Chapter 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Doc

I pull into the gas station, my bike rumbling beneath me.

The night air is cool on my skin as I kill the engine and swing my leg over the side.

As I'm unscrewing the gas cap, a prickling sensation washes over me, like eyes boring into the back of my skull.

I glance up and lock gazes with an older man leaning against a rusty pickup truck, openly staring at me.

His eyes are cold and calculating.

It only takes a second for recognition to click into place.

Even though it's been a couple of weeks, I'll never forget that cruel fucking face.

Tony—Mandy's perverted asshole of a stepdad.

Rage ignites in my gut, spreading through my veins like wildfire.

I slam the nozzle back into the pump and stalk toward him, my hands balling into fists at my sides.

I growl when I reach him. "The fuck you doing here?"

Up close, I can see the threads of silver in his greasy hair, the deep lines etched around his eyes and mouth.

Tony smirks at me, completely unphased by the fury radiating off me in waves. "Well, well. If it isn't the scumbag biker my stepdaughter's been spreading her legs for. Small world, ain't it?"

My fists are clenched, anger simmering under my skin. "What the fuck are you still doing here?" I spit out.

Tony just chuckles, the sound like nails on a chalkboard. "What, Amanda didn't tell you? I moved here."

His eyes glint with sick amusement.

My mind reels with questions.

How would Mandy know that?

Why wouldn't she tell me?

As if reading my thoughts, Tony smirks. "I ran into her at the cafe in your building. So funny to think we're all neighbors now."

White hot rage surges through my veins.

The thought of this predator being anywhere near Mandy makes me see red.

I want to pummel that smug look right off his face.

A sick feeling settles in the pit of my stomach.

I know exactly why Mandy told Tony that was my apartment—she didn't want the bastard knowing where she really lived.

Can't say I blame her, considering the shit he put her through growing up.

It also explains why she's been crashing at my trailer on the club grounds more and more lately.

She must've known Tony was sniffing around, maybe even trying to track her down.

Fuck, I should've seen this coming.

I force myself to keep still, jaw clenched so hard my teeth ache. "Mandy wants nothing to do with you," I grit out. "So I suggest you stay the hell away from her if you know what's good for you."

"Or what?" he taunts, stepping closer. The reek of stale cigarettes and booze wafts off him. "You'll kick my ass? Please. I ain't scared of you, boy."

I curl my lip in disgust. "You should be. Because if you so much as look at her wrong, I'll do a lot worse than kick your ass." The threat comes out low and lethal.

Tony just laughs, cold and brittle. "Big talk. But I've known Amanda a lot longer than you have. There are things about her...things she's done...that would make even a tough guy like you think twice about having her be your woman."

Bullshit.

I know exactly what kind of man Tony is, the vile things he's capable of.

Nothing he says about Mandy could change how I feel.

"You don't know shit about her," I snarl. "Or me. So take my advice and crawl back into whatever hole you slithered out of. Because trust me—you don't want me as an enemy."

We stare each other down, the tension stretching taut between us.

I can practically feel his wheels turning, trying to figure out if I'm serious or just blowing smoke.

He chuckles, "Well, you're gonna have to get used to it since I've moved out here permanently and all."

He's got to be kidding. This can't fucking be permanent.

Licking my lips, I need to get down to the thick of this. "Why are you out here?"

Tony's expression completely shifts. "I needed a fresh start, boy. My old life wasn't any good, so I'm here to try to give it another go."

I don't buy what he's selling for one second.

I grab the piece of shit by his shirt and slam him up against the stone gas station wall. "I don't know what the fuck you're smilin' about," I growl in his ear.

Tony's grin widens, eyes glinting with malice. "I'm smilin' because you know why I’m here. She stole from me, and I'm not the kind of bastard who gets crossed and doesn't pay 'em back."

That's when I snap.

My fist is a blur as it connects with his jaw, snapping his head back and sending a few teeth flying.

Tony stumbles but doesn't go down, which only fuels my rage further.

Not that I needed any more reasons to hate his guts, but damn if he isn't dedicated to proving just how much lower than scum he really is.

"You lay so much as a finger on her, I'll make you wish you'd never been born," I hiss, voice low and menacing.

Tony massages his jaw, smirking through the blood and pain. "You're in for a rude awakening, pretty boy.”

“I will make myself abundantly clear. You’re not gonna lay a hand on my woman.”

Tony laughs once more, "Oh, I'm gonna lay more than my hand on her for what she did—or put something in her."

Tony's smirk only fuels the rage boiling inside me.

I lose it.

There isn’t even a moment of hesitation.

I don’t care that I’m technically in public.

This gas station doesn’t get enough traffic for me to be overly concerned about it.

"You touch her, you goddamn piece of shit, so help me—" I launch myself at him, my hands wrapping around his skinny neck before he can even blink.

Pressing down with all my strength, I watch as the color drains from his face, his eyes bulging out of their sockets like a goddamn cartoon character. "You so much as breathe in her direction, I'll put you six feet under, you hear me?"

He flails beneath me, gasping like a fish out of water.

It's fucking music to my ears—this fucker getting a taste of his own fucking medicine.

But I know I can't get carried away.

All I want to do is gut him like a fucking fish, but I can’t do that here.

Tony eventually goes unconscious and I’m so fucking glad.

I pull out my phone and punch in Jolt's number from memory.

He picks up on the second ring. "Yo, what's good Doc?" His deep baritone fills the line.

"Need you and Turmoil to bring the van down to the Chevron a couple miles away from the club. Got a situation that needs handling."

A brief pause, then, "We'll be there in ten. You good until we get there?"

I nod even though he can’t see me. "Yeah, but make it quick. Bastard might come to before you get here."

"On it. Be there in five."

The line clicks dead and I slide the phone back in my cut, glancing down at Tony's unconscious form crumpled against the station wall.

Squatting down, I check his pulse—thready but there.

Wouldn't want the fucker dying before I'm done with him.

I debate securing his wrists and ankles with the zip ties now, but figure it's better to wait.

Last thing I need is some good samaritan rolling up, seeing a grown ass man hog tied, and getting ideas about calling the cops.

Nah, he'll still be out cold when the guys get here.

Headlights cut across the gas station lot minutes later.

A black van rolls up and Jolt jumps out of the driver’s seat, while Turmoil comes out of the passenger seat.

Turmoil eyes Tony with disgust. “Who the fuck is that?”

Oh shit, they don’t know anything about her step-father. "Tony, Mandy’s step-father. He’s been harassing her these last few weeks. Ran into him here and he said some things about her that I’d rather not repeat.”

Jolt just shakes his head. "Play stupid games..."

Turmoil finishes, “Win stupid prizes.”

He pops the back doors, gesturing inside.

The three of us pick Tony up and toss him in the back.

I then hog tie him so if he wakes up he won’t create a problem for the boys.

Jolt looks over at me. “Where are we takin’ him?”

The club has a shit ton of property, so I’m sure there’s some place we can handle Tony that’s far enough away from everyone.

I don’t want anyone knowing what I’m about to do, anyone except Turmoil and Jolt.

I glance at the unconscious form of Tony. “We’re going to take him way out into the desert, where no one will be able to hear his screams.”

Turmoil’s lip curls. “Fuck yeah, I’m all for that.”

“Are you sure about this, Doc?” Jolt asks, expression serious.

He's a wild card, but also the closest thing we've got to a voice of reason out of the prospects in the club.

I don't hesitate in reassuring him. "I'm fucking positive."

With a grim nod, Jolt eases back behind the wheel while Turmoil climbs into the back with Tony.

As the van rumbles to life and they pull out of the gas station, I head for my bike and roll out behind them.

***

The desert is quiet when we finally stop driving, except for the occasional gust of wind whipping through the dry scrub and cactus.

Turmoil drags Tony out of the van, throwing him onto the sandy ground like a sack of garbage.

His groans and grunts of pain bring a sadistic smile to my face.

"Ah, look who's finally awake," I drawl, crouching down in front of him. "You picked a real bad time to piss me off, Tony."

He just stares back at me, eyes wide with fear.

Good.

I want him scared.

We sit there for a minute, me watching him squirm in the dirt, him trying and failing to comprehend the shit storm he's just found himself in.

"I'm...I'm sorry, Doc," Tony stammers out. "I didn't mean nothing by it. I'll leave, you won't ever see me again."

His words don't change anything.

He's had his chances, too many of them.

"You should've thought of that earlier, Tony," I reply coolly. "Now it's too late."

His eyes dart between me and Turmoil, desperate and pleading.

He's not getting any sympathy from us.

Jolt steps forward then, handing me a dirty scrap of cloth.

I take it without question, knowing exactly what it's for.

"Gag him," he says simply.

I nod and move toward Tony who starts to thrash around on the ground in a futile attempt to escape his fate.

"Easy now," I say mockingly.

I forcefully stuff the gag in his mouth, muffling his desperate pleas for mercy.

His eyes bulge out and tears start rolling down his face, smudging the desert dust on his cheeks.

Turmoil leans back against the van, arms crossed over his chest, watching as I kneel beside Tony.

His aqua blue eyes are icy cold—there's no sympathy there, only ruthless determination.

"Should've left Mandy alone," he states, and there's a hard edge to his voice that's not usually there.

He's angry because Mandy is my ol’ lady, and the last thing anyone wants is for our women to be in danger.

You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us—that’s how it works in this club.

My fists fly relentlessly, each hit bringing a muffled groan from Tony.

Every bruise, every drop of blood I draw is for Mandy.

Tony's face becomes unrecognizable, swollen and bloody.

But there's no remorse in me, not for this bastard.

He made his bed when he chose to come after Mandy.

My hands ache, slick with blood and sweat but I don't stop until I feel a hand on my shoulder.

It's Jolt.

"That's enough, Doc," he says, his voice somber.

I look down at Tony, gasping and wheezing through the cloth gag.

His chest is rising and falling unevenly—each breath seemingly a struggle.

I rip the gag from his bloody mouth. "Tell me how you really fuckin' got here," I demand, my voice echoing in the quiet desert night.

Tony's eyes flicker to mine and for a moment, he seems like he might refuse.

But then his head lolls back and he coughs, spewing a spray of blood onto the sand below us.

"Sally Bernard...hired me...foreman for Bernard Industrials," he gasps out between ragged breaths. "I look over the construction on the casino sites...and she got me that fuckin' condo."

The words hang in the air for a moment.

"She told me...my step-daughter was hitting it big and rich...so I came for my money," he finishes weakly.

His confession sends shockwaves through me, my mind racing to connect the dots.

But before I can even begin to understand what this all means, Turmoil's voice breaks through, “Sally did this on purpose. She knows more about the people close to the club than we realized…”

Turmoil’s words echo in my mind as I stare down at the broken man beneath me.

Sally Bernard—she will do anything and harm anyone to get what she wants.

I feel my blood boil, rage burning through every inch of me.

Turmoil steps forward, his aqua eyes hardened like steel.

He understands the implications better than anyone else in this godforsaken desert tonight.

I clench my fists so hard that my knuckles threaten to break, and I let loose, beating Tony into oblivion.

He gags and coughs louder with each punch, until finally his wheezing takes over everything.

I grab the gag and ball it up, shoving it down his fucking throat.

He won’t ever hurt Mandy ever again, and he won’t be following her either.

Finally, Tony doesn’t make one move.

It's done.

The fucker is dead.

"This it?" I ask Jolt, nodding to Tony's broken form.

His gaze meets mine before he finally nods. “Yeah, we need to wrap this up. The ladies were makin’ that dinner for us all tonight, remember?”

I glance down at my bloodied fists, then back up at Jolt. "Right. Let's finish this."

Turmoil steps back up to us, his eyes hard and unyielding as he looks down at Tony's lifeless body. "Should we..."

"Leave him." My voice is hollow, the rage slowly seeping out of me, leaving a cold emptiness. "The desert will take care of him. Scorpions. Coyotes. Wild dogs."

Jolt doesn't say anything else, just gives a nod before heading back to the van.

It's Turmoil who lingers, his eyes on Tony’s broken form. "You sure about this, Doc? Cops could find the body."

I look at him, really look at him.

Turmoil is a good guy.

He's tough, loyal, and relentless,. but even he has limits.

People think we're monsters because we wear cuts and ride bikes, but the truth is far from it.

We're just men... men who'll do anything to protect what's ours.

"Let the animals feast on his body.." I answer simply.