Chapter Three.
Warden – Present day.
“W hat do you mean we buried the asshole, and he had a USB drive on him?” I demanded, staring at Spice in disbelief.
“How was I meant to know it was a data stick thing?” Spice retorted.
“How did this fuckin’ happen?” I asked, wondering if someone was playing a joke.
“We weren’t aware!” Spice shouted, and we all stared, astounded that such a mistake had been made.
“This is insane. What information was on it?” I inquired patiently, although I felt anything but.
“Info on the casino and smuggling, I believe,” Spice replied.
Seriously, I was going to throttle our former VP. “You think?”
“Look, I might be in error, Prez. The only reason I’m bringing this up is because I saw that thing in the porn shop, and I remembered Triple D had one similar. But I thought it was a necklace,” Spice muttered.
“Spice isn’t wrong; I’ve had a piece of jewellery brought in that has a hidden USB. If Triple D had one, what Spice is saying is possible. Triple D did have info on us and tried his hand at blackmail. That’s a fact that signed his death warrant,” Blister agreed.
Spice nodded at the pawn shop manager vigorously.
“See. And Blister wasn’t aware either until that smart-ass kid told him what the necklace was,” Spice said as if it offered a defence.
The smart-ass kid was someone who worked for Blister.
And just because Blister hadn’t realised the necklace was a USB stick, it didn’t excuse Spice.
“The rule is we bury bodies with no identification on them. No jewellery, no tats, no nothing. And you left this on the body?” I demanded.
“Step away, Prez. We were overwhelmed with shit a decade ago. Things got missed. Are the cops gonna dig up an entire graveyard to find a scumbag? Nah. But we wanna get the stick back anyway,” Spice said, and the urge to strangle Spice deepened.
Anger welled inside me. This was sloppy and nothing like the former VP’s standard of work. Suspiciously, I focused on Spice. He seemed almost nonchalant about this. Was the fucker hiding something?
Irate, I caught Romeo’s gaze and flicked my eyes to Spice. Romeo hid his surprise well and turned to Spice, who was glowering.
“Don’t you dare!” Spice growled out.
“Ow!” Romeo cried and held his temples.
“What the fuck?” Undertaker demanded.
“You’re keeping information from me,” I accused Spice.
“I don’t give a fuck if I’m hiding shit or not. You don’t get Romeo to read a brother. Remember, boy, I wiped your fuckin’ ass!” Spice spat with genuine anger in his eyes.
“Spice slammed up mental barriers quicker than I could blink,” Romeo complained. “That hurt running into them.”
“Wow, abuse or what? We don’t scan brothers,” Undertaker interjected, shocked.
Trust a VP to side with a former VP. Disgusted, I shook my head.
“What are you concealing, Spice?” I demanded, slamming my hand on the table.
“Prez, you want the truth? Weren’t me who fucked up,” Spice snarled.
As I started to demand who, I spotted the gleam in Spice’s eye. Clearly, according to Spice, I didn’t want the answer. Spice was hiding shit because he knew I wouldn’t like it. Fine, I’d give him that.
“If you ever try to use Romeo again to read a brother or sister, I’ll kick your ass from one end of this compound to another. And then, fucker, I’ll take your patch until you’re worthy,” Pipes snapped.
I felt a momentary shame. The boys were right. I had just abused my power as Prez.
“Don’t hide shit from me. If we can’t trust each other as a club, we have an issue,” I retorted guiltily.
“Don’t ever use one of us to check on another. Warden, that was low, and I’ll tell you straight up, I ain’t a weapon, and you won’t use me as such,” Dynamo announced.
“You’re right, and I apologise; I was out of line. But Spice isn’t being fully honest, and I hate that. Remember the last time shit was hidden and the consequences,” I stated, and everyone nodded.
“The only crap I’m hiding is who fucked up. No need for that discussion because it’s in the past and done. Now, boy, sort your head out. Pearl’s confessions screwed with you, I know. But we aren’t that goddamned bitch, and Pearl got handed her ass, Warden. You gotta overcome that cunt’s betrayal,” Pipes said.
“Fuckin’ hurts knowing Berserker went to his grave with a lie. That Berserker wasn’t aware Rosalea was his baby girl and not McKay’s. But Berserker couldn’t have loved Rosalea any more than he did. If you let Pearl’s deceit infect you, you’ll change into a mistrustful motherfucker. Your actions here just proved that,” Fists pointed out.
“Alright, I understand I fucked up. Pearl’s lies are still fuckin’ with me. She caused so much damage it’s made me a suspicious fuck,” I admitted.
“Talk to him,” Spice ordered, pointing at Wisecrack. “He’s Chaplin for a reason.”
Wisecrack nodded.
“Let’s figure out how to retrieve the USB.” Undertaker frowned. “Tell me Triple D was dumped and not wrapped. Because unwrapping decomposing bodies is unpleasant, to say the least. The wrapping keeps all the fluids, and the skin sticks to it.”
“Why the fuck did we need to know that?” Dare demanded, looking disgusted.
I snorted. “Because you might be the one excavating the body.”
“Yeah, not fuckin’ likely,” Dare retorted and folded her arms.
“Triple D was buried in our cemetery?” I asked Spice, who looked insulted.
“Of course he was. The problem is the timing of digging him up. Any activity right now will look suspect. But if we do it on Halloween, it won’t be so bad,” Spice said, and I stared incredulously.
“Men digging in a graveyard on Halloween won’t appear suspicious,” I declared, showing my disbelief.
“Nope. We can station the club around the outside to discourage those who want to scare the shit out of themselves by braving the cemetery. And a team can dig. If the cops stop to ask what we’re doing, we’re stopping the place from being vandalised,” Spice explained.
“Spice has a point,” Kosmic agreed.
I sent Kosmic a glower, silently telling him to shut up.
Kosmic grinned in response.
“Tell me why you shouldn’t dig Triple D up alone,” I demanded.
Fists snorted. “You gonna send three old men out there to dig and have heart attacks? Our bodies around a half-dug grave will certainly raise some questions.” Fucker had a point.
“Well, you’re on sentry duty,” I ordered, and they swapped amused glances.
My gut feeling tightened. Those assholes were up to something. I just couldn’t prove it.
“Whatever. Are we done? Gotta meet Lindy at the shop,” Spice asked.
The disrespect the Old Timers got away with was unbelievable. Anybody else would be in the ring with Vogue as she fights dirtier than Bogeyman.
“Anyone got anything to add?” I inquired.
Receiving a no from everybody, I closed church and sent everyone out.
Undertaker held back.
“I don’t need the lecture. I’m aware I was out of line. But that fuck is hiding something,” I said before my VP could speak.
“That was obvious. But you shouldn’t have called Spice out on it. We know the Old Timers get riled,” Undertaker replied.
“I deserve to ask if something could harm the club,” I countered.
“You do, Warden. But this time you made the mistake of challenging Spice in public. Whatever he knows, Spice won’t tell now. He’ll hold it back out of spite.”
Undertaker wasn’t wrong. The three Old Timers understood how to maintain grudges. Spice would dig his heels in. Plus, I needed to apologise to Romeo. He’d not been comfortable with my request, and I’d still made him do it.
“Apologise and move on, Warden. It was a one-off. You’ve never used us like that before and won’t again. Remember this lesson,” Undertaker stated.
“When did you get so wise, asshole?”
“When I became your damn VP. Someone had to grow up,” Undertaker snapped and laughed.
I smirked as he left church. This time, I’d let Undertaker have the last word.
Spice – Present day.
“There’s my beautiful girl,” I said, sneaking up behind Lindy and wrapping my arms around her.
Lindy leaned back as I tilted her head and kissed her. My woman. She smelled like coconut today, a favourite scent of mine. Lindy wore several scents, all aimed at pleasing me, although she’d never admit it. Cherry, vanilla, raspberry, and coconut were my top smells.
“Hey, darlin’,” Lindy drawled as her shop assistant, Mary, blushed.
I happily kept Lindy locked against my body as I greeted Mary.
“Hi, Spice,” the young woman said shyly and turned her back to tidy the shelves.
Lindy smacked my stomach as she twisted in my embrace.
“Stop embarrassing poor Mary,” Lindy scolded, and I winked.
“Mary’s not embarrassed; she’s giving us privacy,” I retorted, and Lindy snorted and pulled herself out of my arms.
“How did church go?” she asked, and I laughed. Lindy never usually asked about church, but I knew why she had today.
“Warden guessed I was hiding something, that damn gut instinct of his. The little fuck tried to get Romeo to read me.”
“No!” Lindy gasped and laughed. “Warden was like that at Christmas, if you remember. Berserker used to hide Warden’s presents at our place once he figured out Warden was opening and re-wrapping them.”
The bittersweet memory bit deep. It was something I’d forgotten until Lindy just mentioned it now.
“Warden was a fucker then, too,” I admitted. “When did we lose our holiday traditions, Lindy? We used to go big on them.”
“Ten years ago, when Pearl turned her back on Warden. That shit occurred near Christmas, and we didn’t celebrate. Then we fell into the habit of not doing stuff,” Lindy replied.
Trust Lindy to remember when and why it happened.
“Maybe it’s time to move forward. We seem to be stuck in the past, and we can’t let that rule us,” I mused.
“Did you bring Pipes and Fists into this mayhem you’re organising?” Lindy asked.
“Sure as hell did.”
“I better ensure Iona has a date planner. There are a lot of holidays, and they take a ton of planning,” Lindy said, laughing.
“That girl will never compare to you. Iona will never meet your standard.”
“Maybe not. But Iona will set her own standards and expectations as Queen Bee. I’ll gently guide her down the correct path. Iona will become a head old lady that Warden will be proud of,” Lindy mused as a finger tapped her chin.
“In other words, you’ll put your size seven boot right up Iona’s backside should she step out of line.” I chuckled.
“Iona is fully capable of being Queen Bee. But at the moment, she’s riddled with self-doubts. She knows three-quarters of the club are dubious about her. And Iona understands she’s only accepted because of Warden. That makes the girl cautious. She doesn’t want to upset anyone any further. But Iona needs to find her backbone and step up.”
“Someone else had to learn that,” I teased.
Lindy smiled. “Why do you think I’m so hard on her now? Because I foresee what Iona can become. Don’t you remember how I was?”
Spice – The past.
I was sitting on my porch drinking a beer, watching the drama still unfold down the street. Several families had broken up, and David hadn’t shown his face once. But the paternity question had come into play, and those stuck-up suburban bitches were now showing their true colours.
A taxi pulled up outside Lindy’s, and I got to my feet as she stepped out. Lindy was hunched over, and I could tell she was in pain as I strode down my path.
“Lindy. What the hell are you doing out of the hospital?”
Lindy turned towards me, and I drew in a hiss. Her entire face was black, purple, and green. I’d seen her a couple of times during visiting hours, but I’d not been for two days as I’d been on a run.
“You’re home!” Lindy exclaimed and tried to smile with her poor split lips.
“Got back an hour ago. Thought I’d have a beer and come and visit soon.”
“Oh, I’m out. There’s been a terrible outbreak of some virus, and they needed the beds. There was nothing else they could do.”
“Let’s get you inside, sweetheart. No need to fill their mouths up with shit,” I said, nodding at the neighbours. I could see the curtains twitching.
“Yeah, I’m sure there’re a lot of people down here gloating that I got a beatdown,” Lindy drawled dryly.
Glowering, I grabbed her bag and walked her up the path.
“Let them say it in front of me,” I snarled, took the keys from Lindy’s hand, and opened the door.
Lindy sent me a bemused glance but entered her home.
“Wow, it’s stifling in here. And there is a rank smell, Spice. Would you mind opening the living room windows and the kitchen ones, too? I want to avoid stretching. Hell, I’ve only been gone four days.”
“Yeah, but nobody took your bins out,” I called from the kitchen, finding the culprit. I quickly emptied the bin, took it out, and the stench cleared a lot.
“And, of course, my washing up wasn’t done either,” Lindy said, wrinkling her nose as I walked back in.
“Sit your ass down. I’ll tidy up. I bet you need fresh food, too,” I guessed, opening the fridge and peering inside.
“Most should be okay. I did shopping the day before the attack,” Lindy replied.
“Yeah, it all looks pretty good, but you’ve got some shit that needs using up. Fancy a stir-fry?” I asked, dragging out noodles and other ingredients.
“Are you going to cook?” Lindy looked surprised.
“Yup, I can cook. Don’t tell the others, though. They’re lazy and never learnt. But I didn’t want to eat crap, so I taught myself. But if they’re aware I can rustle up meals, they’ll either be at mine every night, or they’ll expect me to fix food at the clubhouse. That ain’t happening,” I said.
“Why?”
“Because I love those fuckers, but I ain’t their damn maid. If they’re coming for dinner, they’ll arrive early for beer. Then they’ll start bringing washing over to put on while they wait. I got one washer and dryer. I have a ton of brothers. So, being lazy asses, they won’t take their laundry home if someone has a load on. They’ll leave it for me to do. Next thing, I got them over for breakfast, too. Lindy, I earn good money, but not enough to feed that fuckin’ horde,” I replied.
Lindy broke into giggles and winced as she clutched her side.
“How are you healing?”
“It’s painful, Spice, and I can’t say I’ve had worse.” “Damn, glad you can state a man never beat on you before this, Lindy. No woman should suffer that.”
“Spice, can I ask? You mentioned a lot of brothers. Do you mean the gang you ride with?” Lindy asked tentatively.
“First, sweetness, we’re a club, not a gang. We ain’t a bunch of yahoo thugs running around beating old ladies and creating weird ass initiation rites.”
“Okay.” Lindy laughed and winced again, and I basked in her laughter.
“Stop laughing, woman,” I said with a mock growl.
“Then quit being funny. So, you’re a club, not a gang.”
“Yup. We have a hierarchy. I’m the vice president, and Berserker is president. As a club, we own our own businesses. The profits from them are put into a pot. Once taxes are taken out, ten per cent is kept back as a rainy-day fund, and the rest is split between us. Each manager of the business gets a slightly higher cut because they’re running it and making it profitable,” I explained.
As I spoke, I chopped the chicken into small chunks and threw it into a wok. Lindy had a pretty well-stocked kitchen. I began preparing a sweet and sour sauce.
“Yeah… although I’ve overheard gossip that you’re involved in more illegal stuff,” Lindy said seriously.
“Lots of rumours around here, Lindy. The question is, when have you heard of my club hurting an innocent person? Do we force extortion or hire out for murders and beatdowns? Nope. Do we dabble in some illegal shit? Yup. Our fingers might be dirty, but we ain’t the scum of the earth the cops make us out to be. And they aren’t exactly clean, either. They’ll take a bribe and look the other way,” I replied calmly.
It was important that Lindy understood what I was. I wanted her. I’d come to terms with that after two days on the road and wondering how she was. Lindy had wriggled her way under my skin with her attitude and personality. I loved a feisty woman, and Lindy was also kind and caring. She’d be mine, no matter what.
“Drugs? Women trafficking?” Lindy asked.
“No,” I told her honestly. “Underground casino, smuggling, organised fights? Yeah, we do them.”
“The brothel I heard about?” Lindy said pointedly.
“That’s ours. Do the prostitutes work for us? The hotel provides a protected environment for them to work. Better than the girls pedalling sex down an alley and getting battered or having a pimp steal three-quarters of their money. We protect them and only take ten per cent for the cost of the room. They make fifty bucks, they pay us five. We don’t let anyone hurt them either. For whatever reason, they’re selling their bodies, and they deserve to be safe.”
Lindy pursed her lips, and I could see she was clearly thinking about this.
“Why are you telling me this?” she finally asked. That was not the question I’d been expecting.
“Because I want a life with you. While you were with the asshole, I respected the boundaries and stayed away. But you caught my eye the moment I moved in. Now Higgins is gone, you’re free, and so am I.”
“You cheat, Spice? I don’t deserve a man who’s going to go to his club, fuck a club whore, and come home to me stinking of her,” Lindy said bluntly.
I winced. “See you know that term.”
“Club whores? Oh, yeah. I’m well aware of them,” Lindy replied.
“They’re there to service the brothers. For that, they get free housing and an allowance. Those bitches can leave whenever, baby. If you are with me, then I’m with you. I don’t cheat; I can’t stand it. If you don’t wish to be with someone, don’t be. It’s simple. Don’t betray their trust. You and me, Lindy, we’re exclusive. And should a man try to come between us, I’ll kill him because you’re worth killing for,” I said, facing her and holding her eyes.
Lindy clearly was considering that, so I returned to the wok and added the noodles. I stirred the sauce in another pot and waited.
“Cheating is a hard no for me, Spice. And as long as you aren’t selling drugs to kids, forcing people into prostitution, or trafficking women, I’m fine with everything.”
“If you’re that worried, I can take you to meet them one day.”
“Nah, I think I’ll pass on that,” Lindy replied, laughing.
“Where’s your plates?” I asked, and Lindy pointed. I grabbed two, served up the chicken noodles and vegetables, and tipped the sauce into a jug.
“Anything else you want to ask me?”
“Not yet, but I’m sure I’ll think of some stuff over time,” Lindy answered.
“Just ask. If I can’t tell you, I’ll say so. But I’ll not ignore you,” I said, putting a plate in front of Lindy.
Lindy poured some sauce over the noodles and meat and dug in. A groan left her mouth as I watched to ensure she was enjoying it.
“If you cook like this, I’ll never allow you to leave!” Lindy teased.
Somehow, that didn’t frighten me as much as Lindy thought it might.
“You keep making noises like that, and I’ll be putting a ring on your finger by the end of this week,” I retorted, and Lindy’s eyes went wide.
Luckily, she wasn’t eating, or she’d have choked, judging by her expression.
“You don’t mean that.”
“What you wanna bet on that, Lindy?” I replied.
In response, Lindy shoved another forkful in and moaned again with a twinkle in her eye. Little madam!