by London Casey
“What the fuck are you looking at?” Nelson asked.
“Nothing,” Debbie said. “I’m thirsty. Can I at least get a drink of water?”
Nelson looked at me. “Get her a drink. You touch anything but that and I’ll shoot you.”
“Fine,” I said.
I took a step and Nelson started to follow.
“Uh,” Debbie said, “the guy you shot isn’t in the driveway anymore.”
“What?” Nelson asked.
He turned and Debbie quickly waved a hand at me to go.
I hurried toward the kitchen and when I got to the sink, I saw a face in the window. I opened my mouth to scream and quickly covered my hands to my mouth.
It was Max.
Standing there, his rough looking face ready to kill.
I hurried to shake my head.
I grabbed a glass and filled it with water.
I walked from the kitchen and saw Nelson open the front door.
“Motherfucker,” Nelson said. “He must have been alive.”
He stepped out on the porch.
I put the water glass down and backed up, grabbing the handle to the back door. I slowly opened it and felt Max sneak into the house.
Holy shit…
Things were about to get wild.
Max had a gun in his hand and crept forward.
I grabbed his wrist and stopped him.
“Max,” I whispered.
Nelson was out of sight for the moment.
The situation was still dire.
“Guys are on their way,” Max whispered to me. “Just hang tight.”
“You have to save Ellis,” I said. “Just hurry upstairs and save Ellis.”
Max looked at me.
Before either of us could say something, guns started to go off.
“Get your kid,” Max said.
Then he started to run through the house.
He pointed at Debbie and yelled, “Get down!”
The gunfire continued and I had no choice but to get my son.
And hope we would get out of the house alive.
chapter thirty-one.
(kye)
I took off with Cash screaming at me. It was a sign of disrespect to run away from Ivan and Peter, but my family was the most important thing in the world. I knew something was happening. Fucking Nelson was going to hurt Dakota or Ellis. If he wanted to get to me, that was the easiest way to do it. And what did we have? Fucking prospects at the house. Fucking prospects cruising around town.
I called Max and told him to get his ass to my house.
Trev was at the hospital with Eden. No updates there though.
I was on my own, except for Cash following me.
Shit, for all I knew, it could have been an ambush attack on me. A creative set up to get me out in the open and kill me.
But that was a chance I was willing to take to save my family.
I threw my leg over my motorcycle and started it.
“Where are we going, brother?” Cash shouted at me.
“My house!” I yelled. “Hurry up.”
I nodded to Cash, mentally thanking him for not questioning what I was doing.
We peeled out of the abandoned building lot and hit the road a minute later.
The deal with Ivan was done. Back Down Devil MC had officially fucked up the deal Night Soul managed to get. That included fucking with Nelson and his aspirations to hurt the MC.
But now we needed to stop Nelson once and for all.
He had always been a hot head. When he decided to turn on the local PD, the club had no choice but to step in and keep the peace. That meant taking a vote to strip Nelson of his patch and cut. We considered sending him down to prospect status but that wasn’t good enough. Not when we found out he had been talking to another MC over in Nevada. Maybe it was just casual bar talk, maybe it was something more. But that brought up the death vote. The guys were all quick to vote Nelson to death but I wanted him alive. I wanted him to fucking face the real world and get his ass chewed up.
Kind of like what I went through working at the garage with Marty.
I regretted that decision. Nelson could have been dead. And none of this shit would have been happening.
I hit the throttle and picked up more speed.
I moved in and out of a line of traffic, cutting over the yellow line more than once. All I could picture in my mind was something happening to Ellis. My son. My life. Of all the bad shit in my life and all that I had done, Ellis was the symbol of right and purity. He deserved more than this.
I was angry at myself, knowing that in so many ways Dakota had been right. If I had just been some guy changing brakes and arguing over exhaust systems none of this would have been happening. I would have been eating a shitty lunch, worried about the mortgage, but then I’d go home to my family. My woman. My son. My everything.
I gritted my teeth as I flew into Daurian.
Cash stayed right with me as I made it to my street.
As I pulled up to the driveway, I couldn’t believe the scene.
Our two prospects were on the ground.
Smitty with a bloody shoulder, holding Paul in his arms.
The front door was wide open.
Where the fuck was my family?
**
I ran through the door and went right for the stairs. It was like when I got out of prison. Running up the stairs and going for the nursery. I ran to the crib and saw a blanket bunched up. I grabbed the blanket and found nothing under it.
No sign of my son.
“Fuck!” I screamed.
I turned and backtracked down and through the house. Chairs were tipped over. Knives on the floor. Blood on the kitchen floor.
When I turned, Cash was a few feet away. “Kye. Outside. Come with me.”
I went after him, pushing him out of my way. I jumped the steps and ran to the prospects.
“What the fuck happened?” I called out.
“He came from nowhere,” Paul said. “Just shot me. So I fell and played dead. Until I could call for help.”
“Where were you?” I yelled to Smitty.
“Getting diapers.”
“Diapers?”
Smitty pointed to his motorcycle. “Ellis was out of them. Dakota asked me to go.”
I took out my gun and put it to Smitty’s head. “You were supposed to be here. Stay fucking here.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Cash said. He grabbed my arm and pulled me away.
“I’m going to fucking kill him,” I said.
“No you’re not,” Cash said.
“What happened?” I asked, looking right at Smitty.
“I came back and Paul was gone. I saw blood and then a second later someone was shooting at me. Got me in the shoulder. I dropped down, grabbed my gun, and shot back. We were in this gun fight… and then Max appeared.”
“Max?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Smitty said. “He… he had your kid, brother. And the woman with him. No Dakota though. They were running. The other guy, the bad guy, he went running around the house. Max pointed to me and said not to fucking move until you got back. To explain what happened.”
“Christ,” Cash said. “Let me get on the phone with Max.”
I crouched down. I looked at Smitty. “Nelson took Dakota? Max has my son. And you two got shot.”
“Yes,” Paul groaned. “Man, this really fucking hurts.”
“Kye!” Cash called out.
I stood and tucked my gun away. “What?”
“Max has Ellis and Debbie at the clubhouse,” he said. “Austin and Xavier are on the move. To find Nelson. He wants to fix everything. He wants to make things right.”
“Why the hell didn’t Max save Dakota? Why didn’t he shoot Nelson?”
My blood was boiling. I tore the phone from Cash’s hand and screamed the questions at Max.
“Brother, take a breath,” Max said. “I had a chance to save your son. That’s what Dakota wanted. She told me I n
eeded to save the baby. And I did, brother. I saved your son. I couldn’t chase that piece of shit down while holding a baby. What did you want me to do? Fire a gun?”
“Fuck,” I said. “Where is she? Where’s Dakota?”
“She’s with him,” Max said. “He’s out for you. He wants you to suffer. He said she’ll suffer where he suffered.”
That’s when it hit me.
Before we all went to vote, I had a talk with Nelson. I had been alone with him. Hidden. I had tried to talk to him and get his feel of how things were going to go. He all but begged me to kill him right there on the spot. That’s when I knew I wasn’t going to let him die. I could have killed him then. I could have voted him dead at the table later. But I wanted him alive.
“Suffer,” I whispered, remembering my thoughts.
“Max… I know where Dakota is.”
chapter thirty-two.
(dakota)
Ellis was alive. Ellis was safe. Nothing else mattered.
I let Nelson tape my hands together. I willingly got into the front seat of his car. I held back all my emotion as he drove me to the top of a quarry, where he told me he had a spot picked out for me to be thrown from. That was his plan. To make it so Kye could find me dead.
All I could do was remind myself that my son was going to live a full life. Kye would have to survive without me. The club would step up and help take care of Ellis.
There was no other choice in the matter.
I stood and watched as Nelson paced back and forth. He had a cell phone in his hand and kept trying to make a call. He’d turned his back to me, cursed out loud, and then rubbed his forehead.
“You’re not going to get away with it,” I called out.
Nelson turned and grabbed for the gun. “I won’t? I’ll throw you down there right now and walk the fuck away. Is that what you want?”
“I don’t care,” I said. “Do it. Right now. Prove yourself.”
I had no idea what the hell had gotten into me that I was suddenly taking on a man with a gun, but I seriously had nothing else to lose. If I was going to die, then I’d die with some kind of fight in me.
“No,” Nelson said. “I’m waiting for my call. I’m going to make everything work out right now. I’m sorry you got tied into this though. You should have run like hell.”
Run like hell.
“Yeah, you’re right,” I said. “I should have left. Maybe we should do that right now. Just get in your car and go.”
Nelson laughed. “Sorry, not interested. I’ve been through enough club pussy to know what it smells, tastes, and feels like. This is about revenge. This is about me showing Kye what it’s like to suffer. And then if I can clean up on some cash, why not?”
“I’ll call Kye,” I said. “My phone…”
“Shut up!” Nelson yelled.
His phone was ringing.
He turned and took the call.
“It’s me,” he said. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s all good. We’ve got it worked out. No, no, it’s just a little hang up. That’s all. A hang up. Okay?”
As Nelson rambled on, I knew if I didn’t do something, I really was going to die.
So I walked toward Nelson. We were near the edge of the quarry and the drop was pretty wicked. I had no idea what I was actually going to do as I crept closer to Nelson. But I needed to give myself something like a chance to escape.
“You can’t believe that!” Nelson yelled.
He started to turn.
I was a foot away from him.
I swung my foot and kicked at Nelson’s knee. I wanted to take him down and kick him back, maybe even over the quarry.
When I hit him, his body jumped.
“Fuck!” he yelled as he fumbled with the phone.
It crashed to the ground as he stumbled.
I tried to kick him again, but this time I lost my footing and I fell right down to my ass. Not being able to use my hands was a real pain.
Now Nelson was towering over me.
“You dumb bitch,” Nelson said. “Now I have to kill you.”
He started to reach for his gun.
I had one move left in me. I pictured my family. Ellis. Kye. I even pictured all the guys in Back Down Devil MC. I pictured the way my life was meant to be. Maybe not the dream life I had always imagined, but at least I had my destiny.
I leaned back and lifted my right foot. I thrust forward and slammed my heel right into Nelson’s balls.
I hit him so hard, he forgot about everything he was trying to do. I swore his feet lifted off the ground for a second. He then fell back, stumbling and tripping, going to the ground. I saw him right at the edge of the quarry, wishing he would just fall.
But he didn’t.
I was still in big trouble.
I kicked back and rolled to my stomach. I scrambled to get to my hands and knees, then up to my feet. I started to run as I heard Nelson call my name.
I didn’t bother looking back though.
I ran toward his car, knowing I was going to need a shield.
Nelson shot at me, the gunshot ringing all around. While he didn’t hit me, just the notion of him shooting at me was enough to make me stumble. My hip slammed into the front of his car and I fell to my knees. Pain shot through my legs as I fell forward, using my hands to break the fall. I started to scramble and crawl as Nelson began to chase after me.
If he caught up to me, he was going to shoot me.
When I got around to the side of the car, I looked left, I looked right. I got back to my feet and decided to make one last run for it. I jumped forward and spotted something to my right. I turned my head and couldn’t believe my eyes.
Of all the things I thought I’d never see again…
It was Kye.
Running toward me, a gun in his hand.
His arm slipped around me as he hugged me, saving me.
I felt every ounce of strength leave my body as Kye literally held me up.
Right behind him was Cash.
Then came Austin, Tristan, and two other guys. Prospects.
This was a total ambush on Nelson and he had no idea what was coming.
“Stay right here,” Kye whispered to me as he lowered me to the ground.
“Come here you stupid bitch!” Nelson’s voice yelled.
Kye waved a hand behind him, telling the other guys to hold up. He then crouched and walked along the side of the car.
When Nelson appeared, Kye stood up and swung his gun, smashing it against Nelson’s face.
Nelson flopped on the hood of the car and rolled off.
That’s when the rest of the guys came forward.
Cash looked down at me and winked. “We got you, sweetie. Nobody hurts our family. Ever.”
A second later one of the prospects dropped down and took out a knife to cut the tape from my wrists.
When I was free, I turned and stood up a little, looking through the windows of the car.
Kye had Nelson by the throat.
Walking him to the edge of the quarry.
I was about to watch a man die.
chapter thirty-three.
(kye)
“You had it all figured out,” I said as my hand gripped tighter to Nelson’s throat. He tried to take swings at me but he had nothing. No strength. No life. Nothing. “You fucking thought you could keep Night Soul on the back burner, huh? Well guess what? We have Night Soul cornered. You have no way out of this.”
Ivan gave intel to Jasper that Night Soul was planning on stepping up an attack on the MC for getting involved in the deal. One call to another charter and we were in prime position to keep everything from going to hell. While the MC chased Night Soul out of town, me, Cash, Austin, Tristan, and a couple prospects came to the quarry.
It was maybe a long shot to come up to the quarry but it paid off.
That’s where I had last talked to Nelson before the club voted him out.
I let Nelson go with his heels right on the edge of the quarry.
“You’re screwed,” he said in a hoarse voice.
“No, man, you are,” I said. “You want to fuck with me? Take my family away? Fuck with my club?”
“You should have voted the way it was meant to be,” Nelson said.
I laughed and stepped back. “Then do it now. Do it yourself, Nelson. Take a step back and fall. Go where you wanted to go years ago.”
“You think by breaking up this deal it’s going to end things?” Nelson asked. “You have no idea the target on your back. On your club’s back. It’ll never end. I was able to get face to face with the Russians. They hate you. And all the clubs around this shit hole of a town…” Nelson laughed. “It’s almost worth living to watch the torture.”
I grabbed my gun and put it right to Nelson’s chest. Right at his fucking heart.
“You made me miss the birth of my son,” I said.
“Boo-hoo,” Nelson said. “I feel terrible.”
I gritted my teeth. In my mind I had already pulled the trigger four times. I wanted to watch Nelson fall. I wanted to keep shooting at him as he fell.
“You were never part of this club,” I said. “Never part of this family. That’s why you fucked us then and you tried to fuck us now. But you can’t fuck us, Nelson. We’re a brotherhood. We’re stronger than you’ll ever be.”
“So then kill me,” Nelson said. “Make it right, Kye. Fix the decision you made.”
I glanced over my shoulder. I saw Dakota standing at the car. She was watching me. Yeah, she was far from innocent, but I could see the look in her eyes. Part of her wanted me to do it and part of her wanted to preserve me as the mechanic just trying to make ends meet.
I had dueling voices in my head on what I needed to do next.
But to me, the choice had always been there.
I could be a ruthless outlaw without going too far off the deep end.
“I’d rather have my family,” I said.
I lowered the gun and tucked it away.
“That’s what I thought,” Nelson said.
“No, it’s not,” I said. I put a hand to Nelson’s chest. “I killed you a long time ago with my vote. You deserved every day you lived the way you lived.”
That was all I could handle. I turned and walked to Cash. We were shoulder to shoulder.
“What’s next, Kye?” Cash asked.
“You take care of this. I need to get my family back together.”
