I feel the corner of my mouth lift. She is so much like Nina, seeing a lost soul and trying to fix him. “Baby, he’s gonna be staying with us for a while so you can find out what he likes later. For now, just take him and show him his room. It’s the last door on the left and ours is up the stairs at the end of the hall; give us a few minutes.”
She hesitates before catching the mood in the room. The tension went up a notch the moment Rollo came in, and it didn’t have a fuckin’ thing to do with the kid. He’s here to give us a report on Cash’s latest fuck up. Shay doesn’t know this, but she’s smart enough to figure out this isn’t the place for her. Finally, she nods and motions for Tag to follow her. As they walk down the hall, I hear her ask him his name. He starts to say Nate but catches his self and replies, “Tag.”
We stay silent until we hear the door to his room shut and the sound of Shay climbing the steps. “Okay, what happened while we were gone?”
“Before we start, are you gonna tell me who the kid is that’s gonna be sharing our house?” Tin says, pulling a joint out of his cutt and placing it between his lips.
I shake my head. “We can talk about it later.”
His eyes narrow on me but he doesn’t argue. Instead, he lights up his joint and takes a hit. Then, he looks to Rollo. “Tell us, what did dear old dad fuck up while we were on the road?”
“Cash being Cash,” He says as he walks to the fridge and pulls out the beer Shay just sat back in there. “He’s called a meeting about the Sixes. He wants to call in the Hellions to ride against them.”
“Roundman’s not gonna go for that,” I say with a shake of my head, knowing the Hellions president won’t fall for my father’s shit. “He’ll know we’re in the wrong, and he won’t put his boys on the line.”
“That’s what I said, but you know your father. He thinks everyone bows down to him.”
“Well, he’ll find out when he rides in alone,” Tin adds, hating Cash as much as I do.
“That’s the problem, Cash won’t be riding. It’ll be us. He is gonna send the three of us down there in two weeks. There’s another drop, and Toke will be along for this one too.”
I fist my fingers, wanting to run my hand through the bastard’s face. Instead, I pull out a cigarette and light it up. “I don’t need a watchdog; none of us do.”
Tin takes a seat at the table and tosses back his beer. As soon as the last drop is gone, he looks to me. “He is talking this shit with the Hellions, knowing Roundman won’t play; it’s all a fuckin’ game. He wants us gone, and he’s gonna do what it takes to make it happen. He thinks he can throw up a smoke screen, but we’re not fuckin’ idiots.”
“Shit,” Rollo mumbles. “I think the same damn thing, but his problems aren’t going to end with us. There are a lot of boys that are not liking how he is running things.”
“Yeah, but none of them are blood. Tin and I are his sons, and your dad was an original. We could make something happen, but the rest of the brothers are stuck putting up with his shit.”
Tin barks out a bitter laugh as he holds out the joint for Rollo to take a hit. “I have no power. I’m just the spic bastard he doesn’t claim.”
The room goes quiet, tension picking up even more. What he says is true, if it hadn’t been for me, my brother wouldn’t even be wearing a patch. Sometimes, I have to wonder if I made the right decision by forcing the issue. I had to pull in every favor and play every card I had to get the vote to swing my way. I wanted him to be part of the Savage Outlaws, but now I wish he was as far away as he could be from our fuckin’ father.
Finally, Rollo speaks, after taking the joint from Tin’s hand. “It’s time we made a play, stop his shit. I know he’s your father, but we gotta do something.”
“I’m gonna call a meeting. If he doesn’t step down, I’ll put him in the ground.”
Tin lets out a low whistle. “I know he’s a bastard but are you sure you can do it.”
I think about it for only the briefest of seconds and know my answer. Do I want to kill him, no? Will I kill the motherfucker before he kills me? Hell yeah! “I can do it.”
My Home Too
Shay
I wake up, when the bed dips and Bowie settles in behind me. He throws his arm over my body as his lips settle on my shoulder. “It’s time to wake up, baby.”
Opening my eyes, I see sun peeking through the wooden blinds and fight the urge to go back to sleep. I was so tired, I didn’t even look around after he sent me upstairs. I just stripped off my jeans and crawled into bed. “What time is it?”