2. Aasim “Brick”
AASIM “brICK”
Isat at the head of the table during our meeting at the clubhouse.
The count from last night’s drop was off, and as the president of the Sons of Destruction, I needed to figure out why.
While everyone thought we were having a regular meeting, I was ready to crack some skulls.
This was the first time the money had ever come up short.
I had been fuming internally since last night, trying to figure out what happened.
Jaxx, Gavin, and I stayed up for hours, going over everyone’s role and every possibility, but nothing seemed right.
Something was off, and unfortunately, there seemed to be a thief among us.
“Let’s bring this meeting to order,” I said as I banged the gavel against the table.
The men seated around the table were all members of the Sons of Destruction.
Jaxx, aka Rider, was my Vice President, and Gavin, aka Knuckles, was our muscle.
Everyone else held various positions that made the club function to its full potential.
We were mixed up in a lot of shit from drugs to guns and anything in between to keep us all afloat.
Everyone at the table knew the risks of our business, so missing money wasn’t just on me; it was on all of us.
“Listen up. The count last night was short. I’m not going to tell anyone how short.
Just know it’s short. The only thing I want to know is—who was dumb enough to steal from the club?
” I asked no one in particular. I knew the thief wasn’t going to out themselves in front of the entire club.
My hope was that someone would act out of the ordinary so we could get to the bottom of this.
The murmurs around the table grew loud as everyone denied any involvement in the missing money.
“Now that everyone has proclaimed they don’t know shit, let’s figure out who stole our money. Who was in charge of the prospects last night?”
“I was, but I didn’t leave them alone. There’s no way it was one of them,” Major, one of the club members, said.
“Are you sure? By the time me, Jaxx, and Gavin got here, they already counted the money. Something happened between the docks and it arriving at the club. Are you trying to say that JoJo shorted us?”
“Nah. I’m not saying that. The money was all there when we counted, unless someone miscounted their pile,” Major attempted to explain.
The crew argued amongst themselves, and I sat back and watched. With each passing moment, I became angrier. When I had finally had enough, I banged my fist on the table.
“Enough! If you have nothing productive to add to this conversation, shut up. Ya dig? From here on out, everyone is on notice. I want my money back ASAP. We have a gun shipment that we have to pay for. If I have to go in my pocket to cover the missing money, bodies are going to start dropping. How about everyone go put their ears to the street and find the money? Meeting is adjourned. Now, get out my face,” I said as I stormed out of the room.
There was nothing I hated more than a bunch of men bickering like bitches.
As I stepped into the hallway, Angie, a chick that hung around the club, waved at me and smiled.
After a meeting, I would usually take her to the back and get my dick wet, but today wasn’t the day.
She approached me and ran her hand across my chest. “I can’t wait for you to bend me over and smack my ass, Brick. ”
“You’re going to have to wait. I’m not in the mood today,” I said as I snatched her hand off my chest and walked away.
Angie was used to my hot and cold nature.
My turning her down today wouldn’t stop me from beating that pussy up whenever I wanted in the future.
With the drop coming up, the last thing on my mind was getting my dick wet.
By the time I made it outside, Jaxx and Gavin were at my side.
“Y’all, follow me so we can chop it up without all these ears around,” Jaxx said.
One by one, we each hopped on our bikes.
My bike of choice for today was a black-on-black Kawasaki Versys 1000SE.
“SOD” was etched on the left side of my helmet, and “Pres” was etched on the right side.
As Jaxx led us away from the club, Gavin and I followed his lead.
I was close to the other club members, but Jaxx and Gavin were my brothers.
We’d been down together since we were teenagers.
A few years ago, Big Will stepped down as the president and handed me the reins.
Jaxx got bumped to my vice president, and Gavin kept his role as enforcer.
If anyone in the crew had my back, I knew these two did.
As we rode, the sound of bikes roaring through the busy streets was all I heard.
It was a sound I would never grow tired of.
The sound of my bike was the only thing that could calm the crazy thoughts filling my mind.
Thirty minutes later, we pulled up to a familiar spot.
Bottoms Up was Jaxx’s favorite bar in the city, aside from my cigar lounge.
I should have known he’d want to come here.
We parked our bikes at the back of the bar and headed inside.
I looked around the spot, scoping everything out.
My eyes landed on this light-skinned beauty with a baby face and almond-shaped, chestnut eyes.
Her hair was bone straight and went all the way down her back.
She and a beautiful ebony-complexioned sister sat at a tabletop across from Jaxx’s favorite table.
The beauty must have felt my gaze because her eyes met mine.
I found my way to the table and chose a seat that faced the baby-faced beauty who caught my attention on the way in. As Jaxx and Gavin took their seats, they both turned around to see what had me so laser focused.
“Only man I know that goes from threatening to crack skulls to staring a hole in a chick at a bar,” Gavin joked.
“Shut up, fool. Ain’t nobody doing all of that,” I said.
“Yeah, you are. Why don’t you go over there and say hello? Maybe she can help keep you calm until we resolve our issue,” Jaxx added.
“Fuck all that. The only thing that will keep me calm is finding that money.”
While they gave me shit for keeping a watchful eye on shorty, the server approached us to get our orders. I ordered a shot of whiskey and some lemon pepper wings. The wings were the best thing on the menu at this spot.
“Bro, it looks like somebody is moving in on your girl,” Gavin teased.
While I was busy placing my order, some dude walked over to the table, blocking my view of baby girl.
“Fuck all that. Did y’all believe Major?” I asked.
“He seemed like he was telling the truth, I guess. The only thing is… If he never walked away from the prospects, how could the money be short? Do you think JoJo’s crew shorted us?” Jaxx asked.
I shook my head. “Nah. JoJo moves like I do. He runs that money through his counting machines more times than he should. They band the money after each stack. I’ve seen his process with my own eyes.
It’s only a couple of grand missing. A thief will always start small when they think no one is watching.
Whoever stole the money has to be an example before anyone else tries to get over on us. ”
“Agreed. So, we have Major, Jalani, and Kurt all alone with the money before we arrived. Either one or all of them have to die,” Gavin said.
The server arrived right in time to drop off our drinks. We all held them up in agreement with Gavin’s plan. If we couldn’t get one of them to be honest, they would all have to go. To steal from the club was the ultimate sign of disrespect. That level of disrespect could never be tolerated.
As I sipped my drink, I looked back across the way.
I tried to get a peek at baby girl’s face.
The guy was still at her table but had shifted, so I could see her.
She looked annoyed, to say the least. Without a second thought, I walked over to introduce myself.
If nothing else, I knew I was more interesting than the drunk fool talking her head off.
I pulled up my jeans and adjusted the chain that hung off my side pocket.
My steps were slow, as I didn’t want to seem pressed to meet her.
When I arrived at her table and laid eyes on her, I felt something that was foreign to me.
I’d never met a woman whom I couldn’t take my eyes off of.
It was unlike me to be hypnotized by a woman.
“Hey, ladies. I wanted to come and introduce myself. I’m Aasim, and you are?” I asked, extending my hand to baby face.
“Aye, my man, don’t you see me talking to the lady?” the drunk asked.
“I saw your drunk ass annoying the ladies. Why don’t you call it a night, bruh?”
He looked at me before he made the wise decision to move on. I noticed Jaxx and Gavin had gotten up, but I shook my head. If they moved from that table, they would surely beat his ass without question. I didn’t need them scaring shorty off before I got her name and number.
“It was a pleasure speaking with you, ladies. Y’all have a good night,” the drunk said before he stumbled away from the table.
“What took you so long to save us? I couldn’t bear another minute of that drunk fool. I’m Rory, by the way, and this is my girl, Ava.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you both. I’d love to take you out sometime, beautiful. Can I get your number?”
She and her friend looked at each other with surprised looks. I’d spent too much time watching this woman to beat around the bush. In my world, time was precious. I didn’t have any to waste. When they shared a smile, I knew I would get exactly what I wanted.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I’m not sure our lifestyles align. A criminal defense attorney out and about with the president of a motorcycle crew, as your patch says—I don’t know about that,” she stated.
Her profession would’ve been a turn off any other time. Right now, I didn’t give a damn what she did for work. I was determined to get to know her better. We could figure out the details later.
“You know what they say, beautiful. Never judge a book by its cover or, in this case, my vest. You never know I could change your life.”
“It sounds good, but I think I’ll pass.”
“Ouch. You’re just going to turn me down so easily? I’m hurt,” I teased.
“You’re a big boy. You’ll be okay without me in your life.”
“How about you give me your number and let me take you out? If you hate hanging with me, you never have to do it again. No harm, no foul,” I offered.
She hesitated and looked over at her friend. They shared a knowing smile.
“You’re cute, and I’m intrigued. Give me your phone,” Rory said as she held her hand out.
I did what I was told and slid Rory my phone, and she locked her number in.
I smiled to myself when she handed the phone back.
“I won’t intrude on your evening any longer, but I’ll see you soon, beautiful.
” I took her hand in mine and kissed the back of it.
It was as soft as I imagined her to be. After releasing her hand, I dug in my pocket and pulled out several hundred dollars and set it on the table to cover their tab.
“Here’s a little something to cover your tab. You ladies enjoy your evening and get home safely.”
I walked back toward the table with Jaxx and Gavin clapping loudly and whistling. They were so embarrassing.
“You still got it, bro,” Jaxx teased.
“Shut the hell up,” I replied, taking my seat.
The server had just dropped off our wings and another round of drinks.
For the rest of the night, I tried not to look over at the table where Rory sat.
It’d been a long time since I’d approached a woman in public and asked for her number.
I had to admit that getting Rory’s number made my night complete.