Swallowing Mayhem by James Cox

here?”
    “Came to find you,” I lied
smoothly. Not sure where the lie was going but I had to get Tage away from them
or else they’d truly torture him. I don’t know if Day-Si would get away with it, but there were some big, messy loopholes in
the law. I walked past Arnet, who eased
off his weapon. Tage looked at me with eyes as wide as they would go. He knew I
came from the club, didn’t he? I couldn’t remember if he was in the room when
Justice jumped me.
    “What for?” he asked and looked
at Tage. “I think we might have a better source then you right here.”
    “A scared, rich
guy?” I asked, sarcasm thick.
    “No.” He frowned. “He’s been to
the garage a few times a week. No way were you just getting your hover car
fixed.” He looked back at Tage.
    Tage stuttered a bit as he spoke,
“They’re building me...me a custom car.” His hands were up, palms facing us as
his pale skin turned red from the abuse.
    “You’re lying.” Day-si grabbed
the front of his suit, almost shaking Tage. “You’re working with them.”
    “I swear to you, peacekeeper, I
am not.”
    Day-Si pushed him against the
car. “We’ll find out soon enough.” He pushed Tage toward the peacekeeper hover
car.
    “Wexmen condones torture now?” No
one answered me. “And if this guy is telling the truth?”
    Day-Si hesitated at that. “Doesn’t matter. He’s seen your face. We have to lock him
until the investigation is over now.”
    Fuck. I didn’t think of that. I
frowned then smiled. The outlaw was much more fun to play. I did a roundhouse
kick that slammed right into Day-Si’s head. He fell to the ground as I pulled
my gun and shot Arnet. The man went down hard. By the time I turned, Day-Si was
up and pointing his gun. He got off one laser bullet, which went wide then
aimed for Tage. I jumped at Deviant’s lover with all the strength I had. We
slammed against the peacekeeper’s car. The laser flew past us, hitting where
Tage’s head would have been. Then I leaped at Day-Si. I grabbed his wrist with the weapon, using both hands. Not my best
move. Day-Si jammed his fist into my kidney and made stars explode behind my
eyes. Pain rose, but adrenaline helped me
move quicker. Still holding on, I used my elbow to smash him in the face. He
didn’t drop the gun, but at least he
stopped hitting me. I loosened one hand and punched him in the nose, which was
bleeding.
    “Traitor,” he managed to wheeze
out.
    I gave him another solid hit and
his grip loosened. I pulled the gun from his grasp, but he bucked. I went sprawling backward, landing hard on my back. Day-Si rose
and I didn’t think. It was survival mode as I pulled the trigger. The laser
bullet was bright against the growing shadows. It hit Day-Si’s body with enough
force to make him jerk . His momentum continued
sending him falling on me. I didn’t know where I hit him, but I felt the blood seeping onto my skin. I pushed him to his side, sitting up then staring down at his unconscious
form. I must have been there for a while because it was Tage’s hand on my
shoulder that broke me out of the trance.
    “Are you okay?”
    I nodded then stood. My shirt was
covered in blood. Hell, I was just happy it wasn’t mine. “We need to go.”
      “I’m going to warn the Amazons. They have an
escape plan.”
    “Hurry. My bike’s back
there.” Technically, Mayhem’s bike. “We have to get
the fuck out of here.” As long as we weren’t caught at the scene we had some
time. If Day-Si lived, he’d be unconscious for days healing. Maybe
not days, hours. We had fucking hours. I ran back to the bike, started
it up, and made my way to Tage.
    “It’s done,” he said as he hopped
behind me.
    I drove us from the bloody scene
and rode as fast as I could. I didn’t cover my shirt as we rode. I took the
back streets, a little longer but hell at least we wouldn’t have to pass the
peacekeepers at the clubhouse. The garage door was open as I pulled into the
lot. I felt this