“Kitten, what’s going on? Who we killing, and how many body bags we bringing?” Flint asks as he catches his girl and grabs her arm to spin her around and face him.
“You ain’t killing anyone. That asshole is all mine. Goddamn bastard left my girl on the side of the road ’cause she wouldn’t put out. Fuck that shit. Only reason why I’m the one killing him and not Bailey is ’cause I got a yard to bury the fucker in.”
“Wait, that was Bailey?”
Of course Ruby would stick her nose into this shit. She might not be an old lady, but she runs this place like she’s head bitch some days.
“Yeah. That asshole she was seeing just proved that he reallyisan asshole, and not just because I didn’t like how he saw the club.”
“Well, you ain’t doing it alone, girl. That bitch of yours is my kind of woman. You go, I go.” Ruby nods.
I roll my eyes at her. At them all, really. No one is thinking clearly. Especially Ruby.
“Might want to check the head wound. I doubt you’d do much damage even if you were given a shot,” I say as I rub my forehead with my middle finger. The crazy woman is mad at me for it. Doesn’t make sense. I save her life, she falls andbumps her head in the process, and it’s my fault? What-the-fuck-ever.
“Fuck you very much. I’ve been putting men in their place since I was fourteen and grew boobs. Didn’t need Daddy and the club to fuck them up when they got too handsy, and I sure as shit don’t need either now. Believe it or not, I know how to cut a man’s dick off and get away with it. It ain’t my first rodeo.”
“What?” Law growls as he pushes past me and the rest of the boys.
I don’t move. I can’t. My body is locked down on her words.
She rolls her eyes. “We’ll talk about it later. I handled it. Mom knew, even helped, so don’t get all protective over shit that’s in the past. Just know I ain’t as weak as you like to assume I am ’cause I only show you the side you want to see. The doting daughter and all that shit. But remember, I came from you and Mom. Special K had a special way she did shit, and she taught me well.”
“Fucking hell.” Prez grabs his daughter and pulls her in tight.
If she hid that from her old man, what else is she hiding?
I turn and walk away. Don’t need to hear anything else; I got enough. I know the boss would expect me to deal with it. Even if Ruby thinks she took care of it, it ain’t over. I just didn’t expect the amount of rage that went through me at hearing her talk. I knew that despite everything, I got close to her. I ain’t nonfeeling like so many think. I can’t just shut it off. I shut it down, so no one sees, but I get attached like anyone does on a job. And that’s what Ruby is—a job. OneI’ve been on for what feels like decades. I’ve learned things about her that I doubt others know. That she likes pickled chips and not salt and vinegar ones. That she likes olives in her margaritas thanks to Mama Bear teaching her that. She rags on nerds but is a closet Star Wars nut with a Lego collection that rivals some men’s baseball card collections. And she’s a gamer with some serious skills on the keyboard. She has layers.
And despite her saying she handled it, she’s still feeling what happened to her when she was a child. A fucking child. If her mom helped, that means she was well. Meaning all this shit went down before Ruby was fifteen. I don’t care how old the guy was. He could have been her same age, older, younger, doesn’t matter. I plan to find him and fuck him up so that he ain’t breathing when I’m done.
You might think it’s impossible to find a guy like that after so long. That shit happens, and it’s possible. For most people who don’t have a name, sure, it would be downright impossible. And I don’t have a name. Got nothing but what she said. She cut off his dick. Not many of those show up at a hospital. Fewer properly reported. So that’s my starting point. I already know where Ruby was when she was a kid. It’s my job to know about her past life so I can protect her future.
I slide onto my bike, back her out, and head to my place. It’s not much. To those who pass by, it looks like a storage room off the side of a strip mall. But once you enter the code to unlock the door, you’re greeted with a set of stairs that go down. Nothing big, but it’s loaded withsome food, a bed, and a TV to keep life from being too boring, along with a small arsenal and my security system. I have eight monitors running. Law doesn’t ask me how I keep track of hisgirl, and I don’t tell him. But I know my way around computers enough to do what I do. Not enough to cover the ground Gator and Flint do, but I hold my own. They don’t even know what I’ve got down here. I built this system for myself. I have a small third-party team that I use to track things further if I need to go that deep. It’s a group of guys I knew from back in the service. We all left for greener pastures—I went biker, they went dark web. We stay out of each other’s way, but we’ve all got enough favors to call in on one another to keep things professional between us.
I go to the only screen that I keep off and power it on. While it takes a second, I grab a beer from the fridge, twist the cap off, and throw it across the room into the trash can I keep in the corner. Taking a long pull, I sit and wait. This system is linked only to my group of people. I don’t keep it online or active for a reason. But when it’s on, I know it’s only a matter of time before someone notices and reaches out.
And just as expected, Brantly types first.
What’s the job?
No job. Just information.
But I want a job.
Of course he does. No one wants to just be a paper pusher. A job means getting your hands dirty. But for this one, I plan to be the one to experience that joy.
Next time.Not sure if I even believe that, but I said it, and now I’ve got to stick with it.
Another thing that we make sure happens in this group: Once it’s said, it’sa done deal. No backing out. Ever.
What do you need?
I don’t question how any of the boys get information, just like they don’t question me. I could do it, but I already know my time is limited in my space. The beeping of a text coming in from Law confirms that.
I tell Brantly what I want and then power off. I’ll be back in a day or so and get it from him then.
I check the feeds on Ruby’s place, making sure no unwanted guests or landlords have stopped by while she’s out. Nothing but the damn roommate who seems to do nothing but read. Boring.
