Chapter 2 #2
“Don’t think it’ll be a chore,” Dragon said dryly.
“You think Granger’s just gonna let her leave?” I asked, sliding the photo back to him.
“Granger’s out of town on business this week. As far as we can tell, she’s got eyes on her, but not anyone who’s authorized to step in. By the time anyone realizes she’s goin’, she’ll be gone.”
“And after that?”
“Granger reaches out, we play it out.”
“And how you plannin’ on doin’ that?”
“Her boy’s got her last name,” my dad said. “As far as the Aces are concerned, we’re pleased as fuck that our old friend’s daughter hooked up with one of our brothers. Best-case scenario. Had no idea she had ties to anyone in Sacramento.”
“And you think he’ll believe that?”
“We think,” Grease said, pulling my attention across the table. “That Granger knows better than to target or even sneeze in the direction of one of our old ladies, no matter what his prior connection to that old lady is.”
“That’s a lot of wishful thinkin’.”
“That’s what we’ve got,” Grandpa Casper said. “Pullin’ her under the club’s umbrella. Thankfully, she’s receptive to whatever play we make because she wants to get the fuck out of there.”
“No shit?” I asked, a chuckle of disbelief catching in my throat. “Jesus Christ.”
“We don’t anticipate any problems on your way north,” Grandpa Casper informed me.
I stared at the scarred wood under my palms. After eighteen fucking years of drama and headaches, my son had finally asked to come home to Oregon. We’d made plans, looked forward to some fucking peace, and now this.
“What time is my bus?” I asked after a moment as I raised my head. I met my grandfather’s eyes, knowing the decision had already been made.
“Four,” he replied. “You’ll get there tomorrow afternoon.”
“Great.” I rose to my feet. “Anything else?”
“Assume she’s being watched,” Grease said. “They’ve got eyes everywhere.”
“Got it.”
“This is need-to-know,” Dragon informed me as I turned to leave. “You can fill Draco in yourself, and we’ll spread the word to the rest of the club. Goes without sayin’, no old ladies, no kids.”
I nodded and got the fuck out of there, but when I went to grab my phone, it was no longer on the bar. Draco had it pressed to his ear, and he was grinning as he spoke into it.
“Looks like your pop just came back out. Drive careful, bud,” he said. He handed me the phone while he searched my face, trying to gauge my mood.
“Hey, Dyl,” I greeted, shaking my head at Draco. Turning, I walked toward the door.
“I’m about halfway,” my boy said with a sigh. “Has the drive always been this long?”
“Feels a lot longer when you’re the one drivin’,” I pointed out, my lips twitching. “How’s it been so far?”
“All right. I’m making good time.”
“Don’t be speedin’ on the freeway,” I ordered. “Set the fuckin’ cruise control.”
“I am, I am,” he replied defensively. “I don’t want to get a ticket.”
“Shit, I’d take a ticket over you crashin’.”
“I’m being careful,” he assured me. “Swear.”
“You’ve been stoppin’ for breaks?”
“I get out and move around every time I get fuel.”
“If you start feelin’ tired—”
“I’ll find a rest stop and take a nap,” Dylan cut me off. “I know, Dad. Jesus. We already talked about this.”
We had. We’d gone over it about a hundred times.
I hadn’t wanted to drive separately, but Dylan’s friends had planned one last camping trip—the weekend after we were supposed to leave.
I could’ve forced him to come with me—thankfully, he still listened to his old man even though he was nearly a man himself—but I hadn’t had the heart to.
The kid was leaving everyone he knew behind.
“You still thinkin’ you’ll get here late tonight?
” I asked, checking my watch. It was almost dinnertime.
He’d be driving the last stretch in the goddamn dark.
Bored, impatient, and tired. A fucking recipe for disaster.
I should’ve set him up in a hotel halfway. Then he could’ve stopped for the night.
“Yeah, depending on if I need to stop,” he said dryly. “If that happens, I’ll call you. All right?”
“Cut me a break, kid,” I said, sitting down on one of the picnic tables in the grass out front. “Big trip and you’re still an idiot.”
“Geez, thanks.”
“Your brain ain’t developed,” I reminded him. “You’ll be an idiot for a few more years still.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Can’t wait to see you, bud,” I said, scrubbing my hand through my hair.
“Same.”
“Listen…” I hesitated. “Dependin’ on when you get here, I might not be here.”
“What?”
“I gotta head down to Sacramento early tomorrow.”
“Seriously?”
“No, I’m fuckin’ around,” I replied sarcastically. “Yeah, seriously. Gotta go down and pick up a friend and her kids. They’re gonna be stayin’ with us for a while.”
“At Uncle Draco’s?”
“No, smartass. Got us a rental.”
“When did that happen?”
“Today.”
“I didn’t even know you were looking today.”
“Well, I figured we’d be pretty cramped at your aunt and uncle’s.” The lie made my stomach burn. I didn’t lie to my kid if I could help it, and I hadn’t had reason to in years.
“What’s happening right now?” Dylan muttered. “So, all of a sudden, you found a house, and some lady is moving in with us?”
“Thought you’d be happy you wouldn’t have to sleep on the floor of your cousin’s room,” I joked.
“Wait, who is this lady?”
“You don’t know her,” I replied. “Just an old friend.”
Dylan was quiet, but I could still hear road sounds, so I knew he hadn’t lost service or hung up on me.
“Just wanted to let you know, in case I wasn’t here when you got here,” I said after a while. “I’ll be back late tomorrow night.”
“So, I could’ve just stayed another day,” he grumbled. “You’re not even gonna be there.”
“I want you home, and Eugene is home now, bud. We agreed, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m gonna let you drive,” I said as Draco rounded the picnic table. “Call me in a few hours and check in.”
“Yep. Bye.”
He hung up on me.
“That went about how I expected it to,” I mumbled as Draco dropped down beside me. “Fuck’s sake.”
“What’s goin’ on?”
“Leavin’ at four a.m. for Sacramento to pick up my old lady,” I told him, laughing with disbelief. “Had to let Dyl know that I might not see him until tomorrow night.”
“Back up,” he ordered, looking at me like I’d grown an extra head. “What old lady?”
We sat on the table watching as men went home for the night as I explained. By the time I was done, Draco was shaking his head in disbelief.
“She hot at least?”
“You’re fuckin’ jokin’, right?”
“I mean, might make things easier.”
“She’s gorgeous,” I admitted. “But it doesn’t fuckin’ matter because it’s all for show.”
“You’re gonna be livin’ with her,” Draco pointed out. “No one’s gonna believe that you moved a woman into your house if she’s gross.”
“Speakin’ of that, you can’t tell Kara.”
“Figured.”
“It’s gotta look real,” I said with a sigh, leaning forward to rest my elbows on my knees. “The old ladies know, there’s a chance they say somethin’—”
“Don’t have to explain it to me.”
“And don’t call women gross,” I said, shaking my head. “What are you, twelve?”
“Unattractive, then,” he corrected, waving me off. “You know what I mean. The women talk, and everyone knows your type.”
“Batshit crazy?”
“Pretty,” he replied dryly. “Hair color, body, all of that changes. You’ve always gone for the shit hot ones, though.”
“I haven’t even been back long enough—”
Draco shot me a look. “Name one time you’ve come home and haven’t hooked up with someone.”
“Fair point.”
We were quiet for a few minutes.
“Dylan’s not buyin’ it?” he asked, breaking the silence.
“I think he was confused,” I replied with a huff. “I figure he’ll stew on it for the next few hours, and I’ll get the questions when he calls to check in again.”
“You’re gonna have to make it look real,” Draco said quietly. “He’s not gonna believe it otherwise, and if he doesn’t, no one else will.”
“I know that.”
“Unless you think he can—”
“He’s seventeen,” I said flatly. “I’m not gonna let his ass swing out there knowin’ shit he needs to keep to himself.”
“We knew shit at seventeen.”
“Different kind of seventeen,” I countered. “My boy didn’t grow up in the club the way we did.”
“Good point,” he mumbled.
“He’d do his dad a solid. He’d keep his mouth shut if I asked him to,” I said, staring at the grass. It needed to be mowed. “Don’t want to ask him to.”
“So you’re comin’ home with an old lady, then,” Draco said, slapping me on the back. “Could be worse.”
“Yeah, how’s that?”
“You could be comin’ back from Sacramento with the clap.”
“Don’t even know the woman,” I said, shoving him as I climbed off the table. “For all we know, I’ll be comin’ home with the clap too.”
Draco laughed and shoved me back as he got to his feet.
“Yo, Curt,” Tommy called from across the forecourt. “You wanna check out your new place?”
It turned out the house in Draco’s neighborhood was the one the club had decided would best suit me.
I couldn’t complain—the place was nice—but it would’ve been cool if I’d had a say in the matter.
Two stories, four bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, brand new kitchen, bonus room over the attached garage.
“How much is the rent?” I asked Tommy after the tour.
“Kara’d kill for this window,” Draco called from the kitchen.
“About that,” Tommy replied, ignoring my brother. He threw out a number that made me wince. “But, since the yard is a fuckin’ mess, I was thinkin’ if you took care of it, we could knock rent down twenty-five percent.”
“You serious?” Twenty-five percent less would bring it a hell of a lot closer to what I’d thought I’d be paying for a much smaller place.
“It’s a big fucking mess,” he replied with a shrug. “Either I take it out of your rent and have you do it, or I pay my guys to do it. Needs to be done.”