NINE
Burn the World
Lucky
Two seats away from me, Knuckle lit a cigar and brought it to his lips. The tip burned a bright red before he exhaled, spreading smoke across the tension-filled air. To my right, Kitt settled in, settling his pistol on the table before him.
As the musky aroma filled the room, the door opened and Hastie walked in. His dark hair was mussed up in all different directions and his lips looked swollen and puffy. Judging by his appearance, he must’ve found some private time with Indy. He flashed me a smile as he approached and the vice-prez of Glory MC settled his large frame in the empty seat to my left.
“So,” I leaned forward to rest my elbows on the edge of the table. “What’s this shit about the Phantoms making a move?”
“The fuckers aren’t satisfied with the imposed boundaries,” Knuckle said after clearing his throat. “They’ve been infiltrating other Wards and extorting businesses and such, gaining power that way. Bronson has revealed that the Phantoms have been using force, threatening others that if they don’t pay a protection fee, their businesses will falter.”
Falter. Right. More like they planned to burn them to the ground.
With no ruling government or person of authority to come in and settle matters easily, greedy bastards were trying to take over in the only way they knew how—by force. Nothing was a guarantee in the post-flare world. Leaders could be overthrown or taken out, leaving many opportunities to conquer. The Phantoms were gunning for that top spot.
The club was familiar with their means. If the Phantoms made a move, that meant there was going to be a lot of violence and death on the horizon. And Glory MC had already seen too much of that lately. “Where have the Phantoms attacked?”
“In Ward Three now,” Hastie answered. “Several other Wards have reported a few instances here and there as well.”
“They’re just gearing up,” I speculated.
“Yeah. Bronson has been holding off on paying. He doesn’t want to make the same mistake Brennan made. But there’s only so much time the Phantoms will allow them. Bronson is looking for some assistance.”
“Don’t you ever wonder if this is a trap?”
“It crossed my mind,” the prez of Glory MC said. “But it seems that all the Wards are being targeted one by one. Who knows when we’ll need help?”
“So what, we just sit and wait, hoping that the Phantoms don’t target us next?”
“They’ve taken a hit from us already. But I doubt it will keep them away from us for too long. They’re power hungry.”
“And so am I,” Knuckle added. “With the recent hits to the club, our numbers have been dwindling. We can’t afford to lose any more members.”
“I agree,” Beck intoned. “But the recruiting process takes a long damn time. Sometimes even years.”
“This is something we’ll need to think about for the future,” Knuckle told the group. “But in the meantime, keep an eye out for any Phantoms lurking in the shadows. I want to know about their plans before they can act them out.” The Phantoms were quickly becoming pests that wouldn’t go away.
“What about Ward Seven?” Ward Seven was the most affluent of all the Wards, dealing primarily in the distribution of narcotics. Jacques Bonheur was the Ward’s current leader and past dealings with him had gone well so far. Having them on our side could provide added power and men.
“Ward Seven hasn’t received any reports of extortion yet. I don’t know what Bonheur has offered the Phantoms, but Bronson seems to think that a deal was made between the two that has kept them off their hit list.”
“Shit,” I muttered. “That can’t be good.” If Ward Seven, the most powerful of the current Wards, could be manipulated by the Phantoms, there would be no hope for the rest of us. With seven Wards each specializing in different areas of expertise, the aim was to rebuild the world that we had lost. However, in this world of chaos, it seemed that every player was battling criminal tendencies.
“Do you think we’re next?” Hastie asked.
I glanced at everyone in the room. “If we are, we’ll have to be ready.” The rest of my sentence didn’t need to be said to be understood. For war would always be the constant threat that came with being in a motorcycle club.
“Find a way to stop the extortions,” Knuckle said, his voice dropping to a commanding level. “And that’s how we’ll stop the Phantoms once and for all.”
Seven
Sitting in Neptune’s during a solar flare should have been fun. With darkness enveloping us like a blanket, the generators were working overtime, grinding out electricity to keep the lights and music going. Hanna was already in the process of lighting the candles littered around the dive bar. It seemed that everyone was in a pleasant mood but for me.
Despite the company of my good friends, I was distracted. The music didn’t make me want to dance. The smiles from different men didn’t hold my attention. And the alcohol tasted off. All of this was because my mind was still on Lucky.
I’d seen Lucky mad before. But not like this. His tight grip on my arms hadn’t scared me in the least, but only made me aware of how close he was to me, his words adding to the intimacy. Seven, just trust me. Can you do that?
The second he pulled away, the heat he’d generated simmered away. I was left feeling confused about my emotions again. Could I do what he asked and trust him?
No, I realized. I couldn’t. Not with the generators. Not with my feelings for him.
He’d left without an explanation, leaving me to deal with it all. Was that the reason why I was so angry with him still? Was I wrong to blame him for what confusion I felt?
Just one touch and his demeanor shifted. His eyes turned from angry to . . . heated. As if enlivened, my own body reacted. Goose bumps multiplied on my arms and my nipples peaked beneath the tight top I wore. Damn my traitorous body! No matter how hard I tried to remain immune to him, Lucky always managed to reach inside of me.
Have a drink. I’ll find you later, he had said.
What for? I wouldn’t be waiting for him tonight. I wanted to get out of here and center myself before I could face him again. Dammit. Why was Lucky the only one who could do this to me?
Men rarely surprised me now. They were like books. You read one, and suddenly the machinations of them all seemed the same. They all followed the same schemes until nothing ever seemed to shock you anymore. Lucky was proving to be a game-changer I’d never encountered before.
A frown curled my lips as I brought the bottle of beer to my mouth. The cold refreshment was a pale comparison to the taste of Lucky’s lips. The memory replayed in my mind, but this time, my imagination embellished it with far more intimate details. Of skin rubbing against each other. Of hot breaths on sweat-sheened skin. Of fingers reaching out to wind tightly in my hair.
I jolted up from my seat, refusing to acknowledge the fact that I had just fantasized about Lucky Winters.
“Are you all right?” Indy asked, staring at me oddly.
My answer was automatic, sounding stiff even to my own ears. “Yeah. I’m going to head home though.” I needed some air.
Concern edged over Indy’s features. “What’s wrong?”
“Just a headache,” I lied. Before she could respond, I walked towards the door. The farther away I got from Lucky, the less likely he’d crawl into my thoughts like some diseased cockroach.
Since Kitt had brought me here and he was still in the meeting, I’d have to walk back home. But at least the long trek would give me time to gather myself before I saw Lucky again.
* * *
The creaking of the bedroom door opening told me I was no longer alone later that evening. Without turning over, I knew who it was.
Lucky’s breathing was low, but in the stillness of the room, I could hear it clearly. He’d also made a lot of noise when he came through the door earlier. “Are you up?”
“You’re pretty loud,” I muttered into the air, just enough for him to hear me. “Anyone who wasn’t deaf could’ve heard you coming in.” Though it was likely past midnight, I hadn’t slept a wink since sliding between the sheets hours ago.
There was a smile in his voice when he spoke. “I’ve got good news.”
“What is it?” Intrigued, I finally turned over in bed, catching a glimpse of him holding a candle as he stood in the doorway to my room.
“I checked out the stove.”
“Did you fix it?” A smile was my only response. “Did you?” I tugged the sheets back, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. Uncaring about my state of undress, I stood before him.
I tipped my head up at him and saw his white teeth flash in the dark. “I thought you had a headache,” he said.
“I did.” At least that had been the excuse I’d given him when he called me down for dinner. “It’s gone now.”
“Uh huh.” His tone told me he didn’t believe me.
“Well, are you going to show me?”
The corner of his lips pulled up. “Don’t trust my handyman skills?”
“I don’t doubt you’re good with your hands,” I shot back and then blushed as I realized how that must’ve sounded. Lucky wasn’t a gentleman about these sorts of things so it didn’t surprise me when he laughed. “I just want to see for my own eyes.”
His grin widened. “You still don’t trust me.”
“Why should I? You’ve never really given me a good reason to. You’re hardly the guy people can rely on, Lucky.”
His smile abruptly disappeared. Shit. Had I offended him? I hadn’t meant to. But when I opened my mouth to apologize, his face was a mask of impenetrable force. He stepped back, giving me enough room to slip through. “Go,” he said with a tilt of his chin. His voice had taken on a hard edge again, like earlier at the dive bar. “Take the candle with you and check it out. If it doesn’t work, give me a holler and I’ll come take another look at it for you.”
With that, he turned and headed towards his bedroom, shutting the door with a soft click. My guilt was overshadowed by the excitement of a working stove. I practically ran down the stairs and into the kitchen. Setting the candle on the edge of the countertops, I turned on the stove, hearing that blissful click that told me it was working.
Lucky had fixed it like he promised he would, proving me wrong about him. “Huh,” I mumbled to myself quietly. My smile steadily built to a full-on grin. “Maybe you’re not so useless after all, Lucky.”
Lucky
For once, I was grateful for the lack of womanly company in my bed tonight. The sheets were too damn warm and with another body taking up space, it would only drive me more insane. Maybe abiding by Seven’s rule of no women in the house would be easier to stick to than I initially thought.
Stripping off the covers, I strode naked to the window, cranking it open wider to allow more air in. I know it defeated the purpose since the air outside was hotter than hellfire, but even a light wind would be heavenly on my overheated skin.
Flopping back into bed, I crammed my arm under my head and stared at the blank ceiling. These flares were really beginning to be a pain in the ass. Not only did they create so much heat that it felt like you were being poached like an egg, but it also kept me from checking in on Lennon.
With my phone in my hand, I stared at the useless device. A single call wasn’t possible until the power was restored and the lines were back up. Sometimes it was only a few hours, but sometimes it lasted days. Who the fuck knew when we’d get it back this time? What if she needed me? What if she was lonely and needed someone to talk to?
I prayed that she was able to kick temptation in the ass and stay away from the drugs that kept her away from me. Loneliness was what drew her to addiction in the first place. Without our mother around to guide her, she’d fallen into the wrong group and had developed a taste for the terrible. Hopefully, Dex was keeping an eye on her.
The sudden urge to hop onto my bike and go see her was overwhelming, but I held myself in check. The recent meeting had stated it clearly: Ward Four was experiencing some drastic issues. I wouldn’t turn my back on them and make the same mistake of bailing on Glory MC again. I loved the patch on my back too much to have it removed from me another time.
Tonight’s growing frustration only reminded me of a time when things were left out of my control, leaving me feeling trapped and hopeless as the mounting pressure of caring for someone else lay on my shoulders.
Like always, the memory came back swiftly, as if it hadn’t been dulled by the passage of time.
“Ma?”
She groaned but didn’t rise. I patted her shoulder gently.
“Ma,” I repeated. “I have to go to school. Lennon isn’t feeling well. She’s been throwing up all night.”
At that, Ma turned over. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy. In the dim light of the early morning, her skin looked as thin as tissue paper on her bones. “Honey, I—”
“Right,” I cut in, knowing full well what the next words would be to fall out of her mouth. I was ten and I had to be a parent to my younger sister. “I’ll just deal with it.”
Before she could say another word, I shut the door behind me and walked to the room I shared with Lennon. It was getting to the point where sharing a room with my younger sister was a little inappropriate, but we didn’t have the cash to simply move to a bigger place. So I dealt with it as best I could. Besides, this way I could keep an eye on her.
Lennon was sitting up, holding an empty bucket to her chest as if she would puke at any moment. “You okay?” I asked as I approached. The room smelled sick. I opened the window a little, allowing some morning light in. Lennon flinched from it as if she were a vampire.
I began loosening the tie at my collar of my school uniform. Bending towards her, I touched Lennon’s forehead.
Hot.
Her fever wasn’t backing down. I picked up the thermometer and handed it to her. As she plucked it from my fingers, I grabbed the chair and twirled it around, sitting on it as I laid my arms over the back.
“Ready for your medicine?” The thermometer indicated what I already knew. Her fever was spiking again.
Lennon nodded weakly before clutching her favorite teddy bear to her chest. Bishop, our dog, moved towards her on the bed, as if he knew she was hurting, wanting to offer comfort.
I handed her the Children’s Tylenol, hoping that this dose would do the trick. If not, I’d have to take her to the hospital, knowing that there was no one else who would be there to do it.
“Now what?” Lennon asked when she swallowed the medicine.
“Now we wait.”
“I don’t like being”—cough!—“sick,” she said miserably.
I didn’t enjoy seeing her sick either. With her rosy cheeks, clammy skin, and quiet groans, I felt every little pang of pain that racked her little body with each cough. I wished I could ease it with a touch, but instead the long night made me worry like any mother would.
Like Ma should.
But instead she was in her own bed, oblivious to the world and the fact that her little girl was suffering.
I settled in beside Lennon, not caring that I could get sick myself. I wanted to give her comfort where she hadn’t received it. As I did so, a part of myself grew angry. Although I didn’t mind caring for Lennon for all these years, I was hardly the motherly figure a young girl like Lennon needed in her life.
What would I do when she got older? What happened when she got her period? I shuddered to think what female milestones she’d go through that I didn’t have a clue about. Even this, caring for a sick child was something so out of my element that I second-guessed every action I made, wondering if I was doing the right thing for her.
Ma should’ve been around to help me, sharing her motherly insight on the flu, the cuts and scrapes that came with learning how to ride a bike, and the dinner plans. Instead, she preoccupied herself with getting high.
Once Ma had delved deeper into her own world, I stopped seeing us as a family. Her absence in our lives became a gaping hole that nothing could fill. Whenever other parents from school asked about her, I lied and told them she was dead. Doing so didn’t even faze me anymore. It wasn’t the whole truth but it was close. People didn’t need to be dead to fall out of your lives.
On the bright side, Lennon was healthy. This flu wouldn’t kill her, but who knew what the road ahead of us held? We just had to take it one day at a time. Yet the concept of freedom was an alluring fantasy that haunted me at night.
I once entertained the thought of taking Lennon and running. Maybe Ma wouldn’t even realize it if we left. I desperately wanted to break this endless cycle, this feeling of hopelessness in a world where demons were just a room away. I knew that as long as we stayed in this house, things wouldn’t change. Life would be stagnant, a never-ending ride in hell.
But I didn’t want to take the coward’s way out. Running would prove nothing. Just that we had given up. As long as Lennon needed me to protect her, I would be there for her. The strong always stayed and fought it out. I smiled down at Lennon’s reddened face and was hit by a surge of strength. We would make it. I’d burn down the whole damn world to make sure Lennon was safe.