by London Casey
I stopped moving and stayed in the ring. “I’m right here, Prez.”
“No you’re not. You’re fucking far away. We’re close, Kye. We have Gunner and the old man - Henry - in a corner. They can’t deal anything right now. The third guy that you saw, that was the guy who set you up. We’re working on a name and a reason.”
“That’s good,” I said.
“You don’t even give a shit.”
“Don’t say that, Prez. You don’t know what I give a shit about.”
“Your kid,” Trev said. “That’s what this is all about, isn’t it? Your fucking kid. You want to be a father.”
I nodded. “What if I do? What if I need to take care of my outside problems for a little while?”
“Beating the shit out of a prospect isn’t going to give you the answer,” Trev said.
“It felt good.”
Trev laughed. “Of course it did. So would a shot of a whiskey and a blowjob. Why don’t you tell me what’s really going on?”
I touched my jaw. It fucking hurt like hell. So be it. I deserved getting knocked around a little.
“You know Dakota is against this life,” I said. “I want my kid, Prez. I want a chance at a family. I was inside when my son was born. I owe him more than that.”
“Shit,” Trev said. “Sounds like a man who is ready to give up the cut.”
I looked at Trev and didn’t say a word.
I didn’t need to say a word.
He understood.
Trev turned around and leaned against the ropes. His gun was still in his hand. I thought maybe he was going to shoot me. And why not? What kind of outlaw turned his back on the club? But the thing was… I wasn’t going to turn my back on the club though. I just needed to figure everything out.
“Say something, Prez,” I said. “I need to know what you’re thinking here.”
Trev wouldn’t look at me. “I said I’d do anything for your family. Anything to help you out. I’m about to become a father myself. I understand what you’re feeling. So there’s only one thing to do here, Kye.” Trev looked back at me. “We take it to the table and vote.”
**
“I just need to get my family in order,” I said to a full table. “I’m not walking away. I’m not leaving you guys. You’re my brothers. You’re my family. But I have a newborn son that needs me right now. I’ll be there. I’m not disappearing off the face of the Earth. I just have to walk away and earn straight. I have to show Dakota what life is like. Her father was killed in a shootout between two MC’s a long time ago. Bad blood bullshit and she hasn’t let it go. This is my chance to try and fix that.”
“What about what happened to you?” Cash asked.
“That shit will work itself out.”
“You walk away and you look like a pussy,” Xavier said.
“We’re close to finding out who did this,” Trev cut in. “This isn’t about that though. This is about voting on letting our brother step away. We leave his chair empty, his cut hanging on the back. We give our brother a second to collect himself. That’s why we’re here.”
“And when we find this guy?” Cade asked. “Then what?”
“I’m not thinking about that,” I said. “I’m standing here being as honest as I can with you guys. All I’m thinking about is my family. How to make this right. How to show Dakota that I can be a good man and a good father. Then she’ll understand that what we do as outlaws isn’t some bank robbing shit.”
“I don’t like this,” Austin said. “Losing a table member in the middle of this war.”
“The Russians get wind of this and we look weak,” Hudson said. “The O’Nuall family finds out… Hell Five… Night Soul…”
Jasper stood up. He put a hand to my shoulder. “One way or another, Kye is going to walk out of this room without a leather cut. All we need to do is vote on whether we save his seat or not. End of fucking discussion on our bullshit outside this room. Got that?”
The table fell silent.
“We need a drink,” Trev said.
He sent Max for a bottle of whiskey.
We had shot glasses filled up and when Trev gave the word, we all took a drink.
“Can we at least meet the kid?” Tristan asked.
“Sure,” I said. “I’m sure we can work things out. It’s just the life for her, okay? All she knows is violence and death. Fuck, I disappeared for eight weeks in jail. That shit is fresh in her mind.”
“It’s time to vote,” Trev said.
I took my seat.
As everyone at the table took their time to place their vote, I stared into the empty shot glass. My mind wandered far away from the table. I thought about the first time I put on the leather cut. The first time I went out on a real ride. The first time I was shot at. The first time I had to take matters in my own hands and take a life. It was all for the town. It was all to keep everyone protected. I couldn’t picture my life without Back Down Devil MC in it, but for now, I had to do what needed to be done.
I had to walk away.
I looked up when it was Jasper’s turn to vote.
I felt my eyes gloss over.
Jasper nodded and gave a yay.
Trev smacked the gavel and stood up. “Okay. That’s that. As of right now, Kye, you are no longer officially patched in with Back Down Devil MC. Your rights to this clubhouse are stripped away. Your rights to this room, this table, your vote, stripped away. We’ll let someone proxy in a vote until we make final decision on your cut and your seat.”
“This won’t last forever,” Jasper said. He looked at me and then looked away.
I nodded.
I had nothing else to say.
For what it was worth, I had just taken a big knife and stabbed every one of my brothers in the back.
Trev walked to my seat. “Stand the fuck up, Kye.”
I listened to what Trev said.
As I stood there in front of all my brothers, Trev grabbed my leather cut and tore it off my body. Shit, it was like someone tearing my fucking heart out of my chest. I side stepped and watched as Trev put my leather cut over the chair. He pushed it in. Then he walked back to the head of the table and stood there.
All eyes were on me.
There would be no more conversation until I exited the room.
That’s how it would go now.
My presence was no longer welcome in the room, or the clubhouse. At least without a vote. Shit, my brothers could vote me out. As long as I didn’t commit treason on the MC, I could still wear my ink and survive.
But my entire life without Back Down Devil MC?
I left the room and looked around the clubhouse.
Everyone knew something was up.
I walked to the bar and tapped my knuckles on it. I glanced at the neon lights. The pool tables. The light shining through the windows showing all the dust floating in the air. The smell of the clubhouse was always my favorite. The grease from the shop. Beer. Whiskey. Pussy. It all hung in the air as an honorable cloak that represented our brotherhood.
Exiting the clubhouse was a hard thing.
I didn’t even bother to look back.
When I got to my ride, I saw Max charging after me.
“You know what you’re doing here?” he asked me.
“I do,” I said. “I can’t fuck this up, brother. Not my son’s life.”
“You have a target on your back,” Max warned. “I’ll do everything I can to keep protection for you and your family…”
“No, brother. Don’t put your ass on the line for me.”
“We’re brothers,” Max said.
“Brothers,” I said. “But now I need to go be a father. Figure this whole thing out.”
“Look, I’m going to follow you. I’ll drive your truck. I’ll have a prospect follow me so I can get a ride back.”
“Thank you.”
I fired up my motorcycle.
Max followed but didn’t say another word to me. I felt like I had left a damn
funeral when I pulled into the driveway of my house.
I was alone.
I had no cut on.
I looked in the mirror and hated the look of it.
In my back pocket though I had the picture of Ellis. That’s what mattered to me.
I left my house and jumped into my truck.
I cruised through the streets of Daurian as just Kye. Not Kye, the patched in member of Back Down Devil MC. I was just some fool in a truck. But I knew where I was going.
I was going to reclaim and take care of my family.
**
I rang the doorbell and took a step back. The door slowly opened and Debbie stood there. In the background I heard the cry of my son.
“Is he okay?” I asked.
“Mad that Mom is wiping his face,” Debbie said.
“Okay. Good. As long as he’s not sick.”
“He’s much better,” Debbie said.
There was a moment of silence between me and Debbie. She was waiting for me to make my move.
“Mind if I come in?”
“Where’s your leather cut?”
“I think you know why I’m here,” I said with a grin.
“Yeah, I do,” Debbie said. “Stay right there, Kye.”
The door was half shut.
I figured Debbie was going to take over duty with Ellis.
When the door opened again, Dakota stood there. She stepped out to the porch and shut the door behind her.
“I’m here,” I said.
“Okay…”
I motioned for my shirt. “No cut, darling.”
“No cut,” Dakota whispered. She looked over my shoulder. “And you brought your truck.”
“I want my family,” I said. “If this is how it has to be, then fine.”
“You… quit?”
“I stood in front of my brothers and told them I needed to give up the cut. For my family.”
“So… you’re done…”
I reached for Dakota’s hand. “No, darling, the way I see it… I’m just beginning.”
I pulled her close and she threw her arms around me. We kissed like it was the last scene in some fucking stupid romance movie. Shit, Debbie even opened the door, holding Ellis. She brought the baby to us and I held him.
We were one big happy fucking family, right?
Sure. Staring at us on the porch, smiles, tears, yeah, it was great. Hell, Debbie even had plenty of lasagna for me.
But the truth?
Being a happy family was a dream come true.
The nightmare, however, that waited outside.
Someone still wanted me dead.
*
A FEW WEEKS LATER
chapter twenty-two.
(dakota)
I pulled into the parking lot in between two junk cars. That was my usual parking spot. I grabbed the cooler and slid out of the front seat. Opening the back door, I woke Ellis up from his little car nap. He loved to nap in the car, but loved Kye’s truck even more. Poor Ellis had been dealing with some belly issues and sometimes the only way to get him back to sleep was to drive him around.
Last night had been a long night. So I decided to treat Kye to lunch.
I had the carseat with one hand and the cooler with the other. I looked at the old and wide garage. Some of the letters were missing from the names Al and Lenny, the two brothers who started the shop sixty years ago. Someone in their family still ran the place. More than that, someone gave Kye a job.
I walked to the third bay and saw Kye standing there with a car lifted up so he could work on it. Whatever tool he was using made a loud whirring sound. He then stopped and looked right at me. He wiped sweat off his face and smiled when he saw me. He put the tool down and grabbed a rag. As he walked out of the bay, he looked down, like he always did.
That was the moment I hated.
Whether Kye knew it or not I could see the letdown on his face. I knew he hated the job. I knew he hated the life. But it was safe. It was quiet. We were together.
Kye kissed me, then he grabbed the car seat. He put it on the ground and crouched, leaning in to kiss Ellis.
“Have time for a sandwich with me?” I asked.
“Where from?” Kye asked.
“Lou’s.”
“Oh damn,” Kye said. “I always have time for Lou’s.”
He stood and looked over his shoulder. He stuck his fingers into his mouth and whistled. “Hey, Rich!”
A head pop from the second bay. “Yeah?”
“I’m taking lunch! Tell Marty!”
Rich gave a thumbs up.
Kye then took the cooler from my hand and grabbed the carseat off the ground. “Come on, we’ll go sit in the shade.”
We walked around the side of the garage and Kye put the cooler on a metal rack outside the garage. We were completely covered by some kind of old awning.
“How’s the little guy today?” Kye asked.
“Perfect,” I said.
“Wonderful. After keeping us up half the night, I guess he was bound to rest eventually.”
Ellis had his pacifier and some dangling animals to keep his attention long enough for both me and Kye to eat. His hands were black. His blue jeans were ripped and stained with grease. He always wore white shirts and they were forever ruined. I didn’t give a damn what anyone else thought, Kye looked fucking sexy as a mechanic. There was nothing like him coming out of the shower and taking me to bed with those rough hands of his. We fucked every night, sometimes twice. Although this last week it was generally just once a night.
“How’s work?” I asked.
Kye curled his lip. “Marty’s a fucking asshole. But that’s expected. We have different ways of handling things.”
“He’s the boss.”
“Yeah, the boss,” Kye said. “That concept is still new to me.”
I reached for Kye and grabbed his greasy, callused hand. “Thank you. It’ll be okay.”
“I know,” Kye said. “I’m not worried about a damn thing, darling. I have my family.”
I nodded. “So… what do you want for dinner tonight?”
Kye leaned in and put his lips to my ear. He gently kissed. “Between your legs, Dakota. All fucking night long.”
I shivered and my toes curled against my flip-flops.
Ellis let out a yell as he punched a giraffe in the face.
“I guess it’s up to this guy,” I said and laughed.
“Christ. My sex life is dictated by a baby.”
“Welcome to fatherhood.”
Kye planted a kiss on my lips. It tasted like ham and vinegar. I loved it. There was such a sense of normalcy between us. It wasn’t like I was some evil bitch that tore him away from his friends though. The guys still came by the house. Max, Austin, even Jasper. They hung out back, drank beers, talked and laughed. A few other guys had come and gone, too. It wasn’t like Kye was in the witness protection program or something. He just didn’t have bullets flying at him.
When I felt Kye flick his tongue against my lips, I groaned.
Shit, he knew how to turn me on.
If I didn’t have Ellis with me I would have let him ravage me right there against the side of the building. Some dirty, wild, hot, mid-day-in-the-sun sex.
“Are you kidding me?” a voice yelled.
The kiss broke.
I looked back and saw Marty standing there. He was tall, skinny, with thick framed glasses and thick black hair that came to his shoulders. He had a pack of cigarettes in his breast pocket. He always looked mad. Hell, he always was mad.
“Hey Marty,” Kye said.
“Hey Marty my fucking ass. We’ve got a full house in there with a line of fucking vehicles. What the fuck is this?”
Kye jumped up. He stepped forward, his hands balled tight into fists. “Hey, take it easy. My kid is here.”
“Babies don’t understand curse words, Kye. Fuck. Get your ass back to work.”
“I was having my lunch,” Kye said.
“S
ucking face with your girl. How fucking nice.”
“Marty…”
Marty turned and pointed. Then he snapped his fingers. “Get back to work, Kye. Or else I’ll find someone else. What do you think you are? A brain surgeon?”
I could see the rage spreading across Kye’s face. He wanted to destroy Marty. I almost wanted Kye to destroy Marty. Cursing like that in front of a baby. Talking to Kye like that too.
Kye definitely wasn’t used to it.
He rubbed his jaw and nodded. “Yeah. Sure thing, Marty. Let me put my kid in the car.”
“You’ve got two fucking minutes,” Marty said. “Clock starts now.”
We walked to the car in silence. Kye hooked the carseat to the base and leaned in. “I love you, little guy. Be good for Mom, huh? I’ll be home soon.”
Ellis slapped Kye’s cheeks as Kye smiled.
He kissed his son and then stood and kissed me.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“Screw Marty,” Kye said. “He’s just a dickhead boss. Everyone has one.”
Not you… you never had a boss…
I nodded.
We kissed again.
I climbed into the car and watched Kye walk away. He hung his head. His hands were still tight in fists. He was pissed off. Rightfully so. Kye didn’t deserve to be talked to like that. Nobody did. But he took it in stride so he could provide for his family.
Kye walked back into the garage bay he had come from and grabbed the same tool. He went right back to work. Standing a few feet behind him was Marty, arms waving, his face getting redder by the second. Kye was taking another verbal beating because of the job. Because of me.
Ellis let out a cry.
He was due for an actual nap.
I backed up and left the garage in the rearview mirror.
It pained me to see Kye like that. I loved surprising him with lunch but not dealing with his boss.
I was on the verge of tears when I stopped at a red light. I looked in the mirror to check my eyes and I noticed the driver in the car behind me. I had no idea why but it just struck me as odd. The way he stared at me. The way he had a hood up with a hat and sunglasses on.
The light turned green and I drove.
The car followed.
Of course it’s following, there’s no turn…
When the first turn came, I quickly took it without using my blinker.