Swallowing Mayhem (7 page)

Chapter Nine

Mayhem wound up going back to
talk with Outlaw. Apparently a
church
was starting, which meant super-secret meeting to discuss blowing shit up and
probably my fate. Anyway, Prospect and I were up in the bar.
Menial
shit but even the damn prospect wouldn’t
look at me. He was pissed like everyone else and I couldn’t blame him. “Need
help with that?” I asked as he dragged a heavy box from the back room.

“Nope.”

Yup, he’s still mad. I went back
to wiping off tables. When that was
done,
I stood in front of the window and stared out. The sun way high, making the
city shine and reflective. I could see the mounds of red dirt past the city.
The construction sites were around all the edges. We were always building,
growing, using material from Earth minimally as it tried to recover from all
the previous generations of abuse.

Prospect grunted and a few
bottles of natural fruit flavor fell out, rolling across the floor.

I picked them, placing them on
the counter.

“I don’t need your help.”

“So we went from friends to
enemies
overnight
?”

He ground his teeth together. “I
love this club more than my life. I love Outlaw more than my life. I would do
anything to protect him. Them.”

Can you say slip up? I narrowed
my eyes. The prospect had a thing for the president. I thought Outlaw loved
Liam? It was so complicated I wasn’t going to touch that. “I love Mayhem,” I
blurted. Well, that was odd, admitting to loving another man. I guess I did
though. I mean, I’d broken laws for him, turned my back on everything so he
could stick his dick in. And I loved him for showing me the truth.
“Yeah.
I love him. I’m on the club’s side.”

“Now you are. Supposedly,” he
said quietly and went back to his box.

Great.
I was making
friends wherever I went. My thumbnail vibrated.
Communications
already?
Once, twice, three, four, five.
Shit.
Five was a signal. “Fuck.” I ran down the stairs taking them two at a time.
Prospect yelled
something,
but I ignored
him and slammed into the chapel door. It lurched open. All the men jerked
toward me, most of them pulling guns.
“Raid.”

“When?”
Outlaw was the
one who spoke.

Mayhem jumped up, blocking me
from the guns.

“Any minute.
They sent me
the signal.”

Outlaw cursed. “Get the guns
hidden, the information chips too. Make sure there’s no indication of anything
going on.” He started giving orders, firm and steady. “Mayhem, get in the
garage with Grim and Chaos. Whip, when you’re done hiding this shit get on the
couch and make it look like you’re watching the news.
Everyone
else in the bar.
Make it look busy.
Now!”
He
shoved his gun across the table toward Whip.

“Go,” Mayhem whispered, pushing
me slightly toward the stairs.

I
beelined
it for the bar and managed to get a box from the back. The others made it up
after
me, shoving into seats or grabbing rags
or taking out a drink and sitting together. Then the door busted open and the
peacekeepers came charging in. I held up my hands as they started yelling.

“Peacekeepers!
Don’t move!”

I recognized the voice.
Day-Si.
He had been my partner for all of the
five
days before I signed up for undercover
work. The guy had a hard-on for this club to meet its end and I had no idea
why.

“Everyone on the
ground.
This is a government check,” he ordered.

“Still trying to get your dick
sucked, Daisy?” Outlaw smiled as he went to his knees.

Day-si pushed him to the ground.
“That’s illegal, fucker.” He said it so low I doubt the other peacekeepers at
the door heard. Five of them were making their way inside. “Pull this place
apart.”

“You have a warrant for that? You
can’t just come in here and rip our place of business apart.” Outlaw’s voice
was slightly muffled from facing the floor.

I was going to my knees. My gaze
caught Day-Si and he held it for a
second too
long. Well, if they hadn’t
known
I was a
former peacekeeper they would have suspected shit now. Maybe Day-si was trying
to get me killed.

“
New
law being passed, shitheads,” he said as he pushed me to the ground. “Any and
all
businesses, as well as private residences,
will now be eligible for a raid if the peacekeepers deem it a possible terrorist
situation.”

Well,
that was brand
fucking new. I placed my hands next to my head, staying quiet as the
peacekeepers went through. I knew they were looking for the explosives I told
them about. I also knew that they couldn’t say what they were searching for. I
also didn’t like the way Day-Si kept fucking glancing at me. He was the only
one doing the real damage. Four guys searched, one watched us, and Day-si just
knocked shit over. He flipped tables,
then
smashed a
few of the bottles we were putting away. The idiot Wexmen was giving the
peacekeepers too much power. Even I could see that would lead to nothing but
problems.

When they didn’t find anything,
he cursed and picked up Beau from the back of his shirt. The guy was a patch
member but more goofy than anything. I think I spoke to him all of
four
times while I’d been here these past
couple of weeks. “Take this shithead to the garage and search it. Keep a gun on
him.”

“That’s abuse!” Outlaw yelled.
“We’re not resisting.”

“Sure you are.” Day-Si smiled
then he walked to me. “I’m going to take this piece of shit with me and search
downstairs. I want two on these guys and one on the bedrooms.” With that, he
pulled me to my feet.

I saw them push Beau out the
front door and I knew things could go wrong fast if Chaos saw his lover being
beaten on. Day-si practically shoved me down the stairs where Whip was.

“This is a raid.”

Whip glanced up, his jewelry
dangling. You’d think he’d
look
foolish
with all that stuff around his wrists and neck plus gems in his
ears,
but he didn’t. Maybe it was the glasses
but Whip looked classy.
“Whatever you say.”

“Upstairs.” He leaned back.
“Another one coming your way.”
When the footsteps faded, he
pushed me to the couch.

“You trying to get me killed,” I
whispered.

“Where are the bombs?” he asked
then glanced back at the stairs.

“I told you what I overheard, not
that I knew where they had the bombs.”
Which is exactly the
way Outlaw wanted to say it.
I don’t think anyone was expecting a raid
though.

Day-si kicked a nearby stool,
sending it crashing to the floor. “You have to know something to bring them
down.”

I sat up. “What the hell do you
think I’m doing here? I’m trying to find out.”

“Then tell us something useful!”

“Hey.” I stood now. “I told you
about the peacekeeper attack and you guys fucked it up. That is not my fault. I
overheard them talking about bombing the landing strip. If I had more time
maybe I could find out where the bombs are, but now they’re going to be
tight-lipped
because of this useless raid!” My
voice went a bit louder.

Day-Si grabbed the nearest
stool
. This time he threw it into the bar. It
smashed a bunch of bottles back there marked juice and a few glass shelves.

“Well, that was real productive.”
I crossed my arms over my chest.

“Sir.”
His radio went
off.

“What?” he
snapped
back.

“Nothing found.”

“Fine.”
Day-Si grabbed
another stool, this time hitting the small device that created the holographic TV.
It slammed into the wall and smashed into three big pieces. “We’ll put tails on
them,
but you have to give us something
more than a warning.”

“I’m doing the best I can. It
takes
time
to get in the club and with
the new laws President Wexmen is going to pass they’ll have to get me in just
to keep up their rank.”

He frowned. “Don’t fuck up.”

“I haven’t.” Not that they knew
of anyway.

Day-si pushed me back to the
chair. I was about ready to blow my cover just to punch him in the fucking
face. He walked back toward the stairs.

“Finish it up. Raid is over.” He
climbed the stairs.

I waited there until I heard more
movement then Mayhem came down the hall with his hands fisted and a scowl on
his face. He saw me and stilled, opening his hands. “I’m fine.”

Outlaw came down the stairs,
glancing at the damage. “The fuck was he so angry for?”

“He thought I knew the location
of the bombs. He’s going to put a tail on everybody to try to get the bombs.”

“Fucking
idiot,
” Mayhem muttered. He walked to me, reached down, and pulled
me to my feet.

“Why? How can we
pull off
the plan with peacekeeper following?”
Then again, I didn’t know what the plan was.

“We’re not starting the next
step, Torrin,” Mayhem said. Then he went quiet. “You think the girls will be
okay?”

Outlaw nodded but Deviant, the
strawberry
blond
muscular god, came barreling
down the hall. “We have to check on them!”

“We have tails,” Outlaw
explained. “Tage will be fine.”

Tage was Deviant’s lover and
apparently the only person who can talk Deviant out of taking on every fight
himself. “The government doesn’t even know about Tage.” Yeah, I kept that
tidbit that the rich Tage is not actually here for his hover car but for some
ass, to
myself
. I think even in the beginning I felt
guilty about being a peacekeeper and a rat.

“Outlaw.”
Deviant went
quiet. “Please.” The word sounded odd coming from his lips. “We can’t
go,
but he can.” He pointed at me.

“I could.”

Mayhem looked at me. “It’d be
fucking dangerous. You’d be alone. No.”

Such negotiating skills he had.
“I can pass them, tell them I’m going on a run for
hover
parts,
if I find anything
I’ll radio them.”

Mayhem shook his head.

“They will follow you all but not
me. Let me go, Mayhem.” I grabbed his hand and squeezed. “I want to do this for
the club.
For Deviant.”

Mayhem grunted.

I guess that was as close to a
yes as I was going to get.
“Outlaw?”

The president looked at me then
Deviant. “Do it. Make it quick and quiet.”

Deviant took a deep breath.
“Thank you.” His voice was gruff, like those words were hard to say.

Hey, maybe not everyone hated me.

“You hurt him, you die,” Deviant
added.

It was Mayhem who answered. “And
you hurt Torrin, you die.”

The two big men faced each other.
They were both built to kill and win fights without breaking a sweat.
One blond, one dark-haired.
It was Outlaw, shorter than both,
who moved between them. “Stop being assholes. No one’s hurting or dying. Push
your dicks back in your pants and focus on the club.”

Deviant grunted.

Mayhem grunted.

Outlaw rolled his eyes.

And I took my leave of the club.

Chapter Ten

I took Mayhem’s bike. He’d
probably kick my ass later or maybe spank it. Oh,
I
wanted to try that. Suddenly, fucking a man made a whole new
world of possibilities open up. I wanted to try spanking but never wanted to
hurt the women in the breeding house. Now that I had Mayhem, I could get real
creative. His bike felt good between my legs. I gave the peacekeeper at the end
of the street a wave. He nodded back. Then it was just the bike and me. The
road was my canvas. I followed the quiet streets. It was dusk. The sun hadn’t
set,
but it was starting to fall
behind
the city, making the light in some spots
so bright I had to squint.

I was a block from Tage’s huge
mansion where he hid the Amazon MC. Those were the women who ran away from
their masters or escaped from the breeding house.
A bunch
of badasses I heard about but hadn’t met any yet. That was
also information that I held back from the peacekeepers. Those little things
were starting to add up. Maybe subconsciously I knew I had taken the wrong path
in life. I
was thinking
as I turned the
corner and spotted peacekeepers. It was Day-si standing next to an expensive
black hover car.
Shit
! I pulled
over,
using the
car
to
slid behind and hide. Tage’s house was the last on this block but if I went past
Day-Si, he might get curious. I peeked around the car. They were literally pulling
someone out. I frowned, easing further so I could see
better
.
I recognized Tage as they grabbed him by his expensive suit and shoved him
against the car. “Fuck a whore!”
Peacekeeper saying.
How
did they know to question him? Did someone suspect Tage and not tell me?
Fucking traitorous bastards.
Yeah, I caught the irony of
calling them that. I eased the stand down on the bike and hunched then made my
way toward them. I kept low. The street was quiet as the sun kept falling.

“We know you’re sympathetic to
the Outlaws,” Day-Si said.

His partner, a short guy with
dark
hair,
was
looking
around making sure no one was getting curious.

“I don’t comprehend your
meaning,
” Tage said. His voice eloquent and
quiet though they had him pushed against his car like a common criminal.

“The garage.”
Day-Si sounded impatient.
“Help us find the bombs, we’ll let your little slip up go.”

“Bombs!”
His voice
hitched a bit. “I assure you, peacekeeper,
I
would never associate myself with such malicious activity.”

Then Day-Si’s hand shot out and
flattened against Tage’s face.

The man looked manicured enough
to break in half at the hit. I wondered how the hell he dealt with the beast of
a man Deviant was. Tage held his cheek. “That was beyond reason. I want your
name and badge number. Surely, you don’t think someone of my standing would...”

Day-Si slapped him again.
This time harder because Tage grunted and fell against the car.
“Shut up, shithead.
We know you’re with the Outlaws.
Give us the bombs or I’m going to throw you in my car and take you to a place
where they can’t hear you scream!”

Tage went pale. Even from here, I
could see his body give a shake.

Time to play the
hero or at least pretend to be.
I stood and the second peacekeeper
spotted me. Arnet was his name. I only knew because his
nametag
was on his chest over his dark uniform slacks and
button-down
shirt. He went for his gun. “Easy.
I’m on your side.”

Day-Si glanced over. “What the
fuck are you doing here?”

“Came to find you,” I lied
smoothly. Not sure where the lie was going but I had to get Tage away from them
or else they’d truly torture him. I don’t know if Day-Si would get away with
it,
but there were some big, messy loopholes in
the law. I walked past
Arnet,
who eased
off his weapon. Tage looked at me with eyes as wide as they would go. He knew I
came from the club, didn’t he? I couldn’t remember if he was in the room when
Justice jumped me.

“What for?” he asked and looked
at Tage. “I think we might have a better source then you right here.”

“A scared, rich
guy?”
I
asked,
sarcasm thick.

“No.” He frowned. “He’s been to
the garage a few times a week. No way were you just getting your hover car
fixed.” He looked back at Tage.

Tage stuttered a bit as he spoke,
“They’re building me...me a custom car.” His hands were up, palms facing us as
his pale skin turned red from the abuse.

“You’re lying.” Day-si grabbed
the front of his suit, almost shaking Tage. “You’re working with them.”

“I swear to you, peacekeeper, I
am not.”

Day-Si pushed him against the
car. “We’ll find out soon enough.” He pushed Tage toward the peacekeeper hover
car.

“Wexmen condones torture now?” No
one answered me. “And if this guy is telling the truth?”

Day-Si hesitated at that.
“Doesn’t matter.
He’s seen your face. We have to lock him
until the investigation is over now.”

Fuck. I didn’t think of that. I
frowned then smiled. The outlaw was much more fun to play. I did a roundhouse
kick that slammed right into Day-Si’s head. He fell to the ground as I pulled
my gun and shot Arnet. The man went down hard. By the time I turned, Day-Si was
up and pointing his gun. He got off one laser bullet, which went wide then
aimed for Tage. I jumped at Deviant’s lover with all the strength I had. We
slammed against the peacekeeper’s car. The laser flew past us, hitting where
Tage’s head would have been. Then I
leaped
at Day-Si. I grabbed his wrist with the weapon, using both hands. Not my best
move. Day-Si jammed his fist into my kidney and made stars explode behind my
eyes. Pain
rose,
but adrenaline helped me
move quicker. Still holding on, I used my elbow to smash him in the face. He
didn’t drop the
gun,
but at least he
stopped hitting me. I loosened one hand and punched him in the nose, which was
bleeding.

“Traitor,” he managed to wheeze
out.

I gave him another solid hit and
his grip loosened. I pulled the gun from his
grasp,
but he bucked. I went sprawling backward, landing hard on my back. Day-Si rose
and I didn’t think. It was survival mode as I pulled the trigger. The laser
bullet was bright against the growing shadows. It hit Day-Si’s body with enough
force to make him
jerk
. His momentum continued
sending him falling on me. I didn’t know where I hit
him,
but I felt the blood seeping
onto
my skin. I pushed him to his side, sitting up then staring down at his unconscious
form. I must have been there for a while because it was Tage’s hand on my
shoulder that broke me out of the trance.

“Are you okay?”

I nodded then stood. My shirt was
covered in blood. Hell, I was just happy it wasn’t mine. “We need to go.”

 
“I’m going to warn the Amazons. They have an
escape plan.”

“Hurry.
My bike’s back
there.”
Technically, Mayhem’s bike.
“We have to get
the fuck out of here.” As long as we weren’t caught at the scene we had some
time. If Day-Si lived, he’d be unconscious for days healing.
Maybe
not days, hours.
We had fucking hours. I ran back to the bike, started
it up, and made my way to Tage.

“It’s done,” he said as he hopped
behind me.

I drove us from the bloody scene
and rode as fast as I could. I didn’t cover my shirt as we rode. I took the
back streets, a little longer but hell at least we wouldn’t have to pass the
peacekeepers at the clubhouse. The garage door was open as I pulled into the
lot. I felt this wave of relief as I saw the place. We rode right into the
garage. The door was closing behind us as Tage got off and ran to Deviant. He
was standing off to the side along with Outlaw and Mayhem. My man took one look
at me and his eyes went wide.

“Jesus, Torrin.” He rushed to me.
“Fucking bastards.
Help me.” He glanced at Outlaw.
“Get Grim. Help us.”

Grim was the medic. I didn’t need
a medic.
Oh shit, my shirt
. I forgot.
“I’m not hurt,” I managed to say as he pulled me off the bike and into his
arms. “I’m not shot!” I yelled as Grim came running out the clubhouse.

“Whose blood?”
Outlaw asked.

Mayhem pulled back. His hands
cupped my cheeks. “You’re whole?”

“Not even a scratch, baby.” The
endearment kind of came out without thinking. “The blood is Day-Si’s. He tried
to take Tage.”

Deviant was holding Tage so tight
the man couldn’t talk.

“You shot that fucker?” Outlaw
gave me a grin.
“Dead?”

“Not sure. We got out of there
before we could find out or be discovered.” I realized I was breathing heavily.
Adrenaline, but it was wearing off and I had to slow my heartbeat.

Mayhem pulled me back into his
chest. “If I find a fucking scratch on you I’m going to fuck you so hard you won’t
be able to walk for a week.”

“Was that a threat? ’Cause it
kind of sounded like a promise.”

Mayhem grunted.

“All right, get these bikes
cleaned up,” Outlaw ordered. “Burn the clothes.”

Mayhem held my hand.

Tage pulled back from his lover.
“Torrin saved my life.”

Deviant frowned.

“He did.” Tage looked at me. “They
were going to take me. He jumped in front of a bullet for me.”

Mayhem growled.

“Good job,” Outlaw said and then
started ordering the others to clean and wash away any evidence. “We have to
get the plan done tonight before Day-Si can tell about Torrin’s change of
loyalty.”

The garage became a flurry of
activity,
but it was Deviant who looked at me
and mouthed,
thank you.

I was torn between wanting sex
and wanting to wash this blood off me. I felt guilty about Day-Si and Arnet but
the more I thought about things, the more I knew I’d done the right thing. Especially
when I watched Deviant
hug
Tage. It was enough to
quell my guilt. Mayhem grabbed my hand and pulled me toward him. I stopped
short so I wouldn’t rub my
marred
clothes
against his.

“No sex,” Outlaw said. “Get
cleaned up, Torrin. Some big shit is going down tonight. You’ve earned the
right to be there.”

Well, I knew the others would
take a while to forgive me but at least I was on the right track. I made my way
inside, getting to Mayhem’s room and turning the water on. I peeled the clothes
off my body and folded them in the sink. I was standing there naked. Some blood
had seeped through my shirt, and now it smeared over my torso in a gruesome
abstract painting. I stepped
under
the
water, it was hot enough to make me flinch and turn my skin slightly reddish.

Mayhem stepped in the room.
“Burning the
clothes,
” he said but
hesitated. “I want to fucking join you so bad but this club, the cause
comes
first.”

“I know
that,
” I said over the rushing water.

“I’m proud of you.”

His words made me smile. Mayhem
grabbed my clothes and walked out. I stood under the water, washing until there
was no trace of the violence from earlier. Then I walked into Mayhem’s bedroom.
I grabbed a pair of black jeans on the bed. Mayhem must have put them there. My
dick was thankfully silent as I tucked it in. I grabbed one of his
shirts
. It was loose on
me,
but it’d have to do. Then I went into the hall. The chapel
doors were open and Mayhem was standing in the frame. He winked at me.

“Get the fuck over here.”

I moved faster, making my way
through the doors. Even Prospect was here.

“Even though you’re both
prospects...” Outlaw began. “Shits about to go down that’s going to change
everything about Mars.”

That sounded epic. Mayhem stood
next to me while the other club members sat around the table. He took a step
toward me, reaching
out,
and grabbing my
hand. I
was actually getting
used to
showing affection to another man.
My Mayhem.

“Are your dicks getting in the
way?” Outlaw asked.

I hadn’t realized he stopped
talking.

Prospect chuckled. Chaos and
Deviant both smiled. “Sorry.” I cleared my throat.

Mayhem grunted.

I was even getting used to their responses.

Outlaw started again, “We’ve been
fighting against the government.
Trying to take back some
basic rights that have been lost in the move to Mars.
The
breeding house, the slave auction house, the peacekeeper buildings...all steps.
We have peacekeepers to contend with but based on Torrin’s change of loyalties,
there might be less resistance than we planned.”