Arrow of Time (5 page)

He'd been in the club for a long time, and I asked him about Nomading, remembering what Dawg had told me. He told me he'd gone Nomad pretty early on, trying to find biker clubs and getting friends for the Marauders. He'd joined the mother charter when he got married. He divorced and then came here to be a part of starting up this club. Now he was sort of an honorary member—active, but more in an advisory role.

Suddenly I saw Ella coming back and pushing a bunch of girls in front of her. The members who hadn't picked a girl for the night immediately met them, cheering. When Dawg walked away with a girl, giving me a wink, Vasco laughed.

“Girl, did he hit on you?”

“
Naw, flirted a little. Think it was mostly out of habit. Not sure he can talk to a female in any other way.”

“
No. Probably not,” Vasco agreed. “He’s a good kid, unless you’re a decent looking woman. I’m his godfather.”

“
Really?”

“
Yup. Love him like hell.” He took a gulp from his beer. “I’d still advise you to stay away, though.”

“
I've gotten that message a few times today.” I smiled at him. “What's your real name?”

“
Vasco is my real name. In the club, we're our road names, so that's our real names.”

“
Okay. Sorry.”

“
Nothing to be sorry about.” He looked at me and gave me a smile. “You'll learn if you hang around.”

“
Is this your not so subtle way of asking if I'll stick around?”

“
I’m not a subtle guy. But since you brought it up, are you gonna stick around?”

I nodded. After the talk to Brick and being here for a week, I’d landed a bit. I liked it here. I liked Lanie’s family, and the guys, even Dawg, had been nice. They seemed to welcome me, and even if I’d hooked up with people in different places, this was different. I wasn’t deluded, I knew that the difference was that Lanie was here, but at the moment that was enough. So I answered Vasco as honestly as possible.

“For a while. The foreseeable future. That's about as much as anyone can promise.”

He nodded. “True. Very true.” He looked at me. “So what's the plan?”

“Not sure. I'll see if I can get a job as a bartender or something.”

I didn’t have the option to be picky when it came to getting a job. I’d just barely finished high school, and I didn’t have any references to give out. At least not that many, and none that could be easily accessed to question for a potential new employer.

“You don't drink!”

“
I'm a brilliant bartender, though.” I laughed at his confusion. “Worked at a bar in Germany. Actually worked at a lot of different ones, but the first one was in Germany, and the owner said that a bartender was either an alcoholic or an absolutist, so the fact that I didn't drink didn't matter.”

“
A bit cutthroat, don't you think?”

“
Maybe. Probably, even. The point was more that it wasn't a bad thing that I don't drink. And let me tell you, I can make some mean drinks.”

“
What else did you work as?”

“
All those jobs where they're not a stranger to paying you under the table. In most countries it's a damn hassle if you wanna work. They bury you in paperwork and most often I didn't stick around for long enough for it all to be done.”

“
A lot of cleaning I take it?”

“
Oh, yes. Got mad skills with a mop.”

That made him laugh again, and I took a closer look at him. I liked him a lot. He felt safe in some weird way. Trustworthy and easy to talk to. He didn't poke around. Like he'd said, he wasn't subtle, he flat out asked, and I always preferred that.

“I'll ask around,” he said, but wasn't looking at me.

“
What?”

“
I'll ask around, for a job.”

I was about to tell him that it wasn't necessary when he raised his hand to shut me up.

“Not askin'. I'm tellin'. I'll ask around. Got some friends here and not embarrassed to use them for family.”

“
Thanks.”

We both looked at Lanie when she came towards us and leaned over to me.

“Not sure if you've noticed, but we're getting closer to that time when the girls are starting to drop their panties.”

I looked around and noticed that she was right. Panties were starting to drop, and I started laughing.

“Actually, I hadn't, but now that you mention it...”

Vasco laughed as well.

“Yeah,” Lanie continued. “So I'm out of here. You coming with me?”

“
Absolutely,” I said and turned to Vasco. “You know she used to email me a lot about you guys, club parties and stuff. She never mentioned the 'panties coming off'-hour, though'”

He leaned forward and kissed my cheek. “My favorite hour.”

“I'll see you around.”

“
Since I'll be here for the foreseeable future, too, I'm pretty sure you will.” He followed me to the door and made sure I wasn't caught by anyone.

-o0o-

Brick gave his Old Lady a deep kiss before turning to Edie. The three of them were standing outside the clubhouse; he was gonna stay behind for a while before going home.

“
All good?”

“
Yes. Had a good time. Really liked Vasco.”

“
He's a good guy.”

He'd noticed Edie sitting at a table, just looking around, so he asked Vasco to keep her company. He'd known the two of them would hit it off. Also, Vasco would send Dawg running if he tried anything again. He hadn't missed him sniffing around Edie.

The VP, Bear, and his Old Lady, Ella, were on their way home as well, and he stopped them to talk to Ella.

“
What was that shit at BB?”

BB, The Booty Bank, was the strip club they owned. It was part of a chain, every charter of Marauder Riders MC owned at least one, some more than one. The Greenville's also had a sex shop attached to the strip club. Originally they'd only kept it open during daytime, but then realized it made a good deal of money on the drunk, horny guys leaving the strip club. Naming fleshlight after their strippers had been one of Ella's genius ideas. Those sold particularly well.

The reason for the strip clubs was simple, they were a good way to launder money, since a majority of the transactions were in cash. It was a good setup. The mother charter owned the rights to the name, but each club owned their own clubs. It was easy to move money around within the entire chain. Most clubs also had one other legal business that was owned by that club alone. Greenville had the garage, and that was the most common setup. The inner workings between all the different businesses were a maze, and that was by design. It was fucking brilliant. And getting girls to work at the strip club was easy as breathing for a biker club and they treated them good. The girls got good deals simply since the only point of the club was to make money on paper, not in reality.

Ella had worked at the club, and that's how she’d met Bear. She hadn't been one of the girls who came to the clubhouse, but he'd fallen head over heels for her. Wasn't hard to see why. She was tall, around six feet, nice rack and long blond hair. He'd chased her for months; the rest of the guys made fun of him, but he didn't care. He wanted her. Then she gave in, probably partly because he didn't care that she had a daughter, rather the opposite, and he charmed the shit outta the kid as well

When they got a kid of their own, he didn't want Ella to work on stage anymore. She was an experienced stripper, so they put her as club mama. Best fucking thing they'd ever done. She was great. Being a pushy bitch was her natural state. So when he'd seen her take off, looking pissed as hell, he almost felt sorry for whatever girls that were fighting at the moment. She wouldn’t usually leave the BB on a Saturday, but this was the Spring Hog Roast and she wasn't going to miss it.

She rolled her eyes in answer to his question.

“Fucking Becky. She exploded when her panties weren't where they should have been. Linn had moved them, and Becky thought she'd used them. It was nothing.”

“
Good.”

She took his arm and pulled him to the side. “Something else, though. About Jessica, I think she's using. Something is really off with her.”

“Using what?”

The rules for the girls were simple, work your shifts, don't fucking try to scam us, no fucking on the premises (unless it was with a Marauder, they weren't even going to try to stop that), don't pick up Johns on the premises and do not,
ever
, use drugs. If they smoked pot before or after, he didn't give a shit. Heavier drugs they got one shot and then they were out. Permanently. Heavier drugs tended to lead to picking up johns and fucking on the premises, so they didn't tolerate that.

“
I don't know, but I'm sure it's something.”

If Ella said it, she was sure, she didn't blow the whistle until she was sure.

“I'll have a look at it.” He kissed her cheek and gave Bear a hug. “See you, brother.”

Once they were off he sat down next to Vasco.

“Thanks, old man, for keeping the girl company.”

“
Nothing to thank me for. That's a good girl.” He turned to Brick. “And now that I like her; tell me the truth.”

“
Truth?”

“
Nice girl like that wouldn't run off and keep a sister she loves worried for that long just to 'find herself' or 'do a spiritual journey'. What happened to her?”

Brick tried to hide his smile. He'd known Vasco would ask that. He had a soft spot for young girls and not only in the 'wanna fuck'-way. He liked them, and if they were smart and nice, which Edie was, he adored them. He also knew troubled kids, could spot one in a second in a crowded room. He still hesitated, though, and Vasco noticed.

“Hey, we both know why you sent me to her. I need the basics if you want me to help her.”

“
You getting bored?”

“
Yeah. Only one I haven't straightened out completely is Dawg and that pussy diving is something even I can't fix. He'll keep that up till something shocks him straight. So what's up with her?”

“
She killed their dad.”

Vasco raised his eyebrows. “Killed him?”

“Yes. He was an ass. There's more to it, but I'm not gonna go there, you need to figure that out yourself. Let's just say he got better than he deserved.”

It was a long and fucked up story that he wasn’t going to tell Vasco. Like he'd said to Edie, it was her story to tell. Vasco would be okay with that and he'd probably get the truth out of Edie in no time. In a way that she was comfortable with.

“Course he did. She's a good girl, I know she had her reasons. Thought I’d think less of her for that?”

“
No, but I don't think she wants people to know.” He took the bottle from Vasco and poured himself a glass of whiskey. “So don't you fucking spread it around. She liked you. I want you to know so you know where she's coming from.”

“
I can deal with that,” Vasco nodded. “Who else knows?”

“
Mel, obviously, but other than her, no one. It's no one’s fucking business.”

Bull would find out, but he'd talk to him the next day when he gave him Edie's info to make sure he kept his mouth shut.

“No, it isn't.” Vasco looked up and scanned the room. “Can see how that would mess with a girl. She clear of all that? Legally, I mean.”

“
Yeah. It was considered self defense.”

He didn't add that it had taken one hell of a lawyer to get it to that. He agreed with it though. It was self defense; she didn't have a choice and she should've done it much earlier. Fuck! Mel should've done it before she left the house.

“I won't spread it around, but you know that.”

“
I know that.”

“
Told her I'd check around for a gig for her. Think she'd like to work.”

He patted his shoulder. “Thanks.”

“Hey!” he said when Brick stood up. “I wanna hear you admit it; you did that on purpose, set me up with her.”

“
Yes I did. Admit it—you're looking forward to it.”

Vasco gave him a big smile and nodded. He'd known the old man would fucking love to take on a girl instead of a troubled boy for a change. He was the granddad of the club, all kids loved him and some of them adored him simply for being the guy who never judged you for anything. Basically, he was all the things Edie needed.

-o0o-

I was still a bit buzzed when we got back home, and Lanie obviously noticed and gave me a pack of chocolate cookies just in case I needed them. Other than that, she didn't comment on the fact that I'd smoked pot at all, so she must've changed her mind about that since I left. She used to be dead against drugs and now she kissed my cheek while shoving those cookies into my hands.