Sons of Mayhem 3: The Full Force (11 page)

R
iding
behind Lonnie I felt liberated. The warm sun and breeze burned up and blew away what felt like years of stress and worry. I actually began to feel I really was in my mid-- wait, -
early
twenties again. Twenty-four years old is still early twenties, right? Then maybe twenty-five to twenty-nine and eleven months is mid-twenties. I smiled as I amused myself with my thoughts.

I let my fingers idly run up and down the front of the hard man in front of me. His cut was made of leather puppy-soft to the touch, except where the various flashes and patches were sewn on. Had he done that, I wondered? Had this tough guy in front of me sat with a needle and thread, delicately sewing them onto his cut? Perhaps his tongue was sticking out the corner of his mouth as he carefully guided the sharp needle in and out. I found myself giggling at the thought.

Under his cut was a black cotton t-shirt and my fingers idly traced over his carved chest underneath, my finger finding and tracing an outline around a hard nipple. I wanted to wrap my lips around it and nibble. Did guys like that? I realized I didn't know. I'd have to find out. There was a lot I didn't know, come to think about it. Not just about Lonnie, but about
life
itself. I'd spent so much time bringing up my little sister I hadn't gotten around to bringing up myself.

Whoop Whoop
. I glanced down and into the right wing mirror. Ugh. The little glass rectangle was filled with the reflection of a police cruiser that had seemingly snuck up behind us. I wondered if Lonnie had seen it first; I bet he had. The police car turned the sirens on full and indicated for us to pull over.

My heart raced and my stomach filled with butterflies. I'm terrified of being pulled over. Heard too many bad stories. It didn't matter that I knew 99% of the police were good men and women doing a tough job; I still felt anxious whenever I had to interact with them.

An overwhelming surge of guilt rushed over me despite the fact we'd done nothing wrong as far as I could tell. Unless...

Could it be to do with my altercation with the blue-haired bitch the night before? Could she have reported me and had the cops track me down, I wondered. I felt sick in my stomach and I started to tremble. I wasn’t sure I could cope with being questioned by the police.

Lonnie signaled to the right and moved the big bike over to the side of the road. My chest pushed into his back as he braked hard and rapidly brought us to a stop, the cop car flying past us but rapidly decreasing its speed.

Lonnie turned to me. "Take this," he said as he pushed his cell phone into my hand. Call Jase. Tell him what's happened."

Lonnie was speaking fast before the cops could get to us, and presumably take his cell phone away.

The police cruiser was reversing back along the shoulder toward us. "How do you know it's you they want?" I asked. "After last night..."

He laughed and shook his head. "It's always me they want. There’s no way that girl last night reported you, especially not after what she did to all those car tires. Call Jase and tell him you're about a mile west of the Silver Bullet Diner. Tell him to ask Dickface if he doesn't know where it is."

"Dickface?" I asked as the cruiser almost reached us.

"Chad Chad Price. He's the one who recommended it."

I nodded as I shoved the cell phone into the front pocket of my jeans. It bulged uncomfortably in my pocket. My own phone was in my other pocket and was much slimmer

"Raise your hands in the air and step away from the vehicle!" boomed a serious voice from the speaker mounted on the roof of the cop car.

"I'll meet you back at the hotel," he said. With his hands in the air he slowly managed to swing a leg over. It was quite a feat without using his hands but Lonnie seemed to have good balance. "I'll get you breakfast soon. I promise."

"Be careful," I said as I watched him put his hands on his head and drop to his knees.

"Careful? I'll be with the cops. 'To Protect and Serve' and all that crap. Maybe they'll serve me breakfast?"

I giggled at the idea of the cops serving him breakfast.

"Second rider. On the ground," said the faceless voice from the cruiser.

I gulped and slid off the motorcycle on shaky legs. I felt light-headed as I nervously dropped to my knees next to Lonnie. Maybe he was wrong, maybe they
were
after me.

Finally the door of the cruiser swung open and out stepped a potbellied cop holding a handkerchief which he immediately started to use to mop his brow. He was chewing something as he swaggered toward us, eyes hidden behind aviator shades.

"You," he said pointing at Lonnie, "up."

Lonnie slowly got to his feet, careful not to make any sudden movements. The cop's hand was hovering just over his holster and I imagined him practicing in front of a mirror, whipping out his gun and firing in a fraction of a second. Maybe saying,
make my day
as he did so.

"Turn around." Lonnie turned. "Lower your hands behind your back, slowly."

When his hands were down the cop cuffed him quickly, the steel bracelets clicking tightly closed around his wrists.

"In the car." The cop grabbed Lonnie by the shoulder and started marching him away.

I blinked, startled. There was a second cop, a female officer staring at me from behind her own dark glasses. I hadn't even noticed her exit the vehicle, though she'd clearly been paying close attention to me.

"Stay on your knees. That's how I like my bitches," she said with a low chuckle. The male police officer let out a guffaw as he shoved Lonnie into the back of the cruiser.

"Me too, Darlene. Me too."

My face burned red as the woman mimed a licking motion at me before turning on her heels.

The cop car peeled away and then I was left alone with nothing but the sound of cicadas for company. I slowly lowered my arms and let my hands hang by my side.

But it turned out I wasn't alone. As I knelt, still shaking from nervousness, I felt a warm wet tongue on my right hand and let out a scream, the image of the cop still fresh in my mind.

T
he dog was
young and seemed just as pleased to meet me as i was him. Jase had said on the phone he'd be there soon, but I wasn't sure how long that'd be and was sure glad of the company.

The puppy was stocky with a goofy face, oversized paws and an Energizer tail that wouldn't stop beating a million happy swishes a minute.

I'd looked around, scanning the horizon, but there wasn't much to see. No buildings, no people, and no hint as to where my new furry friend had come from. Maybe the dog had been abandoned, tossed out of a passing car by someone who couldn't deal with an energetic little pup. Or maybe he was just lost. No one could toss away something this adorable, could they?

Luckily I didn't have to wait too long. In less than half an hour a pickup truck being driven by a vaguely familiar face appeared. Although I didn't know them well yet, Jase and Nicole were at least not strangers to me.

They slowly pulled up to a stop a few yards behind the motorcycle. The doors swung open, and both occupants emerged with grins on their faces as the puppy bounded toward them.

"Are you okay?" asked the blond haired club president.

I nodded. "I'm fine. And I had company, too."

"Where'd he come from?" asked Nicole.

I shrugged. "He just appeared when the cops left. Speaking of which, do you know what they wanted with Lonnie?"

Jase shrugged. "Not exactly sure. Sometimes cops like to fuck with us just because they can. Or it might be because Lonnie broke a dude's jaw yesterday."

My eyes went wide. "He didn't tell me that."

Jase shrugged. "It was during the show. Some idiot tried to pull the guitarist off the stage. Lonnie stopped him. Just doing his job."

"Huh." I wasn't quite sure how I felt about that.

Nicole seemed completely unphased by the whole course of events, and was much more interested in our new companion. "So are you going to keep him?" she asked.

I slowly shook my head. "I can't take on a dog, not at the moment, not with everything I've got going on. It wouldn't be responsible. He
is
cute though..."

She kneeled down and cupped his little face in her hands. She looked up at Jase who was smiling at the sight of Nicole and the dog.

"What?" asked Nicole.

"You wanna ask me something?"

Nicole grinned. "Could we...."

Jase shook his head with a laugh. "You really want to take the dog?"

Nicole nodded. "But..."

"But you can't keep it in your dorm, right? So you want it at the clubhouse?"

Her dorm, I thought? She was still a college student. How'd a college girl end up with a biker club president I wondered. Then again, I'd somehow ended up riding with Lonnie this morning. Until he got arrested. If you'd told me I'd be doing
that
on a Wednesday morning a month ago I wouldn't have believed it.

"You need a guard dog anyway, don't you?"

"I got a whole clubhouse full of guard dogs," said Jase with a laugh.

I could tell she'd won. That dog was leaving with us, there was no question about it.

"We
can’t
leave it out here."

"Alright. But if someone claims him, we've got to give him back."

Nicole clapped her hands together before leaning down and kissing the dog on top of his furry head.

"And I get to name him," said Jase.

Nicole cocked her head. "What are you going to call him?"

Jase didn't answer right away. "What kind of dog is it anyway?"

I looked at the dog again more carefully. "It looks kind of like a pitbull..." I offered.

"But its face is too round, and look at its squished up nose. I bet its part bulldog," said Nicole.

Jase looked down at it, considering. "What's the name for a bulldog-pitbull cross?"

"A bull...bull?" I said, giggling as I realized how stupid what I was saying was.

"A Bull-pit?" guessed Nicole.

"Yeah, maybe." Anyway, his name's Beefer."

"Why?" asked Nicole.

"Because he's so beefy?" I asked.

"He
is
beefy," said Jase with a grin, "but that's not why. Think about it, you'll get it."

Nicole and I looked at each other, confused. It looked like we would have to do some thinking to get to the bottom of the name.

"Alright, let's do this. I'll take Lonnie's bike. Ladies, you take the truck back."

I nodded agreement, though I'd secretly been hoping we'd be going for breakfast. Oh well. Missing a meal wouldn't kill me. It'd just make me want to kill someone else.

Jase stood by Lonnie's motorcycle, running an eye over it. The keys were still in the ignition. At his feet, the puppy looked up curiously, head cocked to the side.

"You like bikes, little buddy?" asked Jase.

As if in confirmation the stocky little dog jumped up onto the seat of the bike, then stepped forward so his front paws were up on the front of the gas tank. He panted happily and turned his head, looking at Jase, as if to say
get over here. Come on. Let’s go go go!

Jase shook his head and laughed.

"Shit, it looks like I might have to patch in a new member."

Nicole laughed and I joined in. I didn't quite understand, but I guessed it meant the dog was going to be joining the MC.

W
e drove back
the way I'd come with Lonnie on the bike. It was a different feeling being in the truck. I felt like a prisoner enclosed in the cab. But it wasn't an unfamiliar feeling, I just hadn't recognized it before. Actually I'd been feeling like this for years.

Nicole turned to me. "So, you like Lonnie?"

I gave a noncommittal shrug. "I don't know," I lied. Of course I liked him.

"He's not a regular guy you know, being in the club and all. None of them are..."

I turned to her, flicking a stray lock of hair away from my eyes as I did so. "What's it like?" I asked. "I mean, what's it like to date a guy from the club?"

She was silent a moment, considering her words carefully before she spoke. "It's a way of life. A
different
way of life. It's like we aren't part of regular society. Not bound by their rules. It's liberating, but..." her voice faded away. She seemed to be staring off toward the horizon as she drove, needing to pay little attention to the quiet road ahead.

"But?"

She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. "But society doesn't like it when people live outside of it, choose another way of living. Our society wants to keep everyone inside, conforming, the same. Watching TV, consuming crap, working a 9-5... all that shit. When you live outside of that, like the Sons do? Society don't like it. Not a bit. They want to pull you back in, and if they can't, lock you up."

I nodded slowly as I considered her words and wondered how much of it was true. Surely some of what 'society' did was protect itself. I'm no lover of every law on the books - shit, I'd beat up a girl and smoked a joint in the last twelve hours alone, but still, society needs
rules
if it's to function, if people are to be protected, if services are going to be offered.

"Are you really a student?" I asked.

Nicole grinned, seemingly pleased the topic had shifted to something a little less serious. "Yep. Just finished my junior year."

"What's your major?"

"Business communication."

"No shit?" I responded. "Me too. I finished up a year ago. I did night school though, because of my sister. Had to work days to pay the rent."

"Lame."

I laughed and nodded. "Still, isn't it a bit, umm, mainstream? For a biker chick?"

She laughed and for a moment I saw how young she really was. She'd been putting up a pretty tough facade but she was even younger than me.

"My life has been pretty fucked up lately. Shit, a few months ago I was a goodie two shoes college student who'd never even been on a motorcycle. Now..."

"Now you're a badass old lady of a biker club president?"

"Yeah. Something like that. It's a strange world we live in, everything can change faster than you can imagine. If you decide to ride with Lonnie make sure you hold on tight. It's a hell of a ride if you travel with a Son and I have no goddamn idea where the ride lets off, if it ever does."

There was more to Nicole that met the eye. She'd obviously seen some shit in her time running with the club. I didn't want to pry too much though, I could learn these things in time without getting a reputation for being too nosy.

Shit. In time. I was really thinking about some kind of future with Lonnie, wasn't I? What the hell was wrong with me, I wondered. I should be focusing a hundred percent on my sister, not entertaining thoughts of running away with a biker.

The journey seemed longer riding back in the truck, but eventually Nicole turned us into the parking lot of the hotel. She drove across to the other side where my car was parked.

"Check it out," she said with a grin and a nod of her head toward my car.

I found myself grinning uncontrollably as I looked at my car. There were four new tires and the bodywork gleamed, freshly washed and with a new coat of wax. She hadn't looked this good in years.

"Holy shit," I said in awe. "Who do I need to pay?"

"Don't worry about it," she said. "Just thank Lonnie when you see him."

I couldn't accept that. Four new tires... that was worth a few hundred bucks. Shit, I barely even knew the guy. He hadn't even bought me dinner yet, it'd be weird taking a gift worth hundreds from him, even if it was something as unromantic as a set of tires and some car wax.

"Uh oh," said Nicole, raising her eyebrows and nodding her head in the direction of the hotel.

I followed her gaze and shook my head in amusement. It was Chad, half running and half speed-walking his way toward us, perspiration gleaming on his forehead as he made his way over. I hopped out of the cab and gave him an expectant look.

"What's up?"

“Lonnie's going to be released in about an hour. I'm posting his bail."

I tilted my head to the side and wrinkled my nose as the strong scent of cologne washed over me. Could he really have had his bail posted that quickly? It couldn't have been much more than a couple of hours since we were pulled over.

"Really?"

He grinned a super-white beam at me." I heard about your misadventure with America's finest and I've taken care of it. Chad Chad Price don't mess around, remember that. I need my security team at
full force
," he paused to laugh at his joke, and make sure we got it, "and you've got a case to solve. The case of the missing bassist..."

I heard the crunch of a boot and a moment later Jase sidled up beside me.

"You posted bail? We could have handled that."

"My shows, my fault. You just remember I did you a favor. Maybe I'll need one soon in return."

Jase had a quizzical look on his face but didn't push the matter. I wondered how much the bail had been.

Jase turned to me. "You were going somewhere with Lonnie, right? You want to pick him up for us? We've got to get ready for the show tonight."

I nodded at him. "Sure thing. And thank you so much for helping with the car and finding where my dumbass sister is going to be."

He nodded. "The car, sure. Your sister? She's just a collateral benefit. We needed to find Si."

"Here," said Jase, handing me a piece of paper. "Take this and give it to Lonnie. It's directions for the fight. It's in a warehouse not too far from the hotel."

I nodded at him. "Thanks so much again. We'll get your rock star back."

He laughed. "All right, stay safe. Remember, shiny side up."

I looked at him quizzically and nodded. Shiny side up. Whatever the hell that meant.

I turned to go back to my car, but Chad had something else to say first. "Get my bassist back. That bail was expensive and you wouldn't believe the talentless hacks we've been auditioning this morning. Even getting a session musician to fill in is going to be a drag. I need him back ASAP. In one piece if you can, with his head and arms working if you can't. Fuck the legs, he can sit on a chair."

I laughed. "Okay, we'll bring him back. In the trunk if we have to."

"Attagirl," said Jase, patting me on the shoulder.

I grinned. "Later."

As soon as I was inside the car I started the engine and lowered the windows to let some of the hot air escape. My AC needed freon but I hadn't gotten around to it yet.

I blinked with some surprise and smiled. The inside of the car was clean too, almost spotless. I wasn't sure how they'd gotten in, but they had done a nice job cleaning her up inside.

I was just about to put the car in gear when a cool breeze ran over my face. Goddamn. They'd put freon in the air conditioner too.

I was smiling as I drove out the lot, cool air on my face and happy thoughts of picking up Lonnie and then my sister running through my mind.