SAVAGE ROAD - Layne & Shelby (13 page)

“
Bad
childhood?
”
I asked.

“
I
don
’
t really think anyone
ever has a good childhood. It
’
s
all meaningless. You live in a bubble of pain or lies
…
and then you
’
re
shipped out and suffer.
”

“
That
’
s bleak, man.
”

“
I
don
’
t care.
”

“
Not
to bring it back up, but what happened?
”

Mack swallowed hard and ran through
the story. Black car pulled up, started to turn in, and then came after them.
Took out Jack and then sped away.

“
I
’
ll never forget it,
”
Mack said.
“
I could have taken the bullet
for him. I could have done something else to stop it.
”

I put a hand to Mack
’
s shoulder.
“
No. There
’
s nothing you could have done then or now. You live
in the past and you
’
re
going to get stuck there.
”

“
I
have nothing else,
”
Mack
said.

“
Yes,
you do. We have an empty seat at the table. I want you to be there.
”

“
What?
”

“
I
’
m not offering you the seat, Mack.
I
’
m offering you the
opportunity to earn the seat.
”

“
What
about the gate?
”

“
Fuck
the gate,
”
I said.
“
We have other prospects. Now
finish up your shift here. Then come inside, get a beer, and find a woman.
”

I turned and walked away.

With that out of the way, there was
one thing to do.

I made a straight line for Shelby.
She was still sitting in her car. Still looking guilty as sin. As though she
knew that I had gotten the truth.

I went right to the car and tore
the door open. I grabbed her by the arm and pulled.

“
Layne!
”
she cried out.
“
What the fu
…”

I stood her up and pressed my body
to hers. I gritted my teeth. My words were right there, right on the tip of my
tongue. Ready to slice her up
…
the way my tongue would slice between her sweet and tender thighs
…

But I froze up.

I had nothing to say.

Why?

The right side of Shelby
’
s face was fucked up.

Someone had hit her.

7.

(Shelby)

Layne had his body so tight against
me, I couldn
’
t breathe.
Under different circumstances, I would have been fucking turned on. But there
was a fiery rage in his eyes. Like he wanted to hurt me. Hell, like he wanted
to kill me.

“
Layne
…”

“
What
happened to your face?
”
he
asked.

That
’
s
what I feared. Him seeing my face and asking questions. I hadn
’
t told him about Daddy yet and
wasn
’
t sure if there would
ever be a good time. It was all just such a mess. I had only come to the
clubhouse to take care of myself. To find my mother. To have an escape. It was
Daddy who demanded if I was going to do it, to come right to the MC and do it.

Well, because
…
his past
…

“
Fucking
tell me,
”
Layne growled.

“
Nothing,
”
I said.
“
It
’
s
nothing. I fell.
”

“
Into
someone
’
s hand?
”

“
Don
’
t,
”
I said.
“
Please. Take care
of yourself, Layne. You have to. Just tell me what happened to you today.
”

“
Do
you have a notebook?
”
he
asked me.

“
A
notebook? Why
…”

“
Answer
the fucking question, sweetheart.
”

“
Yes.
I have a notebook. It
’
s so
I could find
…”

That
’
s
when Layne stepped back. His eyes went even wider. That moment - of all the
moments in my life - that was the scariest moment ever. I could almost see him
taking the gun out and shooting me.

But he didn
’
t.

“
You
have a fucking notebook,
”
Layne said.
“
One of our
prospects is dead. Mountain Killers following you. I know who the fuck you are,
sweetheart. They told me.
”

“
They
told you what?
”

Layne shook his head. His hand shot
out and he grabbed my jaw. I jumped and yelled.

“
Layne,
please,
”
I said.
“
It
’
s
not what you think.
”

“
I
want to know who hit you. Was it Brett? Hawke?
”

“
No
…
it
…”

My bottom lip quivered. I had never
told anyone about Daddy and what he did when he got mad. Normally I was able to
hide it for a little bit until it went away. But not this time. Because of
those stupid bikers chasing after me. I could have hidden for a day or two and
let the dramatic look of my face ease up. It really did look worse than it was.

“
Fine,
”
Layne said.
“
I
’
m
going to just blow this entire place up. Once and for all. Start it all over.
”

Layne pushed away from me and took
out his gun.

I watched as he charged toward the
MC. The guys were excited to see him. Happy to see their President alive. And
here he was, a gun pointed at them.

Layne walked right up to Brett. He
put the gun between his eyes and told him to get on his knees.

Brett listened.

Layne looked around.
“
How much more can we take?
”

“
Layne,
”
Finn said.
“
What are you trying to prove?
”

“
Brett,
did you hit Shelby in the face?
”
Layne asked.

Holy shit
…

I stepped and then hesitated when
Finn looked at me. He was angry. Ax was angry. Layne had killer eyes raging.

“
Hit
Shelby?
”
Brett asked.
“
No.
”

Layne put the gun to Hawke
’
s head.
“
On your fucking knees.
”

“
Layne,
stop!
”
I cried out.

“
No,
”
Layne yelled.
“
Someone is going to tell me who
the fuck hit Shelby in the face. Or else I
’
ll
just pull the trigger.
”

Layne then made a bold move. He
side stepped, leaving Brett and Hawke still on their knees. He bypassed Ransom
and stepped up to Finn. They were almost nose to nose. I knew if he put the gun
to Finn
’
s head, it was
going to be bad. Finn wouldn
’
t
take that shit. Finn didn
’
t
take any shit at all. I thought about how Finn worked today to try and find
Layne. They definitely didn
’
t
see eye to eye and probably never would. They were two big alpha
’
s with even bigger
personalities. Although, even with that, Finn did respect the patch.

“
What
about you?
”
Layne asked.

No
…
no
…
no
…

“
What
about me?
”
Finn asked.
“
Go ahead and ask. I fucking dare
you, Layne.
”

I hurried forward and grabbed Layne
by the arm. The arm where his hand held the gun. It was a dangerous and dumb
move. I pulled at him, breaking his focus from Finn.

When Layne looked at me, that anger
flashed across his face again.

“
What?
”
he asked.

“
It
was
…
him
…”

“
Who?
”

“
Daddy.
”

Then there was silence. Complete
silence.

“
Daddy?
”
he asked.
“
That
’
s what you call him?
”

“
That
’
s what I
’
ve always called him.
”

I could tell Layne wanted to say
more, do more. Instead, he looked around the lot.
“
Here
’
s
what I want. Brett, Hawke, get off your fucking knees. I want two new prospects
out at the gate, armed and ready for a fight. Take Mack inside and give him a
leather cut and a beer. Make sure he gets taken care of by any woman he wants
tonight. Everyone else get inside and keep your guns handy.
”

“
How
bad is it?
”
Finn asked.

“
Bad
enough,
”
Layne said,
looking at him.
“
I don
’
t think there will be any other
attacks today. But the Mountain Killers are pissed off. And we have the mafia
on our ass.
”

“
The
mafia?
”
Ax growled.
“
What the fuck
…”

“
Just
business,
”
Layne said. His
eyes met mine.
“
Fucking
business.
”

My heart pounded hard in my chest
as everyone started to break up. Finn was quick to shout out orders to cover up
for Layne as his interest existed nowhere beyond me.

“
Your
father hit you?
”
he asked.

“
Yes,
”
I said.

“
And
your father is
…”

“
Yes,
”
I said, again.
“
But I
’
m not anything you think, Layne. I
’
m me. I
’
m normal. I
’
m
here. There
’
s nothing like
what Bain did. Or other stuff.
”

“
Other
stuff,
”
Layne said.
“
Like one of my prospects getting
fucking killed? Or half the crew being taken down by the mafia? Me kidnapped?
”
Layne pointed to his face. It
was scratched, cut, swollen, blotches of fresh blood.
“
I was beat up. Tied to a chair. Punched. Knocked
down. Stomped on. Got to meet someone who has the ability to destroy the entire
MC. And he wants me to do a favor for him. Normally I would tell him to go fuck
himself, but he knew shit, sweetheart. He knew shit. And he knew you. He knew
your father. He knew the connection.
”

“
I
don
’
t know anything about
the mafia,
”
I said.
“
I swear, Layne. I
…”

“
So
you just show up and work behind the bar. That
’
s
it. You work the bar. Collect some cash. And then what? What the fuck are you
doing in Oakville? What
’
s
your plan?
”

“
I
have no real plan,
”
I said.
“
Okay? I
’
m sort of trapped right now. The
clubhouse keeps me alive with enough money to be on my own. I can
’
t help what Daddy
…”

“
Stop
fucking saying it like that,
”
Layne demanded.
“
He fucking
hits you. You call him Daddy.
”

“
Are
you jealous?
”
I spat.

Layne lifted his gun again.

Holy fucking shit. I pushed him
too far.

“
Jealous?
”
Layne whispered.
“
I
’
m
the fucking President here. Don
’
t
ever forget that, sweetheart. My orders. My clubhouse. I
’
m considering starting over. A complete wipeout.
You know what that is? That
’
s
when I kill everyone in the clubhouse, including you. That
’
s when I get rid of everyone and
then pick new guys from other charters. Don
’
t
fuck with me. Don
’
t fucking
lie to me. Now where
’
s your
fucking notebook?
”

“
It
’
s my stuff
…”

“
Give
me the notebook right now.
”

“
Fuck
you, Layne.
”

He looked at the gun. He looked at
me.
“
You know, when I was
in Brocke, my best friend killed a woman I had fallen in love with. I
’
ve always wondered what that
would feel like.
”

Jesus Christ.

I started to step back. I thought
about running to the car and then speeding away.

But where would I go? What would I
do?

“
The
notebook,
”
Layne said.

“
You
want the damn truth?
”
I
yelled.
“
Fine. Daddy
…
my father
…
used to beat the shit out of my
mother. And me. All the time. She left. She didn
’
t
want it anymore, including me. So I
’
m
here trying to find her. This was the last place I knew she lived. I had been
gone and I came back. Okay? To find her. And this place helps me. I have to
find her. She
’
s close and I
can feel it. My father won
’
t
tell me anything. If I talk out of line
…”
I touched my swollen cheek.
“
So
fuck you, Layne. You want to kill me? Then just do it. I don
’
t care.
”

I then took my chance.

I jumped to the right and started
to run. Layne yelled my name, but I ignored him. I fully expected a bullet to
pierce my back, but that didn
’
t
happen either. It seemed like it was just a month ago there was a sense of calm
around the clubhouse. Yeah, there was always the chance of a war breaking out
at any time, but it felt better. I had more hope. I had
…
something else
inside me.

I ran to the side of the clubhouse.
I stopped at the door but didn
’
t
go inside. An unwelcome feeling ran through my body. Yeah, my father was the fucking
Sheriff in Oakville. He had been for some time. There was a lot of noise behind
that, stuff that I didn
’
t
know and didn
’
t want to
know. My plan was to find my mother and get answers. Then disappear forever.

But Layne fucked that up by coming
here to become President of Devil Call MC.

My mind and heart were twisted
together. I crept by the door and went to the back of the clubhouse. There were
a couple old, broken tables. The scenery was nothing but junk cars. Rusted
skeletons of vehicles that used to serve a purpose. Suddenly, I felt like I had
a place to be. Right here with the junk.

I crashed to the ground on my ass
and hugged my knees.

I thought about everything Layne
had said.

The mafia? The suits and ties. The
real stuff. The people who had tons of power. They knew me. They knew Daddy.
Did that mean he was connected to them somehow?