War & Mayhem Book 1: Stone

LOLITA

It was a flurry of movement.

The man raised the gun, aiming right at my chest.

Then Vinnie was in front of me and 8ball was yanking me behind a table he had flipped over for cover. There was the shuffle of shoes, the colliding of fists against flesh, and then the sick crunching of bone.

Two shots rang out.

The bell above the door chimed and Vinnie moaned. I trembled in 8ball’s arms, but I couldn’t just sit there. I climbed free of 8ball and rushed to Vinnie. The man who had the gun was nowhere to be seen. But the bloody trail out onto the sidewalk meant he most likely had a broken nose.

Vinnie held his stomach and groaned as he lay on the ground. We had to act quickly. When 8ball came over, I told him to help Vinnie apply pressure to the wound. I sprinted back to the office and grabbed the medic kit.

“We have to call an ambulance,” I told 8ball, but Vinnie shook his head.

“No…too many questions,” Vinnie groaned.

“He’s right. We need to get him to Saw,” 8ball said.

“Oh, fine.” I helped 8ball load Vinnie into my car, and rushed back for my bag and locked up the coffee shop. I scrambled into the driver’s seat and took off for the clubhouse.

***

I skidded the car to a stop before climbing out of the driver’s seat. Throughout the drive, 8ball kept pressure on Vinnie’s wounds and tried to keep him talking. When I saw John standing with Thrasher outside, I sighed in relief.

Thrasher pulled 8ball aside, getting the details of what happened at my shop. John helped get Vinnie out of my car and called over the prospects to help as well.

Once we were in the infirmary, I stood by Vinnie’s side as John rushed around gathering the things he needed. John had completed medical school. He could have been a doctor if he hadn’t joined the Highway Jokers, but in a way, he was still a doctor.

“What happened?” John asked us as he worked.

“I was about to close up the shop when a creep forced the door open. It all happened so fast, he pulled out a gun, but Vinnie jumped in front of me. They struggled for a bit and then he shot Vinnie twice,” I said as tears gathered in my eyes.

John glanced at me before turning back to deal with Vinnie. Once one bullet was out, he moved on to the next.

“Go get yourself cleaned up,” John told me, but I shook my head no. I wasn’t sure that I could move and Vinnie had passed out.

“Lita,” he said in that steady voice he used when he was focused and serious. “Vinnie is fine now. You guys brought him just in time. He’s going to be okay.” He didn’t stop working, but his shoulders relaxed.

I went to wipe at my tears when I saw my hands were covered in blood. A strange mix of numbed fear washed over me. John was right, I needed to go. I mumbled an “okay” and made my way out of the infirmary.

***

STONE

Leaning over the pool table, I lined up my shot as Gravel walked away to answer his phone. We were in a town called Windy Harbour on a run. We were at a bar for the night, having a few beers and trying to relax before we headed back to Bunbury tomorrow.

The pool balls collided with a satisfying clink as I sunk my ball in the corner pocket. Smirking at Skitzo, I stood up straight at the weird look on his face.

“We have company,” he said, nodding his head to the bar. I looked over and spotted a few guys in kuttes. They had the patches of the Devil’s Riders. Anger rose in my throat.

“Do you think they’re here to start trouble?” Blackout asked, chalking his cue stick so he would have a weapon in hand.

I watched the Devil’s Riders whisper to each other before another man joined them. He wore a kutte, but I couldn’t clearly see the patch. The shape seemed wrong, almost like he wasn’t a Devil’s Riders.

But the rival club seemed to defer to the newcomer. I frowned. I couldn’t remember hearing if the Devil’s Riders had a new president or VP. Something wasn’t right.

“Redback, make yourself invisible,” I said, nodding toward the rival club. Redback placed the pool cue down and wandered out of sight from the bar.

With Redback in position, I sighed and drank my beer. Skitzo wouldn’t stop fidgeting, sensing the impending violence. I could rein him in, but I wanted to get some payback for what they did to me and Lolita’s shop.

Skitzo looked at me and I nodded. With a wicked grin, Skitzo palmed a pool ball from the table and fell in behind me. I walked over to the Devil’s Riders.

“Well, someone owes me an apology,” I said, sizing them up.

The three guys faced me, and a glance at their kuttes confirmed they were just patch members. They spotted my patch, and exchanged a look among themselves as they blocked my view of the stranger with the unknown patch.

“Don’t know what you mean, brother,” the shortest one said, uneasy.

I narrowed my eyes. “Either someone grovels, right now, or things will be bad between us.”

Blackout and Skitzo flanked me, and I caught Redback’s eye as he moved behind them, unseen. After a beat of ungrateful silence, I shrugged and threw a punch at the closest Devil’s Riders. All hell broke loose.

We descended on the rival club, and people scattered, creating room for us to fight. Skitzo broke someone’s nose with the pool ball, threw the guy to the floor, and kicked him in the stomach repeatedly. A staff member yelled at us to take it outside, but I didn’t care. It’d all be over soon.

I grabbed the closest rival kutte and threw punch after punch. The guy got a cheap shot to my gut, and pain ripped through my torso. But I gritted my teeth and threw three quick jabs into his jaw. My knuckles were bloody, and I let him fall to the ground. He stayed down.

I was about to join Redback kicking another Devil’s Riders when Gravel grabbed my shoulder.

“There’s been trouble back home. Someone took a shot at Lolita’s shop again,” Gravel said.

“What?” I kicked a guy on the floor, and he groaned. “What happened?” I asked Gravel.

“Thrasher said to get home as soon as possible,” Gravel said, pulling out his wallet and leaving cash on the bar for our drinks.

I asked again with a growl, “Gravel, what happened?”

“I don’t know, man. All he said was to get home and to watch our backs. I’m sure everyone is fine.” Gravel patted me on the shoulder and punched the rival club member who was about to get up.

But I saw something flash through his eyes. Whatever Thrasher called about was bad.

I stormed for the door and spotted the unknown patch guy wiping blood from his mouth. With a hard right hook, I laid him out and got a glimpse of his patch. It wasn’t the Devil’s Riders patch, but a patch I didn’t recognize of a broken skull and a scythe.

Bursting into the parking lot with Gravel and Blackout at my back, I pulled on my helmet and climbed on my bike. Skitzo and Redback rushed out of the bar as Gravel and Blackout climbed into the van.

It would take us at least three hours to get back to Bunbury with people coming back from their holidays. I was the first one out of that parking lot before anyone could start their engines. After a few moments, the guys had caught up with me.

As we rode home, my heart pounded in my chest. With little information on what happened and if anyone got hurt, my mind was racing. All I could think about was if Lolita was hurt…how bad was it? I didn’t know how, but somehow, we managed to get back to Bunbury without any of us getting into an accident.

I was the first one to climb off my motorcycle. Throwing my helmet off, I rushed through the doors of the clubhouse. Looking around, I saw Thrasher sitting with 8ball and Mage. Saw was walking out of the hall, probably coming from the infirmary. But I didn’t see Vinnie or Lolita.

Thrasher stood up as I came over to the table.

“Where is she?” My hands were in fists, and I was ready to throw punches at anyone who would try and stop me from seeing her.

“She is in her dorm, resting,” he said.

I immediately took a step toward the hall, but Mage stood up and stopped me.

“Move, old man,” I growled to Mage, but he shook his head.

“First off, you need to calm down. Second, listen to what Pres has to say first before you go in all guns blazing,” Mage said.

I stared at him, ready to deck him, but I knew he was right. I sighed and looked at Thrasher.

“She’s okay, just shaken up. Vinnie jumped in front of the gunman, so he was the only one to get hit.”

“How’s Vinnie doing?” I asked him.

“Vinnie is okay, he’s going to pull through,” Thrasher said as he took a seat. “We have clear footage of who the man is, he’s part of the Devil’s Riders. Go see your girl, we have church in the morning.”

I nodded my head and made my way upstairs toward Lolita’s dorm.

I softly knocked on the door and entered slowly. The light of the lamp was the only light in the room. She was lying on the bed, cuddling up to one of the blankets. Closing the door behind me, I made my way over to her. Crouching down, she startled awake. My stomach fell.

“It’s me…it’s Daniel…,” I whispered.

She stared into my eyes and I hated seeing the stress and fear on her face. Shifting on the bed to make space, Lolita patted the bed. I pulled off my leather kutte and hung it on the back of the door before I pulled off my boots.

Lolita had already climbed under the covers before I joined her. I wrapped my arms around her. She was trembling. I held her tighter and softly stroked the back of her head.

“You’re okay. I will protect you,” I whispered, kissing her head as she wrapped her arms tighter around me. I’d be damned if I let anything happen to her. She didn’t deserve it.

For a few moments she sniffled and shook against me. Eventually, her breathing became deep and even. Before I knew it, I was asleep myself.