Page 42 of Puma's Pride

“It’s Puma’s story to tell. Not mine. But you should ask him. It’s a good one.” Trouble says, grinning over my shoulder.

“What the fuck?” Puma asks from behind us. “What story are you talking about?”

“I was telling them about how I joined your crew.” Chill explains. “I mentioned how angry Acid was that you took me on and how he reached out to Dante.”

“And I was just explaining how much Dante respects you, but the reason for that respect is your story to tell.” Trouble adds. “You should tell it. It’s one of my favorites.” The grin on Trouble’s face has Puma rolling his eyes.

“Please?” I ask, batting my eyes. I’m enjoying this outing and not ready to go back to the clubhouse. Plus, it’s fun hearing about Puma’s earlier life. “I just want a little more time out of the clubhouse.”

Puma frowns at me but sits down. He turns to Trouble. “You only like that story because I look like an idiot and you like a hero.” He complains, but then grins when we all beg. “Fine. I’ll tell you the story. But I’m starving.” He waves over a server who takes our order for a couple of pitchers of beer and several appetizers.

“After my accident, I moved to Vegas. My career was over and I didn’t know what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I missed the excitement of playing ball and missed the camaraderie of my teammates. Even though I still got invitations to various parties and events. I tried gambling, but found it boring. In Vegas, something is always happening, but even here, I felt like I was in a rut. One day I saw a group of bikers pass by and I realized that I’d never tried a motorcycle before.”

“Really?” I ask. “That doesn’t sound right.”

He shrugs. “Your typical player contract doesn’t allow for motorcycles. Or skiing, waterboarding, etc. The possibility of injury is too great.”

“They probably should have listed driving fast cars on that list.” Trouble adds with a smirk. I scowl at him while Puma shrugs.

“Anyway.” I say, causing Puma to grin at me.

“I went out shopping for a bike. Wound up at a Harley dealership and got to talking with a biker. It was Wildcard. He told me about the Demons and what it was like being part of the club. It sounded appealing. But what was more appealing was that Wildcard didn’t know who I was. It was one of the few times where I had a conversation that was about something other than my career or my accident.”

“I didn’t know it was Wildcard who got you into the club.” Chill says.

“He invited me to some parties and introduced me to the executive team. The President at the time was an old guy, name of Squiggy. He was a friend of Dante’s father, Dale.” Puma says with a glance at Desdemona. “Squiggy was an asshole, but he took a shine to me. Probably saw me as a future SOA or Enforcer because of my size. He was a racist and a bigot, but he minded his manners when I was around.”

“Probably because you could snap him in two if you wanted.” Trouble adds and Puma shrugs.

“He was fat, so more likely I would have just ripped off his arms and legs.” He says with a smirk. “I prospected for about a year. Met and spoke with Dante a few times and we hit it off. Pretty sure the old asshole didn’t like that, but he wasn’t about to cause problems with Dante. Or me. Squiggy scared most of the members, but not me.”

“Most of the guys fear you, too.” Chill says and Puma glances at her. “But that isn’t why they follow you or respect you. I heard what happened to Squiggy. If it hadn’t been for you, the chapter would have folded and likely taken the rest of the chapters with it.”

“What did you do?” I ask.

“I killed my President.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: PUMA

I say the words with no remorse, even though Squiggy was the first person I killed. I may not have pulled the trigger, but it’s my fault he’s dead. “I learned he was setting Dante up to take the fall for crimes committed by Dale.” I glance at Corinne. Not sure how much to share with her. But if she’s part of my life now, she’ll learn the truth, eventually. “Dale was involved in human trafficking.” I tell her. Corinne gasps. I plan on leaving it there, but Desdemona doesn’t.

“I was one of his victims.” Desdemona tells her. “Dante and I dated in high school. After graduation, he prospected with the club while I went on to college. One night, Dale invited me to the club for a party, suggested I bring a friend for company. He told me it was a party for Dante. So I went. Brought my best friend and roommate. He gave us each a drink and the next thing I know, I’m auctioned off to a man who kept me prisoner for eight years.”

Corinne reaches over and snags Desdemona’s hand and squeezes it.

“I’m ok. Now. I’m free and happy with my life.” She looks at me. “Was Squiggy part of it?”

“I don’t know for certain. Although I wouldn’t have put it past him. He was all about the money. Dante never found evidence pointing to him or any of the other chapters. And he looked. Tore Dale’s office apart when he first learned what his dad had done.” I say. “If he had found evidence against Acid or Squiggy, neither would be around.”

“But Squiggy had evidence against Dale?” Chill asks.

“He said he did.” I say before leaning back to allow the server to place down our order. I pour myself a beer and snag an egg roll before continuing. “It was just chance that I overheard him talking to a Fed. He told the agent he had evidence that would help him take down the entire club, every chapter. He assured the agent that he had the evidence locked away in his safe. That once the agent had the search warrant, he’d come to the club and get the evidence.”

“What did you do?” Chill asks.

“I went to Wildcard and told him what I heard. He was ready to kill Squiggy. Neither of us knew who to trust, since most of the guys were loyal to Squiggy. We decided the best thing to do was find the evidence first and destroy it. I reached out to Dante to see if he knew of a safecracker. When I couldn’t reach him, I tried Acid. Acid pointed me to Trouble.”

“Why?” Alisa asks.

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