CRASH: An Evil Dead MC Story (The Outlaw Series) (11 page)

He
followed her on, slamming the gate and hitting the lever. They ascended toward
the second floor. He studied her as they rode up. Then suddenly he threw the
lever, stopping them between floors. They were going to have this conversation,
and she wasn’t going to run away from it. Trapped in the freight elevator, she
had nowhere to run.

Her
wide eyes flew to him. “What are you doing?”

“What
the hell was that back there, Shannon? You had a full-blown panic attack, and
don’t tell me, nothing.”

Her
arms came up, her hands rubbing her upper arms. “I’m fine.”

“What
happened?”

“Nothing,”
she snapped.

“Did
you think that was him?” he pressed.

She
frowned. “What? No. Crash, just drop it!”

Oh,
he had no intention of dropping it. “Then what freaked you, babe? You were
shaking like a leaf.”

“I
just don’t like parking garages, I guess. I don’t really know what made me
react like that. Now, can you just drop it, goddamn it?”

He
stared at her. It was more than the parking garage. Yes, he’d picked up that she
didn’t like parking garages, but she was dealing with it when they’d walked
out. She was ok—until she’d seen that van. He was also picking up that every
time she was afraid or cornered, the bitch in her came out. It was her defense
mechanism, the wall she threw up to protect herself. Those walls had to go. He
was going to have to work on tearing them down. “Shannon--”

She
looked up at the elevator shaft. “Can we get out of here? Please? I’m not too
fond of freight elevators either.”

He
nodded, but stepped toward her. She took a step back. He moved closer and took her
chin in his hand, tilting her face up to his. “All right, Princess. You don’t
want to talk about it, I’ll give you that. But I’m here to protect you, and to
do that, I need to know what the hell I’m dealing with. Understand?”

She
nodded, her eyes big.

“Shannon,
I’ll keep you safe. I promise. No one is going to hurt you. You need to believe
that.”

Those
big blue eyes looked up at him. Looking at him like she wanted to believe him,
but she didn’t know if she could trust him.

“See
you don’t trust me. But you will, Shannon. You will. I’ll see to it.” He let
her go and moved to throw the lever again.

When
the elevator stopped, and he threw the gate open, she hustled across the loft
and into the bathroom, shutting the door. Crash paused at the island, his palms
spread on the cold granite, and he dropped his head. Shit, what had he gotten
himself into with her?

His
cell went off. Pulling it out, he flipped it open and put it to his ear.
“Yeah?”

“That
little shit’s goin’ after his girls.” Cole’s voice came across the line. “One
of the girls that quit and went to work for Sonny was beaten last night.”

“Motherfucker,”
Crash breathed into the phone.

“Mack’s
calling us in. When can you be here?”

“Ah,”
he glanced toward the bathroom. “I can be there in about twenty.”

“See
ya then, brother.”

“Yeah.”
Crash disconnected. Walking over to the bathroom, he leaned his palms on the
frame and bent his head to the door. “Shannon, something’s come up. I need to
go out.”

“Fine,”
came the sniffled response from the other side of the door. Shit, was she
crying?

“You
okay, babe?”

“Yes.”

“Can
you come out here, please?”

“Just
a minute.”

He
heard water running in the sink. He waited. A moment later, the door opened,
and he stepped back. If she’d been crying, she’d fixed her face because there
were no traces. She looked up at him. “I…ah…have to go out. Club business. You
gonna be okay here alone?”

“Yes.
I’ll be fine.”

“You
sure?”

“Yes,
Crash. I’m fine now. Go on and go.”

He
nodded. “All right.” He wasn’t sure why he did it, but he found his hand raising,
and the back of his knuckles brushed her cheek. “Come on. I’ll send the
elevator back up. You need to lock it in place.”

She
nodded, and he stepped away.

She
followed him to the elevator. He paused before he stepped on. “You call me if
there are any problems, yeah?”

“I
will.”

His
hand hooked the base of her neck, and pulling her close, he pressed a kiss to
the top of her head. When he pulled back, he instructed, “You need me, you
call. I mean it.”

She
nodded, looking a little flustered by the kiss.

He
stepped into the elevator and slammed the gate. Leaning back against the bar,
he threw the lever and began descending. His eyes remained on her until she was
out of sight.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Crash
pulled up at the clubhouse. It was an old brick two-story manufacturing plant
at the end of a dead-end street back in an industrial park. It was surrounded
by a parking lot and a chain-link fence and backed up to a set of railroad
tracks.

Throwing
his kickstand down, Crash threw his leg over, dismounting. There were about a
dozen bikes in the lot. Cole and Red Dog were outside smoking when he
approached the door. There was a big sign over the door with the Evil Dead
emblem, the Angel of Death.

His
eyes connected with Cole’s. “Everyone here?”

Cole
tossed his cigarette. “Just waiting on you.”

The
three of them headed inside. They walked through the open area which contained
a couple of pool tables off to the left and a bar off to the right. The floors
were concrete and the ceilings high with multi-paned grimy windows up high in
the brick walls. Exposed iron beams ran across the ceiling. A metal staircase
off to the left led to a second floor where the old factory offices had been.
Under the second level was a conference room they used for club meetings. It
still held the original conference table and chairs. Back beyond that were some
restrooms and a hall that led back to the large manufacturing floor.

Crash
followed Cole and Red Dog into the conference room, stopping to toss their cell
phones into a plastic tub held by one of their prospects. Mack was at the head
of the table, smoking a cigar. The rest of his brothers were gathered around.
Cole shut the door and moved to take his seat to Mack’s left. Crash and Red Dog
pulled out chairs and sat.

An
hour later, they’d come up with a strategy for dealing with Artie Gorman and on
how to give Sonny a hand with keeping his new girls safe. He’d taken on five of
Artie’s former employees, including one bartender. They’d decided to take
shifts escorting the girls to and from work, since the attack had taken place
in the parking lot outside the girl’s apartment.

Wolf
was the lucky one in charge of that detail, along with two prospects.

The
beaten girl had been unable to identify her attacker. She’d said she’d never
seen him before and couldn’t connect him to the Queen of Hearts, but Mack and
Cole were sure Artie was behind it. They’d decided another visit was in order.
Artie had made his first payment, after a little
persuasion
, but that didn’t mean he liked it or didn’t hold a grudge.

They’d
made a plan for a visit tonight, after the place was closed. Which meant he’d
be leaving Shannon alone again. This time at night. He thought about sending a
prospect to watch over her, but he wasn’t sure she’d be comfortable with a
strange guy staying with her.

The
meeting concluded, and the guys all walked over to the bar for a drink. Cole
moved next to him. Crystal, who was manning the bar slid them each a bottle of
beer. Crash twisted the cap off and threw it at her with a grin. She caught it
in mid-air and tossed it into the trash. Crash cracked a smile as he tipped the
bottle up, taking a long pull.

Red
Dog sat down next to Crash and smiled. Crash looked over at him and did a
double take. He hadn’t noticed till just then, two of Dogs teeth were missing.
Crash teased him,
“At first, I thought you’d lost weight, but then I realized, no, it was
just teeth.”

“Ha. Ha. You look
like shit,” Dog replied.

“That’s very funny, coming from a jack-o-lantern,” Crash fired back.

Red Dog waited a moment, and when Crash didn’t make any further
comments, he asked, “You ain’t even curious?”

“Curiosity is a vice. It’s one of the few I don’t have,” Crash replied.

“Go on,” Cole encouraged. “Ask him what the hell happened.”

“All right, I’ll bite. What happened?”

Just then a new girl walked up, her hands running up and down Dog’s
back. Obviously, they had something going on. Red Dog looked over his shoulder.
“Beat it, darlin’.”

She pouted and walked off.

Red Dog watched her ass as she sauntered away. Then he turned back to
the guys with a grin and said, “She’s like a high-performance vacuum.”

“Good on hardwoods
and
carpet?”
Cole asked with a grin.

“You know it.”

The guys chuckled.

Crash took a hit off his beer. “You’re keepin’ quiet about Shannon,
right? Don’t need Mack finding out.”

“Silence will cost you, brother,” Dog teased.

“Come on, Dog, you scratch my back, and I won’t tell Mary who’s
scratchin’ yours,” he teased back, glancing back at the girl.

Dog just grinned, “Don’t matter. She already knows. Who do you think
knocked my teeth out?”

Crash chuckled.

“She cut him off, too,” Cole added with a laugh.

“Oh, yeah?” Crash grinned, looking at Dog. He leaned toward Cole and
mused, “I wonder what his brain is gonna do with all that extra blood.”

Cole almost spit out his beer.

“That woman’s driving me crazy.”

Crash grinned, “Yeah, which one?”

Dog gave him a smirk. “Mary, dickhead. She’s always wanting to talk
about feelings for Christ’s sake. Always wanting to know what I’m thinking.” He
took a hit off his beer. “Like I’m thinking all the time.”

Cole and Crash burst out laughing.

“Women,” Red Dog grumbled.

“What, you ready to give ‘em up?” Crash goaded.

“No, it’s just all the crap you have to go through to get to the good
stuff.”

Cole lit a cigarette. “Shut up, Dog. You’re lucky Mary puts up with your
shit.”

“That woman can emasculate a man quicker than Green can jerk off.”

Crystal brought Dog a beer and purred, “I could make you feel like a
man, Red Dog.”

Red Dog grinned, “That right, baby-cakes?”

“Yeah, take out the trash.” She jerked her thumb toward the garbage can.

The guys hooted with laughter.

“Bitch, Bitch, Bitch. That’s all you ever are,” he teased back.

Green walked up, standing between Crash and Red Dog, lighting a
cigarette. He looked over and noticed Red Dog’s missing teeth. Letting out a
chuckle he said, “Trick or treat.”

“That’s supposed to be a joke?” Red Dog growled.

Green paused, the lighter half way to his smoke. “Yeah, okay.”

“He want a beer?” Crystal asked Crash, nodding toward Green.

“He’s breathin’ ain’t he?” Cole replied for him.

Crystal grinned and got him a beer.

 
“What are we talking about,
boys?” Green asked, flicking his lighter closed and drawing on his smoke.

“Red Dog was just telling us the joys of being married,” Crash replied.

“Huh. Joys, eh? No woman’s catching me in that trap,” Green snorted.

“Come on, Green,” Red Dog encouraged. “Don’t you want to get married?
Have a sweet, willin’ woman waiting on you when you get home with a backrub and
a hot dinner?”

“Well, at least there’d be something in it for me.”

“Well, that one’s mostly theoretical,” Dog admitted.

Crash and Cole just shook their heads, trying not to laugh.

Mack walked up and sat on Cole’s other side. “VP.”

“Pres.”

Crystal brought him over a beer.

“How’s the remodel coming?” Crash asked. Mack had been remodeling his
house with the help of Natalie, Angel’s aunt, whom he’d been in a relationship with
for a couple of years now.

“Fuck, don’t bring that up. That woman’s turned the honey-do list into
an art form. She’s got so many projects lined up for me, I’m ready to break.”

“Speak of the devil.” Crash nodded toward the door. “Here she comes with
her list.”

Mack’s head swiveled to look. Natalie was walking in, a piece of paper
clutched in her hand. “Another goddamned list. God bless it.” His head dropped.

“If you lie real still, she may just sniff you and leave you alone,” Dog
whispered.

Green chuckled.

She walked up, smiling brightly. Crash’s eyes roved over her. She may be
Angel’s aunt, but she was no gray haired grandmother. She was only in her late
forties and had always reminded Crash of a young Ann Margret. His eyes slid
over her slim shapely figure. She was wearing slim-cut black pants and a silver
tank top with matching high-heeled sandals. Her glossy red hair fell to just
below her shoulders and her fiery green eyes matched Angel’s.

“Hi, honey. Boys.”

They all nodded back.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Mack murmured, hooking an arm around her waist and
pulling her in for a kiss. “What have you got there, baby?” He pulled the paper
from her hand.

“I need a guy’s opinion on something.”

Grinning, he replied sarcastically, “Okay. I’ll be the guy.”

“Do you think we should wallpaper the bathroom? Because I think it would
go really well with the new sink and flooring.”

“Wallpaper?” Mack asked dumbfounded.

Cole stifled a laugh.

“Baby, you already had me replace the flooring and paint. Now you want
me to put up wallpaper?”

“Mack, don’t you think it would look better?”

He rolled his eyes. “We’re just pretending I have a choice here, right?”

She smiled. “Right.”

“Look, Natalie—you made a brand new vein stand out on Mack’s head,” Cole
kidded.

She gave Cole a look that could kill and turned back to Mack. “Let’s sit
and talk.”

“She’s offering you candy, brother. Don’t get in the car.” This from Red
Dog.

The guys snorted, trying unsuccessfully to stifle their laughter.

Ignoring them, she slid her arms around Mack’s neck. “Remember that
thing we did this morning, baby?”

Cole almost choked on his beer. “TMI, Natalie.”

She ignored Cole and traced the contours of Mack’s ear with the tip of
her finger. “You want to do it again, baby?”

Mack stared at her like he was completely under her spell. “Is this some
kind of trick question?”

The guys all snickered.

Cole came to her rescue. “You treat him too good, Natalie.”

“I was just trying to be nice.”

“This morning you were
real
nice, baby.” Mack grinned at her.

“Yeah, well he’s not used to being treated that way.”

“Shut up, Cole,” Mack snapped. “You want wallpaper, baby, you got it.”

She gave him a megawatt smile and kissed him.

“When you come up for air, brother, there’s a fresh beer for ya,” Cole
teased, setting a beer down in front of Mack.

Natalie pulled back. “I have to run. I have to pick up some wallpaper
samples.”

“Okay, sweetheart. Do I get another kiss?”

“Later…if you’re good.”

“Ooh,” could be heard from all the guys.

Mack ignored her response, pulled her to him, bent her backwards and
kissed her goodbye. After she’d sauntered out. He turned back to the guys. “I’m
gonna lock myself in that goddamn bathroom, take a hot bath and slit my
wrists.”

Cole burst out laughing.

“Don’t get any blood on that new flooring,” Crash advised, with a laugh.

“I should have stayed in bed this morning.”

“Suck it up, cupcake,” Cole jabbed with a smile.

“This is the kind of shit day that ends with some newscaster ending his
story by saying… ‘before turning the gun on himself’.”

“Sounded to me like it started out
real
nice,” Cole chuckled.

“Yeah? Well, it’s all been downhill since then.”

“She’s got you wrapped, brother,” Cole teased him.

“No she doesn’t,” Mack protested.

“The hell she doesn’t. Ask anybody in the room.”

More laughter was heard around the bar. Mack grabbed his beer and walked
off, grumbling, “Assholes.”

Crash took a hit off his beer.

Cole
did the same, and then looked over at him. “How’re things going with Shannon?”

Crash
looked over at him. “Fine.”

Cole
studied him. “What’s the matter, brother?”

A
grin pulled at Crash’s mouth. His brother could read him like a book. Not
surprising since they’d known each other since they were kids. “Just hate
leaving her alone, you know?”

“You
want me to take you off this tonight? We don’t need you, brother. I got enough
boys.”

Crash
hesitated. “Naw. She’ll probably be fine.”

“Brother,
I know you. If you got a feeling about this, it’s for a reason.”

“She’s
just been kinda jumpy, you know?”

Cole
nodded. “Stay home. We got this tonight.”