OWNED & UNTAMED (Back Down Devil MC #11) - London Casey Page 0,72
Jim couldn’t get out of the convoy. I knew the story and that Bill had lost his life the second the IED went off. There was no pulling him out of there. I know Jim was pissed that he wasn’t the one driving and he wasn’t able to get Bill out like he had the other guys he’d been riding with.
“You didn’t end up here,” I said. “Bill did. We can be sorry. We can feel pain. But we can’t change what happened.”
“My instincts were shit,” Jim said. “Bill should have been first. He was the one with a wife and kids. The other two didn’t have that. Neither did I. I could have pushed him out and grabbed the wheel…”
“Jim, listen to yourself. You don’t know what Bill’s state was when the first one went off. You scrambled and did what you felt you had to do. You saved two lives. Bill lost his. That wasn’t your fault. None of this is your fucking fault. But it’s your fate. So fucking own it, brother. Own your fucking fate and do something.”
Jim stepped back until he hit a headstone behind him. He leaned against it and folded his arms. He stared down at the plate in the ground. All that was left of one of the brothers that went to war with us. We came back, he didn’t. It was a damn cruel fate, but so was life.
“Sometimes I go back in my mind,” Jim said. “I change things around. I piece it all together differently.”
“Everyone does that. The guy that’s an addict wishes he could go back and never take that first hit. The woman in a shelter wishing she never went back to the guy that kept beating her. Everyone does it, Jim. We’re not built to be perfect. You lost your goddamn leg over there, brother. I’m sorry for that. But you’re walking. You’re riding. And now I need you to fight. For me. For your sister. For Maggie. For the MC. Most of all, Jim, fight for yourself.”
Jim stared at me and then his eyes moved to the right. “Ah, shit…”
“What now?” I asked.
“That whole fighting thing. Might be sooner than you think.”
I looked back and felt a fire shoot through my body.
Jim and me weren’t the only two living people in the cemetery right then.
The Hell Five had followed us…
**
It was Dice and Jop, two of the big guys that made up the Hell Five. I knew that they didn’t travel with just two guys either. Sooner than later we’d be swarmed by them. And what better spot to get us than in a cemetery? They could dig up any fresh grave they wanted, drop our bodies, dump our motorcycles, and we’d never be found again.
“Fuck,” I said.
“What’s the plan?” Jim asked.
“Stay here and let me handle this.”
“Fuck that,” Jim said. “We fight, right?”
Dice and Jop approached, guns in their hands.
I took out my gun and knew Jim didn’t have a weapon. We were going to be outmanned and without enough weapons. Fuck.
“Fine,” I said to Jim. “Stick with me. Follow my lead and follow your gut. This is war, Jim. Remember that mindset.”
“Visiting an old friend?” Dice asked.
“Actually picking out a nice spot for you and your friends,” I said.
I lifted my gun.
Dice and Jop pointed their guns at me.
“Really?” Jop asked. “How do you think this works?”
“Simple,” I said. “We finish up here and go back to the clubhouse. Get the rest of our shit in line and watch you pricks bleed out.”
Both Dice and Jop laughed at the same time.
“Who is this fuck?” Jop asked. He went right to Jim, sticking his gun to Jim’s neck. “Put your hands up, bitch.”
Jim listened.
“And you drop your gun,” Dice said to me.
I lowered my gun but didn’t drop it. “Easy now, guys. I find it interesting that you were following me. Something on your mind?”
“No,” Dice said. “Just taking care of business. Keep your enemies close… right?”
“I’m not sure that’s how the phrase goes,” I said. “But you never got out of second grade, did you?”
Dice smacked his gun off my jaw. I took the hit and stepped back. I reached for Jim and pulled him away from Jop. We didn’t have time and I had to take a huge chance. My eyes met with Jim’s and I gave a wink.
Don’t fuck up, soldier.
I turned my body and placed my gun to Jim’s chest. He grabbed it. I threw a left punch to Jop’s