by Hope Stone
The front of the bar was deserted, with chairs still up on the tables from mopping the night before. It wouldn’t open for several more hours. I headed to the back room, where all the meetings were held. I could hear the voices of the members that were already waiting.
It looked like I was the last to arrive as I pushed open the door and everyone looked my way. Ryder stood up as I planted myself in the closest empty seat I saw.
“All right. Now that we’re all here, I’ll get right to it.” He looked angry. “You all know that we’ve been tracking an increase in meth in the community. Well, thanks to Trainer spotting a dealer down by the boardwalk, we’ve officially been able to link it to Las Balas.”
“So what are we going to do about it?” Moves asked. As our Enforcer, he was always eager to go bust some heads.
“There’s a bigger problem. In our surveillance of the dealer, we discovered that we’d been betrayed by one of our own.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Carlos. He’s been spying on us for Las Balas for months.” Ryder spoke through gritted teeth.
“Why?” Pin asked. I could hear my confusion reflected in his voice. Carlos was our friend, a part of the MC family. I couldn’t understand how he could do such a thing.
“It’s the bullshit drug,” Ryder explained. “He’s a meth head. I missed the signs-”
“We all did,” Swole cut in. She was the only one that didn’t appear shocked by this. I figured she’d helped Ryder interrogate Carlos. How else could they have acquired this information?
“Yeah, well—” Ryder scanned each of our faces, as if he were looking for a sign of disloyalty. He wouldn’t find one in me. “The point is, Carlos Brown has been banned from the club, and if anyone sees him in our territory again, let me know immediately.”
“I doubt he’ll be stupid enough to come around,” Swole said, cracking her knuckles. “That broken jaw of his should be a hell of a reminder that we aren’t to be fucked with.”
“All the same,” Ryder said, “Las Balas has crossed a line by converting one of our Patches. As far as I’m concerned, they’ve declared war.”
Erica
I felt like I hadn’t spent any quality time with Dominic lately. Maybe it was some form of separation anxiety since I had a job now. I felt like I was missing a connection with him. He spent more time with the babysitter than with me.
So when I picked him up from the sitter this evening, I didn’t take us home. Instead, we went to the pizza place for his favorite dinner. As Dominic sat opposite me in the booth, filling me in on his day, it struck me that this place already felt like home. We’d been here for two weeks and had started to build a life.
I just prayed that we would be able to stay.
“Mom?” Dominic suddenly looked pensive as he dropped his eyes.
“What is it?” I reached out and put my hand over his own.
“Do you think Dad’s going to find us?”
My blood ran cold at the fear in his voice. How long would the memory of the things Jeff had done haunt my little boy?
He’d never hit Dominic. I made sure of that. If he’d seemed like he might try, I always redirected his anger to me. It was worth it, but it didn’t protect Dominic from seeing me be slapped around. I was sure that he’d also heard some pretty terrible arguing, with horrible things being said.
“I don’t know,” I told him honestly. “But I will always do whatever I can to keep you safe.”
“Who’s going to keep you safe?”
His question made me grimace. I didn’t want him to worry about me, but what could I say?
Absurdly, I thought of Trainer. Big and strong, he’d be able to fill the role of protector, but there was no reason to think that he’d want to. There was something between us, a sexual attraction, maybe even more, but that didn’t mean he would want to take on my baggage.
I had to depend on myself.
“Don’t worry about me,” I told him. “Things are different now. We don’t live with him.”
Dominic looked thoughtful for a moment. “Maybe we should get a dog.”
“A dog?” I smiled. He’d asked for one before, but Jeff would never allow an animal into his house.
“Not for a pet,” he clarified. “A guard dog.”
I opened my mouth to tell him that we didn’t need a guard dog, but the hopeful expression on his face stopped me. If it would make him feel safer, why not? I knew that the landlord would allow it; he’d had the property listed as pet-friendly.
“Okay,” I said, and Dominic’s entire face lit up. “We’ll go get one tomorrow.”
After dinner, we went to a movie at the theater located inside the mall. It was billed as a kid’s movie, and it was animated, but I enjoyed it. The company was the best part. Between the two of us, we demolished a large bucket of popcorn, and I felt like I was going to explode by the time we left the theater.
As we walked across the mall, heading to the entrance, I spotted Trainer coming out of a store with a man that I didn’t recognize but knew to be an Outlaw Soul by the patch on the back of his jacket. I wanted to call out to him, but the sight of another person stopped me. Unfortunately, Dominic didn’t feel the same.
“Hey, isn’t that your friend Trainer?” he said loudly, pointing.
Trainer’s head whipped around. Seeing us, he mumbled something I couldn’t hear to the man beside him and headed our way.
“Hey, little man,” he said, ruffling Dominic’s hair. “What are you guys up to?”
“We just saw a movie-” I started, but Dominic cut me off excitedly.
“Mom said we could get a dog!”
“Yeah, that too.” I chuckled. “I’m thinking we’ll go to the shelter tomorrow after I get off work.”
“I have to wait all day?” Dominic whined.
“‘Fraid so.”
“It’ll be worth it,” Trainer assured him. “Actually, I was going to see if you wanted to have dinner together tomorrow night. How about I come with you guys to the shelter, and we can pick up some takeout afterward?”
He wanted to spend time with me and Dominic. This felt big, like a significant step in this relationship. We’d never talked about where things were going between us, but his suggestion made it seem that we were moving forward.
A small voice in the back of my mind told me not to do this, not to get attached. Wasn’t that the plan? I was going to lay low here for now and figure out my next move when I thought that Jeff had probably given up on finding us.
But I found that I wanted to say yes despite all of that. It shifted things to a more serious level, and I wanted to see how far it would go. I wanted him to be mine. Maybe Dominic and I wouldn’t have to move on at all.
“Okay,” I said. “How about I pick you up after I get off work?”
“Great. I’ll be at Ortega’s Auto. I’ve got to go now, but I’ll see you then.”
Leaning close, he pressed a chaste kiss to my cheek before going to join his friend that was waiting nearby. I looked at Dominic to see if he had any reaction to Trainer’s kiss, but he didn’t appear to be bothered by it.
“I can’t wait until tomorrow,” he said as we resumed walking to the exit. “Do you think that we should get a puppy or a grown-up dog? They might not have puppies, but that’s okay. Do you think the dog will like us? I have so many dog name ideas. Will he have his name already?”
Dominic talked endlessly about the dog as we crossed the parking lot to our car. I let him, my mind a million miles away. Trainer had to know that Dominic and I were a package deal, so the outcome of tomorrow would determine if there was any future for us at all.
Dominic was losing his mind. We were at the shelter, and his excitement level had skyrocketed as he went from one cage to the other, trying to make an impossible decision. I was pretty sure that he’d take them all if I let him.
There were far more dogs here than I had anticipated, and it broke my heart a little to see it. The shelter w
as a nice place, and the worker helping us had told me that it had been built just three years ago, with money donated by a local organization that I suspected might be the Outlaw Souls based on Trainer’s subtle fidgeting. But this was still no place for a dog to live. They should be in homes with yards and loving families.
“Mom, look at this one,” Dominic called, pointing into a cage with a huge black and white dog that was wagging its tail.
“Uh… maybe a smaller one? Let’s shoot for medium or small in size, okay?”
“Okay,” Dominic mumbled, dejected. “That wouldn’t have been a problem at our old house.”
As if realizing that he said something he shouldn’t have, Dominic widened his eyes and looked guilty. I saw his gaze flicker over to Trainer. Crouching down beside him, I placed a hand on his back.
“You’re right,” I said in a low voice, so that Trainer couldn’t hear us. “Our new home is smaller. But it’ll be a loving one for the new dog, right?”
Dominic nodded. “Right.”
And he continued on. It wasn’t ideal that Dominic had mentioned our old home in front of Trainer, but I knew that I’d eventually have to tell him the truth anyway. I would have to trust him with it when I felt that I was ready. I was too embarrassed to talk about it yet.
Dominic reached the end of the row of cages with Trainer and me trailing along behind. Suddenly, he got serious, as if he recognized the weight of his decision. Turning, he walked back along the row of cages, once again peering inside.
“This kid’s an old soul, huh?” Trainer asked, and I nodded.
“He’s always wanted a dog, but… we weren’t allowed to have one at our old place.” It wasn’t technically a lie. “I’m sorry, it might take a while for him to pick one. It’s a huge deal for him.”
“I’ve got nowhere to be,” Trainer said as he stuck his fingers into a cage for an especially excited puppy to sniff.
I kept my eyes on Dominic. He was barely slowing down as he passed some cages, while he paused at others, looking thoughtful. I wasn’t sure what he was looking for in a dog, but he seemed determined to find it.
In the meantime, I was concerned about the seventy-five dollar adoption fee. It was good that the dogs came vaccinated and spayed or neutered, but that was still a lot of money on my small salary. I still had to buy supplies too.
Finally, Dominic stopped walking, peering into a cage with a soft smile. “This is the one I want,” he announced confidently.
Coming up behind him, I looked in the cage and saw a small ball of brown fur curled up in the middle. He’d lifted his head and was looking at us curiously. One of his ears was mangled, and there were long scars on his muzzle.
“Why this one?” I asked, but I thought I might already know the answer.
“He’s been hurt. Someone needs to take care of him.” He looked up at me. “He belongs with us.”
For a long moment, I couldn’t speak around the lump in my throat.
“I’ll go get the girl at the front desk,” Trainer said. I barely registered his leaving.
“Dominic, are you sure about this? You don’t have to pick this dog just because he’s been injured. Do you think he’s like you?”
“No. He’s like you, Mom. But look”—he nodded to the dog that was now standing—“he’s okay now.”
This kid gutted me without even realizing it.
“Have we picked a new furry friend?” The cheerful voice of the shelter employee let me know that I had to pull myself together. I couldn’t go to pieces right now. I blinked several times to make sure there weren’t tears in my eyes while I was still facing away from her and Trainer.
“Yes,” Dominic answered. “I want this one.”
“Are you sure about that?” she asked me with a slight frown. “That dog has some past trauma, I’m sure you can see that, but it means he might need some special care. Extra attention.”
“What exactly happened to him?” I asked, knowing that it didn’t matter if he was difficult. Dominic was right. He belonged with us.
“He was rescued from a dog-fighting ring along with three others. They all had to be put down.”
“That’s horrible.”
“They were all so aggressive. We worked with them for weeks but got nowhere. So we had no choice. This little guy was different because he was used as a bait dog.”
My heart hurt. I could just imagine this small dog being chained up and attacked over and over just so that other innocent animals could get a taste for blood that would ultimately cause their deaths. There was a special place in hell for people that did these things.
“We’ll take him. I’m sure.”
“Okay. We’ll have to go slow, don’t want to freak him out. Here.” She handed Dominic a couple of dog treats from her pocket.
Trainer and I stood back as she opened the cage. Dominic went down on his knees in front of the cage at her direction, holding out his hand with the dog treat and waiting. It seemed to take forever, and I was impressed by Dominic’s patience. He didn’t move a muscle, even when the dog started to creep forward. Its head was lowered and its tail tucked between its legs.
Now that it was standing and coming closer, I could see that there was also scarring on its legs. It wasn’t as obvious because the hair around the scars was thicker, helping to cover the damage. As the dog got closer to Dominic, the smile on his face got bigger.
Trainer reached out and took my hand as the dog finally got close enough to Dominic to extend his neck and reach the treat. Before taking it, he sniffed Dominic’s hand, looking into his eyes. I could almost swear that I could see a connection forming between them. When the dog decided that he’d sniffed Dominic enough, it took the treat and even allowed itself to be petted. It did flinch for a second, but once Dominic scratched behind its ears, they both relaxed.
This was the forging of a relationship that was going to last for years, and I was so glad that I’d agreed to get him a dog. Dominic would be comforted by having one. As I squeezed Trainer’s hand, I wondered if I had found what I needed in him as well. It certainly felt like it.
“Does he have a name?” I asked.
The shelter worker shook her head. “No, not that we’re aware of.”
“Gizmo,” Dominic said. “His name is Gizmo.”
“Okay, I’ll start the paperwork and get you guys out of here in a jiffy.”
It didn’t take long to complete the process, and the three of us were walking out of the building twenty minutes later with Gizmo on a leash, and Dominic looking happier than I’d ever seen him before.
“Thanks for being here,” I said to Trainer as we got into the car. “I know it’s not exactly a typical date…”
“Hey, I had fun. Don’t tell anyone, because I have a tough-guy image to maintain, but I’m a sucker for puppies.”
“I don’t think I saw a single puppy in there.”
“All dogs are puppies at heart.”
As if to prove Trainer’s point, Gizmo let out a bark before raising up on his hind legs and licking Dominic’s face. It looked like he was happy to be coming home.
Trainer
I wasn’t sure exactly when I’d decided to move forward with Erica. I just couldn’t seem to help myself when I saw her unexpectedly. So I decided to get out of my way and do this already.
When I ran into her at the mall, I was with Pin, meeting up with a contact that had connections to Las Balas. Ryder was serious about putting a stop to their peddling of meth here in La Playa. It had been an issue before, but he took what happened with Carlos personally. Yesterday, our Prospects had been tasked with moving his shit out of his apartment in the Outlaw Souls complex.
I was pissed about it, but not nearly as much as Hawk. He’d sponsored Carlos, and the man’s betrayal reflected badly on him. That was the problem with drugs like meth. People got so hooked that they lost their damn minds. Crystal meth was even worse because of the crap that it was made out of. Not only that, the labs had a nasty tenden
cy of exploding. It was bad news all around.
The person we met at the mall was an old flame of the Sergeant at Arms for Las Balas. She was bitter as hell because the guy kept promising to leave his wife and never followed through. So it was easy to get information about the club from her. Their pillow talk had proven to be rather detailed, and we now knew that the Vice President was the one cooking the drugs.
We just had to figure out where the man did the deed. In the meantime, I was eating Chinese food on Erica’s couch while we watched her son play with his new dog. I had never spent much time around kids, other than the younger ones that I met in the foster system, but I hadn’t formed a connection with any of them. I was still getting to know Dominic, but I liked the kid. He was very well-behaved, so much so that I had to wonder if it was normal. Weren’t seven-year-olds supposed to whine and complain?
Erica must have hit the lottery with this one.
We had gone to the store after the animal shelter, buying dog food, a dog crate, and a half dozen toys. I’d insisted on paying, even when Erica tried to say no. I didn’t dare ask how much money she made teaching yoga at the fitness center, but it couldn’t be much, and I didn’t like the idea of her struggling.
The sound of a toddler throwing a tantrum came through the wall from the other half of the duplex.
“Yeah, the walls here are thin,” Erica said with an annoyed frown.
“You hear that a lot?”
“Not always the same thing. Sometimes it’s the parents fighting. The most annoying thing is when they’re loud late at night. I’ve heard music playing after midnight before.”
“What does the landlord have to say about it?”
“I haven’t told him.”
“Why not?”
“I just don’t want to make trouble. I don’t need the attention.”
I studied her, trying to figure out what that meant, but she avoided my eyes. It was always a dead end with her.
“I’m going to clean up,” she said, gathering our takeout containers and taking them into the kitchen. I decided to follow her with Dominic’s discarded dishes, wanting to help out as well as steal a minute alone with her in the other room.
