… force me …”
Kami ’ s
eyes flared. “ I ’ m going to gut them all. ”
“ You
should trust Jake more. He ’ s
the only one who is trying to help. All those other guys are sitting around,
drinking. They look like lumps of shit sitting there. ”
“ They ’ re fucking grieving! ” Kami bellowed. “ Don ’ t you dare say a word about guys wearing leather
cuts. ”
Kami ’ s
words echoed through the apartment.
Then there was silence.
Kami rubbed his head and groaned. “ Fuck. We need to ride. You ’ re with me. You ’ re not driving alone to this. ”
Keira didn ’ t argue. She did as told and climbed onto the back
of Kami ’ s motorcycle.
She had been to the snake pit one other time. She watched two fights and then waited for it to be over.
Everyone was loud, drunk, and everyone wanted more violence. They loved blood.
They loved death. They bet money in ways that was sickening. It was a rare time
when the MC life mixed with other lives for a common purpose.
As Kami took a turn off the road,
kicking up dirt and dust, Keira felt her heart start to race. They had a couple
miles to go, off the road, in the middle of nowhere.
The snake pit was basically
like a giant hole in the ground. Some said it was man made. A giant grave that
had never been filled. Other people said it was some kind of nature thing. Some
aberration, caused by erosion, an earthquake, maybe even something from space
smacking the ground at some point during the world ’ s existence.
No matter what, it proved something
terrifying.
The ground was hard, the sides of
the hole hard. It wasn ’ t a
deep hole or anything, but enough that those watching the fights looked down.
The hole was big enough for the fighters to have some space the catch their
breath - or try and run if things went bad.
And things always seemed to go
bad.
There was something to be said for
those who fought in a shallow grave. It was disgusting.
Keira climbed off Kami ’ s ride and saw the people
already there. This wasn ’ t
about outlaw bikers showing up to earn some cash or find someone to fuck. These
fights entertained some rich and powerful people. There were plenty of women,
almost all of them paid to be there. Over the years, a small stand had been
built to allow whoever to stock it with drinks and someone to take bets and
issue payouts. It was all about straight cash and nothing more.
Guys that had twenty million in
their bank accounts came to drop fifty grand on a fight for the hell of it. For
the thrill of the bet. For the sight of a real war before them.
If someone died, they were usually
buried somewhere close by.
As Keira walked on the ground, she
tried not to look down. She had heard stories of guys walking, feeling the
ground crunch, only to discover they were walking on bones. Real bones.
Human bones. Bones of men who lost.
All Keira could think about was
Jake.
Yeah, maybe he was smart. Maybe he
was really tough. Maybe he was a great fighter. But this entire scene … this was something really
different.
Kami met up with some of the Rusted
Devil MC guys. They all hugged and started to talk about the fight. The club
had managed to scrounge up enough to place a healthy bet on Jake. Keira didn ’ t want to know how they got the
money.
She casually looked around, trying
to find Jake.
Her heart raced faster by the
second. Half of her couldn ’ t
wait to see Jake again. His statue like body, perfect yet rough features, and
to feel the way he made her feel. The other half of her body hoped to hell
that Jake was smart and had taken off.
sixteen .
Jake remained hidden. Nobody had
seen him, yet.
He knew how to hide. He knew how to
listen.
The two motorcycles pulled up to
the car without hesitation and without bullets. Even then, Jake waited
patiently. He waited for someone to make a move. To attack. Jake didn ’ t have a gun but he had the
element of surprise if he needed to attack the car.
He glanced over his shoulder and
couldn