Inflamed: A Shadow Riders MC

by Kiki Leach

  "I think it's time that you and I take a goddamn walk, brother--"

  "No, motherfucker, I'm done walkin'. Sure as fuck ain't done talkin' though." He turned to Styx, who was the only prospect left behind as he hadn't been sent out to escort someone home. River realized his mistake in the moment and wished like hell that he had. "You know why this motherfucker has always chosen to keep you around?" asked Tiny.

  Wolf stepped up and got in his face. "I said you need to take a goddamn fuckin' WALK" --he threw his hands into Tiny's chest -- "ASSHOLE!"

  Tiny stumbled back and fell into the pool table, laughing as he used the edge of it to pick himself back up again. "No, motherfucker," he said again. "I think it's time for YOU to take a goddamn fuckin' walk." He slammed his hands into Wolf's chest, knocking him down on his ass; everyone looked around at each other in shock with wide eyes and opened mouths that Tiny had taken such a giant leap in putting his hands on their president. Tossing around River was one thing even as VP, but touching the Big Bad Wolf was like eating an apple from the tree of forbidden fruit; the consequences of it would be dire as hell. But Tiny didn't pay any of them any goddamn attention; he was too busy trying to egg on Styx. "The only reason this asshole on the floor over here decided to keep you and your mother around is 'cause he spent most nights fuckin' her goddamn brains out of her silly little head when he wasn't at home screwin' Verna."

  Styx turned his eyes down to Wolf and glared. The whites had started turning red, as did his face. He pinched his lips, clinched his teeth and drew his brows together while never allowing his eyes to leave the man's face. "That shit true, Prez?" he asked him; all sincerity in his voice had dissipated the moment what he now believed was the truth had hit him. He watched with a close eye as Wolf rolled over on his knees and used the edge of the couch to drag himself back up to his feet.

  He dusted his knees and stood straight, then slowly moved back over to Styx and placed a hand on his shoulder. "The shit's not true, son," he told him.

  Styx looked down at his hand, then stepped back and switched his eyes between him and Tiny and snarled. "Then why the fuck would this fat bastard say some shit like that--?"

  "Fat bastard?!" said Tiny as he dipped his head and arched his brows. He ripped a joint from the pocket of his jeans and dropped down to the pool table, hiked his leg up on the edge and started laughing so hard and loud that the sounds of it rattled his entire fucking body. "You sure this 'lil fucker ain't your son too?"

  No one else seemed to catch wind of the latter part of that remark outside of Blue, whose eyes darted around the room in pure confusion.

  Wolf eyed Tiny with complete irreverence as he lit up his joint, made a kissing face and winked at him, before turning back to a fuming and tight fisted Styx. Across the room, River folded his arms and looked between all three of them, shaking his head at the shit his club would no doubt continue to be with Wolf at the helm of it.

  "If you weren't fucking my mother," said Styx, "then why the hell is this asshole sayin' that you did?"

  "Why don't you tell him the truth, Prez?" replied Tiny. "‘Bout time he fuckin’ knew. Or maybe I should do it, yeah? Maybe it'll be easier comin' straight from the motherfucker who you claim fucked his old man over--"

  "What?" Styx glanced at Tiny and shook his head. "What the fuck is he talking about?"

  Wolf and Tiny stared at one another for a long, long time before Wolf once again turned his focus back to Styx.

  "Your old man," he started. He sniffed and swiped his hand back and forth across his nose, then rested both hands on either side of his waist. "Your old man wasn't a snitch. Not like we told you he was, not like we relayed to your mother." He turned his eyes to the floor and breathed out before lifting his head back up and staring across the room at his own goddamn son; a man he hoped had known the truth years ago, despite being keenly aware of just how fucked his knowing would turn out to be for the both of them. "Back then," Wolf continued, as his eyes switched back over to a puzzled as hell Styx, "one of the members of this club came to me with a proposition. It was right after River had been made VP at my own nomination and request."

  He took another deep breath before continuing on.

  "This motherfucker opposed the nomination durin' church and requested to be made VP instead," he told him. "But when every other motherfucker in the room opposed him as my right hand, and instead agreed that River would be a better fit given how goddamn young he was at the time and how much strength he carried, he chose to retaliate against the club, hopin' like hell to bring us down to our knees and prove that the rest of ‘em needed him more than me and River combined." He swiped his hand back and forth across his forehead, dabbing away the tiny drops of sweat that had formed above his brows, and continued. "When I learned the truth of what he had done, goin' to the Feds and rattin' out our deals regardin' the gun trades and dope that we had with other charters, I wanted to kill him; wrap my hands around his goddamn throat and just watch him die right the fuck in front of me. But he knew shit about me, deep, dark and disturbin' shit that no other motherfucker had known, shit I never needed gettin' out to anybody, least of all other members of the club. So instead of killin' him, I went along with his request of pointin' the finger at another motherfucker." He blinked once and stared hard at Styx. "Your old man."

  "Jesus. Christ." Blue dropped back against the wall and looked over at River, who himself stared at all three of them, eyes wide and stunned.

  Styx stepped closer to Wolf, his rage boiling deep as he flexed the muscles in his arms and neck. His face colored as his eyes twitched and his stomach churned as the truth about what Wolf was saying began to sink in, and sink in deep. "So this was all 'cause some asshole agreed to keep your shit quiet?" he asked, holding himself back from spewing out what he really wanted to say. As much as he was suddenly starting to hate the old man for all that he had said and done, he still had an immense amount of respect for him, which was something he was slowly, but surely starting to hate about himself. "You're sayin' that my old man died not 'cause he betrayed the club like YOU SAID he did -- like you ASSURED me and my mother that he had which is why you had to take him out. But 'cause some lowlife FUCKER who ACTUALLY betrayed the Shadow Riders and betrayed YOU by default pointed the finger at him? What'd the fuck did this son of a bitch get outta this shit?"

  Wolf gulped and raised his head. "He got to stay in the club--"

  "AND MY OLD MAN GOT KILLED IN HIS FUCKIN' PLACE!" hollered Styx.

  "Not as if the son of a bitch was all that great before we bumped him off in the first goddamn place," mumbled Tiny around his joint.

  Styx whipped around to him and stared him down. "What?" he asked.

  Tiny shot his eyes up to his and leaned back. “I said it's not as if the son of a bitch was all that great before we bumped him off in the first goddamn place. Motherfucker was straight up useless ‘til the goddamn end of it all.”

  The minute he heard those words about his old man, Styx slammed his hand down inside his back pocket and ripped out his knife. Rushing up to Tiny, he slammed the blade against his throat and snarled. The other brothers in the room jumped up, but Wolf raised his hand to keep them all back. Styx pressed the blade deeper into his skin and gently swiped the knife from one side of his neck to the other, breaking only a slither of it and releasing a thin trickle of blood. "Tell me why in the fuck I shouldn't gut your ass like a goddamn fish right the fuck now, asshole," he seethed.

  "'Cause once I got up off this motherfuckin' floor that you'd attempt to put me on, I'd fuckin' KILL your sorry ass, you piece of worthless shit!" In a flash, Tiny shoved a hand so hard into Styx's chest that he stumbled back into a table on the other side of the room. Enraged as he finally got back up to his feet, he charged forward like a crazed bull who had just seen red. But without him even noticing what the fuck was happening next, River raced up behind and locked one arm around his chest and the other around his neck, holding him back.

  He bent his head to his ear
and muttered. "Shit ain't worth it, motherfucker. Ain't fuckin' worth it."

  Styx shook him off and shuffled across the goddamn room, pointing his knife. "What the fuck do you know, huh?!" he hollered back at him. "Jesus Christ, asshole, what the fuck is it that you even know about this shit?!" He looked between each and every face in that room, including members of the Stark Bastards who didn't know what the hell was going on, and rattled his head. "You don't know shit just like the rest of 'em, Riv; never fuckin' liked me in the first goddamn place and hated the shit outta me even more for bein' anyplace near Mia."

  River made a face. "Brother--"

  "I ain't your goddamn brother," he said. "But you knew that I wanted to fucking be." He dragged his arm across his mouth to wipe away drops of spit and sweat. "Even after two goddamn years of doin’ shit for you left and right, useless fucking odds and ends that you were too goddamn lazy to do for your fucking self, I still never felt like I fuckin' fit in here. I tried like hell ever since I was a goddamn kid, and still never managed to earn your goddamn respect like I knew I fucking deserved.” He paused. “All I ever wanted from the time I knew that the club even existed and what it meant to be a part of it, was to join up officially, just like my old man. I just wanted to be a part of you, Riv, stand at your side someday just like Blue does now. Even when I wanted to gut you for some of the shit you'd say to me, I still thought of you as a worthy as hell motherfucker that I could look up to and be like." He turned his eyes to the floor. "Never in my goddamned life ever wanted any other thing so damn much than to wear one of those jackets, ride on one of those Harley's with a bitch like yours" --he stared at River-- "riding right behind me every goddamn day and night with her hands wrapped around my stomach. A woman I could fucking go home to and make love to and have a buncha fucking babies with and call her mine for the rest of my goddamn life. But that shit was never in my cards and I guess now I know why.” He stared down at his cut and blinked a few times before placing his knife on the bar and ripping it from his shoulders. He held it up high in his hand and stared at the crumpled leather, at his 'Prospect' patch, then he grabbed his knife and stabbed it right into the neck of the cut. He dragged the blade down to the edge of it, ripping each side apart and tossing them on the floor. "This club may be worth a whole goddamn lot to you motherfuckers," he said. "But the shit never should've been worth my soul, and never should've been worth any other goddamn thing I’ve ever lost in my life because of it. Like my pride. My goddamn dignity and self-respect.” He glared at Tiny, then Wolf and River. “And my own goddamn old man.”

  He placed his knife back down on top of the bar and bolted from the club before a single member could stop him. As he hopped onto his bike and sped from the parking lot, River brought his hands together, clasped his fingers around each other and knocked them against his forehead.

  "SHIT!" he screamed out. "Shit, motherFUCKIN' SHIT!" He dropped his hands and looked over at Wolf. "You realize we just lost one of the most goddamn loyal motherfuckers that this club has GOT and maybe ever fuckin’ had?!"

  "He'll be back," said Tiny, carelessly wiping drops of blood from his neck and waving his hand. "Motherfucker knows we ain't never been legit in that sense."

  "Legit?" asked River. He walked over to him and stared him straight in the face. "It ain't about bein' legit, you stupid fuck. You got his old man killed all 'cause of some BULLSHIT that had NOTHIN' to do with his ass, asshole! Son of a bitch didn't die 'cause of what the fuck HE did, he died 'cause of what YOU TWO DID!" He pointed between Tiny and Wolf, then turned back to the former. "What the fuck kinda shit do you have over this old man's head? I'm guessin' it must be some real good fuckin' shit -- I'm talkin' good as a sweet fuckin' pussy--"

  "Like yours?" He peeked up at River and took another drag from his joint, then blew the smoke out in his face and sat back.

  River grinned while shaking his head. "No, motherfucker, like yours. Or maybe even your goddamn, motherfuckin' prospect. When’s the last time you even heard from that sick fucker, brother?”

  "River," Wolf called out, but he paid him no attention.

  Tiny scowled through his smoke and pulled the joint from between his lips. "What the fuck are you talkin' about, asshole?"

  “Your ‘Eightball’, motherfucker.” He chuckled. “You wanna know where the fuck your prospect really ‘skipped’ off to, asshole? Try hittin' up Tank’ll in the goddamn graveyard downtown and maybe if you beg a little fuckin’ bit, he just might let you bury that motherfucker’s ashes--"

  Tiny jumped up from the pool table and dropped his joint to the floor. He got in River's face and growled. "You better be fuckin' shittin' me boy--"

  "Or what, asshole?"

  He ground his teeth. "You put that boy to ground?"

  "Gleefully, motherfucker," said River. "Fuckin’ gleefully. With a goddamn smile on my face so motherfuckin’ bright, even the sun couldn’t compete with that shit.”

  “Why even try it, Riv?” asked Blue.

  “‘Cause he’s a goddamn asshole who deserves to hear this shit, that’s why,” he answered. “I put his boy to ground, and he deserves to fuckin’ know it.”

  Tiny eyes wiggled wildly inside his skull and he fell back. "When?"

  "Last month when he came into my goddamn home and went after my goddamn woman with only one motherfuckin' thing on his piece of shit mind. He musta been crazy as horse shit to think I'd let him get away with that shit once she told me about it. Needless to fuckin' say, he didn't. And like a goddamn flea and tick ridden mutt, the son of a bitch was put down. Single bullet to the goddamn head." River cocked his thumb like a trigger and slammed his index against his temple. "POW! Blew out that motherfucker's brains all over my goddamn wall. Might still be some of ‘em in there if you wanna take a few pieces home as souvenirs.”

  "Son of a fuckin' BITCH!" As Tiny jumped at him, Blue leapt forward and dragged him back into the wall.

  He threw a finger into his face and leaned his head to block Tiny’s vision of River. "Not today, motherfucker. Not to-fuckin'-day."

  "Get the fuck off me, asshole!" Tiny shouted, shoving Blue in the chest and nearly knocking him back to the floor. "Not everybody SUCKS that fucker's cock like you do!" He moved away from the wall and stomped forward, getting as close to River's face as he could. They were damn near nose to nose at this point and neither had made any sudden moves in showcasing that they were willing to back down. "I see you're just as smart as the motherfucker who raised you," said Tiny. "Which means you AIN'T too goddamn smart at all." He glanced over at Blue and Snake, then Wolf before slinking his eyes back over to River. He rattled his head and turned his eyes down to get a better look at him from his head straight down to his goddamn feet. "Since you were a goddamn, little fuckin' kid, you've been nothin' but a piece of fuckin' shit. I told Prez it was never a good idea to let a BOY do a goddamn man's job when it came to this club, but het let you in anyway--"

  "Yeah, motherfucker and you know just how in the fuck it happened. You know how the fuck I came into this club and more importantly, you know that it’s what made me into your goddamn VP despite you tryin' hard like a bitch anglin' for dick or a motherfucker keen on lickin' fuckin' pussy, asshole, to make the position your own. So keep tryin' me and see if the same shit that I did back then won't happen to you now, just like it didn't happen to your boy... or Slim."

  He took a look around the room. "So you offed that motherfucker too?"

  River grinned at him, but didn't respond.

  Once Blue gathered his bearings, he dropped his head. "Jesus, Riv--"

  "YOU SEE?" hollered Tiny. "See all the shit this asshole is willin' to go through for his bitch but not for the rest of us? You see that shit? Gets rid of my prospect, then kills his own. All for the taste of some brown pussy--"

  River closed his fist and slammed it into the side of Tiny's jaw so hard that the motherfucker literally went flying across the room and into the goddamn wall on the other side. Blue ran up and slammed his hands in
to his best friend's chest to keep him from going after him again. But River shoved him off and removed his jacket, throwing it across the bar.

  "You wanna go, old man? 'Cause I been waitin' a long goddamn time to fuck you up again and you've just given me yet another goddamn excuse to make it fuckin' happen."

  Tiny wrapped his hand around the edge of a chair and dragged himself up from the floor again. He clutched his jaw to realign it, then spit out drops of blood to the floor that had come from both his gums and teeth, and started removing his own jacket. He threw it across the pool table and glared at River with the eyes of a man who was ready to kill him for what he had just done to him; though both of them knew that River knocking him in the jaw and essentially throwing him into a wall was just the icing that had topped a very large and spiteful cake. "Okay, motherfucker," said Tiny. He rolled up his sleeves and dropped his shoulders. "All's well that ends well with this shit. Let's go."

  He charged at River like a revved up engine and before River could move out of the way or take a stand against him, he bounded into his chest and wrapped his arms around his waist, locking his wrists. They went flying across the room and into the edge of the bar, knocking the chairs and remaining bottles of liquor to the floor. River hollered out in both anger and pain as they fell to the floor and rolled to his side to smash his foot into Tiny's face. Tiny yelled out, spewing hatred and 'motherfuckers' at him left and right. But River kept kicking, he just kept kicking until his legs finally gave out and until he could see nothing but blood spewing from Tiny's nose, and spit and teeth flying from his mouth.