Chapter 3

 

The ride is nice. Being on my bike takes away the memories that threaten to eat me alive at night.  The dreams are never-ending. The shadows that haunt the dark nights are overwhelming.  It hurts, most of the time my heart hurts. Loss is something I’m close to. I know it all too well. More than even the guys know. Moving forward was always the goal, but some days, like today, I feel like I’m slipping.

We pull onto the dirt road; the guys are all around me. It’s a strange feeling, knowing this is your family.  These guys come from all different walks of life. Most of them came from shitty upbringings. It pisses me off nonetheless. The family aspect was always there when I was growing up in the club. My family made sure we were safe, and that we each knew how much the other meant to them. I try to instill that in the guys. I want that for them more than anything.

“Look at that shit,”  I say shaking my head, as I climb off my bike. Looking over my shoulder, I watch the guys doing the same.

“What the hell is this?” Ghost says walking up next to me. I can feel the rage vibrating throughout his body. This wasn’t the plan.

“I don’t know, VP. This looks like some bullshit to me. We didn’t plan that shit,” I say, looking at the number of people that stand in front of us. This was far from our plan.

There are at least twenty guys to our five. We’ve never had a problem with these guys before, so I don’t understand the need for the extras.

“What do you wanna do here, Prez?” Roc slaps a hand on my shoulder.

“You strapped up?” I ask Roc. With a slight grin, I glance over my shoulder. The smile on Roc’s face spreads.

“Damn right, I am.” 

We cautiously make our way toward the small crowd that has gathered in front of us. The easy meet has now turned into something more.

“What’s with the security team, Marcus? Afraid of somethin’?” I question as I step up in front of the leader of the Street Demons. I cross my arms over my chest as I glare at him.

Street Demons are an illegal gang that runs a lot of the territory up north of us. We supply them with a lot of their needs.

Cracking my neck from side to side, I watch him.

“We heard a few things, Dragon. Thought we might discuss them with you while you’re here.” I wonder what they heard.

Marcus is a little bitch if you ask me. I never did like the kid. I did like his dad, though, and that’s the only reason I do business with his sorry ass.

“You use our drop for your meetin’, huh? Couldn’t make a phone call?”

“There was some killings not so long ago. Heard it was yours.” What the hell is he getting at? None of those assholes had anything to do with him or his crew.

“And? Since when is the shit I handle any of your concern?” Feeling my muscles twitch, I know I need to stay calm. I’ll rip this little fucker in half.

“Since the one you didn’t kill came to me,” he replies. I can hear the guys behind me. The words leaving their mouths would make a sailor blush.

“What the fuck did he want?” I ask angrily. Anger courses through my veins. I never expected the idiot to run to SD’s, but I guess we’re all full of surprises these days.

“Protection,” he says in a matter of fact tone. My arms fall to my sides. My fingers twitch, ready to pull my gun at a moment’s notice.

Marcus laughs before I say, “And did you offer that shit up?”

“Do I look that stupid to you?” 

***

He couldn’t have just asked me that. He want an honest answer?

“You sure you want me to answer that question, considerin’ you have at least fifteen extra people?” I ask as Marcus takes a step forward, the vein in his neck pulsing.

“That was for protection. I didn’t know where your head would be at, Dragon. I didn’t need a blood bath here.” Fuck the rest of this shit. I want answers. I want to know who the fucker was that got away, so I ask, “Who was it?”

“So, eager. You think I’d just give it up like that?” That’s it. He’s pushing my buttons, and today is not the day. My hand reaches around, grabbing my gun before pointing at Marcus’ head. The rest of the guys follow suit, as do Marcus’ guys.

“You listen to me closely you little fuck! I worked close with your dad. He was a good man. You on the other hand—I don’t give two shits about you. You want my goddamn product; I want that motherfucker's name.” The growl that rips through me is almost scary.

The look in his eyes tells me all I need to know.

“I didn’t get a full name. Anderson is his last name, that’s all I know.” He grumbles not at all happy that this is how it’s going down. Now we’re getting somewhere.

Lowering my gun, I glance over at Ghost as the guys do the same.

“Where is he?” I ask once more. Marcus shakes his head before I slam the handle of my gun into his cheek.

His guys move forward, so do mine.

Bending down I grab Marcus by the throat.

“Where... the fuck... is he... Marcus!” Screaming in his face, he shudders.

“I don’t know! I told him no, he took off!” 

I stand back up when I release Marcus. I run my hand through my hair before I say, “Your goddamn price went up.” Marcus drags himself off the ground, wiping the blood from his face.

“What the fuck, Dragon?”  He questions me. He has some nerve. My eyes narrow in on him.

“You fuck me over; you bring in people to try and throw me off balance!” Screaming in his face, I want blood. I want to snap his neck but I won’t.

He has information that he isn’t giving me.

“You find that asshole. You find him, and you call me.” Gripping his neck once more, his eyes widen.

“Call off your little fucks, or I’ll kill every one of them.” Marcus nods, flipping his hand in the air, the guns slowly lower.

“I’ll find him,” Marcus grumbles under the pressure I have on his throat. I take a step away from him. My world spins, my head pounds.

“Give him his shit,” I tell Ghost before heading toward my bike. I’m in no mood for any more of this shit.

He had the motherfucker here, but how did he know to come to him. How did he know to use Marcus? I slide my helmet back on and straddle my bike. I’m pissed at myself for the way I just acted, but in my mind, I feel like Marcus knows something more than he’s saying. I lean back, crossing my arms over my chest as I watch the guys make the deal. Something’s off with this whole thing. I don’t fucking like it, and I won’t until I know exactly what the hell is going on.

“You ok?” Trick walks over, eyeing me.

“No. Let’s fuckin’ get out of here.”