Page 7 of Wild Card
“I don’t know, Wild Card, I guess I just figured you might need to hear it. Like us or hate us, these brothers are gonna be your family for the foreseeable. This, right here, is what your father wanted you to be a part of. Don’t rule out liking how it feels to be part of a brotherhood before you’ve given it a shot.” He taps me on the back and moves on.
“And where was that brotherhood when my dad was lying in a pool of his own blood?” I call out after him, and he slowly turns around. “Byron was his VP. You were his Sgt-at-Arms; you should have been with him,” I remind him.
“We can’t always be where we're supposed to be, you should know that better than anyone, Wild Card,” he tells me, lookin’ kinda sad as he lowers his head and makes his way out the door.
“So why did ya leave here?” Moby asks as he drives one of the club’s cages toward the lake where the party is. It’s a few miles outta town and I can't stop thinking about Ruby. She’ll be going to the party her boyfriend invited her to tonight. I barely knowthe girl, but I could tell by her face that she didn’t wanna go. I just can’t understand why it pisses me off so much that she is.
“I didn’t leave here by choice; I ended up in jail,” I admit. Ain’t no point in lying about it, no doubt Hack’s already pulled up my criminal resume.
“What ya go down for?” he asks, turning off down one of the dirt roads that lead into even thicker woodland.
“GBH. I lost my temper at some guy when he came on to my sister.”
“I didn’t know you had a sister, man. Dom never mentioned havin’ a daughter.”
“He didn’t, Lara wasn’t his. Him and my mother were never together, she left town just after she got pregnant with me, and married another guy when I was two. And I don’t have a sister anymore. I don’t have anyone. They all died while I was in jail.” I snap the bracelet I’m wearing on my wrist and try not to think about how I should have been there to protect them all.
“Shit, man, that's heavy.” Moby pulls up in a spot that's well sheltered but has a good view of the lake.
“So, Moby, that your real name?” I change the subject when I feel that uncontrollable pain start to burn in the pit of my stomach.
“Nah, some club slut got it started.” He laughs to himself as he switches off the engine, and when I look at him, expecting a better explanation, he continues.
“Apparently, someone wrote a book about a whale with a big dick.” He shrugs.
“Moby Dick?” I laugh.
“Somethin' like that.” The guy looks fuckin’ clueless, “I don’t judge on what gets people off. Anyway, it kinda stuck, and I figure it could be worse, so I let it.” He rests both his forearms on the steering wheel and leans forward. “I’ll keep watch from here. You get any kinda lead, you haul whoever it is back here,and we’ll take him to the cabin. Taint could sure do with the distraction right now; I almost feel sorry for the poor fucker he gets his hands on.” He sighs.
I don’t ask why; I got no intention of sticking around and getting to know these people. I’m much better off by myself, without anyone having any expectations of me.
“So, what did ya do to piss off Jameson?” Moby still attempts to make small talk while we wait for more people to arrive at the party.
“I set fire to the whore houses he sent me to protect,” I tell him, pressing my foot up on the console so I can lace up my boot.
“You shittin’ me?” Moby stares at me in shock.
“I made sure all the whores were out first,” I add before he starts judging me. “Owner was a prick, treated his girls like shit. Weren’t nothing he didn’t deserve.”
“Byron warned us you were reckless.” He laughs to himself some more as he shakes his head and looks back out the windshield.
FOUR
Ruby
“Don’t you scrub up good?” Brett smiles as I come down the stairs of his house. Esmé’s put all her efforts into making me look like I’m in some kinda pageant, and if I fall on my ass tonight, I’m holding her accountable. She’s the one who insisted I wear these stupidly high heels.
“Thanks.” I fidget with the top of the dress, worried that I’m gonna spill out of it.
“Come on, Dad already left. We’re meeting him there.” Brett takes my hand and leads me outside, and before I get in the car, I look up to Esmé’s bedroom window, wishing I was going with her instead. I don’t like the idea of her going to the lake party without me. Esmé is impressionable and doesn’t always make the best decisions.
“You're quiet tonight,” Brett mentions as he drives the windy roads toward the country club his father’s a member of. “What’s on your mind?”
“Nothing.” I smile at him cheerily. I may be worried about Esmé, but there's no way I’d get her into trouble. Her father treats her like a kid enough as it is. “I’m just tired, that’s all.”
“You need to quit your job at the Watering Hole,” he snarls, the way he always does when we talk about where I work.
“Quit? Are you crazy? I love working there. Besides, Earl needs me.” I don’t want to get into this again. Brett’s made it very clear that he hates me working there, but that isn’t gonna change anything. Earl’s good to me, he was good to my mother, and I love the customers. The Watering Hole may not be all shiny and new like the country club is, but it’s a place where everyone in town feels welcome.
