Saving Dallas 2 Making the Cut (30 page)

“My first order of business is Marty. I think
it’s only fair that despite the situations that have occurred, that
we give him a vote. One no is as good as all no’s.” We went around
the table as everyone voiced their opinion on our PROSPECT. Once it
got to me, the vote was unanimous. Just like that, Marty became the
newest member of the Devil’s Renegades Motorcycle Club. “Next, we
need to compensate our Lake Charles boys out of our own funds for
coming down and helping out. Coon, where are we at on that?” I
asked our Treasurer.

“Already handled, Pres. Paid Ronnie before he
left. He didn’t want to take it, but finally agreed,” Coon
answered.

“Good. I want to thank you all again for your
support. When you go home tonight, I want you to tell your ol’
ladies, girlfriends, children, employers-anyone who has had to deal
with your absence because of my problems, that I appreciate
it.”

“That’s
club
problems,” Worm informed
me. “Don’t try to carry all of this alone. It was a club decision
to go after Frankie. One we all made together.” Everyone nodded in
agreement.

“I appreciate that, but this is no longer a
club problem. I made the decision to get the club out of this shit,
and as it stands now, we have no problem with Charlie. I want to
ask the club’s approval to release Frankie into the custody of
Charlie. He will deal with him however he decides. I can’t promise
that he will eliminate him, but I can promise that if Frankie tries
to fuck with the club again, he will have to answer to Charlie. All
in favor of releasing Frankie as club property?” A chorus of “aye”
and “yes” filled the room. “All opposed?” Silence fell as the
decision to give Frankie to Charlie was made. No opposed. No
turning back now. I had my chance to save my girl. I thought I
would be happy, but my next order of business played in my head and
prevented me from enjoying it, not that I had a doubt my brother’s
wouldn’t have agreed. I took a deep breath and braced myself for
what was to come.

“I have spoken to Charlie. I told him once
the club had voted; I would give him my answer. Frankie is no
longer a problem to the Devil’s Renegades. He is now only my
problem.” I watched as the eyes of my brother’s widened, they knew
what was coming. I stood from the table and removed my cut. I
looked at the worn leather and dirty patches that covered it. I had
worked hard to earn it, even harder to keep it. I had defended it
with my life, and treasured it. It had brought me happiness,
heartache and solace. There were memories, both good and bad. Since
I was old enough to understand what it stood for, I had desired it.
It had been my lifeline and my best friend. I was a better man for
wearing it. It had made a man out of me, and in return I had
brought it honor and dignity. Now I was letting it go.

“I can’t meet Charlie’s demands as long as I
wear this cut. I can’t allow my club to fail at my expense. I knew
there was no way any of you would let me ride alone. As my
brother’s, you have a responsibility to me, as your President. I
refuse to place that burden on you. I am leaving, with Frankie, and
I can’t take you with me. I ask that you let me make this decision
as a man, and not as your President. I know that if any of you were
in my position, you would do the same. As of this moment, I am
officially no longer your President, or fellow brother in the
Hattiesburg Chapter of the Devil’s Renegades Motorcycle Club.” I
laid my cut down before me. It would be the first time in twelve
years that it did not belong to me. I was a man full of sorrow and
pain. I was a man full of regrets and bad decisions. As I left the
room with my head high, unable to look into the faces of the men
before me, I was a man that for the first time in my life, stood
alone.

It felt wrong riding my Harley without my
cut, but I found strength when I felt the vibration in my hands and
the roar of pipes in my ears. I was a nobody, an independent. The
heavy leather was not there to wear me down, yet it felt like I had
the weight of the world on my shoulders. Dallas would be in my arms
tomorrow. Just the thought of her molding her body against mine
dulled the pain, but it wasn’t enough. I was not whole without
Dallas, and I was not whole without my club. I couldn’t live life
as half of a man, but to save the woman I loved, I would have to. I
didn’t visit any bars, or ride by one of my clubs. The thought of
correcting someone because they called me LLC made me sick. Just
like my cut, my name had been taken too. I was now just Luke. Vice
President of Carmical Construction. Lover to Dallas Knox. Son of
William and Karen. Uncle to numerous children. To some, that would
have been enough. Well, it wasn’t enough for me.

My house was dark when I returned, just as I
expected it to be. Only one car remained besides mine and
Dallas’s-a black Mustang with GET RED on the tag. This was gonna be
a cluster fuck. Maybe if I was lucky, she rode home with Regg. The
red cherry from a cigarette lit up the inside of my carport and I
knew I had not gotten lucky. I didn’t bother pulling my bike into
its sanctuary that I had created for it inside my home. I just cut
it off in the drive, stepping away from it and laying my lid on the
seat. The front porch light illuminated the darkness outside and I
saw Red approaching, wearing that kick-ass attitude she wore so
well. She walked right up to me, her face streaked in tears and
mascara and slapped me hard across the left side of my face. My
head spun to the side when her palm connected with my cheek.

“You son of a bitch! How dare you walk out on
us!” she said, her voice full of hurt and anger. “You are what
keeps us together. Those men are lost without you.” Her seething
anger was something I wasn’t expecting from her. Out of everyone, I
thought she would get it.

“I didn’t have a choice, Red,” I said,
willing her to understand.

“You
always
have a choice.” Her words
rang true. They were ones I had used many times myself.

“Yeah, well I chose to keep my club whole and
my girl alive. I couldn’t choose between the two. Charlie demanded
that I come alone and I knew the club wouldn’t go for it. Even if
they did, I didn’t want them to have to live with that burden if
things didn’t happen as planned. Charlie keeps his word, but that’s
the only thing he does. He is unpredictable, Red. He never agreed
not to hurt me or Dallas once the trade was made. He is capable of
anything.” I had her by her shoulders, looking into her red rimmed,
hazel eyes. I needed her to understand. Regg would need her. I
couldn’t have them both against me. If I lost one, I lost the
other, and I was hoping to salvage the friendships I had with
them.

“We could have found another way,” she
whispered, sobbing lightly in front of me. It didn’t matter to her
that her makeup was smeared or her nose was running, mixing with
the tears that poured down her face. This was a woman whose
appearance was the last thing on her mind in a time like this. I
wiped her eyes with my thumbs, fighting off tears of my own. If any
woman could bring a man down to size, it was this one.

“There is no other way, babe. This is it.
It’s all I have to offer. What do I do, Red? What is my main goal
in life?” I asked.

“You protect your family,” she whispered.

“That’s right. You are all my family. I can’t
keep everyone safe if I stay. By stepping down from the club, I am
keeping it whole and keeping Dallas alive.” Red nodded. She
understood. “I need you, Red. Don’t hate me, because I can’t live
in a world where you do.” She looked into my eyes that were filled
with tears.

“I could never hate you,” she said, throwing
her arms around my neck and burying her face in my chest. I held
her for a long time, letting her cry into my shirt. Sometimes I
guess even the strong ones break. When she regained her composure
and wiped her face, she gave me the smile that I loved so much.
“Come on and I’ll fix you dinner. You have to go get our girl
tomorrow.”

Red insisted that I let Frankie come up and
eat dinner with us in the kitchen. Some shit about the last supper.
When I told her he wasn’t Jesus and we were not his disciples, she
clarified that she meant the last meal-the one death row inmates
had before they were executed. I rolled my eyes, but knew she
wouldn’t shut up until I brought him upstairs with us. I found
Frankie, untied and alone in the safe room beneath my house. The
door at the top of the stairs had not even been locked. It took a
minute to control my anger. Fucking Red. He could have escaped.

“Yo Frankie,” I called, standing on the
stairs looking down at him. He was lying on his side in the bed
unmoving. “Frankie,” I repeated a little louder this time. My
stomach flipped and I held my breath as I descended the stairs.
Something in my gut told me that Frankie wasn’t answering because
he was asleep, but because he was dead. By the time I hit the
bottom step, I felt like I was going to faint. Just then, Frankie
rolled towards me, giving me that awful fucking grin of his.

“Just fucking with ya, Luke. I ain’t dead.”
If it hadn’t been for Dallas, I would have killed him with my bare
hands. “Dinner ready? I’m starving,” I wanted to tell him to fuck
off, that the only thing he would be eating was a shit sandwich,
but Red chose that moment to scream for us to hurry the hell
up.

“You have got to be the luckiest bastard on
this planet,” I mumbled, grabbing Frankie by the arm and pushing
him in front of me.

“Yeah, well ya know Lukey boy, I always have
had some pretty good luck. I remember this one time in Reno-” I
stopped listening as I stared at the clothing he wore. Fucking
Red.

“Ooh Frankie, don’t you look nice,” Red said,
giving me a wink. I gave her the I’ll-rip-your-fucking-heart-out
stare and she moved her gaze from me to Frankie.

“Those are my jeans,” I said to no one in
particular. Did it not bother anyone that he was wearing my fucking
clothes?

“Oh Luke, you are such a girl. You can get
them back when Charlie kills him. I’m sure he won’t mind.” I
sobered at her comment, not believing she had just said that. In
front of Frankie. I hated the man, but even I felt sorry for him.
Red had no fucking heart. I walked into the kitchen, making myself
a plate. Red had fixed Frankie’s and sat it on the table for him.
Frankie’s laugh was nervous as he dug into the mashed potatoes and
gravy that I knew were divine.

“You are one evil bitch,” I said, walking up
behind her and whispering in her ear. She shrugged her shoulder’s,
not bothered by my choice of words.

“Frankie knows I hate him. He deserves
everything he gets,” she said while propped up against the counter,
licking a spoon covered in chocolate cake batter. “Including those
potatoes.” Motherfucker.

Chapter 18

Luke

By the time morning rolled around, Frankie
was probably wishing for death. He had shit fifty times during the
night. Not that I was keeping count, that’s just what he told me as
we piled in my truck and headed West. I didn’t care that Frankie
had been sick all night. He looked alive and well today, and that
was all that mattered. He was clean shaven, dressed in my fucking
clothes and looked almost normal. I informed him that I didn’t want
to talk, and I only had to deliver him alive, not unharmed. It was
a lie, but I didn’t fucking care. I promised to break a finger if
he spoke, so he decided to just stare out of the window instead of
striking up a conversation. Smart move, Frankie.

I called Charlie to let him know that we were
heading out. He told me to meet him at the cabin and he would bring
Dallas. Just the mention of her name helped me to remember what I
was doing this for. I asked to speak to her, but he refused. He
said he wanted to enjoy the morning with her, and speaking to me
would just upset her. It pissed me off, but I didn’t say anything.
He knew I was mad and calling him out on shit like that would do
nothing but piss him off. I had come too far and gave up too much
to let my temper ruin everything. I would deliver Frankie to
Charlie. He would give me Dallas. Everything was going to be
fine.

We pulled up to the cabin, and in the yard
sat two black SUV’s. I backed my truck into the yard across from
them. As soon as I had Dallas, we would be leaving. I would need a
fast exit if things went bad, and we actually managed to make it to
the truck. I nudged Frankie’s shoulder, waking him. The
motherfucker had slept the entire way, even when I stopped to fill
up, he refused to get out. I handcuffed him to the steering wheel,
not sure if he would try to run or not. A man would do anything
when he knew he was about to die. When he looked around and saw
where we were, I expected him to turn to me and beg. He needed to
fucking die. I couldn’t even think about what he had done to Dallas
when he was in my house. I avoided him at all costs and if it
wasn’t for the beautiful girl that would ride back home with me, in
the same seat his grungy ass was in right now, I would have made
him suffer a slow, painful death.

“Well, are we gonna get out or just fucking
sit here? I gotta piss, and you need to work on your driving or get
a better ridin’ fuckin’ car. This truck about beat me to death,” he
grumbled, reaching for the door handle.

“No more than me, Frankie. No more than me.”
I reached out and grabbed his arm, waiting for Charlie to make the
first move. He stepped out of the car and held the door open,
smiling sweetly to whoever he was talking to. Then I saw her. I
forgot how to breathe when I saw my whole life emerge from the car.
She was breathtaking, literally, just as she had always been. Her
tight skirt wrapped perfectly around her toned, tanned legs. She
stood tall in a pair of black heels, and even from here, I could
see the necklace I gave her dangling on top of her black, button
down shirt. She was fucking perfect, and she was mine.