Page 3 of Wild Card (Royal Bastards MC: Cody, Wyoming #1)

THREE

Ash

“ I ’ll start by welcomin’ Malice and Wild Card. They're in town to help us out with our problem,” Byron begins, silencing everyone in the room adjacent to the clubhouse where the charter holds their meetings..

“Thought we were gettin’ Zander.” His VP, Grizz, scowls at me.

“Zander’s on his way, just had to make a stop off in Colorado,” Malice assures him. Those two guys usually ride together, so he’d know better than anyone else.

“Guess we’ll just have to get started without him.” I grin back at Grizz and watch him side-eye his president in distaste.

“I’m sending Wild Card to the party at the lake tonight. Moby, you're goin’ with him,” Byron informs the tall, bald brother sitting beside Grizz.

“Hold up, you're sending Moby to the lake, with all that college pussy?” The member who aint stopped flipping his fuckin’ switch blade since we arrived checks he’s heard right.

“Ain’t no better man for the job.” Moby rests his hands behind his head and leans back on his chair.

“You ain’t there to chase pussy, Mobe, you're there to try and catch a fuckin’ dealer,” Byron reminds him with a stern look on his face.

“Prez, ain’t you seeing the flaw in this plan? Everyone in this town knows Moby is with the club; whoever's working the lake tonight is gonna be outta there the second they see him.”

“Only if they know what's good for 'em.” Moby cracks his knuckles.

“Moby’s gonna be stayin’ in the cage,” Byron announces, making Moby’s smirk instantly drop off his face.

“Now hang on?—”

“Wild Card’s a fresh face in town, he’s a relatable age to the suppliers' targets, and he talks a good talk,” Byron admits, though I can hear the begrudgingness in his words.

“Aww, you're too sweet.” I kiss my lips at him, and without any warning, the freaky-looking guy sitting to Prez’s right stands up and marches toward me, wrapping his hand around my throat and tensing so tight he crushes my windpipe.

I quickly tap my hand against the table in surrender when I start to choke, and Prez eventually gives him the nod to release me.

“You talk to your president with some fuckin’ respect,” he growls, shoving me back into my chair before retaking his seat.

“Jeez, y’all need to loosen up a little. I was just tryin’ to lighten the mood in here.” I touch my fingers over my neck where I swear he’s fuckin’ bruised me.

“This ain’t no fuckin’ joke, kid. People are dying, and someone out there is dealing their shit right under our noses.

Cody is a clean town. The club only ever runs their shit through; it never makes it to our streets.

We work hard to ensure that,” VP reminds me.

“Whoever's behind this is organized and smart. We can’t underestimate 'em.”

“Grizz is right, and if you make light of it again, I won’t stop Wraith from chokin’ you,” Byron warns, looking to his right and nodding at his Sgt-at-Arms. It don’t need to be explained how he got his road name, he looks fuckin’ dead inside.

“I think it’s a good idea.” The geeky-looking guy sitting beside me breaks the long, awkward silence. “Wild Card here can act like he’s lookin’ to score, do some askin’ around, and hopefully bring back a little treat for Taint to interrogate.”

“That's more like it. Thanks, man. I appreciate the vote of confidence.” I turn my head and show him my gratitude.

“Dude, we need all the help we can get around here. I think we can all agree on that.” He looks around the table at all the others, and although they look pissed as hell, none of 'em disagree with him.

“Well, if no one's got anything to add, I’m sure you all got things to do.” Byron slams the gavel, and the room quickly starts to disperse.

“That was underwhelming. I was expecting at least a pep talk or somethin’.” I huff a laugh.

“Byron likes to keep things short and sweet.” The guy follows me out and offers me a smoke when he pulls a pack out of his cut. “How are things over at Earl’s place?”

“It ain’t bad.” I take one, but I remain cautious; it’s weird how nice he’s being. I’ve learned from experience that no person is ever just nice. There’s always an alternative motive.

“Must be kinda tough being back in town without your father around.” He proves he ain’t giving up as I locate my Zippo so I can light the thing.

“I never really knew him,” I admit, hating how weak my voice comes out.

“You prospected here while he was President, though, right?” He frowns.

“You wantin’ my whole life story or just the highlight reel?” I snap my Zippo shut and stare back at him.

“Chill, brother, I was just being inquisitive. It’s my job around here to know everything.” He smirks as he sparks up his own cigarette.

“Who the fuck are ya, anyway?” I look him over, trying to figure him out. He’s different from any biker I’ve ever seen before; his black framed glasses and the shoulder-length blonde hair he wears tied back make him look like he belongs in a fuckin’ office.

“They call me Hack, and I was just being polite in asking. I already know most of your dirty little secrets.” He winks at me sarcastically before we get interrupted.

“Yo, Hack, I need you to run these through for me.” VP comes at him with a stack of what looks like invoices.

“Tech genius and, right now, club treasurer too, it seems,” he tells me, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, well, we’re low on numbers, so everyone's gotta pull their weight,” Grizz reminds him.

“I’ll get right on it.” Hack takes the pile from Grizz’s hands and heads off toward one of the side doors, leaving me alone with the brute of a man who’s made it clear he ain’t happy to see me.

“Place has sure changed a lot since I left.” I look around the almost empty barroom. When my father was President, he had plenty of members, and this place was always packed out the door.

“I knew ya father well, Ash….I liked him.” Grizz’s voice drops as if he’s about to get all deep and meaningful on me.

“I’m sure he’ll rest a little sounder in his grave knowing that,” I snigger. I don’t know much about the man standing in front of me, but I do know that he was my father’s Sgt-at-Arms. He had sworn to protect him, and he fuckin’ failed.

“He spoke about you often.” He ignores my comment and continues.

“Told you what a failure I was, I'll bet.” I shake my head and laugh bitterly. “Boasted about how I’d spent more time in jail than out of it,” I add sarcastically.

“Hey, Dom was nothin’ but proud of you,” he says with a real serious look on his face. “He hated that your mom had taken you away from him when you were a boy. Spent a lot of nights in here before he died, telling me what he planned for when you got out.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” I stare back at him blankly.

“I don’t know, Wild Card, I guess I just figured you might need to hear it.

Like us or hate us, these brothers are gonna be your family for the foreseeable.

This, right here, is what your father wanted you to be a part of.

Don’t rule out liking how it feels to be part of a brotherhood before you’ve given it a shot. ” He taps me on the back and moves on.

“And where was that brotherhood when my dad was lying in a pool of his own blood?” I call out after him, and he slowly turns around. “Byron was his VP. You were his Sgt-at-Arms; you should have been with him,” I remind him.

“We can’t always be where we're supposed to be, you should know that better than anyone, Wild Card,” he tells me, lookin’ kinda sad as he lowers his head and makes his way out the door.

“So why did ya leave here?” Moby asks as he drives one of the club’s cages toward the lake where the party is.

It’s a few miles outta town and I can't stop thinking about Ruby. She’ll be going to the party her boyfriend invited her to tonight.

I barely know the girl, but I could tell by her face that she didn’t wanna go.

I just can’t understand why it pisses me off so much that she is.

“I didn’t leave here by choice; I ended up in jail,” I admit. Ain’t no point in lying about it, no doubt Hack’s already pulled up my criminal resume.

“What ya go down for?” he asks, turning off down one of the dirt roads that lead into even thicker woodland.

“GBH. I lost my temper at some guy when he came on to my sister.”

“I didn’t know you had a sister, man. Dom never mentioned havin’ a daughter.”

“He didn’t, Lara wasn’t his. Him and my mother were never together, she left town just after she got pregnant with me, and married another guy when I was two.

And I don’t have a sister anymore. I don’t have anyone.

They all died while I was in jail.” I snap the bracelet I’m wearing on my wrist and try not to think about how I should have been there to protect them all.

“Shit, man, that's heavy.” Moby pulls up in a spot that's well sheltered but has a good view of the lake.

“So, Moby, that your real name?” I change the subject when I feel that uncontrollable pain start to burn in the pit of my stomach.

“Nah, some club slut got it started.” He laughs to himself as he switches off the engine, and when I look at him, expecting a better explanation, he continues.

“Apparently, someone wrote a book about a whale with a big dick.” He shrugs.

“Moby Dick?” I laugh.

“Somethin' like that.” The guy looks fuckin’ clueless, “I don’t judge on what gets people off.

Anyway, it kinda stuck, and I figure it could be worse, so I let it.

” He rests both his forearms on the steering wheel and leans forward.

“I’ll keep watch from here. You get any kinda lead, you haul whoever it is back here, and we’ll take him to the cabin.

Taint could sure do with the distraction right now; I almost feel sorry for the poor fucker he gets his hands on. ” He sighs.

I don’t ask why; I got no intention of sticking around and getting to know these people. I’m much better off by myself, without anyone having any expectations of me.

“So, what did ya do to piss off Jameson?” Moby still attempts to make small talk while we wait for more people to arrive at the party.

“I set fire to the whore houses he sent me to protect,” I tell him, pressing my foot up on the console so I can lace up my boot.

“You shittin’ me?” Moby stares at me in shock.

“I made sure all the whores were out first,” I add before he starts judging me. “Owner was a prick, treated his girls like shit. Weren’t nothing he didn’t deserve.”

“Byron warned us you were reckless.” He laughs to himself some more as he shakes his head and looks back out the windshield.