“I gotta tell you, man, I fucking love it. It feels so free — no place to be, no hurry to get anywhere. I could do this forever.”
Joker laughed and took another drag. “Happy to hear it. You’ve earned a little break with all the work you been doin’.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “It’s been a lot of work, but I’ve enjoyed it. You know, I’ve made a lot of money over my career so far, but it’s always been for other people. It’s nice to know that all the work I’m doing is going to put money in my own pocket for a change.”
Well, yours and eight other guys.” Joker nodded as Sally and the Sergeant at Arms, Trey, crossed the parking lot toward the Waffle House next door. Joker turned to me. “Everything okay with all the guys? I don’t see you and Bug or J.C. talking a whole lot.”
“The guys are great,” I answered, trying to decide how to handle the Bug issue. “Can I be honest?”
“Only way to be.”
“I don’t really like Bug all that much. J.C. is okay if you can get him on his own, but I think Bug’s kind of an asshole.”
Joker sighed and shook his head. “I can see why you’d say that. Moses never warmed to him, either. He ain’t actually a bad guy, once you get to know him, but he’s mighty protective of his position in the MC. He’s always on the lookout for guys trying to bump him outta the V.P. spot.”
“Well, I’m not even a full member. Why would he be wary of me?”
“Luke, he’s got a little bit of the short guy’s complex. He feels like guys look down on him, even if they don’t. It ain’t exactly a rational thing. He sees you as steppin’ into Moses’ role — kinda an unofficial leader of the Sons — and he envies your natural leadership.” He put out the cigarette on the bottom of his shoe. “Least that’s how I see it. That’s enough of the psychological bullshit. I sound like your mother watching them psychologists on talk shows.” He stood up. “Let’s go get us some breakfast.”
We took our seats at the bar next to Sally and Trey.
“So we’re gonna meet your buddy and get our stuff today?” Trey asked.
“Yeah. We should roll into town around one this afternoon if we’re on the road by ten. He’s gonna show us around his grow houses. I figured that we should learn everything we can from the guys who are doing it right.”
Sally poured some sugar into the coffee that the waitress set in front of him. “So he’s got plants that are ready to sell?”
“Yup. He’s curing them now, but they’ll hold for a few months until we get our shop open. By the time all of the licenses and permits are ready, it’ll be perfectly in its prime. One of the biggest mistakes people make is smoking the stuff too early. It has to mellow for a while.”
“And he had some seeds too, right?” Joker asked.
“Yeah. I talked to him and described how we’ve started setting up our warehouse, and he recommended half a dozen kinds that he thinks will work best. We can harvest the first crop and make decisions about which ones fared the best.”
Sally laughed. “I volunteer to be part of the quality control group.”
“Yeah, you and everyone else,” I laughed. “We’ll have a lot of work to do getting everything planted, but I think Sable’s help is going to make a difference. She really has a green thumb.”
Joker agreed. “It’ll be nice for her to spend her time on something that’s gonna make money, rather than those roses that just cost me a fortune.”
Our breakfast arrived, and the haze of my hangover started to clear with the omelette and home fries. While we ate in companionable silence, I realized how much my trip to Colorado to find Joker and Sable had changed my life — forever, I suspected. As sore as I was from the two days of riding, I couldn’t wait to get back on my bike. I loved my cut and the statement it made to the people we passed on the highway. I loved the feeling of being a brotherhood, guys who rode together, drank together, and were building a business together. I loved being able to walk into a bar and find women willing to suck my cock at the drop of a hat.
I felt powerful, and I knew I would never be able to give that feeling up. I loved being on the road, and I loved being a Savage Son.
Chapter 28
Krystal
Thursday, July 4, 2013
I checked the time on my phone while I folded the last of the laundry I’d done that morning. I’d spent the last few days cleaning Bug’s house from top to bottom, deciding that if I was going to have to spend the next year of my life there, I wanted it to be clean and organized. I’d had plenty of time to think while Bug had been on the ride to Arizona, and I thought I’d come up with a plan for how to make the next year of my life something other than miserable.