It will cost you nothing to dream,
and everything not to.
-GeniusQuotes.net
Church, four days later…
“We have a run coming up this weekend. Nightmare and Chaos, are you both still good for it?”
We both nod. It sucks because I’ll have to miss my visit with my son, but I’m not going to shoot down business. It’s my responsibility as an officer in the club. I’ll have to make a trip up during the week or something to see Maverick it looks like.
“Prez.” Blaze interrupts.
“Yeah?” Everyone’s gaze shoots to Blaze.
“How about I head out with Chaos this weekend?”
“There a problem?” Viking grumbles.
“Nah, but Nightmare’s just gettin’ to know his son. He needs off weekends more right now than the rest of us.”
My mouth drops open at his admission. I’m stunned, but I guess I shouldn’t be; we’re a family and try to step up when someone else needs it. I didn’t realize it was me that needed it though. I try not to ask anything of my brothers besides their loyalty.
“You good with that, Night?” Prez asks, and I nod, confirming. Hell yeah, I am.
I’m so damn grateful. I didn’t even have to say a word, and a brother stepped up for me. It’s another reason why the club means so much, and I’ve dedicated a large portion of my life to it.
“I appreciate it.”
No one says anything, blowing it off. It’s what we all do when someone says thank you like it doesn’t even need to be mentioned. It’s true, though. I am thankful, and now I get to visit my family—my other family, that is.
I guess that’s what Bethany and Maverick are, after all—my family. It’s been a long time since I’ve had someone actually blood-related to me. Ever since my father was killed, family has become whoever I chose, whoever has earned the title in my eyes.
“It’s settled, then.” My thoughts are interrupted. “Chaos and Blaze will do this weekend’s run. We have a club run coming up in two months. We all need to be on board, as it’s to welcome in a new Prez to an Oath Keepers charter.”
“Taking over the motherfuckin’ world.” Bronx snickers and we either chuckle or roll our eyes.
He’s young but has come a long way since we first came across him. Bronx was a part of the giant shit show when everything went down with Scot’s ol’ lady and Princess got held up at the bar. Viking overtook the old club. The Widow Makers MC and Bronx was one that patched over, along with Blaze, Torch, Smokey, and Odin.
“Night, you planning to get B to move down here with you?”
“Yep, working on it,” I answer Viking, everyone’s attention on me, yet again. I hate that shit.
“Bet. Let us know so we can make sure we’re available to help move her shit if you need it.”
“I will.”
“Now, back to the pussy. Anymore issues?”
Torch speaks up, “Everything was smooth this last week, and the girls turned good profit as did we.”
“Thank Christ; last thing I want to deal with is pussy problems.”
“Aye, yer ol’ lady holdin’ out on ye then?” Scot riles and Viking growls causing the rest of us to snicker to ourselves.
We’re quiet because Viking has a temper like no other. While he wouldn’t put a bullet in our skulls, the fucker would damn sure throw a punch, and he’s no small man to tangle with. The first time I met him, he was fighting off five or six guys at once. He wasn’t winning, but that was beside the point.
“Don’t be worryin’ about my shit, and I won’t worry about your wrinkly ass,” he replies, and Scot laughs loudly. “All right then, everyone good?”
We all reply with yes and aye. Viking slams the gavel down and we head out. Another successful church meeting for the books, and now it’s time to have a drink with the brothers. It’s one of the best parts about having church; we take a moment afterward to visit.
I plant my ass on the barstool as my phone chimes with a text from Bethany. Opening the message, it’s a new picture. This one is different than her usual daily text. The photo isn’t of just Maverick; it’s of them both and fuck if it isn’t my favorite yet.
B: 2nd Birthday, he took a bite of cake and then smeared it all over my face. Speaking of, Maverick has a Birthday coming up!
I stare at the photo, grinning like a goddamn fool and decide to make it the screen saver on my phone. They’re both covered in blue frosting, and it’s hilarious. Maverick looks so proud of himself while Bethany’s mouth is gaping open in shock. Whoever snapped the picture, timed it perfectly. Probably Princess.
For the first time in two and a half weeks, I look at her and don’t become angry when doing so. Has to mean something, right? She’s a natural beauty, stealing my breath away in a ponytail with frosting smeared across her cheeks.
“Hey, Scot, can I borrow your truck and trailer this weekend?”
“Aye, ye need some help?”
“Nah, I’m good. I’m going to load it up with Bethany’s furniture while she’s at work. Figure she can’t argue with me if she’s not there.”
He chuckles and removes a key off his keyring. “Take it anytime, lad. Can’t wait to see thee lass spit fire over this one.”
“Not sure it’ll be fire, but no doubt she’ll be pissed I’m moving her shit without telling her. I’m counting on her anger, looking forward to it actually.”
“You’re going to turn her into one of those psycho bitches that chop your dick off in the middle of the night,” Bronx interrupts.
“I’m counting on that, too. Only I’ll keep my cock and enjoy driving her crazy at the same time.” I smirk and motion to Blaze for a whiskey.
“Want me to come with you?” he asks, and I shake my head.
“No, I can handle her, and she doesn’t have a lot of stuff. Mav is easy; I’m going to tell him he can have a puppy.”
The guys around me all laugh, knowing I’m playing dirty by swaying my son with a dog. I’m not above getting down and dirty, though; I’ll do what I need to. I didn’t become an outlaw by participating in a fucking hotdog eating contest. I became this way because I’m a bastard. I’m not above doing what I have to, for what I want. Hell, I’ll get my son a damn piglet if it’s needed; I’m not opposed to bribery.
“Nightmare,” Viking grumbles, coming to stand behind me.
“Brother?”
“I just got a call. Prospect says one of the girls was roughed up pretty bad last night. He just found her and had to take her to see the doc. I want you and Saint to go pay a visit to the dumb fuck that was stupid enough to take it too far.”
“I’ll go with Night,” Blaze suggests, eavesdropping on me and his cousin.
“No, you stay here. This will take a certain kind of finesse. I want an example made,” Viking grits, evil dancing in his eyes, and I know he wants us to make the guy hurt really bad.
“No problem, but Saint and I…you know, we each do shit differently.” I clench my hand, feeling the thick scar on my palm. The mark from holding the door closed as a teen has never gone away. It’s a constant reminder of how I became the man I am today, of what my methods are. I like to watch them burn, to smell the stench and hear their cries of agony.
“I know, brother. Let Saint play for a while, then do it your way to get rid of the evidence.”
In other words, let Saint get bloody, and then I can light the fucker on fire. The hard part will be controlling Saint though. He goes a little psycho when he sees blood; the brother practically bathes in it when given the chance. I tend to stay cleaner. I save getting dirty for when I’m working on bikes or sweaty when I’m hitting the drums for a set.
“And Sinner?” He’s usually attached to Saint’s side to keep him in check. They balance each other out or some shit. The point is, you don’t see Saint out and about much without him. I’m not about to have to leash his ass. I’m not Saint’s keeper.
“Sinner’s preoccupied. Like I said, let Saint have some fun, and he’ll be fine. It’s when you hold him back, he loses it. You know how he is.”
I nod. Looks like it’s time to get bloody and teach someone a lesson.
It didn’t take much to find the fucker who messed up one of the whores. It never does, though. We have a nose for sniffing out filthy fuckers. This guy was a repeat, so the prospect recognized him immediately.
Punching the weasel is cathartic. I love taking care of issues with my fists or with fire. He flies to the floor, and Saint’s eyes go a little crazy, and he cackles, “Can I?” He stares at the man who’s gasping for breath at my feet.
I hit pretty damn hard, and he’s only experienced a small taste of my anger. I could tear his body apart with my hands, break bone after bone if I wanted. Instead of crushing his skull with my boot, I decide to heed Viking’s suggestion about holding my brother back.
“Go for it.”
At my go ahead, Saint kneels beside the guy and removes his blade and begins to stab the piece of shit woman beater to death. He plunges the sharp knife into the man a good fifteen times through protests, cries, and gurgles until finally, Saint drops the weapon to his side. His hands go to the weasel’s throat, squeezing until the guy stops making noises.
Next, they trail to his chest, smearing the blood everywhere before collecting what he can in his hands and wiping it over his own arms. It reminds me of some crazed Indian ritual or something. The brother has some serious loose screws.
Saint’s fucking crazy. Did I mention that before? It’s completely opposite to his preppy, pretty boy model appearance too. One look at him, and you’d think he was a rock star or something, not a serial killer on a leash.
He laughs again. “Want me to peel his skin off next?”
This is why he and Viking get along so well. Viking is off his rocker when it comes to people pissing him off too.
“No man, he’s already gone. It’s a shame, too. Really would’ve liked to burn him alive; it wouldn’t have ended so quickly.”
His smile drops, and his gaze grew serious as he stared at the lifeless body before him. “Viking said he wanted him to bleed.”
“You killed it, literally,” I snort and grab a can of old gasoline I’d found in the garage when we first arrived.
Saint grins, grabbing his favorite hunting knife and backs away as I begin to soak the mutilated body in the petrol. We leave a trail from the body to the front door, where I use my trusty zippo to start the fire that will erase any implication we were ever in the house. The body will be too far gone by the time anyone gets here that the authorities will never be able to tell it was us.
“You good?” I ask, a little concerned with his appearance.
We climb on our bikes, and I wait for Saint to get situated. He looks somewhere between a horror movie and a car-crash victim. The blood’s already beginning to dry on his arms, turning a reddish-brown, and he reeks of the metallic scent that blood gives off.
A shower may not help. He needs a deep cleaning to scrub that shit off. I feel like I should take him to the carwash and hose him down, but Viking and Sinner wouldn’t find that as amusing as I would.
I’m sure Sinner will be all over my ass when we get back, for letting Saint’s “crazy” out to play. The man’s like a demented angel of some sort—pretty-boy looks with blond hair and light gray eyes. I’m sure if you peeled that layer away you’d find a soul as black as can be. How Sinner cares for him so much, I’ll never understand.
“Yep, I am. You ready to take off?”
I nod, and the rumble from our bikes drown out the nearby chirping birds as we take off for the clubhouse. Business is done—for now.
“Hey.” My eyes rake over B from top to bottom. She’s dressed for work but still looks sexy as fuck.
“Hi. Perfect timing.” She steps back so I can come into her apartment.
“I liked the pictures this week.” Muttering, I follow her into the kitchen.
She smiles, her eyes lighting up. “Oh yeah? He’s pretty great, huh?”
“Yeah,” I agree as my son comes tearing down the hallway at my voice. He flies into my arms, and my body feels warm all over because of his tiny embrace. You never know what you’ve been missing until you finally have it.
“I missed yow.” He squeezes me tighter, and I chuckle.
Around him, I don’t have to be so serious. He doesn’t know the dark side of me, and I love that fact. I want him to know me as dad, not Nightmare.
“Missed you, too, kid.” I squeeze him back, and he acts like I squish him, sticking his tongue out and rolling his eyes back.
Bethany’s smile grows. “Thanks for being here. I should be off around six thirty when the last girl clocks on for the dinner shift.”
“No rush. We’re going to hang out and maybe eat some ice cream. I brought the Monster Truck movie Maverick asked for. Besides, you should just quit.”
She laughs, rolling her eyes. “Yeah, right. Maybe someday in a far-off land when fairies pay my bills, then I’ll quit and eat ice cream with y’all.” She winks, and I smirk. Little does she know, but her ass will be quitting whether she likes it or not. She’ll find out when she gets home, and all her shit’s packed and loaded on the trailer outside.
“I’ll be back later; you two have fun, and Night, call if you need anything.”
“I will.”
“Ummm…we wiw. Love you, Momma”
“Love you, buddy.” She blows him a kiss and grabs her purse.
She’s off to work, and it’s just me and little man left at the kitchen table. I may as well not waste any time. Turning to him, I grin. “So…you like puppies, Maverick?”