Chapter 14
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
LoneStar
“LoneStar,” Booker greets me as I walk down the hallway toward the common room.
None of us have seen much of Riptide since I met with him the other day, which is starting to cause a ruckus with the men because it’s unlike our president to hole himself up in his office and not grant any of the men entrance when they come knocking.
We know he’s here, his bike is still in the lot and you can hear his voice coming through from the room, he’s just ignoring us.
“What’s up?” I ask as I stop dead in the hallway, waiting for him to catch up.
“You didn’t give me all the facts about Britton,” he lambasts me. “If you’d told me about her occupation, I could’ve started looking for traces of her under her moniker.”
I remove my cowboy hat and scratch my head. “Sorry, Booker, I thought I did. I have so much going on in my head that everything is starting to feel jumbled. Who told you?”
“Jersey did when I went to question her, needing more information because every lead I followed fell flat,” he informs me. “I had to pry it out of her because like you, she didn’t think it was important.”
“And it is?” I ask him, probing him to give me what he’s found instead of beating around the bush while scolding me for not firing on all cylinders.
“It is,” he verifies. “She has a business card under her DBA and used it to book her cabin. She’s in West Texas, but not too far from us. It’s only a three hour ride to get to her.”
“We have visual confirmation she’s there?” I ask, not wanting any miscommunication.
“No,” he says, sighing. “But she hasn’t checked out, so there’s that.”
“We can’t make guesses on this, Booker. We need to know if she’s still there or not.”
“That’s where I’ve run into trouble, LoneStar,” he advises.
“How so?” I inquire, if there’s a spool of thread found online, he’d be the one to unwind it. “What’s stalled you from finding out if she’s there or not, Booker?”
“The old biddy that runs the joint,” he mumbles.
“She’s refusing to give me any intel over the phone.
She won’t even go and do a wellness check for me.
And if I call the popo, we’ll be beholden to them to do an investigation.
With Rip not answering his door and Slayer doing his disappearing act, we’re at a standstill. ”
“What do you mean Slayer pulled a disappearing act?” I ask through gritted teeth because this is the first I’ve heard anything about that. I may not hold an officer patch, but I’m a brother and we should be in the know if one of our leaders has gone incognito.
“All I know is he got a call and hauled ass out of here. He went offline, shutting down all electronic communication, including the tracker on his bike,” Booker states.
“And that didn’t set off any alarms?” I probe, sawing my jaw. If it’s not one goddamn thing around here, it’s another and I’m being pulled in several directions which has me feeling stretched a little too thin.
“Of course it did,” he quickly defends. “Icer and Shade are on it.”
“Who put those two in charge of tracking our VP down, Booker?” I ask, knowing that’s going to blow up in our faces.
“Indiana,” he answers. “He and Icer are in charge when Riptide and Slayer aren’t.”
“No shit,” I snap, knowing how the power structure of the club works.
But like all dominoes, once the first one tips over, they all fall behind it in rapid succession.
And putting Indiana and Icer in charge on a good day is a horrifying idea.
They both act first and think later. Then to let Icer and Shade go out on their own, unsupervised?
Bad, bad, bad idea. When they’re let off their leash and given free rein, there’s no telling what sort of damage they’ll inflict.
“Listen, it wasn’t my choice to let those two go traipsing off without a handler, LoneStar. If you’re pissed at anybody, it should be directed at Indiana, Rip, or Slayer.”
“Oh, trust me, I am,” I state, fuming. “Now, I can’t head off and track Britton down because I have to stay here in case shit hits the fan.” Without a backward glance, I stomp down the hallway and fling the front door to the clubhouse open, marching across the threshold.
None of the normal tricks I use to calm myself down are working.
For the first time since I can remember, I’m livid with my brothers.
Primarily, our leaders because they’ve left us with our dicks swinging in the wind.
I’m not a freeballer, and I’m not exactly happy that I’ve been caught in a tornado of bullshit with my boxers down around my ankles.
I hear twigs breaking behind me and swing my head around to see who’s encroaching on my alone time. When I see Indiana, any control I had over my temper reforms. “Not gonna be good company right now, Indiana,” I warn him.
“Not here for your glowing personality, LoneStar,” he states as he sidles up beside me, planting his feet in the ground and crossing his arms across his chest. “Rio called, he’s been in communication with Rip, and brother, shit is not good.”
“Guessed that was the case when he locked himself in his office and refused anybody entrance,” I admit. “What can you tell me?”
“Apparently, you’re the one who started this entire fucking thing,” he accuses, giving me a glaring look. “What you told him and what you saw, has started a train wreck.”
“Not my fault she derailed from the tracks,” I say, playing off his analogue. “I didn’t get her hooked on drugs or convince her to sell them to minors, Indiana.”
“That’s not all she’s selling,” he says, snorting. “To both minors and adults.”
“Not sure why any person with eyeballs would pay to bang that bitch, but she must wear a paper sack over her head for her clients,” I banter.
“Fuck knows that’s the damn truth,” Indiana adds. “She may have a banging body, but the ugliness she has inside has leaked out and landed on her face.”
She’s not a bad looking chick, at least not until she opens her mouth and you get to see her true colors. It’s then that her pretty looks diminish and she becomes repellent. Her inner hatred ruins her outer beauty.
“Why did you track me down, Indiana?” I’m not in the right headspace to trade barbs with him.
He clears his throat before stating, “While I was talking with Rio, he let me know he has some insider information on why Slayer took off. He’s not in any danger, but we’re still going to go on a light lockdown.”
“That doesn’t sound like it’s nothing to be concerned about, brother,” I argue. “If it’s not dangerous like you’re suggesting, then what’s the reason for the light lockdown?”
“I need you to trust me, LoneStar. I know that’s not easy for you to do since I’m not giving you the facts you’re wanting, but know that I have the best interest of the club and the brothers at heart,” he contends.
“When things are hidden that’s when shit goes sideways, Indiana,” I press. “When we’re not in the know, things tend to blow up in our faces when we’re left unaware.”
“I get that, and I swear, when the time is right, you’ll know everything. Give me a chance to get everything lined up first, there are still things I’m trying to figure out. I can’t in good conscience give you half facts because that’ll leave you more confused than you are now.”
“I’ll have to take your word for it, but I’m not happy about it, I want that to be crystal clear,” I tell him, making my point known.
“I won’t keep you in suspense for long, LoneStar. I need to make a few more phone calls then I’ll be ready to share what I know,” he promises.
I shake my head, disappointed. It’s starting to feel like there are secrets and those are never a good thing to have between brothers. Especially when we hold each other’s lives in our hands. You need to have unwavering trust in each other when you’re at war, and that’s exactly what we are.
Indiana calls a church session and only so many of us have been invited to attend. “What’s up with the skeleton crew?” I ask him as I take a seat to the right of him.
“Because what we’re going to discuss is invasive and personal to Slayer,” he informs me. “It’s not something he would want everyone to know and I’m respecting that,” he relays.
I bark out laughter before telling him, “Yeah, some of the brothers gossip worse than hens in a barnyard. But if it’s personal, why are we being told?”
“I’m telling you select few men because you’re on the approved list Rip gave me,” he supplies. “Soon, you’ll understand.”
“Okay,” I respond, drawing the word out. “But are we on Slayer’s?”
“I wouldn’t be putting his personal life out there if you weren’t,” he informs me. “I wouldn’t break his trust otherwise.”
Now that, I believe. He may have his secrets, but Indiana is honorable if nothing else. “You’re finally gonna tell us what’s going on, huh?”
“Now that I’ve had my questions answered, yeah, I am,” he states.
When the table is full of the men he asked to join us, the room grows quiet and all eyes settle on him. “Spit it out, Indiana,” Icer gnarls. “I’ve got a wayward VP to track down and don’t have time for us to yap our jaws.”
“Good to know your vocabulary has expanded,” Indiana goads.
I jab him in the ribs with my elbow to get him to shut the hell up. It’s best not to poke the bear when he’s wound up.
“How many of you know about Slayer and his background? More specifically, his family?” Indiana asks. We all shake our heads in the negative because the way Slayer’s made it seem, he doesn’t have any family still living.
“There’s something that he’s held close because he didn’t want it to catch our enemies’ attention.
He didn’t want it to become a weakness that could be used against him.
He has a brother, a blood brother with special needs.
He’s had him stashed in a facility, under a disguised name.
His sibling, Boston, has got the mentality of a twelve year old in a twenty three year old man’s body.
Boston is an amazing kid, but he’s innocent and naive.
But something happened at the joint that had Slayer flying out of here. ”
“Without backup,” I sneer.
“Without backup,” Indiana reiterates. “Which tells me that whatever happened there, isn’t good.
I want to tell you all about it because according to Rio, who’s the only one Slayer’s been in contact with, we’re going to have a new housemate.
And when Boston gets here, I want us, the men in this room, to rally around our brother and his. ”
“That goes without saying,” Icer booms out. “What is it about this situation that has you gathering only a few of us?”
“Because Boston has no filter and I may need y’all to step up and between him and a few of the brothers when he speaks what’s on his mind,” Indiana remarks.
He goes on to give us a little more background on Boston, and by the time he’s done, I’m already feeling protective of our newfound little brother.