“Stay the fuck still.”
Memphis felt hands going through his pockets.
“Well look what I found.” Cash pulled the detonator out of his pocket, lifting it where all the members could see it. Razer jerked him from the wall, throwing him across the room. Knox caught him, throwing him down on the couch.
“Took three fucking years of my life to figure out who betrayed my brother. You sorry piece of shit killed him for fifty grand. I would have given you the fucking money if you had asked, you mother fucker.”
Memphis knew he was a dead man so he knew lying would just make it more painful.
“I would have done it for free,” Memphis shrugged. Viper lunged at him, but Razer and Cash held him back.
“He is just trying to piss you off so you will kill him quick. Find out your answers first,” Razer reasoned.
“First answer my question, then I will answer yours. How did you finally figure it out?”
“Sam, we promised protection and no jail time if she told us who her father paid to kill my brother.”
“She didn’t know. Bedford swore he wouldn’t tell. He was scared enough of me to keep his mouth shut.”
“Sam followed her father one time to one of your meetings. She recognized you when she started hanging around the house.”
“Damn slut.”
“I answered your question, now answer ours. “
“I killed Gavin because he was a pain in my ass. I was dealing drugs on the side, he was going to tell you at the next meeting. I would have been out. I couldn’t have that going down. I had a plan and was going to stick to it no matter what happened. Him being dead distracted everyone. I moved a lot of the patents to my name, with the money I made off them and the insurance policy on everyone, I would have been a rich man.”
The insurance policy had been taken with
the eight friends when they had started their survival business. That way, if any one was killed, the business would not be affected. The insurance was made out to the surviving group members. The bomb he had planted and planned to detonate would have killed a large number of them, especially those carrying the larger chunks of stock.
“What did you do with my brother’s body?” Viper braced himself for Memphis’s answer.
“I buried him behind the Road Demon’s clubhouse.” When Viper struck out at Memphis, no one tried to stop him. Memphis was still alive when Viper pulled back with a final jab to his jaw. Memphis lay on the floor groaning curled into a ball.
“Tomorrow I will ask for a meet with the Road Demon’s to try and get Gavin’s body. If it’s not there…”
“I am telling the truth. What are you going to do with me?”
“Keep you alive long enough to bring Gavin home. After that the club will deal with you one by one.”
Memphis had hoped for a quick death, but Viper had taken away hope with his words. Each of the original members would stand in a circle with him standing in the middle, the members would then each give him a killing blow. It wouldn’t matter if he were dead after the one chosen to go first. In this 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 like he had disposed of Gavin. The only difference was Gavin would be coming home to a proper burial.
“We are going to show you the same mercy that you showed my brother,” Viper’s promise was deadly accurate.
Chapter 19
Beth came out of the restaurant, her heels clicking on the pavement. Pastor Dean had asked to meet her to talk. It had been hard sitting at the booth with him bringing back memories of the dates they had shared, interchanged with thoughts of what might have happened if she hadn’t been so attracted to Razer from the moment she saw him. Fortunately, Beth had realized that a relationship with Dean would have never worked. The sexual chemistry that she had shared with Razer was absent with Dean.
The meeting hadn’t lasted long. He was unhappy with the way she was looking. Beth had to admit she had lost quite a bit of weight since Razer had finished with her. The paleness of her face and lackluster hair gave her an appearance of being ill. Beth had assured him she was fine, but she could see the disbelief in his eyes.
“Thank you for your concern, but I am fine.” Beth laid her hand on top of his.” It’s not everyday a girl gets kidnapped and pistol whipped.” She gave a self-deprecating smile. “Perhaps I should have taken that Las Vegas trip.” Beth had returned his gift, not wanting to go alone. She had no one that she could bear to spend time with right now other than Lily and she was busy with school.
“I could arrange it for you.”
“No thank you, I have no one to cover my patients right now. Perhaps this summer when Lily is out of school. I have couple of interviews next week to hire someone to replace Evie.” Dean saw the flash of pain Beth was unable to hide. Beth without
waiting, began discussing church business, offering to volunteer to have a rummage sale for a member who had a fire and their belongings destroyed.
Dean leaned back in his seat watching her pick at her food as she talked, getting the message that the members of The Last Riders were not up for discussion.
Beth left Dean sitting with two church members who had stopped by their table to volunteer their services. With a grin, Beth escaped using the excuse of an early workday before leaving Dean in their clutches.
Outside, it was just getting dark when she heard the loud motors of the bikes. Beth didn’t hesitate in her footsteps across the parking lot, neither did she turn her head to see the passing bikers. She didn’t pay attention to the rising sound of the motors drawing closer and it was only when she almost walked into Razer’s bike that she lifted her head. Another pulled in behind her pinning her in between the two bikes. Shade and Evie each gave her a nod as Razer and Shade’s motors were cut. The sudden silence was a relief.
“Beth.”
“Razer.”
“How have you been?”
“Good.” Beth didn’t ask how he was, she didn’t care. At least that was what she kept telling herself.
“You don’t look so good.”
Beth shrugged. “Appearances can be deceiving.” Razer nodded. Beth stared at her car behind Razer’s back to keep from looking at him.
Razer cleared his throat, drawing her attention to him. Beth stared at his mirrored eyeglasses to keep from staring at him on his bike. His hair was a little longer since the last time she had seen him. Wearing leather pants and a black shirt with a leather jacket, she wanted to jump on the back of his bike and forget everything that had happened. A wry smile touched her lips at imagining Razer’s horrified reaction if she did.
“Yes they can and 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 explain how sorry I am for the way things went down. If you would listen…”
Beth stopped and turned meeting Evie’s eyes. Evie flinched from the pain this time Beth didn’t try to hide.
“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.
“No Evie, you are no friend of mine. You left me in that hospital to wake up alone, not knowing what had happened and scared. I kept thinking you would come by and bring me a few magazines or a few things I could have used. You never did. Then when I came to the club and 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 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.”
Beth finished in a soft voice. Evie looked stricken when Beth finished. Again Beth took a step, determined this time to leave.
“Beth, wait I can explain.” Razer’s hand snapped out and caught her arm, keeping her from leaving. Beth took a deep breath and let Razer have his piece also.
“Razer, explanations are not necessary for the simple reason 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 have 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.” When Razer would have spoken, 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. Because even if you swore to do all three, I would never ever believe in you again.”
This time when Beth took a step forward, Razer’s hand dropped to his side. Both bikes sat immobile as Beth carefully maneuvered her SUV around the bikes, pulling out onto the road without a look backward.
“We fucked up bad.” Evie’s head fell forward to Shade’s back.
“More like crashed and burned,” Dean 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 now
I not only don’t have her, but you don’t have her, and it’s not looking like you ever will.” Dean ruthlessly threw Beth’s words back in Razer’s face.
“She will come around, she will forgive me. The girl is incapable of holding a grudge.”
“Did you even make an attempt to get to know her?” Dean 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.” The sympathy in Dean’s voice had Razer feeling fear for the first time that he wouldn’t get Beth back once he explained. He had never doubted that once she understood why he had broken it off with her they would resume where they left off. Now by the look in Deans eye, he felt he had overestimated the ability of Beth to forgive, if not forget.
“Come with me.” Dean left the parking lot, walking towards the church across the street.
“You two go on back to the club.” Shade nodded and left with Evie at his back.
Razer rode his bike across the street, parking it before going inside the church to find Dean waiting in his office. There was a filing cabinet and he was taking a key out to unlock it when Razer walked in.
Razer watched as he took out a medium size box and handed it to Razer. “Go home and watch a couple of these. When you are done, destroy them. I could only stomach watching a couple of them, but I think you need to see what you are up against.”
“Why are you helping me? You already paid your favor back to me.”
“This isn’t about you Razer. This is about a pastor doing what is best for a member of his congregation that he put in harms way.” Razer took the words like a punch in the stomach. Dean felt as if he had hurt Beth by giving Razer a chance with her.
Razer left without a word. Strapping the heavy box onto the back of his bike, he headed to the clubhouse. Once there, with the box in his hands, he searched for a private room with a television. Finding none, he ended up in the back room and finding it empty, he hooked up the VCR recorder that Dean had given him. Opening the box, Razer found each tape neatly dated and the title of the sermon Beth’s father must have taped. Razer started at the earliest date.
Hitting play, Razer took a seat on the couch and watched as the grainy film came to life. A tall thin wiry man with wire framed glasses stood behind the pulpit giving a sermon. It was a thing to shrink a grown man’s balls. With hell and damnation as threats, he gave a blistering sermon that would have put the fear of god into a grown man, much less the tiny girl sitting on the front pew by a rigidly stern woman who nodded her head in agreement with every sentence the preacher mouthed. Razer recognized Beth immediately and a smile touched his lips to see her sitting so quiet and still throughout the longwinded sermon. Not that Razer listened, he fast forwarded through much of it and was about to stop it when a movement from Beth’s father caught his eye and he pressed play once again. He was motioning Beth to stand in front of the large congregation.
“Now we come to the part of service where I give everyone a chance to repent their sins and take their punishment to be forgiven of your sins. My daughter will begin. Beth?”
Beth stared straight ahead as she stood before the congregation. Razer’s gut clenched,
it was the same look she had given him earlier that night
“I am pleading for forgiveness from my Lord to forgive my tardiness to dinner twice this week. My mother works hard to make the meal and my father works hard to provide the meal. I should be more appreciative, showing my respect by being on time.”