24. The Island of Chaos
24
THE ISLAND OF CHAOS
Hugger
Two weeks later…
Hugger stood in his house in Denver and decided (all the shit that meant anything to him packed and sitting in High and Millie’s basement, waiting for him to load it up and drive down to Phoenix , all the rest of it, furniture, kitchen shit, whatever, taken to the dump), the place looked better than it ever had.
The rooms with carpet had been stripped of it, the kitchen and bathrooms gutted, the wall that separated the kitchen from the living room had been torn down so they could create a great room.
There was a corner of the living room filled with boxes and loaded pallets. Another stacked with tools. They were waiting for the kitchen cabinets that had been picked by Rosalie and Tyra (and approved by Diana ) to arrive. But they were ready to roll on the bathrooms.
That work was going to start tomorrow.
He’d be glad to have it done, renters in, income coming in.
It had never been a home. But now it would be something.
Something that would feed into making a good life with Diana .
He left the house, setting the security alarm that was the first thing put in because now there was something in it that had worth, and locking up.
He hopped on his bike and headed to Chaos .
When he hit the forecourt, he saw all his brothers’ rides parked in a line outside the Compound .
Hugger parked at the end, shut her down and got off.
He was headed to the front door to the Compound when something pulled him another direction.
Even though he knew the men were waiting for him, he found his feet taking him to the back door of the store. He punched in the code, pulled open the door, strolled through the meticulously organized storeroom (his doing—before him, that room was a pit), and hit the store.
It felt funny, walking through it, knowing where every fanbelt was hung, every jug of wiper fluid was shelved, every can of motor oil was stacked.
It was then he realized he got off on being the first one in to open. He got off on being the man they could ask if they had a question about some shit at the register or how long it might take to get a special part from a certain vendor.
He got off on being that guy for his brothers.
It was then, he knew he was going to miss it.
He’d tell Di about that, after he was moved in and settled. She was already tweaked enough about what he was “giving up” for her. He wasn’t going to add to that until she knew he was good, and they were solid.
His phone went with a text when he was leaving Ride to head to the Compound .
Since it was from Di , he stopped to read it.
Maddy just phoned! She’s home with E & E and looking into starting up classes again!!!!!!!!
She added about a dozen double pink hearts and smiley-faces with hearts surrounding them and ended with about two dozen women dancing.
He was hepped up about what was about to happen, but even so, at that news, he grinned and returned, Great news, baby. She phones again, tell her I said hey .
He got, Already did that , when he was halfway through the Compound on his way to the meet room.
He stopped moving again and sent her a blowing-kiss face.
After he did that, he looked around.
The curved bar. The beat-up leather couches. The pool table.
His mom had to find places for them to live where the landlord would take cash and not ask questions. These kinds of people weren’t steady, and often weren’t law-abiding, so they moved often.
Therefore , it was then he realized for the first time in his life, this was home.
It didn’t just feel like home.
It was his home .
The Compound .
The island of Chaos .
This was never gonna go anywhere.
This was never going to change.
This was going to be his, a part of him, a safe place, until he died.
No matter where he was.
But leaving it was going to suck too. Leaving the place, leaving the brothers behind, and he finally understood why Diana was so concerned about him moving.
It didn’t change his mind.
She was his woman.
She was his happiness.
She was his future.
But this was his sacrifice, and it was going to cut.
He shook off his thoughts and focused on what was up next.
They were meeting…for him.
They were meeting to help him exorcise his bio-father.
And he was going to tell them he was moving to Phoenix .
Hugger squared his shoulders and walked the rest of the way to the meet room.
He opened the door and saw they were all there, seated around the big table with the cutout in the middle covered in Plexiglas and filled with the first-ever Chaos flag, their insignia in the middle, their motto, the words Wind , Fire , Ride and Free surrounding it.
The only one not sitting was Hound , who never sat. He always stood, arms crossed on his chest, shoulders and the sole of his boot against the wall, the brothers’ guard dog, always on alert.
Rush was at the head of the table, and Hugger had to pause when he saw a tall stack of plastic-folder-covered-bound paper, like some kind of reports, sitting on the table beside him.
He didn’t know what those were, but considering why they were all there, that stack made him uneasy.
“ Good of you to show,” Boz gave him shit for being late.
Hugger went to his chair, one that was situated between Dog and Snapper .
Only when he was seated did he flip Boz the bird.
Boz grinned.
“ Right , we’re all here,” Rush said and brought down the gavel.
Hugger tensed.
This was it.
Fuck .
“ We got somethin’ to talk about and we all know what it is, but business first,” Rush declared.
With that, Rush stood and started sending those plastic-folder-covered reports flying down the center of the table. Hands shot out to grab them, pass them around, until everyone had one.
Hugger looked at the cover of his, and there was some logo, some firm name under it, and it said:
Market Research Survey
Expansion Project
Ride Auto Supply Store and Garage
Phoenix , Arizona
Hugger felt his throat close tight.
“ Have a look at what it says, but I’ll sum up,” Rush began. “ Phoenix is growing. One of the fastest growing cities in the US . It’s a biker haven. Also lots of interest in vintage rides and restoration. Good mix of income levels, good mix of generation levels, which means money to spend and people to spend it. They got some factories going up and plenty of housing development underway or planned. Both are only going to mean more growth. It’s ripe for investment and expansion. Also , state tax code is advantageous.”
He turned to the remaining stack of plastic-folder-covered papers and sent them sailing.
The men caught them, handed them out, and before Hugger could look at the cover, Rush was speaking again.
“ Looking at three lots. Two are empty. One , if we decide to do this, and pick that one, there’d need to be some demo. The two empty lots are huge, way bigger than what we need, but that’s because Aces High has approached for a partnership. They’re ready to expand too. They want to open another store and they’d be willing to hitch up with Ride if we go for it. Good opportunity there for cross marketing.”
Fighting to breathe and hiding he was, Hugger flipped through the real estate report.
He didn’t know the exact addresses, but because his woman was as she was, while he was in Phoenix , he’d had ample opportunity to get around, so he had a sense of where they were, and they were good spots.
“ Obviously , before we get down to talking about property, we need to decide whether we’re gonna expand out of Colorado into Arizona ,” Rush said.
“ Millie’s folks are getting on in years, and they live down there” High piped up. “ She was already talking about us getting a place so she could have somewhere to land when the time comes they need more attention. And Cleo’s got her heart set on the nursing program at U of A . Zadie will go where her sister goes. So reckon we’d be looking at having someplace down there sometime soon anyway, if not movin’ down full stop. Millie won’t want me far away from my girls.”
What High left unsaid was, since Millie was thick and thieves with her stepdaughters, she wouldn’t want to be far away from them either.
“ Red’s done with snow,” Tack chimed in. “ And the boys are gonna be out of high school in a few years and wreaking havoc on Denver , so she’ll want it not to be easy to get to us for bail money.” There were some chuckles, but Tack spoke over them. “ Won’t be full-time, not leavin’ my grandbabies, and Red won’t want to either, but for the winter, need to get my woman out of the snow and cold.”
Hop threw in then, “ Where Tyra goes, Lanie will wanna follow. And I’m good with any place I can ride all year long. We got a longer wait for Nash to be done with school, though.”
“ Gonna get a winter place down there,” Big Petey added. “ That Phoenician sun was good to these old bones. Seize up completely if I gotta spend another four cold months here.”
“ Renae good with that?” Snapper asked after Pete’s old lady, who was also Snapper’s mother-in-law.
“ Yeah , son,” Big Petey answered. “ She was beside herself at the thought of not having to scrape another windshield.”
“ I’m good to be down there all year,” Boz announced. “ Not the snow, a fresh menu of pussy.”
There were some groans, and Hound threw his market report and hit Boz in the side of the head with it.
Boz’s angry gaze shot to Hound , who just grinned.
But before anything could come of that, Rush asked, “ You men wanna read the report, or are you good to vote?”
“ Obviously I’m in,” High said.
“ In ,” Tack grunted.
“ In ,” Hop added.
“ Totally in,” Big Petey declared.
“ Aye ,” Shy said.
“ Aye ,” Dutch and Jag said in unison.
“ Wouldn’t mind movin’ down there either,” Roscoe announced, looking at Hound . “ And don’t throw shit at me, but seriously, down there, you don’t have to put up with five months of women covering themselves up in big sweaters and bulky coats and shit.”
Joker , Snapper , Dog , Chill and Saddle all gave their ayes.
“ Already talked to Brick , Arlo , Tug , Bat , and Speck , and they’re good with it,” Rush said. Those were the members who’d moved to the other locations to see to business there. Then he looked Hugger in the eye. “ You haven’t voted, Hug .”
He hadn’t, because he couldn’t talk.
When he left Denver for Phoenix , no word they were looking at expansion.
He knew what this was.
They were doing this for him.
This was for him .
So he wouldn’t lose his family.
So he wouldn’t lose his home.
So he would know precisely what made him.
“ Hug ?” Tack prompted.
“ Aye ,” he forced out.
Tack nodded.
“ Looks like Ride is headed to Phoenix ,” Rush decreed. “ Now , have a look at those properties. We can decide on that later.” Rush turned again to Hugger . “ Gonna task you with being our man on the ground down there. You good with that?”
Hugger had to clear his throat before he said, “ Yeah .”
Rush switched his attention to Dog . “ Brick’s in to help, but also gotta ask if you will too. You two have the most experience opening new shops. Hug’s gonna need some brothers at his back.”
“ You got it,” Dog said and grinned. “ Anway , Sheila will be all over trips down to the Valley . She can spend time with her brother and spoil her nieces and nephew to shit.”
Sheila was Buck’s sister.
“ Good . That done?” Rush asked.
“ It’s done,” Tack stated.
Rush brought down the gavel.
Hugger felt like his chest was going to explode.
Rush looked to his dad.
Tack didn’t hesitate.
“ Now , we gotta talk about Chew ,” Tack stated.
“ No ,” Hugger pushed out.
At Hugger’s word, the room went deathly quiet.
He had to clear his throat again and he did it staring Tack Allen straight in the eye.
Because his son was president.
But Ride in Phoenix was Tack’s idea.
“ No , we don’t. Do we?” he asked Tack .
“ Up to you, brother,” Tack replied like he didn’t give a shit one way or another.
And he didn’t.
Because Chew wasn’t worth a shit.
But he did.
Because they just proved beyond doubt that Hugger was.
“ Did what just happened, just happen?” Hugger asked a question that didn’t need answering.
“ It happened,” Tack confirmed.
They were buying a huge-ass commercial lot in an entirely different state and setting up a business so Hugger wouldn’t lose his family.
“ Then I reckon we don’t have to talk about my bio-father,” Hugger said.
“ That mean you get who you are?” Tack asked.
Hugger nodded.
“ Say it, brother,” Hop urged quietly.
“ Jackie McCain’s son,” Hugger said.
“ And ?” Hound pushed.
Hugger looked to Hound .
“ And I’m Chaos .”
“ Damn straight,” Hound grunted.
It took sheer strength of will to keep his head held up on his shoulders, the beautiful weight of all they were doing, all they were saying, was crushing.
Fuck , he wished his ma was still alive.
Fuck .
“ We gotta perform some ceremony, like pulling the legs off a tarantula or something, to finally be rid of Arthur Fuckin ’ Lannigan ?” Hound asked.
Arthur “ Chew ” Lannigan .
Ex - Chaos .
Total motherfucker.
Hugger’s bio-father.
“ Millie’d kick your ass if you hurt a tarantula,” High stated.
“ One of her spike heels up your backside would sting, brother,” Jagger razzed his step-dad (that being Hound ).
“ Hugger ,” Big Petey called.
He looked at the man and thought, maybe he was wrong.
Maybe it wasn’t Tack who orchestrated this.
Maybe it was Big Petey .
Or both.
But in the end, it was all of them.
So it didn’t matter whose idea it was.
“ Man’s dead and buried,” Hugger stated.
The room went quiet again, like everyone was taking his pulse, trying to get a bead, trying to make certain that the words that came out of his mouth were words he believed deep into his soul.
The quiet ended when Dog clapped him staunchly on the back.
“ We done?” Rush asked.
There was a chorus of “ayes,” and Rush slammed down the gavel.
All the men got up, preparing to leave the room, go home to their old ladies, go to the common room to shoot the shit and have a beer, get on with life like they didn’t just change Hugger’s in a way he’d never be able to repay.
But he didn’t have to.
Because …
Goddamn .
This was family.
He started to move but didn’t get very far when Snapper was up in his space.
Hugger stiffened, but it didn’t stop Snap from wrapping an arm around him, bumping chests, pounding him in the back with the side of his fist, and stepping away.
But once Snapper stepped away, he didn’t move away. He immediately made eye contact, and it felt like Hugger’s body emptied, becoming a shell, and then filled up again with what that contact was saying.
Hugger’s bio-dad had called a hit on Snap . If that had succeeded, Snap wouldn’t be there, Rosie wouldn’t be happy, living with the man she adored, and they wouldn’t be making babies.
And Snap was saying that had nothing to do with Hugger .
“ Yeah ?” Snapper asked if he got it.
“ Yeah ,” Hugger confirmed.
Only then did Snap fully step away.
Rush came in next and did much of the same thing.
Hugger’s bio-dad had done the worst thing he could do to Rush’s mom, and it wasn’t just that he held her at gunpoint. Rush wasn’t tight with her, she was a tough woman to love, but she was still his mom, and no woman deserved what his biological father did to her.
Rush ended it by thumping him on the shoulder with his fist three times, his gaze locked to Hugger’s , and he didn’t move until Hugger jerked up his chin.
Dog came in next and did much the same thing, without the eye contact at the end.
Jagger followed Dog , Roscoe followed Jag , Dutch followed Roscoe .
They all came in for a hug, except Hound , who took him by the side of the neck and swayed him forward and back before slapping him there, letting go and walking out of the room.
And Tack , who didn’t give him a hug.
He caught Hugger’s head on both sides and smashed their foreheads together so they were nose to nose.
Eye to eye.
The intensity of Tack’s blue gaze bore into his, like if there were any remnants of Arthur Lannigan left haunting Hugger , that fierce blue stare would banish them forever.
No , it wasn’t “like” he was doing that.
When Tack let him go, that was what he did.
Chew Lannigan’s ghost was gone.
And all that was left was Harlan “ Hugger ” McCain , Jacqueline McCain’s boy, and brother of Chaos .
In the end, the only ones left in the room were Hugger and Big Petey , who hadn’t left his seat at the table.
“ You orchestrate that?” he asked the old man.
“ Does it matter?” Big Petey asked in return.
“ Reckon it doesn’t,” Hugger muttered.
“ You got love, Hugger ,” Big Petey said.
He knew that.
Oh yeah, he knew.
“ Yeah ,” Hugger grunted.
“ Love you, son,” Big Petey said quietly.
Goddammit , fuck him.
He looked Pete square in the eye.
“ Love you too, old man,” Hugger replied.
Big Petey’s lips tipped up, he pushed away from the table and got out of his chair.
“ Now , let’s go get a fuckin’ beer,” Pete said.
* * *
A week later…
He took Diana direct to Chaos after picking her up at the airport.
He’d never been nervous when he met his high school girlfriends’ parents, because, he now knew, his mom set him up to give good boyfriend.
But he’d always been nervous when his mom met his girls, not because he worried what his girls would think of his ma, but what his ma would make of his choice in girls.
And even though Di was all Di was, and Hugger reckoned she could charm a snake, that was the uneasy feeling he had when they walked into the door in the Compound . The same one he had when he’d introduce one of his girlfriends to his mom.
When they walked in, Di was to his left, and she looked left, taking in the pitted walls covered in pictures and stuck-on stickers, the scarred couches, nicked and scratched tables and chairs and pool table.
Hugger looked right, to the bar, where Tack and Hop were both behind it, resting their asses against the back counter, and Hound , Big Petey , Joker and Dutch were sitting at it.
His attention returned to his woman when she exclaimed, “ Oh my God ! This place is so lit !”
She took another step forward, turned right and squealed.
She then raced to Big Petey , who, like all the other men, had come off his stool. To do it, she ran right by Hound , who had a look that many people would take in and think twice about getting close to the man, and she hit Pete like a bullet.
Hugger started at Big Petey taking that hit, as did all the other men, a telltale sign that all of them were aware that Big Petey was slowing down.
But Pete just went back on a foot and stood strong, folding his arms around Di as she did the same.
After a tight hug, she leaned away and said, “ Our dining room table isn’t the same without you.”
When she said that, Hugger glanced at the other men, and that was when he saw it, plain as day.
Diana Armitage had just passed muster.
“ Did Maddy call?” Di asked Big Petey . “ I gave her your number.”
“ Yeah , we’ve had a coupla chats, darlin’,” Big Petey told her.
“ Of course you did,” Di said softly, the same kind of look on her face.
The door behind him opened and Tyra , Elvira and Millie came dashing in.
They all listed to a halt a couple feet inside the door. And they were all winded.
“ Any a’ you break a heel on your sprint over here?” Tack asked them.
Tyra gave her husband a killing look.
But yeah, they saw Hugger pulling in and didn’t waste any time racing across the forecourt from Tyra’s office at the garage in order to get a load of Diana .
Diana , though, wasn’t noticing this.
She was hugging Dutch .
When they broke, she cried, “ Holy crap! You have to come back down! Charlie has another gig in a couple of weeks. Ambient jam-a-palooza!”
The look on Dutch’s face nearly made Hugger bust a gut laughing.
“ What the fuck is an ambient jam?” Hound asked.
“ You don’t wanna know,” Hop , who used to be in a rock band, answered.
But Di just slapped Dutch’s arm and said, “ Just kidding. I’ll tell Charlie that you said you’re sorry you were going to miss it, though.”
Relief hit Dutch’s face, and he replied, “ Obliged .”
At that point, Diana turned and took in the rest of the men, just when High , who was probably with the women in the office, but he hadn’t sprinted across the forecourt, walked in. So Di got a look at him too.
She then turned right to Hugger , arched her brows, put her hands on her hips, and demanded, “ There isn’t a hotness quotient your brothers have to meet before they prospect? Bullshit . And it looks like the women have to meet it too.”
That was when the entire room exploded with laughter.
Elvira strolled further into the room. “ Girl , please tell me you drink tequila.” She jerked a thumb at Hugger and went on, “ Someone melted this mountain of snow, we gotta do celebratory shots.”
Diana gave him a look like she’d fallen toward a ravine and certain death, saved herself with a spike, and made it the next day to the peak of Mount Everest .
Hugger just shook his head and smiled.
She turned back to Elvira with an expression of regret, “ Sorry , I’m not a fan of tequila.”
“ Girl , please tell me you drink vodka,” Elvira amended as she rounded the bar and headed toward the bottles of liquor.
“ Fireball ?” Diana suggested.
Elvira shot straight, turning her gaze to Diana , the light of approval in it dazzling the entire room.
Di bellied up to the bar and asked Elvira , “ Which brother do you belong to?”
“ He’s another kind of brother,” Elvira replied while pulling the Fireball from where they kept it, out of their ice bin. “ His name is Malik . He’s a cop. I’m not an old lady, but I’ve been adopted.”
Diana shot Hugger a happy smile then said to Elvira , “ Cool !”
Tyra and Millie approached. Hugger did too, in order to do the introductions to the rest of them, and in the next hour, as word got ’round Di was there, everyone showed so they could size her up.
He was the only “mountain of snow” on Chaos , but still, Di had the chops, so she melted them all within seconds of meeting them.
Yeah , he should never have been uneasy.
He should have known with all that was Di , she’d have them eating out of her hands.
Because Di was Di .
And by the end of the night, she was also Chaos .
* * *
Two days later…
Hugger was ass to a stool in the Compound when they came in.
Tyra , Lanie , Tab , Rosalie , Carrie , Millie , Keely , Rebel and Elvira .
The women dispersed to the men who belonged to them, except Elvira , who, as noted previously, was an honorary but treasured member of the old lady crew.
Elvira made her way behind the bar.
So that meant Diana came to him.
“’ Bout time, woman,” he said after she cozied right up to his side and gave him a quick kiss.
“ We won’t miss our slot,” she replied.
“ How much damage you do?” he asked.
Her eyeballs studied her hairline.
Right .
“ Di ,” he prompted.
She blew out a breath. “ So I bought five pairs of shoes. Haven’t you heard? I’ve recently become a trust fund baby.”
Christ , she was cute.
“ That it?” he asked.
“ And maybe some makeup.”
“ You got any more room in your drawers for that shit?”
“ I can use your drawers.”
She could.
She wanted a warehouse of makeup, he’d find a way to get her one.
So he was done talking about that shit.
“ You ready?” he asked.
Her eyes lit and she nodded.
He slid off his stool and took her hand.
“ You need us to bring anything for later, Millie ?” Di asked as he guided her to the doors.
“ We’re covered, babe,” Millie called.
His house gutted, at Millie’s insistence, even though he had a room at the Compound where he could crash, he was staying with Millie and High in their massive house on the hill in the Highlands .
But now that Diana was there, since the guest room at that castle was a whole lot better than his room at the Compound , they were definitely staying with Millie and High .
Diana had fallen in love with Millie’s cats, so Hugger reckoned there was a pet in their future.
Though , he’d fucked her in his room at the Compound . Yeah , he for sure didn’t let that opportunity slide by.
Millie and High were throwing a shindig that night for everybody.
“ See you later, Di ,” Rebel yelled as Hugger pushed open the door.
“ Yeah , later,” Carrie cried.
“’ Later , babes!” Di called back.
It was clear she got along with the women, but he expected that to happen, because she was Di , and those women were the best there were.
She was the perfect addition.
He had to admit, though, it settled him to see how well she did it.
There was a nip in the air, so they weren’t on his bike, they were in his truck.
He loaded his woman up, closed the door on her, rounded the hood and hauled his ass in.
He hit the ignition, pulled out and headed downtown.
Di gabbed about the brunch with the girls she had that day, and shopping, and how Elvira was a hoot, Carrie was sweet, Rebel was cool as all hell, etcetera (this was a lot of what he was hearing from her about all of his family the last two days), and how it was too bad Archie had to be at her store and Georgie was on a story, and they couldn’t come.
She did all of this through the drive and him parking. She kept doing it as they walked to the building and inside.
They went to a counter, he showed the tickets on his phone, they got some recorder machines with headphones and were shown the line waiting for the next timeslot to enter.
When they got in line, Di kept hold of his hand and pressed her tits tight to his arm.
He looked down at her to see she was lit up like a Christmas tree with excitement.
“ This is insane ,” she proclaimed. “ So cool! A whole exhibit of Norman Rockwell . We’re going to get to see The Problem We All Live With and Girl at Mirror and the Four Freedoms series live and in person . I can’t believe it!”
He smiled down at her.
The doors opened and their group was ushered in.
Di put on her headphones and tinkered with the machine.
Hugger followed suit.
And at the Denver Art Museum , with Diana , Hugger walked through the first art exhibit he’d ever seen.
It was the absolute shit.
The Problem We All Live With was powerful.
But as he discussed it with Di on their way to the Highlands after they left DAM , he shared his favorites were Saying Grace , Before the Shot and The Lineman .