~ Ace ~
Wandering downstairs the next morning, Ace followed his nose to the smell of bacon and coffee. The women at the club always did a fry-up in the morning. If he was being honest, Ace might admit the food factored strongly into his decision to stay rather than get his own place. This morning must have been special because Tiffany and Alyssa were both at the table.
Landing in the seat across from Tiffany, he asked flippantly, “Where’s your smoochie pie?”
Tiffany’s head came up. “Do not let him hear you say that. You know how he gets.”
Ace deadpanned right back, “Did you momentarily forget who you’re takin’ to? I know about his homicidal quirks better than most folks.”
Yawning, Tiffany stared into her coffee. Her phone sounded off, and Ace knew exactly who it was. Stuart’s ringtone was, appropriately enough, some popular la vida loca song. It suited him, ‘cause he was off-the-chain crazy.
Sighing, Tiffany pulled out her phone, laid it on the table, and opened the line. “Good morning, Stuart. Did you sleep well last night?”
Sounding quite a bit calmer than the last time Ace heard him on the phone, Stuart responded wryly, “They made sure I took my meds and gave me a double dose of shut-the-fuck-up meds. I was out like a light and woke up this morning drooling on my pillow.”
Tiffany took a sip of coffee before speaking. “You don’t drool when you sleep, Stuart.”
“I know, kitty. Last night I did drool though. You should be happy you missed it.”
“I think they may have overmedicated you. We need to discuss that with your doctor. They can’t overmedicate you every time you say or do something they don’t like.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ll get right on that.”
“I’m serious, Stuart. Being overmedicated can have harmful, long-term side effects.”
“You don’t need to tell me that. I’m living it. I was so stiff this morning they had to give me some other shot to loosen me back up again.”
“Oh my God,” Tiffany screeched. “Tell me they didn’t have to give you Cogentin to remediate the side effects of the double dose of psych drugs they zapped you with?”
“Yes, they did. On a happier note, it can also be used to treat Parkinson’s disease.”
“Let me guess, you read the package insert?”
“Of course. Good reading material is hard to come by in here. Sometimes, I even read other people’s package inserts. You know, it helps pass the day.”
Sighing, Tiffany gulped down another drink of her strong black coffee. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? I’ll bring you some books and magazines.”
“Yes. Bring me a comic with a cat woman.”
Sweet Jesus, it was times like this that made it hard for Ace to believe Stuart was a grown-ass man.
“You know I’m not allowed to do that, Stuart.”
“I’ve been thinking about all the times you pretended to be my kitty.”
Dropping her head forward until her chin hit her chest, Tiffany sighed. “I’m hanging up now, Stuart. That doesn’t mean I don’t care about you as a friend.” Her hand darted out to hit the kill switch on her smartphone.
When the screen went dark, Ace spoke. “I don’t know why you keep doing this. Every conversation is like a train wreck in progress.”
“He was doing really well, but now, no so much.”
“It’s time to think about throwing in the towel with that fancy-ass psych hospital you put him in,” Darkness said from the doorway. “I think he’s gotten the maximum benefit possible from being in that joint.”
Tiffany sighed. “His sexy cat fetish is getting in the way of him making progress.”
“Sign him out for a home visit, find him a whore, slap some cat ears on her head, and let him work that shit out like a normal man.”
Ace was more fascinated with the conversation than was warranted in this particular situation. “What do you mean by him working it out like a normal man? I ain’t never heard of a normal man making his woman act like a cat.”
“Hell, every man has some kind of kink. I like women dressed as cowgirls, you call women angels, Ryder calls Tiff his princess. Scratching the itch is what makes it go away, not talking to some head shrinkers while your junk shrivels up from lack of use.”
Tiffany spoke up quickly. “I’m sure that’s all true, but you have no idea how out of control Stuart can get with his cat fetish. We had best let the doctors sort him.”
“What the fuck ever. Where’s Ryder?”
“Inventorying the club’s ammo. We’re heading to the wholesale club, and he’s planning to replenish stock.”
“This is the thing I don’t like about smart bitches. You pay attention to club business, and that shit’s supposed to be private.”
“So sorry for having a brain.”
Finally smiling, Darkness put some nice in his voice. “It’s fine. You’re good people, Tiff.”
When his boss wandered off, Ace leaned forward. “So what’s the special occasion? You two are here bright and early, and I thought you were working today.”
Alyssa spoke up for the first time. “Ryder has something special to pick up in town. Tiffany talked him into dropping me off to visit with my gran.”
“That’s real sweet.”
“She’s in a retirement home, and I try to get out whenever anyone’s going in that direction.”
Tiffany pulled her bottom lip from between her teeth and whispered, “I think Ryder wants to take me to look at jewelry—rings to be precise.”
“Sweet Jesus, he’s really taking the plunge.”
Smacking him on the arm, Tiffany’s indignant voice rang out, “I’m a good catch, so don’t act so surprised.”
“I totally agree with that statement. I’m just surprised that stupid fucker can see it.”
“I have a favor to ask of you, Ace.”
“You got it. What do you need?”
“We’re going to have a little celebration next Saturday night. Can you make sure you’re here?”
“What’s going on?”
“I can’t say, but you’re an integral part of what I have planned.”
“You’re not going to make me jump out of a huge cake, dance naked or any embarrassing shit like that, are you?”
“Now why would you think that?”
“How am I supposed to know what kind things women want men to do at their celebrations.”
“Now you have my little hamster wheels turning,” she said with a devious little smile.
Leaping to his feet, he muttered, “Put me down as a maybe.” Heading to the armory, he wondered if the women were fucking with him. No woman in her right mind would want to see his scarred-up body.
The moment he stepped into the room, Darkness and Ryder stopped talking. Growing immediately suspicious, he looked from one man to the other.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why did you stop talking when I came into the room?”
Ryder replied with no small amount of snark. “Because we were talking about you. We heard the girls want someone to dance naked on the bar for their hen’s night, and it seems they’ve settled on you.”
Frowning, he asked, “Are you serious? I can never tell if you’re joking.”
Shooting him a smirk, Ryder teased, “We can’t figure out why they picked your sorry ass.”
Feeling a mixture of uncomfortable and little proud, Ace’s hand went for his buckle. “Need a little reminder?”
“Whatever. How did things go with the school teacher last night?”
“She’s a college professor, not a teacher, and a good one at that. We talked a little. She’s David’s ex-wife. Did you know that?”
Darkness growled under his breath. “That stupid fucker isn’t half the man his father is. I don’t trust him.”
Ryder interjected blandly, “You don’t trust much of anyone.”
“Yeah, well, he tried to cockblock me. If he does it again, I’m likely to have a piece of his ass.”
“If you make an enemy out of him, we’re gonna have to give him a dirt nap. You know that, right? We can’t have that stupid fucker spewing club business at the cops if he gets pissed.”
Ryder twisted his head around to look at Darkness. “If we touch him, we’ll have his old man to deal with. Dude’s been around since the good old days when your old man was getting everyone shot up constantly. Need I remind you the body count he racked up? That’s some Rico worthy shit, right there.”
“Shut the fuck up, Ryder. You’re making me think evil thoughts against that innocent old doctor.”
Ryder mumbled under his breath, “Ain’t no woman worth that kind of grief.”
Ace chimed in, “Great, I’ll introduce him to Tiffany the first chance I get.”
“The fuck you will. Stay the hell out of my—”
“Both of you need to shut the hell up. This club and our families come first. Old Doc Reynolds has been patching up our brothers for as long as I can remember, but that don’t quite make him family.”
Ryder shot back, “There’s at least a dozen ways to leverage his dumbass son, short of killing the fool. I’ll give Doc Reynolds a heads-up. He’ll keep the little shit out of our faces.”
“I don’t give two hoots in hell what you do. Just keep junior muffled.”
“You got it, boss. Be glad you don’t have these kinds of problems.”
“You think ignorant fucks think of your women the same way I do my bike. I may not agree with the importance you place on a hot bitch, but I do get the concept of not wanting other men messing with what’s mine.”
Ryder smothered a smile. “And you ain’t reluctant to put the smack down on any man who messes with your shit.”
“That don’t exactly distinguish me among the brothers. Get the hell out of here and go heavy on the ammo. I don’t want to end up short in a crisis.”
Ryder immediately snapped to attention. “You expecting trouble, Prez?” The man’s hyper-vigilance was a bit unnerving to Ace.
“No more than any other day.” Jerking his chin toward the door, he gestured for him to leave.
Walking Ryder and the women out to Tiffany’s SUV, Ace spotted something concerning. Ryder saw it too. Ace could tell because his capricious friend came to a staggering stop. Ryder’s younger sister, Rose, was leaning against the chain link fence talking to one of their new prospects. The man was boxing her in with one beefy arm and using the hand to twirl a long strand of her pretty blonde hair around his finger. Her laughter floated over the parking lot, alerting them that their interaction was all kinds of mutual.
“They’re just talking. You got women to see to and ammo to buy.”
Ryder ground out, “She’s sixteen. He’s thirty-one.”
“Well, he’s about to be dead meat, so it doesn’t matter.”
“Make sure he knows she off limits.”
“One attitude adjustment coming right up. See to your women. I got this, brother.”
Jerking his head slightly to one side, Ryder’s jaw locked. Ace knew he wouldn’t want to punch the stupid fuck in the face in front of Tiffany or Rose. Brawling that way was usually done in private. Ace knew it was the natural propensity to assault someone when there weren’t witnesses around. Finally, Ryder forced himself to get into the vehicle.
Watching Ryder stop at the fence and offer Rose a ride to school, Ace waited patiently for Tank to head back to the clubhouse. Once the SUV was kicking up dust with Rose safely inside, Ace jerked his chin at the prospect. “Getting kind of cozy with Ryder’s sister aren’t you?”
Shrugging, Tank responded dismissively, “Ain’t gonna turn down a pretty little bitch like that.”
“Actually, that’s exactly what you’re gonna do.”
“So this is the kind of club where brothers ride each other’s back over a piece of tail? I wish that I’d know that before—”
The moment Tank wandered into grasping distance, Ace had one hand around his throat. Jerking the startled man forward, Ace turned and pinned him against the front of the clubhouse. “We don’t call Rose names. She’s sixteen damned years old and directly related to two club officers.”
“She’s just a chick. Look, man, I didn’t approach her. She came to me.”
“You ain’t gonna last long in this club unless you learn to use better judgment. In what universe do thirty-year-old men mix it up with high school girls?”
Trying to yank Ace’s hand off his neck, Tank sputtered, “I didn’t have my head screwed on about that. Now, I do. Let me go, you crazy fuck.”
Squeezing tighter, Ace’s other fist flew hard and fast multiple times before he could think it through. Gripping his hair, Ace jerked Tank’s face up to look him in the eyes. “I’m a fully patched member. You’re a prospect. Therefore, you show respect. You don’t like the boundary I’m setting, fine. You don’t like me, that’s fine too. If you want to climb on your bike and ride outta here, that’s your choice. No matter what happens, if you so much as speak another word to that young lady, I’m gonna drop you where you stand. Got it?”
“I’m hearing what you’re laying down.”
Letting go, Ace stepped back. Watching Tank gasp for breath and wipe his bloody nose on his sleeve, he sighed. “You’re damned lucky I chose to give you a little tune-up. Ryder or his old man wouldn’t have stopped at fisting you in the fucking face. I’ve seen Ryder beat a man bloody with a fucking chain for whole lot less.”
“Your club president won’t let you all beat the shit outta each other.”
“Show’s what you know. Darkness would have given you a fucking dirt nap for that shit. I’ve heard him say men who can’t keep their dicks outta kids don’t deserve to have one. He keeps a bull castrator in his desk drawer for just such occasions.”
Shock registered on the man’s face. “Shit, I honestly didn’t know she was only sixteen. She looks older.”
“You’re a grown-ass man. The responsibility is on you to figure that shit out right up front. If you can’t stay away from that little piece of jailbait, you need to get the hell on outta here. Next time it’s gonna cost you a whole lot more than a simple punch up.”
Not keen on being castrated or being given a dirt nap, he stammered, “I’m square, sir. I swear.”
“You better be. I ain’t interested in spending a whole damned evening digging an unmarked grave for your stupid ass.”
“That will not be necessary. I won’t even look her way.”
“Better not. Find something to do. I don’t want to see your ugly mug the rest of the damned day.”
“You got it.”
Ace watched him practically run to garage. Tank was a great mechanic, but Ace suspected he was a seriously shitty person. This was not some shit Ryder or he would forget when it came time to vote Tank in. Ace was feeling some kind of way about the ignorant fuck. He knew deep down inside, if it came right down to it, he would put a bullet in his brain pan before he allowed him to mess up that girl all over again.