SEAN

 

I sat at the end of the meeting desk in the chapel. Needle sat off to one side, leaning back in his seat with his arms crossed. He always acted like he owned the place, even in the chapel.

Ghost sat right next to me. He was staring off into the distance and lost in his thoughts. Ghost was the smartest man in the club. Hell, he was the smartest man I’d known anywhere. I knew he was thinking hard about what was about to happen. That meant this was serious.

The other members around the table were silent. Everybody seemed distracted. Even after spending a night getting to know Lydia better, even I had to admit that there was a lot on my mind.

Garnet took his place at the head of the table. The president of the club was older than everybody else, though he wasn’t really old. His hair was still jet black and he still took the time to groom his goatee like a young pretty boy who was trying to get laid.

The look on his face was as serious as everybody else’s.

“All right, listen up,” he said. “Last time we were here, we talked about working on clubhouse funds. I told you to get some ideas and figure some things out. I said pushing weight is on the agenda if you guys are interested. Before we take a vote, I wanna hear if you got any ideas.”

Everybody looked around the table at one another. It was as if they were waiting for somebody else to speak up. But nobody said anything.

“Nothing?” Garnet said, his hands on his hips in frustration. “None of you fuckheads could come up with anything?”

“I got something,” I said.

“All right, Brash. Let’s hear it.”

The club turned their attention to me.

“I was talking to someone,” I said. “She works at Amy’s Bakery.”

“Yeah, the donut place,” Garnet said. “We’ve all been to Amy’s. What about it?”

“She said Amy is struggling a little bit. She thought maybe there was some way she could figure out how to improve her business.”

“And?”

“And I told her that maybe we could help her out. We go into business with the bakery and make a little scratch.”

“Are you serious?” Needle interrupted me.

He leaned forward across the table. He did a shitty job of trying to hold his laughter back.

“You want us to invest in a bakery?” he said. “What are we gonna do, sell cookies? Do we look like fucking Girl Scouts?”

Everybody at the table started laughing.

“Always looking at the small picture,” I said to Needle. “You’re not looking at the big picture.”

I stood up from my seat and got everybody’s attention.

“It’s not just Amy’s,” I said. “The place is an institution but there are a lot of places like that in Ivory. Take Finn’s, for example. The place is always packed.”

“What are you saying?” Garnet said. “Do you want us to invest in Finn’s, too?”

“No. What I’m saying is there are plenty of places in Ivory we need to check out. There are places that should never go out of business because the people love ‘em too much. Just like Amy’s. We help ‘em out and raise some money for them there, not only do we get our money back when the bakery starts making some scratch, but we get some goodwill, too.”

“Goodwill,” Needle scoffed. “Listen to this guy.”

“There are too many clubs in Ivory. We’ve gotta let the people living here know that we’re the only ones that matter. We’ve gotta let them know they can depend on us. When people are in trouble, they don’t go to the cops. They come to us. Why should it be any different with businesses?”

Everybody was silent as they looked at one another. I put my hands on my hips in frustration. Trying to get through to these fucks was like trying to eat soup with a knife.

“I’m sure you’ve got the best of intentions,” Garnet said. “But I still don’t see the money in it. You think a sweet old woman is gonna let us, a biker club, in on her cookie business?”

“Why not? We’re just as much a part of Ivory as she is.”

Garnet looked at me for a second then scratched his forehead. He sighed a deep breath and shook his head.

“And how exactly are we gonna make any money to invest in the bakery?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I haven’t figured that part out yet. But we could start with a fundraiser.”

“A fundraiser?”

“Yeah. We’ll hold it right here at the clubhouse. Everybody loves Amy’s. Once they realize she’s struggling, they’ll donate a few bucks. That’ll be enough to help them out. And I’m sure business will pick up for her after that.”

“And then how do we get our money back?”

“More people will come to us. Once they figure out what we’ve done for Amy, they’ll start asking us for financial help. We’ll be the place people will turn to when they’re down on their luck. We’ll be the ones who they can depend on. The whole town will support us.”

“That’s a great idea,” Needle said, clapping sarcastically. “Let’s turn the fucking club into a charity.”

“Shut the fuck up!” I barked at him. “I don’t see you coming up with any ideas.”

“No idea is better than anything you’ve said—”

“Settle down!” Garnet said. “Sit down, Brash.”

Needle was smiling confidently at me. Even though he was a patch, he wasn’t my favorite person at the moment. I glared at him before eventually taking a seat back down.

“All right,” Garnet said. “I think I get it. We can help Amy out and get some goodwill. People will start looking to us and maybe business at the clubhouse will pick up. Who knows, maybe Amy or another business will decide to let us in on their profits. That’s an option.”

Garnet held his hand up in the air.

“Any other ideas?”

The chapel was silent.

“All right then,” Garnet said. “Let’s take a vote. Everybody in favor of moving weight, let it be known.”

Needle raised his hand first. Then every other patch followed. I looked over at Ghost next to me and he did the same.

“Sorry, brother,” he said to me.

I sighed when Garnet stuck his hand into the air. I was the only one at the table not raising my hand.

“And all those in favor of Brash’s idea to help out Amy’s Bakery, let it be known.”

I was looking down at the ground when I raised my hand. I didn’t have to look to know that I was the only one.

“All right then,” Garnet announced. “It’s decided. I’ll talk to my connect and we can start moving soon. Keep your schedules clear. This is serious shit. Sheriff’s Department just bulked up their force, so they’ve got their eyes peeled. We don’t wanna get caught on our first job with our thumbs up our asses. We’d never be able to live it down. Meeting adjourned.”

Garnet excused everybody from the chapel and they all dispersed.

I slowly made my way back into the clubhouse. Everybody was all smiles but I wasn’t in the mood to celebrate with them.

I made my way over to the bar and helped myself to a beer. All of the damn thoughts swirling around in my head made me want to knock myself out.

“How you feeling, brother?”

I felt a pat on the back as Ghost took a seat down next to me.

“It’s all right,” he continued. “It wasn’t a bad idea. I see where you’re coming from. But shit is getting serious around here. The boys need more money to spend.”

“Maybe they should consider getting real jobs.”

“Yeah, what an idea,” Ghost said with a laugh. “All the boys only got loyalty to the club. That’s all the fucking matters. You know that. All that other shit is secondary. If there’s a job to score some good cash, they’re gonna take it.”

“Yeah, I know how it is.”

“What happened to you? Last time I remember, you were all about the job Garnet was talking about. All of a sudden, you’re changing your mind?”

I didn’t respond. I wasn’t about to admit Lydia was on my mind. But he still prodding me like a fucking cattle.

“How are you feeling?” he asked. “It’s been a few weeks since you’ve been out.”

“I’m… I’m fine.”

I downed the rest of my beer. The alcohol was bitter but it was enough to loosen me up so my thoughts weren’t racing.

“What’s her name again?” Ghost asked suddenly.

“Who?” I said as I looked at him.

“Come on. Don’t bullshit me. I know it’s someone. You just mentioned you were talking to someone at Amy’s Bakery. And it wasn’t Amy and it wasn’t Gina either. I know that for a fact.”

We shared a laugh. I shook my head and sighed, knowing I couldn’t keep anything from Ghost.

“Lydia,” I said. “Her name is Lydia. She’s new in town.”

“She must be. I would have remembered a name like that.”

“She’s special, man.”

“Oh, shit…”

“What?”

Ghost reeled so far back in his seat I thought he was gonna fall over.

“What?” I said again.

Ghost laughed to himself and shook his head at me.

“Don’t tell me you’re falling in love. Already?”

“I’m not falling in love,” I said. “Shit, I know better than that.”

“Really? I can’t tell at the moment. You’re talking about this girl you just met and calling her special when I haven’t met her.”

“She is though. She’s not like the bitches in this town. She’s not from here.”

“She’s not from here?” Ghost said with a laugh. “That’s always a good start.”

“It’s more than just that though. She’s smart. She’s hard-working. She didn’t just fall to her knees and start sucking my cock like all of these chicks trying to be an old lady.”

“But she did suck your cock though, right?”

“Of course.”

“My man.”

Ghost gave me a hearty slap on the back and laughed to himself.

“But there’s something else about her,” I said.

“Something else? Like what?”

“That’s just it. I don’t know. It’s just… I can’t explain it. She’s special, man. You’ve gotta believe me on this.”

Ghost sighed a deep breath and nodded.

“I get it,” he said.

“You do?”

“Sure. You were locked up for three fucking years. I did my time, too. Not that long but I know it’s fucking rough. Your first time getting out and diving into some pussy… That shit is a fucking oasis.”

He leaned in close to me and looked me right in the eye. It was easy to tell when Ghost was being serious because he always had that look in his eye.

He held his index finger up to me.

“I hear what you’re saying,” he said. “Maybe this Lydia chick is special. But you can’t ignore the possibility that you’re just fucking horny as shit. You’ve been holding back for so long. Now you’re telling me she’s special but you can’t explain it. Don’t fall in love with the pussy, my brother. That shit is more dangerous than anything else.”

“I know it is.”

“You be careful now.”

Ghost patted me on the back again before standing up to leave. But just before he left me alone, he said something else.

“When am I gonna meet this chick?”

I looked over at Ghost and smirked at him.

“You know damn well I’m not bringing a woman to the clubhouse before she’s ready for it,” I said.

“Smart man. But if she is special, she’s gonna have to come around here eventually. You’re a Reaper. That’s who you are.”

“I’ll bring her around. One day. I just need to make sure she’s down for it.”