by Ella Goode
When we agreed to move some of Junior’s more sensitive shit, we knew it wasn’t going to be legal stuff. No one hides legal stuff. But we didn’t look because Judge is an honorable guy. What was Junior’s business was Junior’s business. Judge was just lending a hand.
But you didn’t put someone in danger without giving him a head’s up. To hide the ball and place Judge in jeopardy was a dick move. And for some it would mean outright war and the Death Lords is big enough to bring the struggling Misery crew down.
Judge continues, “I’m hoping Junior’s just a dumbass and there isn’t anything in there but booze and guns. Do you need more back up? I’m reluctant to send anymore reinforcements because it might tip Junior off.”
“No, Abel and I are fine. There’s only a couple of guys living in the house and we’re moving on as soon as we can find a place.”
“Make that a priority. I don’t like knowing that Chelsea is sleeping so close to scum. Maybe you outta send her home.”
“First, she wouldn’t leave and second, no. I bring her back to Fortune and she won’t stay.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” He sighs. Chelsea’s his little girl and I can hear the reluctance in his voice. He’d like for her to come home but she’s with me now and he’s got to let her go.
“I promised her when I got out, we’d never be apart again. Can’t break that promise to her. Plus you have to start trusting that I’m going to watch out for her. She’s not just my girlfriend. She’s everything to me.”
He’s silent for a minute. “Hard not to forget that you’re not that snot nosed kid who wrecked that bike when you were four.”
I bark out a laugh. “I served three years of hard time and you still think of me as a kid.”
“Once a dad, always a dad. Speaking of which…” he trails off. “Pippa wants to have kids.”
“Yeah so?”
“That bother, you?”
“You’re the one who has to teach the snot nosed kid to ride when you’re sixty.”
“You’re a fucker.”
“Learned from the best.”
3
CHELSEA
Registering for classes takes longer than I’d anticipated. The school’s admission’s officer presents me with more options than I’d read about on the website. I can take nail technicians classes only which is a ten week program. I’d have to do an additional two hundred hours at a salon before I could get a certificate from the state. The three years I'd worked at the Cut n Curl didn't count. Not even a single day which seemed unfair but there is no arguing with the fierce lady dressed all in black.
A full-on hair cutting, styling, and coloring program is ten months. I’d learn makeup techniques and nail stuff along with cutting hair. Marge doesn’t need another stylist but…I ran my finger down the classes offered. An esthetician's certificate would only require me to go through one semester of classes and it'd be half of what I originally had thought school would cost me plus no one in Fortune offers facials and massages.
Shoot. I can’t believe I’m making a decision based on whether my skills will sell in Fortune. When I was there, I couldn’t wait to get away but only a few days in the cities and I’m already thinking about going back. I wish Grant had stayed with me but then again, he’d be useless telling me only to do whatever I wanted to do.
Back in Fortune, I could have asked Marge or another old lady or even Pippa, my stepdad’s new girlfriend. Here in the cities with the mass of people, I’m more alone than I’ve ever been.
“You having a hard time deciding?” The admission’s officer brought me to another lady who is going to help me check out. Her nails are long and a deep purple and she’s rocking multiple layers of honey blonde hair and the most perfectly applied winged eyeliner I’ve ever seen.
“I’m not really interested in cutting hair,” I confess.
She flicks her hand. “Lots of girls aren’t interested in that anymore. Take the esthetician classes. There’s huge demand for facials, skin wellness, microdermabrasion.” She leans forward and I get a strong whiff of floral perfume. “Plus if you can get into a salon that has a dermatologist attached you can do fancier stuff like laser work. Classes start in just a couple of weeks.”
I look down at the sheet again and then fill out the application. With every stroke of the pen, I feel more sure about the decision. Taking just a few classes now with the option of more later makes the most sense. I sign up for the esthetician classes and then write out my check for the tuition. I can barely fit the words five thousand, four hundred, and eighty nine dollars on the check line. It’s the biggest check I’ve ever written. By the sighs and suspicious looks from counter lady, I guess most folks pay with a credit card.
“I’ll need to see your license.”
I hand it to her and she photocopies it twice, clipping one copy to the back of the check and placing the other in a file I can only presume is marked Girls who can’t afford to pay with a credit card.
After she’s done taking all my money, she hands me a sheet of paper.
“What’s this?” I scan the paper. It contains titles of books like Your Skin, Your Beauty and then a “tools” section that lists about twelve different implements. I suck in my lower lip. This was a cost I hadn’t anticipated.
"Problem?" The counter lady asks.
"No. No problem." It’s not really a lie. Grant had told me we had plenty of money to cover it but whatever cash I had saved is totally depleted by this. With having to pay rent, all the utilities along with tuition and books and supplies, I’m starting to realize how expensive life is away from my family.
I tuck the sheet away and take the course book the woman offers me.
“Here’s a print out of your class schedule. If you have any questions you can contact Toni Lotz. She’s in charge of your program.”
“Thanks.”
She gives me a dismissive wave. I gather up the materials wishing I’d brought something bigger than my small cross-body purse. It’s hard to hold my phone and the booklets. I look for a place to set my stuff down when a voice pipes up beside me.
“Need a hand?” Another pair of perfectly manicured hands reach out to take my course materials.
“God, yes. Thank you.” I give her a grateful grin and pull out my phone to shoot Grant a text.
Ready.
“No problem. When I first enrolled I was surprised there were books. Like if I wanted textbooks and homework, I would have gone to college.” She laughs. Her merry eyes look familiar. “I thought it’d be all hands on but there were books and tests and stuff.”
“Hopefully it’s not that hard.” The phone buzzes.
OMW. 20 min.
“Nah, you’ll get the hang of it.” She hesitates for a minute and then says with a wrinkled nose, “This is kind of rude, but I think we met before. At a party over on Grove Street?”
“Grove Street? I just moved here from Fortune. Chelsea ____.”
“Right!” She snaps her fingers and points at me. “Chelsea, you’re the girl who, um…” she trails off but suddenly I know exactly where the party at Grove Street took place.
“The girl who sleeps with her stepbrother. I didn’t catch your name.” My tone is about as cold as the temperature outside—icy enough to freeze water before it leaves the faucet.
“Mandy Johnson.” She’s undeterred by my frostiness. “And hey, he’s smoking hot so I can see how that’d be a constant temptation if you lived together. My brother is a whiny, pimply seventeen year old.”
Her friendliness starts to warm me up. “I met Grant when I was fourteen but we didn’t start dating until I was almost eighteen.” I didn’t admit that I wanted him from the first time I laid eyes on him or that every dirty dream I’d ever had from the minute I knew what dirty dreams were starred him. Dating’s probably the wrong word for it too. We started sleeping together when I was almost eighteen.
“That was some night, huh?” She wiggles her eyebrows. Her face is so expressive. W
ith long luscious brown hair, curled at the ends, and immaculately applied makeup, she seems a touch too polished for the biker crowd. She’s right though. My introduction to the Misery MC included being insulted, getting fingered and eaten out by another guy with Grant holding me up because I couldn’t stand from the overwhelming sensation, and finally watching a Misery member be kicked out of the club.
“Just another night in the life of a motorcycle club,” I deadpan.
She laughs—an open mouthed, belly laugh. “Isn’t that the truth. The parties those guys throw are insane in the membrane. I can’t stay away. They’re all like a bad drug habit that you can’t kick. How long you been with your, um, boyfriend?”
“Since I was eighteen.”
“Wow.” She rears back. “That long. How old are you now?”
“Twenty two.”
“Four years and high school sweethearts? That’s amazing. I dated Riot for a while.” Riot’s a Misery MC. “Back before he was in the Misery MC. He was just—what do you call them before they are members?”
“Prospects?”
“Right. Prospects. So we would go to the parties and drink and other stuff but then he decided he wanted to be a full-fledged member and I guess there’s a no woman rule because he broke it off.”
“You don’t seem to upset about that.”
“Nah, I mean. Riot’s a good time and all but he can’t hold down a job and if I’m going to hitch my wagon to a man then it’s going to be to a guy who can get a real job. He tells me his job is Misery, but that’s not a real job. All they do is sit around in that shit hole and drink and screw.” Her expression is a mix of annoyance and resignation but at least not hurt. “I still go to the parties because hot biker guys, free booze—what’s not to like?”
The Misery MC must be true one percenters—a club that earns money for its members by engaging in mostly illegal activity. Around here that means trafficking in drugs, guns, and sex. Getting a place to live becomes an absolute priority.
“You wouldn’t know of any places that are renting? I need a two bedroom with a garage if possible.”
She cocks her head. “Like a house?”
“It can be a house or an apartment but Grant doesn’t like parking his bike out in the snow.”
Neither does Abel. Their rides are like their babies and snow isn’t good for a baby.
“A guy I know flips houses and has some rental properties. I could ask him.” She hands me my course materials and digs out her cell phone.
“That’d be great.”
Her eyes gleam with mischief as she holds the phone to her ear. “It’s good for me too because this guy’s wagon is big time and this gives me an excuse to call him.”
I’m not certain that the wagon she refers to is the guy’s dick or his wallet. Either way, I suppose it doesn’t matter.
“Hey Robert, Mandy here. How are you? Yeah, I’m good. Listen, I’ve got a girlfriend who has just moved to town and she needs a place to rent. Has to have two bedrooms and a garage.” She listens for a minute and then places her hand over the phone. “You’d have to pay first and last month’s rent in cash along with a deposit but he has a duplex he just flipped.”
“How much?”
The price she quotes is a lot higher than I expect. I open my mouth to tell her no, but Grant opens the door to the entrance at just that moment.
“Hey baby.” He leans down and kisses me. At first it’s just a light touch of his lips against mine but for some reason, I need more. I lean into him and open my mouth. The invitation is taken up immediately and his tongue slides in to caress mine.
“Hold on Robert. Her man just walked in and he’s kissing her like he just got off a three year tour of duty.”
Grant chuckles against my mouth and then releases me.
“Shit, in the full daylight, you’re even better looking.” Mandy turns and gives me a saucy grin. ”You are one lucky bitch."
"Mmmm. Good as always.” Grant rubs a tiny spot of nothing away at the corner of my mouth and throws his arm around me. "Who've we got here?”
I introduce them. “Mandy was at the party the other night. She used to date Riot.”
“Nice to meet you,” he drawls. His hand dangles over the top of my shoulder and his fingertips are inches away from my breast. It’s innocent, at least I think it is, but even that light contact makes me a little hot.
“Mandy’s friend has a duplex with two bedrooms and a garage but it’s expensive.”
“How much.” I tell him the price and the terms. He doesn’t bat an eyelash.
“Is it near here?” he asks.
Mandy nods. “Only about ten minutes. And actually it’s just east of here so it’s close to the Misery clubhouse too.”
“We’ll take it. Tell your friend Robert we’re going there now.”
“He wants cash,” she warns.
Grant shrugs. “We’ll meet him there in ten minutes.”
Since he’s done with this conversation, he turns toward the door but I reach out to Mandy once more. Tapping my papers, I ask, “Where can I get the supplies?”
“There’s a place just down the street. You can’t miss it. Beauty Warehouse and you can get your books online you just need to be careful because some of the used ones are all marked up.”
“We’ll buy new,” Grant interjects.
I elbow him. "We won't."
“We’ll see.” He points a figure. “Your friend Robert is waiting. Ten minutes.”
In the truck, Grant texts Abel the address of the duplex. “I don’t remember this Mandy chick. You said she’s dating Riot?”
“She used to but she broke it off because Riot lost his job and wouldn’t look for a new one because the Misery is his job now.”
He rubs a finger down the side of my nose before putting the truck into drive. “Misery’s kind of a fucked up club, baby. Abel and I are trying to figure out whether we should pull out entirely or if Junior’s worth saving. I guess that’s Judge’s entire question and why we’re here.”
“What about the guy who met with Mr. Trainor? The one who we think is in league with Chief Schmidt?”
“That’s Moose. He’s the oldest member of the Misery club and has two younger sisters. Something is going on there, but we didn’t get it all fleshed out yet. We will,” he says confidently.
When we arrive at the duplex, Abel is already at the curb, leaning against his bike. Despite his wool coat and beanie cap, his strong jaw and muscular body is on full display. Mandy meets us at the curb. “Shit honey, is every guy you know hot as fuck?”
I grin at Grant. "Yeah. Pretty much."
"You are going to be the most popular girl around,” she replies. A cherry red sports car pulls up. I’ve grown up around classic American muscle cars and so I’m not surprised when Grant’s whole face lights up with approval at the site of the GTO.
“Is that your friend Robert?” I ask.
“Yeah, he’s a car nut. I hate it though because those old cars have shitty suspension. I feel like I’m bouncing around like a super ball in those things and my ass hurts when I get out.”
Mandy’s on the slender side. I slap my own butt. “You need more padding back there.”
She laughs and we move toward the guys who’ve gathered around Robert’s car.
“Nice. Nice,” I hear Grant repeating.
“Okay, enough ogling the other woman,” I joke interrupting the lovefest over the vehicle. “I’m cold out here.”
Grant jogs back to me. “Feeling left out?” he croons. “You know you’re the only one for me.”
“Don’t know whether I believe you. There’s drool at the side of your mouth,” I tease.
He leans down and growls in my ear. “I’m happy to show you right now how I feel.”
The mock threat sends a shiver up my spine that has nothing to do with the cold temperatures.
“If we were at the lake and it wasn’t two hundred below, I might take you up on that offer.”
> He winks at me. “Later then.”
Inside the duplex is as perfect looking as Robert’s GTO. It has two bedrooms upstairs and each has their own bathroom. Downstairs there’s a kitchen, living room and small eat-in area and a half bath. There’s even a basement but it’s unfinished. The garage is small but both Abel and Grant’s bikes will fit inside and we can park the truck in the driveway.
It’s beautifully decorated.
“He had it staged,” Mandy whispers to me as we move from the second floor to the kitchen. Each room is fully furnished. Both bedrooms have king sized beds and nightstands. The living room boasts a comfortable looking sectional and a nice sized flat screen. There’s even a small round table, four chairs and three bar stools at the kitchen counter. Everything about this place is perfect for us.
“Just finished putting in new flooring and paint after the other tenants left. I like to lease on a year basis with the first and last month’s rent along with a security deposit.” Robert pulls out a contract and lays it on the counter for Grant.
Grant shakes his head. “I’m not a fan of signing things because I don’t know what will happen in a year but I tell you what. We’ll pay six months in cash right now.” He pulls out a stack of cash and counts it out for Robert, peeling off six grand and laying it on top of the contract.
Robert’s hand jerks as if he wants to pocket the cash. “This is a family neighborhood,” he says.
Grant places as kiss on the crown of my head. “And we’re a family. Abel’s my brother and Chelsea’s my girl. We’re not going to throw wild parties or traffic drugs through the house.”
Robert looks over at Abel who wears an innocent expression. Other than Abel and Grant both being over six feet, they don’t look anything alike. Abel’s hair is light colored and shaved close to his head. Grant’s hair is longer; he doesn’t like having short hair as it reminds him of being in prison. They’ve both got square jaws but Abel’s deep set green eyes are a far cry from Grant’s blue.
The only people who’d ever think these two were related would have to be blind and Robert isn’t blind. But he’s a businessman and in the end the lure of the stack of cash is too much for him to refuse.
