Chapter 20
Chapter
Twenty
Johny B
I t’s late by the time I get back to my room at the motel, but the first thing I do is grab the burner phone from where I’d taped it to the back of the wooden headboard, at the top of the bed. Once powered up, I hit the buttons to call Mammoth, who is still staying at the Nevada clubhouse. The fact that he’s stuck around, after the others have gone back down to Florida warms my soul. Cannon was getting antsy over the lack of brothers on hand back home. It’s understandable, as the number of club brats seem ever increasing and keeping the family safe has become not just a priority to him, but a worry, too.
The click of the call been picked up brings me back to the here and now.
“Who was on the run?” I ask before I even hear his voice.
“So, it was Dunne that was behind the ambush.” Mammoth growls down the phone line at my words. “Thought as much. Did you know it was going down?”
“What the fuck? Of course not,” I snap back, annoyed at his assumption. “If I had, I would have got a message to you. The first I knew about it was when the van was backing up into the bay. I recognized the decals, so instantly knew it was one of ours.” The line goes silent for a few moments before I ask, “How bad?” The club has had enough pain with the loss of Cub. It has really hit the brothers hard, as it does when you lose one of your own. Especially someone as young and as vibrant as him.
“It could have been a lot worse,” he sighs. “The prospect who was in the van with Hurricane is in a bad way. The fuckers pistol whipped him to the side of the head. The doctor in the ER thinks he’s got a brain bleed, so they’re talking surgery.”
“Fuck,” I growl into the phone. “Poor fucker. What about Hurricane?”
“He’s beat up to shit. But what do you expect? He’s not the type to go down easy. He put up one hell of a fight, would have got a bullet to his head, crazy fucker, but he caught sight of the prospect, saw that blood and backed off so he could be there for him.”
“What about the other two who were escorting the van?”
“Crave. He’s a bit bent out of shape but nothing that a couple of days rest and some club whore attention won’t fix.” he sniggers. “And me, I’m fine. With my build it takes more than a road tumble to put me out of action. My bike, that’s gonna need some TLC, but Deisel is already on it.”
“Why the fuck were you on the run?” I pant out my fear. The thought of my club brother and VP being involved in a situation that could quite easily have ended him, has me not just shocked but fucking angry. “What the fuck were you thinking?”
“Say’s you who is playing spy games with the DVI.” He throws back at me. “Shit, JB. I’m going stir-crazy stuck here, not knowing if you’re still breathing. I also miss my wife and my brothers. I miss home so bad that I was desperate for a distraction.”
“A fucking stupid risky one.”
“Yeah, but I was fucking buzzing. Anyway, this convo has gone on too long, it’s not safe. Is there anything else you need to report before you ditch the burner and grab a new one?”
I quickly tell him about the van, and that they need to track it down and make sure that the risk of anything coming back at the club is eradicated, before I give up the most important titbit of news.
“I finally came face-to-face with Dunne, and he’s intrigued by me, and the fact that I’m not just another brainless yes man. Watch this space, because it won’t be long before he’s telling me exactly what retaliation he’s got planned against the Young Outlaws.”
On that note, I cut the call after promising to contact Mammoth as soon as I have any more news. I clear the data from the phone then drop it to the floor. I bring my boot down hard. It only takes one time for the case to break open, the sim card popping out beside it. I scrape up the plastic bits and toss them into the trash can. The card, I snap in half between my teeth, then head into the bathroom. Dropping to two tiny pieces down the John, I take a long piss right on top of it. I shake, then flush, checking that it’s not hovering in the bottom of the bowl, before washing my hands. Restlessness consumes my bones along with my simmering anger.
With everything that’s come to light tonight, and the uncertainty of what’s coming, the reality that the club has taken another major hit from the DVI, not to mention the fear of what the results could have been, has me spiralling into the darkness. Drinking myself into oblivion is not an option because I need to keep a clear head, not only in case I get a call from Mal, but more importantly, my brothers. If push comes to shove; I’d ditch this crazy in a heartbeat if something went down and they needed me. Undercover be damned.
There’s only one thing currently that I crave. The one thing that just can’t happen. It’s too risky; too stupid. But however much I try to tell myself that, I find myself quickly changing into sports gear. Then I snatch up my keys from where I’d left them on the bedside cabinet, and storm back out into the darkness of the night.
When I get outside the back of the building, I’m on foot after dropping the car about a mile away. The place is starting to wind down for the night, or should I say morning. There’re only three cars parked in the lot at the front, so minimal chance that I’ll be seen. I hover in the shadows until I see the lights go on for the upstairs living quarters then make my way over to the door that accesses it. I rap my knuckles against the solid wood and wait. It’s not long before the door swings open, but who opens the door is not who I expected.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Rex fills the doorway with his huge body.
“Damn, have they still got you doing this gig?” I snigger, trying to push past him, but he just body blocks me.
“JB, what the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“I need to see her, Rex.” I try reasoning with him. “I only want to talk to her. Nothing crazy, I assure you.”
“Scarlett doesn’t live here anymore. She no longer runs the place. Harmony is in front of house these days.” I take a step back, hand going to the back of my neck.
“Since when?”
“Been about four months now. She got herself a job working for one of the big law companies in the city. Has her own apartment and everything.” Why didn’t I know this already? Oh yeah, because I was an asshole, and didn’t keep in touch with her.
“What’s the address of the apartment?” I ask Rex.
“Aw come on, JB,” he groans. “You know I can’t tell you. Smoke would have my head if he found out I told you.”
“I won’t tell him, if you don’t,” I joke. “Come on brother, you know how I feel about her and the truth behind why I had to leave. I respect Smoke, haven’t I proved that by going into the DVI’s snake pit?” I reason with him.
“Fuuuckkk,” he hisses as he glares at me, and I can see in his face that he’s torn. “Damn-it. Canyon Lakes Apartments over Stonegate parkway, number 26.” Rex points his finger at me. “Promise me, if you get there and she don’t want to see you, you fucking walk. Don’t make me regret this, JB.”
“Deal.” Launching towards him I wrap my arms around him and give him a good old man hug. “I owe you big time, and I won’t let you down.”
“Now fuck off, and let me go close the place up so I can get some shuteye.”
I walk backward, throwing the big guy a salute before turning, and jogging back into the shadows and to where I left my car.
My stomach aches, the butterflies in there going crazy at the thought of seeing my woman soon. Don’t be fooled in any way, because there’s no doubt in my mind or my heart that Scarlett is mine, and I’ll move hell and earth to make sure that she knows it, too.