Chapter 24 Trey
Trey
The sun begins to rise as I ride out of the club.
Rain is forecast this afternoon, but my business will hopefully be dealt with by then.
I ride to the one place that I loved visiting when I was growing up.
My grandpa’s. My dad never had a good relationship with his father, or any type of relationship.
He’d grit his teeth once a year on my birthday and allow him over to the house for a couple of hours, but nothing more than that.
My mom stayed out of it because my dad told her to, and she never failed to do what he said before they divorced and hated each other with a passion.
When Effie’s henchmen violently forced my father into selling the Rathbones his shop, his hatred for his father grew stronger because my grandpa would sometimes work for the Rathbones.
But Joe ‘Jagger’ Lannister was my favourite person growing up and still is to this day. He’s who I aspired to be and if my father had found that out, he would have cut off all contact and moved us far, far away from him.
He couldn’t be more different to my dad and every time I asked what happened between them, my dad would shut me down.
When I was fifteen years old my grandpa moved into a trailer.
He told me he could live free down by the river in a secluded area, but I’ve since learned it was because he was evicted from his apartment and had no choice.
I’ve offered to rent him somewhere, but he is stuck in his ways and now the trailer is home.
The water shimmers in the early morning sun and I don’t need to worry about my bike waking him, he’s sat out front of his trailer, a cup of coffee in hand and his usual cigarette on the go.
“You wanna a coffee, son?”
“Nah, I’m good, thanks.”
I sit my ass in the chair to his side.
“So? To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit at the asscrack of dawn?”
“I need a favor.”
“Yeah? I’ve gotta say, I’m not up to doing much these days, this damn gout is killing me.”
“I just need a name. I need you to reach out and see who’s on the take but somewhat trustworthy in Bolton PD.”
He narrows his eyes and nods slowly. “I heard you’d joined an MC. I take it the club’s looking for a bent cop to get on the payroll?”
I nod. “I’ve finally found my place.”
“At what cost?”
I don’t answer. Not because I don’t have one but because I know what the possibilities are. I don’t need to hear them again.
He sips his coffee, sucks on his cigarette, and stares at me.
He used to run the underground gambling huts back in the day, he knows all the wrong people in the right places.
As much my parents kept him away from our house, they could never stop me from sneaking to his place.
The stories he would tell me about the gamblers losing their money in less time than it takes to make a cheese sandwich is the reason I don’t place bets.
I could win money, a lot if I was lucky, but the odds are not in my favor, and I’d rather accumulate my cash slowly and steadily than risk losing it all.
“While you’re here, you can help me get that rubbish on the back of the truck. It’s been building up for weeks so mind the rats.”
“Why didn’t you call me before, I would’ve come over sooner.”
“Ah, you’re here now.”
I help him out with the trash and then he ropes me into jet spraying the trailer and clearing the roof of leaves and debris.
“I’ll arrange for you to meet Officer Sketchy, he’s good as long as his pocket is heavy with cash. Wait for my call.”
“How do you still know people?”
“Once you’re in this world…” He points to my cut. “You’re never out. No matter what you do or how far you try to run from it. You’ll do well to remember that. MC’s don’t fuck about when it comes to the brotherhood and their loyalty code.”
“What do you know about MC’s?”
“Silly boy,” he mutters. “If there’s a guy on the wrong side of the law in this city or in a thousand mile radius, I’ve met them, known them, and seen their downfall.
The Lost Souls, who you’ve affiliated yourself with, have been around for years.
I came across one of their presidents years ago, Michael Blake.
Nasty fucker. If your president is anything like him, don’t find yourself on the wrong side of his sparkling personality. ”
From talk around the club, I know Michael Blake is Luca’s great uncle. He’s been dead for years. Shot dead by his own club for something that happened to Luca’s mom.
“What does your mom think about this new venture of yours?”
“Haven’t spoken to her in a couple of years. I’ve been putting it off seeing her. I know what she’ll have to say.”
“You’ll have to face her sooner or later. None of us are getting any younger, look at me, who the fuck thought I’d still be on God’s green earth at eighty-two?”
“You don’t look a day over eighty-one,” I quip.
“Fuck you.”
It hits me that one day I’m going to show up and find him dead in this shit hole trailer.
“Have you tried talking to her lately?” I ask.
“Nah, I learned my lesson years ago. Sometimes there’s no going back and fixing what can’t be mended.”
“What the fuck happened between you and my parents?”
“I was a bad dad, he was a good kid. He learned early I was no good and for that, I couldn’t be prouder. He did well to stay away from me.”
“What does that say about me?” I snort.
He laughs. “You’ve always been curious, seen that there’s more to the world than what your father tried to hide from you.
The harder he was on you, the more you wanted.
You’re like me, I just hope you don’t end up living in a shack when you should be spending your last days somewhere a fuck load better than this. ”
Sighing, I assure him, “I’ll have a family and somewhere to call home before that happens, old man.”
His words stay with me all the way back to the club. Max and Warren are leaving as I arrive. Inside, King is with the Mayor’s daughter and shit is tense.
Approaching Ford, I say, “I need the key to Effie’s room.”
Eyeing me warily, he asks, “Why?”
“It’s my business, brother, but trust I won’t kill her.”
She would fucking deserve it, but I won’t take it away from Ford. He digs the key out of his pocket and hands it over.
“I won’t be long.”
My blood begins to boil as I climb the stairs and head along the hall. She’s holding her stomach and winces when she’s sees I’m empty handed.
“You look like shit,” I grunt.
She keeps her mouth shut and follows my every step as I cross the room.
“You have no idea who I am, do you?”
She should know who I am, but it doesn’t anger me that she doesn’t. Why would the Queen at the top know who the peasants are at the bottom.
Her silence is oddly calming. “My dad worked hard every day of his life. His shop was his pride and joy for over twenty years and one day a greedy bitch wanted it. My father declined and made it clear he wouldn’t sell under any circumstances.
The greedy bitch wouldn’t take no for an answer and sent her henchmen round to intimidate him.
” Arching my brow, I add, “His son tried to protect him and was holding his own until one night he went to meet his dad and found him dead behind the counter. The police say it was accidental, that he fell and hit his head, but I’ve always known the truth. ”
She has the audacity to frown in confusion.
“He was killed, and it was made to look like an accident. All because the greedy bitch didn’t get what she wanted.”
“I don’t…”
Cutting her off, I tell her, “You don’t need to deny it or tell me you’re sorry, not that you would anyway.
I just wanted you to know that you dying is a justice to society, and I hope you spend an eternity in Hell.
” I smile sadly with my dad in mind. “Nothing will ever bring him back, but the day Ford kills you, is the day he can truly rest in peace.”
Having said what I came up here to say, I leave, locking her in and locking down that part of my past.
I return the key to Ford and grab a beer from behind the bar as my phone rings.
“It’s your grandfather,” I hear when I answer.
He always starts a call like this as I don’t recognise the same number he’s had for the last ten years.
“You good?”
“Our friendly bent cop will meet you in the parking lot on Birch Street in thirty minutes. You’re welcome.”
“Thanks.”
The call ends and I put my beer back in the fridge. Thank fuck I ride a bike, I’ll be able to cut through the rush hour traffic and be there to meet Sketchy on time.
He’s not in uniform but a cop always stands out. For someone who doesn’t want to be seen, he doesn’t come across as paranoid.
“Are you Trey?”
I tip my chin and remain on my bike.
“Jagger said you’re looking for a friend on the force.”
“How much does a friend cost to have?”
“This friend? He doesn’t work on a weekly or monthly subscription. He gets paid as and when he’s needed and he gets paid well.”
“That works for me.”
We exchange numbers and that’s that. He disappears and I ride back to the club. Music plays, the bar is filling up with people I don’t recognise, and on my way to finding Luca I bump into a hot woman with pink hair.
“Hey, sorry,” she purrs.
“It was my fault.”
“You’re one of them, aren’t ya?” she asks running her finger down my cut.
“And who are you?”
“Tia.”
Lifting her, she wraps her legs around my waist and laughs. I sit her on the bar and step back.
“I need five minutes. Stay here, don’t move.”
Her laughter follows me as I cut across the bar, heading toward Luca and Angel.
“Prez, I got you a cop. Officer Sketchy. Wants paying as and when he’s needed.”
“Fuckin’ finally, something falling into place. You did well.” Luca grins but it doesn’t look right on him.
I give him the number and say, “I’ve got someone to be in, see ya later.”
Tia is where I left her on the bar and standing before her, I throw her over my shoulder and head up to my room.
My grandpa was somewhat right, I am like him, but I won’t end up like him.
There will be a day I’ll settle down, have a family, but it won’t be what my father classed as normal.
I’ll wear the patch for the rest of my life, my family will be an extension of the one I patched into.
She slips down the front of my body, quick to lean up on her toes and kiss me.
“As pretty as your dress is, it would look better on the floor.”
Grinning, she steps back and undresses.
“Do you always come around biker clubs wearing no panties?”
“I don’t see the point. I have expensive taste and hate replacing them when they get ripped off of me.”
I’m sure she thinks she’s being sexy but all I’m thinking is she runs through my brothers like a game. She could never be my old lady, but fun for a night? She’s perfect.