CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Diesel
“Somethin’ feels off,” Loch said taking a seat beside me at the bar.
Loch owned the only bar in town. It was his but to be honest, it was for the club. The place was a rundown hole in the wall that had become the place where the brothers would go when the clubhouse got too stale. But once Reagan started working there, and had managed to turn it around a little, some of the townies started coming in regularly. Reagan even started making those fancy fucking drinks with fruit on the sides and shit. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she wasn’t planning on a Ladies’ Night at some point soon.
I ended up there that night because I needed to get out without getting away. It had been a week since the Cherry thing and I had been holed up at the clubhouse when I wasn’t working. I was keeping to myself more than normal, hiding away in my room. Which, was saying a lot. While I loved my brothers, I wasn’t the overly social type.
Reagan and Chris were working behind the bar. Chris kept sending me questioning glances like he knew something was off with me. But I kept avoiding his gaze. He wasn’t in the club but we all considered him family. He was a couple years younger than me and had more of a hipster vibe going on. Except his pretty face wasn’t cover by a hairy beard. I had found myself in bed with him on more occasions than I could count.
Though we had never been in a relationship, I had something with him that I didn’t have with anyone else. I could let my hair down a little around him. I could talk to him and I never felt like he judged me. We were both bi but it wasn’t something we flaunted. Not that we were ashamed, it simply wasn’t a big deal. Most of the club knew and didn’t give a shit. Which was nice. I was their brother, no matter what.
Shaking off all of those thoughts, I turned my attention to Loch. I raised a brow in question. Things had felt off since Savage let us go. We were looking over our shoulder, but for what we had no idea.
“You seen Stone today?” His face was hard like he was trying to figure something out.
“No.” I paused trying to remember the last time I’d seen Stone. “He swung by the clubhouse last night, but wasn’t there long.” He nodded slowly then pulled out his phone. After a moment of it ringing in his ear, he blew out a harsh breath and put his phone down.
“Tank!” Loch yelled out to the other side of the bar. Tank lumbered over, filling up the space between Loch and myself. “You seen Stone today?”
“Yeah,” he replied, pushing his thick curls out of his face with one of his giant hands. “Mel watched Grass today. Stone was there when I picked him up about three hours ago.”
“He isn’t answering,” Loch said, brows still drawn tight. Tank shrugged but I could feel the tension there.
“He said he had to drop some tools back off at the garage, then he was heading to the clubhouse.” Tank paused and scratched his cheek with his thumb. “Didn’t see him before I headed over here, though.”
“Want me to go look for him?” I asked thinking the distraction would be nice. I was sure there was nothing wrong. Loch had been more on edge lately, even though he didn’t let it show. I knew because I could see it written on Reagan’s face. She held all of their emotions on her sleeve. I was glad he finally found someone to take care of him.
“Yeah,” Loch said. “Ride over to his place. Talk to Mel.”
With a nod, I slipped off the stool. I felt Chris’ eyes on me as I walked away. I broke down and glanced over at him. His face was etched with curiosity and concern. I slightly shook my head. I knew I would most likely find myself at his house later. But I had a feeling it wouldn’t start off like it always did.
The truth was, I was starting to think I was crazy and maybe I needed to talk to someone. My thoughts of Ellie were bordering on obsessive and I needed to know I wasn’t going insane. But all of that was going to have to wait. Right then, I had a brother to find and a club to take care of.
Mel answered the door with panic in her eyes. I stepped in and she shut the door quickly behind me. We didn’t make it any further into the house. Her hand grabbed my wrist and I suddenly felt that odd feeling that Loch was having.
“This isn’t a social call, is it?” Her usually strong voice sounded broken as she tried to joke. I looked down at her not sure of what to say. “He said he’d be home two hours ago. He’s never this late.”
It was true. Stone loved Mel and his family. When he said he was going to be home he made sure to be there. If he couldn’t, he would always call. The fact that she was worried and hadn’t heard from him didn’t sit right with me.
“Take a breath and sit.” I calmly pulled her to the couch. Her knees buckled as she tried to lower herself down. My hands wrapped around her and she clutched my shirt tightly. I held her for a few moments as she tried to calm herself down.
“Somethin’ isn’t right, D.” She took in a shuttering breath. “I can feel it.” Mel was always so strong, handling club life like she was born to do it. Seeing the tears streaming down her face hit me deep in the gut, and at that moment I knew what I needed to do. Stone was our brother, and we would search through Hell to find him.
My jaw ticked as I sent off a text to Loch filling him in. Alarm bells were going off in my head.
“I’ll go look for him. You sit. Stay calm. Okay?” She gave me a nod but I could tell she didn’t really hear what I had said. “Be strong. Those kids need you calm. I’ll find him, Mel. Won’t rest until I do.” I tightened my arms around her once more before heading out of the house.
I hated seeing her like that. I fucking hated leaving her and the kids alone. And more than anything, I hated the feeling shaking me deep inside that I was in someway going to fail her and the club.
I sat on my bike staring up at the black sky as I called Bocca. He answered with a groggy greeting.
“Stone is missing. Check security cameras. Tank said he was heading to the garage a bit ago. I’m headed there now,” I said.
“Okay, call you if I see anything,” He said sounding more alert.
I disconnected the call and quickly shot off a text to Tank and Loch telling them to meet me at the garage, then I sped off. The town was small enough; it only took me five minutes to get there. The place had been closed down hours ago. The lights were still off and nothing looked out of place. The cars in the bays, right where I’d left them. I checked the door and it was still locked. I heard the rumbled of Tank and Loch’s bikes tearing down the road. I turned just as they pulled in.
“Anythin’?” Loch asked and I shook my head.
“Everythin’ looks like we left it,” I said, tension stiffened every muscle in my body.
I started walking around the building as Loch and Tank walked around the other side. Not moments later, I heard the deep, angry roar of Tank. I ran, my boots skidding across the gravel. I rounded the back of the building and saw Stone lying there, Loch and Tank attempting to lift his limp body up.
I knew. Even before I saw how badly off he was, I fucking knew. He was gone. His chest wasn’t moving and there was no life left in his body. I walked closer, the dumpster no longer obstructing my view of his upper body. His face was beaten beyond recognition, swollen, bloody and bruised. His white shirt and cut were stained deep red. Still, I couldn’t give up. I ran over to Mr. Smith’s car, knowing the keys were sitting inside on the passenger’s seat. He’d brought it in for an oil change, so I knew it was running. The town was so small and tight-knit that most of the time we didn’t bother locking the keys in the shop. We knew no one would mess with them. I had never really had a feeling about it either way. But right then, I was fucking thankful.
Tank and Loch loaded Stone into the backseat and I took off as soon as the door was shut. I knew they wouldn’t be long behind me on their bikes. The clubhouse was on the other side of town. Which normally the ten-minute drive wasn’t a big deal. But at that moment, it took far too long.
The gates were already open and Patch was waiting outside, along with a few other brothers. They pulled Stone’s body from the car before I even had it in park and hurried him back to the med room. I paced outside the door, my hands clenching and unclenching at my sides. The clubhouse was eerily quiet as we all waited for the answer that we already knew in our hearts.
Patch came out of the med room not long after, wiping his bloodied hands on a rag and shaking his head. His lips were set in a thin line and I knew he was barely holding it together. Anger and shock filled the air; brothers cursing and hitting the closest objects.
Stone was dead. And by the way his body was mangled and mauled, it wasn’t an accident. We all knew who did this. Savage. I looked over at Loch. We knew. This was only the beginning.
“Find who did this,” I growled at Bocca and then headed to the bar. I needed a drink. I was sure that was just about everyone’s thoughts, too.
I downed shot after shot. The alcohol mixed with the anger and flowed through my veins like a wildfire, heating up every single crevasse in my body. I knew I had to keep my cool. I had to save all this rage for the right time. I took a deep breath before I tossed back my final shot of the night.
Tanks huge paw clamped down on my shoulder. We exchanged meaningful looks but said nothing. We were all thinking the same thing. How would we deal with this? Who would tell Mel and the kids? What would happen now?
Thinking of Mel and the kids broke my heart even more. She was always there for us. This club was like an extension of her family, the brothers were like her kids. She was endlessly looking after and caring for us.
Now, she wouldn’t be able to grow old with the love of her life. She wouldn’t be able to carry any more of his children. She wouldn’t be able to kiss him good morning. And the kids… Charlie, Anna, and Brent wouldn’t be able to show their father anymore aced tests. They wouldn’t be able to look for him at their graduation ceremony. They wouldn’t be able to see the look on his face when they made him a proud grandpa.
I sighed, knowing all too well how it was to be one of the ones left behind. I knew how hard it was to grieve. And I knew that sometimes people didn’t get over it; they just broke instead. Mel was strong, but I had no doubt that Stone’s death would crush her.
Revenge will be mine. For them and for the club.
I cleared the haze from my vision and looked around. Everyone was taking the hit. This was one of our brothers and he was gone. He would never have another vote or take another ride. The reality of our lives was hitting us hard. Up until then, things hadn’t been all that dangerous. But the moment Savage and his club moved in, things had taken a sharp turn in the direction Cal had always tried to avoid. This would end in war. As I took in all of my brothers’ faces, I wondered how many more of us would fall.
“Call everyone in,” Cal commanded, his big face red with anger. “Church, now.” He turned and headed to his office, the door slamming behind him so hard I was sure the frame splintered.
Within fifteen minutes we were sitting around the table. The tension so thick in the air it was hard to breathe. Cal’s eyes took a moment to look over each of us.
“I’m callin’ a lockdown. Get your families here tonight,” Cal started, his tone calm like a president’s should be. I knew inside he was a mess of anger and hate. He was putting Stone’s death on his shoulders; taking all the blame. But that wasn’t how we all saw it. “No one leaves town.” His eyes pointedly looked at me and I resisted the urge to duck my head like a scolded child. I didn’t think that my constant leaving lately hadn’t gone unnoticed.
“What about the garage?” Loch asked.
“Everyone stays here except to go there for work. Loch, shut the bar down on weekdays. Chris can run it on weekends. Won’t lose too much business that way.” He paused and cleared his throat before continuing. “Diesel, take Lake and talk to Mel. Get her and the kids here.”
I nodded knowing I was chosen because I didn’t have anyone of my own to pack up and bring in. Tank had to go to his mom’s to break the news to her and pick up his little boy, Grass. Loch had to go break the news to Reagan. A few of the others had families they needed to get in and get settled.
“Your asses stay here unless I say so. I know it’s goin’ to be a full house and we are goin’ to get agitated bein’ so cramped, but I don’t want any fuckin’ problems. Round the clock patrols of the compound. Two out there at a time. Got it!” We all nodded in a silent understanding. “Bocca?”
Bocca stood and tossed his tablet on the table. A still of what looked like security camera footage from the garage was glaring up at us. A man with his back to the camera, his cut displaying The Devil’s Kings patch. His face turned to look over his shoulder directly into the camera. A face I recognized all too well. A satisfied evil smirk spread across his face. He was taunting us, laughing at us. He wanted us to see who it was. He wanted us to know why this was done.
“Switchblade.” Tank’s deep voice barked out cutting off whatever Bocca was about to say. His giant hands curled into fists on the table. Savage’s third in command. His smug look always made me want to punch him at every sit down we had with the Devil’s.
“There was also another set of boots but I couldn’t see anything else,” Bocca said after the room settled a bit. “It happened about an hour before you got there.” He looked over at Loch before shifting his gaze to me.
“We will get blood for this,” Cal said reading all of our thoughts. “But we do this right and we do it when I say.” His tone was commanding and left no room for arguments.
“I’ll keep seeing what I can find out about him. See if I can find where he is.” Bocca’s happy-go-lucky attitude long tucked away. A mask of hurt and rage was pulled over his charming smile.
“Loch, call in Brand. Give him the option. He can come home or he can stay there,” Cal said turning to Loch. I watched for any sort of reaction from Loch, but there wasn’t one. “But let him know, this choice will reflect his future.” Meaning, he comes back now, or he finds the South Carolina chapter his new home.
Brand had been gone for months and I knew his feelings for Reagan were the reason behind him taking off. Loch was clueless to it for a long time, but I saw it. Loch’s decision to have Brand sit with her twenty-four hours a day after she was attacked was the wrong move. And who could blame the guy for falling in love with her? She was gorgeous, kind and had spunk. Though Brand stayed true to his loyalties to Loch and the club and didn’t try anything with her, it was still hard on him. He needed to get away and clear his head and the air. I definitely understood that feeling. But it was time for him to come home. I hoped he saw it that way. He was a good asset to the club and he would go a long way. I had no doubt that he would have a seat at the table one day.
“Get gone. Get your people here and get prospects out on the fuckin’ gate.” Cal stood, ending the meeting.
I dashed off and found Lake, telling him to follow me over to Stone and Mel’s house. This was going to be one of the worst things I’d have to do. The guilt about the conversation I was about to have tore me up inside as I rode over there.