All the brothers knew what that meant. Each of the original members would stand in a circle with Memphis positioned in the middle. The members would then each have the opportunity to give him a killing blow. It wouldn’t matter if he were dead after the one chosen to go first. In that case, because it was Viper’s brother, he would be allowed the first strike. After each had their turn, he would be disposed of just as he had with Gavin. The only difference was Gavin would finally be coming home to a proper burial.
“We’re going to show you the same mercy that you showed my brother.” Viper’s promise was deadly accurate.
Shade and Cash took Memphis to the basement and chained him against the wall in Shade’s bedroom where they would guard him until they found Gavin.
* * *
Shade stood in the junk-heaped backyard with its broken-down motorcycles, glad they had waited to kill Memphis. Shade hoped there was a piece of him still alive when it was his turn.
A large black Suburban rolled to a stop and a tall, muscular man climbed out, going to the back and raising the hatch to let a massive German Shepherd jump out.
Shade saw the looks the Road Demon brothers gave each other.
“The dog’s being given Gavin’s scent. We’re not here to get in your business,” Shade assured the brothers who were worried about their own dark secrets being exposed.
Their postures relaxed as Cash greeted his friend. The two men shook hands before Colt pointed to the backyard.
As the nose of the dog was rubbed with Gavin’s colors, Shade recalled the day all the original Last Riders had gone to the leather shop to pick up their individual vests.
“Seek!” The dog took off, going to several parts of the backyard.
Shade had worked with cadaver dogs before and recognized the signal each time the dog smelled a body, but it didn’t bark to show this was the one they wanted. It took twenty minutes for the dog to find Gavin and sit down on top of an old couch cushion.
Viper nodded toward Train and Rider, who moved forward to dig. Even Shade, despite the numerous lives he had taken, felt a momentary twinge when they pulled Gavin from the hole that had been dug.
As Viper walked over to his brother’s body, more than one brother had to blink back tears when they heard his words before the medical examiner team came in to transfer the body to the morgue.
“It’s time to come home, brother.”
Chapter 11
“She still there?” Shade questioned Razer as they sat on their bikes at a red light in town.
The club had already buried Gavin, but The Last Riders had gone to Ohio to declare Gavin dead and take care of the legal bullshit needed with his part in their survival business.
Finally, they were back, and Razer had called Lucky to ask him to get Beth to the diner, figuring it would be easier to talk to her without her being able to slam a door in his face.
It was just getting dark when they rode their bikes into the diner’s lot. They watched as Beth didn’t hesitate in her footsteps as she crossed the parking lot, walking with her head down until she almost ran into Razer’s bike.
Shade blocked her retreat, pulling in behind her and pinning her between the two bikes. Shade and Evie each gave her a nod as he and Razer cut their motors. The sudden silence was a relief.
“Beth.”
“Razer.”
“How have you been?”
“Good.”
“You don’t look so good.”
Beth shrugged. “Appearances can be deceiving.”
Razer nodded while Beth stared at her car parked behind him. When he cleared his throat, Beth’s head snapped back to him.
“Yes¸ they can. That’s why I want to talk to you. Can we go somewhere to talk? I would like to explain some things to you.”
“No explanations are necessary. You got your message across clearly the last time I saw you.” Beth took a step to the right, trying to get to her car.
“Beth, let him explain. I want to tell you how sorry I am for the way things went down. If you would listen…” Evie trailed off as Beth stopped and turned, meeting her eyes. Shade felt Evie flinch at his back.
“I don’t need explanations, Evie. I provided employment for you until the factory opened. It’s not your fault that I misinterpreted it and thought we had become friends.”
“We were friends … No, we are friends. Beth, listen to me—”
With a sad smile, Beth shook her head as she spoke over Evie once again. “No, Evie, you are no friend of mine. You left me in that hospital to wake up alone, scared and not knowing what had happened. I kept thinking you would come by and bring me a few magazines or a couple of things I could have used. You never did, though. Then, when I came to the club and was humiliated in front of everyone by a man I cared about, did my friend stand by me? No. She ignored me and cut me deep by quitting when I needed her the most. Did my friend come by and see me to let me cry on her shoulder? No, you didn’t. A friend would have been there for me. I would have been there for you.” When Beth finished in a soft voice, Shade squeezed Evie’s hand, knowing she would be hurt by Beth’s justified outburst.
Again, Beth took a step forward to leave.
“Beth, wait … I can explain.” Razer’s hand snapped out and caught her arm, keeping her from leaving.
“Razer, explanations are not necessary for the simple reason that they won’t make a difference to how I feel about you. You were wrong that night at your house. I wasn’t beginning to care for you; I had fallen in love with you. I knew you didn’t return my feelings, and I let it happen anyway. I’ve had a few bad weeks since then, but I am getting over you. If the explanations you want to give me end with you wanting to be friends, that won’t work for me. It would be too painful for me to see you with other women and not touch you myself.” Razer went to speak, but Beth raised a hand to stop him. “Let me finish. On the other hand, if you are hoping these explanations lead to us being back together again, that no longer is an option. You are incapable of giving me the relationship I need to be happy, which involves trust, fidelity, and love. Even if you swore to do all three, I would never, ever believe in you again.”
That time, when Beth took a step forward, Razer’s hand dropped to his side. Both Shade and Razer’s bikes sat immobile as Beth carefully maneuvered her SUV around them, pulling out onto the road without a look back.
* * *
“We fucked up bad.” Evie’s head fell forward onto Shade’s back.
“More like crashed and burned,” Lucky said, stepping out from behind a parked van.
“Back off, Dean. You had no business eavesdropping.”
“I had every right. I handed you that girl on a silver platter, and what did you do? You screwed her over so badly that now, not only don’t I have her, but you don’t have her, and it’s not looking like you ever will,” Lucky ruthlessly threw Beth’s words back in Razer’s face.
“She’ll come around; she’ll forgive me. The girl is incapable of holding a grudge.”
“Did you even make an attempt to get to know her?” Lucky asked in disbelief.
“What does that mean?”
“It means, she is not going to forgive you. You hurt her too badly. She won’t put herself back in that vulnerable position again, with either of you.”
“We’re going to show you the same mercy that you showed my brother.” Viper’s promise was deadly accurate.
Shade and Cash took Memphis to the basement and chained him against the wall in Shade’s bedroom where they would guard him until they found Gavin.
* * *
Shade stood in the junk-heaped backyard with its broken-down motorcycles, glad they had waited to kill Memphis. Shade hoped there was a piece of him still alive when it was his turn.
A large black Suburban rolled to a stop and a tall, muscular man climbed out, going to the back and raising the hatch to let a massive German Shepherd jump out.
Shade saw the looks the Road Demon brothers gave each other.
“The dog’s being given Gavin’s scent. We’re not here to get in your business,” Shade assured the brothers who were worried about their own dark secrets being exposed.
Their postures relaxed as Cash greeted his friend. The two men shook hands before Colt pointed to the backyard.
As the nose of the dog was rubbed with Gavin’s colors, Shade recalled the day all the original Last Riders had gone to the leather shop to pick up their individual vests.
“Seek!” The dog took off, going to several parts of the backyard.
Shade had worked with cadaver dogs before and recognized the signal each time the dog smelled a body, but it didn’t bark to show this was the one they wanted. It took twenty minutes for the dog to find Gavin and sit down on top of an old couch cushion.
Viper nodded toward Train and Rider, who moved forward to dig. Even Shade, despite the numerous lives he had taken, felt a momentary twinge when they pulled Gavin from the hole that had been dug.
As Viper walked over to his brother’s body, more than one brother had to blink back tears when they heard his words before the medical examiner team came in to transfer the body to the morgue.
“It’s time to come home, brother.”
Chapter 11
“She still there?” Shade questioned Razer as they sat on their bikes at a red light in town.
The club had already buried Gavin, but The Last Riders had gone to Ohio to declare Gavin dead and take care of the legal bullshit needed with his part in their survival business.
Finally, they were back, and Razer had called Lucky to ask him to get Beth to the diner, figuring it would be easier to talk to her without her being able to slam a door in his face.
It was just getting dark when they rode their bikes into the diner’s lot. They watched as Beth didn’t hesitate in her footsteps as she crossed the parking lot, walking with her head down until she almost ran into Razer’s bike.
Shade blocked her retreat, pulling in behind her and pinning her between the two bikes. Shade and Evie each gave her a nod as he and Razer cut their motors. The sudden silence was a relief.
“Beth.”
“Razer.”
“How have you been?”
“Good.”
“You don’t look so good.”
Beth shrugged. “Appearances can be deceiving.”
Razer nodded while Beth stared at her car parked behind him. When he cleared his throat, Beth’s head snapped back to him.
“Yes¸ they can. That’s why I want to talk to you. Can we go somewhere to talk? I would like to explain some things to you.”
“No explanations are necessary. You got your message across clearly the last time I saw you.” Beth took a step to the right, trying to get to her car.
“Beth, let him explain. I want to tell you how sorry I am for the way things went down. If you would listen…” Evie trailed off as Beth stopped and turned, meeting her eyes. Shade felt Evie flinch at his back.
“I don’t need explanations, Evie. I provided employment for you until the factory opened. It’s not your fault that I misinterpreted it and thought we had become friends.”
“We were friends … No, we are friends. Beth, listen to me—”
With a sad smile, Beth shook her head as she spoke over Evie once again. “No, Evie, you are no friend of mine. You left me in that hospital to wake up alone, scared and not knowing what had happened. I kept thinking you would come by and bring me a few magazines or a couple of things I could have used. You never did, though. Then, when I came to the club and was humiliated in front of everyone by a man I cared about, did my friend stand by me? No. She ignored me and cut me deep by quitting when I needed her the most. Did my friend come by and see me to let me cry on her shoulder? No, you didn’t. A friend would have been there for me. I would have been there for you.” When Beth finished in a soft voice, Shade squeezed Evie’s hand, knowing she would be hurt by Beth’s justified outburst.
Again, Beth took a step forward to leave.
“Beth, wait … I can explain.” Razer’s hand snapped out and caught her arm, keeping her from leaving.
“Razer, explanations are not necessary for the simple reason that they won’t make a difference to how I feel about you. You were wrong that night at your house. I wasn’t beginning to care for you; I had fallen in love with you. I knew you didn’t return my feelings, and I let it happen anyway. I’ve had a few bad weeks since then, but I am getting over you. If the explanations you want to give me end with you wanting to be friends, that won’t work for me. It would be too painful for me to see you with other women and not touch you myself.” Razer went to speak, but Beth raised a hand to stop him. “Let me finish. On the other hand, if you are hoping these explanations lead to us being back together again, that no longer is an option. You are incapable of giving me the relationship I need to be happy, which involves trust, fidelity, and love. Even if you swore to do all three, I would never, ever believe in you again.”
That time, when Beth took a step forward, Razer’s hand dropped to his side. Both Shade and Razer’s bikes sat immobile as Beth carefully maneuvered her SUV around them, pulling out onto the road without a look back.
* * *
“We fucked up bad.” Evie’s head fell forward onto Shade’s back.
“More like crashed and burned,” Lucky said, stepping out from behind a parked van.
“Back off, Dean. You had no business eavesdropping.”
“I had every right. I handed you that girl on a silver platter, and what did you do? You screwed her over so badly that now, not only don’t I have her, but you don’t have her, and it’s not looking like you ever will,” Lucky ruthlessly threw Beth’s words back in Razer’s face.
“She’ll come around; she’ll forgive me. The girl is incapable of holding a grudge.”
“Did you even make an attempt to get to know her?” Lucky asked in disbelief.
“What does that mean?”
“It means, she is not going to forgive you. You hurt her too badly. She won’t put herself back in that vulnerable position again, with either of you.”
