Arrow of Time (23 page)

“You look nice,” she said to me, but I doubted that she meant it, and taking into account what she was wearing, I considered her disproval as a compliment.

She was wearing a skintight dress, extremely high heels and enough make up to fit into “Priscilla Queen of the Desert”. I didn’t really get her; she didn’t even seem to like Bucket all that much, but she hung around anyway, and treated most other girls, except the Old Ladies, like they were dog shit.

They started to gossip about people I didn’t know, so I excused myself and went to find Lanie and Ella. They were sitting in a corner table, and I sat down with them.

“
Did Natalie give you shit? Because if she did I’ll put out this joint in her eye,” Ella said and waved it around in front of me.

I took it from her. “No. What’s the deal with her?”

“She just wants into the club, and I think she’s just trying to figure out who’d take her on instead of Bucket. She wants to get higher up in the hierarchy.”

“
By dressing like a sweetbutt?” I asked and took a deep drag on the smoke.

My comment made Ella laugh. “Apparently so.” She looked over at the girls standing in the bar. “What else did they gossip about?”

I shrugged. “Don’t know, left before they got to the good parts.”

“
I think I should get over there and find out. Wait here with your sister,” Ella said and walked towards the bar.

“
You look really pretty,” Lanie said, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“
I actually feel really pretty.”

“
Good.”

I felt good too, until I saw Dawg. He walked in and in a second had a beer in one hand and three girls surrounding him. ‘Swooning,’ I remembered Eliza saying. I turned around with my back towards him, I didn’t want to see that.

“The club looks really nice,” I said and was happy when Lanie let me get away with it.

The club looked like a classic strip club, all in red and neon. Comfortable armchairs in red velvet, several big round tables with a pole in the middle of them for table dancing. The stage was horseshoe-shaped and let the dancers work the entire room while dancing, and then there were corner couches for lap dances. The VIP rooms were hidden behind a curtain. I'd heard Brick talk about them, that they'd taken the opportunity to spruce them up and had them in different sizes, classes and themes.

“Yes,” Lanie said with a strained smile while looking towards the stage. “The girls seem to like it too.”

I followed her line of sight and saw the girl on stage. She swung around a pole upside down and I was pretty damn impressed.

“I'm sure you won't have to go here again,” I said to Lanie, and she laughed.

“
He'd have to drag me here.”

“
Well,” Ella said when she came back and sat down. “They’re gossiping about you, whether or not you and Dawg fucked.”

“
I’m guessing that’s been the topic for a while,” I muttered.

“
I'd say so,” Ella nodded and ignored Lanie’s attempt to shut her up. “Just got a bit worse since this is the first time in a while they’ve seen the two of you in the same room.”

“
So how do I thrill them?” I asked with a big, fake smile. “Ignore him, walk up and bitch slap him or should I sit and look at him with begging eyes and start crying when he takes one or two women back to one of the VIP-rooms?”

Ella laughed and looked at Lanie. “Told you she could deal with it.” Then back at me. “I think they’re hoping for the second or third option.”

“So to disappoint them I should just ignore him or give him casual nods? I’ll go with that.”

“
Bore!” She laughed again and stuck her tongue out at me. “Probably the best idea, though. They might die of excitement if you did any of the other things.”

Later that night I ended up in next to Wolf on a couch. I turned to him, since I was trying to ignore the girl desperately seeking his attention by dancing on the table in front of us.

“I'm amazed that they're capable of dancing in those shoes. I wouldn't be able to take a single step in them.”

“
You don't need shit like that to be hot,” he said and turned towards me. He looked me over. “Gotta tell you, girl. You sure dress up nicely.”

“
Thanks. It’s all Lanie.”

“
Still. You look better than any of the other girls in the room. How are you doing?”

“
Pretty fine.” I held up a joint. “Might be due some help, but I’m fine.”

“
Fuck!” He shook his head. “I miss the old dude.”

“
Me too. Miss him like hell.” I was able to say that now without tears, the ache was still there, but it was a dull pain. “So how are you doing?”

“
Good.”

“
How’s things with that widow you were seeing?”

I'd heard about Wolf hooking up with some hot widow. Sisco's comment had been that she was a total GILF.

His lips parted in a satisfied smile. “Very nice. She’s a feisty lady.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Horny.”

“
Lucky boy,” I laughed. “Serious?”

“
Naw. We’re having fun. A lot of fun and it’s good, we’re happy with that for now.”

When the girl on the table dropped her bra I kissed his cheek and decided that after a quick visit to the bathroom, I'd be on my way. I wasn't stoned enough to handle the fact that the dancers were dropping clothes and soon would be walking around naked.

I found Lanie, kissed her goodbye and walked into the bathroom that was located on the way out. I halted when I saw Dawg leaning against a sink and I almost threw up when I saw the bobbing head in front of him. He looked up when the door slammed shut behind me.

“
Fuck!” he yelled. “Get off!” And then there was the slurping sound when his dick slipped out of the girl’s mouth. That was my cue, I turned around and ran outside.

“
Edie!” I heard behind me when I crossed the parking lot.

I couldn’t fucking believe him! Did he think I wanted to talk to him now? I only stopped to take off my shoes so I could move faster and then I kept walking towards my car.

“Edie!” He was close and the next second I felt his hand around my wrist.

I turned around and was damn close to hitting him with the shoes I had in my hand.

“What the fuck is your problem!” I yelled and then I actually threw one of the shoes at him. “Leave me the fuck alone!”

“
I’m sorry.”

“
Really. What are you sorry about this time?” I wasn’t yelling now and moved closer to him. “And before you say something, you should know the skank is still standing over there waiting to finish the job.” She was; she'd followed him outside. “No point in keeping her waiting.”

He kept following me, talking. Why couldn't he just shut up?

“Edie. I didn’t mean... I miss you.”

I was at my car with my hand on the open door when he said that and I turned around but kept my eyes on the ground. He sighed and continued when I didn't answer.

“I miss hanging out with you, miss talking to you and I miss your funky smelling place.” I knew I was crying and that looking at him would make me cry even harder, but I couldn't help myself. “Just so you know. I miss you and if you... I’ll be here. Even if you only want us to be friends, I’ll be here.”

“
You know we can’t do that.” I dried my cheeks and shook my head.  “It would never work and you know that.”

He just looked at me and then silently handed me the shoe I'd thrown at him.

“Edie...” He started and then sighed. “I don't know what to do.”

“
You shouldn't have left.”

I didn’t wait for his reply, just climbed into the car and took off, tears running down my cheeks. When I was no longer able to see the road I pulled to the side, leaned my head against the steering wheel and bawled my eyes out.

-o0o-

Dawg watched the blue truck drive off with a burning ache in his heart. He knew she was right. About all of it. If he’d at any time thought they could go back to being just friends, that idea had been shot to shit the second he saw her today. The deep red dress that clung around her waist and followed the curve of her hips. He could remember exactly what that curve felt like under his hands when he took her from behind, when he slid his hands along it while sucking on her nipple. That was all he'd been able to think about when he saw her, so she was right. There was no way he could look at her without thinking about her in bed. But he missed her and not only in bed. That was almost what he missed the least. He missed having her around, for... everything.

He should've taken the sweetbutt to a VIP room, but he just wanted a quick blowjob, so he took her to the bathroom and opened his jeans. Just when he was about to be able to relax and forget Edie, she walked through the door. It was not the first time he'd been caught getting a blowjob, not even the first time Edie caught him getting one, but for fuck’s sake, he could not catch a break when it came to her. There was one fuckup after another, and by now he doubted he'd be able to talk to her without her crying. And what the fuck was she doing in the men's restroom anyway?!

He turned around and saw the sweetbutt still standing in the door looking at him. He grabbed her arm.

“If I hear one word about this I'll find you and rip out your tongue. That clear?”

She nodded and he left her outside. When he came back inside he walked over to the bar and got a beer. He turned and looked at Bucket, who was following the movements of the girl on stage with interest. That's when he noticed Mace coming towards them with Bull behind, dragging Natalie along.

“You better reel your bitch in and take her home.”

“
What?” Bucket said and looked at Natalie. “What the fuck did you do?”

“
Nothing!”

“
She was hitting on me,” Mace said with a snarl.

“
He's lying!” She squealed when Bull's grip on her upper arm tightened. Bull had somewhat of a problem with girls who strayed. To say the least.

“
Shut the fuck up, Nat,” Bucked hissed. He emptied his glass and was just about to grab a hold of his woman when Brick came over to see what the fucking problem was.

Dawg wasn't surprised. It had been pretty damn obvious that all Natalie wanted was to be an Old Lady, and Bucket had been the means to an end. It was stupid, though; Bucket wasn't that far off becoming a patched member, he was doing good, but for him to become a member now would mean he'd have to leave Natalie behind. Without a doubt. If she'd been an Old Lady she'd have been warned, but if she pulled shit like this already, she'd be trouble. In the end, Old Ladies' shit landed on their Old Men; it was up to them to straighten it out, and they all knew that.

“What?” Brick said when he stood in the middle of the crowd.

“
I didn't do shit!” Natalie yelled.

Brick ignored her and looked at Bucket who did the smart thing and answered immediately.

“She was hitting on Mace.”

Brick turned to Mace who nodded.

“Get her home, we'll deal with this at next church.”

With a disgusted face, Bull pushed Natalie into Bucket's arms and he immediately started walking towards the door. She was whining about something, and Bucket yelled 'Shut up'.

They didn't discuss it further. There was no need. A member with an Old Lady like that was a bad member; they'd gone through that shit with Bull's previous Old Lady, and the scars she most likely still had were a testament to what happened to Old Ladies who strayed on their Old Men. At least if the Old Man was Bull.

He looked around. Brick was standing with Mel, Ella was yelling at one of the girls, Sisco was on the couch with a blond riding him and Haze was getting busy as well. He sighed, went to Brick to say bye, happy birthday, merry Christmas and all that shit, then he went home. Still thinking about Edie in that red dress.

Three days later, on Christmas day, he was with his family. It was a pretty calm thing, and the next day was the party at that clubhouse. He had planned on going back for New Year’s for the official opening of Booty Bank, and he decided that it was okay when he found out that Edie was going to see some friends in San Francisco. He'd had no fucking idea she had friends in San Francisco, and he realized that they might not have been as good friends as he’d thought.

CHAPTER ELEVEN:

There's No 'Later' For This

-o0o-

Thursday, January 24
th

TOWARDS THE END OF
January Brick concluded that The Booty Bank was up and running, the sex shop was doing its job and things were still shit. The cartel was still holding them off on getting back on the Phoenix Águilas, and they weren't giving him a good reason why. He'd set up a big meet with all the presidents of the clubs running the pipeline the following week. Only upside in the entire situation was that the cops were still fumbling in the dark regarding the bombing, and they were starting to drop it.

His baby girl'd had her fifth birthday just two days before and had started out all eager. When Edie and Dawg came, she did her best to get them to make up and instead of at least trying, for Eliza's sake, they behaved like children and it had ended up upsetting Eliza, so at the moment he was pissed at them both.

Mel was another problem. He really wished Mel and Edie would have that talk that they should’ve had at least seven years ago, but he knew there was no way to force it to happen. They’d do it when they were ready and he had a feeling that it was more up to Edie. Mel wouldn’t bring it up out of fear of what Edie might say. She shouldn’t worry—not that it would matter if he said it, she’d been worried about it since she was eighteen and left Edie in that house. Probably even before that.

Despite the birthday fiasco, Dawg seemed okay. He kept his eyes on Edie whenever she was at the clubhouse, but hadn’t talked to her again as far as he knew. Brick had told him he'd take him up in the ring if he pulled another stunt like the one when he waited outside her house. Only reason he didn't do it that time was that it was Dawg himself who fessed up.

What was more surprising was that he kept his pussy more under wraps. Brick frankly wasn't even sure if he was getting any. It hadn't even gotten out of hand on his birthday the week before, and Dawg's pussy-diving on previous birthdays had been deemed as 'epic'.

Brick hoped that the rumors about Edie didn’t travel to Dawg, though. Since she came back from San Francisco she'd made some attempts to date, and Mel was ecstatic about it. Edie wasn’t. She wasn’t impressed at all and since he’d actually met one of the guys he could see why. The dude was a complete pussy.

It was a Thursday night, and he'd come home in time for dinner. The entire family was seated around the table. He knew they were almost every night, he just wasn’t always there for it. Just like most nights there were a few extra ones there as well. This time it was one of Eliza’s friends and Mitch’s latest girlfriend. But he loved it when it was like this. It was complete fucking chaos and a lot of laughter. That was one of the reasons he truly loved his Old Lady; there was always laughter around her. As opposed to his ex-wife, Mel didn’t panic about kids running around or talking and discussing during dinner. Some extra kids just meant she set some extra plates without even asking. It didn’t take a shrink to figure out that the extreme control from her childhood meant she liked it when it was like this. Just people, hanging out, eating and laughing.

Just before dinner started, Sisco and Mace walked in. Two of the club's single guys. They’d quickly figured out that no one would object to them having dinner there, so they dropped by when they felt like a home-cooked meal. Which was pretty often.

“Honey, I’m home!” Sisco yelled, grabbed Mel and gave her a kiss on her cheek while Mace checked the pots to see what they were having for dinner.

Mel shoved a couple of plates in their hands, and they sat down as well. Halfway through the dinner Brick’s phone rang and he picked it up.

“What?”

“
Hi, Brick. This is Linda.”

Linda was Hawk’s Old Lady and Dawg’s mom. She was
the
Queen of the Old Ladies. Mel thought she was scary, but Brick liked her. She was a woman in control of the situation, no matter what the situation was.

“
Hey, Linda. What’s up?” That’s when she sobbed, and he got up and walked out to the hallway. He knew it would take a lot before that woman cried, so this was bad. “Honey, what’s wrong?”

“
It’s Hawk, he’s had a heart attack.”
She stopped, took a few deep breaths.
“
It was fast. Really fast, I didn’t even have time to call anyone before he was gone.”

“
Fuck! Honey, do you have someone with you?”

He didn't want her alone. At the moment he didn't even wanna think about the problems this would mean. It would be a shitstorm. And then it hit him. Hawk was gone.

“Yes, Sarah and her family are here, quite a few of the club family as well. The rest are on their way.”
Of course they were, it was their fucking president, the president of the mother charter and one of the founding members. If the hospital wasn’t full, he’d start shooting people.
“I don’t want to call Dawg and tell him about this. Not on the phone.”

“
No. I’ll handle it, honey. I’ll have a couple of guys follow him up there as well.” Dawg would definitely want to leave immediately, and he didn't want him going by himself.

“
Thank you, Brick. Have him call me.”

“
I will. We'll be on our way soon as well. I'll keep you informed. Let me know if you need anything.”

“
I will, Brick”

“
And if there’s anything else I can do, don’t hesitate to call.”

“
I know that. Thank you.”

“
What’s going on?” Sisco asked when he came walking back out to the kitchen.

“
It’s Hawk, a heart attack, he’s gone. We need to find Dawg.”

“
He was at the clubhouse a while ago.”

“
Fuck,” Mace exhaled. “We'll go with him. He shouldn't go alone.”

Sisco nodded in agreement.

“Good.”

He'd known he could count on them. They'd be ready in mere minutes if needed. He turned to Mel, who was standing by the kitchen counter with her hand over her mouth.

“Oh my god,” she mumbled.

“
We're all going up there for the funeral. Once I've made the first call, you need to get on the phone to the girls and make sure they all get everything ready. But wait for now. I need to find Dawg first and call to church.” She nodded, and he walked up to her and gave her a hug. “Did you hear me?”

“
Yes. I’ll wait ‘till I hear from you, and then I start making calls.”

“
Good,” he gave her kiss.

The three of them arrived at the clubhouse, and he walked inside. Dawg wasn’t in the bar, and he went directly to the hallway with the dorms. After sending away Sisco and Mace to pack their bags, he knocked on Dawg’s door. He took a deep breath; he was not looking forward to this.

“Hey?” Dawg said when he opened the door, looking rather perplexed.

“
Are you alone?”

“
Yeah. What’s up?”

“
Your mom called, kid.”

“
My mom?” He looked even more confused. Then he saw it, when realization hit him. His shoulders sloped, and pain covered his face “Dad?”

“
A heart attack. It was fast, Dawg. She didn’t even have time to call you before he was gone.”

When Dawg’s knees went out beneath him Brick caught him in a hug and held him tight. He closed the door; no one needed to see this. And then he kept holding Dawg while he cried.

It wasn’t fucking fair. The kid’d had two dads in his life; Vasco and Hawk. Losing both in a matter of months wasn’t something anyone should have to go through. Dawg was a lot of things, but he had a big heart, close to laughter, and wasn’t afraid to show emotions, so he hadn’t expected anything less than this. 

Ten minutes later, Dawg was sitting on his bed. He'd calmed down and was drying his cheeks.

“I need to go there.”

“
Sisco and Mace are already packing their stuff. They’ll go with you. The rest of us will be there in a couple of days. The women and prospects will go up for the funeral, too.”

Dawg nodded and dried his cheeks again. Even if he was calm, his tears kept running. “Fuck. I need to call mom.”

“She’s waiting for you to call. Do you want me to wait in here?”

“
Nah. I got it.” Dawg looked up at him and then stood up. “Thanks, bro.”

He gave him another hug. “He was a good man and a good dad. Wouldn’t expect anything less from you.”

When he walked outside Sisco and Mace were waiting in the bar.

“
He’s on his way. Keep an eye on him.”

“
No worries,” Sisco answered while Mace nodded. “We got his back.”

After a few hugs, he sat down and made the necessary calls and called for church in the morning. He hoped the members would be on their way in a couple of days, so they could pitch in where they were needed. He also called his wife to get her started as well. There was a lot that needed to be done.

That night when he came home, he walked through the rooms to check on his boys and his baby girl before getting into bed with his Old Lady. He hugged her tight and when she carefully kissed him, he got her on her back and made love to her. He needed his family close. He wanted them close and wanted to know that they loved him. When he went, he wanted his kids to cry just like Dawg had done.

-o0o-

Tuesday, January 30
th

LANIE HAD CALLED ME
the week before to tell me that Hawk, Dawg’s dad, had died of a heart attack. Three decades as a biker, and a fucking heart attack killed him. That wasn’t right. She also said that Dawg had already gone up there to be with his mom and sister, and that the rest the members were going the day after. We were going up just in time for the funeral. Because she wanted me to come, too, to help with the kids, or just help with anything they might need help with. She said it would be good to have someone there that was a bit on the outside, to help with practical stuff like food. Not that she’d want me to cook, but just be around. I figured she just wanted me there as a support, so I said yes. It was something I could do, and I wanted to be of some help. I understood that it was a big thing, one of the founding member's funeral, and being there was a sign of respect.

The day of our departure, I took the truck down to the compound, and they pretty much filled the back of it with stuff. Bucket got in with me, and we headed to Englewood, Colorado. We were going to spend one night at a motel and arrive on the morning of the funeral.

I was nervous; I had no idea how to deal with Dawg. It was his dad, and no matter the crap between us, he'd been my friend. we'd talked and quite a lot about his dad and his family. To get my mind off things I turned to Bucket.

“
Is Natalie coming?”

“
We broke up.”

“
Oh.” I hadn't known that. “Sorry.”

Bucket shrugged. “She fucked up and she was mostly with me... you know, to be a Marauders' Old Lady.”

“Yeah...” I looked at him. “Sorry.”

“
You've already said that,” he answered with a smile. “She gave good head.”

“
Bucket!” I laughed and hit his arm. “At least you got something out of it.”

“
Yup. It was her or the club. She hit on Mace, at that opening party and... well, can't have women like that around. It's just gonna mean trouble.”

“
So if Lanie hits on someone else she's out?”

“
She wouldn't but no, she's an Old Lady and what she does is on Brick. Nat hit on him, lied about it and was a mess. She's not an Old Lady and I'm not a member.”

“
On Brick?”

“
Yup. It's a members job to keep his woman in line.” He turned and looked at me. “If Mel fucks up it's on Brick, that's how it works. He took her into the club, and he needs to make sure she gets the rules.”

“
So if I fuck up, is that on Brick or Lanie?”

“
Brick. Mel isn't a member, can't lay the blame on her.” He smiled. “You're doing fine. No worries. And it's not the same thing with you, you're not an Old Lady.”

I looked at him and then turned back to the road with a sigh. I was still trying to figure a lot of these things out. It had seemed much easier when Lanie wrote to me about it. But on the other hand, back then it wasn't as important; it was just her stories, not my life.

“How much are they talking? About me and Dawg, I mean?”

“
Don't know what you mean.”

“
Okay.” Obviously that was out of line and I wouldn't get anything from him. Not sure if I wanted to know. “Onto other things!”