Page 2 of Raze

The girl nods her head as she gets behind the wheel, fumbling with her keys in the ignition as she tries to start the engine.

I leave her to it, placing my gun in the back of my jeans and heading back inside the diner.

The waitress who just finished serving me looks panicked when I step through the door. It’s hardly surprising, considering one of the hooded thugs has a gun pointed in her face. He screams at her to empty the cash register, while the other two work around the booths forcing people to empty their belongings into a backpack by waving their knives around.

The waitress looks as if she’s saying a prayer when the guy, who had the gun pointed at her, redirects it toward me.

“Sit down over there,” he orders, and when I shake my head and laugh at him he looks confused.

“Sorry kid, I ain’t about to do that. How about you take your buddies, you get back in your Jeep and you drive yourself away from this situation?” I give him an option that’s way kinder than the one that’s going through my head.

“You hear that, Slade? Biker boy here thinks we should leave.” He looks toward his friend and chuckles.

I don’t rise to it, just scratch the back of my neck and smile at the petrified waitress while I wait for him to make his choice.

“What do you think we should do, Carol-Ann?” He reads the waitress’s name off her badge as he reaches across the counter, grabs her by her hair, and drags her down to its surface. I’ve had enough of watching when he presses his gun to her temple, so shaking my head impatiently I start stepping toward him.

“Son, I’m pretty sure from the way your hands are tremblin’ and that top lip of yours is sweatin’ that you ain’t ever pulled a trigger before.” I pull a cigarette from my back pocket and casually light it up. “Take advice from someone who has, pullin’ the trigger is the easy part.” I shrug, resting my elbows back on the counter, “But to do it you gotta be numb inside. You gotta be empty of all emotion.” I note from the corner of my eyes that the other two have stopped what they’re doing and have lowered their knives in confusion.

“What the fuck you talking about?” The kid stares back at me, shaking his head and looking unnerved.

“I mean, you could probably find the guts to shoot her, it sure would help your street cred. Your friends here will call you a badass, you’ll probably end yourself up in jail, get yourself one of them pretty tattoos on your face to show everyone just how hard you are. But let me tell ya when the lights go out in that prison cell and it's just you and the black, it’ll be her face you’ll see when you close your eyes. It’ll be her blood that you won’t ever be able to wash off your skin and it’ll be her screams that rattles through ya skull.” I watch him swallow thickly as he takes in what I’m saying, not seeming to notice how close I’ve managed to get while he’s been distracted.

“This woman…” I take the gun outta his hand and wrap my other one around the wrist he has her pinned down with. “She’s just a lady lookin’ to make a livin’, probably got a few kids at home who need feedin’. You really wanna be the reason she don’t go home to them tonight?” I question him with a frown.

“I…” He stares at me and shakes his head as his grip on her slowly releases and I guide his hand away. She straightens herself up and takes a step back, breathing heavily and looking petrified.

“Good choice,” I tell the kid calmly, before grabbing the back of his head and slamming him face-first into the counter, his nose busts open and sprays blood all over the clean white surface and I hear the gasps of everyone behind me as he slumps to the floor. I turn my attention to his friends who are now standing on guard with their blades held out in front of them. I can see from the fear in their eyes that they didn’t come here to tear up flesh. They’re just boys, probably ones who never got much attention when they were younger and wanna be somebody.

“You really wanna do this?” I check with each one of them and when neither of them back down I sigh and go for the bigger of the two, first. Stepping sideways into his body to avoid the blade I grab the arm he’s holding it with and force it uncomfortably behind his back, making sure I hear his bones break and the knife clang to the floor before I throw him forward onto one of the tables. Turning around I feel a slash across the top of my arm when his buddy decides to be a man and put that weapon in his hand to use. I look at the blood as it seeps from the wound then back to him and I laugh when I notice how shocked he looks as he backs away from me.

“Where ya goin’?” I ask, moving with him until his shoulder hits the wall and he’s got no place to go.

“Don’t come any closer.” He waves the weapon in front of him like it’s got the potential to save him “I’ll…I’ll hurt you,” he threatens and I slowly shake my head as I step up to the knife and let the tip of it touch my chest.

“Do your worst.” I wink at the guy, before sliding my hand up over his wrist and putting pressure on the points that I know will instantly make him drop the knife from his hand and fall to his knees.

“Now, get your friends, and get the fuck outta here, before you find yourself in some real trouble.” I lean over him and whisper, taking the baclpack from the floor and slinging it onto the counter. I kick him hard in his side and he keeps his eyes on me as he drags himself across the floor and helps the guy who had the gun onto his feet. When all three of them scurry out the door and the Jeep skids off the whole diner starts cheering and clapping their hands. I drown out the noise as I head toward the door, but the waitress stands in my path.

“Thank you. You know this is the third time in as many months that this place has been held up like that,” she informs me as she starts clearing up the mess I’ve made of her counter. “Towns full of kids like them, all trying to make their mark.” She smiles after I’ve crouched down to lift one of the sugar shakers that’s on the floor and handed it to her.

“You're a Soul?” She narrows her eyes as she studies the cut I’m wearing and seems surprised.

“I am, but not like the ones you’ve known here before. The Souls are under new leadership now. Be ready for some changes.” I make sure my voice is heard by everyone as I walk out the door. The blood’s still pouring from my arm as I head toward my bike. It’s more of a scratch than a gash, but before I deal with it, it’s time to face up to why I’m here.

The kid who’s sitting at the club compound gates stands up from his stool and looks shocked to see me when I pull up in front of ‘em.

He nods his head enthusiastically and quickly starts to open them so I can pull through and park my bike alongside all the others. Untying my duffle bag from the back I throw it over my shoulder and for the first time in a long time, I’m feeling nervous. But I ain’t about to let that show.

“Raze, right? I can’t believe you're here. I’m Rocco, Davey’s boy.” The kid holds out his hand for me to shake as I pass through the arch that leads to the yard. The motel is still standing three stories high, and still painted the same yellow it was when I left, only now that yellow has worn from age and too much sun.

“Rocco.” I nod my head so he knows I’ve taken it in as I shake his hand.

“The boys are gonna be glad to see ya, it’s been a long time coming.” He smiles as I move on, passing the empty pool that's always been used as a fighting pit and noticing the blood stains on the bottom. The clubhouse here ain’t nothing fancy, just a galvanized building on the opposite side of the yard to the motel. It’s rattling like a can from the bass of the music inside. Nothing much seems to have changed around here, the place still looks like it’s about to crumble to the ground, and I take a deep breath before I step through the door.

I don’t expect to be greeted by the fuckin’ carnage in front of me. There’s a five-man brawl happening in the middle of the floor. Two whores are tearing the hair outta each other and the music is so loud I can barely hear myself think.

I head straight for the speaker and tear the cable outta the damn wall, turning the room silent and making everyone freeze in shock.

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