32. Skyhigh
32
SKYHIGH
“I'm here for Hellfire.” The man stopping his heavy motorcycle at the front gate hides his age behind his beard, but if I was to guess? Early thirties? His eyes are hard, and he's got the bronzed skin of someone who's put a lot of miles on the road. Physically, he looks like he could give me a run for my money. There's a hint of crushing gravel to his voice. He crosses his forearms over his bike handles and leans on them as he looks at us. “He's lucky I'm even here, so you boys gonna show me where he is?”
Dragon, who's standing guard with me today, straightens and his face hardens.
I frown suspiciously at this new guy. “Depends on who you are. What the fuck makes you think you can just roll up here and order us around?”
He rolls his eyes. “For fuck's sake, didn't he say anything? Grimm. Hellfire said he needed to talk about some shit that went down while you boys were still learning to ride. So you gonna let me in or do I just turn around and fuck off? I’m doing him the fucking favor, not the other way around.”
“Dragon, call down Hellfire.”
“On it.” He's already got his phone out. A moment later, Hellfire comes striding down the church stairs. If this is a meeting of old friends, his expression sure doesn't show it.
I have no idea who the fuck moves first, but as soon as he’s close enough, Hellfire—one of the most controlled people I know—moves like lightening and plows his fist straight into Grimm’s face.
“Motherfucker!” Grimm shouts, holding a hand to his bloody nose.
I turn to Dragon. “Wha?—”
Grimm’s bike hits the ground as he straight up tackles our president. Men come running, but Hellfire shouts. “Stay the fuck out of this, it’s between him and me.” Talking was a mistake, because it gives Grimm time to snap Hellfire’s head back with a punch of his own. We all stand around stunned, not sure what the fuck we’re supposed to do. Grimm grabs Hellfire’s hair and yanks his head close, smashing their foreheads together.
I wince.
After a few more good hits from both sides, they roll apart, breathing hard.
“You showed,” Hellfire says, wiping blood off his mouth.
Grimm bares his teeth. “Fucking said I would.”
“Yeah, well, you’ve said a lot.”
I have no fucking idea what's going on and I don't like it. Obviously they know each other, but I still have no idea whether they're enemies or best fucking friends. Sometimes it looks about the same.
Hellfire stands, looking a little wobbly, and gestures for us to let Grimm through. “Assign a couple other boys to the gate. I want you two with me. We'll talk in my office.”
Grimm hauls his bike off the ground and rolls it in. “ Your office. What the fuck, man.”
“Yeah, welcome to the Outlaw Sons,” Hellfire replies as they head for the church steps.
I call in Riot and Tex to take over, then me and Dragon head for Hellfire's office, curious as fuck about what Grimm's deal is with our Prez.
“Love what you’ve done with the place,” Grimm remarks as we walk through the church. He sees General’s cut hung up on the wall and stops, looking at it for a long time. “I didn’t always agree with the old bastard, but I was sorry to hear how he went,” he says softly.
Hellfire nods. “We made them pay.”
In the office, Hellfire sits in his chair and Grimm sits opposite, putting his heels up on the desk. We wait to hear Hellfire bitch him out, but it doesn’t come. “Alright, here's what you need to know. Grimm was tight with Tanner back in the day. Weren’t you? In fact, you stomped right the fuck outta here when Tanner did? Chose Tanner over the fucking club and your brothers.”
Grimm stretches, his jacket pulling up and showing off his piece underneath. Just gonna assume Hellfire knows what the fuck he's doing, but I'm staying ready.
“He’s my fucking uncle, man. The only reason I even joined. Of course I didn't stick around. Maybe your memory is getting shitty, or maybe you just don’t want to remember what it was like for me when he left. Our fucking brothers’ bodies were still warm and everyone was looking for someone to blame.”
“Jesus, Grimm, even if Tanner wasn’t responsible, you’ve gotta admit he would’ve eventually gotten someone killed. You didn’t have to go, you?—”
“Fuck you! I didn’t come here to litigate the past. You said you had questions about Tanner. Ask ’em. If I think it's worth it, I'll answer.”
Hellfire twitches, like he wants to deck Grimm again, but he holds it back. “And this is why I didn't wanna call this fucker.”
“Maybe it's best just to ask our questions,” Dragon says. He's taken up guard position by the door, his big arms crossed over his chest. “This shit isn't gonna get us any closer to Tanner.”
“What the fuck makes you think that I'd want to lead you guys to him? If that's what this is about, you can forget it. We don't talk much anymore, but he always treated me fair.”
“He's got something up his ass again.” Hellfire's voice has gone deathly serious. The tone he takes right before he kills someone, the one with the quiet, seething fury underneath it. The one that even makes us give him a wide berth if we hear it. “Twice now, he's somehow gotten hold of sensitive information that's gotten my boys shot at. I want to know if you have any information on what he’s up to. And why.”
Grimm purses his lips while he thinks. “You got proof of that? Sounds like bullshit to me. It’s been fucking years, brother.”
Hellfire jerks when Grimm says it. “I’m not your fucking brother, not anymore,” he growls.
Grimm waves it away. “Habit.”
“We caught him in the act,” Dragon throws out before they can distract each other again. “He’s going by Brutus, but when we tracked him down, it was definitely Tanner. Now he's on the run, and we need to find him. And it’s not just us, he’s pissing off Hamid Chafik.”
“What do you want me to do about it? I can tell you what I know, but I haven’t talked to either of you in years. Maybe I should hear his side of it first.”
“You owe me,” Hellfire snarls.
“You’re going to throw that in my face? Fuck you!”
The door slams open, drawing all of our attention to it. Blackout fills the doorway looking like he's ready to start breaking shit. Sinner is right behind him, looking almost as pissed.
“What the fuck?” Hellfire looks as confused as he looks angry.
“Willow’s missing.”