2. Zeus Sanders Basil
“Bro, baby girl right there got it,” my brother, Hades, asserted.
It would be a great day when he got out of his fuck all the bitches phase of life. I went through it, the same as our other brother, Poseidon, but Hades had it bad. The fact that we were the grandsons of the founder of the Mount Olympus Riders and the current leadership made it no better. There were a lot of motorcycle/car clubs in the city and state, but none compared to the Mount Olympus Riders. We knew it, and everyone else did too.
I glanced in the direction of the girl that he pointed out. She was a pretty girl, but she wasn’t my type of female. “I’m not impressed. She’s your type, though, because she looks like you can blow on her and she’ll fuck. You love that.”
“Nothing impresses you. I swear you’re the hardest man to impress,” Hades said under his breath.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “As I should be. I’m Zeus.”
Most called me arrogant because I chose not to involve myself around many people. Our club was close to three hundred members strong right now, which was amazing, however a lot in the same breath. Everyone couldn’t be at the top, but most wanted to be. The likelihood of anyone without the last name Basil being at the top was slim to none.
“You know baby bro is out here being the great enforcer. The hos love that.”
Poseidon had a point. I was the current club president while he was the vice president as well as our legal counsel. There were times when members of ours got into shit, and he was our go-to defense attorney.
My brother was three years younger than me at twenty-nine. Hades was a year younger than him. Our parents, Kronos and Laverne, thought it was smart to have some estrogen in our house. Our sister Hestia was thirty-one and the baby in the family. My sister Hera was twenty-five. Where are my sisters? I looked down at my watch. “Y’all seen Hestia and Hera yet?”
Hades had already made his way over to baby girl that had it, so I was talking to Poseidon. He leaned against my Hellcat next to me. We both wore our club vest over wife beaters with cargo shorts and matching J’s.
“They should be around here somewhere. You know their asses know a little bit of nobody, but a little bit of everybody knows them.”
No truer words were ever spoken. My sisters were the most unfriendly females that I knew. That didn’t stop females from wanting to be on their asses though. My sisters hardly were ever bothered with the next bitch.
“Hey, Zee and Sea. Y’all look good.” One of the groupies came over like she belonged. Our club had official female members, wives, and girlfriends of members, as well as groupies. Our groupies weren’t as bold as to create a whack ass auxiliary like Kings’ Kitties, but we had them.
My ear dropped to my shoulder as the corner of my eyes tightened. “Sweetheart, what’s your name?” When she told me that her name was Damika, I glanced at my brother. “Now, I thought she said Damika, not Kronos or Laverne. Why do you think calling us Zee and Sea like she’s our mamá and bampás (dad) is okay?”
These hos did too much, too often. Our parents were the only ones that called us by shortened names. I was Zee, Poseidon was Sea, and Hades was Dee. My sisters were Tia and Era. Funny story, Hera didn’t have a shortened name. When she was five years old, she had a fit that she didn’t have a nickname like her adérfias (brothers) and adelfí (sister). The only solution plausible was to cut the H off her name to land on Era.
Damika’s attitude popped out like her sharp ass hip. “Oh, I didn’t know that I had to be a special Basil to call y’all by y’all’s nicknames.” She threw her hands up. “Excuse the fuck outta me.”
“Yes, please excuse the fuck out of your hot, smoked salmon pussy smelling ass. Talkin’ about special Basils. Bitch, you wish you could have Basil dick in you right now. Move the fuck around.” Era is here.
Both of my sisters had sharp tongues, but Hera’s tongue was lethal. It was crazy because she was genuinely a loving, caring person at heart and by profession as a nurse. She didn’t play about her siblings though. The groupie knew better than going back and forth with my sister. Ho ass Damika knew that where Hera was, Hestia wasn’t too far behind.
When she walked off, Hera cut her eyes at Poseidon and me as if we did something wrong. “Me arrostaínoun (Hos make me sick). Why is that damn girl always around? She’s not even a groupie. She’s a groupie’s groupie.”
Poseidon guffawed. All I could do was shake my head in shame for the young lady. It was bad enough to be called a groupie, but to be called a groupie’s groupie was heartbreaking. I pulled my baby sis into me. “Come here, treló korítsi (crazy girl).”
All of us fluently spoke the Greek language, thanks to our grandfather and father. We mainly spoke it in phrases unless we were in full conversation with one of them. Our grandfather still lived in New York. He came to visit when we had major family events and club events here. The Mount O Riders still had a functioning chapter up there that he oversaw.
“To paírno apó ton aderfó mou (I get it from my brother),” Hera jested.
The gods did something so special when they created my mamá and adelfís. Laverne, our mother, was from Kannapolis, North Carolina, and was a country girl. She was the polar opposite of our father, Kronos, who was born in Volos, Greece. He was raised in Brooklyn, New York, when he and my grandfather migrated to the United States in the seventies after my grandmother died. My parents met when they were teenagers, when my mother would go visit family in Brooklyn every summer.
My late grandmother was African and Greek to my grandfather’s pure Greek blood. Greek and black blood was a special mix. The rich melanin of our skin complexion could be attributed to both sides of our family. When most people met me, they assumed that I was mixed with something, but what was the mystery. I loved my heritage, and I loved that my mother made sure we were engulfed in the Greek part of our blood. We spent a lot of time in New York and Volos with family.
“There’s my other love,” I called out at the sight of Hestia.
Her smile was radiant. Before she got to where we stood against my car, a commotion erupted across the street that caught everyone’s attention. “What the fuck is this bitch Jennifer on now?” Hestia mumbled when she stepped into our space with her attention still across the street.
The streets were already loud because there was an active race happening. Add to it Jennifer’s loud voice, and the noise was almost unrealistic. From where we stood, you could hear her calling some girl a whore and cursing her out. The girl she was screaming at back was to us. All I could see was her fire red hair. I was thrown off a little because it was a known thing in the club community that Aaron was a man who didn’t give a damn about his marriage vows. He blatantly cheated on his wife, and she was fine with it as long as she could remain the Queen of the Kings.
She never acted like this, especially in front of other clubs. We’d all heard about her sending her bitch ass hittas to fuck bitches up, but that didn’t hold much weight. Her husband would have a new bitch or the same an hour later. To see her act up in public at an event of this nature told me that whoever this girl was meant more than a possible fuck to Aaron.
The sound of the engines grew louder the closer they came. My eyes bounced between the cars approaching at high speed and this girl being pushed out toward the street. Like we knew what was about to happen, my brothers, sisters, and I stepped forward. Jennifer gave a final push. A car zipped by, and the girl’s body flew in the air. Oh shit!
My sisters’ caring nature kicked in as they led us as we ran to where the girl landed. Others came to assist. I was too stuck on getting at Aaron’s ass for letting his wife wild out like that at our event. Yes, all the clubs were out, but this was a funded-by Mount O event.
“Don’t move her!” Hestia yelled out.
Her medical hat was on, and she was Hestia Verna Basil, board certified trauma surgeon. Almost every club had a member that was in the medical profession. Also, for these events, we had a private emergency services company on standby.
“What the fuck is wrong with your bitch? She could have killed her!”
I pushed the fuck out of Aaron with my question. He stood there like he was in a damn daze until he fell back into some of his pussy club members. The fuck was wrong with this dummy.
His son, Aaron Jr. or AJ, rushed forward to push me, but was halted by a Glock in his face. “I’ve always wanted to know if God was really black. Push my brother and you’ll be able to let me know, bitch.” Hades was on his good bullshit like normal.
“Man, fuck you! Don’t touch my pops!” AJ spat. I would always give AJ his props. Out of the three of his brothers, he was the one I respected the most. I couldn’t fault him for being protective of his father, because I would be the same.
I told Hades to stand at ease. “Look, Aaron, you need to control your raggedy ass bitch. The fuck wrong with her.”
“Aye, don’t call my mama a bitch!” Cory spoke up.
His speaking up for his mother made sense because it was also no secret that out of the three sons, Cory was the only one that seemed to have true love for his mother. Jennifer’s sons were more of a trophy piece she had that connected her and Aaron. Their mother was one of those old hos who wanted to stay young. The same little auxiliary that she was a founding member of, she now spoke of them like they were repulsive. I guessed because she got to her endgame the rest of the bitches didn’t matter.
I ignored Cory to keep my attention on his father. His eyes were narrowed on the street where the girl lay as my sisters and others helped. Jennifer stood at his side with this hateful glare. When I told her she wasn’t shit, she took her eyes off the street to gawk at me.
“Fuck you and that bitch. I hope she dies.”
Her words got a reaction out of Aaron. His neck snapped in her direction so quickly. “What the fuck did you just say, bitch?” Well, damn. He must love that girl.
Oh, tough ass Jennifer wasn’t so tough now. When she moved to wrap her arms around her husband, he pushed her back in disgust before he stomped off. Like she had programmed herself to do, she rushed after him. I just shook my head at them. I looked at the Cooper brothers, then said, “I would have hated to grow up in y’all dysfunctional shit.”
I left them standing there to go over to where they now had lil mama on a stretcher and were about to load her into the ambulance. “Is she good?” I asked Hestia.
“From initial assessment, some shit is broken. I’ll know more when I get her to the hospital.”
Hestia turned to the girl who, even with a bruised face, was gorgeous. I was about to say something to the girl when Hestia started signing with her hand to the woman. I wasn’t sure what she signed, but the girl softly nodded her head. My sister signed something else, then patted her hand before she was loaded into the ambulance.
“She’s deaf?” Hades asked after the ambulance pulled off.
Hera stood next to Hestia with a scowl on her beautiful face. “Where the fuck is Jennifer’s bitch ass at? I’m about to fuck that ho up.”
Hestia held her hand up. “We can handle that bitch later. Let’s get to the hospital. She has no one here.”
They hugged me and my brothers. I told them to keep me updated before they rushed off. I officially had a headache and was ready to go. “Shut this shit down. If anyone hasn’t raced but paid the entry fee, tell them that the King of Kings will refund their fees.”
There was a fifteen-hundred-dollar fee per person to race tonight. There were well over forty races that were slated to happen tonight. I didn’t think we’d completed fifteen yet. I wasn’t refunding shit because it was not the fault of the Mount O’s that we cut the event short.
I walked back over to where the Cooper brothers stood. “Make sure you let your father know that the racers that didn’t get a chance to race due to the event shutting down because your mother’s foolishness will be coming to him for reimbursement of their entry fees. Tell him to pull the funds out y’all mama’s shopping account or some shit.”
I left them standing there but stopped to laugh at my brother’s salutations to them. “You King of Bitches, have a fucked-up night.”
Hades was the comedian of us all. The only time he was serious was when it was time to put in work with his hands or guns. He owned a security company named Olympus Security . His company was contracted by local corporations, businesses, and clubs to do security. I was proud of my baby bro for finding what he was good at and making it work for him.
I wasn’t sure what was going on with ole girl, but I really hoped she was good. I couldn’t remember ever seeing her before. She was the type of person who stood out. It would only take one look or interaction with her for a person to always remember her. I made a mental note to remember to ask my sister about her.
A SHORT TIME LATER…
“Yeah, that’s real smooth. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this blend.”
We were at our family’s brewery to try out a new beer blend that our brew master came up with. My family, my mother’s side specifically, had been in the alcohol business for over a century. My great-great grandfather was a bootlegger during the prohibition and made the family rich. After the prohibition ended, the money kept rolling in, and Sanders Brewery and Spirits was officially born. As a black-owned beer and liquor brand that had stood the test of time, we were world renowned.
The only thing that we hadn’t dabbled in was wine. That was until about twenty years ago. The business was passed down to my mother after her father died, when I was five. My dad’s father proposed an exclusive line of Greek wines. Soon after the proposal, Basil Sand’s Greek Wine line was created. My mother loved that side of the business because it allowed her and my father to travel to Greece and stay for sometimes months at a time. I often smiled at the fact that my mother’s family’s business was able to merge two cultures.
Chad clapped his hands. “I knew you would like this! How do you want to handle the introduction of it?”
“We can have a taste party at a few of the bars or lounges we have. Reach out to Leslie to set it up.” I patted him on his shoulder. “You did good with this one.”
My family owned several breweries throughout Charlotte and Raleigh as well as wheat farms in North Carolina. A few of the breweries were connected to our bars. We also had a few lounges in Charlotte as well. The brewery that I was currently at had a bar connected to it. When I came to the front bar and dining area, I saw the last person that I expected to see.
“Hey, Zeus, can I holla at you about something?”
AJ stood there like he really didn’t want to be here. I was sure that he didn’t, because his father was still the official president of the club with him being the vice president, but he did most of the work. It had been said that his father was ready to step down, but the Queen wouldn’t hear of it. How could she be the Queen if he was no longer the King?
I asked him if he wanted a beer before I moved us to a table. We waited until the waitress brought our beers and took a few sips before he started to talk. “I wanted to holla at you about the entry fees from the Drag the Street . We’ve had fifty-two requests for refunds, totaling seventy-eight thousand dollars.”
He stopped speaking as if I didn’t know that. The day after the event, I got the information from the organizers about how many people were owed entry fees. “Ok, thank you for telling me something that I already knew. You’re actually missing a couple.”
“Zeus, that’s a lot of fuckin’ money, man. I know my mama did a lot, but is this really necessary? I was thinking maybe we could split the cost.”
I tittered at this goofy. “Why the fuck would the Mount O’s take any of this on our head? Had your mother not almost killed someone, the event would have continued on as planned. Like I told y’all, take that shit from your mama’s shopping fund. Be lucky that she didn’t get her ass fucked up by our ladies. I know y’all not hurting for that shit.”
He knew that I was speaking facts, because Jennifer’s ass deserved to get her ass beat after that shit. Hestia let us know the day after the incident that baby girl had to have surgery for a collapsed lung from a broken rib. Apparently, she was new to the area. That made it even more confusing to me why Jennifer really had beef with baby girl.
AJ threw his head back like he was about to have a man tantrum or some shit. “Man, fuck! Nah, we not hurting for it, but we damn sure don’t want to spend it on Jennifer’s bullshit.”
“I’on know what to tell you. Tell your pops to learn how to control his silly ass wife. I’m surprised their asses are still married after all the wild shit she does. That’s y’all Coopers’ business.” I stood from my seat. “The beer and a meal on me so you can get your mind right. Have a good one.”
I didn’t have time for the woe is me request. I honestly would have respected it better if it came from his father. This was a president-to-president conversation, but I digressed. He was about to make me late for dinner at my parents’ house. I would never miss a meal that my mamá or bampás cooked. Mama would hit us with the soul food while Dad hit us with the Greek entrees.
From where I was, it took about forty-five minutes to get to my parents’ home. When my parents moved down here, they wanted land for a family compound. Their house sat at the top of the hill on our property. My and my siblings’ houses trailed downward from the hill.
“Oikogéneia, pou eísai (Family, where you at)?”
I waited to hear the normal response from my bampás. “Gie mou, giatí prépei na káneis tóso gamiméno thóryvo sto spíti mou (Son, why must you make so much fucking noise in my house)?”
When we got into each other’s space, he cupped my face into his hand, lowered my head, then kissed my forehead. I loved my father’s kisses. I couldn’t wait until I could give them to my children.
“Mamá in the kitchen?”
I knew the answer before I asked, but I asked anyway. I could hear my loud ass family in there. With the laughter, I could tell that Hades more than likely told a joke of some sort. After my father confirmed what I already knew, we walked toward the kitchen. My parents’ house was massive and honestly a lot to look at. In the center of the roundabout driveway was a huge Greek status of Mount Olympus with the gods that each of us represented. The shit was huge!
“Hey, my baby!” Mama greeted me when I turned the corner to enter the kitchen.
My mother was a short, voluptuous woman standing at no more than five feet four. I often wondered how my six-foot-four father even saw her short ass. Although she was a short woman in stature, she was beanstalk tall with personality. Laverne Sarah Basil was not someone you played with. It was the most beautiful sight to see her ride out with my father or us as a whole family on our motorcycles. Most of the time, she rode behind my dad on his bike, but there were those rare occasions when the Ultimate Goddess pulled out her big wheel, as she called it.
“What Hades said that has y’all in here cutting up?”
The kitchen island was oversized so that at any given time the entire family can sit at the island together. This island held so many memories for us. This was where I told my father that I had lost my virginity. It was also where I told my mother that that girl was not pregnant with my child. It was where my father told me that he planned to step down as president and wanted me to step up.
Hades’s head bucked back. “Why did I have to say something? First, your mother is over here trying to relive her nurturing days by telling Hestia that she’s gonna force that girl to move in here until she’s better. What’s that girl name again?”
Hestia rolled her eyes. “I already told you what her name was. It’s not that hard to remember.”
“Nah, it’s not. I’m just still confused on the spelling and how her mama came to the pronunciation of it,” Hades said with a contorted face.
Our mama turned from the pot she tended to face us. “It don’t matter. If you want to know so bad, then you can ask her when she gets here. Now I done told you that girl gonna be here for as long as she needs to be.”
The entire conversation confused me. “Wait, so why is she coming here? Is she homeless or some shit? She didn’t look homeless wearing Prada combat boots.”
Yeah, I peeped them when they had her on the stretcher. Those boots were like eighteen hundred dollars. I knew that because Hera just had to have them for her birthday, and I bought them. I would hope that she wasn’t one of those females with fucked-up priorities.
“No, she is not homeless. She doesn’t have anyone here with her. No family or anything. Her house is all the way in Lake Wylie,” Hestia confirmed. “I just don’t like that she’s alone like that. She’s still going to need substantial help for a while. She said that she would hire someone, but I don’t like it.”
Lake Wylie, huh? That said she had a little bit of money. “Did she say she wanted to come here?”
Poseidon laughed. “You know good and well that girl didn’t say that she wanted to stay here. Hestia came in here with her soft ass heart, and Mama in here massaging it to make it better. Mama, what if that lady says no?”
“Have you met me?” Laverne thought she scared everyone. Napoleon complex at its best. “When that girl gets here, y’all better not bother her either, or it’s going to be y’all ass. Me katalavaíneis (Do you understand)?”
We all glanced at each other before we roared with laughter. Our mama learned just enough Greek to scold, discipline, and tell us that she loved us.
“Katalavaínoume,” we all said in unison.
This was about to be a time in this house. I couldn’t say that I would mind her being here. That would give me the chance to get to know her. Getting to know her was now at the top of my personal priority list.