Paladin's Hell

by Manda Mellett

  That’s one weight off my mind. One thing going my way. Now just got to find out who’s messing with the club. I don’t believe in coincidences.

  I’ve also got to find some way to make shit right with Moira.

  Stress? Well, I’ve just got to deal with it.

  Chapter 17

  Paladin

  In Tucson everyone knew my main job was watching out for Jayden. Most days I’d take her to school, bring her home. In between times I’d turn my hand to whatever needed doing. Part of me would welcome having a real job, a place where I could make a contribution by working alongside my brothers.

  Naively, having expected little would change, that I’d still have a job looking out for the girl I’d had responsibility for, for so long, I’d promised to see Jay today. But my plans went awry when first thing this morning, Hellfire had teamed me up with Taser, and directed me to the strip club. I could hardly fuck off and see my girl, not when the prez had assigned me a task. When I pick up my phone to send a quick text, I notice I’d missed one from her sent last night.

  Jay: Can we talk?

  Shit. She’ll think I’m ignoring her. Not much I can do about that. I send the message of explanation.

  Pal: Got shit to do. Will try and see you later

  Jay: Fine

  I might not have a lot of experience with women, but even I know when a female says things are fine, they’re likely to be anything but. There’s nothing I can do about it. Whether she likes it or not, Jay’s got to learn the club comes first. Always. I frown, realising while she might know that on an intellectual level, she hasn’t experienced that before. Previously keeping her out of trouble had been club business. Now she’s in Pueblo, she no longer takes priority, or not in my new brothers’ eyes.

  “Alright?”

  Taser’s waiting by his bike. He must have seen the expression on my face when I read the text. I just nod and go to my ride.

  Taser’s about ten years my senior, he’s heavily tattooed and sports a thick beard, maybe to make up for the thinning of the hair on his head. He’s got chiselled features though, large eyes with eyelashes girls would probably lust over. I hadn’t been introduced to him last night, maybe he was working all evening. I’ll have to check what my hours are going to be, might make it hard to see Jay when she starts school during the day, and I’m working at night. Still, got some time yet to figure that out.

  We pull up outside a brick building, it’s down a side street off the main drag. An unlit neon sign above it, pictures outside leaving no doubt of the scantily clad, or naked women, customers will find inside. I stand back as Taser opens up the building. He gives his version of a tour as we enter.

  “Bar over there, stage, private rooms and girls’ changing facilities down that way.” A wave of his hand punctuates each word. “Manager’s office over here.”

  As Taser flicks on overhead lights, the place looks seedy. As if he reads my mind, he laughs. “Might not look much now, but the low-level lighting is all that they need at night, and covers a multitude of sins. I’ve mentioned to Prez I’d like to spruce it up a bit. Could do with a lick of fresh paint. But I doubt the customers will care. It’s what’s on the stage people come here for.”

  I raise my chin. Much like Angels back in Tucson.

  “I want to do a stock check of the liquor today. That will be your job, so I’ll show you how to do that. Ever done it before?”

  “Helped out,” I say truthfully. “But not had the responsibility.”

  He swings around, his head tilted to one side. “Were you really a full-time babysitter?”

  “Pretty much,” I respond, though my teeth are gritted. Looking after my girl was no chore.

  “Prez won’t let you get away with that here.”

  “Hopefully there’ll be no need for it.”

  He nods. “Right. Doors open at eight pm, we stay open until five in the morning. You okay with being nocturnal?”

  Not what I was hoping for, but I’ll do whatever I have to. Somehow I’ll make it work. “Sure.”

  “We’re open Tuesday through Saturday. We can alternate. Be easier on both of us, but Prez likes someone to be here. Of course, brothers are always popping in, so you won’t be lonely. I usually use the daytime to get shit done. Place gets busy at night.”

  He’s given me the details, but I’m wondering whether I should prompt him we need to investigate what Cad had seen on the security footage. But what do I know about which things take precedence? In Tucson, we’d have leapt on any threat immediately. Taser is obviously not giving it such importance. Maybe they don’t have to be so on edge here.

  At that moment, his phone rings. I give him privacy, wandering over to check the place out. Wondering whether there’s a redecorating budget, there are improvements needed I can already tell. And, a cleaner to have a word with if I’m not mistaken. I decide to ask for a rundown of the staff just as Taser comes over.

  “Right. That was Demon asking if we’d checked out back yet.” He frowns. “VP seems a bit agitated, sounds like it’s urgent for some reason. Better get on with what he wants. You comin’?”

  It’s a rhetorical question, what else would I be doing? I follow him down the corridor he’d pointed out earlier, past bathrooms emitting a predictable odour of disinfectant, then a storeroom, and out through a back door. He leads me around the corner where there’s a dumpster. “Cad picked up an asshole on the security recordings from last night right here. Need to see if we can spot what he was doing.” He points up above my head. “That’s the camera that picked him up.”

  “Was he waiting for one of the girls to come out?”

  “Nah. Place was closed up. Time stamp was six am.”

  I start looking around. Nothing immediately obvious. I glance at the camera in question, my brow furrowing as I notice while it’s not static, its arc only moves from left to right, its focus is on the window and not on… Hmm. I place my hands on the top of the dumpster which would be out of range of the camera and pull myself up, looking in. Oh shit… “Fuck, Taser. Oh fuck.” Hoisting up fully I place my foot on the edge, then gingerly turn and lower myself in.

  Taser’s face appears. “What…? Oh, fuckin’ hell.” He notices fast. “He dead?”

  I turn the body over to check, my fingers touching cold skin, then I make the mistake of breathing deep and immediately cover my mouth and nose with my hand. “No question of that. Any idea who he is?”

  Taser’s gone white as he answers. “Nah. Fuck Pal. I need to call Prez.”

  I’ve seen dead bodies before. Killed people too. But I’ve never literally stumbled across one. There’s nothing for me to do now and the smell of the rotting garbage is becoming overpowering. Quickly I get myself out of the dumpster and am brushing myself off when Taser ends his call.

  “Prez and VP are on their way over. We’re to make sure there’s no prying eyes.”

  He leans over, breathing shallow breaths. “Fuck, Pal. Who would kill someone and leave him behind our club?”

  “Presumably he was killed and left here. Looks to me like someone is sending us a message.”

  Taser looks around as though expecting to see the culprit standing around waiting. But there’s no one here, of course. The perp who did this will be long gone. Suddenly his eyes narrow. “This got anything to do with you?”

  Me? What the fuck? “What the fuck you talking about?”

  “You.” He advances, his finger prodding at my chest. “We’ve never had trouble before. You arrive in town, and this shit happens. Unidentified fucker snooping around Tits Up and someone ending up dead.”

  “I fuckin’ arrived yesterday,” I begin through gritted teeth. “Last night I was at the clubhouse. Ask the prospect on the gate if you want, I didn’t go off the compound. How the fuck would I have been able to kill the fucker, even if I’d had any inclination. And for your future information, I don’t kill people without good reason. Never. You’re looking in the wrong direction.”

 
I’m so angry. My cheeks are blazing. It doesn’t get any easier when Taser won’t give up. “You knew exactly where to look. First thing you headed for was the dumpster. Didn’t even wait to check anything else. And if not you personally, you could be in contact with someone. You’ve been using your phone a fucking lot. Maybe I’ll get Cad to look at it.”

  Now it’s me, drawing myself up to my full height and pushing him back. Not an easy task when he must have fifty pounds plus on me, but my rage gives me strength. “Who I’m texting is none of your fuckin’ business. And I checked the dumpster first as I’ve got some fuckin’ brains in my head.”

  “Hey! What the fuck’s going on?” Both of us so engrossed in our altercation, we hadn’t heard Hellfire arrive. He’s here now. One hand on my chest, one on Taser’s, and he’s forcing himself in the middle of us.

  Taser tosses a glare to the prez. “He turns up and so does a dead body. He knew exactly where to look…”

  “Paladin had nothing to do with it.” I’m pleased as Hellfire jumps to my defence.

  “Hold up a minute, Prez. How can we say that? Taser’s got a point.” Thunder’s standing, his arms crossed over his chest. “Leastwise we can get some questions answered. What d’you mean he knew where to look, Tase?”

  Hell. Things are going downhill pretty damn fast. I’m a Satan’s Devils member. I’m only too aware what form the club’s questioning might take. Carefully, with slow movements, I ease my phone out of my pocket and slap it in Hellfire’s hand. “Check the calls and texts. I’ve got nothing to fucking hide.”

  Hellfire’s eyes are on mine. He doesn’t even look at my phone, simply passes it back. He lifts his chin slightly. “Paladin’s a Satan’s Devil. Might not be from here. Might still have to earn our trust. But he’s not responsible for this. Has no fuckin’ reason to bite the hand that’s going to feed him.” When he finishes, he looks first at Taser, then at Thunder, then finally, at me. “Get yourself back to the compound, Pal. We’ll discuss everything in church later.”

  I’m dismissed. Probably to give Taser and I a chance to cool down. I don’t bother arguing, just take myself off, still angry. I kick up the stand and twist the throttle making my pipes roar as I depart, fast. It’s only a moment before I realise I’m going the wrong way up the strange road, heading away from the club, not back to it. As I do a U-turn, I start to wonder whether going in the wrong direction was an unconscious indication that coming here with Jayden had been a wrong move.

  Drawing up to the clubhouse and walking inside, I have a strong feeling of being among strangers. When you’re a prospect, it’s par for the course not to be trusted, and you accept you’ve got an uphill struggle ahead. It’s the reason people aren’t immediately taken on as full members. A wave of homesickness washes over me. None of my brothers in Tucson would have questioned me, picked on me. Here I’m the outsider. Seems I’ve got to gain the confidence of the men around me all over again.

  Is Jayden worth it?

  Of course she is. I’ve already been waiting for her for over two-and-a-half years. But today’s shown me, stepping into this new life I’d had such hopes for, is going to be harder than I expected.

  The atmosphere in the clubhouse is sombre. Someone’s been killed. It could be the dumpster was a convenient place to hide a body, but the ownership of Tits Up is no secret. Far more likely it’s a message for the club. But why, what for, by whom and what do they mean by it, no one knows. Mace and Buzzard are at the bar discussing it when I turn up.

  “You found him?”

  “Yeah,” I tell the enforcer, knowing there’s only one thing he can be alluding to. “Didn’t expect to. Thought to check in the dumpster, and there he was.”

  “How did he die?” Buzzard asks.

  I shrug. I’m no medical examiner. “From the way he was lying I couldn’t tell.” As I speak, I shudder. Those dead, wide-open eyes I’ll dream of for a long time.

  “Get the brother a drink,” Mace yells to Dan, who’s behind the bar. “Looks like he could do with one.”

  “Prez wants church brought forward. Asked me to get everyone in.” I’m not in the loop yet. Fuck, I don’t even have everyone’s numbers programmed as yet.

  The enforcer nods. “Prospect, get on that, will you?”

  Dan pours my shot of Jack, then takes out his phone. Leaving Mace and Buzzard to it, I take myself off and sit down, and start a text of my own.

  Pal: Sorry, Jay. Something’s come up. Won’t be able to see you until later this evening. Okay if I come about 9?

  I stare at the screen, but there are no dots showing she’s writing a reply. Shit, this day’s gone to fuck already. I’d promised I wouldn’t leave her alone, that I’d go see her as soon as I could. But the mystery of the dead man comes first. Problem is, it’s club business, and that I can’t share.

  Club business. The words old ladies understand. But Jay’s still a kid. Her lack of response is telling.

  Brothers start coming in. I’m slowly sipping my second shot when Hellfire returns with Thunder and Taser, the latter throwing me a dirty look. Prez wastes no time heading into church, and I follow as the rest of them walk in. I’m pointed to a chair at the end of the table.

  Hellfire bangs the gavel once we’re all seated. He looks around, his face grim. “Had to call it in. Man had no connection with the club, but the location of the body is going to raise questions.”

  Ink looks upset. “Cops trying to pin it on us?”

  Hellfire swipes his bushy hair back from his face. “They’ll try. But we’ve got nothing to do with it. This is one time we can tell the truth.”

  “I’ll pass them a copy of the footage from the security camera,” Cad suggests.

  Prez nods, then looks at me. “Cops want to speak to you, Paladin. Need your fingerprints as you went into the dumpster.”

  I hadn’t thought of that. “They want me to go to the station?”

  “Yeah. In the morning will do. Ask for Sergeant Moss.”

  All I need. Walking into a police station. But I just raise my chin in acknowledgement.

  “What I want to know is why Pal here, immediately knew where to look.” Taser gives an emphasis on my shortened handle which suggests I’m no friend of his.

  Before anyone else can comment, I set him right. “It was obvious. You pointed out the camera. I know the type. It can’t rotate all the way around; the dumpster was in its blind spot. It seemed the obvious place to look. If someone was doing something they shouldn’t, it wouldn’t have picked them up. Seemed the right place to start.” I don’t explain I’ve had experience searching for likely places to plant explosives. Seems they don’t have that kind of trouble in Pueblo.

  Cad’s watching me. He gives me a sharp nod. No one questions my explanation. I notice Demon staring pointedly at Taser. I glance at him too, just in time to see him give a resigned shrug. Not totally convinced. Of course, he wouldn’t like it. He hadn’t picked that up.

  “Right. What do we know?”

  Cad shakes his head at the prez. “Not a lot, I’m afraid. Clearest pics you already have. Bastards are playing us. Anything at the bowling alley or tattoo shop?”

  That makes me sit up. I hadn’t heard about anything happening anywhere else. I look around with interest, hoping no more bodies had been found.

  Both Lizard and Rusty are shaking their heads. “A few footprints, cigarette butts. Someone was there, but no dead bodies thank fuck.” Lizard, who runs the tattoo parlour answers. He raises his chin toward me. “Found what we did out of range of the cameras. They knew what they were doing.”

  “Same at the bowling alley,” Rusty confirms. “Could be the same man, maybe not.”

  “From the timing, unlikely,” Cad replies. “I did get a glimpse of movement at your place, Rusty, once I went back and had a better look. Unless one man can be in more than one place at the same time. The intruders hit Tits Up and the bowling alley simultaneously.”

  Pyro raises his chin. “Found how they got i
nto the auto-shop. Similar problem as Pal just described. Camera’s in the wrong fuckin’ position, nothing showed on the recordings. Got in through the bathroom window, then closed it after they went out the same way. Didn’t pick it up until we looked more carefully and found the broken lock.”

  A break-in at the auto-shop as well? Looking around, it seems only I was out of the loop. But I’m still a stranger. No one’s yet sharing shit.

  “Sounds like your security could do with a onceover.” I can’t help putting in. Sitting here listening there are a ton of things I can see wrong. We’d all have been dead if we’d been this lax in Arizona.

  Cad looks at me sharply, his eyes first blazing, then it’s as though the wheels start turning in his head, and he lets out a long sigh. “New brother has got it in one. We’ve become complacent. Haven’t had problems before. Relied more on our rep to keep fuckers away. That’s certainly one of our next steps.”

  “I’ll take that on,” Demon’s hand waves. Then, as he’s got the floor, continues with a frown. “All our businesses targeted? Sounds like we’re up against a gang.”

  “Still say the timing’s a coincidence,” Taser snarls, sending me a dirty look. “Got a new member arrive who seems to have acquainted himself fuckin’ fast with our lack of security. Now he’s here, we have more trouble than we’ve had for a very long time.”

  I raise my hands but have no chance to speak as Hellfire jumps in, snarling, “Only fuckin’ coincidence is that Paladin may have brought Tucson’s bad luck in his luggage. Drummer vouches for him. Might be new to us, but not to the prez of the motherfuckin’ mother chapter. I, for one, believe I can fuckin’ rely on his word.”

  After a moment of silence following Hellfire’s vehement and welcome comments in defence of me, Sparky wonders aloud, “We tellin’ the cops about the other businesses?”

  “Nah,” Hellfire tells him. “Couldn’t keep a citizen’s murder from them, but if someone’s coming for us, I want to handle it ourselves. I want us to find out who’s fuckin’ with the club. Once we know we’ll send a message that teaches people not to mess with us.”