This is a legitimate concern. Rock knows I’ll recognize it as one.
“Yeah, I get what you’re laying down, pops. If you want us to take that territory, you know I’m down for whatever it takes. You’ve never gotten any pushback from me before on club business. There ain’t no need to make a trip all the way to town to talk to me about it personally.”
“Yes, there is, son.”
I thump my hand down on the desk to make my point and say, “Hell no, there isn’t. I know you and ma were never wild about me opening my own business in town. But you’re actin’ like I’m trying to pull away from club life and that couldn’t be further from the truth.”
Jasper’s fun-loving expression drops away in an instant. His voice is hard when he speaks, “Look, Mica. That’s not what we’re saying.”
“No, you look, Jas. I’ve shown up for every club meeting, take club problems seriously, keep the books and even fuck an occasional club whore. I’m a patched member and a club officer just like you. Just tell me what the play is, and I’ll be there giving my all just like I always have.”
Jasper opens his mouth but Rock cuts him off. “I’m fuckin’ glad to hear that you’re up for whatever it takes. Vulture’s granddaughter needs to get married in order to inherit everything he built over the years. He left it all to her but only if she’s married. Otherwise, she has to wait a decade to get it.”
I look at him.
He looks back at me.
“Again, what does his granddaughter needing a husband have to do with me?” I ask, already knowing where this is going.
“You’re my smartest son. Don’t start pretending to be thick in the head now.”
“I’m not pretending to be thick. I just don’t see what us beating back the other clubs and taking that territory has to do with Vulture’s granddaughter. Territory is not something that’s conveyed upon a person’s death, like a house or business. Territory just means a club can operate in that area.”
Rock explains, “That might be true but if you marry his granddaughter, she can receive her inheritance immediately. Why fight and perhaps lose lives when we can make a case to the regional council to give us the territory.”
“Again, they won’t see me being married to the granddaughter as adding anything to the deal.”
Rock’s voice grows annoyed. “Yes, they will. Vulture didn’t start the same kinds of business as we did. We’ve got a garage, salvage yard, and auto parts store. Nobody’s gonna notice or complain if those types of businesses close up shop. Folks will just go to the next town over and shop. Vulture’s businesses are critical to the survival of the region.”
“What the hell kind of business could he have built that would sway the council in our favor?”
“He owns a trucking company that delivers food from wholesalers to stores. About thirty percent of the regional supply chain depends upon that business to keep food in stores and restaurants.”
I lean back in my chair because my old man’s not wrong about this being part of the region’s critical infrastructure. “Vulture found a way to make himself indispensable.”
Another piece snaps into place in my mind. “He also owned Vulture’s Custom Choppers. They’re famous statewide and even draw much needed tourist dollars to his town.”
Rock nods, his expression showing relief that I understood what he was driving at.
Jasper adds, his voice serious, “We got the men to stave off any fuckin’ challenge that comes our way. If you were related to Vulture’s only heir by marriage, it would make sense for us to protect those businesses, especially if we were given the territory.”
Suddenly, it makes sense why they came to see me today. “And I’m the only Sons of Rage club officer who’s not already married, right?”
Jasper jokes, “I asked my old lady about taking a second wife and she threw my breakfast at me.”
“She’s twenty,” Rock says. “Her uncle called me with an offer for an arranged marriage. He asked for you by name, clarified he wanted the accountant. He told me Vulture’s granddaughter has been running the delivery service since Vulture died. He said she was doing a good job. But she’s also taking night classes in business management. The two of you sound like a good match on paper.”
“This situation only works for me if the marriage is just on paper as well. Both of us going to college is not enough to build a relationship on. You know that, right?”
My old man says roughly, “This is an arranged marriage, not a fake one. If she divorces you, it’ll be because you were a shit husband.”
That gets my ire up. “Then how about you find someone else. What about Jinx? He ain’t married. Get him to do it.”
“Jinx isn’t my son. Her uncle trusts our family, not every brother in the club.”
“I said no. I’m not taking some twenty-year-old to raise in the guise of marrying her.”
“Her uncle is determined to see her fitted with a husband strong enough to maintain stability in the region and keep those trucks movin’. If you refuse, his second choice is the president of Ironbound.”
