Havoc

21 - She did what?

Havoc

The whole crew is at the clubhouse this afternoon. No family members are allowed here today due to the fact it’s time for Phoenix’s initiation. Family members are prohibited from these things, with good reason. They can be a little overdramatic when they see a loved one being put through hell.

“We know why we’re all here.” Jett stands proudly with his arms folded around his chest. He looks around the vast circle of men and one woman. “Today, we find out if Phoenix is true Snakes material. There will be no special treatment and no exceptions.”

I note the smirk on Phoenix’s face. She doesn’t want special treatment because she knows she’s as good as any of us here. Even if Jett ordered Phoenix to stand there while one of us beat the shi.t out of her, she’d take it all.

“Are you serious, Prez?”

Every man looks at Tex. The little prick seems to think it’s okay to question our President. It’s not like Jett to stand there and allow someone to question him, especially not a Prospect. Something more is going on here.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Phoenix turns in Tex’s direction, arms folded around her and her eyebrow raised.

Jett shakes his head slightly, enough for every man to know we’re not to get involved. I have to wonder why when he, himself, would usually stop something like this.

“It means you’re crazy, and this club could do without someone like you.” Tex fires back.

This is not going to be good. If Phoenix retaliates, Jett will deem her unfit to join the Snakes. No man here will let Tex live if he fuck.s this up for the one woman who has worked her whole life to be one of us.

“Yet, you think this club needs a scrawny little cunt like you?”

“You know,” Tex laughs. There’s nothing funny about this, and if someone doesn’t shut him up, then I will. “You were a much nicer person when Gage was around. I don’t know how the poor guy put up with you. No wonder he fucke.d off to the military; any man would want to get away from a bitc.h like you.”

The air in the room is tense. Wrench is an inch away from breaking Tex’s neck, and even the hairs on the back of my neck are standing up.

Phoenix looks around the room, and the hurt in her eyes is evident to anyone who cares to look closely enough. She loved Gage something fierce, and he broke her heart when he left. She swallows hard before turning and walking away.

Wrench rounds on Tex. “What the fuc.k was that? You little bastard!”

“Stand down, Wrench.” Wrench stares at Jett, wide-eyed. “You know how these things work.”

“You told him to bring up Gage?”

“Yes, Havoc, I did,”

That’s low, even for Jett, and that man can sink low when needed. Gage is a sore subject with Phoenix. The girl was deeply in love, and the man she gave her heart to walked away from her. Sure, we don’t know the ins and outs, but having Tex bring him up in a fabricated argument is terrible.

Jett doesn’t give a damn how much this has hurt Phoenix. All he’s thinking about is pushing the girl to the limits. We all know that Phoenix can handle herself in a fight, even against a man twice her size. She can argue with the best of them, and her savage words would have a grown man crying.

What Phoenix can’t handle as much as she tries is people bringing Gage into arguments. She warned every single person belonging to the club what she’d do if they ever used Gage against her. God help Tex because this is going to blow up in his face big time. Not that Jett will care about that.

“Prez, you got any idea what you’ve done?”

Jett opens his mouth to answer Red when one almighty bang shakes the building. “What the fuc.k was that?” I don’t think Jett was asking anyone a question, and his eyes are locked on the window outside.

Blade looks out of the window. “There’s black smoke coming from the dune pit.”

The dune pit is a twenty-foot deep and fifty-foot-wide hole that Shepard, Titus, and BlackJack dug back in the day. The pit itself is right at the edge of the clubhouse property. Nothing that happens there can be seen from anywhere on land, nor would it cause any damage to the building because it’s surrounded by trees. So, it’s a great place to do what Apollo had intended.

The man was crazy, and he wanted the pit dug to drop enemies in, his way of frightening them into thinking he’d leave them there to die. Punishment for whatever they’d done or information they wouldn’t hand over. I won’t lie; it’s still used for that reason, but not often. Tank was talking about filling it in because he was worried one of the kids might stumble upon it and fall in, but nothing ever came of that.

“Phoenix is out there!” Hawk yells.

“No, I’m not,” Phoenix walks in, laughing to herself.

“Jesus, I thought something had happened to you.”

“I’m fine, Hawk. Chill out.”

Jett narrows his eyes at Phoenix. “What have you been up to?”

“Well,” Phoenix stands next to Wrench and folds her arms around her chest. “I’m not gonna lie; the dune pit is gonna need cleaning out. I had no idea blowing up a motorcycle would make so much mess.”

My eyes widen, and people mumble amongst themselves. It seems to have dawned on Tex that Phoenix means his bike.

“What the fuc.k have you done to my bike?!”

“Are you deaf all of a sudden? I blew it up.”

Tex rushes outside, followed by most of the others. I stay behind with Hammer and Phoenix. Phoenix stands, chuckling to herself. I shake my head at her, but she laughs louder.

“I’ve known some crazy women in my time, but you might just be the craziest.” Hammer stares at Phoenix with a raised eyebrow.

She returns his stare. “If you assholes think, for one second, you can get one over on me, then you’re sadly mistaken.”

“It’s not about getting one over on you, Phoenix.” She looks at me. “It’s about knowing where to draw the line. You know as well as anyone that you never touch another man’s motorcycle. It’s beyond disrespectful.”

“I didn’t touch a man’s motorcycle...” She’s cut off by Tex storming through the door.

“You stupid bitc.h! You torched my bike!”

“You’re damn right I did.” Phoenix hisses between her teeth as she turns to face Tex. “I gave every man here a warning. Never mention that asshole’s name in front of me, or you won’t like the consequences. What warning did I give, Hammer?” She asks without looking at Hammer.

Hammer chuckles. “If anyone mentions the asshole’s name in your presence, you’d torch their bike.”

“And there is it!” Phoenix laughs sarcastically. “You were warned, you didn’t listen, so I taught you a damn lesson. Don’t fuc.k with me, Tex, because next time, I’ll castrate you!”

“I’m gonna kill you, you stupid slut!” If I’d blinked, I would have missed it. Tex taking a swing at Phoenix, I mean.

Things seemed to go in slow motion for a moment. Phoenix moves her head to the side, avoiding Tex’s fist. She retaliates by grabbing his wrist and twisting it behind his back. Tex screams, and Phoenix kicks him in the back, knocking him onto the floor. Tex rolls onto his back. Like lightning, Phoenix jumps on top of him and slams a knife against his throat.

“Jesus Christ,” BlackJack mumbles. The man has seen women act like this a few times in his life, but I’m guessing it’s very different when your young daughter is the one fighting.

“If you’re going to threaten to kill someone, make sure you can come through.” She leans into him. “I should cut your throat right now...”

“That’s enough, Phoenix!” Jett yells, and Phoenix groans. She climbs off Tex and slips her knife back into the holster on her ankle. “Take this.”

“What is it?”

“Instruction on what to do next. You have one hour, Phoenix, to get the job done. Return with proof, and we’ll put you out of your misery.”

Phoenix looks down at the note, then back to Jett. “If I do this, you’ll patch me?”

“Get it done, and you’ll find out. One hour, Phoenix.”

Phoenix doesn’t say a word to anyone; she just walks out of the building and leaves. Christ knows what Jett has her doing, but I doubt it’s anything good.

“What do we do about the mess outside?”

Tank rolls his neck before answering Gunner. “You three,” He points to DJ, Cain, and Saxon. “Get out there and clean up the mess. You,” This time, he points to Tex. “Get in the office, Jett, and I need a word.”

“A word? That bitc.h trashed my bike!”

“And you’ll be compensated. Now get in the fuckin’ office before I break your neck with my bare hands!”

Tex’s shoulders slump, but he does as Tank orders and makes his way to the office.

“Was that part of your plan?” Wrench is more pissed off than I thought he was. “Have my sister set fire to Tex’s motorcycle? What kind of initiation is that?”

“No, Wrench, that wasn’t part of her initiation. Having her smack him in the mouth was. Which, I might add, is all I thought she’d do when Tex mentioned Gage.”

“Come on, Prez, you had to know it wouldn’t end well.”

Jett nods his head at Gabe. “I suppose I did. However, I didn’t think, for one second, she’d go out there and make good on her promise. Gotta admit the girl’s got some fuckin’ balls.” He laughs, and most of us laugh with him.

“What have you got her out there doin’?”

“That you’ll find out when Phoenix returns, BlackJack. For now, Tank and I have a Prospect to calm down.”