“It’s beautiful, sweetie!” She stands there, holding her gaze to the mirror, when Tank comes barreling through. He stands there staring at her back.
“That is beautiful,” he smirks.
“Don’t be a dick, Tank.”
“What?” He smirks at me, feigning confusion.
“You know what. Get the fuck out so she can put her shirt the rest of the way back on.”
“Fine.” He winks at her. “I hear that we are having a date day. What else are we doing? You know what, don’t tell me. I want to be surprised.” He looks at me again. “I’m going to go grab Dana for our double date because I don’t want you to feel left out.”
“Why the fuck would I feel left out? Just fucking get out, Tank!” I say pushing him out and into the hall. He skips his big ass down the hallway and out the front door and then over to The Black Rose.
Ten minutes later, Dana, Harley, Tank and I are out on our double date. I told him before we left that his flirting better not go too far with Mom. He just laughed at me and said not to be stupid, fucking dumbass.
We’ve arrived at the mall and Tank groans, “The mall, dude? Come on!”
“You wanted to come, so shut the fuck up. And you’re paying for half of everything,” I inform him.
“Okay, I have more money than you anyway. That’s fair enough.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Sure you didn’t,” Tank says and holds the door open for my mom, and I do the same for Dana.
If there is one thing I know about these women, it’s that they love their boots. So that’s what I do. I grab Dana by the hand and take her to her boots.
“Wow, feel how soft these are,” Dana says to Mom handing her a pair of Harley Davidson boots that lace up the side and stop at her calves. “These are nice, I could wear them to work too.”
“They are nice. Look at these ones, Dana!” Mom races over to a pair that you would think would have disappeared if she didn’t get there fast enough. “These remind me of a pair I had years ago.” She holds them up with a faraway look on her face.
“Get them. Everything we do today is on Tank and me,” I say as I’m flagging down a sales a girl. She asks them for their sizes, but Dana’s isn’t in stock.
“Don’t worry, princess, I’ll pick yours up when they come in.” I kiss her lips and swat her ass out the door.
“It’s pedicure time. My ladies need some pretty toes.” Grabbing Dana’s hand and then Mom’s, we swing our hands back and forth. Tank takes my mom’s hand on the other side, and the four of us stroll down the mall walkways, forcing people to walk around us, but I don’t give a single fuck.
We arrive at the pedicure shop when Tank says a little too loudly, “This place is like Chinese takeout but for feet. It’s cool though, let’s get our pedicures on.” He slaps his hands together ready and leading the way.
Dana whispers, “Did he really just say that? Now they’re going to be mean to us when they aren’t really nice to begin with, and is he really coming with us?”
“Easy, princess, if those bitches are mean to you, you let me know and I will take care of it. Okay?” She nods back. “Go pick your color for whatever bullshit and I’m grabbing a drink.”
∞ ∞ ∞
An hour later, we are at the little mini race track for kids. There are two lanes and several drivers, but there will be only one winner. Tank and I decide to be gentlemen and allow Mom and Dana into the go-karts in the very front. I’m still determined to beat them though. I said I was a gentleman because I gave them a shot at the front.
I rev my little lawn mowing sounding engine. I let out a “RRRR” and Dana and Mom turn around and eye me. What? Don’t they feel the need for speed? I grip the stirring wheel tightly. The light starts to count down, red, yellow, green! I slam my foot down only to bump the back end of Dana’s kart. “Go, woman, step on it!”
Mom and Tank hackle at me as my woman finally gets the idea of why we’re here. I push on the gas and bump her into the corner, laughing manically at my maneuver. Dana flips me off, but it’s better that she learns this now.
I zero in on my next two targets, Tank and Mom. Tank and I take turns brutally slamming each other into the side rails. Mom knows well enough and just gets out of the way. I’m so close to winning, it’s the last lap, and I’m screeching tires coming around the corner when I’m hit and I spin into Tank. Mom hits the back end of his kart, so we are now facing each other, and those sneaky girls take the win. Son of a bitch.
Dana parks the kart and jumps up and down with Mom, giggling the whole way to the mini golf course arm in arm, and later again on our way out.
“Alrighty, ladies, last stop of the day, go ahead and look.” Mom’s out of the car before I even tell her that we are at the pet store, and runs in.
Taking Dana’s hand, we walk in and find Mom sitting on the floor with two puppies, playing with them. Dana lets go of my hand. “Oh my God, a playpen of puppies!” She steps over the gated circle. She sits down on the floor too and starts playing with a little labradoodle that keeps licking her face. His little paws rest on each of her shoulders.
“Dana, I think I want to take two of these little babies home!” My mom squeals while playing with two small King Charles dogs. “They are just so fluffy and cute, and they are the only two in here, like a little set. Aren’t you a little set?” She’s baby talking to them now.
Tank and I grab two carts and a sales lady. We follow her around as she loads our carts full of puppy shit. When she asks if I want this or that I just say, “Just throw the puppy shit in the cart, please,” followed by a, “Thank you.” As I mentioned before, I am a gentleman and shit.
We check out and head over to grab the girls. “Mom, grab your fur babies and let’s take them home.”
“Best day ever! Now I’ve got to name you and take you to the vet. Then we can go to the park.” She keeps rambling as she kisses both of their heads on her way out the door.
Dana pets the little labradoodle and picks him up to kiss him on the head before she sets him back down on the floor. “What are you doing, princess?”
“I’m putting him down…?” She sounds unsure as she turns her answer into a question.
“Princess, get the dog. We are taking him home too,” I tell her.
“Really? I get to take Charlie home as mine?”
“No. He’s our Charlie. Let’s take him home. You girls are a lot of fucking work. All this excitement in one day I need a damn nap from it.”
Chapter 22
Dana
Jenn swings her feet back and forth over the arm of the chair she’s sitting sideways in while sipping on her coffee. Aimlessly staring at the wall. It’s the morning after my day date, and I’ve given my full update from yesterday. Vegas sits across from me, sipping tentatively from her own coffee while listening to the day I had before. Feeling guilty, I stop talking and look over at Jenn to see that she probably didn’t even hear a word I had said.
“Jenn, are you going to come over later and see Charlie at Harley’s with us? I want you to see him too.”
“Why is he at Harley’s house?”
Patiently I repeat, “Since Axl got her two dogs as well, she said that she would house train Charlie while he’s so little since she has to do that with her little dogs anyway. I think it’s been really good for her. Axl gave her two of the sweetest little puppies to help her heal and keep her company. It was a great idea he had since she lost Maddox.”
“Really, that’s so nice for her,” Jenn says in a dead tone and takes another sip of her coffee.
“Hey, I know! We can go get you a puppy today too, then we can plan play dates and stuff.” I perk up ecstatically at the idea.
“Wow, thanks, Dana. But I think I’ll pass.” She sounds all bitter as she’s rolling her eyes at me. “Tell me, what else has Axl said? Did he tell you to get me a dog, too?” Jenn coolly asks while turning her body and setting her feet on the floor.
I
snap my mouth shut and the embarrassment covers my face at her cruel words back to me. I am so taken aback by her words that I can’t even think of a single thing to say back to her. Jenn’s eyes appear more dilated and bloodshot as she refuses to lose eye contact with me. The sight of her like this saddens and shocks me further.
“What the fuck, Jenn?” Vegas defends me. “She was telling you about her goddamn dog, and we know that shit’s been hurting you, but do you have to rip her heart out over it?”
“Fuck off, Vegas. Tell me why then, out of blue, you two suddenly came looking for me? You two have only given a fuck about what has been going on with your men lately, not me.”
“No, Jenn, fuck you and your poor little ‘everyone feel so fucking sorry for Jenn’ attitude. Get over yourself, Jenn. We’ve been here, you’ve just been lying to us the entire fucking time!” Vegas throws back at her.
My stomach feels sickened over the words they throw carelessly at each other, so I try diffusing the tension a little. “It wasn’t out of the blue, Jenn. How many times do we have to ask you what’s wrong? We want to help but we can’t keep bugging you and waiting for you to let us in either.”
Avoiding what was said, she asks, “What was it then that made you go looking for me that day?” She looks at me dead in the eyes.
“Fuck it, fine. You want to push this? Let’s rip into it then.” Vegas demands Jenn’s attention back to her.
“We know you’re taking pills. We are worried you have a drug abuse problem and wanted to check on you because we never know lately when we will see you.” She sets her coffee mug on the office desk, readying herself for battle now. “We found out about it, and, because we are your family, we came looking for you!”
“Who told you? James?”
“What the hell? NO.”
Jenn yells at the top of her lungs, “Then who!”
Having enough, I tell her, “I went to Vegas because you didn’t show up to work or for our shopping trip. We went to tell Blade and Axl that we were worried and heading out to look for you. Axl only said that he thought that you may be sleeping off a hangover, then we asked him what he meant. Axl said that you and he took pills together once, okay? We were already looking for you that day. Not that any of this information matters, because, clearly, you don’t trust us anymore.” My heart is shattered from laying out the truth into the open with the words I never thought would be said between us three.
“I don’t have a problem,” Jenn firmly states, standing up rigidly from her seat.
“Yes, you do, Jenn. We want to be here for you and help you,” Vegas says with an eerie calmness in her voice.
Jenn loses her cool and throws her mug with all her strength in her body, shattering it against the wall to the left. The explosion is mirroring what has been building for a long time.
The office door bangs open as James barges in. “What the hell is going on in here? Is everyone okay?” That’s followed by Blade and Axl charging into the office behind him. The atmosphere is suffocating with anger and pain in the tiny space and even more with their presence.
Jenn ignores the guys and James’ question, staring us down and picking up where we left off.
“I don’t need you guys, any of you guys, following me around and talking shit about me. Fuck this, I’m out of here.” She picks up her handbag off the floor and goes to storm past the guys on the way out.
James holds his hand out, gently gripping her elbow. “Please don’t leave, Jenn, we all love you. We all just want to help you.” Tenderly, with a sincere voice, he pleads with her.
Very calmly, in a low tone, she says, “I don’t want to be helped.” She looks James up and down. “You can’t help what I need help with anyway.” She rips her arm away from his hold and storms out the front door of the bar.
The five of us look at one another as we listen to her starting her car and ripping away from The Black Rose and the people who love her most.
Chapter 23
Axl
We have Church in a few minutes and I sit looking around at the men who are filing in and those who have gathered around the table already. And, for the first time since I was a kid, do I wonder what if this was what it’s like to be a grown up. I can say that after years of acting irresponsibly, that now I truly feel the repercussions of how my choices affected my life and have brought me to this point. Yes, I lived free. Partied with and fucked with the best of them.
Maybe it’s my age finally catching up with me and seeing Jenn so lost and drowning with regret that I feel fortunate my life is the way it is now. That sounds a little fucked up even to me. Maybe it was my old man’s passing or a combination of them both, but I feel fortunate that I did make it back from the hell I just walked through. It makes me think back to all the times my old man was there to reel me back in when he could see that I was going too far off the deep end with drugs and booze. I can clearly see how much the man, and my mother, really protected me from my choices.
Slam. The gavel hits the table and I snap back to reality. I look up and straight into Blade’s eyes. I recognize a clarity in them that I’ve never seen before. Blade was made to be the President, and I’m now just catching up. He recognizes the same thing as me and nods my way. He sees that I’m back and better than before. Whatever we have lost between us is now back.
“First order of business, we have a new prospect with us that I’m personally vetting, but I’ll open up the room for a vote. All those in favor to have James, the security guard from The Black Rose, prospect for membership say aye.”
“Aye!” The room erupts into agreement.
“Any nays?” The room is deadly silent. “Alright then, someone call James in from the bar.”
James walks into the room as Solo holds the door open for him to come in. Blade and I stand at the head of the table, our faces impassive along with the rest of the crew’s.
“James,” Blade calls him forward. “Take this cut with a prospect patch on it. Wear it wherever you go. You now are prospecting for the Battle Born MC. Once that cut goes on, you represent your brothers. You fuck up, you’re out.”
James takes the cut and shrugs it on over his shoulders, then runs his hands down the front. “I know what it means to wear this cut. I won’t let you or the brothers down.”
“What you hear, see and do is a bond between brothers,” Blade reminds James. “It’s a pact made in blood. And death, should you betray your family. And it’s a consequence of death to protect our secrets that you will take to your grave.”
James stands a little taller as he’s addressing his new Prez and brothers. “I will do what you need of me and protect my club.”
“Good. Now, you start your initiation into the club. You will still be a security guard on the floor at The Black Rose until we find a new one to take your place. You will also bartend here. Wait outside for me. We will head over to The Black Rose and speak with Vegas and her crew,” Blade instructs him.
James turns to leave and, on his way out, he is congratulated by the brothers with back slaps and handshakes. The room settles down from the excitement and Blade’s mood drops to an icy chill to update the brothers on the trap set the other night at the fight tank.
“We had an issue after the fight we had over at Tony’s. We suspected that he was after something more and we were correct. We knew that he’d been following us and looking to get us busted with the cops. At the fight, he had his own warehouse raided. It’s his second attempt to take us down. Tony has the cops in this town on his payroll. We will need to take Tony out.”
Blade stops to think and light a smoke before he continues, “I never wanted to get into paying off the cops here to cover for us, but bought loyalties and blackmail are going to have to happen in order to protect the club. Fan out and find some dirt on the members of the police department and any other government official. Snake, you and Tank are in charge of this project.”
“What do you think he’s after? More young bitches?” Solo asks,
looking all pissed off while spitting his words out.
I take this one. “I don’t think he is in it for the girls himself, I think Tony is running the girls and the diamonds now that we took Johnny out and the previous members here that were helping him. He has an agreement with Los Reyes Malditos, The Cursed Kings, and we didn’t agree to haul his shit for him. The only answer was to take us down to get his products moving again. If he got us caught up with the cops, he was hopeful to blackmail us into it, and he’s probably still working on it.” As I speak my thoughts out to the group, an ominous feeling crawls through my body as Blade confirms it.
“Aye,” Blade agrees. “The only way around this is to get into bed with Los Reyes Malditos ourselves and cut Tony off, and his throat too. We just can’t kill Tony until we know exactly what their deal was.”
“This means getting into bed with Cobra, their Prez. It’s a dangerous fucking situation, man. That shit from the past is going to sink its fangs into the club again,” Spider says.
“Aye, brother, but you can’t run from the past. We have to confront it and clean it up before the past becomes a future none of us want to live in or die from. It’s time we called Stryker and Fuego in on this,” Blade declares.
He hits the numbers on his phone and connects a conference call with Fuego, from the Cali chapter, and Stryker, the Las Vegas Mother Chapter President.
“We all have a situation our club wanted to bring you all in on.” Blade gives them the update about the cops and Tony.
“We know he was transporting shit with Los Reyes Malditos. It’s time we meet up with those fuckers and resolve this shit with them.”
Just the mention of the name has the room and the phone line silenced. Not a single one of us wants to step in on their business or bring them in on ours.
Nothing Lasts Forever (Battle Born MC Book 2) Page 16