Authors: Miss Merikan
Hunter stared at the big graffiti on the
side of the clubhouse. It was the logo of the Coffin Nails, done in vivid
colors and unashamedly gruesome, and yet most of the club members welcomed him
and Ray with open arms. They were treated well, even though their status was
complicated at best and they didn’t have the full trust of the club.
Considering Ray’s secret bloodlust—for good reason.
Hunter never felt as at ease back with the
Rabid Hogs. This could have been the fault of his uncle and cousin not treating
him fairly, but the fact was that both the president and the VP of the Nails
never used him for a doormat. Even the prospect, Prince, though sometimes
treated a bit like a manservant, was regarded with humor, and despite not being
a full patch, he was a part of the brotherhood.
Despite being big bad bikers who dealt with
illegal business, many of the Nails gathered today at the club to help take
down the goat shed and make room for a new extension of the main building. The
temperature had been falling each day, and it was close to freezing, yet the
Nails still had energy to do shit. They weren’t lazy bastards like the good old
Hogs. Hunter even wondered how the guys were dealing with the patch over back
at home, and actually having to do more risky business.
Here, it was almost as if the work was an
opportunity for low-key partying, not a chore. The guys were having beer and
some food prepared by the old ladies, and they chatted as they looked over the
plans. It was almost like a biker version of an Amish barn raising, and Hunter
had a sense of need to be a part of it too. Watching the goat shed still stand
sadly reminded him of the day Beast died, and subsequently of Asty, who
wouldn’t answer any of his messages and calls since the burial.
He pulled out his phone to check again if
she had texted him, but there was nothing. For a while, he considered sending
her a sexy pic, but then felt it would be stupid if she no longer wanted his
attention, so he settled on ranting about it to himself and waiting. He tried
to keep himself busy, and in the last few days, he had a few chances to sneak
away on his own and play his cello. That always calmed him down, but he’d
learned the hard way not to let his biker friends know about the hobby. He’d
found a derelict building with amazing acoustics, but soon enough, it would be
too cold to go there.
A heavy gloved hand patted him on the arm,
and he turned his head to look into Ray’s grin, which promised things that
Hunter really didn’t want to hear about. “What did you do?”
Ray gave him a smug smile, looked around,
and spat at the graffiti. “You’ll like it. Today is as good as any other to
start taking those bitches out.”
There it was. The thing Hunter didn’t want
to hear, or be a part of for that matter. In an ideal world, he’d stay neutral,
let Ray do his thing, and pretend he didn’t know anything about it. But after
living with the Nails for over a month now, they weren’t just anonymous faces
anymore. He didn’t want to see them dead, nor did he want to see Ray killing
anyone. If things got out of hand, he’d need to step up.
“What? What’s that face?” Ray hissed and
pushed Hunter at the wall, stepping closer like a territorial gorilla. “You
wanna tell me something, you pussy? I’m not gonna keep putting it off!”
“No.” Hunter pushed him back. He wasn’t a
scared little teenager anymore, and he’d take none of Ray’s shit. “It’s just a
cold fucking day for revenge.”
“Ha.” Ray hissed and shook his head at
Hunter. “For you it’s always too hot, or too cold, or too fucking mellow. I
hope you’ll man up, but for now, stay out of that smelly shed. I’m telling you
that as family,” said Ray and stormed off.
Hunter watched him with a deepening frown.
What did that motherfucker do? He probably pulled some
Home Alone
shit
and set up a trap. Ridiculous, unbelievable, and dangerous as fuck.
He took a deep breath of frosty air and put
his hands in his pockets as he walked back into the warm innards of the club.
He was torn between loyalty to his fucked-up cousin and trying to fit into his
new club. The choice should be obvious, but despite the years of animosity, he
and Ray were family. The only family he kept in touch with.
“Hunter!” Priest’s voice drummed behind
him, and for a horrible moment, Hunter believed someone had heard the whole
conversation between him and Ray, and the president was now coming to deliver
his justice. But when he turned around, Priest was approaching him with a smile
that looked sinister only because of the man’s vague resemblance to Jack
Nicholson.
“Hey, prez. What’s up? Can I be useful?” he
asked and gave a nod to Milk in passing.
Priest shrugged. “The shed won’t take
itself apart, but that’s not what I wanted to talk about. You have a minute?”
“Sure, sure, what is it?” He could only
pray that it wasn’t Priest knowing about Ray’s homicidal obsession. Or worse.
That Hunter fucked Priest’s daughter.
“I was thinking ... the two of you aren’t
from here, and you’re obliged to stay in Detroit. What are your plans for
Christmas?”
The question came as such a surprise that
Hunter just stared for a moment. “I … You celebrate Christmas?” he blurted out,
not sure if it was offensive or not as soon as he said it.
Priest frowned. “Yes. Why?”
“‘Cause Lucky told me you’re a Satanist.”
“Why would that stop me from exchanging
presents, putting shiny reindeer in my garden, and stuffing myself with turkey
and pie?” Priest chuckled and pinched his brow. “Satanism is more of a
philosophy. I believe in no God.”
Hunter frowned, but nodded, remembering
what Asty had told him about the different faces of Satanism. “So you don’t
believe that Satan is your god?”
Priest leaned against the wall. “That’s
crazy. Satan’s just a symbol for me. I make the rules for myself. That’s what
it’s all about.”
Hunter could weirdly relate to that. “And
your rules are about having Christmas. Okay, I get it.” He smiled but shrugged.
“I don’t have anything planned. I’ll just hang out here, I suppose.” Hunter was
surprised that Priest even cared to ask.
“There will be the club party for all the
families, but Lucky tells me he wants you over for dinner. Would you be up for
it?”
Hunter blinked, so surprised he couldn’t
find the words for a while. “Lucky wants to invite
me
? I mean … to
Tooth’s house?” He was too bewildered to comprehend it.
Priest crooked his head, and it felt like
his intense stare was looking right into Hunter’s mind. “Is that a problem?
Should I know of a feud between you and my VP?”
Hunter’s eyes grew wider at the cringe-worthy
memory of the homophobic spew between his old club and the Nails. “No, no! I’m
good. I’m down with the gays.”
For a moment, he believed he used a non-PC
word and would be judged for it, but Priest smiled. “Good. Lucky seems to like
you just fine, and he’s overly excited about hosting the family party this
year.”
At least if Asty chose to avoid Hunter
until then, she’d have to face him at Tooth’s. “Thanks. I really appreciate it.
I don’t have other family than Ray in town.” He held out his hand to shake
Priest’s.
“Good. Now that’s settled. Let’s get on
with the work before everyone gets too full and too drunk out there. The ladies
are trying to outdo themselves.”
Hunter smiled and nodded despite cold sweat
trailing down his back. Ray and his fuck-knows-what kind of booby-trap. He
needed to be around Priest and act if needed. Enough was enough. The longer his
uncle was dead, the gladder for it Hunter was.
“Is everyone staying at the bar later?”
There was a girl hovering around Hunter, and she was quite good looking, but
what he really hoped for was that maybe Asty would show up, too.
“Yes,” said Priest as they made their way
back toward the yard with the goat shed. “Even my daughter’s coming. She needs
some perking up again.”
“Has she been down after the goat’s death?”
Hunter followed Priest, looking around for Ray.
“Yes. She was really protective of him.
Maybe you could talk to her at the party, at least a bit? She knows everyone
else.”
Hunter swallowed, and Priest’s words
sparked a chain of explosions in his brain. Maybe Priest wasn’t as against Asty
dating as everyone said? “That would be great. I seem to always miss her in
passing. Can I buy her a drink, or is that off limits ‘til she’s twenty-one?”
Priest stopped, and his mouth spread into a
too-wide grin. “Don’t take it the wrong way. Talk to her in a friendly way, but
hands off. She needs someone different than all of us. She may not look it, but
she’s very sensitive.”
Hunter nodded. “Yeah, I’d never … Just friendly.”
Just a friendly fuck. That was all. Since Asty didn’t want an actual
relationship with him, and she clearly only chose when she’d text him, on her
own terms. Two could play that game, since what’s-her-name was following him
with her gaze even now. If Asty didn’t want his undivided attention, that girl
would get it instead.
“Good. Keep that in mind,” said Priest as
they neared the gathering around the shed, and despite the friendly tone,
Hunter knew there was a threat behind the president’s smile.
Tooth raised his arm in greeting, but there
were crumbs in his dark beard, and his mouth was full as he raised a cup of a
steaming beverage closer to his mouth.
“Are you all fattening up for winter?”
Priest asked, to the cheerful laughs of his men.
“Tooth doesn’t have to worry, he’s perfect
for me,” Lucky said with a wide smile, and the men laughed even harder.
Even Hunter couldn’t help a smile. In his
old club, there had been extensive gossip exchanged over a gay VP at the Nails.
A shock. An outrage. A disgrace. But when Hunter thought about it, being gay in
this setup was actually pretty badass. Tooth just did whatever the fuck he
wanted, like a true outlaw would. Just thinking about it made Hunter imagine
all the ways in which he wanted to fuck Asty.
Milk stood behind them and patted both
Lucky’s and Tooth’s backs. From the red spots on his cheeks and the slight slur
in his tone, Hunter judged Milk wasn’t in a condition for building works
anymore.
“Aw. Tooth, when’s the wedding?”’
Tooth grunted and pushed Milk back. “Stop
touching us. Christ.”
Hunter didn’t pay more attention to the
argument, too focused on the shed that was some kind of death trap, and he
didn’t know how to warn people about it. Those guys really did seem like a big
family, and he didn’t want to see any of them hurt. But by telling them what
was about to happen, he’d expose Ray to certain death. His eyes met Ray’s over
a cup Ray was holding while he was chatting with Don, the oldest Nail, and he
felt so fucking betrayed by being pulled into this against his will. Then
again, with knowledge, came the power of actually doing something.
“Right,” said Priest eyeing them all with a
skeptical smile. ”You have five minutes to finish, and then we work. Don, come
over here,” he said and walked past the fence of the enclosure that at this
point was lying on the ground, dismantled. Hunter’s eyes rushed toward Ray just
in time to see Don leave Ray alone on the other side of the shed. His pulse
numbed any other sounds, and everything seemed to slow down as Hunter
desperately tried to get a hint of what was about to happen and when.
“I can help as well,” Hunter offered and
followed them not looking back at Ray. He didn’t want to see the venom spilling
out of his cousin's eyes. His own flesh and blood, yet such a despicable human
being.
Priest looked back and nodded before
pushing the door and ducking inside. A sound similar to a witch’s laughter tore
through the air, and the shed’s side started going down with a roar of wood and
metal. All the voices around Hunter stilled, but as his nose picked up the
first whiff of dust overpowering the smell left by the goat, he roared and
grabbed Priest by the arm, pulling with all his strength.
Priest yelled and fell back at Hunter, and
they both tumbled to the ground, but it was hard to say if they were safe in
the cloud of dust around them. Ray must have unhinged the construction of the
shed for a heavy wooden beam to fall down on whoever was the first to come in.
What if it had been Asty, arriving to pay her last respects? Fury made Hunter’s
blood boil, but he had to focus on the topic at hand first.
“Priest? Are you fine?” he asked through
all the voices that exploded around them. Everyone had the same question on
their minds, but it all became clear when Priest’s wide, still shocked eyes
turned toward the shed. His leg was partially stuck underneath the pile of
wood, and he pulled, without much effect, as his face paled.
“Fuck. Oh, fuck,” hissed Tooth and rushed
to pull on the beam lying on top of the debris, but it only twitched even as
the VP clearly put all his strength into the upward yank.
Hunter crawled out from under Priest with a
huff and joined Tooth in the effort, ignoring the splinters getting into his
hands and the crack in his back. “Hang in there, we’ll get this thing up.” He
groaned, but even with Tooth, it was hard to lift the damn thing, and they
didn’t want to cause more damage if the beam slipped and injured Priest
further.