Secret Mayhem (17 page)

Shay shook his head and looked at
Ava.
“
I
’
ll do whatever I can to keep you
safe.
”

The rest of the world meant nothing
to Ava right then. A voice boomed from the center of the circle, trying to get
the crowd back into the fights. But Ava and Shay just stared into each other's
eyes and in that instant she knew that she would accept his life as hers now,
even if death was right around the corner.

seventeen.

Shay held Ava tight. He had never
fought a fight with his heart before. All his previous fights had been for fun,
for revenge, or for the club. This one was for Ava. When Shay put Ava down,
Gaige stood there with a towel. Shay grabbed it and wiped his face. It hurt
everywhere, but he didn
’
t
care. He moved the towel and Ava let out a gasp.

“
What?
”
Shay asked.

“
Your
eye is still bleeding,
”
Ava
said.
“
I think you need
stitches.
”

Shay smiled.
“
No stitches. I
’
ll hold the towel until it
stops. I don
’
t give a fuck.
”

Shay stepped up on the table and
stood next to Jon. He looked down at Ava standing with Miller, Gaige, and Nate.
Seeing her there just made sense. He had exposed his life to her, and she was
still there. It didn't scare her off. He couldn't believe it.

“
You
did good, Jon,
”
Shay said.
“
I appreciate you keeping her
close and safe.
”

“
I
just stood here,
”
Jon said.
“
I wanted to help you when
they were holding you.
”

“
I
know. But it
’
s good now.
That
’
s how the fights go.
You never know what will happen.
”

“
What
will they do with his body? That guy?
”

Shay looked at Jon.
“
I don
’
t give a fuck, Jon. Why should you? He
’
s gone. You
’
re not.
”

Jon nodded.
“
Yeah. Sorry.
”

“
Look,
Jon, this is the life. People die. People get killed. Some are good men, some
aren
’
t. If you have some
kind of belief about what happens after death, that
’
s okay. But don
’
t
get caught up in it. Your seconds are ticking away right now. That
’
s what makes life scary and
exciting.
”

“
I
think I have a long time to go,
”
Jon said.
“
I
’
d like to fight sometime soon,
if it
’
s allowed.
”

“
Well,
we do sometimes have prospects fight. Just stay focused, Jon. That
’
s what it takes to get patched.
Listen. Focus. Do your fucking job. Don
’
t
fuck up.
”

Shay smacked Jon on the back and
then handed him the bloody towel. He jumped down and took Ava by the hand. He
looked at Miller and nodded.

“
You
’
re crazy,
”
Miller said.
“
You
were jumped and had a knife pulled on you. And you still made it out of there.
”

“
Takes
a lot more than that to take me down,
”
Shay boasted.

“
I
think it
’
s time we move out
of here,
”
Gaige said.
“
We need to figure out a use for
the Lost Men and then send them packing.
”

“
I
agree,
”
Miller said.
“
But Trev did the right thing. He
sent a clear message to the Lost Men. He
’
s
not afraid to do what needs to be done. Goddamn I wish he was still patched in.
”

“
But
he
’
s not,
”
Gaige said.
“
His decision.
”

“
How
many fights are left?
”
Shay
asked.

It turned out there were just three
more to go. The Lost Men finished with one win and two consecutive losses. When
Trev was asked about fighting, he walked away. When the fights were finished,
the crowd yelled a bunch of drunken cheers. 

Shay had no interest in being near
anyone, except Ava. He wanted to finish with the Lost Men, Eight Under, and
finally find Caius.

Miller came up to Shay with a cell
phone in his hand.
“
Just
got a call from Strokner.
”

“
Why
the fuck did he call you directly?
”
Gaige asked.

“
He
’
s getting comfortable,
”
Shay said.

“
He
saw our guy again. Caius.
”

Shay's blood boiled.

“
Where?
”
Gaige asked.

“
He
was in a private car, riding around the area. Strokner said it looks like Caius
is looking for a location to possibly set up a business venture,
”
Miller said.

“
He
’
s right under our fucking noses,
”
Shay said.

“
Let
’
s get back to the clubhouse,
”
Miller said.

Shay took a step and Jon jumped in
front of him.
“
Let me get
your ride, Shay. As a thank you for trusting me protect your woman.
”

Gaige and Blaine started to laugh.

“
Hey,
kid,
”
Blaine said,
“
want to lick the sweat off his
balls?
”

“
He
would if you told him to,
”
Miller said and smiled.

“
What
about my big old balls?
”
Blaine asked.
“
I can
’
t remember the last time I
washed them. Just imagine how much pussy
…”

“
Oh,
man,
”
Gaige said.
“
Just stop. I can
’
t.
”

“
Go
get my fucking ride then,
”
Shay said.
“
Christ.
”

Jon ran away and Shay shook his
head.

The rest of the group started to
walk to their motorcycles. Shay stood with Ava.

“
He
looks up to you,
”
she said.
“
That prospect.
”

“
I
don
’
t care,
”
Shay said.
“
He should care about what he
’
s
…
what the fuck is he doing?
”

Miller, Blaine, Nate, and Griffin
were walking to the left where all their motorcycles were parked. But Jon was
running to the right. When Shay looked back at the line of bikes, he noticed
his was missing. All of a sudden, Shay realized what was about to happen.

 
“
Jon,
Noooooooo!
”

Before Jon had the chance to turn
around, the motorcycle- and Jon- exploded in a fireball of flames.

Shay could hear Ava screaming and
the thudding footsteps of the guys running toward him, but his mind instantly
went back to the conversation he had just had with Jon about time counting down
and never knowing when your time would be up. He just stood there, frozen.

“
What
the fuck
…
,
”
Blaine yelled.

“
Caius,
”
Miller said.

Shay spun around and looked at the
President of Back Down Devil MC.

It
’
s time, Shay
…
it
’
s
time
…
this
death is on your hands
…

All Shay could do was stare at
Miller. The rest of the guys ran to the charred remains of Shay
’
s motorcycle and the prospect,
Jon. It was a mess of burnt steel and a life taken for no reason at all.

“
Call
a meeting,
”
Shay said.
“
Right now.
”

“
Yeah,
”
Miller said.

Ava grabbed Shay by the arm and
pulled at him. He looked at her and touched her face.
“
I need to get you out of here. It
’
s got to stop. All the hiding
and secrets have to stop. Ava, where can I send you? Where can I take you?
”

“
To
your bed,
”
Ava said.
“
I can
’
t leave you now.
”

“
No
…”

“
Gear
up!
”
Miller bellowed.
“
We
’
re
riding in two minutes. If you
’
re
left behind, then fuck yourself. You deserve it.
”
Miller pointed to Shay.
“
I
’
m sorry, Shay, but you need to
ride the prospect
’
s
motorcycle back to the clubhouse.
”

Shay
’
s
stomach turned. He didn't give a shit about Nile being killed tonight. He
didn't give a shit about any of the fights or injuries. But the prospect? That
hit home. Shay got on the bike, and as Ava climbed on the back, he looked over
to the mess where his motorcycle had blown up.

Gaige pulled up next to Shay and
yelled,
“
That
’
s taken care of, Shay. Chief is
on it for us. You need to focus, bro. We have to stop this.
”

Gaige took off. Shay got in
position and rode with his club.

They returned to the clubhouse and
the scene was tense. The Lost Men were tending to their wounds. They celebrated
the winners and picked on the losers. Trev didn
’
t
speak a word. Instead, he threw the bloody knife that had taken Nile
’
s life onto one of the pool
tables. It was obviously a clear message to anyone else that he wouldn't
hesitate if they crossed him again.

Miller had a beer as he stood in
the doorway to the meeting room. With Ava at his side, Shay approached Miller.

“
We
have to meet right now,
”
Shay said.

“
Look
at you, man,
”
Miller said.
“
Go get a shower first. I
’
m sure your friend will be
honored to clean you up.
”

Ava's face turned a bright red.

Miller smirked.

“
No,
”
Shay said.
“
I can
’
t wait. I have something I have to tell everyone.
”

“
Yeah?
”
Miller asked.

Shay felt Ava squeeze his hand. He
turned and touched her face.
“
Love,
go back to the room, okay? Get settled. Grab a bite, a beer, whatever. You
’
re safe here. If anyone bothers
you, I
’
ll fucking kill
them.
”

Ava nodded. She got close and
whispered,
“
What are you
going to tell them?
”

Shay stared into her eyes.
“
The truth.
”

He pushed Ava away and nodded. As
she walked away and glanced back, Shay felt a pain in his chest. His heart
ached for her. It ached the same way the last time he saw his brother. When he
couldn
’
t make the fucking
kill. And because of that
…
all this was happening.

In the meeting room, Gaige came in
and put a bottle of whiskey down in the middle of the table. Blaine had a lit
cigarette between his lips, but he wasn
’
t
smoking it. Everyone else was quiet. And Shay hated to admit it, but it looked
as though they were afraid.

“
What
happened tonight was bad,
”
Miller said,
“
We can all
agree to it. Prospect, patched in, whoever
…
that was a life lost. We
’
ll
honor Jon with a drink, but this has to stop. We have to step everything up. The
Lost Men are here for a purpose. Tomorrow, we meet with Eight Under. Then we
take our army and head into battle.
”

“
I
have something to say,
”
Shay said. He looked around the table.

“
Go
ahead, Shay,
”
Miller said.

“
I
want to kill him. I want to watch Caius die. I want to hear his last breath and
see death crawl across his face. And I have good goddamn reason to do it.
”

“
Oh
yea?" Erik asked, taking offense.
“
Did
he ever hurt you?
”

“
My
entire life,
”
Shay said. He
tried to keep his voice steady.

“
What
the hell are you talking about?
”
Blaine asked.

“
Shay,
what
’
s your point?
”
Miller asked.
“
We
’
re
wasting time.
”

Shay leaned forward and gulped down
some whiskey.
“
Jon
’
s death is on my hands,
”
Shay confessed.
“
From the second those mechanics
said something about the scar on the neck and the gold tooth
…
I knew.
”