Jack
I knew something was up. Charlie had always been a real good stooge. The kind of idiot who listened to every order I gave him, and then some. He’d always been desperate for a family, and the Steel Gods were about as close as he was ever gonna get. He was a real loser, a reject who’d grown up in foster care.
So when I told him to go get that cunt of a girlfriend of mine, I thought he’d comply real easily. He didn’t have a reason to fuck with me. I’d given him a chance when no other MC in town would listen to anything he said.
He owed me, goddamnit.
“Jack, what the fuck is going on?” One of the other guys in the club, Kip, strode up and eyed me. “Where the fuck is Charlie?”
I rolled my eyes. “That little shit is trying to fuck me,” I said. “He disappeared over a month ago, and I know something went south. He ditched the car outside of Colorado, weeks ago, and he hasn’t been answering his calls.”
“That’s so fucked up, Boss,” Kip said. He grinned. “You think he run off with your bitch?” He started laughing and I punched him hard in the gut. “Fuck! Ow! That fuckin’ hurt, you ass!”
“Don’t fuckin’ talk about that cunt,” I said. “She’s fuckin’ dead to me.” I cracked my knuckles and pulled my arms over my head to stretch. “She ain’t got shit.”
“Well, you go get her, then, and show her how little she really means,” Kip said. He grinned, showing off his teeth. Like some of the other members of the Steel Gods, Kip had filed his teeth down to sharp little points. When we got into fights with other MCs, my men had a penchant for biting. And I sure as fuck wasn’t planning on stopping any of that.
“I reckon I’ll have to do just that.” I stood up and wiped my palms on my jeans. “You put a tracker on Charlie’s phone, right?”
Kip nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “Look, sorry about the car. That one was real hard to rig up. It’s possible it just fell off somewhere. Those old cars, they’re hard to keep track of for too long. Ain’t like these ones with computers and shit.”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t want any more of your bullshit excuses,” I told him. “I need a flight to Durango, immediately.”
Kip laughed. “You can’t fly into Durango,” he said. “You gotta go to Denver and rent a car. It’s a real small town.” He blinked. “Jack, you really think this guy is trying to fuck you? Charlie was always good. He did everything right, for fuck’s sake! He never even spoke out of turn.”
“I know,” I said. “That’s why I’m so fuckin’ pissed off.”
“I’ll look for his phone,” Kip promised. He pulled out a laptop and opened it, pulling his browser up to Google. Kip was one of the smarter men in the Gods –I’d plucked him up after he’d dropped out of college, and he’d been real useful to me so far. I owed him.
“You should come with me,” I said sharply. “You should come with me and get the bitch and make sure Charlie doesn’t see the light of day again. It’s your turn to step up, Kip. You wanna lead this club one day?”
Kip raised his eyebrows. “Boss, I ain’t worthy of such an honor,” he said. He grinned, then shoved the laptop towards me. It showed a map with a blinking blue light in the center.
I squinted and leaned closer to the screen. “I don’t know what the fuck I’m lookin’ at,” I told him. “You gotta tell me how to read this shit.”
“So, the dot is his phone,” Kip said. He pulled the computer back towards him and zoomed out of the map. “But they ain’t in Colorado. This is Utah, or some shit. Real middle of nowhere town.”
I felt my stomach twist into a knot. “So you’re telling me they’re hiding out?” My voice came out as an angry growl. “They’re fucking hiding out and lying to me?”
Kip nodded. “Yeah, look at the time stamp, here,” he said as he pointed towards the bottom right corner of the screen. He pulled up another window and then set the two side by side. “And see, here’s this other shot,” he added. “This was a week ago, look. The dot barely moves. Just around in a little circle, here.” Kip zoomed in and I saw what looked like a little shack. “I guess he’s staying there.”
“Is that my car in the yard?”
Kip snorted. “Looks like a truck,” he said, scrutinizing the screen. “So you want me to come with you? To fuckin’ Utah?”
I stood up and shoved my fists in my pocket. “Yeah,” I grunted. “I guess we’re goin’ to fuckin’ Utah.”
Two days later, Kip and I were waiting to catch a charter plane from Carlsbad to St. George, Utah. I’d never heard of that shit small town before. I hadn’t even wanted to believe that it existed – it all seemed so easy to fake the technology that Kip would have needed to trick me. But we’d had a little chat and I knew he couldn’t possibly be lying to me. I’d shown him my knife, and told him if he even thought about tricking me, the blade would be in his gut.
Kip got real quiet after that and told me he wasn’t kidding.
The flight wasn’t as short as I thought it would be. My legs were aching by the end, and I was getting madder and madder by the second. I hated that cunt for running away from me after all that I’d done for her. And I hated Charlie even more. I’d been nothing but good to him, and he chose to repay me by going off with my fuckin’ slut of a girlfriend and quitting the Steel Gods.
When men patched into the Gods, they were required to serve at least five years. Charlie had done nothin’ of the sort – he’d only been around for a couple. And while I’d been sure originally that I could count on him for a long time, this whole thing made me wary of every God left.
“Hey,” I said sharply. “I’m thinking of making up some kinda test when we get back home. You know, somethin’ that’ll really make the men think before they fuck me again. Whaddya think about that?”
Kip laughed. “Sure, Boss,” he said. He looked out the window with wide eyes. “This is the first time I’ve ever been on a plane,” he added.
“I don’t give a fuck,” I snarled. “You’re here because you’re helping me, goddamnit, not because you’re on some kind of fuckin’ vacation! You got that?”
Kip sat back in the seat and nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “I got that. Sorry, Boss.”
We didn’t talk again until the plane landed. I was so angry that I could feel my blood boiling. It had been months since Nicolette had run off, and after the first couple of weeks, I hadn’t thought about her much. Sure, I was pissed as fuck at Charlie for stealing the little cunt. But aside from wanting to clock her real good and hard when she came home, I hadn’t thought of what to do.
Now I knew exactly what I was gonna do to that little bitch. I was gonna make her apologize, personally, to every single member of the Steel Gods for putting their leader in such a rotten mood. Maybe they’d like a couple of fucks, or a blowjob, or some shit like that. Nicolette gave great head – that was one of the reasons I’d stayed with her. She knew how to suck dick like a pro. I was sure the rest of the guys could really benefit from blowing a big load in her mouth.
I didn’t want her anymore, anyway. So after that, I’d drag her out to the woods and kill her. Nothing too harsh. Probably just slit her throat like a pig and leave her to die. She was a cunt, and that’s what cunts get for abandoning their masters.
“Hey,” Kip said. He tapped me on the shoulder. “Look.” He pointed out the window. “We’re here, and this is one hell of a small town, Boss.”
The plane was circling a small landing field. It looked like the middle of nowhere, until I craned my neck and glanced out the window. There were big rocky red mountains surrounding the town. It didn’t look a damn thing like Carlsbad. It looked like the desert. I couldn’t imagine living here, or why Charlie would want to. The anger returned to my system, pumping like lava through my veins as I thought of why he’d stick around. He’s been sticking his dick in that sweet pussy, I thought with a growl. And he should have known that pussy belonged to me. But he’s gonna learn, real fast, as soon as I see him.
Once we landed, Kip and I thumbed a ride into the center of town. There wasn’t much to see. Most of it was one street, and a lot of the buildings were abandoned. There was one place that rented cars. I had Kip go inside and pay for one while I waited outside with a cigarette.
As soon as we had wheels, Kip drove me to the outskirts of town. I could feel myself getting pumped with adrenaline, like I always did right before a fight. I wished I had a bump or two of blow. That always helped me when I was goin’ against someone strong. Not that I thought Charlie was all that strong; compared to me, he was total pussy. But I wanted to beat him so badly he’d never be able to walk again. I was reveling in the sensation of how it would feel to do that just as Kip pulled up to a shitty little cottage with dirty windows and a heap of broken-down furniture in the front yard.
“Looks like they’ve got themselves a real white trash life,” Kip cracked. “Boss, you want me to go in with you?”
“No,” I snapped. “I’m gonna fuckin’ do it myself, thank you very much.” I climbed out of the car and slammed the door. Pushing my sleeves up, I climbed onto the porch and knocked on the door.
No one answered. I held my breath and leaned down to press my ear against the door. Inside was quiet. Fuck yes, I thought. Maybe they’re not home, and I can surprise them with a little welcome-back party. Thoughts filled my head about what Nicolette’s face would look like after she’d seen what I’d done to her precious boyfriend Charlie. I smiled. That bitch is gonna be so surprised, I thought. She’s gonna be real sorry about the day she left me, that’s for fuckin’ sure.
When I knocked again and got no answer, I pulled the storm door open and lowered my shoulder. The front door wasn’t even locked. Inside, the living room was empty. There was some shitty wicker furniture, a pizza box on the couch, and the TV was blaring.
I frowned. Most people don’t fuckin’ leave the television on when they leave. As silently as I could, I prowled down the hallway. There was a quiet sound coming from behind a closed door. I grinned menacingly as I wrapped my fingers around the doorknob and shoved the door open.
Nicolette and Charlie were lying in bed together, all tangled up. When Nicolette saw me, she opened her mouth and let out a wild scream.
“Surprise, bitch,” I said. Then I grinned and walked into the room.