Chapter 2 #2
The bar is full aside from two empty seats in the very far corner.
Mindy and I are sitting together at a table between the food and gifts when Carrie and Lucy walk in.
That means Leo and Shorty are here, finally.
I wave at them when they look around the room and they both smile, walking in our direction.
“Hey, ladies!” I cheer, standing up to hug them both.
“Hello, lovelies,” Lucy says.
“Hey, sunshine,” Carrie smiles.
“It’s good to see you both,” Mindy says.
“I’ve got to grab a beer before I sit down. Want anything?” Carrie asks.
“I’m good,” Mindy holds up her glass of wine.
“I’ll take a double Crown Apple and Sprite, please. Tell Linc to put it on Cass’s tab.”
“Okay. I’m on it.”
Lucy sits down next to us while Carrie goes off to the bar.
“Shorty has been looking forward to this Christmas party all week. We got out of going to my moms, because he can’t stand my mom, so this is his saving grace.”
Mindy nearly spit out her wine when Lucy said that.
“He’s open about not liking your mom?” I ask.
“Yeah, Mom doesn’t like him either. It’s funny, honestly.
Mom’s been an alcoholic for the majority of her adult life, so we don’t exactly have the best relationship.
I try for my kids, so that they know their grandmother and she understands that if she’s drunk when we get there, we leave.
So far, for the past six years she’s been sober for our visits.
” Lucy shrugs, like it doesn’t affect her that much and that almost makes me sad.
“Holy shit,” Mindy says quietly.
“It is what it is.”
Carrie returns right on time and sets my drink down in front of me and takes a seat at the table next to us.
“Thanks, love,” I say, sipping the delicious apple flavored drink in front of me. The flavor explodes when it hits my taste buds, making me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
“Where’s Leo?”
“He’s around here somewhere. Probably getting the food out of the truck. We made a chicken and sausage gumbo in his cast iron pot. He’s probably got one or two other guys helping him unload that heavy ass thing.”
The bitterness in her tone tells me she’s the one who helped him load it into the truck in the first place.
“Oh my God, that sounds so good right now,” Mindy says, rubbing her stomach.
Carrie laughs at her.
“What? I haven’t eaten all day almost and I’m starving.”
I cut daggers at her with my eyes, not about to say anything out loud though. She can’t be doing that. She needs to eat. It isn’t just her anymore. There’s a little one in there.
She gives me an apologetic smile and sips her wine.
I look around the club house at everyone piling in.
There are members here from out of town, celebrating with us as well as many of the members that were here during the war between Hounds and Moccasins.
I see a few familiar strange faces while my eyes search for Cass.
I don’t see him anywhere at the bar or among the other members sitting at a few of the tables. I wonder if he’s upstairs.
I excuse myself from the table and walk upstairs in search of him.
I know that there are rooms upstairs that are off limits, but I’ve never seen them.
I don’t venture up here often at all. I walk down the hallway that leads to the room that we stayed in for a little while, but I don’t see any lights on or hear anyone.
I turn around and go back to the stairs but notice a light on at the end of the hallway on the other side of the building and curiosity gets the best of me.
I walk down the unfamiliar hallway and hear Cass and Snapper talking.
I peer around the doorway and can see Cass’s shadow pacing back and forth across the room while he talks.
“You never got any information out of Keith about how he knew about my house before you killed him, did you?” he asks.
He knew about our house? How could he have known anything about our house?
“No, brother. He wouldn’t talk. I tried my hardest, too. I tortured him with techniques I’ve never used before on anyone and that druggie fucker still wouldn’t talk. I guess he really just had nothing to lose.”
“Fuck. How long did you hold him for?”
“Five months. I kept him alive and tortured him for five months, brother. And that motherfucker still wouldn’t talk.”
I see Cass’s shadow nod and they stand there in silence for a minute.
“And Gater?” Cass asks.
“Gone. Nowhere to be found. He’s one hundred percent off the radar.”
“I see. Huh, it’s funny. I thought innocent people didn’t run away.”
“I’m doing everything I can to find him and when I find him, rest assured he will pay dearly. He did leave his cut-off and patch on our table along with his keys and any club property he had. At least he was smart enough to return what’s ours.”
“Am I wrong to think it was him all along feeding information to the Moccasins?”
“If you’re wrong, then brother I’m wrong, too.”
Afraid to get caught eavesdropping, I back away and make my way back downstairs. I want to stay and listen, but I know that my best bet is to not be found here. I know I wasn’t supposed to hear any of that and I also know there’s likely more than I don’t know about the war.
I knew that Snapper was capable of being crazy. Hell, maybe that’s why they call him Snapper. Downstairs, Linc and Leo are fidgeting with the radio, and Shorty is behind the bar. Mindy, Carrie, and Lucy are sitting at the table, none of them moved an inch.
“Where’d you go?” Mindy asks.
“Was looking for Cass but I didn’t see him and I had to pee, so I used the bathroom upstairs.”
“Oh, I think he went outside earlier,” Lucy says.
“It’s okay. I’m sure he’s around here somewhere.” I shrug my shoulders, hoping my indifference is genuine.
‘Jingle Bell Rock’ blasts through the speakers around the clubhouse and a victorious shout from behind the bar has everyone looking over at them.
Leo and Linc are high fiving one another, excited that they finally got the stereo system to work.
They were evidently working on Christmas music. How fitting.
Mindy is smiling at Linc from where she sits and he winks at her. I feel like an intruder. I peeped in on their moment.
Cass and Snapper come down the stairs, and their facial expressions show no sign of the intense conversation they were having a few minutes ago.
The secretive, intense conversation that I wasn’t supposed to hear, I remind myself.
I can’t help but wonder what all I don’t know that Cass has done in this war.
I mean, I know he’s done wrong, committed murder, and caused bloodshed, but they were things that I didn’t see or hear about.
This is different in my mind somehow. I’m trying to focus on pushing these thoughts out of my head.
I don’t want to focus on the negative. It’s Christmas Eve, I’ve got everything I’ve ever wanted plus some, and we are surrounded by our club family.
People that would do anything in the world for everyone in this room.
How could I be worried about anything else?
“Lilly?” Mindy waves her hand in front of my face.
“Huh?”
“I was saying that you brought the cookies and brownies, then I noticed you were zoned out.”
I brush it off and smile. “Yeah, I was just thinking of what all I need to do around the house tomorrow morning before you, Linc, Mom, David, and Clayton get there.”
It’s Mindy’s turn to shoot silent daggers at me with her eyes. She knows I’m full of shit, but she won’t call me on it. That’s why she’s my best friend.
“What time is it? I’m ready to eat.” Mindy looks down at her watch.
“It’s almost six. Ten til. And look, here comes Cass,” I say, looking at Cass walking in our direction.
“Hello, ladies. Are y’all about ready to get this party going in full swing?” he asks, smiling at the four of us around the table.
“Hell yeah. Let’s eat!” Carrie’s enthusiasm makes me giggle. I cant blame her. I’m pretty hungry myself.
“After dinner, though, we’re doing the gift giveaway.”
Cass smiles at me. “Yes, baby. You can do the gift giveaway after dinner. I know it’s been killing you to hold in the secret of the gifts you bought.”
I scrunch my lips and nose up at him. “Has not.” I’m in denial. I know I can hardly keep any gift I buy a secret.
“Mmhmm. Whatever you say, beautiful.”
I roll my eyes at him, and he winks at me before walking away. The music stops and Cass is standing in the center of the room, commanding silence and respect with his presence alone.
“I want to thank everyone for coming out tonight to celebrate Christmas with this family of ours. We couldn’t be any more blessed than to have you here. Merry Christmas everyone. Let’s eat!”
A roar of cheers, hand claps and whistles erupt and the line for the food forms quickly.
Linc, Shorty, and Leo look swamped behind the bar, and I would offer to help but there’s a strict policy in the club house: no one aside from prospects and members allowed behind the bar.
It’s a shame too, because this crowd really isn’t that big.
I know I shouldn’t be so eager to get back behind a bar, but I have missed it.
Life has been so….tame lately. I need a little bit of excitement.
I down the rest of my mixed drink and get in line behind Mindy, who is eyeing me and rubbing her belly impatiently with a pained look on her face.
“So. Hungry,” she groans.
“That’s what you get for not eating all day!” I whisper shout.
“I didn’t mean to not eat, we just had so much going on that I forgot.” She shrugs.
“Still not acceptable. You’ve got to start paying better attention to your body. If my niece or nephew comes out skinny as a rail, I’m kicking your ass.”
She grins at me. “I know, I know. Don’t worry, we’re going to be eating a lot. So much that I’m going to be obese because now I can eat everything in sight with a damn good excuse. You’ll work out with me once I have the baby, right?”
“Of course. What are best friends for anyway?”