Dallas returned and I watched as she handed me a full glass, sat down and took a deep breath. She was ready. Damn. I had a plan though. With a little bit of luck and a whole lot of vodka, maybe I could convince Dallas to follow my plan and if she did, it would save her once again, and give Luke the happiness he deserved.
DALLAS
Four drinks later, I was half sprawled out on the lounge chair and giving thanks to the vodka gods. I would never have made it through this conversation without them. Red didn’t fuck around. When I told her I was ready, she gave it to me. Not once did she stop to elaborate about anything, not that she really needed to. She explained everything in enough detail that I never had to ask questions. She held nothing back and didn’t seem to care if something hurt my feelings or made me cry. She was exactly what I needed, and although she would never know it, I was scared enough of her not to cuss her out or chew her ass like I would have if Luke had told me. I leaned back in my chair and watched as Red gracefully floated around the pool. I closed my eyes and let my mind wander back to the new found knowledge that had just destroyed my life, yet might have saved it.
“Okay, I’m gonna give this shit to you straight. I don’t want to be interrupted and I don’t want you telling me to shut-up. That shit gets on my nerves,” Red said, sitting up in her chair and turning to face me. She took her glasses off so I could see directly into her eyes and placed her elbows on her knees. She looked totally in control of the situation and I was happy to let her have it. I nodded my head in agreement, afraid that if I tried to speak, I would vomit.
“Mayor Kirkley, as you call him, has been around MCs his whole life. I call him Paul. Mayor Kirkley takes too long to say.” She stared at me and I assumed she wanted a form of acknowledgment, so I nodded my head and she continued, “Luke told you the story of his grandfather, Pops, and his buddy Gill forming the Devil’s Renegades. Paul was Gill’s son.” I couldn’t help it. An audible gasp escaped my lips and Red paused, smiling a little at my reaction. “I know, it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. Not many people know that though. Paul was much like William, Luke’s father. He hated his dad and everything he stood for. He hated the club even more and made it his life’s mission to take it down. Paul also hated William. When Paul and William were in college, William managed to sweep Karen, Luke’s mom, off her feet, which would have been romantic if she weren’t already engaged to Paul. You still with me?” What the fuck? Of course I didn’t say that, instead I just nodded my head. At this rate, I would have whiplash by the time this conversation was finished. “Good,” Red said, taking another long swallow from her glass, and then continuing. “Paul decided that the best way for him to vent his frustration was by lifting weights, which was good considering William was doing the same thing, except he was doing it with Paul’s ex-fiancée.” Red laughed at her own joke and I smiled, thinking it was the appropriate thing to do, although my mind was spinning and I felt like I needed to hold onto the chair to keep from falling off. “Shit, I’m funny. Anywho, Paul went on to be a body-builder while William settled down with Karen and started his own timber business. Business was booming and William was doing better than ever when Paul returned in hopes of showing Karen how successful he was and stealing her back. The problem was, William was successful too and Paul didn’t stand a chance against him. Karen is one lucky bitch, by the way. Paul and William were both fine as hell, rich as hell, and hopelessly devoted to her. Paul soon learned, that if he wanted to be a Mayoral candidate, the last thing he needed was for everyone to know that he was envious of William. So, what does he do? He marries a beautiful woman, has a beautiful daughter and becomes the doting husband when his wife is diagnosed with cancer. Of course she died, and Paul was left with a daughter to raise. The people ate it up. A single father raising a little girl? Priceless. The papers wrote endless columns about the struggles he went through while his wife was on her death bed. Nothing stood in the way of him being elected as mayor, except for your father.”