Chapter 17
NICK
If someone would’ve told me I’d be sitting on the couch watching Elf with my daughter the day before Christmas Eve, I would’ve told them they were fuckin’ crazy, but here I am enjoying the hell out of it.
I pop another cookie in my mouth, and Portia laughs. “Dad, stop eating all the cookies.”
“If you didn’t want me to eat them, you shouldn’t have made them so good.”
The movie ends, and Portia turns to me, her face serious. “You know, in a way you’re like Walter, Buddy’s father.”
“How so?”
“Well,” she smiles, “you were grumpy like him, and then Buddy got him in the holiday spirit, and to believe in Christmas.”
“You think I was grumpy?”
“Yes,” Cheryl says, coming into the family room. “You were just like Scrooge, but for some reason, today you’re . . .”
“I’m what?”
“Happy.” Cheryl widens her eyes. “There’s no other way to put it.”
“You seem shocked. Like I can’t be happy?”
“Mom’s right,” Portia adds, “you were a little like Scrooge McDuck in Mickey’s Christmas Carol, but like Mom said, now you’re happy.”
Since I’m not up with kids’ Christmas shows, I just smile and assume this is a good thing.
I see now what Cheryl and even Portia were trying to show me the last few days.
Never having any happy holidays as a kid, growing up was all about survival with little time for celebration.
Work and more work at an obsessive rate with the constant fear of reliving my past.
As I found out last night, I can’t change my past no matter how hard I try, so, maybe it’s time to accept it, finally put it behind me, and kick back and enjoy the present before it all slips away.
My phone buzzes, and I swipe at the familiar number. “Yeah?”
“Meet us at the Gold Mine in thirty minutes,” Cobra rasps into the phone.
“Got it.”
Cheryl’s face sobers. “Who was that?”
“Gotta go out.” I kiss Portia’s head and push off the couch. “I won’t be long.”
I head for the back door, and Cheryl follows me. “You just told her you were going to spend the whole day with her.”
“And I am.” I hold up my phone. “But I gotta take care of something first.”
“More important than your daughter?”
“Right now, equally important, and doing this now means I’ll have all day Christmas Eve and Christmas to spend with her.”
She nods at my phone. “That was Samson with some problem at Wicked, right?”
“No, and no.” I shove my phone in my pocket.
She grabs my hand. “There’s something I should’ve told you about Graham Pierce, but I don’t want you to get all crazy.”
“I know all about Pierce.”
“You do?”
“I know he threatened you with your past. Probably with both our pasts. Then he tried to blackmail you into doing business with him.”
Cheryl’s mouth drops open. “How did you—”
“Let’s just say I saw it in a dream. He’s a bastard of the lowest kind. He preys on the weak, or people he thinks he can use to his own advantage, but that’s all over.”
“Please don’t do anything to—”
I cup her face with my palms. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes, but, Graham is—”
“I told you, I know exactly what Pierce is. Do you trust me?”
“Always.”
I lean in and grab her lips in a searing kiss. Marking what’s mine, letting her know that, no matter what, I will stand by my word and always protect her and Portia.
“Can you tell me where you’re going?”
“Nope, and that’s all you’re getting.”
“We’re eating at six.” She looks at her watch. “And it’s three o’clock now.”
“I’ll be back before six.” How long could it take to shut up that lying, thieving bastard?
“I hope so.” She stares at me for a heartbeat. “Not for me.” She nods into the family room. “For her.”
I draw Cheryl into my arms and whisper, “I promise no one and nothing will ever come between me and my family again. Whatever kind of weird bullshit went on in my head last night taught me that life is fragile and the people we love even more fragile.”
Cheryl looks up at me. “I never heard you talk that way before.”
“Maybe that’s the problem. I’ve spent so many years thinking I had to hide my feelings and fighting for what I thought was important, I’ve missed the truth.”
“I just want you to know I appreciate everything you’ve worked for and wanting to be in Portia’s life.”
“Right, but now I want to be an actual part of her life. Actively doing shit with her. Like today.”
“I have to say, she loved it, and I loved seeing you in that Kiss the Cook apron.”
I glance down at myself. “Couldn’t stain this Brioni shirt, right?” I hug her to me and nuzzle her neck. “From now on, everything’s gonna be different. I’m gonna be different.”
“I hope not too different. I do like that tough guy once in a while.”
“Don’t worry, he’s still in here.” I tap my heart. “But so is a loving partner and father.”
Cheryl shakes her head. “I don’t know what happened to you over the last twenty-four hours, but I like it.”
“Let’s just say I got a glimpse into my future, and it wasn’t pretty.”
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I know it’s Samson.
“I’ve been around long enough to know something’s up, and I also know you’re not going to tell me where you’re going.” Cheryl locks eyes with me. “Please be careful.”
“I’ll be here for dinner.” I hug Cheryl one more time then step back. “And when I get home, we’ll start planning that trip to Disneyland.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely, we can do it next week when Portia has off.”
“But you said that’s the busiest time at Wicked.”
“I’ll make it work.”
She pulls me to her and whispers, “You really are trying to change.”
“I am, babe, and from now on, nothing will come before you and Portia.”
I can tell she doesn’t totally believe me, but I mean every word.
I head into the garage, and my phone buzzes again. I swipe at it and answer, “I’m on my way.”
Ienter the Gold Mine, and my footsteps echo around the empty room.
“Where is everybody?” I ask Cobra, heading toward me.
“Usually slow around the holidays especially since some of the brothers have kids now. Doin’ family shit and all, ‘cause if we didn’t, our old ladies would have our balls on a silver platter.”
I screw up my lips. “That’s a frightening visual.”
“But fuckin’ true. Our women are a fierce bunch.”
“And you wouldn’t have it any other way.” I smile, then sober. “What have you got?” I like to get down the business.
“All set to go,” Cobra says. “Pierce showed up at Wicked’s garage looking for Jax and found Rattler and Mamba like a fuckin’ welcoming committee.”
I’m glad Jax came through in the end ‘cause I wasn’t looking forward to righting that wrong. Pierce, on the other hand, was a completely different story.
I look at my watch. “Let’s get this done.” The last thing I want to do is disappoint my baby girl. “I got dinner at six.”
“There’s one other thing.” Cobra nods to the end of the bar.
“What’s he doin’ here?”
“Showed up an hour ago, said he wanted to see you.”
I make my way to the end of the bar, and Frank looks up.
“What’s goin’ on?” I ask.
“Got some business to settle.”
“How come you didn’t tell me you were in Vegas when I talked to you before?”
“You know me, I like the element of surprise.” Frank runs his finger along the rim of his glass. “Thought you could use some help with Pierce.”
“How’d you know about him?”
“I know everything.” He throws me a smirky grin.
“Thanks, but I think we got it handled.” I slide onto the barstool next to him. “The Serpents ambushed him, and now we’re all gonna take a ride out to the desert.”
“Sounds like a solid plan, just wouldn’t mind being a part of it.”
“I went to the Serpents for a reason.”
“No blowback, no favors to repay,” Frank assures. “This one is personal.”
“Personal? What did you have going on with Pierce?”
“Nothing directly.” Frank sips at his drink.
“Two weeks ago, a teenage daughter of one of my associates used a fake ID, got into one of my jazz clubs in Cali, and met Pierce. He lured her into his limo, took her to his villa in Pacific Palisades, then proceeded to pass her around to his other degenerate buddies who raped her repeatedly.”
“Shit,” I mumble.
“The girl still ain’t right.” Frank shakes his head. “Then threatening Cheryl at the Bellagio garage . . . I had to be involved.”
I swallow. “What are you talking about, threatening Cheryl at the Bellagio?”
“I’ve had somebody following him since the thing in Cali, and two days ago, he saw Pierce corner Cheryl in the parking garage of the Bellagio. He couldn’t hear what that fucker was saying, but he said it sure didn’t look friendly.”
“Shit, must’ve been what she was trying to tell me earlier.” Just more proof that last night’s dream was more than a warning. “I can’t believe she tried to handle that on her own.”
Frank rolls his eyes. “After all this time, you don’t know my daughter? Probably brushed it off, or, more likely, didn’t want you involved ‘cause of what you might do.”
“Now it all makes sense.” I rub the back of my neck. “She’s been acting all nervous and wonky the last few days, and that’s why.”
“Seems like that fucker has a lot of sins to pay for.”
“Yeah, Boa found a whole bunch of shit. Apparently, Pierce has a trail of assault charges against women. He uses the clubs he promotes as his private playground for all his kinky shit with underage girls, then he either pays for their silence, or it’s covered up by his rich father.”
“A real piece of shit,” Frank agrees.
I silently shake my head. “Samson saw through him right away, but I was blinded by the need to advance the club for more money.”
“Shit happens; just be glad we got him now before he fucks with anybody else.”
Frank tries to give me a pass, but the guilt I feel digs deep. Pierce threatened Cheryl, and I was too involved in business to press her harder or to see the warning signs.
“I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity,” Frank says. “When I heard he was in Vegas, I reached out to Cobra. Knowing their rep, I figured he might have something for me. I had no idea you were involved with Pierce too.”
“Came on to us like he wanted to promote Wicked, then tried to shake us down. Even got Jax to flip on us. I guess he tried to pressure Cheryl too.” The thought of that slimy piece of shit being near Cheryl sends a chill up my spine.
Frank levels me with a long look. “You ask my daughter to marry you yet?”
“I asked her twice. Once when we reconnected in Vegas, and six months ago when we moved into the new house.”
“And?
“And . . . nothing. You’re daughter’s as thick-headed as you are.”
Frank smirks. “Hey, watch your mouth.”
“But you can’t deny it.”
“She’s probably got her reasons.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean? I got a solid business, and we got our beautiful daughter.”
“And now all you gotta do is stop being an asshole and enjoy it all.” Frank grins. “Remember power changes people.”
The same fuckin’ advice he gave me in my dream. The bastard keeps grinning at me, and I get a weird out-of-body experience.
Frank finishes his drink, just as Cobra joins us. “You ready to get this done?”
“Abso-fuckin-lutely.”
Knowing Pierce terrorized Cheryl gives new meaning to what needs to happen to that bastard.
We head out to the lot, and I smile. Along with their Harleys, the Serpents own a fleet of different vehicles for every occasion: a nondescript van they use for tailing people, a beat-to-shit pickup truck they use for trips out to their weed farms in the desert, and a shiny black SUV.
“I sent some prospects out early this morning to get everything ready.” Cobra nods to the SUV. “All you gotta do now is take a nice ride out to the desert.”
Nothing says getting a job done like an oversized black Escalade.
Cobra grips my shoulder. “Take care of your business.”
Frank and I get in the back, with Python driving and Mamba in the passenger seat. I didn’t expect Cobra to come. In the MC world, the president makes the deals but seldom gets his hands dirty. That is the job for his Enforcer and number one cage fighter.
Mamba turns in his seat and does some air boxing. “Looking forward to a little exercise before all that holiday food the next few days.”
“I don’t wanna waste any more time than necessary on this bastard,” Python adds. “My woman’s been baking for the last week, and I’m looking forward to grabbing one of her double chocolate brownies.”
“Shit, all you ever talk about is food,” Mamba jokes.
Python puffs out his chest. “I’m a growing boy.” Then he nods to the cargo space in the back of the vehicle, lowers the custom plexiglass partition, and a low moaning fills the SUV.
“Can’t beat an Escalade for taking out the trash.” Python laughs.
I glance behind me, and Pierce’s wide, wild eyes stare back at me. His wrists and ankles are zip-tied, and a gag is shoved so deep, breathing has to be difficult.
“Trussed up like a holiday turkey.” Mamba laughs around his words.
Pierce tries to speak, but it comes out as a coughing groan.
Python hits a button, the plexiglass comes back up, and silence fills the Escalade again. “No way I’m listening to that asshole all the way out to the desert.”
Frank and I exchange a look. Back in the day, I did a lot of shit for Frank. Even pulled the trigger once, but this is personal for both of us. Getting Jax to flip on us, trying to screw Samson and me out of our business, threatening Cheryl, and whatever the sick fuck did to underage girls.
Yeah, finally giving this bastard what he deserves would be sweet.