Chapter 15
Chapter
Fifteen
Johny B
A s soon as I got the message from Mammoth that Smoke had called church, my gut started to bubble with excitement.
It’s been three days since I walked back into the Nevada clubhouse looking like a totally different man. I’ve been going stir crazy while staying inside, keeping myself to myself, making sure that my new appearance is kept under wraps from the outside world. So, I pray that the summons is a sign that a decision has been made, and it’s the right one.
When I walk into the room, I am not sure if the fact that not all the club members are in the room is a good or bad sign. Mammoth is here, along with three of the Nevada council and, of course, Smoke, but there’s another guy sat at the back of the room that I can’t recall seeing before.
“Why is this fucking thing not working?” Smoke grumbles from where he sits at the head of the table, shaking what looks like an iPad that he has in his hands, with frustration.
“Let me,” I say, walking straight over to him. I can see the iPad has power, but the App isn’t working. “Looks like the Wi-Fi signal has dropped out.” I quickly get into the settings, press a few buttons and Cannon’s face fills the screen. “Hey, Prez,” I say, and Cannon acknowledges me with a simple nod before I hand the gadget back to Smoke.
“Sit the fuck down, JB,” Smoke orders quickly before turning his attention to the screen. It’s not that I expected a thank you or anything, but… Rude.
“Cannon. Good to see you, brother. It’s been a long time since I saw your ugly fucking face.” Smoke sniggers.
“The feelings mutual,” Cannon fires back. “Considering that, most of your entire life, you’ve worn the same deadpan expression, you sure have a shit ton of wrinkles, old man.”
“Fuck you,” Smoke responds while propping the screen against a huge mug on the table, in a position where we can all see it. If you didn’t catch sight of the slight twitch at the corner of Smokes’ mouth, you’d think that he hated his Floridian counterpart. Yet it’s blatantly clear that they have mutual respect for each other. “I’d have preferred it if you were here in the flesh, but I get that you rocking up here would get back to the DVI quicker than a cheap shrimp dinner would hit the John.”
“Yeah, no doubt they’re already aware some of our brothers are there. That in itself is going to get them watching the shit out of you.” Cannon sits further back from the screen, and I can see that he’s sitting at the head of the table that sits in our own clubhouse. “I’ve taken on board your request for the utmost discretion on this plan of yours, not that I like keeping it from my brothers, but for now, I’ll go along with it. So, I’m the only one here.”
“I appreciate that.” Smoke nods at the screen. “I can’t risk this all going to shit because someone slips up, saying something they shouldn’t. Not when JB’s going to be in the heat of it all.”
“I get it.” Cannon nods in agreement. “So, I guess you’re keeping it to the chosen few that are here today at your end, too?”
“Yeah. You’ve met Edge, Mayhem and Stone, of course.”
“I have, but who’s the sketchy fucker at the back who’s trying to blend into the background?” Cannon sniggers.
“That’s Ghost.”
“Very apt. So, he’s the one who will be watching JB’s back?”
“I don’t need anyone shadowing me,” I interrupt. “For me to do this, I’ll need to immerse myself into my new identity. The last thing I need is an Outlaw distracting me from the sidelines.”
“Don’t give a fuck,” Smoke interjects. “Ghost got his name for a reason. Not you, or any of the DVI, will have an inkling that he’s there. Besides, that proviso is non-negotiable.”
“And who insisted on that?” I demand.
“I did,” Cannon’s voice comes through the speaker. “So, suck it up, buttercup.”
“Yes, Prez.” I might not like it, but there’s no way I’m going against him.
“Right, let’s get down to business,” Smoke leans forward, elbows resting on the solid wood tabletop. “After an intense discussion with Cannon, this is how we think this should play out.”
Forty-five minutes later, with everyone in agreement, even myself, the meeting starts to draw to an end.
“I think we’ve covered everything,” Smoke concludes. “Cannon, you good?”
“Yeah, but if it’s okay with you, can I have a few minutes with JB?”
“Sure,” Smoke agrees. “Come on, brothers, I think a drink is in order.”
“Do you need me to stay, Prez?” Mammoth asks Cannon as he stands.
“No, man. I’ll catch up with you later. I just need a quick word, that’s all.”
I stay seated, watching as the guys file out of the room. Except, where the fuck has Ghost gone? Because I sure as hell didn’t see him go through the door. I check around the room, but there’s no sign of him. Creepy fucker.
“Here,” Smoke is standing beside me, holding out the pad for me to take. “Leave it on the table when you’ve done, then come join us.” I respond with a quick nod. Once the door has clicked closed behind him, I turn my attention to my Prez.
“I really don’t think it’s necessary to have…” I start.
“Non-fucking-negotiable, JB. End of. You get me?” he barks.
“Sure,” I bite back, knowing that Cannon is a stubborn ass, and nothing I do or say will change his mind.
“Now that it’s just you and me, I need to be sure that you're serious about this, and it’s not some half assed attempt to impress Smoke, so you can get the girl.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t fuck with me, JB. The last six months you’ve been walking around like your dick’s retired. Not once have you given any of the bitches a second look or even got a blowy off any of them. If it wasn’t for the fact that Mammoth told me he’d walked in on you jacking off to pictures on your phone, I’d have changed your club name to Eunuch.”
“It’s not like that,” I try to defend myself. Although, he’s not far from the fucking truth.
“You might be thousands of miles away, JB, but I can still smell the bullshit from here,” he sniggers. “Look, just promise me that, whatever the reason, when you go in there, you make sure you think with your head and not with your dick because I don’t want to lose you, brother.”
“It makes perfect sense. I need to do this. Prove my worth as a brother of the YOMC,” I say with confidence. “I’m the one for the job.”
“Well, you sure as hell have gone all out to change your appearance.” He chuckles. He runs his hand over his own head, which is covered with a short crop of stubble. “You stealing my look, brother?” The cocky smile on his face has me laughing along with him.
“With all due respect, Prez.” I smirk back at him. “I was going for the crappy, skin-headed, deadbeat look, but if you wanna own it, then sure.”
“Fuck you,” he jokes. “Go piss off, I need to get back to my old lady who, at this very minute, is naked in my bed, and waiting for a good hard fucking.”
“Best not keep her waiting, then.” I go to cut the call, but stop when Cannon put’s his face closer to the screen.
“Keep safe, JB, and once this is over, I expect you to tell me who the real JB is.”
With that bombshell, he cuts the call.
Even though the Young Outlaws are my family now, they don’t know everything about my past. They can’t possibly. Those records are well and truly sealed. To go by my real name, when I infiltrate the DVI, could be one huge clusterfuck. But, if they try to delve into my past, it should only bring up information of my youth and nothing that would link me to the club or the part of my life, that if made public knowledge, could lead to my early demise.
I respect and trust Cannon like a real brother, but still I’m not sure I can, or want to, dig up a part of me that’s been buried deep within my soul.
I find Smoke and Stone sat a table at the far side of the bar, deep in conversation. As soon as Smoke catches sight of me he beckons me over. Their discussion comes to an abrupt end as soon as I get within hearing distance. Stone rises up from his seat and as he goes to walk past me, his hand comes to my shoulder, giving it a firm pat, before he moves to where the others are standing further down the bar. Smoke gestures for me to take the now vacant chair opposite him.
“It’s no secret that I don’t fucking like you,” Smoke says before my ass has even had a chance to mould to the solid wood seat. “Personally, if you end up in an unmarked grave, out in the middle of the Nevada desert, I would give absolutely no fucks. But I have a lot of respect for Cannon, and for some reason he seems to want to keep you alive. So, with that in mind, I’m going to give you one final chance to walk away, take your cocky ass back to Florida. Guilt free, no repercussions. Away from Nevada.”
The short of it… Smoke wants me gone, and away from what he holds most dear. I’ve got to give Smoke some credit. He’d rather give up this chance of getting his revenge on the DVI if it means me staying away from his daughter.
Even though it’s not on the cards… yet. Staying away from Scarlett is not going to happen.
“Then what will you do?” I ask him. He bestows me with one of his expressionless stares. “Wait it out? Monitor their movements, in the hope that a chance will come along for you to go at them, all guns blazing with no real idea at what you’ll be facing?” I don’t give him a chance to reply before I hit him harder. “That will leave the club vulnerable. They’ve taken you by surprise once, the last thing you want is to take another hit like that.” I rest my arms on the table and tilt my upper body nearer to him, dropping the level of my voice. “What if next time it’s your girl, Tenley? Think about Stone. He’s already lost people close to him. If anything happened to Oriana, or God forbid, that cute little girl of his, would you really want that on your conscious?”
“Guilt tripping me won’t work, JB. I’d never let that happen. I’ll protect them until the death.” Smoke growls back at me, at last showing that under his stoic exterior is a heart that loves hard, and can shatter just like the rest of us.
“Then this is the perfect opportunity.” I sit back in the chair, arms laying palm down, flat on the tabletop. “Inside information is paramount when it comes to bringing these fuckers down, so let me be your eyes and ears so we can get this shit done.”
“You understand that doing this is not going to change my opinion of you?”
“Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. One thing it will prove to you is that I’m true to my word. If I say I’m serious about something, then I will give it my all. I’ll go to the very edge of hell, if needed.”
“Well, I can tell you now, you and my daughter are never going to happen. I’ll kill you myself, and I won’t give a fuck if Cannon wants my fucking head for it, because it will be worth the sacrifice.”
“I’m always up for a challenge,” I wink at him. “So, I guess it’s up to me to prove you wrong, change your perception of the kind of man I really am.”
“You’re deluded, because that ain’t ever going to happen.”
“Time will tell, Smoke. Time will tell.”