Rust: A Bad Boy Romance (Courage MC) (3 page)

I jumped back onto my feet and looked down at my hands. They were covered in my blood and his. I spat at him and smiled. Johnny came up behind me and said, “Calm down and get back inside. Cops will be here any second.”

“Yeah. Sure.” I grunted, clenching my fists. My temper. It was hard to get control of sometimes. I took a few deep breaths and counted to ten. “Nothing to see here!” I yelled. “Free drinks for the first 20 people who order.” I stood around as the crowd dispersed around us.

“Clean up this mess.” I said to one of the doormen. And make sure everything’s okay inside. This guy is going to cost me a pretty penny. I want him held responsible.” I shook my fist, easing the pain. I definitely broke a knuckle. No worries. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

“
H
e doesn’t take
me seriously, Lane.” I said, shaking my head while I paced around the room. “None of them do. They look at me like I’m some dumb girl. I’m 27. And they treat me like I’m 16.”

“For once in your life can you respect me enough to call me your father? What do you expect from Courage? They’re practically a power-hungry empire. They’re one of the one-percenter clubs and they’re run by a bunch of outlaws. So it’s no wonder they feel like they can do whatever they want.” he said. I still couldn’t help but feel my anger rise at this.

“We shouldn’t support people like that. We should be running an honest business. Drugs, sure. But no violence. None of that Courage bullshit. Last night, when I left the club, I witnessed Rust beating a guy out in the streets to a bloody pulp. Do you really want to risk our credibility with people like him?” I grabbed a pack of cigarettes on the table and lit one up. I didn’t normally smoke, but in times like these, a girl had to.

“Violence. It’s part of who we are. How else are you going to get shit done?” he asked me. I didn’t give him the satisfaction of answering. He let out a long sigh. “You know I run a clean shop around here. But if we don’t make a deal with them, we’ll be forced out. I have nothing left, Jackie. Nothing. It’s too competitive. The prices they get their stuff at, well, they’re really low.”

“But they’re not as pure, right? People will pay for the good stuff if they know about it.” I said.

“Sure. They’ll buy the good stuff if they know about it. That’s the thing though. They don’t know about our product. They never will. We’ve got a small block of territory left. The rest belongs to the Darkhorse MC and Courage. I’ll never deal with those Darkhorse guys. But Courage? Sure. I’ll put up with them for a few years of good marketing on their part. Who knows? Maybe we can strike up a friendship. Maybe they’ll let our territory expand.” He justified his way of thinking.

“Or maybe they’ll run you into the ground.” I said. Before he could reply back, there was a loud knock at the door. “Well, that’s them. Maybe you can just ask for your precious territory back.”

“Jackie.” he muttered. I opened the door to find that hothead Rust standing in front of me. He had brought his friend, Johnny, with him as backup.

“Come in.” I said.

“You do business out of a house?” he asked me in a condescending tone.

“Yeah, well, not all of us are as lucky as you guys. We don’t have as many opportunities.” I hated these tough guy types. I know it’s part of the culture, but we were always different. If you needed to prove yourself with your fist, you weren’t a real man. We only used violence when we had to. We dealt with ourselves first. We weren’t the city’s police. That was Courage’s mission. If I could just get them out of my life for good, I would be satisfied.

“It’s called hard work. You’ll get there someday.” he said. I scowled. “I used to run shit out of my car. Now look at me. You’re a pretty girl. You’ll get the money you need, one way or another.” He and Johnny burst out laughing.
Fucking pigs…

Of course, Lane walked into the room with open arms. “Brothers. Good morning. Come to talk business?” he asked them.

“Yeah. We came to talk.” Rust said.

“So? What’s the verdict? Did you try the pills?” he asked, putting on his leather vest.

“We tested them. Ninety-eight percent purity rate. How the hell did you manage it?” He ran his hands through his hair, staring at my father intently. He was trying to find a way around him, a cheaper route. I couldn’t let him do that.

“None of your business.” I chimed in. “Great, you like the product. Let’s get down to brass tacks, shall we gentleman? We take the money upfront with each delivery. We always come through. That’s the deal. If we don’t, you can take the necessary steps to dissolve the relationship.” I said, calmly.

“Woah, woah, woah. Let’s slow it down a bit, okay?” he said, waving his arms in front of him. “First of all, fuck that. We don’t pay upfront. That’s what clubs like
you
do. We pay you once the product has sold. Remember, you’re getting our brand alongside yours. Your men can have the affiliate brand on their jackets. The way I see it, we’re giving you more than enough. The fact that we’re even doing this should leave you good and happy.” he said.

What a prick. So this was how it was going to be now. A bunch of big businesses, taking down the little man. I hated him for it, but what could I do about it? “I suppose you’re right. We should be happy.”

He leaned forward, addressing me. “Look. I know how this feels. Some guy from a well-established crew comes here and tells you what to do. But you have to remember, you came to
me
. This is just business. I have to look out for my guys too. I promise that whatever happens, we’ll look out for you guys. You bear
our
name now, so we’re gonna see to it that you are treated very well.”

“Like a franchise.” I said.

My father put his hand on my shoulder, as if to say, “that’s enough.” I backed off. If he didn’t care about saving the crew, then I didn’t either. Fuck it. “Forgive my daughter. She’s just concerned about family affairs.” he said. I couldn’t help but laugh to myself. “This sounds like a deal, gentleman. How about we meet at your club to finalize the details?”

“Sounds good.” he said, getting up and heading towards the door.

The men shook hands and went their separate ways, ignoring me completely. This was the usual type of treatment I received. I was just some girl in their little world, pushed off to the side. “Thanks sweetie-pie” was the usual response.

But before the guys rode off on their bikes, I ran outside to tell them one last thing. “Rust. Wait.” I said, shutting the door so my father wouldn’t hear.

“What is it?”

“It’s about Lane. I need to talk to you.” I said, standing tall.

“Well, spill it. What’s wrong? Something I should know?”

“He’s,” I sighed loudly. “He’s not well.” I said, taking in a deep breath. “Cancer. And he doesn’t have long. Doctors said less than a month. It’s been a week since.”

“I’m sorry ‘bout that. I really am. Lane was one of the good ones.” he said, taking off his hat. A rustle of leaves could be heard above us in the trees.

“Still is. He’s not dead yet. That’s just it, though. We need your help for a reason. We’ve been a small crew since the beginning and that’s the way we like it. But as soon as my father passes, it’s going to be the Darkhorse faction who tries to take our territories. That’s why we went to you.” I said.

“
Darkhorse
…” he whispered. “The bastards.”

“I, uh, heard what happened not too long ago with Avery and Bruce. Just talk, you know. But I was surprised to hear Darkhorse was still running without Bobby Farole. I thought they’d be finished without him, for sure.”

“You thought wrong. They ain’t going to give up that easy.” He shook his head and grabbed at one of his cigarettes. He didn’t light it though. He just kind of held it there, lost in his own thought.

“We know we’re going to have to give up everything eventually. I just want my fair cut. I’ve worked at this my whole life. And I’ve seen my father put everything on the line for Hell’s Wheels. I can’t let his legacy die in vain. I won’t.”

“You’re just a girl. Sure, a captain’s girl. Still a girl nonetheless. What do you expect us to do? Let you keep your territories, your men, your weapons and bikes? That’s not how it works, honey.” Johnny laughed and lifted his sunglasses.

“Come on, Rust. We got work to do. Quit wastin’ your time.” Johnny said. Nothing I said mattered to these men. If anyone was wasting their time, it was me. But this was my family name we were talking about. I was a woman, sure. But my father’s work and name deserved respect.

So I did something I never thought I’d do in a million years. I took out my pistol and held it in front of me. Rust simply laughed. “Come on, sweetie-pie. Set the weapon down. Ain’t no one gotta die today.” I fired the weapon. Johnny, in fear, fell off his bike into the cold dirt.

“Put the damn gun down!” Johnny yelled

“Ain’t no one dying here if you just listen to what I have to say. Now, my father may not be someone you think is worth your respect. But he’s kept the Hell’s Wheels local for the past two decades now. We’re a respectable club and you know it. Hell, if I were to talk to Bruce, he’d have your ass hanging on a stick.”

“You just fired your gun at a captain.” he said. “Think that’s such a smart move? Anyway, I’m listening. Spit it out. I don’t have much patience left.” he said with both arms raised into the air. Now that I had his attention, it was time to give him my ultimatum.

“We keep our territory. Or, if you really want, we can go to war.”

“War? Are you really threatening Courage with that? We’d bring you down in less than a week. I’m done listening to you whine. Let’s go, Johnny.” He stepped down onto his bike, smiling as the engine roared loudly.

“Yes, war. We still have 200 soldiers. As the new leader of Hell’s Wheels, they’re ready to do whatever I say. Will we lose? No doubt about it. Will we give you a fight? Oh, we’ll give you a fight. And we’ll make sure it gets ugly. Car bombs, men hiding in trees, bike-jackings. We’ll cause you a world of pain. And sure, while all of our men will either die off or join your cause, you’ll be set back in the end. And the Darkhorse faction will swoop in and take whatever is left. I’ll make sure of that. Whatever territory we still own will all go to Bobby’s heirs.” I felt the click in the back of my throat echo as a swallowed down my saliva. I couldn’t believe myself. I threatened Courage, the biggest motorcycle club in town. I stood trembling, waiting for his response.

Rust revved his engine, grinding his teeth. “You’ll be hearing from us.” he simply said, though I could tell I got him. I turned around and walked in the house, pleased with myself. The roar of their engines faded into the distance.

“What did you tell them?” my dad asked me as I slammed the door behind me.

“I made them an offer they couldn’t refuse.” I smiled.

“
T
hat bitch
!” I slammed my fist into the wall, punching it straight through. How could anyone challenge the Courage like that? Let alone, some girl.

“Calm down. Just calm down.” Bruce, the boss of our crew, had driven down to talk about everything with me. He was the one who approved deals and the fact that Jackie had sidestepped me like that made matters complicated for me. Now I had to sit with the boss of the whole crew and decide what was going down. That meant less money for me and more headaches for everyone involved. It wasn’t something I was happy about. “Just tell me what you’re thinking. We’ll go from there.”

“I’m thinking that she has us by the balls, Bruce. It’s either us or Darkhorse who takes their territory and I sure as hell won’t let it be Bobby’s people that get it.” I was fuming, walking in circles. My whole world was spinning. “She’s just some girl! You ever see her on the streets, Bruce?”

“Can’t say that I have, but she’s Lane’s daughter. She demands respect. I understand that.” Bruce said, lighting up a cigarette.

“You
understand
that? In what fucking way do you understand her actions? She fired a gun at a captain! You’re going to sit there and take that?”

“Hell no. I don’t take threats. You know that, Rust. But I sure as hell ain’t going to start no war! You remember what happened the last time with Bobby. Took us everything we had to kill him. Frankly, I thought they’d be over that by now, but they’re not.” He shook his head and laughed. “Shit, we’re in a bind, huh?”

“You bet your ass we are.” I said. We were at a stand still. There was no way out of this. We would have to give in to their demands.

“Alright. So we let them keep their territory. Their name too. Fuck it. Hell’s Wheels has some traction around these parts, so it ain’t going to hurt us too bad if we do that. We sell their drugs in your club–it’s good shit, right?”

I nodded. “ninety-eight percent pure.”

“Hmm. Well, maybe this will be a good thing for us. We can get their supplier contact. Eventually, I mean. And then we can build from there.”

“It ain’t about that, Bruce. This whole thing, it’s not a bad gig. I could care less if they keep their territory or not. We benefit either way. It’s just the fact that she’s a girl and she’s tryin’ to tell
me
what to do. This is about respect. Respect for Courage. Respect for me and you. Respect for the oaths we’ve taken. You can’t just go in a place and demand whatever you want. That just ain’t how it works.”

Bruce thought to himself for a second. “Well, when you’re right, you’re right. So we’ll throw in some clauses with this. We’ll make them work for it. If they want to keep their territory, they’re going to have to help us take away Darkhorse’s.” he laughed.

“So, a war with Darkhorse? Thought you said you weren’t into that idea.”

“Not a war. We use the Hell’s Wheels name to take the Darkhorse territory. Think about it. Some small crew is inching their way into Darkhorse’s land. They’re going to retaliate, but they won’t win if two crews are going against them.”

“What are you saying, Bruce? Spell it out for me.” I said. Was he really trying to wage war with them again? It hadn’t been
that
long since Bobby Farole died. Then again, I wasn’t complaining too much. I despised the Darkhorse faction. Loathed everything they stood for.

“I’m saying we beat them out with sales and product. We introduce Hell’s Wheels’ drugs into Darkhorse’s territory. The users like Hell’s Wheels’ shit because of how pure it is. Of course they’re going to want more, so we tell them they can only get it from Hell’s Wheels crew. We let them know that they operate only 5 miles south of this block. Then we steal Darkhorse’s customers, killing off their sales. It’s genius!
Shit
man, you made this sound like it was a
bad
situation to be in. Seems to be a good opportunity if I’ve ever seen one!” Bruce stood up and headed for the door.

“Bruce. This doesn’t seem right to me. What if an all out war breaks out? This could be worse than anything we’ve ever seen.” I said.

Bruce suddenly turned very serious. His eyes creased and he bit his lip. “Then we blame it on Hell’s Wheels. We had
nothin’
to do with it. You hear me, boy?”

“Yeah.” I said, shaking my head. “I hear you. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.” And without a word, Bruce walked out of the room.

“
Shit
. What have you gotten yourself into, Rust?” I muttered out loud.

I
thought
for a long time about all of this and decided that it wasn't up to me. It was Bruce’s call to make. None of this would've happened if I hadn’t engaged that woman. Now she was seemingly running my business.
Dammit, Johnny. You always introduce me to bad women.

In the back room of my club, the sound of the pumping bass coming from the dance floor thumped against the walls. This place was a lonely empire and most of the time, I was stuck here, by myself. I had to get away. I decided to head over to a different spot, the Hell’s Wheels’ “Magic 8” bar.

I pushed past the bouncers and proudly adjusted my vest. “Courage.” I proudly wore those words on my back and arm. It was branded into my skin. For life. Truth was, I came here for two things: a drink and a fight. Sure enough, as soon as I sat down, I got just that.

“Hey Bradley, get the fairy over there a shot of whisky, with love from his pals!” A man shouted at the other end of the bar.

I tightened my fist and called out, “Is there a problem,
brother
?” There was a group of them, maybe 4 or 5. I wasn't payin’ too worried. I could take them around the bend and back if they wanted.

“I wouldn't do that if I were you.” A voice said beside me. I turned to see none other than Jackie Matthews.

“And why is that?” I couldn't even bear to look her in the eye. I was a product of rage, and I sure as hell didn't back down from a fight. Still, seeing her now, wearing those jean shorts, it was hard to resist wanting to take her in the back and…

I shook the feeling off, remembering where I was. She said to me, “Just cool it. These people aren’t too fond of Courage. It’s like walking into the White House wearing a shirt with a Swastika. They don’t like you.” All the while, she was leaning forward, once again, and I couldn’t stop drooling.

“And that should make me scared?” I asked her, looking directly at her breasts. I had to admit, they were perfect.

“Look at me,” she said. “and listen for once. This isn’t about rivalries or disagreements. And it damn sure isn’t about your little pride. These men will
kill
you if you don’t wise up. Make peace with them or leave. That’s the only advice I can give you.”

I shook my head. The man at the other end of the bar flipped me off and started howling loudly with laughter. “What, are you staring at, chump? You want a piece of me?”

I smashed down my fist and looked at him fiercely. “I would crush you like an ant.” I said. The man walked up to me, full of anger and contempt.

“What did you just say to me?” I couldn’t help but laugh directly in his face. That, of course, is when all the trouble started. I don’t remember much, but I do remember his bottle crashing down against my face. Glass flew everywhere and I fell to the floor. Nothing broke my fall, except the hard wood and scattered peanut shells.

I fell into a foggy daze. There was movement all around me. Commotion and screaming. I could barely make out Jackie picking up a chair. Then I saw her swing it at the man. Then the man was on the floor, next to me. Only, he wasn’t doing as hot as I was. He looked about ten shades lighter. Not to mention, that his blood was spilling out on the carpet. I couldn’t help but smile before I dropped my head back down and passed out.