Chapter 13 #2
“Yeah, and I decided I much rather be a participant.” I give her another quick kiss.
“I’m taking the boys into the yard to play football.
I’ll grab the bags from the curb and put them back on the porch.
” My gaze swings to the box she packed for the club.
“Got church later tonight. If you want, I’ll take your truck, and bring that over when I go. ”
She shakes her head. “I think I want to bring it by myself.”
“Whatever you want, mama.”
“Here’s Jade’s check,” Stacks, our treasurer says, handing me a simple white envelope just as he’s done every week since Irish passed.
It never bothered me before, she deserved every cent.
Earned it even. That doesn’t change my desire to be the one that takes care of them financially.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done a lot of that since I moved into the apartment.
The first week into our arrangement we had a major blow out when I told her to change all the bills into my name.
She refused, and we wound up fighting that whole week.
Eventually she agreed to have me pay all the utilities, and I try to go grocery shopping with her any chance I can so I can pick up that bill too, but the mortgage and her car payment she insists on keeping.
Once I figure out what the hell I’m doing with her and the club, we’re going to revisit that conversation. I rather her see her bank all Irish’s checks for the boys’.
I pocket the envelope, and he hands me another. “And that’s yours.” Then he moves to hand out the rest of them.
Biggie leans back in his chair at the head of the table, seeming to weigh the envelope in his hand. “Feels a lot fatter than last month.”
“You can thank that sleezy Italian mobster, Mondestino,” Stacks retorts. “I don’t know what kind of voodoo pussy he’s peddling, but the man is rolling in it. Our take has already increased ten percent from two months ago when he opened the brothel.”
“I think we should sample it for ourselves,” Fuckface suggests. “See what all the hype is.”
“You can look and smell, but you can’t fucking touch or taste,” Jersey warns, pointing a finger across the table at him. “Got it, Fuckface?”
Suppressing a grin, I pocket my envelope next to Jades.
Jersey takes pleasure in razing the newer members, Fuckface especially.
I can’t knock him for it. We may have given Fuckface his bottom rocker, but we all like to fuck wit him.
Jersey makes an art of it, though, continuously testing his limits like the sadist he is.
Tonight his brand of torture is pussy, tomorrow it’ll be blood.
He likes to switch it up, he’s generous like that.
“So pretend I’m a gynecologist,” Fuckface says, swiping the sweat from his brow. “Copy on that.”
“Some of us have sampled it,” Guido shares. “It ain’t nothing to write home about.”
“Bullshit,” Taxi says. “The two Russian girls made me see stars last night. I haven’t cum like that since Maddie Wilks blew me in her dad’s garage.”
I stare at Guido for a beat, watching as he folds his hands behind his head. “Maybe I’ll give them a try.”
I’m in no position to judge anyone, not when I had my fingers and tongue inside my dead friend’s wife’s pussy last night but the words spill from my lips before I can stop them.
“Bella was at the house the other night. Jade tells me she’s dating some guy.”
His jaw goes tight, and his eyes narrow into tiny slits as he pierces me with a glare. “Is that what you do when you dip out on us? Gossip with the girls?”
“It came up in conversation,” I say, ignoring his dig. “Jade says she’s really into this one. Just thought I’d throw it out there.”
“Maybe instead of worrying about who Bella is fucking these days, Jade should take a long look in the mirror, and realize she’s wasting years she can’t get back.”
I don’t know if he’s trying to goad me or what, but I don’t take kind to the tone of his voice, and I sure as fuck don’t like him talking about Jade.
“Keep Jade’s name out of your mouth.”
“Sure, when you keep Bella’s name out of yours.”
“Bella isn’t an ‘ol lady,” I snap, my patience thinning.
“And Jade isn’t yours,” he returns.
“Jade is off limits,” Biggie interjects. “No reason to bring her name into anything. Shotgun wasn’t telling you about Bella out of disrespect, and if your head wasn’t so far up your ass, you’d realize that.”
Guido’s eyes cut to Biggie. “I don’t need my VP informing me who Bella is dating. I’m fucking aware.” He glances back at me. “Did she happen to tell Jade that he’s a cop?”
I blanch at that. Jade wouldn’t have kept that quiet, even with our conversation taking the turn that it did.
“Yeah, I didn’t think so,” Guido growls. “Bet she left out the fact that he’s married too.”
The room goes silent, and he drops his hands from behind his head. Gripping the edge of the table, he pushes out his chair. The legs scrape against the floor as he rises to his feet. His gaze turns back to Biggie. “If we’re done discussing business, I’m going to take off.”
“We’re not, but I think it’s best if you do. One of us will catch you up to speed when you’ve had a chance to cool off.”
Guido wastes no time grabbing his cell from the box by the door before he storms out of the chapel. When he’s gone, I turn my attention back to Biggie.
“Bella definitely didn’t share all that with Jade.”
“I don’t reckon she did,” he says, leaning his elbows on top of the table. “Could be a problem for us.”
He isn’t wrong. Bella knows a lot of our secrets. Too many if I’m being honest. But until now she’s held every one of those secrets tight to her chest.
“I gather Guido knows that much, and that’s why he acted the way he did,” Biggie continues, strumming his beard, thoughtfully.
“If the pig is married, there’s a good chance this doesn’t go anywhere.
” He sighs. “I can’t believe I’m even fucking talking about this.
” He looks across the table at Stacks. “I really wanted to open up the books and discuss our cross-country trip. June will be here before we know it, and I want to make sure we’re set.
Every year in June the mother chapter of the Kings Of Anarchy hosts a rally.
Big Daddy, the current president, goes all out.
Chapters from all over the country travel to attend the two-week event.
With our club being in New York, it’s quite the project to get us all to Southern California.
Lots of moving parts. And with our current businesses expanding, and the high demand of gun contracts, we can’t all go.
So we rotate the roster every year. However, I’ve skipped the last two years.
After Irish died, and Jade went into premature labor, we all agreed that my place was to stay close to home.
Then last year, we put it for a vote, and again, it was decided that I stay home to help Jade and oversee the expansion of Lipstick & Lace.
Don’t know that Biggie will let me pass for a third year. It doesn’t look good if his VP doesn’t show up by side.
Irish never missed a year. He would fly Jade and the boys out to California, put them up in some five-star hotel, and while the rest of us partied our asses off, he snuck away to spend time with his family. I think he and Jade even took the boys to Disney Land one year.
I’d love to do that. Killian would fucking love it.
“We’re going to leave a week ahead of time.
I arranged for us to stop at some of the other chapters along the way.
They’re happy to put us up for a night, that way we’re not a bunch of fucking zombies on the road,” Stacks reveals, opening his ledger.
“Kneecap, Joker, Monsignor, Cook, and Bed-Stuy are gonna stay here, and run all our daily operations.”
“The plan was for Guido to follow us with the cage,” Biggie reveals. “Not sure how that is going to pan out, but we got time to rearrange things if need be.”
“Worst case scenario, I’ll drive the cage, and hook a trailer to the hitch,” Jersey offers. That way when we’re there I can ride.”
Biggie turns his attention to me. “Do we need to make arrangements for someone to help Jade while you’re gone?”
I scratch at the scruff lining my jaw. “I uh… haven’t discussed it with her.”
Biggie narrows his eyes. “Well, it ain’t something new to her.”
“No,” I caution, trying to decide how I want to approach this.
I can’t tell him I don’t want to leave her because she and I are making a go of it and I’m fucking addicted to her, and me suggesting she travel by plane like she used to do with Irish would raise the eyebrows of every man sitting at this table.
“It isn’t new, but for that doesn’t mean it’s at the forefront of her mind.
The last two years I skipped the trip. Never even brought it up to her.
And the year before that, she flew out with Irish. ”
“You afraid bringing it up is gonna open those wounds?” Jersey asks.
A couple of days ago my answer would’ve been yes, but that was before I knew she had been working on letting go of Irish for some time.
“No, I just think she’s gotten used to me being around, and it might come as a surprise when I tell her I’m gonna be gone for three weeks. With both Raiden and Legend in sports, she relies heavily on the extra set of hands.”
It’s not a total lie. Legend only has one more game of spring ball left, but he jumps right into soccer the following week. And Raiden doesn’t end T-ball until the end of June, which means I’m going to miss his last few games.
“Gavone and Bed-Stuy can be on call for whatever she needs,” Biggie says, but his eyes remain on me. I can sense there is more he wants to say, but he’s holding his tongue for whatever reason.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I just think this is a blessing in disguise. You’re going on two years, man. Some people might say you’re enabling her.”
That grinds my gears.
“Some people? Or you?”
“Does it matter? It must be true if you’re getting defensive over it.”