by Kiki Leach
"Damn, girl, it is so good to see your ass back out here again," she said, gently swaying us from side to side, the warmth of her voice putting me at ease. "Shit hasn't been the same since you left for college. Not that it isn't what you needed for yourself. Hell, maybe I could've used some of it too instead of being around here off and on over the years." I lowered my arms from her and pulled back to exhale. "How the hell have you been?" Her slightly round, dark brown eyes gazed into my own with a dash of hope that I would give her something worth chewing on as she lifted a hand to brush my hair behind my ear. I shrugged and shook my head, remaining silent. "Eyes told me about you getting married out here to a white boy."
"It hasn't happened yet."
"I know." She chuckled, her plum colored lipstick brightening as her lips parted into a wide grin, showcasing her all too perfect, bright white teeth. "I hope he's fine enough to be worth it for more than the money you're getting from him for the club."
"He is, but..." I stopped as a sudden chill brushed across my skin.
"What is it, Cheyenne?" She soured. "You know you can still talk to me about anything? We're still girls even if you've barely called my ass since being away."
"The phone goes both ways," I said.
"True." She grinned again and flicked her freshly manicured thumb toward the front end of the club. "Was that your boy I saw out there with Nix?"
"Probably. Were they doing anything in particular?"
"Aside from drinking, not really. Nix looked like he was talking about something not too important and your boy was just trying to listen, I think." I darted my eyes from hers in somewhat of a panic and exhaled. "Why don't we go where we can actually hear each other without all this trash box music drowning us out like usual," she said. "Come on."
She reached for my hand and guided us toward the chapel.
After shuffling through an overzealous crowd that had grown in bikers and women as everyone else outside moved in, we made our way to the room and shut the door.
I took a seat in Rox's former chair at the table while Brandi sat on top and shifted directly in front of me; she stared straight down into my face with arched brows and a smirk.
"What is it?" I questioned.
"So much, girl -- so damn much." She slapped her hands together like an excited child and placed them inside her lap. "You heard about Deborah rolling back into the city?"
"I saw her," I muttered, dropping back and folding my arms. "Why?"
"Did she happen to mention the reason she's not going back to Phoenix anytime soon?"
"No. But then again, I had no idea she was even staying out here again until Snake mentioned it to me back in his office; that's where I was coming from before I saw you. What were you told?"
"That she was getting money from a baller who was keeping her out there as his side piece; he couldn't let his wife know what was up."
"That's why she's been out there this whole time? The reason she moved in the first place?"
"It's why she's stayed there, but not why she moved, I don't think. Anyway, the 'baller' would visit maybe once or twice a month for sex and to do some lines of coke."
"That's ... nice. She told you this herself?"
"The man who was keeping her did."
"And who the hell was that?"
She bent forward and grinned. "Ronaldo. Gambiano."
"WHAT?!" I nearly catapulted from the chair while dropping my hands and wagging my head. "You're kidding me--?!"
"Not even a little bit, Cheyenne."
"Why the hell would he tell you about any of this?!"
"Because he came here looking for Snake after learning the money he and his brother initially handed over to Rox had essentially been stolen. Snake wasn't here, so I poured him a few glasses of brown to help him calm down a little, and he started singing at the bar like a damn canary finally free from its cage."
"Oh my God. Have you told anybody else about this?"
"Not a soul."
"Okay, don't. At least not yet." She eyed me from head to waist, unsure, but nodded in agreement. "Was that liquor the only thing that got him talking?"
"Not exactly." She tapped her fingers along the edge of the table and bent her head from side to side. "I let him feel me up a little and that was when he told me all about Deborah, saying that I could be second for him if I played my cards right."
My eyes bugged as I chortled. "Are you?"
"Hell no, Cheyenne!" she spat with an exaggerated laugh. "The man is as old as Eyes and Snake combined -- maybe older."
"Yet you were fine with him feeling you up in the middle of the club."
"To keep him talking for the sake of more information before he headed out of here to get laid by someone else. And he had nice hands. But his dick remained soft for the most part."
"Not something I needed to know--"
"But," she interjected, "what I noticed outside of that is when he told me about Deborah, he didn't seem the least bit surprised to know she was back in town."
I frowned. "Maybe they had an agreement? Or they're working together on something."
"Who knows? But don't you find it funny that she's come back just as all this shit is going down with Rox and the club?"
"Sure, but Rox told me that Taz is the one who called her back out here."
"For what?"
"When he found out I was getting married, he asked her to bring her checkbook in the hope that she could spare the funds for the club; obviously that's been a no-go."
"She's never had more than two pennies to her name outside the club," she said. "You think Taz knows about his mother and the Gambiano?"
"If he does, he's keeping mum to spare the wrath of the brothers finding out, especially Snake..." I trailed off and snaked my eyes across the room.
She bent forward and made a face. "What are you thinking about down there, Chey? You've got the Inspector Gadget look that used to light up your face when we were kids."
"I don't know..." My eyes swept back to hers; I glared. "But Rox went to the Gambiano's first for the money to pay back the club; he's saying that he got it and gave it to Snake, but that he's hiding it somewhere and the reason I'm being asked to marry Nikko is for him to get more of it, along with paying back the Gambiano's some of what he stole. Snake is saying he never got the cash."
"Who do you believe?"
"That's the problem, because both have reasons to lie just as much as they have reasons not to. But Snake not wanting to give up what he might have and allowing me to marry Nikko doesn't exactly make all the sense in the world."
"It does if you think about just how truly greedy he's always been, and the fact that no one else matters outside of that. Don't forget those girls he used to have running around here sucking off the brothers at all hours of the day and night just to get paid like a low rent pimp."
"I know that and remember it all too well when he flipped about it not taking off like the garage's fix-it shop, but..." I sank back into the chair and rested my hands across my stomach. "If Rox had the money, I don't believe for a second that he wouldn't give it up to spare me from getting married."
"That's true; he also has nothing to lose in being locked up at the moment."
"Exactly--"
"Unless he made his own deals too, because you know the club wanted him dead for allowing Lena to get her hands on this money in the first place."
"Sure.... Have you ever actually seen Lena out here? I mean, have you met her in person or something like it?"
"Never, but I know that she was working the club for awhile before moving onto another one to strip."
"Is this something you actually know," I asked her, "or what you were told?"
"Some of both. I've seen her name on the books."
"What about what she looks like?"
"I couldn't tell you."
"Okay. Do you remember her last name?"
"Watters, I think? I know the brother's tried looking her up, but found nothing, which shouldn'
t have shocked them when most of the girls that work multiple places around the area have used names they bought and paid someone else for; along with SS numbers, birth dates and years, all of that shit."
"Right..." My eyes dipped as my thoughts wandered. "This means that I'm back at square one, because she could be anybody and still lurking around out here with the name she was given at birth."
"Doubtful when the brothers know what she looks like."
"Not so much if any or all of them are in on this mess with her in some capacity."
"A few of them I could understand, but not the likes of Nix and Loco," she said. "That being said, the longer all of this goes on, the more complicated it's going to get between you and the white boy."
"His name is Nikko, please, and what do you mean?"
"That there's a chance you might actually start falling for him in the middle of trying to get paid."
"And if I did?"
Her shoulders practically sank to the floor in response. "Girl."
"Would it be that bad of a thing?"
"You can't be serious right now, Chey -- oh my God, girl." She leaned away from me and chuckled while eyeing me as if I were a simp. "Have you been fucking him?"
"I'm not..." I sat up straight and cleared my throat. "I'm not answering that question."
"That means you have been fucking him, girl, oh my God -- you can't even be subtle... Is it at least good enough for you to be acting this stupid?"
"I'm... not the one acting stupid here, bitch."
"You're acting like someone who's got more dick on the brain than common sense. Are you planning on staying married to him once this is over?" I rolled my eyes from hers while refusing to answer. "Oh my God, Cheyenne."
"We haven't talked about any of that."
"But you're wanting to?"
"I never said that."
"You don't have to when I can see it." She sighed. "You are not thinking about any of this shit clearly, girl. What the hell does his dick look like -- How big is it?"
"I'm not answering any of these questions, that shit is private, Brandi--"
"Ah." She pointed. "You've truly fallen for this clown."
"He's not a clown. You'd know that if you actually met him."
"And there you go again..." She stopped to shake her head. "Damn girl, I wish I had your willpower. To believe that any dick possible could save me from the truth... I'm only telling you this out of love, and because we both know that whatever the hell this is between you won't last."
"What if it did?"
"Girl--"
"It could."
"Cheyenne." She stared into my face like a worried mother; only six months older than me with no children, she always seemed to have something of a natural maternal instinct, so much more than I ever did. "You are really being a mess right now."
"Don't judge me when I got a taste of what life can be like outside of this place after leaving for college," I said. "The weekend rides, the family functions, all of that, I missed and fully admit to it -- I do. But everything my world became away from the chaos and death and lies and deceit... I want to keep that going."
"With him at your side?"
"I've already said so."
"Are you in love with him?"
"We've spent a lot of time together since he got out of Rikers, and some before it. Most has been about--"
"Fucking?"
"The club. My father, his father, this mess we're both into because of them -- our mothers... I don't know how I feel outside of everything that's been bubbling up since we first met, but I do know that no matter what you or any of the brothers keep trying to say or convince me of otherwise, I'm not backing down from finding out."
"What do you feel when you think about him right now, Cheyenne? How does he make you feel overall when you're together?"
"...Happy," I said. "At least as much as I can be with all that's going on around us."
"Damn, girl. Okay." She lifted her hands and turned them palm-side up before dropping them back down to the table. "So when is the actual date for this wedding?"
"I don't know just yet -- we're still trying to figure it out."
"Do you need a maid of honor?"
"Sure... Do you know anyone who might be interested in being one for me?"
"Bitch." She grinned. "Come here, girl." She dropped her feet back down to the floor and yanked my arm until I was on my own. "You know that no matter what, I'm gonna be here for you, right? After your mother died and mine took off post-divorce from Eyes, all we had was each other... along with Taz, but he doesn't really count so much anymore."
"Why is that?"
"Because dick, sweetie, dick." I laughed as she threw an arm around my neck and pulled me into her space. I wrapped my hands around the small of her back and shook my head. "You know that we should also look into maybe getting a dress that isn't so white with all of this."
"Drop dead."
"Not before I witness these 'I do's from the girl who pledged that marriage was death when we were ten years old--" A sharp knock at the door cut her short. She groaned. "Who the hell is that?"
As the door creaked open, we turned to see four of the club's members, Eyes, Loco, Joker and T-Rex making their way inside.
I stood away from Brandi and stepped to the other side of the room.
"Whaddup!" Loco dragged a hand across his perfectly trimmed, salt and pepper beard while shifting his silver rimmed eyes between us; then he dropped his burly body down to a chair near the head of the table and threw his feet along the cornered edge.
Brandi fixed the hem of her skirt as the remaining members flashed her a quick peace sign.
Eyes looked to her and jerked his chin. "We're gonna need the room," he said. "Along with Chey in it. Drinks are getting low out there in the meantime; muthafuckas are running wild."
"And that's my problem, how?" she shot back.
"Jesus Christ, Brandi -- We need her and the goddamn room, do you fuckin' mind?"
"If I said that I did?"
He turned half-way and opened his arms. "What the fuck is up with you being so goddamn smart about shit lately?"
"I'm on my period."
"For two goddamn months straight? If you're bleeding out like that, you need to hit up the muthafuckin' doctor."
She cut her eyes from his and turned back to me, making a face. "We'll finish with all of this other shit later."
"Finish what 'other shit' later?" asked Joker, leaning against the frame and adjusting the lapels of his cut.
"Nothing." She winked at me before stepping out of the room and slamming the door.
Loco chuckled while shaking his head. "Christ with that one there, brother. Been a goddamn pill since she came outta the fuckin' womb, has she not?"
"Now you see why the fuck I'm no longer with her crazy as shit mother," muttered Eyes. "And why the fuck her ass took off in the first goddamn place. Imagine that shit in twenty fuckin' years all over my dick. My ass would be fuckin' dead."
"Yeah, from her taking a goddamn knife to your motherfuckin' throat and balls while you slept next to her."
"Sometimes I think that shit mighta been for the goddamn best--"
"What the hell do you all want from me in here?" I asked, purposely cutting him off.
He turned back to me and glared. "What the fuck were you two in here talking about, Cheyenne?"
"My wedding; her being the Maid of Honor and all that."
"Maid of dishonor," mumbled Loco. "That is some shit I can ride with; anything else--"
"Nobody asked you," I said.
He snarled. "You're gettin' to be just like her all over again -- big goddamn mouth, shit attitude."
"You marrying this motherfucker that's been out there talking to Nix this whole time," said T-Rex, one of the oldest living members of the club. He shuffled forward on a bum right foot and took a seat alongside Loco; he leaned back and stroked the length of his off-white beard. "There ain't no other way for you to get this cas
h back for the club?"
"If there were, do you think I would still be in this mess?"
"Who fuckin' knows at this point with your ass, Cheyenne?" said Loco.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
He shrugged. "Just that Snake mentioned the possibility of you falling all over this muthafucka's dick like a cheap ass suit."
"Excuse me?"
"You could find another way to get back what the club lost if you tried hard enough beyond a cracker--"
"For three-hundred thousand dollars? You're joking." I looked to each of them and glowered. "Even if I went out there turning tricks every other night for three months straight, I couldn't earn that much back when you'd need it."
"Maybe if you priced these assholes high enough and only stuck with ballers." I peeked at Joker as he snickered between words. He straightened himself as I glared and waved his hand at me while shaking his head. "Sorry."
"No you're not, and that wasn't funny," I said. "Because you're not the one actually out there busting your ass in the only way that can be done to get the club paid before hightailing it the hell back out of this city."
"And with that asshole still on your arm," said Eyes.
I squint. "What else did your President say about me?"
"Not you specifically, baby girl," said Loco. "But he mentioned some shit about how your old man ran off at the mouth to the wrong muthafucka about some shit he shouldn't have." He threw his hand out toward me and wagged his head. "I knew sticking him inside that can was a bad fuckin' idea, but that ball-less VP you've had wrapped around your pinky since forever was determined to keep him breathing for longer than he should've been."
"Did he say anything else?" I asked.
Eyes cleared his throat. "No shit you need to be worried about right now. The only concern is you wanting to stay married for longer than you should be at twenty fuckin' three years old."
"I never said anything to him about that."
"Then where the fuck else would he get the idea?"
"I don't know! But I'm not talking about it with you or anyone else outside of Nikko. Because my life outside of this is mine which means that whatever comes after you're paid doesn't matter."
"It will," replied Loco.
"It shouldn't."
"Jesus Christ, girl, you are acting dim as fuck; that shit was fine when you were a kid, but as a grown ass woman, it ain't. Prez said you ain't even set a goddamn date for this shit yet."