4. Focus
FOCUS
BISHOP
It’s always good to come home, but especially after a hard ride full of bullshit. We have a chapter of Hellhounds right outside of El Paso. According to our brothers, the Vasquez Family Cartel, or the VFC, has been real quiet lately.
Word on the street is that more than a few of their crew have disappeared. Some say it was ICE raids; others say it’s a rival cartel. We didn’t find out which one it was while we were there, but our brothers are definitely on red alert.
We did find out that Frazier was there a few days before we got there, but he was in the wind when we arrived. I have a feeling that whatever he’s up to has something to do with the VFC. And I’m pissed we didn’t figure out what it was.
Now that we’re back home, I know I’m going to have to talk to Blue. The last time we were together, I almost took her to my room. It would’ve been a mistake because she would’ve been expecting a commitment, and I know I can’t give her that.
However, if these motherfuckers keep looking at her, I’m gonna commit a fucking homicide. I can’t go killing half the members of my brotherhood. What kinda shit is that? But I know myself, and I know these motherfuckers.
I can’t claim her fine ass, then it’s a huge possibility that Blue will end up with someone else. I have warned every fucker in this club to stay away from her, but that won’t last forever. I don’t know what I will do if someone calls my bluff and gives Blue what she wants.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, Blue is nowhere to be found once I come out of my room. I know she was here when we came back because I saw her. Maybe it’s a good thing that she left. I have too much on my mind to talk to her rationally right now anyway.
I have information from my contacts to go through to see if I can find anything on the Vasquez family.
So far, we don’t have much on them. The only tidbit of information that we have is from when Frazier tried to work with them before he got arrested.
Because he got busted before the deal was completed, we didn’t have much intel on the cartel.
However, it was revealed that the leader was Sunny Vasquez, though.
Our brothers have been keeping an eye on him, and he’s been staying put on his compound.
According to our brothers, it isn’t unusual for him not to go anywhere because word on the street is that Sunny is a paranoid psychopath.
He doesn’t trust anybody, including his siblings.
He keeps his circle so small it’s almost impenetrable. As crazy as Sunny appears, he is also smart. It will be hard to get fresh intel on him. As far as we can tell, he hasn’t done anything out of the ordinary yet, but we’ll keep eyes on him for now.
It’s surprising that everything on the home front has been quiet since we’ve been gone. I just knew that this Frazier shit was going to kick up the storm I’ve been waiting on. However, since it didn’t, I’ll just have to keep my wits about me and prepare for the worst.
After all, I've got plenty of experience being caught off guard. So being prepared is the best thing I can do. When my daughter, Erica, was put in danger, a lot of shit went down. We weren’t ready, and that was a mistake that I won’t make again.
Despite everything, my baby girl got her happily ever after.
But it pisses me off that she had to go through so much shit without me.
I haven’t been the worst parent, but I know I wasn’t the best one either. After my wife passed, I was a mess. Darla and Erica were my world. Even though we had some rocky times, I loved my wife.
We were young when we had our baby girl; hell, we were babies. Just hormonal teens finding out the hard way about becoming parents. But we still made something out of ourselves.
At the beginning, we were happy. Darla and I were married a few years after Erica was born, and we survived as a family until we didn’t. I was at the beginning of my career, and trying to balance being a lawyer, being a Hound, and being a husband and father. I wasn't good at it.
I wanted to be at the clubhouse partying when I had free time because I thought that was what I was supposed to be doing. I thought it was what I deserved. I was out running the streets until my wife had enough and kicked me out.
I’m man enough to admit that I wasn’t faithful to my wife, and I resented her for tying me down. I had to learn some hard lessons about loyalty and betrayal. But the hardest lesson is one I’m still trying to learn… grief.
I don’t know how to forgive myself for being so stubborn when my wife needed me most. I was so young and na?ve.
I thought I would live forever and that I would have time to fix what I broke.
But I didn’t. Darla passed from cancer before we could reconcile, and I’ve regretted that every single day since.
It’s one of the reasons I can’t let myself get involved with Blue. She is just the kind of woman I need in my life. The kind of woman that I want, but I can’t let myself have her. I’m too old not to know what I’m capable of, and I know that I would break her heart, just like I did my first wife.
I’ve been single for too long, and I’m set in my ways. Blue wants a relationship, and I’m horrible at them. I royally fucked up my marriage and broke a good woman down.
I know Blue can take care of herself and she knows what she wants. She’s responsible, professional, headstrong, and sexy as fuck. She reminds me so much of what I lost, and what I don’t deserve to have again.
I want Blue, but I don’t deserve her. I’ve gone round and round with myself about this shit. I can’t let myself have a relationship with her, but I’ve done my best to stay away from her. But I can’t let anyone else have her either.
Fuck it! I’ll just focus on my work.
It’s been two weeks of nonstop work. Two weeks since I decided to ignore my yearning for the one woman I shouldn’t want. After thinking about someone being brave enough to call my bluff, I made it clear for the millionth time to every motherfucker at the clubhouse that Blue was off limits.
Yeah, I might be a bastard for that shit, but I don’t give two fucks. There’s no way I can watch the woman of my dreams be with one of my brothers. No, if she dates, it will have to be with an outsider.
My thoughts of Blue have invaded my mind so much that I’ve taken to going through case law and revisiting some of my old convictions to keep my mind off of her.
Reopening my old cases has reminded me of why I became a lawyer in the first place.
I saw firsthand how the justice system can work against you.
My father was wrongfully arrested, accused of a crime he didn’t commit.
However, after new evidence came to light and his conviction was overturned, we sued the fuck outta them.
My father died shortly after, but the money my family got from the lawsuit paid for everything that we needed. My mother didn’t have to struggle to raise me and my brother, and when it was time for me to provide for my young family and attend law school, I did it without any financial struggle.
So, I continue to practice law even though I don’t need the money. I have more money than I will ever be able to spend; I work because I love the law. Being able to get my clients off without even a slap on their tattooed wrist makes me feel like I’m balancing the scales, at least some.
Make no mistake, though; most of my clients are as guilty as a preacher in a strip club.
But most of the time the charges are blown out of proportion.
Society likes to punish us because they can’t live as freely as we do.
Morality rules make people think they’re better than us, but they can go fuck themselves.
I like to rub it in their faces that they can’t beat me.
Yeah, we do some illegal shit, and my clients are definitely guilty of one thing or another, but so what. The judges and law enforcement are the biggest criminals walking this earth. And if they can walk around free, then so can we.
There’s always somebody in my world that needs representation, and they know that I’m the best attorney Texas has ever seen. I’ve been a prosecutor, D.A., and now a defense attorney. Nobody can do what I’ve done in my career.
My assistant, Bea, who is a Hellhound Old Lady, knocks on the door. The sound brings me out of my thoughts. She has a frown on her face, which is unusual for my bubbly assistant.
“Bishop, there’s somebody here to see you. She doesn’t have an appointment, and she refuses to tell me what she wants. I didn’t let her inside. You can check the cameras to see if you know her.”
I frown because there aren’t many people who would come here without an appointment. You damn near have to know somebody that knows somebody to even locate my office in the first place.
As popular as I am, my services are expensive. My clientele are elite criminals, and privacy is the only way I conduct my shit. So I don’t know who the woman is, but she has some big balls to barge into my place unannounced.
“I’ll come out there, Bea. Make yourself scarce, and I will handle it,” I direct her.
Bea nods her head, walking in the opposite direction of the door where the woman is waiting outside. I don’t play about safety, mine or anybody who works for me. Bea will be in the back where it’s safe, just in case this woman is some kind of crazy person, seeking revenge or some shit.
I unlock my desk and grab my Glock. I walk to the front with my gun in hand. It may be a tad bit unprofessional, but I’m a Texas boy. It’s open carry round here.
“Can I help you?” I ask, pushing the intercom button on the camera.
The woman looks up into the camera and smiles wickedly. I scan her face once more, and there’s not an ounce of recognition in my brain. I have no clue who she is.
“Yes, I’m a friend, and I’d rather not stand out here all day in case anyone sees me,” she says, looking around.
I narrow my eyes, but I decide to let her in. If she tries anything stupid, they’ll never find her body. I push the button to release the lock, and the woman walks in.
She is slender with a slicked-back blond ponytail, and she’s wearing a tailored pantsuit. Either she’s a politician asking for votes, or she’s a fucking FED. Either way, I don’t want any part of her bullshit.
“They told me to be careful coming here unannounced like this. But damn, I didn’t think you would actually come out with a gun.”
“Now that you know they told you the truth, I suggest you talk before I need to use it,” I respond, aiming my gun directly at the perfect target… her forehead.