Chapter 16
Nothing could have brought Haze down from the cloud he currently floated on.
Him, Gideon, Hades, and Lucifer currently walked back to the reserved section so they could see their women and turn up.
Their duties were officially over after finishing their races and paperwork, so it was time to sit back and enjoy the rest of the races and the party that would follow.
Unfortunately, though, Haze had been wrong. There was something that could bring him down from his high—both figuratively and literally because he had just smoked a fat ass blunt.
When they got back to the reserved section, people scattered about, leaving the section and even going as far as to hop the ropes, blocking the section off.
Harley ran over to Hades and flung herself into his arms. He caught her with zero effort and asked, “What’s wrong, Tink?”
“Guns! They have guns! On Glimmer and Devyn.” She choked the words out and tried to catch her breath.
Haze’s entire demeanor changed. He brushed by everyone and went straight into the lion’s den. He didn’t need to look back to know Gideon was right behind him.
The reserved section was pretty much empty by now, but he saw two men off to the corner. Their backs were to them, and Haze shook his head.
“Dumb fucks,” he muttered under his breath.
Why the hell would they be so bold to go up in there and hold guns to two people’s heads with their backs to the entrance?
They couldn’t see which nigga had whose old lady, but it didn’t matter.
Nothing could happen to either of them. They’d been warned not to bring guns to the race that day.
Everyone normally operated in good faith, but it was clear these two niggas didn’t belong, because the clubs that were a part of this shit here never caused issues, and they’d been doing this for over a decade.
Gideon and Haze weren’t all that innocent, either, though. While they didn’t bring guns with them, they did bring weapons. Because they distributed all sorts of weapons all over the country, they had access to shit that people hadn’t even seen before.
Gideon’s spiked leash, for example. He had one he could carry around stealthily on the loop of his jeans, but when he unraveled it in a certain way, it became lethal.
That was what he did at that moment while Haze brandished his favorite weapon—his lighter.
It had a secret button that added gasoline and pressure to the fire, making it a blowtorch that could burn the skin off someone in seconds.
They heard a woman whimper, and that was all they needed to get into action. Gideon tossed the end of the spiked leash with expertise. It landed around one of the men’s necks, and he tugged.
At the same time, Haze used his lighter to torch the back of the other man. He yelped and tried to run away, but Haze was on his ass. The man Gideon flung around didn’t even have a chance to make a sound. Blood oozed from the wounds on his neck as he gurgled on it.
Glimmer and Devyn moved out of the way and hugged each other as they watched in horror while their men handled the two men who had threatened them.
Hades and Lucifer, followed by other members of the Vicious Kings and the Obsidian Riders, filed into the section and tried to gain control.
Once Haze and Gideon were backed into a corner, chaos ensued, but Haze just wanted to lay eyes on Devyn. He was terrified that she would run again after what happened, and he couldn’t allow that to happen.
“Let me go, man. Move,” Haze said as he pushed against Lucifer’s chest.
Lucifer put his hands up in mock surrender, respectfully, and moved out of the way. He was a smart man who knew what it was like to be in love. There was no getting in the way of that.
Haze found Devyn still clinging to Glimmer.
When she spotted him, Devyn leaped up and clung to him.
Haze hugged her back and held a hand out to Glimmer, who reached for him but was pulled into Gideon’s arms before they could connect.
That was okay with Haze. Gideon had Glimmer, and he had Devyn.
That was all that mattered at that moment.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Haze asked as he pulled away from her and looked her over. She seemed okay physically. She just trembled severely as she looked up at him.
“I t-thought I was going to d-die,” she stuttered. “T-they came out of nowhere.”
Haze hugged her close again and smoothed her hair down. They stayed like that for what felt like hours, but it had to only be minutes.
“One of ’em is dead,” Hades said as he walked up on them with a mug on his face. “Other one, the one that got burned, that nigga is in critical condition. What you want us to do wit’ him?”
Haze appreciated Hades for asking. Haze knew this whole thing put a huge dent on his record as club president. Haze would take that heat for him though. He would help him smooth shit over. They just needed to figure out what was going on first.
“You know who they are?”
Hades shrugged. “They signed up as a first-year club. Their vests and registration say Indigo Guyz Motorcycle Club. Fuck ass name, if you ask me.”
“More like fake ass name. Indigo Guyz has to be code for Blue Boyz,” Haze said, not taking long at all to put two and two together.
“Ain’t no way they touched us here.” Gideon grumbled.
“Blue Boyz? Ain’t they from ’round your way? They reached out to us a while back trying to get us to team up on some weapons distribution. We turned them down quick. They was way too thirsty,” Hades said with a frown.
“Yeah, because they been tryna overthrow our shit. They been tryna take over as top motorcycle club in The Bay and tap into our weapons distribution system. Shit has been all fucked up. We haven’t been able to catch up with their leader.
Nigga named Azul. We get him, we shut all this shit down,” Haze explained.
“Azul?” Devyn asked with a shaky voice and wide eyes. “That’s his name.”
She pointed a trembling finger at the man getting medical attention from staff under Hades. He hung on to life by a thread as a crowd of people worked on saving his life.
Haze’s brows pulled in, and he frowned. “Are you sure, baby?”
“She’s right,” Glimmer chimed in. “He said his name was Azul. He explained that he was there to kill one of us. The other was to send a message. Hand everything over now or more people die.”
Tears streamed down the two women’s faces as they recalled what they had just been through.
Haze’s entire body felt like it was set ablaze.
The very nigga he had been searching for over the past three years was right there and had just threatened his wife and a woman he looked at as a sister.
There really was no point in those people trying to save his life.
He was about to commit a murder in front of a bunch of people, and he didn’t even care.
Between him, Hades, Lucifer, and Gideon, they could easily make this disappear.
Haze marched over to where Azul lay on the ground, covered in burns.
He flung medical staff out of the way on his pursuit.
When Azul’s eyes landed on Haze, they grew wide.
He had an oxygen mask covering his mouth.
Haze snatched it off him and punched Azul in his mouth.
The remaining people surrounding them scattered.
Haze lifted his leather boot and stomped Azul into the asphalt. He kept stomping until Gideon grabbed him and pulled him away. The man named Azul, who Haze never even got to exchange words with, was now completely unrecognizable. His face melted into the ground below him in a gruesome mess.
“Chill, man. You good. It’s over,” Gideon encouraged as he patted Haze on the chest while pulling him away from the murder scene.
“Y’all go ’head and get out of here. I’ll clean this bullshit up. I’m sendin’ yo’ ass a bill, nigga,” Hades barked.
If Haze wasn’t so pissed off, he would have laughed. Hades was for sure a character.
Without another word, Haze grabbed Devyn by the hand and led her through the nosy crowd of people and toward where his bike was.
His only mission now was to get him and Devyn home safely to their daughter.
“Is everything okay, Son?” Charlene asked as soon as she opened her front door.
Haze ran a hand down his face and tried to shake away the exhaustion.
He’d already dropped Devyn off at his house and hopped into his car.
She wanted to come with him, but he told her to shower and get into bed.
He would get their baby and be right back.
Devyn didn’t put up much of a fight. They were both tired as hell.
After they left the race, they went straight to the hotel and packed.
Gideon and Glimmer followed them all the way back to Desmore Bay.
Haze had his eyes peeled for any more lingering Blue Boyz, but in his heart, he knew it was finally over.
Without Azul, their stupid motorcycle club would be no more.
“Yeah, Mama. I’ll stop by tomorrow and fill you in. Everyone is fine, though. Devyn just wanted Hazel with us tonight.”
Charlene’s concerned eyes lingered on her son for a moment before she ushered him inside.
They went toward the back of the house where the bedrooms were. In the few weeks that Charlene had known about Hazel, she completely redecorated her second bedroom for Hazel. It was a little girl’s dream, and Haze’s heart smiled at the fact that no matter where Hazel went, she would be spoiled.
Hazel was sprawled out on her bed, lying on her back with her mouth slightly open and snoring softly. This right here was the calm to his chaos. He didn’t need to hit a blunt anymore. Being around Hazel and Devyn was enough for him.
A smile spread across his face as he leaned down and picked her up gently. She stirred a little and cuddled into his chest. For some reason, tears were brought to his eyes.
Once again, he had moved recklessly today.
If he had been anywhere else or surrounded by anyone else, he would be in prison.
He would have missed this moment right here.
He knew something had to give. He couldn’t keep jeopardizing his life.
He knew he needed to make good on his promises to Devyn, and it felt like he kept letting her down.
With a heavy heart, he walked out of the pink room and met his mom in the hallway.
“I’ll pick up her things tomorrow,” he whispered.
Charlene nodded and patted her back before they moved back through the house. Haze leaned down and kissed his mom’s cheek before he walked back out into the night. He quickly got Hazel into her car seat. She woke up briefly and asked, “Mommy?”
“We goin’ to her right now, baby,” Haze promised as he backed out of the driveway.
Before he could hit the end of the street, Hazel was snoring again.
Haze’s thought swarmed him on the ride home. When he pulled up to his house, he felt heavy.
Hazel was dead weight in his arms as he walked up the stairs to his home and opened the door. Instead of taking her to her room, he decided to bring her into the master bedroom. He wanted to be close to both his girls for the night.
Devyn was still awake when he got into the room, but he could tell she had been dozing. She didn’t even sit up when he entered. She simply reached her arms out. Haze placed Hazel on the bed beside her and kissed both their foreheads before he disappeared into the bathroom.
In the shower, he allowed a few tears to drop. His chin hit his chest as he let the water fall over him.
“I gotta do better, man,” he whispered.
The weight on his shoulders felt immense. He didn’t know who he was without his empire and motorcycle club, but he also knew that continuing on as he had would land him in more shit. He felt it in his chest. God himself had him by the ear, and it was time Haze listened.
Slowly, he got out of the shower and dried off. After putting on a fresh T-shirt and basketball shorts, he finally climbed into bed. Hazel lay between him and Devyn, whose tired eyes were on him.
There was nothing else Haze could say but, “I’m sorry.”
So, he did. Repeatedly until more tears spilled out of his eyes. He felt like he had already failed as Devyn’s man. Her soft palm on his cheek forced him to look at her.
Her eyes let him know that at that moment, she was the strong one.
“We’re going to be okay,” she whispered.
Hazel must have woken up while he kept apologizing because he felt her little hand on his arm next.
“Daddy, okay,” she mumbled, half asleep.
Haze smiled through his tears and nodded.
He held the rest of the waterworks back and nodded once again.
They had no idea how they’d just given him strength.
The last thing he did before he fell asleep with his girls in his arms was thank God and promised him that he would do better, starting at that very moment.