Secret Mayhem (4 page)

“
What
the fuck are you doing?
”

“
Relaxing,
”
Ava said.

“
Why
was the door locked?
”

“
Nile
…”

Trev
’
s
eyes went wide.
“
What
happened?
”

“
See
the blood on the door?
”

Trev nodded.
“
That was him?
”

“
He
stuck his own fingers up his nose and did that to scare me or whatever. I just
don
’
t want to be bothered
anymore. Okay?
”

“
What
’
s with the get up? I don
’
t get it.
”

“
Get
what?
”

“
You
try to act so tough around here,
”
Trev said, sitting down next to Ava.
“
You
try to act like you belong here. Like you want to be here. You don
’
t even know who the fuck we are.
”

“
Who
are you then?
”

Trev shook his head.
“
We
’
re
the outcasts of all the MC's. We are the ones who wouldn
’
t listen because we think all law is worth shit.
Stein was a tough man. He managed to keep order around here. Loosely though. He
was a smart man. I'm sorry that he's dead."

“
Me
too,
”
Ava said.

“
Look,
I just got a call about helping an old friend out.
”

“
Okay.
”

“
I
used to belong to Back Down Devil MC. Then shit went south and I bounced before
I was killed. This is the alternative to death. One rung above hell. But the
guys called me and they need bodies in their town. I want you down there with
us.
”

“
Are
any other women
…”

“
No,
”
Trev said.
“
It
’
s
dangerous down there, Ava. They
’
re
in a war. But if I leave you here, you won
’
t
make it a day without problems. You need the protection. And you don
’
t belong here. Maybe you could
find something to do down there. Frelen, California is a beautiful little town
on the beach. Fuck, you could go down there and strip if you wanted to.
”
Trev stood and faced Ava. He
touched her chin.
“
If you
were smart, you
’
d get in
with one of the guys in Back Down Devil.
”

Ava swallowed hard.
“
Okay. I don
’
t know what to say right now. I
didn
’
t plan on traveling
…”

“
Nobody
cares about plans,
”
Trev
said.
“
Just follow the
road, Ava. Whatever one that
’
s
in front of you.
”
Trev
smiled.
“
Any chance you
want to suck my dick?
”

“
Is
that a question or command?
”

Trev laughed. His thumb grazed her
bottom lip.
“
Trust me, if
it was a command, you
’
d be
gagging.
”
He took his hand
away and walked to the door. Trev paused and looked back.
“
Be ready to leave
…
ten minutes. You
’
ll never see this place again.
Consider yourself lucky.
”

The door shut and Ava let out a
shaky breath.

Consider yourself lucky.

Ava wasn
’
t sure what luck was anymore. But if getting out of
there and away from those men was luck, she
’
d
take it. However, there was no way she was going to get involved with another
biker in a MC.

four.

Shay laid on his back on the hard
bench that stuck out of the wall. The cell ceiling was a dirty white color with
yellowish stains all across it. He had one leg bent, the other straight, and
his hands folded across his chest. Every now and again there was the echoing
sound of a jail cell closing, the squeak of a door opening, and the murmur of
voices. If you focused on them it would drive a man insane in no time.
Wondering what was out there. Wondering what was happening. Wondering when it
was time to get the hell out.

But Shay was different. He accepted
his current fate, knowing damn well the MC would be there soon enough. He
appreciated the solitude so he could be alone to think.

To think about his brother.

If Shay had been at the car a
minute or two longer, he would have been killed. His goddamn brother would have
gotten what he wanted without even meaning to do so. It didn
’
t make sense for Eight Under to
get involved, but then again, Eight Under had seen Back Down Devil with
Strokner so they were probably trying to do the same. They think using a suit
and tie with power, politics, and money to rattle the enemies was going to give
them a leg up. The difference was that Strokner was simply a rich puppet
grieving the loss of his daughter.

Shay knew the dangerous potential
of his brother, so his decision to allow Eight Under to get involved seemed
unnecessary. Shay's brother could wipe out Eight Under without breaking a sweat
and then turn Frelen into a living hell.

Shay shut his eyes and sighed.

He was suddenly taken back to a
long distant memory.

Shay and his brother were just
kids. They weren
’
t even ten
years old. Standing at the end of a pond, listening to the sounds of nature.
Crying birds. Chirping crickets. Croaking frogs.

“
Hey,
Caius, check this out,
”
Shay had called to his brother.

Caius walked with his hands in his
pockets. Even then, Caius's eyes were dark and distant.

“
What
do you want?
”

“
There
’
s a frog,
”
Shay said.

“
So
what?
”

Shay smiled. He reached into his
pocket and pulled out a string of firecrackers.
“
I
heard that if you put them in a frog
’
s
mouth, it
’
ll explode.
”

“
Nice,
”
Caius said.
“
Are you going to do it?
”

“
Yeah.
I
’
m not afraid.
”

“
Good.
”

Shay licked his lips and reached
for the frog. When he touched the frog, it didn
’
t
jump away. He could not believe the frog was so stupid. It was just going sit
there and eat some firecrackers.

This is so cool.

Shay reached back into his pocket
and pulled out a lighter. He slowly started to pry open the frog
’
s mouth and put the firecrackers
in it. He looked back at Caius, always worried about his approval for some
reason. Caius stared down, not blinking.

Shay looked to the frog again and
flicked his thumb at the lighter. As he moved the lighter toward the
firecrackers, there was an explosion.

That
’
s
how Shay remembered it, even to this day.

It was a fucking explosion.

The thundering boom happened the
exact second the frog exploded. There was a wet
gush
sound and then
pieces of the frog splashed all over Shay
’
s
face and clothing. He screamed and fell back to this ass, his body shaking.

“
You
’
re a pussy, Shay,
”
Caius said.

Shay looked up and saw his brother
holding a gun.

A gun!

“
Where
…
did you
…
get that?
”

Caius smiled.
“
Don
’
t worry about it. It
’
s
mine now. You don
’
t need to
work so hard to kill something. Just shoot. Make it count. Want to try?
”

“
No,
”
Shay said.
“
I was just messing around,
Caius. What is wrong with you?
”

Caius pointed the gun at Shay.
“
You
’
re such a pussy, Shay. You know, if you don
’
t get tough, I
’
m going to have to kill you
someday. And I won
’
t do it
by putting firecrackers in your mouth.
”

That
’
s
when Caius let out a laugh. He then tucked the gun into the back of his pants
and walked away. Shay remembered watching his brother walk away and then
looking back to the bloody spot where the frog had been.

Shay just wanted to have a little
fun
…
but Caius wanted to
kill
…

“
Christ,
”
Shay whispered as he opened his
eyes, chasing away the memory of his childhood. He turned his head and saw Blaine standing at the cell, his hands on his hips. Shay sat up.
“
What the fuck are you doing?
”

“
Wasn
’
t sure if you were fantasizing
or not,
”
Blaine said.
“
I didn
’
t want to interrupt
…
especially if you were getting ready to
…”
Blaine made a fist and moved it back and forth. He smiled.

Shay swung his feet to the floor
and stood up. He walked to the cell door and wished he could get at Blaine.

“
Am
I out?
”
Shay asked.

“
Yeah,
”
Blaine said.
“
Another minute or so. The good
Chief brought in Gaige and Nate separately and questioned them. Their stories
matched yours. You didn
’
t
blow up that car, man.
”

“
I
know that,
”
Shay said.
“
But we know we did.
”

“
Chief
Jerry doesn
’
t,
”
Blaine said with a smile.
“
And he won
’
t. He
’
s going to chase his own damn tail and send his
puppies to rush around town.
”
Blaine grabbed the cell bars.
“
Man,
it
’
s going to get wild
around here when the Lost Men show up.
”

“
How
long?
”

“
Call
has been made. They
’
re on
their way down. The calm in Frelen is about to be shaken up."

“
Shit,
”
Shay said.
“
We need to get this all done.
And fast.
”

“
We
will, brother. We will.
”

Shay heard footsteps on the
concrete and saw Nate and Gaige coming down the hallway with Chief Jerry right
behind them.

“
Letting
me out?
”
Shay asked.

“
Want
to stay?
”
the chief asked.

“
Maybe.
I do love the accommodations here, Chief."

Chief Jerry opened the door, but
when Shay started to leave, Jerry grabbed Shay.
“
Keep
this shit up, and you
’
ll
end up in here for the rest of your life.
”

“
No,
”
Shay said.
“
That won
’
t happen.
”

“
Is
that so?
”

Shay smiled.
“
I won
’
t be in a cell for the rest of my life, Chief. I'll
die before I spend my life in here. Got it?"

Chief Jerry curled his lip.
“
The four of you, fuck off out of
here." He shook his head and then whistled. Shay, Gaige, Nate, and Blaine all stopped walking.

"Oh boys, don't forget to make
sure you and the guys keep your friends under control when they visit. The last
thing I'd want is to see your clubhouse raided and members locked up."

They looked back and Shay was the
first one to start laughing. Soon, the four of them were laughing and they
continued to walk.

There would be no way in hell Chief
Jerry or his officers would be able to stop Back Down Devil or the Lost Men.
Especially the Lost Men. They had nothing to live for. They had no care, no
respect, no love, nothing. They would sooner take a bullet to the chest or
between the eyes before letting someone of authority arrest them.

Outside, Shay looked around and inhaled
the air. A night in jail always seemed to make the air smell fresher.

Gaige, Nate, and Blaine walked to
their motorcycles. There was no fourth ride.

“
Come
the fuck on,
”
he growled.

“
What
’
s wrong?
”
Nate asked.

Blaine patted the seat behind him.
“
You can ride bitch with me. Just
don
’
t get hard. And don
’
t grab my cock.
”

“
Fuck
you,
”
Shay said.
“
I
’
ll
walk.
”

He wasn
’
t in the damn mood for any of this shit right now.
He started to walk and Gaige yelled for him.

“
You
think we
’
d leave you
hanging?
”
Gaige asked.

A second later, the sound of a
motorcycle echoed in the distance.

“
What
is that?
”
Shay asked.
“
Is someone
…”

“
Take
it easy,
”
Blaine said.

Shay listened to the sound of his
ride getting louder and then it cut into the back parking lot. Jon, the prospect
from behind the bar the other night, stopped the ride and climbed off. He took
off a helmet and then pointed to Shay
’
s
helmet on the back.

“
All
set,
”
Jon said.
“
Nothing happened to it.
”

“
You
let him ride my motorcycle?
”
Shay asked.

“
Hey,
you have wheels,
”
Gaige
said.
“
Ride.
”

“
What
the fuck do I do with the prospect?
”
Shay asked.

“
Whatever
you want,
”
Blaine said.
“
Let him ride bitch. But
be careful
…
he might get
hard
…
might grab your
…”

“
Shut
up, bro,
”
Shay growled.

Everyone laughed again.

Shay walked to his motorcycle and
looked at the prospect. He grabbed his helmet and put it on. He didn
’
t say a word to the prospect as
he climbed on the motorcycle and started it.

“
Don
’
t worry, I
’
ll walk,
”
Jon yelled.

“
Yeah,
you will,
”
Shay said.

He took off.

No disrespect to the prospect, but
there were serious matters at hand.

Shay rode, alone, leaving Jon
behind. Gaige, Nate, and Blaine soon caught up. They rode back to the
clubhouse, and Shay parked his ride and stepped off. Miller, Jace, Griffin, and Erik all stood up from a table and clapped and whistled.

Miller hugged Shay.
“
Sorry you had to spend the night
there.
”

“
Not
a problem. Slept great,
”
Shay said.

“
You
smell like piss,
”
Griffin said.

“
Thanks.
”

“
Your
face looks good,
”
Erik
said.

Shay touched his jaw where Erik had
given him a good shot.
“
I
could say the same about your face, Erik, but then you
’
d want to fight me.
”

Miller cut in between the two of
them and put his hands out.
“
Cool
it. It
’
s done. Time to move
forward. We have to organize the protection run for Jakey. And we have to find
Jonesy. And we have to settle all this shit. We need to start with Eight Under.
”

“
How
’
s that plan look?
”
Shay asked.

Before Miller could respond, the
thundering roar of motorcycles came to life. It seemed like it came out of
nowhere. There was a total of fifteen motorcycles that piled into the parking
lot of the Back Down Devil MC compound.

“
That
’
s what the plan looks like,
”
Miller said, laughing.

“
Good
Christ,
”
Shay said.
“
It
’
s
going to be a bloody war.
”

“
What
other kind is there?" Erik asked. He punched Shay's shoulder and walked
away.

The Lost Men made their own row to
park their motorcycles, back tire in first, front tire out and turned. No
matter what they believed, they still had MC blood flowing through their veins.