“Tiny, don’t be ashamed of wanting to go to school.” Axel says, from a few chairs down.
“Yeah, there’s nothing to be ashamed about,” Breaker grins.
“Shit, if it makes you feel better, I’ll apply and do it with you,” Speed states from the other end of the table. He’s one of our newest brothers but he’s damn good at covering our backs when needed. We don’t call him Speed for nothing. The man is constantly going and has a lead foot.
“Thank you,” Tiny says, but the blush still tints her cheeks.
“Baby, look at me,” I command as I reach over to hold her hand. “You have nothing to be nervous about nor ashamed of. You’re smart and you can do this. When it comes time for school, remember you have all of our support.”
“Damn right,” Tyres grunts from where he’s sitting on the other side of me. “Tiny, you’re not just Prez’s ol’ lady. Your family to us. The moment you walked into the clubhouse with Shadow you became like a little sister to all of us. Well except your ol’ man here,” he grins.
As I open my mouth to respond, the front door to the clubhouse is thrown open and one of our prospects, Shock, rushes into the room.
“Prez, there’s a box at the gate you need to see,” he says in a rush.
Tensing, I stand up. “Why didn’t you just bring the box up here?” I demand.
“Couldn’t lift it by myself,” Shock responds.
Nodding, I look down at Tiny. “Stay in here, okay?”
“Okay. I’ll just go start cleaning up breakfast,” she says, quietly.
“Have the strays do it. You have enough other stuff on your plate to do,” I suggest, knowing she’d planned to do inventory of the bar today.
Nodding, she stands up and I lean down to give her a quick kiss before heading out the door.
Making my way to the gate, I take in the size of the box with narrowed eyes.
“What the fuck?” Breaker snarls as he walks next to me.
“I’m not liking this,” Tyres mutters.
“Me either,” I say in agreement.
The moment I get to the box, I notice an envelope taped to the top. Snatching the damn thing off the box, I open it up to read what it says.
I hope you enjoyed the show the other night, sweetheart, because when I get my hands on that bitch, I’ll do the same to her. Remember when I said if I couldn’t have you no one can. Well that goes for this little girl as well. As they say misery loves company and you my sweetheart are my company Darren and I’ll never let you be. Not even in death will that happen. Here’s a gift for you. I hope you like it because she was outstanding.
Deanna
Fury consumes me as I reread the letter.
“Open the box,” I snarl, dreading what we’re about to find in it.
Pitch Black pulls his knife out and cuts the tape away. Flipping the flaps to the side, we all get a good look at what’s inside. Curses surround me as I take in the sight of the poor girl we’d seen on the live feed yesterday, Fuse had brought to my attention. He’d come to me when he’d noticed Deanna seemed to look directly into the camera we’d had placed in there house almost a year ago.
Bruises from the beating she received cover her entire body. Blood smeared across her pale skin from the slashes she’d taken. Visions of the footage yesterday fill my mind, her muted screams.
We’d failed this girl. Because of the situation being caused in the bar with Noémie. I’d been blinded by my girl being hurt that we didn’t get to save this one. If only we’d acted last night, she might still be alive.
“Fuck,” I snarl, closing my eyes in frustration. Then it hits me. She’d set it up. That fuckin’ bitch sent Noémie here.
Turning on my heel I head toward the clubhouse, “Church now. Shock and Crank get this out of here. We don’t need the police coming thinking we had anything to do with this shit. Put her somewhere her body will be found though. When you’re done with that go pick-up Noémie.”
“You got it, Prez,” Shock says.
“Why do they need to get that bitch?” Brake asks.
“Because that fuckin’ bitch was part of Deanna’s plan,” I growl, throwing the door open. It bangs against the wall and out of the corner of my eye I see Tiny jump.
“Bitsy, need you to go stay inside no matter what needs to be done. You need something outside, you get a prospect,” I say, not stopping on the way to the room we all meet for church.
The moment we’re all in the room I take my seat and grab a cigarette out of the pack I keep in here for when I really need one.
“What did the letter say?” Tyres asks doing the same as me. Neither of us smoke often but when bad shits surrounding us, we do. Actually, several of us do. Some prefer weed to cigarettes so the room becomes a mixture of smoke.
“That girl was a pawn to show us that Deanna knows we have eyes on them. She also states that Tiny is next,” I sneer, slamming a fist on the large oak table my grandfather built himself. “Crazy stupid bitch seems to have completely gone insane.”
“What do you want to do?” Ryder growls.
“I say it’s time we send her and the rest of them through the inferno of hell,” I declare.
Each of my brothers nod their heads in agreement.
“Burn the motherfuckers to the ground,” Breaker sneers.
Nodding my head, I light another cigarette as we start to go over the last bit of details for what we’d been planning to do.
Tonight, the sky will glow bright with the fires coming for those who fucked with us.
Chapter Eighteen
Tiny
Something bad is going on and I’m starting to worry. When all the club members went into the room they hold church in, I knew whatever had been in that box Shock had mentioned, it wasn’t good.
Trying to take my mind off what’s going on, I busy myself with cleaning the bar. I move all of the liquor bottles and glasses in order to wipe the shelves down. Unable to get the top shelves I climb up onto the counter behind the bar to reach the top.
In the middle of wiping the top shelf the front door opens, bringing with it the light from the afternoon sun. My jaw nearly drops to the floor at seeing the group of people who just stepped into the clubhouse.
Distracted by the intrusion, I lose my footing and fall from the counter landing on my butt. Worst of it was the fact I ended up bringing the bar down with me. Glasses crash around me and liquor bottles break.
“Shit,” I groan, laying against the cold floor in somewhat of a daze at the same time my name is yelled by several people.
“What the fuck is going on in here?” Chains demands, though I can’t see him from behind the bar. I can imagine his gaze narrowing at the fact church was interrupted. “What the . . . shit. Bitsy.”
“Don’t move,” Raven orders. I didn’t even realize she was next to me.
“Someone want to tell me why you all are here?” Chains mutters as he makes it to my side. His question directed at not only Raven but his sister and several members from the Devil’s Riot MC with them.
“Figured it was time for a visit with my big brother,” Vi says, causing me to giggle which turns into a groan due to the pain in my rear.