Page 34 of Vengeance

“A real drink?”

“Maybe.”

He stops him. “Who’s inside, Ty?”

“Billy fucking Voorhees.”

Smiling, Shep holds the door open. “After you.”

Ty knows they can both use an outlet for his pent-up aggression, especially because Shep can’t take it out on those he wants to.

The moment they step inside, Ty spots Billy at the bar with a mug of dark beer in his hand. It’s so dark it looks like tar, and he smiles at the images he has of pouring hot tar down this asshole’s throat. After that, he’d love nothing more than to drown him in concrete. Maybe make a statue out of him to remind everyone not to fuck with their women.

The bartender, Shaky, nods to him and steps away to wipe the other end of the bar. The room around Billy seems to read the tension in the air, and Ty gets a kick out of watching them shift away from the felons.

“Oh, this type of drink,” Shep says and smirks.

Billy looks up and sneers. “If it isn’t the twat’s pussy-bitch biker boyfriend. Let me guess… he’s your pussy-bitch biker boyfriend?”

“That’s not even a good insult,” Shep says and leans against the counter to the left beside Billy. “Had one too many of those... what is that? Asphalt? Does it make you unable to come up with something quippy? Then again, I don’t think you have the brainpower to come up with anything remotely witty. The hamster’s in there on the wheel, but it moves very slowly.”

“I’ve seen your wife, buddy,” Billy says. “Turns out, Tara’s not the only whore in that clubhouse.”

Ty shakes his head and stands to his right. “It’s not smart to attack that man’s wife. He’ll blow your brains out just for thinking it.”

“And then what? I hear the Slashers are gunning for you assholes. If you blow my head off, you’re both going to jail. Who’ll protect your bitches then?”

Cracking his knuckles, he stares into the man’s dark eyes. He expected them to be redder. A sure sign of the Devil Incarnate. “We’ve got a damn good lawyer.”

“I don’t give a fuck how good she is. Unless I make a move first, there ain’t shit you can do to get off on this. Besides, I hear the judges around these parts hate you more than they hate me.”

“How’d you know our lawyer was a woman?”

Billy smirks. “You’re not the only one who’s looked into the other. She’s a hot little number, too. Those tight skirts showing off her curves. Why she settled for sewer rats like you guys, I’ll never know, but I bet I could show her what a real man feels like.”

“Her husband would break you in half and watch you bleed out,” Shep says close to his ear. “And you might underestimate our likeability.”

Pushing him away, Billy sneers. “Don’t do that.”

“What? Talk softly in your ear? I thought you might like a reminder of your prison days. Does it remind you of your boyfriend still locked away, pining for you? Does it hurt your heart?” Shep mocks.

“How many butt buddies do you still correspond with?” Ty asks and chuckles. “You look like a power bottom.”

“Do you really think anything the guy Tara scraped from the bottom of the barrel says will hurt my feelings? I know she’s not exactly a looker to get the cream of the crop, but I thought she could at least do better than you.”

He doesn’t care what the man says about him, but the way he disparages Tara irks him. He can’t let Billy see he gets under his skin. “Funny... everyone I’ve talked to says they can’t figure out why Tara was with you. If I’m bottom of the barrel, you must be the muck in the streets the barrel gets dragged through. She’s out of both of our leagues.”

“Wow, she really had no other choice besides you, did she?”

“The only redeemable quality about you is your boy.”

Billy jumps up and grabs Ty by his leather. “Don’t you fucking talk about my son, you biker trash motherfucker.”

And just like that, the man gives away his weakness. “You know, I’ve met Matty. He’s a decent kid. Are you sure he’s yours? He doesn’t act like you. Doesn’t talk like you. And he sure as hell doesn’t look like you. Maybe your ex had a thing with the mailman.”

“Billy Boy does look like the type to shoot blanks,” Shep says and pours Billy’s drink onto the bar top. “What the fuck is this?”

“That kid is mine. There ain’t no question about it. And unless you want to leave in a body bag, you’ll keep his name out of your fucking mouth.”

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