by Rae B. Lake
I lift my head, and a wisp of shiny black hair catches my attention. My eyes zero in on the woman it belongs to. I’ve never seen her before. Not like I don’t know her, but like I’ve never seen her in this neighborhood at all.
It’s one thing to see tourists and outsiders near the resorts and other hotels, but to see one, alone, all the way out here in the country can only mean one thing.
She’s bringing trouble.
I stop dancing and gently raise the woman in front of me.
I kiss her hand and move away.
She glares at me for a second but says nothing. I understand it’s embarrassing to be left in the middle of a dance, but I got shit to do. I don’t bother to look back as I follow the woman snaking her way through the crowd.
Even the way she is dressed tells me she doesn’t belong here. She has on dress pants and a button-down shirt; it’s dirty and torn, but it looks like it’s made of silk. I can see the bright gold glinting on her wrist and neck. She is walking barefoot but is carrying a pair of red bottom pumps in her hand, and one of the heels is broken.
Definitely trouble.
I pick up the pace while looking around to see if I can locate any of my brothers. I want them to be ready if we run into trouble. I grab her wrist and forcefully turn her around.
“Dejame!” She brings her free hand up and beats it down on my chest. Her bottom lip trembles, but the look in her eyes stays strong.
“Quien eres?”
“Nadie.”
I bend her wrist in an awkward position; her mouth drops open silently from the pain. “I’m going to ask you again, and if you lie to me, this will hurt. Who are you?”
“Cariña.” She answers, the word barely audible through her gritted teeth. Her eyes drop down from my face to my chest, right onto my patch. Sgt at Arms Royal Bastards MC Ponce PR. “You’re one of them. I need to talk to Malvado.”
Instantly, my hackles go up. How the fuck does she know my president?
Her eyes drift over my shoulder for a second before she smashes herself to me, hiding from whoever she sees behind me. Her whole body is trembling, and I can feel her heart racing through her chest.
I take a chance and look over my shoulder.
“Coño.” I curse under my breath and turn back to the girl. She’s running from the Cano’s. I don’t know specifically who those two are, but their signature facial tattoos of the hurricane symbol and the light green and blue bandanas they have tied around their wrists tell me they are part of the gang battling us since they first formed in Bayamon.
I look back at the girl in front of me, the strength I saw just moments ago replaced with fear.
“Please, help me.” One tear drops from her eye.
Fuck, what did I just run into?
I wrap my arms around her. Shielding as much of her body as I can from those behind me. They snake through the crowd, completely bypassing me. Clearly, they are searching for someone. Rather they’re searching for this woman. Cariña.
Once they have moved far enough away from me and the music has died down slightly as the next song gets ready to play, I call out for my brothers.
“Bastardos!” I yell loudly. It’s perfect timing, and everyone in the RBMC knows what it means. All hands on deck.
“Apaga la musica!” Vado orders. “Turn that shit off now.”
I pull the woman behind me and walk out of the crowd to catch the eyes of any of my brothers. It’s Lobo who sees me first.
“Azriel? You good?” All the patched members converge toward Vado. Lobo is the only one waiting for me to respond.
“Nah, seems like we have some extra company.” I pull Cariña and push her in between Vado and Oro, ensuring she is still hidden.
“What you seeing, AZ?”
“Cano’s. Seems like they’re looking for my new friend here.” Vado turns to the woman standing behind him and looks her over once before turning back toward the crowd. The people like when we throw parties, but they also know one of our parties can turn into a shoot out quicker than a pig will eat its own shit.
The ones standing near us move away, and the two Cano’s stop where they are. If they thought they would crash our party and go unnoticed, they’re about to have a really bad day.
“Vado, good to see you, brother.”
Vado didn’t move a muscle, just stared at the man walking toward us. “I don’t know you. Speak your piece and leave.”
“We don’t want no trouble. We thought we saw someone.” The one with silver caps in his mouth speaks.
“Yeah, I bet you did,” Lobo says from behind.
“Get the fuck out of here,” Vado speaks, and almost instantly, we all reach for our piece. If they decide to go against my Prez’s word, we will make sure that she will stay here longer than they ever imagined, probably deep inside a six-foot deep grave.
“Esta bien, Vado. Nos vamos.” They put their hands up, and they walk away. They are low-level thugs, on our territory. If we shoot them right now, no one would even come looking for them, and they know it.
I don’t say a word, just watch as they walk away. By the time they get to the end of the block, they’re already running.
“Let’s party!” Lobo raises his bottle of Corona, and the music is put back on. Everyone goes back to what they were doing before. Everyone but Vado, Lobo, me, and Cariña. I grab her arm and drag her in the direction of the clubhouse.
Just as we make it to the door, Vado puts his hand up to stop Lobo. Lobo looks down at the obstacle.
“What’s the problem? This is club business, is it not?” Lobo asks, a twinge of resentment in his tone.
“Yeah, it’s club business, and I will catch you up later. Right now, our brothers and our neighbors are still out there. You need to make sure those Cano’s bums don’t come back. If they do, be ready.” Vado taps Lobo on the shoulder.
“You got it.” Lobo turns and walks back to the block party. He’ll follow orders.
“Vamos,” Vado says, and we walk into the clubhouse, the woman stumbling through the door.
“Who are you?” Vado asks as she turns around.
“Cariña. I already told your man that.” She says, her voice shaking but that fire I originally saw back in her eyes.
“Cuidado, I have no problem smashing my fist through that pretty little face,” Vado smirks at her, and she visibly shirks away. Vado is a scary man. Some people claim they are killers, but with Vado, you can see the evil in his eyes. A devil trying to play nice with the angels of the world.
“Now, tell me, Cariña, why come here.”
“My ex-husband told me if shit ever went bad for him, I was to come here and ask for help. He knew some things about the Juracános. They killed him.”
“Sorry for your loss,” Vado says.
“I’m not,” Cariña says, her face free of sorrow. “He was a piece of shit. I had no love for that man. Now that he is gone, though, the Cano’s feel that I know too much. They will try to kill me.”
“What do you know?” I ask her.
“Nothing. My dearly departed, and I had a toxic marriage. He wouldn’t tell me if my ass was on fire, let alone any secrets big enough to get him killed. The Cano’s aren’t stopping to ask questions, though.”
“Pues, that has nothing to do with us. We don’t do favors, and our protection ain’t free. Maybe dear old hubby should have told you that before he sent you over here. Vas a la policia, they will help you.”
“No, they won’t, you know they won’t,” I watch as she opens her shirt and digs in her bra. I roll my eyes, thinking she is about to offer sex in exchange for protection. There’s no pussy that good.
Instead, she pulls out a small black pouch and puts it in my hand. “Here, I just need to lay low for a while. I need off the island and somewhere safe to stay.”
“What the fuck is that?” Vado looks over my shoulder as I open up the small bag and let the contents drop in hand. “Carajo, that shit can’t be real.”
A d
iamond.
The shiny clear gem is about the size of a blueberry. I am no fucking jeweler, but it looks real, and something this size is worth at least fifty grand. “It’s fake,” I say, trying to hand it back to her.
“No, it’s real. It’s a 4 carat round diamond. It was my ex’s insurance plan. It’s worth sixty-seven thousand dollars.” She pushes my hand back.
I give her a skeptical look.
“Diablo!” she throws her hands up, “This is my life. Why would I fuck around about something like this? I promise you; it’s real.”
“Fine, if this shit checks out, we will grant you sanctuary, but if shit comes back and I find out you aren’t being upfront, you will regret it,” Vado says.
She nods her head but doesn’t say another word.
He turns to address me, “AZ, you’ll put her up?. She’s your problem for now.”
“Yeah, Vado, I’ll put her up.” There are times when I don’t know why Vado even asks things. He is the president. No matter what he says, unless I want to lose my patch, I have to do it. I would never do anything to jeopardize my patch. No matter what, my club is my life.
Something about this entire situation raises the hair on the back of my neck and makes me feel like something is off.
“Bueno, I’m going back to the party. Make sure this shit is handled by the time the party is over.” Vado looks over the woman before turning to me for a second and then walking out.
When I turn my eyes back to the woman, she is standing in front of me with her arms crossed over her chest, acting like I’m the most annoying person in the world. It’s amazing how quickly things change once payment is involved.
“We doing this or what?”
She rolls her eyes and looks away.
Fuck that! I don’t have time for this. I grab her forearm roughly; either she’ll keep up, or she’ll be dragged on the floor. Those are her only choices.
“Pendejo! Let me go! No me toques!” She tries to pull away from me, but I’m not having it. If she didn’t want me to touch her, she shouldn’t have come to the RBMC for sanctuary.
“Oye!” I stop and swing her around, so we are face to face. “I didn’t come looking for you. You came to us. You want help? You want to be safe? Then you’ll do what the fuck I tell you to do. If that’s a problem, you can try your luck with another club.”
I wait for a second to see if she will opt for someone else. I know she won’t. When she relaxes, I turn and continue to the back room. I open the door to one of the many rooms on the ground floor. I pull a lever hidden in the wall, and a panel of the stone wall swings open. I pull the string to light the space and direct her inside.
She looks around the small room for a second before she turns and looks at me.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“Let me guess this is a problem too?”
“Fuck, yes, it’s a problem. What the hell, do you think I am a dog? This isn’t suitable for anyone! How do you expect me to live here?”
“Easy, sleep, shit, and live. That is all you need to do. You’re on the run from a homicidal street gang. What were you expecting, the Four Seasons.”
She sucks in a deep breath and composes herself. “Ja, so what do I do if I need to run? What happens if they bust in here and find me?”
“Please, no one is busting in here, but if anything goes down, look here.” I point to the small wooden plank that is on the floor. I lift it and show her the small tunnel.
“No, I’d never fit through there.”
“Lobo fits through there, and he’s about three times your size. You’ll fit Cariña.” I smirk. I can see the panic on her face. The hole is small and dark, and it’s a long way down, but once at the bottom, it opens up to a pretty sizable tunnel and out to safety more than a mile away from the clubhouse. “Just follow the tunnel out and run away. If it gets to that, there’s nothing any of us can do anyway.”
“Fine, what am I supposed to do in the meantime?” she asks, sitting down on the uncomfortable cot pressed against the stone wall.
“Survive. That’s all you’re supposed to do.”
She puts her head down, and I can see that she’s defeated. No matter how strong a front she’s trying to put on, she is still being hunted. I don’t know anyone who likes to be prey. Unfortunately, I don’t have time to worry about that. I have to figure out exactly what my club is up against.
“Why are the Cano’s after you?” I ask her straight out.
“I already told you, my deceased husband had information about them, and now they think I have the same information.”
“Who is your husband?”
“Why does that matter? He’s dead.” She looks away from me.
A red flag shoots up in my head. That isn’t something someone who is being completely truthful would try to hide.
“What kind of information do they think you have?”
“I don’t know.”
I see her muscles clamp down; she is lying. I can tell that just from looking at her.
“Muñeca, I can’t guarantee your safety if you don’t tell me what kind of shit we’re getting into.”
She stands and gets right in my face.
Her dark brown hair is messy and knotted. The mascara she once wore darkens the skin around her eyes. Her lips are full and bare, slightly chapped from dehydration. The small, barely noticeable cleft in her chin trembles with the emotion and trauma she feels, but not her eyes. Her eyes, those dark brown eyes, are full of fire and strength. She may be up against a wall right now, but she’ll never stop fighting.
“I paid good money to stay safe. You already know who is coming for me; that is more than enough for you to do your job. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get back to figuring out how to survive in this shit box you put me in.”
She backs up and plops back down on the cot, the hard surface barely bouncing with her weight. The princess won’t be getting a good rest tonight.
“Tato, if you want to make saving your life difficult, que asi sea.” I turn without speaking to her again and slam the door shut behind me. She will be staying in Garro’s room. He’s not going to be happy about that.
I walk out of the clubhouse and back to the party on the street. It’s already getting late, and the only people still around are either part of the club or too drunk to realize it’s time to go home.
“Azriel. Estas bien?” Lobo asks as I walk out. Vado cares about all his men, but Lobo is the one that shows it. He’s the one making sure we’re good to go.
“Yeah, Lo, everything is ok. I think we need church, though.”
Lobo shakes his head, “Yeah, we do. Let’s clear this street, and then I’ll see if Vado wants to call it.”
I nod my head and reach out to shake his hand before he heads back toward the clubhouse.
I can see Oro with a woman. He is whispering something in her ear, and by the way she’s giggling, I know he’s trying to get his dick wet. If only he moved faster, I wouldn’t have to kill his dream.
“Oro, let’s go,” I say and wait for him to turn away from her.
“What? Really?” His face drops in disappointment, right along with the woman standing beside him.
I look at him for only a second, the glare telling him all he needs to know. If he wants to be patched in, he better move his ass. To make it as a Royal Bastard, you have to do shit you don’t want to do. As long as it’s for the greater good of the club, you suck it up and do it.
“Ok, AZ, I’m here.” Oro moves from the woman and pushes her slightly away. She doesn’t take the hint at first.
“Anda!” I flick my hand at her, impatient for her to move. She hurries along at my directive, and Oro doesn’t bother to look in her direction. If she is upset with him, and if Oro cares, he can deal with it later.
“Oro, I need you to get this street clear. If anyone is too fucked up to make it home, get some help, and get them home. I want to make sure everyone gets home safely when they leave here.
Entiendo?”
“Yeah, I got it. We got trouble?” he asks. Oro is about ten months into his prospect year. He’ll be a great brother, but even so, he knows he can’t know shit about shit. It’s up to any patched member’s discretion to give him any heads up.
“We might, not sure yet. Either way, make sure you’re carrying. If you get into some shit, call it in. Don’t be a fucking hero, Oro, got it?”
“Yeah, got it.”
Oro moves fast, and before I can make it back into the clubhouse, he already has a large part of the street clear.
I push the large door open and see all my brothers sitting around, waiting for Vado to address them.
Vado sits at the table, his tattooed hands folded in front of his face. His clear blue eyes are staring into the distance, and his wild long blond hair drapes down the sides of his face, effectively creating blinders for him. Vado is the definition of silent but deadly. There is very little that moves him, but when it does, the other person usually ends up dead.
Vado’s eyes jerk up to mine, and he blinks a few times to focus, pushing the monster down before addressing me, “AZ, what has our new guest said?”
“Nothing much, Vado. She denies knowing what the Cano’s want, but that doesn’t seem right to me.”
Vado nods his head, “If it has anything to do with the Cano’s, I am sure they will be in our hair sooner or later.” He stops talking for a second, trying to figure out his next move, I’m sure. He doesn’t say another word until Lobo clears his throat. Vado’s eyes jerk up again, and he stands.
“Right, let’s hit church and talk this shit out. I want to be prepared for anything that comes our way.”
He gets up and walks to the very back of the clubhouse where our church is located. Lobo, Garro, Digger, and I make our way behind him. The rest of the brothers who don’t hold a seat at the table will just have to wait until we decide what the plan is and announce it.
I walk into the room, my eyes having adjusted long ago to the array of color in the space we make decisions about people’s lives. The table is light oak, and the chairs around it are all high backed and upholstered in orange and red fabrics. The potted plants in the room range from the simple prayer-plants to fruit trees. The walls are lined with books and gorgeous art from native Puerto Ricans, even an original piece from the great late Alfonso Arana. This room feels like home.
