by Flora Burgos
“It just seems so silly. Like, you all have matching ‘cuts’? You and your ‘brothers’? Those guys aren’t all your brothers; they can’t be. Half of them are old enough to be your dad.”
His eyes twinkled when he said, “Quit thinking quite as literal as you are. These guys all have histories. And no, they aren’t my biological brothers, but the bond we have is thicker than most have with their blood kin; though incidentally, my actual brother is a brother in the club as well. We choose to be a part of this family and bust our asses to prove we are good enough. It’s almost like a corporation within a family. The shop is part of the club’s holdings, as is the towing business, the strip club, the bar, and a few other ventures. We work together and make a comfortable living. We aren’t blood. We’re a hell of a lot closer than that.”
He was talking about family and business, but I was stuck on the fact that they owned a strip club. A strip club! “You guys own a strip club?”
“Yeah, Sweetness, among other things. You dance?”
“I’m sorry?” I squeaked a-freaking-gain.
“Do you dance?”
“As in strip?” I swear my face went up in flames. I mean, really, did I look like a dancer? I didn’t even wear heels!
“So, no?” The bastard smirked.
“What the hell, dude? Why would you think I was a stripper? I mean, yeah, I can dress like a hoochie mama when the mood strikes, but I’ve never taken my clothes off for any man except for my ex. Ugh. Even my dog isn’t allowed in the room when I’m naked.”
He roared with laughter as the waitress walked up. She was in her mid-thirties, tops, and had an unidentifiable number of necklaces around her throat all tangled together, wore fake lashes that looked to be a part of a costume, they were so long, her makeup was dramatic with bright-red painted lips, her fingernails were long and black, and she had rings on each finger with an additional ring on the knuckles of a couple of fingers on each hand. She had bright pink hair that was pulled up into a bun, and a soft smile played at her lips as she approached us.
“How’re you two doing?” Her attire and style may have said ‘gothic meets pin-up’, but her voice was straight sweet Texas twang. I struggled not to fidget in my seat when her eyes came to me and her smile went luminous. “Dante, who is this? I haven’t seen her before!” Before I could ask who in the heck Dante was, she thrust her hand in my direction and introduced herself. “Hey, girl, I’m Maisie! I haven’t seen you around the clubhouse, and you sure don’t look like the usual morning after sperm receptacle. Dante, where did you find her?”
The tentative smile that had begun to spread across my lips faltered as I watched Jinx’s body go tight and heard him mutter, “Fuck.”
Louder, he said, “Jesus fuck, Maisie, you don’t even think before you open your mouth, do you?” But rather than angry, he sounded almost resigned.
“Maisie, Roxanne. Roxanne, Maisie.”
When he said my name, I couldn’t decide if it would be weird of me to reach out a hand to shake but didn’t have to decide when Maisie suddenly grabbed my hand and patted it while saying, “Roxanne! Oh, I feel all kinds of vibes coming from your aura! Girl, you need to let me a reading for you! I am feeling all kinds of juju. Let me go grab a couple of menus and bring y’all some water!”
Maisie pranced away in a whirlwind, which was pretty much how I would describe her from start to finish. I felt like I had just been picked up by a tornado, spun around a few times, and then tossed back into my seat. Just from that short interaction, I had so many questions I didn’t even know where to start. I just sat, staring at Jinx with my jaw hanging open.
A resigned look came over his face, and I swear he muttered, “Fuckin’ Maisie,” and while I could have been wrong; I just didn’t think so. “I’m guessing there is a lot there that needs covering, but I gotta be real honest and say that I would rather not talk about any of it here.”
“Well, I think I caught the majority of what she said. I don’t look like your usual bed partner, she may be batshit crazy, and your real name isn’t Jinx, which really explains a lot, since that is such an odd name, and I couldn’t figure that one out.”
He laughed out loud at that but said no more, so I let it go and instead looked around, just taking everything in.
Chapter Six
Roxanne
I didn’t have a schedule that I was aware of, and it was way past five, but the guys were still in the shop working, so I took the time to clean up. I had just finished scrubbing the bathrooms, and eww, when Jinx walked in and did a double take when he saw me. “Sweetness, you could have cut out of here two hours ago. When we shut the bay doors, we’re closed for business, and your day is done.”
“Okay, I wasn’t sure, and just to be honest, the place needed a good scrubbing, but I’ll close up and get out of here now.”
“Alright. Before I forget, heads-up! See ya in the morning.” I scrambled to catch the keys and didn’t bother to say good-bye because if I wasn’t mistaken, the man had just given me the keys to the garages, and there were a few other keys on there as well. Whatever.
I patted my leg and got Zeus to get up and follow me to the door. It had been a long day, and I was wiped. We still had to find something to eat, and I needed to scrub another top at least that I could wear tomorrow.
Dollar taco night was a winner for us, and I decided to treat myself and use some of the carefully stashed cash I had to stop at the laundromat and wash my clothes in an actual machine while we ate our tacos.
After I finished eating, I put the clothes in the dryer and took Zeus out for a walk. He took care of his business, and we had the laundry loaded back up and were headed to our trusty parking spot on the beach with the top down. It was a beautiful night, and there were worse places to be. Like Seattle.
After another walk, the sun had sunk, and the constant breeze coming in from the ocean gave me as close to a feeling of home, whatever that was, as I’d ever felt. I could hear bike pipes in the distance and vaguely wondered if it was one of the brothers. Thankfully, I wasn’t visible from the road. I had charged my phone in the office that day, so I pulled it out of the glove box to check my email. That is, until I realized that I had over two thousand of them. I tossed it back in the glove box and leaned back in my seat. Zeus laid a paw on my leg over the center console, but that was the extent of our activity until the roar of motorcycle pipes continued getting closer and closer.
Finally, the three-wheeled bike that Pops rode pulled into the parking area beside me, and the engine was cut. The long-haired, tattooed old man climbed off and walked over to my car. I straightened and waited to see what he would say. As far as they knew, I was staying at the motel, so I was sticking with that story. That didn’t stop my heart from feeling as if it were about to pound out of my chest, though.
He walked around my car and leaned a hip on the passenger door, bending over to scratch Zeus on the hindquarter. “Whatcha doin’ out here this late, Gypsygirl?”
I answered him as honestly as I could, “Taking a moment to just be. They are so rare that when I can find one, I take it.”
He was watching me, looking for a tell, a sign of deception, but I was sure that he didn’t know me well enough to notice the way I suddenly needed to touch my middle finger to my thumb and tap. His attention was on my face. “I hear that. You ‘bout ready to call it a night? Not safe out here for you.”
That kinda pissed me off, so I asked in a snotty voice, “Oh yeah?”
He just watched me in what I was realizing was just his way before one corner of his lips tipped up and he replied, “Yeah. I know you carry a weapon, and that’s great. Know you got this hellhound of yours, and that’s mighty fine as well, but we got some riffraff out here. Don’t want you getting tied up in anything, especially with your affiliation to the club.”
“Well, no worries. We’re going to be calling it a night soon and heading back to our room. Thanks for the concern, Pops, but we’re gonna be okay, and we’
ll be there in the morning with bells on.”
He looked like he was going to say something further, but he let it go and instead smiled and patted the car door before walking back around to get to his bike. Now I felt like a jerk, so I spoke up, “Pops?”
He turned around to look back at me. “Gypsy?”
“Sorry. Thanks for worrying. I’m not used to it. Haven’t had anyone who cared, well, ever, so it takes some getting used to.”
The stiffness went out of his posture, and he quirked a soft smile at me and climbed onto his bike.
He was long gone when I realized that I was still on edge and his words had done their job. I was scared in a way that I hadn’t been before. The peacefulness of the moment was gone, and now all I could do was to close the convertible roof and secure myself in the car before taking my gun out and making sure I had a bullet chambered and the safety locked. I spent the rest of the night uneasy in my driver’s seat, barely sleeping a wink.
Chapter Seven
Roxanne
I was dragging, and it was obvious.
I hadn’t slept much at all last night, and I was paying for it today. I stayed on top of my work and got everything done, but I knew it was obvious that something was wrong, and the looks I was getting from Pops let me know that maybe I hadn’t pulled the wool over his eyes after all. He was watching me. It didn’t seem like he had said anything to Jinx or Scratch yet, but I couldn’t be sure, so I was skittish around all of them all day.
After the bay doors were closed, I went ahead and locked the front door and tried to sneak out. After all, today was the day; the day when I would be going to the compound to meet all the brothers, which just seemed really overwhelming. And since I had already decided that I would be leaving town as soon as I could get my car fixed and pay Jinx back, there was no reason to throw my lot in with them. I would be here and gone before they knew it.
I almost made it to my car when the whistle drew my attention back, and I saw Jinx standing there waiting for me. “Yo, Sweetness, you’re with me.”
“Jinx, I can’t leave Zeus here, and he can’t ride on your bike. We’ll follow you in my car. Plus, that way we can leave as soon as we’re ready, and you won’t have to leave the party. I’ve heard Scratch say three different times today that this could get crazy. Safety first!” I tried to smile believably, but even I could hear the desperation in my voice.
He watched me for a second in hooded regard and then nodded in agreement. “Right, you follow Pops to the compound, and he’ll get you a drink. The boys and I will be right behind you.”
I could handle that, so I nodded and smiled. “Awesome!”
Jinx shook his head. He did that a lot, especially when I did something especially silly, like shouting, ‘Awesome!’
It was interesting pulling onto the compound for the first time. There was a really tall chain link fence surrounding the property, and two guys who had to be twins and were wearing a less ornamented version of the other guys’ cuts pushed each side of the gate back until we pulled through. Once we were clear, they closed the doors again and remained there on lookout. Pops parked next to a building that didn’t appear to have any windows, so I pulled up between him and one of the tow trucks belonging to the shop. I pulled the leash that we rarely used out of the console and clipped it to Zeus’ collar. He didn’t need a leash to walk, but I wasn’t sure what we were walking into, so this seemed like the best alternative.
I beeped the lock on my car and immediately felt foolish because I was locked in, and the way the guys I could see looked, if they really wanted in my car, they would go straight for the window anyways.
Pops held open a thick, solid steel door, and we stepped into a huge room. At one end, there was a huge television showing a boxing match, and there were three couches spread out, one of them holding a very large-bodied man at one end and a super slim one at the other, both of whom looked to be around Pops’ age. A handful of chairs, ranging from barstools to camp chairs, a recliner, and even a couple of bean bags were spread out. The other end of the room had a restaurant-sized bar with mirrored walls and dozens of bottles and at least ten more barstools. Spread through the middle of the room were a pool table, an air hockey table, and another couch.
Before I could decide where I wanted to look first, Pops tapped my arm and led me to the bar. “What’ll it be, Gypsy?”
My plan was to make as quick of an escape as I could, so I said, “Coke, please?” and took a seat on one of the stools at the bar.
He walked behind the bar and grabbed a Solo cup from a cabinet, then plopped a bit of ice, from somewhere under the bar, into it and handed me the cup of ice and a can of soda before grabbing himself a beer and pulling up a stool to sit across from me.
Well, this isn’t awkward.
It was almost like he picked up that particular thought, because he was grinning when my eyes hit his and shaking his head. “I like you, girl. You’ve got a fire in you, very much like my Louisa did. I think you are going to do just fine.”
That gave me pause. “What do you mean, I’ll do just fine?”
He regarded my face for a moment and said, “Something between you and the boy. I can see it all over the two of you. You’re a scrapper, so I imagine that something is gonna start to weigh on you, and you’re gonna want to run. Gotta know, there’s a lot going on here. Times are dangerous. But you stick with us, and Jinx will see it to the other side. There’s a reason a grizzled old bastard like me will follow a man like him. You’re gonna see that and be glad you stuck, I suspect.”
We had to be having two different conversations because nothing he was saying made any sense. “Uh, Pops, this is just a stop on the map for me. I’m not looking to settle down or stick around long term.”
He smiled at me. Whatever that meant. I didn’t have to contemplate it anymore because I could hear the roar of multiple bikes and figured it was a safe assumption that the cavalry had arrived. Pops stood and moved the barstool he had been sitting on back out of the way and reached down to pull out several beers as men walked in talking loudly.
Zeus looked up at the approaching men and then, giving his head a shake, he laid it back down and immediately started snoring again. That caused Scratch to snort. “Look at him acting all innocent, like the fucker wouldn’t eat one of us just to see what we taste like.”
A couple of the other guys guffawed or snorted, but my protection of Zeus was already well known, and Jinx wasn’t the only one who kept needling me. “Don’t be jealous that the dog looks better than you, brother. You just have one of those faces that only a mother can love,” one of the other guys picked at him.
I smiled at that but stayed quiet. Jinx hadn’t come in with them, and I was waiting on him to show up so I could see all of them with beer in hand, then get the hell out of here. The guys each grabbed a beer and nodded their thanks to Pops before walking across the room to a thick wooden door. I noticed that there was a hand-drawn and colored replica of their club logo, the eerily smiling skull with a heart and spade as eyes, an upside-down club as his nose, and a jester’s hat with the points, which had a diamond with the number 13 on one point, a skull and cross bones on a second, and an eight ball on the third. Before each man walked into the room, he did some kind of one-handed chest tap and then reached out and touched the logo. It looked as if they were paying homage to it.
When only Pops, Scratch, and I remained, the two other men across the room got up and ambled their way over to us and took a seat. More beers came out, and the skinny man, Polar Bear, growled, “And Jinx?”
Pops angled his head toward me, which I pretended to ignore even though I wanted to know where he was as well. “Business. He’ll be here in five.”
The fat man grunted and said, “Would that his jackass brother got his ass back home where he belongs, brother wouldn’t have so much on his shoulders and might be able to enjoy life’s little”—he jerked his head in my direction—“luxuries.”
I watched Po
ps bite his lips to hold back a laugh as I sat there stunned. I mean, how often did a girl get referred to as a luxury anyways? These guys were mental.
I jumped in surprise when the door to the outside was jerked open again and this time the man himself swaggered in. “Bitches are here.”
Wait. What?
I couldn’t stop it from pouring out of my mouth. “Did you just say—”
This time, Pops laughed out loud while I gaped.
Jinx walked in like he had missed the whole exchange even though I could see that he was fighting a smile, and he said, “Got church, Sweetness. Gimme about twenty minutes, and I’ll introduce you around.”
And with that, the men who had been loitering around the bar with me all grabbed their beers, did that chest tap-drawing tap thing, and walked into the room. Jinx was next to last with Scratch bringing up the rear and shutting the door behind him, but not before giving me a wink.
“Well, that wasn’t weird or anything, was it, buddy?” I asked my dog, since he was the only living thing in my vicinity.
That didn’t stay true, though. I heard at least two women walking up, giggling, and watched them walk through the heavy door like they had done it a million times. Right, these must be the ‘bitches’ he had been referring to.
The girls finally caught sight of me and slowed down momentarily before coming to the bar. One of the women, a particularly busty one who had a breathiness to her voice that some women seemed to think men liked, even though it made them sound ridiculous, asked, “Haven’t seen you around here before. Who do you belong to?”
“Be-belong to?”
“Yeah. Which brother do you belong to?”
“Uhh, none of them? I work at the shop.”
“What’s with the giant dog? Is he going to bite?”
I was offended by that, so I snapped, “Absolutely not!”