“She might have made cookies,” he suggests slyly.
A suspicion gnaws at me. “She told you that? Are you fuckin’ texting her?” His silence speaks volumes. “And what has she been saying? Has she been poisoning you against Toni?”
“What?” Ace sits sideways to face me. “Why would she say anything about my aunt? She’s happy that I’m going to Flagstaff to meet her again. She’s excited for me.”
At least the whore’s got the sense to address her concerns to me and not him. And anyway, it’s no fuckin’ business of hers.
“Stay the fuck away from Trixie.” I don’t want her spouting her rubbish to him. For the life of me, I don’t understand why she’s got such a downer on Toni. “She’s bad fuckin’ news.”
“No, Dad. That’s unfair.”
I drive through the gates of the club, put the truck in park, and turn to him, my brows raised. “What the fuck do you mean it’s unfair?”
“Do you really not know what she’s done for me?” Ace’s eyes are wide, and his jaw’s dropped. “She’s always been there for me when I’ve been at the club, and you’ve been called away on club business. She’s fed me, talked to me, kept me company.” He considers as he tries to think of something else, then adds with a shrug, “And she’s fixed my jacket because she knew what it meant to me.”
My brow furrows. “You’ve never complained when I’ve left you alone. You had your Xbox.” I thought he’d been happy.
“Yeah, and Trixie played my games with me. You should see her onCall of Duty.” He chuckles, obviously impressed.
Fuck, now I feel guilty. Ace has always seemed to be fine when I’ve had to leave him. If anything, I’d assumed my brothers were keeping him amused. I never realised Trixie and he had become close.
Now another worry hits me. “What about the other girls? Have they been sniffing around you?”
“Dad, no!” Ace exclaims. “They’re more interested in getting their tits out for the brothers. It’s only Trixie who’s been kind.”
And just how much has Ace seen on those occasions I’ve been called away? Brothers should know to keep it PG when he’s around. Looks like they might need a reminder.
Hopefully, the situation will resolve itself. If I persuade Toni to come live with us, then I’ll get a house built out back. He’ll have his aunt and won’t need a whore to look after him when I’ve got business to deal with.
Which reminds me of the urgency to get on the road. “Let’s get your jacket.”
He’s out of the truck fast and ahead of me, going into the clubhouse. He races into the kitchen with me following. I get there just in time to see Trixie hand him a container of what I assume are the aforementioned cookies and then give him his jacket. Checking the previous damage, he admires her handiwork in repairing it and thanks her. She hugs him, tells him to have fun, then her eyes shoot me a warning.
Sensing she’s got something to say, I spin Ace around with a hand on his shoulder. I snarl at him, “Get in the truck, kid. Else we’ll be late.” Then, when he leaves, I turn to her.
She gets in first. “Ace told me he’s going to be alone with Toni. Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
What the hell did she just say? “Stay out of this, Trixie. Stay out of my fuckin’ life. I hope to make Toni my ol’ lady, and if you can’t stop saying shit about her, I’ll have you thrown out of the club.” I point my fingers first at my eyes, then turn them toward hers.
Instead of backing down, she puts her hands on her hips. “Don’t mind me, Freak. You just mind your son.”
I’d like to teach her a lesson about how she should mind her own business, but I’m up against it timewise. There’ll be plenty of time to talk to her when I’m back from Flagstaff and the run isdone. But you can bet that she’ll soon learn to have respect when addressing an enforcer.
Back in the car, with Ace proudly wearing the denim jacket – and turning up the air conditioning to compensate as it’s far too warm in our locality – I try to put all thoughts of Trixie out of my head, and concentrate on getting to our destination fast but safely.
Ace tunes the radio to a station he likes and starts singing along. A computer wizard my son might be, but he can’t hold a tune to save his life. I start waiting hopefully, for a track that he doesn’t know, and when it comes on, relish the enforced pause in his caterwauling.
In the end, I change it to a channel playing heavy metal and rock, and then start belting out the lyrics myself. In truth, I’m probably as tone deaf as he is. That’s one thing he has inherited from my side.
Time passes slowly as the miles are gobbled up beneath my tires. I’m lucky that, except for some roadwork, there’s been no major holdups. We arrive at Toni’s at half-past six, the detour to the clubhouse having delayed me.
I exit the truck, get out Ace’s bag, and approach the woman who’s waiting for us. I don’t give a damn about raising Ace’s hopes as I pull her into my arms and give her a scorching kiss. Ignoring the applause from behind us, I ravage her mouth. When I finally release her, I see Ace’s face is split in a wide grin.
“Yeah!” He claps his hands again. “I knew you two would get together.”
With my eyes firmly fixed on Toni’s face, I address my son. “We’re going to give it a try. Isn’t that right, Toni?”
For a moment, I don’t think she’s going to answer. Then she removes the doubt her delayed reaction had caused.
