The Blood That Drives Us: The Devils Dust MC Legacy

by M. N. Forgy

  Groaning, I try and sit up, but my hands are bound behind my back. Panic races through my limbs like a shot of electricity. I’m on the beach, the same beach the club has our family picnics. Only my family isn’t here, people who want to hurt me are. Looking the opposite way of the beach you can see the valley rolling in embers from the fires, it looks like I was placed in the pits of Hell.

  I open my mouth to scream for help, but my lips are duct taped.

  This can’t be happening. What’s going on?

  Miss Louve steps into my view, a gun in her hand. Her black outlined eyes are squinted with a sense of cockiness, and big men with large muscles stand behind her in a defensive manner. They’re all wearing leather cuts. They’re from a motorcycle club? Is Miss Louve in a motorcycle club?

  “Welcome back, princess.” Miss Louve’s sarcastic tone angers me. She put something in my drink, and fucking hit me. She set this whole thing up.

  I mumble my hatred behind the adhesive, but it just gains me a chuckle from my abductor.

  “Do you know who I am, yet? Has it hit your pretty little brain?” She shoves my head with her hand, and I moan in pain. I still feel sick from whatever she put in my drink. My stomach feeling as if I’ve done two hundred sit-ups.

  “Louve means female wolf and this is my pack. We are the Lost Wolves.” She holds her hands out, and everything comes rushing into sense. The Lost Wolves were the club that delivered the drive-by when I was a kid, the same club looking for Zane.

  “See, when little Boy Toy arrived at our school, I realized who he was very quickly.” She paces back and forth, tapping the pistol against her thigh. “He was a Devil, then you mentioned his name, and I realized he was more than a Devil. He was the motherfucker that shot my dad, nearly killing him, and put him in prison!” she screams, becoming hysterical. “Clubs don’t call the police, we handle it. That is code!”

  My eyes water with unshed tears. We didn’t call the cops, someone on the beach did.

  How could I be so naïve to think this woman wanted a friend in me.

  She turns, yanking down the back of her dress and the tattoo of her club's colors claims every inch of her back. Closing my eyes, I scorn myself for not keeping my eye open like my mother always told me. My enemy was so close, and I never even suspected it.

  “Easy there, she isn’t who we want, Louve.” A low dark voice sounds in the pack of men. Tears fall down my cheeks as I wait for the person belonging to the voice to step forward. The burly men step aside allowing a tall familiar man to come forth. He wears a black bandana around his head, his dark hair cut short, and an ugly scar mars the left side of his forehead. No hair is growing there, and the skin is several shades lighter than the rest of him.

  He’s the man Zane shot in the head.

  He’s the president of the Lost Wolves.

  He’s Bender.

  I suddenly feel sick all over again. He’s going to kill me. I’m going to die. I’ll never see my mom or Bobby again. I’ll never see Zane again.

  “We want her man, her club. Not her.” He smiles at me, but I’m not smiling.

  “She knows where my brother is, I know it,” Louve sneers. Her brother? Why in the world would I know where her brother is? Noticing my confusion, she hustles over to me and grabs me by the hair, strands snap in her grip and my head throbs.

  “Where is Thad, you bitch? I know you did something,” she snarls in my face.

  Oh my God, her brother is Mr. Thad. The principal. It makes so much sense now, they weren’t sleeping together, they were family. God, they were so opposite though. I can see Louve being biker with the way she dresses, but Thad… he dressed like a square.

  Bender picks his pocket free of a cigarette he pops it between his cracked lips and lights it with a match. The smell of sulfur making my nose hurt more.

  He inhales and flicks the burning match at my face.

  It stings, causing me to wince and jerk free of the fire stick.

  “Is that true, do you know where my son is?” Bender asks casually. My eyes sting with tears, my heart beating so fast I feel sick.

  My knees are aching from the grainy sand digging into my knees, and my wrists burn from my restraints.

  I shake my head no. I really don’t, but I know some people who do. God, I knew this wasn’t over. My gut told me Thad would be back to haunt me.

  “She’s lying,” Louve screams, tears in her own eyes.

  “You know my two kids did well for themselves, getting a job, moving forward with their life,” Bender rambles as I continue to shake.

  I’m scared, more than ever but I have to believe my club will come for me. Zane will come for me. Then again, that’s exactly what these people want. Zane. What happens if he tries to come for me? They will surely kill him, and then probably me.

  “I have her phone, want me to make the call?” Louve asks her dad, standing behind him. God, they look so much alike, it’s scary. She has those haunted eyes, how did I not see it before?

  He rubs his chin and squats in front of me. His dark eyes looking right into my own. He’s so vile and intimidating, the rush of lava fills my chest urging me to look away.

  “I don’t know. What do you think, Addie?” he sneers my name, and my nostrils flare. I don’t move a muscle in response. He’s trying to read me.

  “I gotta say, I like this whole tape your mouth shut.” He chuckles before sliding a single finger over the shiny tape across my mouth. My knees wobble and I close my eyes. Tears dripping down my cheeks. “Oh, don’t cry now, baby girl. My men will treat ya real nice!” he rasps, and big fat men laugh behind him.

  He stands and lifting his boot, kicks me over, not having to use much force as I’m weak. I drop against the ground, my shoulder slamming into the sand.

  Louve laughs.

  “She’s so pathetic.”

  “Make the call,” her dad orders.

  Louve has my phone and begins to dial.

  I scream and kick my legs, trying to get her to stop. To just take me and call everything even.

  Because without Zane in my life… it will be pointless and without direction. I’ve lived that life before, and can’t fathom the thought of it again.

  16

  Zane

  “Who is this bitch she went with? Find out! How could you just let her go alone?” Addie’s mother is hysterical, she’s yelling at everyone, and crying. Bobby tries to console her, but it just earns him a handful of slaps. Doc is fucking angry as hell.

  My pocket buzzes, and I quickly grab my phone free of my jeans. Praying it’s Addie.

  “It’s her,” I say out loud, everyone looks in my direction. Their faces pale.

  “Answer it!” Doc screams, stepping up to me.

  “Hello, Addie?” Doc tries to grab the phone and I use my elbow to force her off.

  “Addie who?” A female voice laughs. I pin the voice to the face. It’s the teacher that she went out with.

  “Listen, you bitch—”

  “No, you listen! You want to see your bitch again, you come to the north shore beach. You got thirty minutes before we start taking digits, then it’s limbs.” The phone clicks dead, and I want to crush it with my hand.

  “What did they want? Money?” Doc asks with a red teary face.

  “They want us at the beach. Same place we have family nights.” My voice is low, terror racing through my mind like an unsolvable puzzle. Who is this woman, why does she want us? What does Addie have to do with this?

  “Let's go!” Bobby rounds the men up, and everyone starts running to their stash of weapons.

  No way in hell we won’t be getting Addie, she is one of ours and we all with go down to save her. This is what our brotherhood his made of, what family means.

  I head to my room, grabbing my guns, bullets, and bulletproof vest. Latching the straps, I can feel my own heart beat harder against my chest.

  “I got some details on the teacher chick!” Lip yells from the bar. Kicking my door open, I toss
my .45 in my holster and head to him to see what he has to say.

  I feel like a robot right now, my only mission is to save Addie.

  “She’s a teacher at the high school. Her real name is Louve Maroon.”

  Nothing is ringing a bell, is she just some bitch on a power trip?

  “Upon digging farther, her father is the president of the Lost Wolves. She’s Bender’s daughter.” Everyone freezes, and the name echoes in my head like a bell.

  “Her dad just got out of prison,” Bull tells the group, his eyes landing on me. This is because of me, because I didn’t kill Bender the first time I had the chance.

  “That’s enough of a history lesson. Let's go.” I shove through the crowd, and they all follow. Rad and Saint right beside me. My loyal brothers.

  “We are going to get her back, man.” Rad slaps my back, and I nod. I know we will.

  “I got your back, brother,” Saint informs, rounding a bullet into the chamber of his gun. The clicking noise a promise to the gods that their will be souls delivered tonight.

  Stepping outside, the wind blows, the sound of boots marching across the pavement sounding through the night as warning to the reaper. Tonight, lives will be taken, and a war will be won.

  * * *

  Addie

  “Where are they?” Louve hisses, pacing back and forth as she glares at me. Her hair is messier than earlier, and her dress is messy with blood and sand. My body is slick with sweat, and my mouth is dry as a desert. The sound of water close by making my thirst worse.

  “They’re coming, chill,” her dad growls, sitting on a picnic table nearby.

  “Maybe we should have some fun until then,” one of the fat-bellied men suggests from the crowd. His hair is shaggy and gray, his belly reminding me of Bad Santa.

  Louve drops to her knees, her dress riding up, and jerks at my wrists behind my back, my shoulders threatening to dislocate from the odd angle.

  I tense, trying to pry myself free of her grip.

  “I think we should take a pinky.” She giggles, and the fat man nods with a stained grin.

  Her dad rolls his eyes and crosses his arms as if her not listening is of usual occurrence. He doesn’t tell her to stop though.

  The sound of a knife flicking free of its case causes me to jump and wiggle more. I try and pull my finger back into my palm, but she’s too strong. The sharp sting claims the skin of my pinky and I scream behind the tape. Searing red pain shoots up my whole palm. My stomach threatening to vomit.

  The sound of motorcycles roar around the bend, and she freezes, the burning sensation scratching up my knuckles pausing. The warm slick feeling of blood coating the rest of my hand. Using my ring finger, I can still feel my pinky, so she didn’t cut it off, but she definitely cut it.

  “Stop!” her dad orders. “They’re here.”

  “You’re lucky!” She shoves me, and I fall on my face. I cry. I cry for relief that Zane is here, and I cry for the gods to protect him.

  Headlights dance around the faces of the Lost Wolves as they come closer and it’s then that I know that no matter what, they will always come for me.

  17

  Zane

  Riding up to the beach the scene before me enrages me. So many men, and that bitch standing around Addie. She’s hurt and bound. The look of her in distress does something to me I can’t explain. I don’t even put my bike on its stand. Upon stopping, I lay it over and rush to the beach.

  “Zane, wait!” my dad hollers after me. I don’t care if they all shoot at me, there is nothing stopping me.

  There is no waiting. Addie is hurt, she’s bleeding and needs me. This is my fault, I should be in her place.

  A large man steps in front of me, the familiar dark eyes and an ugly scar on his face taking me back to the day he tried to kill Bull, to the day I shot him. Bender.

  “Easy there.” He waves a gun in Addie’s direction, making me halt. “I don’t want you to make my trigger finger tense up, and you coming up here like some cowboy is making me a little… tense.” He smiles, his tongue snaking along his bottom lip.

  “You’re a dead man,” I push through gritted teeth.

  “Yeah, that didn’t work out for you last time, did it champ?” He chuckles. “Man, you’ve fucking grown up into a man, haven’t you?” His knees nearly buckle with excitement as he eyes me up. A calm hand presses on my shoulder; my dad’s. He’s trying to encourage me to remain calm and patient.

  My eyes fall to Addie, her sad face looking right back at me.

  “I got you, Sunshine,” I whisper to her. Her eyes close, and tears rush down her face.

  “What do you want, Bender?” My grandfather, Bull, pushes his way to the front of the Devils. Taking charge.

  “Bull!” The man waves his hands out, his face excited to see my grandfather. “How the fuck have you been?” His words are drawn out, laced with hostility. He doesn’t seem fazed at all that he provoked an entire club.

  My grandfather doesn’t answer him.

  “Do you know why I attacked your club that day? Hmm.” He waves his index finger back and forth like he’s about to teach us a lesson.

  “Get to the point, Bender,” Bull growls, growing tired of the games.

  “We wanted to be patched in, we wanted to be your brothers, and you shit on us!”

  This is news to me. Then again, I was just a child back when this all went down.

  “We don’t just patch a club over. There are rules and steps,” Bull explains, which makes sense.

  “Yeah, well. Fuck that, we don’t want to be patched in anymore. I’m just going to take your fucking club.”

  “How do you think that’s going to happen?” Grandfather Bull tilts his head to the side.

  “No president, no club?” Bender chuckles, the threat causing me to draw my gun along with my brothers standing beside me.

  “That’s not happening.” Bull lowers his head.

  “I don’t know how you plan on stopping me unless you got some superpowers or some shit!” He belly laughs, looking over his shoulder at his greasy men. I want to kill them all now, shoot first and have the upper hand.

  “Not taking your club in was the best decision we made as a club,” my dad states, his eye aiming down the barrel of his gun. He’s ready to end this shit.

  “Well, be it as it may.” Bender begins pacing again. “I have a score to settle.” He taps his face, his ugly fucking face. I did that, and it makes me proud. The only regret I have is not hitting his fucking brains with that bullet. Bender glares at me, he knows who I am.

  “You nearly crippled me, you little son of a bitch. You made it to where I missed my daughter growing up and now you are going to see what it’s like!” Within seconds, every one of the Lost Wolves aims their weapon at me. I pull the trigger of my gun, a bullet racing out of the chamber, but it’s not fast enough to compete with the thirty men who already pulled the trigger.

  Bullets zip past me and I wait for it, the familiar feeling of being shot but instead the dark shadow of a body stands before me; protecting me.

  My grandfather’s body shakes and jolts as bullets ram into his body one after another. Everything slows as tears fill my eyes, my jaw dropping as a helpless roar rips from my throat. He’s taking every bullet meant for me. Our club fires back, the sound of shots echoing through the night.

  My dad runs to Bull, knocking him to the ground, his body getting hit with a bullet in the process.

  Bobby, Lip, and the prospects return fire while Dad and I drop to Bull’s side.

  He’s bleeding, his face flushed and eyes wide.

  “Why did you do that?” I cry, jerking his shirt open to see if he’s wearing a bulletproof vest.

  He’s not. His chest has at least a dozen bullet holes, and blood coating his skin like syrup.

  My dad begins to shake, his hands pressing onto the wounds as if he can draw the bullets out and save the man that has done so much for us. That has led us and guided us through life.
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br />   Bull raises his hand, his trembling fingers grasping my dad’s wrist and stopping him.

  “No,” Bull rasps, pushing my dad’s hand away.

  “It’s your turn to take the gavel, son.”

  My dad weeps, shaking his head.

  “No, you’re going to be fine!” I lie, he’s not. But I can’t let him go, he can’t. He is the fucking president! Why would he jump in front of me? A prospect?

  “Take the gavel, Shadow, and take care of your brother Maverick and Anahi for me.” Bull’s voice loses strength, and so do I. I’d like to say I’m a strong man, can handle anything but to see a man dying in your hands, one that taught you and lead you into a world that accepts you. There is no such thing as being strong.

  “You’re not dying!” I shout, angry and pissed he’s giving up. Grandfather Bull looks to me, his green eyes seeming duller than ever.

  “Your dad is going to need you by his side, son. You are the VP.”

  “No, I’m a prospect. I don’t deserve—”

  “You are my grandson and my legacy. You are my club and no more about this club than anyone.” His voice cracks, his face becoming pale. His breathing becoming shallow.

  I grip his hand, lowering my head. “Don’t go crying for me, boys. I get to see my first love again. The one who took my heart many years ago.”

  I nod, remembering the stories he told me growing up of a redhead that was mean and beautiful. He loved her, but God took her away.

  Lip pushes me aside, rushing to his president’s side, frantically cussing and trying to wipe the blood away. I stand comatose.

  Wiping my face of tears, I look at the chaos around me. People getting shot, members crying, and smoke of guns rising.

  Vice President.

  I am my club’s vice president now, and I have to stand up. No more sitting in the back and watching.

  My eyes land on Bender and Louve jumping on one of their motorcycles trying to make a break for it.

  Not today.