  I stood up and slowly walked around the table, patting the heads of each last remainin
g member. “This can’t all be laid at Rack’s feet, though. I mean, one of you bought her in the first place, and then decided to spread her around.”

  “This is gonna get good now.” Pipe rubbed his hands together and elbowed Rack. “It’s coming.”

  I leaned down next to Cheeto. “Do you have a sister?”

  He shook his head. “Uh, no sir.”

  “But you have a mother, right? A ball busting one if what Troll said was true.”

  He nodded his head. “Yes.”

  “Would you be okay if I sold her to Pipe, and then he decided he didn’t want her anymore so he just left her for anyone to take?”

  He shook his head. “N...no.”

  “But that is what your club did to my woman, Cheeto. He conned her into being with him, sold her, used her, beat her, and then when she finally got away from him, he started tracking her down like a dog. A dumb dog who was too stupid to keep his mouth shut about club business. So, I ask again, can I do that to your mother.”

  Sweat dripped down Cheeto's face. “Please, no.”

  I stood up and looked around the room. “Please, no. I bet that was something Wren said to all of you over and over. Did anyone listen to her?”

  “Bueller, Bueller?” Pipe called. He leaned into the table and motioned for everyone else to. “No means no, fuckers. You never heard that before?” He sat back and threw his hands in the air. “Can't blame them, Maniac. They never heard the saying before. This has all been a huge mistake.”

  “This shit is better than going to the movies,” Slayer chuckled.

  “So, here is what’s going to happen. You’re all going to die. Tonight.”

  Each and everyone's faces paled. Even Rack.

  “Aw, you ruined the surprise,” Pipe whined.

  I sat back down. “I did, because I want to sit here, and I want to watch the fear in your eyes. I want to watch you beg me to live. I want you to beg me to stop. And then I’m going to put my gun to each and every one of your heads and watch the life drain from your eyes. Then, I’m going to blow this shit hole you call a clubhouse the fuck up. Guess what I’m going to do after that?”

  Pipe raised his hand and bounced in his chair. “I know, I know.” He again elbowed Rack. “He’s going to go home, sleep with his woman, and never think of any of you assholes ever again. Happily ever after,” he sang out.

  Shots rang out for the next five minutes as I went from chair to chair, pressing the gun next to each of their temples and pulling the trigger.

  “You didn’t even let us have any fun,” Pipe pouted. Rack was sitting next to him, sweat dripping down his face. He had just watched his whole club die in front of him. Pipe sniffed the air and then covered his nose with his hand. “Dude, did you just shit yourself? Fucking Christ. It’s like I’m riding on the short bus to school all over again.” He pushed his chair back and moved to lean against the wall.

  “You rode on the short bus?” Slayer laughed.

  Pipe flipped him off. “Fuck you, asshole.”

  I sat down next to Rack. “Look at me,” I growled.

  His whole body was shaking, and he turned his head to me. “I’m sorry,” he pleaded.

  Pipe chuckled. “Did he just say he was sorry?”

  Everyone laughed.

  “I’m going to tell you three things you should have known all along.” I held up one finger in his face. “You never touch a woman unless she asks you to, and when she tells you to stop, you fucking stop.”

  “That’s a good one. Total life lesson,” Pipe added.

  I held up two fingers. “Never fuck with the Fallen Lords.”

  “So true. We’re kind of assholes.”

  I added one last finger. “Three. Never fuck with what is mine.” I pressed the gun to his forehead. “This is for Wren.” I pulled the trigger, and his body jerked backward. His chair flipped, and he sprawled out on the floor.

  “Mother fucker,” Pipe shouted. “You got fucking brains on my boots. How am I supposed to explain this to Nikki?” Pipe bitched about his boots, and he made Freak find something to clean them with.

  I watched the blood pool around Rack’s head, and a calm settled around me.

  Everyone moved around me. Pipe snapped out of his sarcastic asshole routine and started barking orders.

  They were all dead. Every man who ever took a piece of Wren without her permission was dead. The raging hatred in the pit of my stomach disappeared, and all I could think about was getting home to Wren.

  Wren was all I needed now.

  *

  Chapter 23

  Wren

  It was half past two, and I had yet to hear from Maniac.

  I had wanted to ask Nickel if he had heard anything, but he was kind of busy helping Karmen have a baby.

  “How can I have a hangover when I haven't even gone to sleep yet?” Cora groaned next to me.

  We were sitting in the waiting room, camped out on the uncomfortable chairs, waiting to hear from the guys and about Karmen. Cora had gotten us kicked out of the delivery room when she had started making balloon animals out of the rubber gloves.

  I was wrong when I had thought Cora had sobered up a bit. Finally, after four hours of being here, she was sobering up.

  “You want me to get you some coffee?” I asked,

  “Oh, my God, I will love you forever if you do that.” Her head was in her hands, and her eyes were closed. “I would give you money, but I didn’t bring my purse.”

  “I got you.” I glanced over at Nikki, who was sleeping off the whole bottle of wine she had drank. “I’ll be right back.”

  I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked it for the fiftieth time to see if Maniac had texted me. Of course, he hadn’t, I shoved the phone back in my pocket. I pressed the down button for the elevator and wrapped my arms around my waist.

  The elevator doors opened, and five of the Fallen Lords looked at me. Five including Maniac. I stopped breathing looking at him.

  He was alive.

  He wasn’t arrested.

  He was here.

  Brinks, Slayer, Pipe, and some other guy I had never seen before filed out of the elevator. Maniac stood there, not moving.

  The elevator dinged, and the doors started to slide shut. I quickly stuck my foot out, stopping the doors.

  I flung myself into his arms and wrapped my arms and legs around him. “You’re alive,” I whispered. I buried my face in his neck and inhaled deep.

  “Yeah, I am, darlin’.” His voice was rough and tired.

  I leaned back, his arms holding me. “Are you okay?”

  I slow smile spread across his lips.

  The elevator dinged again, and the doors slid shut. He reached out and pressed a button. I looked over my shoulder at the panel. “You don’t even know where I was going.”

  “I hit the stop button. I need a couple minutes with you.”

  I looked up into his eyes. “Are you okay?” I asked again.

  “I got you in my arms, Wren. You know when that happens, nothing can get better.”

  “That’s not what I mean.” He knew what I was asking.

  He pressed a kiss to my lips. “It’s done.”

  “You mean... they won’t...?”

  He shook his head. “The Hell Captains are no more.”

  The men who had tormented and used me for months were gone. They couldn’t hurt me anymore. “But how?” How had he gotten rid of a whole club in hours?

  “Remember what we talked about before, Wren? How sometimes I’m not going to be able to tell you things, because if I do, then I can’t keep you safe?”

  I nodded.

  “Just know they will never touch you again, and that’s all you need to know.”

  My mind yelled at me I needed to know more. The words were ready to pour out of my lips, demanding to know every detail, but I clamped my lips shut and nodded my head.

  “You look like you’re about to explode, darlin’.”

  I plastered a smile on my f
ace. “Nope, I’m good.” I had to trust him. He said I didn’t need to know more, and I had to listen to him. “You say I don’t need to worry anymore, so I won’t.” Lord, that was hard to say.

  He pressed me against the wall of the elevator. “You are so full of shit.”

  “Oh, my God,” I moaned. “Tell me what happened!” I had tried, I really had. But dammit, I needed to know. I wrapped my arms around his neck and batted my eyes at him. “Please.” That was the way to do it, beg.

  He rested his forehead on mine. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

  I shook my head. In the future, I knew there were going to be things he wouldn’t be able to tell me, but this had to do with me. These were men who had hurt me.

  He managed to pull his phone out. He held it up to my face, and my jaw dropped.

  “What the? How the?” I grabbed the phone from his hand and quickly scanned the short news article.

  “We’ll talk about it when we get back to the clubhouse, yeah?”

  I nodded.

  “You okay?”

  “Why are you asking me that?” He was the one who had, from the looks of the news article, torched an entire block.

  “Just making sure.”

  “I’m good. I got drunk, and then Karmen’s water broke. I sobered up real quick, but Cora and Jezebel weren’t so lucky.”

  He chuckled and pressed a kiss to my lips. “Sounds like you had an eventful night, too.”

  “I don’t think it was nearly explosive as yours.” I threw him a wink and couldn’t help but giggle at my lame joke.

  “Karmen push that baby out yet?” he asked, changing the subject.

  “Last we heard, it was going to be a while. She was barely dilated when we came in.”

  “But it’s happening, right? Not a false alarm?”

  I nodded. “Yup. Hopefully today, she’ll have it.”

  “So where were you headed?”

  “Coffee. Cora is dealing with a hangover, and I couldn’t stand sitting there anymore.” I threaded my fingers through his hair. “But now that you’re here, I think I might need a kiss.”