by Vera Quinn
“I’ll go but you can damn well believe we will be back, and sweet cheeks, I will see you at home.” Liam says the first part to Bud but the second is addressed straight to Tara.
“Is that a threat?” I ask.
“It’s a fact.” He grabs Sheila’s hand and all but drags her out of the diner. The whole place is staring at us and my skin is beginning to crawl from all the attention. Bud sees his customers aren’t happy.
“Ice cream for dessert is on the house.” Tara goes to the back as fast as her legs will carry her. Hacksaw hasn’t said much and that isn’t like him. “Thank you for your help. This damn neighborhood is going to hell in a handbasket.” Bud goes back to the kitchen.
Oz, Hacksaw, and I go back to our table. I take a twenty out of my wallet and throw it on the table. Oz and Hacksaw do the same. I can’t get out of here fast enough. I try to catch a glimpse of Tara but she is staying in the back. I make it out the front door and to my bike. My bike is good but I see someone has thrown mud on the seat of Hacksaw’s bike. Shit is going to get loud.
“What the FUCK!” Hacksaw is furious. Bud comes out of the door and sees what the problem is. He’s goes back inside and comes back with a wet towel. “Do you have security cameras?” Hacksaw demands of Bud.
“I can’t afford any.” We are all looking around and there is no one around. We all know who did it but we have no proof. Bud hands the towel to Hacksaw.
“What time will Tara be getting off tonight?” Hacksaw asks Bud.
“She’s staying until nine thirty.” Bud tells us.
“We’ll be back. Do not let her leave before I get here. I’ll be following her home.” Hacksaw takes the towel and starts cleaning the seat.
“Tara doesn’t deserve trouble. She’s a good kid and a hard worker. It’s that slut of a sister that is the trouble maker.” Hacksaw looks at Bud like he’s crazy.
“I want the asshole who did this not, Tara. He threatened her as much as he did you, Bud. Liam is going to learn that you do not fuck with a Feral Steel MC brother’s bike and he don’t fuck with me. We don’t tolerate disrespect in any form and touching our bike is worse than touching our women. He may not get that now but when I find him, I can guarantee you he won’t ever forget it.” Hacksaw is seething.
“He is a member of the new street gang that is throwing their weight around this end of town. They are nothing but a bunch of young, second rate thugs. They’ve got all the business owners around here running scared. There’s been a lot of break ins, graffiti, and mishaps going on. Tom over at the hardware store had a whole load of lumber spray painted and some windows shattered. They went in through a fence that had been cut. It’s all been petty stuff up til now. A few weeks ago, they stepped it up with Tom and with Martha and Kate down at the bakery. Everyone knows it is them. We’ve had no problems with anyone else. They come dressed in suits and offer protection from the vandalism. They say they are just businessmen banding together to protect themselves and the community. Thing is, none of them own a business except one of the ringleaders, Ralph.” Bud stops for a minute. Watching for our reaction but we give him nothing so he goes on. “Ralph owns a game room and there have been rumors they are dealing drugs to a rough crowd but lately there have been young kids hanging around there. It doesn’t add up. Martha and Kate, the bakery owners, said they came by to offer them protection three weeks ago and they refused. That night they broke into the bakery and smashed every table and anything glass in there. They spray painted a message on the wall that it was just the beginning and they would be back. They paid. When you guys came in today I thought you were part of their gang. We just don’t know who to trust.”
“Have you turned it over to the cops?” Oz asks him.
“Of course, we have. You know as well as I do that the cops around here are over worked and they do not have the equipment it takes to run prints and process a crime scene. They came out and did what they could but said they only found a couple of partial prints and they had to send them off somewhere else to process them and it can take months. They suggested surveillance equipment but we can’t afford that. We are trying to organize a community watch group. We are having a meeting Monday night.” Bud looks frustrated.
“Devil needs to know about this. They have fucked with the wrong people when they touched my bike. Feral Steel may need to clean up this end of town before we open the gym back up.” Hacksaw is texting as he talks, no doubt, filling Devil in on everything we have learned.
“Feral Steel motorcycle club is who bought the gym? Did Sal tell you that the gym was hit three weeks ago? They didn’t do a lot to it, just some graffiti. Sal said they just painted over it.” Bud looks worried. “I just hope Tara doesn’t get caught up in this. She’s a good worker and a good person. That sister of hers is always getting into trouble and their mother is the same way. Lena and Sheila are well known in this neighborhood and not in a good way. I just feel bad for the kid.” Mom always said you can’t pick your family.
“Are you sure she is as innocent as she acts?” I know sometimes things aren’t as they appear. Bud has known Tara a lot of years, if there is something she is hiding this man should have noticed something. Before our club and our family gets tied with Tara, this is something we need to know. I know when Devil said this morning that Tara would be another of the people that Callie adopts that it was true. Callie gathers all the wounded and lost people she is around and brings them into her fold. I know, because I am one of those lost souls but like all the rest of the Feral Steel family, I will protect Callie from herself. If Tara is not what she appears then we need to keep her away from Callie and all the rest of our family.
“I would bet everything I own on it. She’s just a good person who had the bad luck to get born into a shit family. The only other one of them worth a damn is Joey and he’s not around.” Bud’s determined voice almost convinces me. I still want the report Oz will get. I see Hacksaw has his bike cleaned.
“Let’s get back to the club and update Devil. He may want to get those security cameras up sooner rather than later.” We all mount our bikes but Bud has a question.
“Do you think the Feral Steel motorcycle club can help us rid ourselves of these thugs? We can’t do it by ourselves.” Bud isn’t looking at us but more at the ground when he asks us this question. It’s like he is embarrassed to ask for help. The way Bud comes across to me, I can understand that. He’s not a small man, standing over six foot and his shoulders are broad. He has the bigger belly older men seem to get when they don’t work out as much as they once had and I noticed he had a slight limp. I would say he is the average looking man that is in his mid- fifties. I’m sure in his younger days he could hold his own but everyone gets older. His life is not one that requires the physical demand to stay in shape. Getting older hurts a proud man.
“Only time will tell. We’ll let you know.” Hacksaw tells Bud. Bud turns and goes back into to his diner. Hacksaw and Oz leave out of the parking spaces. I look in the diner window and I see Tara looking out at me. I have a feeling this woman is going to change my life and I am not sure that is a good thing.
Chapter 6
Tara
The day has been a long one. The closer it gets to the time to get off work the more nervous I get. If Liam is at our apartment with Sheila, I know it is going to be an even longer night. I don’t feel safe going home but I don’t have much of a choice. I have no friends I can stay with.
A few times Sal let me crash on the couch in his office at the gym. I don’t know how but Sal could usually tell when I didn’t want to go home. It’s not like the man knew me that long but I appreciated every time he let me sleep on that lumpy thing. I have done all the side work to be done and all my tables have left, so I guess my time is up.
I am putting my time card in the old fashioned machine when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I jump and whip my head around. I put my hand to my chest in relief when I see it is Bud. He starts to laugh. I can imagine the way my face l
ooked. “I didn’t mean to scare you, girl but it does make me feel better about what I am going to ask you.” I look at Bud and he looks a little nervous but a lot concerned. Bud is a good man and the closest thing to a dad as I have ever had. When I first started working here there were many nights I wished he was my dad. It sounds crazy even in my head since I have no idea what it is like to have a dad.
“What is it, Bud? Do you need to me stay later or come in tomorrow? You know I have no problem with either. I am running low on money, so it works for me.” I say this to remind him that either would be doing me a favor. Bud hates asking people for help.
“Lindsay would love for you to work tomorrow. She’s been trying to find someone to fill in for two weeks. I’ll let her know when I go home. Lindsay’s always wanting some time off on the weekend so she can do things with her friends. We just knew that you had your other job at the gym.” Bud stops and looks at me and points at the chairs in the break area. I turn and sit down and Bud sits in the other chair. “I thought you might want to stay upstairs tonight.” Bud looks uncomfortable. “I mean, I know that you and that sister of yours don’t get along. The commotion that went on in the diner earlier may come back on you if you go home tonight. That Liam that was in here with Sheila threw mud on one of those biker’s motorcycles. If he was that mad, he may still be upset when you get home. I will worry if you go home tonight, so please, do me the favor of staying upstairs. You can stay a few of nights and let them cool off. Give them time to think that if you are gone they don’t get your share of the rent and maybe they will be nicer to you.” I think about what Bud is saying and it makes me feel better but I need to make sure Bud is okay with it.
“Bud, it is not your place to be responsible for me. I am a grown woman and I need to take care of myself. I don’t want to depend on someone to take care of me the rest of my life. I know if I go home tonight that I will end up in a confrontation but I can handle it. I have been handling it a long time, it is the normal for me.” I think about it for a minute. “I will only stay if you know, it is only temporary. Just a couple of nights until everything cools down.” I need Bud to understand I do not want to be a mooch.
“Girl, I know you can take care of yourself. You’ve been doing it a long time but if this makes it easier, then why not do it? A few nights and it’ll be better and I will sleep better. There’s not much up there. A fold out couch but there are clean sheets on the mattress. There’s a shower and there are some clean towels. I’ll fix you a burger and fries for you take up there. There’s a small refrigerator up there but all it has in it is a couple of bottles of water. There’s no television or anything but you look tired anyway, so maybe you can get a good night’s sleep. I’ve slept up there a few nights when Betty and I were on the outs and my oldest son stayed up there the summer before he left for college. I’ll leave here around eleven tonight and won’t open until six in the morning. I’ll tell Lindsay about you working tomorrow and you can stay again tomorrow night. It might be good to stay the week.” Bud doesn’t know how good that sounds. A week of no arguing with Sheila or my mom. Sounds like heaven to me. Bud looks like he is thinking something over.
“Alright, Bud, I will stay. Thank you, but I will pay for my food. You don’t need to give me a place to sleep and pay for my food.” Bud makes a face when I say it.
“Tara, I am going to be honest with you, this helps me, too. I was hoping after you stayed a couple of days that you might like it being on your own. That you might consider staying. I mean, it’s small, but you don’t take up much room. You don’t have a bunch of people going in and out since you don’t have many friends. With all the break-ins and vandalism going on in the businesses around the neighborhood, I thought maybe you could stay here and be my ears and eyes when I am closed. If you would do that I wouldn’t charge you rent and then we both benefit from it. You get your own place to live and I get security. I would get a phone run upstairs so if you hear or see anything you can call for help.”
Bud stops and waits for me to say something but I am trying to figure out if he really needs someone to watch over the diner or he’s creating a job for me just to help me out. He looks deep in thought trying to figure it all out so I think he is being honest. “I will put a microwave up there. I have a spare one in the storage room. I think we have a half bed in the garage at home left from one of the boys. I could move it over so you could have a bed and a couch. That’s about as big as the room is. I know it is not much but you stay there a couple of nights and see if you are interested and if you are we will work all the kinks out. Do you need to go home tonight to get your school work? You can wash your clothes in the washer and dryer out back that I do the kitchen towels in.” Bud is being sincere.
“Bud, I will stay tonight and we can talk tomorrow. I do my work all on a computer in the library at school. My notes and everything are in my backpack. I put a clean t-shirt in there, too. I always bring a clean one so I don’t smell like food walking home. So, I have everything I need.” Bud smiles. He knows he is going to get his way.
“I’ll get that burger fixed for you. Get you a piece of that pie and a drink to take with you. I will get the keys.” Bud goes into the kitchen and I sit and think about the possibility of finally getting away from Sheila and mom. Maybe I can keep my job at the gym and I’ll finally get some peace. I can only hope.
Chapter 7
Kane/Rome
As soon as we are back at the clubhouse, Devil is calling us into his office. He doesn’t look pleased and I don’t see the club girls that are usually hanging around. I don’t see Callie or any of Devil’s children, either. As soon as we are inside I see that Tito is busy on Devil’s computer. Before I came here, Tito was the Feral Steel’s go to tech brother but it has changed in the last year. They have put Oz in charge of most of the tech work on the computer and making sure all our security is up to date. He also is always finding new surveillance equipment. Devil takes no chances with his family or the club’s safety.
Tito’s focus is now the THC Hempcan Inc. and helping keep our finances straight as treasurer. If Hempcan makes a move, then Tito knows it. THC Hempcan Inc., on paper, manufactures products made of hemp. They also harvest more marijuana than any other company in the states. They are based in Colorado and have smaller subsidiaries in other states that have legalized the use of marijuana. They follow all the guidelines set forth by the state they are in. They also have started to branch out into medicinal purposes of marijuana, again following all the laws. On paper, that is. The big corporation only hires the best when it comes to their PR and they are good at hiding their bad but we know better. We know how ruthless they are and exactly what they are in to. The Feral Steel MC was almost brought to their knees by this corporation along with the BlackPath MC in Texas and the Troubled Fathom MC in Colorado. This was before I was in the club. Well, I came in at the end of it.
In the last year Tito has tracked the changes that Hempcan has made. The first six months the company changed management so many times it drew unwanted attention. Corporations change management all the time but the people in question don’t usually disappear. Unlike the rest of the world, we know it was hostile takeovers in the truest sense of the phrase. Not only did the men themselves disappear but their entire families disappeared.
I blame Hempcan for Stacks’ death in some ways. I know Stacks always had a chip on his shoulder, and he was far from perfect, but I also know the men he worked with shared part of the responsibility for the things he did in the last months of his life.
Stacks was my half-brother and Stone was Devil’s. Stacks and Stone were driven by the evil inside of them. They both liked hurting others. They thrived on it. It’s why they both had to be eliminated. I had to take the life of Stacks, and the guilt weighs heavy on me, but he would have never stopped trying to hurt Devil’s woman and children. It was his life’s vendetta. In his eyes, his birthright was taken from him. I try to ease my burden by thinking the pain inside of him has
stopped now. It’s the only thing that helps me live with myself. One way or another, I am going to make the men behind Hempcan pay in blood. It may be the last thing I do in this life but I will do it. There is only two of the men that first founded Hempcan still alive. All the rest have disappeared or died in the last year. It makes my list shorter.
Tito has uncovered that the two men are now fighting for dominance in the company. Titus Douglas is the only one of the two with a business background. The way it looks is he has decided that the hemp business can be a lucrative legitimate business. He listens to the business world. He knows that if he gives the marijuana side of the business ten years to mature then it will be making more money than his family will ever need. He has the patience to know that, even though the cash flow immediately would not be as great, the company has the potential to expand. The best part is it would be legitimate. All they need to do is correct the way they do business and no one would be able to touch them.
Then there is Leonard Durfee. He is no better than a street thug in a suit. He wants to make as much money as fast as possible. No matter what he must do to get it or who he must kill or ruin to get it. His rap sheet is a mile long. It consists of drug manufacturing, racketeering, organized crime, human trafficking, and murder. His strong point is, he doesn’t give a shit. He doesn’t even have the excuse he is doing it for his family because he has no family. He’s not a man that takes no for an answer. So, we keep track of all the interactions these two have with anyone. It’s where our focus has been since I have been here but now we need to expand ourselves so we can survive.
Devil is determined we will only be involved in legit businesses. It’s why the club has been buying up local businesses. The gym, some apartment buildings, storage units, and we just bought another garage to work on restoring muscle cars. We may do a protective run but it is to support one of the clubs we are friends with. The last year we have worked toward becoming a club that the community comes to when they need a helping hand. Sometimes it is hard to change people’s minds.