“Shit can be sorted later,” Sunny quipped, waving a hand in the air.
“Nah, I don’t think so. I want to know where your thoughts are, asshole,” Chance ordered.
“Look, it’s simple. Hellfire broke ranks and accepted a sister. Oh, I know about Phoenix; I’ve devoured everything I could find about Hellfire. Hellfire is setting new standards. So the club either has two VPs or a VP and Lieutenant. I’ll take Lieutenant. Bear has been VP longer than me, even though it’s my legacy,” Sunny answered.
“Put some consideration into this,” Chance snapped.
“Yeah, years of it. My dad had VP, that’s my position, but I’ll concede to Bear, as I don’t want to rock what you’ve built. But make no mistake, Chance, my dad was a founder of Hellfire, and I have legacy rights. And a right to the inner circle.” Sunny rose to his feet, and I whimpered, frightened there’d be a fight.
“Your hearing is back?” Chance asked, twisting his head to look at me.
“Yeah, the proximity of the bullet temporarily deafened me,” I whispered with my eyes firmly latched onto Sunny. Sunny’s stern demeanour faded, and he offered a reassuring smile.
“It’s okay, little darlin’. This is just club politics. Chance and I are cool,” Sunny claimed. By the expression on Chance’s face, he was anything but calm.
“Call church,” Chance said to Bear, who nodded. “Bunny, Fanatic is okay. He’s had a bullet removed from his shoulder. The doctors mentioned you were pestering them. Tanner is still alive but under heavy guard. He won’t get to you. Docs told you they removed your spleen?”
“Yes,” I acknowledged. Dakota squeezed me a little harder.
“You can come home in two days. You got a sprained wrist and bumps and bruises, but you made it, Bunny.”
“Okay, that’s good news.” I smiled.
“Bunny, Sly and Sorrow didn’t make it. I’m sorry for your loss.” My face fell as I thought of the two innocents who’d been killed because of me. No, because of Tanner.
“Janey,” I said finally, I owed them to reclaim myself. Chance gave me a beautiful grin.
“Janey,” he replied.
???
Four weeks after the incident, I followed Chance silently through a warehouse. We were in another town, and Chance had explained little when he collected me from Hellfire and asked me to accompany him. Actually, it was two in the morning, and Chance had woken me up. I was puzzled when I noticed Dakota was missing, but Chance told me Dakota was on a job for Hellfire and I needed to go with him.
“Janey, you need to witness this if you’re planning a future with Pyro. If you feel after witnessing this, you can’t, Hellfire can disappear you,” Chance said softly. I opened my mouth to ask why, and Chance shook his head and began walking again. Chance crouched down behind a wall with a broken window and motioned me to copy. Chance popped his head over the jagged glass, and I copied his actions and froze in place.
Below me was Tanner, tied to a chair with a dark silhouette in front of him. As far as I was aware, Tanner had still been in the hospital recovering from severe injuries. The worse was the hole in his two cheeks where the bullet had shattered bone and muscle. The figure was bent down and holding a lit match. Before my frightened eyes, he set Tanner’s legs on fire, and Tanner screamed.
“Oh my God!” I whispered, my hand reaching out for Chance. Chance gripped hold of mine and squeezed tightly.
“Just watch Janey. I made you a promise, and I’ll keep it,” Chance muttered. The guy put the flames out, and Tanner still howled.
“That’s Justice,” I murmured, adding two and two together and coming up with four.
“Yes,” Chance replied. For the next hour, I watched as Tanner was mercilessly tortured. Every time Tanner tried to talk, Justice set another part of him on fire. Finally, Justice stepped back, and I nearly gagged on the smell of burned flesh that permeated the air.
“You came after Janet Revers,” Justice growled, and I couldn’t move. I wondered if I’d been knocked out and sent to hell because the person down there shouldn’t be here.
“Owed Revers for Line,” Tanner grunted.
“You were warned Janet was protected. You shot a Hellfire prospect and nearly killed the woman I love,” Justice said, and I shook my head. No, Dakota couldn’t be the monster that everyone was hunting.
“Offered to pay a blood price,” Tanner replied. His voice was distorted.
“Love doesn’t have a price. Janey was mine to protect and keep mine to avenge,” Justice replied and set Tanner on fire again on his arms. Tanner screamed for several long minutes, and I opened my mouth to tell Dakota to stop, but Chance stopped me. Justice’s head cocked to one side, and he put out the flames.
“This is for Janey, Fanatic and all your other victims, motherfucker.” I watched, horrified, as Justice sprayed gasoline all over Tanner and flicked a match before walking in my direction. Chance rose to his feet as Dakota approached us.
“Outside. Janey doesn’t smell this,” Dakota said to Chance. His face was strangely blank, and I wondered what the hell was going on. Quietly, I followed them, Chance protective by my side.