by Nicole Fox
“Listen, Mina, now that everything is out in the open, it’s high time we figured out just what we’re going to do about this … this whole thing.” He gestured vaguely toward her.
She knew what he meant, and she was once again fueled by anger. “What to do? What is there to do? You threw the father of my child out of the club. I guess that means it’s time for me to leave, too.”
“You’re not going anywhere!” Park was on his feet, ready to block her if she tried to leave the office.
It was a tempting thought, but Mina knew that the members of Satan’s Legion were loyal to their president. It would only take a shout from Park, and she would have five men holding her down if need be. “What good do you think it would do to keep me here? It’s not going to change anything! It hasn’t yet, has it? You thought you were somehow going to tame me by keeping me from going out or seeing the man I love, but I’m sure you can tell that’s not worked very well.”
“You’re staying here because I’m not about to lose you, too!” Her father’s face was crimson, the tiny veins on his neck standing out in relief against his skin.
It would have been a terrifying scene, but the last word of his sentence made her understand what was truly happening here. Insight slammed into her like a bullet from behind. “Lose me?” she asked gently. “Dad, I’m not going to die. Just because it happened to Mom doesn’t mean it’s going to happen to me.”
“You don’t understand, kid. You weren’t there. You didn’t see how scared she was when she realized what was going on, and how sad she was at the idea that she might not get to see you grow up. I told her the doctors were wrong, that they could stop the bleeding if they just tried hard enough.” Park sobbed and turned his face away. “At first, I blamed them. I almost beat the shit out of one of them in the parking lot, actually. But I realized that it was just the way things were. There was nothing anyone could have done about it. You’re the only thing I have left, Mina. I just wanted to keep you a little longer.”
“Dad, you’ve got to understand that you’ve only been driving me away.” Mina felt bad about being so blatant, but there was no more time to dance around the issue.
“Yes, I see that now. But it’s a little late, isn’t it? Skid is gone.”
“So we’ll find him. Send your men out. He can’t have gotten too far, yet.” She rose to her feet and reached for the door.
“No, Mina. The thing is, I already know where’s he’s gone. A man like him only has one option, and it’s not a good one. He’ll have gone to find Stomper, and damn it, it’s all my fault. I pressured him into talking to him and getting to know him again because I felt paranoid about the Sons of Chaos taking over our territory. I should have been more worried about them stealing the best damn vice president I ever could have had.” He ran a hand through his hair and then slammed it on the desk, angry at himself now instead of her.
“But Skid has always been loyal to you. If he was interested in leaving, then wouldn’t he have done it a long time ago?” Mina was desperate for her father to be wrong once again. She needed Skid back. They all did.
“You’ve seen him. He’s changed since he started talking with Stomper. I don’t know what it is, but he’s not the same person we’ve known for the last several years. It’s like it’s made him into a different person. You know I’m right, because I never would have found out about your relationship with him if he didn’t want me to. He’s grown careless and distant, and that’s my fault.”
“Then you’re just going to have to find a way to fix it,” Mina insisted, her sharp chin in the air. “I love him, Dad. I’ve loved him for a long time, and I’m going to have this baby of ours. You need to find a way to get him back and quick, before he does something he’ll regret.” It wasn’t the first time she’d been bossy with her father, but at least this time she knew there was a good reason behind it. She wasn’t just acting like a spoiled brat and insisting her buy her a motorcycle she couldn’t drive or throwing a fit over her allowance. This was important.
He nodded his agreement. “I’ll work on it. I need him back in the club. And to be honest, there’s nobody I’d rather have as a son-in-law.”
“Does that mean you would have accepted the two of us as a couple if we had come to you right away, before I even knew I was pregnant?” she challenged.
Park smiled. “Probably not. But I do now. Come here.”
Mina came around the desk and embraced her father, happy that at least this was taken care of. She needed Skid, but she was starting to realize that she needed her father, too. What Rose had said was right. Park had experience with babies, and she would need his advice and experience as she became a mother. Besides, her little one should have as much family around him or her as possible. “You think everything is going to be all right?” she asked against his shoulder.
“It has to be. I’ll make sure it is.”
Chapter Sixteen
Skid
It wasn’t easy to leave the clubhouse. It had been his home for so long. Skid had wanted desperately to make things work, but it was too late. He had betrayed Park’s trust. There was no choice but for him to go.
His biggest regret was not getting the chance to say goodbye to Mina. He could have reassured her that he would come back for her, that they would still find a way to be together. Skid wasn’t sure how he would make it happen, but he would. He had promised her. Just because he’d let Park down didn’t mean he would do the same to Mina.
With his face cleaned up and only a few cuts and bruises showing, Skid got on his bike and pushed the machine to its maximum acceleration. He had to get as much distance between himself and Satan’s Legion as possible, before Park changed his mind about letting him leave peacefully.
For a little while, he drove without direction. There was no place that he felt he belonged, and no place he truly wanted to be except with Mina. When he found himself driving along Lake Michigan, on the same beach where he and Mina had gone to talk all those months ago, he turned around and drove with purpose. It was too much to think about her, and there was at least one place where he knew he would be welcome.
“Skid! It’s the middle of the day! And I just saw you last night.” Stomper was already at The Billy Goat, and he’d gotten an early start on his drinking. Several of his club members were with him, but their numbers were significantly lower than they were at night. “You don’t look so good.”
“I shouldn’t.” Skid threw himself down in the chair next to Stomper. A different waitress than the one he had seen the night before came over immediately. She wore a tight T-shirt with the bar’s name on it that hugged her breasts tightly and showed off her midriff. She had cut off her jeans so short that they barely covered her ass. It was no doubt an outfit that earned her plenty of tips, but Skid didn’t care about it at all right now. “Just bring me a glass of water, please.”
“Oh ho! Now I really know something’s wrong,” Stomper remarked. “Tell me all about it.”
Skid, now that he was here, wasn’t even sure he wanted to say anything. “Why do you keep hanging out at this sleazy place?” he asked instead. “Aren’t they sick of you?”
“They were at first,” the blond man admitted. “But we order a lot of drinks and we always pay our tabs. Now quit changing the subject and tell me what’s going on. You didn’t get your face all fucked up for nothing, I’m sure. Was it a girl?”
He pressed his lips together, but the gesture hurt. “I never thought I would say this, but yeah. It was.”
“Was she worth it?”
“More than anyone I’ve ever known. Unfortunately, she also happens to be Park’s daughter.”
Stomper burst out in his characteristic laughter, a sound that made him seem crazy more than in good spirits. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t laugh. But I know you, Skid. That’s just not the kind of thing I would have expected of you. This girl must be one hell of a lay.”
Skid curled his fist to keep himself from grabbing Stomper by the
shirt and dragging him out of his chair. The leader of the Sons was trying to help, in his own way, and he had no idea what sort of relationship Skid had with Mina. Skid had purposely kept their conversations turned away from his current life. “It’s a lot more than that, man. She’s having my baby.”
Stomper heard the gravity in Skid’s voice, and he didn’t laugh this time. “So it’s serious, huh?”
“Very.”
“What are you going to do?” Stomper waved at the waitress for another beer, but he didn’t even look at her this time.
“That’s exactly why I’m here. I don’t know. I let Park beat the shit out of me. I couldn’t fight back; it just didn’t seem right. He told me to leave, and I did. There was no choice. But I’ve got to find a way to go back and get her. I can’t just leave her there.” There was so much more Skid could say, but he knew Stomper wouldn’t want to hear about his feelings or how he was desperate to keep his new little family together.
Still, Stomper seemed to understand. He whacked Skid on the back of the shoulder as he picked up his fresh beer with his other hand. “We’ll find a way. You just stick with me, Skid, and I’ll make it happen.”
Skid turned to look at his old friend, unsure of exactly what was being offered. He wasn’t ready to make a commitment to the Sons of Chaos, not on the heels of leaving the Legion. “I don’t know.”
“It’s no pressure. Just stay with us for a little while, and leave it all up to me. I’ll work it out. You know better than anybody that I always find a way to get things done. I’ll get you a room at the same motel where we’ve been staying. It’ll be fine.” Stomper smiled.
“All right.”
* * *
The motel was a cheap one, and it provided little more than a roof over Skid’s head. The blankets were scratchy, the carpet smelled of mildew, and the window didn’t open. The members of the Sons of Chaos that flanked his room on either side kept late hours or sometimes didn’t go to bed at all, making it impossible for Skid to sleep. At one time in his life not so long ago, he would have gladly joined them. Now, he just wanted it to be quiet enough so he could think.
Every scenario he came up with was a failure. Skid knew he couldn’t just ride back to the clubhouse and demand that Mina be handed over to him. Park would refuse, and he would send his men after Skid. Sneaking in wasn’t really an option. He and Mina had spent plenty of time making their way stealthily in and out of the building and each other’s rooms, but he didn’t doubt that Park had reinforced every doorway and put extra guards out. The fact that Skid had been forced to leave in addition to the close proximity of the Sons would make him feel the need for extra protection, and rightfully so.
That only left him with Stomper. The leader had promised he would find a way for Skid and Mina to be together. Skid sat up on the edge of his sagging mattress and pulled on his boots, tired of waiting. He made his way down the covered walkway of the motel and knocked on Stomper’s door.
“Come in!” a cheerful voice shouted.
Stomper wasn’t alone in his room. Several club girls lounged around on the ancient furniture, and the group of men Skid had come to recognize as Stomper’s closest associates were present as well. They watched Skid carefully.
“I just wanted to talk to you for a minute.”
“Go right ahead. I have a little time, but I plan on going for a ride this afternoon. We’ve been in one spot for far too long.” The other men cheered their agreeance.
“Could we speak in private?” Skid didn’t feel this was a matter up for public discussion. Even Stomper barely understood just how vital it was, and there was no need for input from anybody else.
“Say what you want, Skid. We’re all friends here.” He smiled as he gestured around him as though they were in the throne room of a castle.
Skid cleared his throat. “I just wanted to check with you on the matter we discussed the other day.”
“Hmm?” Stomper was distracted as a club girl came around behind him to rub his shoulders. “Oh, that. Yeah. I’m working on it, like I said.”
“I’m just concerned,” Skid tried to explain without giving too much away. “I think time is of the essence here.”
“But perhaps it’s better to bide our time,” Stomper argued. “After all, Park probably expects you to come storming back. Give him time to calm down. Speaking of time,” he rose from his seat and came to stand in front of Skid, “don’t you think it’s about time you officially joined the Sons? It would make it much easier to help you.”
“Not yet,” Skid replied instantly, but he knew that he might never be ready. He could already see that Stomper wasn’t the same kind of leader Park was. He didn’t care about his men as long as they didn’t cross him. The lower members fought amongst themselves unchecked. Stomper himself was lazy, accomplishing little more in a day’s time than getting drunk and deciding which girl he was going to sleep with that night.
“I don’t know that we should let him in.” This came from a man Skid had come to know as Scar. His name was appropriate, as a vicious gash had once cut him from his jawline, up his cheeks, and even into his hairline. He kept his head shaved to show the full extent of his former injury. He was the current vice president of the Sons. “We don’t really know him.”
It was reasonable advice, Skid thought, and the same thing he might have said to Park in such a situation. But Stomper wasn’t having any of it. “If I want your opinion, I’ll ask you for it,” he snapped over his shoulder. “Besides, I’ve known Skid a very long time. He’s like my brother, and if I say I want him to be in the club, then that’s how it is.”
Scar glared at the back of his leader’s head as Stomper turned back to Skid.
“You just be patient. We’ll get your girl, and I’ll make sure nothing happens to her. You can trust me, Skid.”
Nodding but not reassured, Skid turned to go back to his room.
“You know,” Stomper said from behind him, “you don’t have to wait. You can have your pick of any of the club girls. I’m sure most of them would be happy for a little fresh meat.” He laughed as the girls in the room giggled. Their eyes traced Skid’s muscles appreciatively.
“No, thanks.” He went back to his room, his feet and his heart heavy.
* * *
That night, the Sons of Chaos gathered once again at The Billy Goat. Skid was tired of the watered-down beer and the pushy waitresses. Most of all, he was getting tired of Stomper’s company. He’d tried to spend a little time with his potential new leader, assessing him as a president and deciding if he was worth following. No matter how hard he tried, he could only see a man who was struggling to cope with his own past, just as Skid was. Every day since he’d left Satan’s Legion, he had been kicking himself for not doing what he should have and getting himself into this situation.
Things were relatively quiet at the bar. The members of the club who had been fighting had finally been sent back to the motel, where they were no doubt continuing their fights. Stomper had cleared his head of the afternoon’s alcohol with his ride, and he was starting it up once again.
As much as Skid wanted to pressure him again about Mina, he left the matter alone. It was clear that the man wasn’t as interested as he claimed to be in helping Skid; he just wanted to feel that he had some leverage over him. It irritated Skid and made him feel like a fool, but he sat down at his usual place nevertheless. There weren’t many other options available to him.
Stomper immediately started up yet another conversation about the old days. Skid was his sounding board for his army memories, and he had a plethora of them. “Do you remember that asshole Kirkwood?”
Skid would have been happy to say no, but that wasn’t the truth. “I do, unfortunately.”
“He thought he was so fucking special.” Stomper shook his head as he tore a paper napkin into tiny pieces that fell like snow onto the table. “He thought just because his dad had been in the army and he came from a rich family that he ought to be put on
all the good, clean jobs.”
“No such thing as a clean job in the army,” Skid remarked. He had been a forward observer. His job had been to go ahead of the other troops and call back to tell them where the targets were. It meant that he wasn’t on kitchen duty and he didn’t have to deal with sanitation issues, but it still wasn’t easy. His calls to the artillery had killed plenty of people, and sometimes he still saw them at night. Skid usually hadn’t been close enough to see their faces in real life, but his mind had created faces for them. They haunted him regularly.
“No, but he was determined to find one. I never met a soldier who complained so much. Fuck. What did he expect? He was just going to drive around and wave at the citizens we were supposed to be saving? He should have known better, especially if his dad really was in the service.”
“I’m sure he only heard the good stories, saw his dad at the end of his career when he worked in an office in the states and didn’t have to do anything harder than decide how to schedule his men for the week. It’s the sort of thing that makes young dumb idiots like ourselves sign up.” At one time, Skid had hated Kirkwood just as much as Stomper still did. But he was beginning to understand that everyone made mistakes, and sometimes they had to pay dearly for them.
