Chapter 34
Wrath stares into open space, holding Peyton and Eden’s hands as they both sob on either side of him. Hundreds of Dirty Soul brothers have gathered from far and wide to stand around Logan Ashford's grave and say their final goodbyes.
“You good, old man?” I ask Vex as we all leave him to rest and slowly start making our way across the cemetery, toward the rows and rows of bikes we arrived here on. It’s been a while since he’s taken the saddle, but there was no way he was gonna let his son take his last ride without him.
“It should have been me, Vike. I’ve lived. I’ve learned all my lessons.” He shakes his head, and Alicia smiles sadly, stroking baby Mia’s back as she listens.
“You still got some years to live, and Raze will kick your ass if you don’t live ’em to the full,” I remind him.
“I shoulda been better. I should have been there for him, and for her.” He looks across to his daughter, who’s clutching Wrath's arm, not wanting to walk away and leave her brother in the ground.
“I don’t even know how to comfort my own daughter,” Vex admits.
“Well, you can start by going over and putting your arm around her. You can tell her she’s gonna be okay, and that you're here for her now,” Alicia suggests, reminding me that it wasn’t so long ago that she was the sister, crying at her brother's graveside.
“How's anything ever gonna be okay without him here?” Vex rasps, before heading back to where we came from, so he can take Alicia’s advice.
“You good? This can’t be easy for you.” I take my girl's hand and kiss it. “Yeah, today's been hard on everyone, but having her here makes things a whole lot easier. When we buried Saul, I was convinced I’d never be happy again. Now look at what I got.”
I walk Alicia to her car, lifting Mia outta the carrier she’s wearing so I can strap her back in her car seat.
“Peyton, Eden, and Anita are riding back with me. We’ll meet you back at the club.” She smiles, kissing me before she gets behind the wheel. “You go on ahead. I want to give Peyton and Eden all the time they need.”
“I don’t think any of us are going anywhere yet, sweetheart.” I look over to the grave where Wrath is still crouched down, that same dead look in his eyes that's been there since he found Raze’s body. “We ain’t gonna be leavin’ without our leader.”
You can barely move at the club when we eventually make it back to the clubhouse. The yard is rammed; the clubhouse is packed full, and when I see Jessie and Squealer from our Colorado charter at the bar, I head over to catch up.
“Vike, how ya been?” Jessie asks, slapping his palm into mine.
“Been better, but been a whole lot worse.” I glance over to where Alicia is sitting, nursing Mia. These past few weeks have been, without doubt, the best of my life.
“We heard somethin’ about you hookin’ up with Saul's sister. I think you boys out here in Cali are rewriting Jimmer’s rules. First Wrath, then Ruckus, now you… Whose sister’s gonna be next?”
“We’re all out of sisters, ain’t we, Vike?” Greaser joins us, slapping me hard on the back and handing Jessie and Squealer a beer. “It’s good to see ya here, brothers.” He proves he’s a suck-up when he fakes a smile for them.
“What happened to the creepy one whose Mom we’re taking care of? Didn’t fancy paying his respects?” He looks around the room at all the other Colorado brothers that are scattered about, looking for Grimm.
“Anita still doesn’t know Grimm’s a member of the club, and he’s not ready for her to, yet,” Jessie explains, and I can tell by the look on his face that he ain’t appreciating Greaser’s tone.
Jessie Donovan is one fucker he doesn’t wanna mess with.
I heard he ripped a guy's throat out with his teeth once.
“What's wrong, the pussy got Mommy issues?" Greaser shakes his head and laughs. And in one swift motion, Jessie grips his arm, pushes it up behind his back, and slams him face-first into one of the clubhouse’s steel beams.
“Call a member of my charter a pussy again, and I’ll make sure your limp dick never makes it inside one again,” Jessie growls in his ear, and Squealer folds his arm, sniggering. “Ya got that?” Jessie checks, tapping him on the back of the head before releasing him with a shove.
“I was just kiddin’, didn’t mean anything by it.” Greaser straightens out his cut and looks around to see who’s noticed.
“Yeah, well, you buried your president today; it ain’t the right one to be kiddin’ on.” Jessie turns his back, and when I see Callum Monkhouse trying to get my attention, I excuse myself and head over so I can hear what he has to say.
“You want me?” I check, wondering what the fuck he could want to discuss with me.
“I think so.” He looks around the room nervously.
“Well, what's up then?” I try to get the dithering wreck to his point. I don’t have the patience for this guy’s bull shit today.
“It’s about the garage,” he whispers.
“That’s Greaser’s fuckin’ problem, I’m the treasurer. You got an engine problem, you see him; you got a finance situation, you see me,” I remind him.
“Well, this is a finance situation...Kind of..... See, I’m gonna need some.” He looks fuckin’ petrified
“For what?” I ask, trying to recall us using Callum and his services since the last time I paid him.
“That kid who was paying Greaser to chop cars. I found out that he spoke to an officer before he spoke to me; nothing official, nothing recorded, but I’d rather be sure what he said isn’t gonna be whispered to the wrong ears.”
“Callum, what the fuck are you talkin’ about?” I try not to lose my head with him.
“I spoke to Raze about it. The night he went missing, he told me he was gonna sort it. I can’t help you build these legit businesses if you're going t—”
“Wait…you spoke to Raze the night he went missing?” I knew nothing about this.
“Of course, I did. And I wasn’t trying to tell the man how to run his club, but you running a chop shop out of the garage is one thing.
Being careless over who you offer your services to is another.
This kid who got arrested ain’t smart, it’s the second time I’ve been called in to represent him. He clearly isn’t getting better.”
“Leave it to me.” I step away from Callum and head back over to Ruckus, interrupting the conversation he’s having with Brax and Rocco’s older brother, Finn.
“Can I get a word?”
“Sure.” He follows me over to the corner when he can sense that the word I want to have needs to be in private.
“You know anything about a chop shop?” I check.
“I think there's a good one over in San Diego, why? What do you need shif—”
“I’m not talkin’ about the one in San Diego. I’m talkin’ about us runnin’ one.”
“Us? I don’t think so. Speak to Jamie; I know Utah has run some in the pas—”
“Ruck, I’m not on about the club, in general. I’m on about us…here…in Long Beach...Our charter.”
“I don’t have a clue what you're talking about.” He shakes his head and laughs, “Why would you think that?”
“I just put a little something together, in my head, but it ain’t nothin’ that can’t keep till mornin’.
” I look across the room to where Greaser is standing by himself; he seems fixated on watching Alicia as she shows off her new baby girl to some of the other old ladies who have traveled here, and wonder.
Wonder if that cunt could have been fuckin’ brave enough.