Prodigal Son Read online

  Joker and Jimmy looked at one another.

  Jimmy spoke first. “You know, it never occurred to me to do something legal.”

  Joker still wasn’t convinced. “But won’t you lose all the profit to taxes and shit?”

  “Absolutely not. A college buddy of mine has a medical marijuana business in California. He started with just a few plants and a single store. He now has a huge farm and a string of stores. We could make this work.”

  “But where would we get the money to get started?” Jimmy asked, as if he was afraid of getting too excited about an idea that might not be feasible.

  “Dude, I’m a business analyst. I can do this shit in my sleep. My parents left me some money, and I could get the license and cover the startup — for a percentage, of course.”

  Joker looked like he was starting to get on board. “You sure you know enough to grow the stuff and get the business started?”

  “Really? I’m insulted, Joker. Our bud was famous all over Arizona. Part of the key is marketing. You create a great name for the product, and I bet we would even have other dispensaries wanting to buy our weed. This will work, I guarantee it.”

  Jimmy nearly jumped out of his chair. “We could call it Savage Bud, or something like that.”

  “That’s the spirit,” I said, surprised to discover that I was actually getting excited about the prospect of starting a new venture.

  “There’s one problem,” Joker said, looking me square in the eye. “The Sons will never do business like this with someone who’s not a member … or at least on his way to becoming one. You’ll have to become a prospect if this is gonna work.”

  “Can’t you just make me a member? Give me the cut and call it a day?”

  Jimmy shook his head. “No way. There’s no shortcut to becoming a full member. Everyone has to be a prospect for at least a year.”

  “A year? That’s ridiculous.”

  Joker agreed with Jimmy. “He’s right. It’s a year before you’re official, and no one ever moves up to prospect this quickly, but I’ll make an exception for you, both because you’re my son and because you may have the fuckin’ idea that gets us back in the money.”

  I hadn’t really thought about trying to join the MC, but I’d had fun hanging out with the Sons the night before, and I’d sure enjoyed the ride up to Cripple Creek. Maybe I could take a longer leave of absence from work and actually do this thing — join the Savage Sons and start a new business. It would give me a chance to get to know Joker and Sable, and the change of scenery and of pace might be good for me.

  “All right,” I said with a grin. “I’m in. Let’s do this thing, brothers.”

  Jimmy ordered another round of shots, and I realized that my afternoon trip to Cripple Creek might turn into an all-nighter. We laughed, drank, and spent the rest of the day planning how Joker would announce me as a prospect and sell the other guys on the weed shop idea. He was sure he could get the Sons to vote me in, and he knew that everyone was so hard up for money that they’d welcome any plan to remedy that situation.

  I pulled my phone out of my pocket to check the time and realized that a text message from Krystal had arrived about an hour before.

  Looking forward to Friday ;-)

  “Another benefit to staying in Denver,” I said under my breath as I tried to sober up enough to type out a coherent response.

  Chapter 16

  Krystal

  Thursday, May 9, 2013

  I picked up my black eyeliner and brought it to my face before I realized that my hands were shaking too badly for me to even put makeup on. I was completely fucked. I was furious, I was hurt, and I was gonna find a way to get even with the piece of shit I called my boyfriend. Bug wasn’t gonna know what hit him, but he was gonna be sorry.

  I’d finished my shift the night before and met Bug at the clubhouse. He never wanted to go anywhere else, and by the time I’d gotten there, he was drunk. Every now and then, he got kinda happy drunk, less groping and more affectionate. Last night hadn’t been one of those times. A couple of months before, a new guy from the Fort Collins chapter of the Savage Sons had patched over, and Bug was putting on quite the show for Nate, making sure that the new blood respected the Denver V.P.

  Careful not to appear flirtatious with Nate — even though he was pretty freaking hot — I’d gone straight to Bug’s side. Since I’d known from the beginning that he was shitfaced, I’d been careful not to drink very much so that I could get myself home safely. I was just marking time until Bug would let me leave. After I’d listened to Bug tell Nate what great blow jobs I gave, and after I interrupted his listing all the guys in the MC that I’d fucked, I’d had enough. I went to the ladies room, told Bug that I was leaving because I had an early class, collected my purse from beneath my barstool, and I’d headed out with a sigh of relief.

  Not until the next morning did I notice that every penny of my money was missing from my purse.

  “Fucking Bug,” I muttered under my breath when I thought about it again.

  I’d dumped the entire contents of my purse onto the kitchen counter, but it was all gone. My tip money from Wednesday night, and even worse was the missing envelope with all of my rent money. I knew that I shouldn’t carry that much cash, but my landlord gave me a five percent discount if I paid in cash, and every dime mattered to me. Now, I had no spending money, and no way to make the rent that was due in just a couple of days.

  I was sure Bug had taken it. Ever since he’d stopped getting his cut of the meth and the hookers the Sons used to run, he’d been short on money. I’d thought about suggesting that he get a fucking job, but I knew that would go over like a fart in church. The first couple of times that he pretended to leave his wallet at home, I’d paid his bar tab, but I didn’t believe that bullshit anymore. He was broke, and he’d stolen my hard-earned money.

  I wanted to kill him.

  But I knew I couldn’t, if only because he wasn’t worth going to jail over. I checked the clock and saw that I had about forty-five minutes before I needed to leave for class. I poured myself another cup of coffee, and I sat down at the kitchen table to try to figure out what to do.

  There were two problems I had to solve: the rent money and the Bug situation. I wondered if there was some way to solve them both at the same time. If I could get the money back from the asshole, then I could pay my rent and worry about dumping his ass later. I had two days before rent was due, and if I had to, I could probably dodge the landlord for a few more.

  I picked up the phone to text Bug, deciding that I’d try to get him to let me cook dinner for him later that night. I knew I could make sure he had enough to drink that he’d sleep like a rock and I could look for my money later that night. Shit, I even had some sleeping pills that Red had left behind that I could put in his food that would knock him out. Maybe I’d be lucky enough that he’d never wake up.

  Fantasizing about Bug’s lifeless body, I nearly jumped out of my skin when my phone beeped to tell me a text message had arrived.

  Game starts at 7. Can I pick you up at 5:30?

  I set the phone down and sighed. I wanted nothing more than to pretend that I could somehow have a normal relationship with a guy like Luke, but if I was honest with myself, there was no way it could work. If you put a lineup of guys in front of me, I was sure to pick the biggest asshole every time. That didn’t mean that I was gonna turn down a date, though. If I took my money back from Bug tonight, then he’d probably be pissed enough that he wouldn’t bother to try to find me tomorrow.

  I looked around my apartment, thinking that I really didn’t want Luke to see where I lived. It was clean, but it was in a shitty part of town, and it just looked so dingy, especially compared to his fancy suite.

  I work until 5. Can meet u at the bar or at your hotel.

  I figured that we could walk from either spot to the field, and I wouldn’t mind hanging out at the Ritz again.

  “Back to reality,” I said as I packed up my boo
ks and headed out to class. As early as it was, and as drunk as Bug had been the night before, I figured that I should wait to call him until he’d had a chance to sober up and get some sleep. It wasn’t like he had a job that he had to get up early for.

  ***

  In the break between my classes, I took a deep breath and called Bug.

  “Yeah?” he said when he picked up.

  “Good morning, sugar,” I said, just pouring on the sweetness.

  I got an unintelligible grunt in reply.

  “I’m feeling like I’m in the mood to cook a good dinner for you tonight. Your place or mine?” I put as much sex into my voice as I could, hoping that the promise of a meal and a piece of ass would make him overlook that fact that I could easily figure out where my fucking money had gone.

  “Mine, I guess.”

  It sounded like Bug stood up and stretched. I figured he probably was just getting out of bed.

  “Long night?” I asked.

  “Kinda. I gotta piss. What time you comin’ over?”

  “I’ll be there around seven. See you then.”

  I hung up the phone, just revolted by the man. I’d always been turned on by guys who were rough around the edges, but Bug was just gross. I knew that I wasn’t exactly the classiest girl around, but he was vile. I wanted to get my money back and leave him behind. I hoped it would be that simple.

  Chapter 17

  Luke

  If you’re trying to get back into my hotel room, you win! See you around 5:30 tomorrow.

  I put my phone back in my pocket and picked up the socket wrench that Joker had asked for.

  “This the one?” I asked as I handed it to him.

  “Yeah. You’re gonna be a natural, Luke.”

  I watched while he tightened — or loosened, I wasn’t quite sure — a bolt on the bike he was fixing up for me. I’d told him that I could probably afford to buy a new one, but he’d insisted that if we worked on one together that he could teach me more. I had enough money in the bank to buy all of the Sons new bikes, but I figured that I should keep that information to myself.

  “Well, I don’t know about that, but I guess if I pick up a little here and there, the Sons will be more likely to vote me in as a prospect on Sunday.”

  Joker put down the wrench and headed over to the refrigerator in the corner of his garage. He pulled out another beer. “Want one?”

  “Nah. Little early for me,” I answered, astounded at my biological father’s capacity to consume alcohol.

  “Luke,” he said after he’d taken a drink. “You got nothing to worry about on the vote. I’m the President of this MC, and you’re my son. You’ll be voted in.”

  I’d learned a lot over the last few days, having spent time with Joker, Zeno, and even with Bug. I’d learned nothing that improved my impression of the VP, and I knew that even though he hadn’t officially made Krystal his old lady, I still probably wasn’t supposed to be taking her out tomorrow night. I’d decided that my game plan was going to be to beg for forgiveness if I got busted, rather than asking for permission ahead of time.

  “Joker, I ‘m pretty sure Bug doesn’t like me. It only takes two votes to keep me out, right?”

  Joker laughed. “Son, Bug don’t like anyone. I’ve already talked to J.C., and he’s gonna to what I’ve told him to do. Everyone else will fall in line. Trust me.”

  “And you’re sure I should pitch the dispensary idea on the same day?”

  “Yup. Every one of us is hurting for money. You give us a plan, and the Sons will be on your side. Even Bug will see the sense of keeping you around if you’re giving the MC some income.”

  “Yeah. I talked to my buddy in California last night, and he said it’s going to take some time to get the license approved. Since the government’s involved, everything will take longer.”

  “He give you any ideas about where to get some merchandise before we get out own supply planted and harvested?”

  “Yeah. I wanted to talk to you about that.”

  “Shoot.” Joker went back to work on the bike.

  “He knows a couple of guys in Arizona who’re growing the same strain that we did in college. He said that he can hook me up with them and that they can probably sell us enough high-quality weed to get the whole state high.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “I thought we could maybe take a ride to Arizona. I think I’m ready for a longer ride.”

  “Well, we can bring it up in church on Sunday. See if any of the guys want to go along.”

  “I figure some of them might be pissed that I’m gonna be a prospect after only having been around for a week, and that might give us a way to get to know one another.”

  Joker shook his head. “Look, Luke, I get what you’re saying, but I wouldn’t talk like that — all touchy-feely, psychology bullshit — in the meeting.”

  I must have looked a little taken aback.

  “We’re brothers, but we don’t usually talk about bonding and shit. You just do it, but you don’t really talk about it. Make sense?”

  I nodded and thought for a few minutes while Joker started up the bike and listened for something only he could hear. While he made minute adjustments to fix whatever problem he’d perceived, I realized that I had a lot farther to go than I’d realized. I wasn’t just going to have to learn how to ride and maintain a bike. I was going to have to learn what it meant to be a part of a whole new culture. I wasn’t used to thinking of women as property or feelings as embarrassing. The last thing I wanted was for Bug to tell me to man up.

  Joker killed the engine.

  “I get it, man. I can do this,” I told him with confidence.

  “Of course you can. You’re my son.”

  The door from the house opened, and Sable walked out into the garage, saving me from having to respond to Joker’s statement. I was happy that he was so enthusiastic about meeting me and opening his home and his MC to me, but it still felt strange. It was almost too much, too fast.

  “Beer for breakfast, Daniel?”

  “Mind your own business, woman,” Joker replied, rolling his eyes.

  “Did you get everything set up?” I asked Sable.

  “Yup. We have an appointment at ten tomorrow morning at Cannabis Club, and another meeting at two with THC Healing.”

  “Great. It was a good idea to see if we could talk to the owners of some other dispensaries. Hopefully, they can give us some tips about getting our license as quickly as possible.”

  “Yeah, I went to high school with the guy at the THC place, and Moses had done a lot of tattoo work for him and his friends, so he was happy to see us.” Sable sat down on the steps that led from the house to the garage floor. “I wonder what Moses would have thought about all of this.”

  I was riveted. Everyone in the club still talked about Moses like the man was a god. No one seemed to know exactly what a federal agent had been doing in his house, or why both Moses and the agent had ended up dead, but I was sure curious. I didn’t want to ask a bunch of questions, but I listened carefully anytime the topic came up.

  Joker pointedly avoided Sable’s glare while he opened another beer. “Something had been going on with that boy. I don’t know exactly what, but I think he would have supported Luke’s idea.”

  Sable studied Joker. “I think so, too,” she agreed. “And it’ll be nice to have some legitimate income coming in.”

  Joker looked like he was going to argue with Sable, but he closed his mouth. “You’re right,” he agreed. “It will. I just hope it’s as profitable as Luke thinks it will be.”

  “Oh, there’s no doubt,” I said, absolutely certain I was right. “The only people who fail in this business are the ones who don’t have sound business plans, or the ones who smoke up all their profits. Neither is the case here. I can write business plans in my sleep, and I’m going to make sure that we run things on the up-and-up.”

  Sable smiled. “You’re going to need to decide who you’re going to hav
e work the grow operation and the shop.”

  Joker looked at Sable like she had three heads. “I don’t recall asking you for you input on club business.”

  Sable rolled her eyes. “Whatever, Joker.”

  “Actually, I was thinking about asking Sable to help with getting started growing, and she was nice enough to make the appointments for tomorrow.”

  Sable stood up. “Or maybe Daniel will take up gardening, and he’ll be able to help you. He has such a green thumb.” She left her sarcasm behind as she headed back inside.

  “You’re gonna learn,” Joker said. “It don’t pay to get women involved with club business. Next thing you know, they’re gonna be telling you how to run things and trying to meddle in shit that’s none of their concern.”

  I wasn’t about to get into a debate about gender politics with Joker. “I hear you, man,” I said.

  Joker clearly wanted to make a point. “Look, Luke, if you want to ask your mother some bullshit gardening questions to make her feel better, then go right ahead. But she’s not involved in club business.”

  “She’s going with me to visit the shops tomorrow. Is that okay?” I wasn’t really asking permission, so much as trying to figure out where the boundaries were.

  “I guess. Your mother’s actually pretty smart about money, but don’t tell her I said that.”

  I laughed. “You know, she might actually like to hear you say something nice every once in a while.”

  “Yeah? Well, maybe she shouldn’t be such a bitch all the time. Look, Luke, I know she’s your mother, but Sons don’t get involved with members’ relationships with their old ladies. That’s my business.”

  Good grief, there were a lot of rules involved in being an outlaw biker.

  Chapter 18

  Krystal

  I checked my phone for the time and was relieved to see that it wasn’t seven quite yet. The day had been a blur, and I was so tired that I could just crawl in bed and not come out for a week. I’d gone to my two classes, worked the lunch shift at the Taphouse, gone grocery shopping, and had freshened up before I loaded my groceries in the car and headed for Bug’s house.