Chapter Five #2
Nero frowns but after a moment he nods and tells him to keep him up to date. No one else has any further information on Storm but we’re all working with our contacts to find out what we can.
“Things have got heavy the last few weeks, we’ve had to deal with some bad shit that I know none of us ever like to do, so I was going to suggest we arrange a cookout. Invite the community.”
“You sure it’s the right time?” Rebel asks.
Nero scrubs a hand over his chin. “Yeah. We’re not going to go on the back foot and hide until we flush that little prick out. And I think everyone could do with letting off some steam. Rebel, can you get Raven to set something up?”
He nods, checking his phone which makes Nero frown but they have one of their weird silent conversations so no one questions them.
Nero asks me to hang back when everyone else heads out. Once it’s just the two of us, he gets up and goes to the fridge, grabbing two beers. I take one, waiting for him to say what he wants me for.
“I need your help to find someone.”
“Okay,” I nod, popping the cap off my beer and taking a swallow. “Who?”
“You know Speedway has a sister, Sheridan?”
“Think so, she came round a bit a few years ago, didn’t get on with Raven.”
“Yeah, that’s the one,” he says, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Fought with Raven is what we really mean. No one ever did find out what went down that caused the usually unflappable Raven to lose her shit and throw a drink at Speedway’s sister. Pretty much everyone in the bar was stunned when she grabbed Sheridan by the hair and threw her out of the bar.
“She in trouble?”
“Not sure. She originally went to Alexandria, but he tracked her to Kentucky.”
“That’s kind of a hard left on the highway.”
He doesn’t acknowledge my analogy of the two places being massively far apart. He’s used to me by now.
“You got people back home could help?”
“Nashville is close to the state line with Kentucky but it’s a big state.”
“We can track her to a particular city but not where she’s gone from there. Your brother is still a bounty hunter?”
“Yeah. He’s expanded the business they’re doing so well.”
“Think he’ll help.”
“No doubt. You got a picture, any other information?”
He explains Speedway will get it all to me. I drink some more beer and watch Nero. If this was a Speedway problem, he would have come to me himself to ask for help. I’m the guy the brothers come to when they have issues.
Nero chews on his cheek and his eyes come back up to me.
“This doesn’t leave the room.”
“Of course.”
“She’s Oscar’s mom.”
My brows lift but I keep the real surprise of that statement to myself.
“She’s been a good mom the last two years, we shared custody.
She came to me saying she needed a break and went to Alexandria for what was supposed to be a couple of weeks.
Then she stopped contacting me. I sent Speedway to find her.
” His face darkens. “She said she met someone and wasn’t coming back. ”
“That’s cold.”
“It would be if she was someone else. It was one night, and she kept it a secret until Oscar was born but she’s always done right by him.”
“Do you think something more is going on?” I sit forward.
“I’m not sure. I don’t want to ask Speedway to go looking too deep in case there is something.”
“To do with Storm?” I surmise.
He grits his jaw and takes a second before he nods. “I can’t be certain. I wasn’t convinced he knew about Oscar when he sent those men to my house, but now I’m not so sure. I think it was Taylor he didn’t know about. He was using Jesse to get to Oscar. He didn’t count on Taylor being there.”
Despite the shitty topic of conversation, the pride is clear on his face when he talks about her. She is still something of a mystery to most of the club, but we all know if she wasn’t there that night, Jesse would be dead and Oscar probably taken.
“I’ll speak to Camden,” I say, sensing he doesn’t want to go any further into this.
“I’ll get you all her info. Keep it between us.”
“No problem, Prez.”
We finish our beers and chat a while, then head downstairs just in time to see Beast lose his shit and storm out of the clubhouse.
“What the fuck now?” Nero asks, then pauses, seeing a girl who doesn’t belong standing by the couch, her arms folded over her chest with that teenage, I hate everyone, attitude radiating off her.
She’s tall, slim and has blonde hair down to her ass.
There is a suitcase at her feet and she is glaring at Ratchet who is staring at her like his fantasy just came to life.
I walk over and slap the back of his head.
She’s clearly underage, even if she is wearing a lot of make-up and is dressed in designer clothes.
“What are you doing here kid?” I ask her.
“Yeah, I think you might be lost,” Ratchet smirks.
I glare at him till he gets the idea I’m about to lose my shit and he shuffles around the couch and walks away.
“I’m here to see my father.”
“You sure you’re in the right place? I doubt your daddy is anywhere around here.”
“Oh really?” She juts out her hip and looks at me like I’m the shit on her shoe.
This kid has attitude I’ll give her that, but this isn’t the right place to be throwing that attitude around. Especially not with Nero staring at her.
“Well that’s funny,” she accentuates the f in a way I’m not sure I could replicate. “Because he just took one look at me, lost his shit, and ran away.”
“Wait… Are you saying you think the man who just left is your dad?”
“I don’t think it, I know it,” she drops her arms and reaches inside her coat.
Everyone reacts and for the first time the girl actually looks her age and she takes a few steps back like she is about to be attacked. That attitude disappeared faster than Beast did. I hold out my arm behind me for everyone to cool their shit.
“Be careful, kiddo, you’re in a room you really shouldn’t be in, where movements like that can cause a whole heap of trouble.”
“I was just getting this picture.” She holds out a polaroid. “When I showed it to him, he freaked, didn’t even say a word. Just ran away.”
Taking the photograph, I glance at Nero, who is watching us, letting me handle it. It’s a picture of Beast and the girl. No wait, it’s not her. It’s someone who looks like her. And Beast is probably about fifteen years younger in the picture. Definitely before I knew him.
“Who is this?” I point to the woman.
“My mom,” she says it like I’m stupid.
“I’m trying to help you here kid, drop the attitude.”
“I don’t understand why people don’t believe the words I’m saying. It’s not like I’m talking French or some shit.”
“Watch your mouth.”
Someone laughs behind me. And sure, maybe that did sound crazy and even a little hypocritical but she is young.
“That is my mom,” she points at the doppelg?nger of her in the picture. “And that is my dad. And I came to find him, to tell him that I need help. And just like he did to my mom, he ran the fuck away.”
I ask her to take a seat. She eyes the couch then gives me a look that says I’m crazy if I think she is sitting there. Looking around, I spot Rookie, one of the prospects and call him over.
“Take… What’s your name?”
“Isabella. But everyone calls me Tink,” she looks at Rookie, her eyes holding a little too long.
Fucking hell. “Okay take Tink next door, get Raven to look after her, and stay with her.”
“I don’t need a babysitter.”
“Did you want our help with your dad?” I try not to show my amusement.
“Uh, fine.” She picks up the suitcase and thrusts it at Rookie. He almost falls over but follows her outside.
“What the fuck is going on?” Razer asks. “Another fucking kid we didn’t know about?” he laughs.
Nero gives him a dirty look, but Razer doesn’t lose the smirk just cos Nero is offended. I show them both the photograph as the other brothers who were in here talk and laugh about what just happened.
“Shit, they look like the same person,” Razer says, peering at the picture. “You think Beast’s her dad?”
“I think this girl might believe he’s her dad, doesn’t make it the truth,” Nero says.
“What are we supposed to do with her?”
“Raven can handle that for now,” Nero blows out a heavy breath. “Go find Beast. He wouldn’t have run out of here like his ass was on fire if there wasn’t something to this. Jesus fucking Christ, does the shit never end around here.”
“Doesn’t seem like it.”
I snatch the picture back out of Razer’s hand and head out to find the latest father of the year at the Blackhawk Disciples.