Wild Blaze (4 page)

“
I
should fucking kill you for that.
”

“
He
put me against a wall, Lyle. He tried to choke me. He wanted me to
…
touch him
…”

Lyle growled and threw the bottle
of vodka to the ground. It shattered and he went nose to nose with Heather.

“
Don
’
t fucking tell me that shit, you
fucking whore. You wanted it. You wanted him to fuck you. Didn
’
t you? You wanted to see what
his cock looked like. You fucking almost screwed a deal for me today. Because
you
’
re too worried about
that nursing crap. There
’
s,
what, twenty of you there? Don
’
t
care so much. Worry about me. My business. What I
’
m
giving you.
”

Lyle shook his head and turned
around. He walked to the door. Heather wasn
’
t
sure if she
’
d be allowed
inside tonight. Not that it would be such a bad thing. Heather wouldn
’
t mind a night alone.

“
I
’
m sorry,
”
Heather whispered.

She had no idea why she said it
again. It only pissed Lyle off. He spun around, but Heather didn
’
t have the chance to see his
face again. Instead, she was met with the back of his hand as she tumbled off
the porch to the ground.

five.

“
I
’
m going to wipe them all the
fuck out myself,
”
Gaige
said, his words slurring bad. He stood from his barstool and almost fell.
“
Fuckers
…”

Brody was there to catch Gaige and
point him in the direction of his room. Gaige had a woman now and she could
clean up after the mess he was going to make.

Behind Brody sat Blaine. He was
calm, quiet, but he was angry. Hell, they were all angry. The night was
carrying on and nobody could find rest. Three prospects were the at the
hospital watching over Erik while the patched in members were in the clubhouse,
drinking wildly, trying to find a way to suppress their anger.

“
It
was fucking Eight Under,
”
Griffin said. He pointed a finger at Nate.
“
I
’
m fucking tell you, bro.
”

“
Get
your finger out of my face,
”
Nate said.

Brody saw what was about to happen
and he started to move. Something grabbed and pulled him back into the bar. His
back hit and pain seared through his legs. He saw that Blaine had grabbed him.

“
Let
them go,
”
Blaine said.
“
They need it. We all fucking
need it, brother.
”

Brody gritted his teeth. The anger
flowing through his body felt two fold. He didn
’
t
necessarily believe in fate or any of that other bullshit. Not religion either
because death was coming whether you gave a shit about it or not. Nothing would
save anyone. Death was the finale. Death was the grand goodbye. But something
had taken him to that little shit store today. He saved old man Ronnie
’
s life and saved Ana. All the
while shit was going down at the clubhouse.

A fucking bomb?

That was serious shit. That was a
deadly move to make on the club.

“
Don
’
t tell me what you think,
”
Nate said.
“
We
’
re
not there yet. We
’
re
letting it sink in.
”

“
Fuck
you, Nate. This is real. This is
…”

Nate grabbed Griffin and lifted him
off the ground. Nate had a good six inches, if not more, on Griffin. He held
him nose to nose.

“
Don
’
t fucking point at me,
”
Nate growled.

“
Then
do something about it,
”
Griffin said.

“
Christ,
”
Brody said. He shook his head.

Nate put Griffin down and Griffin
took a quick swing. He hit Nate in the face. Nate stumbled back and took a
return swing at Griffin. Griffin spun around and fell to his knees. The entire
clubhouse then came to life. Everyone rushed at each other. Everyone wanted a
chance to get out some of the anger they were filled with.

Brody looked at Blaine.
“
Should we?
”

Blaine stood and smiled.
“
Don
’
t hit me in the balls, okay? I plan on fucking five
women tonight.
”

“
You
’
re a sick motherfucker, Blaine.
Like
…
something is seriously
wrong with you.
”

“
I
know that,
”
Blaine said.
“
It just makes life
…”

Brody threw a fist. He smacked
Blaine in the nose, drawing blood.

Damn, that felt good.

Blaine lunged at Brody, eyes wide,
going for his throat. They fell back and Brody tripped on a barstool. They were
then on the ground, grappling at each other, trying to take shots. Blaine
punched Brody in the ribs. The rings on his fingers hurt like fucking hell when
he punched. Brody threw his head forward and smashed it against Blaine
’
s face. Blaine let out a scream.

Then a gun went off.

The entire place fell silent.
Blaine still had a hand to Brody
’
s
throat still. Brody knocked it away and scrambled to his feet.

Miller walked from the meeting room
through the clubhouse, handgun pointed in the air.

“
Next
shot is someone
’
s fucking
head,
”
Miller said.
“
Got it?
”

Nobody said a word.

Miller walked to a pool table and
leaned against it, arms crossed.

“
I
know we
’
re all fucking
angry right now. That
’
s
fine. We were attacked. One of our brothers was almost killed. We
’
re going to fix this. We
’
re going to seek our revenge. We
’
re going to make whoever did
this pay. But it
’
s not
going to happen tonight. And not like this. Get a fucking drink, get a fucking
reliever,
and get to your room. Tonight is done. I see anyone else fighting each
other, I
’
ll put you in the
hospital.
”

Brody wiped his bloody lip and
approached Miller. The rest of the clubhouse was doing what their President had
commanded to do.

“
What
is it?
”
Miller asked.

“
I
’
m going to the hospital,
”
Brody said.
“
There
’
s nothing here for me right now.
”

“
We
have prospects
…”

“
They
are assholes,
”
Brody said.
“
They left me hanging today when
I was helping a friend. You trust them in a hospital? If someone wanted to come
and finish the job
…”

Miller gritted his teeth.
“
You been drinking?
”

“
No.
”

“
Go
then. I don
’
t care. Keep an
eye on the prospects then.
”
Brody started to move and Miller grabbed him.
“
You
know, being there isn
’
t
going to fix a thing.
”

“
It
’
s a place to think,
”
Brody said.
“
I wasn
’
t there when it happened.
”

“
Like
you could have done something?
”

Brody looked at Miller.
“
I could have been there. But
instead I was fucking around with memories.
”

“
Saving
lives,
”
Miller said.

“
Just
let me do what I have to do here, Miller.
”

“
Go,
”
Miller said.
“
Be safe out there, brother.
”

Brody welcomed the calm night the
way Blaine welcomed half naked, mostly drunk women. He rode the streets of
Frelen looking around. That was useless though. Whoever had fucked with the
club wouldn
’
t show their
faces again. This was well planned and well executed.

At the hospital, Brody went up the
same elevator as before. The doors opened and nobody was standing there looking
at him. He smiled when he thought of the pretty nurse. Her eyes were a
radiating blue color, so bright and happy. The rest of her body in those scrubs
wasn
’
t half bad either.

Brody went to Erik
’
s room and found the prospects
sitting in chairs, nodding off. He walked up and kicked their boots, waking
them up.

“
What
’
s happening here?
”
he asked.

“
Nothing,
”
Lane said.
“
Just checking on him when they
need to.
”

“
I
want you three to take a walk. Go through the entire hospital. See if anything
looks off.
”

“
Off?
”
Jack asked.

“
Off,
”
Brody said.
“
Check to see if someone
’
s waiting to fucking kill us.
Okay?
”

Jack put his hands up and started
to move.

When Lane tried to walk by, Brody
grabbed him.
“
Take care of
that thing for me?
”

“
The
brass knuckles?
”

“
Yeah.
”

“
Yeah,
”
Lane said.
“
That was kind of sick, man.
”

“
Good.
”

“
Jack
threw up. Like four times. The first time he threw up on the guy
’
s legs.
”

Brody laughed.
“
Really?
”

“
Yeah.
Then the suit and tie threw up and passed out.
”

“
Did
the old man watch?
”

“
Yeah.
He smiled. Then he crawled out of the room because he was going to throw up.
”

“
So
you really shoved those brass knuckles up Tiny
’
s
ass?
”

“
You
told me to,
”
Lane said.

Brody nodded. Maybe the prospects
weren
’
t completely useless
after all.

Once alone, Brody stood at the door
to Erik
’
s room. He put a
hand to it and lowered his head. The imagery and feeling of it was way too
familiar to him.

I
’
m sorry. I
’
m sorry I wasn
’
t there. I
’
m sorry I couldn
’
t have stopped it. I
’
m
…

Brody sucked in a breath and went
to a chair.

He sat down and felt way too damn
comfortable for his own good.

He closed his eyes, telling himself
it was just for a minute.

That minute would take him into the
morning.

six.

Brody opened his eyes and saw a
beautiful woman crouching before him. He blinked fast, cleared his throat, and
looked down to see if his pants were open. It wouldn
’
t have been the first time he woke up to find
someone taking care of his cock, but that wasn
’
t
the case this time.

This time the face was familiar and
she wasn
’
t sucking him off.

It was the nurse from yesterday.

She held a cup of coffee and was
smiling.

“
Sorry
to wake you,
”
she said.
“
You were snoring and my boss was
getting pissed.
”

Brody looked around and realized he
was in the hospital. He saw the three prospects standing down the hall a little
ways.

“
Is
Erik alive?
”
he asked.

“
Yeah,
”
the nurse said.
“
He
’
s
okay. Stable now. It
’
s going
to take time, you know? His body has to heal itself. And we have him on a lot
of pain meds to keep him relaxed. He doesn
’
t
feel a thing right now. He
’
s
not awake.
”

“
Okay,
”
Brody said. He ran a hand down
his face.
“
Fuck, I can
’
t believe I slept here last
night.
”

“
Brought
you some coffee,
”
the nurse
said.

“
Thanks.
”
Brody took it.
“
What
’
s your name, sweetheart?
”

“
Heather.
”

“
Heather,
nice to meet you, again. I
’
m
Brody. That guy in there
…”

“
I
know,
”
Heather said.
“
You
’
re part of a gang, right?
”

“
A
gang?
”
Brody asked.
“
No, not like that. We
’
re a club. We
’
re brothers. We take care of
each other. Protect each other. You look a little afraid right now. Because of
us?
”

“
I
’
ve heard things,
”
Heather said.

“
Good,
”
Brody said.
“
They
’
re all true. We
’
re
outlaws. We
’
re assholes. We
cause trouble. If that bothers you, then keep moving on. I need to talk to my
prospects here.
”

Heather turned her head and Brody
noticed something about her face and neck. It was a sight he
’
d seen many times before.

“
Okay,
”
Heather said.
“
Enjoy the coffee the best you
can. It
’
s terrible, but it
’
s coffee.
”

She started to walk and Brody
jumped to his feet. He grabbed at her hand, taking it. Her hand quickly wrapped
around his. She was secretly seeking a comfort that was dangerous and tempting.

Holy fuck, man. Let her go right
now. Let her walk the fuck away. Let her go live in the hell she chose
…

Heather looked at him.
“
What?
”

“
When
are you coming back here?
”

“
I
’
ll make my rounds.
”

“
I
’
ll be waiting,
”
Brody said.

He let Heather go. She took a couple
stuttering steps and Brody smiled. Damn, that kind of power was nice. But what
was even nicer was Heather
’
s
ass in the white pants she wore. He made fists and waited until Heather was out
of sight before he walked to the prospects.

“
Here,
”
he said to Lane.
“
Got you some coffee.
”

Lane took the cup and raised an
eyebrow.
“
What did you do
to it?
”

“
Nothing.
It
’
s hospital coffee. I
’
d rather drink piss.
”

“
Yeah,
me too,
”
Jack said.

“
Is
that so?
”
Brody asked.
“
Heard you threw up a few times
yesterday.
”

Jack lowered his head.

Lane laughed.

“
You
two assholes shouldn
’
t have
let me sleep,
”
Brody said.
“
I
’
m
here to watch over my brother. Our brother.
”

“
You
were fine,
”
Lane said.
“
We walked the hospital for hours
and found nothing. I think whoever did the bombing made their point and are
gone now.
”

“
That
’
s where you
’
re wrong,
”
Brody said.
“
But
that
’
s a club issue. Right
now, we have to hope Erik finds a way through this. Both of you get the fuck
out of here and get some sleep. I
’
ll
call Miller for more bodies.
”

Brody walked away and grabbed his
cell. He made a call to Miller to relay all the information he had so far.
Miller didn
’
t really do
much of the same because there wasn
’
t
much to be discussed at this second. Miller
’
s
mind sounded like it was going in to a thousand different directions. He
mentioned something about drugs that caught Brody off guard. The chief of
police, a good friend to Back Down Devil -
Chief Jerry
- had made a tip
call to Miller about some dealings going on in Frelen.

Great, drugs.

That
’
s
the last thing the town and the MC needed.

But that was the story of their life
though. That old saying
when it rains, it fucking pours
. That
’
s just how it went. When the
days were good and quiet, the beer cold, the whiskey smooth, the pussy
delicious, those were the days they all took care of. But most of the days were
filled with the makings of war.

Brody ended the call and walked to
Erik
’
s room. He put his
hand to the door like he
’
d
done before and closed his eyes. Just once, he wanted to save someone. Not
himself. Fuck himself. That was a hopeless battle. But just to save someone.

“
Uh,
excuse me?
”

Brody turned and the nurse was
there again. Her eyes, her lips, her hair, pulled back but would look so much
better let down. It all struck Brody like a burning match.

“
Hey,
”
he said.

“
Are
you okay?
”
the nurse asked.

“
Fine.
”

“
You
can go in there, if you want. There
’
s
no restriction. Plus, I
’
m
here.
”

“
I
’
m good,
”
Brody said.
“
Just
…
paying respects.
”

“
Praying?
”

Brody smiled.
“
Never understood that. Asking
something of someone you never met. Someone that floats around and is supposed
to help out but leaves strings of hell all around waiting to be pulled.
”

The nurse swallowed hard.
“
Sorry.
”

She started to move and Brody
attacked her wrist and hand again, pulling her. He reached out and took a
chance to touch her face. It was a bold move, one that Heather jumped back
from. But it wasn't that she didn
’
t
want him to touch her, it was what he
’
d
find if he did.

She stepped back and Brody went
toward her.
“
What
’
s wrong?
”

“
What
are you doing?
”

Just
trying
to
save someone, once.

Brody
’
s
eyes were on her. Right on Heather. He couldn
’
t
do dick for Erik. He could only help Ana and old man Ronnie so much. But
Heather. She was different.

“
You
’
re hiding something, sweetheart.
”

“
My
life isn
’
t your business,
”
Heather said.
“
I
’
m
a nurse. Who the hell
…”

Brody shook his head.
“
You
’
re attacking me. I didn
’
t do anything.
”

“
Don
’
t touch me,
”
Heather said.
“
Don
’
t even come near me. I
’
ll have you kicked out of here.
”

Heather shook her hand free of
Brody
’
s grip and started to
run down the hall. Brody waited a few seconds, head nodding. He
’
d seen this act all before. So
many times. He looked back to the door to Erik
’
s
room.

Nothing to do there.

Miller was sending in some more
prospects to watch the room and hospital.

Brody started to walk and then
caught himself in a jog. He took the corner of the hall and put on the brakes
as he skidded a few feet. Heather stood against the wall, her head back, eyes
blinking fast.

“
Too
afraid to cry?
”
he asked.

“
Who
the hell are you?
”
Heather
asked.
“
Go away.
”

“
What
if I don
’
t? What are you
going to do?
”

Heather looked at him. Her eyes
were welled with tears. This time when he reached out, Heather didn
’
t stop him. He wiped away a tear
before it could hit her cheek.

“
I
’
m sorry,
”
Brody said,
“
but
I know the look. I
’
ve lived
it.
”

“
What
look?
”

Brody reached and took out his gun.
Heather gasped but didn
’
t
freak out. It wasn
’
t the
first time she
’
d seen a gun
before.

“
Give
me your hand,
”
he said.
Slowly, Heather offered her hand. Brody put the gun to her hand.
“
Take this. Shoot me if I go too
far.
”

“
Too
far?
”

Brody inched closer to Heather. He
wasn
’
t just attracted to
her. It went deeper. Wild and instant. The sudden urge and need to protect her
was like something Brody hadn
’
t
felt in a long time.

“
Who
hurt you?
”
he asked.

“
What?
”

“
You
have more makeup on your right side than the left. I bet if I held you down and
wiped all that away, there
’
d
be a mark there. Right?
”

Heather
’
s eyes went wide with shock.
“
I
…”

“
What?
You fell? You tripped over your own two feet? You were carrying a laundry
basket and missed a step? Try me, sweetheart. I heard it all before. Who the
fuck did this to you?
”

“
Why
does it matter?
”

“
It
does.
”

“
Trust
me, it doesn
’
t,
”
Heather said.
“
You wouldn
’
t want to mess with him anyway.
He
’
s
…”

“
Did
you use the fucking patch on my back? Realize who I am. Nobody is going to fuck
with me without eating a bullet. And the same for you.
”

Heather blinked fast again. Tears
filled her eyes and they spilled down her cheeks. Just as Brody figured, the
tears collected makeup, making a mess of her face. She was still pretty though.

“
Are
you going to hold me down and ask me questions?
”
Heather asked.

“
Are
you going to pull that trigger and kill me?
”
Brody asked right back.

“
No,
”
Heather whispered.

“
You
think it
’
s not my business,
but to me it is. You
’
re
taking care of one of my brothers. And you fear for your life. That
’
s no way to live, sweetheart.
”

Heather jabbed the gun into Brody
’
s gun. He stepped back. She spun
it around in her hand and offered the gun back.

“
But
it
’
s my life,
”
she said.
“
Thanks for giving a shit. But
you don
’
t want to know.
”