by London Casey
That was proved a few seconds later when Ripper opened the door to a building and it was filled with guns. It was like Ripper was ready to go to war at any time, without any notice.
“Holy shit,” Trev said. “This is amazing.”
“Fuck yeah it is.”
“Does anyone know about this?”
“Giovanni did,” Ripper said and grinned. “This is how we start, Trev. Let’s load up and ride.”
Again, Trev found himself in prime position to take out Ripper. But every time Trev moved, so did Ripper. The man was smart, which was on purpose or instinct. He never put his back to Trev and he never stayed without a weapon in his reach.
Ripper loaded up with four guns and plenty of ammo. Trev had two guns and ammo.
“You go to your ride,” Ripper said. “I have to make a call.”
“Everything okay?”
“Listen up,” Ripper said. He pointed at Trev. “You helped me out with Jasper and I’m not going to put a bullet in your head. We’re not friends, Trev. When I say leave the fucking room, you fucking leave. Got it?”
“I’ll go grab a smoke,” Trev said.
Trev left the building and gritted his teeth.
He knew Ripper was calling his contact person in the O’Nuall family. Maybe it would be wiser to keep Ripper away from Frelen right now. Push toward the O’Nuall family first. But all Trev could think about was Eden.
He looked around and grabbed his cell phone.
He flipped it open and called the number.
“Trev,” Miller said.
“I’m talking quick,” Trev said. “No time. He confessed to everything. He killed Giovanni. He’s working with the O’Nuall family. Big deal going down from Canada to Tijuana. I’m bringing him to Frelen to finish this. He thinks we’re coming to ambush all of you. Be ready to do this.”
“Fuck, brother,” Miller said. “Okay. Good work. Keep your ass safe.”
“I will. Remember our spots, Miller. I want to keep everything in the open. He’s dangerous and he’s very serious about this. I’ve never met someone this sick in my entire life. The only good of it is that he’s so fucked up right now, he’s believing everything I’m saying. But he has the O’Naull family on call. One slip and we’re all going to be dead.”
“That won’t happen, Trev. Not on my watch.”
“Let me hear Eden’s voice.”
“Trev…”
“Don’t fuck with me,” Trev said. “Ripper will be back any second. Do this right now for me. You have no fucking clue what’s up here. This is a disaster zone.”
Miller sighed.
A few seconds later Trev heard him say, “Here. It’s for you.”
“Trev?” Eden’s voice asked.
A calming feeling went through Trev’s body. Like a drug just hit his system.
That’s what Eden was. The most perfect and beautiful drug.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said. “Look, I can’t talk long at all here. If I hang up it’s because Ripper came looking for me. I’m here and safe. I’m coming back right now. It’s going to get really messy, okay? I need you and Jenn to listen to everything Miller and Gaige says.”
“Trev, I love you,” Eden said.
“Oh, beautiful, I love you too. Be safe, okay?”
“Of course. So I’ll get to hug you tonight?”
“More than hug me, beautiful,” Trev said.
Eden giggled. “Good.”
“Tell me something good. Anything. I just want to hear you say something to me.”
There was silence for a few seconds. “I could really blow your mind, Trev.”
“Then do it. Hurry.”
“I…” Eden laughed. “Oh, Trev.”
“What is it, beautiful?”
“I’m…”
__
twenty-nine.
“… pregnant…”
Eden said the words into the phone as her heart felt ready to jump out of her body.
“What?” Trev asked.
“I’m pregnant, Trev. I got really sick this morning and thought it was because of you being gone. Then my mother said something to Blaine and he had prospects get me a test. So, yeah, I’m pregnant.”
“You’re pregnant.”
“Pregnant.”
“Oh, beautiful,” Trev said. “I don’t know what to think right now. That’s amazing. I’m almost done here, okay? I’m going for one more ride and then it’ll be over. No matter how bad it gets just stay with it, Eden. This has to be done the right way.”
“Trev, I’ll do anything for you. I’ll wait here for you, no matter what. I just have this vision of us together… in your bed… my belly…”
“Who you talking to?” a voice yelled.
“Ah, fuck,” Trev said.
“Trev?” Eden asked.
Eden heard a scratching sound. Maybe a scuffling sound? She looked at Miller and felt the color leave her face.
“What is it?” Miller asked.
“I think…”
There was another scuffling sound.
“What the fuck?” Trev’s voice yelled.
“You fuck…” another voice said.
Then there was a gunshot.
Then the call went dead.
Eden dropped the phone and reached for her mother. Jenn scooped her up.
“What happened?” Miller yelled.
“Gun… gunshot…” Eden let out a weak cry. “Trev got caught.”
__
thirty.
Ripper knocked the phone out of his hand and then shot at it twice. The first shot missed, the second hit the phone and made it explode.
Then Ripper looked at Trev. “Care to explain?”
“You really act fast, huh?” Trev asked. Trev kicked the remains of the phone. “That was a goddamn burner I gave to Eden.”
“Why?”
“To tell her to sneak out of the lot and meet me so we could run away together. I told her that the club was going to kill her.”
Ripper curled his lip. “She buy it?”
“I think so. Then you fucking came out…”
“Damn. Look, I’m sorry. My head’s fucked up here. Okay? I’ve been sipping whiskey all day now trying to get things calm up there. This is big for me.”
“Me too, Ripper. I figured if we got Eden first, we can use her as leverage against the charter. You know Miller. He’s got a family now. He knows the feeling and all that bullshit. I’ve seen what he does down there. Pancake breakfasts on Sundays with family. That plays right into his hand, Ripper.”
“Shit,” Ripper said. “I fucked up good.”
“Yeah,” Trev said. “If she’s going to do this, there’s only one place she’ll be.”
“Where’s that?”
“Do you trust me to follow me?”
“As long as we go to Frelen,” Ripper said.
“Then let’s ride, brother,” Trev said.
He put a fist out.
Ripper hit it with a fist of his own.
This was it.
The final fucking ride…
*
When they crossed into Frelen that’s when it all sank into Trev. This was all going to happen and go down for real. One way or another, it was going to get really crazy.
One thing was for damn sure - Trev wasn’t taking Ripper to the lot. Not with Eden there. Not with Eden pregnant either. That was a risk he wasn’t going to take with her. If something happened to her - to their unborn child - then Trev would never forgive himself.
Before leaving, he and Miller had set up meeting points outside Frelen and inside Frelen. This was designed to be a quick job, but in case Trev got stuck up in Daurian, he would still have contact with Miller and the MC.
Inside Frelen, there was one spot to go.
The cemetery.
It was almost fitting, considering what Trev was going to do to Ripper.
Somewhere in the cemetery should have been two prospects to watch and wait for Trev. When they saw Trev t
hen they’d go to the lot and report it back. That would bring in backup and things would continue forward.
Trev pulled through the cemetery gates and cruised up the gravel path. He knew right where he wanted to take Ripper to keep Ripper pissed off and ready for a fight.
He took Ripper right to Griffin’s grave.
In some odd way Trev wanted Griffin to see Ripper one last time before Trev killed him.
Trev killed his engine and climbed off his ride. He turned and nodded to Ripper.
“What the fuck is this?” Ripper asked.
“Visiting an old friend first,” Trev said. “Then Eden will be here soon.”
“She’s just going to walk up to us?” Ripper asked.
“No. We have a spot. It was a secret spot that meant something once but not anymore. Now that I have the truth…”
Trev walked and Ripper followed.
They stopped at the grave.
“Holy shit,” Ripper said. “It’s good to see him like this.”
“Yeah, it is.”
Ripper faced the grave, his hands at his sides. He made fists. “This fucker was with Jenn for a long time. Got her pregnant. Wanted to take it all away from me. Wanted to really screw me over. But I guess he got his.” Ripper looked back at Trev. “Right?”
“Yeah,” Trev said. “Now you can keep delivering. Let’s take a walk.”
From the corner of his eye, Trev saw Pete walking the cemetery grounds. He had exited what looked like a tomb. It was a small concrete structure and the black metal door slapped shut but Pete didn’t lock it. Instead, Pete had a shovel over his shoulder.
That’s when Trev had an idea.
A really good idea.
“Ripper…”
“Wait,” Ripper growled.
Trev waited and listened as Ripper unzipped his jeans.
No… fucking hell no…
A few seconds later there was sound of liquid hitting the stone. Stepping to the side, Trev saw that Ripper had his dick in his hand and was pissing right on Griffin’s stone.
Trev started to reach for his gun.
This was it for good.
Ripper then turned, facing Trev, still pissing.
Trev jumped back. “Whoa! What the fuck?”
Ripper took out one of his guns and pointed it right at Trev. “Time’s up. Game over.”
“What are you doing?”
“You think I trust you for a second?” Ripper asked.
“What?”
“You brought me here for what? Where’s Eden? Huh?”
“Behind you. There’s a small storage building. It’s unlocked right now. That’s where she’s meeting me.”
Trev waited for his moment to strike. It came when Ripper turned his head to look at the storage building.
Right then, Trev had to take his life into his hands.
He lunged forward and smacked the gun in Ripper’s hand out of the way with his left hand and punched Ripper in the face with his right hand.
Ripper didn’t drop the gun though.
Instead, he started to pull the trigger.
*
Trev felt a hot pain in his arm but that wasn’t going to stop him. He was on the ground, wrestling with Ripper, right in front of Griffin’s grave.
“You don’t get what’s coming,” Ripper growled. “You can’t stop it. You can’t fucking stop me.”
Trev landed another right. Ripper threw his head forward, smashing against Trev’s nose. Trev’s nose exploded. Ripper then rolled on Trev and swung with the gun. Trev felt the thud and felt it roll through his entire head. Then Ripper had a hand to Trev’s throat.
“You fuck,” Ripper said. “Who are you? Huh? What do you want out of this?”
Trev grabbed Ripper’s fingers and twisted, easing the pressure on his throat. Ripper lifted the gun and Trev grabbed Ripper’s wrist. He twisted and then pushed with all his strength, sending Ripper flying off him.
As Ripper fell into Griffin’s headstone, he fell into his own piss.
Trev kicked at Ripper, finally getting the gun out of his hand.
But Ripper was still packing more.
Trev reached for his own gun, finally, but Ripper was already armed again.
They then sat there in a standoff, staring each other down.
They were bleeding. Trev’s shoulder throbbed with intense pain.
“How does this end?” Ripper asked. “I’m a goddamn President. You can’t just take me out.”
“I’m outlaw, remember?” Trev asked. “I speak to nobody.”
In the distance there was the growling cry of motorcycles.
“They’re coming,” Trev said. “They’re going to take us both out. You fucked this up.”
“No. You did. I’ll kill them all. You don’t get it, Trev. What’s done is done.”
“Put your gun down, Ripper,” Trev said. “I’ll put you in that storage building and hide you. Nobody will know where you are. There’s how many of them? And one of you?”
“Fuck yourself, Trev,” Ripper said.
“Fine. Fuck myself.”
Trev had to pull the trigger and make it count.
Any shot could result in Ripper pulling his own trigger, killing Trev. It wasn’t all that long ago Trev would have already pulled the trigger. Getting killed was just a part of the life. He never saw himself getting old, visiting the doctors for aches and pains, and then dying in his sleep. He was going to go out big. With a bang.
Not anymore.
He had Eden to love and care for. He had a baby on the way.
A baby.
That meant family. That meant the Back Down Devil MC family was going to grow again.
So that left Trev with another plan.
He moved quick, shooting Ripper’s arm. The bullet blasted through Ripper’s forearm, forcing Ripper to drop his gun. He grabbed for his arm, screaming.
Trev pointed his gun at Ripper. “Now you’re my bitch, Ripper. You never get to make a call again. This is it. This is your dark ride.”
Ripper tried to make a move for another gun and Trev shot him through the shoulder. Ripper screamed again and slumped to the left. There was blood on Griffin’s headstone, along with a chunk of the stone cracked from the bullet.
Sorry, brother.
Trev climbed to his feet. He walked to Ripper and reached down, stripping him of his other weapons. He then forced Ripper to his feet. There was blood everywhere on Ripper and he looked at Trev, his eyes already getting weak.
“You’ll pay for this,” Ripper said. “All of this. You need me alive to survive, Trev.”
“Nobody needs you alive,” Trev said. “Walk.”
Trev forced Ripper through the cemetery. The way he walked, it looked as though they were zombies in some cheap horror movie.
When they got to the storage building, Trev walked Ripper inside and let him fall to the ground. Ripper started to crawl forward. To his left, Trev saw a can of gas. He grabbed it and put it outside the storage building.
Ripper reached up and opened a drawer. He pulled it out and it fell, spilling bullets all over the floor. They were the bullets Pete had collected from Trev putting them on Griffin’s grave each time he visited.
“Son of a bitch,” Trev said with a grin.
He crouched and picked up one of the bullets.
His memory overtook his mind for a few seconds.
That was a huge mistake.
*
Trev saw the blade coming at him. He managed to lift his right arm and felt his skin give way. He fell back and Ripper came at him, finding his last bit of strength, wanting to kill Trev.
“Fuck you,” Ripper growled.
They were large shears, meant for cutting the branches of bushes. That meant they would make a great killing weapon and they were in the hands of a man who loved to kill.
The motorcycles were louder, only seconds away.
Miller and the guys would be here. But Trev still had to survive Ripper.
The blades came down again and Trev moved just in time. The shears hit the stone floor, making a scrapping sound that was like nails on a chalkboard. Trev managed to roll away from Ripper, but Ripper was quick, fighting through his own pain. He stabbed Trev in the back, the blades sliding into his body with ease.
Trev let out a cry and felt the wind get sucked out of his body. He reached forward and grabbed a brick off a small stack that had been so perfectly organized. He sucked in a breath and swung back, smashing the brick off Ripper’s head.
A second later, Ripper was face down on the floor, knocked out.
Trev favored his shot shoulder and stabbed back, crawling forward and then to his knees. When he looked out, he saw Miller, Gaige, and Blaine running toward him.
“Jesus,” Miller yelled. “What happened?”
“Trust issues,” Trev said out of breath. “He made some call, Miller. I don’t know what about. He was getting me to bring him here and then backup was coming. He tried to take me out. I had to fight back.”
“Is he dead?” Gaige asked.
Trev was on his feet. Blaine had an arm around him.
“No,” Trev said. “Knocked out. Miller, you have to do it. You have to kill him. It’s only right.”
“Fine,” Miller said. He reached for his gun.
“Wait,” Trev said. “I have an idea. To honor Griffin. For everything that’s happened.” With each sentence, Trev felt more pain and felt weaker.
“What?” Blaine asked.
“Gas… pour the gas in there. Light it up. The bullets… I put a bullet on Griffin’s grave each time I visited. Stupid, I know, but maybe Griffin can get his revenge now.”
Blaine helped Trev back and sat him down.
He then watched as Gaige poured the gas. Miller struck up his lighter and tossed it into the storage building. Flames ignited a second later.
After that, when the bullets were hot enough, they started to explode.
Trev put his head back and shut his eyes.
For you, Griffin.
Then Trev thought about Eden. He couldn’t wait to touch her face, taste her lips. Strip her naked. Devour her body top to bottom. Kissing her belly so softly, knowing there was something miraculous happening in there.
Trev smiled.
It felt good to smile.
But then something happened.
Trev couldn’t open his eyes.
__
thirty.
Eden was finally alone with Trev. The entire club had been there to see him, including the guys from the Daurian charter. Doctors had Trev sedated so they could patch him up. The bullet had been easy to get out without any major damage. The stab wound in his back only needed some stitches. Everything else was just cuts and bruises. Everything would heal with time.
