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Chapter Three

CHROME

I wasn’t a morning person at all, but Copper was fixing breakfast for the crew.

We had a hell of a weekend and now it was time to get down to business.

As head of BMG, it was on me to make sure shit ran smoothly.

Most of the time Zinc had shit under control until I was up since he was next in command.

However, the team wanted a breakfast meeting and I never missed one of those.

It was ‘bout that time for the kids to get out of school for the summer and we hadn’t planned any activities for them yet.

We were running a lil’ behind but the community was a priority we didn’t let up on.

We took this shit serious.

The White man didn’t give a fuck about us the way we did, and we had the means to make it happen.

“I spoke with the mayor. She’s ready for whatever we cook up. The graduation block party is first up on the list. I know Uncle Merc wants to highlight them for sure.” Copper was more corporate than any of us in the crew.

She was also the oldest.

I definitely looked at her like the big sister she was.

“That’s cool. Have y’all looked into the BMG Gaming Tournament? I need to add an age range. These teenagers dominating but these lil’ ones getting good on the sticks. I almost lost to my lil’ cousin the other day and he only seven.”

Litty chuckled at my response, but I was deadass serious.

Uncle Merc was raising some streamers or something over there cause his lil’ one had me ready to knock his shit back for the dub we had on the line.

I was curious to see how many more was like him.

“Not yet because the vendors hadn’t got back to me yet. I did, however, secure the park for the seniors. I got some donations and everything coming in starting next week. I think we’ll be good to go. I got the church on David St. to volunteer their tents, tables, and chairs. All we need to secure is the food and drinks. Divine Nursing will have a good time. I know they itching to get some fresh air and see anything other than them four walls they confined to.” Lead came through checking off a box on the to do list.

“Cool. Let’s eat and finish handling shit. Oh, Goldie, did the check clear for the kids bowling? I need all this shit locked in.” We filed to the table to grub while she answered.

“Calm down, Chrome. You get like this every year and every year we come through and make sure everybody straight. Me and Neon dropping off the vouchers later today to the schools. That ran us for a pretty penny,” she replied.

“How much?” I inquired grabbing the bowl of biscuits.

“Almost ten grand.”

“That’s cool. We’ll get it back when we do our annual fish fry. Say grace, Zinc.”

Everybody grabbed hands and kept quiet while Zinc took the floor.

This was a blessing.

We operated like a family but none of us were blood related other than the twins.

BMG moved as one and never strayed from loyalty.

When you saw one, you best believe another wasn’t too far behind.

Once Zinc finished, a comfortable silence surrounded us as we filled our plates with the food that covered the table.

Black Metal was at least twenty deep but only maybe ten of us congregated every day.

Most of us went to school together, church, or was from the same hood.

Close-knit and always ready to have a good time was how we operated when we wasn’t doing shit for the community.

Breakfast was handled by the women and the fellas cleaned up after them.

We might’ve been young, but this bike club was like a marriage to us in a way.

They were treated like queens ‘round these parts. My mother was the reason for that. She instilled respect in every single one of us and made sure we knew that shit went a long way and more would get done if it was always present.

Standing, I began to clear the table when the front door was bombarded by two young bucks. I wasn’t but a few years older than them myself, but they were fresh into the crew.

They were pretty much still learning the game.

I paid them no mind thinking they were just horsing around but when they both got to yelling and talking at once, I knew to put my listening ears on.

“They fuckin’ with Silvy. She was trying to take her lil’ brother to get his hair cut and they blocked her in.”

“We can’t take all them niggas, Chrome, and we think they gon’ do something to her.”

“And y’all left her there? Where the fuck she at, Cobalt?” I questioned the one who said they couldn’t take them simple minded muthafuckas.

“Downtown. Mang stayed but they like ten deep. We figured we’d just come get the crew. It’s Medieval.”

“What? BMG!” I hollered grabbing my vest and keys.

I sprinted to my shit and hopped on.

My helmet was on in seconds with me pulling off right after.

Medieval was a group of older rednecks that always went after the younger women.

They were known for shit like that.

I didn’t give a fuck about no bullshit ass traffic laws either.

A member of the crew was in danger which meant all bets of being a law-abiding citizen was off the fuckin’ table.

In my eyes, my lil’ sister was about to be beaten or worse…

raped.

I’d be damned if I had that shit on my conscience.

I knew where most of the other biker clubs hung out, so it wasn’t hard to find.

We were the only melanated crew which made us dangerous and the most feared.

A whole lot of niggas in one setting always made other muthafuckas nervous and left shaking in their boots.

I promise when it came down to BMG, they had a lot of shit to be worried about.

The sound of the bikes on the pavement going damn near a hunnid just to get to downtown would’ve made anybody get the fuck out the way.

By the time we made it downtown the streets were busy.

We stopped by Skulls first.

Skulls was a predominately White bar, but they were unproblematic.

Seeing that their lot was empty, I knew to keep moving.

Next up was Barneys.

Barneys was owned by my mother’s best friend’s father.

He allowed any and everybody in his spot.

We went over a few streets and before we could get to the spot, we came across exactly who the fuck we were looking for.

The bikes were lined up in an alley with not an ass touching the seats.

All that did was tell me Silver and Mang were in trouble.

We pulled up with the quickness and hopped off to join the party.

Them old ass rednecks didn’t know what the fuck was happening and that was how I liked it.

“Chrome! Chrome, help us please!” Silvy’s lil’ brother cried out.

What pissed me off about this entire thing was the fact that lil’ man was only fuckin’ ten.

These crackers didn’t give a fuck.

“BMG!” I called out.

“It’s a brotherhood!” the crew yelled in unison.

“Oh, that I know. I’m confused on why the fuck these Bud Light bandits fuckin’ with any of ours. What’s the problem, Bartholomew? What the fuck is a nineteen-year-old girl doing to you?” I was pissed but I had to keep my cool to make sure them muthafuckas couldn’t predict my next move.

“Lead!” Zinc called for one of the twins, but both stepped up.

Litty was his brother’s keeper.

They walked pass the Medieval crew without flinching.

Them twins was gon’ put a hot one in them before they could even blink.

Silver, her lil’ brother, and Mang were escorted to safety.

I didn’t realize I was functioning off the same breath I’d taken when I pulled up.

I felt a wave of relief when they were in our possession again.

“I could’ve sworn you was supposed to move through this bitch like Switzerland. Do me a favor though. Tell me what this say,” I said grabbing my helmet.

I moved through the crowd untouched and unbothered.

What made me different from everybody else was the fact my aunt was the police chief of Eastlake.

I could get away with damn near anything and it wasn’t shit a dumb muthafucka walking the city could do.

Holding my shit up, I waited until Bartholomew answered.

He didn’t bother to look at my helmet once.

He made sure to keep his eyes locked in on me.

That was his best bet to be honest because my blood was boiling at this point, and I was liable to do damn near anything to his bitch ass.

Being this close was a risk but I loved taking them.

I wouldn’t be the nigga I was today if I didn’t defy somebody muthafuckin’ rules.

Bartholomew’s jaws went to moving and before I knew it, tobacco was shot from his mouth to my shoes, and I couldn’t help but smile.

I loved shit like this.

Show me you ain’t scared to get down, bitch boy.

“I don’t give a fuck what it says, nigger. You and your kind aren’t welcome on the north side of Eastlake. That’s ours.”

Nodding, I gripped my helmet as tight as I could and swung on his ass hitting him dead in his shit.

My helmet went to work knocking him down inch by inch.

Just because you towered over me didn’t mean shit to me.

All it took was the right nigga to make yo’ dumbass call timber.

His crew wasn’t gon’ let him take the ass whooping but my crew did this shit for fun.

“Yeahhhhhh, this my type of party!” Zinc yelled.

I didn’t have to lay eyes on him to know his gold smile was present as he rubbed his hands together.

Beating on niggas was a thrill for him.

One thing you needed to understand was BMG didn’t fight fair.

We kept a tool on us and used it every chance we got.

It wasn’t shit to catch a charge because more than likely, Aunt Gina was gon’ get that bitch stripped anyway.

It paid to have friends in high places.

BMG ran this city, we just let dumb muthafuckas like Bartholomew live in it.

I didn’t have to worry about mine but he damn sure had to worry about his.

“Hey. Hey! If y’all don’t leave, I’m calling the police.” An unfamiliar voice was heard above all the slurs and degrading terms that were shouted from both crews.

“Call them then, bitch!” Hearing one of mine call a woman out her name made me slow down on beating cracker jack face in.

Disrespect wasn’t tolerated no matter what the situation was.

Hitting him one last time, I looked down at my handy work and tossed my shit at him.

My brand new fuckin’ helmet was covered in his blood, and I was beyond pissed.

However, I had other matters to handle.

He wasn’t going nowhere no time soon.

“Who the fuck just called her a bitch?” I questioned looking to the crew.

“Me nigga. She talking ‘bout calling twelve.” Litty was the one to speak up. Like I said, they didn’t discriminate.

“Don’t ever talk to a woman like that.

You know how the fuck I am when it comes to that shit,” I corrected him.

“Get away from my shop. I don’t need this kind of shit around my business!” she yelled again.

“We will bald head ass bitch. Damn. Give us a minute,” Litty threw back.

He wasn’t gon’ let miss ma’am talk to us crazy.

I applauded him for always having BMG back but sometimes you had to calm all that rah-rah shit down.

She was more than likely not used to this kind of shit going on.

“Look, we ‘bout to go. Our job done here, anyway.” I reached down and picked up Bartholomew’s helmet. “That was custom fuckin’ made.

I want my shit cleaned, Opie, and returned to me in the next forty-eight or I promise you the north gon’ see what us niggers can really do.

I’ll be taking this until I get mine back and you better not have no fuck ass lice.

”

“Hello. Yes, I’d like to report a disturbance. There’s like twenty men in the back of my shop in the alley fighting.” I looked at her with my head cocked to the side.

You really called them folk.

Walking over to her, I snatched the phone from her ear and threw that bitch as far as I could.

It was one thing to threaten BMG but to call them people on us brought out a different side.

I understood why she did it completely, but somebody needed to let her know the rules and regulations ‘round this muthafucka. She looked like fresh meat anyway, so I knew she didn’t have a clue.

“You new to the Lake?” I inquired.

“That was my fuckin’ phone and now I’m pressing charges for damaging of property. Get you and your ghetto ass friends the fuck away from my shop… now!”

The more I took her in the more I felt challenged.

She was older indeed but damn she was so fuckin’ pretty.

Litty didn’t lie when he called her bald-headed, either.

The pixie fade looked good on her though, and she colored that bitch blond.

It looked nice against her lighter toned skin.

Her features definitely gave you a reason to hesitate and choose your words wisely.

To make matters worse, you could see that ass from the front.

However, now wasn’t the time to be mesmerized.

“We don’t take too kind to threats, Fade. Don’t ever in yo’ life call them people on us again. You way too pretty to end up on an obituary,” I warned her.

“D-Did you just threaten me?” she asked in an appalled manner.

“That shit don’t feel good, do it? The only difference is… I meant what the fuck I said.” I stepped back and gave her a onceover before addressing my crew.

“BMG, you heard the lady. Let’s go!”

I carried Bartholomew’s helmet with me and tucked it away.

The rest of the crew saddled up and we were out that bitch.

Silvy and her lil’ brother was taken care of by the twins.

I was sure this shit was gon’ hit my father’s ears before I could make it back to the hood.

That nigga had eyes and ears everywhere.

I prepared myself for the talk as I led the crew back to the clubhouse.