Page 20 of Total Carnage
"Welcome aboard, Canon."
No sooner had our handshake sealed the deal than another biker stepped up. “Dak 'Moab' Williams,” he said. The man loomed like a mountain, his presence enough to fill any room with silent strength.
"Moab," I greeted, tipping my chin up in recognition of the loyalty that pulsed like a heartbeat within him.
"Vin." His voice rumbled, deep and unyielding. "Heard you were back in the game. Can’t wait to hear how the fuck you came back from the dead." He shook his head. “My grandmother was a gypsy who believed in a lot of weird shit. I thought she was full of shit. Not anymore.”
I nodded. I wasn’t ready to talk about my resurrection just yet because I didn’t understand it in the first place. "Need a sergeant-at-arms. Someone to keep the ranks tight and the threats out," I told him, cutting straight to the chase.
"Where you lead, I follow," Moab said, the commitment in his eyes unwavering as bedrock. "To hell if necessary."
"Let's aim for victory before we court the devil," I quipped, but there was a steel thread of seriousness beneath the jest. The devil may have been the one to spit me out of the afterlife.
"Always do," he replied, and with those two words, I knew I'd gained more than just muscle; I'd secured undying loyalty.
We parted with a clasp of hands, the kind that spoke volumes more than any contract drenched in legalese. As I strode back into the night, the pulse of the city matched the rhythm of my heart—steadfast, ready. With Canon's mind and Moab's might, we were a force forged in darkness, set to cast shadows over Lexington's underworld.
Canon handed me an address to a nearby bar. “Find a man name Shivs.”
I took the address and gave the two men the address to our new club. Brock and I left, heading to our next destination.
“Bartender had eyes for you,” Brock said. “She’d fucked you out back in a New York minute.”
The old Vin, the one before Raven, would have fucked her the rest of the night, giving time to each hole. But that wasn’t me anymore. She had my heart tucked neatly away in hers. There wasn’t any other woman and never would be.
“I know about Raven,” Brock said. “I get it. Spend all your youth fucking every piece of pussy you can get you dick in, and then the special one shows up.” He paused for a second, nodding and looking toward the sunset. “No fucking way Stansfield lets you have her.”
“That’s why I need the right men,” I said. “Though I understand it’s my problem. I can go it alone.”
Brock laughed and clapped me on the shoulder. “Nobody in the RBMC goes it alone. Problems are shared. Problems are solved together.” We climbed on our bikes and headed out.
The night was a living thing, wrapping around me like a lover as I throttled down the humid-laden backstreets leading to The Hole in the Wall, the kind of dive where trouble brewed like cheap coffee. Our bikes cut through the silence, announcing our arrival long before Shivs could catch sight of us.
"Reed," he greeted, his voice as gravelly as the lot we stood in. He sat on a railing outside the bar.
"Shivs." I killed the engine and swung off the bike, boots crunching on the scattered stones. "Heard you're the best navigator this side of hell."
"Depends on who's asking—and why." His eyes were sharp, hawk-like, as they met mine.
"Name's Vin Reed. Lookin' to patch together somethin' new. A chapter that ain't afraid to ride into the storm," I said, the weight of every word heavy with purpose.
"Riding's one thing. Survivin' is another," Shivs remarked, his stance relaxed but alert, like a coiled spring.
"Surviving's for those who got something to lose. We? We're gonna be the damn storm," I shot back, the edge of my vision bordered with determination.
"Got a name for this hurricane?" Shivs quirked an eyebrow, his demeanor steady as bedrock.
"Let's just say it's personal. And speaking of personal... heard Charles E. Stansfield keeps his prize horses close. Near the Interstate?"
"Shit, yeah. Thinks his money makes him untouchable," Shivs spat, disdain lacing his words. “And let’s not forget the presidential guard he keeps around.”
"Good. Because I plan on touching the untouchable," I said, the promise of retribution a dark symphony in my veins. “And fuck his guard.”
Shivs considered me, his gaze assessing before he nodded once, slow and deliberate. "I'm in."
"Welcome aboard, Shivs." I clapped him on the shoulder, feeling the final piece click into place. Shivs and Brock shook hands before Shivs invited us inside for a beer.
***
