8. Aasim
AASIM
An hour later, Rory and I walked into Chow.
After giving my name to the hostess, she led us to a booth.
I looked over at Rory and admired her beauty as she took her time getting comfortable.
The light above the table brought out the color in her deep-brown eyes.
She looked back at me and smiled, then looked down at the menu.
“I thought you knew what you wanted already?” I asked.
Rory put the menu down and said, “I’m looking to see if anything else piques my interest.”
“Someone’s taking my advice, I see.”
“What advice might that be?”
“Going with the flow. You wanted crispy beef, and now you wanna see about other things. I’m rubbing off on you,” I teased.
Rory let out the cutest laugh. “Acting like you got me all figured out, huh?”
The server came over to take our order. “Welcome to Chow. I’m Cindy. What can I get you all started with this evening?”
I motioned for Rory to start.
“I’ll have the crispy beef, chicken satay, and fried rice. To drink, I’ll take a Moscow mule.”
“And for you, sir?”
“Beijing chicken and mixed vegetables. I’ll take a double shot of whiskey to drink.”
The server reconfirmed our order before walking away.
Rory’s focus seemed to have shifted to someone a few tables from us. She had a worried look on her face. I turned around to see what caught her attention.
“You good?” I asked.
“Yeah. I just see one of my co-workers. Out of everyone I could have bumped into, it’s Danny, the jerk. I gotta get out of here.”
“You wanna leave because you see some dude from your job? Why?”
“I know you don’t understand why I care about my job. It’s not an easy decision for me to throw away my financial security at the possibility of us. I’m not saying it will always be like this, but for now, I have to go,” Rory explained.
Just as I was about to tell her all the reasons we didn’t need to leave, my phone dinged. JoJo texted me 911 to meet him at his spot and bring the pieces. After reading the message, I quickly put my phone away.
“We can go, but not because of your job. A business associate of mine needs me, so I gotta go. We can revisit this later.” I threw a couple of hundreds on the table to cover our order.
Rory got up, and I followed her out of the restaurant.
I hailed a cab for her and handed her some money to cover it.
“I’m sorry to leave like this, but I’ll call you when I can.”
She got in the cab, and I kissed her cheek before closing the door.
Rory never said a word as the cab pulled off.
I could tell she was upset, but I couldn’t focus on that right now.
That 911 text from JoJo meant he needed us to pull up.
I hopped in my truck and rode over to the clubhouse.
When I got there, everyone was outside. I parked and hopped out.
“JoJo needs some backup. We need to ride to his spot,” I said.
The crew moved quickly. “Grab those pieces we got in the other day. He’s going to need them.”
We kept a few spare bikes at the clubhouse just in case.
I grabbed the keys from under the seat and started the bike up.
Jaxx and Gavin were already on their bikes.
The rest of the crew, minus our prospects, lined up behind them.
There was a sea of Sons of Destruction jackets and vests ready to ride out.
I led the pack as we made our way to check on JoJo.
The ride felt longer than usual as uncertainty of the situation lingered.
As we approached, I saw JoJo’s crew lined up in front of his spot.
JoJo was arguing with a dude I thought was in jail.
I parked my bike with my crew right behind me.
Jaxx and Gavin were at my side. As we approached JoJo, he appeared relieved. I gave him dap when I reached him.
“You good?” I asked.
“I’m good, but this fool ain’t. He got the nerve to come around here talking about I’m in his territory,” JoJo explained.
I turned to look at the man he was referring to—Devin, aka Dez, the leader of the Ruff Rydez—stood tall.
Last I heard, Dez was doing a bid after his conviction on a drug-trafficking charge.
His being out of jail so soon wasn’t a good thing.
With the type of time I heard he was facing, he shouldn’t be free.
“JoJo, you had to call for backup for little ol’ me? It’s good to see you, Brick. Like I was telling your mans here, I appreciate him holding down my blocks. I’m back now, so my territory is mine,” Dez said.
“That’s not how the game goes, and you know it. You weren’t in jail that long. JoJo fed the streets when your crew couldn’t. You’re gonna need to find a new block, ya dig?” I said calmly.
Dez had a lot of nerve thinking he was coming home to reclaim old territory. One of the unspoken rules of the streets was the block belonged to the man with the right product. The minute Dez went to jail, he was no longer that man. The fiends didn’t have any loyalty; they were just chasing a high.
Dez looked from me to JoJo but didn’t say a word. He continued to look at the sea of men that stood with JoJo and me. Dez had a couple of dudes with him. They were outnumbered and outgunned.
He cracked his knuckles, obviously annoyed. “Y’all got it for now. I’m sure I’ll be seeing y’all soon. Let’s go,” Dez said as he tapped the arm of the dude standing closest to him.
We watched them walk away. Once they were off the block, I picked JoJo’s brain. “How long has that fool been out?”
“I’m not sure. He popped up on my guys one day. That’s why I asked you for the extra heat,” he said.
“You know he’s coming back. I’ll leave some pieces for you now. Make sure your crew stays alert.”
“No doubt. Thanks for coming out.”
“Yo, give him those extras, and let’s roll,” I said to Dame, a member of my crew.
While Gavin was our enforcer, Dame was in charge of our collection of weaponry.
Once JoJo had what he needed, we got on our bikes and rode back to the clubhouse.
I was tired as hell and just wanted to go home and get some sleep.
This night ended nothing like I imagined.
Back at the clubhouse, we parked our bikes and headed inside. I went behind the bar and poured a glass of whiskey.
“Y’all got a minute? I wanna run something by y’all,” Dame said to Jaxx, Gavin, and me.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“I heard some funny shit about that prospect, Kurt. Word on the street is he got knocked last week.”
I took a sip of my drink, then asked, “How reliable is this information?”
To accuse a man of snitching was a serious accusation. With all the illegal dealings within the club, loyalty was of utmost importance.
“My girl’s cousin works at the precinct, answering phones. She saw him with his vest on. I pulled up a picture of him to confirm who she was talking about. I trust her,” Dame said.
“Aasim, you think that’s why he stole? Maybe he needs to pay someone back for bailing him out,” Jaxx said.
“Can’t say for certain, but the timing lines up. We need to find out what they arrested him for and how he got out. I don’t remember him missing for any significant amount of time. Sounds like the boy may be a rat.”
I racked my brain, trying to figure out what stealing would do with him getting arrested.
Did he take the money before or after? Did he need the money to pay back whoever posted his bail?
There were too many questions and not enough answers.
I didn’t have enough information to accuse Kurt of anything.
I walked from behind the bar and headed outside to where the prospects hung out. Major was out there with them. Before me stood Major, Kurt, and the other prospect, Jalani.
“Prospects, recite the club rules,” I said.
In unison, Kurt and Jalani said, “I am my brother’s keeper. I’d die before I snitch. Death before dishonor. No one person is above the club. Sons of Destruction until the death of me.”
“The rules are simple. What are the consequences of breaking any of these rules?” I asked.
“Death,” Jalani and Kurt replied in unison.
I looked them both in their eyes to see if I could spot any level of emotion. Neither of them flinched. They stood tall together, even the suspected snitch.
“Just a reminder, if either of you is found to have disobeyed these rules, I’ll kill you myself. Y’all are dismissed.” I looked over at Jaxx and Gavin as Major approached me.
“Everything good?” he asked.
“Nah. We may have a snitch among us. Watch those two like a hawk. If you need help keeping an eye on them, tag a brother to help. Don’t let them out of your sight,” I said.
Major nodded and went back to where the prospects were.
I went back inside to the bar to finish my drink. Jaxx and Gavin sat at the bar, each drinking a beer. We all seemed to be lost in thought until Gavin broke the silence. “What were you up to before JoJo called you? You hardly ever drive the truck.”
“I took Rory to Chow. We were supposed to be on a date. She saw one of her coworkers and ended our night. Well, that and JoJo called. I put her in a cab and headed over here.”
“Damn, she ashamed of you or some shit?” Jaxx asked.
“Ashamed? Nah. She’s gotta protect her career, and I respect it. I just didn’t think being in public would be so challenging. We didn’t have time to really talk about it.”
“Are you sure you can trust her? I don’t have to tell you what’s at stake for us,” Gavin said.
“I trust her because I trust my gut. If she wasn’t for me, I would treat her like I do everyone else,” I replied.
Angie walked by, swaying her hips, trying to get my attention. She blew a kiss in my direction, and I ignored her ass.
“I trust your judgement. Just be careful with this one,” Jaxx said.
I finished my drink, then headed home. Jaxx and Gavin were only looking out for me, so I couldn’t be upset.
If either of them was in my position, I would give them the same speech.
I understood their concern, but nothing made me feel Rory wasn’t trustworthy.
On top of that, I wouldn’t share anything with her that could put any of us in a predicament. Right now, I needed sleep.
Tomorrow, I would call Rory to talk about what was going on with us. The city was big, but she would be na?ve to think she wouldn’t run into anyone she knew while we were together. I didn’t sign up to be a secret, so we would need to find a common ground.