by Hilary Storm
“Why aren’t you using us as security… you’re supposed to be paying for it.”
“Bates said the club was done until money was received.” I make my way around the room once more, stopping to go through the pile of mail on the desk in the corner.
“So, what you’re telling me is the first bill you should’ve paid, is the one you’re trying to bail out on now?” He exhales. He knows he’s defeated and at my fucking mercy. I just have to decide what to do with him.
All the mail matches the Gadzinski address here until I get to one that stands out and almost makes me choke. 525 North University Avenue Apt 2C, Atlanta, Ga. I already know that apartment. I was there last night.
“Who lives in Atlanta?” He starts to whimper.
“Gadzinski… this is not the time to fuck with me. Who lives in fucking Atlanta?”
“My daughter.” His head falls when he gives up the information. It pisses me off how easily he gave her up, but I guess our reputation is preceding us.
Pictures on the mantle catch my eye, so I start to walk around the room and snoop through the tiny glimpses of his life. There’re a couple pictures of a little girl on a horse and Gadzinski standing next to her and another one of Cambri in her graduation cap and gown. Innocence beams from the fucking picture frame as I hold it in my inked covered hands.
I force myself to stop looking once I catch myself brushing a finger over the glass. I don’t have to burn it to memory like I normally would. She’s already there.
“Where’s your daughter these days, Gadzinski?” I step back into my role of the club. He starts shaking his head and holding his mouth closed in defiance against me. “You know I have orders to bring her in if you don’t pay the club the money you owe.” I already know exactly where she is; I’m just trying to process that Cambri is this asshole’s daughter.
“Please don’t. She’s all I have.”
I already knew she was a student in Atlanta before I came here… but what are the odds that she’s my sister’s neighbor. I look for more details on the bill and find the name ‘Cambri Rogers’ at the top. Rogers.
“Why is your daughter’s last name Rogers, Gadzinski?”
“Because her mother didn’t put me on the birth certificate twenty-one years ago and she died when Cambri was four. I’ve never changed her last name to mine, so she could have that piece of her mother.”
Fuck. He’s pulling at my heartstring. The single string of emotion I have. I move to another frame and pick it up, holding it in both hands while I let her smile take me to a sunny day where the wind blows just enough to send a few strands of hair into her face as she looks back into the camera just over her shoulder. My finger is magnetically attracted to the single tattoo on her shoulder. An angel, with the name Carol in cursive below. I look at it longer than I should, taking in the details that I missed in the glimpse from last night.
“I’m gonna need for you to come up with something. Some way to pay your shit off to the club.” I set the picture down to distance myself from the real-life shit that could get in the way with me doing my job.
I don’t like how close this is to Elaina and I’ve spent my entire life making sure she and my mother were safe from club business. Now that it’s just my sister, I’m not about to allow our club into her apartment complex to pull out a girl for bartering. Let alone someone she actually spends time with. No fucking way.
“This is all I have. Take it.” He stands and walks to the desk before he hands me five hundred dollars. “I’m selling the store and will give you the rest as soon as I get it.”
“That won’t work for Bates.” Bash speaks up for the first time to say exactly what I was already thinking.
“How much did you borrow for tuition?”
“Five thousand, but I’ve paid that back. Bates has just doubled it for interest.” I pace again. Back and forth, running my hands through my hair as I weigh in the options.
“Sit back down… And you owe what else to the club?”
“Another three thousand for security plus interest.” Eight grand plus. That’s a lot of money for a guy like this. I can see why he’s selling the store and getting the fuck away from this damn life… but he’s gonna need to pay his debt first.
“That’s a lot of money. How the fuck are you gonna come up with that tonight, Gadzinski? How am I going to walk into my club and slap that much cash down on the table, so I can say I did my job tonight and you’re clear?” My voice echoes through the empty house.
“I don’t have it, but I promise to pay once the store sells. I’ll pay you everything and more for the interest.” I yank his head back and set the blade of my knife on his throat as I talk from behind him. His scared fucking face looking up at me as the tears roll down his cheeks should make me smile… but this time it doesn’t.
I let the knife press into the tightened skin on his neck.
I need him scared. I need him fucking terrified, so he understands not to fuck with the club… or any club in fact. “Who has been stealing your money?”
He swallows hard and trembles through an answer. “I think it’s someone from your club.” I release the grip on his hair and start to pace again.
“That’s a pretty bold fuckin’ statement, Gadzinski.”
“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t believe it.”
“That’s not what we do.” I say it, knowing that’s not how we run business. I know this shit. Evil bastards who deserve to be taught a lesson, yes. But a normal guy in the community running a hardware store trying to send his daughter to school, no.
“I have footage. Let me show you.” He points to the desk once again, so I nod to let him up. He reaches for his cell phone and after a few clicks, he’s turning the screen to show me three men, all dressed in black in the dark of night. It isn’t until about three minutes in to watching the video that I see a face up close. One that I recognize.
I’m missing something here. The level of torment they’re putting on this guy as they rummage through his store and toss shelves aside would normally tell me he owes the club a lot more money than he’s admitting to.
“If I let you live tonight, how do I know you’ll pay the money?”
“All I have is my word. I promise you will be the first person I call.” The old guy looks me straight in the eyes as he speaks. I can feel the truth in his stare and that’s when I know what I’m going to do.
“You’re fucking right you will. You will pay every goddamned penny of the money back. Do you hear?” He nods. “You will call me, not anyone else from the club. You will pay me personally in cash. And I’m giving you one month.” He’s still nodding, now with a look of relief on his face.
“One month. You will have your money.”
“And if I find out that you lied about anything, the deal is off. I’ll personally come find you and kill you myself.”
“I haven’t lied, and I won’t.”
I step back and look at the other Kings, expecting to see surprise in their faces that I’m letting someone go without bloodshed or at least a limp. But they’re solid in their expressions, letting me know they agree with how I’ve handled Gadzinski.
That’s good because I don’t feel like explaining myself to anyone tonight. There’ll be plenty of that shit tomorrow when I face Vic.
Chapter Six
My eyes water as I squint toward the sunlight coming through the window. I move to shadow my face with my left arm, but it’s tucked under a naked girl. My right is under my head, propping it up to see where in the fuck I am. Poe’s house.
Last night’s tattoo never happened. A truck full of girls showed up to Poe’s just as we did, and the rest is history.
My phone vibrates and it takes about two seconds for me to see all the missed messages I have and start moving to detach myself from last night’s random fuck. I step on one of the three condoms I used last night, reminding me to toss those in the trash before Poe has my ass.
I make my way to the toi
let to piss before I look at the messages.
Vic: Where’s Gadzinski’s money?
Vic: Where are you?
Vic: Hello.
Vic: Wake the fuck up.
Vic: Come find me when you finally get your ass out of bed. You have work to do today.
As much as I’d love for his texts to be unusual, they’re not. This is my morning every single day. Vic’s a morning person and he thinks everyone who works for him should be too. I’m not sure how he can party like the does and still wake the fuck up before the sun does, but he does it all the time.
I take my time and even decide to make a pot of coffee before I look for someone to take me back to the club. Poe walks in, already fully dressed and showered.
“Goddamn, Chaos. Put some fucking pants on.” I look down and smile before I reach for my coffee and walk back through the kitchen.
“One of these days, you’ll get used to the fact that I don’t wear pants around the house in the mornings.”
“This is my fucking house. You wear pants, asshole.” I can’t help but stand tall and laugh as I walk through his living room and back to the bedroom he let me crash in last night. The girl I fucked is still passed out and honestly that’s the best-case scenario because I don’t really have the time to go another round. I’d have Vic at my back screaming before I could even finish.
“Get dressed… Vic is sending us to Atlanta for the girl.” Poe stands at the door and talks quietly as to not wake anyone up.
“Fuck.” I should’ve known this was coming. I start to move quickly, putting last night’s clothes back on in a hurry.
I beat Poe to his truck and call Vic just as I slip into the passenger seat.
“It’s about time you fuckin’ wake up. The rest of us have already put in half a day of work.”
“Alright. What do you want from me?” I don’t remind him that my loyalty to this club doesn’t include checking in with him before every sunrise.
“Bring me the Gadzinski girl.”
“Why are we doing that? You’ve given me the fuckin’ job, let me do it.”
“This is my club. You do as I say, when I fucking say. When you run the club, you can do pussy things all you want. Until then, what I say goes. Go get the fuckin’ girl and bring her to me. He didn’t pay what he owes, so he will pay in other ways.” I cringe at the thought of what he’s really saying.
“I’ll let you know when we have her.” I leave it at that and end the call, even though it goes against what I’m all about… what I thought the club was about. It’s not like this is my first day; I’ve been doing this shit for years and I’ve never been told to bring in a girl as payment for a debt. I just need more time to think.
Pussy is at an all-time high in the club. We don’t have to force ourselves on anyone and the day that shit starts will be a true test as to my loyalty to anyone doing it.
Poe and I drive in silence most of the way. Neither of us are men of many words, but we are both the same when it comes to analyzing and thinking things through before we act.
“I don’t like this shit at all. This is too close to Elaina.” He stops the truck just outside the apartment complex as I voice my opinion.
“I know you don’t, but you don’t have a choice. If you don’t do this… Vic will have someone else. Consider this a test.” I already knew Vic was testing me. Hell, he’s done that my entire life.
“Fuck. I know what you’re saying is right. Let’s just fuckin’ do this and get it over with.” Just as I’m reaching for the door handle, a little pink Volkswagon Bug pulls into the parking lot. We both watch as Elaina and Cambri get out.
I can almost hear the laughter between the two of them, both carefree and clueless that we’re here to grab one of them. They should be watching closer… especially after last night.
“So, you think my brother is hot? I can call him and tell him to come over tonight. He’d probably dick you down so hard you’ll have a hard time walking.”
“Jesus, Elaina, you’re so graphic.” Elaina dodges her friend’s playful slug toward her right arm.
“Well, you didn’t answer me!” My sister’s laughter is contagious and for a second, I forget why I’m here.
“Yeah, he’s hot. And I’d be lying if I told you that didn’t sound amazing! But I love how much he cares. He’s protective.”
“I knew it!” Elaina yells in celebration as if she just found a long-lost clue.
They’re both so naive.
Young.
Innocent.
Elaina stops in front of Cambri and does a dramatic salute before they both double over in laughter once again. I don’t have to hear what they’re saying now to know they’re just having more fun and it pisses me off to know how easy someone could get to both of them like this.
“One of those Elaina?”
“Yes.”
“The other one that girl I put the system in for today?”
“Yes.” I don’t have to say another word and Poe has turned the key and started the truck. He’s backing out before the girls even close Elaina’s front door.
“You go back to Vic and tell him to fuck off.” It’s nice to see that Poe’s on the same page. I didn’t tell him everything on the way over here, because I don’t want to put him in a bad place between Vic and me. The last thing I want is for Poe to pay the consequence for what I’m about to do.
I don’t respond for a while and let my mind run through every scenario possible. We’re almost back at the clubhouse when I know what I have to do.
“I’m gonna pay the Gadzinski tab to the club and act like all is good in the world. We’re gonna leave this girl alone and I’ll put the pressure on her dad to pay the fuckin’ money back to me.” I start spitting out the plan like I run the club and have the authority to make such decisions.
Poe doesn’t argue or put out any other options, only nodding before he lets me know he agrees. “I don’t blame you. You and I both know this is too fucking close to yours and your goddamn dad should agree.”
“Can you drop me by my house?”
“Sure. Do you want me to go with you to meet Vic?”
“No. I can handle Vic.” Just like always, Poe is ready to face whatever’s to come standing right beside me. “Thanks for the ride.”
“Anytime, Brother.”
I count out eight thousand dollars from my safe and shove it into a backpack. Money has never been a problem for me doing what I do and most of what I spend is to keep Mom and Elaina safe and give them the life they deserve. A life Vic should be assuring, but that’s never been the case.
The road between my house and the club is wide open but I drive slow, not in any hurry to meet up with Vic or Bates for that matter.
I don’t even have my door open before Vic is walking towards me. I’m working to unzip the backpack when he reaches my driver side window.
“Here’s the Gadzinski cash.” I stack it in his hand and get out to stand beside him while he tries to stare into my fucking eyes, probably looking for the truth before he asks any questions.
“He paid this?”
“Does it matter how it was paid?” I turn and start walking toward the Devil’s Den entrance and leave him standing behind me.
“Yes, it fucking does.”
“No, it doesn’t. You’ve got the money. The debt has been paid.” I’m already behind the bar pouring a whiskey when he walks through the doors. I don’t flinch or even react when he steps next to me and kisses my temple with the barrel of his pistol, I simply take another sip of my drink and act like I don’t have a single fear of death.
“You should know better than to play games with your old man. You were given fuckin’ orders to bring me the girl.”
“She’s friends with Elaina. You can fuck off with that order. We have an agreement to keep her away from club business and keep her safe.”
“I didn’t ask for you to fucking bring your sister in. I told you to bring in Gadzinski’s daughter.” He sho
ves the gun against my face and it takes everything in me not to snap and turn it right back around on him. There’s not any debate over who can out power who here and the only reason he’s being allowed to push at me is because I am letting him. It’s out of respect for the club that he’s still fucking standing.
“Not gonna happen. Take the money and drop the order.” I turn to look him straight in the eyes, knowing my expression will tell him how serious I am.
I’ve done some fucked up shit in my life for this club. I’ve killed more times than I can count. I’ve burned down houses while low-life fuckers screamed for forgiveness, never once bucking back on an order. The countless ways I’ve tortured would give any sane person nightmares for life. Hell, I’ve even skinned a few alive and let the fucking animals have them for dinner… all because that’s the fate they deserved.
This girl does not deserve to be brought into this house and she definitely doesn’t deserve to be dropped at Vic’s feet. Her closeness to Elaina just solidifies it even more and I refuse to do what he’s ordered me to do.
He finally smirks before he lowers the pistol and grabs the glass from my hand, downing the remaining whiskey in one swallow. The slam of the glass on the bar echoes through the otherwise empty room just before the sound of his boots follow him back outside.
I pour another glass, hoping to gain a sense of victory, but fall short on that feeling because I know Vic. He doesn’t like to lose… and he sure as fuck doesn’t admit defeat to his son.
Chapter Seven
It’s been a few days since I’ve stepped foot in the clubhouse. Between work, increasing the security at my house and sending someone over to overhaul the entire system at both Mom’s house and Elaina’s apartment, I’ve been swamped.
After I got the text declaring tonight a mandatory officer’s meeting, I knew I didn’t have much of a choice but to grace this place with my presence. I don’t need Vic coming at me for not fulfilling my duties now that I’ve gone up against him.