I shivered in the California sun and hugged myself. Sarah then appeared and put an arm around me.
“Now, let’s say goodbye to our brother and honor him,” Stoney said.
He put a hand to the casket. The table members did the same. I had to step forward and put my hand to the casket. It was then lowered into the ground. I stood there and watched it all. A man I didn’t love. A man I didn’t exactly care for. But he was the man who saved me from my dark past. That’s why I stuck it out with him.
I felt suddenly alone. Even with a hundred bikers around me, I felt vulnerable. I would never feel safe again, no matter what.
That’s when I started to cry.
Stoney walked to me and hugged me. He was tall, thin, and very strong. He held me for a few seconds and then started to turn. His fingers dug into my shoulder, his way of telling me to walk with him. So I did.
We got a little bit away from the scene and Stoney started to talk, his arm around me.
“I know you’re terrified,” he said. “Rightfully so.”
“Who did it?” I asked.
“I don’t know yet. We’re not the most peaceful of people. You know that, Winter.”
“I’m next, aren’t I?”
“Depends on the purpose of the hit,” Stoney said. “Do you feel you’re in danger? Anything you’ve done I need to know about?”
I looked at Stoney. “I think we all have demons.”
“Yeah.”
Stoney stopped and turned to face me. He held me at his shoulders. I feared he was going to make a move on me. He’d done it once before and we came close to doing something crazy. Not that I wanted him at all. But he was the President of the MC. What could I do? Especially now… I had nobody to protect me.
“Winter, look at me.”
I did.
“I made a call.”
“A call?” I asked.
Stoney nodded. “There’s protection coming for you.”
“What kind of protection?”
“Trust me, this guy will be able to protect you. He’s a fighter. He’s ruthless. He’s not part of the MC or any MC. He’s a direct guy. You don’t want to fuck with him.”
I nodded. “Okay. Thank you.”
Stoney didn’t look too confident.
I didn’t feel confident.
I had some stranger coming to protect me?
Just what I needed.
Someone else barging into the mess that was my life.
5.
(Tripp)
My apartment was shitty and small, but it had one amazing thing. The ocean wasn’t too far away. I had my bed in the corner of my bedroom - the only bedroom - and when I opened the window I could hear the beach. I couldn’t see it though. The view to see the beach came from the roof. But sitting in the corner of my room, window open, I listened. The distance slushing of the waves. The call of the seagulls. A crazy feeling that right there was the end of it all. The open sea. Some kind of wild freedom and unknown world.
I looked at my hands. They were swollen as hell. The back of my head still hurt to touch and I was probably concussed. I didn’t give a shit though. My job didn’t come with health insurance. You either suffered or died.
When I woke up in the circle, I figured Aldo would be standing there, waiting to shoot me. But he was gone. Long fucking gone. And so was Endo’s body. I was left with three guys, two of whom didn’t speak English. They gave me a couple shots to numb my head and face and patched me up. They then gave me a baggie of pills to take for pain and drove my ass home.
That was three nights ago.
I was down to the bare essentials in the fridge. Three eggs, four slices of bread, a couple frozen burgers in the freezer, and a six pack of lager. With my appetite, that would last me about two hours.
I knew they were coming for me. It was only a matter of time.
Aldo wasn’t a nice guy. He wasn’t made to be a nice guy. He wasn’t fair either. He was straight to the point. If you won your fight and won him money, he liked you enough not to kill you. If you lost your fight, you ate a bullet. That was it. I had no purpose in the world. I wasn’t meant to do anything but what Aldo needed. I used the cash to pay for the shitty apartment, food, clothes, and booze. I had a little speedster car that I had paid for with cash after a really good fight a couple years ago.
My life was simple and everything was underground.
My apartment was on the top floor of the building. Under me were nothing but low life drug dealers and addicts. The place got raided on a weekly basis. I got to know the police that would bust in for two reasons. One - they were used to coming in to check on my place, just doing their job. Two - some of them would come to the fights and bet on me.
What a fucked up world.
There wasn’t a knock at the door but rather a thundering bang. Someone with a fist, punching it.
They’re here.
I moved from the bed and grabbed my leather jacket. I strutted through the apartment and looked around. It’d be the last time I’d see the place.
I opened the door and two of Aldo’s thugs were there.
“Let’s go,” one said.
“Yeah,” I said.
We went out back to a black car.