Page 39 of Devil's Due

“From the law?”

I laugh, then grow serious. “Babe, sometimes I think that would be easier. You want to hear a story?”

“Stops me from worrying about mine.”

I nod at her reply. “One of my brothers met a woman. She’d got involved with a crooked politician. She had shit on him that could have put him away, well, let’s just say her life was in danger.”

Her head is tilted toward me. Her mouth is open. “What happened? And one of your brothers? How many do you have?”

Dozens.I grin. “Not a blood brother, one in the MC. In many ways, we’re closer than blood.”

“The woman?” she prompts.

“Blade, my brother, well, he was an ass. But once he got his head screwed on, he,us,well, we took down that piece of scum.”

“You killed him?” Her voice squeaks.

“Nah. He’s going away for a very long time. We got the evidence he’d committed murder to clear his way through for the nomination.” I hear the sigh of relief.

“Are you telling me you’re the good guys?”

“Like to think we are, but that’s not why I’m telling you this.” I’m going to bare my soul to her, so I take a few sips of beer to prepare. “Man had a wife. They were separated as he’d used his fists on her once too often. But, politician that he was, he’d do anything to make himself appear to be the right candidate, and that included bringing his wife back to his side.”

“He hurt her again?”

I won’t go into everything. But yeah. “He kinda did.”

“I hope she’s divorced his ass.”

“It’s just been made final, babe. He didn’t contest it,” we might have had a hand in that, “so it was a formality. Went through quickly. Sally, that’s her name. She stayed at the club when she was hiding out from the press. There was quite a lot of coverage.”

“I can imagine there would be. What does this have to do with you being in Pueblo?”

“My brothers in Tucson, well, a lot of them have found their ol’ ladies. Wives,” I quickly explain, seeing the look on her face. “I sort of wanted me some of that. A biker’s not short of a woman when he needs one, but someone to come home to every night? Having a partner, someone to be on your side, well, that was starting to look very attractive. My brothers, they seemed so happy.”

“So you got together with this Sally? She’s what, your old lady now?” A flicker of something crosses her face that I can’t comprehend. I wonder if it’s disappointment. Wishful thinking perhaps.

Not going there even if it is. I realise I should reply. “Yes and no. It’s complicated.”

“Relationships often are.”

“Sally, well… Sally, she’s not a strong person. She’s been told what to do all her life, by her parents who’d pushed her into the marriage, then by her husband who picked up where they left off. Thought I was getting her out of that situation, giving her space to start thinking for herself. Fact is,” I check to see she still looks interested and I’m not boring her, seems I’m not so I continue, “Sally needs that, needs someone to give her instructions on every part of her life. I’m not that man, couldn’t be what she wanted.”

“So you left her?”

“Not proud of what I’ve done, babe. But, yeah. My prez saw I’d got myself into something that was hard to extricate myself from. So he made me a nomad—that’s a biker with no affiliation to any particular chapter, and goes where there’s a problem. That’s why I’m in Pueblo, to sort some shit out. Sally equates that with working away.”

“But you’re not going back to her?”

“Makes me sound an asshole, but what I’m doing is giving her space to realise she can exist on her own. That she doesn’t need a man to complete her. But no, I’m not going back. To Tucson, yeah, but not to her. I’m hoping she’ll come to that realisation herself.”

She’s quiet for a moment. “I can’t work out if you’re a big softy or an utter asshole, Beef.”

I chuckle. “I think I’m a bit of both.”

“This came about because you thought you needed a woman to complete you, Beef. Not much difference between Sally and you from what you’ve said.”

“World of difference, babe,” I refute. “I wanted the dream, which was what I didn’t get. What you’ve got to understand is that my brothers seemed to come across that one special woman much the same way as Sally came into my life. Thought that was a sign, read it wrong. Nah, I don’tneeda woman, especially now. It’s a trap I won’t fall into again.” I don’t explain the club whores are there to take care of my sexual needs, or that there’s no problem being a single man in an MC. “The Pueblo chapter is completely different from Tucson. There, men are dropping like flies into the ol’ lady trap. Here? Most are like me, single.”

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