Chapter 18

Trix

After the nurse leaves, we all sit in silence for a few moments. Then I turn to Tracker and ask, "What's the plan for dealing with the police?"

Vapor looks up from scrolling on his phone, he's got a strange expression on his face, and I wonder if something has happened. "Has it every occurred to your club to just tell the truth?"

Tracker shoots back, "What do you mean, tell the cops my grandfather pulled a knife on the club president from a rival club and wound up getting shot?"

"You said there was more to it than that," Vapor responds while pecking out a message.

Jamus cottons on to what Vapor is saying immediately. "The Diggers broke into the clubhouse, took over our club, and were trying to rip King's clothes off. Of course he fought back."

"Yeah," I say, totally confused. "The police are going to think he should have just given them the vest. They will see someone knifing another person over a piece of nonessential clothing as criminal."

"I wasn't about clothing," Vapor says, still not looking up from his phone. "It was a physical attack. And no one in that room really knew how far it would go. Maybe they just wanted the cut. Maybe they wanted to take all his clothing in front of his family and former club members to humiliate him—maybe they planned to kill him and make an example. Given the reputation the Grave Diggers have, I'm sure that a plea of self-defense would sway any jury. Since King had no way of knowing their intent, he fought back with the only weapon he happened to have on his person."

Hark chimes in, "And all that has the advantage of being true. Vapor is right. We should just tell the truth because siccing the police on them gives the Grave Diggers one more problem to worry about."

"Yeah," Jamus says thoughtfully, "If they're busy with law enforcement, that means they'll be distracted. It'll make jumping them all the easier."

Vapor finally glances up from his cell phone at fixes Tracker a look. "Time to come clean, Track. Tell your family your plans for the future."

How does Vapor know? So is what Tracker said weeks ago, true?

My brother runs one hand anxiously through his hair and takes a moment to gather his thoughts. "I've decided that running a club isn't for me. If you're intent on resurrecting the Hellfire Hounds, I'll help, but you'll need to find someone else to run it."

Jamus is more confused than angry. I can tell by the look on his face. "What's going on with you Tracker? Did you get a taste for bar tending?"

Tracker huffs out an exasperated breath and finally comes clean. "I got a taste for the pretty bartender, Mel. By some miracle of God, she likes me back. I don't have anything against MCs, I just don't want to be involved in any illegal activity. I'm not going to start a family only to have the kind of violence the Hounds are famous for blow back on my wife and kids. I've seen firsthand how outlaw clubs and families don't mix."

Hark gasps, as do I. Vapor looks nonplussed, I'm guessing that whatever had him so engrossed on his cell phone was essentially a bullet point summary of the bombshell that Tracker has just dropped on us all.

Jamus breaks the silence, "You got your woman pregnant and suddenly all the decisions you make need to be with your new family in mind. I get that brother, I really do."

Hark leans over and gives Tracker a gigantic, unexpected hug. "I'm happy for you, bro."

"Tell them the rest, Tracker. Might as well get it all off your chest at once," Vapor says.

Before he can speak the door to the waiting room swings open and the bartender from the Savage Legion clubhouse steps into the small room. She looks worried. Tracker gestures for her to come over and in the blink of an eye, she's tucked under his arm.

"How's King doing?" She asks right off the bat.

"They're transferring him to ICU. Once he's settled, we can visit him."

"Is there anything I can do for you right now? Coffee? Bottled Water?"

His expression softens when he looks at her. "No, babe. I'm good for now."

"So this is your old lady. She beautiful and nice too." Hark says with a grin.

She flashes my younger brother a grateful smile. "Thanks. I know these are troubled times. I wanted to come and show my support."

We all just kind of stare at her, still trying to get our head around the fact that Tracker is stepping out of the club our grandfather and father spilled blood to build for him. I'm all kinds of pleased for him that he's escaping, but it's still a shock that it's actually happening.

Finally, Mel asks, "Did you tell them about us?"

He nods, "I did. I told them about stepping away from anything that could get me arrested and about you carrying my child."

She hugs him and buries her face in his chest. "Thank you, Track. I was tired of keeping that a secret."

"I was just about to tell them about you and I pooling our money to buy the bar from the Savage Legion."

Her head pops up and she looks like she was trying to smother down her excitement, probably because of the situation with our grandfather still fighting for his life. I was still feeling conflicted there, I guess that no matter how shitty they are, family is family. I wanted the old bastard to live, why? I had no idea. Maybe so I could finally confront him about what happened to my mom.

I reach out my hand, "Let me the first in our family to congratulate you both. I'm happy my brother found someone to get him on the straight and narrow at long last."

Jamus adds his own welcoming words. "I'm less wild about giving up MC life, but I welcome you as well."

"Tracker," Vapor's voice holds a note of warning.

Shooting Vapor an annoyed look, he admits, "The Savage Legion has offered me an opportunity to join them. During my time working at their bar, I've gotten to know and respect several of the brothers, and they me. Their club isn't a one percent MC and I like the idea of continuing to be part of a brotherhood. The Hellfire Hounds no longer exist, so I'm not betraying my club. When this whole thing blows over, I intend to take them up on their offer."

Jamus growls, "I understand a family man not wanting to run a one percent club. But joining the Savage Legion is a bridge too fucking far, Tracker. You're spitting in the face of…" The old man snapped his mouth closed and looks away.

Tracker's lips press into a firm line for a few seconds before he responds. "Go ahead and finish your thoughts, old friend. Is it spitting in the face of all the club brothers who just betrayed me, for money no less? Or maybe it's a betrayal of the man who killed my fucking mother all those years ago."

My head jerks around and I gape at Tracker. Hark has a determined look on his face, clearly not surprised at all by what I thought was our family's deepest, darkest secret. So both of my brothers knew?

When Jamus doesn't respond, Tracker glances at me before continuing. "I don't know what exactly your objection is, Jamus. You always hated the illegal shit King dragged us into. Much like I enjoy tending bar, your happy place has always been working in the Hellfire Hounds garage."

"I ain't denying that, Track. King has done some bad shit and lived to regret most of it."

"Do you want to go ahead and tell the rest of the story? Why my grandfather favored me and Hark so heavily and pretty much ignored Trix growing up?"

My brain suddenly cranks into high gear. "I always knew he hated me, I figured he just didn't like females. But what I want to know is if he didn't care about me why did he want to take me away that day?"

Jamus gives Tracker a pleading look. "Your sister has a whole family. Don't make me take that away from her, she doesn't need to know."

Suddenly, it feels like a bolt of lightning hits my brain. Memories surface of Jamus visiting me when I was really little, maybe two or three. He used to come around a lot. It was Jamus that used to take me and my mom out to eat, far from Las Salinas. I remember it took us a long time to get to the city and there were new and more interesting things to do there. And lastly, I remember Jamus trying to get us to stay in the place he rented for us. But my mom always came back to Las Salinas.

My hand flies to my mouth when I remember it was because Tracker and the new baby were with my dad. The new baby was Hark and she couldn't stand not being able to see them. I turn to look at Jamus. "I remember you tried to save her, but she wouldn't stay away from her boys. I remember you saying they belonged to their father, but I belonged to you, and she was supposed to protect me."

A short silence spins out as everyone stares at Jamus. He is not the kind of man to justify sleeping with another man's wife.

Tracker speaks up. "It wasn't cheating if that's what you think. Mom divorced my dad right after I was born. She didn't want us around all the illegal shit the Hounds were into, and she wanted to get clean. I was too young to know what was going on, but the other brothers slowly let it slip over the years, mostly when they were drunk and in a mood to be snide."

Jamus put his hand on my knee gently, a fatherly gesture. After all he was my father, something I was having difficulty trying to get my head around. "King wanted you to use against me, and it fucking worked like a charm. As long as I was loyal and did exactly what he wanted, he left you alone. When your mom died, I made arrangements for you to live with her father. He was a good man. I trusted him to take good care of you. It was after he died, and you came to live with King and your brothers that things got really difficult. Having to look at the little granddaughter King believed should has been his blood if only her mother had stayed married to his son, changed him from a garden variety asshole to a bitter old man."

"But you told me to marry Decker, to do what he said," I say.

"Yeah, I wanted you away from him. All the times he went on and on about how much you looked like your mother and how his son had been too weak to control his woman made my skin crawl. Decker is a grade A asshole but he's nothing like King's first choice in husbands for you. So, yeah, I advised you to take the only deal on the table that would enable you to survive and have some quality of life. I only wish I could have looked after you like a proper father, but King had me between a rock and a hard place. You deserved better than an old man eking out a living fixing cars for an outlaw biker club."

I look at Jamus with tears in my eyes. He whispers, "When you came to Savage Legion to get me out, I was sure you remembered me from all those years ago."

"She told me you were like a second grandfather to her." Vapor glanced at me before adding, "From what it sounds, she wasn't far off the mark."

Hark interjects, "That doesn't explain how I came into the world. Did our mom keep running back and forth between you and my dad."

Jamus swears under his breath, reaches out and shoves Tracker's shoulder. "See what you started? You should have never opened your mouth."

Hark continues to stare at Jamus, until the man speaks, "I wanted your mom, though it would have broken up the club, maybe it would have gotten us both killed. But in the end, she couldn't stay away from your father, he had a hold over her. Maybe she liked to walk on the wild side, even if the lifestyle didn't appeal."

When neither Tracker nor Jamus clarify the situation, Hark finally gets it.

"I see what's going on here. Tracker's the one that was wanted, the one that was loved. Trix was the affair baby, not really quite an affair because our parents were divorced by then. And me? In order for me to be here my father must have circled back around to her one more time. What does that make me, the mistake?"

When no one disagrees, I speak up, trying desperately to salvage the situation. "You were wanted and loved, Hark. You were. Mom kept coming back because she couldn't stand not seeing her boys, especially you. She loved you and always begged King to let you come back home."

Jamus finally speaks up. "Yeah, what's she's saying is true. Your father was an asshole who thought if he could get her pregnant again, she'd come back to him. It didn't work though."

"Tell me again how my father died," Hark demands, staring straight at Jamus.

"You know I couldn't just let go of what he did to her, taking the boys away near broke her heart. When I confronted him, things escalated. He told me that he could do as he liked because she was still his wife, and no judge could change the vows they took. He attacked me in the clubhouse in front of everyone, it was a beatdown that we both walked away from. But he ended up getting killed during a fight with a rival MC some months later. Maybe I didn't cover his ass the way I should have, but I knew if I didn't do something he was gonna end up destroying her life."

Vapor is the one to lock the last piece of the puzzle in place. "King went to see her after he realized what you did."

"He suspected. I covered my tracks so thoroughly he sounded crazy when he accused me."

When no one says anything, he admits. "I believe King went there to get Trix. He was going to keep my daughter because I took his son's life. Of course, your mother wouldn't let him leave with you. I know he didn't intend on killing her, it was an accident. But depriving me of the woman I loved must have settled the score in his mind because after that he backed off, and he didn't try to stop me from ensuring you were safe with your other grandfather."

"How could you stay on as a member of the Hellfire Hounds after what he did?" I ask incredulously. It's clear that whatever went on between King and Jamus in the past, there was some bond.

Jamus shrugs, "Girl, sometimes I wonder that myself. But it's the only life I know, and after your mom died maybe I stayed on as some kind of penance for not being able to save her."

That made me sad, I'd always wondered why Jamus never had a family and now I know the truth, the man didn't think he deserved happiness.

"Our family has always been royally fucked up," Hark says, which has to be understatement of the century. He gestures to Jamus, "So, you've just been slipping around behind the scenes looking out for all three of us over the years because you had a thing for our mother, right?"

"Leave him alone," I say, louder than I intended jumping to my father's defense. "He's done the best he could in an impossible situation."

Tracker states firmly, "The truth had to come out sometime. Better now than later. We're still a family. We're just one that can move forward with a clean slate."

Our younger brother makes a sound of disbelief.

Tracker grabs his arm and give him a shake. "Look Hark, nothing changes between the three of us because the other people in our lives have made shitty decisions. Sure, our family might be more dysfunctional than most, but we're family."

"No," he says, jerking his arm away. "To hell with this whole fucked up situation."

Before I can think of what to say to soothe his feelings, he does an about face and stalks out of the room.

Jamus glares at Tracker. "That wasn't the smartest thing to do. Ever heard of the saying ‘let sleeping dogs lie'? Those particular dogs should still be slumbering."

"He might be upset now but he's stronger than you think he is," Tracker says.

"Shouldn't we go after him? He shouldn't be out roaming the streets by himself," I add. My younger brother has just learned some unpleasant truths, and I'm scared he's going to do something stupid.

"He won't," Tracker responds. "He'll sit in the parking lot and stew for an hour tops, then come back with his tail between his legs."

"How can you be so sure?" I ask.

Tracker snorts a laugh, "Because our little brother is a mercurial bastard in his own right. Besides that, he's left his cell phone. If he wants his friend to come and get him, he's gonna have to come back for it."

"That's true," Jamus says holding up Hark's iPhone.

"I'm starting to think that none of us are quite as messed up as I thought. Least of all you, dad."

Jamus' looks like he's fighting back tears. "I'm sorry that I couldn't save your mother."

"She had a name, Jamus. And I've never heard it pass your lips," I say.

His head turns to the side, and he closes his eyes for just a second. The expression on his face is heartbreaking. "Some things are too painful, girlie. Not every story has a happy ending."

I reach out to squeeze his shoulder. "I get it, but you did the best you could, and I thank you for that."

His hand comes up to pat mine. "Thank you, Trix."

I pull my hand away. "Well, all things considered, I hope the two of you don't hate me for bowing out. I don't think I can ever look at King again, he's not my grandfather and I'm done with him."

"I don't blame you one bit, girl. I never did like that bastard having his eyes on you."

"But you're both still here for him." It wasn't an accusation, King might be a despicable bastard, he might have killed my mom even if it was by accident, but my brothers and father clearly still had some fucked up loyalty to him.

Jamus snorted a laugh. "King and I go way back. He's the dirty, despicable brother figure that I couldn't afford to turn my back on for a hot minute. Even after everything we've been through, I don't think I could harm him. But I feel I should be there for him, at least one last time."

"That's because you're good, all the way down to your bones. I'm glad you're my dad."

Before he could get choked up again, I reach for Vapor's hand and head for the door.

Vapor hesitates at in the doorway for just a moment and looks over his shoulder. "No matter how much you dislike the Savage Legion, your daughter is my old lady. That makes you family. I'll make sure you're welcome at the clubhouse, our tattoo shop, and in our home."

"Yeah, thanks for that, Vapor. I'm glad my daughter ended up with the least assholey brother for miles in every direction."

"Take care Tracker. I guess we'll see you at the bar later."

"Count on it, Vape."

Vapor follows me out of the hospital smiling. "I kind of like your old man, for a Hound, he's good people."

"Me too," I say as I walk out to the midmorning sun shining on my face.

Vapor asks cautiously, "So, how are you holding up after all those old skeletons came pouring out of the closet?"

"I'm not going to lie. It's a lot to handle but it also feels like all the loose ends from my childhood have been tied up."

He puts his arm around me and pulls me close as we walk over to his bike, "Where to?" I ask.

"Any fucking place you want to go, sweetheart."

Before we set off, Vapor's phone rings.

He puts the phone on speaker as I get myself situated on his bike.

"Hey, Vape, guess what your twin brother found for you?" His brother's voice is sing-songy, like he's playing a game.

"If you say baklava, I'll be your best friend for fucking life," Vapor says as he hands me the spare helmet.

"Oh, it's something much better than that. I tracked down Decker's old man."

"The Digger prez himself? Fucking hell, Haze. That is good news. Where is he?"

"I've got him tied up with a big bow around his neck. You know, as an early wedding gift, just for you. I'll have to work on something more appropriate for your old lady though."

I can tell his brother is the jokester of the family.

"Is he at the clubhouse?"

"Of fucking course. It's not like I can take him to our condo. I'm more afraid of the HOA than the fucking Grave Diggers."

"You're too funny, dude. We're on our way. Don't let Siege and Rigs fucking touch him until I get there."

"Like I have any control over those two. Get your ass here ASAFP if you want a piece of him."

The minute he shoves his phone in his pocket, I say, "Wait. What was that all about? You don't have a beef with Decker's father."

"The hell I don't. Him and King are the ones who tried to traffic the woman I love. Plus, the Legion is not going to just sit around and let the fucking Grave Diggers set up shop in Las Salinas. Now's the time to clean the whole mess of them out, before they get to deeply entrenched."

When I've got the helmet strapped securely to my head, we hit the road.