Diego

by Hope Stone

  Her eyes watched me as she sipped her beer. “Is that because of your new girl or something else?” Our nachos came out and I scooped up some beans and guacamole.

  “No. Nothing to do with her. It was about you and me. We just have to leave the past in the past, Crystal. Don’t dwell on it.”

  “Okay,” she said quietly. “Are you exclusive with her?”

  Irritation flashed through my eyes. “Crystal, let it go, baby. I’m not the man for you and you know it.”

  She crunched her nachos. “You’re right.”

  Awkward silence existed between us for a few minutes. An image of Misty popped up. The light hitting her as she walked with me beyond the trees at Yosemite. I longed for her delicate touch.

  Crystal and I talked a little more and made a move to look out over the water.

  “So, how’s the chapter going up here?” she asked. “You think you’ll get the numbers?”

  “Yep. I think it’s going to work out here. We’re for the people. Outlaw Souls has a brotherhood code that we want to expand. I’m all for it.”

  “That’s great you have something to believe in. I feel like that about beauty school. I mean, not a brotherhood but women making other women look good.”

  “I’m glad you’re getting your life together, Crystal. Let’s head back.”

  We rode back a slightly different route, so I could give Crystal a different experience. She held on to me a little too tight, but I didn’t mind if it was going to give her some comfort at the end of the day.

  “Yo, Crystal, I gotta go right now, okay? Nice to see you but, hey, we have to move on in life. Thanks again for coming out to see me.”

  “Um, okay. You don’t wanna, like…fool around for old times’ sake?”

  I stood inches from my door and took my helmet off.

  “No. I’m good.”

  “Okay. All the best with the chapter,” she said frostily. I just gave her a kiss on the cheek and turned.

  When I got inside I saw the missed call from Ryder.

  “Hey, Diego. Hit me back when you get this.” You couldn’t miss his raspy tone.

  I hit him back. “Hey, Ryder. What’s going on?”

  “You sitting down? I got a few things to tell you about your lady friend.”

  “All right… Shoot.”

  “You might wanna vet your girls a little more. Your girl’s brother is Palo Narvaez. The Las Balas president. He just took over from El Diablo. It’s a setup. Tell me, Diego, you’re not in on anything with her.”

  Twelve

  Misty

  Round and round like a merry-go-round, my head spun. As Palo and I rode home from Santa Cruz, I thought about what a web I had gotten myself caught in. Palo yanked his helmet off when we reached our driveway. I put my kickstand down and took off my helmet as well.

  “I can’t believe you’re dating this guy! You gave me the hardest time in the world about criminal activity and now you’re going to end up with the same type of dude as last time!” he yelled as the veins in his neck came to the surface.

  I put up a finger in his face. “Like hell you’re talking to me like this! You vouched for your playboy friend! That’s the whole reason I’m living here. He didn’t tell me about his dealings right away. I didn’t know! Give me a fucking break.”

  “You didn’t know? The guy rides a bike should have been your first clue,” he shot back sarcastically.

  “Don’t even, Palo. Has nothing to do with anything. After you had those motherfuckers of yours try to slip me a mickey at the fucking club!” I screamed, slamming my foot to the ground.

  Palo put his hands behind his head and looked to the heavens. He quickly put his hands together and raised them in my face.

  “Don’t you understand? Their club was responsible for killing El Diablo! Now you’re dating the guy who’s starting the new chapter. Once he finds out about you, he’s going to call in the others. That’s the problem.” Palo was so mad, spit flew from his mouth and his teeth were bared.

  “You don’t know that. Diego’s not like that with me. He’s not that guy, his chapter is legit. El Diablo was a piece of shit and ran the club into the ground. So what if he's dead! El cabron!”

  Palo waved me off. “You’re setting the stage for another war! I’m trying to clean it up!” Palo gritted his teeth, slamming the front door behind him. Tears rolled down my face as I put a hand to my temple. Not sad tears, but angry tears. I sensed that Diego would never put me in harm's way. I walked in the house, ready to take a hot shower. I looked at my phone first. There were two missed calls from Diego. I wondered how he had time to text me when he was creeping.

  I showered and let the water hit me and wash away the confusion. I dried off and stared at all the books in my room. All the dreams I held in my heart. I stared at my phone and it began to look like Darth Vader to me. I sat on my bed with my hands clasped for a long time. Then I just leaped up and returned Diego’s call.

  “Hullo?”

  “You’ve been avoiding me,” he said.

  “I haven't, I've just had a lot going on with exams.”

  “Is it just exams you’ve had going on?”

  I held the phone away from my face, looking at it.

  “I could ask you the same thing,” I snapped back at him.

  He didn’t skip a beat. “I’m down here at the warehouse right now, you should come by.” His voice held a threatening tone I had never experienced before.

  “I don’t know that I want to come there right now.”

  “Huh? You Spanish chicas love to play games. Come over, I want to see you.” His voice smoothed out again and I reconsidered. I was already on my feet and sneaking out of my room. I heard the television on and Palo on the phone. I tiptoed out the back and silently opened the back door to sneak out the side gate.

  “I’ll be there in twenty minutes, send me the address.”

  “Okay.”

  I clamped my hands to the wheel as the evening dusk of night settled in the California skies. I had my window rolled down as I drove and the mosquitos were out to eat. I rolled it up quickly. I turned on my brights as I came to a large warehouse out the back of nowhere. It resembled an old aircraft hangar.

  Diego stood close to the side door resting against the doorframe. He had a toothpick in his mouth, his muscles more pronounced than the last time I saw him. His honeycomb hair caught in the light as intense attraction drew me to him like a moth to a flame.

  “Misty.” Just one word and I thought I would melt right then and there.

  “Hey, Diego.” I suddenly became shy, but not shy enough for me not to approach him. He pulled me close to him, keeping his eyes open and biting my bottom lip. I closed mine.

  I spread a hand on his stomach, softly pushing him away from me. Our greeting made me forget I was mad at him. I walked into the warehouse and looked around. A typical repair shop except for all the space. On the back wall was the club motto hanging as a banner. The place smelled of grease and metal. Two bikes were up on platforms to be worked on.

  “Wow, you’ve set up things so quickly.” I turned as Diego managed to grab a few of my fingers and interlace them with his.

  “Yes. I did. Are you avoiding me? Come and sit down. Tell me how you’re doing.”

  I looked back at him. The guy ignited the furnace inside of me.

  Diego sat in the closest chair and pulled me into his lap. He grabbed my chin lightly and tasted my lips. All the anger subsided, he pacified me somehow. I pulled back again.

  “Diego, are you seeing anybody else?”

  His eyes darkened with lust as he replied, “The only person I’m seeing is you.”

  I wriggled free and stood in front of him with my hands on my hips. “Then why did I see you with a blonde in Santa Cruz?”

  A look of complete astonishment flashed across Diego’s face. “You were in Santa Cruz?”

  “Uh-huh. I was. Tell me about her.” He seemed way too cool for my liking. Now the anger came
back with a vengeance. “So is that how it’s going right now?”

  Diego stroked his chin. “One minute you’re hot and the next you’re cold, mamacita. I waited for you, I understood you needed time. Now I know why…but we’ll get to that. Second of all, that blonde was my ex. Ain’t nothing going on there. Been there, done that. I'm a man of my word.” He pointed to the banner behind him. “See that on the wall. It’s all about honor and trust.”

  I looked at him silently and he studied me for a minute. “Well, what was I supposed to think?”

  “You jumped the gun. That could have been anyone. You’re supposed to trust me. Back to you. Now it’s your turn. I’m going to give you an opportunity.” Diego’s eyes glowered.

  “I guess I have something to tell you.”

  He nodded his head with smugness. “You sure as hell do. Funny how it didn’t come from you. And you have the nerve to question me.”

  “You know?”

  “Of course I know. So your brother is the president of Las Balas. So it seems like we have a predicament… If you told me earlier then I might have been able to prevent what’s going to be coming for you.”

  My hands trembled. Diego was too calm for my liking. “Diego, what are you going to do? I was scared to tell you. I don’t want anything to do with what my brother's club is doing. I couldn’t care less. That’s why I didn’t tell you. That’s the whole reason I haven’t seen you for three weeks! Because you sure as hell didn’t tell me you were in a club from the get-go!”

  “Same reason you didn’t tell me. I wanted to get to know you. At the time I felt like it was none of your business,” Diego responded.

  “None of my business that you’re in a motorcycle gang? Are you kidding?” I pressed.

  “You’re sneaky and you didn’t tell me you’re directly related to a dirty motorcycle club. Ours is legit. We had to handle it. I’m not supposed to even be seeing you.”

  “What the fuck!” I snapped back.

  “Look, let’s stop fighting. Come here, mama.”

  “No. You know what, my brother was right. He told me to stay away from you. Have fun with the female that means nothing to you.” I delivered the last blow.

  “Same thing I got told. Not to date you. You’re bad news, so here we are,” he said coldly.

  “You know what? I should have known.” I glared at him, storming back out to go home. I could feel his eyes on my back as I made it to my car.

  Thirteen

  Diego

  All of the lights were out inside the warehouse except for one. I was sitting at the desk, staring at the computer, wondering what just happened. She saw me with Crystal, goddamn. I shuffled the papers around on my desk. In a fitful moment, I slid them off. I paced the warehouse thinking and thinking some more. Las Balas. Palo Narvaez, what do I know about this guy? I sifted through my mind. I’d never heard Ryder mention him before.

  I thought about it some more and headed back to the computer. I looked up the chapter, Las Balas. As I scanned through all the pages, each member had an individual profile. Palo was a short dude with a mean mug in the photo. He had his arms crossed. I read what he had to say.

  We are a brotherhood and we stand for Unity. We aim to empower men in the chapter as a stand for solidarity. When you join Las Balas, you’re joining a family. We welcome you.

  I searched the internet for more information on Palo. I was surprised to find an article about him, another picture with him shaking hands with a Latino not-for-profit organization for kids. He didn’t have his jacket on though. I looked closer and he had the name of an organization on the top of his shirt and I couldn’t make it out.

  My fingers itched to call Misty, I wanted to know what she knew. Her body and the way she moved like water on earth. Her lips, everything in my manhood wanted to go to her. The secret code of conduct in our organization was if you broke the rules, your tattoo was burned off and you were kicked out. Our connection would cause a huge divide.

  I didn’t have to worry about not calling Ryder; he called me.

  “Hey Ryder, how you doing?”

  “Good here. Did you break it off?”

  “I’m not dating her right now, Ryder. It’s my life. I’m not reporting to you about the women I’m with. I know that much,” I bit back.

  “You just received your nomad patches and the first thing you want to do is date someone from our rival camp? I’m questioning your choices, Diego. I don’t care who you fuck. It just doesn’t need to be associated with our crew.” The silence between two alphas ensued.

  “Ryder, like I said to you earlier, I had no idea who her brother was. Get off my back about it.”

  Ryder’s raspy breath pierced through the line. “Stop thinking with your dick. This is bringing heat to the organization. If it gets back to Las Balas, then what happens? We have a potential turf war situation. We just handled El Diablo recently. What… now we gotta handle another one? Think about your brothers, Diego. We ain’t got no small chapter, we’re at the top of the chain. Other crews are coming for us. Understand?”

  “I hear you. But did you look into Palo? He looks clean. I don’t know enough but he looks clean. His sister is studying to be a doctor. He’s not going to put her in jeopardy.”

  “Sounds nice in theory, Diego. But men do what they have to do on the surface. He’s already living a double life. He works for some computer company during the day.”

  “So you did look into him,” I shot back.

  “Of course I looked into him. That’s why I’m telling you. Stay away from her if you know what’s good for you.” Ryder’s warning was clear. The phone went dead.

  I looked over the warehouse, flicked off all the lights and headed home. I’d planned to get stuck into the bike on the platform, but I couldn’t concentrate.

  Man, she looked good. On impulse I sent her a text message.

  “I hope you got home alright. let’s talk. D.”

  No way in hell I was going to let Outlaw Souls get in the way of what I had going on with Misty. I opened my fridge and picked up a beer. I let the cold brew hit my throat.

  My phone went off and I picked it up without looking.

  “Yo.”

  “Hey, Diego.” I swallowed down more beer and retracted the phone to look at it. Misty was on the other end of the line. I leaned forward on the kitchen bench, listening. God, I missed her.

  “Hey, you. Did you get home all right?”

  “I got home fine. Thanks for the message. I didn’t come to argue with you. I missed you.” She spoke gently.

  “I missed you too. You calmed down now?”

  “I’m calm. I never wanted anything to do with my brother's club. You gotta believe me. That’s why I didn’t tell you. I wanted it not to be there. I wanted to pretend that he wasn’t part of a chapter.”

  I let out a tired sigh. “Misty, be honest with me and tell me... Is your brother drug-running through the club? What the hell is going on over there since El Diablo?”

  “I don’t know who killed him, but I’m glad. I’ve been so scared for my brother for the last few years. I asked him to leave the chapter. I want him to live a normal life. I begged him. He wouldn’t listen to me. Palo wants to change the chapter around. Do work in the community.”

  The sincerity in her voice couldn’t be missed. I laughed. “Funny, Outlaw Souls want the same thing ultimately. They don’t want the stigma either. So here we are, right in the middle of a firestorm.” I drained the rest of my beer and set it down on the counter.

  “I don’t know what to do, papi.” She sounded scared.

  “I don’t see what that has to do with us. You and I can keep going,” I said, a heavy silence hanging in the air between us.

  “How? Palo’s watching me now,” she whispered.

  “Well, you have class, right? You have to go to school. He can’t stalk you forever. It’s going to be okay, trust me. To me, we’re not against one another.”

  “I can never seem to keep away
from you bikers.” I laughed to ease the tension. “Diego. This is too crazy.”

  “Is it? Do you want me? Because I want you. I don’t want to fight about it. I can meet you after class,” I declared.

  “Me too. I want to see you. I wish we didn’t have to sneak around to do this, but if that’s what it needs to be…” Misty’s voice trailed off. “I’m free tomorrow around one. Come pick me up and we can do something together.”

  “Sure. I’ll call you when I get close. Don’t worry so much. By the way, you looked sexy as fuck when I saw you tonight.”

  “Mmm, you too.”

  I hung up. I had to see her. I couldn’t care less what Ryder had to say.

  The next morning flowed a little easier. I rode out to the warehouse with three bikes to work on. All from new clientele. Rick and Derek were coming to collect their bikes as well and talk to me about the chapter. As I worked steadily through the morning, Rick walked in with Derek. I saw them approaching; the warehouse roller door was wide open.

  “Hi, Rick, nice to see you again. I got everything lined up for you. Took a minute for that part to come in, that's all.”

  Rick shook my hand enthusiastically and walked over to the bike. “She looks good. Mind if I test out that hard start in the parking lot? I want to see the difference.”

  I waved the grease rag out to the parking lot. “Go for it. Please do.”

  Derek and I watched Rick start his Harley engine and take off. No more crunching, the issue had been resolved.

  “How’s business going? I see you have a few bikes in here right now,” Derek asked as Rick rode.

  “Yep. A few of them were referred to me by the chapter. So I’m off to a pretty decent start. I’m keeping my head above water so far.” I grinned.

  “Good, good. So how many people are you looking to sign up for the chapter?”

  “If we get twenty, that will be good.”

  “Okay, relatively small.”

  I shifted my gaze to the front of the warehouse as Rick came in from testing out the bike. Two guys in black were standing at the front. One of them was on the slimmer side and poking his head around the edge of the building.