Chapter Twelve
October
Most of the group that Sinner had started with had long since dispersed and gone their separate ways, and he had stayed with one man, one person. Rock was still around, and so was Roxy—only there was a problem. She was getting sicker by the day, weaker.
Lucius had wanted to take her home, only to find out that Roxy had sold her home, and had cut off all ties to the world she once knew. She was alone, and no one was there to help her.
“I don’t want to keep taking her to hotels,” Lucius said late one night. “She deserves to have some place to rest, and I can’t give her that here.”
“Where do you want to go?” Rock asked.
“Anywhere that is not here, okay?”
“You can have my old apartment,” Sinner said. “In Piston County. You’ll be near the club, and she’ll be safe.”
“What about your girl?”
“Don’t worry about it. I want Roxy to have everything she needs.”
“To die,” Lucius said, forcing out a laugh. Silence fell after the sound disappeared.
“We know you care for her,” Rock said.
“Yeah, well, caring for her didn’t get me nowhere fucking fast, did it!” Lucius shook his head.
“I know you don’t want to lose her.”
“It doesn’t matter what I want. The apartment is good. I’ll talk to her about it, and then let you know.”
Lucius got to his feet and left.
Sinner took another long swig of his beer, and stared out over the night sky. It was fucking freezing, but he didn’t want to go inside just yet.
“I didn’t think you’d last long on the road with us,” Rock said.
“Why not?”
“You’ve got a girl, and a life. I don’t got shit, and you know me. The road is where I belong. Too much trouble happens when you stay in one place, believe me.”
“I don’t need to believe you. I lived in that shit. We met with The Skulls, and then got Devil’s kid. Piston County felt like home, but I know that we fucked up at times settling down.”
“Yeah, lot of shit went down. Lost some good people all over,” Rock said.
“And I met the woman I was always going to have. I love her more than anything.”
“I heard the tale of you and your woman. Doesn’t it piss you off that you’re here, and she’s there?” Rock asked.
“Nope. You’ve got to know Lola to understand her reasoning. I don’t have any regrets about what is happening.” If he hadn’t been with the Nomad Chapter, he wouldn’t be here to help Lucius, and even though the other brother wouldn’t admit it, Lucius was in so much fucking pain it was unreal.
“I didn’t even know that Roxy was ill. What kind of sick shit is that? She seemed the same party animal I’ve come to know her as,” Rock said.
“You didn’t notice because you really didn’t know her. When it’s someone you love or someone you care about, you pay attention. It’s the small things in life that you notice first. They seem unimportant to so many, but you know what they are, and you care.”
“Wow, you sound like a man in love,” Rock said. “Oh, that’s right, pussy-whipped.”
“Never said I wasn’t pussy-whipped.” Sinner chuckled.
“I’ve never had that, you know?”
“Never had what?”
“A woman that you’re willing to do anything for? To me, they’ve all been bitches. Holes that are available. No one has ever been something more.”
Sinner shrugged. “Not all of them are the same. Lola, she’s different. Not everyone’s kind of girl, but she’s mine.” He laughed, thinking about her. “She’s kind of a nerd actually. She’s big with computers and stuff. I never understand what she’s talking about, but to watch her on her computer, now that is enjoyable. We’re two completely different people, and yet, we’ve found our way together.”
“See, pussy-whipped.”
“Why don’t you criticize my feelings when you know what it’s like.” He slapped Rock on the back.
“Are you two done being pussies?” Lucius asked.
He glanced up at the other brother. “What’s up?”
“Will you arrange your apartment? She doesn’t have a lot of time left.”
“Sure thing.”
Lucius didn’t linger. Sinner grabbed his cell phone and dialed Devil’s number.
“This better be good, because you have woken Laurell up.”
“Shit, sorry. Can you get my apartment ready?” Sinner asked.
“You and Lola coming home?”
“Nope. It’s Lucius. He’s going to need the club.” Sinner explained what was happening, and at the end, Devil promised to have everything ready for when he needed it.
“Is Lucius okay?”
“I think this is going to hit him pretty hard, Devil.”
“We’ll deal with it just like we’ve dealt with everything else.”
****