Twisted Asphalt (Asphalt Outlaw Series Book 1) (16 page)

“That can be arranged,” Mace muttered angrily. His bike was
destroyed.

“You have caused enough damage to a club brother that has
caused all patch holders not to trust you. We can’t have anyone we don’t trust
in the club. Give me your colors.”

“You can come fucking get them.” Demon flipped the homemade
tire iron around, the one end a makeshift spear. Pulling back, he slammed the
pointed end into the gas tank. “Every one of you fuckers can kiss my ass.”
Demon lifted up both hands, flipping every patch holder off. “Come get these
colors when you have the balls to. Until then, fuck off.” Demon retreated,
straddling his bike. Starting it up, he roared out of the drive way.

Once he was out of sight, Saber let Mace go. “Sorry brother.
Demon would have shot you before you could get to him.”

Mace glared at Saber.

The medic threw up his hands. “I would have stopped anyone,
Mace.”

He pointed his shaking finger at his now worthless bike. His
voice trembled in sheer fury as he stared daggers at the behemoth of a male.
“That bike…I’ll fucking kill him.” Mace couldn’t even hold a coherent thought,
he was so furious.

Stone and the other two walked back to the group. “If any of
you run across Demon, get that cut from him. Then you bring his ass to me. Do
not kill him, I want him alive. We’ll leave the killing to Mace.” 

CHAPTER 21

“You’re going and that’s final.”

Amy groaned and tossed her phone to the couch as she stared
at Maggie. “Do I have to?”

Maggie snorted in reply. “Isn’t that kind of a rhetorical
question?”

“But why? It’s not like he’s ever wanted us there before.”
Amy pouted, crossing her arms over her chest to emphasize her unhappiness.
“This is bullshit.”

“Bullshit or not, Antonia wants us there. If we don’t cheer
on his alter ego, he’ll never forgive us.”

Mackenzie was Antonia’s alter ego when he was in a contest
like tonight. This was a big one, if he won this, he’d be titled the Queen of
Santa Barbara County and he’d go onto semifinals in Santa Barbara to display
his talents there. This was a big deal for him, and he wanted Maggie and Amy
there to cheer him on.

“Fine.” Amy huffed, wrinkling up her nose. “I hate dressing
up for this stuff. I look like a total hooker.”

“Uh, that’s what makes it so much fun. It’s like Halloween
early. You get to overdo everything.”

Amy shook her head and laughed. “Only you love getting all
dolled up like that. I don’t see how it makes me look good. You have the figure
for it, I don’t.”

“I’ll get ready at your place—erm, at Mace’s, with you. I’ll
help you get ready.”

Amy nodded, not liking the idea, but she was going to need
all the help she could get. Mace wasn’t Maggie’s favorite person, but there was
no way in hell Amy was going to step into that mess. “Want to invite Thorne?”

Maggie pushed off of the couch with a yawn. “She’s on shift
tonight. She and Saber have the graveyard. Plus, she’d outshine both of us.”

Espina Lopez, also known as Thorne, was beyond beautiful. Tall,
statuesque, and muscular in the most feminine sort of way, she possessed runway
looks. Maggie had always been insanely jealous of her little sister, until she
blossomed as her own woman.

“No, I think Antonia will outshine us all.” Giggling softly,
she followed suit, getting off the couch. “Well, let’s close up and get the
hell out of Dodge. I’ll shower and be ready for you to transform me into some
hooker looking thing.”

Maggie didn’t disappoint. It was horrific, in Amy’s eyes.
Tight crimson leather miniskirt, black leather thigh-high stiletto boots, and a
black leather backless vest style top that exposed way too much skin. Her
makeup was done, not too much like Amy feared, but Maggie did attack her hair.
By the time she was done, it was ratted out and put in some sort of feathered
layered look that impressed Amy beyond words.

Maggie wore tight leather booty shorts, six inch platform
heels with fishnet stockings and a sequined halter top, accenting her breasts
and long neckline. Her makeup was over the top, almost theatrical, and her hair
screamed Latina. Back combed on the top and about half way down, then a half of
a can of AquaNet made sure not a single hair would move.

It was a good thing that Amy could walk in hooker heels;
otherwise, this would have ended badly. Driving wasn’t easy, but she managed.
Arriving at the Santa Maria Inn, she found a parking spot on ground floor,
making it easier to get to the Tap Room where they held the competition.

“Where the hell am I supposed to put my phone?” Amy grumbled
as she looked at herself then back to Maggie. Amy never carried a purse or a
clutch, and with as little fabric as she had on, it was going to be a miracle
to find a spot for her license.

“Here.” Maggie took Amy’s cell and pulled out the leather of
her skirt, placing the cell against her hip. “See, right there. I left mine at
home since no one but you or Thorne calls me anyway.”

“Antonia calls you.” Amy frowned, linking her arm through
Maggie’s. “That’s a plus.”

“No, that diva texts. He doesn’t talk.” Maggie giggled while
she pulled open the door to the Tap Room.

“Why thank you. Who’d have thought that you’d have manners?”
Amy winked at Maggie, then yelped when the leather stung her ass cheeks from
the smack she got for the comment.

They found a table near the fireplace at the right side of
the stage. The tavern looked like it had been transformed into a disco hall,
lighted disco ball included. Party favors sat on every table, along with tiny
top hats for the guests. Dim, yet colorful lighting gave off a festive
atmosphere.

Thunder cracked through the room, lights pulsating like
lightning, getting everyone’s attention toward the stage. “It’s Raining Men”
rang out; the contestants came out to start the pageant with a dance routine.
Antonia was dressed in sequins and feathers, strutting his shit like it didn’t
stink.

Amy and Maggie screamed out while Antonia got his ten second
solo in the opening act, making more noise than anyone in the bar. It seemed to
fuel him on, his dance moves grew more flamboyant as the skit went on.

There were twenty contestants, Antonia was number nine,
giving the girls ample time to have a couple of drinks. Amy stopped at one
alcoholic beverage, since she was driving, but Maggie? Tequila and apple
martinis were her poison for the evening.

Amy felt her phone vibrating at her side as Antonia came on
stage, but he was hidden behind a screen. Grabbing it, she glanced at the
screen. Mace. She denied the call and tossed the cell to the tabletop. This was
her friend’s big moment and she’d be damned if she was going to miss it,
especially after she complained about coming in the first place.

The crowd erupted into applause when “I Feel Like A Woman”
blared through the speakers, a light snapping on behind Antonia, giving the
audience a silhouette dance to start. The screen fell, revealing Antonia decked
out to the nines. Top hat with black mesh hid the extravagantly made up eyes,
glossy red lips stood out against caramel skin. A thick, black choker graced
his neck, offset by the man’s long sleeve unbuttoned white dress shirt,
exposing a black satin corset and matching black mini skirt. The cake topper
was the black suede thigh-high boots Antonia strutted on, owning the song.

Amy’s phone kept vibrating through the routine, even as
Antonia received a standing ovation for his performance. Sitting down, Amy
wrenched her phone off the table, seeing twenty-five missed calls and seven
missed texts, reading 9-1-1.

“What the hell?” Amy frowned as she pushed out of her seat.

“What’s wrong?”

Amy shrugged and looked at the last caller, her father.
“Mace, Romeo and Dad have been trying to get ahold of me. The texts are all
9-1-1’s. I need to go see what’s up.”

“I’ll go with you. I need some air anyway.”

The two made their way out to the lobby where it wasn’t as
noisy, giving Amy a chance to hear while she dialed her dad back.

“Amy! Where the fuck are you?”

“Wow, okay. Hi to you too. I’m at Antonia’s pageant, where I
said I was going to be. Why?”

“Is Maggie with you?”

Her father’s voice sounded strained, tired, and she only
heard that tone once before. “Yes … what’s wrong, Dad?”

Maggie looked at Amy funny, probably because she could only
hear one side of the conversation.

Amy shrugged at Maggie’s questioning look, waiting for her
dad to answer her.

“You need to get to the hospital now. Bring Maggie.”

Amy stilled and paled hearing those words. “What happened?”

“Just get here. We’re in the ER.” Stone hung up.

Amy stared baffled at her phone, even as that hard knot in
her stomach started to surface. “We need to go, Maggie.” Amy offered no
explanation as she headed toward the exit.

“What’s wrong, Ames? You’re scaring me!” Maggie raced after
Amy.

“I don’t know, something bad. Dad told us to get our asses
to the hospital. He wouldn’t tell me more.”

Amy broke out into a slight jog, Maggie hot on her heels.
Once inside the Jeep, Amy tore out of the parking structure and onto the
street, turning her hazards on. If someone tried to stop her, they could chase
her ass to the hospital. It wasn’t far with the sparse traffic. The damn stop
lights were killing her. She’d speed, but couldn’t run any lights for fear of
getting into an accident.

Coming to a screeching halt at the emergency entrance to the
hospital, she parked half-hazard near the bikes. The girls jumped out and ran
for the entrance, immediately looking for Stone as the doors swished open.

Spotting the whole club in the waiting room, Amy made a
beeline for them. “Dad?” Her voice shook with worry as Stone turned to face
her. Romeo was quick to move to Maggie’s side, pulling her to him. Stone nodded
to Amy, but turned to Maggie, who looked up at Romeo in confusion. “Maggie,
sweetie.” Stone took ahold of her hand in both of his. Looking down, sorrow
clouded his features. He drew in a breath and looked back up to Maggie. “Thorne
was in an accident—“

Maggie sagged in Romeo’s arms as tears filled her eyes.
“What? Oh my God! Is she all right? What happened?”

Amy’s heart nearly stopped when those words came out of her
father’s mouth, barely feeling a hand take ahold of her own. Looking at the
hand that held hers, she saw Mace, but couldn’t focus when her dad’s words
caught her attention once more.

“She’s in surgery now, we won’t know how she is until
they’re done. Saber is getting stitches, he’s pretty badly banged up, but we’ll
know more once we can get in to see him. All we know is that the ambulance
flipped and Thorne was driving.”

Romeo physically held Maggie up as the tears streamed down
her face, her head shaking. “She’s got to be okay. She can’t die. She’s got to
be okay.”

Amy couldn’t hold her tears at seeing her friend torn apart.
Breaking hold of Mace’s hand, she darted over to Maggie, taking her friend from
her brother. “Shh, I’ve got you, Mags. Thorne will be okay. I promise. She’s
tough, like you.” Amy maneuvered Maggie over to the seats, lowering them onto a
sofa. She gently rocked her while they waited for Saber to come out.

They all waited in silence, except for Maggie’s and Amy’s
sniffles, several members switching with Amy and holding Maggie as they waited.
Finally, Saber made his way out of the back area to the waiting room. Bandaged
up on his forearm, his other arm hung in a sling with a brace. Blood covered
his blue uniform and was matted in his hair, though he didn’t seem to notice.

Everyone spoke at once, though Stone lifted his hand to get
everyone quiet so Saber could speak.

“What happened?” Stone voiced what everyone wanted to know.

Saber glanced to Maggie then back to Stone. “Not in here.”
He shook his head.

Stone sighed, motioning for Dalton to take his turn with
Maggie. Romeo, Mace, Axe, Talon, Stone and Amy followed Saber to the hallway,
away from the distraught Maggie.

“We were running to a call on the 101, must have been doing
seventy, code three, when we were surrounded by bikes.” Saber licked his lips,
shifting his weight almost like he wasn’t comfortable with what he had to say.
“I don’t know how the fucker knew it was us, but Demon was riding with the TGMC
and he made sure I saw it. Thorne tried to avoid hitting them, but they put us
into a tight curve and she lost control when Demon pulled out a gun and shot
out the tire.”

“Holy shit, are you serious?” Amy breathed, half sagging
against Mace, hearing what that son of a bitch did to them. It was no wonder he
didn’t want Maggie to hear about what happened. Not only was her sister barely
hanging on, but it was her Ol’Man that did it. She felt Mace’s arm wrap around
her, a shiver of fear raced down her spine. If he was capable of hurting
someone innocent, what the hell would he do to someone that wasn’t?

“Thorne tried not to wreck, but it was unavoidable. We
flipped and hit a tree. Her seatbelt broke and she slammed against the
windshield and sliced her face open, along with her jugular. She died on me
twice. We had to air lift her here.”

Stone whistled low, shifting his weight; his hands held a
white knuckle grip on his hips as he looked around to the brothers, then back
to Saber. “This…” he cleared his throat and looked at the ceiling, tongue
running over his lips. Swallowing, he finally looked back to Saber. “This
doesn’t go unpunished. That little girl in there was in my home just as much as
Maggie was. She is just as much our family as any of you. We take care of our
own.

“I want Dalton on her room when she comes out of surgery, if
he has to take a piss, he better call someone to relieve him before he leaves
that door. We don’t know who Demon was after. If it was you, Saber, or if it
was Thorne, since she’s Maggie’s sister.”

Amy looked over to the doctor, leaving a sobbing Maggie
behind. “Dad! The doctor!” She prayed with everything she had that Thorne
survived the operation and that wasn’t bad news Maggie just received.

Stone stopped the doctor, who turned, looking a bit
frightened at the seven people surrounding him. Saber placed his hand on Stone’s
arm and shook his head at him.

“Doc, I’m Thorne’s partner, well, Espina. Johnny Kilpatrick.
How is she?” Saber held his hand toward the doctor.

“I’ve seen you in here with her before, Johnny. It’s nice to
meet you formally, even under the circumstances. She’s stable for now. She’s
got a battle ahead of her with fighting infections from the cuts and the
psychological trauma she’ll be facing if she gets through that.” The doctor
shook his hand and looked to each person, then back to Saber. “She’ll be scarred.
Over three hundred exterior stitches and over a hundred interior stitches to
her face. The repair to her jugular might affect her voice as well. She’s going
to need her family now more than ever. Miss Lopez was very lucky to have you
there, Johnny. You kept her alive long enough to get her here.”

Amy’s mind reeled. How could this happen to someone so
sweet? To someone who, in all purposes, was family? How was Demon so vicious?
What had made him this way? “Maggie. I’ve got to go to Maggie.” She let go of
Mace and ventured back, in a daze, to her friend. “Go to the guys, Dalton. I’ve
got her.”