Chapter 8

Mace

I woke up this morning, a full-fledged member of the Dark Slayers MC, albeit feeling a bit hungover from all the celebrating last night. The old ladies always threw a party for each brother that got patched into the club. They’re really amazing that way. I had to admit my club brothers chose well when it came to the women in their lives. I hoped that I would be as fortunate when my time came.

I rolled over and found Alicia in bed with me. At first, I was startled but then I remembered we were at the clubhouse and there weren’t enough rooms to accommodate all the brothers who wanted to stay here after the celebration last night. I thought about getting up but decided to spend a few minutes thinking over the situation with Alicia’s father.

He'd disappeared without a trace, along with all his men, leaving five dead bodies behind.

Alicia moved on the other side of the bed. One delicate hand came out to pull back the top pillow that separated us. I vaguely remembered building that semblance of a barrier so she would feel comfortable sharing a bed with me. I quickly reached down and repositioned my cock because I had morning wood pressing uncomfortably against the zipper of my jeans and that’s not something she needed to see.

Her head popped up and she gazed at me with delightfully tousled hair. “You look like you’re deep in thought this morning. What are you thinking so hard about?”

Glancing over at her, I replied, “Your old man. Where do you think he went?”

She yawned, “I’d put my money on him going back to Mexico, but there’s no way to be certain.”

I propped myself up on one elbow and reached out to move a lock of hair away from her face so I could gaze into her beautiful hazel-green eyes. “What makes you think he went back there?”

Glancing at my hand, she replied, “Because my mother is there, and we’d gotten reports that she wasn’t handling him taking me away very well. My aunt told me she wasn’t eating or sleeping to the point that she was losing weight.”

“If that turned out to be the case, he’ll be beyond our reach for a while.”

She didn’t look too pleased by that piece of information. “Did your club brothers ever figure out who those dead men were?”

“One of the brothers by the name of Mack has a contact with the Griffinsford police department. He alerted him to the dead bodies. The detective went out and investigated the situation and even called the crime lab in to have a look at the scene. They said from the trajectory of the bullets and the number of bullet casings it looks your father and his men were ambushed. He also told us that all five of the men had the number nine five four tattooed on the inside of their bottom lip. It’s the call sign for a Latino gang in Los Angeles.”

“Why would my father kill American gang members?”

“We think it might have been a drug deal gone bad. If so, that means your old man probably took the drugs and the money with them when they left.”

“Do you think more members of that gang might come looking for him?” she asked worriedly.

I shrugged with one bulky shoulder. “Maybe. It doesn’t matter though because you’re gonna be here with us and your old man is likely far away.”

“Something tells me it’s not going to be over quite so quickly. My father has been coming to America for my whole life. He spends more time here than he ever did in Mexico.”

“Don’t worry, Alicia. If he rolls back into Griffinsford, my club with be ready for him.”

She visibly relaxed. “I’ll take your word for that.” Reaching out, she began tracing the many tribal tattoos on my arms. “So, what’s on your agenda for today, now that you’re a fully patched member of the Dark Slayers?”

My hand drifted down to the still healing wound on my side. “I’m feeling a lot better than when I was first shot. The medic who patched me up is coming this morning to have a look at the wound and change out the dressing. After that, I’m gonna head back to the forest to hunt for that burial site. I want to take advantage of your father and his men being gone to find what I’m looking for.”

She nodded, though she looked concerned. “Maybe I could come along and help you look? An extra set of eyes might come in handy.”

I immediately shook my head. “I don’t want you out and about on the off-chance that your father and his men are still patrolling their old stomping grounds.”

Her expression shuttered. “I understand. The last thing I want is for you to get reinjured protecting me again. If you see anyone out there today, please be extra careful and take Nine along.”

“That was my plan. I’d love to capture of these fuckers. It would be really beneficial if one of them would explain what the hell is going on.”

“I wish you luck with all that. I’m going to try to get my mom on the phone and maybe see if there’s anything I can do around here to help out.”

I reached over and playfully tapped the tip of her nose. “You don’t need to work while you’re here. At least not right now because you’re a guest of the Dark Slayers.”

“I feel lazy just lounging around the clubhouse doing nothing with my life.”

“Well hopefully it won’t be for long.”

Before she could answer, there was a knock at the door. I got up to see who it was and was careful to close the door to the bedroom before opening the door even though Alicia was still wearing the same outfit she had on last night. We’d been so tired, and okay, a bit too drunk, to get undressed. Standing on the other side of the door was David, our club medic. I was pleased he’d come early, if he gave me the all-clear that meant I could continue with my search for the burial ground.

I backed up so he could enter the room. “Thanks for stopping by David.”

He gestured for me to sit down on the tiny sofa and opened his medical bag. “How has your wound been feeling? Any burning or bleeding?”

“Surprisingly, no. It’s itching a little though.”

I heard the shower pop on in the bathroom, so Alicia must have gotten up.

David slowly peeled my bandage back as he mumbled, “Itching is good. It means the wound is healing.”

I looked down and watched him inspecting the stitches.

Without looking up, he stated, “I don’t see any sign of infection. In fact, it’s looking better than I anticipated.”

I waited patiently as he checked the exit wound on my back, applied a fresh dressing and re-bandaged the front and back wounds.

“I’m actually feeling pretty good,” I told him.

“Well, you smell like a brewery, and you should know that mixing alcohol with your meds is contraindicated.”

That’s a fancy word meaning I shouldn’t be missing alcohol with my prescription meds. “Thanks for the reminder. I’ll remember that.”

“You’d do well to. You’re lucky I didn’t give you Flagyl, you’d have been puking up your fucking guts and praying for death.”

“Noted,” I said. I wasn’t a big drinker anyway, last night was a one-off celebration.

“Just go easy on yourself until this bullet wound heals completely.”

“Will do, but I’m thinking about heading back out to the forest.”

“As long as you don’t lift anything heavy or get the dressing wet, spending time in the outdoors can be good for healing. And a little exercise is always good, but no overdoing things.”

This was when Alicia came in, looking like every man’s dream come true. Her long black hair was pulled up on her head, looking messy but cute and she was wearing jeans with a black Harley t-shirt. Naturally, Nine was following along behind her like a lovestruck pup.

“Howdy, Alicia. Hope you slept well?” David commented casually as he packed his case back up.

“It was the best sleep I’ve had in years,” she replied as her eyes caught mine. Something warm bloomed in my chest to think it had something to do with being in my bed. Maybe I made her feel protected. I liked that idea.

When David left, I told Alicia, “Every morning our prospects set a grill up for breakfast.”

Her eyes flew open. “You mean like burgers and stuff?”

I reached out, took her hand, and draped it though my arm. “No. It’s all breakfast food, Bacon, sausage, eggs, hash browns, and toast usually. And they always have an abundance of fresh roasted coffee.”

“That sounds amazing,” she said warmly. “Count me in.”

***

Breakfast was winding down by the time we made it downstairs and to the back patio, but the prospects were good about making sure we got food. Nine settled down beside us when the prospects brought him out a big bowl of his favorite dog food and another bowl with water. They always spoiled him by putting ice cubes into his water. He absolutely loved chasing the ice cubes around his dish with his tongue. I left him to his antics and talked with Alicia as we ate.

For a lady that picked at her food, she sure did manage to put quite a bit of it away in one sitting. I liked a woman with a robust appetite. I honestly liked everything about this woman. Alicia was bright, engaging, honest, helpful, and just a really all-round good human being.

After we ate, we parted ways. I knew Rosie and the other old ladies would look out for her today, but that didn’t mean I liked leaving her behind. I took a minute to pull my sidecar out of the garage and connected it securely to my bike. I had to keep elbowing Nine out of the way while connecting it because he was eager to get in. It’s usually easier taking him in my pickup truck, but I missed riding the open road, and it looked like my canine companion felt the same.

I growled for him to heel, to no avail. Eventually, I got the sidecar attached, and he immediately hopped in. I belted him in and strapped on his doggie helmet. I had to get this one custom made for him as the largest in the stores was too small.

When I turned around to get my own helmet, I noticed Alicia and a gaggle of club girls standing out on the front porch watching me in amusement. I guess it’s not every day you see a hundred-pound wolfdog getting strapped into a sidecar. I put my helmet on, got on my motorcycle and shot Alicia a wave and made to haul my ass outta there.

Right before I pulled out of the parking lot, Coyote joined me and lifted his visor. “Storm sent me to be your sidekick for the day.”

I frowned at him. “Do I look like I need a babysitter? Don’t you need to be at your garage?”

Coyote just laughed. “I had to hire a couple of mechanics because business picked up. It means I’m no longer chained to my business. Plus, it’s nice to get on my bike and ride for a change than drive in my fucking cage.”

“In that case, hell yeah, I’d love to have some company today.”

“You’re going out to look for that burial site, right?”

I nodded. “Hope I find it too. I’ll make a big difference for my tribe.”

“Lead the way, brother. Your cause is mine. It’s what brotherhood is all about.”

I felt lighthearted and happy that my club brothers were so supportive and keen on helping me get my tribe recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. I knew that we had a lot of ground to cover, and it would likely take days to find the site, if I was about to find it at all. But one thing was for certain and that was if I didn’t get my ass moving, I’d never find it.