Ford shrugs. “You never know.” After giving me another kiss, Ford steps back. “I’m sorry. I gotta work.”
I watch him disappear downstairs. A few minutes later, the front door closes and Harleys roar to life. I watch the brothers disappear down the road. Once I’m truly alone, I enjoy how Ford wants to spend the evening with me. I’ve never had a boyfriend and don’t know what’s normal. No matter how long this thing with Ford lasts, I plan to enjoy the ride.
24
Ford
Back Page News
The west side of Little Memphis is a wasteland of failed businesses and abandoned homes. After a rat infestation, one of the elementary schools was temporarily closed and the kids shuttled off to another nearby school. Apparently the paperwork for the extermination process got lost, so the temporary closing was going on two years now. Typical west side bullshit.
Big Dick is one of Trigger’s high school buddies. They busted a lot of heads together during the Little Memphis Motorcycle Club’s rise to power. Big Dick like Trigger always felt untouchable. For thirty years, they were, but not anymore.
Tiny Dick was probably a funny nickname for a little boy. Once he hit his teen, Big Dick’s son hated the fucking thing. Tiny whined to me a few weeks ago about how nothing on him was small. I told him to get over it. He shrugged and walked off. That was the last time I saw him alive.
Studying the wounds on his body, I realize none of them are tiny either. Whoever brought him out to the quarry tore him apart.
“We’re looking at more than one fucker,” I say as Pax walks around nearby, searching for clues to the assholes.
Joker nods. “Normally, I might think this was the kind of normal fucked up shit that happens when egos collide. We both know Tiny had a big ego. Except dumping him here and fucking him up so much feels personal. I’m thinking this is an attack on the club, not Tiny.”
“The west side bastards going after Tiny means they’re cowards. He wasn’t in the club yet. The kid was big, but he couldn’t fight for shit. Usually, he just fell on people to win.”
Joker gives me a little nod. Despite his cool demeanor, he’s nervous. While not the first time someone’s hit the club, the blood spilled was never from a club family member before. Joker has two women, two kids, and a mom to worry about getting targeted. I just have Pax who can handle himself.
Standing out there in the gravel pit, I feel like the old Ford. I don’t think about the last few days and forget about Shay. Out of nowhere, I see her face.
Shay’s my responsibility. My shiny toy. Fuck it, she’s my woman. That makes her a target too. Now I’m not just angry, but nervous too.
“Big Dick claimed fuckers were making a move,” Pax says, joining us. “We need to burn their shit down. Scare them and see who rats out who.”
“Not yet,” I mutter. “These fuckers are pissing their pants right now. They killed Big Dick’s only son, so they’ll be expecting payback. Walking into their playground with their rules is going to get more of us killed. Instead, let’s give them a few days to relax and think they’ve won.”
Joker sighs. “Big Dick wants blood now.”
“This isn’t just about him,” I say, glancing at Trigger and Big Dick at the top of the quarry. “The whole club is on the line. We can’t walk into an ambush to make one guy feel better. You remind him that he has more kids and an old lady. He better keep his head down until we’re ready to get his payback.”
Joker sizes up Pax and me then walks off to play nice guy with Big Dick. I can’t fake the buddy shit. That’s not my talent. Pax and I are enforcers. We don’t do soft or smooth. We are blunt objects meant for destruction, but that doesn’t fucking mean I plan to sign up for a suicide mission.
“If Paro is the one making moves, he didn’t kill Tiny himself,” Pax says. “The idiot’s a pimp and has one fucking guy as muscle. Not even a big guy either. This feels like something else.”
“Paro has a mouth on him and his girls are snitching. I’m guessing the asshole behind him is a dealer. The meth guys have bitched about Big Dick screwing them. You know the bald guy with the weird tat on his head?” I ask and Pax nods. “He’s a psycho fuck and he got out of prison a few months ago. That’s the kind of fucker who would eviscerate a kid like Tiny. I say he’s the one we kill first.”
“If he ain’t the guy, it’ll be no skin off anyone’s ass. I bet his mom won’t even shed a tear for the creep.”
“We’ll need to make it messy.”
“Public too.”