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That evening, I found myself standing in the lobby of a nursing home. On my elbows, I leaned on the nurse’s station. I bit my lip. “No really, Rachel. I must know what you’re doing later?”
“I don’t get off until three a.m.,” the pretty thing said with a giggle. The nurse was new. She stared into her computer. “I’ll look one more time, but I don’t see no Ed Strick here.”
“Are you sure? Three a.m.? Bet you’re too tired for the likes of me by then.”
She blushed. The beard, the leather, the tattoos, the piercing, it just did something to some women. “I wouldn’t bet on it.”
“Maybe a coffee?”
Little had my dad known, charm would get me more places than a gun ever could. As I enchanted the nurse, my brother Villain had snuck down the hall. A loud crash signaled it was time to go. As the nurses chased down the ruckus, I calmly walked out of the building.
Chapter 4
Kingpin
Outside Dimple waited in his cage, a 1955 Pink Cadillac Fleetwood with its top down. I couldn’t resist. I literally hopped into the passenger side just to have to get out again. Innocent looking Villain rushed the old man in his wheelchair down the sidewalk. I’d have to help them get in. Lord knew Dimple wouldn’t be moving his fat ass to help. We’d hired him as an Elvis Impersonator long ago. He ran up a gambling debt to rival all others. To pay off his bill, he became one of us, a Royal Bastard. No one wanted to watch an old, bloated Elvis anyhow. Well, that was a lie. The man could sing just like the King, and we adored his shows.
There wasn’t a more loyal brother to be found.
“What in the tarnation is all this about? We going to war or something? Y’all making me miss chocolate pudding night.”
“I see you’re still alive and kickin,” I greeted the man who was nothing like my father. Satan had to be in his late nineties now.
“Only cause Hell’s full,” the old man spat.
Taking one side of him, I helped Villain haul him into the back seat. I slid in next to him, and Villain took the passenger seat. Dimple sped off, leaving the wheelchair behind.
“We’re having a fundraiser tonight. Whole club will be partying. It’d be a shame if you missed it on account of being locked up here.” His daughter, Memphis’s mom insisted he go to the nursing home five years ago when he was diagnosed with cancer. The old man beat it and about every other thing that could’ve killed him.
“Where are my granddaughters?”
“Memphis and Junebug are waiting at the clubhouse, along with everyone else.”
“I know you promised me you’d look after them, make one of them your ol’ lady, and I expected a slew of grandkids. It’s high time you let them girls loose so I can have some grandkids.”
“Grandkids? Memphis is forty-three.”
“Her mama had a kid at forty-five.”
“You’ve got plenty of grandkids, Satan.” Memphis had more cousins than anyone I knew and all of them a mess of kids.
“None in the club life. Who’s going to keep my legacy?”
“I’ll keep your legacy,” I said, knowing Satan was more like a father to me than my own flesh and blood had been. “I’m sure I’ve knocked up a woman at some point. Pretty soon someone will show up claiming I’m the father.”
Satan had a good laugh about that. “You’ll be on the run then, boy. I tell you what.”
When we arrived at Royal Road, Junebug pushed a wheelchair out to the Cadillac. She kissed her grandfather on the forehead. I rolled Satan into the club but helped him into Pharaoh’s throne that had been moved out front just for the occasion. Amongst the neon lights were nearly every member of the Royal Bastards MC, Nashville Chapter. Only a few were missing. Like my Enforcer, Leviathan. He was still gone fighting other chapters’ battles. All to avoid his failing marriage and his urge for revenge. He didn’t understand why I wouldn’t just let him massacre the club who killed his sister. No. Brother knew the situation, but he grew more and more impatient.
New members had never met our famed old VP before. Eve, who sang on stage, looked the most curious. Her fiancé Hallow watched her like a hawk. Ever since Wolf and Sadist died, he’d been on edge. Hell, he’d been recovering from multiple gunshots, but it was more than that. Eve’s old coworker Viv went to jail for the killing, for the whole mess, but someone else had been behind it. It’s like Hallow hadn’t known the shit he'd walked into here in Nashville. Boy had stepped out of the frying pan into the fryer. He watched his back because the target Mr. Noah Fond had on me now went through him and his pretty wife to be.
Dimple took over for Eve, belting out Elvis’s “Jailhouse Rock”, a favorite of Satan’s, and appropriate since we just broke him out of his old folk’s prison. Memphis and Junebug had their visit first. Then Hallow and Eve came over to welcome Satan back to Royal Road. Our current VP, Pagan sat in a corner booth, recovering himself. His burns weren’t nearly as bad as they first made them out to be. Doctors took some skin off his ass to fix him up. Modern medicine amazed me. It’d been barely three weeks, and the stubborn son of a bitch was on the mend. Still, he sulked since Jassica up and left him. I was sure the savage would run after her if he could stand to sit his ass on his hog long. Since Pagan was pretty much grounded, he was trying to work things out with Kara on account of them having a daughter. Kara and Dasha could be seen over beside the stage. Kara held the four-year-old’s hands as they danced. Pagan’s blind little sister Cece had just welcomed a new nurse, Penelope, who was already cozied up on a couch with our Road Captain, Riff of all people. Irish and Cece danced in the middle of the floor. Brother was lucky the place burned before Pagan could beat his ass into the ground. Whether my Vice President knew it or not, Irish truly was my best fighter. Sure, Pagan could kick Irish’s ass, but man was not going to get in the ring every week like Irish. The boy was hungry. Hungry members filled all our pockets. Cece by his side, he’d stay that motivated. It was rare that the ol’ ladies and children were here, but we were having the fundraiser to rebuild the arena.
Honestly, I didn’t even know how well we were insured. Opry took care of all that. Speaking of the slick character, he’d brought a date. Most nights at Royal Road he ran the place, but this was a different sort of party. Brother looked relaxed for once. To my surprise, Cousin danced with crazy Paisley, one of the whores, twirling her around as she cackled. Horror sat at the bar with the other single men. Poor fucker just found out his ol’ lady’s baby wasn’t his. Little guy came out the wrong color. Bitch tried to blame Thorn and then old as dirt Eight Ball. That was the trouble you signed up for when you married the sweetbutts. Horror and her started the divorced quickly and now he had his eyes on Tonya, another hang around, who’d had everyone. At least she was Buzzard’s daughter who left her abusive husband a couple of years ago. She was here tonight sitting at a table with her dad and mom while their seven grandkids ran loose. Since the whole Eagles nest was here, Gunn’s two women were here, as well. Young guy looked none too happy about it. Even old Dawg and Connie were on the dance floor. Rarely saw them anymore on account of Dawg’s business. He ran a local metal shop, and I let his attendance slide anytime he was too busy to show up, as long as he paid his dues.
I plucked a stray chair up to sit beside Satan. Before I could settle in, Villain was in front of me. “You said once I helped you get the old man here, we could talk about the investigation.”
I didn’t want to talk business tonight.
