Sharpie is a big guy, and most people fear him. A few houses over, our elderly neighbor hurries inside at the sight of the biker. Ford and I might seem safe after all these years, but the club terrifies the locals.
As we sit in the carport, Sharpie pretends to be interested in engines. I don't want to listen to him bullshit us. Not when Lula is in the house waiting for her first real Christmas tree and Bebe is waiting to reward me later for making her baby happy. Sharpie's problems don't mean crap to me.
"Zombie is stalking my little sister," he blurts out.
Ford nods. "Yeah, he'll do that."
"She goes to the community college and has a job. She's trying to do right, and now that fucker is stalking her."
"You talked to him?"
"Yeah, but he just nods and says the sky is blue or the wind smells like mint. I talked to Trigger too, but he says Zombie don't mean any harm."
Crossing my arms, I mutter, "So why are you telling us, if the boss says to let it drop?"
Sharpie looks me in the eye. "Trigger is planning to kill Joker."
Ford and I glance at each other then back at him.
"Did he tell you that?"
"He told the club that. Not you guys or Lucky or the people Joker brought in. Trigger's been having secret meetings."
"You know telling us this shit could get you killed, right?"
Sharpie's stupid face twists into a panicked frown. "Trigger's gonna let my sister be raped and killed. We'll find her in a ditch somewhere, and he'll pretend he doesn't know who did it. That leaves me with two choices. I kill Zombie myself and wait for Trigger to kill me. Or I come to you and swear allegiance to Joker. He knows it's bad to have fuckers like Zombie running loose."
"Where's your sister now?"
"I had her move into my house. Once she finishes the semester in a few weeks, I'm sending her out of town to stay with relatives."
Ford scratches at his dark beard "We can't make promises. I mean, you're coming here and making accusations against our president. It's not like Joker is going to just gonna take your word."
"What might help," I say, understanding where Ford is headed, "is you keeping your eyes and ears open. Play cool about your sister, so they don't get suspicious. We'll talk to Joker and see what he says."
"Zombie is a freak. You know that, right?"
"Yeah, we know, but it's not like we can go kill him without approval from Trigger. Now if Joker were president, things would be different. Of course, if we kill Trigger, his guys will kill us, and we'll have a war. Your sister won't do well in that scenario either. For now, be cool while we'll figure things out."
Sharpie doesn't want to wait. He wants Zombie dead this very second and to hell with the bloodshed that follows. I don't blame him for being on edge. If Zombie was after Bebe or Shay, I'd want him dead immediately. I wouldn't be able to sit around and wait either.
Life refuses to give a shit about our wants though. No doubt Joker won't care much either when the target is on his back. Thinking long term, our VP is making more moves than we know. He's also juggling playing nice with Trigger while trusting the not-too-trustworthy Madden.
This is why I'm an enforcer. I kill who needs killing and leave the details to other guys.
19
Bebe
Best Brother Wins
Pax has club business on the mind, but he still manages to be excited about buying a tree. Ford apparently suffers from the same work brain as he arrives with Shay, Donnie, and Devin. After giving his brother a smartass hello, Pax carries Lula around the lot and dismisses those trees beneath his standards.
Shay and I walk behind the men and kids.
Nudging me, she smirks. "You look crazy horny."
"F U C K you. I hide my horny well."
"He is pretty cute with Lula."
My heart clenches at her words because Pax is damn perfect with Lula. All those months fantasizing about this sexy bastard, I thought about sex and more sex. I knew Pax would be fun, and I need fun. What I never expected was he'd be so tender.
"I think I could love him," I confess.
Shay doesn't laugh. Not after she fell for Ford "Crushes People with a Bat" Reed.
"I think he already loves you."
"Why?" I ask, thinking she's messing with me.
"Ford said Pax had a crush on you since the first night at dinner. He says that's why his brother acted like a turd that night. Usually Pax's pretty smooth with girls, but he was a huge asshole to you."
"Yeah, I remember."
"Months ago, Ford said Pax would lose interest as soon as the fantasy was over. Then he said it again when we got back from the trip and you'd moved in. I told him today he'd been wrong, and he just shrugged. That's Ford's version of admitting he fucked up. Pax isn't hot for a fantasy, yet he's still hot for you. That could be love for a guy like him, right?"