Chapter 2
Girth
I knocked on Elwood’s office door. I’d gotten a call that morning from one of my brothers to go see Elwood at the bar. It could only mean one thing, a private meeting like that; Elwood wanted to give me new responsibilities.
I’d been inducted into the Rogue Rebels as a prospect for the past three years now, and I’d been waiting for this moment. The moment that Elwood would call me into his office and tell me I was ready to handle my own missions. This was the moment I’d been training for.
It was the only life I knew. The only family I had now, was my brother, who was living by himself, trying to get through high school without spiraling out of control the way our parents had, or most of the kids in our neighborhood.
I worked hard and I saved money and my intention was to put my brother through college. My hope was that at least one of us, would have the liberty to choose the kind of life they really wanted to lead. At least my brother would have a shot at ‘normal’.
After the Marines, especially after my tour in Iraq; I’d felt like I had no direction any more. I knew how people looked at me. I was a big thug, dangerous looking and war torn, and yes, Iraq had torn me and I knew I was spiraling out of control. My rage and my nightmares had overtaken my life. The Rogue Rebels and my brothers at the MC had given me the direction I needed.
I was good at this. It was the only life I knew. After I quit the marines, and before I found the MC; I could feel myself descending into the abyss of the life that my drug addict mother and my drunk father led. It was what I had been brought up around, it was the only ‘normal’ I had known. These days, I was grateful that neither my brother, nor I saw much of either of our parents. It was some relief to leave our childhoods behind.
Now when I woke up at night, from a nightmare about dead children and the blast of landlines going off in the distance—I knew that I had my own band of brothers here to work with. At the MC we were doing good work. I didn’t give a shit about what the law said. We lived by our own rules and a moral code of conduct. We didn’t pick our battles with civilians and we made sure that none of our work affected women or children.
We drank a lot, rode our bikes, had each other’s backs and made money. This was the life I had chosen for myself, and it was the best life I could have hoped for.
I heard Elwood’s voice now; commanding and firm, as he invited me to enter.
He was sitting behind his large desk when I went in, and he tipped his head at me as a nod.
“You asked to see me?” I said to him, as I approached his desk. I was excited at the prospect of new responsibilities. Elwood knew I did good work at the MC. I was his strongest man and I was a damn good shot.
“Sit down, Girth, we need to talk,” Elwood said and I did as I was told. Following orders and doing what I was told was a value that was instilled in me by the military. A habit that was pretty hard to shake off. But following orders worked well at the MC too, and Elwood was aware of it.
He took in a deep breath now as he fixed his eyes on me. Was he going to make me responsible for the new weapons shipments coming in?
“You know the Marked Skulls?” he asked and I crossed my brows in confusion.
“Up in Orlando?” I asked, referring to a small MC in Florida that I had heard about in passing. They were probably less than half the size of us, and didn’t wield much control in Orlando either. As far as I knew, they dealt in petty businesses like stolen cars and shit. I had no idea why Elwood was talking about them.
“Yeah, the very one. You know, their Captain, Lewis, he and I go way back. We used to be in the same MC together in our twenties. He’s a pal,” Elwood explained and I nodded my head.
“The Storm Rebels?” I asked and Elwood nodded and smiled, like he was thinking about the good ol’ days.
“Mad bastard. I’ve never seen any man walk into a rain of bullets like that guy, and he always emerged untouched from a fight. Don’t know how he did it,” Elwood continued with a faint smile on his face, and I still had no idea why he was telling me about the captain of the Marked Skulls.
“Why’d he move to Florida?” I asked and Elwood sighed.
“Oh, the usual. He married his old lady, who wanted him to leave his MC life behind. He probably wouldn’t have, if she didn’t get pregnant. They had a daughter and his old lady finally wore him down. He moved to Florida to start a new life,” Elwood explained and I smiled.
“And he started a new MC there instead,” I added and Elwood smiled too.
“Yeah, but only after his old lady died. Poor guy’s been raising that daughter of his all by himself,” Elwood shook his head and clucked his tongue. I could see that he still felt connected with his friend and I thought I could imagine what that might feel like. I’d have felt the same way about brothers from the MC too.
“Anyway, so, his daughter is all grown up now. Twenty-three, is what Lewis told me, and apparently, a real firecracker,” Elwood continued and I stared at him, hoping he would get to the point soon.
“She talks like her mother now, nagging poor Lewis about the MC and the likes,” Elwood said with a laugh. I had never been much of a gossip, and this was a ton of useless gossip that wasn’t going to do me any good. What did the captain of the Marked Skulls in Florida, or his twenty-three year old daughter have anything to do with me?
Then the smile from Elwood’s face dropped and he fixed his eyes on me again.
“There was a hit on her,” he said flatly and leaned over the table towards me.
“On Lewis’ daughter?” I asked.
“Yeah, Lila is her name. A rival MC took a shot at her, in the middle of the day, in downtown Orlando. Can you fucking believe that?” Elwood said and shook his head.
“That’s fucked up. We don’t touch the women,” I stated and Elwood nodded his head and took in a deep breath.
“Exactly. I don’t blame Lewis for losing his shit over this. His precious daughter, his only child, and someone wants her dead to teach him a lesson,” Elwood said and he was looking at me firmly again.
I could sense that something big was coming. Elwood was about to drop a bomb.
“He needs my help with protection. Lila needs a twenty-four hour bodyguard, and there isn’t anyone better to do it than you,” he said.
***
Elwood wanted me to be a personal bodyguard to a woman I didn’t know. Someone’s daughter, neither of whom I’d met. They didn’t even belong to our MC. I felt no sense of loyalty towards this guy Lewis, or his daughter, but I could see that Elwood did and that should have been good enough for me.
This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I imagined Elwood having brand new responsibilities lined up for me.
“You want me to go to Orlando?” I asked and Elwood smirked as he leaned over the table. I sensed that he could hear the dismay in my voice at the news.
“Who better to do it?” he asked, and I had no response to that. I was flattered that Elwood considered me up for the task, and that he had confidence in my abilities. However, it wasn’t much of a task to begin with was it? Protecting a woman.
“Well, I don’t…” I began to say and Elwood shook his head and smiled.
“I know, Girth, what you’re going to say. You don’t think that it’s wise of me to use my resources this way. I don’t want you to feel like I’m trying to get rid of you. You are a valuable asset to this MC and this isn’t an easy decision for me. But I want to do right by my friend. He’s asked for help and this is the best way I can,” he continued and I tried to push down the lump that had formed in my throat.
What Elwood basically wanted me to do was to join a new MC.
“How long?” I asked, in a deep gruff voice.
“For as long as it takes for Lila to feel safe again. As long as it takes Lewis to end this shitstorm that he’s created,” Elwood replied, holding my gaze. I wanted to look away, I wanted to run a hand through my scruffy dark beard, but I didn’t want him to see my hesitation. I didn’t want Elwood to witness me hesitating in following orders, no matter how much I didn’t want to do it.
“And all I have to do is follow this girl around all day?” I asked and Elwood sat back in his chair again and smiled.
“I know what you’re thinking, Girth, that this is a task for a fresh-faced new member, who can’t handle the big stuff,” Elwood said and I clenched my jaws. That was exactly what I was thinking.
“I want Lila to be safe, just like Lewis does. She’s my Godchild,” Elwood revealed and finally, I could see where he was coming from. This girl wasn’t just the daughter of an old friend, Elwood felt partly responsible for her safety too.
“I haven’t seen this girl in a decade, but I remember her as a small naive little kid with a snappy big mouth, but she’s precious,” he continued and I had no other choice but to nod my head.
“You’re the best protection I can give that girl,” he added and I nodded my head again.
“I’ll do it. I’ll leave for Orlando today,” I said and stood up from my chair. Elwood stood up from his too.
“That’s what I wanted to hear,” he said and held out his hand for me to shake.
“Nobody is going to replace you here, Girth, and no matter how long it takes, when you come back, you’ll have your old place back,” Elwood said and I nodded.
“I’ll make sure she’s safe,” I replied.
“Lewis and his brothers will be waiting for you,” Elwood told me and I turned and walked out of his office.
The bar was empty this early in the morning. My brothers were all in their homes, recovering from last night’s hangovers. Hell, I could feel a headache coming on as well. I knew I had to leave for Orlando right away, it was going to be a long ride. It also meant that I wouldn’t have the time to say my goodbyes.
I walked out of the bar and got on my bike. I was going to ride back to my apartment, pack the handful of possessions I had in a duffel bag and then ride to Orlando.
If this task was going to be successfully completed in the shortest time possible, I would have to help the Marked Skulls eliminate the threat. That was the only way I could ensure that Lila Lewis could feel safe again, and that way, I could return to my own MC quickly.
Whatever and whoever was trying to get to Lila, would have to pay and then be destroyed.
I rode to my apartment and packed my bag. It was all done in a matter of twenty minutes. I looked around the place I’d been living in for the past three years, the space that had grown on me. I’d always considered myself a wayfarer, I didn’t want to call this apartment my home, but the truth was that it had become home.
Bound for Orlando, I jumped on my bike and pulled out my cell phone from the pocket of my pants. I sent a quick text to my brothers, to tell them I was leaving for Orlando on Elwood’s command. I hoped that in that one-sentence text, my brothers would get a sense of what I really wanted to say; that I would miss them.