Chapter 3

 

Graham

 

 

KNOWING IT WAS a party, I asked Jordan to swing by my apartment so that I could shower and change. Fortunately, Bonnie wasn’t there and neither were her things.

“You live alone?” he asked, when we were inside.

“I do now,” I said, the memories of the other day hitting me again like a sledge hammer. “I’m going to take a shower. Make yourself at home.”

“Okay. Take your time.”

I walked into the bedroom and the first thing I noticed was the bed. Growling in the back of my throat, I ripped off the sheets and blankets and tossed everything in the corner. I still couldn’t believe the fucking bitch had the audacity to not only cheat on me, but do it in my bed. High or not, that was beyond disrespectful. Even the sofa would have been better.

Deciding that I’d buy all new linen the following day, I grabbed a change of clothing and took a shower.

 

 

I WASN’T SURE what to expect when we pulled up to the gate leading to the Gold Viper’s clubhouse. It was located in the warehouse district and in a building that looked more abandoned than anything, especially with the boarded up windows. If it hadn’t been for the parking lot full of cars and trucks, I’d have never guessed anything was going on.

“That was Zeke,” Jordan said, waving to the red-haired guy opening the gate for us. “He’s one of the new Prospects. Nice guy. You’ll meet him soon, I’m sure.”

“What’s a Prospect?”

“Someone the club is considering to patch and make a member.”

“Makes sense,” I replied as we drove forward. “Damn, there are a lot of people here.”

“Yeah. Well, this party isn’t the norm. The Old Ladies have been invited and other family members. They all want to meet you.”

“Great,” I mumbled. “No pressure there, right?”

He smiled and pulled around the building, where there were more parking spots. Shutting off the engine, he looked over at me. “You okay? You look like you’re ready to puke.”

I felt like it too. Knowing that everyone was waiting for me reminded me of grade school, when I’d been called up to the front of the room to give a speech. I hated being the center of attention. 

“You’ll be fine,” Jordan said, patting me on the shoulder before getting out of the SUV.

Sighing, I got out too. We walked through the snow, up the steps, where he knocked on the door. A few seconds later, it opened and another Prospect let us in.

“This him?” the guy asked Jordan.

“Yup. Graham, this is Dover,” Jordan said to me.

I held out my hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Smiling, he shook it. “You, too. Have fun tonight.”

“I will. Thanks,” I replied.

Jordan led me down the hallway and to the main part of the clubhouse, which was set up like a bar. Rock music played from a flashy jukebox in the corner, several people wearing Gold Viper vests were playing pool, and there was wall-to-wall people. It was a big turnout.

“This way,” Jordan said, walking away.

I followed him to the bar where several more Gold Vipers appeared to be standing around, shooting the shit.

The tallest of the group noticed Jordan first. A massive guy with short, cropped, dark hair and a neck the size of Texas. Built like a brick shithouse, he looked like he worked out twenty-four-seven. He held his beefy hand out to Jordan “Hey, brother. I didn’t think you were going to actually stop in.”

“I figured I’d better walk him inside. He’s under enough pressure as it is,” Jordan replied, shaking his hand.

“Yeah, I suppose.” He turned to me and grinned. “So… you must be Graham,” he said, holding out his hand. “The name is Tank. Nice to meet you.”

I shook his hand. “You, too. We met before, though. At Sal’s.”

He studied my face and nodded. “Yeah. I guess you do look familiar. I’ve met a lot of people, but I never forget a face.” Tank nodded toward the others standing quietly around the bar, listening quietly. “Let me introduce you to these meatheads. That’s Hoss, Cole, Tail, and Chopper.”

“Hi. Nice to meet you guys,” I replied.

“You, too. So, you just got out of the slammer?” Hoss asked me.

Before I could answer, Tank sighed and scolded the older man. “Jesus, he just walked in and already you’re getting personal. You know he did. Why do you think we’re having this fundraising benefit?”

“What they get you for?” Hoss asked, ignoring Tank.

“You don’t have to answer that,” Tank muttered. “Hoss. Mind your own fucking business.”

“Hey, I threw a fifty into the pot to bail him out. I think it is my business,” he snapped.

“It’s okay. Aggravated assault,” I said. “Thanks for chipping in.”

“No problem. So, he deserve it?” Hoss asked.

“And more,” I replied.

Hoss grinned. “Good for you.”

“Where’s Raptor?” Jordan asked, looking around.

“On his way with Adriana. They dropped the kids off at Frannie’s,” Tank replied.

“She must have her hand’s full. She’s watching Carissa and Drew, too,” Jordan replied.

I’d learned on the ride over that Carissa and Drew were his kids, which would make them my niece and nephew, it what he said was true. It was an odd concept to think that not only did I have two brothers, but that I was an uncle.

“Frannie’s sister is visiting, so she has help,” Tank replied, putting his hand on my shoulder. “In the meantime, I’d better introduce you to the rest of the club.”

“You sure you want to do that?” I asked, my stomach tightening.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“We don’t know for sure if I’m related to him or Raptor,” I replied. “Shouldn’t we wait for a DNA test?”

Tank snorted. “I don’t need no fucking DNA test. You look a lot like both of your brothers, especially Raptor. I should know, we grew up together and I can see him in your facial features. So, no. We’re not going to wait. Besides, this is a fundraiser. Everyone wants to see you.”

“A fundraiser?” I asked.

“Yeah. To recoup your bail. Since we used our annual charity money to get you out of the slammer, we need to raise more for the donation made to the local women’s shelter.” Tank looked over at Jordan. “I gave Jessica a check before Christmas, by the way. Took it out of the club’s slush fund. We’ll just replace it with what we bring in tonight.”

Jordan nodded. “Yeah, she dropped it off. She said they were thrilled and will be sending you something in the mail here soon.”

“I received an email already, too. Speaking of Jessica, here she comes,” Tank said, looking past me.

We all turned to see two young women walking toward us. The first one had dark, blonde hair and a smile on her face. The second one had lighter hair and large green eyes.

Hoss whistled under his breath. “Damn. Jessica’s friend reminds me of that actress in Mama Mia.”

“The play?” Jordan asked.

“No. The movie, with Meryl Streep. She looks like the daughter. Amanda something,” he replied.

Tank laughed. “Never picked you for a musical lover, Hoss.”

“It’s the only one I like. Besides Grease,” he said. “Anyway, it’s not like I watch them all the time or anything.”

“Watch what?” Jessica said as the two women stopped next to us.

“Nothing,” Hoss replied, giving Tank a warning glare. “Anyway,” he smiled at the other woman, “who’s your friend, Jessica?”

“Chloe,” she replied.

“Hi,” said Chloe shyly, smiling at all of us.

We all greeted her.

Looking at me, Jessica smiled warmly and held out her hand. “And you must be Graham. It’s so nice to meet you.”

I shook it. “You, too. Thanks.”

“I was just going to introduce him to the rest of the club,” Tank said after drinking the last gulp of his beer. He set the bottle down on the bar and wiped the corner of his mouth. “Come on, brother. Time for you to meet the family.”

I followed him through the crowd to a small stage, which I noticed also had a stripper pole. We climbed the steps and he whistled loudly, getting everyone’s attention. There had to be close to seventy people in the room.

“Tank!” hollered a few guys, holding their beers up.

He acknowledged them with a nod and a smile and then began to speak. “A couple things… first I’d like to thank everyone for showing up tonight and supporting the fundraiser. Whether you’re a member of the club or a close personal friend, it warms me to see so many of you here tonight.”

“It could be the tequila that’s making you warm, too!” razzed Hoss, laughing at his own joke.

“Yeah, a little of that, too.” Tank smirked and scratched the side of his neck. “Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah… as far as I’m concerned, we’re all just one big family and it makes me proud to see us all coming together to look out for each other as well as our community. I just want to add that last week we were able to donate ten-thousand dollars to the local women’s shelter. Most of them have young children and you can imagine how crappy it feels to want to make their holidays special but can’t afford to. Anyway, with the club’s donation, they were able to put some presents under the tree and have a warm holiday meal, so thank you.”

The crowd clapped and cheered.

“Where’s the money going that’s being raised tonight?” asked an older lady with tattoos and biceps bigger than some guy’s I’d seen. She was obviously a body builder.

“It’s replenishing our slush fund. I wanted to have the fundraiser before the holidays, but we were all so busy. Hopefully next year we’ll be more organized and… maybe we can even get Hoss to dress up as Santa Claus,” Tank said, glancing toward Hoss.

“When reindeer shit candy canes,” Hoss said dryly. “Sorry, brother. But, nobody’s sitting on my lap unless she’s legal, hot, and willing to unwrap my yule log.”

Some people laughed.

“Thanks for that enticing image, Hoss. I think I really could use another shot of Tequila,” Tank replied, chuckling. He turned and put a hand on my shoulder. “Before I do, I want to introduce everyone to Graham Dodge. Thanks to you, we were able to bail him out of jail. If you haven’t already heard, he’s Raptor and Jordan’s long, lost brother.”

Everyone raised their drinks and clapped, which was a good feeling. When it quieted down, I also thanked them personally.  

“Any brother of Raptor or Jordan, is also a brother to us,” Tail hollered, raising his beer.

“Thanks. I appreciate it,” I replied, still feeling really weird about the idea of having two brothers. I guess at that point, it still felt surreal.

“Are you going to patch him?” one of the women hollered out.

Tank shrugged. “I don’t know. Just like everyone else, he’d have to start out as a Prospect and then we’d see if he has the balls to be a Gold Viper.”

One of the other women in the group smiled and winked at me. “I wouldn’t mind checking that out myself.”

Admittedly, she wasn’t bad looking and part of me wanted to fuck away every memory I had of Bonnie. But, the head on my shoulders was a little too clear at the moment to consider it.

“Now, Candace… that’s something you’ll have to discuss with him on your own,” Tank said as everyone laughed. “Anyway, folks, enjoy the rest of the night and thanks again.”

We left the stage and as we headed toward the bar, a bunch of club members greeted me. I had to admit, the Gold Vipers were much friendlier than I’d imagined them to be.

“You looked a little nervous up there,” Jessica teased.

“I was. Tank was talking about raising money and I was standing next to a stripper pole. I thought maybe he was going to make me work for it,” I replied.

Everyone laughed.

“Candace would have loved that,” Hoss said, grinning. “Although, she’s usually the one on the pole.”

“That’s true. At least from what I hear,” said Jessica. “Anyway, Chloe, would you like play some darts?”

“Sure,” she replied.

“Jordan?” Jessica said, looking at her husband.

“You sure you want me to play?” he replied with a smirk. “You know I always win.”

“You haven’t seen Chloe’s steady hand. In fact, I might even wager that she’ll beat both of us,” Jessica said.

Chloe’s face turned red and she smiled. “Wait a second - throwing darts and drawing blood are two totally different things.”

“Maybe, but it takes a good eye to be successful at both. Have you played darts before?” Jordan asked.

“Only a couple of times,” she admitted. “It’s been awhile though. I’ve forgotten most of the games.”

“We usually just play 301,” said Jessica.

“Okay,” she replied.

“Let me now when Raptor gets here,” Jordan said, taking off his black leather jacket. “I need to speak to him.”

“Will do,” Tank replied.