by Blair Grey
“What do you mean?” I asked in surprise. “A lot of people who remembered me from when I lived here seemed really surprised that I was back.”
“But you weren’t here out of any significant reason, as far as they knew,” Zach said. “They just thought you were back. That makes it not worth the gossip for many people, so your name didn’t spread.”
“But he’s still close,” Adam chimed in. “And, that’s why we need to be careful.”
“What does that mean for me?” I asked. “What’s the plan?”
“You aren’t going to change much of what you’re doing,” Adam said. “We’re going to be keeping a close eye on what’s going on. Carl has the entire MC around not only here, but patrolling the town that Kline’s in. He doesn’t have a clue we’re involved, so while he might realize there are a lot of us around, he’s not going to think anything of it.”
“And that’s the plan,” Zach said. “We want to keep this entire thing as far under the rug as we can.”
“Why?” I asked. “I’d think that the more people you got involved, the easier it would be.”
“We don’t want the cops to get involved,” Nathan said. He looked at me as though I was crazy, and I raised my eyebrows at him. I didn’t want the cops to get involved with me, but I did want them to get Kline. I wanted that man locked up behind bars, and if there was a way for the MC to get them to arrest the man, then I’d be able to move on with my life without worry.
“You don’t want to wind up in jail yourself, do you?” Zach asked. “Hell, from the sounds of things, you might get tried for working with an organized crime group.”
“Okay, there’s really no need to take it that far,” Adam cut in, looking at Zach with a strange look on his face. I wished I understood what they were talking about. It seemed like they were hiding something from me. There was one thing for sure. It didn’t take much for any of these guys to lose their tempers.
Adam fit right in with the rest.
“Well, you know what she did. Do you really think that the cops are going to think she was an innocent victim when she was the one who went to him?” Zach challenged. I could see the same, strange look in his face, too.
It was as though Adam was giving Zach a warning, and Zach was telling him to back off without either one really coming forward and actually saying it. I had a feeling the fact I was sitting there had something to do with the whole thing, but it was hard to tell for sure.
There was so much hierarchy that went into the MC. I was glad I wasn’t part of it because I wasn’t sure I’d understand what my place was. I thought Adam was the center of my universe, but he would defer to Zach if it came down to it. Sure, he would rise up and let his voice be known, but he certainly backed down, too.
Yet, the two of them would fight side by side like brothers. It was hard to understand.
“Well, we aren’t going to have to worry about it from the sounds of things,” Nathan cut in, removing the tension.
“Why’s that?” I asked.
“Do you remember The Enemies?” Adam asked as he turned to me.
I shook my head, so he explained. “They are a rival MC. They control several towns south of here, with a few neutral territories in between. Right now, thanks to Zach and now Nathan, we have something of a truce going on with them.”
“Like a peace treaty?” I asked.
Nathan laughed, and Zach chuckled. I tried not to let them get under my skin. I still didn’t understand much of what they were talking about, and I wanted to. Thankfully, Adam was a lot more willing to explain what he was talking about.
“No, a truce. We don’t do treaties. Zach is dating the daughter of The Enemies’ president. And now, Nathan is dating a girl who was formally part of The Enemies, but she’s out now. They’ve got a kid together, so it’s sort of a family thing. That’s not to say that it couldn’t go south, but we’re on good enough terms right now,” Adam said.
“Probably the best we’re going to get, to be honest,” Nathan said.
“Not true. When I’m president of our MC and Vance takes over The Enemies, I feel things are going to be a lot better,” Zach retorted.
“If Vance gets voted in. You know how Marcus is. They haven’t had the best relationship,” Nathan shot back.
“It’s not going to be his choice. Whether he’s killed or steps down, Vance is going to be put up to a vote. And since he’s who he is, I’m guessing it’s going to happen,” Zach replied.
“Let’s not get off topic,” Adam cut in. “The point is Carl talked to Marcus, the president of The Enemies, and he’s got his men patrolling the towns under his control. So, if Kline is looking for you and isn’t sure where you are, we can still keep an eye on him in other towns.”
“That still doesn’t answer my question,” I said. It made more sense to me now, but it didn’t answer what I was supposed to do with myself. “What are we going to do to get him to come here? We need him to come for me so we can get him arrested.”
Zach laughed into his coffee, and Nathan and Adam exchanged a look.
“We aren’t trying to get him arrested,” Adam said.
“You aren’t going to kill him, are you?” I asked, letting the horror show in my voice. I knew the man was trying to kill me, but the thought of them killing him made me sick to my stomach. I knew there were things that went on with the MCs that I didn’t agree with, but killing a man because of me was too much.
“Do you know how this works?” Nathan asked. He was looking at me like I was the biggest idiot on the planet, and I shot him a look back.
“You all might have been in the military, but you aren’t in the military now!” I snapped. “If you kill him, you are no better than he is – and that pisses me off!”
“You came to us for help, sweetheart,” Zach said. “What did you think we were going to do? Ask him to please stop following you?”
“He’s got a point,” Adam said. “You did want us to take care of this for you, and that’s what we’re doing.”
“No! You aren’t going to kill him! You’re going to go about this the right way!” I demanded. “I came here because I thought you would help me in a way that kept us all safe!”
“This isn’t the kind of man who is kept safe,” Nathan tried.
“He’s going to get arrested!” I shouted. “I’m not going to be the reason a man is murdered! You are all better than that, and I’m not going to condone any of this!”
I looked around the table. I didn’t care about the amused look on Zach’s face or the look of confusion on Nathan’s. But Adam stared directly at me, challenging me to back down from what I was saying. However, I wasn’t going to. I felt strongly about this, and I wasn’t going to give in and let them murder anyone. Even if it was someone who wanted me dead.
I knew I’d won when Adam threw his arms in the air and stormed off, doing his best to stomp with his metal leg. Zach and Nathan shook their heads and headed out into the living room. I wasn’t sure if they were leaving, or what they were going to do, but I poured myself a cup of coffee and relished in my victory.
Today, I was only going to think about how we were going to get Kline arrested, not murdered. I wasn’t going to be responsible for that, I didn’t care what the MC thought.
I might have caused this shit, and they were doing their best to help me in any way they knew how, but that didn’t change my opinion. I knew Adam would give me my way.
He always did.
17
Adam
“I want both of you to work from the back today,” I informed Jonas and Tanner when they arrived that morning. Though neither of them were members of the MC, they had long since learned not to question me when I told them I needed the front of the shop.
So, they both nodded and grabbed their laptops and headphones, ready to head to the back of the shop and do their own thing until someone walked in. I was glad I didn’t have to argue with them on top of the stress I was already under – it was bad en
ough having to deal with Erika’s attitude.
Shit, didn’t she get that we didn’t play nice in the MC? We were one of the cleanest groups around, but we still knew how to get down and dirty when the time came. Whenever a war broke out, there weren’t any coins flipped or chess games played to settled the dispute, things got dangerous.
And men died.
But, Erika was determined nothing was going to happen to Kline. And I didn’t have it in me to intentionally go against her. I wanted her to understand, at least, that I might not have control over the outcome. Hell, I was only human, and if this guy came in with guns blazing, I wasn’t going to promise that my PTSD wouldn’t take over.
As she sat in the corner of the room with her sketchpad and art supplies, I fought the urge to strangle her, then I fought the urge to take her to the back room and repeat what we’d done the previous morning. It was like that most of the day.
I was glad Jonas had scheduled himself a light day, and Tanner only ever took walk-ins. That meant it was likely to be a slow day all around. I myself was careful only to take on the bare minimum clients until we got through this, and I was really careful to only bring in people who were associated with the MC in some way.
I didn’t want some innocent person trying to get his first tattoo to get caught up in a fight between us and some random mob member. That would be terrible for my shop and everyone involved. So, if I brought in others who were part of the MC, or at least were friends or family of members, they knew what was going on.
Even though my clients throughout the day knew I was on edge because of shit I had going on in my personal life, I still felt bad that I wasn’t very talkative to any of them. I just didn’t have it in me. Hell, I wasn’t even talkative enough to joke around with Erika. It helped that she, too, was on edge and probably pissed off at me for the spat we’d gotten in to that morning.
Either way, she was quiet for most of the day. I jumped every time there was a text on my phone. I was expecting Aaron or Nathan to tell me that they had Kline in their sights, but each time I got a message, it was from a client with a question.
The morning dragged by. I didn’t know what I wanted. Part of me hoped that Kline would come in and we could get the whole damn thing over with. Another part of me worried about what was going to happen when he did. It wasn’t going to be great, that was for sure, and now that I knew Erika would be pissed if the guy was killed, I felt more pressure.
She didn’t seem to think that she would get in trouble with the police for what she had done. She was working with the mob, she was doing things that she shouldn’t have been doing, and though she was sorry about it now, she still could get in trouble for it.
At the same time, many of the other members of the MC had gotten in trouble with the law at one time or another. I hadn’t, but I knew others who had. Hell, we had people who were ex-cons left and right, and I didn’t know how she expected me to control any of them.
But, I didn’t have the time to worry about that. All I could do was work through the day, focusing as best as I could on the tattoos in front of me and the guys who came through the doors.
I didn’t hear from Carl, at all. I knew he was keeping an eye on all that was going on, and with Marcus on board, too, they were sure to be in contact with each other. How much, I didn’t know. But enough to keep each other in the loop.
Zach didn’t tell me whether he had told his father what Erika had said that morning. For all I knew, Carl might still want the man dead. Or Marcus. None of us wanted him alive and roaming the streets, and I felt I was really the only one who cared what Erika thought about it.
Hell, I knew Zach didn’t give a damn. He would do what he wanted in the heat of the moment, no matter what Erika thought, that was the damn truth. I hoped he’d have the grace to listen to what she said, and if he could help the situation, he would, but there was no telling with him.
As long as I had known Zach – years, in fact – the only woman he had ever listened to was Vanessa. And, she was removed from all this. I had a feeling he had done that on purpose. She didn’t want to be part of the MC, and though she kept her allegiance to The Enemies, he never pushed her into doing anything with either group she didn’t or wouldn’t want to do.
“Sorry, man, I didn’t get that,” I said when I realized the man in front of me was talking. I was working on another back piece, ready to have it finished later that afternoon.
Spencer and Zach had camped out on the couch all day, and I was doing my best to half listen to what they were talking about along with what my client said. It was hard to do both, but I wanted to know if either of them had gotten any new developments before I had.
“It’s alright, you seem like you’ve got something on your mind,” he said.
“Shit’s about to go down in a way I don’t want,” I admitted. “It’s hard to concentrate, but I’m not going to close up shop until something really does happen.”
“Sucks, man,” he said. “I get it, though.”
“Let’s take a break from this and go smoke,” I told him. “I’m sure you could use a minute.”
“You know it,” he said with a laugh. I walked out the back with him, Jonas, and Zach, while Spencer went to get food for everyone. I was glad for the moment to just breathe, but I knew it was going to be an even longer afternoon. The more time dragged by, the more we knew something was going to go down, but we didn’t know what or when.
With each passing minute, the guy had to be getting closer. It only made sense if he was looking for Erika. But, he clearly wasn’t moving very quickly. We still weren’t sure if he was working alone, but none of the sentries had seen him with anyone he seemed to know.
At the same time, it still didn’t make any sense that he had been able to find her so fast on his own. He had to know what he was doing, but not that well. This was clearly a force to be reckoned with, and I wasn’t sure how.
“Alright, let’s get this bad boy done and get you out of here,” I told my client. We headed back inside, where I found Erika sporting a new nose ring. I snickered and shook my head, but she just threw her hair back.
“He was bored, and he said he’d do it for free,” she said with her lower lip poked out.
“I didn’t say anything about it!” I said defensively.
“That’s the problem,” she replied as she put her hands on her hips.
“Alright, alright, it looks good,” I said. She grinned and went back to her sketches, but I was still having a difficult time concentrating. I finished with my client and gave him aftercare instructions, then sent him out the door. Then, I just leaned on the counter and stared out the window. Spencer was bound to be back soon, but it was hard to even think about that. I was glad he was out doing something, but I also didn’t want him gone long in case something was to happen.
Zach didn’t seem at all concerned about it. Rather, he was more irritated over how long Spencer was taking with the food than the fact that we might be caught a man down.
“Bastard better get back here soon or I’m going to fucking go get something myself,” he said.
“He will be,” I replied, still staring out the window.
“Relax, man, you know you can’t do anything about this until Kline comes to us. Staring out the window like you’re going to beckon him here isn’t going to make this go any faster,” he said with a laugh.
“I know, but I want something to happen,” I said. I was glad Erika was back looking at the different jewelry Tanner had to offer. I didn’t want her to hear this conversation. “I want something to go down so we can move past it.”
“What do you think about what Erika said this morning?” he asked quietly. “You know none of us can promise what’s going to happen when that prick shows up.”
“I’m hoping she understands that, too. If the man dies, he dies – but I’m not going to go out of my way to kill him,” I replied. I glanced over my shoulder to see how he’d take my response, and he just nodded. Tha
t was one thing I respected about Zach: he respected our opinions, even if he didn’t plan to follow them himself.
But, I was still curious.
“What about you?” I asked.
He didn’t say anything for a moment, then shrugged. “I guess I’m just going to see what happens in the moment. I can’t say that I’m not going to, but I can’t say that I am going to, either. And, you never know what would happen if he runs into my dad or Marcus.”
I nodded. “I thought of that. Did you talk to them?”
“Fuck, no.” He looked at me like I was an idiot, but his expression softened a bit when he could see the anxiety in my face. “Dad is president, and Marcus follows his own code of conduct. I’m not going to tell them what they should do because of what someone who isn’t even in the MC thinks.”
I nodded again. I couldn’t argue with him. Hell, I thought the same thing myself.
I just hoped things would work out in Erika’s favor.
18
Erika
Two more days passed and nothing happened. I was about ready to scream. I wasn’t sure what I wanted, but I knew the suspense was really starting to wear on me. There had to be some way we could get Kline to come to us. But then, I was afraid if he did, he would get gunned down.
None of the MC seemed too want to listen to what I said about not killing him, and it pissed me off. But then, I knew I couldn’t tell them what to do. Adam had tried to explain it to me the night before, but I didn’t want to listen.
I knew he was right. He didn’t have any control over what any of the other men did, and he wasn’t going to stand by and hope the guy got arrested if he were to come for me. The only problem was, I felt like Kline coming for me was the only way to get him arrested.
By Sunday morning, I was ready to climb the walls. I was so tired of staying in the apartment or the tattoo parlor. There was nothing new there. Hell, I had grown up in that house when I was a kid and spent most of my time at the parlor then, too.