The cool gray concrete façade of the dimly lit warehouse pressed tightly against my back. I ducked below the dirty glass block windows, sank directly below to crouch, and paused to catch my breath. The frantic beat of my pulse thrummed in my veins from the sudden burst of adrenaline. Excitement always did this to me. The thrill of the upcoming fight and knowing we held the element of surprise sent a surge of pleasure through my veins. I was like a junkie who needed their next fix.

Maybe I was addicted to the fucked-up life I now led.

Bumpy impressions from the uneven surface ground into my back as I froze, the movement inside slow but intentional as the voices grew louder for several minutes before they faded away completely. I never moved. Even when it became uncomfortable. Not until I knew it was safe and wouldn’t reveal our position.

I’m not a pussy. And this isn’t my first fucking rodeo.

Tonight was all about retribution.

Any chance to give these fuckers a little payback . . . I took it.

The meager light shone through the grimy, cobweb covered glass planes and cast a pale-yellow light through the gaps as I listened for footsteps or any indication our cover had been blown. Beside me, R.J. checked his Glock and cocked the gun as his fingers tightened over the steel barrel and twitched. When our eyes met, I knew my brother had my back as much as I had his.

That’s how family worked . . . and the MC was family.

For life. The RRMC was life. A death sentence without parole.

That’s it. Once you’re in, you stay. Forever.

This life was all I’d ever have so tonight wasn’t a chore, it was my fucking duty.

I glanced behind me to check my six and ticked my head in Jake’s direction. He nodded his head of long dark hair tied into a ponytail and indicated the rear of the building was secure. To his left and right flank I spotted ‘GQ’ Luke – the guy was a little too pretty – and the unruly red hair of Valan. Ghost was a few feet behind, his skull tattoos covering much of his exposed skin. His skeletal mask completed the look. Crazy fucker.

Beckett and Shane were on back up if needed.

Moving steadily forward we kept in tight formation, gesturing to one another in the dark. My brothers and I didn’t seem to need words to communicate. It was as if I could sense their thoughts and intentions before they ever moved.  We’ve always been able to control a situation like this, reaching the same goal together without much effort. Like a well-oiled machine or our Harley’s, we could perceive each other’s plans or meaning without asking. This was vital, an integral part of how we worked as an MC and functioned as one massive strong beast.

I’ve never given much thought to how we connect so strongly without effort, but I suppose it’s life in the MC, crazy and dangerous, that developed these abilities.

The outdoor lights were dim and worked to our advantage. We knew exactly how many of these motherfuckers were gonna be on watch. Surveillance had given us decent Intel. The first two guards outside didn’t see us in time. Valan took out one, his beefy arm around the guy’s skinny neck before he could fight. GQ picked off the other as his blade sank into the soft flesh between the bastard’s empty ears.

Not a sound disturbed the silence of the night, except for one single grunt quickly extinguished. The lifeless bodies were hidden in the bushes off the edge of the property. Efficient and ruthless, my brothers proved time and again their worth.

Time to watch for the remaining MC members.

Not ours, of course. These bastards belonged to our rival MC, and they deserved everything coming for them tonight. One in particular, a dark Native American guy, was high on my list of targets.

This shit was personal with him – Akando – a name I wouldn’t forget.

“Edge?”

I swiveled in R.J.’s direction and ticked my head toward the door.

“Akando is mine. Everyone else is fair game,” I whispered, my words heavy with anticipation.

Only minutes later the next few members exited the warehouse. They didn’t get far. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. There would be no mercy this night.

I tapped my hand restlessly against my thigh in a flash of nerves. Where was this Akando fucker?

Shots rang out a few minutes later, erupting from one of the warehouse windows, smashed seconds before the gunfire began to spray bullets into the dark night.

It was only a matter of time before they realized their guys weren’t coming back inside. Didn’t matter. No one in that warehouse was walking away, so the point was moot.

We easily avoided the careless shots being fired and busted through the door, spreading out and clearing the two fucktards by the windows. I shot both before a second thought entered my head, my brothers right behind me as we entered the warehouse.

I’m a marksman and a damn near perfect shot. The heart or the forehead, the only two places I ever leave a bullet. No loose ends. No screw ups.

No second chances.

We kept moving, taking out more targets and searching the interior for any hidden MC members. A large table sat in the middle of the dusty room covered in bricks of coke and hundreds of little dime bags spread across the surface as it was cut for maximum resale. Stupid fuckers. There were other less dangerous ways to earn.

Not that Rafe listened to me or my opinions.

The RRMC club president knew best. Asshole.

“Edge, isn’t this a surprise?”

The voice echoed somewhere close off to my right.

Turning the next corner swiftly, we ended up face to face.

“Akando,” I growled, leveling my gun right at his heart. He wasn’t going out that fast but he didn’t need to know it.

“How’s Rae? I have to admit I jerk off every night thinking of her sweet little cunt.”

Rage pounded my temples, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of a reaction, “My girl is safe. Right where she needs to be.”

He snorted, both of us moving steadily closer to the other. There were only a few feet between us and the air rippled with expectation. Too much space. All I wanted was to smash his skull into the ground. But first, before he died, he needed to feel pain. I wanted to hear his screams. I needed to hear him beg.

Without warning he rushed me, his head connecting with my torso, but I was ready for him. We fell to the ground, the impact hard, but I ignored the jarring of my body against the hard concrete floor and brought my knee sharply up, connecting hard with his jaw.

Dazed, Akando was sprawled on the ground, it provided the distraction I was looking for. Seconds later I landed a brutal left hook, followed by another to his right cheek, his head flopping uselessly around on his neck. Several more hits gave him a busted nose and a black eye before I landed a few choice hits on his rib cage too.

Spitting blood and holding his side, he moaned, “Edge, I’m sorry.”

“For?” I roared.

“For not killing you sooner!”

Two minutes later he was swaying on his knees before me, my knuckles dripping his blood. I grabbed his head by the hair and forced his gaze up to mine, “You dumb motherfucker. You’ll die for touching my girl. I’ll never let you live after what you did.”

Behind me I knew the warehouse was secure. My brothers had my six.

I was free to torture, maim, and do what I wanted to this asshole.

“I wish I would have raped her now,” he sneered.

Wrong answer.

Taking my lighter, I flipped open the lid and smiled cruelly, “Hold him.”

For thirty minutes I tortured him, burning and slicing his body with my hunting knife, severing fingers until he passed out. Ghost found a bucket of stagnant water and threw it on him until he awakened, sputtering and mumbling curses at me.

“Any last words motherfucker?” I asked, ready to end this once and for all.

“You don’t know what you’ve done tonight. Striker will come for you Edge. You won’t survive it.”

“Maybe, but you’ll never know.”

He was suddenly serious, his eyes locking on mine, “Ask Mack about that night. Find out the truth about Ron, your dad, and the RRMC. Get answers Edge, don’t be a fucking pussy.”

“What are you saying?” I yelled, hating how his slurred voice seemed to ring with the truth.

“I’m going to die and I’m ready, but I die knowing what really caused the feud between us. We used to be brother MC’s.” His head fell forward and he let out a raspy sigh, “There’s a lot of shit and lies on both sides.”

“Fuck,” I whispered, certain he wasn’t lying.

I walked away from Akando, suddenly disgusted. Not with myself, but the knowledge that my own reservations and questions about the death of Rae’s father and Max’s exile were grounded in truth. “End him,” I ordered, leaving the carnage in the room behind as I walked outside into the cool night air.

It seemed only seconds later that my fellow club members emerged. Valan and Ghost retrieved the other bodies and added to the pile indoors. R.J. and Jake carried red gas cans that sloshed as they walked. Once the outside of the building had been doused they led a trail away and steadily closer, within a few yards of where I stood.

With a flick of my cheap gas station lighter, I watched the flames ignite the moment the cool plastic hit the gasoline and busted wide open, the flames traveling fast along the path until they reached the warehouse.

Flames soared high into the blackened sky as the explosion rocked the quiet night, popping sounds and loud noises coming from inside. I ducked and walked away from the blast. Finally, far enough away from the inferno, I spun and watched the results of the explosion as another rang loud setting off a loud reverberating boom through the area.

Pieces of drywall, glass, and debris filled the air as the evidence of this night was destroyed. Thick black smoke rose from the warehouse and poured into the cool dark night. Flames licked up the side of the building and engulfed the bodies of our rival MC – Satan’s Outlaws.

Not much of their DNA would remain, but that was the plan.

Enough was left behind to prove a point.

Nobody fucked with the RRMC.

The Ravage Riders liked to send a message when they struck a target. Fuck off or be fucked with. Never ended well for the other guy. I can bear witness to that shit. This night marked at least the hundredth time I had participated in some kind of dangerous and illegal activity.

All for the club.

We coughed and gagged on the stench, but it wasn’t the fire. The cooked bodies were nasty as fuck.

“Fucking stinks,” Valan muttered.

Ghost howled into the night like a goddamn wolf and I ignored his dumb ass. R.J. chuckled next to me on my left as Jake whistled a lively tune on my right.

My brothers, my most trusted confidants and closest friends. Crazy fuckers.

Family.

I straddled my hog with a deep belly laugh and pulled on my leather gloves, revved the throaty engine, and kicked up the stand before I rode away, smirking at the destruction left behind.

Ride or die baby.