Page 13

Rebel

B efore she could answer, my phone rang. It was Hacker. He sounded serious and somber when he spoke. “I have something that I think you might want to see.”

“I’m with Lacey and her family right now.”

“I don’t think you’ll want to hold off on this.” There was a short pause before he said, “Seriously brother, get your ass to the clubhouse right away.”

Standing there with my phone to my ear, warning signs were going off all over the place in my mind. “Sure thing, Hacker. Gimme twenty minutes and I’ll be there.”

“Trust me, you won’t regret it, Rebel.”

“I do trust you and I’ll be there ASAP.”

“The club officers will be waiting in Storm’s office.”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. As soon as the screen went black, I looked at Lacey. She asked curiously, “What was that all about?”

“Our IT guy just called me into a meeting with our club officers. He said to drop everything and get to the clubhouse. I don’t know what’s going on but I’m going to go see. Sorry I can’t stay longer.”

I had noticed that during my call, the smile had fallen off her face and her expression had turned worried. “Alright, if that’s what you think is best, get to the clubhouse and find out what’s going on. We can take that nice long ride you mentioned anytime.”

“Great, I’ll call you later when I’ve taken care of whatever just popped off.”

I leaned down and gave her a quick kiss before rushing out and getting on my bike.

All the way to the clubhouse, I worried about what the big emergency was. Thoughts ran through my head wondering if a new club or gang was infringing on our territory, whether one of us had been jumped, or if we’d received negative attention from the law in some way. My worry motivated me to get there in record time. I parked up my bike and stalked back to Storm’s office, ready for anything.

Sure enough, all the club officers were there. There was Storm, Breaker, Grit, and Celt. I jerked my chin at Storm. “What’s up, boss? Do we have another gang trying to move into Griffinsford?”

“No, but that’s a good guess. We need to stay vigilant in that regard, especially with the break-ins. The reason we called you here is because Hacker dug up some information on Lacey that might be important.”

I dropped down in the free seat in front of his desk. “You got an idea who broke into the office? I’d love to get my hands on whatever punk did that.”

It was Hacker who spoke up, “Nope, but I found a couple of things, both pretty bad but one you’re gonna want to handle face-to-face.”

I gestured with one hand, “Lay it on me. I’m in a mood to kick some ass.”

“The first thing I discovered was some beef with Lacey’s mom. Her best friend is totally off her rocker. She’s been spreading vicious rumors and from the sound of it she’s got the hots for Lacey’s old man.”

I rubbed my chin as I turned his words over in my mind. “Is this the big emergency? I can’t see an elderly lady breaking into her parents’ office, much less engaging in that much destruction of property.”

Hacker frowned at me. “She talks about her grandson making people sit up and pay attention when she talks. He’s a petty criminal with delusions of grandeur and a history of fire starting.”

I bolted forward in my chair. “Okay, I get it. What you’re saying is she might have gotten him to do her dirty work for her and we need to suss out what’s going on, before he decides to torch the place.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much what I’m saying. The best friend seems like a nasty piece of work, who is way too used to getting her own way.”

“You said there were two situations. What’s the other one.”

Storm spoke up. “This is the one you’re gonna want to investigate immediately. And the one we’re gonna have to hold you back from turning into a vegetable. Seems she’s got an asshole ex.”

I sighed, “Just tell it to me straight, Prez.”

He glanced over at Hacker who said, “Take a look for yourself brother, just sending you the info now.”

I pulled out my phone and scrolled through the stuff he sent me, getting angrier with everything that I saw. The piece of shit had been posting naked photos of her in a group chat and saying all kinds of crap. Granted this had happened a few years ago, but the asshole’s days were numbered.

Hacker explained, “After we found this shit, we started to get concerned that if he was capable of something like this, he might be pissed that she came back to Griffinsford and instead of looking him up, she’s been seen around town with you. Also, from other aspects of his life this man seems like a grudge holder. It’s a bad combination if you ask me.”

By the time I got to the last page, I was vibrating with rage. “Who in the fuck does this little prick think he is?”

Hacker responded, “You know as well as I, that some people are just garbage.”

“Well, this one is soon-to-be-dead garbage,” I told him.

Storm snorted a laugh. “No way. He deserves to suck his food through a fucking straw and walk with a limp, but no fuckin’ killing him.”

I came to my feet. “The day’s still young. We’ll have to see.”

Celt jumped up, “I say we pulverize the feckin’ bastard.”

Everybody knew the Irishman was overly protective of women because his old lady’s ex was a domestic abuser. I jerked my chin in agreement, knowing if there was one man in this room that thought a dirt nap was a good idea, it was Celt.

Storm looked at his watch. “It’s almost three now. Let’s gear up and start with the ex-boyfriend. Then we’ll have a little chat with the old lady and her asshole grandson, the pyromaniac.”

***

Storm, Celt, Grit, and I set out together, following the GPS to Lacey’s ex’s apartment. I could not wait to get my hands around this prick’s neck. And the worst part would be having to tell Lacey what he’d done. Fuck this asshole and all his asshole friends. I couldn’t imagine how he could have done something like this behind her back while smiling and acting like the perfect fucking boyfriend to her face. Setting his ass straight was going to be a fucking honor.

We parked up behind his condo in the visitor spaces and went in two at a time, leaving Grit to look out for the cops and guard our bikes. As Celt and I walked through the parking lot, he muttered. “Our chances are good. The asshole’s car was parked out front.”

I shot him a feral smile.

He gave me a shove, “Don’t smile at me like that. It looks weird on your face.”

“Fuck off,” I muttered under my breath, knowing he was just joking around.

We stood on either side of his door so he couldn’t catch sight of us through the peephole and I rang the doorbell. After the fourth ring, he pulled the door open. “What the fuck? If someone doesn’t answer by the third ring, it means they don’t fucking want to be disturbed.”

The asshole was standing there in his underwear and a t-shirt, eating a bowl of cereal. I slapped the bowl out of his hand and pushed him back through the doorway, following him in. “Too damn bad about not being in the mood for company. We’re gonna have a little talk anyway.”

“What the fuck? Get out of my house.”

I shoved him back again, almost making him lose his footing. “This ain’t a house. It’s an apartment.”

“Condos are considered houses, dude.”

I glanced over my shoulder as Storm slipped through the cracked door Celt held open with his boot.

“What’s this about?”

“You’re Rudy Mandel.”

“Maybe,’ he replied.

“I’m not asking,” I told him in no uncertain terms.

He backed up a few paces, glancing suspiciously at each of us.

“I never had any contact with the Dark Slayers, I couldn’t have done anything to piss you off. Why did you force your way into my home?”

Although he was trying to sound calm, there was an element of fear in his voice. Rudy was a puny little fucker, his waist about the size of one of my biceps. I didn’t know whether we had caught him on a bad day, or he just had hygiene problems. Looking him up and down, I shook my head, unable to imagine what Lacey ever saw in this man.

Storm spoke up. “He wants to know why we’re here. Get on with it, brother, or I will.”

I took a menacing step forward. “To be honest, I came to mess you up because of what you did to Lacey Livingstone.”

He looked shocked at the mention of her name, “Lacey fucking Livingstone? Whatever that bitch told you, it’s not true.”

My hand came out and slapped him across the face hard enough to knock him to the ground. “Here’s how this is going to go down moving forward. Every time you say something shitty about my woman, I’m gonna break one of your fingers. Every time you lie about what you did to her, I’m gonna punch you in the face. Are we clear?”

He put the palm of his hand under his chin and wiggled his jaw back and forth.

I knelt down in front of him. “In general, stupid fuckers like you answer me back when I ask a fucking question.” There was a brief pause as we stared each other in the eye. I asked quietly, “Do you understand what’s going on here?”

He nodded. “Yeah, you think I did something to Lacey and you’re out for revenge.”

I deadpanned, “I don’t think you did something to her. I know you did. Best thing you could do is stop trying to lie about it.”

He frowned. “What do you want from me? What would it take to make all this stop? Do you want money? I’ve got lots of it.”

Tilting my head to the side, I looked at him with new eyes. “Is this what jackasses like you do when faced with the consequences of your own actions? You lie and then try to bribe your way out trouble.”

He nodded, “It’s human nature to avoid pain.”

“Not in my world. If I fuck up, I stand up and face the consequences like a man. You’ve got a scared little boy mentality, and it shows.”

“Just tell me what you want from me and let’s get this over with.”

I reached out, grabbed his shirt, and hauled him to his feet. “What in the fuck were you thinking by taking nude pictures of Lacey and sharing them with your shitty friends?”

“She told me it was okay, and her body was nothing to be ashamed of. Lacey was open that way.”

This fucker was not a good liar. Most of the photos looked like they’d been taken without her knowledge. I pulled my arm back and hit him in the face. I heard a sickening crunch as his hands flew to his nose. Storm picked up a pillow off his sofa and threw it at him. Glancing at me, he stated grimly, “Why do they always lie?”

“Because men who do shit like this have no integrity.”

I motioned for Rudy to get up. “Stand the fuck up. I’m not gonna keep picking you up all afternoon.”

He got to his feet wiping his bleeding nose on his arm.

“Try again, asshole. What made you think doing that was okay?”

“I was just proud of being with such a beautiful woman and I wanted to show her off. She never knew, so I didn’t see the harm.”

I punched him again and he staggered back several paces and fell against the wall.

“That’s for lying, yet again. You shared it in your stupid little group and said some pretty damn insulting things about her. She was nice enough to have sex with you because, for some reason, she cared about you, and you called her a whore who was unfit to be marriage material.”

His expression grew weary. “I kind of remember saying something like that. I was young and dumb.”

I reached out and smacked him again, not putting as much effort into it.

Celt commented, “It’s smart to pace yourself, brother, ‘cause I don’t think this asshole is gonna stop trying to lie his way out of trouble with you.”

I glanced back at him. “That’s how it seems.”

Turning back to Rudy, I told him, “The reason I know that last statement you made was bullshit is because our IT guy found evidence that you’ve been doing shit like this with just about every woman you have dated. That tells me you’re a misogynistic asshole who likes to humiliate women for kicks. You think it makes you look cool to your asshole friends.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m flawed that way. The shit I said and the images I shared never left the group. Now that you’ve explained it so thoroughly, I see it was a shitty thing to do. What do you want me to do, apologize?”

“I don’t want you anywhere near my woman. I’m gonna get justice for Lacey by tuning you up today and you’re going to write her a letter admitting what you did and making the sincerest apology of your fucking lifetime.”

He held his hands up in a placating gesture. “Alright, man. Whatever you want, I’ll do it.”

Storm spoke up, “We also want to know where you were four days ago.”

My head snapped around to look at my club president. I was grateful that he brought up something that I had forgotten—the very reason for my visit.

He shoved the fingers of one hand through his messy hair. “I don’t know. Let me think for a minute.” A short silence spun out and then the looked up, clearly excited. “That was the twenty- second, right? I drove to Arizona the day before and spent the night gambling at an Indian casino. They had a real nice setup.”

Grit spoke up for the first time, “I’m sure they have security videos as well.”

Rudy’s trembling hand reached into the pocket of his shorts and came back out wrapped around his cell phone. “Fuck their security footage. I have lots of pictures of myself at the casino. My friends were all jealous that the place was so nice.”

Sure enough his images were dated for the night of the twenty-second. Rudy waited patiently for us to review his camera roll. Storm was smart, he went to his saved files and found a load of inappropriate images of women. Frowning, he handed me the phone. I saw the images he had saved of Lacey, tossed the phone back to Storm and let Rudy have it.

Celt pulled me off him. “If ye want him to be able to write a nice apology note to your lassie, stop beating on the stupid fecker before ye break his arms.”

He muscled me back and I watched Storm wipe all the images off Rudy’s phone, though not before sending them to Hacker, while Grit scrambled around to find for something for Rudy to write with. I hated that his nose was still bleeding, and he got blood on the note he wrote. I snatched it away the moment he signed the bottom of the note and tucked it inside my cut.

Rudy stammered, “What happens now? Is this the point where you knife me and leave me to bleed out on my own carpet?”

I opened my mouth to reply but this man was just strange. Finally, I told him, “Yeah, if I had any say on the matter. You deserve a dirt nap for all the shitty things you’ve done.”

“What… what do you mean?” he stammered.

Storm walked over and pushed him down into a chair. “Investigating you turned up a lifetime of you shitting on almost everyone in your life, pilfering money from your siblings’ college funds and committing work-related fraud. It seems like you don’t have many redeeming qualities as a human being.”

Grit spoke up again. “This is your come-to-Jesus, talk. Time to grow the fuck up and start acting like a decent human being instead of a woman-hating, degenerate asshole.”

Relief flooded his face. “You’re not going to kill me? I’m getting off with a warning?”

Storm walked up to where he was still sitting in the chair and looked down at him. “Not fucking likely.” He raised his boot and slammed the heel down on the side of Rudy’s knee. There was a pop. Whether he shattered Rudy’s knee, or just popped it out of its socket, it made Rudy scream out in pain.

I squatted down and covered his mouth with my hand. “Shut the fuck up, you little weasel.” When he managed to get himself under control, I took my hand away. “This is your one and only warning to stop all the lying, stealing, and shitting on innocent, unsuspecting women. We will be keeping an eye on you. If you keep it up, we’ll be back.”

Storm added, “And next time I won’t hold my friend back from giving you that dirt nap you fucking deserve.”

“I’ll try to turn over a new leaf,” Rudy said while holding his knee in his hands.

“Don’t try. Do it or else,” Storm barked. “Get yourself some therapy. Your life depends on it.”

We grabbed his laptop and his tablet and headed out the door. Hacker had asked for them in order to make sure he wasn’t harboring even more images. I stooped down and picked up his phone as well. Hacker could have a go at all three devices at the same time.

Walking out to our bikes, I didn’t know if we got through to the stupid fucker or not and I didn’t care. Worst-case scenario, Rudy would fuck up and I’d get to have another go at him at some point in the future. That was something to look forward to at least.