Chapter 16
Sixteen
I press a kiss to Rebel’s head and get up. “Dad sent a message about a meeting at eight, so I’m going downstairs. Let the girls have their evening ritual.” I wiggle my eyebrows and Rebel laughs.
“We don’t have a ritual, silly.” She wrinkles her nose.
My mouth drops open, as if in shock, and I put my hand on my chest. “You don’t? I was under the impression you put on face masks and all that girlie sh—stuff before you went to sleep.”
Rebel’s eyes twinkle. “Nope.”
“But I am really going downstairs, though. Have fun with your mom, Shorts. I’ll see you tomorrow.” With a wink, I walk to the apartment door.
“Hey,” Layne says softly as I pass her. “Are you going to be gone for long?” There’s a strange look in her eyes and I’m not quite sure what to make of it.
“Don’t know, baby. I have a key, so if you want to lock the door it’s no problem.” I give a slight, reassuring smile and wait for her to answer.
Layne’s mouth opens, but shuts just as quickly. Then she nods and turns to Rebel. That’s my cue to go downstairs.
I bound down the stairs, two at a time, and stroll into the bar. There, I take a seat.
“A beer,” I mutter to West, our prospect.
Without saying anything, he starts to work and a few moments later a pint is in front of me.
I take a sip and set the glass back on the counter.
With my hand still clasped around it, I stare into the white foam as if I can find all the answers to life there.
I need a solution regarding Layne; her staying in my apartment is messing with my head.
Suddenly Pax punches me against my shoulder. “Chapel in fifteen minutes.” He slides onto a stool next to me. “All this shit Layne got us into, that you got us into, makes us have to figure out how to get back out of it.”
“We didn’t get the club into anything, jerk. You know that very well. I saved her from those bastards who wanted to kidnap her. You were there yourself, what the fuck you want?”
My little brother makes a disdainful noise. “Yeah, sure. I was there.”
“What, Pax? What’s the problem?” I let go of my glass, fearing I might crush it otherwise.
“You should’ve just left her alone, like I’ve been saying all along. Not that you ever listen to me, but you could’ve at least said, Gee Pax, I don’t think I’m going to do that, so prepare for a lot of shit. Get it?”
“No, I really don’t.”
“I’d just appreciate it if you were fucking honest with me,” he spits out.
I meet his dark brown eyes, identical to my father’s. “I never lied to you, man.” Externally, I’m unnervingly tranquil, yet internally, my blood is boiling.
He raises his eyebrow. “Is she a good fuck, Ky?”
Without thinking, I punch him.
He jumps off his stool. A colorful rainbow of swear words comes out of his mouth, then he wipes the blood from his lip with the back of his hand. “Fucking bastard.”
“Nice of you to say that to yourself. Then I won’t have to.” If looks could kill, that punch would be the last thing my stupid little brother would have to worry about.
“Damn it, Ky.”
I stand up and grab him by the collar of his shirt. Slowly I pull him toward me, my nose against his. “No, little brother. You need to learn to shut the fuck up. Even if I fucked her, it’s still none of your business whether or not it’s good.”
“Kyler, let him the fuck go.”
When I hear my father’s voice I stiffen, but I don’t let go of my brother. Instead, I look over my shoulder at the older version of me with Pax’s eyes.
“Or else?” I challenge Dad.
“Or else I’ll make you let go of him.” He steps closer and puts his hand on my shoulder.
I growl. “He needs to learn to watch his words.”
Dad raises an eyebrow. “Why’d you think I let you take care of business?” He shifts his gaze to Pax, whom I finally release. “He could never shut up when he needed to, and I don’t think he’s learned that yet.”
“That’s bullshit, Dad,” Pax sulks.
The prez pulls a disapproving face and sits down on the stool where Pax sat earlier. “If it’s bullshit, then I wonder why I just heard you ask Kyler if Layne is a good fuck.” My little brother doesn’t answer. “If you ever ask me that shit, a punch isn’t the only answer, Paxton.”
Pax hums quietly, saying nothing. The chances of him asking my dad if Mom is a good fuck are zero to none. Nobody wants to know that shit about his parents.
Once Dad has his whiskey, he indicates to the back room, the chapel, where the large conference table is located.
“You fetch everyone,” I tell Pax and follow Dad to the table.
I sit down to my father’s right, in my regular spot.
My dad looks at the door and turns to me before anyone has entered. “Kyler, this is about something Pax found out. If you don’t stay calm, you’ll be kicked out. Personal shit needs to be left at the door. Understood?”
Nodding, I lean back. “Do you know what he found out?”
Dad shakes his head. “Not all the details.”
One by one, the club members enter. Several are talking about a new motorcycle presented yesterday, two more are talking about tomorrow’s departure time for the run to pick up a new load of coke.
Brooks plops down next to me and nods to my father, Pax sits across from me and so the table continues to fill.
With the final person inside and the door shut, Dad slams his gavel on the table. He nods to Pax.
“Pax researched Koslov’s project, which Hayes did the finances for.” Then he turns to his youngest son and my little brother starts.
“It involved three office buildings and two retail properties. Nothing special about the properties and the finances all look legal as well. All neatly by the book.”
Josh leans across the table toward him. “Who gave you that information?”
“I know a guy who works for Koslov,” Pax replies.
Nodding, Josh leans back again. “I assume you can trust that person one hundred percent.”
He’s right. If he gave us false information, we’re screwed because if Koslov finds out we’re asking around about his business, he’ll come knocking. We need to be sure about this.
I fix my gaze on Pax. “One hundred percent?”
While rolling his eyes, my little brother turns his chair. “That guy was a classmate of mine.”
“That doesn’t say shit about his loyalty to the club. If it doesn’t check out, we have a problem.”
Pax leans toward me across the table. “And who the fuck caused that fucking problem?”
My father slams his fist on the table. “Watch your damn mouth.” He points at Pax. “Your brother’s right. If the info doesn’t check out, we’re screwed. You stick your neck out for this 'classmate'?”
With an arrogant look at me, he says, “Yup. He owes me.”
“Fingers crossed you’re right, or you’re toast,” I mutter quietly.
Paxton pales slightly. Maybe he’s not so sure after all. Regardless, it bothers me, even though I should be able to trust him completely.
“Ballistic,” Dad suddenly says and my best friend sits up straighter. “Aren’t you familiar with Koslov’s son?”
“Yeah, Vigo,” Brooks replies with a nod.
“Can you get in touch with him and trust him? Or with Viktor himself?” Dad raises his eyebrows.
It’s abundantly clear what he’s thinking and not saying out loud: he doesn’t trust Pax’s source.
Brooks seems to think for a moment, then turns his gaze to me. “Remember in tenth grade? That drug raid?”
“Oh, I remember like it was yesterday.” The police raided our school.
They turned all the lockers inside out. Brooks and I thought it concerned the MC, and we were convinced they would find our weed.
At school, that was the biggest offense we could commit, because my dad had warned me not to do stupid things there.
That’s not the place, he always said. That’s where you learn about everyday life. You can learn everything else at home.
We were fucking shocked when they opened Vigo’s locker and thousands of dollars’ worth of pills fell out. Apparently, he dealt in XTC, and his dad was far from thrilled about the whole thing, to say the least. The police investigated his organization for over a year.
I nod. After that, Vigo hung out with us a lot. His father apparently suggested he learn from the MC guys.
“We can trust him,” I say.
“Go talk to him. Anyone else have any comments? Additions? Suggestions?”
Pax sputters. “Seriously? Why isn’t my info enough?”
“Your info is a great start, Paxton. But we can’t rely on one informant’s information. We have to tread carefully in this case, and if we make even a minor fucking mistake, it could get someone killed. So no, we will not act on the statement of one informant. That would be stupid.”
Everyone else nods. “Aye” is said in turn, and so my father bangs the gavel on the table to end the meeting.
I walk out with Brooks.
“Do you still have his number?” I ask him.
He sits down next to me on the low wall in front of the clubhouse and fishes his phone out of his pocket. After some tapping, he scrolls. It takes a few minutes before he presses the device to his ear.
“Paisley here. Kyler and I have some questions for you and your dad.” For a moment, there’s only silence. “Business. Nothing exciting. Yeah, exactly.” He rubs his chin thoughtfully. “In an hour at Club V. See you there.”
The cell phone disappears back into his pocket and he grabs my cigarette, from which he takes a drag before handing it back. “You heard it. I’ll give Jen a call that I’ll be late.”
Nodding, I stomp out the cigarette and pull my cell phone out of my pocket. I just get a hold of it when Pax appears in front of me.
I give him a bored look. “What do you want?”
“I asked Josh if he could request and review Infinity’s accounts.” He stares at his shoes. “I’ll check with Carly tonight and get them to him.”
I give him a few pats against his cheek. “Sounds good. Curious to see if anything comes from it.” I take a step to pass him.
“Ky?”
I turn to my little brother.
“I just don’t want…”
I nod, “I know. You’re trying to do what’s right for the club.”
“So things are good between us?” His eyebrow goes up.
“Fuck’s sake, what are you thinking? You’re my little brother. If I expect anyone to stand up to me, it’s you, asshole.”
I don’t elaborate on my thoughts about his informant. That will be taken care of.
With a nod at him, I open a text thread with Layne on my phone and start typing.