Page 113 of Shadow's Surrender
“Smokey’s here,” he said.
“I’ll let you go. I’ll see you at church tomorrow. Stay strong, bro.”
Shadow jammed the phone back in his pocket and lifted his chin at Smokey when he turned into the lot.
“I called Hawk,” Smokey said, straddling his bike.
“I know—I just talked to him. Banger’s calling an emergency church tomorrow.”
“How’re you holding up?”
Shadow shrugged. “Okay. I’m trying to push the past to the dark corners of my mind and just focus on what needs to be done. Right now it’s running about fifty-fifty.”
“You need to smoke some weed, get fuckin’ drunk, and let Tania give you one of her stellar blowjobs, dude,” Smokey said.
“I’ll go along with the weed and getting wasted, but the only chick I want near my cock is my woman.”
“Are you gonna stay with her tonight?”
“I don’t want to involve her in this, and she’ll know I’m upset. It’s best if I go back to the clubhouse tonight.”
“Let’s get going. Where’s your bike?”
“I parked it in the next lot.”
“I’ll wait, then we can ride back together,” Smokey said.
Shadow crossed the lot, then went on to the one next door, and a few minutes later, he and Smokey were riding side by side on the old highway toward the Insurgent’s clubhouse.
The loud rock music, the bear hugs from the members when Shadow walked in, the soft looks the club women threw his way, and the nonstop shots of whiskey were exactly what he needed that night. His brothers were there for him, offering him support, loyalty, and camaraderie, and Shadow would’ve done the exact same thing if one of the other members was hurting. The brotherhood was surrounded by a circle so strong that each member could confidently depend on it.
At some point—Shadow had no idea when—he’d managed to stagger up the stairs to his room. He flopped down on the bed and his head sank into the pillow. The room spun around, and he kept his eyes open until dark oblivion finally arrived.
* * *
Shadow sat onthe metal chair, his elbows propped on the wooden table, holding his throbbing head between his hands. Animal slid a bottle of water in front of him, and Shadow just looked at it, then groaned inwardly. It was like a damn freight train was running right through the middle of his head.
The gavel hit the wood block and vibrated through his bones, sparking his nerves and settling behind his aching lids.
“Church is in order,” Banger said. “By now, you all know why I called this emergency church. Our brother here”—he pointed to Shadow, who nodded feebly—“needs us to help get justice, which the fuckin’ badges haven’t been able to do. He’s been waiting fifteen years to exact vengeance on the fucker who killed his mama and that day has come.”
The roar of the members was like nails pounding into his head. Shadow forced himself to lean back in the chair and lift his fist in the air.
“As a bonus, we know who tried to kill our brother here, and it turns out it was the same fucker.”
“His pussy son,” Shadow grunted. His throat was dry as sand, and his damn head felt like jackhammers were drilling into it.
“A family who stays together, dies together,” Helm said, and the members busted out laughing.
“When are we gonna string these fuckers up?” Smokey asked.
“Hawk’s working on that with Rock, Jax, Buffalo, and Puck.” Banger turned to the vice president. “You wanna take it from here?”
Hawk stood up, placed his foot on the chair rung, and leaned forward. “I’ve located the sonofabitch’s house and business. I also got the address of where the pansy-ass son lives and works. We gotta tread real careful with these fuckers because of who they are. These assholes got some clout in the community, but the old man is also on the verge of bankruptcy.” Hawk glanced over to Shadow. “That’s why he was pissed about you stealing the Mansfield woman away from his wimpy son. Anyway, neither of the fuckers is in town right now. It seems that they left right after Shadow went down. We gotta find out who else was with the bastard son when the iron was thrown at our brother.”
“Maybe it was the old man,” Throttle said.
Hawk shook his head. “I’ve looked at those images until I can’t see straight, and it looks like the fuckers were younger—definitely not in their early sixties.”
