Page 74 of Bishop

Reaper, Hawk, Ox, Pipe, German, and I entered the slaughterhouse like wraiths. Our party was still one shy, but the most important member of our group was expected any minute now.

We heard the tailpipes and then saw the flash of headlights in the lot out back. The echo of booted footsteps moved across the empty processing plant a minute after that. As soon as he got about halfway into the room, we stepped out of the shadows and surrounded our Brother.

Bomb paused, then looked from one face to the next. A devilish grin split his lips despite the dire circumstances. “I’m guessing this means Buckey isn’t coming to hand over the passport and credit cards I paid him good money for.”

“Who do you think dropped a dime on your sorry ass?” Reaper said.

Bomb threw back his head and laughed. “You can’t blame a man for trying, Prez.”

“Oh, I can do so much more than blame you, Bomb,” Reaper returned with quiet rage. “You betrayed your Club, your Brothers, and yourself. And for what? Cash? Fucking pathetic!”

“Nah,” Bomb casually returned. “I didn’t just do it for the cash. I did it for the pleasure of the game.”

“The game?” Reaper repeated, his mouth forming into a sneer of disgust. “What the fuck does that even mean?”

Bomb looked his Club President directly in the eye. “You know, the game. Like when I took a shit-ton of cash from your bitch’s cult to let them know when she was vulnerable and who they could pay off to snatch her back.”

Reaper’s hands bunched into tight fists at his sides. “Is that so?”

Bomb began to chuckle at the memory of his deception, showing us just how insane he truly was. He turned to Hawk next. “And Amelia, well, I had something special in mind for her. I’d planned to kidnap the bitch and sell her off to the highest bidder since everyone seemed willing to pay for that stuck-up cunt. Figured I’d give her a ride myself, too, just to see what all the hype was about. Would have gotten my chance if Hawk hadn’t shown up just as I was about to close the deal. Pity, too. I’d have loved the chance to stick it hard to three people all at once, but the opportunity slipped through my fingers before I could snag the bitch.”

Hawk’s eyes glowed like twin coals. “That was you? You tried to put your filthy fucking hands on my girl and your own Brother’s blood sister?”

I was shocked. I hadn’t even put that particular piece of the puzzle together yet. Amelia had had a stalker a few months back, but there’d been things we couldn’t explain about it when we’d discovered who the culprit was. Now I knew Bomb had been behind those unexplained incidents. Silently stalking Amelia for a payday and a chance to assault my sister. That fucking piece of trash wasn’t going to live to see another sunrise. I’d make sure of it.

“I don’t give a shit about family or blood, man,” Bomb snarled. “Only money, power, and dicking over those who stand in my way of it! That’s why I dropped the Feds an anonymous tip about Golden Boy over there. To throw everyone off my tracks.”

“If you hate us all so much, Bomb,” I demanded then, my blood so hot I could feel it near to boiling in my veins, “why join the Club at all?”

“Why else? I like to fight and I like to fuck. I guess I could have joined the Marines like so many of you assholes. But, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not one for obeying orders.”

German had stayed quiet during this whole exchange. His face was an unreadable, blank mask. The two of them had been close. Or, at least, appeared to be. I’d have given anything to read my Brother’s mind just then. To see what he was thinking about Bomb’s betrayal. To know what his next move would be.

“I told Reaper that I thought you were the mole,” German revealed then, his eyes narrowed and focused on his “friend”. “He didn’t want to believe it. But I knew.”

Bomb grinned with what could only be described as deviant pleasure. “Of course you did, German. I know I couldn’t fool you. The most loyal of all the Devil’s soldiers. I’m sure that’s why you spent so much time with me. You didn’t give a fuck about the sluts or the fights. You wanted to learn all that you could before tattling to Big Daddy about what I was up to. You might have seen through me, Brother, but I saw right through you, too.”

German shifted on the balls of his feet like he was getting ready to fight. “Tell me something before you die, Bomb. Was it worth it? The scheming, lying, and cheating? You’ll never get a chance to spend a dime of that money. Pipe’s located all your little hiding places and it’s already been absorbed back into the Club’s wallet. You did it all for nothing, man. Nothing.”

“Not for nothing,” Bomb said with a grin and a wild light shining in his eyes. “Just the look on all of your stupid faces knowing that I played you for so long is payment enough for me.”

“Whatever gets you off, man,” German returned, taking one step closer.

“Hey, German,” Bomb spoke, stopping his Brother in his tracks, “I answered your question, now you answer mine. What do you think the Devil thinks about men like us?”

German frowned at the unhinged question. Before he could respond though, Bomb shrugged. “Fuck it. You can ask him for yourself.”

Reaching into his cut, he pulled out a pistol and shot his “friend” directly in the chest.

Chapter 16

Bishop

Ox tackled Bomb to the ground, his maniacal laughter echoing off all four slaughterhouse walls. Reaper and Hawk jumped into the fray, wrestling the gun away from the crazy fucker while Pipe and I raced to German’s side.

Blood soaked my Brother’s t-shirt and face, but he was still breathing and blinking. Two excellent signs of life. Searching for the bullet’s entrance, we discovered it was not in his chest as we’d originally thought, but in his shoulder. German, thank Christ, must have moved at the last second and the bullet had hit him much higher up.

“It’s in his shoulder,” I called over mine as Pipe tore German’s shirt to get a better look at the point of entry.

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