Page 1 of Pedal to the Metal
Prologue
Savannah
“Senioritis is kickingin big time today,” Rivet whines as we walk towards our lockers. “Let’s just skip the rest of the day and hang out at the clubhouse.”
By clubhouse, she means the Savage Menaces MC clubhouse. The same MC my father, Bull, is the Prez of and my three older brothers, Shadow, Jager, and Hawk are full patched members. Why she would want to go there right now is beyond me.
“Do you want to get in trouble by all the brothers?” I question her. Every single brother would ream our asses if they caught us skipping. Such is life as an MC princess.
“I mean…,” she starts to respond but pauses to think about it. At the same time, my phone starts buzzing and distracts me. I look at it, confused.
“What’s wrong? Who is it?” she questions me.
“Kicks is texting me. He never texts me during school hours.”
Hawk is my youngest brother, and Kicks is his best friend. He might as well be my brother too. I open the text to see what he said.
From Kicks:Have you talked to Jager today?
“Why would I have talked to Jager?” I wonder out loud. Just as the words leave my mouth, a bad feeling washes over me. With shaky hands, I dial Pops’ number.
“Hey, babydoll,” he answers on the second ring. “Sketch and Rascal should be right outside the school. They’re going to follow you home. We’ll talk when you get here.”
“Okay, see you soon,” I respond and hang up. That doesn’t make me feel any better. The bad feeling still lingering, I open my locker and put my school books away.
“Well? What the fuck is going on?” Rivet asks, a touch of fear lacing her voice.
“All Pops said was that Sketch and Rascal are waiting outside to follow us back to the clubhouse. He was eerily calm.” I explain to her. I close my locker before turning to her to add, “I don’t know what happened, but it must have been bad if we need to be escorted home.” I link arms with her, and we start walking to the front of the school.
Rivet has been my best friend since we were babies. We’ve been each other’s rocks for as long as I can remember. And I know whatever comes next, I’ll have her right by my side.
We pull up to the clubhouse, and instantly something feels off. I get out of my car, my baby. It’s a 1970 matte black Chevelle SS that I helped Pops restore. It was my 16th birthday present, and she runs like a dream.
I’m standing in front of my car when Rivet comes to stand next to me. We stare at the clubhouse for a minute, hesitating to go any further. There have been so many issues with the Iron Lords MC recently, I’m not sure I want to hear what Pops has to say.
The clubhouse sits on about 200 acres, just west of the Austin city limits, and it was once a huge two-story cedar horse barn. When the original five Menaces bought the land, they had planned on building their own homes. Then they saw the barn and realized how perfect it would be to restore it and grow their club.
There’s a beautiful farmhouse about half a mile to the left of the clubhouse. It’s where my brothers and I grew up. The clubhouse has plenty of rooms for the brothers to live, and the majority of them do live here.
Sketch clears his throat, and we look to him. “Are y’all just gonna stand out here all day, or you think you’ll come inside,” he smarts off. Something definitely has him on edge.
Rivet links her arm in mine and says, “Let’s go. Whatever happens in there, we have each other. Always”
“And forever,” I respond, as we follow the guys inside.
It’s quiet— too quiet. Almost as if someone . . . I gasp suddenly causing Rivet, Sketch, and Rascal to look at me. “Who died,” I ask Sketch with tears already forming in my eyes.
“I think you need to talk to Prez,” Sketch tells me.
“God damn it, Sketch. Just tell me,” I screech out at him just as Pops walks out.
“Babydoll, come sit down,” he says calmly, motioning for me to sit with him on the couch.
“I’m good standing, thanks,” I reply a little snarkily. Rivet squeezes my arm, just to remind me she’s at my side. My heart starts to race, and the more quiet everyone is, the more I start to freak out inside.
Pops hesitates before talking like he doesn't quite know how to say the next words. “There was a shootout with Iron Lords,” he starts. “Hawk was shot. He didn’t make it.”
I collapse on the floor with a scream, tears pour down my face. Rivet is on the floor with me. She must have tried to catch me. We’re both sobbing as I feel more people wrap their arms around us. It must be Sketch and Rascal. We all grew up together— Kicks, Hollywood, and Ace too. So this loss is as big for them as it is for Jager, Shadow, and I.
