Chapter 17

EZRA

“Just leave the bottle.”

The bartender eyeballed me for a second before shrugging and putting the vodka down. I poured myself a glass then swirled it around. The slight warm sting I felt when I gulped it down didn’t provide much of the relief I was looking for.

It was just another night at Hades from what I could tell. Friends of the club were all out to enjoy themselves for an evening of drinks and conversation. Motherfuckers weren’t as rowdy as they could’ve been but they didn’t exactly look like the friendly type either.

I poured myself another glass.

“Drinking alone.”

I ignored Sebastian and held the glass up.

“They say people who drink alone might have a problem.”

I gulped it down and smacked my lips.

“Yeah, well, I might have a problem then,” I said.

Sebastian leaned up against the bar next to me. Even though he looked like some tattooed thug from afar, he carried himself with a little more dignity than bikers I usually came across. He had a smug confidence about him. The kind of arrogance that only the president of an MC could have.

“You don’t have to watch my back when I’m in here,” I said. “I doubt anybody would try anything.”

“It’s my pleasure. You wanna drink in here, that just makes my job even easier. Besides, you never know who’ll show up to try and start some shit. Always gotta be ready.”

“Last night… You were following me around?”

“I had Roman tail you. He’s a good rider and could keep up with anybody. Speaking of which, you’ve got a nice little ride yourself. Wouldn’t expect a man like you to be riding?”

“A man like me?”

“Come on,” he scoffed. “Motherfuckers in suits don’t ride around on choppers. Figured you’d be more of a luxury sedan kinda guy. Maybe a fancy sports car. Or a limo with a chauffeur.”

“You watch too many movies, Cain.”

I poured myself another glass and stared down at the liquor. I knew it wouldn’t do shit but I still wanted to swallow it down to see if it would clear my head.

“You mad at me?” Sebastian said.

“For what?”

“Checking in on you last night. That is what you paid the MC for.”

“No. No, I’m not mad. Just surprised.”

“Good. Because I got Roman looking after the girl.”

I blinked, unsure that I’d heard him correctly.

“What?” I said.

“The girl. That chick you were with. She’s your lady, right? I got Roman keeping an eye on her.”

“You don’t—”

I stopped when I realized that maybe it was a good idea to keep tabs on her. If Silver managed to track her down, then he was probably following her right now.

“I don’t what?”

“Nothing,” I said. “There’s probably somebody outside the club watching me.”

“You want me to go outside and take care of it.”

“Nah. He won’t try anything. And if he does, I know that I can handle him myself.”

“Right… To be honest with you, I was never the best at giving advice on women. My deal was to just power through it until you got over it.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“You were out last night with a girl. Now you’re here. Alone. Drinking straight out of the fucking bottle. Doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together.”

I sighed through my nose and shook my head. Sebastian figured it out but I wasn’t about to talk to him about it. He got the picture without me having to explain it.

“You enjoy your night,” he said. “I got your back.”

He patted me on the shoulder to leave me alone with my lone comfort. The next glass of vodka looked more satisfying than the last. I took another sip and finally started to feel it.

Hades didn’t get too rowdy. The conversation was loud but never to the point that it was disrespectful. Sebastian mingled among the crowd while the other two club members who were here did the same.

I sat by myself at the bar and stared at the wall, my drunken thoughts still lingering on Lacey.

I wonder what she’s up to…

“I knew a guy. He used to do the same thing.”

I turned and looked at a familiar looking old man. He walked up to me like he didn’t give a shit that he’d interrupted my alone time.

“He’d sit here,” he said. “This bar right here. He’d grab a bottle and pour himself something to drink. He never said anything but you knew there was something heavy on his mind. He was the kind of asshole that thought over every fucking decision. I guess that’s why everybody respected him.”

“…Murphy,” I said to him. “That your name?”

“Murphy. Friends call me Murph.”

“I don’t know if I should call you Murph then since I’m not your friend.”

I put the glass to my lips but the old man interrupted me.

“Your grandfather called me Murph.”

I slowly lowered the glass back down and looked back at him.

“He was my friend,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind if you did the same.”

I kept staring at him, my eyes narrowed.

Who is this guy?

A slight smirk curled on the corner of his lips as he shook his head.

“I’m getting a little old,” he said. “It took me a bit to figure it out but I figured it out eventually.”

“Figured what out?”

“Ruben had a son. Then his son had a son… you.”

I’d kept it to myself this entire time. I didn’t think anybody would figure it out. Then again, the old man looked enough that he probably was around here at that time.

“How did you—”

“I’ve stared at Ruben’s face for years in church,” he said. “I wouldn’t forget my brother’s face no matter how old I got. Your grandfather was a Devil. The same as me.”

“You… You were a Devil.”

“Come here.”

He motioned for me to follow him. I thought twice about it before getting up from my seat and walking with him. We moved over to the side of the clubhouse where there was a small-framed photo hanging on the wall.

“What did your parents tell you about your grandfather?” he asked.

“Not much. They mentioned the MC but they never went into details.”

“They had good reason. The kind of shit the first five got into…”

Murphy pointed at the photo. I squinted to get a better look at it. One of the men looked familiar. Must’ve seen it in some old family photos.

“Crazy shit,” he continued. “It’s the reason your father left Ivory, took your mother’s name.”

“My dad mentioned it before. He told me about the MC. Talked about Ivory. I met my grandfather, too, when I was younger. Never gave it much thought.”

“And yet here you are, back in Ivory. What are the chances of that?”

A strange feeling washed over me as I stared at the photo. I saw my grandfather in a way I’d never seen him before. I’d heard stories about him but to actually see it, even if it was just a photo… That was the kinda shit that made me realize just what kinda man he really was.

“Ruben was probably the wisest man in the MC,” Murphy said.

“He was pretty smart from what I remember.”

“Get one thing straight, I was the smartest patch. But Ruben was the kind of man who gave the club the wisdom it needed when shit got rough. It was the reason Black made him his first.”

“Black?”

“The president of the West Devils,” he said, pointing at the man in the center of the photo. “He was the man who ran shit back then.”

“Things must’ve been crazy in Ivory back then.”

“Crazier than you could imagine. One-percenters had a lot more freedom to do whatever the fuck they wanted. It was wild.”

“And now?”

“Now… Sutton runs a tight ship but he’ll let shit slide when he needs to. Most of the clubs in this town respect that and they don’t get out of line. Sebastian is the kind of president the Devils need these days. I’m sure Black would be proud of him.”

Murphy patted me on the arm.

“That’s why you’re here,” he said.

“What are you talking about?”

“You came back to Ivory. It’s fate. It was meant to be.”

“What’s fate? What was meant to be?”

“You’ve got Devil blood in you, Grant.”

I scoffed at the idea.

“No chance,” I said as I shook my head. “I could never join an MC.”

“And why not? Don’t tell me you haven’t committed a crime before. Don’t tell me you haven’t hustled a few bucks. Why do you think you’re so good at it? You’re good with cash. Where do you think it came from? I’ll tell you one thing, it’s not from your father’s side of the family.”

Murphy’s suggestion made me chuckle. The thought of being a part of an MC never crossed my mind. I didn’t see the appeal, even with how drunk I was.

“Fate,” I said. “That’s what you call it. But I think it’s just a coincidence I came back to Ivory. I’ve got other business to take care of and it’s not patching in.”

Murphy looked me up and down and nodded slowly, a slight frown on his lips.

“Ruben did always overthink things,” he said. “Even the obvious shit that was right in front of his face. I guess some things never change.”

He slowly turned around and started walking away.

“It’s not a coincidence,” he said. “You can try to fight it but it’s there. You’ll figure it out sooner or later. You’ve got Ruben’s blood in you.”

The old man disappeared into the back of the clubhouse. I stood there and thought about it for a second then turned back toward the photo hanging on the wall. Seeing my grandfather along with the other four members of the club brought back vague memories of my childhood when my mother would talk about him. I could even remember him holding me in my arms when I was a baby. Or maybe it was my drunken imagination getting the best of me.

I sighed as I headed back to the bar. The vodka was sitting there waiting for me. The thoughts I had about my family and everything Murphy just told me left me. Lacey returned to my thoughts and I wanted nothing more than to have another drink.

“What was that all about?”

Sebastian appeared next to me.

“The old man giving you a history lesson?” he said.

“He just wanted to tell me about the men who first ran this clubhouse. From the looks of things, shit hasn’t changed much.”

“Hey, we’re in the middle of remodeling. Don’t worry. We’ll get there.”

“You must be doing it pretty fucking slowly.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. You know, if you’re willing to donate a few more bucks, I can get this place up to snuff with all of the other places in Ivory.”

I looked around the dirty clubhouse and chuckled to myself.

“Nah,” I said. “I kinda like it. All the broken down wooden panels give this place a bit of character.”

“Whatever.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes at me. I laughed at him as I took another sip of vodka.

I listened to his phone then watched as he pulled it out of his pocket.

“Yo…”

I didn’t think much of whatever conversation he was having. Shit wasn’t any of my business. But when I glanced at him, he was looking right back at me.

“Yeah… We’ll head there now.”

He stuffed his phone back into his pocket.

“What’s up?” I said.

“It’s Roman. He’s watching Lacey and said that we should probably check it out.”

“What? Is she in trouble?”

“There isn’t much time to explain. We should just get there as soon as we can. Can you ride?”

Nothing was gonna stop me from getting to her. She was the only thing that mattered to me now.

I didn’t say anything as I turned around and headed for the exit.

“I guess that’s a yes,” Sebastian said.