They killed because they liked it. They took because they wanted, and they didn’t give two fucks about anything or anyone. They were the scum of the fucking earth, and their V.P. Jekyll was a nasty piece of work. The man didn’t have morals. Didn’t even know what that meant. He was violent, crazy, and downright sadistic. Many men tried to take down the evil fucker, but all failed.
Though I agreed they needed to be eradicated, I just didn’t think going about it this way was the best course of action. But what the fuck did I know. I was just the muscle. The man behind the gun. I took orders and made damn sure they were enacted. I was good at what I did, and that was why Reaper kept me around.
Looking at my surroundings, I picked a good spot and set everything up. It wasn’t hard and took me no time at all. I was used to this. I’d done it since I left home several years ago. Though looking around me, I never thought I’d be back, walking on the same ground I used to play on. None of that mattered anymore. I was here for a job, and that was it.
As I waited, I thought about Layla. Just thinking about her warmed my heart. She was out there somewhere, and I just knew she was still alive. She had to be because I refused to think otherwise. She was a tough cookie. Many had tried over the years to bring her down, but not Layla. She kicked ass and took names later. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d already put a few of those fuckers in the ground.
I knew that someday soon, she would be back with me. Though I didn’t know in what state, as long as she was breathing, everything else didn’t matter. I tried hard not to think about what she endured, but it was hard not to after seeing Remi and then Ari.
These fuckers, whoever they were going to be reaped, slowly, methodically, and painfully. I couldn’t wait for that day to come.
Birds took flight as the sounds of bikes off in the distance alerted me that it was showtime. Getting to my feet, I watched as my brothers and family arrived. I wish I could say it was good to see them. It had been a long time, but I never thought it would be under these circumstances.
Seeing Reaper walk next to my Uncle was rather unsettling. Not that Reaper knew who Moonshine was to me. Hell, nobody knew except Kitty, and I knew she would never tell. Or the fact that I was born and raised in Tennessee. They all thought I was from California and joined the Skulls after the Marines discharged me. Well, technically, that was partly true. I was a Marine until I was dishonorably discharged for going AWOL, then I joined the Golden Skulls at Reapers insistence. The club didn’t need to know my whole backstory, just that I could take orders and was good with my rifle.
I was going to refuse the offer, but I just accepted when Reaper promised me that he would help me get Layla back. Reaper insisted that the club, the Golden Skulls were not what everyone believed. I didn’t believe him. I knew differently, but I didn’t have a choice. I needed help finding Layla, and if joining the very people who took her would give me a chance at getting her back, then I would walk with the devil himself. 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 him.
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 Sergeant at Arms. 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 in the fact 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 that, my mother was dead, and Layla was in the hands of the same fuckers the former President worked alongside.
This whole web of lies and deceit was 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 every one of my brothers was. 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 and 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, slice through his first victim as he swung 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 creepy as they came. I raised my rifle, putting 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.