Page 26 of Brew
“It’s not as good as Erica’s bread.”
“Shut the fuck up and eat.”
CHAPTER
EIGHT
Erica
Even though Brew isn’t a verbose or noisy person, the office seems quieter without him.
Without his presence, the day seems to drag on.
Nova has been making her presence known, and even though I didn’t have a great first impression of her, she came down to apologize the next day and explained she’d had a rough couple of weeks.
“Men,” she sighs, after telling me all about her ex, who she mistakenly hooked up with when she got out of jail. That turned out to be bad news. Not only is the guy a complete loser, but he also hit her a couple of times. I try not to, but my mind flicks back to Amber and all that she suffered at the hands of Vincent. Steven would slap me, but never punch or leave a mark. Physically, that was the best I could hope for, but the emotional scars will remain forever.
Nova has also taken to sitting next to me and even offered to help with some of the filing. I think she just needs something to do. Now she looks more like a human being than a zombie, I can’t seem to shake her. Not that I mind the company, it canget pretty boring here by yourself all day. I don’t know what it is about me, but I’ve always been the shoulder to cry on. Women especially seem to flock to me to tell me their problems. It could be because I keep their secrets to myself. I’m not one to gossip. I know from living in the compound surrounded by other women that nothing good can come from sharing someone else’s secret, even if it is just to idly gossip. I don’t like that, and I woundn’t want anyone talking about me behind my back like that.
“Well, I’m glad you got rid of him if that’s the case. Did you tell your cousins what he did?”
“And be a witness at their trial for murder?” she snorts.
“You make a good point.”
“Oh, you’ve no idea. The pair of them have been like this for as long as I can remember. I don’t have any brothers, so they were the next best thing growing up.” She sits back in her chair. A fond memory showing in her smile. “Haze is Haze; what you see is what you get. But Brew? He’s a lot, don’t get me wrong, but he wasn’t always a grump like he is now, he’s only gotten worse with age.”
I swallow hard. We shouldn’t be talking like this, but I do want to know more about him, and what better way to get the skinny than from a family member? “I think life hardens you, in fact, Iknowit does. Whoever said life was easy clearly never had anything bad happen to them.”
“That’s what gets me. Brew spends all of his time seeking revenge for what happened to Valencia, but it’s kinda taken over his life.”
“He’s still seeking revenge? As in, vigilante style?” Brew is no angel, I know it, and I also know the MC deals with their own form of punishment. I don’t know how I feel about that, but I’m in no position to argue, judge or let my feelings be known. I owe this club, and part of that is keeping my opinions to myself, andlooking the other way. Not that anything happens causing me to look the other way, but I’m not dumb. The MC aren’t Boy Scouts.
“Oh, Brew will never stop,” she chuckles.
I stop typing, turning my head to look at her. “What do you mean?”
The women in the club talk, but none of them come outright and say it. Club business is club business and is usually only discussed with the men around the meeting room table they call Church. Nobody has ever said Brew is on a warpath of revenge. Maybe I’m reading too much into this.
She looks around, lowering her voice even though nobody else is here. “When he found out what happened to Valencia, he took out anyone who was involved, with his bare hands. Don’t tell me you don’t know this?”
I frown. I’ve spent time at the clubhouse, but as I say, even when the ol’ ladies talk, they’ve never come out and said anything about people disappearing and the MC being responsible. I know from Amber that the boys deal with things MC style, and that means taking the trash out to the bayou. It’s a long running joke around the clubhouse. But learning Brew is still on the warpath? He must be in so much pain.
“He killed people?”
She bites her lip, unsure if she should be saying anything. I am just the receptionist in her eyes.
“My sister-in-law, Amber, she’s Bronco’s ol’ lady,” I say. “I’m not going to say anything to anyone, but there’s talk around the clubhouse. I know what goes on.” Hopefully, that’s enough to keep her yapping.
“Well, knowing Brew my entire life, I can vouch for the fact that he’ll kill every last person who had anything to do with Valencia’s death,” she goes on. “Let’s face it, those assholes deserve it after what they did to her.”
“I agree,” I say, tempted to clutch my rosary beads — hypothetically of course. I’ve never believed in an eye for an eye. I was brought up to believe that everyone would have their judgment day, but after some of the atrocities I’ve witnessed over my time on earth, I’ve questioned my own beliefs.
“He’s never really gotten over it, and he blames himself,” she goes on. “They broke up because she wanted to travel and explore the world. Just because she was deaf, didn’t mean she was incapable of living a full life, but Brew blames himself.”
“She was deaf?” I whisper.
Nova nods. “Yep. I liked her, she was good for Brew, but like I say, they wanted different things.”
