He nodded. “Audio in the apartment, since I can put something in that’ll last six to eight weeks on a single battery charge. I’ll handle bugging her phone, since I’m going. We’ll have video and audio from her phone when it’s plugged in and charging, and we can target it any other time. Also, we’ll know everywhere she goes, so Lexi won’t need to tell us where anything’s located.” He looked at his watch. “I’ll grab what I need from the downstairs safe and leave. Give me at least a five-minute head start, so I can hack a few of her neighbors’ routers and set the hardware up to hit them at random. I’ll put three to six in, so we’re assured our bugs will find a signal to phone home with.”
When Brain left, Duke looked to me with concern. “You gonna tell Lexi?”
I considered every possibility. “No, and I’ll lie out my ass if they find the bugs — we don’t know nothin’ about them.” I sighed. I needed to confront the alternative. “If they don’t find them and we use something we learn, we’ll need to decide at that time whether to warn her about blowback. If we have to tell her, I’ll need ya’ll to be okay with me tellin’ her ya’ll didn’t tell me until later.”
I didn’t ask him to make sure we didn’t put her in danger because I knew he wouldn’t do it without taking precautions.
“Right,” he agreed. “If it comes to it, we’ll either figure out how to keep her out of it, or warn her and protect her if that ain’t possible.”
“We’ll go in with boxes, tape, and a few rolls of bubble wrap,” said Bash. “How much stuff does she have to pack?”
“Her bed, a shelving unit, a small nightstand, maybe a box or two of knickknacks, a couple of big boxes of shoes and clothes? Should easily fit in the back of a pickup.”
Lexi
* * *
Every nerve in my body was tight as a guitar string while we climbed the stairs in the apartment building. I had Bubbles at my side and his brothers in front of us and behind us, and they’d protect me from physical danger, but no one could protect me from whatever words came out of my mama’s mouth.
I didn’t knock to get in. I had a key and I used it.
Relief flooded my system when I realized she was too spaced-out to be a problem, and then I felt immediate guilt for bein’ happy my mama was worse than useless.
The men started takin’ my bed apart as soon as we hit my bedroom — Bash and Duke carried the mattress out, and Bubbles pulled a screwdriver from lord-knows-where to disassemble the frame.
Brain taped a few boxes together and helped me empty my shelves.
Duke and Bash came back, and Brain stood in a corner and fiddled with his phone. I knew the control room often contacted him for help, and I wondered what was up, but didn’t mention it.
Mama didn’t even pay attention to us until the men took my box spring and bedframe out.
“What you doin’ in my house?! I’m finna shoot every one of ya’ll’s white asses!”
I heard a scuffle and stepped out of my room to see what was goin’ on. Bash had taken a gun away from Mama and was unloading it. He glanced at me. “She have more bullets?”
“Extra clips are either in the sofa cushions or on the floor under it. Or maybe both. There’s a shotgun under the sofa, too. Buckshot.”
“You tellin’ all my secrets, girl!? I give you life, an’ dis de way you treat me!”
“Not all yo secrets, but you cain’t shoot my friends.” I heard myself talking like her but decided not to change. You never know what might set her off, and hearing me talk white might be enough to make her shoot me when she was this far gone.
Bash pulled the shotgun and extra mags out from under the sofa, and she punched him in the face while his hands were full. It was a good, solid punch — you don’t pull a punch when you don’t feel pain — but he acted like it’d come from a two year old. He handed the weapons to Brain, who took them into another room.
And then I watched Bash walk through the house, smelling, and he found every damned gun. Every. Single. One.
He found the twenty-two duct taped to the back of a chair on the other side of the room, the nine mil in the cookie jar in the kitchen, the revolver under the towels in the tiny linen closet outside the bathroom, and the rifle under mama’s bed. He sniffed into my room but didn’t get the semi-auto nine out of my closet.
“You’ll need to talk to Bubbles before you take a weapon into his house.”
“It isn’t mine, it’s Mamas, so I won’t take it. I won’t do anything to screw with his parole.”
Meanwhile, Mama was still ranting and raving, but no one was payin’ attention. Her words were so slurred, I’m not even sure she was making sense. She hit Bash again and he ignored her, but he caught her hand before she hit him again.
“I don’t hit women, but hit me again and you’ll find yourself hogtied while we finish.”
She glared at me. “Friends! You call these friends! You hear dat, grill?!”
“Yeah, I heared ’em. Punch him again and I’ll help him hogtie your black ass.” She opened her mouth to respond, and I said, “Sit yo ass down and shut the hell up.”
Bash let go of her, and I’m pretty sure he aimed her for the sofa, which made her sit when I’d told her to, which really pissed her off, but there wasn’t much she could do. However, it seemed to make her remember all the other reasons she was pissed at me, and she finally started in with what I’d been dreading.
“Yuh ain’t my daughter no moe! You some uppity white bitch, think she too good for her raisin’! Get out my house b’foe I—”
I took two steps and slapped the shit out of her, which shut her up, and I finally told her what I’d figured out in high school.
“If you didn’t want a kid who looks white, you shouldn’t have gotten knocked up by a white man! Do you know how fucking idiotic you sound, complainin’ about me lookin’ white, when you the one who made me this way? You know what? Fuck you, Mama. I don’t need this shit. Sit your ass back down and shut up. I need ten minutes to finish packin’ and I’ll leave. You never have to see me again!”
Duke and Brain came out of my room with more boxes, and Duke told me, “You don’t need ten minutes. Everything’s boxed. This one’s mostly clothes and isn’t too heavy. Grab it, and we can get the rest.”
I was fine while we walked down the steps, fine while we made sure the truck was loaded so nothin’ would fall out. They’d brought two prospects to watch the truck, so no one would steal shit out of it, and they’d tied stuff already in there, so it didn’t take much.
Bubbles was driving, and I was okay until we pulled out of the parking lot, but then burst into tears when we hit the road. I couldn’t help it. So much emotion in me, and it came out at once. Bash unfastened my seatbelt, pulled me into his lap, and held me while I cried. Bubbles rubbed my back while he drove, and Bash told me to let it out. No one fussed, no one complained, no one told me it’d be okay. I heard “We have you,” and “You’re good. Let it out.”
I also remember Duke telling someone, “I’ll tag Slick. See how busy Betty is.”
I didn’t pay attention to where we were until we pulled into a parking lot and I realized we were at the Rolling Thunder Motel.
Betty was in the office, and came out and to the truck as we pulled up. She climbed into the spot I’d been sitting before Bash pulled me into his lap, put her face to mine, and hugged me.
“I’m invited to spend the night in Bubbles’ guest room tonight, so you’ll have me close.” She sighed. “Mama’s a first-class bitch, baby sister. Get in my lap. Angelica’s gonna smell you on Bash and lose it.”
“No,” said Bash. “She’ll be fine. This is grief. My princess will be glad I held her.”
I looked at Etta. “Why are you riding with us? Where’s your car?”
She shrugged. “Slick told me it’ll be at Bubbles’ house when I wake up in the mornin’. I think the guys were kinda desperate to get me into the truck with you.”
“Maybe not desperate,” said Bubbles, “but
she’s better with you here.”
We drove to Bubbles’ house, the men unloaded the pickup into the garage, and then left me and Etta at the house.
“Need to ride back with them so I can bring my bike back,” he told me. “You and your sister need some time. Love you.”
He kissed my forehead, and he was gone.
Etta watched me punch in the code to unlock the door, and then another code once I was inside, to disarm the alarm system.
“He trusts you.”
“Yeah, I guess so. You sure you’re okay with me using your address?”
“Of course. You’ll need to get your cellphone bill changed so it comes to me, and school stuff. What else?”
I shrugged. “My cellphone bill is emailed. Bank statements, too. I mean, I’ll need to give them my new address, but they never send anything.” I met her gaze. “I finally told mama it’s her fault I look white, ’cause she fucked a white man, and she’s an idiot for tryin’ to make it my fault, but she’s so messed up, I doubt she’ll remember. I’m gonna have to tell her again.”
“Maybe, maybe not. She remembers important stuff, sometimes. Wash your face and change clothes. You’ll feel better.”
Etta was in a tiny miniskirt and a halter top. “Grab whatever you want outta my closet.” Everything would be too short for her, but she’s as skinny as me, so it’d fit.
Etta was in my long robe when I came out of the bathroom. It comes down to my ankles, but barely covered her knees. I stripped out of my clothes and put one of Bubbles’ shirts on. I needed to be close to him.
“You hungry? I want breakfast. You good with bacon and fried eggs?”
“Yeah. I’ll make the biscuits.”
My mouth watered. Etta makes them from scratch and they’re melt-in-your-mouth good.
“And bacon-grease gravy,” I agreed. “Damn, we’re gonna have a feast ready when Bubbles gets back.”
Bubbles
* * *
I’d seen Brain placing shit around Lexi’s mom’s apartment. Hell, he’d even picked Lexi’s mom’s phone up and done shit to it, and the bitch was so strung out, she hadn’t realized.
“The idiots are using a whiteboard app to keep track of everything,” Brain told us on the way back to the clubhouse. “They chose well — it would’ve taken me a few days to get into it, and it’s possible I’d have never even found it. I gave myself access while I was in on Lexi’s mom’s phone. The app is secure as fuck, which gave them a false sense of security. They have the schedule of when shipments are due to arrive, the street name of the trap houses with a fucking inventory of what’s at each one, and even what looks like a timesheet for El Atroz in Alabama — when they’re on guard duty and when they have time off. We have their names. Looks like they brought nine members in and no ol’ladies.”
“Guard duty?” I asked. “That mean they’re helping out in Chattanooga?”
“Hard to tell from the little bit I saw so far. Looks like they’re growin’ weed — could just be a matter of guarding their local operations.” He sighed. “Didn’t see anything about the factories, so I’m wondering if El Atroz is working for both cartels, meaning we’ll need to dig into the other cartel’s servers to find out more.”
“Right, so we’re only seeing information on Jiminy’s operation, but not the other cartel. Makes sense.” said Duke. He sighed. “Get what you can without being spotted. We’ll run through it all during church.”
36
Lexi
* * *
It’d been nearly Thanksgiving when I’d packed my shit and moved out of Mama’s apartment. Etta had Thanksgiving dinner with me instead of Mama, but by the time Christmas came around, she spent Christmas Eve with Mama and Christmas Day with me.
Bubbles took Matty to the mall and had him help pick out clothes for me. It felt like I opened boxes for hours Christmas morning — he must’ve spent over a thousand dollars on clothes and shoes for me, and I loved everything he bought me.
I had a shirt made for him that says, “MY OL’LADY LOVES TO BLOW BUBBLES,” and I got him a couple of new pairs of jeans in the same size and style as his old ones, a video game I knew he wanted, and the biggest tub of coconut oil Costco carries, which was kind of a joke because it’s what he uses as lube when he takes my ass.
Etta spent the night with us, so she was there to open gifts the next morning, too. I got my sister new makeup and makeup brushes, a PopSocket that says, “Best Sister EVER,” a copper-colored warm winter coat, and a supersoft blanket I knew would match her living room perfectly.
She got me new makeup and makeup brushes, a case for my Chromebook with Anna and Elsa that said, “Sisters Forever,” a mega-cool purple leather biker-chick type jacket, and a supersoft blanket in all the colors of my hair.
Bubbles looked at our gifts and shook his head. “It’s almost like ya’ll are related or something. You really didn’t check in with each other?”
Etta laughed and threw some wadded up wrapping paper at him. “Nope. Just the way it worked out. Open your gift from me.”
I hadn’t expected them to get gifts for each other, and I worried Etta would get her feelings hurt because Bubbles hadn’t, but he said, “No, you first. Your present’s in the garage.”
We all trouped out to the garage to see a huge round, tall, circular column wrapped in paper with Santa Clause bent over and shooting us a moon all over it. Turned out, it was four tires, stacked on top of each other, and her present was the tires and installation.
Her eyes got all watery, and he flicked her ear. “Noticed yours are startin’ to wear. You get in a wreck in the rain, Lexi’ll be upset.”
Etta shook her head. “No, don’t try to be badass. This is incredibly thoughtful. I’m not used to being taken care of. Thank you.”
They hugged, we all hugged, and then we went back to the mancave so Bubbles could open his last present.
And what did my sister get my boyfriend? A quarter-inch-thick leather paddle with the word BRAT across it.
We all got ready for the day, Bubbles played his video game some, Etta helped me with the side dishes we were taking to Duke’s house for Christmas dinner, and we finally walked through the neighborhood to Duke and Gen’s mansion — in no one’s universe can you call it a house, which meant I’d been caught by surprise the first time I’d been inside and discovered how much of a home it is.
Most of the MC showed up — the women in the kitchen, the men playing video games, pool, and darts. Etta was fully accepted by this time, even by Gen. Just as Micca came with Matty, and Bethany showed up with her men, and Gen’s brother was there with his little family, Etta was there with me.
I hadn’t talked to Mama since I’d moved out, but she hadn’t really been a mother to me. Etta was both mom and sister, and the MC had become the family I’d never known I needed.
You never know what the weather will be in The South during Christmas. It might be fifteen degrees or forty-five degrees. This year, we had a beautiful, sunshiny thirty-five degrees. So, when Gen and Harmony tried to sneak me and Etta out the back door, I understandably went for my coat, but they pulled me out without it. Thirty yards to the back of the yard, and we went into Duke’s garage.
“Zeke made arrangements so Bubbles’ end-of-parole letter went to his attorney of record in Atlanta instead of going straight to Bubbles,” said Harmony. “The attorney got it and is sending it second day to Zeke. We’re gonna throw him a huge surprise party Friday, and give him the letter.”
He’d known his check-in two weeks earlier had probably been his last, but Zeke had told him to assume he was still on parole and subject to search without a reason until he had the letter in hand.
“No, Thursday night,” I told them. “One of ya’ll will want me to fix your hair for a party or something, so I have an excuse to leave the house and help decorate and shit.” Bubbles had taken off work three full weeks while I was out of school, and we’d been together something like ten or eleven days straight so far �
� except for the time I was at work. I loved him, and I was used to his cock by this time, but I was still sore as fuck.
Gen nodded. “Perfect. He won’t expect it on a Thursday. The men can call him to the clubhouse for an emergency meeting or something, and we can be ready with the party when he walks in.”
“A freedom party?” I asked. “What do we call it?”
“It’s a fly-the-coop party,” said Gen. “The cake has the Jailbird Joey thing from Back to the Future, and we put messages inside it — it’s a tradition they brought up from Atlanta. If he was single, they’d make all the sweetbutts bend over the pool table, and he’d stick his dick in all of’em, going down the line, taking as much time as he wanted with each. Guys with ol’ladies are…”
Gen’s face went bright red, and Harmony said, “They’ll want him to take you behind the bar and do you. They won’t see you, but his head’ll be upright so they can see him while he does you. Sometimes, the brother spanks his ol’lady first, and we hear that, too.”
I shook my head, and Gen said, “I wouldn’t do it. Duke ever gets his butt thrown in jail, he isn’t gonna be rewarded by public intercourse. You don’t have to if you don’t want.”
I was silently freaking out, and Etta touched my back. “Bubbles will know what to do. He isn’t going to do anything he knows mortifies you.”
I blew out a breath. She was right. I just needed to trust he’d handle it.
37
Bubbles
* * *
During her break from school, Lexi and I’d spent a few days in Atlanta with Sparkie and Texas, we’d done the Aquarium down there, and the one in Chattanooga. I’d taken her snow skiing on a day trip to this little ski-slope in Alabama with artificial snow, we’d gone to a cave with an underground lake an hour north of Chattanooga, and we’d seen a traveling Broadway show when it came through Nashville.
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