Commando (Rogue Rebels MC 1)

“This needs to end,” King was wiping his bloodied hands on a rag now and he stood up from his chair. Some of the guys had already started a match with Slade, they were downing whisky shots and bets were being placed. King and Girth came up to Elwood and me and Crawford joined in.

“Yeah, this needs to be handled,” Crawford said and my father was nodding his head.

“Kill any Black Skull member you find on our territory,” he said, after a moment silence. King and I exchanged looks.

“Is that an order?” Girth asked and Elwood stared at him and then nodded his head again.

“Yes, do it,” he said and then turned from us and walked away, Crawford close on his heels.

King, Girth and I stared at Slade downing shots at the counter, jostling the other guys.

“We need to put the bastard to sleep,” King said and I shook my head.

“Jewel has pumped enough pills in him. We don’t have to make him do anything,” Girth said.

We watched Slade for a few minutes longer, each of us lost in our own thoughts. Elwood had given us the order, shoot on sight. This was the beginning of a war, which meant that anything could happen.

Slade’s eyelids were beginning to droop as he held up another shot glass to his lips.

“Should he be mixing alcohol with the pills?” King asked and Girth shrugged his shoulders.

“If this doesn’t kill him, something else will,” he said and we looked at each other. He was right. War with the Black Skulls meant that any of us could die, but we had our orders and we had to carry them out.

Slade’s head bobbed once and then he crashed, face forward on the counter and a loud Whoa erupted around us.

“C’mon. Bed time for you, little man,” Girth said and grabbed Slade by the back of his collar, while King and I caught his legs. We carried him upstairs to the bunk room where we deposited him for the night.

xxx

We were on our bikes. King, Girth and I were out to scan the territory. It was the middle of the night, but my mind was buzzing. Too much had happened in one night. The Black Skulls had just beaten up one of our brothers, on our territory.

There would have to be consequences.

“I’ll go north,” Girth called out to us over the sound of our roaring engines and I nodded my head in agreement. King and I rode south. We were not going to give those weasels an opportunity to shake down or rob a business again. And we were definitely not going to give them an opportunity to beat up any of us again. This was going to end and we were going to win.

Gripping my bike tightly, King and I rode together, our eyes scanning every road and every corner that we rode past. I tried not to think of Ava and her ex, that would have to wait another day. At least she was safe for now. But it was difficult to separate the two feelings. My rage against her ex was fueled even more by what had happened to Slade; even though the two things were not connected. If the Black Skulls hadn’t messed with Slade, Blaine Salzburg would have been dead by now.

I was riding with King beside me and the sound of a gunshot alerted us.

“It came from the north!” King roared out and we both made a U-turn in unison, picking up speed. The gunshot had come from the direction that Girth had gone. Another shot was fired and we rode even faster.

In the distance, we could see Girth, standing on the pavement. He was clutching his shoulder, while his Harley lay flat on the ground. He had jumped off his bike at some point.

His free hand was pointed straight at the head of a Black Skulls member. The guy was pressed up against a run down brick wall, with his hands up while Girth stood in front of him. This was quickly becoming a common occurrence and I suppressed a smile.

King and I jumped off our bikes.

“You hurt, man?” King yelled at Girth, while I slipped my gun out of my jeans. We joined Girth, pointing our guns at the asshole against the wall.

“Just my shoulder,” Girth grunted, and there was blood streaming from where he was clutching it with his other hand. I could see that arm shaking a little, and I met his eyes and tipped my head.

“We got this,” I said and Girth lowered his gun.

I stepped towards the guy, who was snarling at us. He looked like a caged wild animal, but he was outnumbered now, so he couldn’t really pull anything.

There was a backpack lying on the ground beside him.

“What’s in that?” I growled at him and kicked the backpack with my feet. It felt heavy, like it was filled with something metallic.