Secret Mayhem (9 page)

nine.

The room was filled with smoke and
the disgusting scent of the Lost Men. Shay
’
s
fingers twitched, already needing a damn drink. He was not ready for what was
about to be decided. The decision would set off a chain of events that would
change, and ruin, a lot of lives.

Miller walked to the head of the
table and looked around.
“
Stinks
like pussy in here.
”

Everyone chuckled.

“
That
’
s just me,
”
Blaine said.
“
Had a great night in the
clubhouse.
”

The door opened again and Nile
walked in. He gave a nod and shut the door.
“
Sorry
about that. Was just finishing a little business.
”
He looked at Blaine.
“
Sorry
about your bed, Blaine. You should probably just fucking burn that thing. It
was a rough night.
”

Shay eyed Nile and got a shit
feeling from him. He looked at the door and considered leaving the meeting to
check on Ava. He didn
’
t
like that Ava had been alone with Nile creeping around. He hoped Nile wasn
’
t dumb enough to try anything,
but the man was part of the Lost Men. They didn
’
t
care. They would accept death for even the dumbest thing which is why they were
tossed out of their MC
’
s in
the first place.

Shay looked at Trev. How many times
had he cruised the streets of Frelen next to Trev? Causing trouble. Ending
trouble. Enjoying drinks and women. Shay never understood why Trev had gotten
himself thrown out of the club.

“
I
’
m going to be right up front,
”
Miller said.
“
We have some enemies out there
that are pretty scary.
”

“
Scary?
”
Nile said.
“
You boys get scared?
”

“
Nile,
”
Trev said.
“
Talk again and I
’
ll cut your fucking tongue out
of your mouth.
”

“
Scary,
”
Miller said. He pointed to
Griffin.
“
Check it out.
”

Griffin reached under the table and
lifted a small box. He opened it and dumped it on the table. Jonesy's fingers
rolled out onto the table and it shut everyone up.

“
Holy
shit,
”
Trev said.
“
Whose fingers?
”

“
A
guy we paid to help us,
”
Miller said.
“
Good friend
of the MC. He was tracking down who planted the bomb in Shay
’
s car. And they got him. They
sent us these two fingers separately to send a message."

“
They
also attacked my girl,
”
Erik said.
“
Made her face
look like mine.
”

“
That
’
s harsh,
”
Trev said.
“
That
’
s what respect and structure
gets you though.
”

Erik started to stand, but Miller
called him off.
“
We
’
re not here to discuss politics
and how the laws of a MC work. We
’
re
here to work together. Because if this MC goes down, it will be trouble for
everyone. Including you guys.
”
Miller paused and looked around.
“
We
’
re not dealing with bikers right
now. We
’
re dealing with men
in expensive suits who have the mind of outlaws. That
’
s scary shit to me. And it should be to you. But we
will end this. The way it needs to be done.
”

“
I
was the target,
”
Shay said.
“
But I got out of the car
and Erik stuck his head in to check it out. Then the bomb went off. There was
another attack that killed a mechanic who was helping us. Then, at a fight,
Erik
’
s woman was attacked.
They
’
re coming after the MC
and hard. Now they have teamed with one of our local rivals. These guys aren't
going to stop until they get what they want.
”
Shay cleared his throat, trying to keep himself straight. It wasn
’
t a group of guys. It was one
guy. His brother.
Caius
.
“
This
fight will be violent and deadly. Be prepared.
”

“
It
’
s a true war,
”
Gaige said.
“
We have a friend of the club who
is a wealthy businessman. He can give us some insight on things, but we have to
show our presence and prove we have no fear.
”

“
But
that means all our lives are on the line,
”
Miller said.
“
So I
’
m going to make this clear just
once. Anyone who wants out, go now. You came down here. I thank you for that.
But if you don
’
t want this,
then leave. It
’
s going to
be bad.
”

Miller folded his arms. He looked
around the room. Not a single person moved. Shay's heart pounded in his chest.
These Lost Men were definitely out of their minds. They had no reason to stay
and help them fight. But they were going to, and whether they wanted to admit
it or not, that was the respect each of their own clubs had instilled in them.

“
Then
it
’
s settled,
”
Miller said.
“
We move forward. The second you
go out in those streets, you are marked men. You are allies to Back Down Devil
which makes you targets to our enemies.
”

“
The
world is our enemy,
”
Trev
said with a grin.
“
I
’
d rather walk the streets with a
target on my forehead than ride into the sunset with my balls tucked between my
legs.
”

The Lost Men started to cheer.
Their fists pounded against the walls. It sounded like wild thunder. Shay
looked around the table at his closet brothers. Everyone had a little concern
on their face, but that was okay. This was a time to be concerned. This was a
time to be afraid. But it was time to fight. To prove what the MC was made of.

“
I
appreciate that, Trev,
”
Miller said.
“
At one point
or another, all of you had to take orders. I
’
m
not giving orders, but you have to respect what I say. The last thing I want on
my watch, on my hands, or in my clubhouse, is the death of those not patched
in."

“
We
handle death our own way,
”
Trev said.
“
It's the end of
life. Nothing else. And you
’
re
right, Miller, at some point we were all with a club. We had rules. But
…
we
’
re here. Enough bullshit talk. Talk business.
”

“
Here,
here!
”
Shay yelled as he
slammed a fist to the table.

Miller nodded and smiled.
“
Fair enough then. We have two
things that need to happen right now. A good, honest man is coming through
Frelen and he needs protection on his trip south. You
’
ve all heard of Jakey, right?
”

Everyone nodded. Anyone with a
leather cut knew Jakey. Hell, all law enforcement from the Oregon coast down to
Tijuana knew Jakey.

“
That
’
s who we need to help,
”
Miller said.
“
He cannot get wrapped up in any
of this bullshit. This has to be done quietly and done right. I want a mix of
Back Down Devil and Lost Men involved in this. Okay?
”

Everyone nodded.

“
Our
second line of business is to confront the asshole club that is tying
themselves to the guy or group that wants us dead. The Eight Under crew are
scum. They do what they feel they need to do to survive, like the rest of us,
but they do not have the town's best interest at heart like we do. Eight Under
wants to run through and destroy it. That will never be allowed under my watch.
They have no idea what they
’
re
doing. So I want them to understand who they are getting involved with.
”

“
What
’
s the call then?
”
Nate asked.
“
How are we splitting this?
”

“
I
need to be there for Jakey,
”
Miller said.
“
So I
’
m going to trust Gaige, Nate,
Blaine, Erik, Landon, and Shay to go find Eight Under. See what you can dig up.
Don
’
t start a fight. Don
’
t pour gasoline on the fire.
There
’
s a right and wrong
way to do this.
”

Shay cracked his knuckles.
“
If they look at me the wrong way
…”

“
I
’
ll fucking kill them,
”
Blaine said.
“
I don
’
t care.
”

“
You
will care!
”
Miller
bellowed, slamming a hand down on the table. He pointed to the fingers on the
table.
“
You will
…
care
…”

Miller then gave the pairings from
the Lost Men. Trev was going to ride with Miller to get Jakey. Protecting Jakey
meant keeping him comfortable, safe, and getting him where he needed to go.

Shay knew what their role was going
to be about. They were to keep tabs on Eight Under while Miller and Trev moved
Jakey. It was just about protection for right now. The calm before the storm.
The silence before the war.

The second Shay left the meeting
room, he went to the bar and got a beer. He drank it leaning against the bar,
his head spinning. So much going on and the last thing he needed was to worry
about a woman in his bed. But then Shay watched Nile walk out of the room and
Shay knew that if he pushed Ava away. She
’
d
end up hurt and dead.

Nile was riding with Miller and
Trev. Which meant Shay wouldn
’
t
have to deal with Nile. Which was good. Because part of Shay wanted to take
Nile somewhere secluded and put a fucking bullet in his head.

As Nile walked away to leave the
clubhouse, Shay focused back on his beer. Gaige and Erik stepped up to the bar.
Erik threw a punch at Shay
’
s
shoulder and nodded.

“
All
good?
”

“
We
’
re good, brother. Always.
”

Erik put his hand out and Shay took
it.

“
Good,
”
Gaige said.
“
Finding Eight Under is going to
be easy. Resisting the urge to fucking light them up is going to be hard.
”

“
We
’
ll manage,
”
Shay said.
“
Just make our presence known.
When we ride up with the Lost Men behind us, it
’
ll
make them shit their pants. They
’
ll
run crying to
…
whoever is
doing this.
”

They
’
ll run to Caius. They
’
ll tell him what
’
s going on. He
’
ll get even more
pissed.
Things will get even worse. And it
’
s
my fault.

“
You
okay?
”
Erik asked.
“
You look lost.
”

For a split second Shay considered
telling Gaige and Erik the truth. That their newest and greatest enemy was his
brother.

“
Hey,
love,
”
a voice purred.

Erik turned and Shay saw that Kaity
was standing behind them.

“
Hey,
”
Erik said with a smile.

“
Sorry
to bother you
…”

“
Never,
”
Erik said.

He put an arm around Kaity and
pulled her close. The scars on Kaity
’
s
face angered Shay. He felt so guilty. Kaity had fought a woman twice her size
and managed to win, only to have Caius cut her so she would scar like Erik. Too
many people were getting hurt because of this secret, but he had no idea how to
tell the club without getting himself killed.

“
We
’
re getting ready to ride,
”
Erik said.
“
Just trying to pull the stick
out of Shay
’
s ass.
”

“
Because
of Ava leaving?
”
Kaity
asked.

Shay spun around.
“
What did you just say?
”

“
What
…
?
”

“
Where
the hell is Ava?
”
Shay
asked.

“
I
’
m sorry,
”
Kaity said.
“
Oh,
shit. She was in the hall. Avery and I were talking to her. She said she was
going for a walk or something. We tried to stop her
…”