“Okay. Well, my wife told me to come out here and let you know she’s almost done with dessert so you wouldn’t try to leave too soon.”
Chuckling, I nodded. “I can stay a while longer. I don’t have any other plans for the day.”
“Good. We’ve enjoyed having you here.”
“And I’ve enjoyed being here. It’s . . . nice being around a complete family for a change.”
My eyes watered and I looked away. Moments like this really made me miss my father.
“You’re a part of our family now,” he assured me softly, “and I’m always here if you need to talk.”
He caught my tear before it could slide down my cheek and wiped it away.
“Something happened,” I blurted, avoiding his eyes as I gripped the bench. “My mom doesn’t want me to tell Wicked.”
I saw his father smile out of the corner of my eye. “Good thing she didn’t tell you not to tell me. What is it, baby girl?”
“The Outlaws are trying to muscle her into giving them ten percent of her profit every month and letting them have meetups at the restaurant.”
I looked over at him as he grimaced. “And she doesn’t want Wicked to help her with that?” My head shook. “Why not?”
“She has that outdated belief that all motorcycle clubs are dangerous. She thinks he’s violent and someone I should stay away from.”
A quiet chuckle escaped him as he crossed his arms over his chest. “So . . . because my son defended your honor, that’s a bad thing to her?”
I nodded sadly. “Her and my godfather are grateful for what Wicked did. It’s just the way he did it. They act like he’s a serial killer or something. I think she’s just scared that he has a temper and being attached to him will get me into trouble.”
“I can understand a parent having fears and reservations. Hell, I didn’t want Wicked going after you when he first got out because I knew tensions were already high with The Outlaws and that would just make it worse. I knew Hamilton would be like a dog with a bone if he ever saw the two of you together, because it would be a physical reminder of what happened to his nephew.”
“And that’s the crazy part,” I said. “He knows what Mario did was wrong, yet he still wants to make Wicked pay.”
“That’s loyalty. I can respect that. That’s why when he comes . . . we’ll be ready. Do you want me to handle that situation? I can get them to stand down.”
“I’m not sure. Of course I want to say yes, but if that means there’s a chance violence will be the result of you reaching out to them, I don’t want to be responsible for that.”
“I hear you, but like my son, I can’t know that you need help and not offer it. That’s not how we are. I’ll set up a meeting with Hamilton, president to vice president. We’ll see what we can do.”
Twisting my mouth to the side, I released a shaky breath. “Thank you, Mr. Whitaker. Hopefully you two can come to an agreement and end this war, but I’m sure that probably won’t be the case huh?”
Whitaker chuckled as his eyes shifted toward Wicked holding his fishing pole up to show us the dangling fish he’d caught.
“Nah, baby girl. I don’t think a man with Hamilton’s ego will give in that easily. However . . . if he will agree to sit down with me, that may give me a chance to see what exactly he wants other than my son’s head on a platter.”
Me and Pops were deadlocked. I couldn’t believe he’d taken a meeting with Hamilton without me. As angry as I was, I appreciated him doing it for Jelai and her mom, regardless of how Diane felt about me. Knowing that Jelai felt safe enough to be honest with him after her mom told her not to talk to me about the situation with The Outlaws made me feel good. I still felt like he was an irresponsible child who made a horrible choice without letting me know what was up.
“What were you thinking meeting him alone?” I scolded through gritted teeth. “Anything could have happened. It could have been an ambush and no one would have known what happened to you.”
“I ain’t new to this, Son. I’m true to this shit. I made sure I called all the shots, selected the meeting space, and was there early enough to ensure he came alone. I picked a place that would search him for weapons upon arrival, so I knew I’d be good.”
Sighing, I shook my head and my leg. “So what happened?”
“He basically stood firm on the fact that we can’t come to an agreement and have peace unless we have to join forces for some reason. And seeing as The Ridahs would never be a threat to either of us, I don’t see us having to come together for anything. We have no common ground, and the only morals we have in common is our loyalty to one another and unwillingness to tolerate disrespect. I did get him to agree not to bring Southern Delightz into this. He was really doing that to taunt Jelai, and in turn, lure you out. So I’m glad she didn’t tell you, because your hot headed ass would have taken the bait.”
“So what now?” I questioned.
“In exchange for him not bothering Diane, I agreed to let The Outlaws use our old clubhouse. Apparently, their clubhouse was mold infested and causing a lot of their members health issues, so they had to shut it down. That’s why they’ve been at that arcade and the restaurant. With me giving him the clubhouse, that’s giving us a temporary truce. So the original agreement stands. As long as we don’t bother them, they won’t bother us, but the moment shit hits the fan, we’re going for blood.”
That gave me a little relief. “That’s good enough for me to not have to worry about Jelai so much. As long as they stay on their side of town and we stay in our territory, we’ll be good.”
