8. Lifes Boring without Me
Chapter 8
Life's Boring without Me
Simone
Abby sweet-talked a burly Devil Lancer named Greco into letting us through the barricade separating the Devil Lancers from other campers. She grabbed my hand and dragged me across the field – narrowly dodging other people as we went.
We stopped short and Abby angled her body so she stood slightly in front of me. “Be very subtle, now. He’s in that group of bikers standing under the awning for that white and blue fifth wheel camper.”
I stared at her for a beat longer than necessary, took a deep breath and let my eyes naturally wander that way.
At first glance the men looked like any other group of bikers. The only thing that told me those seven men were Devil Lancers was the huge patch on their cuts. The patch seemed more familiar to me, but that had to stem from being surrounded by so many of their members.
Everyone in the group erupted into laughter except one man. I stared at him and noticed the tiniest up-tick of his lips.
Oh, shit.
It was him .
The moment my brain registered the knowledge, I felt that bizarre pull of attraction. I wanted to run right to him as much as I wanted to run away from him. Especially since a tall, thin, blonde woman lurked behind him. Only it was hard to say if she was with him or the man to his right. Hell, at Bike Week, she might be with them both.
“Did you see him?” Abby asked.
I turned to her. “Yeah. I don’t think that’s him.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You’re lying.”
I shook my head. “No, Aunt Abby, I’m not. This isn’t the time or place to go looking for—”
“You’re not going to get a better place or time.”
My head cocked to the side. “You know, this isn’t something all his brothers need to know. I can come back.”
She grinned. “I thought it wasn’t him.”
I shrugged. “I don’t think it’s him. It’s still personal and not something a bunch of Devil Lancers need to know about.”
She looked over her shoulder. “Oh, good. The half dozen or so brothers all cleared out. Now he’s talking to some hang-around. Let’s move closer and get a better look.”
“No, no,” I said, and tried to dig in my heels when she grabbed my hand.
Her eyes widened at me. “We aren’t going to make an approach. You’re right about this being private, but you’re too far away.”
With a sigh, I let her lead us through the crowd. Two steps later and I caught sight of the ‘hang-around’ with Steel. Dread and dismay coursed through me. I stopped and let go of Abby’s hand. The crowd was a little thicker here, and she doubled back to me.
“What’s wrong now?”
“That isn’t just some hang-around.”
She shook her head. “What do you mean?”
Not ever did I think I’d be a woman who slept with her boyfriend’s… no, ex-boyfriend’s father. Seemed life had a lesson to teach me about embarrassment, because whatever had embarrassed me before was nothing compared to right now. The idea that I had to confront Jordan and his dad made my stomach lurch. Or was that morning sickness in the afternoon? Pregnancy was fun… Not.
“Who is he?” Abby asked.
“That’s Jordan with him.”
Aunt Abby’s jaw dropped. Very few things rendered her speechless. Looked like I was overachieving all around. “You sure know how to weave a tangled web, Mony.”
“Gee, thanks.”
She nodded. “You’re welcome, but we still gotta get closer.”
“I don’t want to run into both of them!”
Her patience slipped a touch. “Trust me. We’re gonna lurk, eavesdrop, that kind of thing. Now stay close.”
Traipsing through the crowds on this campground brought out a whole new side to Aunt Abby. It surprised me how flirty she could be with total strangers, and yet, after the stories I’d heard about her when she was younger… it made sense.
We slipped between the truck attached to the fifth wheel and another RV. She put her hand at the small of my back and pushed me alongside the truck. I stopped when we reached the truck tailgate, and we could hear Steel and Jordan’s conversation.
“Please hear me out, Jordan,” Steel said.
“I’m only here because you won’t send me the check,” Jordan said in a petulant tone.
My lip curled up. He only wanted money from Steel. In the years we lived together, he’d made it clear how much he despised his dad. If he hated his dad so much why would he want money from him? I hadn’t realized Jordan could be so petty.
Steel sighed. “And I need you to know your real dad is serving fifteen years behind bars.”
“Like I should believe you.”
“You talk to your mom lately?”
Aunt Abby pulled me backward as a lumberjack of a man stalked in our direction. She scurried around the truck and I followed. We wove our way through the crowd and we lost him. Or he didn’t care that we were lurking.
“That sucks,” she muttered when we left the Devil Lancer’s portion of the campgrounds.
“What sucks?”
She laughed. “You have to ask? Your dad is gonna freak. Your baby daddy’s gonna freak twice.”
I shook my head. “Why twice?”
Her chin lowered. “You’re his boy’s ex-girlfriend.”
I twisted a hand up. “Sounded like he isn’t Jordan’s dad after all.”
Aunt Abby scoffed. “Like that matters. For twenty years he’s had a son. It doesn’t just switch off because DNA results change.”
The mention of DNA gave me an idea. Recalling how Jordan complained about his dad, did I even want to tell Steel? Find myself forced to share my child with him?
Ugh. How would that work? The Devil Lancers had always been a thorn in the side of the Jacksonville Riot MC.
His words from December replayed in my mind. “Hard to say which ‘-ville’ I hate more, Gainesville or Jacksonville.” Now it made perfect sense.
“What are you thinking?” Abby asked.
I grimaced. “That… maybe he doesn’t have to know.”
“Your dad wants you—”
My eyes widened. “Now that we know who Steel really is, I bet his tune would change.”
Aunt Abby’s face practically dimmed with solemness. “Think hard about telling him, Simone. You hide behind this excuse, you aren’t the woman I thought you were.”
People watching at Bike Week had to be one of my favorite things to do. I sat at a picnic table sipping a huge Sprite while watching the crowd and debating how to approach Steel.
“I’m surprised you didn’t go back to the rental house with Alexandra,” Blood said, sitting down at the other side of the picnic table.
With a closed-lip smile, I shrugged. “I won’t get to do this next year, and probably not the year after that either.”
He tipped his head to the side and he picked up a baby back rib. “You’re probably right. Abby said you found the mystery man.”
A plate loaded with chicken and brisket landed on the table. Dad sat down sideways next to me, straddling the picnic table bench. “You found Steel? When?”
My eyes went wide and I hesitated.
“Volt, I didn’t say she found Steel.”
Dad swiveled his head toward Blood. “No, you said the mystery man – she’s only got one mystery man.”
As cunning and devious as Blood could be, he knew what he was doing. He’d been Dad’s VP for over a decade. He’d dropped that bomb, well-aware that Dad would hear it.
Why in the world would he want Dad to freak out now?
Then it hit me, in public, Dad almost always held his shit together.
My eyes wandered to Blood and he winked at me. I loved and hated him.
I nodded and turned to Dad. “Yeah, Aunt Abby and I found him.”
Dad’s jaw shifted. “Here? You found him here? Today?”
I nodded.
“Is he a weekend warrior?” Uncle Blood asked, his voice full of fake hopefulness.
My eyes slid to him and back to Dad. “No.”
“Simone,” Dad sighed.
“I had no idea at the time—,” I started.
With an uncharacteristic roar, Dad grabbed my huge Styrofoam cup of Sprite and hurled it into the field behind us. Luckily, there weren’t any groups milling around there. “I wanted you to break out of the life, Simone!”
“What the hell’s going on?” Mom asked, as she hustled to us.
Aunt Abby scurried up behind her, but with one look at her husband Blood, she shook her head with defeat.
“Tell her,” Dad ground out.
“Are you going to freak out hearing it a second time?” I asked.
“Simone,” he said through clenched teeth.
I glanced up at Mom. “I found Steel, and he’s the Devil Lancer president.”
“Why on earth—” Mom started.
Dad interrupted. His temper still in full force. “Did you tell him?”
I tilted my head back. A few stars twinkled in the twilight sky but they didn’t offer me any solace. I looked back at Dad. “Not yet, I’d rather not announce it to all of the Devil Lancers. I’m going to tell him tomorrow morning.”
“Better hope Jordan’s not there,” Aunt Abby muttered.
“The fuck?” Dad asked.
“Aw, hell,” Aunt Abby whispered.
I twisted a hand up and kept my eyes on Dad. “You and Jordan had something in common after all. He hated his dad, who turned out to be Steel.”
Dad closed his eyes for a long moment. “What?”
I explained about the conversation we overheard.
Blood glowered at Abby. “Woman, you didn’t tell me that part. You snuck around behind Steel’s camper! Do you know how fuckin’ dangerous that was?”
Dad stood and stalked away. Mom turned to follow him, but he quickly returned.
He put his phone on the table. “That’s the phone number I have for Steel. Call his ass, and get it over with.”
I grabbed my phone, but Uncle Blood put his hand on my wrist. “No, sweetheart. That asshole isn’t gonna answer an unknown number. You gotta use Volt’s phone.”
I stared at him, then glanced over my shoulder at Dad. “No disrespect, but this should be shared in person.”
Dad crossed his arms. “Why? You told me over the phone.”
I tapped Dad’s phone before the screen went dark. As fast as I could, I entered the number into my phone so I could save the contact.
I stood and faced Dad. “Believe it or not, I need to see his reaction. I’m planning to keep my baby, but I’m within the time frame where I could…terminate the pregnancy. If he suggests that, I want his sorry ass to look me dead in the eyes when he does. That shit isn’t the same in a video chat, and it damn sure doesn’t come across in a phone conversation.”
His body sagged, he reached out, and pulled me into a fierce hug. “Simone,” he whispered.
I returned his hug and willed myself not to cry. As usual, that failed, but I kept it to just three tears and wiped them away before anyone else could notice.
I backed away a touch. “It’ll be okay, Dad. Thanks for his number, though. It might come in handy if he won’t give me the time of day.”
“He doesn’t give you the time of day, you tell me,” Blood said.
I looked over my shoulder at him.
“Blood,” Dad muttered.
“Oh, no, man. This is part of my job as VP. I keep your ass from gettin’ in a sling, and if he gives her some shit, I’m gonna beat his ass, so you won’t get blamed when you really beat his ass.”
Dad’s body jerked with his chuckle. “You’re crazy as fuck.”
Uncle Blood grinned. “Life’s boring without me.”