Chapter 15

 

Krill

 

I watch as Dra walks his ass into the clubhouse like he doesn’t have a worry in the world. I am his younger blood brother and his club brother, so I can tell he is hiding things from me and the club but today that stops. When Dad was killed in an explosion along with our Gram I thought along with everyone else that I had lost my brother too. After his widow burned out the weed growers that had planted the bomb and then returned home to Texas I thought I had lost the heart of my family. That afternoon Dra called me, and I found out he wasn’t in the explosion and the whole thing was bigger than what any of us ever dreamed. The BlackPath MC, the Feral Steel MC, the Rebellions 4 Blood MC along with us, the Troubled Fathoms MC, all battled THC Hempcan Inc. together for the last few years. They wanted land that our dad owned to expand their marijuana growers which is legal in Colorado now so none of us could understand why they would go to such extremes. They could have given Dad the price he wanted for the piece of land, but we found out that Dad didn’t want to sell because he had one of his gut feelings that Hempcan was not on the level with the reasons they wanted the land and Dad was right. The Hempcan company does grow marijuana for first their medicinal contracts and then for their marijuana stores but Hempcan’s operation was a front for the cooking and distribution of methamphetamines. Dra is the one that lost the most during this war because he let the woman he was married to, Callie, think he was dead and he lost her to her ex Devil. Dra and Callie had met and married in a whirlwind. Callie was carrying another man’s child, but Dra loved her anyway. When it came down to it he chose the Troubled Fathoms MC before his wife and that was the beginning of the end. Losing Callie has haunted Dra ever since. I think a part of him will always love Callie which is another fucked-up situation since he is now married to her younger sister, Maddie and they have a daughter, B. Callie unlike Maddie was raised in the motorcycle club lifestyle. Maddie was raised on a horse ranch in NE Texas and the biker life may as well be on another planet from her. Callie and Maddie are half- sisters, they have the same father but different mothers. They didn’t even know the existence of each other along with Maddie’s twin sister Micah. Callie, Maddie, and Micah all look similar, but Maddie is the quiet, sweet one. Callie is a sassy vixen that I had thoughts of claiming myself. Micah is brash and a real ball buster. I can see how any man would fall for them. They are all three beautiful with their own sets of good and bad qualities. I am concerned with how Maddie is going to adapt to her new life. It’s not my business but I don’t know if Dra can take another failure and my niece is in the middle of it and I will do what I need to do to keep her happy and safe. Dra needs to be reminded of a few club rules before he screws his chance of happiness up. He has been his own worst enemy. I’m not a damn pussy but I will help where I can. Dra walks to me and sits down in the chair across from me.

“What’s up Krill? I have shit that needs to be taken care of.” Dra looks deep in thought and distracted.

‘Well brother, since you have been gone for over a week and busy with your own personal business, I thought I would catch you up on club business and then we have church.” Dra doesn’t seem interested.

“We’ve had three overdoses over at the high school and the sheriff has asked us to find out where the drugs are coming from. They are overdosing on home cooked methamphetamines. Sound familiar?” This brings Dra’s eyes to me.

“You have any leads yet? Do you think it could be Hempcan again? They have been quiet for a while,” Dra asks.

“Don’t know yet. The sheriff just called last night. I am taking it to the table today. There have also been two suicides of students. We haven’t had one suicide in this town in over twenty years and now two in as many weeks.” Dra is sitting up straight in his chair and he signals for Angus, one of the prospects, to bring him a beer.

“Was it a boyfriend and girlfriend thing or were they friends?” Dra asks.

“Two males, both seniors. No connections but both with enough methamphetamines in them that the sheriff isn’t sure if it is suicide or homicide. Intentional or accident. Doesn’t matter, we do not let anyone deal drugs at the school or anywhere in our territory. It stops. Bandy is trying to run down some leads.” I am watching Dra and he is all business.

“Have you talked to the principal and the rest of the faculty yet? We need to get extra security cameras set up all over the campus.” I laugh at that and Dra looks closely at me.

“There’s my brother that is all about business. You make it sound like there is a lot of area to cover. The whole damn campus is four buildings. The school houses pre-k through twelfth grade. The lunch room is used for lunch consumption and any meetings they may have during the day. Then they have the small Agriculture building and the gym. How many cameras do you think that will take? We need to cover the parking lots also, there are two,” I ask Dra. This is what Dra is good at, surveillance and security.

“I need to get a look at it. I know they have a few cameras but not sure how they are located and what they cover. I will ride over after school is out today. Anything else?” Dra is all business now.

“I rode by your house and talked with Maddie earlier.” Angus brings Dra his beer. Dra nods at him and then brings his eyes back to me.

“Just say whatever it is you are going to say Krill. I am not going to try and guess what it is you are getting at.” Dra sits backs and waits for what I have to say.

“I know you still have Sunshine in a condo. You know the rules Dra. You knew this before you put a ring on Maddie’s finger. She’s your wife now so it needs to be taken care of before it is brought to church. You know Miner will not let it go and neither will I.” Dra takes a long drink from his beer and then sits it down. Every club has different rules concerning ol’ ladies and wives. In the Troubled Fathoms MC, ol’ ladies and wives are treated with a respect that girlfriends and club girls are not. You can have an ol’ lady without her being your wife. She gets the same respect. She wears your patch and your ink, and she is your property until you take that patch back. With wives, the rules are stricter. If you have a wife then she better be wearing your patch, your ink, and your ring. Dad, Miner, and Time made this rule and it was voted on. They were all married when they founded the Troubled Fathoms MC and they were all committed to not only the club but their families too. In some clubs, you can have a wife, an ol’ lady and whoever else comes along but not in our club. The founding members felt it was disrespectful to their wives for them not to be their ol’ lady also. They wanted the women in this club to be as dedicated to the club life as their men. This guaranteed it and each woman is explained that if she runs off from the marriage and divorces that she is still bound to the club member whose ink is on her body and whose patch they have. We also do not allow blatant cheating on your wife at the clubhouse. What you do away from the clubhouse is on you but not at the clubhouse where any family can see it. There are also no wives or ol’ ladies allowed at open parties. Open parties are when we have other clubs here and they can get rowdy.

“I was just taking care of Sunshine before I got your text. I am cutting her loose. I already took my patch back and I am controlling the situation. Sunshine will not be a problem for me or the club,” Dra tells me. I laugh.

“You think that bitch is just going to let you cut her loose and let you walk away? She came into this clubhouse looking for an officer to put her claws in and you fell for it hook line and sinker. Do not underestimate that woman.” I don’t hide my dislike for the bitch.

“It is handled but I agree with you. She may try to cause some problems. She played the pregnant card when I told we were done. I knew there was no way. I took her to get the shot myself.” I see Dra wasn’t wearing blinders as I thought he was.

“I think we need to ban her to make sure she knows her place,” I tell Dra. I had rather be safe than sorry.

“Why do you hate Sunshine so damn much? I told you I have it handled. There is no reason to ban her until she steps out of line.” I laugh.

“She stepped out of line the night she tried to climb in my bed without an invitation when she was a hang around and worked at the bar. She stepped out of line when she warned all the other club girls away from both you and me and she had no claim on us. She stepped out of line when she tried to trick you with a fake pregnancy. How many times do we ignore it before she does something that can’t be fixed so easily? Three strikes and you are put out. I don’t like the bitch, she serves her purpose, but she needs to know her place and where we draw the line, just like all the other club girls.” I know it is only a matter of time until Sunshine steps over the line and I know she has her own agenda. I don’t know what it is, but I’d bet my last dollar she is scheming.

“I will handle Sunshine. I just feel bad how this situation all came down bad on her. I will keep her in line,” Dra tells me, but he is headed for disaster and he is blind to it.

“And if it costs you Maddie and B in the process? Have you thought of that? Maddie is going to take kid gloves in her handling. She is innocent and even though she has been around the biker lifestyle she knows nothing about it, but she is curious. She was asking me questions and what happens when she asks the wrong question to the wrong person? Does Maddie know that you have Sunshine set up in a nice little condo and you have been paying her bills for months or that you bought her a new ride?” I ask Dra and wait for his reaction.

“Not Maddie’s business what I did when she wasn’t here. I will keep them apart.” That makes me laugh again.

“Dra, you can’t keep Maddie and B locked up in your house. That house looks like a tribute to the time you spent with Callie. How do you think that makes Maddie feel? You still have those damn pictures up that you had made with Callie before Kellan was born. Are you trying to run her off?” I can see that Dra didn’t even think about the pictures.

“When I got the call that Maddie and Betsy had been located I didn’t even think of cleaning the house out. I haven’t been in it very often since Callie left.” I knew that. I think it hurt too much for Dra to be there and see what he had lost. “I am not going to let Maddie and Betsy slip away from me. I will do right by both, but I need time.”

“Alright Bro. Just remember you have family at your back and reach out if you need help. I am proud of you for swallowing that damn pride of yours and doing the right thing when it comes to Maddie. It could have been one shitty situation, but you are trying to make it right without too much difficulty. It takes a strong man to do that,” I tell Dra and I am proud of him. “That little B already has me wrapped around her little finger she’s so damn cute.”

“She is but damn she scares the hell out of me. I am going to need a big shotgun when she goes to school to keep the damn boys away from her. The funny thing is that she may have all my looks, but she is sweet just like her mom. That is a dangerous combination,” Dra says shaking his head.

“Well it could be worse.” Dra looks at me. “She could have her mom’s looks and your ‘don’t give a shit attitude’ which would attract all the bad boys. Don’t you worry about it. B will have a whole clubhouse full of uncles that will keep them damn boys away besides that, if I know you, she’ll have plenty of little brothers to help her.” That makes Dra smile.

“That’s the plan, brother.” I wipe that smile off his face.

“Of course, they could all be girls.” I laugh as Dra’s face falls at the thought. “Let’s get to church before everyone else gets there.” Dra finishes his beer off and we both get up and walk down the hall, so we can wait for all the brothers to arrive for church.