Chapter Ten
Jake
“You ever hear about Milk Run Mike?” Billy the Hammer asked me as we unloaded a truck with groceries for the MC. I had. Milk Run Mike had been a mid-level MC member who could only be trusted with the easier jobs for the club. He had got caught with a sister of a rival club. It had been considered a betrayal and it had not taken long for him to become a pariah amongst his peers. After a few fights had broken out over it, he had been forced to leave town. The rival gang had kept his girlfriend from seeing him. It had been a scandal around the biker community and the woman had got severely depressed ending in a suicide months later. Both gangs had blamed each other and the Flaming Dragons had forced the rival gang, the Hell’s Claws, out of the area. I nodded in answer to Billy as we loaded the last boxes into the storage area.
“Yeah, I heard about that. Bad shit, man,” I said. I didn’t want to perjure myself and the look Billy gave me was stern and knowledgeable. I had a feeling he knew about me and Dana.
“Real bad shit, man. I was surprised to hear some stuff about you, Jake. You have always been solid,” Billy told me. Yep, he knew, all right. But how much?
“I still am, Billy,” I answered. I wasn’t going to admit anything until he came out and said what he was obviously thinking.
“Check this shit out,” Billy said as he tossed a few photos down on a crate of dry goods. They were pictures of me with Dana. One was of us in the elevator on Halloween. That fucking ghost costumed guy with the camera! I cursed to myself. Another was a photo of both of us going into Rocky’s, and another was us in Dana’s backyard. What the hell!
“You got someone following me, Billy?” I asked, pissed. Billy frowned and his shoulders got tight. Not a good sign, I reminded myself and tried to relax. I was good but if Billy came at me, I would have severe problems in no time.
“No, I don’t have anyone following you, boy! I found these on my desk the other day. I can’t find who put them there, but there was a note that came with ‘em. That little lady is the brother of a Wild Wolf, isn’t she?” There was no way lying would work and I won’t lie to Billy, not to a direct question, anyway.
“Yeah, she is. I didn’t know it at first. We were just playing pool. After that, well, it was too late,” I said with a shrug, trying to be nonchalant. Billy frowned.
“This picture on Halloween, over a month ago. This one was since then. You aren’t rushing to end it, are you?” There was an edge of accusation in his voice. I shrugged again.
“Nope, not a bit,” I said. Billy’s eyebrows went up in surprise for a second then he chuckled darkly.
“I should have known you wouldn’t be dodging the issue, Jake. You always have been a straight shooter, I appreciate that. Most guys would be weaseling around the issue. Now I haven’t said anything to anyone but the VP. He gave me permission to handle it as I see fit. I see fit to give you a chance to end it quietly,” he said. I understood that for Billy he was doing all he could for me. Unfortunately, I could see several problems with that plan, aside from me not wanting to walk away from Dana. She was the best thing that had ever happened to me.
“A few problems, Boss. First off, Mack was the likely photographer. He has been sniffing around my ass for a while, ever since I stomped him for attacking me. I have no idea when he got sneaky, but I guess he did. Also, we both know he will not keep it quiet, even if I end it with her. He will go straight to Crazy and that woman will think New Year has come early. She loves chaos. Hell, she liked the trouble she caused with Little a few months back, remember?”
Billy was silent for a moment. He sighed. “I will talk to Mack, but you take care of business. We don’t want a repeat of what happened with Milk Run. You are a good member, Jake, and it would be a shame to lose you. If we can make this quietly go away, it would be best. So, I suggest you do some serious thinking boy. Figure out where your priorities are at. The brotherhood needs you. I will let Mack know the score and let him know this comes from the top,” Billy said with a direct look. He was letting me know the same.
I felt strangely calm then. I had been so worried what might happen if my relationship became public. Now that someone knew, I felt more able to deal with things. It felt like the pressure was off, even though it wasn’t. I just nodded. I did have some thinking to do, mostly I had some talking to do with Dana. I had no intention of walking away from her. I also had to decide how to deal with Mack. That little shit was going to hear from me one way or another. He was my problem and as a good standing member of the Flaming Dragons, at least for the time being, I felt I needed to take care of my business as all club members did.
“I’ll let you know what I decide Billy,” I told him and he watched me leave the store room as I walked out the back door. The snow was coming down fast and thick so I tugged my collar up as I went down the alley to where I had parked. As I got close, I saw Mack standing against the wall of the liquor store across the alley from the club.
“I ain’t the only one who is looking into your hot piece of tail. The other side is interested as well. Paybacks are a…” He stopped when my fist hit his chest. He bent forward trying to breath and I kneed him where I had hit him. Then I pushed him upright as he gasped for breath and he heard the sharp click of my knife and froze, still trying to breathe. I kept him upright, holding his throat. I leaned forward.
“This ain’t about club shit boy, not anymore. This is man to man. If you don’t do exactly what you are told I… will… end… you!” I held him for a few more seconds, letting my threat sink in, then I let go. He slid down the wall to sit on his ass, still gasping for breath. His claim about someone else made me think of the Wild Wolves. Was he colluding with one of them? I wouldn’t put it past Mack. I smiled grimly, thinking of a little insurance. I pulled out my phone and began typing a text.
“Billy just gave me a chance to fix things. He wants to talk to you, too. I suggest you be a man for once and go hear what he has to say,” I told him and sent the text before walking to my truck and climbing in. I turned the key and it came to life. I watched Mack get to his feet and wobble towards the back door to the club before I pulled out. The text I had sent had been to Billy. Letting him know what Mack had said about the “other side.” That was not going to go over well for Mack. Seeing a sister of a rival gang member was one thing. Dealing with them was a whole other kind of problem.
I drove around for a few hours, trying to figure out what I should do. I even drove past Dana’s, I couldn’t help it, but she wasn’t there. Probably best, I thought. I didn’t want to have to tell her I had been wrong about Mack following us, or that there may be a problem with the Wild Wolves. I ended up at Rocky’s in the middle of the afternoon. I was hungry and craving for a beer.
“Hey hot stuff, what can I get ya?” Tina asked cheerfully.
“A burger and beer, Tina, that would be great,” I told her. The place was empty, no surprise with the weather.
“So, what’s up, you look like someone kicked your dog,” Tina said running her fingers through her hair. I took my jacket off and hung it on the back of the bar stool.
“Something like that,” I told her and she frowned as I explained to her about my day so far. She muttered a few obscenities.
“That’s messed up, man. Sorry to hear it. Have you told Dana, yet?”
“Nope, I haven’t figured out what to say. I have just been driving around, trying to figure what to do. I ain’t got any answers, yet,” I admitted and began eating the burger and fries Tina had brought me. When I finished, I ordered another beer.
“I don’t have any answers for you, Jake,” she said when she got me my second beer and picked up the plate and empty glass. “Other than you should tell Dana. If you are right and Mack was talking to a Wild Wolf, she doesn’t need to be surprised.” She took the dishes away. She was right, of course, only I just couldn’t do it, not yet. Everything had been going so well, too. I remembered how just that morning I had been so excited about meeting her for dinner here at Rocky’s. That gave me an idea and I got out my phone. I wanted to tell her in person. So I sent her a text about the dinner at Rocky’s tonight. I set my phone down and saw Tina was on her phone and it seemed an urgent conversation. She glanced over at me and then shook her head, saying something I couldn’t hear into her phone. She started walking my way.
“I’ll let him know, darling, no, no problem ever. You guys come on over when you can,” she said into the phone. “Yup, alright dear, see you then.”
“You aren’t the only one with problems. Dana got your text while I was talking to her. She will be here for dinner, she is at the hospital,” Tina said. Hearing “hospital,” I bolted up my seat. Tina gestured me to back down.
“Easy, dude. Dana is fine. She had a visit from Tom, the stalker. Two Wolves chased him but he got away. Mitch was up in the hills when he heard and took a corner too fast trying to get back to town. He rolled his truck. He has a few broken ribs and his leg is all banged up. They are keeping him for observation.” I wanted to go out the door raging after the creeper. Except I had nowhere to look. I didn’t know this Tom guy.
“You’re sure she is alright? Mitch will be okay, too?” I asked. I didn’t know Mitch, other than what he looked like, but he was Dana’s brother and couldn’t be that bad.
“Yeah, she is and he will be. Dana was with Tina and she is coming, too. It seems that the Wolves received some information, same as you. It was only casually mentioned, and not to Mitch. Just to Dana. That is a piss-ant move to my thinking,” Tina said. I thought about it and realized what she meant. They let Dana know there is a problem, but they wouldn’t tell her brother if she did the “right thing,” I thought. Would they do that? I wondered angrily. Then I realized Billy had done something similar with me, except he wasn’t using a relative as leverage to get what he wanted. That made me wonder how Mitch would feel about that. It would piss me off if the club used me against my sister.
“It is a piss-ant move, but I think I get it. The quieter it goes away the better, to their way of thinking. I think Billy may need to know the Wolves were tipped off, as well. Mack’s day is about to get even worse. If the Dragons could have shut it down without the Wolves knowing about it, there would have been less mess and fuss,” I said and picked up my phone. I texted the information out to Billy and then set my phone down. He hadn’t answered the last one. This one took about two minutes.
“A war would not be good right now! Your dating a Wolf sister is small fry compared with a pairing up of a Dragon and a Wolf! It will add fuel to the fire, though. Deal with it! I will deal with Mack!” The Hammer almost never texted, this was like a manifesto for him. I hesitated, but I trusted Tina and she had a good head on her shoulders. I showed her the text.
“Billy is getting expressive in his old age. Look at those exclamation points. I’m impressed,” she said, making a joke. I actually chuckled.
“Billy is pissed. He is right, this could be a war. I knew we were flirting with trouble, but a war? Shit!”
She shook her head and got me some coffee. “Here, drink this. No point in getting drunk before your lady gets here and don’t blame yourself, Jake. Look at it this way. Sure, you and Dana fell in love, right over there,” she said pointing to the pool tables and I chuckled dryly. “You did not go sneaking around taking pictures. You did not creep around stalking Dana, or collude with a rival gang. Billy is right about that. Your relationship is small shit in comparison, regardless of why they did it. I think Billy is wrong in putting pressure on you by tying your situation to the war. Those jackasses would have done something stupid like this eventually. Their kind always does. Just relax and wait for Dana to get here. I think we will be closing early after they arrive. Bartender’s prerogative,” she said. I thanked her. I went over to the tables to shoot some pool and try to relax. I knew I wouldn’t be able to, not completely, until Dana got here. I was glad Rocky’s was neutral territory, though, just in case things got uglier with the clubs.