“What do you mean, my history?” I quizzed, perplexed by his question.
“I mean like who knows about how you used to get into trouble back in the day?”
I could see Smoke’s brain ticking over trying to come up with a solution. “Shit. There’s a few people that I know. Probably only a handful that I ran with. I don’t have any contact with them anymore, you know that. It was a long time ago.”
“I know. I’m just thinking out loud. Running through the options. Devil Riders are trying their damnedest to infiltrate our turf. There’s no way in hell that Bones or Hawk are going to let that happen.” He shook his head vehemently.
“You not cussing is blowing my mind. You’re doing pretty good with it. I gotta give it to you,” I jibed at him.
“I think so too. Naomi’s not convinced I can stay with it, but she seems to have forgotten my army training from my drill sergeant of a father.” Smoke smirked as he guzzled down the rest of his water.
“How is he?” I asked. I knew Smoke and his father had some bad blood for a while there, but it seemed when Gavin came along, he was the bridge to mend things between them.
“He’s doing pretty good right now. Gavin is spending a lot of time with him, which makes me happy to see.” Smoke’s jaw was twitching.
I could tell he was still pissed off about the arrest.
“Let’s get back into this,” he said. “I want to find out what the hell, and who the hell. My first thought is Snake. It has all the markings of him on it. He set you up.” He punched the air angrily.
The beer quenched my thirst, and I fully agreed with Smoke, “You’re right. I feel like it was him or one of his crew. We have to be more prepared for what they’re going to throw at us. They’re turning up the heat. First the Sweet Spot, and now I’m being targeted directly. More of a pain in the ass than anything else.” A flash of irritation bubbled up inside of me as I thought about it. I’d spent a lot of time rebuilding myself from those younger days. I’d been a pretty toxic guy, reckless and just not giving a damn.
“I’ll get in Bones’ ear and see what he has to say,” Smoke stated.
“I’m going to talk to Mia and let her know who I think it might be,” I replied softly.
“I bet you’ll talk to Mia about it,” Smoke added with a touch of sarcasm.
I punched him lightly in the arm. “You stick to your construction work, buddy, and don’t worry about what I got going on over here,” I quipped.
He curled his nose up at me with a sneaky grin. “I’m just looking out for my boy. You never know how things turn out,” he mentioned, flipping his hands up. “Look at my situation. I didn’t know I had a family out there already. Life can throw you a curveball, be ready for anything is all I’m saying.”
“That’s true, maybe she can represent the club down the track. I don’t know enough yet. I have to get to know her a little bit more,” I deliberated. Truth be told, I wanted to know her more personally, not just as a lawyer, but she seemed cool and distant with me.
Probably just trying to be professional.
“There you go. Where’s your bike? You need me to drop you to it?” Smoke asked.
“Yes, it’s down near Wheelz, where the cops picked me up.”
“Okay, c’mon. Let’s roll.”
I was home finally after the interrogation and trying to decompress.
My flat screen TV running in the background. I had the blinds closed in my house to keep the heat out. The temperature had dropped a little bit, but not enough for me to open up the windows like I wanted to. I liked to let the air come through the house in the evenings. I was lucky enough through my work at the Rebel Saints to be able to stack my cash and buy a place, a spacious two-bedroom house sitting back from the main streets of Holbeck.
I liked my peace and quiet. Glossy pictures sat on the mantelpiece, me and the boys from our annual rides. All big smiles with our jackets on. The memories made a smile curl on my lips as I toyed with my phone in my hand.
I sat posted up on the couch with one hand behind my head, staring at the ceiling. Thinking. Something in those emerald eyes of hers. A touch of sadness, maybe. I didn’t have enough time to work it out, but I wanted to. I scrolled through my phone and stared at her number for a minute.
Call her, you punk. Just call. It will be fine.
I pressed the green call button.
She answered after the second ring, “Hi, Numbers. Get home all right?” she asked in her smooth tone.
“Yeah, I got here fine. I’ve been thinking about some things, and I wanted to run it by you.” I could hear the sound of cutlery dropping in the background.
“Uh-huh, go ahead,” she said. “Hang on, Mama. Let me get that… Don’t worry about it,” she whispered.