B*stard: Royal B*stards MC (Texas)

by Sapphire Knight

  Whiskey shoots me a look, shaking his head. Obviously, he knows where Plague is. Glad someone’s got his location locked down. His family’s been having issues. His mom’s been cancer-stricken, and it’s made him a bit flighty. Not only that, but it’s made him ballsier, and he wants to dig his hands into anything dangerous he gets wind of. A member on the rails is not a good thing to have when you run drugs, but he’s our brother, and we’ve gotta have his back.

  “No,” Powerhouse confirms, rubbing his palm over his freshly shaved head. He’s got some tribal shit tatted on it like a junior Mike Tyson. He caught shit for it from us until he decked Plague, and that shut us all up. Plague was knocked the fuck out. We weren’t about to have that happen to us as well. “Blow, you want to tell Prez what happened?” he offers, and I’d chuckle at him tossing Blow to the top dog if I wasn’t so on edge about their news.

  “I was at BJ’s. House called me to bring in some more product. He’d sold out.” He nods to Powerhouse. He’s always called him House as a nickname, never mind that Powerhouse is already his road name. I whistle lowly through my teeth, my eyes flashing to Powerhouse. He nods to confirm that he made bank today at the strip club.

  “That’s what’s up,” I mutter, holding my fist out. Powerhouse bumps my knuckles then we train our attention back to Blow.

  “I was having a drink, chilling. I wanted to stick around since there were so many buyers. I felt like House may need me for some reason.” He shrugs. “Anyway, I found out one of the dancers is a runaway or something.”

  “The fuck?”

  Blow nods, releasing a pent-up breath, “You know me, I acted like I didn’t know what the fuck they were talking about. I let the chick asking give me as much information as she wanted to offer up freely.”

  “Mm,” I grunt.

  “Imagine my fucking surprise when I’m still telling her I don’t know jack shit, and she lays a photo of Madison on the table. I nearly choked on my motherfucking drink. Fuck, brother! The bitch is running, and she’s been right under our noses.”

  “Madison?” I repeat, dumbstruck, and straighten up a bit more. “You mean the bitch we’ve had sucking cock…Maddy?

  He grumbles, confirming. “It was some woman I hadn’t seen before. She came snooping around, asking for her. Says she needs to be found and quietly. Guess her dad’s a senator or some shit.”

  My brow wrinkles. “The fuck would an uppity rich bitch be strippin’? It doesn’t make any sense. You sure she said it was her father?”

  “Yep, trust me, Prez. I thought the same motherfucking thing when I heard it myself.”

  “Have you talked to Maddy about it?”

  He shakes his head. “Nah, if it’s true, I may scare her off.”

  “Might be a good thing, if she’s who this chick is claiming her to be and all.”

  He silently bristles, not agreeing. I’m not a dumb fuck. I know he’s carved out a soft spot for her.

  “What aren’t you telling me, Blow?” I press my VP. Obviously, he’s not coughing up everything he knows. “Out with it. I don’t give a shit if you’re fucking her too.” I decide to just speak plainly. I don’t like my VP keeping thoughts to himself on this chick because we’ve both been tapping her ass.

  “Maddy likes her powder.”

  “Ah.” The pieces suddenly click together. I should’ve guessed if she was shacking up with my VP when she wasn’t busy sucking my cock, it’d be for some snow. “She an addict? She’s been smart enough not to ask me for any…just taking when I offer.”

  He shrugs, jaw flexing. “I’m not one to call someone out on their vices.”

  “Understandable. I’m just gauging the amount of liability this stripper brings to the club with her presence.”

  “I won’t let her get us into any shit.” He grows defensive. Fucker has definitely gone soft on the bitch.

  I chuckle. The bastard that I am won’t hesitate to call him on his bullshit. “She’s already brought in shit! Think about what you just told me about who her pops is. He could be buddy-buddy with the fucking FBI, for all we know. The last thing we need is government presence in our fucking clubhouse, brother. The bitch could be working for daddy. Politicians love bringing down criminals. Looks good on their ass-kissing resumes.”

  “She’s not like that,” he states firmly, his cheeks red from irritation. I don’t buy it for a minute. I sell drugs. I’m a skeptic on everyone who isn’t a member of this club.

  “How do you know? You’d trust her with your life, or with ours? You’d do time for the bitch?”

  “If I didn’t trust her, I wouldn’t have her pussy in my bed, on repeat. She’d be a hit it and quit it—”

  “Yet, you keep going back, meaning...”

  He nods, confirming my earlier thought that he’s soft on her.

  “You feel something for her?” I ask outright, not pussyfooting around it.

  “Maybe.”

  “All right, then. I’ll stop getting my cock sucked by her.”

  “It’s not like that.”

  I snort. “Give me a fucking break. You had hearts in your eyes from the moment you saw her.”

  “Fuck off.”

  “Just callin’ it like I see it. Now, where is this person who was asking around?”

  “It’s her sister…a real fancy bitch. Gave me her card, told me to call if I saw Maddy, only she calls her Madison.”

  “Did you?”

  “Fuck, no. If Maddy wanted to reach out, she would. Her relationship with her family is none of my business, nor do I want it to be.”

  “Well, make it your business. We can’t have her fucking daddy showing up here next. A bullet in a senator will raise all types of flags, and I’m not trying to do any time without a good enough reason. You feel me?”

  “Yeah, I get you. I’ll see what I can find out, but so far, she’s said next to nothin’ about her personal life.”

  “You’re her personal life now. If she’s warming your bed, she’ll start opening up. Bitches always do. This one’ll be no different.”

  “Consider it done.”

  I nod. “And leave the card. I’ll see what Plague can find out once he’s slept off his latest tequila binge or whatever the hell he’s into.”

  He tosses the small cardstock on my desk and, with a salute, makes his way out the club office. Powerhouse nods toward the door and follows Blow.

  I jot down the name and digits before turning to a silent Whiskey. The fool didn’t say a word the entire time my VP was in here defending his new bed interest. “You catch all that?”

  He rolls his eyes. “I may be older than you, but I’m not fucking deaf.”

  With a chuckle, I hold the card to him. “Then give this to Plague and get what I need.”

  He nods. “I’ll get back to you tomorrow on it.”

  “Appreciate it,” I grumble and watch him pocket the card. He pecks at his phone, ordering us some lunch.

  My gaze falls to the name I’d scribbled.

  Alice Compton 287-747-8990 cell

  Don’t think I’ve ever met an Alice before. Even her name sounds like she belongs to a fucking senator or on a magazine cover. We don’t need this shit, but my brother seems pretty fucking smitten with Maddy-the-stripper-slash-cock-sucking-wailer, and we take women seriously in our club. If he wants her, then none of us will stand in his way.

  Not sure I can say the same for this Alice person. The last thing I want to do is bring her attention to us, but if I don’t, they could turn this into a missing person, and that’ll lead them to us regardless. Those bitchy dancers can’t be trusted, and they all know Maddy has sucked mine and my VP’s cocks while at the strip club. Hell, they’ve all given us a bit of lip service. It’ll put us at the top of her family and the authorities’ lists as suspects. It seems like some sort of shit is always coming at us, so I shouldn’t be surprised. I wonder if any of the dancers have fed Alice information already. I should send a brother there as well to do a little recon.
<
br />   “Powerhouse!” I holler, and he ducks back into my office. The fucker is built like a goddamn brick house, hence his road name. The females at the club love his ass, so he’s the perfect person to go snooping around.

  “Prez?”

  “I need you to head over to BJ’s.”

  “We need the VIP section? Gonna cut loose tonight?”

  I shake my head. “Nah, this is just you, brother. You heard Blow talking about that nosey bitch asking around town about Maddy. I need you to find out if anyone else told her about Maddy coming to the club. Be my eyes and ears on this.” Those strippers gossip like their life depends on it, and if someone offers up a buck, they’ll spill whatever details they have. There’s no loyalty when their lives revolve around a quick payday.

  He nods. “I can do that, Prez, no problem.”

  “And be discreet. If they don’t know anything, I don’t want them to become curious as well. Don’t offer up knowledge for them to give, ya know what I mean?”

  “Got it.” He nods again. “Anything else?”

  I shake my head. “Appreciate it, man.” I should mention that he needs to pull his head out of his ass where the dancers are concerned, but I hold back. I’ll let him live in his fantasy world with them a bit longer, but if they cross us, it’ll come to an end.

  “No problem. Give me a few hours.”

  “Bet. Ride safe.”

  He’s out the door before I can say another word. I steeple my hands, staring at the name Alice and wait…it’s all I can do, for now.

  Chapter 4

  Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and

  rightdoing there is a field.

  I’ll meet you there.

  - Rumi

  “It’s been a week, and nothing so far. I’ve left my card with a few businesses, and the team has been checking bars and clubs in the evenings regularly. I don’t think this is the spot, Dad. What made you think of this city in the first place?”

  “I didn’t say anything before. I didn’t want to get your hopes up in case it was nothing. Madison checked her voicemail. Jenkins gets a printout weekly of any numbers that connect to her voicemail, and the latest she used pinged on a cell tower in that city.”

  “Wow, that’s huge! I had no idea she was checking her messages.”

  “It’s what had me suggesting Nevada last time, but that lead was weeks old. There’s no telling how long she’s been gone from there. She could’ve checked her voicemail in Nevada as she was leaving—the same with this Texas city. We have no idea. You could be hopping from place to place chasing her, or else she could check it when she first gets to a city. We just don’t know her pattern, unfortunately.”

  I sigh, staring up at the off-white ceiling. “I’m just happy to know she’s alive.” My voice cracks, emotion clouding me. “I was getting worried. She’s been gone longer than any time before. I don’t like this, Dad. I want to see her.”

  “By four weeks,” my father replies, telling me what I already know, and I clench my eyes shut. She needs to come home. Madison can barely function living a privileged lifestyle, so why would I expect her to stay afloat and alive on the run?

  I clear my throat, attempting to reason. “Can Jenkins get us the coordinates to the specific tower the call pinged on? At least we could try narrowing it down to a smaller area and search any convenience stores or mom and pop type places. Maybe she’s found a job at one of those shops that’ll pay her under the table. She has to be doing something; surely, she’d have blown through the few thousand she took when she initially left.”

  “Already done, honey. That’s why Richardson has you checked into that specific hotel, and you’ve been searching around it. She was right by you and the team at some point. I have Jenkins monitoring her voicemail log daily this week. If she calls in, we’ll know, and Jenkins will notify Richardson immediately.”

  “I’ve never brought it up, and I hate to now, but what if we don’t find her this time?”

  “Alice,” he rumbles, his voice strong and steady as always. “She’s done this time and again. You know as well as I do, you’ll find her.”

  “I’m just growing more anxious by the day that when I do, she’ll be in a morgue somewhere. She’s not prepared for the regular world, Dad. Madison is naïve and always manages to find trouble somehow.”

  “It’s okay to be scared for her, sweetheart. You’re the stronger one; you remind me of myself. I worry for her as well, but we’re doing everything we can. Stay the course, Alice.”

  “Not everything; we could bring in the news and ask for their help.”

  He scoffs. “Please, Alice, the media would have a field day with this. It’s too close to my campaign. We can’t have a scandal of any kind.”

  “I know. Forget I mentioned it. I’ve got to go, Dad. I’m going to get something to eat with Richardson and double-check a few places the team stopped in when we first got to town.”

  “Keep up the good work, honey. We’ll have a party when you get home if you’d like. You’ve earned it.”

  “Thanks, Dad.” I can’t think of parties or celebrations right now when my sister could be in danger and not realize it. If I have threats against me, then I’m sure they go for her as well. I’m surrounded by three trained men to protect me. She has no one. “I’ll call you soon. Love you.”

  “Thanks, honey. Love you too,” he replies and hangs up.

  I immediately jump up and head over to the TV. I knock on the wall, signaling next door to Richardson that I’m ready. It takes him less than a minute, and I hear the click from him inserting my keycard in the lock.

  “Alice?” he greets.

  “Hey, I’m done. Let’s get some food, and I want to check out those bars you guys went to when we first got into town.”

  He nods. I know he heard my conversation. I have an audio and GPS earring I wear so he can always hear me, no matter where I am. I remove it to shower, but it’s for my protection, so I keep it on at all other times. He casts his eyes over me quickly and turns to leave. I can’t help but wonder what he thinks of the red dress I chose for the occasion. I wear jeans and plain shirts paired with ball caps most days to keep me plain on the road and under the media’s nose. When we go out, like today, I dress the part. Rather than looking like the usual townie or tourist, we appear to be on a date, eating and going for a drink. I need to find Madison without raising too many flags. I don’t want her to end up on page six or alert any bad people of her presence.

  I grab my Chanel clutch that has my card, Madison’s photo, a fake ID, and fifty dollars. I keep it simple, so if I ever get robbed, I don’t seem like anyone important. I’d be worth at least a couple million dollars if anyone ever wanted to kidnap me and hold me for ransom. That goes for Madison as well. I quickly touch up my Mac matte rouge lipstick on the way out, tossing the tube in my clutch as well and meet Richardson in the hall.

  “All clear,” he reassures, and I flash a grateful smile. “What would you like to eat?

  My shoulders lift in a noncommittal shrug. “Surprise me with something along the way to this bar.”

  “It’s a strip club, ma’am.”

  “I know. It just sounds more pleasant being called a club or bar. Besides, my father would lose it if he knew she usually ends up in strip clubs dancing. I was floored the first time we found her like that, and I’m sure he’d have a heart attack thinking of his baby girl in that position.”

  “Of course. You have my team’s silence.”

  “Thank you. I know I can count on you guys. You three certainly make all this searching more bearable.”

  He grins and opens my door. I slide into the comfortable seat of the luxury sedan that’s become a home away from home for me. I buckle up and fix my dress as he rounds the car and hops in behind the wheel. I watch the scenery as he drives in the direction of the airport. The strip club’s not exactly close to the airport; it’s just on the way. Flipping on the blinker, he turns into the fast-food chicken place I’ve come to l
ove. “Fil-A again? Drive-thru?”

  “You’re a keeper, Richardson. Drive-thru chicken is the best fake dinner date ever.”

  He laughs at my sarcasm. “I know you’d rather be looking for Madison than at a nice, sit-down dinner. I like this place too.”

  “See, this is why we get along so well. You know what I like and don’t try to push places on me like my father would. He and my mother would be chiding me about unhealthy calories and being in the spotlight, while you tell me to order extra waffle fries.”

  “You’re an adult and swim too much to be unhealthy.”

  I nod, completely agreeing. He orders my favorite sandwich, large ice water, extra fries, and a parfait for me then gets a cobb salad and extra chicken for himself. We pull through the drive-thru and then eat once we get in the parking lot of the strip club. BJ’s Dollhouse flashes at us as we eat like it’s the best thing we’ve had in days. That isn’t the case, though. Richardson has been spoiling me every few days with Fil-A, so I’ve been eating well this entire trip.

  He takes the lead, coming around to my door. I get out and stick close to his side. It’s dark, and protocol is that I have more than one guard with me in the evenings. We’re breaking that by giving the others a much-needed night off. The bouncer checks our ID’s at the door and charges Richardson a fifteen-dollar cover charge. The bouncer reassures me that I get in for free since I’m a good-looking woman. I snort but refrain from rolling my eyes like I want to. I’m sure some women are flattered by the bouncer’s words, but I take it at face value. More women in the place means more men, paying their cover charge and the dancers. It’s not rocket science.

  “Drink?” Richardson suggests as we find an empty table. The bar doesn’t have many people here tonight. There are a few lonely guys scattered throughout with one other table occupied. The three guys sitting there jovially laughing and drinking are wearing leather jackets showing a creepy looking skull wearing a crown in the middle.