Parker
The last thing I thought I would see when I came out of the bedroom was the kid. I was glad Ellie had caught me before I made up a stupid bullshit story about how I…did something that meant I had to be in the bedroom instead of on the couch.
I was glad for the ride on my bike, too. I needed to clear my head, and riding was the only thing that ever really did it for me. The night with Ellie had been good—better than good. It had been the first night since I lost Kelly that I had felt really happy with a woman. Not, like, cheesy romance happy. Not the kind of happy that only happened in movies. But real happiness. Comfort. Connection. I didn’t know how much I’d missed it until I had it again.
I didn’t know how much I had missed my clubhouse until I pulled up in front of it either, and I had only been away a day. Less than a day. How was it possible that so much had happened in so short a time? It felt like weeks instead of hours.
From the number of bikes out front, I could tell most of the club had spent the night in the bedrooms we kept on the second and third floors. It was always safer to give the guys a place to sleep it off after a good party. We were already in enough trouble with the law. We didn’t need the guys getting themselves arrested or God forbid killing somebody. Or themselves.
When I walked through the front door, all I could smell was vomit. “Oh shit,” I said, holding my nose. “Who the fuck puked in here?” I looked around, and the sight of club members and groupies stretched out over every flat surface made me laugh and cringe at the same time. I had missed a hell of a party. I wasn’t sure if I was jealous or glad.
Hook was asleep on the pool table, a blonde whose name I didn’t know in his arms. She wasn’t wearing a top, and her big, fake tits spilled out. Benny had fallen asleep with a woman’s hand down his pants, the woman on top of him. Like they had been in the middle of making out or more before they both passed out. I saw Mason stretched out on the couch in Ryder’s office, and I went there to talk to him. I didn’t care about waking him up—I looked forward to it, actually.
“Oh fuck,” he groaned when I shoved him. “What the hell happened?”
“I was gonna ask you the same thing,” I said, snorting with laughter. “It looks like the last fucking days of Rome out there. And it reeks of puke. We’re gonna have to get a cleaning crew out here to take care of the smell.”
“Nah, have a couple of the prospects do it. That’s what they’re for.” He had a point, and I shrugged it off. I stepped back, letting him slowly sit up like he was testing to make sure sitting up was even a good idea. “Holy hell. I can’t believe we partied that hard, man.”
“I was thinking the same damn thing. I guess when you’re sober, you see things clearer.” I leaned against Ryder’s desk. “Where’s the big man, anyway?”
“Upstairs. I saw him go up there with Candace early on in the night.”
I nodded. He would never have cheated on his old lady. Candace was a patient woman, but she told him straight-up that she’d cut his balls off if she ever found out he cheated on her with one of our regular girls. That got me thinking.
“What about Lisa and Hannah? You have fun with them?”
Mason groaned, scrubbing his hands over his face, then looking at them in horror. “Oh fuck. Did I even wash my hands after?”
“Oh, come on. You’re fucking sick.”
He stumbled to the bathroom just off of Ryder’s office, washing up, then washing his face. He came back in, hair slicked back. “I feel a little more human now,” he said. “Yeah, they drained the life outta me.”
“So both at once, huh?”
“It was either that or let one of ’em go off with Benny. He’s a good guy and I’m glad he’s in the club now, but I’ll be fucked if I let him take one of them away from me.”
I laughed. “Yeah, Benny’s not in that league yet. Maybe one day, when both balls drop.” He was sorta the club mascot in a way, the young, skinny kid who nobody would thought would patch into a club like the Inferno Hunters. Looks deceived. He always came through when we needed him, and could be just as tough and cold as any of us.
“What about you, man? Where have you been? You didn’t say last night…or maybe I just don’t remember.”
“Y’all have to rethink starting parties in the afternoon.” I laughed. “I’m surprised you’re still alive.”
“Yeah, well, whatever. I’ll put it to the vote during the next meeting.” He leaned back, one hand over his eyes like it hurt just to see the light. “So? Where were you?”
“Remember the waitress from the diner?”
“How could I forget? Tits and ass for days, brother.”
I held back the urge to knock him around for saying shit like that, since he didn’t know what went on between us. I wouldn’t have cared if he said it about Lisa or Hannah, though, and I had fucked the shit out of them, too. More than once. What did that mean?
“I was there.”
“At the diner?”
“No, at her apartment.”
Mason raised his hand, looking at me. “So, what, you’re seeing her now or something? Is she gonna be your new old lady?”
“Don’t go that far,” I said. “I’m not even seeing her. I was there to keep her and her kid safe.” I gave him the quick-and-dirty story, finishing with, “And that’s where you come in. Ryder gave me the idea that if he’s such a crotch to his wife and probably all women, he’s probably that way all over the place. Including in his business.”
“So you think he’s probably doing some shady business?” he asked.
“What do you think? It’s likely, right?”
“I think it’s more than likely. I think he’s probably doing more than just giving people money for charity. He’s probably fucking with the books, laundering, doing all kinds of shady shit. I mean, you talk about them living in a big place, and he’s got all this money. At his age? I saw the guy leave the diner. He couldn’t be older than you.”
“That’s it, right? I thought that, too. Why’s he so successful, so young? What if he’s doing one of those, whaddya call ’em schemes?”
“A Ponzi scheme?” Mason snickered.
“Something like that. Maybe not that, exactly, but something like it. Like the way those assholes got rich right before the housing market collapsed. They collected high commissions off of shit loans. I’m sorry, but that’s the only way a person could all of a sudden get as rich as him. It doesn’t make sense otherwise.”
“Did Ellie say anything about that?”
“No, just that he went from being a grad school student to having a ridiculous career in, like…” I did the math, “…three years.”
“That’s weird. Okay. I’ll look into him. I’m not sure what I’m looking for, though.”
“Anything. Find out the clients his firm handles, I guess. Find out what they’re all about. There has to be some sort of whispering going on somewhere. We’re near Flagstaff, but we’re not Flagstaff. We’re still a small town. Word gets around.”
“You’re right about that,” he said, smirking. “Like the way word gets around on us.”
“Well, right. That’s what I mean. People have to be talking about him, even if they’re bragging about how much money they make with his firm. I remember watching this thing on the news about that one guy, the one who’s in jail now…what’s his name…I don’t remember, but he ran one of those schemes. Some big shot they interviewed said his clients always bragged about how he made profits every quarter, every single time. And he said that’s impossible. There have to be losses sometimes, too. That should have been the first red flag. Who knows? Maybe there’s a red flag out there with Connor’s name on it.”
“And you think maybe his clients are talking about how great he is.”
“Right. That’s what’s gonna shoot him in the balls. I know it.” The more I talked about it, the better I felt about it. I was sure we would come up with something. It only made sense.
“I’ll get on it as soon as I don’t feel like I’m gonna die,” Mason said, slumping down on the leather couch.
“Don’t hurl on that thing, or Ryder will kill you. Hell, I might kill you—that might be mine one day.” I left him there, going back out to the lounge to put on a pot of coffee behind the bar. By that time, Ryder was coming downstairs with Candace. He looked about as disgusted as I felt, and held his nose when the smell hit him.
“Oh, fuck me. What the hell happened?”
“Your club got a little outta hand, prez. That’s what happened.” I grinned at him.
“Shit, they’re not my club right now. I’ll take off the patch and hand it to you if it means getting to forget I ever saw this.”
I laughed, then deliberately slammed the door to the cooler to get everybody up.
“Come on. Up. Let’s go.” Ryder nudged them—he wasn’t gentle, either.
Hook almost fell off the pool table. “What did you do that for?” he asked, holding a hand to his head as he got up. “What did I ever do to you?”
“I think you puked somewhere around here, that’s what. You’re always the one who ends up drinking until he pukes. You could never handle it.”
He shook his head. “I think it was Benny. He was the one doing shots, like, all night. I told him to slow down, skinny shit.”
“You’re probably right,” Ryder said. He nudged an unconscious body under the pool table. One of the prospects. “Hey. Bullet. Who the fuck told you you could party last night? One, two drinks, minimum. I swear to Christ, I can’t go to bed with my old lady without shit going to hell around here.”
“I only had two drinks, Ryder. Swear to God.” Bullet stumbled to his feet, weaving back and forth. I turned my head so Ryder wouldn’t see me laughing.
“Right. Take a shower, clean your ass up, then clean this place up. Find your buddy Phil, too. He’s probably around here somewhere.” Ryder shook his head like a disappointed parent, his eyes scanning the room.
Candace only smiled indulgently, waking the girls. “Oh, Ryder, don’t be so hard on them. They deserve a little party every once in a while.” Very much the forgiving mother. The two of them never had kids, but, in a way, Candace acted like every one of us was her kid.
“I don’t wanna hear it. Puking in my clubhouse. A bunch of punks.” But he didn’t really mean it. I could tell he liked the liveliness of his club, how rough and dirty we played. “I hope this whole place isn’t covered in cum.”
“Oh, Ryder.” Candace shook her head. “I always tell the boys to wrap it up. We don’t need any more little ones running around the clubhouse.”
That made me laugh, and Candace laughed with me as she helped the nameless girl off of Benny’s still unconscious body. The girl looked at her hand like she couldn’t believe she’d spent the whole night with it down somebody else’s pants. I laughed again, drinking my coffee.
“How did it go last night?” Ryder asked. I shrugged. “Oh, that good, huh?”
“What went good?” Candace poured herself a coffee. “What am I missing?”
“Nothing, dear. Your husband is giving me shit.” I gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“He’s shacking up with a waitress at the diner on the other side of town,” Ryder told her.
“What? You are?” She looked thrilled. “I’m so glad! What’s her name? Maybe I know her.”
“Ellie, but we’re not shacking up. I’m just staying there until her ex-husband clears out. She’s scared of him. That’s as far as it goes.” I shot Ryder a warning look.
He held his hands up. “Hey, I’m just calling it like I see it,” he said, grinning.
“That is so noble of you, sweetheart. I always thought you were the nicest of all these idiots. Including you.” She smirked at her husband, then turned back. “I’m sure she appreciates it. He’s bad news, huh?”
“The worst,” I said. “But it’s more than that. She’s got a kid. It’s real complicated.”
“It doesn’t have to be,” she said. “If you like each other, you like each other. That’s how it happens. That’s how I ended up with this sack of shit.” She grinned, nudging Ryder.
“Yeah, and she’s been making me pay for it ever since,” he grumbled. But he couldn’t hide the way he loved her. “So take my advice and take your time.”
“Asshole.” She turned back to me, still smiling. “So, are you going back there today?”
“Yeah. I have to get some clothes, and I was gonna get some food for them, too. She’s afraid to leave. She thinks her ex will come back and steal the kid.”
“Oh Christ. What a mess.” She shook her head. Then, she tilted it. “How are you gonna get groceries when you only have your bike?”
“Oh shit.” I forgot my car was in the shop. “I’ll have to borrow somebody’s.”
“I have an idea.” She put down her cup, hands on her waist. “Do you have the first clue on what to buy for a growing child?”
“Uh…cereal? Cookies? I don’t know.” I shrugged. “But they’re running low on food, and if I’m gonna be there, I wanna make sure I can actually eat something.”
“Right. How about I go with you, or even for you, and I can meet you at her place.”
“I’ll go, too,” I said. “I wanna get a few things just for Ellie. Like wine. The woman needs more wine.”
Candace grinned. “Of course, she does. She’s dealing with you.”