Troubled Son: Savage Sons MC Romance (11 page)

I nodded as I thought about the possible situations in which I might have to drop a phone in a toilet to save my life, and I hoped I would never have to go through that. I stored the phone in my new black leather handbag emblazoned with a prominent Harley logo. "Got it."

Chapter 14

Moses

April 3, 2013

I
wasn't surprised that I thought about Max before I even opened my eyes. I felt pretty good about her ability to handle herself with the Sons, but the problem was that I was attracted to her. Really attracted to her. Like, I couldn't stop thinking about her -- clothed, in the underwear I'd bought for her, naked -- Max occupied my thoughts in a way that pushed everything else out. That was dangerous and I knew it. I had to find a way to get it under control.

I worked out, one of my tried and true methods for getting my head straight. I put some death metal on the stereo in my gym, cranked up the volume, and I added a little more weight and a few more reps to every set I did. By the time I finished, my muscles were shredded, and I felt great. As soon as I walked out of the gym, Max invaded my head again.

When I'd built my house out in the middle of nowhere west of Castle Rock -- the little town between Denver and Colorado Springs -- I'd had the money to make it exactly the way I wanted it. I'd designed most of the place, and I'd hired the individual contractors myself to make sure that they didn't rip me off or try to cheap out on things. I loved my house. It was the only place where I could find quiet and take a break from the craziness of the club and my work.

Whether I was in the tattoo studio or at the club, I was surrounded by noise, drama, sex, girls, booze, and drugs. Don't get me wrong. I love all of those things, but if I don't get some quiet I start to feel a little crazy. Sweaty and physically tired, I stood in front of the wall of windows along the back of the house. I looked at the Front Range of the Rockies and realized that maybe more than anything, I was going to miss my home when I left. I checked the time and decided to get a move on.

I stripped off my sweaty clothes and tossed them into the laundry room off the kitchen, and I walked through the house naked. With the water running, I looked in the mirror, decided I could wait a day to shave, and stepped into one of my favorite places in the world. The shower was really a room all its own -- warm, earth colored tiles on three walls with an entire wall of glass that looked out onto the mountain range.

As I washed my hair, I thought about what Max would think of my place. We'd have to share the bathroom since I hadn't built this house planning on sharing it with anyone. As soon as I thought about her, I started to get hard picturing her with wet hair, body all slick and glistening. I took care of business, hoping that jerking off would clear my head. It didn't.

I dried off and got dressed. It was supposed to be warmer, so I pulled on a short sleeved shirt with my jeans and boots. Before I even got out of my bedroom I could hear at least one of my cell phones ringing. So much for my peace and quiet. Time to get the day started.

The cell that was ringing was one of the pre-paids, and the caller's ID was blocked. That meant it could be any one of the Sons.

"Yeah," I answered.

"It's Joker. We got a problem."

"Phone or in person?" I asked, looking at my watch and figuring that I had enough time to meet before my first appointment at the shop.

"Person. Waffle House in half an hour."

"Can do."

I hung up the phone and wondered if Bug had gotten to Joker and thrown a big pussy bitch fit about the night before. I went out on the the back deck since it would only take me about twenty minutes to get into Castle Rock, and I didn't want to spend any longer at the Waffle House than I had to.

Joker had been going through a rough patch lately. I thought that the extra business we were doing was weighing on him, and he and my aunt had been going through a hard time too. Joker had been spending a lot of nights away from home checking up on the labs we had cooking meth. They were all out in the middle of nowhere, and it took nearly four days to make the rounds of all of them -- dropping off supplies, picking up fresh goods, and making sure the guys working there were okay. Joker had put himself into the rotation of Sons who worked to make sure the labs kept running, and Sable wasn't happy about his being away from home that much. She was jealous, and she had every reason to be. She knew damn well that Joker didn't spend many nights alone, and if she wasn't in his bed, then she knew some other girl was. You'd think after so many years that she'd be used to it, but the fiery fights seemed to fuel her passion for Joker, even though they just seemed to exhaust my uncle. Better him than me, I thought as I put on my cut and headed out to my bike.

Joker's bike was in the parking lot just off 25 when I got there. I waved at the waitress and signaled for a cup of coffee as I headed to the corner table where the Sons' President waited for me.

"What's up?" I asked as I slid into the seat.

Joker waited until the waitress had walked away after putting down the concave curved mug that matched the set I had at home -- swiped one at a time until I had an even six. The waitresses all knew I'd taken them, so I didn't feel bad. I tipped well.

Joker shook his head as he stirred Sweet & Low into his coffee and topped it up with cream. "Jimmy and the Sons up in Fort Collins had another run in with the Vandals last night."

I shook my head. This was exactly the sort of bullshit that made me want to get the fuck out of the Sons. "What happened?"

"According to Jimmy, one of Gracie's girls sold to a guy over the state line near Cheyenne. He didn't want to pay up, and he beat the shit outta the girl. She's up in the hospital in Fort Collins. Gave 'em some story to keep the doctors from calling the cops, but we can't let this shit stand. Jimmy ain't sure how, but he's pretty sure the Vandals were involved."

"Joker, you knew this was gonna happen when we started moving into Vandal territory. They're not just gonna hand over their business to us without a fight."

"No shit. But they can't just fuck up our girls and expect to get away with it."

"I thought that Jimmy had agreed to stay out of Wyoming, though."

"Yeah, well he hasn't exactly been following the rules. We've been pushing more stuff on him than he can move in Fort Collins, and he's been trying to quietly get rid of a little extra for us. I though he was flying under the radar, but apparently the Vandals have decided to send him a message."

I shook my head again, disgusted. "You knew this was going on?"

"Yeah. I did. Sable and Gracie had talked, and Gracie thought she could move it throughout the girls and no one would know the difference."

"Fucking Gracie needs to lay off the crank herself before she can be trusted to handle expanding our business. What was Jimmy thinking?"

Joker narrowed his eyes at me -- the same stare I saw every time he felt like I was challenging his authority.

"Moses, it was my call. It's done, and we have to figure out how to handle it. That's all there is to it."

I looked down at the table and held the mug in both of my hands. I sat there and wished that Joker had called me just because Bug had gotten his panties in a wad again. I didn't want to deal with sorting out hookers and crank and rival MCs anymore. I was tired of it, and I wanted it all to go away.

"So what's your plan?"

"Jimmy wants to pay the Vandals back. Apparently the girl was holding a couple hundred dollars worth of crank and a bunch of cash. That all vanished with the guy who beat her up."

"Jesus." I thought for a minute. "I can see why Jimmy's pissed, but what does he want to do? Go to war over a couple of hundred bucks and a banged up hooker?"

"I know it's not that much money, but Gracie's telling Jimmy that her girls ain't gonna sell no more. She says they're scared."

There wasn't anything funny about what he said, but I laughed anyway. "That's a simple fuckin' fix, man. Cut off the crank for a day or two, and those fuckin' whores will do anything he wants 'em to."

"Yeah. Guess you're right about that. That don't solve the problem of the Vandals, though."

I felt stuck. I didn't really care that much about the petty MC pissing matches anymore. I was getting out one way or another, and by the time I was done, there wouldn't be much of the Sons left if things went the way we had planned. I couldn't take the chance on looking weak, though. I had to at least pretend to have the interests of the club in mind.

"Can it wait until church on Sunday?"

Joker sighed, and I could tell that he had a lot weighing on his mind. He also looked like he hadn't gotten a whole lot of sleep, and based on the fumes from across the table, I was guessing he had a hangover to boot.

"Goddamn, Moses, I'm getting too old for this shit."

"Well, if Bug weren't out of his mind, you could delegate some stuff to him, but I bet if he had his way we'd be on our way to Wyoming with guns blazing."

Joker leaned forward, arms on the table. "Moses, you have to quit fuckin' with him. You know he thinks you want his VP job, and I know you got no interest in it. If you'd leave him alone, he wouldn't worry so much."

"I've told him a hundred times that I don't want it, and if he don't listen, I can't do anything about it. If he'd quit doing stupid shit like what he pulled last night, I wouldn't be on his case."

"Goddamn, sometimes I feel like a babysitter."

"Whatever." I finished my coffee. "Can it wait until our meeting on Sunday or not? I have appointments to get to."

Joker watched me as I stood up. "I guess it can wait. I'll tell Jimmy that he has to sit tight for a few days."

"Good. I'll probably swing by the clubhouse after I close up for the day. I have plans with my girl tomorrow, so I won't be around."

"So this girl?"

"Yeah?"

"I hear from Butch that she's a looker."

I shrugged. "What the fuck do you expect? That I'm gonna make some raggedy piece of ass my old lady?"

"Old lady?"

I knew that Joker would be surprised. I'd known the man all of my twenty-five years, and never had I ever settled down with just one woman.

"Yeah. Figured it was about time. And she's less crazy than any woman I've ever met, and she's smokin' hot."

"She like to party?"

"Not anymore. She was in a bad way before she got to Colorado. She left a piece of shit boyfriend behind, and she's cleaned up."

Joker laughed. "Then what the hell's she doing with you?"

I laughed as well as I walked away. "Rockin' my world, man. See you later."

He waved and signaled to the waitress for the check. Of everything I knew I'd have on my conscience after I got out of the Savage Sons, Joker was gonna bother me the most. I loved the man like a father, and I hated to think about him in prison. But that was where he belonged. I knew that I probably belonged there too, but I could save myself. I was gonna be the straightest arrow in the world after I got away. I didn't pray, but if I did, I'd have promised God that I'd never break another law again after I left, and I would have no trouble keeping that promise.

Chapter 15

Max

April 4, 2013

I
couldn't believe it while I was getting ready, but I was actually looking forward to shopping at Goodwill. I had my beater car, and I needed clothes to go with it. Since I wasn't supposed to meet Moses until the afternoon, I had the morning free to pack up the few things I wanted to take with me when I moved into his place temporarily. I had to keep reminding myself that it was just temporary because the thought of being under the same roof with Moses Hall was making my temperature rise.

Tombley had given me an old suitcase that would look the part for my cover. A recovering meth addict who's just escaped from an abusive relationship and is looking for work doesn't have brand new matching luggage. I folded my new clothes from a couple of days before and packed them, and I started going through my drawers and closet for simple pieces that would blend in with my new look. Not much of what I owned was appropriate.