Page 66 of Never Wed an Outlaw

Nothing shut up Early whenever I closed my eyes. I saw my destiny all over again, the night he'd decided to haunt my evil ass forever.

Why couldn't I see Hannah? Why the fuck not? If it could've been her ghost instead of his, I would've grabbed her, put my lips on hers, and told her what a fuck up I'd been not to follow her to the hospital that night. We could've stopped this shit from ever coming down.

Instead, I got my old man with his beard, his cold black eyes, his evil grin. Same dream, same memory, same reminder I'd wracked up a heavy fuckin' debt to pay. WithHannah leaving, criss-crossing the country where nobody could find her, I knew the bitch called karma had come to collect.

Every time I closed my eyes, I remembered the precise moment everything was destined to go to shit.

“Get the fuck down here,boy. You think hanging around the recruiter's office all day gives you an excuse to roll into this clubhouse an hour late?” Early puffed a thick cigar, shooting me a dirty look.

It was just him in the basement, and none of the other brothers, weird as hell. I wore my cut with the prospect patch over my new Navy shirt, something I decided I better settle into before I shipped off in a couple weeks to the Merchant Marine fleet.

“What's going on, Prez?” I asked slowly, taking the steps into the old storage cellar one at a time.Prezwas the closest I'd get to calling this fucker dad. I hadn't used that word since I was twelve, almost half a lifetime ago.

“Your time to become a man, that's what.” He grabbed my wrist as soon as we were down, stretched out my hand, and handed me a silver blade with the club's logo inscribed in the handle. “I ain't letting you ship out overseas 'til you remember what you're coming home to. And Danny, youarecoming the fuck home. You'll be holding the gavel someday, making this club bigger and better than I ever did, assuming I can get your damned balls to drop.”

I tasted sour, evil guilt on my tongue. Early didn't askme a second time, or give me anymore details, just pushed me toward the uneven opening under the clubhouse, a dark little hole I suspected he used to hide the junk he'd been selling outstate.

Tonight, the gap wasn't the pitch black, musty hellhole I'd been expecting. There was a flashlight glowing inside, and it lit the ugly, sweaty face of the man handcuffed inside.

“Ah, Jesus fuckin' Christ. You're really doin' this, Early? Sending a fuckin' kid to cut my throat?” The stranger bared his teeth when he looked up and saw me, revealing a few fresh, bloody gaps in his mouth.

“He'll do you clean, motherfucker,” Early said behind me. “Show some damned gratitude. After what you did to Flap and Donny last week, I oughta feed your own balls down your throat, one tiny piece at a time.”

That shut the man up. I took a long look at our prisoner, noticing the different patches on his cut. DEADHANDS MC, GEORGIA, they said, a rough crew we were running into more often than we liked.

“Go ahead, son. Show me you ain't a pussy. You know what this fucker did, yeah?”

“Yeah.” I meant it, too. “I know.”

The entire club was up in arms about it. Last week, Early sent Flap and old man Don down to Georgia to unload smack. Donny came back bloody and bruised, but he'd brought Flap home in a truck, both his hands missing, ending his Harley riding days forever.

“What're you waiting for?” Prez thundered behind me, annoyed with each second ticking by, while the fuck laidout in front of me continued breathing.

“This ain't right. Him down here in the dark, cuffed like this, dying like a stuck pig. He's helpless.” I watched Early's fist tighten out of the corner of my eye. He'd knocked me on my ass plenty of times, and clenched his rings into a fist a thousand more, before he laid into me or Ma over pure bullshit. “Prez, I know who he is, and what he is. I've got no sympathy. Still, I'm not into gutting this motherfucker like we found him caught in a bear trap.”

“Fuck you, Danny. Should kick myself in the ass for thinking you'd know right from wrong.” We locked eyes, as soon as I turned around.

On the ground, wedged in that little space, the Deads prisoner laughed. His jeering ratcheted up when Early took me by the throat, spun me around, and slammed my head against the wall.

“You know what, Mister Fancy Fuckin' Sailor? I think you need to learn why that point you're making is total horseshit. Tell you what, we're gonna do things your way tonight for once. Here, let me get this fuck outta his cuffs. We'll put him against the wall, give him a blindfold and a cigarette, and I'll hand you my gun to do the job.”

What the fuck had I done? The bastard in the crawlspace twisted, craning his neck to look at me while my old man kneed him in the back, held him down, and jerked his hands up behind his back. I watched the little key slip into the lock, popping his cuffs open.

When I looked into his eyes, I'd expected anger, fear, or at least a mutual fuckin' understanding that I was offeringhim a chance to die like a man. Quick and easy.

Didn't see any of that shit. I saw nothing. No spark, no gratitude, no making peace with God.

I swallowed. “Dad, watch the fuck –“

Before I realized I'd letdadslip out, the motherfucker kicked my old man in the stomach, sending his head crashing against the edge of the low brick ceiling. Early went down with a grunt, and the freed asshole had his paws on my father's belt, going for his nine.

I fucked up royal. Before he could grab the gun and start shooting, I lunged into the crawlspace, kicking the prisoner in the knees. The fuck went down easy, probably too shaky and weak from being holed up in there for God only knew how long.

I landed on top of him, and we rolled, thrashing around in a space barely bigger than a grave, my knife searching for his face.

Shit, shit.Asshole nearly knocked the blade from my wrists, snarling the entire time.

“You stupid little cocksucker!” he roared, bouncing as hard as he could to hit me in the stomach. “Should've listened to your old man. Ain't no honor among enemies, asshole. You're mine. I'm gonna slit both your throats, kill every last fuckin' one of you, soon as I –“

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