The Serpentine Syndicate MC: Manix

Chapter 4

Looking past my shoulder, and realising the glass had in fact missed me, I let out a sign of relief, I definitely did not need another mark on my body right now. Turning back and meeting the enraged face of Crystal, I kept quite, unsure of what was going to follow next.

'That boy is fine, he has his books and Ronnie needs me more' she shouts in the direction of the male biker who had spoken up previously.

The biker I had seen her getting frisky with repeatedly since I had arrived, I now assumed was Ronnie, due to the sheepish look he was giving and the mix of side glances thrown his way. He looked to be in his late 20s, compared to Crystal's slightly aging appearance, from what I suspect may be due to years of smoking and drugs.

'You can't leave a child alone all day with no food or drink, just so you can score some dick', I carried on wanting the rest of the bar to know what she had done.

That must have been too much for Crystal as she lunged forward, thrashing her arms at me. Almost immediately, I stepped back, although, evidently not quick enough, as I felt the familiar pull of my hair, dragging me forward towards her.

'You f*cking scank, I'm a soon to be old lady when Manix hears of this, you'll be lying in a ditch wishing you had ignored the little nuisance'.

'He's... not...a...nuisance, I breathed out, struggling to unattached her hands from my head, her nails were starting to dig in to my scalp and honestly it hurt. My head was starting to ache as I tried to kick back, successfully hitting her body a few times, earning a grunt from Crystal.

Seeing this escalation from the both of us, both the bikers and some of the strippers made an attempt to pull the two of us apart, although we were both stubborn in our fight, refusing to back down first. The way she had spoken about Aldo and his description of how his mother treated him when his father was not around, fuelled my efforts to at least score a few punches, before, I would inevitably be thrown out the dive bar. With every push and shove, I felt years of anger release from my body, anger towards Calvin actions, anger toward the situations and anger towards myself for allowing it all to happen. If I wasn't currently in such an obscene situation, cat fighting it out with a stripper in a seedy bar, I almost would have been thankful for the free anger management I was currently receiving.

As more and more individuals joined in, trying to breaks us apart, although many looked satisfied every time I could lay my hands on Crystal, the bar became the rowdiest I'd seen it all night. This only fuelled me on, as we continued to have at it, for what felt like a life time.

To occupied in my fight, I hadn't noticed the room had gone quite, no longer were people yelling for us to stop, instead everyone's attention lay on the oak door upfront. A group of bikers, I had not yet seen tonight, stood at the door, with Ranger beside them. Dressed in similar jackets to everyone else, with a snake emblem on the sleeve, except these jacket held more badges than the men sat within the bar. I could already sense these men must be important, higher up in the food chain.

Only once the clearing of a throat is heard, do I notice the most intimidating man I had ever seen. Easily over 6ft, a giant compared to my 5ft 7. His tight fitting black v neck and worn jeans, make me believe he works out regularly, as it wouldn't surprise me if he was 100% muscle, yet he wasn't one of those eight pack, body builder type guys which I liked. If I wanted to lay my head on someone, I didn't want it to be rock solid, I liked a little comfort.

What the hell was I talking about, a guy like that would certainly not chose me to cuddle in bed with.

His brooding exterior and eyes covered by a pair of dark shades, screamed seriousness. I didn't need to see his eyes to know he was positively enraged. A small part of me hoped he was mad at something entirely different, although I knew that was impossible.

Great Carina, you've really done it now. Removed yourself from one death sentence only to put yourself up for another.

I waited for him to have his men take me out back and shoot me or even worse torture me and then shoot me, but every passing moment of silence, just made me wish he would make a decision and kill me fast. The only comfort I had, was the small reassuring smile from Ranger. Which I did think was odd, considering I was surely about to become hells newest inmate.

'Oh baby your back, this bitch...'

'How dare you treat my son like that'.

The room remained quite and the men beside him looked ferocious with there glares directed at Crystal. Oh so this was Aldo's dad, his demeanour screamed importance and I knew immediately why the entire bar was at a stand still upon his arrival. Crystal had begun to cower, stuttering in an attempt to form an explanation.

'Take this bitch and get her off my property, I never want to see the whore again' he yelled at the men, who charged into action. I panicked looking around for a safe exist until the men walked past me entirely, instead grabbing Crystal and pulling her from the bar. Breathing a sigh of relief that he had been talking about Crystal and not me, I watched them grip her arms and haul her away.

Her banshee like screaming, mixed with her petitions to stay, had no effect on the strong men that carried her out, with Aldo's father trailing close behind.

A few of the younger, more joyful looking dancers took to asking me if I was alright, pointing towards the blood dripping from an open cut on my upper arm. Nodding a quick yes, the room seemed to fall back into silence, as I examined the damage done.

The glass that just moments before had narrowly missed my head, was now splintered all over the patched wooden floor, that I now notice was lifting at the edges and had endured much more than the glass and beer currently sloshed upon it.

But my only thought attained to the fast little footsteps I heard behind me. Ignoring the blood that seemed to seep down my hands and legs, I turned grabbing him before the glass did any damage to his bare feet. Soothing him as best I could whilst his head lay in the crook of my neck, I tried to shield him from the screaming match currently taking place outside.

Silence seemed to linger within the building with only the sound of the female outside, being pulled further into the distance. The sound of bikes starting eventually drowned out her final words.

Looking around the room, I noticed the stunned faces of the individuals I had been conversing with moments before, when the solid oak door swung open hitting the wall adjacent, causing me to jump out of my skin. My hand subconsciously gripped tighter to the distressed boy, as I tried to tell myself it would provide him comfort although deep down I knew the comfort was for me.

As I finally looked up at the culprit of my distress, my eyes met with the epitome of rage, whose ragged seething breath seemed to jolt the individuals around me into action.