Page 3 of Eros
“But if you must know, I have a few items at his place. And he’s taking me shopping when we get there.” I slid my gaze back to my father. “Now enough with the questions. I’ll see you when I get back into town. I’ll let you know when we land.”
I kissed his cheek for added effect, then headed towards the foyer. However, before I closed the door behind me, I heard her whisper to him that I was going to be a problem. I inhaled the fresh air, then let out a huge breath of relief. There was no way he could get away with this. And since he wouldn’t be looking for me for a while, that would give me plenty of time to figure out how in the hell to handle this and what my next steps should be.
And I knew the perfect place.
Chapter Two
Eros
Aheavy,thicksilenceflooded the air, broken only by the distant hum of the music from the clubhouse above, Crash’s deep, labored breaths, and the occasional creak of settling beams.
The smell of mold, burned motor oil, and industrial chemicals saturated the air of the cold basement. The solid concrete walls, their surfaces rough to the touch, were littered with faint cracks from years of stress. The concrete floors were stained with oil and blood that the club had spilled over the past few months.
When a one-percenter motorcycle club had to establish a territory, people died. That came with this world, but you never bite the hand that feeds you like this dumb motherfucker sitting in front of me tried to do.
The dim lighting provided by a few light bulbs hanging from the exposed beams of the ceiling cast a weak glow that barely reached the corners of the room. A single exposed pipe ran along the ceiling. Its rusted surface dripped water all the time, and itdrove me absolutely fucking nuts anytime I was down here. No matter what I did to fix that shit it never worked.
As the new prez of Savage Order MC, I volunteered to be the one to take Crash’s life after he went after the Sinners, which almost caused us to go to war with one of the most powerful MCs on the west coast. If it weren’t for the Sinners, Savage Order wouldn’t even fucking exist. We had to get permission from the Sinners to even set up in California, and this dumb bastard almost ruined everything because he was power hungry. So, power hungry that he linked up with some mafia bastards and almost killed one of King’s men and this old lady.
Now he would face the consequences of his actions.
“You’re a piece of shit, Eros.” Crash’s bloody spit landed on the concrete floor near my feet. When his gaze landed on me, there was nothing but rage and pure hatred for me in his eyes. Rage and hatred for someone he used to call brother. I could assure him that the feeling was mutual.
Crash’s naked body was covered in blood and strapped to a chair by his ankles and wrists with duct tape. So, no matter how much he tried to move, he wasn’t going any fucking where.
“You sided with the Sinners over your own fucking brothers. You’re not the man I thought you were, Eros. You’re nothing but a pussy. An errand boy for King and the Sinners.”
I stood in front of my former Prez, someone I used to respect. He used to be all about the brotherhood, had some of the best ideas to make this club something better, and always wanted to do what was best for the club. But his true colors came out when he became jealous of the success of the Sinners instead of seeing how they were helping us. Envious of what they had been able to achieve. It took years and a shit ton of connections to get to the same place as the Sinners. We were the mother chapter of the Order. We had to build those connections to have the same thing they had. It took time to do that. He didn’t even giveSavage Order time to build a name before he almost destroyed it. Nobody would give someone respect who lacked it. Now I had to work twice as hard to regain the trust he destroyed.
We put our blood, sweat, and tears into this club, and it was almost all for nothing. We didn’t stand a chance against the Sinners. That was why I met with King personally. We needed them as our allies, not our fucking enemies. So, behind Crash’s back, I called a vote with the other brothers who weren’t loyal to him, to get rid of him after the attack on the Sinners. They all agreed. None of us wanted a war with the Sinners. Despite what Crash believed, we wouldn’t have won. He should be thankful King agreed to let me handle it after he almost got his old lady killed.
“No, Crash. I’m standing with my brothers. You would have gotten us all killed. And you’re not the man I thought you were.”
I pulled my gun from the waistband of my blue jeans. I was wasting too much time talking to a dead man. I had other club shit to take care of because this stupid motherfucker had caused so much chaos outside and inside of the club it was going to take months to recover from it. We needed to make amends with the Sinners, and we couldn’t until he was dead.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night, Eros. Just remember, there are people who are loyal to me. You won’t be prez long, and I’ll get the last laugh.”
I raised the gun, pointing it straight at his head. Immediately his bravado fell away, and fear clouded his eyes. “And they’ll die just like you—a traitor to the Order. Strength in order, loyalty in blood.”
I squeezed the trigger, and when the bullet pierced his skull, I couldn’t say that I was happy he was dead, even if I was relieved. Brotherhood should never be like this. We were supposed to have each other’s backs, but the only person Crash gave a damn about was Crash. And that was what killed him.
“Good fucking riddance.”
I sighed when thinking about all the shit I had to do to get his body ready to dump. But it had to be done. It would take more than an hour to burn off his fingerprints, remove all his teeth, shave his head, and burn all his tattoos from his skin but that was the best way to make sure that it would be damn near impossible to identify his body if it was ever found. Hopefully, I won’t run into any problems.
Reaching over to the table pressed against the wall covered with different tools, I grabbed the pliers. I wiped my hand down my face, thinking about all the months it would take to clean up the mess he made, then I yanked out the first tooth, followed by a second, then a third, until he had no teeth remaining in his mouth. I placed them in a bag to be destroyed later along with his hair, his clothes, and his nails. Just in case anyone found his body, anything that could link Crash to his body and to Savage Order had to go.
Grabbing the blowtorch next, I removed all his fingerprints and burned every tattoo on his body to make it difficult to identify him. The sickening stench of burning flesh flooded the air and filled every corner of the basement. Not the most enticing odor, but not the worst thing I’d smelled. However, not even the pungent smell of industrial cleaners could mask it. We’d have to figure out a way to get rid of the smell later. Next, I pulled his fingernails from his fingers, then I shaved off his hair. Just as I was finishing up, heavy footsteps descended the steps.
“Damn, that motherfucker stinks,” Knox said, chuckling when he stepped off the last basement step. “It’s gonna take a miracle to get the smell out of here.”
“I know.” I sighed, thinking about all the shit I had to do to make sure this motherfucker never existed. “I’ll figure something out.”
“Do you need any help?”
I’d known Knox for about a year, maybe a little more. He was former military like me, but from the Midwest. We both patched in at the same time, and he was at the top of my list to be my VP. He was well liked throughout the club, made rational decisions, and I didn’t see anyone disagreeing that he’d make a good prez if something happened to me.
“You can help me wrap him up, but I’ll get rid of him. If something goes wrong, I just want it to affect me.”
