Secret Mayhem (16 page)

“
Asshole
is wearing sunglasses,
”
Shay said.
“
He stands no
chance.
”

Ava huddled closer to Shay. She was
afraid of the violence. There was nothing Shay could do about that. The fight
started and Billy Bite just stood there. The other man came at him, swinging
hard and fast. He landed three punches in a row, Billy Bite taking them. His
head bobbed and his nose was bleeding already.

“
Christ,
”
Blaine said.
“
One of these? What
’
s he going to do, wear him out?
I fucking hate this shit. Where
’
s
the fight?
”

The fight came and went a second
later when the man tried punching Billy Bite again. When he swung, Billy Bite
ducked the punch. The man spun and Billy Bite jumped on his back. They both
crashed to the ground with the sick thud of the man
’
s body and face hitting the pavement. Billy Bite
then growled like an animal and bit the back of the man
’
s neck. When he pulled back, he had blood running
down his chin and a piece of the man
’
s
flesh in his mouth.

“
Holy
fuck,
”
Nate said.

“
Oh
…
shit,
”
Griffin groaned. He turned around and grabbed his
stomach.

Ava buried her face into Shay and
let out a cry.

“
That
was fucked up,
”
Shay said.

A few of the Lost Men
rushed
to pull Billy Bite away. The other guy
’
s
crew came into the circle and pulled their brother out of the fight. Luckily by
the way he was shaking, his body was probably in shock so he wouldn't have felt
much pain.

The next fight was a solid one, the
Lost Men pulling another victory. Then came three in a row where the Lost Men
couldn
’
t take care of
themselves. Two of the guys were really tall, but they fell like old trees in a
storm. One took a punch to the jaw and fell so hard that his head split open
and was out cold. Billy Bite dragged the guy away.

Now the crowd was getting into it.
People betting. Blood in the circle. The tension building.

“
What
you think?
”
Shay asked Ava.

“
I
don
’
t like it,
”
Ava said.
“
Do you fight?
”

“
When
I need to.
”
Shay touched
Ava
’
s cheek.

Ava looked to the circle and
swallowed. She shook her head, closing her eyes.

“
It
’
s how it goes,
”
Shay said.
“
There
’
s nothing to hide from in this life, Ava.
”

As Shay spoke the words, he looked
over his shoulder. He couldn
’
t
help but worry that his brother was lurking somewhere close.

Shay slipped a hand around Ava and
pulled her close.

“
Look,
”
Ava said.
“
Look who
’
s fighting next.
”

Nile walked up to the man in the
center of the circle and grabbed him by the shirt. He shouted something and the
man quickly nodded.

“
We
have a change,
”
the man
yelled.
“
Nile here
…
wants to pick his opponent
…”

The crowd let out a little cheer.

“
No
way,
”
Shay whispered with a
growl in his throat.

Before Shay could think another
thought, Nile looked right at him. The crowd followed Nile
’
s gaze and it fell silent.
Deathly silent.

All eyes were on Shay.

But Shay didn
’
t need a second to make his
decision
…

He nodded.

sixteen.

For a second there Ava thought Nile
was looking at her. When she realized it was Shay he was looking at, she almost
collapsed. By the time Ava turned her head to look at Shay, he was already
nodding. His hand moved from her body and he turned to face his club. He jumped
down from the table as the crowd started to cheer. She suddenly felt alone and
vulnerable on the table by herself.

He had his leather cut already off
and was starting to take his rings off. Ava pulled at his shirt.

“
What
are you doing?
”
she asked.

“
Doing
what I need to do,
”
Shay
said.
“
I have to fight. I
’
ll protect you.
”

“
No,
”
Ava said.
“
Don
’
t do this because of me.
”

Shay put his hands to her hips and
lifted her. He turned and put her feet on the ground.
“
When I
’
m
called to fight, I fight. It
’
s
my life, Ava. Either deal with it or leave.
”

“
Brother,
come on,
”
Blaine said.
“
Give me your shirt.
”

Shay lifted his t-shirt off his
chiseled body and rolled it up. He tossed it to Blaine but kept his eyes on
Nile.

“
Think
of all he did to you,
”
Shay
said.
“
All he said. Think
of what brought you here. I
’
m
going to make sure it
’
s
settled.
”

Ava grabbed Shay
’
s wrist.
“
Please, I
’
m
scared. I don
’
t want to be
standing here without you.
”

“
I
’
ll take care of it,
”
Shay said.

He whistled and a guy came running
immediately. Shay grabbed the guy by his leather cut and pulled him close.

“
Ava,
this is Jon,
”
Shay said.
“
He
’
s
a prospect. That means he does what he
’
s
told. His life is the life of the club. That means he will die before someone
touches you. Isn
’
t that
right, Jon?
”

“
Yes,
”
Jon said.

Ava looked at Shay, then to Jon.
She wondered how he wound up with Back Down Devil.

“
Tell
her,
”
Shay said.
“
Tell her, Jon.
”

“
I
’
d die for you, ma
’
am,
”
Jon said.

Shay turned and faced Gaige, Nate,
Blaine, and Jace.
“
Anyone
object?
”

“
No,
”
Gaige said.
“
Do what you're fucking told,
prospect.
”

Shay pushed Jon toward the table.
He then put a hand to the back of Ava
’
s
neck and pulled her close. He kissed her once, savoring her mouth.

“
Love,
I
’
ll be right back,
”
Shay said.
“
I
’
m
going to make sure he understands who is in command here. Jon will stand with
you. He wants to patch in and that means he
’
ll
do anything to protect the club. And you
’
re
part of this club right now. In this present, this is your family.
”

Ava looked to her left. The other
guys were good looking, but intimidating also.

“
Stand
on the table and watch me take care of this,
”
Shay said.

He kissed Ava once more and then
walked to his club. They escorted him through the crowd as everyone cheered.
Ava scrambled up the table and stood, her eyes glued to Shay as he pushed
through the crowd. He broke through to the circle and kept walking. He made a
line toward Nile and didn
’
t
stop until he crashed into him with his bare chest. It knocked Nile back a few
steps. Nile then came at Shay, doing the same.

The two men started to exchange
words.

“
Don
’
t worry,
”
Jon said to Ava.
“
Shay
will knock him out. He
’
s
tough."

“
Thanks.
”

“
If
I can say it, Shay scares the shit out of me. But I want to be just like that.
”

“
Where
are you from, Jon?
”
Ava
asked.

“
It
doesn
’
t matter where I
’
m from. It matters where I am.
This is my life, ma
’
am. If
you feel uncomfortable and need something from me, please let me know.
”

Ava looked at Jon, but he was busy
scanning the crowd for any sign of trouble. He was definitely loyal to the club
and its wishes.

In the middle of the circle, Shay
and Nile were nose to nose, still talking. Then Nile leaned back just slightly
and head butted Shay. It sent Shay backward, but not before he was able to
throw a right fist and knock Nile in the jaw. Nile spun but stayed up.

The two then squared off, fists up.

They each took punches, dodging as
needed. They circled each other. With each missed punch, Ava could see the rage
on Shay
’
s face. The same
for Nile. This was not just about a fight. Ava was at the center of this. She
feared that if Shay lost the fight it would mean Nile would have the power to
do whatever he wanted to Ava.

“
If
I asked you to kill Nile, would you?
”
Ava asked.

“
If
Shay wanted it, yes,
”
Jon
said.

Nile connected a punch to Shay
’
s gut. Then came a quick second
punch to his face. Ava jumped and grabbed Jon
’
s
arm. Nile continued to swing but Shay backed up. Step after step, getting out
of the way.

“
They
’
re going to cheat,
”
Jon said.
“
Fuck, ma
’
am, I
’
m
sorry for what you
’
re about
to see.
”

“
What
…”

Shay was close to the edge and that
’
s when a few of the Lost Men
grabbed Shay
’
s arms. They
held tight and Nile went crazy with his fists. Punch after punch, he moved
fast, grunting so loud that Ava could hear him from where she was.

Jon turned and moved Ava out of his
way. He started to move and Ava grabbed his arm.

“
What
are you doing?
”
Ava asked.

“
I
need to
…
oh shit, I can
’
t leave you.
”
Jon looked so unsure about what
he should do. But he stayed by Ava's side.

Ava looked at Shay. Finally, some
of the guys in Back Down Devil had made their way through the crowd and started
attacking the Lost Men. When the guys let Shay go, he fell to one knee. His
hands were on the ground.

He
’
s going to lose
…
No, he can't
…

Ava was like a statue. Everything
around her started to go black. All she could see was Shay
’
s face. Droplets of blood fell
down to the pavement. Nile stood before Shay. He reached down and grabbed Shay
by the hair and tilted his head back.

“
He
can
’
t lose,
”
Ava said.

The brawl between Back Down Devil
and the Lost Men had calmed.

Nile started to say something to
Shay and that
’
s when Shay
attacked. He grabbed Nile by the back of his knees and pulled. Nile threw his
arms out, losing his balance. Shay then jumped up and threw a hard right,
hitting Nile in the mouth. Nile spun around once and stumbled back. Shay turned
and jumped into the crowd of Lost Men, swinging like a wild man. Ava had never
seen anything like this before.

Shay hit man after man and took
punch after punch as though he didn
’
t
feel it. When Shay was thrown back into the circle, he stood with his hands at
his sides, blood on his face, his body glistening with sweat and blood. That
’
s when Ava realized she was
turned on.

Extremely turned on.

Shay looked right at her and
nodded. Ava nodded back and gave a wave. She wanted to see it now. She wanted
to see Shay destroy Nile. The urge for violence was suddenly a fire in her
blood. It made her angry. It made her want Shay so badly.

When Shay turned to face Nile, he
was ready to fight again. Nile threw a fist and Shay moved to the side. Instead
of punching Nile, he kept moving. Shay taunted Nile with his face movements and
inability to accept defeat.

Finally, Nile stood in the center
of the circle. He looked around. The look on his face showed no fear. He was
ruthless. He reached down and lifted the leg of his jeans. When he grabbed a
knife, the entire crowd started to stir.

“
That
’
s not good,
”
Jon said.
“
Not allowed.
”

“
They
don
’
t care about rules!
”
Ava screamed. And that was the
truth.

The Lost Men had no interest in
stopping Nile and Gaige and Erik went after a few of them. When guys from
another crew started to come into the circle to restrain Nile, Shay shockingly
called them off. He put his fists up, ready to fight a man with a knife.

Nile came at Shay fast, but Shay
moved out of the way and punched Nile in the gut. And then he swung hard at
Nile
’
s face, hitting him.
When Nile turned, the knife came across and sliced Shay at his ribs. Shay
screamed and dropped to one knee again. Nile tried to take advantage of the
move and rushed at Shay, but Shay threw his leg out, tripping Nile. Shay jumped
on top of Nile and tackled him to the ground.

Ava saw the knife fall from Nile
’
s hand and finally let out the
breath she had been holding.

Shay began smashing Nile's head off
the ground. Over and over. Thud after thud. After a few seconds, Ava expected
the fight to be called, but it wasn
’
t.
They were going to let Shay get his revenge on Nile.

“
If
you disrespect the fight, you pay,
”
Jon said.
“
You might want
to look away.
”

“
No,
”
Ava said.
“
If he deserves
…”

Just then, Trev walked into the
center of the circle. He grabbed the knife. At the same time, Miller and Gaige
came into the circle. Trev put a hand out and shook his head. Miller and Gaige
stopped.

Trev put a hand to Shay
’
s shoulder. Shay turned and
punched Trev in the stomach. Trev stumbled back. Shay stood and looked around.
When he saw Miller and Gaige, he backed away. He walked backwards, his eyes on
Nile
’
s body.

“
Ma
’
am, look away,
”
Jon said.
“
This is
…”

“
Shut
up,
”
Ava said. She grabbed
Jon by the arm and squeezed tight. She moved to her toes.

“
I
’
m begging you,
”
Jon said.
“
If you
’
ve never
…”

Ava looked at Jon and then slapped
him.
“
You listen to me.
Leave me the fuck alone.
”

Jon nodded.

Trev moved over Nile and in one
swift motion, he brought the knife down into Nile
’
s
chest. And just like that, the fight between Shay and Nile and the fear of Nile
having his way with her was over.

The entire crowd was silent.

Trev stood and without emotion on
his face, he walked back to the crowd. The Lost Men didn't even seem phased by
one of their own being killed. They were still lined up, ready to go into the
next fight.

It was nothing like the brotherhood
of Back Down Devil.

Shay walked through the crowd
escorted by Miller and Gaige.

“
What
was that?
”
Blaine asked as
he held Shay
’
s bloody face.

Shay looked at Ava.
“
He had it coming."

Blaine looked back at Ava and
smirked.

“
Fucking
Christ,
”
Miller said.
“
I never
…
well, it
’
s
been a long time since I
’
ve
seen something like that.
”

Ava stepped down from the table.
She heard Jon call her name, but she ignored him. She just walked. When she was
close enough, she grabbed Blaine by the arm and pulled him out of the way.
Nothing would stop her from getting to Shay.

“
Love,
I
’
m covered in
…”

Ava jumped into his arms.

“
Thank
you,
”
she whispered.
“
For what you just did
…
I
’
ll
…”