The big burly man rushes inside, and I move into the hallway. He starts whaling on my Dad, punching him until he falls to the ground. “Stop! You’re hurting him. Daddy!” I scream, and Justin tries to tell the dude to stop but he doesn’t let up. He kicks at my father’s head until it’s a bloodied pulp.
“You shut the bitch up or I will,” he warns, and Justin pulls me into him as I sob into his chest.
“What’s your problem, man?” Justin questions. I peer over his arm and read the man’s road name, Brute.
“You’re Crank’s little brother. That makes you family, and this fucker was gonna kill your ass or try to. I came to tell you there’s been some trouble. We had a run in with another club. Need you to follow me. Crank’s in bad shape, dude.”
“Oh my God,” I whisper, as Justin hugs me tighter.
Chapter 4
—Uno
Present Day
Things have been fucking crazy around here lately. Goddamn Zo Zo had us all fooled. The shit that Reaper told me he did to MaryAnn turns my damn stomach. He beat and raped her. Bastard knew that she is pregnant with Cupid’s baby. He’ll pay though. Hades has been keeping him in a cell in the basement of the clubhouse for weeks, starving him out for information and getting shit prepared for his demise.
Prez called church and we all have our part to play. Boogeyman, Reaper, Terror, Cupid, Cocky, and I have our orders. I meet Terror and Reaper at Zo Zo’s house. The freezers are set up and ready. A prospect pulls the van up and we load the bodies that are now wrapped in black plastic into them. Upstairs Hades stages the house so that there will be no doubt that Zo Zo was a sick and troubled piece of shit. We are all sorry bastards in our own way, but we don’t fucking rape women. We aren’t good men. This life isn’t made up of hearts and flowers. Innocent people died by our hands. I’m not proud of the man that I have become, but we all do what we must to survive.
Within this club, I have found my true brothers. The men who have my back and I have theirs. I would ride to hell and back with them any day. Boogeyman shows up and stuffs the body of the prospect he murdered in the last freezer. Cupid comes in shoving a cuffed and gagged Zo Zo down the staircase. He takes a kick to the back of his knees that sends him flying head over feet the rest of the way. His body is crumpled at the bottom of the stairs, but the fucker is still breathing.
Hades comes down behind him and shakes his head. “Did you get the note?”
Cupid strokes his chin. “Left it on your desk and have him on camera leaving the clubhouse.”
“Good. Put him on that mattress.” It’s the mattress from his room at the clubhouse full of his DNA. “Uncuff his ass,” Hades barks.
I take a good look at Zo Zo. He’s pale but Cupid has been under strict orders not to get too crazy with him. This shit has to be believable. Other than a few bruises and some weight loss the fucker looks the same as he always has, but now I see him in a different light.
Cupid isn’t happy about the situation. I know he wanted to slowly bleed the bastard out, but this scene is about the good of the club. He rouses Zo Zo and nods to Boogeyman. With a gloved hand he pulls o
ut a wiped .380.
Zo Zo’s eyes meet mine dark and hollow and he smiles at me. “See you on the other side, brother. I’ll take your secret with me.” Raising his hand, he accepts the gun, aims it at his left temple and pulls the trigger. I jump at the popping sound as his blood splatters the wall behind him.
We move quickly up the stairs, but I can feel all their gazes piercing my back, wondering what the hell Zo Zo meant by keeping my secret. Terror goes into the kitchen and turn on the gas stovetop but doesn’t ignite the flame. I stay behind, making sure all my brothers have gotten out.
I take a breath and go to the back door, some of the guys are already gone, disappearing into the cloak of the night. Pulling a pack of matches from my cut, I step outside onto the cement patio. Hades gives me a nod and I step a few steps back, light one and toss it in but it goes out before it hits the gas. Damn. Fuck it. I pull out one more and light the whole book on fire, toss it and run for the trees. Just as I am making it to the van, the house explodes. The ground vibrates under my feet, and we all go home to our old ladies.
It’s over. Zo Zo ended his life and took blame for it all. The fire at the sorority house. The dead college girls. Killing the prospect. It’s all detailed in the suicide note Cupid forced him to write and leave on Hades’ desk. So, when the cops come questioning us, we’re covered.
I go home to Stephanie unable to sleep. She doesn’t move as I climb into bed, tossing and turning, unable to get the look he had in his eyes off my mind nor the sound of his voice. “See you on the other side, brother. I’ll take your secret with me.” Did he know that I’m working with Tiny? I know it won’t be long before Hades demands an answer.
——
“Ugh. You’re dripping water all over the carpet,” my cunt of a wife whines as I dig through the dresser drawer for a t-shirt.
“Why you gotta be such a bitch to me all the time? You know what today is.” Twelve years ago today I watched my brother take his dying breath and within minutes I was handed his cut and given the key to his motorcycle. “You’re one of us now,” Brute told me.
Her voice drops. “I don’t need a reminder. I loved him too.”
I chuckle as I move the clothes around. “Yea. You loved Derrick so much you couldn’t wait to ride my dick.” I look to the mirror and watch her reaction.
Her hand moves to her hip. “That’s not fair, Justin, and you know it.”
I shrug and dab some cologne on my neck having given up finding the shirt I was looking for. “Life’s not fair, Steph.”
“When are you going to man up and do what you should have done years ago? I’ve been patient and played your little game long enough. Derrick’s memory deserves better,” her nasally tone harps in my ear giving me a Goddamned headache.