“Oh, did he? Really?” Cutter raised an eyebrow.
“And, what do you mean he had me pegged? When the fuck did you talk to Duke about me?”
“Minus, as usual, what you don’t know could fill a fuckin’ dump truck.”
I hated to admit it, but Cutter had once again thrown me a curve ball that I was wholly unprepared for. As if I hadn’t already been confused enough, my two lives, the one here, and the one in Savannah had suddenly collided.
“You know why I gave you the name Minus when I patched you in?” Cutter’s eyes softened.
“You told me it was because I was dependable; that I was good at making problems go away.”
“That’s all true, but it’s horse shit. Has nothing to do with why I gave you that handle.”
“Then, why?” I asked.
“When I found you and Nicky on the streets you looked like a pair of drowned cats. The both of you were skin and bones and headed for the pound to be put down. Right away, I could tell you were both tough and loyal―and those are probably the most important qualities to possess―but in you I saw something even more valuable.”
“What’s that?”
“You’re teachable. I could tell that right away.”
“What about Clutch?”
“Clutch is the kind of man you go to in a pinch, thus his name, but his instinct is to fight his way out of trouble. That’s what’s gonna make him a great Sergeant at Arms. You’re smart. You use your mind. You read all those big thick books, and you actually understand them.”
“So why call me Minus?”
“Because you’re a fuckin’ moron! Within moments of realizing how smart you were, I thought to myself, ‘this guy is minus a few in the wisdom department.’ For a guy that’s ‘off the charts’ smart, you can be fuckin’ oblivious to what’s going on right in front of you. I told Zaius to send you to the old man. To see if you had in you, what I always thought you did.”
“What’s that?”
“Leadership potential. I see leader inside of you, Minus. I always have. But I also see a fool. You see, it’s not good enough to be smart. To lead, you also must be wise. You’ve always been loyal, brave, and a good earner, but sending you to Duke was the beginning of your education.”
About one month after I’d arrived in Georgia, Zaius, the Savannah chapter president, sent me to a horse ranch run by a man named Duke and his wife, Pearl. I lived and worked on that ranch for six months, in which I remained completely isolated from everyone and everything I’d ever known. It was the most difficult thing I’d ever done and it changed me. Duke was my mentor, and like Cutter, had become a father figure. Over the years, I’d grown even closer with him and Pearl, and worked the ranch whenever possible.
“Duke has never once mentioned that he knew you,” I said.
“That’s the way I wanted it. I knew if you knew it was my idea that you were at the ranch, you’d never listen to a word Duke said.”
He was right. I said nothing.
“Look, Minus, you and I were never gonna see eye-to-eye back then, and as much as I liked you and some of your ideas, you were a thorn in my side and a pain in my ass. You know how our business works. It’s all based on the balance of power and the display of strength. If we don’t show a united front, the Burning Saints will appear weak, and the moment we appear weak, we’re done for.”
The Saints were in the protection business. The largest portion of the club’s income was collected from businesses and private citizens who hired us for security purposes. Not all of these business and individuals were exactly on the up-and-up, and/or had security needs that extended the scope of the law, so they’d call us. We were the big scary guys that chased other big scary guys away, and if they couldn’t be chased, we were prepared to take things to the next level. As much as I loved my club, and would lay my life down for my brothers, I was never thrilled about the way we earned, and from the day I was patched in I started making my thoughts and feelings known. Being just a pup, this was not a smart move on my part, and Cutter yanked my leash relentlessly, so I was both surprised, and intrigued at what he’d just said.
“What do you mean, you liked some of my ideas? All you did was shoot me down back then.”
“Times have changed,” Cutter said. “Look, you were right when you’d spout off about our way of doing things coming to an end, but how the fuck did you expect me to respond? C’mon man. You can’t yell meteor to a bunch of dinosaurs and expect much of a reaction.”
“I understand that now,” I said.
“I bet you do. In fact, I’m betting everything on it,” he replied. “I sent you to Savannah to become your own man, and I sent you to Duke because I knew he’d be able to teach you all the shit you couldn’t learn from me. You’ve got a good heart, Minus, and I know you’ve always cared about this club.”
“You and the Saints saved my life and I never forgot that, even when I hated you.”
“Boy, I figured you’d be pissed when I sent you away, but if I’d known that a girl was involved...” He let out a low slow whistle. “Now I get why you came in white-hot last night. I’m sorry, Minus. I honestly didn’t know she meant that much to you back then.”
“Yeah, well, none of that matters now. She hates my guts and I’ve got a new scar to remind me. Plus, her dickhead Fire Dog brother is probably gonna show up wanting to start shit with me.”
“Well, I hope not, because I was kind of counting on you being able to work with him on some things,” Cutter said.
“What? You want to me work with Hatch?”
“No, I want you to work with all the Dogs of Fire. More specifically, you and my niece. She’s the key to this whole thing working.”
“What’s your deal with Cricket? What exactly are you envisioning here? For us to rule the land together as young king and queen? Which brings up my next point; I’m only twenty-nine years old. All you do is tell me how much I don’t know and point out my lack of wisdom. Why choose my young, dumb ass?”
“The truth is, I wasn’t much older or smarter than you when I started this club, so I have the utmost faith in my choice. In fact, your age and differing views are very strong reasons as to why I want you to wear the President’s patch.”
“So how does Cricket factor into all of this?”
“Not only am I hoping she can be the bridge to the Dogs of Fire, she’s also a marketing and branding whiz. I’ve been keeping track of her career this entire time. She’s lousy with achievements and accolades and has been doing great work at Mann Industries.”
“And you want her to help you run a motorcycle club full of criminals and leg breakers?”
“No. I want you to work with her to help the Burning Saints grow and change into something new.”
“You want to re-brand a one-percenter motorcycle club.”
“By Jove, Warthog, I believe he’s got it,” he sang out.
* * *
Cricket
I told myself over and over that what I was doing wasn’t stalking. I reminded myself that I had legitimate reasons to call Minus. I reasoned with myself that it wasn’t at all creepy or wrong that I’d asked Dani, one of the sweetest women on the planet, to convince her hacker husband to commit a federal crime and keep it secret from my brother, one of his closest friends.
“This is Minus.”
His voice sent a shock to my center that left me momentarily speechless.
“Hello? Who is this?”
“Uh... hi, it’s... it’s me... uh, Cricket... Cricket Wallace.”
“As opposed to all the other Crickets I know?” he retorted.
My face burned with embarrassment and I was glad he couldn’t see me right now, as I’m sure my cheeks were bright red.
“How did you get this number?” he asked.
Ohmigod, what could I say? I couldn’t possibly tell him the truth, and yet that’s exactly what I did. “A hacker,” I razzed.
“You know a hacker? Holy shit.” He laughed, and my st
omach dropped again.
I thought he’d be angry, but instead he actually seemed to enjoy this bit of information.
“Yes, I know a hacker,” I replied, defensively. “For your information, he’s really good at... hacking.”
“Wow, you must really want to talk. You know, there were probably easier ways to get my number than violating F.C.C. laws... like through your uncle Cutter.”
I felt like an idiot. I had to pull myself together. I could not let Minus get the upper hand. I was calling with questions and I wanted answers.
“Yes, I’m aware of that, but I’m not speaking to my uncle. In fact, I’m not really speaking to you, for that matter. I’m not calling for social reasons, but because I want some answers. No, I deserve answers, and I’m not hanging up until I get them.
“Answers, huh?”
“Yes. I want to know exactly why you left, where you’ve been, and I don’t want to hear anything about the secrecy of club business or not understanding your world.” I squared my shoulders, even though he couldn’t see me. “I won’t stand for any bullshit answers.”
“Okay,” he replied.
“Okay? What do you mean, okay?”
“I mean, okay. I’ll tell you everything, but not over the phone. I’ll text you with an address. Be there tomorrow morning at nine o’ clock, and we can talk face-to-face.”
“I have a job, Jase. I can’t just blow it off to meet you at nine o’clock.”
He chuckled. “I’m gonna be tied up all day tomorrow, so you wanna meet me tonight? Cutter booked me a suite at a really nice hotel.”
“A night in your hotel room isn’t exactly what I had in mind.”
I shuddered. The thought of spending the night with him did funny things to my girly bits.
“But you’re thinkin’ about it now, aren’t you?” he whispered.
“Stop it.”
“C’mon, you used to love it when I’d talked dirty to you and make you blush. I bet your cheeks are already rosy.”
More like fire engine red.
“Jase, stop it. I mean it.”
“Alright, alright. Look,” he said, then sighed. “I was actually going to call you a little later. I wanted to apologize for what I said last night, but I wanted to give you some time to cool off first. I’m glad I’ll have the chance to look you in the eyes when I tell you how sorry I am.”
Oh jeez, I’m gonna need new panties.
“Okay.”
“How about you swing by my hotel after work? Apparently, the restaurant inside is nice. We can eat and talk... in public, if it makes you feel better. Whatever you want,” he said.
“I can’t tonight.”
“Tomorrow,” he said. “I’ll text you the address... unless, of course, you had your hacker find out where I’m staying.”
“No. I didn’t,” I said.
“I just sent it to you, so it’s on your phone now. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
“See you tomorrow, then,” was all I could manage to squeak out, then hung up.
Minus
Forcing myself to compartmentalize my emotions surrounding Cricket and my chance to be with her alone tomorrow night, I followed Clutch to our destination. We pulled up to the Nine Ball just after ten o’ clock and the place was already looking pretty lively. Bikes, low riders, and vintage custom trucks filled the parking lot. The Saints, The Apex Predators, and the older clubs in town still held sway, but according to Clutch, Los Psychos, the area’s newest club, had recently gained in numbers significantly, and all but taken over this, and several other spots.
“Holy shit! Look at this place,” Clutch said as we approached the bar’s entrance.
“I seem to recall it was in serious need of work when we were last here,” I said.
“Word on the street is, when Los Psychos bought the place, they dumped some serious cash into it,” Clutch replied.
“It looks like a fucking Dave and Busters.”
We made our way inside and I noticed the beat-to-shit wooden floors had been replaced by polished, tinted concrete. The original planks had no doubt been sold as reclaimed lumber to some trendy condo builder in the Pearl district. Half of the pool tables were gone, as were all the vintage pinball machines. The sawdust and peanut shells on the floor were gone too, likely due to some city ordinance about fucking allergies. The music, geared toward teenaged girls, was pumping in synch with a blinding light show. Had most of the guys in the place not been wearing kuttes, you’d never know this was still a biker bar.
“What the fuck happened to this place?” Clutch shouted. “Leo’s gotta be rolling over in his grave!”
“Leo’s not dead, Clutch.”
“Yeah, but still. Right now, he should dig his own grave, lie down, and fucking roll around in it,” Clutch growled out. “Can you believe this shit?”
As dramatic as he was being, he wasn’t wrong. ‘Our kind’ was running out of sacred spaces. Places where we could be ourselves. The world around us was changing rapidly; becoming more civilized, and much like the gunfighters and outlaws of the wild west, we’d soon no longer be tolerated by polite society.
“Let’s go grab a quieter place to sit down and scope the place out,” I said.
I saw a table located in the perfect spot for our purposes. We’d have our backs to a wall, and a clear line of sight from the pool tables, to the front entrance. From that table, we could casually scan the room without attracting attention.
The table was currently being occupied by two of tonight’s few non-biker patrons; a beautiful young, raven haired woman, and a very nervous looking young man. They looked more suited for a day of apple picking than hanging out here, and neither of them could have been a day older than 21. These young folks were most certainly not in the right place.
“Wait here a sec,” I said to Clutch, and walked over to their table. “Good evening, y’all,” I said, smiling down at the young lovers. “I couldn’t help but notice the two of you sitting here, and I thought I’d come over to lend some assistance.”
“Oh, okay,” the young man said. “That would be great, because no one has come over to take our drink orders or anything.”
I laughed. “No, man, I’m not here on behalf of the wait staff, I’m here to ask you to look around the room for a moment.”
“Why... Why is that?” he asked nervously.
“Well, you see, I’m thinking no one’s been by to take your order, because, despite the décor and this horrible music, this isn’t quite the place for nice young people such as yourselves,” I said. “Go ahead, look around this place. You notice anything all these folks have in common?”
“I... we... I just...,” he sputtered.
“They’re all bikers. That’s right...”
“Ch... Chad.”
“It’s okay, don’t worry, Chad, I’m not here to give you any trouble. In fact, I’m here to save your evening, and possibly your life.”
Ch... Chad and his companion stared up at me in stunned silence.
“Now, I’m gonna guess you two are on a date. Am I right?”
“Yes,” Chad said as the young lady nodded vigorously.
“First date?” I asked, grinning wide.
“S... second,” Chad replied.
“Ahhh, that makes sense,” I said. “The first date went well, but you were afraid you were a little too timid and wanted to show her your ‘bad boy’ side, so you brought her here to show how tough you are. Your college buddies probably told you about this pool hall where bikers hung out and serves cheap, watered down drinks. Am I right, Chad?”
He swallowed in response.
I pulled out a hundred-dollar bill from my wallet, placed it on the table, and motioned towards Clutch as I addressed the young man. “This is my friend’s favorite table, so I’m gonna make you two a deal, I’ll give you a hundred dollars for this table. You can use the cash to take your date some place nice. Go somewhere you can talk and get to know each other. You can’t have a nice conversa
tion in a place like this. All you can get here is hepatitis or stabbed.”
Without a word, the couple, hand in hand, beat it for the door.
“Ah, young love,” Clutch said smiling as he joined me at the table.
“Those two are lucky the night is still early, or they would have had their bones picked clean before long.”
No sooner had the two lovebirds flown the nest than a heavily tattooed woman, dressed in ‘pinup girl’ attire, appeared to take our drink orders. I recognized her instantly as a waitress from back in the day.
“You were around when Leo owned the place weren’t you?” I asked.
“That’s right. Sally Anne. It’s been a while, Minus, nice to see you.”
“Wow, you’ve got a good memory,” I said, stunned she’d remembered me, let alone my name.
“It’s an occupational skill I’ve developed after doing this for way too long. Plus, I never forget a pretty face,” she said with a wink and a smile. “Although, it looks like someone recently tried to make you not-so-pretty.” She motioned to the cut below my eye. “Now, what can I get you, besides an ice pack? A couple of beers, perhaps”
“You can start by telling me what the fuck happened to this place,” I said. “Where are the pool tables?”
“You can thank Mister Viper for all this. He’s turned the Nine Ball into his personal Hooters,” she replied. “Members from various clubs still come here to do a little business, but it’s nothing like the old days.”
“What’s with the fuckin’ disco lights and the sound system?” Clutch asked.
“All this is for the pole posse.”
“The what?”
“Los Psychos hang out with the strippers that work their clubs and they love this shit. This place is turning into a nightclub piece by piece. Look around fellas. The whole neighborhood has changed. All the old bars have either closed or been revamped to attract a younger crowd. It’s all dance clubs, or beards, sweaters, and micro brews everywhere you go.”
“How does the old clientele feel about the hipster invasion?” I asked.
“What do you think? There’s a fight at least twice a week. I have to sweep up teeth at closing time.”
Minus (Burning Saints MC, #1) Page 6