by Bijou Hunter
“I guess,” I softly say while approaching the riled up beauty, “but people around here don’t believe in the law.”
“By people, you mean the club. Well, fuck that shit. I’m me, not the bitch of the Rawkfist Motorcycle Club. They aren’t doing anything to protect me. They do nothing to protect Felix or Becca’s other kids. They let the queef run around town doing whatever she wants.”
Before I can respond, Justice revs up again. “No, I’m making her pay for coming after me. Someone needs to punish her. I know you can’t do it. Your mommy issues have twisted your poor male brain into thinking you can’t fuck up a woman. Okay, that’s nice, but I am not you. I want revenge.”
“Mommy issues?”
Justice lifts an eyebrow, challenging me. Suddenly, the bedroom becomes a prime destination.
“Either you have mommy issues, or you still have feelings for Becca. Which is it?”
“My only feelings for her are hate.”
“Then kill her.”
“I can’t.”
“Because she’s Felix’s mom and he might one day find out you killed her, and he might hate you, and you can’t have him hating you.”
Taking a careful step closer, I reach out to fix the bangs causing her trouble.
“I want to have a life with you, but you’ll be the reason his mom goes to jail.”
“Prison, not jail. I want her to do real time and have a real record. That way, she can’t pull the unfit father crap with you since she’ll be an ex-con too. You’ll be even, and we all know you’re better anyway.”
“Damn, you’re riled up,” I say, fighting a grin because she’s unbelievably sexy right now.
“Fucking yes, I’m riled up. I’m pissed, and I want my damn revenge. If I were Journey, I’d hunt down Becca and beat her to death with my bare hands. I’m not tough like that, and I don’t think I could kill someone. This is my rational solution.”
Justice takes a deep breath, and I see the rage cooling in her eyes. She holds my hands and forces a smile.
“I know you’re scared of having Felix suffer. I get that, but you and I know he’s better off without that queef. He probably knows it too. Everyone is better off without her. Some people are just awful, and there’s no fixing them. Becca is that kind of person. She has three kids but no tenderness for any of them. That’s psycho stuff.”
“You’re right, but I’ve had the no snitch crap ingrained in my head.”
Justice’s confidence falters. “If I do this, will it put you in a bad position with the club?”
“No. I mean, I don’t think so. You’re Jared’s kid, and I know people around here get that you’re like Christine. She didn’t stick around and do what everyone else did. They probably don’t expect you to follow their rules.”
“Couldn’t they secretly want me to handle Becca so they won’t have to? They can keep their rules, and I can do the dirty work. I’ll do it too. That’s why I’m a good manager. I don’t mind making the ugly choices. I’ll fire anyone if they suck. I’d fire my mother if she slacked off.”
“You’re so damn sexy when you say shit like that.”
Justice erases the space between us and leans against me. “I’d even fire you, Court, if you didn’t do everything I demanded. I’d only give you the one warning before I spanked you for being bad.”
“Now, you're just cruel. You know Jared is headed this way, and we can’t spend an hour in your room.”
Justice stares into my eyes and slides her little pink tongue along her lips. “I don’t need an hour. Five or ten minutes will do.”
“You always say that, but then our quickie turns into an all out adventure.”
Justice smiles, but I sense she’s tired. All of that sexy rage wore her out, leaving her vulnerable. I know the anxious look in her eyes.
“I have this club meeting, and then I’ll be back here.”
“Is Felix staying over?” she immediately asks.
“It might be best if he stays with his grandma tonight. I’m sure Astrid is feeling a million different things about Becca’s arrest. She’ll want her grandbabies around her.”
Seeing her disappointment over Felix not coming over, I’ve never loved her more than right now. I’ve played safe with my heart, but Justice claims people and chooses to love the hell out of them.
I hate leaving her for even an hour, but Jared arrives, and the club is waiting for us. Justice says she’ll have Journey spoil her until I return.
Looking at Journey, she mumbles in a baby voice, “I was hit in the head with a broom.”
Her sister kisses her forehead. “I heard that. I’m proud of you for not dying from such a brutal attack.”
“Queef,” Justice growls at her laughing sister.
I hurry out of the door while they’re in a good mood. In an ideal world, I’d pick up Felix and spend the night with Justice and her family. Our evenings together are always relaxing, and Felix is a different kid around them. Confident even and I need that for him.
Jared says nothing to me until we’re about to enter The Rock Tavern.
Grabbing my bicep, he leans into me to whisper. “Don’t say anything. You just let them bitch. Justice will change her mind when she realizes the trouble she’s causing…”
“Are you fucking kidding?” I ask, yanking my arm free. “Have you never met Justice? She won’t change her mind.”
“I plan to talk to her.”
“You do that.”
“Just don’t make an ass of yourself in there.”
“I promise nothing.”
“You sound like Justice.”
“Thank you.”
Jared can’t fight his smile. I know he loves his girls, but he’s at a loss on how to deal with them. One day, I might explain how “dealing” with them only requires accepting them. They’ll never change, but they don’t expect us to change either. Nothing more complicated than that.
In the backroom, everyone frowns at Jared and me. I notice Elroy scanning the room for listening devices. Shaking my head, I don’t get the paranoia. The local cops and Feds couldn’t wire up this building without everyone in town knowing in an hour. No secrets exist in Tumbling Rock. Fuck, I even know when someone’s got a bad case of hemorrhoids, but, Joe somehow thinks outsiders showed up and placed surveillance all over his bar.
“It’s good, boss,” Elroy says.
Joe nods and then looks at Jared. “Your girl needs to drop the charges before this thing gets out of hand.”
“Might be too late for that. Becca’s on tape trashing the store, and she attacked the deputies. Even if Justice drops the assault charges, they’ve got Becca on other shit.
“Fuck!” Joe hollers. “I blame you two fuckers for not making clear how things run in this town. You got to get those women under control before we have cops up our asses.”
“What a bunch of bullshit,” I blurt out, unable to stop myself. “Do you hear how you sound?”
“What are you bitching about?”
“We’re bikers. We’re criminals breaking the law. We’re supposed to be intimidating, but you’re pissing yourself over a battle between two chicks.”
“You need to watch yourself, boy,” Joe mutters, sounding more like the scary club president than the pussy he’s become.
“Let’s say Justice refuses to testify and the rest of the charges get dropped. Then what? I’ll tell you what. Becca comes back here and starts shit again. How does that make us look good? Who is gonna respect a group of men who can’t handle that bitch?”
“Do you want us to kill her? Everyone will be looking at us if she goes missing.”
“We don’t have to kill her now. Justice got Becca locked up. We let her use the law to fix our problem.”
“We don’t help the law! You fucking know that!”
Crossing my arms like every other guy in the room, I sigh. “We aren’t helping the law. Justice isn’t a part of the club. She’s pissed, and she’s going after Becca using the law.
Besides, everyone in town heard how at the fair Becca threatened to involve the law. She was ready to break the rule to hurt us, so why not show people what happens when someone makes those threats? We get them arrested first. Why not make the law our weapon?”
Joe stops frowning ugly at me long enough to give Ned a side glance. They look back at me and Joe nods.
“That’s true. The bitch made a big show of putting you in prison. People were talking about how she was going against the town’s law. Might serve her right to do some time.”
The guys chew on this idea while Joe nods a bit more. “This is good,” he says, pointing at me. “I don’t like your mouth, Boy Scout, and I ain’t saying I won’t run you off the road if I see the chance. Still, this is what we need. Fresh ideas. Thinking in a new way. Times are changing, and we might need to change too.”
“Think Justice will back out?” Ned asks.
“No way. She’s pissed.”
“Good,” Joe said, sounding almost happy. “We make an example of Becca by allowing your ex to do some hard time. The cops would love to bust her since they’re assholes.”
“What if Becca starts talking shit about us to the cops?” Ned asks me as if I’m in charge.
“Saying shit and proving it are two different things. She doesn’t know anything, and her word isn’t enough for anyone to press charges. Just in case, I’ll have my PD guy keep an ear out.”
Joe claps his hands and smiles at the men. “Well look at us using those law and order fuckers to our advantage. Never expected this fucking day to come.”
After a few minutes of idle chatter about everyone keeping their heads down and watching for trouble, Joe finishes the meeting. I’m relieved to return to Justice.
“That went better than I expected,” Jared says as we stand outside. “You best hope nothing changes.”
“Are you coming to the house?”
“Shit, kid, are you living there now?”
“Basically. Why would I want to go to my place when I could hang out with Justice?”
“I guess. A little independence wouldn’t kill you.”
“Man, I love you,” I say, patting his shoulder, “but you need to stop giving me dating advice. None of the shit you’ve said is right, and you’re starting to make yourself look dumb.”
Jared smacks me upside the head and laughs. “The balls on you.”
I climb on my Harley and glance around. “You should come over and spend time with your daughters.”
“Christine will be there, and fucking wasn’t enough to fix her problems with me.”
“Have you tried talking to her?”
“I thought you said the shit I say is all wrong.”
“Very true.”
Grinning at his expression, I rev the engine and let the Harley purr for a minute. On the way home, I decide to pick up a thing of flowers for Justice. She’ll think I’m awesome, and we can play in her room for a while. As much as the day sucked, the night should prove to be a shit-ton better.
38 Black Sheep
Justice
People look at me odd since I called the cops on Becca. Not weird as in they’re proud of me for sticking up for law and order. More like they’re worried I’m dangerous to them and their kin. At the Mart, people choose to stand in a longer line and have Ali help them rather than deal with me. I’m a frigging pariah for asking for help from people paid to help.
“Our taxes pay for them,” I tell Court as we drive to pick up Felix from his grandma’s house. “Not using the cops is a waste of our money.”
“I doubt many people in Tumbling Rock pay property taxes, Justice. I’d say at least half of the populace is renting.”
“Well, still, they should just get over their queef and stop giving me dirty looks.”
“I’m surprised you care so much.”
Realizing I’m teetering close to regretting a decision; I shift my expression into disinterest and shrug.
“It doesn’t bother me, per se, but I have a family, and they’re getting dirty looks too. Some queef didn’t want Journey to do her ultrasound because I was a snitch. Poppy has kids talking smack about her. I doubt she cares, but Mom had a few clients cancel appointments because she raised a snitch.”
“I’m sorry, but you did the right thing. Eventually, people will thank you. No one likes Becca. Even her friends flinch around her.”
I park in front of Astrid’s house and study Court. “Do you think I did the right thing?”
“You punished a bitch that needed punishing. If you want to feel good about your decision, just take a look at Astrid and the kids. Because of you, they don’t have to worry about Becca’s temper.”
“I still can’t believe they refused her bail.”
“She kept hitting the staff and other prisoners. Shows you how fucking stupid she is. If she kept her temper in check, she’d be out right now. Of course, we got lucky because she’s an idiot.”
I glance to the front porch where Felix says goodbye to his grandma. Astrid waves at us, looking happier with me than most people in Tumbling Rock.
“I’m a hero,” I announce to Court before Felix joins us. “A frigging hero standing up for righteousness and the American way.”
Court doesn’t want to laugh. He fights the urge before finally giving in. Felix climbs into the backseat and smiles at his father.
“What’s so funny?”
I smile back at Felix. “Your father farted. So are you ready to see a movie?”
“Which one are we going to?”
“I don’t care.”
“You need to help us choose,” Court says, still laughing.
“I like all movies. Well, not the profound ones. I don’t go to the movies to learn to be a better person.”
“Why should you improve when you’re already a frigging hero?” Court jokes while I drive toward the discount movie theater in nearby Rock Top Falls.
I roll my eyes, but his teasing finally makes me laugh. Felix doesn’t know what the queef we’re talking about, but he ends up laughing too.
Old Towne Cinema plays movies about to hit DVD. Tickets are cheap, and they have decent deals on popcorn and soda too.
“I started bringing Felix here when he was four,” Court says, paying for our tickets. “He loves watching movies on the big screen.”
Messing with the boy’s wavy hair, I wrap an arm around his shoulders and use him as a crutch.
“I’m tired. Help me walk,” I say, and he laughs again.
We settle into our seats in the worn theater. I’m chowing down on popcorn when I catch the boy staring at me.
“What?”
“I’m sorry my mom hurt you.”
Swallowing the popcorn, I glance at a troubled Court. He’s so damn adorable when he’s a worried daddy.
“You need to stop apologizing for her, Felix. We don’t choose our parents. Like I didn’t choose for my mom to be an awful cook or for my dad to be a mustached biker with killer loins. You didn’t choose to have a thug for a mom or a sweetie-peetie for a papa.”
“Papa,” Felix says, grinning at Court. “Papa, thank you for the popcorn, Papa.”
“Oh, boy.”
Giggling, I nudge Court with my elbow. “You’re welcome, Papa, and feel free to thank me later, Papa. Wink, wink.”
A grinning Court wraps an arm around my neck. Felix looks at his move and rolls his eyes.
“Poppy is a bad influence on you,” I tell the boy.
“She says the same thing about you.”
“Yes, but she’s fifteen and biologically incapable of being right about anything. Don’t trust a word out of her mouth.”
“She said you wet the bed until you were forty.”
Gaping at the boy, I’m utterly shocked by my sister’s horrifying claim.
“You think I’m over forty?” I balk, and Felix shrugs. “Kids today have no respect. Now turn down your rock music and get off my lawn.”
Felix laughs easily, knowing I’m not an
gry. He gets me, and I get him too. He just wants to be happy. No drama. No bad moods. No ducking an angry mother. No counting the days until the good parent picks him up.
Poppy’s dad was abusive in his lame nagging way, but I never let him bother me. I don’t know anyone who ever cared much about what Paul Adams said, but maybe he did wear down Christine’s confidence. He might even be why she decided to return to West Virginia.
I don’t know what having a crappy parent is like. Even Jared does his best, and his clumsy parenting is a result of a lack of experience rather than disinterest.
After getting lucky with my parents, I want Felix to be lucky too. He deserves to smile without worrying about someone taking it as a slight.
So even if the entire town thinks I’m a rat snitch, I did right by this one child. His smile makes all of the whisperings behind my back and the dirty looks worth it.
39 Black Sheep
Justice
Despite my breaking a key Tumbling Rock rule, life settles into a quiet routine the next few weeks. Felix and Court essentially live at my house. I love having my guys around, and sharing a bed every night with my hunk is pure bliss.
Christine seems calmer since getting laid. She no longer panics when Jared shows up but now leisurely hurries away. Journey decides she wants to learn to ride a Harley, so our father has taken to giving her lessons. She’s awful, of course, so they spend most of their training talking about engines.
Poppy enjoys having a little brother figure to boss around. She especially likes starting trouble for him and then yelling at everyone to leave him alone. Her dweeb friends also dig Felix, and the five of them play video games online a lot.
My younger sister’s improved mood isn’t apparent when she calls me to whine how she needs a ride. Turns out Chunks’ parents got into an argument and kicked her out of the house. Now I have to drive just outside of Tumbling Rock to pick her up.
Chunks’ place is down a mud road with “Do Not Enter” signs posted everywhere. Parking a few blocks away, I walk to his house where I find Poppy sitting on the front porch playing Candy Crush.
“We were supposed to do an English project together, and then his mom showed up and complained the house smelled like kitty litter, and she wasn’t taking anyone’s bullshit anymore,” Poppy explains as we begin walking. “I suspect I’m not the only one on the rag.”