“Styx and I went for a ride. When we came back to the compound, there was a big black truck parked to the side of the gate. A… a…” I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to remember what Styx had said. Snapping my eyes open, I blurted, “A Chevy. A black Chevy truck. He told me to tell you it was full of ammo and it was the… Nazis?” I looked Ky straight in the eye. His mouth had tightened into a thin line. “Is that right, Ky? The Nazis?”

He nodded and turned to punch the wall. “Fuck! He’s gone in alone. The f**kin’ stupid dick!”

The brothers as one ran into the lounge. Flame still sat on the chair, the tip of his long blade now pressed into his thigh, making deep cuts. His heavily tattooed, flamed neck strained and he sported a large bulge in his jeans.

My Lord, I thought; his self-inflicted pain excited him… sexually.

Seeing the commotion, Flame stood, his black eyes twinkling at the implication of danger—no, death. That was the only way to describe it. Death was just lurking under the surface. Flame had demons tormenting his soul.

“What?” Flame asked in a deep guttural tone.

“Nazis. Styx. The stupid bastard’s gone in alone,” Ky explained tightly.

Flame’s teeth clenched and his thick neck strained, writhing with corded veins. He released a roar and began slapping his chest, his blade still clutched in his hands ripping into his already marred skin. I wanted to reach out for him to stop, to stop hurting himself so badly, but it was as if he had an impenetrable aura wrapped around him, which kept the entire world at bay.

“He said to call him for his location,” I recalled, dragging my attention back on the matter at hand. Ky dug into his pocket as Tank, Beauty, Letti, and Bull appeared through the front entrance. Obviously they had been in the yard. Tank and Bull stormed over to the brothers; Viking brought them up to date on recent events.

“Shit!” Tank spat out. “That branch of the Klan are real f**ked up. And I mean like real f**ked up. Grand Wizard is Johnny Landry. The worst man I’ve ever met; total fascist bastard, as in extreme. He’s serving time right now, but he’s trained his crew well. No loyalty to no one outside of White Power. They get Prez, he’s dead. They’ll peel his skin off his damn bones just for fun. That or they’ll lynch him—it’s their signature. They’re old school.” Tank rubbed a long prominent scar that ran from the back of his shaved skull to the left side of his forehead. “I should know. When I got out of that life, this was their parting gift.”

My mouth dropped open. Tank used to be a Nazi?

Beauty listened to her man with shining eyes as Tank informed the brothers of the Nazis murder preferences. Suddenly, I choked out a small cry, trying to force back the wave of nausea building in my stomach. Immediately, Beauty ran over to me, throwing her arms around my shoulders.

“Shh, Mae. He’ll be good. It’s Styx. Ain’t no one getting that stubborn man to Hades without one hell of fight first. He’s The Hangmen Mute. He’s invincible.”

“FUCK!” Ky screamed.

I froze in Beauty’s arms, my full attention on Ky. He looked me straight in the eye, intense worry in his gaze.

“His cell’s dead.” Ky marched right up to me and planted his hands on my shoulders, his blue eyes imploring. “Where did he go? Think, Mae. Think. Any intel’s good.”

I shook my head, tears streaming down my face. “He just drove off. North, I think, after the truck. It had a sticker on the back, a swas… erm, a-a swas… I cannot remember the name!”

“A swastika?” Ky prompted, desperation haunting his expression.

“Yes, that is what Styx said, a swastika. He said he had to follow them to find their base. He told me to get you to call him immediately so he could give you the location. He said it was his only chance to go get them.”

Ky’s head lowered in disappointment and Tank stepped forward. “Ky, orders? A plan? You’re in charge now.”

Ky dug the heel of his hands into his eyes, groaning out loud. Shaking himself alert, he pointed at the brothers.

“Viking, AK, Flame, Smiler, get on the road. Try and find tracks, signs of Styx, f**k, anything. Call me if you find him. Meet back here in two hours if nothing.” The four men nodded and immediately headed out the door.

“Tank, Bull, get the brothers mobilized, the ones who’ve gone home. Get onto the cops on payroll, face to face. Make the bastards talk. Find out if any of them know where the skinhead f**kers might be hiding out. I’m hitting the road too. Meet back here in two hours. I’m hoping Styx is found before then, then I’m gonna kick his f**kin’ ass myself.”

Ky looked to Letti and Beauty. “You two stay with Mae. Styx’ll appreciate that. She’s probably gonna need y’all.” My stomach sank at his ominous words. Ky left in a hurry. He did not look back.

Ky thinks Styx is going to die.

My knees grew weak as I half collapsed onto the long brown couch. My hand covered my mouth.

“If anyone can take those f**kers out, it’ll be Styx.” Letti tried to be of comfort. It did calm me slightly. She always spoke her true feelings.

Beauty stroked hair from my face. “You okay, honey’?”

A sobering thought hit me hard. “He is going to kill people tonight,” I proclaimed.

Beauty flashed a worried look to Letti, who just shrugged. Beauty gripped my hand. “Mae, it’s the life they’re in. If he don’t kill them, they’ll kill him.”

I sat back, feeling deflated. The harsh reality of how Styx lived hit home… hard. He killed. Styx killed often and in large numbers. I had been taught that to kill a person was a mortal sin; killers go straight to hell. But I knew Styx, that is, the good side. Even knowing he takes lives, I could not bring myself to think ill of him. Lord, I want him… just him.

One fleeting memory of his handsome face made me feel hot and I struggled to sit still. He was so strong and so… raw. He must return to me. He must make me his… in every way. We were fated to be together.

The door behind us crashed open; its wood smacked against the wall with an enormous bang. Propelling me from my dazed state, I saw Rider staggering through to the lounge. He looked distinctly disheveled in his rumpled white shirt and crumpled jeans. Rider rubbed his bruised and swollen jaw. I had never seen him like this before. Not once.