Crash and Burn (2 page)

“
Get
out,
”
Erik said.
“
Right now. Get the fuck out.
”

“
Look how
thick you are,
”
the nurse
said.
“
No wonder you
’
re cranky. You just need a good
come.
”

“
Good
fuck,
”
Blaine whispered.
“
I can
’
t leave.
”

Landon grabbed Blaine by his leather and pulled. They all
made their way from the room, Blaine looking back until the door shut.

“
Is that
a real nurse?
”
Blaine
asked.

“
We
hired her,
”
Landon said.
“
I hope she
’
s qualified.
”

“
With
tits like that,
”
Griffin
said,
“
she
’
s qualified. Jesus Christ.
”

“
Well,
at least we know Erik will have a good night,
”
Gaige said.
“
Let
’
s bolt out of here and go back
to the clubhouse.
”

“
You
just want to fuck your lady,
”
Blaine said.

“
Fucking
right I do,
”
Gaige said.
“
Emily can
’
t go without me for long.
”

“
Sick,
”
Miller said.
“
This love bullshit.
”

“
Can I
stay?
”
Blaine asked.
“
I mean
…
this nurse
…
maybe she can help me.
”

Miller put a finger to Blaine
’
s
chest.
“
Hey. If you fuck
that nurse, that
’
s your
dime, not mine.
”

“
And she
ain
’
t cheap, bro,
”
Griffin said.
“
Trust me.
”

“
It
’
s good. It
’
s cool,
”
Blaine said.

“
Guard
the fucking door,
”
Landon
said.
“
Make sure nobody
goes in. The only one coming out is that nurse.
”

“
With a
sticky hand,
”
Shay said.
“
And a full belly of Erik.
”

“
Shit,
”
Nate said.
“
You guys are ruthless.
”

“
Let
’
s move,
”
Miller said.
“
Blaine,
stay put. Flirt and fuck your way all you want. Only after Erik is taken care
of. Got it?
”

“
Got it,
boss,
”
Blaine said.

He folded his arms and stood at the door.

The crew started walking and Landon elbowed at Shay.
“
You trust Blaine?
”

“
No. But
with one of our lives? Yeah.
”

Landon nodded. That
’
s
how it worked. Trust was rarely given, except when it came to the brotherhood
of the MC. There, they shared blood.

two.

Outside, Landon straddled his motorcycle and looked around.
That damn feeling came back again. The rest of the guys were talking, and putting
on their helmets. He could tell they were already mentally back at the
clubhouse, shooting pool, playing darts, taking shots, and finding the right
reliever
to take care of their worries.

But not Landon.

His keen eye paid off a few seconds later and he let out a
quick whistle to Gaige and Nate. They got off their motorcycles and started to
walk toward Landon.

“
What is
it?
”
Gaige asked.

“
Don
’
t turn fast,
”
Landon said.
“
But we
’
ve got a tail, bro.
”

“
Where?
Who?
”

“
I
’
ve had this fucking feeling
since we started riding that someone was watching us. Three rows back, the
front end of a black SUV is sticking out. Might be on purpose or not, I don
’
t know. That
’
s our tail.
”

“
I
’
ll take a look at it tomorrow,
”
Nate called out. He turned and
then nodded and walked away.

“
Motherfucker,
”
Gaige said.

“
Let
’
s go over there,
”
Landon said.

“
Calm
down,
”
Gaige said.
“
Let
’
s send some of the guys back and then we take care
of this.
”

Gaige motioned for Miller. When Miller saw the SUV he
gritted his teeth together and looked up at the hospital.

“
Maybe
they
’
re here to finish the
job,
”
Landon said.
“
Someone wanted one of us dead.
”

“
Me,
”
Shay said.
“
I
’
ll
fucking bite their fucking hearts out.
”

“
Okay,
listen to me,
”
Miller said.
“
We can
’
t have all of us do something
stupid.
”

“
Then
let me, Gaige, and Shay stay,
”
Landon said.
“
You, Nate,
and Griffin head back.
”

“
Do it,
”
Miller said.
“
And don
’
t fucking do anything crazy here.
”

“
Make it
a clean split and that
’
s
fine,
”
Gaige said.

“
Okay,
boys,
”
Miller called out.
“
Enjoy your ride.
”

Moving as casual as bikers could be, Miller, Nate, and
Griffin started their motorcycles and rode away. While that happened, Landon,
Gaige, and Shay all snuck into the parking lot and hid behind a car. They
crouched down and waited for something to happen.

“
Just
wait,
”
Landon whispered.

A few seconds later a window rolled down in the SUV. Muffled
voices could be heard.

“
Go to
it,
”
Shay said.
“
Get these motherfuckers.
”

Gaige stood up and before Landon could make a move, a gun
came out of the window and started to go off. They were quick shots, aimed, but
only hitting parked cars. The SUV then peeled away from the parking lot. It was
a message to Back Down Devil.

Landon ran to his motorcycle with Gaige and Shay behind him.

“
I
’
m riding this,
”
Landon called out.
“
Nobody is going to fucking shoot
at us. Not after everything that
’
s
happened
…”

“
Christ,
use your head,
”
Shay
yelled.

“
I am,
”
Landon said.

He climbed on his motorcycle and started it. Landon led the
way through the parking lot, the thundering calls of the motorcycles trailing
off with an echo. Inside Landon
’
s
mind it was a mess of thoughts. Everything from the MC to the bomb that went
off and almost took Erik
’
s
life
…
right down to the
woman who dumped a motorcycle outside the parking lot when the bomb went off.
Landon tried to help her, but she disappeared. The club had a notion that she
had something to do with the bombing, but Landon didn
’
t believe it. What the hell was the point of
believing in anything at this point?

The three motorcycles cut out into the main street and sped
along.

Shay and Gaige got on each side of Landon and boxed him in.
Gaige waved and motioned to head back to the clubhouse. Landon hated to admit
any kind of defeat, but he forced himself to give a thumbs up. He wanted a cold
beer and a woman to fuck all night.

All of a sudden, within a mile of leaving the hospital, the
black SUV made a return. It ran a stop sign and came deadly close to crashing
into Gaige. The three of them managed to get out of the way and nobody dropped
their motorcycles. The SUV fishtailed and soon gunshots rang out.

“
Fucking
bullshit,
”
Landon cried
out.

He slammed on his brakes. His motorcycle screeched as it
came to a stop. He pulled out his handgun and turned, shooting at the SUV. It
swerved and went up on a curb, then cut back into the street and passed by the
three motorcycles. Landon started moving again, catching up to Shay and Gaige
as they stayed right behind the SUV. When Landon got close enough, he started
to shoot again. The back window of the SUV exploded and the vehicle swerved.

Landon emptied his clip and Gaige and Shay drew their
weapons, ready to keep shooting. Before they could take a shot at the SUV, it
cut to the right. It misjudged a turn and hit a pole, sending the vehicle
spinning. The motorcycles continued and sped around the SUV and then one by one
they turned. Landon hurried to put in a fresh clip of bullets and all three had
their guns drawn on the vehicle.

“
What
’
s the plan?
”
Shay asked.

“
Are you
asking me?
”
Gaige called
out.

“
I don
’
t care,
”
Shay said.

“
Let
them make the first move,
”
Landon said.
“
Someone is
shot. I can tell by the way they were driving.
”

“
Okay,
”
Shay said.
“
We wait this out.
”

The brake lights were on and the guys waited. Landon
’
s heart raced and he wanted
nothing more than to have himself a nice bloodbath right here in the middle of
the fucking street. His mind had been a mess lately and even messing around with
women didn
’
t seem to help
it anymore. That left riding and violence.

The passenger door opened to the SUV. A set of hands
appeared.

“
They
’
re coming now,
“
Gaige said.

“
This is
a fucking trap,
”
Landon
said.
“
I can smell it.
”

“
Let
’
s light them up then,
”
Shay said.

His appetite for violence was always eager.

“
Just
wait,
”
Gaige said.
“
Something is off about this.
This isn
’
t a regular crew.
This isn
’
t experience here.
”

The hands out of the SUV were suddenly a body. The person
made it only three steps before falling to his face and then he tried
scrambling to his feet.

“
What
the fuck is this?
”
Landon
asked.

“
Shay,
pop him in the ass,
”
Gaige
said.

“
Aye,
”
Shay said as he shut one eye.

A deadeye marksman, Shay sent a bullet into the guy
’
s body. The guy hit the ground
screaming.

“
Christ,
”
Landon said.
“
That
’
s going to attract attention.
”

The three men ran to the SUV with their guns up. Gaige
unloaded on the remaining windows intact and with a quick check, the vehicle
was rendered empty, minus the driver slumped over the steering wheel, missing
most of his head.

Landon stood over the living man. He was young.
“
Who the fuck are you?
”

“
Help!
”
the young man cried out.
“
They
’
re hurting me!
”

“
Shut
him up,
”
Shay said.
“
Good Christ, brother.
”

“
Tell me
who you are,
”
Landon said.

The man screamed again.

“
Holy
fuck,
”
Gaige said.
“
Shut him up.
”

Before Landon could open his mouth again Shay stepped
forward and shot the guy right between his eyes.

“
Bullseye,
motherfucker,
”
Shay said
and laughed.

Landon looked at Shay.
“
That
’
s one way to shut him up.
”

“
No
choice, brother,
”
Shay
said.
“
We don
’
t need anymore activity around
here.
”

“
He
’
s right,
”
Gaige said.

“
Well,
now we have to check him,
”
Landon said.

Landon tucked his gun away and crouched down. He pulled out
a knife and cut the guy
’
s
shirt open. Gaige crouched too and helped to tear the shirt off the guy. Shay
stood with his gun up and protected the scene while Landon looked at the body
along with Gaige.

“
Look at
this fucking shit,
”
Gaige
said. He lifted the young man
’
s
arm and turned him a little.
“
Right
on the back of his fucking shoulder, man.
”

“
Yeah,
”
Landon said.

The markings on the shoulder were pretty obvious.

“
Eight
fucking Under,
”
Gaige said.

“
Eight
Under,
”
Landon said.
“
Son of a bitch.
”

Landon leaned down and looked closer at the marking and then
shook his head.

“
What is
it?
”
Gaige asked.

“
He
’
s not in yet,
”
Landon said

“
What?
”

“
Look
…”

The marking of Eight Under was, in all purpose of opinion of
those in Back Down Devil, pretty fucking stupid. It was eight straight lines,
all misshaped and sized on purpose, but the final marking was a bowed line
under the other eight lines. That meant
Eight Under
…

“
There
’
s the beginning,
”
Landon said.
“
The eight marks. But there
’
s nothing under it.
”

“
Jesus
Christ,
”
Shay said.
“
They
’
re sending out these guys to do what?
”

“
Earn
their keep,
”
Landon said.
“
Try to threaten us. They know we
’
ll fucking kill every one of
them, so they
’
re sending
out newbies.
”

“
Fucking
hell,
”
Gaige said.
“
That
’
s tragic.
”

“
Like
shit.
”
Shay spit on the
dead guy
’
s face.
“
Let him burn in hell.
”

“
Okay,
we need to clear out,
”
Landon said.
“
Before the
lights come.
”

“
We
’
ll make sure that doesn
’
t happen,
”
Gaige said.
“
I
’
ll call Miller and he
’
ll call Chief Jerry. He still
owes us a favor or two.
”

Shay laughed.
“
Favors
for life. We saved that little boy of his.
”

“
That
’
s right,
”
Gaige said.

Landon stared at the dead body. Another fucking mess at the
feet of the MC. He thought for a second about Erik, in the hospital,
recovering. Hell, at least Erik had a woman with him. She was paid to do
anything he wanted.
Anything.

Landon wondered if that
’
s
what he needed.