“Bear?” Pop shouts, and I turn back around. “Watch your mouth in there, he knows what he wants and he won’t take no more mouth from you.”
I nod and waltz into the office, sitting opposite Pres trying to keep the smug look off my face.
“You can’t keep that patch, I sure as hell ain’t having you as a second, that position will go to Snake and you’ll take his sergeant-at-arms.” He dares me to question him, but that works for me.
I shrug. “Fine. But I’m gunnin’ for your brother first, he’s up to something and if it can get the club in trouble, then I’m cutting him off.”
He stands out of his chair, hands braced on his desk. “He’s a disrespectful motherfucker as of late, but he ain’t up to anything.”
I fold my arms over my chest. “If you really believe your own words then you won’t mind me checking him out.”
He shrugs. “Fine, you’ve got twenty-four hours. And this doesn’t come back on me if he knows you’re watching him. Now get out.”
I nod once and make my way out the room. He’s given me twenty-four hours to prove Taz is a dirtbag, shouldn’t be hard. My first point of call is finding Jacques, so I pull out my cell and dial his number. He doesn’t answer the first time so I try again before sending him a text when that one runs to voicemail.
Taz told me everything, we need to talk.
I don’t like liars but I have no choice, I need him to come to me. In the meantime, I’m going to check out anywhere I know he hangs. I walk into the common area and it erupts in cheers, so I take a bow.
“How does it feel to be Mr VP?” Smokey shouts over.
“Wouldn’t know, my pops is VP and I’ve taken his patch.”
Everyone looks confused. “I’ll do more as Sergeant-at-arms than I would as VP. Pres wouldn’t have listened to anything that I said anyway, so I’m gonna clean up this club my way.”
I make a conscious effort to eye up the brothers sitting at the other side of the room, they’re the ones always snortin’ something. A chorus of ‘fuck yeah’ and ‘about time’ ring out around the room, and I know I have their support.
“Has anyone seen Jacky Boy?” I ask.
Again no one answers me, the same as earlier and I huff.
“Why do you want him so much?” A small voice asks, and I turn to face whoever it came from.
Poppy.
“If you know where he is you need to give him up, I ain’t playin’ around.”
She looks across at her pop, Jojo, but he just nods at her to give me what I want. She looks back at me and clears her throat. “I don’t know where he is now, but he said he was going to a ‘safe place’ when I saw him about three hours ago, whatever that means.”
I nod thinking he could only be in one of two places. “Thanks, Poppy, I owe you one.”
She smiles shyly and drops her head. “Sure.”
I rush out of the clubhouse and peel out of the parking lot on my bike, heading toward my childhood home. As soon as I get there, I jump off my bike, grab a torch from the house, and make my way out the back and into the woods that sit behind the backyard.
I climb over fallen trunks and duck under low branches until our old wooden fort is in sight. We used to come here all the time as kids, me, Jacques, Smokey and Keeley, and it brings back a lot of good memories. I loved this place.
I climb inside, having to bend down slightly to stop my head from hitting the roof, and I take a look around. Apart from a rotten bench and empty bottles, all that greet me is an empty shell. Feeling frustrated, I climb out forgetting to bend down and bang my head on the wood.
“Fuck!” I cry, clutching at it.
I shake my head and make my way back to my bike. He better be at the next place or I’ve hit a dead end. My bike roars to life and I head into town. By the time I pull up outside the big gates and drop the kickstand, it’s already nearly eleven at night so I know nobody else will be here. I start making my way through the eerie cemetery, hoping that my brother is here. I stop in my tracks when I see Jacques leaning over mom’s plot, sobbing with a bottle of something in his hand.
“I’m so sorry, mom. Please forgive me,” he cries out.
I kneel down next to him. “Jacques?”
He raises his head slowly, bloodshot eyes meeting mine. “Fuck off, Hunter,” he says, turning to look at her headstone.
I fist his black hoodie at the scruff of his neck, and pull him into a standing position. “I’m about ready to start beatin’ on you, so you better start talking!” I growl into his face but he doesn’t open his mouth, he just stares through me. “I know this new you has something to do with Taz, so you need to talk or I’m going to make you talk. I don’t care if you’re my brother, I need to know whatever you do so I can get rid of his ass!”
That piques his interest. “He’s gonna be gone?”
I shrug. “Whatever you have to tell me better be fuckin’ good and I’ll handle it.”
He wipes at his eyes and eyes mom’s headstone again, pausing for what feels like hours. “I didn’t know until I was right outside of her apartment. I didn’t know it was her, Hunter, you have to believe me!”