16. Hiding Your Temper
Chapter 16
Hiding Your Temper
Mensa
“You never shared that new information you mentioned on the phone last night,” Whitney said, handing Mensa a bottle of Sam Adam’s and sitting next to him on the couch.
He didn’t want to hide anything from her, but he was a big believer in the less she knew the better. However, a woman who once investigated crime for a living wasn’t going to accept being kept in the dark.
“I’ve been told that Dontrell’s son, Demetrius, has been ignoring the Miscreants and not just recently, but for nearly a year.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Same amount of time Donny’s been putting off Corrupt Chrome.”
“Yeah. There’s also a rumor that Corrupt Chrome goes out of their way to make in-roads with street gangs.”
“That’s hard to believe,” she muttered and sipped her beer.
He shrugged a shoulder. “Stranger things have been known to happen, but it would also give Corrupt Chrome more leverage over Dontrell.”
She shook her head. “But a group like the Miscreants can just move on to the next wayward teenager who wants to join.”
Mensa nodded. “Yeah, that’s the thing that bugs me, and a few others, too.”
Whitney put her beer bottle down. “Seriously, why burn down one of Donny’s restaurants? That doesn’t indicate that they can protect the kid, it proves the very opposite. For that matter, why pull a gun on Donny at your bar?”
“Not that I’m giving that asshole the benefit of any doubt, but I really think the shooting was unplanned.”
“Or it’s two birds with one stone,” Whitney suggested. “Pulling the gun puts real fear in Donny, and by opening fire Rod goaded your brothers into bringing out their weapons. Plus Twisted Talons had to be shut down for what? Two days at least, maybe two-and-a-half?”
“Yeah. Don’t say that shit around Cynic, he’s already salty as fuck about it.”
She twisted her hands up. “Exactly. Cuts down on your club’s income, makes you all look bad, and may keep others from coming back.”
In the back of his mind, Mensa knew all that but had buried it. He took a deep breath and ran a hand down his face. “Okay, don’t say that shit around me because I’m getting really fuckin’ pissed all over again.”
She stared at him for a beat. No, she examined him. “You’re good at hiding your temper.”
He did a long blink and locked eyes with Whitney. “I suppose that’s the by-product of the few times I was around Uncle Jack. He could be volatile, we just didn’t think he took it out on his family. Dad made sure I understood how to keep calm in almost any situation.”
She nodded. “That’s an important life skill.”
He finished his beer and stood. “We should hit the sack. Tomorrow’s gonna be a long day.”
Moving across town sucked, but moving two and a half hours across the state while following his woman sucked even worse. Whitney had rented a moving truck with a trailer to tow her car, which was an excellent call since she didn’t want to come back to Jackson. It still led to a squabble since Whitney refused to drive Har’s truck, but Mensa pointed out that she’d never driven a vehicle that was towing another car.
“It can’t be that difficult, Mensa.”
He slowly dipped his chin. “Yeah, but do you really want to take that chance? I’ve had to tow trailers before, it’s not something you’re used to. Besides, Har won’t care that you drove his truck… unless you put flowery air fresheners in it or some shit.”
“Who would do that?” she asked.
He arched a brow. “Stephanie, but seriously, please drive his truck. It will make me feel better.”
She stared at him for a lengthy moment. “Okay, but only because you’re so insistent.”
By his calculations, the two of them would be unloading the truck for a good five hours. Before they hit the interstate, he called Finn.
“Yo, where are you?” Finn asked.
“On my way back. Can you help me unload Har’s truck in two hours?”
“Just Har’s truck?” Finn asked.
Mensa chuckled. “And a small moving truck. See if Gamble can help. If it’s just me and Whitney, we’ll be at it for hours. Between you, me, and another brother, we should be able to do this shit in two hours, tops.”
“And I want to do this, why?”
“Because I need a solid, jackass. And there will be beer.”
“Since you asked so nicely… I guess I’ll call Gamble.”
Two hours later, Mensa unfolded from the moving truck. Whitney stood right by his door.
She tipped her head to where Gamble and Finn stood under the breezeway. “You called in the cavalry.”
“Sweetheart, you and I make a great team, but those fuckin’ stairs are gonna be a killer. This will help us get done much quicker.”
Her expression turned wistful. “Four months ago, I never would have thought the Riot MC brothers would be helping me move. Who knew?”
Mensa shook his head. “All right, smart ass, let’s get your car off the trailer.”