Song- Like A Villain, Bad Omens.
Everything that happened, it all boils down to him.
His shitty way is what gave me Sofia. And, almost took her away.
Because of him, I nearly fell into a hole I would never return from.
No more.
I don’t even remember the first mile from the house, my Ducati accelerates so quickly, I can barely hold on. Weaving between the cars, I know I look like a black blur to the people on the sidewalk.
They better stay out of my way, because I’m not stopping until I find him.
“Which way?” I’m nearly at an intersection. “Did you find him yet?”
“Hold.” Enzo’s deep voice is soothing. He knows how important this is.
How he always stays so damn calm in any situation boggles me.
“Left.”
I follow his command instantly, my knee nearly dragging on the hot asphalt as I make the tight turn.
I hear him curse quietly. “Okay, got him back. He’s about eight blocks ahead, riding north with two other bikers.” His fingers click on his keyboard. “I have Mikhail notified. He said he will send reinforcements once you have him stopped.”
Makes sense. None of the rest are as fast on a motorcycle as I am.
I have Kai to thank for that. All of those years racing with him is going to pay off tonight.
“After this stoplight, turn right down that alley,” Enzo says matter-of-factly.
Fuck stopping. I blow through the red and dodge a car crossing in front of me, then dart down the small street.
Nothing is going to keep me from getting to him.
The cops can pick up what’s left if they even catch me.
“You might be able to see them ahead. Your guy is in front.” He pauses. “It looks like they’re heading in the direction of one of their locations. If you engage, expect reinforcements.”
I know where they’re going. Their main club.
That’s fine with me. He’s gonna be a statement.
The three motorcycles appear in front of a couple of cars waiting for green.
It’s hard, but I wait until they’re moving again.
Jetting past the sedans, I get just behind the closest.
Grabbing my helmet by the lower edge, I swing it as hard as I can into the back of the head of the first Reaper.
He falls limply, his Harley wobbling and crashing into the sidewalk.
The second doesn’t notice his buddy, but I can see him do a double-take when he sees me pull up next to him.
“Surprise!” Throwing my weight into it, my Ducati weaves as the blunt top of my makeshift weapon slams into his face spraying blood across my visor.
Shit, his tire almost clipped me before it’s thrown into the oncoming lane.
There’s a satisfying double thump as the passing pickup runs over him.
Now, all that remains, is my wonderful brother.
Brody glances over his shoulder. When he sees me, his motorcycle wavers within his lane, then he twists the throttle to shoot forward.
There’s no way his hog is going to outrun me. But, the panic I saw in his eyes tells me he doesn’t care.
“I know what you did!” I scream at him as I rocket faster.
His arm leaps up to block my blow. “Fuck you, Jax!” he screams as he tries to veer away from me.
Slamming on his brakes, he falls behind me and cuts across the oncoming traffic, swerving between two heavy duty cargo trucks.
Fuck. There’s a concrete divider.
I barely catch a glimpse of him turning off.
Nope. Not happening.
Pulling back as hard as I can, I yank my bike into a wheelie and land the front tire up on the median, then hit the throttle, gunning for the spot I last saw him.
Gotcha. His rear end disappears down the far road two intersections down.
Dodging headlights and horns, I weave past several wide eyed drivers before jumping onto the sidewalk. Screaming at people to get out of the way, I finally find the cut-off and hit the gas.
There he is.
Asshole thought he could lose me.
One more time, I pull my Ducati up on its back wheel, this time letting my legs dangle as I twist the throttle.
Letting go, I let myself roll and bounce on the hot asphalt as my beloved bike crashes over Brody’s head and throws him off of his own ride.
I’m already on my feet before he even lands.
It’s the best feeling in the world when my fist lands against his face.
“You. Fuck. You. Drugged. Me.” Each word is punctuated by my knuckles slamming into him.
He tries to throw his hands up to fend me off. “You deserved it!” he screams before his teeth crack with my next strike.
I sit back on my heels. “Why? What the fuck did I do to you?”
He pushes himself up on his elbows, touching his bleeding lip gingerly. “You grew up with everything. I grew up with nothing,” he spits. “My whole life was mom telling me how much she regretted leaving your dad to marry mine.”
When he tries to sit all the way up, I land another hard hit to his cheek, knocking him flat again.
“Fuck,” he groans, twisting to lay on his side.
“You better give me a damn good reason not to stomp your face into this curb.” I stand and kick him in the ribs.
“She’s mine.” He curls and coughs blood. “You have everything I wanted. I deserve her back.”
My boot finds his stomach. “You worthless asshole. You had her. It’s your own fault she left.” I’m having a hard time feeling sorry for him.
All I can think about is the pain on Sofia’s face when I told her I had cheated on her.
He did that. He made me do that. I hurt her, and he almost ruined me.
My foot connects again, and I feel a crack.
Well. Look at what parking lot we ended up in. His clubhouse.
“Isn’t this convenient. We’re at your homebase, brother-boy. Let’s get a little closer, okay?” Grabbing him by the back of his shirt, I drag him across the sweltering concrete.
There’s an old fashioned hitching post in the front of the tired western themed bar that frames the big main doors.
Dumping him next to one of them, I grab a hold of his torn shirt tail and pull, ripping off a length as long as my leg.
Perfect.
When I extend his arms above his head and tie them to the base, he screams, writhing in the dirt.
“Aww. Sore? How about I even you out?” Stepping over his twisting torso, I kick him, shattering bones with each blow.
“There? Better?” My adrenaline is starting to wear off. I can see the front of my motorcycle buried in the bushes nearby and decide to dig it out.
Let him suffer for a while.
Heaving my bike up, it doesn’t look like it took too hard of a hit, thankfully.
I barely got my Lambo out of the shop.
Fucking Brody. It’s his fault for that, too.
Pushing the Ducati closer, I’m just lowering the kickstand when I hear him muttering something.
“What’s that?” I let the wheels roll a little closer so I can hear him.
“I said,” he coughs, spitting up blood. “She’s a whore. She’ll leave you like she left me.”
“See? You just couldn’t leave it alone, could you?” I knock the peg back up and climb on my motorcycle.
It starts right away. Must not be too beat up.
Revving the engine, it still sounds perfect.
Locking the front brake, I push and pivot the back end of the high end machine so the tire rests on Brody’s stomach.
“I’ll see you in hell, brother.” Twisting the throttle, I release the clutch and let the rear spin.
It’s been a while since I’ve heard someone scream like that.
Piercing, like a warning siren.
The rubber tread rips through the last of his shirt, then the flesh of his stomach until the main door of the Reaper clubhouse is spattered with flesh and bits of intestine as the weight of my high speed machine eats away all of the soft tissue beneath it.
His wail turns into a gasping gurgle when my bike chirps on the asphalt beneath him.
Through him.
Headlights appear from either end of the parking lot and rush towards me while Brody takes his last breath.
Nikolai climbs out of his Hellcat. “I missed the fun. I had to get Alexei’s sleeping ass loaded. Do you know how hard it is to wrestle a limp Russian?” He walks over to Brody’s body and kicks the lifeless foot. “One less Reaper. Well done.” He claps me on the back.
More cars pull in and our guys unload with weapons ready.
“We clear these buildings. Start with this one.” Nikolai gestures at the men to go into the main hall that I just finished painting.
“Do you want to stay? Or, go check on Sofia?” Nikolai’s brows raise as he asks.
“I’ll stay. He’s not the only threat to her. Let’s wipe them all out.” I take the pistol he offers, and follow him inside.
I can hear sporadic gunfire throughout the building as our crew pushes through, but Nikolai and I don’t encounter anyone alive.
“Hey, I found the office, I think.” I push into a room with a big desk and piles of papers.
The picture of Knox on the wall is a dead giveaway. I can’t resist raising the barrel and pulling the trigger at his bald head.
Expecting a ricochet, Nikolai and I look at each other in surprise when it makes a hollow thunk.
“No shit?” Pulling the gaudy frame away from the brick, there’s a gap with a safety box sitting in it.
Nikolai grabs it out and sets it on the shelf below it. Popping it open reveals at least a dozen small black velvet bags.
He picks one up and tosses it to me, then pries another, dumping the contents into his wide palm.
“Jax. These are diamonds. There’s at least a hundred in this one.” They glisten under the fluorescent light.
And, they’re big. Some are several carats.
“Holy crap. You gotta tell Mikhail.” I put the soft pouch back with the rest. “This will put a big hole in their resources.”
Nikolai nods slowly, gathering the box under his arm. “They will want this back. We need to find out who gave it to them, and for what.” He frowns. “I have a feeling I already know. Let’s go. I’ll have the boys burn the rest of the buildings. Let’s leave this one whole, so they can feel the full loss of their precious treasure.”
“I like that idea. Think we can ask Mikhail to show his face in exchange for what, millions of dollars in diamonds?” I ask as we step back into the dark parking lot.
Flies are already gathering around the smear of Brody.
Nikolai laughs. “It would take more than money for that.” He looks me up and down. “You don’t have the right equipment to bribe him.”
He swings the door to his Hellcat wide, and tosses the box in the backseat before climbing in. “Go check on Sofia. All that’s left here is ashes.”
Alexei stirs in the passenger seat. “What are we burning?” He wipes the drool from his chin.
“We’re going to find some sage and expel those impulses from your stupid brain that tells you to try yellow powder in baggies.” Nikolai rolls his eyes up at me before slamming himself into his car.
I feel like a weight has been lifted off of me.
Brody nearly ruined everything for me and destroyed me in the storm he created. But, Sofia’s love pulled me through.
She’s my lifeboat.
My anchor.
