I headed for my couch and crashed, feeling tired enough that I could have fallen asleep—if my mind hadn’t focused on what my parents had said about an attack a month ago. Curious, I went through Google and started looking up events from the past month.
The first thing I discovered was that it was not the Savage Kings who had caused trouble but their rivals, a group called the Anarchists. Although a few citizens certainly wished for the removal of the Kings for the sake of the town, the majority took their side.
Furthermore, the Kings had apparently eliminated a well-known criminal in town, Vulture. Vulture, according to the news reports, had caused much mayhem and madness in the area, including the murder of Landon and Brock’s father.
Though I was not a particularly vengeful person, I wondered if Landon had gotten the chance to enact some revenge himself. He didn’t seem like the most violent person I knew, but I wasn’t naive enough to say that involvement in the Savage Kings meant Landon could rise above it. More likely than not, he’d fired a gun a few times and had to defend himself.
Landon King.
What have you been up to these past few years? What’s your involvement with the Savage Kings?
I cared that my parents cared, but the more I thought about Landon, the less I found myself worrying about it. If their greatest rival was killed, then the club would be just that—a club. Not a gang. Not a threat. Just a club.
If that was the case, then maybe Landon would be a safer… well, a safer option than my parents presumed. Maybe, in fact, he’d be the safest option, given that he could protect me with his knowledge and his circle. And that was on top of his intellect and curiosity.
I was probably getting too ahead of myself. I was probably just a little too tired and exhausted from the week, and seeing him at Porter Ridge was making me consider possibilities that, in the morning, I probably wouldn’t give a second thought too.
The only problem I saw with that train of thought was that I had already had a crush before on Landon. Just because time had passed didn’t mean that I had lost interest in him.
In fact, from the way he looked and the way he had grown up, that interest had probably only increased.
3
Landon
Just as we had every Thursday for years, the Savage Kings gathered for their weekly meeting.
At the head of the table, my brother, Brock, sat, commanding the room with a wisdom beyond his years. To his right sat Parker, the sergeant-in-arms; Petey, the treasurer; and Zane, the secretary and one of my good friends. To his left sat me and William, the newest officer. We’d had another one, Tyus, but he had fallen in the war with the Anarchists.
Everyone in the club was bantering and laughing with each other. We had no serious business at the moment. What was there to worry about with the Anarchists defeated? That wasn’t to say that we had no issues—some of the old Anarchists, for example, had requested to join the Savage Kings, and that was an issue on which we were pretty healthily divided—but compared to the days of wondering if people would die and when, things were in a much better state.
Everyone, that was, except for me.
I just leaned back into my chair, quietly observing the guffaws, jokes, and remarks from others. Brock looked my way a couple of times, well aware that I wasn’t as engaged as everyone else, but he spared me the humiliation of being called out in public. My brother, thankfully, was not a bully brother; though we had our fair share of sibling fights, we were less Cain and Abel and more partners in crime.
“Alright, alright, we gotta get started at some point, or our girlfriends will never see us again,” Brock said with a smile.
“Speak for yourself, man, you all getting hitched are in crazy town,” Zane said. “I don’t understand any of y’all.”
“That’s cuz ya ain’t find yourself a lady worth a damn!” Parker said. “Ya keep chasin’ after the bitches here, what makes ya think ya gonna find anyone worthwhile?”
“Oh, right, sorry, let me go down to the LAPD and get myself a lady.”
“Alright, enough,” Brock said, but it wasn’t an exasperated or fatigued interruption. “This will be a quick meeting anyways. We only have one thing that we need to talk about, although it might be something that takes a little bit of time to discuss.”
I shuffled in my chair, knowing that “a quick meeting” could either mean a genuinely quick meeting, or just a decision to table the conversation to later. We couldn’t play that game forever, though.
“So last week, we left off with the decision to table letting the three former Anarchists in to this week,” Brock said. “We essentially said we’d have to think on it, and we’d get back to it. I hope you all have had some time to think it through, because I don’t think this is something we want to wait on. The longer we keep delaying, the more we antagonize them. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to have to deal with another Vulture.”
“Well, Brock, ya know what my answer is,” Parker said. “Shoot their asses!”
A few laughs went through the room, but Brock and I didn’t say anything or laugh at all.
“Parker, you know that we are not going to do that, and I would appreciate it if you gave serious answers.”
Oh, shit, he’s actually getting serious. Good. We need all these issues resolved.
We need a time of real peace. None of us could have possibly assumed killing Vulture would leave no issues leftover to resolve.
“As a reminder, there are still other Anarchists out and about. While I am not suggesting that taking these three will cause all of our problems to just vanish, I believe it would deal a crippling blow to the morale of those trying to keep the club around if we kept those members around. They’d have to be on probation for a year, but they would know they’re working toward becoming members.”
“So prospects,” Zane said.
“Not even. Year one is like they’re beneath prospects. Then they become prospects.”
No one said a word. I could sense the doubt in the room. Brock and I didn’t stand alone often on issues related to the club, but this seemed like one that we might have to fight ourselves.
“What are thoughts?” Brock said.
“I say we get Liza up here so we can shoot their asses, and before ya say a word, I ain’t kiddin’,” Parker said. “Fine, we can spare those three. Throw their asses in jail, whatever. But don’t tell me ya gonna show some fuckin’ mercy, Brock. Ya think the problem just goes away because Vulture’s dead? We ain’t gonna beat them by cripplin’ their morale. We gonna beat them by beating them.”
“Understood, anyone else?”
No one said a word.
“Here’s the deal,” Brock said. “We’re putting this to a vote next week. That’s final. In order to ensure that we have a majority rule, I am going to abstain from the vote.”
I glared at Brock in surprise. That seemed like a death wish for him.
“On the condition, however, that we do not kill the three who wish to join us. We can tell them to run the hell away, but we will not kill them. They have made the effort to atone for what they’ve done—”
“Still ain’t mean they ain’t gonna hurt us.”
“—and we need to recognize that.”
Finally, Brock smiled.
“I told you guys this would be a short meeting, now get the hell out of here.”
Everyone started to leave. I stood, but Brock subtly put a hand on me, motioning me to remain in place. We waited until the doors had shut to our meeting room before he turned to me.
“I’m not asking you this as the president of the club, I’m asking you this as your brother,” he said. “Do you even want to be here anymore?”
I guess my body language was worse than I had realized. I thought that I’d been engaged in the more serious parts, but if Brock was calling me out for it, then I was the opposite of engaged and subtle.
“I don’t know,” I said.
It was the truth. I did have genuine a
ffection and appreciation for the club and everyone in it. I loved all of my brothers, both my actual and my metaphorical ones, and I had much to be grateful for with them.
But the pull of the outside world… the chance to see what else there was… how could I continue to say no to it? I had a feeling that at some point, if I kept resisting, I would eventually lose and quit in a more dramatic fashion.
“I just don’t know. I wish I had a better answer.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to at this point, it’s only been a month since we got Vulture,” Brock said. “But I need you to figure it out.”
I nodded, but a simple head movement didn’t seem to placate Brock.
“Look, skip some club events. I’m not going to suspend you or put you on leave like I did with Parker. He undermined the club. You aren’t doing that. But just skip some parties. Miss some meetings. People will start talking, sure, but as long as it’s sporadic and not prolonged, you have sway here with our last name.”
“I know, but—”
“Landon, we avenged Dad. Our lives are our own. We can do whatever we want. We always have had that right, but now we have it even more. If there’s ever a time to figure out if the outside world is right for you, this is it. So take the time to figure it out. I’ve got your back either way.”
I nodded again, but this time with a little more vigor and a genuine smile.
“I’m going to go grab a beer then,” I said. “But not here.”
I already knew where I was going. Even if it meant—especially if it meant—I might see her again. Maybe this time, I would be a little better about being in her presence.
“Good man,” Brock said. “If you need anything, let me know. And again—you know I have your back.”
I know you do, brother. We exchanged a quick hug before I walked out, got on my bike, and casually headed over to Porter Ridge Brewing.
I didn’t even need to get off of my bike to see Caroline. She was sitting on the same bench we had met at before, talking to what sounded like her mother. She waved when she saw me.
I…
I didn’t have anyone else to talk to.
And if anyone represented life outside the club, life outside Romara, life outside the status quo, it was Caroline.
“Yeah, hey, Mom, can I call you back in a bit? Yeah, no, I just saw someone I know. OK, thanks. Yes, I’ll tell you later. OK, bye.”
She hung up the phone and sheepishly looked at me.
“Sorry.”
“Sorry?” I said with a bemused smile. “I’m the one that showed up unexpectedly. I’m the one who should be apologizing for interrupting your phone call with your mother.”
“Nonsense, I talk to her every night and will see her in person tomorrow night. She’s not someone who I only get to speak to once a year. Anyways, have a seat. How has your day been?”
I smiled. It was just like last Friday, except this time, I was a little more prepared.
“A little tiring, but it’s good to be here.”
“I’ll say,” she said. “It’s even better now that you’re here.”
And just like that, it looked like the butterflies that had remained dormant for nearly a decade had taken flight once again in my stomach. So much for just getting away from it all.
I’m diving headfirst into something new here by the looks of it.
4
Caroline
Landon gave something of a nervous laugh, as if he didn’t quite know how to handle what I had said to him. He didn’t seem bothered by what I had said—in fact, it was the opposite. He seemed delighted by what I had said, he just didn’t expect it.
But then, as if unsure if he wanted to move into a flirtatious dance or not, he seemed to pull back, both physically and in connectivity, and cleared his throat.
“Yeah, always good to see an old friend,” he said. “What have you been up to?”
“You may not realize this,” I said playfully. “But being a CPA and an accountant is not exactly a glamorous lifestyle.”
“Whaaaaaat?” he said in mock surprise.
It was tough to get a read on if he was flirting with me or trying to keep his distance. It seemed like he wanted to be flirtatious and involved with me, but every time he got too close, he suddenly took five steps back. I would have loved to know what was going on in his mind, but it seemed like pushing for that would wind up shoving him out of my reach.
“Exactly,” I said, trying to keep my mind under control. “So I have mostly been up to my eyeballs with numbers, tax breaks, and everything in between.”
I playfully elbowed him. He seemed to respond favorably to it.
“Not quite as adventurous as your life.”
“Ah, well, I don’t think my life is actually adventurous at all. I think you have by far the more interesting life.”
Hmm. This might be something we could dive into.
“What makes you say that?” I said.
Landon shrugged.
“You’ve traveled so much. You have a good job. You own your own place. Me? I’m just a dopey mechanic in a small California town who likes to ride motorcycles. I’d like to do what you do, but life hasn’t really let me do that. At least, until recently.”
He almost said the last words as an afterthought, like he couldn’t say what he had without adding that at the end. I was tempted to press him on that, but with the thought of not scaring him off still in my mind, I remained silent.
Even still, I couldn’t help but realize just how much more of a man he was than “just a King.” He wasn’t “one of those King boys” as my father had said, although that was certainly one side of him. But that was the key—it was just one side.
This Landon that I had before me wanted what I had. He wanted to consider viewpoints besides his own. He wanted to understand the world outside the dozen or so streets of Romara. That was extraordinarily rare in this small town.
“Well, thank you,” I said. “You have the right mentality for it, though. You’d be surprised how many people don’t think like you do. Most people just want to go about their lives, never leave this town, and stay in place.”
“I couldn’t imagine,” he said with a visible shudder. “They’d never get to meet people like you!”
I blushed and felt my stomach grow hot. I admittedly had a lot of people flirting with me, but almost no one could make me feel like Landon was making me feel right now.
“Oh, stop,” I said. “You’re a rare catch in this town too, you know.”
“Now it’s your turn to stop.”
We shared a laugh as I leaned into him. He seemed to accept it, then pulled back, then went back in. Now I was dying to know what “until recently” meant and how it was affecting his feelings and his flirting with me.
“Well, I’m serious,” he said. “This town has a lot of women—and men—who are just as you described. And that’s cool. But it’s not really what I’m looking for.”
“Well, what are you looking for then?”
It seemed like an innocent enough question. It also was just the kind of thing that I knew would get Landon to say something. He liked the game of subtlety and flirting without really flirting.
He peered into Porter Ridge. He peered back at me as a smile he couldn’t contained crossed his lips.
“I’m looking for a beer and someone to play pool with. What say you?”
“What say I?” I said, pretending that the question was too difficult to answer. “I suppose I could say yes, if you promise to make it fun.”
“Oh, please, like that’s in doubt,” he said, standing up.
I hoped that he would offer me his hand or something that would allow me to touch him, but he instead just walked to the door, anticipating I would follow him. I knew he wasn’t doing that out of obliviousness. But I really would have liked to know what he was doing it out of.
Probably just got a lot on his mind. Come to think of it, they did say Vulture was just killed, the man who killed his fat
her. I’m sure he’s got a lot going on in his mind in that case.
So let’s just have fun then. Don’t put any thoughts or expectations on it. Just let the night happen however it will happen.
Landon grabbed us both a beer, which was actually my first of the night. I had only beaten him to the bar by about five minutes, at which point it was time for my nightly call with my parents. I hadn’t even anticipated he would come, but I certainly wasn’t upset by it.
He then racked us our first game.
“Winner buys the next round?” he said.
“So there is going to be a second round, huh?” I said. “Are you anticipating that I finish this beer before the second game?”
“If you see how bad of a player I am, yes, yes you will.”
I knew he was full of it, but it was fun playing along with him anyways. He broke, landing one solid ball in the hole.
But sure enough, after that, both of us wound up taking turns completely whiffing or getting lucky. I would have pegged him as someone who would have had a lot more experience in bar games, but then again, he wasn’t a normal King; maybe that also meant the things motorcyclists would usually be into, he wouldn’t.
Our half-flirting, half-withdrawing game continued. I was pretty much all-in, while Landon fluctuated between the two. Admittedly, I was all-in only from the flirting perspective; if more alcohol got consumed, I wasn’t going to do anything more than maybe kiss him. Maybe.
But that was a question I would be happy to face, because it would have meant that Landon would have opened up a lot more.
Finally, we got down to the eight ball. It was my shot.
“Don’t forget, I make it, you buy the next round.”
Lost Soul: An MC Romance (Savage Kings MC Book 13) Page 2