War & Mayhem Book 1: Stone

STONE

I woke up in the club’s infirmary. I rolled over on my side to see Gravel, the club’s sergeant at arms, sitting in a chair beside the bed. “Welcome back, brother. How are you feeling?” He stood up, checking me over.

“Like shit,” I groaned out as the infirmary’s door slid open, and Thrasher, my club’s president, Skitzo, the club’s enforcer, and 8ball, the club’s hacker, walked in and closed the door behind them.

“Finally, you are awake, brother. What the fuck happened out there?” Thrasher spoke up. He was always straightforward and never liked to wait for information.

“Jamie pulled out a knife, and then two other guys showed up and started to shoot up the place. It felt like a damn setup.” I moved to sit up and Gravel reached out to help me, telling me to be careful. “I did the pickup, and the fucker tried to play me.” I looked over at my president, who nodded once.

“Do you know who these other two guys were?” Thrasher asked me as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Looked like patches belonged to the Devil’s Riders.”

“Those fuckers have been under our protection for the past two years. We will be visiting them. 8ball, go tell the rest of the men we will have church in an hour. I want this shit settled as soon as Stone is checked out and fed,” Thrasher demanded before walking out of the infirmary.

“How did you guys find me?” I asked Gravel.

“Some chick at a coffee shop in town called us and told us you were hurt. Said she knew Enigma and that they were close.”

“Damn, I’ll have to pay my respects. If not for her, I would be dead.”

Gravel nodded once in agreement.

I hated this. Hated being hurt and all fucked up. It took at least ten minutes to walk up to my dorm upstairs. I went straight for a shower. It was times like this that I wished I had an old lady to help me out, but this life would only bring pain.

I’d seen it many times with other ladies. They never knew when we would be back from runs and worried if we would be hurt or dead when we did return. This life wasn’t easy. That’s why, when we did meet our old ladies, they were just as strong as us.

They needed to be.

I struggled out of my clothing before stepping into the shower. The water burned my wounds and I bit back the urge to scream from the pain. Thoughts of yesterday’s events filled my mind. I had almost died. Someone targeted me and, although I’m used to all of this, it still doesn’t change the fact that it’s very much real. I had been shot before, but was I losing my touch?

I finished my shower in just enough time to make church. As soon as I made it downstairs to the chapel, I placed my phone in the bin along with everyone else’s.

We all sat down around the table. The jarrah wood table was carved with smooth edges. Our flaming joker skull holding two cards was carved in the middle of it. Thrasher slammed his gavel on the table, beginning church.

“Yesterday, our VP was attacked by the Devil’s Riders. We will get blood. Those fuckers betrayed us and attacked us. They get no protection. 8ball, what do you have on the footage of the coffee shop?” Thrasher spoke.

8ball started typing immediately, and I sat up in my chair, letting Thrasher know that I needed to speak.

“What is it, brother?” He looked at me.

“Why are we looking into the coffee shop?” I asked flat out.

“The woman who helped you out and called us. Apparently, her shop was shot up this morning. No one was hurt, but we sent out Skitzo and Redback to check it out. She was a bit shaken up, and of course, she thought she was doing a good thing when she helped you. So, now we need to have protection for her. We owe her after all.”

I nodded. “I will go check things out after church then.”

Thrasher’s eyebrows knitted together.

“Brother, you’re in bad shape. I don’t think you should be riding right now.”

I just shook my head at Thrasher.

He sighed. “Very well. Gravel and Redback will ride with you in the truck.”

I nodded.

“Anything else anyone needs to bring to the table?” Thrasher looked around the room. Everyone shook their heads no. He slammed the gavel, ending church and then calling Blackout over to him.

After a short fifteen-minute drive to town, we pulled up in front of the shop. The glass windows were broken and I saw a woman inside cleaning up the mess alone.

“Redback, call two of the prospects and tell them to get down here and help clean.”

He nodded once, and that was all I needed to know he was on it. I stepped into the shop and my eyes went wide.

The woman who owned the shop happened to be the one girl I had always been into in high school. She was always part of the group that didn’t like me and my crowd. We were always the kids who got looked down on like the scum of the town.

Some of the guys I hung around had been to juvie, and most of the kids in the school stayed away. Small towns, like the one we had lived in, didn’t like those sorts of kids. We never stuck by the rules.

Her friends, on the other hand, were always the goodie-two-shoe kind. The kind that turned their noses up at anyone not in their circle. Good or bad. But she always stood out. She never turned her back on people, even if they were people from different backgrounds. She always saw light in situations that no one else saw.

She looked up from her small pile of rubbish and a grin formed on her lips. “Hey. I’m sorry, I didn’t see you pull up,” she spoke. Her voice was angelic and her cheeks flushed a bit.

“All good, I just wanted to personally come here and thank you for helping me. You saved my life.” I stuck my hands in my front pockets and looked around the place. “I’m sorry this happened to you. I can imagine you worked your ass off to get this place.”

“I did, but it’s not closed.” She shrugged before running a hand through her red hair. “Thank you, but life happens, sometimes.” She cleared her throat.

Two of the prospects walked in as soon as she stopped speaking.

I looked at them and said, “Clean this shop up. And when you’re done, make sure she gets home safe. Don’t leave her side, got it?”

They nodded and went to work cleaning up all the glass.

“Thank you for this. Really,” she said.

When I turned back to face her, her smile made my heart jump.