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Raptor

“What the fuck you just say?” I asked, staring
at him in shock.

Slammer smiled grimly. “He’s your
half-brother.”

“My mom had another kid?”

“Yeah. This was long before Mavis and your old
man, hooked-up. About six years before that time, I believe.”

My heart was pounding in my chest.
I had a
fucking brother
? “How come I never heard about him?”

“She was probably too scared to say anything
around your father. He beat the shit out of her enough as it was.”

“Is that why she took off?” I asked, feeling a
lump in my throat. Did she take off to be with her first son, while leaving me
behind?

“She left to get away from your father. She
knew that I’d take care of you. I told her that I would and she trusted me. She’s
my second cousin. Did you know that?”

“Yeah, I think you mentioned that before,” I
said, staring blindly down at his desk as the shit sunk in.

“Anyway, Mavis took off but she didn’t even try
to collect Jordan. She knew better than that. Plus, he was an adult by then.
Nineteen, I think.”

“Who’s Jordan’s father?” I asked, looking up at
him.

“His name is Acid and he’s from California.
Part of the Demon Rebels. I think their chapter is located in Sacramento, but
I’m not totally sure. Never had any dealings with any of them.”

“Acid,” repeated Tank. His eyes widened. “Holy
shit, I know who you’re talking about. I saw something about him on the news,
last year. I think he’s doing time for arson, or some other shit.”

“Oh, he’s doing time, but it’s not where you
think,” said Slammer, smirking. “That fucker is dead.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, still in shock
that The Judge was my older brother.

“You can ask The Judge about it,” he replied,
nodding toward the folder. “When you give him this and the cash. Which reminds
me.” He walked over to the safe and opened it up. “The money is in here,” he
said, holding up a large padded envelope. “Ten-thousand dollars. Make sure he
gets all of that or we’re fucked.”

Tank whistled. “You sure you don’t want me to
take care of Breaker? I’ll do it for half.”

“Sorry, but we just can’t risk it.”

Tank frowned but didn’t say anything.

“Ten thousand, huh?” I said, as he handed the
package to me. “So, does he know about me?”

“Yep.”

That knowledge kind of pissed me off. “He knows
about me. So, why don’t I know about him?”

“I made a promise to your mother. Hell, she pretty
much begged me not to say anything to you. She wanted to wait until the right
time to tell you herself.”

“And when would that be?” I mumbled. “On her
deathbed? I don’t have any contact with her as it is. Fuck, I don’t even know
where
she is.”

“She’s in town, actually,” he said.

I didn’t say anything for a while. The bitterness
that I felt for Mavis abandoning me, still gnawed at me at times. I didn’t even
want to hear any more about her. “How come Jordan’s never tried getting in
touch?” I asked, changing the subject to him.

Slammer took a few seconds to answer. “Let’s
just say that I don’t think Acid was an easy man to live with and now Jordan
doesn’t have much empathy for family and from what I can tell, he’s a cold
sonofabitch himself.  He even refused to meet your mother.”

“From what I’ve heard, he’s a loner,” said
Tank. “In fact, I heard that he hates people. All people.”

“Maybe not. Maybe so. Whatever the case may be,
he
is
a mercenary and having friends and family would be more of a
liability.”

“Yeah, I get it. So, who all knows about him?”
I asked, wondering where the leak was coming from.

“Up until a few weeks ago, only your mother and
I knew who The Judge really was. But, then she showed up here, asking me to set
up a meeting between the two of them. To be honest, I think she wanted to have
him do a job for her. Anyway, when he said ‘no’, she got drunk and whined about
it to a couple of our brothers. Later that night, they approached me about it,
and I had to come clean. I told them to keep their fucking mouths shut, though.
Obviously, one of them didn’t. Horse. Well, he told Chopper, and Chopper told,
Buck, and you get the idea… Anyway, the last I checked, everyone but you two
knew about it.”

“Fuck,” said Tank, shaking his head. “That got
out of hand pretty quickly. And why the fuck didn’t you tell me? I’m your
second-in-command. Not to mention your son.”

“I just did.”

Tank snorted. “Still, it’s easy to see how Mud
learned about it. I doubt there’s a fucking conspiracy.”

“They all gave me their solemn word that nobody
else would find out about it. Nobody. And that they’d keep their fucking mouths
shut,” said Slammer.

“They probably told their Old Ladies, and
that’s how it leaked,” I said. “You know most of them are always running their
mouths about this thing or that.”

“Exactly and that’s why I warned them about
keeping it quiet. From what I gathered, none of the Old Ladies know about it,
either.”

“Still, I don’t know,” said Tank. “They may
have promised, but shit happens.  People get drunk and talk shit. Do we have a
traitor in our group? I don’t know. More than likely, it’s just a couple of
guys who can’t hold their liquor. Don’t get me wrong, I’d kick their ass if I
found out who leaked it.”

Slammer sighed and rubbed the bridge of his
nose. “I know. It’s why nobody else is going to learn about the hit on Breaker.
Nobody. Got it?”

“Of course,” I said.

Tank nodded.  

 “When did Mavis find out about the Judge?” I
asked.

Slammer frowned. “Well, to tell you the truth, I
fucked that up myself, a couple of years ago. She was over at the house and we
were sharing a bottle of Quervo Gold. We started talking about you and then
Jordan and Acid.  Said she didn’t even know if Jordan was alive, since he’d
basically disappeared off of the face of the earth. That’s when I told her.”

“Mavis was over at
our
house?” asked
Tank. He looked at me to see my reaction. “Thought she was the one who’d
disappeared off the face of the earth.”

“No, shit,” I said.

“I know. I know.”
Slammer rocked back on
his chair. “Look, there’s something I never told you, but Mavis dropped by,
quite a bit, asking about you.”

“I didn’t know that. Funny, she could have just
came to me directly,” I said dryly.

“She was scared and confused.” He sighed. “I
hate to say this but with all of the beatings your mother took over the years,
she’s not the same person I once knew. I mean, she always had a drinking
problem and hung out with some real assholes, but now… let’s just say that
she’s not all there. Not mentally.”

I gave him a disgusted look. “I wouldn’t know
the real Mavis. She kept her distance from me, even when I was a kid,” I
muttered, thinking back to my childhood. The fighting. The drinking. Even the
drugs. The closest thing I had to a real home was living with Slammer and Tank.
 I certainly wasn’t going to hold a grudge against him because he never said
anything. He had his reasons.

I sighed. “So, where is she living now?”

“I guess she’s been staying with a girlfriend.”

“And she wants to hire ‘The Judge’ for a hit?”

“That’s what I’m guessing,” said Slammer.

“You know who?” I asked.

“Not too sure. You hear from Butch, lately?” he
asked, smirking. “That would be my first guess.”

My old man, Butch, was in prison for drug
smuggling. “Nope. Just that time two years ago, when he asked me for some money.
Said I owed him, because he gave me life.”

Tank grunted. “What a fucking prick. You didn’t
give him any, did you?”

I shook my head and smiled. “I gave him what I
felt he deserved. My middle finger.”

Slammer’s cell phone went off. He picked it up
and looked at the screen. “It’s Frannie. I need to take this call.”

“So, how do I reach Jordan?” I asked.

“He’ll contact you. I gave him your number.
And, for fuck’s sake, don’t call him Jordan. Call him Judge. Hey, Darlin’,” he
said, answering the phone. I had to smile when I noticed his voice raise to a
higher tone.

Tank nodded toward me and we got up and left
the office.

“Remember what I said about keeping your mouths
shut!” hollered Slammer as we walked down the hallway. “And don’t miss church!”

“You want me to head out with you?” asked Tank,
as we stepped back into the bar. “Make sure that money stays safe.”

I patted the envelope. “It’s safe with me. Besides,
didn’t you want a piece of Misty?” I asked, nodding toward the bartender, who
was waiting on a couple of regulars.

“Fuck no. You heard what the old man said. I’m
not going near that shit. Not after Breaker infected it.” He sighed. “In fact,
I’m going to call Krystal. Make sure it’s still on for tonight. You still want
to go and hunt that fucker down, don’t you?”

“Jason? Yeah. He needs some guidance counseling.”

Tank grunted. “No shit.”

“I’ll meet you at the clubhouse,” I said,
walking toward the doorway with the file. “I’ve got a couple of errands to run,
first.”

“Okay, Brother.”

Adriana

When I finished putting my makeup on, I slipped
on a pair of black pumps and a lightweight overcoat. Then, I locked the house
up and walked over to the garage, where my Verano was parked. When I started
the engine, I noticed that I was getting low on fuel, so on the way to Dazzle,
I stopped at a fuel station. I’d just started pumping gas when I noticed that a
big, black truck had pulled up behind my car. Ignoring it, I continued filling
my car with gasoline.

The person in the truck got out and I heard
footsteps come up behind me. “Darlin’, I thought that was you,” said a gravelly
voice.

I turned around to find myself looking up into
the cold, flat eyes of the biker who’d been harassing me at Griffin’s. Breaker.
I tried to remain calm.

“Sorry?” I said, pretending that I didn’t know
him. The guy was even scarier in the daylight, the scar on his face standing
out like a warning sign. Something told me that he’d probably deserved it.

“You’re the hot little number from Griffin’s
last night. You must remember me, Darlin’.”

My heart was pounding as I pulled the nozzle
out of the car and shoved it back into the machine. I’d barely filled my tank,
but I wanted to leave as quickly as possible. Knowing that he’d gone to prison
for rape, was terrifying. Especially since he was obviously still interested in
me. “Sorry. You must have me confused with someone else,” I answered, laughing
nervously. “I get that all the time.”

He smirked. “I don’t think so.”

Ignoring him, I pulled out my receipt and tried
getting into my car.

“You know, I’d never forget a face like yours,”
he said, blocking my way.

“Excuse me. You’re in my way.”

His eyes went to my necklace. “Fuck me, is that
a real sapphire?”

I put my hand over the stone. “No. Of course
not. It’s costume jewelry. Now, if you’d please get out of my way, I really have
to be somewhere.”

“Are you okay, honey?” asked a little old lady,
pumping gas across from me.

“Mind your own business, Grandma,” said
Breaker, stepping out of my way.

The woman quickly turned away and continued
pumping.

“Nosy old bitch,” he muttered and then turned
back to me. “You meeting up with Raptor?”

I ignored him.

He chuckled. “You look like you’re going on a
date. He’s not going to be happy knowing that you’re seeing someone on the
side.”

I was about to tell him that I wasn’t seeing
anyone, including Raptor, but caught myself. That would have been asking for
more trouble. I forced a grin. “For your information, I’m going to work but I
will
be seeing him later.”

He grinned slyly. “Work, huh? Where you work, Darlin’?”

I couldn’t help it. I was tired of his
questions. “It’s none of your business,” I said, slamming the door shut. I
quickly started the engine and locked all four doors. As I backed away, I
noticed that he was laughing.

“Asshole,” I mumbled, turning the car around. I
drove out of the parking lot and headed down the road, still shaken. The light
ahead turned red and I slowed down to a stop. As I waited for it to change,
someone revved their engine behind me. I looked into my rearview mirror and my
blood ran cold. Breaker was behind me, in the truck, and only inches from my
bumper.   

I swore under my breath, hoping that he wasn’t following
me and just heading north. But, common sense told me that was not the case.

When the light finally changed, I began to
drive forward, but didn’t head toward Dazzle, which was only a few blocks away.
The last thing I needed was for him to learn where I worked. Instead, I
continued forward, not exactly sure where I was headed. Frustratingly enough,
he stayed behind me for the next five lights.

Shit, he must really be following me
, I
thought, deciding to take a right at the next light. As I put my blinker on and
changed lanes, I noticed that he did the same. We both turned on the green
arrow, and I looked back at him in my rearview mirror. I couldn’t see his face,
because the windows were tinted, but something told me that he was enjoying
this.  Tightening my hands on the wheel, I sped up and took the next exit, this
time turning left. He quickly followed.

“Dammit,” I snapped, my heart racing. I reached
into my purse, which was sitting next to me on the seat, and grabbed my cell
phone. Trying not to get into an accident, I quickly dialed Trevor.

“Hey, Kitten,” he answered, a smile in his
voice. “I didn’t expect to hear from you until later.”

“Breaker is following me,” I said quickly.

He swore. “Talk to me.”

I told him about seeing Breaker at the gas
station and how he’d tried talking to me. “Now he’s on my tail.”

“I’m going to kill that fucking asshole myself.
Swear to God,” he growled. “Okay. Where are you?

I gave him my approximate location. “Should I
drive to the nearest police station?” I asked, still seeing Breaker’s truck in
my mirror.

“He’ll just drive away if you do that.”

“Isn’t that the point?” I exclaimed loudly.

“I want to confront the fucker. Let him know
that nobody follows my girl.”

I’m not your girl,
I thought,
although I had to admit that part of me was giddy at the comment. “Seriously, I
don’t want to be part of that. I just want him to go away and never see him
again.”

“I know, but shitheads like Breaker
won’t
go away unless someone stands up to them. Look,” he said. “Why don’t you head
on over to Griffin’s? You’re only ten minutes away. I’m in the parking lot, now.
I’ll
make sure that pile of shit never bothers you again. You feel me?”

 I was feeling more frustrated than anything as
I stopped at another light. This time, however, Breaker got into the right
turning lane. “Wait a second,” I said, looking over at his truck. “He’s turning
away. Thank God.”

Breaker rolled down his window and the menacing
smile on his face gave me the chills. He blew me a kiss and then drove away,
his tires squealing as he whipped around the corner.

“Asshole,” I mumbled, sighing in relief.

“What’s going on?”

 “He’s gone.”

“Good. Now, meet me at Griffin’s. I’ll take you
to lunch.”

Yuck, like I’d ever eat there.

“I can’t. My mom’s expecting me at the store.
I’m surprised she hasn’t called me yet, complaining.”

He was quiet for a while, obviously mulling things
over. “Okay. You get your ass at work and don’t worry your pretty little head
about this jerkoff.”

“Thanks,” I said. “He scared the crap out of
me.”

“Don’t let him, Kitten. In fact, he won’t be
bothering anyone, soon.”

“Oh yeah? Why?”

“I can’t get into it. Just, go to work and I’ll
see you later tonight.”

I bit my lower lip. “About that…”

“I’ve gotta go. There’s a call coming in. I
might even meet you at Dazzle, later.” He chuckled. “Surprise your mother.”

“But-”

“Later, Babe,” he said and then hung up.

Sighing, I tossed my phone onto the passenger seat
and headed to the shop, checking my rearview mirror, frequently. I couldn’t
believe the last twenty-four hours, I’d had strange encounters with three very
different guys. As far as I was concerned, every one of them was a threat. Even
Trevor.