by Chiah Wilder
“Yeah. Do you know where they are?”
The man extended his hand. “I’m Jim. I live here.” He pointed at the house behind him. “There was a lot of yelling and screaming. Some of the neighbors and I debated about calling the police, but … well … we’re sort of afraid of retaliation from Tigger. He can be pretty intimidating.”
“Where are they now?”
“The screaming was the worst I’ve heard in a long time. I had my cell phone in my hand when an SUV drove up and two men rushed into the house. They stayed in there a long time. Tigger sped off on his Harley then the other two men left. One was carrying Sofia.”
“How was she?”
“From what I could see, he beat her up pretty bad. I don’t understand how he could do that to her.”
Wheelie lifted his chin at the man then ran over to his bike and jumped on. There was a storm in him as black and vicious as a raging tornado. Red bolts of anger poked at him as he raced down the desert road toward the clubhouse.
After Wheelie parked, he went into the main room looking for Tigger, but he didn’t see him. The room was practically empty, so he headed out to the yard. Outside, music blared and the barbecue was fired up. Members, club girls, and hoodrats milled around, booze flowed, and the smell of weed filled the air.
Rags came up to him with Animal right behind. “Cool down, brother,” Rags said.
“Fuck that. Where’s the asshole?” Wheelie scanned the area.
“Leave it alone. Banger and Hawk called for an emergency church tomorrow. We’ll deal with it then,” Animal said, gripping Wheelie’s shoulder.
Wheelie spotted Skeet and Cruiser and he knew the wife-beater wasn’t far away. As Rags and Animal tried to talk some sense into him, Wheelie followed Skeet with his eyes and saw him sink down to the ground. Next to him, Tigger sat with Charlotte on his lap and his tongue halfway down her throat.
“The bastard’s feeling up Charlotte after he beat the shit outta Sofia? No fuckin’ way.” Jerking away from Animal, Wheelie rushed over and picked up a surprised Charlotte, setting her down on the ground, and before Tigger could react, Wheelie had him up on his feet slamming Tigger against the chain link fence.
“You fuckin’ asshole! Fight me, not a goddamn woman! You’re nothing but a weak pussy.”
As Tigger staggered under the unexpected attack, he clutched Wheelie, and the two men crashed to the ground. Tigger ended up underneath Wheelie, and he tried to push him off, but Wheelie was having none of it. Years of pent-up rage at the way Tigger treated his old lady spewed out of him, and he pummeled Tigger’s face with his fists. Blow after blow … blood gushing. Then with a grip like a steel glove, Wheelie’s hand was at Tigger’s throat. Tigger fought with strikes from his fists and bent knees. He twisted his legs around Wheelie’s, but as he struggled to push Wheelie off, he grappled wildly for his throat.
Wheelie’s grip only tightened. The more Tigger fought, the harder Wheelie squeezed.
Choking.
Sputtering.
Gasping.
Wheelie kept squeezing.
“You’re gonna fuckin’ kill him, asshole!” Skeet yelled.
Wheelie saw Skeet rush over and caught the upward flash of a knife blade. He let go of Tigger’s throat and rolled away just as Skeet came up to him. Wheelie leapt to his feet and grabbed Skeet’s wrist and pivoted, yanking hard. The knife fell to the ground and Wheelie pulled Skeet toward him, using his hip as leverage to flip Skeet onto his back. Hitting the ground, Skeet lay there immobile as he struggled to catch his breath.
By now, a huge circle had formed around Wheelie, Tigger, and Skeet. Recovered from Wheelie’s assault on him, Tigger stood up and rushed Wheelie, the knife gripped in one hand.
“You fuckin’ traitor. You’re the one who’s been fuckin’ my old lady!”
Wheelie spun around and tried to grab the knife, but Tigger jerked it back, swung and slashed Wheelie’s upper arm. Fuck! Tigger went in for another swing and Wheelie bent down low then leapt up, kicking him square in the balls. From his peripheral vision, Wheelie saw Skeet charging toward him.
Animal grabbed Skeet from behind and threw him on the ground then proceeded to kick the shit out of him as Skeet writhed in pain on the grass. He looked at Wheelie. “You got to get stitched up, dude.”
Wheelie looked at his arm and could see the gaping wound; blood flowed and dripped on the dirt. He lifted his chin to Animal, and a current of gratitude and love passed between them.
“I’ll call Doc.” Animal took out his phone and turned away.
Sweating, red-faced, and nostrils flaring, Tigger glared at Wheelie. “You stay the fuck away from my wife. If I catch you even looking at her, you’re dead.” He turned to the brothers, who still stood around them, and pointed at Wheelie. “This motherfucker betrayed a brother. He crossed the goddamn line between loyalty and trust. He fucked my old lady.” Tigger then glowered at Wheelie. “Your ass is gonna be thrown out of the brotherhood. Was my wife’s pussy worth that?”
Smokey and Rags ran over and held Wheelie back. “Leave it alone, bro,” Rags said. “It’s done. You’re hurt bad. Let’s go inside and Doc will be here to fix you up.”
Skeet went over to Tigger. “You’re a fuckin’ piece of disloyal shit!” he yelled at Wheelie.
“How could you do that shit to a brother?” Cruiser said as Wheelie walked away with Smokey and Rags.
As he broke through the crowd, Axe, Chas, Billy, Ruben, Bear, Blade, and Puck bumped fists with him. Klutch gave him his T-shirt, and Wheelie jerked his head and wrapped it tight around the wound.
Inside, Skinless had a double Jack waiting for him on the bar. Wheelie threw it back and Skinless immediately refilled it.
“I’m not sorry for shit when it comes to that sonofabitch,” Wheelie said, even though Tigger’s words cut him. The truth was, no matter how he rationalized it, he did betray a brother; something he never thought he’d do. “Fuck it,” he muttered as he picked up his glass.
“You should’ve kept your cool. I’m pretty sure this emergency church is about kicking Tigger’s ass out. Fuck, man. No one had to know if you only would’ve kept your head,” Smokey said as he offered a joint to Wheelie and Rags.
“Yeah … well … I’ve been keeping my cool for too damn long. I should’ve done this two years ago. I should’ve been there tonight to protect Sofia.” Wheelie slammed the second double down his throat, the smoky burn feeling good.
“Don’t blame yourself for the shit that fucker did,” Rags said.
But he did. I told her I’d have her back. She told me she felt safe with me. I fuckin’ let her down … just like Kendra. “Give me another.”
By the time Doc arrived, Wheelie had a pretty good buzz going on. Doc unwrapped the blood-soaked T-shirt. “What’s going on tonight?” he muttered under his breath. “Let’s go to a room. I’ll give you some pain pills, but you have to take them after the alcohol gets out of your system.”
“I don’t need pain pills. I’m not a fuckin’ pussy,” Wheelie slurred as Rags, Animal, and Smokey helped him to one of the empty rooms.
While the doctor stitched him, all Wheelie could think about was Sofia and how Tigger used her as a punching bag. “I shoulda helped Sofia,” he said over and over.
Doc numbed the area and started putting the ripped flesh back together. “Settle down. The little lady is doing just fine.”
“You saw her? Where is she?”
“At Banger’s. She’ll be sore for a while, but she’ll be just fine. Now calm down so I can concentrate on what I’m doing.”
Wheelie closed his eyes and Sofia’s green eyes sparkled through the haze of booze. My Sofia. My love. My life.
Then he passed out.
* * *
The following afternoon, Wheelie sat next to Throttle and Animal in the meeting room as they waited for church to begin. As the members came into the room, they avoided eye contact with Wheelie, and he couldn’t say that he blamed them: He betrayed a brother
. Plain and simple.
Earlier that morning he’d tried to call, then text, Sofia, but she didn’t answer, and he’d made up his mind that once church was over, he’d go over to Banger’s to see her.
Banger walked in with Hawk, and the two of them looked like someone had died. Wheelie knew that what was about to happen wasn’t going to be good. The air in the room was charged with anxiety, regret, and sadness. The usual bantering and joviality of the members before Banger called the meeting to order was absent. The room was as quiet as a tomb while brothers stared ahead at their leaders with dazed faces. Tigger was conspicuously absent, and his cohorts—Skeet and Cruiser—glowered at Wheelie.
Banger brought the gavel down and cleared his throat. “I called this emergency meeting to take a vote about keeping Tigger in the club.”
“That’s fuckin’ bullshit,” Skeet said in a voice loud enough for Wheelie to hear.
“Some of you may not know this, but Tigger beat the shit outta his old lady real bad last night. She’s lucky to still be with us.”
Heat flushed through Wheelie, and he ground his teeth as he stared forward.
“Banger and I went over to their house last night, and we had to call Doc to help out with some of Sofia’s injuries,” Hawk added.
Wheelie jerked in his chair.
“Easy, man,” Throttle said in a low voice.
Banger crossed his arms. “We’ve known for a while that Tigger hasn’t been treating his old lady so good, but she never came and filed a complaint with me, so I figured she didn’t want the club’s interference. I’m gonna admit it gnawed at me, so I had a real long talk with Tigger and told him that I didn’t wanna see any more bruises on Sofia. I also told him to get some help. I even gave him names of counselors and a bunch of other shit. I made it mandatory for his old lady to attend family events and help out the other old ladies with club duties and charities. I did that to keep an eye on her. To make sure she was safe.”
“Isn’t it the brother’s right to run his household the way he wants to?” Bones asked.
Some members grumbled in agreement.
“It is, and as long as I’ve been president the club’s never gotten involved in what goes on between a brother and his old lady, but this is different. We have an old lady who is abused on a regular basis. As I said, I extended my offer of help to Tigger. I gave him options, but he’s chosen not to take them. We can’t have a brother who does this. Just like we can’t have a brother who’d hurt his kids or mess with them.”
“So you wanna kick Tigger out because he was pissed that his old lady was fuckin’ another brother?” Skeet said, his eyes darting from Banger to Wheelie then back to Banger.
Hawk held up his hands. “The issue here is that Tigger has been hurting Sofia for too long. She’s an old lady. She deserves our respect and protection.”
“She’s a whore,” Cruiser said. “She got what she deserved.”
“They’re baiting you, dude,” Animal said as Wheelie started to get up.
At that moment, Tigger walked in.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Banger said, his eyes narrowing.
“I heard we had church. I know this is about me, but I have a right to defend myself.”
“Get the fuck out! You know the rules. If I wanted you here, you would’ve gotten the word.” Banger clenched his fists and started walking toward Tigger.
The member shrugged then opened the door. “I’ll respect that, but ask Wheelie why he betrayed me and fucked my old lady.” Tigger walked out and slammed the door.
Banger scowled at Wheelie. “Is what he said true?”
Wheelie stood up and stared at his president. “Yeah.” The room went quiet, and Wheelie felt the anger radiating from Banger.
“No wonder Tigger’s been beating his bitch. He’s been punishing her for her whoring ways.” Skeet threw a smug look at Wheelie.
Wheelie’s body tensed as tight as a sheet of metal. “You shut the fuck up or I’ll make sure you do … permanently,” he said to Skeet in a cold, calm voice.
Banger hit the gavel. “Both of you shut the fuck up. We were discussing Tigger. We’ll get to Wheelie later.” He scratched his beard then tugged at it. “No woman deserves what I saw last night. Tigger told us that he thought his old lady was fucking the neighbor, and when Hawk asked him if he had proof she was fucking around, Tigger said he found a necklace hidden in her drawer.”
Wheelie’s heart sank. That’s what started all this. I should never have given it to her. I should’ve insisted she leave Tigger. I fucked this up big—
“Hawk confirmed Cara gave it to her, just like Sofia said. Tigger then admitted he made a mistake.” Wheelie looked at Hawk, who caught his gaze for a half second then shifted it to Banger.
Hawk shook his head. “The point is: no brother—for any fuckin’ reason—should beat the shit outta his old lady. Period. And what Tigger did to Sofia last night is the last straw. His ass needs to be thrown out.”
“What about Wheelie’s ass? It needs to go for betraying a brother,” Cruiser said.
“We’re talkin’ about Tigger right now. Fuck. Keep focused,” Hawk replied.
“Let’s take a vote and majority rules. All in favor of kicking Tigger out say yea.”
At first no one said anything, then a few “yeas” came from the back, then more, and suddenly “yeas” resounded through the room.
Banger nodded. “Those opposed to kicking Tigger out say nay.”
Cruiser, Skeet, Bones, Itchy, and Rob loudly spoke their “Nays.”
Banger looked at Hawk then back at the members. “Looks like the yeas have it. From this moment on, Tigger’s no longer an Insurgent. We’ll let him know he has to turn in his cut and remove any tats he has that are club-related.” Tattoos related to the club had to be removed, and that member had the option to either black them out or have them fully undone. If the member who was kicked out didn’t do so, the club itself removed the tattoos.
Banger took a deep breath and let it out slowly, his gaze fixed on Wheelie. “Now we gotta decide if Wheelie’s ass is outta the club for betraying a brother by fucking his old lady.”
“Get ready to get your back patch burned off,” Skeet said, venom in his voice.
If a member was thrown out of the Insurgents MC for disloyalty, he didn’t have the option to remove or black out his full-patch tattoo on his back—instead, it would be burned off. Considering that the tattoo covered the whole back, at best, the member would be severely burned and deformed, and at worst, he would die.
“You got something to say before we vote?” Banger asked.
“Don’t matter what he’s got to say. He admitted he fucked a brother’s old lady. He’s out.” Cruiser leaned back in his chair.
“Because of the situation with Tigger and his old lady, I want to ask Wheelie when he started fucking Sofia.” Hawk crossed his arms and stared at Wheelie.
“I never had sex with her until a few days ago. She told me she’s leaving Tigger.” Wheelie wiped the corners of his mouth. “I’m not gonna stand before you and lie. You all know me. A lot of you for more than ten years. I fought the attraction I had for Sofia for years and never once crossed the line, but I knew she was done with him. I did go with her while she was technically married, but she’s signed the papers for a divorce.”
“Because of you. You came between them, and you’re making excuses like a pussy,” Skeet said.
“Sofia decided to leave Tigger on her own. She got sick of him beating her, fucking club girls and smearing that in her face, playing mind games with her, and a whole lot of other shit. My feeling is that we failed her as a club. We should’ve put a stop to this long ago. I should’ve put a stop to it. But we didn’t. We pretended it wasn’t our problem, but it was. We owed her more than that.”
“The club is for the brothers, not their old ladies,” Bones said, annoyance creeping into his voice.
“But the old ladies are part of the family, and each of us h
as to respect them. If you say something disrespectful to Belle or Cara or Kimber or any of the other women, you’d feel the wrath of their men. Wearing the property patch means the woman belongs not only to the brother who patched her but to the club. She knows she can count on us to respect and protect her. We didn’t do that with Sofia. We dropped the fuckin’ ball.”
“You still fucked her. If I fucked any of the old ladies, their men would have my ass, then burn off my patch. That’s the way it is. You know that.” Itchy rolled a cigarette then lit it. He’d been an Insurgent for thirty-five years, and he was as old school as any biker could get.
“I did. I admit it. I love the brotherhood. I’ve been there for all of you, and you’ve been there for me. I’m ready to deal with the consequences. I don’t have anything more to say.” Wheelie sat down and put one foot over the thigh of the other.
“I just want to confirm that Sofia has filed for divorce.” Hawk looked at Banger. “I guess we’re ready to put it to a vote.”
As Wheelie heard the first few “yeas” his stomach twisted, but he knew this day would come. He’d be damned if he would’ve lied. An Insurgent never lied to the club and he was never weak. After a couple of seconds, the “yeas” stopped. Wheelie blinked and looked up.
“Those opposed to kicking Wheelie out say nay.”
Wheelie stared stoically at each brother as the booms of “nay” bounced off the walls, but elation surged through him as the sweetest word he’d ever heard resounded in his ears over and over again.
“You’re still an Insurgent, but consider this the last of your chances for the rest of your life used up,” Banger said as he picked up the gavel. “If there’s nothing else to discuss, we can all go out and get a drink. It’s never easy to cut a member lose even though it’s merited.”
“I got something to say,” Hubcap spoke up. Hubcap had joined up about the same time as Hawk and Throttle, but the last few years he’d been battling cancer, so he’d gone inactive. Having kicked cancer in the ass, he was back in, taking up his old position as treasurer.
“Come on up here,” Banger said, stepping aside.
The blond-haired man stood in front of the members. “I was going over the books for the club’s fund and something didn’t seem right, so I traced all the receipts, inventory, petty cash, expenses, and payroll.” Hubcap took a swig of water.