Page 5 of Devil's Due

“Uh huh,” I lie again.

She pulls back and stares into my face. “How long, Beef?”

“I don’t know, Sal. Until my head’s screwed on right.”

“I’ll still see you. When I come to the club?”

“Of course.”

“Okay. As long as I know I can call on you.”

Her tears dry, but she hovers, checking how much I’m packing. In the end, it’s not much, just the bare necessities to keep me going. It leaves her satisfied, but I’ll have to come back.

All Drummer knows is that I bring a duffle of clothes and move into the suite he’s made available. I don’t fess up and tell him I haven’t broken things off with Sally. Unfortunately, it isn’t long before he gets the first hint, as all my brothers do.

“Beef. The bathroom tap is dripping, can you come fix it?”

“Beef, the timer on the cooker is wrong, can you reset it for me?”

Beef this, Beef that.

Sally’s friendship with Tash and the other women is used as an excuse, so, acting out of character, she’s at the club almost every day. Just as often it seems, I’m back at the house with odd jobs to do.

My concentration is fucked. Culminating in me forgetting to tighten the nuts properly when I put a wheel on a bike. Luckily Slick noticed the wobble before he hit speed.

I deserved his fist in my face.

As well as the dressing down that’s now to come from Drummer.

I approach the prez’s office, pausing for a moment outside, wiping my hands down my face. Two weeks ago, he told me to end it with Sally. Sure, I’m staying most nights at the clubhouse, but as for her getting the message? No fucking chance.

Inside, I open my mouth to apologise.

He raises his hand. “Called you here for a reason, Beef.”To give me shit about Slick’s bike. Of course you did.I wait for it.

“Need you to do something for me.”

“Yeah, I… what?” His opening gambit has floored me. “Er, yeah. Whatever you need, Prez.”

He chuckles. “Like that, Brother. But I think you best hear me out before agreeing off the top of your head. Might be something you don’t want to do.”

Ilikethat it sounds like I’m going to be useful to him. Rather do Drummer a favour any day of the week than have him tear me off a strip for making a rookie mistake. “What’s up?”

“Colorado.”

Whatever I expected him to say, it wasn’t that. “Prez?”

“You were there with us a few weeks back, Beef. You must have noticed Demon’s new to wearing the prez’s patch. I expected Hellfire would back him up more, stand up by his side, but it hasn’t worked out like I thought. Hell’s all but into his retirement now, just wants a comfortable life. Demon’s VP, Thunder, only took the job on temporarily, as he reminds him and anyone else who’ll listen, all the time.”

I nod. “Heard him say that myself.” Hellfire was the ex-prez who’d stepped down to allow his VP, and son, Demon, to move into the top spot. Problem is, that’s left a hole in the officer ranks which, as Drummer has pointed out, is for the meantime, being filled reluctantly by the sergeant-at-arms.

“I want someone to go and check things out. Report back to me how the club’s running, and whether I need to step in.”

“And you want that to be me?” I’m stunned. Not that I don’t think I could do what he’s asking, I didn’t expect to be his first choice.

“Yeah. Trust you Beef. You and I have ridden together a long time. Most of the men here are now family men, haven’t got much choice in who to send. Road? Hyde? Jekyll? Not been patched in that long. Drifter? He’s even newer than the others. Marvel? He can be too much of a joker, and Dollar I need here. Don’t have much choice out of the men unencumbered by ol’ ladies.”

“There’s Sally,” I remind him. I’m not exactly a free man myself.

---