Chapter 2
“Let’s discuss the Iron Knights.”
My attention was on Junie Russell, aka Junebug, the new vice president of the Savage Saints. When Prez told me he needed me to be a bodyguard to the new VP, his daughter, I thought he was sticking me with a hard, rough looking woman. I didn’t expect for Junebug to look as delicate as a flower. Once I heard the Prez mention the Iron Knights, my attention focused back on him.
“These niggas say the beef is dead, but I don’t believe that shit. They been too quiet. We need to make sure we keep an eye on them.”
Everybody agreed.
“A lot of blood was shed over the years. They lost family and friends behind the death of my wife.”
“Them niggas deserved that shit! They were on some hating ass shit! They were mad we were getting more money than them. They found out VP was the brain behind all that shit and took her out!” One of the members shouted, standing from his seat. “We should’ve still been taking them motherfuckers out one by one.”
Some people agreed while others sat there silent. Prez tried his best to gain control of the table, but the mentioning of his wife always made him weak. It was as if he lost a sense of power anytime her name was brought up. I understood the feeling.
“Aye, y’all motherfuckers calm down!” Belt shouted, causing everyone to stop talking. “Prez handled the situation the way he saw fit. If y’all got a problem with it come holla at me,” he said before hitting his chest.
No one else said anything. They all looked the other way. Internally, I scoffed. I couldn’t believe other niggas allowed another man to shut them up like that. I had been with the Savage Saints for six months now and I had proved myself in more ways than others, which was why I ended up with the role of being the bodyguard for the VP. When Prez and Belt approached me with the opportunity, there was no way I could turn it down. That only gave me opportunity to be more involved with access to all things Saint. I didn’t know that Junebug was going to be as innocent looking as she was. She stuck out like a sore thumb.
I was taken by surprise when this beautiful, chocolate, curvy woman walked into the warehouse sporting her club jacket in a black cat-suit and thigh-high boots. I couldn’t control myself from bricking up. Her eyes were doe shaped, and she held a blank look on her face. She looked like she never held a gun before. It didn’t make sense that she was appointed vice president. I was intrigued. There was no way Junebug didn’t know the deep history behind the Savage Saints. It didn’t make sense for her to agree to be vice president of this dirty club.
“Conqueror,” the Prez called, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Yes, sir?”
“Come here.”
I made my way over to him and Junebug. Prez had already given me the run down about Junebug. He had a file with everything about her in it. He made me study it, then quizzed me on the information. To me, it was suspect of him to not have her and I meet prior to this.
“Junebug, meet Conqueror. Conqueror, this is Junebug, my pride and joy.”
I nodded. She looked at me then turned back to Prez. She was upset but she needed to take that up with her father.
“Your first mission is to accompany Junebug to her first Iron Knight meeting. She and the vice president of the Iron Knights are going to work together sometimes, due to this weak ass treaty they have set in place. Just make sure them motherfuckers don’t lay a hand on my fucking child. They murdered her mama, so ain’t no telling what they would do to her.”
I nodded.
He turned his attention back to everyone and spoke about the latest robbery that resulted in one death. Some of the young niggas were sent to shake up a couple of these new drug dealers. They were trying to mark their territory on Savage Saints’ block. They were supposed to go in, scare them, and rob them, but one of the niggas got trigger happy and a shootout happened. An old lady was struck and one of the trap boys was murdered. The streets were buzzing. All the old heads were pissed and trying to figure out what to do with the young niggas.
Instead of listening to them, I took in all the shady motherfuckers around me. These old ass men sat around criticizing the youth, yet the youth learned from them. Half of these motherfuckers in here sons and daughters was the one in the shootout.
Fifteen minutes later, they wrapped up. That meant it was party time. I’d seen so much shit happen at these parties. Drinking to the point of being inebriated, fights, and sometimes they turned into swingers. Since being a part of the Savage Saints, I’d seen some wild shit that I didn’t think would happen in Motorcycle Clubs. Usually, I would leave right after this meeting, but being that my package was here, I wasn’t sure if I was leaving yet or not. Everyone dispersed.
I walked over to Junebug, who looked down at her phone. She had a stupid grin on her face. I’d been around women all my life, and any time they looked at their phones like that, I knew it had to be a weak ass nigga telling her what she wanted to hear. For three minutes, she giggled and smiled at her phone like a little ass schoolgirl. My irritation grew. I was ready to leave this place, but she couldn’t do a simple task like walk and text. Finally, she looked at me and scrunched her face.
“Um… Why are you standing here?” she asked with attitude.
I wanted to take her phone and smash it on the ground. I had to remind myself why I was here. “My job is to make sure you get your a—get home safely.”
She scanned me up and down. “Oh right, you’re my bodyguard,” she said, doing the air quotes. “Yeah, we can go. Let me tell my dad I’m gone.”
She waltzed over to her father. I couldn’t control myself watching her hips sway and her cheeks jump as she strutted to him. Prez was a fool if he thought the men around him weren’t eye fucking his daughter. A blind man could see the beauty that oozed from her. No matter how bad I thought about stripping her and having my way with her, I knew I had a mission to complete. After five minutes of what seemed to be a heated conversation, Junebug stomped away as if he had just grounded her. I shook my head at a grown ass woman throwing a tantrum. Prez waved me over. I had to muster up the ability to keep my composure.
I couldn’t stand Prez. There was something about him that screamed shady, sneaky, and backstabber. I didn’t trust him as far as I could throw him. He had these motherfuckers wrapped around his finger. They idolized him. They wanted to be him. Some of them even feared him, but I didn’t. He pumped no fear in my heart.
“Sup, Prez?”
“Keep your eye on her. I’m trusting you with my daughter’s life. She got a target on her head. Shit been that way since the day she was born.”
The disdain I had for this man made my skin crawl. If he knew that his daughter had a target on her head since birth, why not keep her from it all? This was why I didn’t trust this motherfucker as far as I could throw him.
“I got you,” I said.
He slapped his hand on my shoulder and a devilish grin appeared on his face. “Aight, get her out of here. I got some shit to handle.”
I didn’t even bother to respond. Since joining the Savage Saints a few months ago, I done seen this man hold people hostage, kill motherfuckers, fuck random women, and get high as fuck off his own supply. Everybody around this bitch turned the other cheek to it. It didn’t make sense that as a leader, he moved like that.
I walked outside and saw Junebug standing outside the door. She had her arms crossed and still looked irritated. I didn’t have time for her shitty attitude. This was not a job I wanted, but I was sure she didn’t want to be watched over like a child either.
“My car parked over there.” I pointed at the all-black matte Trackhawk.
She looked me up and down and strutted off without a word. Before I could make it to open the door for her, she opened it and slid into the passenger seat. She and her bitchy attitude pissed me off. I got in the driver’s seat and switched on the engine. The loud exhaust caused her to jump. I smirked.
“Why your shit so loud? Damn near gave me a heart attack,” she fussed.
“Where am I taking you?”
I could feel her eyes on me. She sucked her teeth then fired off an address to me. Once I got it in my GPS, we pulled away from the headquarters. We rode in silence for ten minutes before she spoke.
“What made you want to sign up to babysit me?”
I looked over at her. She had her eyes on me. From the quick glance in her eyes, I felt myself getting lost but reminded myself to stay the course.
I shrugged. “I was told. Wasn’t no damn signup sheet.”
She sucked her teeth. “Whatever. I’m not demanding, and I probably won’t even bother you like that. Just make sure when we’re around my daddy you’re present. My daddy would lose his shit on you if he saw me without you.”
As bad as I wanted to tell her I wasn’t afraid of her daddy and couldn’t give a damn about him, I decided to stay quiet. I gave her a head nod and kept my attention on the road. The more I drove, the more I noticed we were on the side of town where cops, lawyers, and government officials lived. My guard was up. I wasn’t taking Junebug home. I was taking her to an unknown location. Her father had given me a list of addresses that she usually occupied, and this wasn’t one of them. The GPS let me know I was three minutes away from the destination. I glanced at Junebug, and she had a stupid grin on her face as she texted on her phone. My mind raced. I might be a quiet nigga, but I wasn’t a stupid one. I reached into the center console and pulled out my gun. I placed it on the dash. Junebug looked up and scrunched her face.
“Excuse me?”
I scoffed. She must have clearly mistaken me for a fool. I’d set motherfuckers up, and been on the other side. I knew all the clues to let me know if I was being set up.
“You moving weird as fuck right now. You got me on another side of town. You keep looking at your phone. I don’t know what you got going on.”
“Negro, please! Ain’t nobody thinking about setting you up. I’m on the way to visit a friend.” She rolled her eyes and went back to her phone as she mumbled something under her breath. I didn’t remove my gun from the dash. I had no intentions of doing so.
Finally, we arrived at a two-story brick house with a garage attached to it. It looked like a family home. There were toys in the yard and a swing set. My interest was piqued. I was curious to know who lived here. Once I stopped the car, I sent my best friend a text message.
Info on this address?
Rogers:
Bet.
Junebug checked her face in the mirror. She applied more lip gloss to her lips before shutting it and looking at me with no expression.
“Don’t tell my daddy about this. No one knows about this place. Keep it that way.”
I nodded while looking at her. Something about this place didn’t feel right.
“Who house this is?”
“That’s none of your business. Don’t wait on me. I’ll be here all night.”
Before I could rebuttal, she jumped out of the car and rushed to the front door. I watched her every move waiting to see who came to the door. A tall light skinned man appeared. He wore glasses and a button up shirt and slacks. She wrapped her arms around him and smashed her lips into his. The nerd looking nigga gripped at her ass, lifting her off the ground. She wrapped her legs around him, never removing her lips from his. He carried her into the house and the door shut.
Now I understood why she kept this place hidden. If her father found out she was fucking with someone like that, he would probably laugh in her face. I prepared to find a place to sit and keep an eye on her, even though she told me not to wait. I had a job to do.
As I pulled off, I couldn’t help but notice the influx of cars on the street. On the way in, I only passed two cars, but now there were more driving by. My alertness was at an all-time high. Before I could memorize any of the plates, the ring of my phone alerted me. My best friend, Rodgers, was calling.
“What up?” I asked, answering the phone.
“Shit, my G. Chilling.”
Rodgers and I had been friends since middle school. I met him because he was my next door neighbor for years. Rodgers and I clicked instantly because we had the same interests, but we took different paths. Rodgers went to college and became an ethical hacker. On the sly, he did some unethical shit too. He kept it on the low because he could lose his certifications. He made a killing doing ethical and unethical hacking while I went to college to become a lawyer, but shit went left, and I had to drop out.
“You find out anything on that address?” I asked, looking at a car pass by. It was the same car I had just seen.
“Yeah, nigga, that’s why I called. You sure you ain’t too deep in this shit?” Rodgers asked.
“Aye, man, just tell me what you found.”
He sighed. “That’s Keith Frost’s house.”
My eyebrow raised. “You sure?”
“See, that’s what I’m saying. I think you too deep in this shit. You at the ex-chief of police son’s house. What the fuck he got to do with anything?”
Before I could respond, the same two cars that I saw earlier passed by, heading in the direction I just left from.
“Fuck!” I shouted.
Immediately, I threw my car in drive, speeding back toward where I dropped Junebug off. It was day one on the job and I was already fucking up.
“What, man?”
“I just dropped the president of the Savage Saints’ daughter off over there. I think this shit is a setup!”