Wild Blaze (2 page)

three.

Normally, this type of thing wouldn
’
t be Brody
’
s problem. It was some guy
getting jacked up in the back of his store. If anything, Brody would wait for
it to end and then approach the attackers and make sure they knew this was Back
Down Devil territory. Then he would collect what they had stolen.

But this was old man Ronnie. A man
who ran a store that kept Brody alive and fed. Plus, young, beautiful Ana
deserved more than this.

Don
’
t let them touch me again
…

That made Brody rage with jealousy
and anger. That perfect little body of Ana
’
s
wasn
’
t pure? He refused to
believe that.

“
How
many are there?
”
Brody
asked.

“
Two,
”
Ana said.
“
Their names are Michael and
Tiny.
”

“
Tiny?
Really?
”

“
Tiny
is fat,
”
Ana said.
“
It
’
s
a joke name.
”

“
Yeah,
I get it. Stay the fuck here. If my guys come in, send them back. Tell them
what
’
s happening. Do not
come back there.
”

Brody took a step and Ana grabbed
his arm.
“
Are you going to
kill them?
”

“
I
’
ll kill anyone in my way,
sweetheart,
”
Brody said.
“
Anyone.
”

Brody walked toward the back. His
mind told him to pull out his gun. To shoot first and ask later. It was about
protecting the town of Frelen. But Brody
’
s
heart and mind were a locked up tight battle.

He moved through the black cloth
and went to the back of the old store.

It stunk of dust and must.

Old man Ronnie was on his knees,
his hands together as though he were praying. Blood ran down his face and his
hands were shaking. He was gasping for breaths as a fat man stood before him,
brass knuckles on his hand.

Brody looked to his left and saw a
man with a suit standing with his arms crossed. He had thin black hair, a
fading hairline that probably pissed him off. He looked at Brody and snapped
his fingers.

“
What
is this?
”
he asked.
“
Who the fuck are you?
”

“
Leave
the old man alone,
”
Brody
said.

The man, Michael, started to laugh.
“
Hey, Tiny, check this out.
It
’
s a leather boy. Thinks
he
’
s all tough. Get the
fuck out of here.
”

“
Please
…”
Old man Ronnie said.

Tiny threw another fist. The metal
knuckles hit Ronnie
’
s face
with a crunch.

Brody stepped forward. He could
have pulled his gun right then and ended this shit. But instead he wanted to
take on the big guy one on one.

“
You
hit an old man with brass knuckles?
”
Brody asked.

“
He
owes my boss money,
”
Tiny
said.
“
I do as I
’
m told.
”

“
He
’
s smart,
”
Michael said.
“
Unlike
you. Whoever the fuck you are. Leather boy. I bet you
’
re fucking that slut out there.
”

Brody turned his head.
“
Slut? Did you call Ana a slut?
”

“
What?
Oh, come on. Last time we were here
…
oh, that body
…”

Brody saw red. He couldn
’
t picture sweet and innocent Ana
doing anything like that. Worse yet, if she was forced to do anything.

“
Tiny,
take this fucking piece of shit out,
”
Michael said.
“
Then we can
continue our business.
”

From the corner of his eye, Brody
saw Tiny winding up a big fist. The brass would have knocked him out cold if
Tiny hit the side of his head. But Brody knew this game. He
’
d been playing it his entire
life. And fuck, he probably invented some of the rules. His eyes may have been
looking at Michael, but he knew right where Tiny was, including the fat man
’
s fist.

Brody crouched down at the last
second and looked up to the see the brass knuckled fist hit Michael in the
face. The suit and tie asshole went off his feet and crashed into a wall. There
was blood everywhere, spraying from his nose, mouth, hell, maybe even his eyes.

Tiny forgot Brody was there and
stepped forward. He tripped over Brody and Brody hurried to roll out of the way
so the big guy didn
’
t land
on him. When Brody stood a second later, he was the only one doing so. Tiny was
crawling toward Michael, looking helpless and scared.

“
I
’
m so sorry,
”
Tiny said.
“
Michael
…”

Brody offered Tiny a swift kick to
the ribs and the fat man started to cough and gag. Brody then went to Michael
and grabbed him by his suit jacket and lifted him up. The blood was everywhere.
Michael coughed and teeth fell from his mouth.

“
Holy
fuck,
”
Brody said.
“
He got you good.
”

“
Fuck
you,
”
Michael said.
“
You
’
ll be killed.
”

Brody slammed Michael
’
s head off the wall.
“
I
’
m
talking here. And you
’
re
going to answer my questions or else I
’
ll
kill you. Got that?
”

Michael nodded.

“
Who
are you? Why are you beating the fuck out of old man Ronnie?
”

“
He
owes me five grand,
”
Michael said.
“
Gambling. We
have a lottery ticket thing going. Real smooth business. But he
’
s been fucking up lately.
”

“
He
’
s an old man,
”
Brody said.
“
Can
’
t find someone younger to fuck with?
”

“
I
’
ll get him
…”
a voice said.

Brody looked down and saw Tiny
reaching for his leg.

This guy is a big fucking moron.

Brody swung his left foot, the
front of his black boot crushing against Tiny
’
s
mouth. Tiny went down again, now weeping like a big, sad Teddy bear.

“
He
’
s in debt with me,
”
Michael said.
“
Age
…
doesn
’
t
matter
…”

“
But
this town does matter,
”
Brody said.
“
You don
’
t step into Frelen without
coming through us.
”

“
Us
…
?
”

“
Back
Down Devil, asshole,
”
Brody
said.
“
This is our town.
Our lives to live and protect. Our debts to protect. Our money to spend. You
got that, asshole?
”

“
Fine,
”
Michael said.
“
But Ronnie
’
s been scamming for years
…”

“
What
did you do to his daughter?
”
Brody asked.

Michael let out a cry.
“
Nothing. Come on, this hurts. I
need a hospital.
”

“
Look
me in the fucking eyes.
”

Michael did. His face was a mess of
torn up hell.
“
What?
”

“
Tell
me what you did to her
…”

“
I
made Tiny lift up her shirt last time,
”
Michael said.
“
That was it.
I just wanted to see, you know? I remember her from ten years ago. She was beautiful
then. But now she
’
s a
woman. I just wanted
…”

“
Did
you fuck her?
”

“
No,
”
Michael yelled.
“
I swear.
”

Brody gritted his teeth. He
remembered sneaking around this back room a few times, hoping to find where old
man Ronnie stored the cash for the business. He didn
’
t want to have to resort to that, but if he could
have found just a couple hundred dollars, he and his mother could have fled.
They could have had a fucking chance. But there was no money. There was never
any money.

Brody backed away from Michael. He
stood, shaking, his knees slowly bending.

Brody turned and went to old man
Ronnie. He lifted the man up, putting him in a seated position. The old man
reached for Brody
’
s face.
His lips were quivering. He was crying.

“
Where
’
s Ana?
”
he asked.

“
She
’
s okay. She
’
s out front. Are you okay, old
man?
”

Ronnie nodded.
“
I
’
m
fine. I
’
ve had worse. They
were promising things, Brody.
”

“
What?
”

“
Things
they were going to do to my Ana,
”
Ronnie said. He started to weep harder.
“
They
were going to do things to her. I wouldn
’
t
have been able to stop them.
”

Brody pulled Ronnie close and
hugged him.
“
It
’
s okay, old man. Nothing
’
s going to happen now. They won
’
t be back, I promise you.
”
Brody closed his eyes and for a
second he thought he was going to cry too.
“
You
should have fucking called me. You should have had Ana fucking call me.
”

“
I
didn
’
t want to bother you
with my shit,
”
Ronnie said.
“
I just can
’
t
…”

Brody patted Ronnie
’
s old cheek.
“
I don
’
t want to hear it. You do what you have to do. I
’
m not going to judge you for that.
But that woman out there is beautiful. She
’
s
waiting for a life. Give it to her.
”

“
I
’
m trying,
”
Ronnie said.
“
I
didn
’
t know these guys
…”

“
Fuck
you,
”
Michael roared.
“
You grubby piece of shit.
”

Brody kissed old man Ronnie
’
s forehead and then let him go.
When he stood, the curtain flew open and in came Lane and Jack. They froze and
looked around the room.

“
What
the fuck?
”
Lane asked.

“
So
glad you could join us,
”
Brody said.
“
You fucking
idiots wonder why you
’
re
not patched in. What did you think was happening back here?
”

“
We
came inside,
”
Jack said.
“
Miller sent us
…
there
’
s
…”

“
Shut
up,
”
Brody said. He walked
to Tiny and reached down and slid the brass knuckles off his hand. He then
walked to Lane and handed the weapon to him.
“
I
need you to do something.
”

“
What?
”

“
Get
Ronnie to a hospital and get him fixed up,
”
Brody said.
“
Make sure Ana
is taken care of. If you fucking touch her, I
’
ll
rip your dick off.
”

“
What
about the suit and tie?
”
Jack asked.

“
Keep
him alive,
”
Brody said.
“
Let him go.
”
Brody looked back at Michael.
“
I don
’
t think he
’
ll
be back in Frelen again. Because if he does come back, I
’
ll gut him. And anyone he brings.
”

Michael put his hands up.
“
Just let me out of here.
”

“
There
’
s one more thing,
”
Brody said. He pointed to the
brass knuckles in Lane
’
s
hand.

“
Can
I beat him up?
”
Lane asked,
eyes gleaming.

“
No,
”
Brody said.
“
That fat piece of shit on the
ground was hitting Ronnie with these. Shove this up his ass. Give him a lesson.
Make him scream. Make the suit and tie watch. And let Ronnie watch.
”