The only thing was, Reaper was right.
After he took over the club, he didn’t have the same mindset as his father. He wanted nothing to do with the FBI, the government, or the powers that be, who were pulling the purse strings. Cutting ties immediately caused a massive backlash, even Reaper was unprepared for. Now, he was the one needing help, and God help me; I wanted to help.
I wanted him to win.
I needed something good to come out of all of this. Plus, there was Kitty to consider. She was part of the Skulls, had been her whole life. Her brother was a member, their enforcer. Through everything, she assured me that everything would be fine. At times I believed her. But times like the one I was in now…I wasn’t so sure.
Add that I just couldn’t get past that the former President knew and worked with my uncle. Knowing my Uncle worked with that man was something I was never going to forgive. He told me he would take care of everything.
He didn’t.
Because of him, my mother was dead. Layla was in the hands of the same fuckers the former President worked alongside.
This whole web of lies and deceit was as a clusterfuck of epic proportions, and eventually, the web would come down, and all would be revealed.
“So, you are the pissant fucker from sunny California.” I hear Vain say as he stood before Reaper. That mother fucker was a piece of shit, and my finger itched to blow his fucking head off, but he wasn’t the bastard I wanted. Nope, I wanted the big son of a bitch next to him, Jekyll. The bane of my existence. The reason I had to leave. The reason Layla fled in the middle of the night. The reason my mother was dead. That fucker belonged to me, and nothing or no one was going to stop me from putting a bullet in his fucking head.
That piece of shit tormented Layla and me our whole fucking lives. There wasn’t a bad memory that didn’t involve Jekyll. He was a fucking bully as a child and only got worse as he grew older. Now, he was more vicious than any living creature I knew. There were no limits with him. He just breathed pain as if it were second nature to him. I hated him. I wanted him dead.
“Vain, I want my sister.”
“She’s dead.”
“I want her bones,” Moonshine growled and stepped closer. “She deserves a burial and to be laid to rest with family.”
“Bitch got what the fuck she deserved. She ain’t movin’.”
“Do you know a man by the name of Malcolm Wagner?” Reaper asked.
“What’s it to you, pretty boy?”
“Just looking for information.”
“Why don’t you just stand there and be quiet. The big boys are talkin’.”
Reaper grinned, taking a step back. I knew that grin. This wasn’t good. All hell was about to break loose, and only those on our side fucking knew it. I could tell where all of my brothers were. I knew they all saw the signal. We didn’t need to see Reaper reach for his blades. However, when Vain hauled off and punched my Uncle, well, that was all the signal anyone needed as both sides rushed into the clearing.
I watched as Slaughter roared into the clearing as if he were some fucking marauding Viking, instead of the crazy fucking redneck I knew him to be. Then there was Ravage. My best friend and cousin. The one who always had my back. He hadn’t talked to me once since I left for the Marines. I saw Digger, Whiskey, and Trout, making their way through the crowd, letting their knives, arrows, and axes fly. There were so many I hadn’t seen, yet they were all there protecting one another, like a family.
Like my family.
I watched as Reaper easily, with style and grace, sliced through his first victim and swing around to chop up another. Watching Reaper in action was better than any Bruce Lee film. He was amazing and utterly unstoppable when he got going. Ghost was coming up behind him fast, his guns out, shooting his way towards our Prez, and that was when I noticed Snake. Just like his namesake, Snake was a creepy as they came. I raised my rifle, potting the Vulture in my sights as he pointed a gun pointed at Reaper’s head.
“Not this time, mother fucker,” I whispered and pulled the trigger. I grinned as I watched my shot fly through the air, hitting its target.
Ghost shouted in warning. “Reaper!”
Something out of the corner of my eye alerted me. Turning, I watched as Jekyll grinned at me. Grabbing my rifle, I didn’t bother casing my brass. Nope, not this time. Running, I prayed that Ghost would be able to keep Reaper safe as I moved in and out of the trees, with Jekyll hot on my tail. How the fuck I let that motherfucker get so close, I would never know.
Now, I was running for my life.
Jumping over a fallen log, I made my way south, towards the Chickamauga River, knowing it would pass by the town of Redbank and away from the Black Vultures territory. That was one place I didn’t want to go, like ever.
The mist thickened as I ran, making the ground harder to see. Dark clouds loomed overhead, blocking out the moonlight. Yet that didn’t bother me. I’d played in these woods growing up. I knew every inch of them. Hunted in them since I was a small boy. There was nothing in these woods I hadn’t seen or dealt with, except the fucker gaining on me.
And that’s when I felt it.
The slight sting.