Crash and Burn Read online

  “Would you like one?” he asked Landon.

  “No,” Landon said.

  “Can you perhaps not point a firearm at me?”

  Landon heard a metal click sound and turned his head to see someone at the front of Strokner’s SUV with a small machine gun.

  “Christ,” Gaige said. “Can we all just take a deep fucking breath for a second?”

  “I’m fine,” Strokner said.

  “Landon,” Gaige said. “Come on, bro. This isn’t war here.”

  “Yes, that’s right,” Strokner said. “There is no war here.” He stepped forward as Landon drew down and stepped back to Gaige. “But there is war all around us. Wars you men fight and wars that I fight. I think that’s what makes us both so intriguing, isn’t it? Your leather and your motorcycles are your suit and tie, if you can believe it.”

  “What’s wrong?” Gaige asked. “I was under the impression that once you received your promise, our relationship would be settled.”

  “Oh, the eyes?” Strokner asked. “The eyes… they were a wonderful tribute, Gaige. Now, tell me, did you do that yourself?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s amazing. Such dedication to my beautiful daughter. I bet if she were alive you’d have ended up with her instead of her best friend.”

  Landon now sensed Gaige getting tense. If Gaige lost his cool, there would be no stopping whatever would come next. Landon felt like a bomb ready to go off as it was.

  “If we are all at war,” Landon said, “then why are we wasting time like this? Shouldn’t we both be fighting our wars?”

  “We are,” Strokner said. “And we need each other right now.”

  “How so?”

  “I’ve got eyes in a jar in my office,” Strokner said. “Eyes that could be traced back to a body…”

  “Don’t you fucking blackmail me,” Gaige said. “I’ll fucking tear everything apart in your life…”

  Strokner simply smiled. The man with the machine gun made a move toward Gaige and Landon had to spring into action. He threw himself back and slammed into the guy, knocking him down. Landon spun and smashed his gun off the man’s face before the man could shoot him. The dumb fuck still pulled the trigger though and sent bullets spraying into the air and into the windshield of the SUV. Landon turned and saw the deer in the headlights look on Strokner’s face. This idiot was going to end up getting killed. Landon grabbed Strokner and saved his life by getting him behind the SUV. When the gunfire stopped, Landon emerged to find Gaige with his gun at the man’s head.

  “I’m going to fucking kill everyone soon,” Gaige said.

  “He’s right,” Landon said to Strokner.

  They both walked along the SUV and then Landon saw the driver holding his shoulder, crying in pain. Two bullets had gone through the windshield, one hitting the driver.

  Just perfect.

  At least it wasn’t a bullet from a Back Down Devil gun.

  “Holy fuck,” Strokner yelled. He looked out the man with the machine gun. “You dumb fuck.” Strokner looked at Gaige. “Kill him. Right now. And I’ll pretend none of this happened.”

  Landon pointed his gun and took a single shot. Right between the eyes.

  Done.

  Gaige and Strokner looked at Landon. They didn’t quite understand just how great that fucking felt to do.

  “Now that that’s taken care of,” Strokner said, “can we all calm down and fucking talk?”

  “Sure,” Gaige said.

  “Yeah,” Landon said.

  “Good. Now whether you guys realize it or not, my life is pretty cutthroat. Everyone wants a piece of me and is ready to take a knife and ram it into my back. I’ve had employees steal information and try to mess with me. I’ve had deals fall through because pockets were lined without me looking. It’s honestly nonstop. I’m envious of you guys because when there’s a problem you can address it the proper way. You can use your fists, or your weapons. That’s what I need from you.”

  “Our fists and weapons?” Landon asked.

  Strokner nodded. “I’m at the helm of this land deal. I can easily get this land from your group. Nothing is ever secure. Do I want the fucking piece of land? No. But there’s others who do. There’s a guy named Charles that’s sniffing around like the fat piece of shit he is, trying to swipe the deal behind my back. If he does…”

  “We get it,” Landon said. “He gets the land. Bodies and bones are found. Fingers point back to the MC.”

  “I want to send a clear message,” Strokner said.

  “You want this guy dead,” Gaige said.

  “Dead,” Strokner said. “But not just dead though… I want it explosive.”

  “Christ,” Landon said.

  “Look, I heard about what happened to your friend,” Strokner said. “That’s a damn shame he was almost killed.”

  “Blown up,” Gaige said. “And you want us to blow someone up?”

  “Not want. Need.”

  Landon saw the look on Gaige’s face. This was serious and Strokner was going to get his fucking way.

  “We blow up some suit?” Landon asked. “What do we get in return?”

  “Protection from me,” Strokner said. “I’ll watch the land and anyone looking to get involved in it. Your fearless leader, Miller, had some shit dealings in the past and burned a lot of bridges. It’s not just guys on motorcycles that want to put your MC at the bottom of the ocean. You need me. And hell, I’ll admit, I need you.”

  “I bet you fucking creamed your pants when your daughter was killed,” Gaige said. “That finally gave you an opening to us, didn’t it?”

  Strokner smiled. “Face it… Rachel wasn’t going anywhere in her life. She would have been a trophy wife and nothing more. Maybe her life was best served as it was. Because look where it ended up.”

  “That’s your fucking daughter,” Landon said.

  “Was my daughter,” Strokner said. “Terribly sad. But back to reality…” Strokner opened the passenger door of the SUV and handed his cigar to the wounded driver. “Are you okay to drive?”

  “Fine, sir,” the driver said.

  “Good.” Strokner shut the door. He faced Landon and Gaige again. “I’ll be in touch again soon with the details. The name. The location. How I need this done.”

  “How the fuck do we know we can trust you?” Landon asked.

  “You can’t,” Strokner said. “But we have common interests. That means peace exists between us. Take care now, gentlemen.”

  Strokner opened the passenger side back door to the SUV and climb inside.

  “You forgot your friend!” Gaige yelled.

  The SUV came forward and ran the dead man over before it hung a tire squealing left turn and sped away.

  “Fucking hell,” Gaige said.

  Landon pulled out his gun again and emptied the rest of the clip into the body.

  “Did that feel good?” Gaige asked.

  “No,” Landon said.

  It didn’t feel good at all.

  What felt good was Avery. Her mouth around him. Her body against him in his bed.

  Fuck.

  eleven.

  Avery hated spending someone else’s money. She had the motorcycle money in her bag. That was going to be her escape money, but right now escaping was not an option. Not with the black car waiting outside for her. Not with that massive looking guy standing at the door with his arms crossed, looking ready to beat the hell out of anyone that looked at him the wrong way.

  There was more than enough money for what Avery really needed. She grabbed shirts, pants, socks, and panties. When she looked at panties, she thought of Landon. For a brief moment she caught herself actually picking out certain ones she thought Landon would like.

  Shit.

  Avery reminded herself that she wasn’t there for another biker and she definitely wasn’t there to fall for anyone. Landon had brought her to his MC because he thought she was involved with that bombing in the lot. It was obvious she had not
hing to do with it, so there was no more reason for her to be there, unless Landon had other plans with her…

  Avery paid for the clothing and spotted a side hallway leading to an exit out back. She could just slip away right now. There was no need to bring any trouble to Landon or his MC. If Bry was going to chase her down, he’d do so no matter what. Bry didn’t understand the rules of a true MC and she was certain he didn’t understand that power of a real MC. Images of Landon stabbing that guy flashed in her mind. It wasn’t fighting. It was violence. It was revenge. It was all about sending a clear message.

  As Avery walked the side hall to the backdoor she felt guilty. She couldn’t stop thinking about the way Landon reacted when she told him about her past. Thinking of Bry made her sick to her stomach. He used to hit her, hold her down, and force himself upon her and inside her. The worst part was that Bry was big, but it wasn’t muscle. Avery could have fought back sooner, maybe from day one even. It was guilt that made her wonder if she stayed because she wanted him to rape her and hurt her. Pain made it easy to have an excuse.

  By the time Avery got to the backdoor, she was on the verge of crying. She really needed to go. Landon didn’t need this kind of mess in his life. Fuck, Avery had wept while pleasuring Landon. She had swung at him, multiple times, when he touched her in the dark. That proved just how fresh those memories of Bry were and it proved that it would take a shit ton of time to sort through it all.

  Outside, Avery moved to the left. She gently broke out into a jog, right to the end of an alley, and then surveyed the surrounding area. The beach to her left, the town to her right. She needed to go straight. Straight was south. Avery could get out of town, rest a day, then maybe pick up a beat up car, and then… what?

  It killed her to think about what would come next.

  Avery crossed the street and made her way toward another alley. She could sneak her way through town, like she had been doing before that pizza fiasco that sent Landon crashing into her life.

  When Avery turned to go down the alley, she almost screamed. Halfway down the alley was one of Bry’s guys. Sitting on a motorcycle, no helmet, a skull bandana pulled down from his mouth while he held out what must have been a picture of Avery. He was talking to someone, but the second he saw Avery, he pushed the man out of his way and started to ride. The motorcycle roared like thunder in the narrow alley. Avery told herself to run. Run like hell. Find a store to go into and hide.

  But she couldn’t.

  This was it. This was happening. Bry was looking. Bry was going to find her. Bry was going to get her again. Her mind was too frightened to imagine the punishment there would be for leaving. He’d lock her up. He’d put her in the basement of the shitty bar and leave her there. She’d be fed once a day. She’d be brought up from the basement only to be thrown to Bry’s bed for his enjoyment and nothing else.

  This was her fate.

  Avery finally found the ability to move. She took one step back, then another, and slowly, she regained her senses, but her steps were no match to the speed of the motorcycle coming at her.

  Then Avery hit a brick wall. Or so it felt like one. She jumped and turned to find the man from the black car standing there.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” he bellowed.

  “Help,” Avery whispered as a tear fell from her eye.

  The man looked and began to assess the scene. He grabbed Avery by the arm and swung her from the alley against the building next to the alley. He stepped out of the way and stood.

  “What are you doing?” Avery asked.

  The man ignored her. The rumble of the motorcycle kept coming, growing louder. Avery wasn’t sure if Bry would send his guys with guns or if the guys were crazy enough to use guns.

  The sound grew even more fierce and Avery saw the motorcycle come from the alley. Before she could even think about screaming or running, the man protecting her stepped forward and put his long, massive arm out and clotheslined the guy right off the motorcycle. Avery gasped as the motorcycle continued a few feet before the front wheel swayed and the motorcycle crashed to the ground.

  “Holy shit,” Avery whispered.

  The guy protecting her had his hand around the other guy’s throat and lifted him off the ground with ease.

  “Who are you?”

  Avery knew Bry’s guy wouldn’t say a word about who he was.

  “I’m here for her,” he whispered. “This has nothing to do with you.”

  “Get out of this town or I will kill you.”

  It was a solid threat and he made sure it was known by throwing Bry’s man against the wall. The thud was sickening.

  “Don’t even fucking walk away from me again,” the man bellowed to Avery. “That’s going to cost Landon a ton of cash.”

  He put a hand to Avery’s back and led the way down the street. Avery felt imprisoned again. She looked back and saw Bry’s man struggling to his feet.

  “You should have killed him,” Avery said. “That’s going to be a big problem now…”

  “I don’t care,” the man said. “I was paid to take you around town and protect you. I wasn’t sent on a fucking kill mission.”

  Avery realized then that there was no escape from everything happening around her. That meant no escaping this big chunk of muscle protecting her. That meant no escaping Landon. And it meant no escaping Bry.

  Someone was going to end up dead in all this. It wasn’t a matter of if someone was going to die, it was a matter of who and when.

  Avery got into the black car and stared out the window.

  She felt protected, but she felt alone again.

  twelve.

  Landon wasn’t in the mood to deal with anymore bullshit for the day. He wanted to drink the afternoon away and gear up for the fights. He’d feel better pounding on some asshole’s face for a little while, winning the cash to pay for Jonesy, and helping the MC track down the people who tried to kill Shay and ended up hurting Erik.

  It still left Avery. Landon needed to deal with her on his own. But not today. Nothing would make sense to her. Why he gave her more money to get clothes and why he paid for someone to protect her to get those clothes.

  Landon was halfway done with a beer when Blaine emerged from the back of the clubhouse. He saw Landon and clapped his hands together.

  “Don’t fuck with me,” Landon warned.

  Blaine slithered onto a barstool and ordered a shot. He downed it and smiled. “It’s time, bro. Right now.”

  “Time for what?”

  “Our deal. Right now. She’s in my room.”

  “She…?” Then it came back to Landon. “The deal.”

  “That’s right. She wants us man. Come on.”

  Landon stared at Blaine. He shook his head. “Blaine…”

  “Bro. I told you how it works. You take her pussy. It’s tight and sweet, just what you need before the fights tonight.”

  “And you’re going to the other hole,” Landon said. “With our… stuff so close…”

  “Who gives a fuck? We do this for her and she’ll do anything for me and to me. I need this. I’ve been eyeing this for a while.”

  “There is so much happening right now,” Landon said.

  “And we both need this. They’re called relievers for a fucking reason, man.”

  Landon looked back to the clubhouse door. He thought of Avery. His heart tore a little as he stood from the barstool. Landon had never been loyal to anything besides the MC. Why start now? Avery was just some chick passing through town. She had a rough gig up north and Landon thought she had something to do with the bombing. Which meant nothing else mattered. If anything, Landon should have arranged for her to be taken away and hidden somewhere until she could figure out how to survive on her own.

  “Let’s go,” Landon said. “Right now. One chance at this.”

  “Fucking right, brother,” Blaine said.

  “I need a fucking shot first.”

  “Order up…”

  Land
on took the shot and followed Blaine. He couldn't believe he was actually going to do this. But he needed it. Fuck, did he need it. Plus, Blaine did have a point - being able to release before a fight would definitely help.

  And it couldn’t be Avery. If Landon fucked Avery, there was a chance feelings would mess everything up even more.

  Blaine opened his bedroom door and there stood the woman with the massive chest. Her breasts were so obviously fake, but Blaine didn’t give a shit. It didn’t do much for Landon. Blaine eased his way to the naked woman and cupped her breasts. His thumbs grazed her nipples and he put his head back and groaned.

  “I’ve been fucking waiting to touch these…”

  “Let’s do this,” Landon said.

  “Come here then,” the woman said.

  When Landon got within striking distance, the woman grabbed between his legs. She squeezed him and smiled. Landon was hard. He was a man and there was a naked woman in front of him. Huge tits, smooth body, everything shaved.

  That’s all it took.

  “Where are the condoms?” Landon asked.

  “Top drawer,” Blaine said.

  Landon opened the drawer and took out two condoms. He kept one for himself and tossed one to Blaine. Blaine already had his pants open and was ready to drop them.

  “Wait a second,” the woman said. “You can’t attack me.”

  “Why the fuck not?” Landon asked. “You want this, right?”

  “You first,” the woman said and pointed to Landon. “Okay? Once you’re in… then…”

  “That’s fine,” Blaine said. “That’s fine.”

  Landon unhooked his belt buckle and opened his pants. He couldn’t believe he was doing this in front of Blaine. He dropped his jeans and boxers to his knees, his cock popping free.

  “Damn,” Blaine said. “Nice cock, brother.”

  “Fuck, man,” Landon said. “Stare at the naked woman.”

  “Sorry,” Blaine said. “It’s just… wow…”

  “Wow,” the woman said as she reached for Landon. She stroked him. Landon thought about Avery. Avery’s hand was smaller which meant it took her longer to stroke him. She had to work more for it and that was sexier.