Page 55 of Deadly North

“Scorpions,” I say. “It’s gotta be.”

The Bloody Scorpions are here. And they’re attacking the compound.

27

MACK

“Stay here!” I order Gigi. “Stay hidden! Do you have that gun still?”

Wide-eyed, she nods at me. “It’s in the drawer.”

“Get it. Lock the door. Stay inside, no matter what.”

I fly out of the bus before I can talk myself into staying with Gigi. The best way to protect her in here is to be out there. I round the corner of the clubhouse to see a fucking ground war. Scorpions and Bastards are all over the fucking place, fighting with knives, fists, and blunt objects. And guns, I assume, though there’s been no gunfire yet.

All the Bastards are here, thanks to the luck that Magnus called church for later. Magnus, Norse, Reed, Fury, Money, Wishbone, Black, Grave, even the prospects: all of them fighting like their lives depend on it. Throwing punches. Cracking skulls. They’re giving as good as they get — better, even. I launch myself into the fight, drawing my knife in my left hand and leaving my right free to punch. One of the prospects falls to the ground near me, bleeding from his side. I turn on the Scorpion who cut him and gut the motherfucker, shoving the blade in deep and pulling it up to slice through him. Blood fills his mouth. I yank the blade out as he falls.

Over on the other side, Fury is between two Scorpions who are closing in on him. I shout a warning, but just then Reed comes from behind and takes down one of them. I turn and come face to face with the vice-president of the Scorpions, an ugly motherfucker named Mad Dog. “You’re dead,” he spits out, advancing on me.

“You’re deluded,” I shoot back, putting my head down and barreling forward to take him down to the ground. He fights hard, but I’m stronger than him, and I land a kidney punch that winds him enough that I gain the advantage. Grabbing him by the head, I pound it a few times against the ground until he’s reeling and bloody. It’s hard to stop before I kill him. But there’s someone else I need to find in this crowd.

Standing up from Mad Dog’s half-conscious body, I scan the mayhem.

Finally, I see the one I’m looking for.

Blaze.

“Fury!” I shout. He turns from the guy he’s punching to look at me, then follows my eyes. Turning back to his victim, he cocks back a fist and lays him out, tossing the asshole’s body to the ground. Fury jogs up to me.

“Let’s get him,” he snarls.

I frown. “We gotta end this, brother. Follow my lead.”

I run toward Blaze, Fury close behind me. The two of us are used to fighting together, and we can almost read each other’s minds in situations like these. I grab hold of Blaze by the shoulders, head-butting him before he knows what’s happening. While he’s staggering from the blow, I pull him down force him to his knees. Fury pulls a gun out of his waistband and cocks it against Blaze’s skull.

“Hey!” Fury thunders, his voice splitting the din of the fight.

“Hey!” I echo. “Listen the fuck up!”

Somehow, we manage to cut through the chaos.

“This motherfucker right here is the reason for this battle,” I call out. “And I’m here to tell you fuckin’ Scorpions, you’re about to pay a high goddamn price for a motherfucker who doesn’t deserve it.”

There’s still some fighting, but a few men are looking over at us now. I keep going.

“This fucker? The guy you call Blaze?” I kick him with my boot. “I don’t know what bullshit he’s told you about why you’re here. But the woman he came here to claim is his ex, a woman he has a history of stalking and harassing, and beating up. Maybe that doesn’t matter to you motherfuckers. But this should. She’s also the sister of this Royal Bastard.” I point to Fury. “And she’smy fuckin’ old lady.”

I cast my eyes around the crowd of hostile faces. “So you’d best believe the Royal Bastards are not about to lose this war,” I snarl. “Gigi Mattson belongs to this club. She belongs tome.” I pound my chest with my fist. “And this motherfucker here?” This time I kick Blaze in the gut, doubling him over. Fury keeps the pistol trained on him. “He joined your goddamn club specifically to start a war with the Royal Bastards. To pull you into his fantasies of getting revenge. Of getting this woman back, and pulling the Scorpions into a war to the death. So, you gotta ask yourself: is this pathetic motherfuckin’ nomad sonofabitch worth it? Is hereallyfuckin’ worth this?”

Out of the crowd, a large, potbellied dude with a ZZ Top beard emerges. It’s Hurricane, the prez of the Bloody Scorpions. “Let him go,” he rumbles, indicating Blaze.

I lock eyes with our prez, Magnus, just long enough to send a message. He looks over at Fury, who pulls his gun away from Blaze’s head and takes a step back.

Blaze stumbles to his feet. He spits contemptuously on the ground, then stalks over to where a group of other Scorpions are standing, blending into the crowd.

Magnus steps forward to face Hurricane. “Well. Looks like you got a decision to make.”

“You think the Bloody Scorpions would ever back down from a war?” Hurricane snarls.

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