by Colbie Kay
“For $25,000!” I screech.
He shrugs his shoulder. “You need money. I have it.”
“Hacker, I can’t take this!” I hold it out for him to take back.
He sits back in his chair and crosses his arms. “Don’t be difficult. Take the check, pay what you gotta pay, and be fuckin’ happy.”
“Hacker...” I huff, but he interrupts.
His eyes stare into mine, daring me. “End of discussion.” He uses a tone that says not to push him.
“Fine. Thank you!” I shove the check in my purse. Inside I’m doing a freaking happy dance, though I’m concerned it’s going to cost me something later. I sit at my new desk quietly, biting the inside of my cheek, and tapping my fingers on the top of the desk. Without even thinking, I blurt, “At least let me buy you a drink or dinner; something.”
“You drink free here, and no, it doesn’t work that way with me. If we were doin’ dinner, I’d be the one askin’ and you sure as fuck wouldn’t be buyin’.” My mouth gapes open at his response. “Close the mouth, Red, before it starts looking tempting,” he teases with a grin. I know he just said that to get a rise out of me, but it doesn’t stop my mouth flopping open and closed like a fish.
I point my thumb behind me towards the door. “I think I’m going to go see if any dancers are here yet.”
“Good idea.” He chuckles.
I stand in the dressing room with Dancer. “Listen up, ladies!” she yells over the talking. The women stop getting undressed, half of them already naked, all turning towards Dancer and me. “This is Sierra; Hacker has hired her to be your new manager. Considering the shit that’s been going on, she will be watching you all. She has the authority to fire each and every one of you, so if you want to keep your job here, you all better start acting right. You ladies better show her respect!”
“Hi!” I wave to them, but they ignore me and go about what they were doing—except one.
She’s short, with dark curly hair. “Hi, I’m Hannah. It’s nice to meet you.” She holds her hand out for me to shake. It’s kind of ironic; she’s so soft-spoken and polite, yet she’s standing here naked in front of me with no shame on her young face.
I take her hand in mine. “It’s nice to meet you, too.” I smile.
She mimics my smile. “Don’t worry about the others, it takes them a minute to warm up to new people.”
“Thanks.”
Hannah walks away to finish getting ready. Dancer addresses the women once again. “Alright, ladies, doors are now open, and customers are showing up. Have a good night!” She leads me out of the dressing room just as the music begins booming throughout the club. “Don’t let Hannah fool you. She’s a super sweet girl, but if you get on her bad side or she gets pissed she will be ready to fight and cut a bitch. I’ll introduce you to the DJ now that he’s here.” Wow, I didn’t expect that from the sweet girl I just met.
We walk over towards the entrance to a closed off section. She opens the door, we step inside, and a young man stands behind a table. He has long dark hair pulled into a man-bun and one arm is covered with tattoos. He’s dancing around to the beat of the song he’s playing. He looks like he thoroughly enjoys his job.
“Shad.” He stops to look at Dancer. Oh, my, he’s handsome with his full beard and moustache, olive toned skin, and bright blue eyes. But way too young for me; I’m not a cougar.
“What’s up, Dancer.” He gives her a flirtatious smile.
I glance at Dancer, but she’s not reciprocating. “I wanted to introduce you to the new house manager. This is Sierra; she’s been hired on to watch over the dancers.” I still find it ironic that her name is Dancer, but she doesn’t dance here.
His eyes and that smile move to me, and he holds out his hand. “Nice to meet you, pretty lady.” Ah, he’s a flirt with everyone, but I’m almost positive he is into Dancer.
“Nice to meet you, Shad.” I shake his hand.
“Alright, let’s go, Sierra. I have to get behind the bar. Have a good night, Shad.”
“You ladies do the same.” He turns back to his job and begins dancing to the beat again.
When Dancer shuts the door, I say, “I think he likes you.” I laugh a little.
“He’s like that with everyone.” She rolls her eyes. “I don’t have time for playboys.” I walk with her to the bar. “What would you like to drink?”
“Do you have wine?”
“Sure do. One glass of chardonnay coming up, and a whiskey for Hacker.”
She finishes up with our drinks and passes them over to me. “Have a good night, Sierra. If you need anything or have any questions don’t hesitate to ask. And I’m happy you’re here.” She gives me a smile.
I mirror her dazzling smile. “Thank you!” I take the glasses and go back to the office, giving Hacker his whiskey.
The rest of the night I split my time between walking around Stilettos, helping the dancers in the dressing room if they need anything, and being in the office with Hacker. Nothing else was really said between us, but he would occasionally look up from his computer and ask if I was doing okay.
My first night went surprisingly well, and some of the ladies warmed up to me. I had no issues with any of them and I didn’t have to fire anyone. I say that’s a success. I’m exhausted, though, and my bed is calling my name. A huge hulk of a man named Gus, one of the bouncers, walks me to my SUV. I get in and head for home so I can get some sleep.
Monday afternoon, I finish early at the clinic. I have errands to run, and one of those is depositing the check from Hacker into my bank account. Once I am home, I relieve the caregiver and go into my home office. Pulling out the past due bills, I begin calling numbers and paying some of them off. I then write out checks for Shelly and the other two caregivers. I’m grateful that Hacker has helped me the way he has, and things are beginning to look up. I haven’t felt this stress-free in a long time.
Going out to the garage, I look around at the space full of Mark’s stuff from his house. His old furniture, kitchen appliances, boxes of memories, Kyra’s stuff he could never part with. I open one; it has a photo album inside. Taking it in the house, I sit at the dining room table and begin flipping through the pages.
“Hey, Sisi.” Mark’s voice makes me jump.
I quickly swipe a tear away from my cheek before turning around. I give him a smile. “Hey. Come sit.”
He takes the chair right next to mine. “What are you doing?”
“I found this in the garage.” I flip another page.
Mark points to the photo. “Do you remember that day?”
I laugh. “Yeah, I think I was fourteen and you were twelve. It was Christmas morning, Mom made a huge breakfast, but we just wanted to open our presents.”
Mark laughs. “She was so mad at us. Made us sit there and eat everything that was on our plates.”
I join in on the laughter. “Probably why we look so miserable in the photo.” We do look miserable, like we are both about to vomit right there.
We go through more photos, laughing, crying, and remembering when everything was easy, when we had no worries.
“Sisi, I don’t want Cash to see me get worse. I don’t want you or him having to deal with that.” Mark smiles, but tears well in his eyes.
“Mark…” I whisper, but he cuts me off.
“Listen, I know I’m getting worse. Today is a good day, but I don’t have too many left. Some days I don’t understand why Cash isn’t a baby anymore. I can’t remember moving in here with you or why. And I forget my wife is dead. I don’t want to be a burden anymore.” His smile is sad. I hate this!
“You’re not a burden!” I wipe the tears away that are sliding down my cheeks. “We’re not talking about this anymore.” It’s too hard; I can’t deal with this discussion right now. “Shelly
will be here soon, and I have to get ready to go.”
“Sisi, we have to talk about this,” he pleads.
“Not right now. I can’t, I’m sorry.” I can’t bear the thought of putting him in a nursing home. He’ll be locked in a unit with one small hallway, he won’t be able to go outside, and I’m terrified that he won’t properly be taken care of like he is here with me.
I stand from the table, walk to my room, and the sobs start racking through me. Why did this have to happen to him?
Chapter 14
“Hanger, the Sheriff is here wantin’ to talk to you,” the prospect says into the phone.
“Let him through.” Fuck! What the hell does this fat old fuck want now? I stand from my chair in my office, walk down the hall, and out to the front of the bar to meet him.
He parks his patrol car, steps out, and begins walking towards me with a file in his hand. “Hey, Hanger.”
“What you want, Jenkins?” When he shows up, it’s always fuckin’ something, and the last time was to let me know the club was getting searched. We had enough time to get the compound and our storage units cleaned out. It’s good to have the Sheriff on your payroll in times like that and judging by the look on his face, I’m going to be grateful now.
“Let’s go in your office.”
I open the door, walk in, and we walk back to my office. Shutting the door behind us, I go sit at my desk, and he sits across from me. He lays the file on my desk and slides it towards me. “What’s this?” I sit up straighter.
He runs a hand over his bald head. “Dennis Yearly has been missing for a week.”
My brow cocks. “What’s that gotta do with me and my club?”
His eyes bore into mine. “He was released from prison a few months ago, after doing fifteen years for vehicular homicide. The halfway house he resides at has reported him missing.”
Leaning back in my seat, I cross my arms over my chest. “Get to the point, Jenkins. I don’t know who the fuck Dennis Yearly is.”
“You may not, but Hacker does. Hacker’s wife and son were killed in the accident caused by Dennis.”
“What the fuck are you talkin’ about?” I snatch the file off my desk, open it, and start looking over everything. The conviction, pictures of the accident, photos of a man I’m assuming is Dennis Yearly, and a report.
I scan through it; Tisha Jackson pronounced dead at the scene, Daniel Jackson taken by ambulance to hospital for injuries, and ten-year-old Max Jackson later pronounced dead by attending physician Sierra Greene. Oh, fuck! That’s why they have a history and why he’s so angry with her.
“Hacker is the prime suspect in his disappearance.”
“I’ll talk to him. You need to give them another lead. Do whatever you have to, but steer them away from Hacker.”
“I’ll do my best.” He stands from the chair, takes the file, and shows himself out.
Rubbing a hand down my face, I decide I need to go home.
“Babe?” I yell when I get into my house.
“Hey, baby!” My beautiful Crazy Girl smiles, and for a split second I forget we need to talk. She presses her lips against mine, and I push my tongue between her parted lips, tasting my wife.
“Daddy!” My twin princesses, Ava and Harper, come out from the hall, running to my legs, each latching on to one.
“Hey, girls.” I run a hand down both of their little dark-haired heads. “Where’s Damion?”
“He’s napping. He hasn’t been feeling well today.”
“His teeth?”
She yawns. “Yes, two have finally popped through.” She looks exhausted; I’ll run her a hot bath tonight, give her some time to herself.
Pulling both girls away from my legs, I bend down, hug them both, and kiss their foreheads. “Daddy has to talk with Mommy, okay?” They nod. “So I need you both to go back in the playroom and I’ll come in there when I’m done.”
“Okay, Daddy,” Ava answers for the both of them. “Come on, sister.” They hold each other’s hand and run back to play.
“What’s going on?” I see the worried look in her eyes.
“Let’s go sit down.” I take her hand in mine, lacing our fingers together, and we walk over to the couch. I sit down and pull her onto my lap. “Has Sierra ever told you the history with her and Hacker?”
She leans back onto my chest and shakes her head. “No, she always shut it down. It’s been a while since I’ve seen her. Why?”
I gently run my thumb along her stomach, between the hem of her jeans and where her shirt has ridden up. “Did you know Hacker was married?”
“Married?” Her mouth gapes open. “No!” She turns her head to look at me.
“I didn’t, either. Even when I was younger, he never talked about his home life, never had her at the club or anything.”
“So, what does that have to do with Sierra?” Her brows pull down in confusion.
“He had a son, too.”
“Had?”
“Yeah, they were killed in a car accident. Sierra was the attending physician that called it on his son.” I stare at my wife; it would kill me to lose her and our kids. I can’t imagine how Hacker buried his family, but it explains a lot about why he is the way he is.
“Oh, my God! That’s why he hates her. Poor Hacker, I can’t even imagine.” She shakes her head.
“It’s gotta be. I can’t tell you much more because it’s club business, but Hacker might be in some trouble. Jenkins is supposed to be working on it, but I’m gonna have to talk with Hacker.”
Damien cries from his room. “Duty calls.” She sighs and stands from my lap. “He really shouldn’t blame Sierra, though, if she did everything she could.”
“I know, but I’d be angry, too, if I lost you and our kids. Honestly, I don’t think I would survive that kind of pain.” I kiss her forehead. “I’ll get him and then go in with the girls. You sit and relax. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” She plops back down.
I walk into our son’s room. “Mama,” he whimpers.
“Hey, buddy. It’s Daddy.”
“Mama!” he cries.
“Shh.” I pick him up; he wraps his arms around my neck and settles in my arms. “Let’s go see the girls.” I carry him into the playroom.
Ava and Harper are sitting on the floor playing with blocks. I sit on the floor with them with Damien on my lap and help them build a castle. I enjoy spending this time with them all the more and I’m grateful to have them here. People take shit for granted every day, myself included, but seeing that report makes me remember just how easy it is to lose it all.
Chapter 15
Hanger has called church, so we sit in our seats waiting for the meeting to begin. “As most of you know, Snake sat down with Gunner, Bear, and myself. He has proposed something, and I said I would talk it over with the rest of you. He is proposing that we combine our club with his.”
“What?” a few respond, shocked.
“How would that even work?” BamBam asks. I’m not surprised, since Hanger found out Snake was his father instead of Bulk, the Sinners’ old President. Snake is now married to Hanger’s mom, so I guess it’s Snake’s way of trying to get close to his son since he missed out on his whole life. Bear’s wife, Jacey, is Snake’s kid, too. It’s one fucked up mess.
Hanger says to BamBam, “I’m not real sure. I thought he was out of his fuckin’ mind even suggesting it, but Bear and Gunner think it wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
Hunter pipes in, “Would they become Satan’s Sinners or would we become Cobras? I patched in with the Sinners, not the Cobras, so why should we change it?”
Bear responds, “I think we would have to meet in the middle, so neither club would be giving up their name. Maybe rename as a whole, get new patches.”
&n
bsp; “Who would be the President?” Writer asks.
Gunner answers Writer’s question, “Snake suggested both him and Hanger staying as Presidents.”
“If we have two Presidents that’s not really forming two clubs into one. I’m assuming that would mean having two treasurers, two Enforcers, two of everything. What would be the point, why not just keep them as they are now?” Doc puts his opinion out there.
Hanger nods. “That’s a good point, Doc. I think we should sit on it for now and I’ll meet with Snake again. Does anyone have anything to discuss?” He looks around the room. No one speaks up, so he slams the gavel down; church is over. “Hacker, I need to talk to you.” I stay in my chair while everyone else files out of the room.
When the door shuts Hanger’s attention is solely focused on me. “You got somethin’ you wanna tell me?”
“Nope.” I keep my face expressionless.
“Jenkins came by here yesterday. Said someone by the name of Dennis Yearly is missing and you’re the prime suspect.” Fuck! “Be straight with me, Hacker, did you do somethin’?”
“Yeah.” I can’t keep lying to one of my brothers, especially my President.
His brows pull down. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“’Cause I don’t want the club goin’ down for my problem. This is my shit to deal with.”
“Did you kill him?”
“Not yet.”
“Where’s he at.”
“In the cellar.” We go back and forth with quick questions and answers. Our eyes stay glued on each other.
Hanger hits his fist on the table. “Fuck, Hacker! Okay, we need to deal with him.”
“No!” I interrupt. “I’m doing this alone. I’ll deal with him. If I go down for this, I go alone.”
“That’s not how we work and you fuckin’ know it. Jenkins is supposed to be giving them a different lead and steering them away from you. You fucked up not covering all your tracks.”