Page 135 of Dirty Salvation

"FuckFuckFuckFuck. No. Goddamn fucking hell. It’s not ..."

Three men moved like the wind.

Rider was the unfortunate one who reached the collapsed unmoving body first. A stab of pain hit him square in the chest. It was a massive mountain of a body they all instantly recognized and not just because he wore the same club vest. No, it was more simple than that, a blow that went deeper than he could ever think possible.

A club brother.

A body that could only belong to oneSoulsmember. Rider crouched down next to his road Captain who had grabbed the two-way radio and was calling into the boys inside to wake the hell up, they had themselves a category five situation. The look of grief etched into Preacher’s face was the same Rider had on his, and Snake’s. His breath fogging the air, he used one gloved hand to turn the head around, placed at such an awkward angle his neck had obviously been broken, before or after he was littered with bullets he didn't know, he frowned, blistering the air with curses.

Confirmation in black and white as to who it was, though they'd all known soon as they clapped eyes on him.

"Tiny. Goddamn it. What the fuck."

"Oh, shit, Prez. He was supposed to be visiting his Ma today, his aunt was in town, and wanted a whole family thing. You know how she gets.”

“I know,” he answered. He did. Tiny loved his family and them him.Grim.Pain. Rider rose, all three of them towered over their fallen friend.

From off in the distance, he heard the sound of feet pounding closer. No doubt every member that had been sleeping off a drunk inside had rolled out of bed at a dead run. Nothing could be done for Tiny now. Already it was too late.Much too late.

Whatever had got the jump on Tiny, it had happened somewhere else, the blood still pouring out of him suggested his death came about not so long ago, the cold nightfall temperature had frosted him over, the tips of his hair dusted white.

Tiny.Fuck.

Known as their club gentle perverted giant, adored by women young and old, loved being in the kitchen he was one of Rider's wisest choices allowing the kid to patch in a few years back now after he'd worked his ass off to prove not only to the president he was serious about joining the ranks but to all the brothers who thought it was a joke at first this big bumbling kid had camped on theSoulsdoorstep for two days straight waiting to talk to Rider.

Goddamn, not even a week later all decided to take the kid under all their wings and he'd been a part of them ever since. Rider had trusted him with critical tasks over the years and the kid had never let him down once.

Now he was dead.

It took four men fifteen minutes to carry the body inside, laying him in a private room. Rider stayed with him for a minute on his own, Hawk hovering in the doorway, as he knew, his best friend was on high alert now and the only place the VP would be was at Rider's side. They could only take this as a personal attack. There was no other reason for it. Tiny was killed and dumped outside as a message.

"I'm sorry this happened to you, T. You were meant to open your own grub shop, remember you told me that's what you wanted to do one day?I wanna make bread and pie, you told me. We were gonna see about funds in the next few years, you would have done it, too." His voice cracked, laying a hand gently on Tiny's forehead, his skin discolored from the beating and effects of the cold elements. Had he fought back? had a chance to get in a few licks first? or did the rancid maggot take out his sergeant from behind like a coward? "We'll get who did this to you." Rising, he cast one last look back before he joined Hawk, closing the door, his voice was like raw sandpaper, teeth grit together. "We'll get who did this to ours."

"Take it to the bank" Agreed a snarling Hawk. His face nasty.

Back in the main room, the noise levels were deafening. Nothing provoked his men like the senseless death of one of their own. They lusted for rivers of blood. They wanted a murder in retribution and they weren’t wrong in wanting it.

Rider’s eyes narrowed, acutely sharp and furious, feeling the burn of this loss in his chest. His sergeant. His friend. It seemedunreal. A walking nightmare.Goddamn hell, this was a mess.

There was only one who would send such a flagrant message to theSouls MC.

“This had to be that shit-stain Hades.” cursed Preacher. All of them hissed agreement. Preacher's fingers coasting down his pointed beard like he was trying to yank the thing off. At his side was a silent deadly Hawk and by him was Lawless cradling a ginger mewling kitten to his chest, unquestionably his latest stray. Rider didn’t ask what the weird fascination was with cats, only they gravitated towards Lawless like he was a cracked out piped piper, if he found them injured or simply abandoned, he'd fix them up, watch over the cats like a mama bear and then rehome them in the community. Weird as hell for a killer who enjoyed his work to tend to the sick and dying animals.

Rider switched his observant flat gaze to his men, more of them arriving after they’d been brought up to speed, all of them pissed and wanting to give payback instantly and looking to him to lead as their president.

“He’ll die painfully for this.”

“On our own fucking turf … the fucknut wants to die slowly, Prez.”

“I want first take on Hades.”

“KillingTiny. For fuck's sake, the man didn’t ever hurt a fly. He was a big lumbering mammoth.”

Growls. Curses. Sworn out death warrants. Rider listened to it all, his jaw all but cracking the tighter he clenched it. He needed to get in touch with Tiny --Jonah’s-- mom. Fucking hell he was not looking forward to that visit. Any family who got a call in the middle of the night from an MC expected it to be bad news and in this case, it was the worst news possible he could deliver. It was times like this holding the president's gavel really fucking sucked.

This wasn’t the first time they’d lost a brother, but it was the first time it had come out of nowhere and to one so young. Senseless. Grinder had been on Hades’ trail for weeks now, one dead end lead after another and it had all come to nothing, the conclusion being he'd left the state, it was as if the man had poofed into thin air, with any luck they’d hoped he’d fallen into a tiger cage at the local zoo.

Now Rider knew different.

---