by Zara Teleg
I smiled at her and gave her a small kiss. “Look, Maggie, let’s just have fun and finish some more things on your list this week.”
That conversation played over in my mind the whole way to the clubhouse. I went to pick up the papers that I needed to bring to Paw-paw tomorrow, but no one was around. I walked down the hallway heading to Sissy’s room, hoping she knew where everyone was. But, reaching for the doorknob, I heard voices. It was Sienna speaking in a whisper.
“You cannot tell Venom. Voodoo would kick us both out on our asses. Is that what you want?”
I stayed as still as a statue at the mention of my name. I strained to hear through the door.
“Now, Sissy, stop crying and pack your things. You will be back before you know it. Summer is almost over anyway. Venom and Viper will be going home, and Voodoo will let you come home.”
“I won’t even get to say goodbye to Maggie.”
“Sissy, that girl has stirred up enough trouble around here. It’s best this way.”
“It’s not fair. Maggie is going to get hurt, and she loves Venom. I just know it. She—”
“She is not one of us. What is with you all and that girl? She does not come before our family and the club. Now I understand Voodoo’s concern.”
“Not one of us? Thank God for that. Maggie Grace has the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met. She is selfless and not sneaky like the pieces of shit around here.” Sissy’s voice was raised.
My jaw tightened at Sienna’s next words. “That’s because she’s a little rich girl who never had to want for anything. She couldn’t hack it a second in our world.”
“At least Maggie doesn’t have to live in this world. She’s not stuck like me. She told me I should go to school to be a beautician, but I chose that loser, Lex. God, I’m such a fool.”
“And who would pay for that, Sissy? Get your head out of the clouds. You ain’t going to fall in love with a prince and have some glamorous job. You’re gonna meet a King, have his babies, and live a nice life with the family. You won’t even have to work.”
“Do you even listen to me?” Sissy growled.
I used that moment to step away. I wasn’t going to learn any more from that conversation and I didn’t want to get caught.
What were they talking about? Where was Sissy going? I had a bad feeling, and I was going to find out what the hell was happening.
I waited outside for Voodoo. His bike’s deep rumble could be heard a mile away. I let out a heavy breath as I steeled my nerves to confront him about what the hell was going on. My courage shrank as I took in the scowl he wore. Lex pulled in behind him, followed by Ringer. Before Voodoo was even off his bike, Lex had looked in my direction and his smirk confirmed Voodoo’s foul mood.
“Venom, follow me.” His eyes scanned the others as he nodded for them to head into the house.
“We can’t wait until tomorrow. You need to bring these papers to him tonight.” He shoved the envelope he was carrying at my chest. Digging into his pocket, he pulled out his pager. He looked at the number and then at me.
“Son, shit is going down soon. The Devil’s Damned is meddling in our business. They know we are trying to get the land, and they are making threats about taking members out. No one threatens our club.” He cracked his knuckles. “I have some of the other brothers riding down. They’ll be here by Friday.”
He reached in his back pocket and tossed me a pager. “You’re going to need this.” No matter where you are or what you are doing, if 666 pops up on this screen, you haul your ass here. We’re outnumbered right now. They know I’m here, and we have to get this done, now.” He slapped my back. “I am counting on you, son.”
I swallowed the questions I was prepared to ask him. I couldn’t let him down. Whatever Sissy did, I would have to find out later. She was a big girl, and she could handle anything.
“You up for this?” Voodoo asked.
“Yes, sir. I won’t let you down.” I straightened my back and squeezed the folder to my chest.
“Alright, then. Let’s get this done.”
I clipped the pager on my jeans and made my way toward my bike. I climbed on and turned the key, revving her engine. I began to turn around to head down the lane when Sissy busted out of the house, waving her arms at me. Voodoo motioned for Lex to stop her and pointed me toward the gate. I could hear Sissy screaming my name, but I had a job to do, and it was my duty to complete it.
Magnolia
I waited and waited, watching day fade into night with no sign of Venom. He never came to work or to pick me up to visit with his grandfather. Since lunch, I hadn’t seen Viper and his bike was gone, leaving a sinking feeling growing in my stomach.
“Hey, Shannon, did Viper happen to tell you where he was going?”
“No. He took off on his motorcycle a few hours ago, but I haven’t a clue where he disappeared to.” She continued to braid the friendship bracelet she was making. She had several finished ones with multicolored strings that were piled on her side. “Think Sissy will like this? I thought it would match her car.” She held up a bracelet with red, black, and yellow strings.
“She’s going to adore it.” I smiled faintly. Again that feeling swirled in my belly. “I think I’m going to see if I can get a ride to the clubhouse. I’m worried about Vincent and Viper both not showing up. I hope nothing is wrong.”
Shannon continued to braid and sing before she answered me. “Oh, Doc was up, pulling in not long ago. He might still be here if you need to catch a ride.”
I jumped up and flew out the door, yelling, “Thank you!”
My legs were flying up the dark path. There was enough light to see Alcide’s Jeep lights flick on. I began to sprint to the parking lot, waving my arms.
“Alcide, wait!” He began to reverse as I got closer, yelling louder. “Alcide!”
His brakes squealed to a stop. Panting, I placed my hands on my knees, reaching the driver’s side.
I took in and out heavy breaths before I could speak.
“Maggie, what’s wrong?”
“Can you give me a ride to the clubhouse, please, Alcide?”
His eyebrow shot up. “The clubhouse?” he repeated.
“Please. Don’t ask questions. I need to talk to Vincent.”
“You’re going there alone, unannounced? Is it okay to do that? I mean, don’t they have ‘rules’?”
Catching my breath, I stood. “Will you take me? Or should I find someone else?” I looked around the lot to see if anyone else was headed out.
“Get in.”
I knew I might be in for a lecture, but I didn’t care. Every mile closer to the club, the anxious feeling intensified.
“Turn left there,” I directed.
“Maggie, you don’t seem yourself. You haven’t all day. You want to tell me what this is really about?”
“I’m worried. Ever since Vincent’s father got to town, things have been different. I don’t know; it’s a bad feeling.”
The road to the club was so dark Alcide’s lights barely illuminated the road. When we approached the gate, which usually was open, two men I didn’t recognize were outside. My body became frozen when Alcide said “guns” under his breath. My eyes shifted from one man to the other, who were both armed.
In their thick accents, they said, “What the fuck do you want? This is private property.” They both moved in front of the closed gate, pointing guns at us.
“Maggie…”
I could almost not form the words looking at a barrel pointed at us. “I-I-I am here to see Venom.” My throat constricted.
“What’s your name, and who is he?” The barrel pointed closer to Alcide.
“I’m Magnolia, and this is my ride.” I nudged Alcide.
The man got on a walkie-talkie and said my name.
“Venom is not here.”
“Are you sure? How about Viper or Sissy?”
A single light and a sound of a motorcycle came down to the gate. I couldn’t see
who it was.
“I got this,” a male voice answered.
The gate opened. My stomach dropped as Lex walked out, and that creepy look he always gave me spread across his face.
“Well, well, Maggie Grace. Are you here to see me?” He chewed on a toothpick.
“Maggie?” Alcide said again.
“I’m here to see Vincent.” I crossed my arms so he would stop staring at my chest like a shark ready to attack. I noticed the pistol in the band of his pants.
“Please, Lex. I need to speak to him.”
“I like it when you beg.” Lex moved his eyes to Alcide. “And who the fuck are you?”
“Look, I don’t know what is happening here, but I think Maggie can wait until Vincent comes back to the camp to talk with him. We are going, now.”
“Maggie, I think it’d be best if you came over here and talked to me.” Lex motioned for me with his index finger.
“Uh...,” I hesitated. Lex oozed evil from his pores. His gaze was predatory as he came closer.
“Maggie, I ain’t going to hurt you. Venom and Viper would kill me. I just want to have a quick chat.” He plastered an innocent smile to his wretchedly evil face.
“Alcide, can you please give me a moment?” I squeezed his hand. “I’ll be fine,” I whispered.
He nodded with concern written all over his face.
Leaping out of the Jeep, I hesitantly approached Lex. He stood at the side of the gate behind the hedge, out of sight and where no one could hear our words.
“Lex, what could you possibly have to say to me?” I hoped he could not hear the thundering in my heart as my eyes kept falling to the gun tucked in his jeans.
“You know, I see how you look at me. Like Venom is so much better and I’m some piece of garbage that even that redheaded whore shouldn’t waste time on.”
I don’t know what came over me. When he called Sissy a whore, I just reacted, slapping him straight across the face.
Lex laughed maniacally before he took hold of both my wrists, squeezing them so hard I felt like they would break. Fear kept me from making a sound. I was scared that if I screamed, then Alcide might end up hurt.
“Who the fuck do you think you are?” He yanked me closer to him by the wrists, squeezing them even harder. “If Voodoo hadn’t told me not to touch you, I’d fucking be teaching you a lesson you would never forget,” he whispered into my ear before licking and biting the lobe.
My body felt like it was in shock, and a shiver ran through me. “You think Venom is so much better than me ‘cause he wants your angelic pussy?” He closed every centimeter between us. “Venom is no better.” His rough, stubbled cheek was pressed to mine.
“As a matter of fact, he may be worse. He can be a heartless prick. He’s thrown away girl after girl, just using them up. I watched him cut a man to pieces and embrace all that it means to be a King. So, don’t you for a second think he is any different. You don’t have a magical pussy that could turn him into a good man. His destiny was written at birth. He is a King, he will always be a king, and you,” he looked me over, “you will never be his queen. He needs someone who can commit to this life, someone who’s part of the club. You’ll never be that. You should do yourself a favor and break this off now before you and your little doctor friend get hurt.” His laugh was a deep guttural noise that would haunt me.
I thought his grip would surely break my wrist. But his statement startled me and I forgot the pain for a moment. How did he know who Alcide was?
“Voodoo has people everywhere,” he said, as if he’d read my mind, or maybe the question was apparent on my face. “He knows more than God. You should remember that.”
“Maggie, we got to go!” Alcide yelled.
Lex released my wrists, pushing me away from him. “You think he’s so great, ask him about Armon.”
I blinked back my tears. “I’m coming,” I choked out to Alcide as I stumbled away from Lex and came around the bushes.
“Are you—?”
“Just drive us out of here,” I rushed out, rubbing my wrists.
“Bye, Maggie. Don’t come again.” Lex gave me a debutante wave.
Alcide spun the Jeep around, turning back onto the road. He was driving fast enough that I had to hold on.
We drove for a long moment in silence. Once we got to the next town, Alcide drove into a Dairy Queen lot.
“Why are we stopping here?”
Alcide didn’t answer. He jumped out and waited behind two people. He returned with two mixed vanilla-chocolate swirl cones. He handed me one and got back in.
“Thanks.”
“Yeah, ice cream always makes me feel better,” he said, taking a giant bite off the top of the cone, removing its swirl.
I tried to eat mine, but my stomach was so sick I didn’t have any appetite. I just looked at the cone as the chocolate began melting down its side.
“That bad?” He watched me taking micro bites. “You know that’s not normal, right? I mean, Jesus, Maggie, they were armed. You don’t belong there.”
Why did everyone keep saying that?
“I don’t belong anywhere.” I pushed my cone in his direction since he was already finished with his.
“You belong where you can help people. You have so many gifts. You need to open your eyes to all you have to offer this world. You have no idea where you’re headed. Maybe someday you will be traveling the world with me caring for children. You have talent, brains, and connections to go wherever you want. You can’t tell me that this,” he pointed around the otherwise desolate area, “is where you see your life. You know he’s a package deal. You can’t love just him—you love the man, you need to love his club. They become your family.”
“How do you know so much about this?”
“I’ve gone to a lot of places and I even worked with few reformed criminals trying to piece their lives back together by working in the community. There was one guy, his name was James, but everyone called him Two-Face.” Alcide’s eyes locked on mine. “You see, he had a burn scar that ran from here straight to here.” He placed his index finger at my hairline and traced it down the entire side of my face.
“He never spoke to anyone, just did his work, then left every day. One night I had to run a long way overnight for medical supplies, and he came along. James broke down, telling me how he ended up there. He made me swear not to tell anyone we worked with before he told me his story. He grew up in a motorcycle club, fully committed his whole life. The club was into drugs, guns, and other illegal things. He said he was on a job that went bad, and a few men got arrested. Someone had flipped on his club. He swore he’d die before he would ever do anything against them.
“Anyway, I don’t know the details, but he took the fall for something he didn’t do, and the club blamed him, saying he was two-faced. The acid burns on his face were a kindness, a reminder since they didn’t kill him. They left him for dead. His wife was a club member’s daughter, so he lost her and his baby too. James lost his whole life for something he said he didn’t do. And the craziest thing about it was that he still would have done anything to be accepted back in his club family.”
There was a ringing in my ears as I listened to his story. I knew he was right, that was how club members all felt, but Vincent was different. He loved me.
“Maggie, hey, are you listening?”
I stood up. “Alcide, can you take me back now? I need to process all this.”
He looked at his watch. “The camp gates are closed now. Why don’t you stay at my place tonight so you can get some rest and think? I’ll bring you back in the morning.”
Chapter 19
Venom
The yellow bug light flickered in the distance when I turned down the long driveway. I felt bad that I told Maggie she could come along, but Voodoo said it needed to be done now. Paw-paw was alone on his porch in his rocking chair when I slowed the bike, parking next to his old truck.
He continued to rock and chisel at the lump of
wood in his hand. Taking a sip of his beer, he glanced up at me. “You gonna sit?”
“I guess. You don’t seem happy to see me.”
“I know it can’t be good if you’re showing up without your pretty little girlfriend.”
“Honestly, I don’t know anything about it. You know Voodoo keeps things private. I’m just his messenger, and he caught me at the club on his way in and my way out. He wanted you to have this right away.” I handed him the folded envelope.
“You like being his errand boy?” He placed the envelope down and took another sip of his beer.
“You know that’s not how it is.”
“I know it was for your mother. I know how you boys grew up, and I know I saw something different in you when you were with Magnolia.” He leaned toward me. “You know a girl like that only comes once in a lifetime, right?” He raised his eyebrows.
“You are changing the subject.” I pointed to the envelope.
“This is a pretty important subject too. I think you need to sit down and talk to me. We have plenty of time to get to this. Your father can wait.” He nodded at the other rocking chair.
I sat as he lit his pipe. Smoke swirled from the top of the wood-carved ship. It was the same one he smoked when I was a boy. I remember picking it up all the time, admiring the detail.
“You know where you are right now?” He rocked slowly, waiting for me to answer.
“Your house? Look, Paw-paw, why don’t we just work on those papers so we could get that over w—”
“This has everything to do with those papers. I’ll tell you where you are. You’re at a crossroads, and the rest of your life will run on the choices you make now. I know you ain’t dumb, and it would be easy to choose the path your father had laid out for you, but it’ll be a mistake. After seeing you with Magnolia, I know there is more to you than being a thug in that club. Your father sent you to force you to make a choice. You either go against me or choose him, the road to hell.” He said with emphasis. I didn’t understand. Did my father really send me as some sort of test? It reminded me of the decision he made years ago.