I did so without an ounce of fear. Shit, as far as I was concerned, if you had to hide behind thugs and tinted windows, how powerful were you? My old man never stayed away from a confrontation or a good fight. Ever. People knew who the President of the Reaper’s Bastards was. Hammer was everywhere.
I’d live the same way.
The window slowly went down and I saw a set of eyes. Crow’s feet in the corners. Brown eyes. Eyes of power and pain.
“I’m not talking to a fucking set of eyes, man,” I said.
The window then went down some more. It was a skinny man with a very defined face. A scar at the corner of his lip. He looked pissed off, but that wasn’t my problem.
“I’m Kn-”
“Knoxville,” Vinny said. “The son of Hammer. The son of a man serving a life sentence. The son who decided to bring his MC to life again. Yet he wears the wrong patch.”
“Trust me, Vinny, I’m wearing the right patch,” I said. “Can we just get to our business?”
“Of course,” he said.
“I’m not looking to start a war,” I said. “The Reap and your family has existed for a long time. I know some relationships go deep. I’m fine with that. I’m here to just get a face to face.”
“Speaking of faces,” Vinny said. “I know one of my men has a problem with you. Porter.”
“That’s another reason why I’m here. What happened I couldn’t prevent. I did it with my bare hands and I would do it again. What he did…”
Vinny waved a hand. “Personal stays personal. Porter is a hard worker. Not the smartest. A little bit rogue sometimes. You hurt his pride.”
“Good,” I said. “I don’t give a shit.”
Vinny half smiled. “You remind me of your father, Knoxville. But I don’t want to discuss memories or two men fighting over a woman.”
“I’m warning you, Vinny, that if Porter comes near me, I will kill him,” I said. “I’m not fucking around with that.”
“It takes balls to stand there and speak like that to me,” Vinny said. “Normally, I’d just give a nod and your brains would be splattered all around.”
“Thanks for the hospitality,” I said.
“But you’ve come with more information.”
“I have. I have a piece of paper with information about men you had taken out. Their names and exact locations where they were buried. To the rest of your family these men went missing. They were casualties of a war. But you and I both know you killed them on your own. For your own benefit.”
Now that got Vinny’s attention. His lip started to curl and I was half sure he was going to pull a gun on me and shoot me.
“Here’s the thing,” I said. “I’m not going to tell you the names or the places. I’m sure there’s more people so you can think about it. I’m not going to blackmail you in a corner over this, Vinny. I’m not going to hold you hostage for money or favors. I’m just making it known the Reap is here. We’re not leaving our town, or our city. We can exist peacefully or we can wage a war. That’s not up to me.”
“Oh, Knoxville, that’s where you’re wrong,” Vinny said. “Every word we speak is a decision. Everything we touch, taste, fuck, hit, kill… it’s all a decision. Now you’ve made your decision. I respect that. Your father made his decision, didn’t he?”
“Yeah, he did. He’s not here, but I am. I want an open line of communication between us, Vinny. I’m not going through your thugs. I want to contact you if there’s a problem. The same for me.”
“Don’t worry, Knoxville, if I have a problem, you’ll know about it.” Vinny paused and puckered his lips. He then slowly reached out the window, offering me his hand. “I offer you my respect. As long as you understand my position.”
I felt something shift in me. I could see it in Vinny’s eyes that while there was respect, there was a great sense of hatred brewing between us. That was good though. Hatred made respect thicker, stronger.
I took his hand and shook it.
“I always keep my word,” I said. “I’m sorry it’s come to this. The Reap should have never slowed after my old man got popped. His life sentence isn’t going to be a life sentence for the MC.”
I wasn’t sure if Vinny gave a shit about what I had said, but it felt good to say.
The window then went up and the meeting was over.
I walked back to Ari and took my gun and knife back.
Anthony and Tony stood with their arms crossed.
I got back on my ride and sat there, taking it all in. The black cars cruised away and Ari walked his motorcycle next to mine.
“What are you thinking, brother?” he asked me.
“I’m thinking this isn’t over,” I said. “Too much weird shit is happening.”
“You don’t trust him?”
“Fuck no. I just hope the message was clear.” I looked at Ari. “My old man put his ass on the line to do this.”
“Should I give Uncle Jakey a call?” he asked. “We can arrange something.”
I stared at the horizon. I felt a deep burning inside me. It was hard to explain. The world was changing, again. My world was changing. I couldn’t explain the feeling because I never felt it before.
Then my cell rang and Ana was on the other end.
She changed my life again.
I then understood the feeling.
twenty-six
(ana)
THEN