Authors: London Casey

Crash and Burn (8 page)

BOOK: Crash and Burn

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ten.

Landon started his morning with eggs and beer. He left Avery
to herself in the room and brought her some food. He then gave her money and
made a phone call to a car service company in Frelen take Avery to get some
clothes. The car service looked normal, but the driver was equipped with enough
weaponry to take out half a crew if need be. This was a protection run, not a
luxury service.

Avery tried to refuse the help, but Landon ignored her. He
needed Avery out of the MC and away from him. Being near her did something to
him. Looking at made him think of everything she
’
d
told him. What a fucking mess she had gotten into. Landon knew that this Bry
guy would come looking for her. Even if he was some punk asshole with a
motorcycle and a bar, he would want to prove a point. It enticed Landon though.

With Avery gone, Landon sought out the rest of the guys to
figure out the plan for the day. Miller was at the bar with his hands folded,
Gaige on his left, Nate on his right. Blaine emerged from the hallway,
adjusting himself with his hand in his pants.

“
You
have to do that here?
”
Landon asked.

Blaine took his hand from his pants and offered it to
Landon.
“
Smell this, bro.
Does it smell
…”

“
Fuck
off,
”
Landon said.

“
Come
on.
”
Blaine smelled his
hand.
“
I can
’
t figure out what this smells
like. It
’
s got
…”

“
I don
’
t want to hear it,
”
Landon said.
“
Seriously.
”

Blaine wiped his hand on his jeans.
“
Whatever. Man, last night was wicked. That chick is
fucking crazy. She
’
s
excited for us.
”

“
Good
for you,
”
Landon said.

Blaine put his arm around Landon and said,
“
I swear man, she swallowed my
entire cock and was ready to take my balls too. Insane.
”

“
Hey,
you two, come here,
”
Miller
yelled.

Landon shook Blaine away and went to Miller, Gaige, and
Nate.

“
What
’
s happening?
”
Blaine asked.

“
First
thing,
”
Miller said,
“
go wash your fucking hands. Don
’
t spread last night
’
s mess around the clubhouse.
”

Blaine went behind the bar to one of the sinks.

“
You
ready for tonight?
”
Miller
asked Landon.

“
Ready
to fucking destroy someone,
”
Landon said.

“
Three
people,
”
Gaige reminded
him.

“
Ready
to fucking destroy three people,
”
Landon clarified.

“
Good,
”
Miller said.
“
Listen, we
’
ve got a situation right now.
Gaige, tell him.
”

“
Remember
Strokner?
”
Gaige asked.

“
I do,
”
Blaine said.
“
His daughter was beautiful.
Never got to fuck her.
”

“
She
took bullets for you,
”
Gaige said.
“
Show respect.
”

“
Hey, I
did. I said she was beautiful.
”
Blaine wiped his hands dry and leaned over the bar.

“
I made
a deal with Strokner,
”
Gaige said.
“
Told him I
would let him look into the eyes of the guy that killed his daughter.
”

“
What
does that mean?
”
Landon
asked.

Nate put his hands to his eyes and made a
POP
sound.
“
Took out his eyes.
”

“
Damn,
”
Landon said.
“
That
’
s sick, brother.
”

“
Yeah,
”
Gaige said.
“
I sent him the eyes to prove we
were on his side and to calm him from his plan to buy all that land to fuck us
over. He called me and said he needs help with something.
”

“
Calling
in a favor,
”
Miller said.

“
This
guy
’
s so fucking rich,
”
Blaine said,
“
he should give us the money for
Jonesy.
”

“
That
’
s what I was thinking,
”
Miller said.

“
No,
”
Landon said.
“
No favors and debts and
bullshit. It
’
ll never end.
”

“
Which
is what Gaige said,
”
Miller
added.

“
Hey, I
thought by sending this guy those eyeballs it would scare him a little. Make
him realize we mean business.
”

“
Now he
wants to enjoy our business, huh?
”
Landon asked.

“
That
’
s why we
’
re meeting him,
”
Miller said.
“
I want you
and Gaige to meet him. I need to go meet with Jonsey and I
’
m taking Nate and Blaine with
me. Griffin, Shay, and Jace are at the hospital to check on Erik. I want
everyone to be in pairs or groups, got it? Just in case these Eight Under
assholes pull anymore shit.
”

“
Okay,
”
Landon said.
“
Let
’
s get moving then.
”

Gaige nodded and the group broke up. They all walked outside
and got on their motorcycles. The sun was high, the sky was clear and blue, and
it was a perfect day for hitting the open road and settling scores. It was the
greatest life Landon could ever imagine living
…
yet in the back of his mind he thought about Avery. He regretted not fucking
her last night.

The roar of Landon
’
s
engine shut his mind up, which was nice.

The crew moved out of the lot, following Miller. When it
came to split up, they all waved and were set off on their own missions.

Landon caught up alongside Gaige and the two rode through
Frelen. Judging by the quiet roads Gaige was heading toward, Landon knew they
were meeting Strokner in a secret location. It made sense since there was no
purpose in meeting such a wealthy businessman at one of his buildings. Back
Down Devil and suits and ties really didn
’
t
mix well.

Sure enough, about twenty minutes away there was a long,
black SUV on the side of the road. The windows were tinted black and for a
moment, Landon scanned their surroundings wondering if it was some kind of
setup. He
’
d been around
long enough to know there were no such things as friends in this life, just
enemies.

They stopped in front of the SUV and when Gaige reached for
his gun, Landon followed suit. The driver of the SUV put up his hands and said
something. The driver side back door opened and someone got out and rushed
around to the other side. He opened the passenger side back door and Landon
watched a pair of shiny black shoes hit the dirt. A man stepped into the open,
adjusting his suit jacket.

“
It
’
s good,
”
Gaige said to Landon.

They lowered their weapons as Strokner walked toward them.

“
Aren
’
t we on edge?
”
Strokner asked with a grin.

“
It
’
s the life,
”
Gaige said.

Strokner opened his suit jacket and Landon lifted his gun
again. He took a step and ignored Gaige
’
s
plea to stop. Strokner seemed to not fear the gun, which pissed Landon off. It
didn
’
t matter how rich a
man was, a bullet could still rip through any man
’
s
head and take his life. Strokner took a cigar from his suit jacket and lit it.

“
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.
”