by Ivy Black
“What the hell happened in here?”
I looked over to the door of Hoppa’s Taphouse, and three men were making their way through the doorway. The man who spoke was incredibly tall and broad-shouldered, and he had a scruffy goatee encircling his mouth. He was looking at the three prospects that I’d made short work of. The other two men had already made their way over to the big one, Aaron, who’d started all the trouble, and were looking down at him.
Nick laughed, leaning over the bar. He nodded his head toward me. “Our newest member happened to ’em.”
All three men’s heads shot in Nick’s direction. “New member?” the tall one asked.
“Yeah. Guys, this is CJ. CJ, that tall one’s Paulie, but we call him Texas. The short one is Derek, or Small Fry.” One of the other guys standing near Aaron stood at maybe five and a half feet tall, but he had enough scrapes to let me know that he wasn’t afraid to fight. “And that’s Jonathan Jones. We call him Jonsie.”
The last of the men had brown hair falling down his back in a long braid, and he nodded as Nick introduced him. Derek and Jonathan both seemed to be fighting back comments, but Paulie’s knitted eyebrows and pursed lips had already relaxed. He stepped over the unconscious bodies and held out a hand to me. “Nice to meet you.”
I shook it. “You, too.” Someone with a little more respect for Nick’s authority was someone I could see myself liking amongst these guys.
Paulie walked up to Tess next and held out a fist, which she eagerly bumped hers against. “What’s goin’ on, Val? Did you get a good night’s rest after ditching the rematch last night?”
Tess snickered. “Yeah, I stacked up all your money I’d already taken and slept like a goddamn newborn.”
Paulie seemed to be one of the few who actually treated Tess like an equal. That was nice, at least. I imagined trying to pass a woman as a member back with the Unchained Dogs. They’d have emptied their clips into me before I even got her name out.
“Where’s Stag?” Nick asked.
“Who knows,” Jonathan grumbled back. “He was off his ass last night.”
“You didn’t let him drive, did you?” Tess asked.
Unlike Paulie, who had a kind demeanor, Jonathan sent a scathing look at Tess before he responded. “I’m not his fucking babysitter.”
Tess looked at her dad. “So he could be wrapped around a tree.”
“Call him, Jonsie. Tell him if he ain’t here in an hour, that’s his ass,” Nick spat.
“All right, Nicky,” Jonathan replied, throwing Tess another disgusted look before turning and walking back out of the bar.
Nick pulled a bottle of whiskey out from under the bar, followed by a line of shot glasses. He started pouring some of the dark liquid into each of the glasses and then motioned to his members to pass them around. When everyone had one in hand, Nick moved to sit in front of the bar and smiled at me.
“A toast to our new member!” He held his glass in the air, and everyone mimicked the action, apart from Taylor. “To ‘Just CJ’.”
The reception was lukewarm, but everyone said some form of “To CJ” before emptying their glasses. Tess grinned at me, and it sent a wave of electricity over my body. If the circumstances were different, I’d dedicate myself to chasing her smile. I suppose I’d have to settle for what I could get in a week’s time.
“So. Have you been properly introduced to everyone?” Nick asked. “You know me. I’m the top dog around here.” He nodded at Tess, who’d made her way over to the chair across from me at the table and reclaimed Lockjaw. “That’s my vice president.”
So I had heard that correctly. When Nick first said that I was backed by the president and vice president, I was certain I misunderstood him. For as much as these guys didn’t seem to care for Tess, that she was the vice president was astounding. I didn’t plan to ask Tess many questions next time we were alone, mainly because I didn’t want her to ask me many, but I had to know how that happened.
Nick turned his head to look at Taylor. “The one with the scowl over here is my boy, Taylor. He’s our Sergeant at Arms. He’s married to the bylaws, so if you’re thinking about acting up, I’d think again.”
The family resemblance between Nick, Taylor, and Tess was strong. They all had the same almond-shaped gray eyes and auburn-colored hair. Tess’ was long, flowing down her back, but both Taylor and Nick were giving her a run for her money. Taylor’s was shorter, settling over his shoulders in unkempt waves, but Nick’s was straight, fell down to his chest, and looked neatly brushed. The men both had more triangular jawlines as opposed to Tess’ rounder one, but the only other thing that really distinguished Nick from his kids was the crow’s feet in the corners of his eyes. He was clinging to his youth, and someone might think they were siblings instead of a parent and his kids if they didn’t know any better.
“Speaking of the bylaws,” Taylor started, “I still object to this new member.”
“Oh, and why don’t you tell me why?” Nick responded, grabbing the bottle of whiskey and refilling his glass.
“They explicitly state that any prospect must be in consideration for two or more weeks.” He eyed me like he wanted to stick a knife in my forehead and drag it down until I was in two pieces. “CJ hasn’t been in consideration for two or more minutes.”
“I believe the two-week probationary period you’re referring to is up to alteration for extenuating circumstances,” one man that I had seen but hadn’t yet been introduced to said. He had glasses settled on his nose and short brown hair that hung down into his eyes and curled down his neck, likely from a helmet sitting on his head regularly. “It’s not strict.”
Taylor’s glare shifted to this man. “Don’t quote the bylaws to me, Bullet. You worry about your books.”
“I’d never misquote my books,” the man spat back, unafraid.
A smile crept across Taylor’s face, but he was not amused. “You wanna go?”
“There have been enough fights today,” Nick growled before tossing Taylor a look of his own, but it was almost amusing in its indifference. He, too, was far from concerned with Taylor’s attitude. “Are you questioning my decision?”
The entire atmosphere in the bar shifted at the question. The members exchanged looks, and Tess averted her gaze down to her prized dog. From what I could tell, I was the only one intently watching the interaction as it sucked the very oxygen out of the room with its heat. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but finally, Taylor walked around the bar and to a table in the far back and threw himself down into it. Nick turned to look back at me and smiled.
“Now, where were we? Oh, yes.” He pointed a finger out at the man with the glasses who’d made a comment to Taylor. “That’s Bullet, our bookkeeper. I’m not gonna tell you his real name, because ya gotta earn it.” I nodded at Bullet, and he nodded back. “He’s our bookkeeper. I would say, next to myself, he’s the one who takes his job the most seriously. There ain’t a dollar comes in or out this place without him knowing. I once forgot to expense a three-dollar box of shot glasses—I thought he was gonna take me out.”
There were some chuckles around the bar, but Bullet had a stone-serious expression. He stared at me as if to say, “They’re laughing, but I’m not,” and I read the message loud and clear. It sent a shiver down my spine as I thought about how easy it was for me to get fifty thousand from under Luther’s nose. If he had a bookkeeper like Bullet, it probably wouldn’t have happened. I probably should be relieved he didn’t. If anything, I knew that there wouldn’t be room for sticky fingers of any kind with the Steel Knights, not that I’d risk it anyway with Tess’ reputation on the line.
Nick shifted his finger toward a man wearing a full suit and tie. When he became the center of attention, he smiled brightly at me as though we were at a sleepover. “That suit and tie there is our chaplain, Father. He’s also a lawyer, so, needless to say, he gets shit done.”
Father walked across the room and held out a hand to shake, which I
did. “Father is fine, or my God-given name, Parker Piscatoni. The Lord smiles upon those who stand resilient against the darkness. If you ever need anything, just let me know.”
Being near people like him made me more than a little uncomfortable. My mom had grown up in a strict Catholic household but was already a drunk and drug addict by the time she became a parent. She’d get wasted and quote bible verses at Caid and me. Whenever she beat me, she would tell me that my heavenly father wanted her to punch me in the face because snatching some bread and cheese from the kitchen to feed myself and my brother was a sin that he frowned upon. It didn’t take a psychologist to know that events like that were why I ended up leaving religion in my past with my mom.
I settled for a simple, “Thanks,” so that Parker would walk away from me, which thankfully, he did.
Before Nick could get to him, one of the other members stood up out of the chair he’d found and walked over to me. He slapped my back, and he was a heftier guy, so it nearly knocked me out of my chair. Tess chuckled.
“Name’s Bucky,” he said. “I mean, my mama called me Bernard, but who wants to go by that, ya know?”
“Bucky it is,” I replied.
Bucky looked up at Nick. “I’m with you, Squared. I think I like this guy.” He raised an eyebrow at me. “Sorry for that cold reception earlier. A guy just walks in, and with Val, no less. What’s a guy to think?”
“Why would it matter who I walked in with?” I asked before I could stop myself. Even all these years later, Tess was still a hot button for me. Having sat in the bar and watched these guys glare at her for the past hour was trying my patience enough, let alone someone mentioning it like it was fine.
Bucky’s wide grin faded some. “Well, ya know.”
“I don’t.” I stared up at him. “Tell me.”
“It’s fine, CJ,” Tess said, but I didn’t shift my stare from Bucky.
Bucky held up his hands and just walked away, not providing an answer. I looked back at Nick, concerned that I had pissed him off by nearly picking a fight, but he had an even bigger smile on his face. He took a deep breath and then pressed on. “Last but not least, that heartbreaker there.” He motioned to a man not quite as tall as Paulie, but he was up there. He was leaning against the wall behind the pool table with his arms crossed. “That’s Avery Pairings, our treasurer. As you might have guessed, Bullet can’t do his job right if Avery ain’t doing his job right, so Avery’s sharp as a tack, too.”
Not only that but of all the men in the bar, Avery was the most fit-looking at a glance. I was certain that more than one of the Steel Knights had muscles hiding under their jackets, but Avery was wearing a tank top with the Steel Knights’ sigil on it, and with his arms crossed, his biceps looked like they were about to split his skin. That probably had something to do with why people didn’t play with the money in the Steel Knights’ wallet—they didn’t want to find themselves at the other end of Avery’s fist.
“There’s one other guy, but I guess you’ll see him when you see him,” Nick finished, chasing the sentence with a shot. “Did you get a hold of him, Jonsie?”
“Yeah.” I didn’t notice Jonathan walk back into the bar, but he walked past me to grab a barstool a few down from Nick. “I know you said get him here, but if he showed up like that, he’d just piss you off. I told him to go to sleep, and I let him know if he ain’t in here tomorrow, you’re gonna cut him open.”
Nick nodded with a sigh. “Fine.” He looked back at me. “In any event. We have some celebrating to do! We got us a new member. Let’s get this place up and running.” He pointed over at Avery. “And I’m getting you back for yesterday.” He left the stool, tapping me on my back as he passed me, and made his way back toward the pool table.
After another hour or so, a few bartenders and waitresses showed up, along with a cook, and then around sundown, other Hoppa residents started to show up. I stayed sitting at my table and kept to myself. I didn’t associate with many people outside of Tess when I had lived in Hoppa before, but I went to school and had to make occasional trips to the grocery store to make sure there was food around for Caid and me. The last thing I needed was for someone to recognize me and call out, “Colin,” in the middle of this bar, revealing that the only piece of information I’d shared about myself was a lie.
Tess did her best to mingle, but she was not well received. After trying and failing to involve herself in a few conversations, she came and sat back down at the table I was at. “Why don’t they like you?” I asked.
Tess dramatically reached up and grabbed her breasts. A few guys stopped to gawk at the sight, but I was quick to throw a gaze at them, and they looked away. She released herself and went back to the beer she was working on. “I’d say they’re progressive in that they don’t think women belong only in the kitchen. We’re also allowed in the living room now.”
“Hoppa’s not the Women’s Rights capital of the world,” I said.
She shook her head. “No, it is not.”
“How’d you become VP?”
“I fought hard as hell for it,” she replied, and I could hear the insult in her voice. “No one gave it to me.”
“You forget how well I know you, Tess. I know you didn’t let your dad just give you the spot. If I thought that, I wouldn’t have asked.”
She side-glanced me and then smiled. “Right. Sorry.”
“Wasn’t there a vote?” I asked.
“Yep. My dad laid out all these criteria, and the old VP, he liked me enough. They said if a prospect ticks all these boxes, they should be voted in. None of ’em wanted me in, but I was the only prospect who ticked every single one of those boxes, and I made sure I did. As much as they didn’t want to vote for me, they knew they’d be in violation of the bylaws if they didn’t. So, I got voted in when the VP died.” She glanced over at me. “It was a raid with some real bad guys, worse than the Dogs. He actually had a will written out because he didn’t think we’d make it. He had me named as his replacement. My dad wanted that, too, and the bylaws say two officers, so…” She held out her arms in a presentation of herself.
It was irritating. If a former vice president who wasn’t related to her at all had enough confidence in her to write her in his will as his replacement, why couldn’t these guys respect her? I didn’t press the issue any further because it was clear that Tess didn’t want to talk about it. Instead, I observed the rapidly filling bar. Nick was laughing with some of his guys and the unrelated bar patrons in the corner. The other prospects, who’d come to about ten minutes before the place started to fill up, were all at a table, working on a round of drinks while staring me down. I gave them a nod to let them know that I saw them, then moved on.
Nothing got me too spooked, apart from Taylor. He was circling the bar like a kid on a sugar high. His jaw and fists would clench as he spoke to different groups of people, then all of their gazes would turn in my direction. What he was saying to them, I didn’t know, but easily swayed people were the worst kind to be around. I’d have to be sure to always be on guard, especially when Taylor was around. Whether it was because I was a friend of Tess’ or because Nick had made me a member on sight, he had it out for me. I made an internal promise never to let him stand behind me.
“Do you wanna leave?” Tess asked suddenly.
“Sure. Is there a motel or something around here?”
Her face screwed in response. “Is the bed you slept in last night that uncomfortable?”
“No. I don’t want to impose.”
She rolled her eyes and let out a long sigh, then handed Lockjaw’s leash to me. “Let me go close out, then we can go.”
“Fine.”
Tess stood up and walked over to the bar, and the second she was gone from her seat, someone else sat down in it. I braced myself for trouble, but it was Bullet, the bookkeeper. He had a beer in his hand, and he took a long drink of it before he said anything.
“Enjoying yourself?” he asked.
I no
dded. “It’s fine.”
Bullet looked over his shoulder, then back at me. “How do you and Tess know each other?”
Trying to take this guy’s temperature was difficult. He was about as stoic as I tried to be, which meant he was hiding quite a lot below the surface. “We know each other from high school. I just recently moved back, so I looked her up.”
He took another drink of his beer. “Well, look, from one guy to another, I’m telling you not to trust her. She’s only worried about herself. She always has been.”
“What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “Aren’t all women only worried about themselves?”
It took everything in me not to deck him. “I’m sure there are countless selfless women.”
Bullet looked at me out of the corner of his eyes. “I’ve never met one. I don’t trust women, and I really think it’s in your best interest to be of the same mindset.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t worry about what I do.”
Bullet scoffed. “Fine. Don’t say I never tried to help you.” Just like that, he was up and gone from the seat. Whatever had happened with him and women had left a wide gash that was still bleeding profusely.
The Steel Knights were rather dented.
Tess came back to the table to collect Lockjaw, and then we left the bar without saying goodbye to anyone. It wasn’t until we were in her car and already traveling down the road back toward her house that she said anything else.
“What did Bullet want?” she asked.
“He was warning me not to trust you.”
She laughed. “Fucking asshole. I’d probably have an easier time working the rest of them over if it wasn’t for him.”