fine tonight.”
“I heard some rumblings, brother,” Liam
said. He sipped a glass of whiskey and leaned forward. “There’s noise all
around that the family is looking to make another push into town.”
The family were the people
that asshole Porter ran with. They were deeply connected, all the way back to
Brooklyn, New York. They were part of the reason the MC took heat, but
generally we were all peaceful. They had a different view on their sense of
freedom than what we had. We rarely crossed paths. Well, unless you counted me
and Ana… and the fact that she was with Porter.
I slammed my fist down, pissed off.
“I don’t want to hear any of that shit again. They won’t come through here.
What can they do? Knock it all down and put up condos?”
“That’s exactly what they can do,” Elijah
said.
“Fuck me,” Slam said. “Last thing
we need is that bullshit.”
“It won’t happen,” I said. “They’re
smarter than that. They’d have too much to manage. As long as they get their
access to the city to skim the edge of what they want, they’re fine. Plus,
everyone knows they hide out here. It’s a safe zone for them. Why bring
attention to it?”
“True,” Matteo said. “But we need
to keep our eyes open. I don’t like when they get together and talk.”
“What about you?” Ari asked me. “You
know your girl’s sort of connected.”
“Hey,” I snapped. “Listen to me,
motherfucker. Ana is not connected. I don’t want to hear that talk at my table.”
“Your table,” Slam said.
“My goddamn table,” I said and I
stood up.
Suddenly, there was a fire inside
me. I walked to the back of the garage and opened the storage closet. That’s
where all the leather cuts were hanging. I reached for mine and peeled it off
the hanger. I turned and held it up.
Everyone at the table looked
shocked as hell.
“What are you doing?” Slam asked.
“I’m putting this cut back on,” I
said.
“You can’t do that,” Matteo said. “Not
without a vote. Not without Uncle Jakey. Shit, you need to talk to your old
man.”
I slid my arms into the leather
cut.
Son of a bitch, it felt right. It
was like kissing Ana. What I was meant to fucking do in life. I pulled at the
lapels and looked to the patches I had earned. I was damn close to becoming the
enforcer for the MC. I was on the verge of pushing forward into a spot that
would let me rise up as high as I wanted. Sergeant at Arms? VP? Hell, the
fucking President of the Reaper’s Bastards?
None of that mattered now though.
This was about right now.
In my mind, I couldn't stop
thinking about Ana. The shit that Danny guy pulled, all of it tied to Porter
and the family . It wasn’t going to fly anymore in my town.
“All of you,” I said. “Get your
cuts back on. We take the night right now. I’ll set up a meet with Uncle Jakey
and I’m due for a visit to the old man anyway.”
To my surprise, everyone listened
to me.
We were then standing in the
garage, all in our leather cuts, looking out to the night. And it felt really
good. The town was falling apart. The economy never recovered and we were
basically the runoff for the city shit. But the town still had purpose. People
needed to be protected and we were going to do it.
All of this fire kicked up inside
me because I had seen Ana again. Somewhere inside me I had secretly hoped she
would end up out of this place. Find a decent enough guy who would support and
give her everything she ever wanted. But she stayed in town. She was trapped.
“What now?” Matteo asked.
I took one last leather cut out of
the closet and walked it to the empty chair. I draped it over the back and
stood there. I saw the look on everyone’s face. We all grew up together. From
grade school until now. That’s what made us so fucking tight. Elijah used to
wear glasses. In first grade, some prick called him four eyes. It was right
after his mother died. His father was an alcoholic and treated Elijah like
“I heard some rumblings, brother,” Liam
said. He sipped a glass of whiskey and leaned forward. “There’s noise all
around that the family is looking to make another push into town.”
The family were the people
that asshole Porter ran with. They were deeply connected, all the way back to
Brooklyn, New York. They were part of the reason the MC took heat, but
generally we were all peaceful. They had a different view on their sense of
freedom than what we had. We rarely crossed paths. Well, unless you counted me
and Ana… and the fact that she was with Porter.
I slammed my fist down, pissed off.
“I don’t want to hear any of that shit again. They won’t come through here.
What can they do? Knock it all down and put up condos?”
“That’s exactly what they can do,” Elijah
said.
“Fuck me,” Slam said. “Last thing
we need is that bullshit.”
“It won’t happen,” I said. “They’re
smarter than that. They’d have too much to manage. As long as they get their
access to the city to skim the edge of what they want, they’re fine. Plus,
everyone knows they hide out here. It’s a safe zone for them. Why bring
attention to it?”
“True,” Matteo said. “But we need
to keep our eyes open. I don’t like when they get together and talk.”
“What about you?” Ari asked me. “You
know your girl’s sort of connected.”
“Hey,” I snapped. “Listen to me,
motherfucker. Ana is not connected. I don’t want to hear that talk at my table.”
“Your table,” Slam said.
“My goddamn table,” I said and I
stood up.
Suddenly, there was a fire inside
me. I walked to the back of the garage and opened the storage closet. That’s
where all the leather cuts were hanging. I reached for mine and peeled it off
the hanger. I turned and held it up.
Everyone at the table looked
shocked as hell.
“What are you doing?” Slam asked.
“I’m putting this cut back on,” I
said.
“You can’t do that,” Matteo said. “Not
without a vote. Not without Uncle Jakey. Shit, you need to talk to your old
man.”
I slid my arms into the leather
cut.
Son of a bitch, it felt right. It
was like kissing Ana. What I was meant to fucking do in life. I pulled at the
lapels and looked to the patches I had earned. I was damn close to becoming the
enforcer for the MC. I was on the verge of pushing forward into a spot that
would let me rise up as high as I wanted. Sergeant at Arms? VP? Hell, the
fucking President of the Reaper’s Bastards?
None of that mattered now though.
This was about right now.
In my mind, I couldn't stop
thinking about Ana. The shit that Danny guy pulled, all of it tied to Porter
and the family . It wasn’t going to fly anymore in my town.
“All of you,” I said. “Get your
cuts back on. We take the night right now. I’ll set up a meet with Uncle Jakey
and I’m due for a visit to the old man anyway.”
To my surprise, everyone listened
to me.
We were then standing in the
garage, all in our leather cuts, looking out to the night. And it felt really
good. The town was falling apart. The economy never recovered and we were
basically the runoff for the city shit. But the town still had purpose. People
needed to be protected and we were going to do it.
All of this fire kicked up inside
me because I had seen Ana again. Somewhere inside me I had secretly hoped she
would end up out of this place. Find a decent enough guy who would support and
give her everything she ever wanted. But she stayed in town. She was trapped.
“What now?” Matteo asked.
I took one last leather cut out of
the closet and walked it to the empty chair. I draped it over the back and
stood there. I saw the look on everyone’s face. We all grew up together. From
grade school until now. That’s what made us so fucking tight. Elijah used to
wear glasses. In first grade, some prick called him four eyes. It was right
after his mother died. His father was an alcoholic and treated Elijah like
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