Chapter 7
Country
“Italked to Gus this morning.” Viper sat down next to me and Hawk at the kitchen table. “He seemed to agree with you about Kiersten’s pot. Said it was the best he’d ever come across.”
“Told ya,” Hawk replied. “The shit we tried the other night was pretty damn good. Best I’ve ever had. This girl really seems to know her stuff.”
“She damn well better.” Viper leaned back in his chair as he said, “We’ll be putting a lot on the line if we go into business with her, especially if we bring both the Carolina chapters into it.”
“I think they will be impressed with what she has to offer. They shouldn’t have any problem moving it.” The intense expression on Viper’s face started to fade when Hawk said, “Hell, I’d be surprised if they didn’t want more than the twenty pounds they agreed to.”
Viper had good reason to be relieved. A pound of marijuana typically brought anywhere between two and three grand, but Kiersten’s had the potential of making even more—which meant we, along with our North and South Carolina chapters stood to make anywhere between fifty and sixty grand a month.
That, along with what we pulled from the two strip clubs and our nightly coke sales meant we would be eating high on the hog.
Viper almost smiled as he said, “Guess we’ll see about that. ”
“So, we’re doing this?” I asked.
“It’s definitely looking that way.” Viper stood then let out a deep breath. “Axel and I need to get with Menace, crunch some bottom-line numbers, and then, we’ll need to take a vote on it. I’ll call church as soon as we get everything sorted.”
“Sounds good.”
“I best get to it. You boys try and stay out of trouble.”
“We’ll do our best,” Hawk answered.
When Viper walked out of the kitchen, I quickly got up and followed him out into the hall. “Hey, Prez... You got a minute?”
“Yeah. What’s on your mind?”
“Need to talk to you about something.”
“Alright.” He opened the door to his office and said, “Come on in and tell me what’s on your mind.”
Dread washed over me as I followed him inside and over to his desk. Once we were both seated, I said, “I should’ve come to you days ago, but with everything that’s been going on...”
“What’s this about, brother?”
“Kiersten.”
“Kiersten as in Billy’s daughter, Kiersten?”
“Yes, sir. That’s exactly who I’m talking about.”
“I’m not going to like this, am I?”
“Probably not, but it’s something you need to hear.”
I sat back and told him about the night at the bar. I made it clear that neither of us knew about our unlikely connection until we met again at Langford Manor. Viper’s brows furrowed as asked, “You’re sure she had no idea who you were?”
“I’m positive. It was just a crazy coincidence.”
“You can say that again.” Viper ran his hand over his goatee and gave it a slight tug. “Well, it is what it is. Don’t see why this should cause any issues with our partnership with Kiersten. You two are both grown adults, and things happen. It’s over now, so we...”
“That’s just it, Prez. I’m not so sure it’s over.”
“Come again.”
“I like her, Prez. I like her, a lot.” It felt strange to say it out loud.
I’d never really done the whole relationship thing.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to. It just wasn’t me.
I never had the desire to truly pursue a woman—at least not after we’d hooked up.
We’d both get what we were after and move on, but for reasons I couldn’t explain, I hadn’t been able to move on from Kiersten.
I had no idea how to explain that to Viper, so I simply said, “I’m not sure I want it to be over with her. ”
“Oh hell, Country. You sure it’s not just your dick talking?”
“Don’t get me wrong, he’s got plenty to say when it comes to her, but it’s more than that. There’s something about her, Prez.”
“You know, it would be nice if just one of y’all...
just one, would find a girl without some kind of fucked up strings attached.
I mean, damn. We’ve had it all. A father in the cartel, issues with dirty cops, a crazy ex-husband, a brother who caused the club problems, and even had one on the run. Now, we’ve got you and Kiersten.”
“Well, you did end up letting Danny prospect and he’s a Sinner now, so I’m not so sure that one should even counts.”
“This is not the time, Country.”
“I know. And I get that Kiersten isn’t exactly an easy choice. I really do, but that doesn’t change anything. It certainly doesn’t change how I feel, but at the same time, you gotta know I’d never do anything to cause problems for the club.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that before.” Viper’s tone changed as he said, “You know, it’s not just the club you gotta be worried about here. If this thing goes south with you and Kiersten, you might just find Billy on your ass and God help you if that happens.”
I’d been so concerned about Viper and the club, I hadn’t even considered Billy.
We all knew the kind of shit he could do, even more so after all he’d done to help us with Parker, and I won’t deny that it was a little concerning.
Clearly amused by my unsettled state, Viper chuckled as he said, “Guess you hadn’t thought about ol’ Billy, huh? ”
“No, can’t say that I have.”
“This girl worth it?”
“Yes, sir. I believe she is, but I won’t know if I don’t see this thing through.”
“Well, do whatever it is you gotta do. Just make sure you don’t do anything stupid that’ll cause any issues with this upcoming partnership.”
“I’ll do my best.” I stood as I told him, “Thanks, Prez. I’ll see ya at church.”
I left Viper’s office and went to the bar to join the others.
I didn’t mention my conversation with Viper.
I just sat back and listened to Locke and Lynch as they went on and on about some brawl that had broken out at Stilettos the night before.
Locke motioned his hand towards our brother as he told Shotgun, “Before we had a chance to do anything, Lynch just plowed right through them. Sent ‘em flying one by one. You should’ve seen it.”
“Just did what needed to be done.” Lynch took a pull from his beer. “Just glad we got those assholes out of there before they made a mess of the place.”
“Yeah, no doubt about that.” Clearly ready to change the subject, Lynch turned to me and asked, “Any one heard anything from Jagger lately?”
Jagger was one of our brothers who’d found himself in a tight spot with his sister.
She’d run into some trouble with her piece of shit boyfriend and called Jagger to come help.
When he showed up at her place, Jagger discovered that the boyfriend had done a real number on her.
He started laying into the asshole, and after a hard blow, the guy fell back and hit his head on the coffee table, killing him instantly.
Jagger was put away from involuntary manslaughter, and there wasn’t a damn thing we could do to stop it.
It was hard on all of us to see our brother behind bars, but Menace took it especially hard.
The two were always close, and Menace felt an undeserved sense of guilt for not being able to do more to help him, so I wasn’t surprised when Rafe replied, “Yeah, Menace was out there a couple of days ago. He and the lawyer got him hooked up with some anger management counselor.”
“What’s up with that?”
“They’re hoping that him talking to this chick will help him get an earlier parole.”
“A chick, huh? Is she hot?” Lynch snickered.
“Never met her, but don’t figure it matters. Jagger is pissed about the whole fucking thing.” Rafe shook his head. “Doesn’t think he needs anger management, and neither do I. It’s just something that needs to be done to get him the hell out of there.”
“I hope it fucking works. It’s time for him to get his ass back home.”
“No doubt.” I turned to Rafe and said, “I need to get down to see him soon. Maybe we can head out there when we get all this shit settled with Kiersten and the deal.”
Lynch sounded intrigued as he said, “Heard Billy’s daughter has some pretty impressive weed on her hands.”
“She does.”
“And she grows it herself?”
“She has some help, but the process is hers and the product is pretty fucking impressive.”
Rafe was quick to add, “Definitely the best shit I’ve ever had.”
Rafe went on to tell them about his venture into the kitchen and how he’d cleaned out the fridge which led Locke into telling about an experience he’d had in high school.
One story led into the next, and the guys would’ve probably stayed there all night sharing stories if Viper hadn’t called us all into church.
He gave us all the rundown of Kiersten’s business proposal, and how we would be joining forces with our North and South Carolina chapters along with Satan’s Fury to create a pipeline of sorts.
Each chapter would be responsible for moving twenty pounds a month with the possibility of more if the need arose.
We took a vote, and as expected, all the brothers agreed that we should move forward and the vote went through unanimously.
I left church and went straight out to my bike.
Moments later, I was on the road and driving towards Langford Manor.
I had no idea what I was going to do or say when I got there.
I just knew I needed to see Kiersten. I had to know if this pull I felt towards her was just in my fucking head or if it was something more.
The second I knocked on the door and Kiersten opened it, I had my answer.
Hell, the mere sight of her in nothing but a fucking t-shirt nearly knocked my ass.
“Country?” Kiersten opened the door a little wider, and it was all I could do to keep myself from taking her into my arms right then and there. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you.”
She looked behind me, checking for any sign of my brothers before asked, “You’re alone?”
“I am.”
“Is something wrong?” Before I could answer, panic filled her eyes. “Oh, are you here about the deal? Have you decided not to go through with it?”
“Not here about that.” I took a step closer. “I’m here about you and only you.”