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How Could You?

G rizz

I stood in front of the baby, staring at her. She was asleep, but her mouth puckered, and I wondered if she was hungry. She’d be crying if she was, right? I’d teased Sabre when I’d caught him reading a baby book in his office once.

“Learning anything good?” I’d asked, tongue-in-cheek.

“Is it bad if I say ‘I don’t know’? I want Grace to know she can depend on me, but this fucking shit’s all foreign.”

I had razzed him some more before going about my day, but he was going to have fun dishing it back my way.

Maybe if I bought the book and had it delivered, it wouldn’t be so bad.

I’d hide it in my saddlebags and read in between work stops.

Yeah, that could work. Until someone saw me.

The gossip would flow through the MC like wildfire.

The baby–I’d wait to name her with Meredith–had pink pajamas on, but there weren’t any papers in her carrier.

I’d get Scrub to check her, make sure she was healthy when we got back to the clubhouse, and worry about her birth certificate later.

I wanted to hold her, to tell her I’d give her the world, but I didn’t pick her up.

There was literally blood on my hands tonight, among other bodily fluids.

I’d tried to use the bathroom in the back of the barn, but Pretty had warned me it wasn’t, well… pretty.

“We’re ready when you are,” Sabre said, nearing me. “The brothers packed up the cargo. We’ll blow the place from the road and put all of this behind us.”

I didn’t bother to look up at him. “Am I fucking nuts for this?” The baby was mine, and I’d get my wife on board, but a part of me needed his confirmation that this was the right call.

I was afraid part of the reason I’d been so quick to claim her was because I was trying to replace the baby that had never been.

“Probably, but if you hadn’t done it, I would have. How does it feel, Daddy?” He laughed as my head popped up.

“I’m afraid, Sabre,” I whispered, not wanting the rest of the brothers to hear my insecurity. I’d appointed myself her father, not thinking twice and definitely not asking for permission. “What if I fuck this up?” A knot tightened in my stomach at the thought.

“You won’t, but you will question every decision you’ve ever made,” he said confidently, slapping me on the arm. “She’s a lucky girl.”

“You hear that, pumpkin? Now, we just have to convince your mommy that Daddy isn’t nuts.”

“Good luck with that.” Sabre laughed as I picked up the handle to the carrier. I’d buy her a new one before we left, but it was early morning. Nothing was open.

“Next buyer comes in twenty minutes, so I figure we’d ride out a little ways and wait. Rid the world of some extra scum while we’re at it,” Sabre said as we headed for the truck.

I couldn’t put the baby on the back of my bike, and I wouldn’t let her ride in the truck without me, so I’d roped D into trading places. He’d ride my bike back to Meredith’s, and I’d stay with the baby, making sure she was safe.

“Is the barn wired properly?” I asked, smirking, as we neared the other brothers.

“Motherfucker. It was only one time.” Pretty stamped his foot.

When he’d been a teenager, he’d gone through a phase, trying to blow up anything in sight.

One of the older brothers, who was gone now, had taken pity on him, teaching him pyrotechnics.

He was probably lucky to still be alive, and Scrub was lucky he still had all of his fingers.

“Let’s go!” Sabre jumped in the back of the truck.

I didn’t have any baby supplies, and it made me antsy.

It wasn’t like we could stop at a local grocery store with a truck full of illegal drugs and guns.

I wrapped the belt buckle through the baby’s car seat, hooking it to the bench.

It would have to do since we didn’t have the base, even though I hated it.

Our truck passed the next customer’s truck.

“Don’t make it obvious, but slow down,” I told C. The plan was to drop the brothers off at their bikes and hit the road, but they were early, and we’d get a front-row seat to our bonfire.

C came to a stop on the road far enough away the other customer wouldn’t see us. “Stay with the baby,” I told him. Running to the back of the box truck, I raised the roll-up door. After I quickly told the brothers what was going on, they shifted, letting everyone have a good spot for the show.

“My wiring is good, motherfucker.” Pretty pouted.

“We’ll see about that,” Cyph said, grabbing the detonator from his pocket. “You want to do the honors?”

Cyph reached out his hand, and Pretty hit the button, but nothing happened.

“My wiring is good,” he said.

We watched as the customer pulled up to the overhead door. They stepped out of the truck, walking up to the side door, but when they reached for the handle, the barn went up in flames.

“Told you my wiring was good.” Pretty snapped his fingers, and all we heard was boom . The barn Diego Lopez was using as a warehouse was officially gone.

***

I waited next to Sabre on my bike as he checked in with the guard at the Knight’s gate. I needed to focus, but my mind was still with the baby. We’d driven the two hours from the barn, and when we were close to Meredith’s community, the brothers had regrouped in an empty parking lot to wait for us.

The memories had hit me as I entered Meredith’s condo.

The nights when I had driven down to see her, only to turn around early in the morning.

Weekend visits where we’d lay in bed getting our weekly fill of the other.

This place had good memories, and while I wouldn’t let Meredith come back, I didn’t mind if we kept it. The fear of her running had subsided.

Setting the baby on the counter, I had made Cyph and Grease promise me they’d look after her. Sabre didn’t want Cyph anywhere near the Knights, and Grease had offered to stay with him as his riding buddy.

“The Knights scare me,” he had said, shaking in mock fear. No one had said a word, but we were all thinking the same thing. If we could have gotten out of this delivery, we would have.

“Don’t forget,” Sabre said, the sound ringing in my helmet, “this isn’t a social call. Don’t separate. Drink nothing, and for fuck’s sake, keep it in your pants.” The guard was opening the gates as Sabre was finishing his lecture.

We drove into the yard, taking the driveway that led around the back. I tried to place when the last time I had been here was. It had to have been at least ten years, and that was a sobering thought.

Nothing had changed. The drive still led to an open yard at the back of their clubhouse.

They had shabby garages all over the place, but when the doors opened, I’d bet my life savings they were state-of-the-art.

Sabre backed in first towards the edge of the lot, and each one of us followed his lead.

We cut our engines and dismounted from our bikes, standing together while Sabre directed C to back the truck up to the nearest overhead door.

The quicker we could unload, the quicker we could put all of this behind us.

“Fuck me silly. I didn’t think you could pull this off.” Krait was standing on the back patio, smoking a cigarette. The red glow from the tip lit up his face, highlighting the yellow retinas.

“I don’t think you can do a lot of things, and yet, you constantly surprise me,” Sabre retorted. Krait wasn’t his favorite person. The phrase triggered something in my mind. He’d said the same thing about Meredith. In all the times he’d spoken about her, he’d never sounded like this.

Krait laughed, calling into the clubhouse for a few brothers to come out and unload our truck.

None of us moved to unlatch the roll-up door.

“You know the rules of this game. Payment first,” Sabre spoke. There was a hint of boredom in his tone, but none of us released our vigilance.

“You don’t trust me?” Krait laughed from his spot on the patio. “I would never think of screwing the Iron Shield. However, I would steal one of your blondes. You can share.”

Sabre’s jaw ticked, but there was no point in starting a fight. Krait would never get close to the women, and if he did, we’d already be dead or wishing we were.

“Tsavo,” Krait called back into the clubhouse. “Grab the duffel off of my desk.” He slithered down the stairs towards us. “I had it ready, just in case you actually succeeded.”

Tsavo slammed the back door to the clubhouse, carrying a duffel bag as he took the back steps two at a time.

He was a bald, menacing bastard. He honestly made Wreck look tame.

Tsavo lions were not really a species, but they’d killed enough men to earn the title man-eater.

If he wanted a fight, we wouldn’t back down, but no one wanted to challenge him.

We wouldn’t win, except maybe Count. I’d pay to see that exhibition.

“Let’s see my prize.” Krait clapped his hands together.

Sabre nodded to C and D to open the back of the truck.

“You know this shit’s fucking worthless, right?” Krait said as he nodded to Tsavo to hand Sabre the money. “As long as you were going to burn the warehouse, I wanted my piece of the pie.”

“You overpaid.” Sabre dropped the duffle between his feet, crouching to slide the zipper back. Satisfied, he nodded at Krait again. “It’s a good thing we pulled the guns, then.”

“Guns?” Krait got excited.

“Looks like semi-automatics. When you get halfway back, you’ll see them.”

Krait squealed, the sound eerily mirroring a snake’s rattle.

“I’ve… well, you’ve just eliminated all Lopez Clan’s drug supply in the states.

We’ll check it, but if it’s cut with baby powder, then we’ll burn it.

Diego won’t be able to supply his clients, and I’ll reign supreme.

“ Krait swiped his tongue across his lips, and I swore there was a fork down the middle. “The guns were well worth my donation.”

We stood to the side, watching and waiting as the Knights unloaded the truck. When the last pallet rolled off the truck’s ramp, Sabre threw the duffle into the truck’s cab and went to mount his bike.

“The tablet?” Krait asked.

How did Krait know? It made me wonder if this had been one big setup.

They couldn’t have been the ones to send the paid soldiers to the holding cell.

It wouldn’t have made any sense, but something didn’t sit right with this whole thing.

We had done all the dirty work for petty cash we didn’t need in the name of revenge.

Sabre nodded at me, and I pulled the tablet from my saddlebag. Handing it to him, we shared a look. He’d caught the implication, and I wouldn’t have to explain my suspicions.

“This?” Sabre asked, holding the tablet out to Krait. “It’s been cracked for your viewing pleasure.”

As we prepared to leave, that was when Krait dropped the mic. “El Sombra Roja is visiting at the end of May. He’s planning on seeing his girls unannounced.” Krait laughed. “I might join him. You know, since my nephew doesn’t visit me.”