Chapter Thirteen

It was strange riding into the Epitaphs compound without Roy by his side. Clive hadn’t realized how quickly he’d gotten used to the man being so close to him all the time. It’d become automatic, reaching out so he could physically touch his mate; turning to him to mention something that crossed his mind. He’d never had a relationship like it, not even with Jules, but he missed Roy something fierce as he strode up the porch, nodding at Saul who was guarding the door.

“Everything quiet?” He asked, just as he did anytime he arrived.

“Great to see you, boss.” Saul looked relieved. “Stephanie’s been looking for you. She says she has a message for you and Levi’s been looking for you too. Trent’s not in yet.”

“I sent Trent a text this morning and told him he could have the day off. Let Levi and Stephanie know I’ll be in my office. I’m expecting Roy, the man who visited the night of the barbecue to be here soon as well. He’s to come straight into my office, no matter who else is in there.”

“The cop? Is that wise?” Saul frowned. “There’s been a fair bit of gossip going on about him among the members.”

“And I doubt any of it’s true. If anyone’s got genuine concerns they can come and speak to me about them. Otherwise they can keep their big mouths shut. No one is to touch him when he gets here. Understood.”

“You’re the boss.” Saul stepped aside, and Clive made his way through the house to his office that sat off the living room. It used to be a spare bedroom, in the original house configuration, but Clive let the other bedrooms be used for that purpose and commandeered this one for his own. There was no one lurking by the locked door, and maybe half a dozen men drinking around the bar which was normal for the time of day.

Unlocking the office door, Clive was barely in his seat before Stephanie wandered in, a cloud of perfume preceding her. She was a good looking woman, but back when Clive first got involved with her she was carrying a lot less silicone. Daddy’s money had paid for a host of enhancements, which in Clive’s opinion were a waste of money.

“Saul said you had a message for me.” He reached for his laptop, booting it up. His lip curled as Stephanie perched her behind on the corner of the desk. Her being so close made his skin crawl and not in a good way.

“Clive, I’ve been worried about you. When you just took off like that….”

“Like what?” Clive looked up from his screen. “I didn’t take off like anything. I had things to do outside of the club and have been doing them. I do have a life outside of the club, you know.”

“But the meeting…you getting hurt….”

“Everything’s fine. The meeting was for patched members only, you know that.”

“Daddy’s worried.”

Clive huffed out a long breath. He hated that she pulled the daddy card every time she wanted something. Razor was an illegal gunrunner and did have a lot of pull in the criminal underbelly of Orlando, but that didn’t make him god. Clive kept the peace with him because it was good for his reputation and it avoided conflict. “What’s he got to be worried about? I haven’t got any deals in the pipeline with him at the moment.”

“Everyone said you were being challenged. Others are worried the Epitaphs are being disbanded. Daddy wants to know how it affects your business arrangements.”

“He’s fishing for information in other words.” Clive took the time to really look at Stephanie. If it wasn’t for her father, she could have been a top model or anything she wanted to be. Instead, she got her kicks out of manipulating the men he rode with. In a way, he felt sorry for her. “Stephanie, what happens in this club is my business until I say otherwise. You can listen to the gossip all you want, but I’d watch how far you spread it. The men here won’t take kindly to anyone, especially the one calling herself head bitch here, running down their reputation.”

“Daddy thinks I should start running with the Black Skulls.” Stephanie doodled with her finger on the desk. “He said they’re more stable and Jeff was prepared to take me in one time before.”

Yeah, when Trent wouldn’t fuck you when you wanted him to. Clive opted for something more politic to say. “It’s always been your choice to hang around here, Steph and it’s your choice if you leave. Choose your loyalties and stick with them. But I do have one piece of advice for Razor. If he does deals with the Skulls, make sure he gets his money upfront. Those guys make for lousy drug runners and don’t have the cash to pay their bills.”

“Shoots. Daddy doesn’t know about that.” Pulling her phone out of her bra strap, Stephanie took off out of the office as if the hounds of hell were after her. Clive shrugged. Razor was a criminal kingpin for a reason and his reputation was solidly earned. He knew people that sent shivers up Clive’s spine. If the Skulls did owe him money they wouldn’t be around to crow about it for long.

Opening up his email program, Clive restlessly scanned through the unread messages as he rubbed his chest. He was missing Roy something fierce and he wondered if that happened to all mated couples or if it was just because they hadn’t been together long. He’d have to ask one of the shifters about it later.

One email caught his eye. It was from “Lovesickbobby101,” with the subject line, “I’m Sorry.” Rubbing the spot between his eyebrows, Clive clicked on the email to open it.

/~/~/~/~/

Nodding to a couple of faces he recognized, Roy hurried through the precinct. His bear had been moody since they’d watched Clive take off for the club on his bike and he needed to get his business done and get over there. His sergeant’s office door was open, and he rapped on it sharply. “Can I have a private word, sir?”

“Carmichael come in and close the door. I was going to call you today. Take a seat.”

Dropping into the nearest chair, Roy watched as Sergeant Brown rustled through the mass of papers on his desk. The man reminded him a lot of Clive, right down to the military cut gray hair. He had the same no-nonsense attitude about him too. “Ah, here it is.” Roy recognized a daily report sheet. “We got an anonymous tip in that mentioned you by name. What’s all this about you consorting with the Epitaphs?”

Bloody Bobby and his big mouth. Although, to be fair, it could’ve been any one of the Epitaphs who tipped off his presence at the barbecue. Roy hadn’t been in town long enough to know anyone’s informants. “I’m not sure what you mean by consorting sir. The president of the club invited me there for a friendly drink and a barbecue on July 4th, but it was after my shift and I was only there an hour, if that. I wasn’t in uniform, I was on my own time. It’s hardly anything illegal.”

“And that’s the only time you’ve been there?”

Roy hesitated. He hated to lie, but he couldn’t mention being there in his bear form. “I haven’t been there since.”

“Hmm. What’s your relationship with the MC president, Clive, isn’t it?”

“His name is Clive, yes.” The hair on the back of Roy’s neck stood up. “What’s this about, sir, if you don’t mind me asking. I told you I’d only been there one time. It was a friendly holiday gesture, nothing more.”

“And how did you meet Clive?”

Damn it. Roy didn’t have a clue what Brown was fishing for, so gave him a semblance of the truth. “I was just finishing up my shift on July 4th, when he went passed me on his bike. I pulled him over because I thought his tail light was loose. I checked it. It was fine, and Clive’s papers were in order, so I said he could go. He asked me if I enjoyed barbecue. Truth be told, I think he was trying to get a rise out of me, sir, but I said yes, and he invited me to the club. I went, and as I say, I wasn’t there long. I would have mentioned it the next time I was on shift, but as you know I’m currently on personal leave. I don’t understand what the problem is.”

“No, a young man like yourself, I don’t suppose you do.” Brown rested the sheet in his hand on a pile of others, before resting his arms on the desk. “Look, it’s not my job to police who you see in your own time, but part of your reputation is based on who you associate with….”

Roy interrupted him. “I know what you’re saying, sir, honestly, I do, but you need to stop right there. Clive is a marine – he served his country faithfully in two tours overseas. He has no criminal record and from what I could learn from our files, the MC hasn’t been in trouble for months.” Roy was guessing about the last part, but Brown didn’t contradict him.

“I saw nothing untoward at the barbecue, however I did glean some interesting information about the other MC in town, the Black Skulls. Information I came by, via an informant that had nothing to do with Clive or my visit to the Epitaphs. The drug boys will be very interested in what I have to share.”

“Hrumph. Fair enough. At least you are still managing to do your job but be careful. I don’t want to hear about you visiting there again unless you are on official business. Gang members can’t be trusted. Now, what was it you wanted to see me about?”

Roy straightened his spine. “Sir, respectfully, I can’t do as you ask. I haven’t been back to the Epitaphs since that first visit, but Clive and I are now formally in a relationship and because of the conflict that might cause with my position here, I am tendering my resignation effective immediately.”

“You’re giving up your career for a biker? You only met him a couple of days ago.” Roy noticed it wasn’t the male aspect that upset Brown, it was how Clive was perceived by society and the length of time of their relationship.

“We are both old enough to know our own minds, sir. Clive and I are making plans to move out of Orlando. Because of his history in this town, and my position, we felt it was best for everybody to make a clean start somewhere else.”

“You’re probably not wrong about that. Shit.” Leaning back in his chair, Brown ran his hand over his face. “That’s going to put the ATF guys in a tizzy. I’ve never met the man personally, but Clive does keep those boys of his under control. I always wondered about him. We had a gay bashing here, must be six months ago. Two young guys in town, not hurting anyone. They got beaten up really bad. More than one witness described two men wearing patches running off, although the victims didn’t lay a complaint. It was no surprise that later that night, two men wearing Epitaph patches turned up at the hospital. One of them with a broken jaw. They claimed they were fighting among themselves and it got out of hand. No charges were filed in that case either.”

Must have been the night Marly and Trent met. “I didn’t hear anything about that, sir. But everything I’ve seen so far suggests Clive’s an honorable man as bikers go.”

“You’ve been seeing him for less than a week.” Brown sat silently for a moment, and Roy was happy to wait him out. Brown didn’t know about shifters, or how the mating pull meant neither he nor Clive would be interested in straying from each other again. “Make your report to the drug boys, give them as much information as possible. I will be sorry to lose you, I think you’ve got the makings of a fine officer. But for what it’s worth, I hope you and Clive will be happy together. If, for whatever reason, things don’t work out, you’ll always be welcome back here.” Brown stood up and held out his hand.

Rising to shake it, Roy gave his thanks and hurried out of the office. A quick chat with the drug squad and he would consider his obligations to the Orlando police done. Hopefully, Clive would be interested in a dinner date somewhere nice to celebrate.