Highway Song: A Smokey's Roadhouse Novel (27 page)

My interest sharpened.
“
No? What are they doing? Did they form another band and set up housekeeping in your town?
”

“
Somethin
’
like that. They hooked up with Jake and his boys. They
’
ve got six months to get bikes, and then they
’
ll be full-fledged members of Jake
’
s MC.
”
He cleared his throat, but didn
’
t say anymore. I was going to have to drag it out of him, apparently.

“
He started his own?
”

“
Oh, yeah. Did that not half an hour after they resigned the Dust Devils. Told ya, there
’
s gonna be a territory dispute, on account-a they live in the town we built. Ain
’
t room for us and a criminal club, too.
”

“
Um, pardon my ignorance, but what
’
s the difference? You always said the Devils were an outlaw club, didn
’
t you?
”

“
Aw, honey, that don
’
t mean we
’
re criminals. Only we don
’
t belong to no national group like the AMA.
”

“
Oh,
”
I said, feeling both foolish and ignorant. What was the AMA?
“
So, they
’
re serious about dealing drugs? You can
’
t just do that, you know. There are some nasty cartels out there that will probably have an objection.
”

“
Looks like they
’
re already butt-buddies with one of
‘
em. We got us a problem here in town. You got out none too soon.
”

A cold sensation of worry went through me.
“
Smokey, you
’
ve said some stuff before that made me think you know more about me than I ever told you. Want to tell me how that happened?
”

“
I been around a long time, little girl. Ya gotta be able to read people in this business. You was scared and ya didn
’
t want nobody takin
’
notice of ya. That told me you was on the run. I figured maybe from a boyfriend, or maybe somethin
’
worse. You just told me which.
”

Shit
. I shouldn
’
t have called him.
“
Smokey, you can
’
t tell anyone where I went. If someone comes asking.
”

“
I won
’
t need to, sis. Jake and them know. Watch yer back.
”

“
I will. And Smokey, thank you for giving me a job, and for looking out for me. You
’
ll never know how grateful I am. I
’
m sorry I had to leave.
”

“
Knowed ya wasn
’
t gonna stay when I first laid eyes on ya, kid. Glad to help, though. Sylvie said tell ya she misses ya, you ever called.
”

I laughed.
“
I bet she does. I miss both of you. You get any help for her yet?
”

“
Naw, honey, but they
’
ll be somebody else come along soon. We
’
ll be okay. You take care, now.
”

I ended the call with a sense of foreboding. Ike and Kirk had a grudge against the band, and Jake evidently had some sort of connection with the drug trade. Now they were associates, and that didn
’
t bode well for my future, or the band
’
s either, for that matter. I went looking for Rex to tell him what I
’
d learned.

Rex

A
my brought us news of Ike and Kirk, and it wasn
’
t good news. She was more worried about the biker, Jake. She didn
’
t know Ike like we did, though. He
’
d always been quick to take offense and put up objections to what the rest of us wanted to do or thought was best for the band. When Kirk joined us and made an alliance with Ike, we should have known a showdown was inevitable.

Nevertheless, what was done was done, and I couldn
’
t see much point in worrying. They were hundreds of miles away, in the first place. In the second, we
’
d soon be in the studio all day, every day, for the foreseeable future. There
’
d be security.

“
Honestly, Amy, I don
’
t think we need to worry about it. We
’
ll be in LA by Sunday, and we
’
ll be lost in the crowds except when we
’
re in the studio. They can
’
t get in there.
”

“
I hope you
’
re right. You guys are still sure you want me with you? I could disappear, you know,
”
she said.

I didn
’
t know about the other guys, and what they
’
d think of this new development, but my mind was firmly made up. I still hadn
’
t told her how I felt, and I didn
’
t really know what I was waiting for. In every way I could think of otherwise, though, I showed her. I didn
’
t want to lose her.

“
We voted, remember? What you contribute to our sound is worth the risk, and I really don
’
t think the risk is all that great. Let
’
s just go about our business and assume they
’
ll leave you alone when you
’
re in the public eye. After all, they don
’
t necessarily want publicity shining a spotlight on their activities. Are we good?
”

Amy smiled faintly and gave a half-nod.
“
I guess so.
”

After Portland, we took our time driving to San Francisco via scenic Highway 101. This was the first time any of us but Chad had spent this much time close to the ocean. The view from the bus windows as we negotiated the narrow and winding road was spectacular, even if at times Amy hid her eyes against my arm. We
’
d all seen the interior of the country, sometimes beautiful, sometimes miles of flat, almost boring farmland. Nothing but the majestic Rockies even came close to the wild cliffs and crashing waves on the rocky shore we could see below us.

I hated to miss a minute of it, but the late night we
’
d had kept us asleep for much of the route between picking up 101 at Newport and the California border. Once most of us woke up, Amy and I sat next to each other, our hands entwined. It had been years since I
’
d been with someone I could simply enjoy. In fact, I couldn
’
t remember anyone like that since high school. If and when this ended between us, I would have to take a good long look at myself and explain to myself why I
’
d been without companionship my entire adult life.

My behavior with the groupies was the likely cause, I had to admit. That, and the fact that we were never in one place for very long, meant that a woman worth my commitment for a long-term relationship probably wouldn
’
t find me worth
her
time. On the other hand, I wasn
’
t a cheater. My mom had a peculiar talent for picking the wrong man, either one who
’
d knock her around or cheat on her. I saw the devastation the cheating did to her self-esteem, and, in fact, it was probably the reason she put up with the physical abusers, giving them chance after chance to change.

No, if Amy and I were together, and for however long we were together, I was a one-woman man. I wasn
’
t a great example of a man who respected women. I
’
d used my share without a second thought. Amy was different, and not just because she was in a vulnerable position and needed rescuing. I
’
d seen the side of her that was willing to do whatever she had to for her immediate safety. That she could turn off her softer side and casually use sex to get what she needed was both distressing and incredibly hot.

To me, it showed a survival instinct that transcended what I
’
d been raised to think of as morals. It was also intriguing enough that I wanted to get inside her head at those moments and learn how she really felt about it. However, if I had anything to say about it, she
’
d never be in that position again. I couldn
’
t be certain I could be personally responsible for giving her security and safety without bartering her body for them. But I hoped whatever happened with the band would give her the ability to get those things for herself without resorting to it.

In due time, we arrived in San Francisco. Mark had lined up gigs in bars for us here, one each on Friday and Saturday nights. During the days we took advantage of all the sightseeing we could handle before rehearsal. Even Cole, who normally seldom ventured forth before late afternoon, was uncharacteristically excited about some of the things we did. At least, he seemed excited. He said
‘
cool
’
a lot.

I wasn
’
t sure the others felt the same way I did about ending an era this weekend and entering a world we
’
d been denied up until now. Instead of living in each other
’
s
’
pockets and the bus, we would put down roots, at least temporarily. We might be doing different things at different times, as the label
’
s various departments made demands on us. So much so that we might not even see much of each other for the next six months except for recording sessions.

I, for one, was going to be busy writing. We didn
’
t have enough originals for an LP yet, and I preferred to put out our first CD with as many originals as possible. And yeah, I knew I wouldn
’
t have final say on that. I was going to give it my best shot, though.

With all of this in the back of my mind, I made up my mind to have as much fun as each night
’
s gig would allow. If the other guys didn
’
t know what awaited us in LA, I had no intention of telling them. Why take the risk of spoiling our last few normal days together? There was a big debate among musicians these days about whether to sign with a big label, an indie label, or go it alone. Lots of people advocated going it alone. I suspected a good majority of them were people who didn
’
t think they could attract a label, or who
’
d tried and failed.

We hadn
’
t discussed it much among ourselves, but my take was a label could do things for us we couldn
’
t do ourselves.  When they saw the contracts and the restrictions, my guys might balk, but I didn
’
t want to borrow trouble beforehand. As always, I
’
m the band. What I say goes, and if they don
’
t like it, they can leave. I was confident of everyone but Chad, though. I didn
’
t know him well enough to guess. On the other hand, he knew the potential when he signed on, so he was probably okay with all of it.