CLINT
A fter Ivy left, I felt like a goofy kid with an awkward boner. I couldn’t get her out of my mind, and walking around hard wasn’t an option.
I found relief after enjoying her scent on my pillows and imagining the feel of her in my arms.
My head didn’t clear like I expected even after I came. I still felt Ivy with me, even as I headed down to the garage. She was a stranger days ago. Now, she owned my every thought.
Rowdy and Rock were sitting on their rides, debating whose dog made the larger turds. I hoped I didn’t look as weak as I felt. The men sized me up, maybe searching for weakness. If they spotted any, they didn’t mention it.
We left the garage and rode northwest toward the Sorority House. Most of the foxes wouldn’t be up this early, meaning we’d have a quiet house to stretch out in and discuss the upcoming meeting with the Black Rainbow MC.
The Sorority House was located in a wealthier side of Little Memphis. Most homes in that area were standard brick, two-story affairs with fenced front yards for their horses.
The Sorority House was a whole other beast. Back when the house was colonial style, a family ran their funeral home out of the location. Later, a wealthy family from Savannah infused the big white box of a house with southern charm. They installed a wrap-around porch on both floors and widened the front columns.
When the house came on the market, after years of neglect, I had the idea to buy it for the foxes. They were always bunking with each other in various locations. They also tended to annoy their neighbors with their late-night parties and early morning chat sessions.
Sitting on acreage, the Sorority House allowed the foxes privacy. To the south was a golf course. To the north was a cornfield. They could play their music as loud as they wanted without complaint.
The front iron gates opened once I put in the security code. We rolled onto the currently quiet property. A Belgian Malinois mix napped in the gazebo to the right of the front porch. Death to Missouri ignored our motorcycles rolling in and parking on the circular driveway. He wasn’t housebroken and spent all his time outside, unlike the other dogs who called the Sorority House home.
Rowdy and Rock remained outside on the porch while I grabbed cans of iced tea from the kitchen overlooking the family room. As I exited the house, I heard someone moving around upstairs.
“I messaged Devin about joining us at the meeting,” I told the men, mentioning my uncle as I sat in one of the porch’s pink wicker chairs. “I don’t want the cops or feds getting any ideas about showing up.”
“I assume you’re thinking the heat would come from Louisiana law,” Rock said, cracking open his drink. “Unless you have a reason to worry about our people in Arkansas.”
“I have no reason to trust the Black Rainbow crew. It’s possible they have a deal with their cops to look the other way as long as Zodiac offers up other power players. I’m not looking to be taken down by the Whitey Bulger special.”
Deep in thought, Rock eyed the front of the property. “The Black Rainbow club has been in flux ever since Wrecker stepped down. I’ve heard good and bad shit about Zodiac,” Rock said and shrugged. “Mostly bad. Apparently, he’s an arrogant twat who doesn’t play nice.”
“I’m not looking to make friends with the guy, but he might be a useful ally,” I replied and then asked the same question Rock asked me in several texts, “Who do we bring?”
Rock flashed a sly grin, knowing I was testing him. “Rowdy should come.”
My cousin nodded in between yawns. “Sabrina wants to come.”
Rock instantly frowned at me to see if I would agree.
“I think we should bring mostly foxes,” I told Rock. “We can tell a lot about Black Rainbow’s management and muscle by how they respond to women in the mix.”
“Depends on what you’re looking to gain from this meeting. Do we want an alliance with these fuckers? Or are we trying to scare them out of Arkansas?”
“Maybe neither. I’m not sure what their club has to offer us. Also, any alliance with them would mean nothing if Tricky and the Jokers weren’t onboard. Tricky is talking of banning the Black Rainbow members from riding our roads. He’s getting a bug up his ass from those new Baton Rouge recruits.”
“So why meet with these fuckers?” Rowdy asked us.
“Zodiac has wanted to meet for a while. If Tricky’s new recruits are bringing trouble from Baton Rouge, we shouldn’t remain in the dark.”
“Tricky claims the Black Rainbow club want Little Memphis,” Rock muttered.
“He told me the same thing.”
Rowdy’s casual expression turned menacing. “Tricky’s new guys think it’s funny to hassle the foxes. I was around when a few of them tried wagging their dicks at Jas and Dalisay. Those boys were lucky they weren’t facing off with Sabrina.”
“He’s not vetting these fuckers,” Rock sneered and shook his head. “He also doesn’t demand obedience. These dumbasses are new to our town. They shouldn’t be hassling anyone, especially not people wearing our patch.”
Sensing the mood turning dark around me, I muttered, “Tricky got a big head when he first created the Jokers. He had strong, experienced guys. But my dad and other older members are retiring. The guys we grew up with are joining our club rather than the Jokers. Tricky feels weak, so he’s grabbing any available tough guy to increase his numbers.”
“You’re assuming Tricky is doing this shit out of ego and not because he’s got nefarious plans for us,” Rock spat at me. “You underestimate him.”
“No, you underestimate me ,” I grumbled at my VP.
“I could talk to Jagger,” Rowdy offered, mentioning the LM Jokers’ VP. “He likes me. I’m nice to him.”
“You’re a real sweetheart,” Rock grumbled, winning a smile from Rowdy. “You know Jagger’s only faking his friendship with you to get info.”
“No, dum-dum, I’m faking my friendship to get info from him .”
“Did he give you any so far?”
“Did you know Tricky drives by the Sorority House from time to time in the hopes of catching a glimpse of Cher and Stevie?”
“Both of them?” I asked, thinking he was messing with us.
“Well, they look alike, so seeing one is like seeing the other.”
Rock scowled hard. “That’s weird.”
“Yeah, but Jagger told me anyway,” Rowdy said and kicked a pillow in Rock’s direction. “See how I get info? I’m a useful spy.”
“Did it occur to you that Jagger might be fucking with you? Now, you believe Tricky has a weakness we can exploit, but it might be a setup.”
“No, man, you’re just being stupid. Stop being so damn slowwitted, you big dum-dum.”
Rock gritted his teeth and looked ready to pound on Rowdy, who tossed another pillow at his VP.
“Look,” Rowdy said and sat up. “I love Tricky. He’s my boy. I’d bleed for the motherfucker, but he isn’t playing 4D chess here. It’s all checkers, and you’re a dum-dum to think otherwise, you big fucking dum-dum.”
Laughing was no doubt the wrong move, but I couldn’t help myself. Rowdy’s “dum-dum” thing never failed to piss off people. I always ignored him when he said it to me. All those years trying to live up to his dad meant Rock couldn’t help pushing back.
The men stood in unison, eyeing each other. When Rowdy got aggressive this way, he was the spitting image of his dad. Pax had a notorious temper, while Rowdy was mostly known as the most easygoing of his siblings. However, plenty of men had paid a painful price for reading my cousin wrong.
The men sized each other up like they were prone to do. Rock was thicker, more obviously intimidating. Rowdy was wiry and fast. As usual, they didn’t do more than shove each other and stare hardcore like two crazed lovebirds.
While they had their morning fun, I came up with a list of foxes to bring along. I wanted Elle there since she had a good sense about people. She might pick up something about Zodiac and his club that I missed. Sabrina liked to talk shit during these things. If Zodiac couldn’t handle Sabrina’s mouth, he wasn’t much of a man.
Graham and Orion were older members capable of disappearing into the background while the foxes distracted people.
My club was filled with the children of badasses. I knew any of them could handle themselves well in battle. But I still missed Boone. Rock was the guy who pushed me to be better. Rowdy was the guy I could goof around with. Boone was the one who understood what I was thinking without me saying a word.
The world was changing while he was locked away. I couldn’t imagine what Little Memphis would look like by the time he got released.
While Rock and Rowdy settled down, I read texts from people around town. Most were in code. A lot of them sounded like they were talking about child care or yard work.
I glanced through them, relieved by how Little Memphis had chosen to behave for the time being. I hoped Ivy could get settled in before I needed to worry about the next threat.
Elle texted me not long after Rowdy and Rock got into a tussle over whose mom was the worse cook. They were both wrong, of course. Shay was terrible. She once burned peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Elle’s message read, “Gonna get the pint-sized field ready for your plow. We’ll be at the doctor for a while. Don’t pester me. I won’t have you second-guessing me. Just knock it off already! No more, okay? God, you never quit!”
Grinning at her taunting, I still wondered if there was more going on than she was sharing. Elle tended to get overly chatty—even in written form—when she was full of shit.
“Hey, boss man,” Goldie said, shuffling out onto the porch.
Nearby, Rock held Rowdy in a headlock before my cousin swiped the larger man’s ankle and took them both to the ground. Ignoring the men’s behavior, Goldie wiped her groggy eyes and hugged me.
“When do we get to meet your soulmate?”
Boone’s older sister spent most of her time down in Rawlins, but it wasn’t uncommon for her to bunk at the Sorority House. Her bleached blonde hair needed a touchup around the roots. Her round cheeks were rosy as she grinned at the “soulmate” comment.
“I’ll bring her along to the next Sorority House party, so she can meet everyone.”
“Why don’t you bring her around sooner? Who are you embarrassed by, her or us?”
“Neither. I figure slowly introducing Ivy to people will help her learn names easier.”
“Fuck that,” Goldie said and settled next to Rock who was now sitting in a chair after peeling himself off the ground. “Dump this fox into the deep end and see if she can swim.”
“She can’t,” Rowdy announced from the ground where he lit a cigarette and dodged dog licks from Death to Missouri. “Ivy’s an itty-bitty thing. She’s also really young.”
“I thought she was twenty-three,” Goldie said to me.
“She is.”
“This chick is a full-grown adult.”
“No, I think she’s still growing,” Rowdy replied, feeling feisty since his brawl with Rock. “She’s really small.”
Goldie smiled at me. “Now, I’m extra curious. Bring her here tonight.”
“No.”
“Well, I’ll have to stick around for this Saturday’s party then,” she said and rested her head against Rock’s arm. “Afterward, I’m driving to that shithole state to see my brother.”
“Take someone with you.”
“No.”
“Take Zadie.”
“No.”
“It’s what Boone would want.”
“He told me to come alone,” Goldie insisted said as her brown eyes studied me. “He specifically stated how I shouldn’t bring anyone.”
Knocking back the rest of my iced tea, I grinned at her. “I like when you fail at lying. It makes me feel smart.”
Goldie yawned and nearly toppled into Rock’s lap. He frowned down at the fox, who was like his cousin. They grew up together at the same townhome complex. Goldie’s mom, Yarrow, was a member of the Everything Nice Crew, and her dad, Blackjack, was the VP for Rawlins Heretics MC.
That was how it worked in the Crimson Guard. We were all tangled up in family binds and shared memories.
Someone like Ivy was unusual in our world but not unheard of. Sabrina met Moe at a Little Rock bar. They dated long distance for a year before Moe moved to Little Memphis. I ran that sweet blonde through the paces for another year before she got patched into the club. By then, she was living with Sabrina and Xandy at the Sorority House.
With Ivy, I saw no benefit in taking things slowly. She was mine. Why set her up in a separate life, just to claim her back inside mine again? I wasn’t keeping her from trying new things. I wanted her to have friends and hobbies. She could get everything she wanted while wrapped up in my love and protection.