Chapter 13
So far the night seems to be going well, the fire is blazing and everyone’s mingling on the beach. Peyton is talking to Saul’s sister, and looking ridiculously beautiful in her thrift shop denim skirt. The sweater she’s wearing on top almost covers it completely. Every once in a while I notice her eyes flick over to where I’m standing, and when she catches me looking at her she smiles as if it amuses her. I can’t help smiling back and letting her become my only focus for just those few seconds we share. It’s undeniable that there's something there between us. Something that overrides our age difference, or the fact I’m bad and she’s good. The thoughts she puts in my head are so far-fetched that I have to humor myself for ‘em.
“Raze.” I turn around and see a tall kid, dressed in board shorts and an oversized vest. He’s got a baseball cap reversed on top of his head and although he’s got a huge grin on his face, it’s unmistakable that he’s Dev’s kid brother.
“Name’s Corey.” He holds out his hand for me to shake, and when I do he nearly dislocates my wrist with his enthusiasm.
“Is it true that you took Griller’s eye right out the socket, and that you once beat Keenan Keverlin in a bare-knuckle–”
“Corey.” Dev calls over, interrupting him and when Corey sees him storming toward us looking mad, he lowers his eyes to the sand and curses under his breath.
“Give me that.” Dev snatches the beer out his hand. “I told you, no drinking tonight you got midterms tomorrow,” he scolds him. “Now get over there.” He gestures his head over to the other side of the fire pit where Peyton and Saul’s sister are sitting. Corey shuffles off looking embarrassed and I notice the snarl he gives his brother over his shoulder.
“I’m sorry about that.” Dev shakes his head, as he watches him take his place with the girls underneath the balcony where Wrath and Ruck have done a good job of constructing a seating area outta some old wooden pallets.
“I take it he came with you?” I laugh as I watch him flop into the space beside Saul’s sister.
“I don’t usually let him hang out here but Saul’s sister, Alicia, told him there was a family thing happenin’, so....” He shakes his head and seems on edge.
“How old is he?” I ask, watching the way Peyton smiles at him as they get introduced.
“He’s eighteen, and of course, he’s desperate to prospect, but I’d never let that happen.” I know very little about Dev other than the fact he was trained by my father. You gotta be a certain kinda man to withstand that. He doesn’t just teach you how to torture a man, he teaches ya how to be tortured. How to switch off ya head to pain and emotion. I can see that Dev cares a whole lot for his brother though.
“Why not?” I test him as we stare across the flames, watching Peyton engage with the guy who’s much more her age, and feeling an intense pang of jealousy. The stench of weed mixed with bonfire lingers in the air and I can’t help wondering what she makes of all this.
“Because the kid’s a fuckin’ genius. He’s got three colleges offering him a scholarship and he’s gonna get his ass as far outta Long Beach as he can and make somethin’ of his life,” Dev informs me, sounding determined.
I light myself up a smoke and tip my chin at Saul when he passes us. He’s got a woman under each arm and a bottle of Jack hanging over one of their shoulders.
“He get that genius from you?” I ask, trying to suss the guy out. It’s always handy to have a brother who knows how to use his brain, but I can imagine that men who always think they know better are hard ones to lead.
“We got different fathers, both of ‘em ‘bout as good as each other. We lost Mom five years ago. Luckily, I was old enough to take parental responsibility, it kept him out of the system, but he’s set for greater things than this place. If he ever comes to you and asks for an opportunity, as your club brother, I’m askin’ you to turn him down.” He looks across at his brother, who’s now got both girls laughing hysterically and I nod my head in agreement.
We got enough prospects to educate with Rocco and Sonny. Dev smacks me on the back gratefully and his eyes squint as he looks across the beach.
I check out what’s got him so fixated and see a man wearing a shirt and tie, walking barefoot, with his slacks rolled up at the bottom.
He’s looking nervous as he crosses the beach toward us, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose and stopping to gawk when Trinity walks past him wearing nothing but a pair of bikini bottoms.
“Hey, Trin, cover it up,” I call over to her, reminding her of the rules I set earlier.
“Mr…um…Raze?” The man who I’d put in his early thirties stands in front of me and holds out his hand.
“I’m guessing you're Paul’s boy.” I look down at the briefcase in his hand.
“That’s right, sir, Connor Monkhouse. I hear you wanted to discuss an arrangement with me.” He glances around us nervously, his eyes widening when he sees Saul getting sucked off by one of the girls he passed us with earlier.
“Does no one around here know how to take a fuckin’ order? They’re animals, the lot of ‘em.” I look to Dev, then back at Paul’s son.
“We ain’t discussin’ shit tonight, I just thought you might wanna hang out, get to know us a little better, participate in some activities.” Right on cue Cara comes over and rests her hand on Dev’s shoulder. She bites on her lip seductively as she looks Connor up and down like he’s a snack.
“My, ermmm, my father said I shouldn’t.” He tries real hard not to stare at her.
“And do you always do what Daddy tells you?” She steps forward and slides her hand through his thick, brown hair.
“Well, um… I’m here, so I guess not.” He laughs nervously.
“Come with me honey, I wanna show you something real special.” She takes his hand, leading him toward the steps to the balcony, and when she looks over her shoulder and winks at me I nod her my gratitude.
“Who the fuck is that?” Dev asks
“That is Paul Monkhouse’s son, he passed law school with honors and he’s taken over his father’s firm,” I explain.
“Monkhouse ain’t had nothing to do with the club since Cliff burned down that bar his sister’s husband owned.” He looks back at me confused.
“Well, Cliff ain’t president of this club no more. Tell Saul to take his business inside the clubhouse, his sister don’t need to see that shit and neither does Peyton. I made it clear tonight was a family night,” I order him.
“Take a look around ya, Raze, ya see much family?” he points out. “The men in this club don’t have family. Cliff kinda enforced that. And even if they did, this would be the last place they’d bring ‘em.” He’s looking at his brother again with that protective scowl on his face. I know all too well how Cliff saw emotional attachment as a weakness and how he liked to crush it.
“We ain’t ever gonna be like the Colorado charter, you ain’t got the right men for that here,” Dev reminds me.
“We can be what the fuck we wanna be. Now, tell Saul to take his whores and go get his dick sucked in the clubhouse.”
“On it, Boss.” Dev makes his way over, and when I see Wrath sitting on one of the fold-up chairs around the fire by himself I head over to join him.
Taking a seat I help myself to a beer from the cooler.
“You look deep in thought,” I start, staring at the flames the same as he is.
“I am.” He’s clearly still pissed at me, and I get why, but it doesn’t change anything. I asked him to come here and be my second way before I knew that Eden was still alive.
“She should be here, ya know.” He flicks his hair over to one side.
“Yeah, well, a lotta people should be here who ain’t, your sister for one of ‘em,” I remind him that he’s got bigger issues to be concerning himself with.
“That’s different.”
“Yeah, Wrath, it is, because somewhere out there Willow is wantin’ to be found. Eden has done everythin’ in her power not to be.”
“How could Jimmer have known all this time and not told us?” He puts off that subject because it hurts him too much, and I know that because I feel the same kinda pain when I think about it.
“I don’t know, Wrath, guess we never will, she must have been pretty persuasive.”
“Or at risk.” Wrath looks up at me. “Eden ain’t the first person Jimmer’s covered up for. You remember Teresa?”
“I remember her. I know her and Stacey spoke a lot,” I recall.
“One of my old man’s favorites, she thought she was fuckin’ better then all the other whores. She got knocked off her podium pretty quick when he started his thing with—” Wrath cuts himself off.
“What about her?” I rush him to his point.
“Teresa was Jimmer’s brother’s wife, she left him with their four kids back in Montana and Jimmer hid her out here. He let his own nephews think their moma was dead.” Wrath fills me in on something that I had no idea about.
“There would have been a reason for that, just like there is with Eden. You have to face up to it. She doesn’t want us in her life, Wrath, and I can’t blame her. Now we can butt heads about that all ya like, but we have a club to fix.”
“Why me, Raze? Why drag me back here?” He turns to look at me and I can’t work out if he’s hurt or confused.
“For exactly the same reason as you're sittin’ here. We’ve both spent far too long runnin’.” I stand back up taking my beer with me and heading over to Ruckus.
“What’s up, Boss?” He whispers something to the girl he’s talking to that makes her smile, then when she starts heading up the stairs he gives me his undivided attention.
“We all set for tomorrow?” I check. Noticing that a different guy is talking to Peyton now, I don’t know who he is or where he came from, but like Corey, he’s much more her age than I am.
“All set, guns are packed and locked away in the storage room, you just gotta decide who you're takin’ along for the ride.” I know there’s been a lotta questions on who I’d take with me on my first run as president and I’ve tried to be tactful with my decision.
“You…”
“Goes without sayin’.’” He slaps my shoulder cockily. “I’m ya Sergeant At Arms, though it seems to me you keep forgettin’ that.” Ruckus raises an eyebrow at me but I’m too distracted by the fact Peyton’s letting that guy lead her further into the shadows under the balcony.
“I don’t need a fuckin’ bodyguard Ruckus, but you are comin’. I’m thinkin’ we let Rocco drive the cage, take Sasquatch, Saint, Dev, and …” I watch him settle beside her and turn his body into hers, listening intently as she explains something to him.
“Raze?” Ruckus snaps me out of it.
“Wrath can stay behind and hold the fort with Griller, Vike, and Saul,” I tell him while I continue doing my best not to let what’s happening over there bother me. I’ve been trying to push this girl and the thoughts I’ve been getting about her, away for days. Maybe this is how it should be, her talking and having fun with a guy her own age. Yet when I hear her laugh loudly I have to tense my fists to stop me going over there and landing one on him.
“You're leavin’ Wrath behind?” I can tell Ruckus don’t approve of that from the shock in his voice, but he’s not in charge, I am.
“He’s my VP, I need to leave someone here I can trust.”
“And do you trust him? ‘Cause I ain’t seein’ a lot of evidence on that.”
I hear a loud splutter coming from under the balcony and when I see the guy sitting on the couch next to Peyton, holding what looks like a blunt between her lips and encouraging her to toke it back, I abandon Ruckus and march straight over.
I don’t know who the kid is, but I already hate the way he’s looking at her. I grab him by his shirt and smash him into one of the pillars that hold up the balcony, while Peyton stares up at me with round, shocked eyes and her lips gaped open.
“What the fuck ya doin’?” I ask, not sure if I’m more angry or disappointed in her.
“What do you mean, what am I doing? I’m doing what everyone else here is. I’m having a good time.” She laughs.
“You don’t need this shit to have a good time.” I snatch the blunt outta her fingers and drop it into a red cup that's on the palette being used as a coffee table beside me. “I thought I told you to behave.” I point my finger at her.
“Raze, I haven’t done anything wrong, it’s just a little wee–”
“Go home,” I order, looking away from her. I can feel my heart thumping in my chest and my rage starting to push to the surface. This guy, whoever he is, is about to feel the brute force of it, and I don’t want her to be a witness.
“Raze.” She laughs nervously, her eyes darting around us as her cheeks turn pink.
“I said go home.” The guy who was trying to get her to smoke starts to sneak off but I grab him by his collar and drag him back.
“What are you going to do?” She looks scared as she stands up on her feet. “Raze, we were just having a little fun.”
“Where ya get your weed from?” I ask the kid who’s suddenly turned very pale. I can tell just from the smell of it that it’s different to what gets passed around here. “I asked you a simple fuckin’ question.” I slam his head onto the pallet and press my boot into the side of his skull to keep him there.
He breathes deep and looks pissed. “You better start talkin’ or I’ll take your fuckin’ tongue out your mouth,” I warn.
“You should do as he says. I heard he actually did that once.” Dev’s brother speaks up from the crowd that’s rapidly gathered around us.
“D…D’Marco,” he spits out, making me grip at his hair and raise him back up to my eye level.
“Do you know what the D’Marcos lace their weed with?” I stare him right in his petrified eyes as the clueless little prick shakes his head at me.
“Meth. Fuckin’ meth” I repeat so it really sinks in. “ They rely on kids like you gettin’ addicted to their shit, so you keep goin’ back. You were just gonna give my…” I stop myself and take a fuckin’ breath. “You were givin’ her fuckin’ meth,” I manage through my teeth.
“Raze, please. I’m fine. I couldn’t smoke it, it was too strong. I cho–”
“Go fuckin’ home!” I yell at her so loud it hurts my throat and she stands staring at me with her eyes filling with tears and her bottom lip starting to wobble. It takes her some time but eventually, she shakes her head and kicks up the sand as she runs away in the direction of my hut.
I close my eyes so I can get back to focusing on the piece of shit still in front of me.
“You're gonna really regret what you just did.” I grab the asshole by his collar and drag him toward the clubhouse so I can serve him his punishment.