MAESTRO
President of The Queens Wraiths wasn’t what I’d ever envisioned I’d be.
Our club was mostly known as the Wraiths. Over the years, our cuts had changed and while we still portrayed the word ‘queen’ on them, it was much smaller and almost hidden in the skull. I’m sure that was due to history more than anything else. Staring blankly at the tapestry that was said to portray our history, I looked at the depiction of what our symbol used to be.
We still had the skull and roses with the wraith tendrils; it was just the writing that had changed. I’d often wondered over the years what the tapestry said, but none of us could read the language. Some had tried to remove the tapestry, but there was a story told as a warning that those who did had ill luck befall them. Apparently, many years ago, definitely before my dad’s time, a president had tried to remove it and have it thrown out.
He'd been found the next morning as white as a sheet, tied to his chair, staring at the tapestry. He’d not said what had happened, just that it was never to be moved. When he’d seemed to experience a run of bad luck, he’d sworn it was because he’d moved the tapestry. I didn’t have a clue if that was true or not, but the tapestry had stayed enclosed in glass on the wall in our president’s office.
Personally, I didn’t mind it; I liked that we had our history close to us, and I often wondered about our ancestors and how we’d ended up here. It was said that my line was from one of the originals and that’s why in our bylaws we had that the presidency was handed down from father to son, always of the Ivor bloodline. But as I was last in my line with no potential children in my future, I wondered what would happen when I was gone.
It had never been a worry for me because I was never going to step up, not when my older brother was next in line. But then he was killed on a run that went bad.
That’s when my dad, Red, who was president at the time, started to make changes and had us going legit. I can’t lie; it was nice not to have to worry about the feds constantly up our asses, but I did miss the rush of being out on a run. I understood, though, and when my dad had wanted to step down, I’d been the next choice.
There’d been the usual upheaval and those that weren’t happy with the changes. Those had been offered the chance to leave with no consequences.
Surprisingly, there weren’t that many who were unhappy about the change. For the most part, it was the older members that weren’t happy, but they’d been offered retirement instead, which they’d taken. And Grudge.
‘Jesus, I hated that fucker.’
I’d quite happily put a bullet between his eyes, and not just because of what a shithead he was.
He’d continued to deal drugs long after we’d stopped, even knowing the consequences of doing so, as it went against our club’s rules. The other reason I hated the very air that he breathed was because of the way he’d treated his wife.
I knew it was wrong, coveting another man’s wife, but there was something about Stacey from the first moment I’d seen her. She’d burrowed her way into my heart. I remembered the first day I’d laid eyes on her so clearly it seemed like it was yesterday.
I’d walked into the clubhouse with my best friend, Cash, who was already seeing my sister, Lizzie. Both Cash and I’d not long had our rockers, and we were still doing some of the grunt work until we found new prospects to replace us.
And there she’d been. The woman of my dreams, standing at the bar, dark hair loose around her face, hanging long to the bend of her knees. Long legs encased in skintight jeans, a dark red T-shirt that lifted as she bent over the bar towards the prospect whose eyes dipped to her cleavage, making me grind my teeth. Her lush ass was pointed towards me, and I could imagine holding onto her hips tight as I thrust into her from behind. My cock jumped to attention, and I shifted my stance slightly to ease the ache.
Totally unaware that I’d stopped in the doorway, Cash had continued on towards the bar and had taken a seat next to her. I’d been about to follow and see if I could persuade her to take a ride on the back of my sled and then maybe a little later a ride on me.
She smiled at the prospect as he handed her the drink she’d ordered. That was when I’d caught sight of the flash of gold on her finger.
Inhaling a deep breath of disappointment that she was taken, I still walked towards her. She turned towards me as I bellied up to the bar. She smiled and it lit up her face, her blueish-green eyes sparkling with the force of it. She held out her hand to me, introducing herself, “Hi, I’m Stacey.”
My breath caught and held at the sheer beauty of her. It felt like I’d been hit in the solar plexus, and it had taken all my breath away.
I’d taken her hand and gently shaken it, replying, “Maestro.”
And that’s how it hit me, every time I saw her over the next twenty years. That she was married to one of the brothers I’d disliked instantly from when he’d first started prospecting with us was only the tip of the iceberg. He’d kept the fact that he was married a secret the whole time, only bringing her around once he’d been patched in. Not that being married stopped him from availing himself of the hangarounds and club whores.
Over the years, I’d watched as that bright smile slowly dimmed and her eyes slowly lost that sparkle that had captivated me as he cheated on her again and again. Not just with the club whores but also with strange that he picked up. I’d wondered at her loyalty time and time again. She never once strayed, no matter how badly he treated her, until she couldn’t ignore it anymore, not when his behaviour was affecting her children.
Over a year ago, I’d watched along with my dad, Lizzie, Cash, Maura, and Thor as she broke.
I’d not thought about it; I’d just reacted when I’d heard his inability to keep his dick in his pants had affected her health. I’d dragged him naked from the whore’s rooms and into the ring that we had outside and beaten the hell out of him. Then I’d gone to their house, helped her pack up his shit, and taken it to his room at the clubhouse.
It was in the course of dropping off his shit in his room that Dad, Cash, and I found his stash of drugs, which was against our bylaws. Finally, we had what we needed to get rid of him.
I’d never been happier than the day we stripped him down and burned his club tattoo from his body.
Knowing that Stacey wouldn’t have the money for a lawyer, I’d sent the club lawyer to her. She never knew that I paid for the lawyer, ensuring that she got a fair payout for her and the kids. It had helped that he’d not been able to stay out of trouble and had ended up in jail on manslaughter charges for killing someone in a bar fight.
As far as I was concerned, it’s what he deserved.
A knock on the doorjamb pulled me from my thoughts, turning my head towards Cash, who was standing, shoulder resting against the doorjamb, arms crossed over his chest, eyes twinkling with amusement.
“You’re going to be late for your daily fix if you don’t get a move on.”
Flipping him off, I nevertheless stood up, pushing my chair in. With one last glance at the tapestry, I walked out of my office, closing and locking the doors behind me.
Enquiring as I walked past him, bumping him with my shoulder, “Are you coming with me?”
Sniggering, Cash fell into step beside me until we reached our sleds, “Don’t I always? I’m wondering if today’s the day you actually ask her out or if you’re just going to stare at her again?”
“Fuck you, Cash. She’s had a lot going on. I’m not just going to jump all over her now that her divorce is finalised.”
“I know, brother, just don’t leave it too long or someone else may get in there before you. Working at the diner, I’m sure she gets asked out plenty. She’s still a good-looking woman.”
Grinning wickedly, I tell him, “Oh, you don’t have to worry about that; I have ways of keeping tabs on her.”
With those words, I start up my sled and ride out the gate, my best friend following just as he always has. My destination: the woman who, come hell or high water, I was going to call mine before too long. I’d waited over twenty years for her to be free of her dead weight, and I wasn’t waiting a minute more.