by Esme Beal
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“Huh? I’m cleaning these pots and pans before I head over to Hagen’s—”
“That’s not what I’m talking about.”
I kept my head down while Leon walked over to me. I didn’t look at him but I could feel his eyes on me, looking me up and down.
“You’ve been acting strange lately,” he said. “You haven’t gone riding with us. You haven’t been drinking with us as much. Hell, you weren’t even in the last brawl with us when we got into it a few days ago.”
“Sorry… I just… I didn’t feel like drinking that night.”
“There a reason for that, Brock?”
I slowly turned to face him. Leon was as intimidating as anybody. A couple of beady eyes like he was trying to look into my soul. I knew the man as well as anybody, so I had nothing to fear. I trusted him with everything.
I sighed knowing I could never keep the truth from him.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged and went back to washing the dishes. “Something just seems off about all of this.”
“About all of what?”
“This. The West Bay is changing. I see new businesses opening up every single day. More people walking up and down the streets. Even old men and women, like they aren’t afraid of someone trying to mug ‘em. And even if you can’t see it, the reports can’t be denied. We get the reports from Snow Falls PD for ourselves. Crime is down. Violence is down. Less dealers on the streets.”
“Less dealers on the streets means more room for us. We won’t have to mess around with any of the heavy shit. The crew will make money keeping our heads down and doing the work everybody else is too scared to do.”
“Yeah. I get it.” I couldn’t help a sigh. I kept my head down, my hands focused on scrubbing the grease off the pan.
Leon hadn’t gone away though. His eyes were still on me. When a man like him was staring at you, it was easy to tell even when you weren’t looking at him.
“Then what’s the problem?” he said.
I chuckled softly to myself, wondering if he would ever understand what I was thinking. “Is that all there is? I mean, I know how it goes. We came to Snow Falls from the other city because of all the new opportunity—”
“And we’ve got a new opportunity. You’re welcome to leave if you want, Brock. Nobody’s forcing you to stay with us.”
“…No. You know I could never do that.”
He put a hand on my shoulder, forcing me to look at him. “I’ve got everything figured out. Detective Kennedy is cracking down. The Chargers are rolling around trying to keep everybody in check. But all they’re really doing is weeding out our competition. By the time this is all over, we’ll have enough business in the West Bay to clean this warehouse up for good. We’ll all be living in luxury. Just like planned.”
Leon’s voice was deep and filled with a charisma you wouldn’t find in other men. It was hard not to believe everything he said. That was more than enough to make me smile.
“This is just the beginning for the Demons. Make sure you talk to Pico when you’re done, all right?” He put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed before stepping out of the kitchen.
It was an ordinary living with the Demons. They were a bunch of wild, rowdy bikers who were always up to no good. I was a part of their family. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Chapter 3
CADE
There’s nothing quite as satisfying as riding through the streets on my chopper. The wind blowing through my hair and against my face. My engine purring softly underneath me. Rolling rubber over the pavement close enough for me to touch. There was no kinda freedom like this.
It was a bright and sunny day in Snow Falls. The sun was out but not annoyingly warm like it could be. The air seemed a little fresher than usual when I breathed it in.
I wasn’t the only one taking the opportunity to enjoy it. A couple of kids roamed down the sidewalks like they were out to cause some trouble. Another gang rode by me but just kept on riding and minded their own business. A couple of police cruisers did their usual patrols. Everybody seemed to be out except for the dealers you’d usually find on every corner. Those punks were probably just waiting for the sun to go down.
I usually did patrols with the rest of the crew when I was bored. Just the presence of the Chargers alone was enough to make every bad guy think twice about what they were doing. And when we had to step in, we made sure to settle things quick.
It didn’t matter to me that I was on my patrol alone now. I’d been living in the West Bay long enough. There wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle by myself. It wasn’t until I did my usual runs when I realized I had a bigger problem than finding something to deal with…
There was nothing to deal with.
I contemplated my options. Either keep rolling around the blocks hoping for something bad to happen to someone so I’d have to step in. Didn’t want that. I could look for someone suspicious and check him. Couldn’t find anybody. My only other option was to head back to Brickstone and relax until nighttime when the place got busy.
The freedom of the open road could only keep me from being bored for so long.
I was just about to head back when I noticed an old man leaning up against a building. I pulled up to the curb and got a better look at him.
His shirt. His jacket. His jeans and his sneakers. His ballcap. All of his clothes were dirty and disheveled like he’d been sleeping on the sidewalks. I got a better look at his face and realized he wasn’t old, it was just the dirt on his cheeks that made him look that way.
He sighed and took his hat off to reveal a mess of black hair. He wiped the sweat from his bangs and forehead with the back of his hand then put his hat back on.
“You all right?” I asked as I walked up to him.
The man slowly turned toward me. I didn’t take it personally when he eyeballed me like I was about to rob him. I was wearing a leather vest and a pair of jeans that made me look like every other biker in this part of town. Guys who looked like me usually did rob people like him.
“I’m alive,” he said. “Just barely but I’m alive.”
“There aren’t many shelters in the West Bay. You know, I could take you over to the Southern Block. Plenty of places that’ll take you in. Hell, I’ll take you to the Webb Building and the man himself will probably let you shack up in his room.”
“That sounds nice. Probably gimme a nice sandwich and a cup of soup, too.”
“Grilled cheese and tomato is my favorite. But I don’t think they’ll let you choose. Why don’t you hop on my ride and I’ll take you over—”
“That’d be nice but you know what would really do it for me?” He looked over my shoulder at the building next to me.
I looked up at the sign, not realizing I was parked right next to a bar. “Hagen’s… Never been to this place before.”
“A bar’s a bar. I’ve been to enough to know the liquor tastes the same no matter where you go.” The guy wasn’t in good shape, so I knew the growing smirk on his lips was genuine. “Buy me a beer?”
“Helping everybody to a beer these days… Sure. Why not?”
“You’re a good man. My name’s Darren.”
“Cade.”
Darren and I headed into the bar. The place had a few more patrons than I was expecting for the middle of the day. A couple of guys enjoyed their beers while they played pool. Off to the other side, there were some guys relaxing like they were on break from their shift at the docks. The bartender leaned against the wall with his arms crossed as he watched a football game on TV.
The lights were dim. The music from the jukebox was low. The place smelled like old whiskey and cheap cologne. But even with the wooden floorboards that needed to be replaced and the walls that needed to be repainted, the place wasn’t as dreary as it seemed.
Darren hopped right up next to the counter and tapped his hands against it with enthusiasm. The bartender walked over to us like he had bet
ter things to do.
“Gimme a beer for my man Darren here,” I said.
“You not drinking?”
“I can’t drink in the middle of the day. There’s plenty of time for that later.”
“If now’s not the time to drink, when is? You can’t expect me to drink by myself.” Darren’s toothy grin made me laugh.
“Make that two beers.”
Darren grabbed his mug with both hands and put it up to his lips. His throat shifted as he kept gulping. The man was in a desert who just found an oasis. He put the glass back down on the counter, foam covering his mustache. I took a sip for myself and sighed.
“So,” I said. “How’d a guy like you end up in this part of town?”
“I hang around the Southern Block. Spend my days at the shelter. Problem is, the bars there don’t really do it for me. I need a place where I can have a beer with a man who knows how tough it is. I grew up in the West Bay. Born and raised. Did some work on the docks before my back got messed up in my 30s. Been looking for some nice relaxing work. Maybe I’ll find it eventually.”
“Ashton Webb is intent on finding a place for everybody. There’s a spot for you. You won’t have to worry about that.”
“I know. Sometimes I just wanna come to the place I know better than anywhere else.”
Listening to Darren’s story made me reminisce about how much I enjoyed hanging around the West Bay. Regardless of the state it was in, it’d always be my home.
“How about you?” he asked. “You usually just ride around and offer strangers a beer?”
“Something like that.” I pointed at the patch on my chest. “West Bay Charger. You might’ve heard of me.”
“Nope.”
I twisted my lips, trying my best not to be offended. If Bryce was here, he’d probably laugh.
“Maybe that’s for the best,” I said. “But the Chargers are always doing everything they can to make sure the streets of the West Bay are safe for everybody.”
“That’s good to hear. It’s nice to be able to come back and not have to worry about someone trying to take me into an alley and snuff me.”
“That’s why I do it—”
“I’m sorry! I just don’t have the money! You’ll have to tell him I can’t afford his protection any longer!”
I jerked my head and raised an eyebrow at the sudden outburst next to me. I watched an older man come out of the back of the bar. Balding with gray hair. A thick mustache. A pot belly that stretched out his shirt. He was a round man, for lack of a better word. But the look of concern on his face caught my attention more than anything else.
He threw his hands up in frustration just as another man walked out from the back.
Now this guy looked like someone you would expect to be hassling the bald fat man in front of him. Dark brown hair slicked back over his head. A bushy brown beard. The guy wore a sleeveless shirt to show off the ink all over the tan skin of his arms. He looked like he was in good shape, too, judging from the way his jeans hugged his legs.
He put his hands on his waist and shrugged.
“You made a deal, Pico,” the other man said. “I need the payment.”
“Look around. My margins are thin. I give you a payment, I’ll be going out of business. I’ve been here for 27 years. You can’t expect me to close up shop now!”
I couldn’t help but listen in on their conversation. “Hold on a second, Darren.” I got up from my seat and walked over to them. As soon as I did, they both turned and looked at me. “Is there a problem here?”
The bearded man eyeballed me. “No problem. Just taking care of some business.”
“We got no business,” the older man said. “Not anymore. And that’s final!”
He turned his back and made a beeline behind the bar to pour himself a shot of whiskey. The other man turned to follow him and I immediately put a hand on his chest to stop him, noticing how muscled his physique was underneath his shirt.
He raised an eyebrow at me, amber eyes narrowed. “What are you doing?”
“You heard what the man said. He doesn’t have your money. I suggest you let this go.”
There was something about him. I didn’t know what it was but I couldn’t place it. He just kept staring at me. I didn’t know if the bastard was gonna swing at me or try to kiss me. I had to be prepared for everything.
But then the strangest thing happened. He just smirked and shook his head.
“Yeah… You’re right. I guess that’s that.” He backed away from me and put his hands on his hips. “Do you usually butt in on other people’s business?”
“Only when I see the need to. How about I make it up to you?”
“I don’t know how you’re gonna make up a thousand dollars but… you’re welcome to try.”
“How about a drink and we’ll go from there?”
I didn’t know what the hell came over me but I was talking to the guy like I knew him. And even more surprising was he hadn’t taken a swing at me. Not yet, anyway.
He looked down at the ground and shook his head before shrugging. “I don’t usually accept offers for drinks from strangers.”
“And I don’t usually offer drinks to strangers.”
“I’ll be at Minnow’s on Broadway. Around seven.”
“I know the place.”
The guy gave me that smirk of his before heading out of the bar. I watched him the entire time before taking a seat back next to Darren.
“The West Bay,” he said. “You never know who you’re gonna run into around here.”
“You got that right…”
Chapter 4
BROCK
Leon wasn’t in the best mood when I showed up back at the warehouse to let him know Pico wasn’t paying. He wasn’t the type of man to let his emotions get the best of him. But I knew it was in my best interests not to be around him and the rest of the Demons.
That’s why I did it.
Accepting invitations from strangers wasn’t something I usually did. Nobody ever offered to buy me a drink if they weren’t up to something and this guy wasn’t an exception. I convinced myself I just needed to get away from everything I knew and relax this evening. Having a beer, even with a stranger, was always the best way to do that.
I showed up right on time at Minnow’s. It was a quiet bar in the West Bay where everybody minded their own business. Sure, it had the stink of liquor and leather like most of the places did around here. And if you looked at somebody the wrong way, they wouldn’t hesitate to take you outside. But deep down, all everybody wanted was to just have a beer and talk to their friends with music in the background.
I sat at the bar and the bartender eyeballed me even after I told him I was waiting for someone. Couldn’t blame him. It was a full house at Minnow’s and there was no room for cheapskates.
“Where is this guy?” I sighed, wondering if this guy was playing a trick on me.
It was easy to remember a guy like him. Short blond hair. Blue eyes. Some scruff on his jaw to give him a rugged appeal. The perfect combination between a thug and a gentleman. At least, that’s the picture of him I had painted in my head.
My daydreams of the man I met came to fruition when I saw him walk through the front entrance. He was just as I remembered him. Tattered blue jeans. A cut-off vest over his white t-shirt. His hair was a little longer than I remembered but his face was the same. Sort of an older babyface with narrow eyes. He looked at me over the crowd of the dimly lit bar and spotted me.
The guy sauntered over me with the kind of confidence you’d expect from a biker. Was there ever a biker in this part of town who wasn’t overconfident?
I chuckled to myself and turned back to the bartender as the stranger walked up next to me.
“You’re here,” he said.
“I’m here. I know better than to turn down a free beer.”
“Smart man. Two beers.” He signaled for the bartender with his fingers. His eyes were locked on me. I knew they were, even t
hough I wasn’t looking at him.
“You must be pretty bored if you’re inviting strangers out for beers.”
“You’re one to talk. Accepting invitations from strangers means you’re just as bored as I am.”
I turned to him and shook my head. “Not bored. Just looking to get away from everything else on my mind.”
“I see…” He leaned in closer to the bar. “And do you care to tell me what it is that’s on your mind?”
“Why? You a problem solver?”
“You might say that. That’s what Chargers do?”
“Charger?” As soon as he said it, a bell rang inside my head. I was so focused on his blue-eyed babyface that I hadn’t even bothered looking at the patch on his chest. Sure enough, he was a Charger. The same kinda Charger Leon had a beef with.
I bit my tongue to hold back my surprise, turning to grab a sip of beer to make sure he didn’t notice my reaction if I had one. I swished the alcohol between my lips then gulped it down.
“Must be serious,” he said.
“Funny thing about the West Bay. Things can get pretty serious when you least expect it. But it’s nothing you need to worry about, Charger.” I put my hand up and patted him on the chest. “I’m a man who can solve his own problems.”
“All right. Your business is your business I’m not the kind of man to pry.”
“That wasn’t the case earlier today. But… I’ll take your word for it. Now we can just enjoy our drinks and get to know each other a little better.”
“Maybe a little better but not too much. I’m still suspicious about a man who accepts an offer for a drink from a stranger.” He narrowed his eyes at me, his smirk hidden behind a sip of his beer.
I chuckled and shook my head. “Brock.”
“Brock… Cade.”
“Cade…” I got a better look at him and realized I’d seen him before. I’d been to Brickstone a few times and saw the Chargers for myself. He wasn’t just a Charger. He was the leader.
“I’m the leader,” he said. “The old captain.”
