– Jax –
We’ve been in Las Vegas for the past three days, and everyday Gunner has called me to complain about something. He insisted on staying behind with the girls and the babies, idiot obviously didn’t think it through fully. Locked away with a bored Shelby and Harley and it becomes dangerous, Betty and Poppy steal the kids any chance they can get. “What’s it today brother?” I ask as I watch Knuckle’s order’s his men around from a distance.
“I’m handcuffed to my bike, how do I break it?” He asks slightly panicked, I laugh and grab my cigarettes off the table beside me popping one in my mouth and lighting it. “You can’t break them numbnuts, you need the key or you need to chew your hand off” I reply before taking a drag.
Yesterday the bar’s floor was covered in cups with water in them, that took them nearly 2 hours to clean and the day before that they locked him outside and ambushed him with water balloons for half an hour. “Harley said she was going to play her own version of Geralds game” He grunts out as he pulls on the handcuffs making them clink against the bike.
“You’ve never seen the movie?” I ask, “It’s a movie?” He replies and I roll my eyes as i take another drag “It’s a brilliant movie, Harley and I watched it about a week ago. Basically, this chick gets handcuffed to the bed by her partner for some kinky sex but he has a heart attack and dies, she’s stuck there and this dog comes in and begins eating his body”.
“She has to escape the handcuffs before she dies from dehydration or starvation, or before the dog gets to her. So she basically rips her hand off to get out of the handcuffs. So I’m taking it Harley’s saying you can rip your hand off or let the dogs eat you” I can hear shuffling on the other end of the phone before Gunner begins to scream “HARLEY, HARLZ I DON’T WANT TO PLAY THIS GAME”. After a few more minutes of him screaming and panicking I can hear laughter in the background.
“Where’s Shelby?” He asks sounding worried, “Feeding your crotch goblins, loser” I hear my kitten reply. I smile to myself at the sheer thought of her, I fucking miss her and I have to be away for another 3 days, it’s bullshit, I just want to be with my wife. “Harlz let me out please” He somewhat begs, “And give me one good reason why I should?” She says with amusement in her voice.
“I’m the only one that will take you McDonald’s at 3 am” He tries to bargain. “Wood, Juice and Blade can do it. Plus you’re a fatty and enjoy our adventures too much”, Gunner curses under his breath, “Wait, I have your husband on the phone” He tries again. “Ah -ah- ah, uncuff me first” He says, I hear a loud punch and Gunner groaning before Harley’s voice comes through clear on the phone “Hey Puddin,” She says in a sing-song tone, I have no idea where the nickname came from but it’s the one she’s stuck with the longest without switching it because it ‘doesn’t sound right’.
“Hey kitten, when are you going to stop giving my VP a hard time?” She scoffs and I know she rolled her eyes, “He’s as weak as piss for a VP and no, no I’m not. I have Shelby on my side, it’s an all-out war now” I can hear Gunner yelling in the background of the call but I can’t make out what he’s saying. “Shut up you’re annoying, I’m trying to take a phone call and you’re being rude” She huffs before talking back into the speaker.
“Anyways, are you magically going to come home tonight?” I kick the rocks underneath my feet and look down at the ground, “Yeah for sure kitten, just a few more hours” She laughs at my reply. Apparently, it’s easier to joke about me coming home early than to talk about when I’m actually coming back.
“I knew it, alright I’ll talk to you later I need to unlock the babysitter. I love you” I lean against the wall and look back out onto the lot “Thank you, I love you too” I hear the line disconnect so I lock my phone and put it back into my jeans pocket.
“Hear about the nomad?” Knuckles asks from behind me, I turn around and squint when the sun hits my eyes, I can’t sleep when I’m away from Harley no matter what I do so now I’m super sensitive to fucking everything. I flick my sunnies down onto my eyes “Which one?” I ask folding my arms over my chest, “Not sure if you’ve ever met him, Killer. He’s about 10 years older than you, been a nomad most of his life moving from charter to charter goes by ‘Ice'”. I raise an eyebrow at him “Ice?” I question, “Like’s to make weapons out of ice, leaves no traces” I nod my head at his reply.
“He’s heading your way apparently, you’re the last charter that he’s yet to be in. Trouble follows him everywhere he goes, he’s an idiot but generally an alright kid” My eyes zero in on Knuckles “He’s heading to my clubhouse as we speak and I’m only finding out about it now, did you forget my pregnant fucking wife is there not to mention my unborn fucking child?” I hiss.
“He’s going to be there in a few days to a week, I was only told an hour ago man” He holds up his hands and backs away from me. I pull out my phone and call Harley, “Miss me already Puddin?” She answers almost instantly. “I did but I need you to do something for me. Write all of his down and then round everyone up, ‘Prospect and leftover men, all parameters of the compound are to be watched at all times until we are back. Any nomads who approach the compound are to be turned away until we get back, everyone on lockdown until we get back. There’s a nomad going by Ice that’s bringing trouble with him, he’s apparently coming to us to join us”.
“I don’t want him anywhere inside that fucking compound until I’m back. Make sure you get it across to them Harley” I can hear a pen scribbling before she replies to me “Yesssss sir, I still expect my call later” She hangs up the phone and I make my way inside to Knuckles hacker. “I need everything you can find on that nomad ‘Ice'” He looks up and nods at me, “You mean Ryan, Knuckles had him looked up when he was snooping around the club a few months ago, I’ll have it in half an hour”.
My phone begins to ring and I nod my head, I walk out of the room and into the hallway to answer the call, I look at the ID and see it’s Gunner, “What now brother?” I ask as I start walking down the hall again. “Why did you call Harley and not me?” He whines, I roll my eyes and pull out a cigarette lighting it “Because you never answer your phone when I call and I know Harley will always answer” I say truthfully.
He is one of the worst people to try and contact, dickhead shouldn’t have a phone in the first place. I walk into the bar and tap on the wooden bar top at a prospect, he turns around to get a whiskey “Not my fault I don’t hear it ring”. I take a drag of my smoke and nod as the prospect places the glass down infront of me “Maybe you should turn it off vibrate and actually keep it on you and not in another fucking room”.
One of the rotters comes up to me and latches onto my free arm as I go to pick up my glass, “You sound so tense let me help you sweetheart” I yank my arm away causing her to slightly loose balance “I think it would help allot if you fuck off and go bother someone else” I grit back.
“Who’s that?” Gunner asks over the phone, “Some rotter” I reply moving my arm away again as she tries to clutch her cold hands around me again “What, fucking rotters over there before you have to get home?” Gunner jokes, “Gunner don’t-” I start but Harley’s voice comes over the speakers “Who’s fucking rotters?” She questions her voice getting clearer.
Jesus Gunner just couldn’t be fucking smart for once, “What have you done” I mumble to him as I lean on the bar holding my head in my hands. “Oh um…” He begins but I hear his phone being snatched off of him, oh god here it comes. I hold my breath and wait for the impact “Harley it’s not-” He begins but she cuts him off.
“You better pray this dickhead is joking or I’ll be down to the stupid little shithole of a bar to kill every motherfucker inside especially that little plaything” She growls down the phone, I take a deep breath and calm myself down getting angry is only going to make it worse and result in stupid decisions.
“The dickhead is joking, I said I head one trying to touch me” I sigh hoping she will believe me. “Aww don’t be like that daddy, I know you like it when i touch you” The girl reappears her finger tracing my arm, “BITCH I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD” I hear Harley scream over the phone. I grab the rotters hand and crush it in mine, I can feel the bones popping from their sockets and slowly snapping under the pressure.
She screams out and claws at my wrist to let go but I don’t I only squeeze harder, “Touch me again and I’ll cut it off, disobey me again and I’ll cut it off, talk to me again and I’ll cut it off. Look at me or breath the same air as I do and I’ll fucking cut it off, or better yet I’ll cut both of your hands off and that way you will only have the two things your good for left, your pussy and your mouth”.
I let go of her hand and she drops to the floor beside me clutching it, she looks up at me with a tear-stained face like it was going to change my mind. “What are you looking at fucking move! What did I just fucking say?!” I yell, she snaps out of it and gets up to her feet running off into one of the back rooms.
“You still there?” I ask into the phone as I pinch the bridge of my nose, “Well… I am, Harley’s gone on a rampage in the cellars” Gunner replies. I groan and almost smash my head into the bar in front of me, the prospect puts another whiskey infront of me and nods as he walks away “She’s probably safest in there” I say as I take a mouthful of the drink.
“Yeah, Goodluck to whoever’s next up on the chopping block” He replies and I laugh, “Can you keep an eye on her, tell her to call me once it’s done and she’s calmed down” He laughs and I can hear him walking downstairs “Already on it boss, talk later” He hangs up the phone and I slowly slide it into my pocket.
“Girl trouble?” The hacker says sitting down next to me, “Yeah, she just needs to kill something and she will be fine,” I say as I take a sip of my drink. I light a smoke since my other one was rudely interrupted, “Here’s what I got on Ice” He says as he places down a few papers infront of me.
“Hasn’t had any trouble with the law in about a year, before that it was just fighting and public intoxication, a few DUI’s. Full name is Ryan Lee Wheeler but goes by Ice, 37 years of age, no known family, no known relationships. Is in some trouble with other charters, kinda has the mentality of a kid, dude needs to grow up a whole damn lot”.
“Abuse and violence charges?” I ask looking over his police charges one more time, “Yeah he can get a little rough with the women, a lot of them complained about it, thinks his alpha” He replies rolling his eyes, yeah like I need this fuckwit in my club. “Why did he fuck off from here?” I ask looking up from the papers, “He got Knuckles old lady killed”.