Crash and Burn (3 page)

“
Come
on, brother,
”
Shay said.
“
We need to get back to the
clubhouse and sit this one down. It
’
s
getting darker and deadlier out here tonight.
”

“
Those
are my kinds of nights,
”
Landon said.

Shay laughed again.
“
Let
’
s get some whiskey in you first.
Then a little pussy second. You
’
ll
be fine.
”

Landon nodded and looked out to the night.

Nothing felt fine.

three.

Her name was Avery, but she knew that wasn
’
t her real name. In fact, she
was pretty sure her last name was once Avery but had been changed to her first
name. Now she just told people her name was Avery Smith because it was a simple
last name - common enough to not be fake, but too common to be forgotten.

It was midnight and she was hungry and thirsty. Drinks were
easy to get because she had a set of boobs and smile that would ease any man
’
s troubles. She never paid for a
drink in her life, which was part of the reason she was in the hell she was
currently in. But that didn
’
t
matter right now. She was alive.

Avery stopped and leaned against the back of a building. Her
right leg was still hurting from when she dropped a stolen motorcycle right in
the middle of the road. She thought someone was chasing her and when she came
across what looked like the lot to a MC, she panicked and lost the motorcycle.
When it happened, she thought she was fucked. Then, as luck would have it, a
car exploded and that gave Avery her chance to get the hell out of there.
Running on nothing but adrenaline, she managed to pick up the motorcycle and
ride it away. There was damage to the motorcycle and to her leg. With a basic
understanding of the MC life, and knowing how to survive, Avery took the
motorcycle to a shady looking gas station. It was full of men, which made it a
dangerous spot to be in. She took the flirting and touching, because at the end
of the conversation, she walked away with a few grand in her pocket.

Running right now would prove useless because Avery had no
car and she didn
’
t have the
energy or care to try to run. She had gotten away from where she needed to. The
small town here was okay and it was near the beach. It allowed Avery to float
along without being noticed. And if the day came and she was found, then she would
have no choice but to fight. By then though her leg would be healed.

Right now, in the dead of the night, she was hungry. Avery
felt weak and tired but she was a bit of ways away from getting any rest. She
eyed the back of a small bakery that would be perfect for a bite. She could
load up on some leftovers or just take whatever the hell she needed. Avery came
from a world of outlaws so her conscious didn
’
t
quite process the reality of right or wrong.

Slipping to a recycling bin, Avery pulled out a piece of
cardboard. She held it against the small back window of the building and then
took a deep breath. She elbowed the cardboard and window. It sent a wicked pain
through her arm. Avery tried again and again, and finally, on her fourth try,
the glass broke. With the cardboard still against the glass, Avery pushed
gently and the window shattered and fell into the bakery. Thanks to her size,
Avery managed to wiggle her way through the broken window and kept herself from
getting cut. Once in the bakery she looked around and took note that there was
no security system in place.

Avery navigated in the dark and found a small light over a
counter. When she turned it on, she smiled. This place would do just fine.
There was a lot of inventory on shelves and judging by how much there was, a
few missing pieces of bread wouldn
’
t
shut the place down. Avery dropped her bag and sat down on the floor. She
grabbed a long, skinny piece of bread and started to eat. She suddenly felt
pathetic. The urge to cry came over her, but she fought it off. She never cried
because anytime she ever did, something bad would happen to her. Thinking back
on her escape plan, Avery knew she should have just killed him. She should have
emptied a fucking clip right into his head. But if she had done that, there
would have been half a dozen guys looking for her, and they wouldn
’
t stop until they had her head,
literally.

The back of the bakery was comfortable. The bread was
delicious and inside, Avery started to feel cozy. She finished the bread and
sat with the dim light shining down on her. She thought of that MC and how
strange it was that something blew up just as she dropped the motorcycle. Maybe
that
’
s why she had stayed
in this town. If that MC was in trouble, maybe she could help them and in return
they could help her. However, she had no idea how she would be able to help
though
…
all she was used
was spreading her legs and taking orders.

Avery put her head back and let out a sigh.

“
I need
to change this,
”
she
whispered.
“
I need to heal
and get the fuck out of here. Start over.
”

It made sense. Or at least it was easy to say.

Avery closed her eyes, just for a minute, she promised
herself, and whispered to herself.

No more bikers
…
definitely no more fucking bikers
…

four.

Miller sat at the head of the table looking angry. Everyone
looked angry, and rightfully so. It felt wrong with an empty chair at the
table. Erik
’
s chair was
turned, facing Jace. Landon sat across from Erik
’
s
empty chair and he hated the sight of it.

“
Christ,
those assholes are ruthless,
”
Shay said.

Everyone had skipped the shot glasses and went for the
whiskey bottles. Shay lifted the bottle and drank from it.

“
They
were young,
”
Landon said.
“
Too fucking young.
”

Gaige took a drag of his smoke and nodded.
“
Too fucking young to be out
there like that.
”

“
It was
suicide,
”
Miller said.

“
A
fucking sacrifice,
”
Blaine
said as his lip curled.
“
That
ain
’
t right, man. No matter
the rules and the MC. That ain
’
t
right.
”

“
They
’
re dead now,
”
Miller said.

“
That
ain
’
t right either,
”
Blaine said.

“
Hey,
”
Shay called out,
“
they tried to fucking kill us.
And when we got the living one out to the road, he screamed like a goddamn
baby, wanting attention. I had no choice but to pull the fucking trigger.
”

“
There
’
s other ways,
”
Blaine said.

Shay stood up. Blaine followed.

“
Goddamn
this,
”
Miller shouted. He
slammed his hand on the table.
“
Sit
the fuck down. Not in the goddamn room.
”

Shay and Blaine slowly sat.

“
I
’
m just as ready to fight,
”
Landon said.
“
But we can blow off steam after
this, brothers. Right now, we need to sort this shit out.
”

Gaige put out his cigarette and sipped from a whiskey
bottle.
“
Landon
’
s right. We can
’
t let all these fucking emotions
make us do rash things.
”

“
Like
kill people that aren
’
t
even tatted in?
”
Blaine
asked.

“
You fuck,
”
Shay growled.

“
Hey,
”
Miller said.
“
The bottom line is that we all
made it back to this table alive. Erik is in the hospital still recovering. I
’
m sure his nurse friend is still
working him over.
”

“
How
much juice can be in a man for one night though?
”
Griffin asked.

“
A lot,
”
Blaine said with a smile.
“
And if you run dry and she
’
s still wet, you keep going. If
she runs dry, then kick her the fuck out and get something fresh and wet.
”

“
What we
paid for,
”
Miller said,
“
that nurse friend is as sopping
wet as the ground after a monsoon rain. She
’
ll
fuck Erik until he passes out
…
and she
’
ll keep going.
”

“
Can we
get that here?
”
Blaine
asked.

“
If you
pay,
”
Griffin said.

“
How far
does she go?
”
Blaine asked.

“
Jesus
Christ,
”
Shay said.
“
Can we talk business? Or just
pussy?
”

“
Business
is pussy,
”
Blaine said.
“
And pussy is business. Or
something like that
…”

The table laughed. The tension started to chip away. Landon
wanted to take advantage of it before someone started throwing fists for real.
He lifted his whiskey bottle and let out a whistle.

“
Let
’
s take a second and have a drink
to our brother,
”
he said.
“
To Erik. For his fierce heart to
fight through this shit.
”

“
And to
his poor cock,
”
Blaine
said.
“
He
’
s not going to be able to walk
for a week after that nurse is done with him.
”

“
Aye,
”
Shay said.
“
For Erik
…
and his cock
…”

Miller smiled and shook his head.
“
Drink it to him. For a quick recovery, so he
’
ll be back in that seat.
”

“
And for
the revenge,
”
Gaige added.

Landon nodded.
“
We
will find the motherfucker that meant to kill
…
and we will kill him. It takes more than a bomb to take down someone from Back
Down Devil.
”

“
To our
brother,
”
Nate said.

Everyone drank up and one by one, the whiskey bottles
thudded against the table. Jace reached across and patted Erik
’
s seat.

“
Back to
business,
”
Miller said.
“
We
’
ve
got Eight Under trying to rattle our asses again. Sending out guys like they
did means they
’
re afraid of
us. It also means they
’
re
reckless. We have to be careful.
”

“
Did
they plant the bomb?
”
Blaine asked.

“
Fuck no,
”
Shay said.
“
That bomb was for me. Those
morons at Eight Under can
’
t
even tie their fucking shoes. This was deep and personal.
”

“
So that
means we have more than one problem to face here,
”
Landon said.
“
That
’
s just great.
”

“
It
’
s our life,
”
Nate said.
“
Without problems, fuck, I think
that would mean we
’
d be
dead.
”

“
What if
we call that sleazy guy?
”
Blaine asked.
“
Jonesy? He
’
s a slime ball private
investigator.
”

“
That
could work,
”
Miller said.
“
That costs cash though.
”

“
Let me
find out when the next gathering is,
”
Landon said.
“
Maybe we
could get some action on fights.
”

“
Are we
welcome there?
”
Shay asked.
“
Last time, there were
bullets
…”

“
That
’
s been settled,
”
Gaige said.
“
If there
’
s a fight and we
’
re
not invited, we
’
ll show up
and show them what a bloodbath really looks like.
”

“
I
’
m with that,
”
Miller said.
“
Now, for our little problem out
there tonight. Our friend, Chief Jerry, has it taken care of. The scene will be
cleaned up and it will be a tragic drinking and driving accident. Nothing more.
Nothing less. I also want everyone to keep their distance from this Eight Under
shit. We need to find who hurt our brother and we need justice done the right
way.
”

Everyone at the table nodded.

“
One
more to Erik?
”
Shay asked.

Landon lifted his bottle. The rest of the table did the
same. This time, it was silent. Everyone said their peace in their minds and
drank. Miller called the meeting and the table broke up. Gaige hurried from the
room to go find Emily. Landon watched and it did bother him for a second.
Running through pussy was something to take pride in, but it had to feel good
to have someone consistent.

“
Hey,
Landon.
”

Landon saw Miller standing at the head of the table.

“
Yeah?
”

“
You
look like shit,
”
Miller
said.
“
Everything okay?
”

“
It
’
s all good,
”
Landon said.
“
Just trying to process all this
shit.
”

“
Don
’
t get too lost in it,
”
Miller said.
“
Keep the simplest thoughts and
paths to follow. Those are where the answers are. It
’
s not some deep philosophical bullshit here.
”

“
Got
you,
”
Landon said.

“
Beer is
cold and the pussy is warm,
”
Miller said.
“
Make that
your priority now. Erik is good. We
’
re
all good. Eight Under is realizing their mission blew up in their face. We
’
re right where we want to be.
”

“
Yup.
”

Landon left the room and shut the door. He turned the corner
to walk to the main part of the bar in the clubhouse. It was  packed and the
music and conversation were loud enough to chase away most thoughts. Landon
leaned over the bar and snapped his fingers. One of the guys working for a
patch on their blank leather rushed to get Landon a beer. When Landon turned,
he saw Shay and Blaine standing nose to nose.

“
Oh,
fuck,
”
he said.

“
Yeah,
”
Nate said from his barstool.
“
Letting off steam.
”

“
With
all these women around?
”
Landon asked.

“
It
’
s an interesting fight, brother,
”
Nate said.
“
One is skilled
…
and one is a fucking madman.
”

Blaine pushed into Shay and Shay smiled.
“
Is that all you got, boy?
”

“
Oh
yeah?
”
Blaine asked.
“
Watch this shit
…”

Blaine took a step back and made a fist. Rings on, it would
be like getting punched with fist of metal. He lifted his fist and Shay stood,
waiting.

“
They
going hit for hit?
”
Landon
asked.

“
I don
’
t know,
”
Nate said.
“
They
’
ve been talking for so long, I
think they might end up fucking each other before fighting.
”

Landon smiled.

Blaine held his fist out and then punched
…
himself. He stumbled back and
shook his head, spitting blood to the floor.

“
Christ,
”
Shay said.
“
What
’
s wrong with you?
”

Blaine lifted his other fist and did the exact same thing.
The son of a bitch punched himself a second time. He didn
’
t flinch and he definitely didn
’
t hold back. His mouth bled
everywhere as he stepped back to Shay.

“
Want to
do this?
”
Blaine asked.
“
I
’
m
warmed up now.
”

Shay pulled a knife and in a quick move, he had a handful of
Blaine
’
s hair, pulling his
head back and putting the tip of the knife right under Blaine
’
s chin. The entire bar came to a
stop and everyone stood, ready to help Blaine.

Blaine put his hands out.
“
Let
him go. Let him do this. He needs it. He
’
s
got some survivor
’
s guilt,
right?
”

“
I
’
ll fucking gut you,
”
Shay warned.

“
Then
gut me, man. Come on
…”

Landon had seen enough. He walked forward and knocked the
knife out of Shay
’
s hand.
Shay looked at him with eyes of fire.

“
What
the fuck?
”
he growled.

“
You
fight,
”
Landon said.
“
With fists.
”

Shay grabbed Landon by the shirt and Landon wasn
’
t going to take any shit
tonight. He grabbed Shay by the throat and soon they were grappling with each
other. Landon felt his thumb pressing hard against Shay
’
s throat. Shay tried to punch, but it was weak. The
left hook barely hurt Landon. Landon threw his head forward and slammed it
against Shay
’
s nose. He
couldn
’
t believe he was
battling Blaine
’
s fight
now.