Page 76 of Shadow

“What the fuck did you just say?” Widow asked, stepping off the wall.

“We all know that Big Jim liked the ladies. Fucker was always looking for a fresh piece of ass. Back before we all joined the club, Big Jim was partial to a club whore named Maria. Her family gave her to Big Jim to solidify a business arrangement. She was stunning from what I was told. A beautiful woman. Big Jim doted on her. When she died from complications after the birth of Keys, her family lost it. Blamed Big Jim for killing her. They ended the business arrangement immediately. The club had been at war with them ever since until we traveled to Mexico and eradicated them.”

“Son of a bitch!” Whisper roared.

“Oh fuck,” Blackjack added.

Kansas sat, his head hanging low.

Pence didn’t move.

“Big Jim never told Keys who his mother was, but the bastard was good at computers. When he found out, he lost it. Something in him snapped,” Monk said, before looking up at me. “You were right, Shadow. Big Jim told an officer to go with the group to Wichita Falls for the meet. He told me to go, but I stayed behind because I knew Keys was up to something. He’d been acting weirder than usual. When Kansas and the others left for the meet, Keys was with them. I hung back, keeping my distance.”

“Keys’ bike broke down right before we crossed the state line,” Pence muttered. “I remember pulling over next to him. His bike was smoking.”

Monk nodded. “Yeah, it was.”

“He told us to go on without him,” Widow muttered.

“And we did,” Blackjack added.

“The second all of you were out of sight, I watched as Keys did something to his bike and roared off for home. I stayed on him until I hit the city limits when I witnessed an accident. It was stupid. Some kid wasn’t watching what he was doing and ran a red light. By the time I gave my statement to the police and made sure everyone was okay, news of the massacre was already hitting the radios. Police, fire and paramedics were all heading to the clubhouse. Instead of going to the clubhouse, I tried to find Keys. I looked everywhere but couldn’t find him. The next thing I know, he’s with all of you at the clubhouse.”

“Yeah,” Widow said. “He showed up at the diner, right before we all got the call. We raced back together.”

“But why go with all of you to Mexico?” I asked.

Monk sighed. “The only thing that makes sense is that Keys also blamed his mother’s family for selling her to Big Jim. At least that’s my theory. I’ve tried for years to find any evidence that links Keys to the club massacre, but I can’t find shit.”

“But you told me it was the Vasquez Cartel. Because of you we went into Mexico and killed all those people thinking they were the ones who murdered our club family.” Kansas stated firmly.

“At the time, I honestly thought it was them. Big Jim had gotten word that Vasquez was getting ready to make a move on the club. I thought he just upped his itinerary.”

“You said that you were with your handler the day Keys killed the Taylors. Mr. Taylor was your original handler, wasn’t he?” I asked.

Monk nodded. “Yeah. It was my monthly check-in. I had just pulled around back when I heard pipes come up the drive. Thinking one of my brothers followed me, I hid my bike in the barn and waited. When I heard the first gunshot, I ran for the house. That’s when I saw Keys watching Conroy kill Mr. Taylor and his son Ben.”

“Why was Keys there?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you think?” Kansas asked.

That was a damn good question, I thought as we both sat in his office back at the clubhouse. It was close to midnight and I was fucking exhausted. All I wanted was to head back to the farm and climb into bed with my woman.

Only that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.

After Monk told his story, I sent off a text to Sypher with the basics, asking if he could confirm. I was still waiting for his response.

If it turned out that Monk was on the level, then Kansas had a big problem on his hands. He had a psychopath who knew when, where and how best to inflict the most damage. Keys had already proven that he didn’t give a damn who he fucking killed.

I still had a fucking crap ton of questions that needed answered, but for right now, the main one was who Jinx met that night at the bar.

I kept replaying that night in my head. I remember sitting at the bar. I remembered drinking my weight in whiskey. I remembered the laughter, the music, even seeing Jinx in the corner, but I don’t remember seeing anyone sitting next to him. What I remember was him talking to a waitress.

A pretty young thing, too.

“I think there is more to his story than he’s telling.”

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