Stone - Big Girls & Bad Boys (8 page)

“Last time I checked, I belong to this club,” was all Stone said.

“Fuck you.  Having fun with my ex?” Bobby asked, trying to be derisive.  It didn’t work.

“Maria’s having more fun,” Stone said. Ginger chuckled at that.  She obviously knew Stone and I were a thing but I hadn’t talked to her about it yet.

“Suck it, hipster,” Bobby said apparently referring to Stone’s beard.  Stone just flashed that smirk.

“I don’t agree with this move.  Rocky doesn’t either.  Apparently, these two agree with you.  What about the Mikes?  I doubt they would go along.  That’s four against three,” Stone said.  Rocky looked over at Stone though his look was hard to read.

“That’s cute.  You want to take a vote.  Well, it’s too late for that.  We need to deliver these goods or our ass is grass,” Bobby said.  He was using that as a threat.  He got the club into this and now he was using the potential consequences to bully Rocky.

“Convenient but it sounds like you’ve got a problem.  Not us.  The Knights didn’t take delivery of those guns, you did, Bobby.  How is this the club’s problem?” Stone challenged him.

“Because I told them the Knights agreed,” Bobby said.  He had this planned all along.  What a dick!

“Enough of this.  Deliver the fucking guns to the Jamaicans.  Then we’re out of the gun running business,” Rocky announced though it sounded as if he wanted to say more.  Ginger leaned close to me.

“Why doesn’t he just kick the little prick out?” she asked though I don’t think she expected an answer from me.  I was wondering the same thing.  Bobby looked satisfied, however.  Hell, he looked like the cat that ate the canary.

“We’ll take care of it, Rock,” Bobby said, grinning from ear to ear.

“I’ll go with them...to make sure nothing goes wrong,” Stone announced.  Bobby frowned but Rocky seemed to like the idea.  I didn’t.

“Yeah, Stone will go with you,” Rocky agreed.  Bobby looked from one man to the other.

“Don’t trust me?” he asked Rocky.

“Should I?” Rocky replied.  Bobby shoved his girlfriend off of him and she almost tumbled to the floor.  He stood up, glared at Rocky for a moment and then turned to Stone.

“Tomorrow night.  Be here at seven.  Bring a piece,” Bobby told him.  Then he nodded at Dusty and Enrique.  They stood and the trio walked out while Bobby’s old lady followed on her tippy high heels, looking back at us like a deer in the headlights obviously wondering what the hell she had gotten herself into.  They mounted their bikes and roared off into the night.

Ginger grabbed me by the arm as she headed to the pit.  She sat in Bobby’s chair next to Rocky.  I sat in the chair next to Stone meaning to take him to task but Ginger beat me to the punch.  “Why don’t we just kick him and those other two out of the club?” Ginger asked.

“With those illegal guns sitting in my shop?” Rocky replied.  Ginger looked at the crate and then back at her husband.  As long as Bobby had illegal guns in the shop, Rocky couldn’t do anything.

“You’re right.  I didn’t think about that,” Ginger said.  Now it was my turn.

“You didn’t have to go, you know.  Why would you put yourself in danger?” I demanded from Stone.

“Someone’s got to look out for the club.  Bobby isn’t going to do it,” Stone told me.

“Still, why you?” I asked.

“If not me, who?  This is my home, my club.  You called it your family.  I’m loyal...,” Stone began to argue but I was already convinced and finished his thought for him.

“To a fault.  Yeah, I’ve heard that,” I said.  Stone smirked at me.

“I appreciate it, kid,” Rocky said.  “I’m not as young as I used to be.  You’re the kind of member this club used to be full of.  I want those days back.  Drinking, fucking, riding and good friends.  No fucking lawyer and doctor wannabes, no criminal activity...well, not serious criminal activity anyway.  But I’m afraid the Knights are dead.  Once I kick Bobby out, he’ll take those other two.  We’ll be down to four, assuming the Mike’s want to stay too.  Not much of a club,” Rocky explained.

“Ah, baby,” Ginger said and reached over to pat Rocky’s hand.  He smiled at his wife, grasped her hand and held on to it tight.  This was killing him.  I only suspected but I had to speak up.

“I don’t think Bobby means to just lobby the club to start running guns and selling drugs.  I think he means to take it over,” I said.  Rocky looked at me and frowned.

“I know.  I know what he wants.  I looked past it because I wanted to keep the club alive.  I shouldn’t have.  He might just succeed.  I’m tired.  I’m too old for this shit,” Rocky said. I felt so bad for him.  I also saw my family, such as it was, crumbling.  I couldn’t handle that.

“Make Stone your VP,” I blurted out.  The other three stared at me, Stone shocked at my suggestion.  “We don’t have one.  We’re so small.  But Stone cares.  He’ll fight for the Knights,” I said.  Even I was wondering what had gotten into me.

“Rocky, I’m not looking to...,” Stone began to say but Rocky just waved his hand at him.

“I know, kid.  She’s right.  We don’t have a VP.  Haven’t had a real one in years.  When you’ve got half a dozen members, what’s the point?  Too many chiefs, you know,” Rocky said.  He looked at Ginger.  She glanced at me, then at Stone.

“They’re the kind of members we need.  Maria is loyal.  I think Stone is too,” she told her husband.  Rocky thought it over but not for long.  He stood up, went over to the cabinets and retrieved a small patch.  He handed it to Stone.  It read, “Vice President.”

“You sure, Rocky?” Stone asked.

“The fact you asked that makes me sure,” Rocky said and returned to his chair.  “You’re the VP now.  That little shit, Bobby, didn’t listen to me about those fucking guns so I’m not going to ask him and his allies what he thinks about this.  The Knights are mine...ours.  The club will never belong to that boy,” Rocky told Stone.

“Thanks, I won’t let you down.  I won’t let the Knights down,” Stone replied.

“Good, now get those guns delivered tomorrow night and make sure the payoff doesn’t go into Bobby’s pocket.  That’s club money.  Knight’s risk, Knight’s money,” Rocky said.  Stone stood up and shook Rocky’s hand.

“Consider it done,” he said and then headed for the fridge.  “Anyone?” Stone asked.  We all said yes.  We drank for awhile forgetting about the drama.  We talked about other things.  Bikes, runs, our pasts, whatever.  At one point, Ginger suggested we take a powder together.  I knew what that meant.  She wanted information.  Once we were in the bathroom by the offices, she jumped in right away.

“So, you traded up to a better model, I see,” she said.

“I guess you’d know,” I replied.  I remembered the day I caught her, Rocky and Stone coming out of Rocky’s office.  Ginger had had a bit of fun with Stone.

“I guess I would.  Good for you, Maria.  Bobby’s a punk.  Stone’s a real man,” she told me.

“I agree, even more so now,” I replied.

“I won’t...indulge anymore.  Stone’s yours and I respect that,” Ginger told me.  I smiled.

“Good.  Otherwise I’d have to knock you down and sit on you,” I joked.  Ginger laughed.

“Is it serious?” she wondered.

“I think so.  It hasn’t been that long, not even a week, but I really like Stone.  He’s...not what I’m used to,” I said.

“And that’s a good thing?” Ginger asked.

“Very good,” I said.  She hugged me and then we took care of business before we left.  Once we got back, we found that Stone had rearranged the furniture.  His leather chair was now next to Rocky’s and Bobby’s was shoved aside out of the circle.

“I don’t get why you drink tha
t stinky brow
n beer, but these cigars are pretty good,” Rocky was telling him.

“Life’s too short to drink bad beer,” Stone replied.

“That’s what I’m saying.  I’ll take my Bud over that motor oil you drink any day,” Rocky said.

“Fucking old dudes,” Stone joked.

“Fucking young punks,” Rocky said.  They both laughed and took a puff off their dark colored cigars.  “Good fucking cigar, though,” Rocky added.

“Looks like you two are getting along,” Ginger observed.

“Yeah, my VP and I see eye to eye on a lot of things.  I don’t like his taste in brews but otherwise, this dude gets it.  He prefers the old ways.  He honors the lifestyle,” Rocky said.

“He told me he was a renaissance man,” I added as I sat on the arm of Stone’s chair and Ginger claimed the seat on the opposite side of Rocky.

“Renaissance?  That’s fancy,” Ginger said and winked at us.

“I guess I’m old fashioned.  I like being a man and I’m not ashamed of it but I don’t have to act like an asshole to prove it.  And I like women that aren’t looking to be just like men.  I respect the hell out of a woman that isn’t afraid to be a woman.  Like I said, I’m old fashioned,” Stone said.

“I see how some of these young bikers treat their old ladies.  Shameful...no offense, Maria,” Rocky said.

“None taken, Rocky.  Bobby is an asshole.  I just needed a little prodding to do something about it,” I told him.

“Good for you.  You deserve better than that pinhead,” Rocky told me.  This was the family I never had.  Rocky was like a father but as Bobby treated me worse, Rocky grew more distant.  I guess I knew why.  A man didn’t tell another man how to live or how to treat his old lady.  Not everything about being old fashioned was good.  But Stone was old fashioned with sensibilities that are more modern.

But things felt as if they were changing.  Things were getting back to some kind of normal...better than normal.  I felt a sense of optimism I hadn’t before.  I wondered where the optimism came from considering the club was falling apart.  Still, something told me things could get better.  I didn’t see how but I hoped that feeling wasn’t just an illusion.  I wanted the Knights to not simply exist but flourish.

We hung out with Rocky and Ginger for a while but we didn’t stay late.  Back at Stone’s house...our house, I guess, we sat out on the back porch.  Stone seemed fine with everything but I was pensive.  I was worried about him going with Bobby to drop off the guns.  The transfer would probably go smooth but it was still risky.  I knew why Rocky didn’t want to be involved with stuff like that.  It wasn’t that he was getting too old.  It was that it was too dangerous, though I might have been projecting.

Rocky was a biker because he loved motorcycles and loved the life.  He wasn’t interested in making money or protecting turf.  He just wanted to ride and spend time with the Knights and his old lady, Ginger.  That dream was disappearing.  The Knights were old school, part of an era that was fading away.  That’s what Rocky thought anyway and maybe he was right.

“What are you thinking about?” I asked Stone.

“Just looking at the stars, the ones I can see through the glare and smog,” he said.  It wasn’t that bad, the smog anyway.  The glare from the sprawling city did overwhelm all but the brightest stars, however.  “I know you didn’t ask that purely for information.  What’s on your mind?” Stone asked me in turn.

“Is it that obvious?” I wondered.

“As obvious as the reason.  I’ll be fine.  I can handle myself.  Drop the goods off, get the money and come home.  It’s that easy,” he said.

“I’d like to think so.  But what if it’s not?” I asked.

“Look, if I’ve learned anything it’s that worrying about stuff you can’t control is pointless.  I’m going, so that’s settled.  You’re on board, right?” he replied.

“Yeah.  The club is my family.  You have to make this right, make sure Bobby doesn’t fuck it all up.  If it was just you going, I’d feel better.  Bobby is a wild card.  Who knows what he might do?” I said.