DARK FALL(38)

“Erik is doing just fine,” Miller said. “We’re going to figure out who did this to him.”

“I hope so,” Chief Jerry said. “If you would have let us do our job, we’d have someone in custody by now.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” Gaige said. “Have a good day, Chief.”

Gaige walked to Erik and grabbed his leather. Erik made a fist and knocked Gaige away. Erik stepped in front of Chief Jerry’s car and folded his arms. The chief was a piece of shit asshole, but the MC needed him. Hell, he needed the MC, too. He couldn’t take care of the town or surrounding areas without Back Down Devil doing what they did.

There was the real law and then there was the perceived law. As long as those two worked together in some kind of fucked up harmony, nobody got hurt. Usually.

“Okay,” Miller said, “we’re on the move. Me, Gaige, Landon, and Erik. The rest of you trail the good chief and make sure he’s staying local and not up to trouble.”

With the commands spoken, there was only movement now.

Erik got to his motorcycle, put his helmet on, and fired up the ride. The first rumble of the engine and smell of exhaust was like a damn drug. It made him feel high as a kite and when he revved the motor, it was like touching Kaity.

Miller waved a hand and they all set off.

Miller and Gaige up front, Landon and Erik behind them. They left the compound and cut out to the right. The rest of the guys went to the left to find the chief. The once quiet streets of Frelen were now filled with the sounds of the protective thunder the MC brought. Whether the people liked it or not didn’t matter. They would never understand.

As Miller led the foursome, Erik saw the main part of the city turn into residential. They rarely went into this part of the city. It left Erik feeling uneasy. Something wasn’t right about this at all. It could only mean that Kaity had been wrong with her memorizing the license plate. If that were so, she’d be in big trouble.

Miller turned into a driveway and Gaige, Landon, and Erik blocked the driveway. The garage door was shut, the driveway empty. The house looked normal. Way too fucking normal for someone who delivered a severed finger to the MC.

When Erik got off his motorcycle. He walked to Gaige and grabbed him by the arm. “What is this? This doesn’t feel right.”

“It’s where we stopped, bro,” Gaige said.

“Is this it?” Landon asked. “Too normal for me.”

“This is the address,” Miller said. “Let’s start with the garage and go from there.”

Erik cut through everyone and grabbed the handle on the garage door.

“Hold up,” Miller said. “Just keep in mind that this may look like a normal house, we also thought that Shay's car was normal too, okay? Stay focused and stay safe.”

Erik nodded and lifted the door. It opened with ease. There was a car in the garage and when he looked back at Miller, Miller nodded.

The plates, the house, it all matched.

That was good, maybe.

Kaity could have still wrote down the wrong information.

They walked into the garage, Erik leading the way. The smell of dust and oil flooded his nose. He walked to the door to the house and saw that the doorknob was missing. Well, it wasn’t missing, it was taken off. It lay on the floor in pieces. Erik pointed to it.

“What the fuck?” Gaige whispered.

“Eyes open,” Erik said.

He pushed the door open and stepped inside the house. They were in the kitchen of the house. The stale air smelled of rotting fruit. Something sweet and moldy. Erik took his gun out and when he stepped out from the fridge, he looked down to the floor. It was a cheap linoleum pattern on the floor. White blocks with black lines separating the blocks. Every third block had a collection of lavender and pink flowers.

Then Erik saw blood.

“Blood,” he said.

“Fuck,” Miller said.

“Hello!” Erik yelled.

The blood formed a trail that left the kitchen. He led the way, walking along the blood. The next room from the kitchen was the dining room. Two chairs were on the floor, the tablecloth and center piece messed up.

“Anyone here?” he yelled.

The response was a moan.

Erik ran and on the other side of the table was an elderly man on the ground, holding his stomach. The ass end of a knife stuck out from his gut.

“Oh shit,” Erik yelled.

He put his gun away and dropped to his knees. Gaige and Landon were right with him as Miller stood over the scene.

“What the hell is this?” Miller asked.

“Hey, buddy,” Erik said. “Look at me.”

The man gurgled and his eyes met Erik’s. They were glossy, almost somewhat lost.

“I… he said he wouldn’t do this…”