Page 17 of Shadow

“This is going to be your last one, son,” the bartender said, sliding me another shot of whiskey. “Closing up soon.”

Nodding, I threw back the shot and reached for my wallet.

Throwing a couple of hundreds down, I stumbled to my feet, reaching out for the bar for support. Staggering to the door, I pushed it open and stepped out into the dry, hot night.

The air was suffocating.

Blinking a few times, I took a few steps when I heard a woman scream. Looking up, I spotted a Diamondback brother attacking a woman.

“Don’t touch me!” she screamed, stumbling away from the brother.

Not thinking, I ran for the bastard.

Drunk off my ass and three sheets to the wind, I was still fucking sober enough to handle an abusive bastard. Right before I tackled him, I heard him say, “Honey, you look like minced meat. It’s not a good look. Here, let me help you up?”

“No! Don’t touch me!” the woman screamed again, as I took him to the ground and started beating the living shit out of him. Motherfucker thought he could hit a woman. Well, let’s see how this big bastard enjoyed having someone hit him back.

“Stop,” he moaned, trying to duck my punches. “It’s not what you think!”

I didn’t give a fuck. Asshole laid hands on a woman.

“I was trying to help.”

“I’m going to kill you,” I yelled, as I hit him repeatedly.

“She’s my client,” the man groaned, before taking a swing at me.

There’s a moment in every man’s life when they know they only have seconds left to live. Some accept it, while others fight till their last breath. This fucker knew and right before I had a firm grip on his head, he whispered. “She needs you. Save her. Tell Jinx I love her.”

Ignoring the bastard, I twisted, snapping his neck.

His body fell to the ground, lifeless beside me.

Leaving him to rot, I rushed over to the woman on the ground. Pushing her dark hair away from her face, I calmly said, “Hang on, Angel. Help is coming.”

The last thing I saw before she closed her eyes was the most beautiful, hauntingly light blue eyes I’d ever seen.

Stopping dead in my tracks, I turned to Kansas and muttered, “He said he was helping her.”

“What?”

“The night I killed your brother. I remember. He said she was his client. That he was trying to help her. He said to tell Jinx I love her. Fuck,Kansas. He has a woman out there somewhere?”

“What the fuck is he talking about, Prez?” Monk glared angrily.

“The brother you killed was Jinx, asshole!” Pence, the club’s Vice President seethed. “He didn’t have a woman.”

Shaking my head, I replied. “I know his name. I saw it on his cut, but what I’m saying is he spoke right before I snapped his neck.”

“Keep talking smack motherfucker and I’ll snap your neck,” Whisper stepped forward.

“Hold up,” Kansas growled, before looking around. “Everyone in church, right now.”

Shoving me back the way we came, I followed all the officers into their inner sanctum. Every church was different, yet the same. With a large rectangular table in the middle with several chairs around it, the Diamondback church was just the standard church. The club banner hanging on the wall, with pictures of current members.

Monk slapped a meaty hand on my shoulder, pushing me into a chair. Leaning forward, I grabbed my head as the memories of that night still filtered in my head.

“Okay. Now explain?” Kansas stood at the head of the table, his V.P. Pence right beside him.

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