Chapter 10
2 Piece
I squint at the oncoming headlights and attempt to make out the vehicle approaching. It looks like a truck. I think it’s probably Niko since he was running a little behind us.
The guys are busy zip tying and blindfolding the Twisted Snakes we just gassed. I can’t wait until we get to the ranch and I can teach that fucker a lesson for shooting Avery.
“Expecting company?” Exterminator questions as he shoulders off one of the Snakes into the back of the van.
“Yeah, that blue truck is Nikoli, the Russian we were waiting on,”
“Ah, got it.” he walks off toward the clubhouse again.
Nikoli parks his truck and climbs out, shutting the door quietly. “Are they ready?” he checks his gun.
“Yep, sure are. They’re loading the bodies now.”
He nods and heads to the entrance. I’m glad to see he decided to change into something more fit for this outing. There’ll more than likely be a lot of blood, so we all need to wear black.
“Oof.” I turn and see Cain stretching out his back.
“‘Sup, brother?” I cock my head.
“That’s a fat fucker; he about killed my back.”
I chuckle and he takes off for another. Ten minutes later and the brothers have the bodies loaded up. We didn’t need Cain’s trunk after all. They threw a couple in the back of Niko’s truck and covered them with a tarp, it worked perfectly. We should’ve done that with the others as well.
Exterminator climbs into the passenger seat next to me and Nightmare gets in the back of the van with the passed-out scumbags.
“Let’s move, 2, before any dumb asses show up being nosey.” Ex grumbles.
“All right, cool.”
Starting the van, we begin the journey to the ranch. The miles pass slowly; as I concentrate on watching the speed limit. I’d normally fly down Texas highways, but I have to be cautious with the bodies in the back. The Eagles play low as we each seem to be in our own little world.
I wonder when we’ll be done so I can get back to Avery. I hope she’s doing okay. I’m sure she is; she has London with her.
I’m glad my shorty seems to be recovering more from the shot. Her stiches are healing up nicely the last time I checked and she hasn’t complained much about it. Who knew that girl would be such a trooper.
We’ve been riding for about an hour when I hear some moaning and rustling. That can’t be Nightmare; was he shot or something? Surely Ex would’ve said something if Night was injured.
“You all right back there, Nightmare?” I peer into the rearview mirror.
“Turn on the back light,” he gripes.
Flicking on the light, Exterminator turns so he can see in the back. I hear a thud and a grunt. The van rocks with the heavy movement. What the hell?
“Fuck!” Ex yells out and turns to me. I glance back and see Nightmare’s arm dripping blood and he has someone pinned down. “We have one awake already. You need to find a place to pull the fuck over.”
“Yeah, bro, I’ll take the closest exit. I think it’s three miles up.”
Ex turns back around to keep an eye on Nightmare and the others. “You straight, Night?” he removes his own blade.
“He fucking sliced me, why wasn’t he secured? Hurry up,” he snarls angrily.
“I am, brother, just a sec,” I call towards the back, loudly, so he can hear me. There’s some more rustling and then pissed off murmuring.
I hate having to make an unscheduled stop. You never know what could happen. Cops are always hiding where you least need them to be, and what if there are more Snakes not secured properly? I’ve never done any time and I’d like to not start now—for kidnapping and whatever else they can find to cook up.
I take the exit to a little rest area. It’s surrounded by plenty of trees so I drive around toward the back of the building. There are some worn-out covered picnic tables and a few large trash dumpsters.
“All right, Ex, you go around and I’ll stay here with my weapon trained on them until you get asshat unloaded.”
He nods and jumps out of the dark van. The back door flies open a moment later. Night holds the scum down and Ex stabs the guy in the ribs then in the opposite leg. “
Ain’t going to get far now, buttercup,” Exterminator chuckles, and Nightmare rolls the Snake out the back of the van by kicking him repeatedly.
Niko and Cain pull up behind the vehicle with the rest of the guys. They approach the van carefully.
“It’s all good, brothers. We had one wake up and Night got sliced, so we’re dealing with him now.”
Twist gets a pleasantly surprised look on his face. Ex has his gun trained on the tied-up idiots so I make my way to where they are surrounding the douche that woke. “So, what are we going to do with this one?” I mutter curiously.
Nightmare turns to me; he might as well be the grim reaper right now with that look gracing his features. The scar running from eyebrow to his nose, makes him seem even more dangerous.
“I’ll take care of the problem,” he grits then pulls out his gun and shoots the guy in both his legs.
“Ah!” The guy screams in pain and the brothers snicker. I remain silent, watching, and taking note of the Nomads’ methods.
Nightmare snatches the screaming man by his wrists and drags him toward the dumpster. “Anybody got some gas?” he glances at each of us.
“Of course,” Nikoli responds and grabs a gas can out of his truck bed.
Night nods at Ex. Exterminator grasps the man’s legs as Night holds his wrists and they fling him into the dumpster. “Now the fun part,” he mutters cryptically. He pours gas over the opening of the dumpster; the man wails inside and I scan the surroundings to make sure no one is near.
Nightmare pulls out his plain zippo and lights a piece of trash, then throws it into the dumpster. The bin erupts into a blueish gold blaze, burning the gas away. The Twisted Snake wails bone-chilling screams, and I try to hold my breath. The smell of burning flesh is ripe and makes me gag. Twist watches me and grins evilly.
That’s my cue to make my way back to the van and most of the guys follow suit.
If Avery only knew how much of a bad man I was. I don’t deserve someone as kind and good as her. Fuck, it’s going to be hard to sleep tonight next to her, after this.
Exterminator and Nightmare load up in the van and it’s so silent I could hear crickets. I look back at Night in the mirror. He has his shirt off and wrapped around his arm. The cut’s not deep, just long, so it’s making a mess.
“Now you know why we’re Nomads, brother. We tend to not fit in so much with everyone else,” Ex explains and stares solemnly out the front window.
“Yep, now I know. Although I want to do something similar to the dirt bag that shot Avery,” I admit, and he looks at me skeptically for a few beats. I don’t cower and he nods in acceptance.
“We can make it happen then, brother,” he admits, and I drive toward the ranch again. That was just one brief hiccup in what’s to come tonight, I’m sure.
Avery
I tried calling 2 Piece but never got any response. London thinks I’m being paranoid and tells me to leave the guys alone to do what they need to do. I don’t get how she can be so calm. She clearly has more faith in Cain doing his job.
I on the other hand have no idea what 2’s job is. I know he does the long runs, whatever that means. This is the first time I’ve been around him and he’s let me know something’s up. That means we’re making progress if he’s opening up to me about things he normally keeps quiet.
I’m bored, so I may as well call my parents.
“Hello.” My dad’s voice brings a feeling of warmth and comfort to me. I miss my dad a lot. I think if my mom wasn’t around so much, then I’d visit him more.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Oh, honeybee! So nice to hear from you. How ya’ been, kid?”
“I’m doing really good, Dad, how about you?”
“Oh, same ol’ same ol’, you know; this old man doesn’t do much. I went and watched the dolphins this morning with your mom, and then she went to work.”
“That’s awesome, I miss working with the animals and watching the dolphins.”
“All the more reason for you to come on home.”
“Dad, you’ve been trying for a while now and it hasn’t worked.”
“You can’t blame me for trying to get my only daughter back close to me.”
“Maybe, I’ll see if my friend wants to take a ride out there sometime soon.”
“That’s great, hon. Is this Miss Emily?”
“No, it’s a guy I’ve been seeing for a while.”
“A guy? But you’ve never really introduced us to guys before.”
“I know, Dad; that’s how you know this one’s kind of special.”
“Well, if he’s won my girl over, then I’m certainly intrigued to meet him.”
“I’ll discuss it with him and give you a call when we know more, okay?”
“All right, stay safe. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Dad. Tell Mom hi for me.”
“I will, bye, kiddo.”
“Bye.”
I can’t believe I told him we might visit. Where on earth did that idea come from? I’m surprised he didn’t get all bossy about it, but that’s more my mom, not him. I need to talk to 2 about the feelings I’m developing.
2 Piece
We drive down the long, dark, dirt road that leads to the ranch. It’s going to be a busy night ahead; I’m looking forward to this much-deserved retribution. Our friends and families shouldn’t have to live in fear of being hurt and terrorized by another club.
The trip’s been silent and I’m jonesin’ to get the fuck out of this van. I pull up to the side of the giant, faded white barn. There won’t be anyone coming this way, but better safe than sorry.
Jumping out in a hurry, I’m grateful to stretch my legs and be out of the tight space. Ex steps in front of me before I make it to the back door of the vehicle to let Night out, “Whose bikes are parked out front?” he murmurs quietly.
“One is Capone’s. He’s supposed to make sure the barns all ready for us. I don’t know who the other’s is.”
“You checking that shit out?”
I raise my eyebrow. He’s serious right now? I just told him it’s Capone. He looks at me solemnly. Fuck it. Guess I’m going in.
“Sure, I’ll go check on Capone, if it will keep your panties out of a wad,” I grumble, exasperated, and he shakes his head, blowing me off to open the door for Nightmare.
The building illuminates more with the oncoming headlights of Niko’s truck and the night rumbles with the sound of Cain’s Challenger following the truck. It all feeds into the headache I’m starting to get. Tonight’s just not my night.
I’m grumpy and would rather be spending time with Avery. I know she’ll be leaving to go back sometime soon now that we are taking care of this shit. I wonder how she’d feel if I was to drive her up after Nikoli left. I’ll have to discuss it with her.
Maybe I’ll see if Ares wants to go, too. We could have some fun with her before we leave Tennessee to come back home. I don’t want to think of coming back without her and he might make the trip more bearable.
Opening the weathered barn door, it creaks loudly as I slip through. The smell of hay and dust hits me and I place my shirt over my nose until I get used to it. It’s so dark inside. The old dingy light globe at the very top of the barn is useless, and I can’t see more than five steps in front of me.
It’s just enough to give everything an eerie shadow and make your eyes play tricks. I squint, trying to make out specific shapes. “Capone?” I call into the silent barn and it echoes slightly.
The brothers talking and making noises seep through the weathered cracks and I make out a few different conversations between them.
I feel it against my back—the cold stiffness—before I hear the click that seems to echo throughout the entire barn. I put my hands out to each side of my head, palms flat, pointing forward, then stand stock still and slow my breathing. I don’t know who the fuck’s behind me or what’s going on right now. I’m not going to chance it and try to play the hero though.
The only thing that runs through my head, is that one of the Snakes must’ve found out our plan. It pains me to believe we have a rat in our club, but it seems as if it’s the only feasible answer. “Look, there are about twenty other bikers outside this barn. You really don’t want to be doing this right now.”
“Fucking lyin’ bitch. There’s only seven outside.” I hear his voice and chills spread over my body. I can’t fucking believe this is happening right now. Is he crazy? Is he completely ignorant of what he is doing to himself right now?
“Capone, man, what the fuck’s going on?”
“It’s simple; you’re each going to die,” he chortles cockily. “Hey, Joker, this is the one you wanted. He came right to us.”
As soon as I hear the name Joker my body goes rigid, on high alert. Fuck, he wasn’t at the club with the rest of them. This is what we were worried about, them not all being there.
What am I going do? I can’t let my brothers get hurt. I refuse to carry that on my shoulders if I make it out of here okay.
Joker swaggers over to me with his top lip curled in a snarl. I remember that ghostlike figure perfectly. He damn near glows in here compared to the dingy surroundings.
“Well, look who we have. It’s the cunt that ran from me on my bike. Fucking coward,” he spits angrily, close to my face.
It takes every ounce of self-control I possess not to head butt him as the word coward leaves his mouth. I can only savor the visualization of my forehead meeting his nose with a loud crack and the sickening spray of blood erupting. I know if I do it, the repercussions would be me getting shot and not protecting my club that is right outside that old door.
I swallow my pride and remain quiet. He’ll more than likely give me some useful information if I stick with a lackluster expression. I hear the brothers chortle and pray they decide to not come in after me.
“What next, Joker?” Capone probes and digs the gun deeper into my back. Fuck that hurts. I’m going to mess up this fucker so badly if I get free from this.
Joker’s eyes light up with ideas I’m sure I’m not keen on hearing. “First we need to move him out of the way before the rest come in here. We sneak him out the back where I took off those boards. We’ll get him out there, and once the rest of the club comes in, we’ll torch this shit hole. Teach these fucks to try to kidnap my club. I’m going to find something to tie him up with.”
“No problem,” Capone agrees happily as Joker walks behind some equipment.
“Capone, why are you doing this? Why betray your brothers?”
“My brothers? Are you kidding me? You all treat me like shit there. I was just trying to talk to that piece of ass you have at the club and she was a fucking bitch too. No, my brothers are the guys you’ve tied up out there. My real brother just went to get something to secure your ass with.”
“Your real brother? Joker’s your kin?”
I need to keep him talking while it’s only him; I have to figure a way out of this. The only rational thing I can think of is to scream to my brothers that it’s a trap. However, I don’t know if they’d try to come get me or if these idiots would start randomly shooting and kill one of them.
“Yep, our father used to be President of the Twisted Snakes. Then Brently’s stupid ass had to start seeing Seraphina. We don’t take kindly to our sister seeing some fuck face kid of another club.”
Bingo, all the pieces come together. I can’t believe this shit. Capone’s been around for about four years.
“Capone, they haven’t been seeing each other for four years.”
“Oh, I know. I’ve been stealing guns and club money the whole time I’ve been with the Oath Keepers. There’re a lot of us who get into other clubs to acquire what we can, and then we go back to our own club. Imagine my surprise when I saw Sera with none other than my fake-ass Prez’s son. I let my real brother in on what I saw, and he took it from there. I got to stay put to get information and he took care of shit on the outside. It was the perfect plan, actually.”
“Shit, that is a perfect plan.”
I hear rustling, my gaze flying toward where Joker disappeared. In his place, I find Twist creeping steadily and quietly toward us. Fuck, I hope Capone doesn’t see him. “Say, Capone, what happened to Seraphina?”
“Oh, that bitch took off. Joker said we should make her be a club slut after the shit she pulled. I reckon she found out. She comes home, though, and we’ll have our fun with her.”
Twist stares at my face and I shake my head as much as I can, I make a shooing motion with my hand. I hope he sees my movements.
Twist glares and shakes his head in return. Fuck, why is he being tenacious? If Joker walks up behind him, then he’s fucked. I watch him as far as I can without turning my head as he scales the outer perimeter of the barn.
“Do you think Seraphina could be with Brently?”
I wonder if he’s hiding her to keep her safe. I’ve never seen or met her, but Brently must be pretty hung up on her to keep dealing with this shit. I’m glad Avery doesn’t have two psycho brothers out to get me.
There’s a gurgle and I no longer feel the gun at my back so I quickly turn around.
Twist stands in front of me holding his large hunting knife that drips with blood. He’s relaxed, as if the kill was rejuvenating for him. On the floor, Capone lies holding his neck, gasping for air as blood sputters from the large gash across his throat. His eyes bug and dark liquid coats his hands, pooling under him as the life drains out of his irises.
“There’s another,” I whisper, and Twist shakes his head.
“No, he’s knocked out and tied up back behind all the farming equipment.”
“How did you know?”
“When we got here I walked behind the barn to take a piss and saw the missing boards. I decided to climb through and check it out. The brothers said you’d come in, so I figured if anything I’d try to make you jump.”
I meet his gaze, humbly. I don’t know how to repay him for saving my life and quite possibly all the brothers’ lives. “Thank you, brother,” I murmur genuinely and reach my hand out.
He shakes it and slaps my back with his free hand, “Anytime, brother.”
We trek to the barn door and I use a cinder block to prop it open. At this point I can’t wait to kill all these assholes after hearing what kind of people they really are.