Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Hail

"Of all of the clubs her dad could have fucked with, it had to be the Broken Jokers?" Crank gazed at the Broken Jokers clubhouse and curled his lip. "Fucking degenerates."

I wasn't going to argue with him on that.

Hobbs and the Broken Jokers were a level below scum in the biker community.

This morning, after waking up next to Mary Jay, I knew I had to get shit in motion. The longer the Broken Jokers thought they could take Mary Jay's money, the more power they had.

Not any longer.

She, of course, tried to plead with me just to leave it alone, but I couldn't.

It was one thing for the Broken Jokers to expect to be paid by Mary Jay's dad since he was the one who had racked up all the debt, but it was something really fucking nasty to stick that debt on Mary Jay.

"We could just blow this hell hole up and call it a day," Hollow suggested.

Forty raised his hand. "I am all for that."

"Second that," Showtime added.

"We're not blowing up their clubhouse," I grunted. This was not the first time blowing up the Broken Jokers clubhouse had been suggested.

It was actually the seventh time.

"We're not sinking to their level," Jersey agreed.

"Can I at least punch Trick once?" Yellow pleaded and pointed to his nose. "Just one good right hook to straighten out that nose of his."

I shook my head and pushed my sunglasses on top of my head. "No. I promised Mary Jay I wouldn't do anything illegal."

"Is that what happens when you get an ol' lady?" Line asked. "You make stupid promises and can't have fun anymore?"

"Yeah, but you also get laid on the regular without having to worry about whose bed you are going to land in," Forty pointed out. "I think that outweighs not being able to have illegal fun."

Trick walked out the front door and motioned to us. "You guys gonna come in or just sit around talking like a bunch of chicks?"

"Just one punch, Hail. That's all I want, and I can die a happy man," Yellow pleaded again.

"No," I growled. "Let's just get this shit over with. We offer to take over the debt, and we head back to the clubhouse."

"And if they say no?" Showtime asked.

I glanced at Yellow. "Then Yellow gets his wish."

Yellow rubbed his hands together. "I hope they tell us to kick rocks so then I can smash in Trick's face with one."

We filed into the Broken Jokers clubhouse and gathered in their common room.

"This place is gross," Forty muttered next to me. "How the hell do they live like this?"

"With syphilis. That is how they live like this." Line tried to move a cup that was on the table, but it didn't budge. "No one touches anything," he whispered loudly.

"What the hell are you blabbering about?" Trick called.

I glanced at Line and shook my head. We did not need to start this meeting on the wrong foot.

"Uh, nothing. I was just commenting on your decorating." He flicked the cup. "It's really something."

"Who the fuck cares about decorating?" Trick growled.

"I guess the real question is, who cares about living in their own filth, right?" Yellow called.

"You don't like the clubhouse?"

All eyes turned to Hobbs. He had walked out from god knows where and was leaning against the wall with his arms folded over his chest. "You didn't seem to mind sleeping here when the Broken Jokers were your family, Bronc."

"It's Yellow now," Yellow growled. "And you guys were never my family. I was a prospect for three weeks."

"And then you punked out and ran to the Lost Mavericks with your tail tucked between your legs," Trick laughed. "Fucking pussy."

Yellow lunged toward Trick, but Showtime and Line grabbed him.

I shouldn't have brought Yellow along. I knew he wouldn't have been able to control himself if Trick stared in on him.

"Knock it off," Hobbs called.

I sliced a glared at Yellow, and he held up his hands.

Hobbs pushed off the wall and moved to stand in front of me. "What can I do for you, Hail? If I remember correctly, you hate me, and I hate you."

"That hasn't changed, Hobbs," I grunted.

"Then why the sudden visit to my clubhouse?" Hobbs asked.

I looked around and tipped my head to the side. "You lose some members?" I asked. Besides Trick, there were only two other guys hanging around.

Hobbs shrugged. "It's hard to find loyal people these days. Trick is my righthand man, while Dink and Rex round everything out."

Only four members in the Broken Jokers total. Pathetic.

I had at least four or five people a week asking how to get into the Lost Mavericks, and I turned them all away. "I wouldn't know about that. Loyalty is something the Lost Mavericks don't lack."

"So you just came here to do a head count?" Hobbs hocked a loogie onto the floor and wiped his nose with the back of his hand.

I shook my head. "Came to talk to you about a debt."

Hobbs tipped his head. "Really?"

"Mary Jay Box. Her dad racked up some gambling debts with you, and now you're trying to soak her for it after he died."

"What the hell does that have to do with you?" Trick demanded.

I glared at him and folded my arms over my chest. "She belongs to me now, so her debt is now my debt."

"Nope, nope," Trick called. "That is not how this works."

"Shut up," Hobbs called. "When the fuck did you hook up with the Box girl? Trick collected from her last night, and she never mentioned you."

"Trick should really pay better attention to what is going on around him," I suggested. "I found out about you taking advantage of her last night when I saw her with Trick."

"She's not getting out of what she owes us," Hobbs insisted. "Her dad knew if anything happened to him, we would go after her."

That"s just another reason to dislike Mary Jay's dad. I know she loved him, but man, did he fuck her over.

"Mary Jay is mine, so now her debt is mine. You will not talk or see her ever again."

Hobbs laughed loudly. "You really think you are going to come into my clubhouse and just tell me what to do?"

"When you fuck with something that is mine, then yes, that is exactly what I am going to do. Leave Mary Jay alone, and I will pay her debt."

Hobbs snickered. "She must be a good piece of ass if you're willing to pay a hundred grand for her."

He was trying to rile me. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me upset. "She only owes you seventy-five grand." I nodded to Jersey, who stepped forward.

"We have twenty grand today, and we'll have the other fifty-five to you by the end of the month." Jersey pulled out an envelope and held it up. "You get the last payment, and you never talk to Mary Jay again."

Hobbs cleared his throat and squinted at the envelope. "There is interest."

I shook my head. "No, there fucking isn't. I shouldn't even be paying you this, but I know you're like a fucking roach that won't go away. We pay you; you slither back into your hole."

"And what happens if I say no?" he asked.

"We blow up your clubhouse." I pointed at Yellow. "He's hoping you say no."

Yellow winked at Hobbs.

Hobbs growled like a dog but held out his hand. "The fifty-five better be here by noon on the thirty-first, or I'll be the one blowing up your clubhouse."

I nodded. "Fair enough."

Jersey handed Hobbs the money, and he ripped it open. "Get the fuck out!" he shouted. "And don't be a minute late with your last payment."

I shook my head but didn't say anything. We weren't going to miss the deadline to pay Hobbs. We already have the fifty-five set aside for him, but I wasn't about to pay him all at once. He could wait.

We filed out of their hell hole of a clubhouse and headed to our bikes.

"That went well," Jersey called.

It went the way I figured it would go.

Hobbs was a complete fuckstick, but he wasn't dumb.

He knew if he didn't take the deal I made, he would be dead by the end of the day.

He got his money, and Mary Jay got peace of mind.

Some would say he got the better end of the deal, but I would disagree.

Mary Jay, happy and safe, was all I needed.