Chapter 4
JOKER
“Can’t believe I’m down in this fuckin’ basement again,” I grumble later, as Python hoists a box off one of the shelves against the wall.
“Well, if you got all this shit last time you were here with Cobra, we wouldn’t be down here again. According to the women, there are two more boxes of decorations.”
I shake my head, mumbling, “This whole Halloween bullshit is taking on a life of its own. Every year this party gets bigger and bigger. What started out as a thing for the kids has turned into an event.”
“Right, and are you gonna be the one to disappoint your pregnant wife and all the other women who’ve been looking forward to it?”
“I already told Daisy I ain’t dressing up as any old-time gangster.”
“Oh yeah, and how did that go?” Python sets the box down and crosses his arms over his massive chest.
“It went the way everything else goes. She ignored me, ‘cause in the end, she knows I’ll fold—but not this time. ”
“Yeah right, you give new meaning to the phrase ‘pussy-whipped.’”
“Uh-huh, like you ain’t afraid of your five-foot-two wife.”
“We’re not talking about me. We’re talking about you.” Python smirks. “And you, my friend, are wrapped around that woman’s finger and won’t admit it. I, on the other hand, admit it full-out.”
“You’re a real prince. Now let’s get these boxes upstairs so we can get outta here.”
“What is it that’s got you so spooked? It’s just a damp, dingy basement.”
“I don’t know, I get a wonky feeling whenever I’m down here.”
We each hoist two boxes on our shoulders and head for the stairs. We get halfway up the cement steps, and I hear the vibration again, only this time there’s also a humming sound like the whine of an engine.
“You hear that?”
Python stops midway up. “Hear what?”
“Like a high-pitched buzzing.”
Python stops and listens. “I don’t hear anything except my muscles telling me to put this goddamn box down. What the fuck did these women pack in here, rocks?”
“Forget it.” I follow Python up, and the sound fades. Geez fuck, am I losing it? Must be some kinda logical explanation. Like a vibration from the air-conditioning or the hot water heater.
All I know is I go down to that basement at least two or three times a week for liquor and other supplies, and I never heard that sound until we had the meet with the Nomads. Sounds fuckin’ crazy, but it’s the only common denominator. Bottom line, I can’t wait to get this fuckin’ job done.
We dump the boxes on some tables in the back, and Daisy, Virginia, Madeline and Sheena descend on them like vultures. Mamba’s Mandy would be joining them later when she closed up her nail salon. By tomorrow night, I had no doubt The Gold Mine would be decked out in full Halloween mode.
Daisy turns toward me, wraps her arms around my neck and whispers, “You’re the best.”
And that right there is enough for me. Knowing my girl depends on me is all I need. One of my duties as VP is to always have the prez’s back, along with all the other brothers, but my loyalty also includes my family. A family I never thought I’d have, and surely would never put in jeopardy.
Python and I head to the bar where Rattler lines up shots of Jack Daniels.
“Does anyone have any questions about what goes down tomorrow morning?” Cobra asks.
We all shake our heads no.
“Should be easy in and out,” Rattler says. “We’re getting there early so we’re gonna have the jump on them.”
Cobra raises his glass. “Club First, Brothers Always.”
All the brothers join in with the toast, but I just want to get these Nomads gone.
I’ve come too far and waded through too much shit to have it snatched away from me because of some stupid curse or what I perceive to be a curse or just fuckin’ bad luck. Either way, I wasn’t gonna let any of it interfere with my family.
Probably why I’ve been acting so paranoid lately. Daisy is usually the hyper one, but after what we experienced with her last pregnancy and the stress and anxiety she suffered afterwards, it’s made me extremely careful.
I down my shot, and Jimmy, one of our prospects, appears at my side. “Somebody just left this for you.” The prospect hands me a small box wrapped in brown paper.
I shoot Cobra a look. “Too small to be a bomb, right?” The joke falls from my lips, but with the crazy way I’ve been feeling lately . . .
I unwrap the square box and find a note folded in half. Again, Cobra and I exchange a look. I open up the folded paper and read it.
“Just a warning. Don’t mess with what’s ours, and we won’t mess with yours.”
I pull away the paper, and there’s a black stone embedded in something hard, brown and dried out. “What the fuck?”
Cobra leans in. “Ohhh, shit!”
“What?”
“That’s an umbilical cord.”
“Huh?” I drop it back in the box, trying to reconcile Cobra’s words with what’s staring back at me. I wasn’t there for little Deana’s birth, but I was for Derek’s, and the umbilical cord the doctor cut looked nothing like this dried-out shriveled thing.
Cobra takes the box from my hand and examines it closer. “Yeah, Sheena wanted to do something like this after we had Baby Shane.”
“Something like what?” I still don’t know what I’m looking at.
“Some people take the dried-out umbilical cord and make jewelry out of it or they save it in a box.” Cobra scrunches up his face. “I nixed the idea. Thought it was fuckin’ weird.”
The other brothers gather around me to see what’s going on, with Boa tapping at his phone. “Yeah, apparently it’s a thing people do. Kinda like a good luck charm for when the baby grows up.”
Boa plucks it out of the box, examines it, makes a face and goes back to his phone. A few seconds later, his face sobers. “Says here the Shoshones hold the umbilical cord in high regard, but when it’s set with a black crystal, it’s a warning of . . .”
“A warning of what?” I lean over to see his phone. “Shit!”
“What’s it say?” Rattler asks.
Boa scrolls through his phone. “It says Shoshones use the black crystal as a warning of death, and when it’s set in an umbilical cord, it’s sent as a curse for the newborn baby.”
We’re silent until Mamba says, “And Sheena and Daisy are both pregnant.”
My heart thumps hard against my ribcage. “But he sent it to me as a warning.”
Boa shakes his head. “That is fucked up.”
“I don’t like it.” My gaze is fixed on the box. “I think we oughta have another sit-down with the Nomads before we head to the safe house tomorrow.”
“The shipment is scheduled up from Tijuana for tomorrow morning.” Cobra scrolls through his phone. “There’s no time to change it now.”
I draw in a deep breath, knowing he’s right, but hating it just the same. We can’t afford to let another shipment get hijacked, or we’ll lose our buyers.
Cobra cups my shoulder. “Don’t let this bullshit interfere with business.”
“Yeah, Cobra’s right.” Boa’s words don’t match the concern in his eyes. “Whoever did this is obviously trying to mess with you.”
Out of all of us, Boa’s the most logical. Our computer genius has a master’s degree from USC and is usually the voice of reason when the rest of us pop off, but I can’t help feeling he’s worried too.
I nail the prospect with a dark glare. “Who gave this to you?”
“Never saw him before.” Jimmy shrugs. “I was out in the lot watching over the bikes, and a guy pulls up?—”
“On a bike?”
“Nah, it was a beat-to-shit pickup truck. Rusted out, looked like it was about to fall apart.”
“And he told you to give it to me specifically?”
“Yeah, he said, ‘Give this to your VP, Joker.’”
“Was he alone? ”
“Yeah, looked to be in his thirties, Native American, and he had a wolf with red eyes tattooed on his forearm.”
“Nomads.” Cobra’s one word hung over us.
“So, it’s like Boa said,” Mamba reasons. “They’re trying to fuck with us. Freak us out.”
“But giving it to me says they know about my life.” I glance over at Daisy, unpacking the boxes with the other women, then shove the box in my pocket. “Or this kinda shit wouldn’t mean anything.”
“And right now you’re giving them exactly what they want,” Cobra said.
“You think they know we’re heading out there tomorrow?”
“No way.” Rattler shakes his head. “We’re the only ones who know about the shipment, and even Blade and Arrow don’t know what we have planned.”
“I guess.” I wouldn’t give a shit if this was aimed at just me, but bringing my family into it, especially now with Daisy pregnant, puts a whole different spin on a fucked-up situation.
Boa claps me on the shoulder. “Don’t let this bullshit get in your head, brother.”
“I seem to remember when Virginia’s big-shot LA father threatened her into giving you up, you rode out to his high-end country club.
You crashed his dinner, then basically told her old man to fuck off.
And you did it in front of all his A-list friends and golf buddies while wearing your leather and denim in a sea of plaid and pastels. ”
A huge grin covers Boa’s face. “Yeah, that was some crazy shit.”
“Enough of this hocus-pocus.” Rattler makes an eerie sound. “Halloween isn’t until Saturday.”