Chapter Four
Dax
I slept off and on throughout the night. I’d wake up every so often to check on Liv and make sure she was okay. I felt really bad about making her so afraid and so emotional. I also felt really bad about lying. I wasn’t going to change my mind about this. Some things need to be resolved in life before you’re able to move forward and this was one of them. My mom and Olivia were both going to be angry when they found out I’d lied to them. But then it would be over and I would be safe. They’d be able to see that I was right. They might stay mad for a little while, but not forever, right?
Olivia had woken up early this morning before the sun had even come up. She panicked a bit when she realized she’d spent most of the night. Her uncle allowed her to come and go as she pleased since she was a grown woman. The only thing he asked of her was that she called him or sent him a text if she wasn’t coming home so that he wouldn’t worry. She hadn’t done that and she wanted to hurry and get home before he woke up. I walked her out to her car and then I lay back down for a while. I couldn’t go back to sleep though. My mind was racing as I thought about everything. My lies to my mom and Liv weighed heavily on me even though I thought I was doing what I had to do. I was also thinking a lot about what Terrance had said to Olivia…what did his father have to do with any of this?
Around six o’clock I finally got up and into the shower. I was drying off when there was a knock on my door. I thought maybe it was Liv coming back for some reason. I wrapped a towel around my waist just as whomever it was knocked again.
“I’m coming!” I yelled.
“Good, ‘cause I ain’t got all day.” It was my dad’s voice.
I opened the door and my dad looked me over. Seeing that I’d already showered, he said, “What the hell are you doing up so early?”
“Didn’t you just bang on my door, expecting me to be up?” I asked him.
“No, I expected to have to wake your ass up,” he said. “Anyways, we’re leaving in about an hour to go meet-up with your brother and some of his guys. I thought you might want to ride along.”
“Yeah, for sure. Just let me get dressed and I’ll be right out.”
I pulled on my standard white t-shirt and jeans and got out my jean vest, the only one I actually had with a Smokin’ Joker’s patch on the back. It’s what my dad liked me to wear when I rode with them so I didn’t argue with him about it. I got out my leather jacket, but I was sure once I got outside I’d change my mind. It had been warm lately.
I had leather chaps, but I only wore them when it was cold. I knew they were built more for safety than warmth but all that shit gets awfully hot and heavy on a warm day. I couldn’t remember where I put my gloves so I had to dig through piles of crap all over the room to find them. That was one of the advantages of living with my mom. Nothing was ever out of place. If you left it out of place, she’d have it put away before you went back for it.
I finally found the gloves underneath a pile of dirty laundry on the floor. I laid them on the bed with my jacket and sat down to slip on my boots. I didn’t like the kind with the laces after I heard a horror story about a guy who was riding and his laces got hung up around the kick stand. When he tried to put his foot down to stop, he couldn’t move it and it was a whole big mess. I just wore the slip on ones with thick rubber soles.
I tied the leather triangle around my neck and had to search again for my Balaclava. I had more than one, but I liked the red silk one that I got the year my mom and I went to Mexico for my fifteenth birthday. Back then, I just thought I looked cool in it. Now, it just made my helmet sit more comfortable on my head.
When I finally got out there, my dad and Blake, Terrance’s dad, were in the garage. The rest of the guys had already pulled out their bikes and were waiting. It looked like I had walked in on an intense conversation between my dad and Blake.
Terrance was outside the garage, standing next to his bike. He gave me an intense stare. I thought it was supposed to intimidate me, but I ignored it and looked back over at his dad and my dad. I got the same look from his father as he was climbing onto his bike. I was more and more convinced that Terrance’s dad had something to do with me getting set up. I didn’t know what it was yet, but they obviously knew I was getting close to something that they didn’t want me figuring out.
My dad looked at me and said, “You ready, kid?”
“Yeah, is everything cool?” I was curious about what was going on between him and Terrance’s dad.
“Yeah, everything’s fine,” he said. “Let’s go.”
He went over to put on his helmet and get on his bike and I took the opportunity to check my saddle bags. They were both empty of anything that I hadn’t put there. I straddled the bike, slipped on my gloves and snapped on my helmet. I fired her up. I let her roll out of the garage and I fell into line behind the other six bikes as they slowly began to pull out onto the road one at a time. Beau’s bike had a little trailer behind it with a green tarp tied across it. They had strapped a tent down on it and it protruded enough out the side that you could see it. He had a sleeping bag strapped to the back of his seat. They were obviously props to make it look like he was going camping. I found myself hoping the toughest cop we ran across went to the academy with Barney Fife, that way he’d buy it. We turned right, away from town. We were headed towards the hills again.
It was a beautiful crisp morning. It was cold enough that I wished I had put my chaps and my face mask on before we left. I was glad I’d skipped the leather jacket. It wasn’t quite cold enough for that. I loved the ride usually, but today I had a knot of anxiety and anticipation in my stomach. We rode for an over an hour before turning off on a windy dirt road that kept going higher. This wasn’t the same place we had gone to last time and I was starting to wonder how big their business was.
When we got to the top of the hill we wound around an iron, chain link fence that led up to a big gate. The other guys stopped a ways back but Blake, my dad and Bo went on up to the fence where I could see my brother and a few of his boys waiting. I sat back with the others and watched as they unloaded four flat crates from Bo’s bike onto a similar trailer my brother brought with him. Then Brock and my dad had their heads together for a bit before my dad finally signaled us it was time to go.
I rode up next to my dad as he was getting on his bike and said, “Hey, I’m gonna ride for a while. I’ll be back in a few hours or so.”
“Alright, see ya later,” my dad said.
I got another shit look from Terrance and his dad before they took off. I turned and looked back at Brock and his guys. Brock wasn’t moving. He was watching me. I waved at him and he waved back and then I took off. I headed for the warehouse I’d gone to with Blake and my dad that first ride we took after I got out. I was hoping that was where Brock was headed too.
It was quiet when I got there. I parked my bike a ways down the hill on the opposite side of where Brock would be riding up if this was where he was going. I climbed back up the hill and to the warehouse. It was locked of course. I didn’t expect any less. I went back around the back and waited. About twenty minutes went by and I heard the distinct sound of Harley’s coming up the hill towards me.
I counted four of them.
I heard the sound of the lock being opened and taken off. One of the bikes started up. I assumed it was the one with the trailer. The engine echoed inside and stopped once it was turned off. I could hear them talking as they unloaded the crates.
It was just bullshitting until I heard one of the guys say, “So is that Terrance dude gonna ride with us when we take the haul up to Nevada?”
“I think he’s still waiting for Daddy’s blessing,” Brock said.
“Your daddy or his?” the other guy asked.
“Probably both. The stupid ass worships the ground those two old senile goats walk on. You and the other guys take off. I’m gonna just ride for a while before I come back. I got some thinking to do.”
One thing my brother and I always had in common was that we did our best thinking on the saddle of a Harley. I guess some things never changed. I heard the other three bikes fire up and take off. Then I heard the door close on the warehouse. Now was my chance. I walked to the side of it, until I could see Brock about to put the big lock back on. I started running. He never saw me coming until he was on the ground and looking up at me. I thought I had the upper hand, but I underestimated my brother.
Brock brought his knee up and luckily for me and my family jewels, he punched my inner thigh. It wasn’t enough to incapacitate me like he’d been hoping, but it hurt like hell and shocked me enough that he was able to throw me off and jump up. With pain shooting from my thigh up through my groin I was on my feet too, almost as fast.
We stood looking at each other for what seemed like a long time before Brock finally broke the silence by saying, “You’re a fucking idiot, man. Why can’t you just leave this shit alone?”
“What shit is that, Brock? My life? I was set-up to take the fall and I spent over two years of my life wondering what the fuck for. I want answers and I’m not leaving until I get them or you kill me.”
Brock grinned and said, “You’d probably enjoy that, wouldn’t you, you little fucker. I’d really be the pariah then. Dad would skin me and hang me up over the bar while your mommy would make cookies and milk for everyone as they sat around and watched me bleed out. You’re the golden boy, killing you would be suicide for me.”
“You’re the one who’s a fucking idiot. My mother loves you. She treated you as good as if you were her blood. You were the one who treated her like shit and that’s where you went wrong with our dad. He may be an asshole, but he loves her and if you go against her, you go against him too.”
“So sweet, they should make a Disney movie out of their love story. Of course they’d have to hire a whole lot of extra’s to play all the sluts that Dad has fucked on the side in their twenty years of marriage. Maybe Mommy’s not so good to him in bed.”
He was trying to piss me off and it was working. I was trying hard to keep my head straight and not do anything rash.
“Bitter, bitter,” I said. “So, you hate my mom for being good to you and our father for not. What about me, Brock? What’s your issue with your brother?”
“I didn’t have any issues with you until you attacked me you little fuck.”
“Really? You always go around ordering people to put drugs in the saddle bags of the brother you have no issues with?”
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. I’m out of here.”
He started to walk away and I reached out to stop him. The first punch he threw landed on the side of my face, the second in the center of my gut. While I was doubled over, gasping for breath, he took off for his bike. I forced myself to fight through the pain and caught up with him. I grabbed his jacket and when he twisted to get away from me, I put my arm around his neck. He’s a big son of a bitch and I lasted on my feet for about five seconds before his twisting and kicking took us down. As we fell, I tightened my grip around his throat. He was on top of me once we were on the ground, but I still had him in a choke hold. He sat up, thinking he could get away and I used that leverage to flip us over so I was on his back and his face was in the dirt. I was really pissed by this time. With my weight on him, I was able to let go of his neck and start throwing punches to the sides of his face.
“Fuck! Stop it! What the hell do you want from me, Dax? You’re gonna fucking kill me!” Brock yelled after six or seven very well-aimed shots to the head.
“I want answers! I want to know who set me up and why. I’m sick of this shit! I’m sick of this life. I want to go on with my life and I need closure first. Tell me who set me up, Brock and why.”
“Damn it, Dax, leave this shit alone, man.”
“If you’re not going to tell me anything then I may as well beat the shit out of you. That will at least make me feel better.” I picked up his head by the rag he wore on it and slammed his face into the dirt.
“Fuck!” he yelled with blood spurting from his nose and mouth. “You’re a crazy little shit.”
“That’s what happens when you spend two years in prison brother. It turns you into a crazy fucking animal. Add that to the fact you were innocent to start out with and it just intensifies the whole thing.”
“Let me up and I’ll tell you what I know. But I warn you, Dax there are things about this that you don’t want to know. I’m actually protecting you by not telling you.”
“Aw, isn’t that sweet. You’re protecting your little brother,” I said in a sarcastic voice.
“Whatever, Dax. You keep saying you don’t want trouble and then you go around asking for it. Dad wanted you to be the one to take over the club, did you know that?”
I didn’t answer him. I knew and it was one of the reasons our dad and I had such shit for a relationship now. I had pissed him off beyond reason when I turned him down.
“Your silence speaks volumes, brother,” Brock said.
I tightened my grip on his neck and said, “Are you going to cut the bullshit and get to the point?” His airway was cut off, so he nodded.
When I let go, he gasped for air and said, “You’re crazy!”
“Talk or I do it again,” I said.
“Blake was pissed when he found out Dad wanted you at the helm. When you announced you wanted nothing to do with the club and you were going to go to college, he relaxed a little. That was until Dad knew you were coming home for winter break. The big mouthed idiot told everyone that he was going to woo you and he knew that you were going to give in and be part of the club. Blake said it was bullshit and that you never would, but then Terrance started telling him how you thought Dad was like some kind of super hero and you didn’t want to disappoint him. That got Blake all worked up again and he put a plan in place to get rid of you, at least for a while. I think he would have liked to kill you…No, I know he would have liked to kill you, but he knew that as soon as Dad figured out it was him, he’d have a bullet in his own brain.”
“It makes sense so far big brother, except that I saw you on the security tapes sending that email, the one that made Terrance set me up.”
“I did send it. Blake asked me to. Terrance likes to act tough, but he’s just a big ass sissy. He’s scared shitless of his dad. Even so, it was going to be harder than hell to convince him to set you up. So instead, we made it look like the orders came from Dad. As scared as he is of his own father, he’s ten times more afraid of Dad.”
“What did it take to convince you to send it?” I asked him.
“The fact that it was gonna hurt the old man to see you behind bars, his golden child.”
“Jealousy, Brock? You did all of this because you think Dad likes me better?”
“I don’t think you little fuck. I know. Everyone does. The old man looks like he swallowed a watermelon and it got caught in his chest every time you’re around. It’s sickening.”
I had enough. I got off of him and he tried to jump up but he was moving slow. I didn’t worry that he was going to give me any more crap.
“What’s in the boxes, Brock?”
“Leave it alone, Dax. You wanted to know who set you up and now you do. Leave all this shit alone and go back to school where all you pretty little smart boys should be.”
I was tired of screwing with him.
I went over to where the crates were and he said, “I’m taking off, Dax. I’m going to tell Dad you were here. If any of our merchandise is missing, he’ll know who to blame.”
I didn’t answer him again. Instead, I picked up a crowbar that I saw lying on the ground and I used it to pry open the crate. Inside were hundreds of tiny black baggies; black balloons of heroin. They were just like the ones in my saddle bags the day I was arrested. I put the lid back on the crate and I realized I hadn’t heard Brock leave.
I turned and looked at him. He said, “This part of the business belongs to Blake. Dad wants us to get out of it, but Blake won’t let it go. He makes too much money…and he likes money. He also likes that the cartels aren’t cutting off his head. He will take you and Dad both out if he has too, Dax. Leave this alone.”
I watched my brother limp to his bike. He winced when he buckled down his helmet. His nose and lip weren’t bleeding any longer but they were both swollen and there was dried blood all over his face. He looked like hell. I watched him go and then I threw the lock back on the warehouse. Brock was probably as right as everyone else…I probably should have left this alone. I still couldn’t though.