~ Ace ~
Watching Barbara walk away twisted the bittersweet feeling in his chest until it hurt. Being with her was everything he ever wanted. When his hands were on her, he believed anything was possible. He craved the sweet, inspirational things she whispered in his ear. Once she walked away, the doubts came crawling back again.
Coming to his feet, he thought the situation over as he walked to the security room. Poor Peb looked like he’d been up all night. “You doing okay, kid?”
Rubbing his eyes, he nodded. “Yes, sir. The facial recognition program is coming to an end. I’m praying we’ll get a hit.”
“When that’s done, I want you to go get yourself a nap. I’ll take over the security room for a couple of hours.”
“I didn’t mean to stay up all night.”
“You’re worried, like the rest of us,” he pointed out. “It could be those bodies were stashed by someone who’s long gone.”
The computer made a dinging noise, and Ace leaned over the kid’s shoulder to see the screen of his laptop. “The two guys from the Seven-six are brothers, Juan and Hernando Havier. I’m going to run a quick internet search and see if I can find out if they’ve been in the news, arrested, or complained of anything on their social media before they turned up missing.”
Ace dropped into the other seat at the security desk. “It feels strange to see you in here without Cork.”
“My brother and I aren’t joined at the hip or anything.”
Ace grinned. “I didn’t say you were. Do you mind if I ask why you decided to start prospecting with the club.”
“Same reason my brother did. We don’t have nobody. The brothers have become my family. I want to help keep them safe.”
“You did a bang-up job with that ATF mole.”
“No, I didn’t. If I was doing a good job, I’d have run facial recognition on him the minute he landed on our doorstep. I ain’t makin’ that mistake again.”
“Don’t blame yourself. None of us suspected anything was amiss with him.”
“I ran your new lady and her students last night,” Peb informed him. “You can pull their files up there on the desktop.”
Jiggling the mouse, he opened the file marked Barbara Reynolds. “Shit, you have everything.”
“I dug deep ‘cause she was yours. I trust her, but you never know what kind of baggage a person picks up without knowing it. I wanted you to know every shady person she ever had contact with. Fortunately, there weren’t any. It seems she went straight from her mother’s home to her husband’s. It doesn’t appear that David was abusive, ‘cause there were no trips to the ER or anything like that. All he did was cheat on her and brag his ass off about his beautiful wife. They made the social pages of the local paper a lot.”
“She said he treated her like an expensive ornament, dragging her out to show off for all the right people.”
“We all knew he was a jerk. I ain’t been here but a minute, and even I know that. She seems real nice. I’m glad she’s with you. She deserves a real man.”
Ace swallowed thickly. “I ain’t anything special, kid. If you’re looking for a role model, pick that brother of yours. He’s a real straight arrow.”
“He is. I have a lot of respect for Cork. He’s spent his entire life looking after me. Now that I’m a grown man, it’s my turn to look after him in my own way. You’re a good role model, too. You don’t see it, but we’re a lot alike.”
Without looking up, Ace asked, “In what way?”
“We’ve both had shitty childhoods and been dealt a raw hand in life. I watched you come back after doing time and facing off with Ryder. You were a mess, but you slowly clawed your way back. It’s what made me believe that I could, too.”
“Ain’t we a pair, brother?”
The teen glanced up for a split second before returning to his computer. “I ain’t earned the right to be called brother by you, but I will. I promise you that much.”
Reaching over to grasp the young man’s shoulder, Ace said honestly, “When you make the cut, I’ll be proud to call you a brother.”
“Thank you, sir. I tracked down some intel on victims from the Seven-six. I’m transferring the file to the desktop for you.”
“You do good work, Peb. Get some sleep, in case things pop off later.”
“Yes, sir. If you need me, just holler.”
Once the door to the tiny office shut behind Peb, Ace flipped through all the active cameras. Everything seemed to be going smoothly. Barbara was seated in the kitchen writing on a sheet of paper. He zoomed the camera in to see if he could tell what she was making for dinner. The breakfast she’d made left his taste buds screaming for more.
Shock ripped through his chest when he realized it wasn’t a grocery list. It was list with their names in a heart at the top, a line down the middle with pros on one side and cons on the other. It was the kind of list a woman made when she was trying to decide whether to take a man on for real.
Squinting, he could barely make out the words. On the con side, there were two things written. One was “not pretty or interesting enough to hang onto a hot biker.” Ace chuckled at that ‘cause she was way off-base. When she moved her hand, he read something about him not loving himself as much as she did. It was kind of cute that she considered that some kind of drawback to being with him.
Meanwhile, her hand was flying down the pros side of the paper, as she wrote mostly one-word items. He tilted his head, making out the words: warm, friendly, funny, down to earth, sexy, handsome, cool tattoos, nice rod, incredible in bed, protective, honest, good-looking, sexy, good at snuggling, great kisser, beautiful eyes, sexy, nice teeth, fun, talkative, likes my food, funny, safe with him, and drink-making god. She scrawled “can’t live without him” when she was running out of room at the bottom of the page.
Ace sat with a big stupid grin on his face, feeling like a teenager all over again ‘cause she’d accidentally put sexy three times without realizing it. He watched her read over her own list, frown, and quickly mark some things out and scrawl some other things down. Reading over it again, she smiled, wadded it up, and tossed it in the trash. Finally, she got down to the task of making her grocery list.
Opening the file Peb had created again, Ace perused everything from her grade school yearbook pictures to clips from her social media accounts. She seemed so clueless about how horrible the world could be. He reminded himself that she was a grown woman, capable of and willing to make her own decisions in life.
A little voice whispered in the back of his mind that if they were together, he could offer her the kind of protection most men couldn’t. He could see her flourishing under his gentle praise and loving protection. That was something her high-class husband never managed to give her. Ace would never be stupid enough cheat on her, that was for damn sure.
After he finished her file, he gave the others a quick once-over. The girl was all alone, since her grandmother passed away a year ago. She was taking heavy financial aid to pay her tuition and fees. It seemed a shame to see her go into debt that way.
Two of the three men were spoiled little rich boys. Jack, of course, was a horse of a different color. It looked like he might have gotten the boot by his family after getting thrown out of high school, the military, and two colleges for fighting, and in one case, instigating a riot. Ace smiled to himself, wondering what that was about. Darkness had called him “prospect” out in the open, and Jack had done his bidding. Of course, that was no guarantee the man knew what any of that meant.
Standing up, he eased out of the security room and walked down to the armory. Placing his hand flat against the safe, he dialed in the correct sequence and pulled the heavy door open. Reaching inside, he grabbed what he came for and shut the door. Slinging it over this shoulder, Ace went in search of Jack. Finding him shooting pool with the other students, he tossed him the heavy leather vest.
“You ain’t got time to be shooting pool, prospect. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re on lockdown at the moment.”
Jennifer spoke up. “We’re willing to do whatever needs done. Just tell us.”
“If you want to help, my old lady is making a big meal for the brothers. She could probably use some help.”
One of the other men asked, “What about us?”
Ace pointed a stern finger at them. “You two stay right where you are. I don’t know you or trust you. Just shoot pool, watch the big screen, or play video games. Hell, get shit-faced at the bar for all I care. Just stay the fuck out of our way, ‘cause we’ve got serious shit going down right now.”
Pointing at Jack, he intoned, “You, put the fucking cut on and get busy earning that bottom rocker.”
The young man’s eyes lit up. “You want me to join your MC?”
Darkness called you prospect last night and you didn’t object. It’s a done deal, unless you officially back out.”
“Fuck no, I want in. Does this gig pay any money?”
“You get a grand a month and free room and board. When you earn your bottom rocker, you can times that amount by four, and you get a fair cut of any extra jobs we do.”
Quickly pulling the vest on, he asked excitedly, “Does this mean I get to ride the open road, make drug runs, and do all kinds of dirty deeds?”
“Hell the fuck no, it does not. We own a total of four separate businesses.” Holding up his hand, Ace counted them off on his fingers. “The garage outside, a parts store in town, a hair salon, and—”
“A barber shop, you mean.”
“Rule number one. Don’t interrupt a brother when he’s speaking. You will learn to manage that mouth or suffer the consequences.”
Looking properly chastised, he said, “Yes, sir.”
“As I was saying, we have the garage, parts store, hair salon, and a coffee shop. Prospects are responsible for performing quality checks on those businesses throughout the day. Prospects man our gate, upkeep the grounds, and take turns tending the bar.”
Jack frowned, causing Ace to laugh. “If it sounds like a shitty way to make a grand a month, you’d be right about that. Prospecting is for one purpose: to prove you are valuable to the club. We only accept men with integrity who prove themselves to be an asset. Follow me for the grand tour.”
Walking him straight out to what was once the tank house, he opened the double doors of the spacious shed and the sunlight poured into the darkened interior.
“If you want to be one of us, you gotta learn to control that mouth of yours, prospect. Peb compiles a file on everyone, and I read over yours this morning. You flunked out of high school, got your GED on the first try, got kicked out of the military before you even made it out of boot camp, and flunked out of two colleges before you landed here. It looks like your family might have disowned you, and you’re about to flunk out once again.”
“I guess I don’t look so good on paper, do I?”
“You surely the hell do not,” Ace agreed, “but that don’t exactly distinguish you from the rest of the brothers. Lots of us are not a good fit for the outside world. Being in an MC is a completely different ballgame from the rest of the world. We don’t expect everyone to look and act just alike. You can do as you like, fuck up, pay the consequences, and mess up a lot before we finally throw you out.”
“That information does not coincide with the chains hanging from the ceiling or the Frankenstein kit on the table there.”
“In case you’re wondering, that’s why Darkness offered you an in with our club. You walk around seeing all the details others overlook. You’re right about this place.” Gesturing around, Ace stated grimly, “When you fuck up in an MC, you put your brothers’ lives at risk. That’s the worst sin you can commit in our eyes.”
“This is the punishment for that offence,” Jack guessed.
“Yes. That’s why I’m starting here with you. I want to make sure you fully understand the gravity of your situation. If you put our club or your brothers at risk in any way, we bring you here, chain you in the middle of the floor, and beat you with a thick dog chain until you pass out.”
“Fuck, that’s a little harsh.”
“Getting your ass beat for putting your club or brothers at risk is not harsh. The entire club votes, and they’re not shy about erring on the side of safety. Do you know what the word nemesis means?”
Glancing at the door, Jack replied quickly. “A nemesis is long-standing rival or enemy.”
“It also means the righteous infliction of retribution, manifested by an appropriate agent. In the context of that club, that agent is usually Ryder because he’s the Sargent at Arms.”
“What you’re saying is that this is a very formal process.”
Ace nodded. “Yes. If you intentionally get someone killed, we’ll give you a dirt nap, and unlike amateur hour down on the farm yesterday, no one will ever find the body.”
“Okay, now tell me the flip side. What happens if I sit up, pay attention, and do right by everyone?”
“You get thirty to fifty brothers for life. As you can see from my situation, if you run into trouble, they’ll have your back in every way imaginable. When I called, they agreed to extend protection to my lady and all of you. They called in the club attorney to deal with the cops. Trust me, they’re all out there pounding the pavement to keep us safe today, and ain’t nobody paying them a dime. They’re doing it because I’m a brother.”
“And you would do the same for them?”
“I have recently done exactly the same for our club president and will continue to do so for as long as I draw breath. You might could find a home among the brothers, but you’ve gotta stop pretending like everything’s a joke and start taking things seriously. Like Darkness said, you’ve got a nose for the kind of work we do. Don’t waste your one shot at a good life by making light of every damn thing.”
Jack looked away, seeming to soak in Ace’s words. “Can I get the rest of the tour?”
“Yeah, but I’m warning you right now not to talk to a living soul about this room, our club, what we do or don’t do, or any of the brothers. Club business is not for outside ears.”
“Got it.”
Walking out, they shut the door and locked it. “Next stop is the guard’s hut. I believe the prospect on duty is Scab.”
“What the hell kind of name is that?”
“Let’s just say, you probably don’t want to get too close to his left arm.”
“That’s gross.”
“Don’t worry, kid. You’ll be getting your own club name eventually. Until that time, most of the brothers will just call you prospect.”
“I want something cool, like Ace or Darkness.”
Chuffing out a laugh, Ace explained, “Club names are given by your brothers, based on something that stands out. Me? I got my name because no matter how long I play poker, I never draw a damn ace. It’s the weirdest thing. I once played for fourteen straight hours and never got one single ace of any color or suit. It was frustrating as hell.”
“Scab has a big ugly—”
“No, I was joking about his left arm. He got that name because the last job he had before coming here was working as a scab at a local steel mill when the employees were on strike. That man is all about making a dime, and he didn’t give two shits about crossing the picket line to earn it.”
“Ryder?”
“He made off with his old man’s bike when he was about eight-years-old. His feet barely touched the foot pedal, but he made it work. He rode it in a gigantic circle around an entire parking lot. Ven about blew a gasket. The brothers called him Little Ryder for a while. Now it’s just Ryder.”
“Damn, I gotta do something epic to earn a good name.”
“Good luck with that, ‘cause it don’t ever work out the way you think it’s gonna.”
“What are those things you all wear on your shoulders?”
“Two-way radios that Peb made us.”
“You mean that young dude who acts about fifty? He sure got stuck with a crap name.”
“You think so?”
“What does Peb mean?”
“Okay, but is the last one I’m telling you. It’s the first three letters of his club name, which is PEBCAK.”
“I’ve heard that before. It stands for Problem Exists Between Chair and Keyboard, right? Did he get it for fucking up a lot?”
“Nope, he got it because when he rolled into this club, almost all our electronic shit was fucked by the external IT team we were using. The way I hear it, he walked right in and fixed it all in a day. When Darkness asked him how he did it, he said it was mostly user problems because we didn’t know what we were doing and the IT team didn’t understand enough about what we needed to design a functional system.”
“So the gothic kid fixed it all? That’s pretty cool.”
“All I know is it never worked. He got into the security and server room one day, and now we don’t have those problems anymore.”
“I wish I had a cool skill like that.”
“You clearly do. It’s paying attention to details and fitting the pieces of the puzzle together. That’s pretty important shit, right there.”
Jack still didn’t look very pleased. “It ain’t gonna get me a cool club name, I know that much.”
They walked up to the guard post at the gate, and Ace handed the new prospect off to Scabs for the rest of the day. Ace didn’t know for sure if the kid had the right stuff, but they’d sure as hell find out over the next few months.
Heading back to the security room, he began digging through the file Peb had left on the Havier brothers. Neither of the men seemed to be all that important to their gang. No one had reported them missing. Their social media accounts showed images of them wearing gang colors and acting like thugs. They would have been drawing a lot of the wrong kind of attention. Maybe it was like Jack said and the Seven-six were just cleaning house. He shot the info in a group text to his club brothers, ‘cause it was low-grade information and there wasn’t fuck all he could do about it sitting at the clubhouse.
Ace continued monitoring the security cameras until Peb wandered back in halfway through the day. He’d had a shower, looked reasonably alert, and seemed eager to get back to work. He had his laptop under one arm and a huge energy drink under the other.
“You feeling better, Peb?”
“I’m fine. Did anything change while I was down?”
“Jack’s earning his bottom rocker.”
Peb’s eyebrows popped up. “I remember Darkness offering him a spot. I just didn’t think he was smart enough to realize it.”
“I lead the horse to water. Now, we get to see if he can drink without choking himself to death.”
A small smile slipped onto Peb’s face. “Rose took a shine to him.”
“Well she ain’t been showing very good judgment lately.”
“I noticed that when she was talking to Tank.”
“You ought to snap her up, Peb,” Ace encouraged him. “She’s good people.”
“I ain’t got time for bitches and no desire to get tied down before I’ve even lived,” Peb said a bit too forcefully. “If I had my way, I spend time with that new chick. She’s more my speed.”
“Jennifer seems nice enough. Be careful and use protection,” he advised.
Without looking up, Peb mumbled, “Sure thing, pops. You gonna give me a dick check to make sure everything’s in working order?”
“Don’t be a smart ass.”
“Sorry, sir. I’m not all the way awake yet.”
Grinning, Ace shot back. “Fine. I’ll let you slide this once.”
Making the go away gesture with his hand, Peb sent him packing.