“Man, I can’t believe you fucking did that. Have you gone nuts or something? Did that Barber pussy get you sprung?”
“I wish.” I sigh heavily, as Thad places a bandage over the cut on my eyebrow. “I didn’t even get past first base with her last night.”
“Damn.” He sounds even more disappointed than I feel. “So all of this for a girl you didn’t even get to screw? That’s a crying shame. All the boys that saw her say there’s a reason why her dad keeps her under lock and key.”
“Yeah, I’ll give ‘em that. She is fine as hell…thick in all the right places. But besides seeing her in her panties, she was passed out drunk before we could get to the tasty part.” My mind drifts back to the sweet, summertime smell of her hair and the round line of her ass as she bent over to pull up those tight jeans of hers.
I add as an explanation, “But I don’t give a shit who Martin Barber is. You don’t ever sucker punch me, especially at a dinner table when I’m just trying to get through my day.” I lower my voice, as I look around the empty meeting hall, and continue, “And you certainly don’t do it in front of my boys. If he thinks he can turn those guys against me over something as small as bringing his sister home after a night of drinking, he’s got another thing coming for him.”
“I don’t think it’s just that, Gavin. I think the boy has a legitimate beef with you. You’re a threat. You know the routes better than any man here, and you’ve got the respect of all the runners from newbies to retirees. That’s pretty powerful, especially when you’re a sniveling little road dick who rides limp every time he gets out there.”
As Thad finishes his work, I stand and brush off my pant legs. Turning back to him as I place the jacket over my arms, I say, “That’s why tonight’s so important. I’m inviting the entire road crew out to the Sunset, including Barber’s new butt boys. Martin Barber would never do that, let alone buy ‘em a couple rounds. I’ll get them good and sloshed and then convert them over to the Gavin side. That little bitch won’t know what hit him when they stop following his orders.”
My plan isn’t exactly foolproof. To make it work, I need to have Martin go along as well. Not inviting him now that he was the new, official captain would be akin to mutiny. I wasn’t about to get even more retribution over this. Instead, I had to do this slyly and under his very own nose. Revenge done in broad daylight is always that much sweeter.
“Well, I just hope I’m still invited now that they are making me corporate.” Going ‘corporate’ was the label we gave to the guys who worked background, inside jobs for the club. They were the guys answering media calls, or coordinating with our inside men in the police force. And, for Thad, they were accountants.
“Dude, just because they benched you doesn’t mean you’re not still part of the team. Hell, you’re even more valuable now that you are on the inside. You’re going to see the inner workings of the club.” I pat him on the back heartily, as I walk out back towards the empty parking lot.
After the big drama between Martin and me, he announced that Thad’s former background as a math wiz meant he would be replacing our old man Bernie, who just retired out. He’d be handling the incoming cash flow and our paychecks. While I didn’t pity him, I was a bit excited to see if he could find anything suspicious in the Barber family business. That’s why they always say to never mess with the moneymen.
Thad calls after me a bit disappointed, “Eleven then? The Sunset?”
I look back to him and nod. It’s my way of avoiding the glare of the man riding with me now. I think Martin said his name was Brock or something ridiculous like that. He’s been waiting on me for some time now, and I can tell his patience is growing thin by how he’s checking the clock on his phone like a teacher with a truant student.
Still, there’s no need to be rude to him. I need all the friends I can get, and this man would have to be my new partner for the foreseeable future. The last thing you want is to ride with a guy who doesn’t have your back. “You ready to ride, brother? You know the routes?”
“I’ve been ready to ride for fifteen minutes now.” He jumps on his bike, an old beat up, firetruck-red Harley with not much life left in her.
“My apologies. When I get jumped, I try my best not to ride with blood coming down my face.”
It’s the last words I say to him the entire night. I take the lead riding from pick-up to drop-off points like the professional I am. I handle everything from talking to the suppliers and dealers to placing the deposit envelope in the lock box at the train station. Brock, or whatever his name is, just sits back, observing, waiting.
At the end of the night, we head back to the headquarters and clock out by signing on a piece of paper with the time. It’s a new measure under the regime of Martin Barber, but I don’t mind. It gives me enough time to round up the newbies to let them know about my get-together over at the Sunset. Most are game while Martin’s enforcers seem more suspicious than anything.
When I get to the final guy, the man who held my arms behind my back as Martin took his swing at me, I add a twist, “Hey man, can you send a message to the captain. I want to make sure he gets my invitation to join us. His old man too, if he’s with him.” The man peers at me for a long moment in an awkward silence he doesn’t break. But as I’m about to give up and leave, he takes out his phone and pulls up his messages.
“Hey! Gavin!” Someone pulls on my jacket, as I spin defensively. I was just about out of the door and on the way to the bar when I’m pulled back in. He blindsides me enough to manage to drag me into the coatroom near the front of the building. The door slams before he turns to face me, but I’m already on him, pinning him to the door. His body slams against the sturdy wood.
“Woah! Woah! It’s me. It’s Moses… Moses Hawks. We’ve met before when I was training to be a runner. I work with the armory guys now.”
I know Moses. I know just about every Bloody Pagan in this chapter. But his name rings even more bells when I remember him from Vanessa’s lie to her father about her friend Alice and him. I put him down slowly, but I don’t back away. I am not about to get jumped again.
“What do you want?” My voice crackles, as it goes low.
“I…I…shit, man. I have a message for you from Alice. She told me to not get caught giving it to you, so I thought I’d pull you in here.”
“Alice? Alice Dugger? What the hell does she want?” My blood races through me, as I feel a strange sense of dread and excitement wash over me.
“It’s not really from Alice. It’s from Vanessa Barber. I was to tell you that she wanted to see you tonight at the Sunset. She’s going to be there in the backroom. There was something else… ugh. I can’t remember. Alice told me it in a hurry.” He reaches down quickly to his pocket and pulls out his phone. I watch him scroll through the lit up screen before adding nervously, “Oh yeah. Vanessa said that she wanted to ‘make good on her promise.’ I don’t know what that means. That’s all she said.”
I go blank. Every part of me just stops operating like a machine on the fritz. I’m unsure what to say or do. So, with a dry mouth, I ask the kid, “When?”
“When, what?”
“When is she going to be at the Sunset? Did she say?”
“Oh yeah, at midnight.”
The plan that I had—to destroy Martin Barber with drinks—was slowly falling to pieces before my very eyes. If Vanessa was going to be there, I couldn’t have Martin there. And if Martin wasn’t there, I’d be called out worse for just messing with his sister or being a smart ass. I had to manage this, but I had no idea where to begin. All I knew was that I needed to be at that bar to beat her there before anyone spotted her.
Without another word, I push past Moses and open the door to the empty headquarters. The only people left were few runners who worked the graveyard shift.
But before I go, I remember one important part. I head back into the room and shut the door slowly behind me. In one grand motion, I grab Moses by his collar and lift him off the ground so his feet dangle. His face meets mine, as I growl, “I don’t know you, Moses, but I do know this…you’re one of my boys now. You’re not in Martin or Jonah Barber’s pockets. And if you tell either of them or any of their men about what Alice, Vanessa, or I had to say, I will hunt you down and kill you with my bare hands. Are we clear about that?”
Moses’s eyes bulge out like an insect, as he squirms in my hands. Breathlessly he replies, “Yeah, man. I get it. I’m no snitch, okay?”
I toss him down, and he lands on his hands and knees. I reach my hand out as a peace offering. Our eyes meet, as I study them one last time. This snot-nosed kid could be the difference between life and death for both Vanessa and I, but he seemed harmless to me. He didn’t even seem to know the importance of the message he gave to me. To him, it was just a favor for the girl he was doing. But to me, it was much, much more.
The ride to the Sunset Bar isn’t a long one, but to me, it’s a race against the clock. I knew that I didn’t have any time to stop back home to change, let alone slow at lights. Back alleyways are the fastest way, as I ignore pretty much every car, truck, and pedestrian in my path. All I can focus on is getting to that backroom before she does.
Just as I suspected, the parking lot for the Sunset is already packed with bikes with our patches along with a few stragglers and riders from other clubs. The noise of the jukebox playing old Johnny Cash songs, along with the voices of men shouting wildly, fills the late night air. The bar seems to be electric tonight, as if it knows it’s about to be the center of my universe.
I walk in quickly, taking the backdoor and doing my best not to be spotted. I head straight toward the end room where the door is closed tight. We used to use that room for meetings years ago when the club was just about thirty or forty of us. It wasn’t until after the recession hit, when men started to get desperate enough to ride with patch holders, that the Bloody Pagans burst at its seams. The room back at the Sunset was still Pagan property; it was to be used for smaller meetings or retirement parties. But tonight, the doors are locked up tight, and from the crack in the door, it looked like there wasn’t even a light on inside.
I head out towards the front of the bar where my men are already gathered around, waiting for me to buy the first round. A loud shout goes out as Thad spots me. “Our man, the buyer of beers!” he screams joyously. I nod an acknowledgement at him before heading to the bar.
The old and gray bartender, Silva, is already prepared: he has seven large pitchers and a row of whiskey shots on trays. As soon as I give him a quick click of my head, he brings them to the five or six tables our men are occupying. He’ll keep them coming the rest of the night until I say stop, which could mean hell for my wallet. But tonight, it’s worth them being distracted for as long as possible with free booze.
“Drinks are on me, boys!” I yell, trying my hardest not to look suspicious. “I’ll be back soon. Gotta take care of some, uh, business. Save a shot for me in the meantime.” To my luck, no one is even paying attention to me. They’re all focused on getting the first few pours. The men are served by rank with the oldest runners getting first dibs while the newbies wait their turn with mouths wide open.
While Silva isn’t looking, I walk over to the back of the bar and grab the key hanging from a hook under the swinging service door. No one seems to notice as I walk quickly back to the room, its key pocketed in my hand. That is, until someone in a black hoodie grabs me around by the arm.
One look into her eyes, and I say hushed, “Vanessa Barber, what the fuck are you doing here?”