“Thank you,” I said. “I—”
She held her hand up to stop me. “You don’t have to explain yourself. Not to me. And regardless of the other circumstances, I would never frown upon a man wanting to be involved in his child’s life.”
I sat there in stunned silence long after she returned to Avery’s room. I couldn’t believe how kind she was to me after my sheer existence ruined her daughter’s life and the lives of her grandchildren. The more that I thought about it, I started to think it might be better if I wasn’t involved in my child’s life.
“Hey, brother. You okay?” Coal asked.
“Uh, yeah, I’m good. Any word on Grant?”
He nodded. “He’s out of surgery and in recovery. He had some minor internal bleeding, but they were able to get it stopped. He’s got a concussion, and his eye socket is fractured, but no other broken bones.”
“Fuck, they really did a number on him.”
“Yeah, they did. Copper is fucking pissed. He sent me to come get you. Said he had something he wanted to discuss before Grant gets back from recovery.”
I got to my feet and followed Coal to what I assumed would be Grant’s hospital room. Copper was standing front and center with his arms crossed over his chest. “I want a brother here with Grant around the clock. I don’t think they’d be stupid enough to come to the hospital and try some shit, but I didn’t think they’d be stupid enough to fuck with someone from my club. Coal, you’re on duty tonight. Savior, you take tomorrow.”
13
Copper
I was fucking pissed. How dare these motherfuckers come into my town and start fucking with my club? I didn’t really give a shit about the illegal fights. I didn’t even care that they’d asked a few of my members if they were interested. What pissed me right the hell off was them not taking “No” for an answer.
Once Grant was out of surgery, and we were sure he was stable, I sent everyone back to the clubhouse for Church, including Savior.
“We need to address the situation with the gym. I know how I’d like to go about it, but I’m open to suggestions.”
“Why don’t you tell us how you’d like to go about it first?” my pain in the ass little brother asked.
“I thought Judge and I would stop by and have a chat with the owner. Tonight. Let him know where he went wrong and see how he wants to go about unfucking his fuck-up.”
“All in favor?” Bronze asked.
Unanimous “ayes” sounded around the table.
“All right. Judge, let’s roll. The rest of you stay here in case things don’t go according to plan.”
Bronze laughed. “You mean in case we have to bail you two out of jail.”
“Suck it, bitch.”
Twenty minutes later, Judge and I pulled into the parking lot of the gym. Spazz did some digging and found out the owner’s name but not much else which seemed shady as shit.
We walked through the front doors and went straight to the first employee we found. “Need to speak with the owner,” I rumbled.
“I’m sorry, you’ll have to make an appointment for that,” the twerp squeaked.
I slammed my fist onto the counter. “This is me making an appointment. Where’s his office?”
He pointed a shaky finger to a hallway along the far wall of the building. “Thanks,” I said and wasted no time heading in that direction. I laughed to myself when his makeshift security guard stepped out into the hallway blocking our path.
“Can I help you?”
“Are you Todd Russo?”
He shook his head. “No, I’m his security.”
“Then step aside. I have a meeting with your boss.”
He arched an eyebrow. “And you are?”
“Copper Black.”
“Uh-huh. And him?”
“He’s my security. Let’s go. I ain’t got all day,” I said impatiently. His amateur intimidation tactics were doing nothing but pissing me off even more.
He stuck his head inside the office and mumbled something before straightening and opening the door for us to enter.
Todd Russo was everything I expected him to be—a slender man with slicked-back hair in a cheap suit. He stood from behind his desk and extended his hand. “Good evening. I’m Todd Russo. What brings you into my fine establishment this evening?”
I glanced at his hand in disgust. “You know damn well why I’m here.”
He feigned surprise. “I’m afraid I don’t.”
“Three of my boys have been working out here. When they declined your invitation to fight for you, you put one of them in the hospital and trashed the apartment of the other two. Now, I wouldn’t have given a shit what you’ve got going on here as long as it didn’t affect me and mine, but it has, and now I’m pissed.”
“Again, I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage. Your boys?” he asked.
I grinned. “Oh, you really don’t know who I am. Allow me to introduce myself. Copper Black, President of the Blackwings MC. Your cronies fucked with two of my patched members and a prospect.”
He tried to hide his reaction, but I saw his body slightly stiffen at the mention of the club. We were well-known in the area and you’d have to be new in town or completely clueless to not know who we were.
“I can assure you none of my employees or associates were responsible for the unfortunate situation your friends found themselves in.”
“Cut the shit, Todd,” I snapped. “We both know that’s bullshit. When’s your next fight?”
His eyes widened in surprise, but he answered quickly. “Tomorrow night.”
“Good. We’ll see you then,” I said and turned to leave.
“Excuse me?”
“You wanted a fight, and you’re going to get one.”
“You can’t just—”
“Yeah, I fucking can. We’ll be here tomorrow night.”
He grinned. “All right, but if my guy wins, your boys will fight for me.”
I returned his grin and extended my hand. “And if my guy wins, I get your gym and you find a new town to play in.” When he didn’t immediately shake on it, I added, “What? You don’t have faith in your fighter?”
He smirked. “Of course, I have faith in my fighters, Mr. Black. I’m just not sure you understand what you’re agreeing to.”
I snorted, “I know exactly what I’m agreeing to.”
He stuck his sweaty hand in mine and limply shook it like the pussy he was. “Well then, we’ll see you tomorrow night.”
Judge managed to keep a straight face until we made it back to our bikes. “This is going to be fun,” he laughed.
I smiled. “Yeah, it fucking is.”
14
Savior
I spent the entire day at the hospital with Grant. He was doing much better than the day before, but he slept most of the time I was there because of the pain medication they were giving him.
It killed me to have to sit in his room knowing Avery was down the hall and I couldn’t visit her. Part of me wondered if Copper had intentionally assigned me to stay with Grant to test my willingness to follow his orders; but, the more I thought about it, the more I didn’t think that was the case.
“Hey, man,” Splint said quietly as he entered the room. “Your shift is over.”
“I was expecting Coal,” I blurted.
“Yeah, well, I can’t be involved in the activities this evening, so I volunteered for guard duty.”
“What activities?” I asked.
“You’ll have to ask Prez about that. He wants you to head to the clubhouse as soon as you leave here,” he said.
“Will do.”
With that, I left Grant’s room and forced myself to walk past Avery’s door without looking inside. I knew she was still in the hospital because I’d seen her mother walk down the hallway a few times, but I never called any attention to myself. I knew she needed some time, and I did, too. I’d give it a few days and then check in with her mother if I hadn’t heard anything fro
m her.
When I arrived at the clubhouse, the whole crew was already on their bikes in the forecourt ready to roll. Copper waved his hand, and I fell into formation as we rolled through the gate. Once we hit the main street in downtown Devil Springs, I knew exactly where we were going.
I pulled into a parking space and glanced around, only then noticing that Bronze, Batta, and Coal were pulling up in a cage. “What’s going on?” I asked Judge.
Judge smirked. “Prez agreed to a fight.”
“He what?”
“Relax. He knows what he’s doing,” he said.
I wasn’t so sure about that, but I kept my opinion to myself and followed the rest of the club into the gym.
“You know what’s going on?” I asked Coal.
He shrugged. “Just that Copper agreed to a fight between a club member and one of the gym’s fighters.”
“Why would he do that?” I wondered out loud.
“Guess we’ll find out in a few minutes.”
We were escorted to the basement and led to a dingy locker room. “We’ll come get you five minutes before the fight starts. Stay in here until then,” some guy said before he disappeared.
Copper turned to me and Coal. “You two go with Tiny and scope out the setup. Text Spazz if you see anything we need to know about. I have no doubt they’ll try to pull some bullshit, and I want to be ready for it.”
“Prez, if this is because they tried to get me to fight, I can’t let you do whatever you’re about to do,” I blurted.
Copper turned to me with an unreadable expression on his face. “You don’t let me do anything. But, I understand where you’re coming from, and it’s not on you. Now, go with Tiny and Coal.”
“Yes, Prez.”
I didn’t agree with him; it was on me. If I’d had my shit together, I wouldn’t have needed to find a gym to deal with my fucked-up life, and none of us would be in the mess we were in. I shook my head and tried to focus on the task at hand.
The setup was exactly what you’d expect for a place that held illegal fights—dark, musty, and overran with cheap everything. Even the ring looked like it would fall apart with one good kick. I continued to scan the area when something caught my eye.
“Tiny, two o’clock,” I mumbled low enough for only him to hear.
Tiny brought his hand up to his face and mumbled something before he started coughing. He finally stopped and cleared his throat. “Thanks, man.”
I furrowed my brows in confusion and started to ask what in the hell was wrong with him when I caught the ever so subtle shake of his head. And then I noticed the watch he was wearing, and everything started to make more sense. I guess Copper did know what he was doing after all.
The lights flashed on and off, and the announcer instructed the crowd to find their seats. We claimed the first two rows directly behind what we assumed was our corner.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight we have a treat in store for you. Our reigning champion, Dez De Santis, will be defending his title against newcomer, Bronze Black.”
I don’t know what I was expecting, but it sure as shit wasn’t for the crowd to laugh.
“Give it up for Dez ‘The Destroyer’ De Santis!” the announcer shouted and the crowd went wild.
“And now, Bronze Black.” Once again, the crowd laughed, but it didn’t seem to faze Bronze in the slightest. Bronze kept his head down as he walked to the ring, surrounded by Copper, Judge, and Batta.
He climbed into the ring and started preparing for his fight. Just before the announcer called them to the center, Bronze glanced over his shoulder at us and winked. “Holy shit, does he—?”
“Yes, the fucker’s always doing stupid shit like that. He knows it’s not a good idea to wear contacts during a fight, but he says it’s part of his strategy or some shit,” Tiny explained.
I couldn’t help but laugh. Bronze was wearing red contacts that made him look like he was possessed by a demon.
After stating the rules, which were minimal at best, the bell rang and the fight began. When Bronze blinked up at his opponent, Dez paused for just a second, but it was enough for Bronze to get three solid hits in—two to the head and one to the body.
Bronze worked him over and ran him all over the ring. I’d never seen anyone fight as well as he did. He was quick and moved strategically. He didn’t waste energy on throwing punches he couldn’t land. Instead, he kept his opponent moving to wear them down and struck when an opportunity presented itself.
“Does he have professional training?” I asked Tiny.
“Not like you’re thinking. He was on the Marine Corps Boxing Team. That’s a whole different kind of training.”
I continued to watch in awe as Bronze wiped the floor with Dez round after round. It was during the fifth round when things went to shit. I guess Todd Russo realized his guy wasn’t going to win, and according to Tiny, that meant he would lose his gym to the Blackwings.
Suddenly, another fighter was entering the ring with Bronze and Dez.
“Fuck,” Tiny swore and got to his feet. “Keep an eye on Russo.” I was going to do one better than keeping an eye on him.
With everyone focused on the ring, I was able to go around the back side and come up behind Russo without anyone noticing. I pulled the blade from the horizontal sheath at my back and brought it up to his neck.
“Breathe wrong, motherfucker, and you’re dead,” I growled.
I glanced at the ring just in time to see Batta swing his bat at the unwelcomed contender’s leg resulting in a crack that echoed above the roar of the crowd.
I pressed the blade harder against Russo’s neck and wiggled it just enough for him to feel the sting of his skin being broken. “Keep that hand where I can see it, or I’ll pin it to your chest with my other knife.”
He held his shaky hands out in front of him where I could clearly see them. More sounds of flesh hitting flesh and wood breaking bone sounded from the ring.
The announcer had long since fled the ring, but the crowd eagerly watched the chaos unfolding before them. Bronze was still fighting Dez like there weren’t four other people in the ring with him. Batta was beating the fuck out of another fighter with his bat, and Tiny had some other guy in a chokehold. But Copper, Judge, and Coal had disappeared.
Moments later, Bronze threw one hell of a punch and Dez hit the floor. Apparently, that was the signal for the crowd to disperse. People immediately began making their way to the stairs and, within a few minutes, the basement was cleared out.
Judge appeared with Todd’s bodyguard in tow, and right behind them, Coal was frog-marching another man to the ring. We heard the distinct sound of a heavy door being closed and locked before Copper came down the stairs.
He clapped his hands together and grinned, “Well, looks like I just got myself a gym. Thanks, Todd. This was fun.”
“Fuck you,” Todd spat. “I’m not signing over my gym to you.”
Copper rubbed his chin and nodded. “Yeah, I thought that might be the case.” He paused before adding, “Good work, Savior. You can let him go.”
I released Todd and took a step back, but kept my knife in my hand in case things went south again.
Copper hooked his thumbs in his belt loops and rocked back on his heels. “Had my tech guy do a little digging into your records,” he said casually. “Want to take a guess at what he found?”
I watched Todd’s entire body stiffen. “Y-you didn’t find shit,” he stammered.
Copper grinned wickedly and held up his cell phone. “Wanna see if the Feds find shit? Got a buddy in the Bureau on speed dial.”
“Fuck,” Todd cursed and actually stomped his foot.
“Sign over the deed and get the fuck out,” Copper demanded. “Leave a forwarding address, and we’ll send your shit to you. And let me make one thing perfectly clear; you fuck with me and my club again, I’ll let my boys have some fun with you before we feed you to the wild pigs.”
We escorted Todd upstairs to his
office, and he told us where we could find the deed. As soon as he signed it over, Batta and Judge escorted him out and locked the doors. “Judge, you and Tiny get started on the security install. Savior and Coal can help. I’m going to go check on Bronze and Batta,” Copper said.
I snorted and pointed behind him. “We’re just fine, oh fearless leader,” Bronze said jovially.
Copper pulled his younger brother in for a half-hug and slapped him on the back. “I can see that. Fuck, man, you stink,” he said as he moved to do the same with Batta.
“That’s the smell of victory, Prez,” Batta chuckled and rubbed his sweaty armpits all over Copper’s shirt.
“You motherfucker,” Copper growled and shoved Batta away.
“Nice fight, man. Never seen anyone as good as you are in person,” I told Bronze.
“Thanks, brother. I’m a little rusty, but I’d love to start some light training again.”
“If you’re ever looking for someone to spar with, let me know,” I offered. “You’ll probably whoop my ass, but I’d love to learn some of what you know.”
Bronze smiled. “I’d be happy to teach you some of my secret moves.”
“Will you take those fucking contacts out already? You’re creeping me out,” Tiny said.
Bronze laughed. “Yeah, that was the point.”
“Quit fucking around and start helping us get this place secured. I want to get home to my woman,” Copper ordered.
Judge snorted. “She’s over at my mom’s house, Prez. She didn’t tell you?”
“No, she fucking didn’t. Doesn’t surprise me since I wouldn’t tell her where I was going tonight. That woman,” he said and grinned.
15
Avery
After a week in the hospital, I was finally allowed to go home. I still felt awful and threw up several times a day, but the medicine the doctor prescribed had helped make it bearable. She also assured me that even though I was surviving on Coke and Cheez-Its, my baby was okay.
I still hadn’t fully come to terms with the fact that I was even having a baby, much less who the child’s father was. My main focus every day was to throw up as little as possible so that I could take care of my children. The first few days were rough, but by the end of the week, I had developed somewhat of a routine.
Savior (Blackwings MC - Devil Springs Book 3) Page 6
