Devon

Hatch, Alamo, Doom, Dash, and I were stuck together in a room way too small for five men who couldn’t stand to be caged in.

“I hate all this waiting around bullshit,” Dash said as he paced the floor of our cramped motel room.

“Try pacing some more, that should help.” Alamo’s slow drawl dripped with irritation.

“Fuck you, Alamo.”

“Both of you shut up, you’re giving me a headache,” Hatch grunted. He was lying on his back with a hat pulled over his eyes.

Doom stood by the window as lookout, but he scowled at no one in particular as Dash continued to pace.

“It’s been a few hours since Doc replied to the meeting request. How do we even know they got the reply or that they’ll even respond?” I asked.

“They’re business men and blood is expensive. It’s in their best interest to make peace with the Dogs,” Alamo said. “Plus, if they believe that we’re waving a white flag after what happened with Badger and the Club, they’ll be walking into the meeting thinking they’ve already won, and that’s exactly what we want.”

Just then, we heard a knock on the adjoining hotel door. It was Doc and Dalton (who was about as “G-Man” as they get). Apparently, he had a reputation among those he worked with to be a stand-up guy with an almost sixth sense about things. Doc, Alamo, and Hatch trusted him with their lives and that was good enough for me.

“The meeting is on,” Doc said.

“Finally! When are you going?” Dash asked.

“Apparently they don’t want me. They have someone else in mind.” He raised an eyebrow and looked back at Dash.

“Me? Why me?” he asked.

“Hey, man, the word we got back is they want you. Apparently, you’re viewed as quite the “fly in the ointment” of their organization ever since you went off half-cocked after the church shooting.”

“Shit,” Dash said.

“They know it was you that brought the heat down on them, and got half of their crew locked up. If we want to meet with them, that’s their terms. It’s you and only you at the meeting.”

“Fuck that! It’ll be an ambush. We can’t let him walk in there alone,” I protested.

“I’ll do it,” Dash said.

“Whoa, hold on there a second,” Doc said. “We need to think about this.”

“What’s there to think about?” Dash demanded. “Clearly, I’m the one that started all this shit, and I’m the one they wanna see. If this is what it takes to make it happen then so be it.”

Agent Moore spoke up, “Dash I appreciate your willingness to help, but we can’t let you go in there alone. We at least need to get you hooked up with some surveillance gear.”

“Wear a wire? No fucking way,” Dash said.

“I’ve gotta agree with him there,” Doc said. “If they find a wire on him he’s dead for sure.”

“When is this supposed to go down?” Alamo asked.

“Tonight at ten, at the private golf course near the river.”

“Then it’s settled, I’ll be there alone, without a wire,” Dash said matter-of-factly.

Doc, Hatch, and Dalton looked at each other.

“I’m not sure we have any other option,” Doc said, followed by nods from the group.

“Alright, but I still can’t let you go alone,” Dalton said. “Now that we have the location of the meeting, and we know it’s outdoors, I’m going to set up sharp shooters around the area. They don’t know that we’re coming, and they’ll never know we’re there.”

“They’d better not, or he’s a grease spot for sure,” Doc said.

* * *

The next few hours were a flurry of activity. The FBI guys were busy calculating the best sniper locations and Doc, Hatch, and Dalton were trying, without success, to find out anything they could about who exactly the meeting would be with. Everyone else had hit the streets in an effort to find out anything they could, which left Dash alone to pace the floor, and me to watch him.

“Fuckin’ sit down, Dash,” I snapped. “I can’t concentrate with you pacin’ like a pussy.”

“Fuck you, Spark,” he snapped back. “I’m the one marching towards God knows what, if I wanna pace, I’ll fuckin’ pace.”

“You don’t have to do this, Dash.”

“Like hell I don’t! You heard them. They want to meet with me, and only me, or the meeting’s off, and if it’s off, we can’t convince them of a truce.”

“We can find another way. This doesn’t feel right to me.”

“The only thing that doesn’t feel right to me is being in this room. I’ve gotta get out of here. I need to take a ride and clear my head.”

“No way,” I ground out. “Doc was clear. We stay put until he gives the order.”

“C’mon, man, I just need a quick fifteen-minute ride. They’ll never know I was gone. I swear to God, if I have to stay in this fuckin’ room for any longer, I’m gonna fuckin’ crack. Just cover for me. Tell ’em I’m in the shower if they ask. I’ll stick right around this block, and be back in fifteen, I promise.”

I sighed and shook my head. “Ten minutes.”

“Thanks, Sparky, I owe you one.” With that, Dash quietly slipped out the door with his helmet in tow. I peeked out the curtains and could see him quietly pushing his bike out of the parking lot, towards the main road. I walked into the bathroom, turned on the shower, and closed the door.

With that, I was alone for the first time in days. My thoughts immediately turned to Poppy and I fought the urge to call her. I didn’t think I’d be able to hide the concern in my voice and I didn’t want to worry her any further. I also didn’t know what I’d tell her if she asked about graduation, which was less than a week away.

At this point, I still had no idea if I’d be there... or anywhere, for that matter. This simple assist job was getting more dangerous by the minute, and although I had confidence in Doc and in his plan, I was very aware of the real danger we were in. Especially Dash. I couldn’t blame him for needing to clear his head, and decided to use this time to do the same. I sunk down in my chair and focused on the white noise from the running shower. After just a few moments I fell into a deep sleep and was awoken ten minutes later to the sound of pounding on my door, and sirens.

“What the fuck!” I shouted as I sprang to my feet, still half asleep.

“Sparky! Get the hell out here!” It was Doc and he sounded pissed.

I opened the door to see not only Doc, but an ambulance, and two cop cars on the opposite side of the motel’s parking lot. I could also see Dash, on a gurney, being loaded into the ambulance, before it took off, sirens blazing.

“What the hell?” I snapped. “Dash!” I tried to make my way out the door, but Doc stopped me cold.

“What the hell is right. More like what the fuck, actually!” Doc eye’s burned. I’d never seen him so angry. “As in, what the fuck was Dash doing on the road? Here’s another one. What the fuck were you doing when he decided to split?”

“He said he wanted to clear his head,” I replied. The shower was still running and steam poured out from underneath the bathroom door. “He was goin’ for a quick ride up the block and back, that’s all.”

“Oh, is that fucking all? Well, at least that explains why a drunk as fuck soccer mom was able to plow into him on her way to hot yoga.”

“Shit, is he okay?”

“No, he’s not okay. He’s smashed to shit. It looks like he’s got a broken leg, and who the hell knows what else. The dumb bitch blew out of the parking lot in her SUV and caught his rear tire. He must have a shamrock up his ass, because a split second earlier and she would have T-boned him directly and that would be all she wrote.”

“Holy shit, Doc, I’m so—”

“Don’t you fucking say you’re sorry, Devon. You disobeyed me and you left your brother out there alone in war time. You left him alone, and he got hurt.”

My spine stiffened. There was no way I could feel worse than I did already about Dash, and I sure as shit didn’t need a dress down from “dad.”

“Hold on. He’s not a kid, Doc, and neither am I. Besides, I thought the whole idea of this club was to have the freedom to ride whenever we want.”

“Grow the fuck up, Devon. You say you’re not a kid but then say stupid shit like that. It’s war out there if you haven’t noticed and we all need to have each other’s backs... at all fucking times. Dash should have been here and you should have kept him here. End of fucking story.”

Doc was right. I was mad as hell that he was, but I couldn’t argue with him. I fucked up and now Dash was hurt and tonight’s meeting was in jeopardy.

“Is he going to be okay?” I asked.

Doc’s voice softened a little. “He’s a tough little shit, I’m sure he’ll live. Why don’t you ride to the hospital and find out? I’ll call Willow and let her know what’s going on. You meet her there and run interference. She can’t know anything about what’s going down with the club.”

“I understand,” I replied.

“Good, because if you fuck up again, I’ll send you packing.”

With that, Doc turned and was gone. I grabbed my keys and helmet and made it all the way to my bike before turning back to the motel room and turning the shower nozzle off.

* * *

“Sir, if you’re not family, there’s nothing I can do. I’m sorry.” Leslie, the head nurse, didn’t sound sorry. In truth, her tone sounded a tad more like, “Stop bothering me, you biker scumbag or I’ll call security.”

“Please, he’s my—”

“‘Brother,’ yes I know.” She punctuated her sarcastic tone with air quotes.

Before I could continue my attempt to soften the heart of Nurse Ratchet, I heard a familiar, but perhaps not so currently friendly voice behind me.

“What the heck did you animals do to my husband?”

I turned around to see Willow, Dash’s new bride, barreling toward me, her fists balled at her side.

“Willow, Dash was in an accident—”

“Stick it, Sparky! I know that however he got hurt, whatever the story is, whatever you macho jerks decided is best for us little ladies to know, the truth is he’s only in the hospital because of your gosh darn motorcycle club!”

I’d never seen Willow, the preacher’s daughter, like this. She never swore, and even this upset, she kept her words clean, although, she got her point across.

She turned calmly to Leslie and asked, “May I see my husband, please?”

“Yes, of course, he’s right this way,” she said, and began walking Willow towards Dash’s room. I started to follow, but Willow turned on her heels sharply, her eyes fixed on me, but addressing nurse Leslie.

“Not him. In fact, no one wearing a cut or motorcycle... costume of any kind is permitted in this room.”

As pissed as she was, her “costume” remark showed her true innocent self and it was fuckin’ adorable. It was all I could do to keep from smiling. On the other hand, my heart was breaking for her. She must have been terrified and she had every right to be angry; with me, the club and even to Dash. At some level, every one of us knows that the women we care about worry about us every time we ride off. We were assholes for making them go through that, but riding was a part of who we were and our women knew that.

My phone buzzed and without looking at it, knew it was a text from Poppy.

CALL ME NOW

Shit.

Since I wasn’t gonna be let back to see Dash, I stepped to a quiet place in the waiting room and called Poppy, and even though I knew what was coming... I wasn’t fully prepared for what was coming.

“Why is Dash in the hospital?” she bellowed without so much as a hello.

“Babe—”

“Goddammit, Devon, what the hell is going on?”

“Poppy, I—?”

“Was he hurt by the same people that hurt Badger?”

“What do you know about what happened to Badger?” I asked, unable to hide the surprise in my voice.

“I know more than you think, Devon. Wives and girlfriends talk y’know, and we’re not stupid.”

I sighed. “I’ve never thought you were stupid, Poppy.”

“Then you either think I’m a child, or I can’t be trusted with information regarding the club.”

“Neither of those things are true either, Poppy, it’s just that I can’t—”

“If you tell me one more time you can’t tell me about club business, we’re through,” she said with a tone that I’d never heard. There was a steely resolve in her voice that let me know that this wasn’t an idle threat. There was something deeper hidden within her words.

“Poppy, it’s not a trust issue. I would put my life in your hands before anyone else. I love you, and the last thing I want to do is keep secrets from you.”

“Then, why can’t you tell me what’s going on? It’s obviously something bigger than normal club business and people are getting hurt. I’m scared Devon, and I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be scared of! You say you love me, but you’re keeping me at a distance.”

“It’s because I love you that I’m protecting you from what’s going on!” I shouted in frustration.

“Don’t you dare raise your voice at me!” she yelled loud enough, I had to pull the phone away from my ear. “I’m the one who’s angry here! I get to do all the yelling right now!”

She was right and I knew it. The first code of the club was silence, but it was unfair to keep her in the dark. I did love and trust her with all my heart, but that meant nothing if I couldn’t let her in. On the other hand, the stakes had never been higher and it had never been more important to play things close to the vest, but this was Poppy and I didn’t want to be guarded or secretive with her anymore.

“Baby, I promise I will fill you in on everything when this is all finished. I can’t really talk right now, and don’t want to do this over the phone.”

“I swear to God, Devon, if you are trying to placate me or—”

“I’m not, I promise. I’ll tell you everything next time I see you. Right now, all you need to know is that Dash was hit by a drunk driver, is pretty banged up, but is going to be okay. I promise this had nothing to do with what’s going on with the club.”

“But something is going on,” she said, clearly fighting back tears.

“Yes, something’s going on,” I said.

“Something dangerous, right?” she whispered.

“Yes, something dangerous, but we’re being very safe, I promise.”

“If you’re being so safe then why is Dash in the hospital?”

I didn’t have the heart to tell her that it was my fault. How could I admit to her that my shitty judgement led to my brother lying in a hospital bed? How would it make her feel to know that I wasn’t there for him? And how could she ever believe me when I told her that I’d be there for her?

“I promise you, I’ll explain everything next time I see you.”

“Will that be at my graduation ceremony?” she asked.

“I’m trying, baby,” I said.

“That’s not really an answer, is it?”

“It’s the best I can do right now,” I replied.

“It’s clear where your priorities are, Devon. I understand completely,” she said flatly.

“Goddammit, Poppy, I’m trying here. What exactly am I supposed to do? I have to be there for my club, and there are even bigger things in motion beyond the Dogs.” I sighed. “That’s all I can say right now. I need you to trust me.”

She said nothing for at least ten seconds before responding with a curt, “Fine.”

“I love you, Poppy.”

“You can prove that to me by not ending up in a bed next to Dash... or in the morgue.”

And with that, she hung up. I couldn’t blame her for being angry and worried, and I hated that I was putting her through this. On the other hand, she knew club life and should be understanding of the position I was in. Not that any of this mattered as much as saving these girls that were about to be sold like cattle and protecting the club. I had to put everyone else’s well-being before my and Poppy’s needs, and just hoped she’d be able to trust me in the meantime.