Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
Gemini
“Midas got us a meeting with Hercules,” I tell my cousins as I sit at the table with a cup of coffee. My eyes are still raw and gritty from lack of sleep. The mattress was lumpy as fuck and I heard coyotes howling all night.
What the fuck is up with that? Shouldn’t they be hibernating considering it’s winter? I know I sure as hell would be if I lived in the wild and it’s as frigid as it is. I’d find a cave and plop myself there for the duration of winter. At least, until the sun started melting the snow.
I think my balls have officially gone into hiding to find warmth. You can’t even glance out of the window without getting a case of the shivers. It’s that goddamn cold outside.
“Must be why Rio called this morning. Did you know this place has a landline?” Pisces asks as he takes a gulp of his orange juice.
“Wasn’t aware, but I also didn’t go looking for one either,” I reply. “What time did he call?”
“Butt asscrack early in the morning,” Orion grumbles, appearing to have gotten as much sleep as I did. “Don’t people believe in sleeping in anymore? Who the fuck is up and raring to go at five? The damn roosters aren’t even up and at it that damn early.”
“He’s a rancher, he’s up before most of us are going to bed,” I retort. “Although how that mixes with being a biker is beyond me.”
“If that’s the life we have to look forward to, I’m reconsidering the whole bull breeding thing,” Orion says, huffing.
“That’s why we fill the clubhouse with brothers so we can split the chores, Orion,” Pisces quips. “We take it in shifts.”
“As long as my ‘shift’ doesn’t start until after noon, I’ll be there,” Orion rebuts. “Can’t dazzle the ladies if I don’t get my beauty sleep.”
“I’ve got another business in mind for you, Orion,” I say.
“What’s that?” he asks, scooting forward in his chair, a hopeful look on his face while giving me his undivided attention.
“How about that bike shop you’ve always wanted to open?” I state, knowing damn good and well that if we put a wrench in his hand, he’d be one happy man.
“Don’t play me, cuz. Are you for real? Please say this isn’t some sort of sick joke,” Orion pleads.
“It’s not a joke,” I clarify. “Big Daddy gave me an early wake up call too. According to him, the old president, Rocco, bought a warehouse to be used to cover up his side gig so nobody would uncover the fact that he was hustling on the side, not wanting to share the profits with his brothers or the Kings. According to him, it would be an easy conversion and it’s something that he’s willing to gift to us and become a silent partner so we could start seeing some sort of profit. What do you think?”
“What percentage does he want?” Pisces asks, always thinking with his business hat.
“Twenty-five,” I answer.
Pisces whistles before saying, “That’s a damn good deal. What do you say, Orion, is that something you wanna do?”
Orion snorts before answering, “Hell yeah, I do. Can I go see the shop? And just so you know, it’ll be run with biker hours unless we get some others working there who are early birds.”
“We can do that after we meet with Hercules,” I promise him. “Big Daddy wants a breakdown on what inventory is needed and what the start-up costs would be. How soon would you be able to have that list together?”
“How soon does he need it?” Orion counters.
“He didn’t give me a deadline, but I’m thinking the sooner the better so we can open up for business once spring hits,” I suggest.
“That soon?” Orion asks with stars in his eyes. “Think we can pull that off?”
“Depends on how hard you’re willing to work,” I state. “You’ll have to do it mostly on your own until we have the budget to hire some hands.”
“I’ll eat, sleep, and shit there if it means I get to open my own mechanic shop,” Orion swears. “This is what I’ve been working toward for years, and y’all know it. Fuck, I’ll even have ‘normal’ hours just to get this going, Gem!”
“You need to give us a name for the shop so I can get it filed and get permits,” I inform him.
“I’ll think on it. Maybe once I see the warehouse something will come to mind,” he replies. “It’s gotta be good because once it’s in writing and the ink has dried, there’s no taking it back.”
“Let me know once you settle on something,” I say, standing up and walking to the leaky sink, rinsing out my cup. “We have an hour until we have to leave. Meet me in the foyer.”
* * *
The four of us pull up in front of Anarchy Lanes and shut off our bikes.
Midas has kept this place in tip top shape, and I’m impressed that he’s been able to do that with how little money the club has in its coffers.
The only thing that makes sense is he’s been funding it from his pocket, which isn’t fair to him since it’s a club owned business.
We need to help him find a way to take that burden off of himself and put it where it belongs.
As a cohesive unit, we stroll through the doors, lock them behind us, and go in the back. Midas, Riptide, and Rio are sitting at a table in the break room with a man that rivals any I’ve ever met. The fucker is huge, reminding me of a bodybuilder.
Midas stands up and starts the introductions.
Once that’s done and over with, we pull out chairs and take a seat.
“Hercules, thanks for coming and meeting us. Unfortunately, there’s a lot that needs to be done, enough that I think will keep your crew busy for several months.
Do you have room in your books to fit us in? ”
“When he says a lot, he means the entire thing is in shambles and should be condemned,” Orion explains. “Personally, I think it’d be cheaper to bulldoze the clubhouse and start over from scratch.”
Hercules mirthlessly chuckles and says, “Rocco didn’t believe in maintaining his property.
The only thing he ever gave a fuck about was if the booze was flowing and the women were around and providing their ‘services’.
From what the others have told me, it’s in worse shape than it was when I was considering prospecting for the club. ”
“I don’t think it could get any worse than it is,” Pisces inserts. “The entire sheetrocking needs to be replaced. The electrical can’t be in ordinance, and the water is brown which means there must be some sort of break in the line to let in the dirt.”
“Like I said, it needs to be demolished,” Orion mumbles.
“I’d like to see it and do my own inspection before we decide on doing anything drastic,” Hercules says, shaking his head at Orion’s dramatic responses.
“Because some of the bones of the place might still be usable, although I’ll definitely agree with y’all that the electrical is not up to code, which means the plumbing likely isn’t either.
Still, with existing lines and whatnot, replacing them with the correct things means you’ll save some money. ”
“You’ll get used to him,” I state, “he’s unlike anyone you’ve ever known.”
I don’t bother commenting on saving money, because for the foreseeable future, we’re going to be bleeding money left and right to get shit up and running.
Right now, I’m grateful for Rip and Rio’s chapters floating us, as well as what Big Daddy is doing for us.
If Rocco were still walking this earth, I swear to God I’d kill him myself.
How he could demean the Kings name the way he did is beyond me.
Fuck, we’ve known about the club for years and whenever we saw them at Sturgis, we were respectful because their reputation proceeded them.
“Is that a warning?” Hercules asks, a chuckle in his tone.
“More of a notice,” I reply. “I think you’ll figure out who has what personality pretty damn quickly based on how much you’re gonna be around.”
“Can we go see the warehouse now?” Orion asks, already done with this meeting.
“Patience, asshole, we’re taking Hercules to see the clubhouse first,” I growl out.
I know he’s family, but he needs to remember we have a new hierarchy and him butting into my conversation is disrespectful.
However, I’ll wait to call him out on it until the four of us are back in the old president’s house for the night.
“Sorry,” Orion mumbles, holding his hands up in the air. “Just excited.”
“Can’t stay mad at him, Gem, he’s like a kid getting his first puppy,” Pisces says.
“Or his first boner,” Mercury adds.
Herding cats. That’s what I’ve been tasked with at this point.
Both Hercules and Midas will think we’re a bunch of assholes, which we are, I just wanted to wait a bit before they met the ‘real’ us.
“Really, Merc?” I drawl out, slightly amused but more frustrated than anything. “We… no, I don’t need that visual.”
Especially since we’re new in town and don’t know the lay of the land as far as where we can find a willing partner.
Although… since seeing Sutton again, my desire to get laid has shifted.
I want her, not some piece of strange, and if that means I rub one out in my shower, so be it.
It’s not like the four of us sit around and compare conquests.
Except for Orion; I swear to Christ that man has a notebook that he fills out with every single woman he’s ever slept with and whether or not he’d go back for seconds.
Personally, I can’t wait until the woman comes along to knock him flat on his ass. I hope she gives him a merry chase, that’s for damn sure.
“Now that you know what we’re needing, do you have all of your supplies with you, Hercules, or will you need to go and grab them?” I ask, wanting to get us back on track.
“I’ve got everything in my truck. Lead the way,” Hercules answers, standing up. I follow his cue and do the same, then all of the others quickly follow suit.
I’m both excited and nervous about getting this job on his books. At least when the day ends, I’ll have an idea about what our numbers will be. By the time bedtime rolls around, I’ll either go to sleep with a smile on my face or wake up in the morning nursing one helluva hangover.