by Pink, Nikki
Sons of Mayhem 3: WAR AND VENGEANCE
Sons of Mayhem, Volume 3
By Nikki Pink
Published by Nikki Pink, 2013
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
SONS OF MAYHEM 3: WAR AND VENGEANCE
First edition. October 26, 2013.
Copyright © 2013 Nikki Pink.
Written by Nikki Pink.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Table of Contents
Author’s Note
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
About the Author
Also by Nikki Pink
Author's Note
This is the third book in the Sons of Mayhem serial. If you haven’t read the first two yet I suggest you do so first:
Sons of Mayhem 1: Oil and Leather
Sons of Mayhem 2: Blood and Whisky
I also like to give my regular readers a great deal: I launch ALL my new titles at a reduced price for just 48 hours. I email all my regular readers so that they can make the most of this deal. (If you wait for Amazon to email you it may be too late!)
If you’d like to join my email list to hear about new book launches please go to: http://bit.ly/1fZ3Y11 and drop your email address in the box. NO SPAM GUARANTEE. I only send emails about new releases.
I hope you enjoy this story!
~Love Nikki
CHAPTER ONE
Jase
There’s a time for peace and a time for war. There’s a time to forgive and forget, to negotiate and make amends, to make agreements and agree to let sleeping dogs lie. And then there are times when you have to gather your crew, grab your weapons and kick some serious fucking ass. When Jase saw the staring unseeing eyes of his friend he knew what time it was.
The clubhouse was quiet as Jase sat in a booth, his left hand grasping Nicole’s far too tightly, his right holding a glass of whisky far too early. There were angry and sad mutterings as the members of the club slowly drifted in as the news spread. The air was tense and the possibility of violence hung like a dark cloud over the room. The sadness they felt overshadowed by anger, a quiet seething rage that they knew had to be sated. Now the men were waiting. Waiting for leadership, waiting to be told what to do, who to beat, who to punish, who to shoot or maim.
He didn’t speak as he let the rage roil inside him. There was nothing he wanted better than to grab some weapons and go shoot every last Mexican fuckhead he could find. But it wasn’t time, not yet.
His eyes shot to the front of the room as the clubhouse door smashed open and the Doctor hurried in, spotting Jase immediately and heading over. At last. The other members, hangers on and pledges gave quiet nods or single words of greeting; no one dared to interrupt him.
The Doctor stood over the booth and his expression was grim, his eyes filled with pain. “I just got the news. Let’s go.” He nodded his head in the direction of the meeting room.
Jase released Nicole’s hand, surprised at how tight his grip was and that she hadn’t complained. As he got up to follow the Doctor he glanced over his shoulder and gave Nicole a wan smile as he left. Even after last night and the shock of the morning she still looked good. Seeing her sitting there lit a tiny spark of warmth in his cold heart, immediately extinguished when he remembered what had happened.
There was a heavy weight in Jase’s stomach as he walked across the room, side by side with the Doctor, everyone’s eyes on them. With Bigfella absent it was up to them to make the decisions for the club, to guide them, and most importantly, to get revenge.
The doors swung closed as Jase and the Doctor sat down across from each other, next to where Bigfella should have been sitting. “What the fuck, Jase?”
“What the fuck.” Jase agreed.
The Doctor looked him in the eyes. Jase thought he could see some hesitancy, as if he was looking at him for approval, or guidance or… something. “What are we going to do? What the hell’s going on?”
Jase sighed, his fingers digging into his palms as he squeezed his fists tight. “Someone’s fucking with us, Doc. This shit with Bigfella? This shit with the Mexicans? Someone’s motherfuckin’ playing us.”
The Doctor nodded. “What are we going to do?”
His stomach in knots, Jase spoke words he wondered if he’d regret. “The Mexicans killed Brodie. Our brother. My friend. They killed him. He was on a motherfuckin’ mission of peace. And those burrito-eating fuckheads murdered him. They believed the fuckin’ sheriff that it was Bigfella that shot their men? Fuckheads. I don’t give a fuck if someone is playing us, or playing them. We have to avenge Brodie. Then we’ll worry about every-fucking-thing else.”
The Doctor sat in a silence for a second, two, three. A pang of doubt flashed across Jase’s mind. Am I wrong, Doc? We have to avenge Brody, right? Please don’t suggest we meet with them… A look of almost relief flashed across Doc’s face. “Agreed. Even if someone is playing us off against the Mexicans those bean-eaters fucked up.”
Fucked up? Brodie’s dead. It’s more than a fuck up. “We need to go to war, Doc. And if we do this, we can’t just punish those fuckers. We don’t want tit for tat fucking murders. No. We’re gonna destroy them.”
Jase watched as the Doctor gulped. Can you handle it, medicine man? “Can you…” His voice trailed off.
Jase asked, “Can I do it?”
The Doctor nodded.
“I have to do it. It was Brodie.”
“Of course. I mean, do we have the men? The… equipment?”
Weapons. Jase thought for a moment. “They’re going to be expecting us to respond. We’re going to need a plan.” The room was silent for a moment as Jase thought while the Doctor looked on expectantly. “We’re going to have to keep this close. I mean real, real close. But I think we should bring Gauge in.”
The Doctor raised his eyebrows. It would be a risk, bringing in Gauge. He was just a pledge at the moment, but he had skills they would need. “How long has it been?”
Jase thought for a moment. “When was the funeral? Fourteen months ago?”
The Doctor nodded. Almost fourteen months ago to the day another Son had died. Killed on the road after a truck tire blew, startling the almost sleeping truck driver who swerved his rig straight into Wrench who was passing him.
That was when Gauge had come in to town. Wrench hadn’t just been a Son, in a previous life he’d been a soldier. 182nd US airborne. The toughest motherfuckers in all of the armed forces; at least that’s what he’d claimed. Gauge showed up for the funeral and had been invited to the wake when they found out he’d been just as much of a brother to Wrench as the Sons had.
And then Gauge never really left again. He worked for Jase’s security company and had been biding his time. He’d been a hang-around for a few months, before formally becoming a pledge - what some other clubs called a prospect. The process of becoming a member normally took two or three years, maybe longer if they were young. Is fourteen months enough?
They sat in silent contemplation as they considered the idea of bringing Gauge in. “Do you trust him? Really trust him?”
Jase sighed. I do. But should I? “Yes. Since he started working for me he’s been a rock. Solid, always t
here. He doesn’t fuck around and he gets shit done. And fuck, I think we’re gonna need him.”
The Doctor nodded. “You think he’ll be up to the task?”
Jase laughed. It was a cold, humorless laugh. “Doc, Gauge killed more towel-heads in Iraq than I’ve had hot dinners. And he won’t even fucking talk about what happened in Somalia, Cambodia or Af-fuckin-ghanistan. Me? I can shoot a gun, I can hold my own in a fight. That guy? He spent 20 years as Uncle Sam’s personal killing machine. Y’know what my plan would be? We get everyone we know, ride into little Mexico and then shoot every last taco-munching fucker. But somehow, I don’t think that’d work. But Gauge? He’ll know what to do.”
The Doctor laughed. “Well we need to put it to the table. See if anyone else has any suggestions. But go talk to him, get him ready, I doubt anyone will vote against him. Let’s try and get shit rolling by tonight.”
Jase nodded. Gauge would no doubt be sleeping now. He would have been working until the clubs closed last night and wouldn’t be up until noon at the earliest. He lived out in the middle of nowhere ‘off the grid’ as he called it. Not even a phone. He wouldn’t have a clue what was going on.
Jase looked at the Doctor again. He was beginning to feel better. The ball of icy rage in the pit of his stomach was heating up. Talking things over was helping. Now he needed action. “Anything else?”
“Yeah. Just so you know, I’ve taken leave from the hospital. Until this shit is sorted.”
Jase raised an eyebrow. Can doctors do that? “The club will appreciate it.”
A tight smile pressed on the Doctor’s lips. “And I think we should go on lock-down, for now. Until the wake at least, or until this shit is sorted. No hangarounds, no party chicks, no other randoms.”
“Good idea. I’ll clear the place out in a minute. And the cops?”
The Doctor looked surprised at the question, as if he hadn’t considered it. “Nothing. We know nothing. We tell them nothing. We handle this shit ourselves.”
Jase was in complete agreement. What good could the cops do? The best case scenario would be arresting Brodie’s murderer and them getting executed in ten or twenty years, or however goddamn long it took these days. Fuck that shit. Justice needed to be served the old fashioned way.
The men stood up. The Doctor placed a hand on Jase’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Try and keep everyone calm. We don’t want anyone going off half-cocked and getting themselves killed. Let’s handle this properly.”
Jase pulled the doctor towards him and hugged him hard. They smacked each other’s backs before breaking off. Why does it take shit like this to finally feel close? We’re supposed to be brothers, it should be like this all the time.
The men left the room together and all eyes were on them, seeking guidance, wanting to know just exactly how they were going to get their revenge. And no one wanted revenge more than Jase. He felt sick at the thought, but he knew he’d have to bide his time. Soon, fuckheads. Soon.
CHAPTER TWO
Nicole
I didn’t feel like speaking much, and nor did Lucy or Jase. When he’d come out of the meeting room, his face had been grim, but different to when he’d gone in. He didn’t look any happier - who could in a fucked up situation like that - but there was a new look of determination on his face. It was a look that said, I’m going to make things right.
He thumped on the rickety counter of the bar to get everyone’s attention. He hadn’t needed to of course, all eyes were on him already. “If you’re not a member or a pledge we’re going to need you to leave. Everyone!” His voice boomed across the room and no one dared to question him. His voice meant business and I could feel the underlying rage boiling underneath his barely controlled voice. I shivered a little and assumed he meant me too. Even though I’d done nothing wrong I still felt nervous.
I pushed myself up from the table and wondered what to do. Will someone call me a taxi? I don’t even know where we are.
Maybe I should have insisted on a taxi for me and Lucy. But no, Jase came over. “I’ll drive you two back. I’ve got some errands to run.” His voice was different to yesterday. He wasn’t being cold, exactly, but there was a harshness and disinterest that hadn’t been there before. It was like he was only half there. Not surprising, poor guy.
He led me over to where Lucy was sitting, head down, at a table. She looked younger than her twenty one year’s sitting there in yesterday’s skimpy outfit; like a young teenager dressing up far beyond her years. She raised her head dully as we approached.
“Let’s go Lucy. Let’s go back to the dorm.”
She nodded, though from her eyes you wouldn’t have known she’d comprehended what I’d said. They were empty of emotion, though the trails down through her ruined makeup showed where she’d been crying before. She’s spent.
A few minutes later we sat in the front of a pickup truck. Jase was driving, I was next to him, and Lucy sat with her head pressed against the window, staring at the dull desert scenery as we left the compound and headed back to the college.
I stared forward as we drove down the road. It felt strange now to be going almost sixty miles an hour and not feel the wind rushing through my hair and over my body. Has it only been a day? It seems like a lifetime ago I left old Nicole behind.
I turned to watch Jase as he drove. He was holding the steering wheel with one hand, the other arm resting on the door. I could see the tendons in his forearm flexing as he controlled the truck. Around his wrist I noticed a tattoo written in cursive script. Due to the steering wheel and the angle of his arm I couldn’t read it properly.
My fingers ran over the soft hairs of his wrist as I indicated the tattoo. “What does it say?”
Jase glanced down as if he’d forgotten what was on his wrist and needed to check himself. His expression turned cold when he saw where my fingers rested. I gulped.
“It’s bullshit.”
“Oh.” I didn’t know what to say. It was obviously a sensitive issue.
Jase sighed and spoke again, “I got it when I was young. In high school. Me and…” his voice trailed off.
“Brodie?” My voice was soft. Poor guy. I can see he’s hurting so bad. Has he even cried?
He nodded. “He got it too. We were fuckin’ idiots. Hadn’t lived. Didn’t know what we were doing.”
I wondered what could be so bad. I could make out what looked like love, and none, but I wasn’t sure what the rest said. “Even if it’s stupid, at least you’ll have it to remember him by.” God that sounds trite. You’re still an idiot Nicole.
He placed his other hand on to the steering wheel and held his wrist out in front of my face, twisting it slowly. I read the words out loud as I deciphered the cursive on his thick wrist. “Love All. Trust Few. Do harm to none.”
“It’s fucking bullshit, right?”
I think it sounds nice. “Where is it from?”
Lucy opened her mouth for the first time since we’d got in the truck. “Shakespeare.” She looked at Jase for confirmation.
“Yeah. But it’s fucking bullshit. ‘Love all’? Am I supposed to love the fuckhead who whacked Brodie? ‘Do harm to none?’ Am I just going to turn the other cheek? Fuck that shit.”
“Fuck that shit.” Lucy repeated in agreement as she turned her head back to the window. There was a dull thump as she rested her head back against it. She didn’t speak again the rest of the trip.
“I guess.” They’ve got a point. Sometimes you’ve got to do harm, right? Even if it’s just a little bit. Like those meth heads yesterday. I remembered standing over them, feeling the power we had over them, willing Jase to push down harder with his boot as they squirmed.
I pulled my feet up onto the bench-seat and hugged my legs with my arms. “So what’s going to happen? Do you think the police will catch whoever did it?”
“The police won’t do shit.”
“No?”
“No. Sometimes in life you have to settle things yourself. Especially
if you’re people like me, like us.” Am I part of that, ‘us’?
“So what’s going to happen?”
“Don’t worry about it.” Don’t you trust me? How could you, I guess. We only met yesterday. Who am I to you?
“Sorry. Just, y’know. I hope you get whoever did it.”
He didn’t reply and we spent most of the rest of the journey in silence. It wasn’t an awkward silence, but it wasn’t quite comfortable either. I hugged my legs tightly and squeezed my eyes shut.
I found myself lost in my thoughts. Dark, dangerous thoughts. I imagined things I’d never imagined before, never even imagined imagining before. A vision flashed across my mind unbidden. I saw Jase standing and grinning triumphant. But the grin was maniacal. In his left hand was a knife, a big combat knife, and his right hand was a severed head which he clutched by the hair. The head’s mouth was open in a voiceless scream and the eyes were rolled back so only the whites were showing.
I gasped loudly.
“What is it?”
“Nothing. I dozed off.”
The vision hung in the back of my mind. Do it. Do it Jase, get those fuckers who murdered your friend.
The journey only took half an hour, but it felt much longer. He drove the pickup to the front of our dorm, ignoring the prominent “No Parking” sign. We all got out of the truck, and walked up to the front door, one of us on either side of Jase.
He placed a hand on the bare skin of my lower back, guiding me forward. It felt good. His other arm was wrapped protectively around Lucy’s shoulder. I punched in my code to unlock the door and we walked in. A bookish looking sophomore saw us and gulped, before hurriedly turning his head away.
I frowned for a moment. Then I realized. Lucy and I were dressed up like sluts, our makeup was all over our faces, and last night wasn’t even Halloween. And I couldn’t give a fuck. Run away little boy.
“Which way?”
“Up the stairs.” I said with a nod of my head in the direction we needed to follow.
