ZODIAC
The next morning, I woke up alone in Exile’s guest room.
Agitated to find Elle missing, I stumbled out of the room searching for her.
I found Elle and Sutter sitting on the back patio.
When they glanced up at me with their matching eyes, my anger immediately deflated.
They offered warm smiles, as Elle gestured for me to join them on the long bench.
“Are you coming back to Little Memphis?” Sutter asked me.
“I’ll ride up for Cher’s party.”
The kid nodded and looked at the pool. “Mom, when we visit next time, can we go to the museum?”
Elle stroked his head and nodded. Her gaze found me, and she smiled softly. I felt her telling me goodbye before everyone woke up and the house got noisy.
I was a little bothered by how weak I felt about Elle. My chaotic childhood had been tolerable because I never let people affect my mood. Their bullshit or suffering wasn’t my problem.
That got harder with my club. I suffered when Nova was shot, and Exile blamed himself. But I still kept myself wrapped in my armor. Rather than focus on Nova’s suffering, I looked for revenge.
With Elle, I could only endure the weakness she filled me with by simply existing.
Soon, the group headed back to Little Memphis, leaving me alone with my uncomfortable feelings.
Figuring a long ride would help, I traveled all over Baton Rouge. I hit up spots I hadn’t seen in years. The ride eased my bad mood until I returned to my apartment to clean up.
Elle’s scent was in my sheets. Her snacks filled my fridge. Every corner of my safe space reminded me of her.
Eventually, I headed down to the clubhouse. The music was loud. The women were easy. My guys were in a wild mood.
Everyone was hooking up except York. He entertained the rejected sluts by talking about his house and potential pets. They swooned over his attention, but I sensed he’d go home alone.
So would I. Every time a club slut headed in my direction, I shook my head and jutted out my thumb to keep her moving.
Around eleven, a club slut’s boyfriend showed up to stake his claim on her pussy. He threw empty beer bottles around the clubhouse and threatened to kill everyone. I grabbed him by the back of his neck and dragged him out to the alley, where York and I kicked the shit out of him.
The violence didn’t distract me from the heavy feeling I’d been nursing since Elle and Sutter waved goodbye to me.
I realized I was depressed. This moody shit wasn’t me. I didn’t cling to negative feelings. I moved forward and fixed problems. If a bad situation had no solution, I ignored it and focused on other things.
But nothing could take my mind off Elle.
Later, after the other guys had left with their hookups, York and I stared at our beers and avoided going home. The clubhouse was quiet. The last waitress cleaned tables. The bartender cleared out the registers. The place was locked down. We really ought to be leaving.
“Afraid of your new place?” I asked York.
“My old apartment building was noisy. Though I had long wanted a quiet place, the house felt too quiet last night. I think a pet would help.”
“A pet means you need to go home regularly.”
“A house already means that. Shit won’t get done if I don’t show up.”
“True. Nova kept the house tidy when Exile was busy.”
York eyed me. “Elle’s a cool chick. And her kid is smart. He explained why certain injuries leave scars and others don’t. Just had that info locked and loaded off the top of his head.”
Sighing, I admitted, “I shouldn’t have let them close.”
“I think it’s too late for that.”
“Probably, but my life revolves around the club. I don’t know if I have the time or energy to bounce back and forth between here and Little Memphis.”
“You were always going up there anyway. Now, at least, you have someone hot to snuggle up with.”
Eyeing York, I muttered, “You seem overly optimistic this morning. Are you sober enough to drive home?”
“I’ve had two beers all night. I’ll be fine.”
“So, is it the new house that’s gotten you silly and cheerful?”
York shrugged and finished his beer. Finally, he admitted, “I thought Elle was crazy to get knocked up.”
“It wasn’t on purpose.”
“Still, she clearly likes you. That shit seemed insane.”
“Thanks a lot, asshole.”
York chuckled. “You’re a good friend and a great president, but those things don’t translate into boyfriend material. Her family lives the life. She should know what a man like you could offer.”
“You’re starting to piss me off.”
“You know what you’re like. That’s why I chose to follow you instead of Wrecker. He had fanciful ideas in his head about how things should be. You saw the world the way it was.”
“All true.”
“And you never struck me as someone who could go soft for a woman, let alone one with a kid. And the baby thing felt like a terrible idea.”
“You’re pissing me off again.”
“Sure, but here you are alone for the night. Dick is dry. You are clearly sulking over her being gone. So, maybe you have qualities I hadn’t known existed. And maybe Elle saw them, even though I couldn’t,” York said and then added, “But naming the kid Wilbur Megatron feels mean.”
Grinning, I shrugged. “I have a name idea that’ll make her ditch that ridiculous Wilbur crap. I’m just waiting for the right time to spring it on her.”
“I’m not great at naming shit. It’s one reason I’m leery about getting a pet.”
“Just ask the club sluts to name the damn thing. Animals don’t really care. Name him York Junior and get yourself something to fill the quiet.”
When York nodded at my suggestion, I suspected he might hit up the local shelter tomorrow.
I understood how he felt about the quiet. While it never bothered me before, the silence was deafening when I finally went to my apartment. Elle wasn’t a particularly noisy person. When we watched sports, she didn’t prattle on. If she got bored, she played on her phone.
But I never forgot she was next to me. Her absence over the next few days left me short-tempered and easily distracted.
I found myself staying at my apartment more than down in the clubhouse. The club sluts got on my nerves by constantly flirting when I was clearly uninterested in their pussies. Rather than bark at everyone, I hid in my apartment and texted Elle.
“York got a dog,” she told me.
“I know, but how do YOU know?”
“Exile told me. York named it Junior.”
“I gave him that name.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? He gets Junior and I get Megatron?”
Chuckling, I nearly ignored the incoming call. Uknown numbers were usually spam bullshit, but they could also be my Void snitch. I told Elle that I would text her later.
Answering the phone, I waited to see if it was a spam recording. Instead, I heard my snitch’s disguised voice.
“Zodiac, good job freeing the lawyer from the goon squad.”
“Glad to hear you’re still breathing, but what happened to keeping me updated?”
“I’ve had too many eyes on me. Things have also been quiet. There was no reason to risk contacting you.”
“But now there is?”
“It’s still quiet here. Management is temporarily changing their plans. No more money or time will be spent on the Little Memphis situation for now. The other members of management have sidelined the one driving those attacks.”
“What’s the plan for my territory?”
“They need to time to reestablish themselves in Texas. Gangs have given them trouble in Houston. Other interests are pushing back on them in El Paso. Baton Rouge isn’t on their radar for the time being.”
“Well, that’s good to hear.”
After a moment of silence, the guy said, “You need to understand something. The member who is obsessed with Little Memphis might not quit his plan. He’ll simply need to be sneaky. Your alliance isn’t out of the woods yet.”
“I’ve heard rumors that this person is Trigger’s son, Ryder. Any truth to that?”
The snitch didn’t respond, so I continued, “If you wanted to fix this problem, you could give me the asshole’s name and address. I’d have him eliminated by the end of the week.”
Silence lingered on the line before he finally stated, “No,” and hung up.
I settled the phone on my lap and considered the snitch’s reaction. Mentioning Ryder definitely hit a nerve. The snitch might be tighter with Ryder than the other Void head honchos.
However, he didn’t immediately shoot down the idea of killing Ryder. Planting the seed might be enough to get the ball rolling.
I wanted more than to kill Ryder and protect Little Memphis.
I planned to end the Void. They were the ones who attacked my territory and sent someone to kill Nova.
Rumor had it that the Void was run by three assholes.
Killing one wasn’t enough, but it would give me an idea about how to find the final two.
After taking a few minutes to think like a club president, I let myself look at Elle’s texts. She had scheduled an ultrasound for the week I’d be in Little Memphis for Cher’s birthday party. I would get my first glimpse of my son.
The snitch’s words came back to me. Little Memphis was off the target list for now. Elle would be safer in the short run. She could focus on Sutter and my boy.
I sent a group text to Clint, Exile, and Rock to tell them the news.
As soon as I finished up, I called Elle to hear her voice.
She was in bed. Sutter was already asleep.
She switched to video so I could see the way her belly had rounded out over the last week.
She said the flutters were getting stronger. Soon, I’d be able to feel my son.
For the first time in days, the heaviness eased off my chest. But I knew my calm would be fleeting. Elle was too far away, and I couldn’t keep riding up every week to visit her. Something would need to change soon.