by Jade Kuzma
“Yeah,” I sighed. “I know.”
“You’ll be helping me out, too.”
“How’s that?”
“Somebody at that place knows something. Maybe they’ll have some information for me, too. I might be able to settle my business there.”
“Two birds with one stone. That works.”
“Come on,” she said, patting me on the arm. “Time’s wasting.”
“All right, all right. Slow your role.”
Audrey gave me a wink before stepping out of the room. I headed outside with her to talk to Mrs. Solomon before I left.
“Thanks for letting me in his room,” I said.
“Oh, it’s no trouble. It’s not like the place was ever clean anyway. Jamie would get mad whenever I re-arranged his things. Did you… find anything?”
“I… I’m not sure. But I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”
“I know you will. There’s just one more thing before you go,” she said as she looked at Audrey. “Do you mind if I have a moment with Micah? There’s something I wanted to talk about, just me and him.”
“Sure,” Audrey said. “I’ll be waiting outside.”
After Audrey stepped out, Mrs. Solomon smiled up at me.
“She’s a sweet girl,” she said.
“Sweet? You think she’s sweet? Are you and I looking at the same girl?”
“Oh, stop it. Just because she’s quiet doesn’t mean she’s got a kind heart.”
“I’m not talking about her being quiet…”
“Where’d you find her?”
“I found her where a man like me usually finds women.”
“I see… Surprised a woman like her is hanging out in bars. She’s hiding something.”
“No kidding.”
“I’m not talking about a treasure buried in her backyard. I mean the real her. It’s somewhere inside of her. You just keep chipping away and you’ll find what I mean.”
“That’s… That’s not what I’m worried about right now. I just… I wanna make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m just fine, Micah. When I lost Harold, I thought it was the end of the world. I got the same feeling when Jamie left me. But I’m still here. We’re both still here. You remember that now.”
She smiled softly and put a hand to my cheek. I exhaled a deep breath through my nose and nodded before leaving her apartment.
Audrey stood next to my bike, her arms crossed as she watched the daytime traffic roll by us.
“So…” she started. “We headed to the Grindhouse or what?”
“Yeah… Yeah, we’re headed to the Grindhouse. There’s just something you should know before we go.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a clubhouse. Home of the Black Reapers. Try not to start anything.”
She gave me that sideways glare of hers.
“You think I’m planning on starting something?” she said.
“I don’t know what you’re up to, Audrey. But the Grindhouse is the last place you wanna start shit.”
“I thought that’d be Finn’s.”
“Finn’s is one thing. But when you’re a Cobra, the last place you wanna be is the Grindhouse.”
“And why’s that?”
Audrey raised her eyebrows at me, waiting for my response.
What have I gotten myself into now?
I opened my mouth but the words got stuck in my throat. Before I could get anything out, all I could do was laugh.
“It’s… It’s a long story.”
“That’s fine,” she said. “I’ve got the time to listen.”
“It’s a lot longer than you think it is.”
Chapter 8
AUDREY
Micah didn’t bother giving me the details of why he wasn’t excited about heading to the Grindhouse. In the middle of the afternoon, we rode through the streets of Ivory toward another biker bar. From the outside, it didn’t look much different from the rest. Micah parked his ride alongside the rest of them. If he was hesitant before, he looked more determined now.
“You sure you don’t wanna tell me what this is all about?” I said.
Micah paused for a moment, looking down at the ground like he was trying to find the right answer.
“The Reapers… There’s some tension with them and us.”
“Why’s that?”
“I don’t know why. They just don’t.”
“Maybe you should step outside—”
“No. It’s not that bad. From what I understand, the Reapers and the Cobras are cool. But they won’t hesitate to bring the beef back over the littlest thing.”
“I don’t see what the problem is.”
“I’m about to go in there and ask ‘em about some kid who was found dead and was probably involved with drugs. They might not take that accusation kindly.”
“If they’re not involved, then they shouldn’t have a problem.”
He chuckled like I just told him a joke only I didn’t see what was so funny.
“This isn’t just their place. This is their home. You step into another man’s clubhouse and start accusing him of things… Shit could get ugly.”
“I still don’t see it—”
“Let me handle this, Audrey. If they know anything, I’ll get it from them.”
“Fine, fine,” I said as I put my hands up.
Micah stared at me, trying to make sure he got his point across. I just looked back until he finally turned around and walked inside. I followed after him and was greeted with the unmistakably pungent smell of liquor and leather.
The Grindhouse wasn’t much different from the other clubhouses I’d been to. I could smell the bravado in the air. I could see it on the walls. I could feel it in a way I didn’t feel in other ordinary bars. I suppose it helped that there were bikers scattered all around the place. It wasn’t just the tattoos. It wasn’t just the kuttes. It wasn’t the muscles either. Just a quick glance and you knew every man in the room had a criminal record.
And they all had their eyes on Micah. He’d barely taken a few steps when one of the men approached him. He had a thick beard, tan skin with tattoos all along his sleeves, and a patch on his vest that matched the others in the room.
He looked Micah up and down skeptically.
“I thought I knew all the Cobras,” he said, his voice cold and blunt. “You must be new.”
“Just got patched in not too long ago,” Micah said. “I still know how it works.”
“I got no beef with you, Cobra. Unless you give me a reason to.”
There was a tension building between them I couldn’t figure out. All Micah did was walk inside and eyes were still locked on him.
“You need some help, Cobra?”
“Micah. My name’s Micah.”
“Jon. VP.”
“I don’t need any help. Just looking for some information.”
“You can’t get that information from your own club?”
“Not this information.”
The skeptical look on Jon’s face didn’t go away as he kept sizing Micah up.
“You heard about the body they found on the riverbank?” Micah said.
“We all heard about it,” Jon replied. “Don’t know much else about it. That was on the other side of town.”
“His name was Jamie Solomon.”
“Doesn’t sound familiar.”
“He should sound familiar,” I chimed in. “Jamie came to this bar.”
Jon narrowed his eyes at me.
“And who the fuck are you?” he said.
“Settle down, Audrey,” Micah said as he put his hand up to me. “We’re just trying to retrace the kid’s steps. He was here at the bar. You saw his picture in the papers.”
“A lot of people come to this bar. You can’t expect me to remember every face and what they’re doing.”
“He was involved with drugs,” I said.
“Audrey…” Micah said through gritted teeth.
Jon took a step b
ack and shook his head.
“Jamie Solomon,” he said. “The kid goes missing and they find his body. You tell me he was involved with drugs and he was seen at this bar, my bar. Are you trying to get at something, Cobra? You accusing me of being involved?”
“I’m not accusing you of anything,” Micah said. “I’m just trying to get some answers. Doc told me a story that the Reapers used to be moving weight—”
“Whoa…” Jon took a step forward, his eyes locked on the man in front of him. “You be careful about what you’re saying there. You don’t go into another man’s clubhouse and start pointing fingers.”
Micah didn’t back down though. Not with Jon looking him in the eye. And not with the other Reapers beginning to stir. The music in the place suddenly seemed distant. The few patrons that were there stopped chatting and enjoying their drinks.
“I’m real sorry about what happened to that kid,” Jon said. “I don’t know how you know him. Frankly, it don’t matter. Nobody deserves to die like that. But the truth is I don’t know anything about him and I don’t know what happened. You’re better off looking elsewhere.”
Micah looked the man in the eye.
Shit…
I swallowed hard, waiting for the two of them to come to blows. It could all happen in the blink of an eye.
But Micah just nodded and took a step back.
“Okay—”
“I saw him.”
A voice interrupted Micah. One of the other Reapers sitting at the booth approached us. And the closer he got, I realized just how massive he was. His body was as thick as a tree trunk. I didn’t wanna imagine how many gallons of ink it took to cover his sleeves. Then there was that menacing look in his eyes.
“I remember the kid,” he said.
“What do you know, Brawn?” Jon said to him.
The man he called Brawn scratched his beard as he thought about it.
“Skinny kid,” Brawn started. “Pale. Some freckles. I checked his ID every time to make sure it wasn’t fake. You don’t forget someone like that.”
“You know why he came to the Grindhouse?” Micah asked.
“No clue. But he was with someone.”
“Who? What was his name?”
“Didn’t care to remember. A real rat-faced weasel. Checked his ID for a second. Something like Pierce or something.”
What?
My heart stopped in my chest when I heard it.
“Pearson?” I said. “Did you say Pearson?”
“Pearson,” Brawn said with a shrug. “That might’ve been it. I don’t remember. All I know is the motherfucker always looked like he was up to something. It’s easy to see how a kid like Solomon could get involved with someone like him.”
Pearson… Oliver Pearson? It has to be him…
I struggled to find the words to say. It took me a second to notice how hard Micah was staring at me.
“You all right?” Jon said to me. “You look like you just saw a ghost.”
“I’m fine…” I said.
“Maybe you should learn to keep your old lady in check,” he said to Micah. “It’ll keep you out of trouble.”
Micah wasn’t paying any attention to him. He just kept looking at me. I must’ve been doing a terrible job at hiding my surprise.
“That’s all we got for you,” Jon said. “So, unless you plan on spending some cash, I suggest you get the fuck out of here.”
“Come on,” Micah said. “Let’s go…”
We both turned around to leave but Jon called out to us.
“Hey! One more thing!”
Jon walked up to us, his stare locked on Micah like it’d been this entire time.
“Garnet and Shooter broke bread,” he said. “Needle’s cool with him, too. But just because the Reapers and Cobras ain’t at war, doesn’t mean I appreciate you stepping into my home and asking questions.”
“I don’t give a shit what you think,” Micah said. “I’m just trying to figure out what happened to Jamie.”
“I know you are. I respect that. That’s why Brawn is gonna take it easy on you.”
He took a step back and patted the behemoth of a man on the arm.
“Take him outside,” Jon said.
“What?” I exclaimed. “What the fuck is going on—”
“It’s all right,” Micah said. “Let’s go, big man.”
Micah marched outside and I followed after him. Brawn was flanked by the other Reapers as we stepped out into the parking lot.
“What the hell?” I said. “You’re not really gonna fight that guy, are you?”
“It’s not exactly a choice, Audrey. Besides, you heard what he said. He’ll take it easy on me.”
Micah turned around and was met with a hard punch to the gut. Micah managed to stay standing on his feet despite how much it crumpled him over.
“There we go, Brawn!”
“Teach that Cobra a lesson!”
“Fuck him up!”
In the middle of the Grindhouse parking lot, the cheers from the other Reapers filled the air. I stood there and watched the surreal scene, helpless while they chanted for Micah to get beat up.
Brawn reared back for another punch. But with all of his size, he wasn’t fast enough. Micah straightened up and threw an uppercut right at Brawn’s chin that made him stumble back and fall to a knee. The big man was dazed for just a second before he regained his composure. Only, I wouldn’t call it composure. It was more like the rage you saw in a bull when it saw red.
Brawn clenched his jaw and charged at Micah, lifting him up from the ground in his arms. Micah slammed a fist into the side of his head and freed himself from the man’s grip.
“Shit, Micah…”
I was nearly speechless as I watched the two of them struggle to stay standing on their feet. Micah raised his fist back up and connected with the side of Brawn’s head. He barely moved and responded with a right hand, clocking Micah on the side of the head and dropping him to a knee.
“That’s it, Brawn! You got this!”
“He ain’t got shit for you!”
Micah gritted his teeth and shook the stars out of his head. Just before Brawn could throw again, Micah managed to roll out of the way. He popped back up to his feet and cracked Brawn across the temple before the big man could respond. But still he wouldn’t go down.
They were both sweating and bruised, breathing hard like they didn’t have much left. But I was feeling it the most with my heart pounding so damn hard in my chest.
“All right, all right, all right…” I said as I jumped between them. “That’s enough.”
“Oh, I don’t think he’s had enough—”
I slugged Jon in the side of the head before he could finish. He stumbled back and the crowd gasped in surprise.
“Audrey!”
Micah rushed up to his feet and moved next to me. Jon didn’t seem to care too much though. He straightened up and rubbed the side of his head, chuckling to himself.
“Crazy bitch punched me… All right… I think that’s good enough,” he said with a laugh. “The Cobra here has learned his lesson.”
Brawn got back up to his feet and wiped the sweat from his brow. He walked back into the bar with the crowd like nothing had happened. Jon stepped to Micah then patted him on the arm.
“Nothing personal,” Jon said. “Just club business.”
“Yeah,” Micah sighed. “I get it.”
The two of them managed to smile at one another before Jon left to join the others. I didn’t have to look hard to see the bruise forming on Micah’s cheek.
“Are… Are you all right?”.
“Yeah,” he said with a laugh. “How about we get the fuck out of here?”
“That… That sounds like a good idea.”
He gave me a wink before getting on his bike. I didn’t know where we were heading next. I didn’t care. I was just glad our visit to the Grindhouse was over.
Chapter 9
AUDREY
; Micah’s apartment was a short drive from the Grindhouse. Thankfully, he wasn’t as out of sorts as he could have been after tangling with a man as big as the one he just fought.
“I’m fine.”
Micah leaned back on his couch while I pressed the small bag of ice to the side of his face.
“I can barely feel a thing,” he said.
“I know you can feel that. But even if you can’t, you’ve gotta put ice on it now, otherwise it’ll start to swell. I can already see the bruising.”
“You know what you’re doing, huh?”
“I learned a thing or two over the years.”
“Apparently you know how to throw a punch, too…”
With a bag of ice on one side of his face, he winked at me with his free eye. I didn’t pay much attention to it though.
“What is it with you bikers?” I sighed. “Always having to prove how macho you are… Can’t even have a normal conversation without measuring dicks.”
“Is that what you think this is about?”
“Isn’t it? You were asking questions about some 21-year-old who showed up dead and the man sicked the biggest man in his MC on you.”
“It had nothing to do with the questions. What did I tell you about not throwing around accusations?”
I lowered the bag from the side of his face. As tough and intense as Micah was, I didn’t feel threatened by him. Strange to think I could be comfortable around someone like him.
“I was just trying to get answers,” I said. “The same answers you’re looking for. They knew Jamie was hanging around their place. Are you saying it wasn’t worth it to figure out what they knew?”
“That’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is that you can’t just disrespect an MC in their own clubhouse like that and expect them not to take offense to it.”
“Last I remember, you were the one who mentioned them dealing drugs.”
“Yeah, well… I guess my emotions got the best of me, too.”
I put the bag of ice up to his cheek. The silence in his apartment living room made all of the thoughts running through my head even louder.
Pearson… He’s here…
“What was that all about?” Micah said suddenly.
“I don’t know. You’re the one who knows more about your beef with the Reapers than I do. Why don’t you tell me—”