Page 10 of Van

Chapter 5

Van

“I don’t really like people,” I tell Mask as I sit back with a cigarette between my lips.

“No shit. Neither do I.”

“Then why are we here?” I ask, looking around the dingy club. There are people everywhere, and I can’t say that I like it. I don’t. I don’t even want to be here right now.

“We needed to check it out,” he reminds me.

“Haven’t we checked it out enough?” I ask as I look at the drugged people who walk through here. Half of them don’t even know they’re alive and breathing from the looks of them.

“I need to see if he’s involved,” he tells me once more. I nod my head, knowing this already, but I don’t like being here. It’s cringy and not a place I’d typically be in. Nevertheless, I sit back in the chair and take in the scene. People are wandering around smoking and drinking and just having their kind of a good time when Mask slaps my arm. I follow his gaze and spot the asshole.

“He’s here,” I mumble under my breath.

“Yeah, he is. Do we fuckin’ confront him here?” I shake my head. He doesn’t notice us, and there’s no point in starting shit here.

“No. Wait till we get back to the clubhouse. We don’t want any of his friends to get involved.” Mask nods and motions for the others to stand and leave. We stalk out the door we entered and grab our helmets, ready to get back on our bikes.

“Can you believe this shit?” I ask Mask.

“No. I’m fuckin’ pissed, though. He shouldn’t be here,” he snarls as anger takes hold. I understand that feeling. We don’t deal in this part of town. We don’t mess with these people either, but there he was, one of our own, selling drugs on the wrong side of town. We don’t take that shit lightly because we know our boundaries, and we know our enemies. This could cause a war.

“It’s fucked up. What are we gonna do?”

“We’re gonna handle that motherfucker,” Mask answers as the others nod their heads.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” I tell them. They all climb on their bikes before we take off out of the parking lot. We take off down the street as I think about all this. How’s it going to end for Reggie? This isn’t going to be good for him. Mask is pissed, and rightfully so. Reggie has no business being at that club selling anything.

The ride to the clubhouse doesn’t take us long, and we pull into the parking lot, killing our engines. When we climb off the bikes, I look at Mask. I can see the anger in his eyes.

“What’s the fuckin’ point? We fuckin’ pay well here,” he snaps at no one.

“I don’t get it either, Prez. It makes no sense,” I tell him.

“It’s like we’re a fuckin’ joke, yeah? Fuckin’ goin’ behind our backs,” he roars. I know his anger is off the charts right now, and I can’t blame him. He’s right.

“Let’s just grab a beer and calm down,” Pike suggests.

“You’re right. There’s nothin’ we can do right now, but when he comes back, I’m on his ass,” Mask tells us all. We nod our agreement before heading inside. That’s when I see her and sigh. She’s behind the bar once again, shoving beers across the counter.

“Look at this shit,” I say, pointing in her direction. All the guys turn to look, but it’s Mask who snaps this time.

“Get your ass out from behind that goddamn bar!” He roars. Chyanne jolts as she looks over her shoulder to see us standing here. Defeated, she moves out from behind the bar and walks toward the rooms.

“She isn’t to work here. She’s here for other reasons,” Mask reminds the room. Mostly the girls. Nicole nods her head, but I’m sure she’s the one who okayed her working back there.

I walk past everyone and through the main room before knocking on her door.

“It’s open.” I shove the door open and find her sitting on the bed, looking defeated. “I was only trying to help.”

“Yeah. Mask is havin’ a bad day. He didn’t mean to take it out on you.”

“I get it,” she mumbles.

“He’s right, though. You shouldn’t be workin’ back there. We made that pretty clear.”

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