Annoyed with himself, he wasn’t in a good mood when he took a seat next to Cade at the bar.
“What’s up, Calder?” Fat Louise’s husband greeted him.
“Not much,” he responded. “Ginger, give me a beer.”
The woman set the beer down with a suggestive smile, not moving away. “Can I get you something else?” She made it plain what she was offering.
“Nothing I want from you.” His voice was clipped and cold, sending the slut moving to the other side of the bar.
“I’ll have to give you a call the next time she’s bugging the piss out of me.”
Calder didn’t bother to look toward Ginger. If he wanted a piece of tail like her, he could find one who didn’t have the calculating sharpness that the fake redhead couldn’t hide.
He watched Bear go behind the counter and start to take out one of the Miller Lites in the cooler.
“How many are left?” Calder asked, stopping Bear.
“Huh?”
“How many Miller Lites are left?” he repeated.
Bear opened the cooler. “Four.”
“Put it back. I bought that case for Crazy Bitch. You want one, you know where the liquor store is. Stud buys the club Bud, Bud Light, Coors, and Coors Light. He told you all, if you want something different, you had to pay for it yourselves.”
“She never says anything when the brothers take one.” Bear doggedly gripped the beer tighter, not putting it back.
“She’s not saying shit now. I am. Put it back.” His jaw firmed as he gave Bear a threatening glance.
Bear put it back, taking a Bud Light. The biker wasn’t happy, but he had given up the beer.
Calder couldn’t care less if the large man was angry. Bear might be a brother, but Calder didn’t consider him a friend, and he had never considered a man’s size before deciding to take them on. He’d had his ass beaten many times in prison because of his reckless attitude, yet he never backed down from a fight. Hell would freeze over before he would. He might not be the swiftest motherfucker in the world, nor the richest, but what he did have was a pair of balls.
Satisfied that Bear would put out the word not to touch Crazy Bitch’s beer, he took a drink of his own, turning sideways on his stool. “I have a bone to pick with you.”
Cade lifted an inquiring brow. “I haven’t touched her beer.”
“Manson is Fat Louise’s cat; you need to take it to your home.”
“No.” Cade’s prompt refusal had Calder seeing red. He had already been irritated because Crazy Bitch hadn’t responded, and now Cade was being a shit, which he had to admit, he didn’t like that the man was refusing to take the devil cat.
“It’s Fat Louise’s.”
“Brother, I’m not arguing that fact, only that I’m not letting it in my house. I got a kid I have to protect.”
“If you were a brother, you would get rid of that cat for me. He’s making me look like a pussy in front of Crazy Bitch.”
“He sprayed your boots yet?”
Calder cringed at the thought. “No.”
“Then you’re good. He must like you.”
“That motherfucker doesn’t like anyone, and that includes Crazy Bitch.”
“I don’t know what to tell you. You’re stuck with him. I married Fat Louise to move away from that cat,” he joked as Looney came up to the bar.
“I’m not getting married to get rid of that spawn of Satan.” Calder’s shoulders drooped.
“You talking about Manson?” Looney raised his hand to Ginger, indicting he wanted a beer.
“Yeah.” Calder gloomily motioned to Ginger that he wanted another one.
“I thought of whacking that motherfucker a couple of times myself.” Looney grinned, opening his beer.
Calder gave him a steely-eyed look. “When have you been in Crazy Bitch’s apartment?”
Looney’s grin faded. “A couple of months ago. We went out a couple of times.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“No reason you should have.”
Calder’s eyes narrowed to pinpoints. “I hope you remember it, because you won’t be going again.”
“Why not? I had a good time.”
“Brother, I’d take my beer and go if I were you,” Cade tried to ease the escalating tension rising between them.
“Why? He’s got no reason to be mad at me.” Looney’s eyes widened. He hadn’t gotten his nickname by playing with a full deck. “Ah… I get it. You must have snored or far—”
Calder didn’t remember moving. One minute, he was staring at Looney snickering at him, and the next, he was punching him on the ground. It took Cade lifting him off the man for him to regain his senses.
Looney managed to get to his feet on his own steam and was smart enough to walk away without speaking.
Calder sat back down on the stool, feeling the brothers in the club staring at him.
“Anyone else met Manson?”
“Not me,” Bear mumbled into his beer.
“Me, neither,” Pike mouthed the words when Calder glanced toward him.
“Rooster, you have something to brag about?”
“Not me, bro.”
“Rolo?”
“I don’t even know where Crazy Bitch lives, and I didn’t even know she had a black cat.”
“How’d you know it was black?” he asked with hostility.
“Uh… I….” Rolo glanced back and forth at the men at his sides, seeking the answer.
Cade slapped Calder on the back. “Take it easy. They got your message.”
Stud coming in the door had him turning back to his beer. Grabbing a beer of his own, he took a seat next to Calder.
“Why is everyone so quiet?”
“No reason.”
“You sure? You look like someone took a leak in your drink.”
“That’s because I refused to take Manson off Crazy Bitch’s hands,” Cade answered when it became apparent that Calder wouldn’t.
Stud laughed. “That cat driving you nuts like it did Cade?”
“Yeah.”
“Skulls offered to get rid of him for Cade.”
Stud’s revelation had him considering the option. “Cade forgot to mention that.”
“It might be easier to neuter him. That would be easier to explain to Crazy Bitch.”
“Both options sound good to me. I knew having you as my brother would come in handy one day.”
The men started talking about Cade getting his license in Tennessee so he could go hunt with Killyama, Hammer, and Jonas.
Calder only listened with half an ear, glancing at his watch every ten minutes when he wasn’t turning to look out the window to spot Crazy Bitch’s car. When an hour had passed and she still hadn’t appeared, he realized he should have just driven home.
“Who you waiting for?”
Preoccupied, it took Stud waving his hand in front of his face to realize he was talking to him.
“I was hoping Crazy Bitch would stop by for a beer.”
“You should have told me. I could have saved you the trouble of waiting. She never comes in on Wednesday nights.”
“What goes on Wednesdays?”
Stud shook his head. “You want to know, go find out for yourself. She’ll rip my tongue out if I tell you.”
“How am I supposed to know if you don’t tell me?”
“Go to the beauty shop, and you’ll find her.”
“I don’t want to bug her if she’s working late.”
“Go and see.”
“I’m just going home.”
“Sure you are,” Stud mocked.
“I wouldn’t do that,” Cade advised. “That’s how Looney ended up on the floor.”
“He turning into Shade?”
Calder left before his brother could provoke a fight. When they were younger, they used to go at it to see who could beat the other’s ass. He had no intention of not being able to ride his bike if they ever managed to figure out their last clue.
He kept telling himself he was riding home, but when he put on his blinker to turn toward Sex Piston’s shop, he knew he had lied to himself.
The lot was almost empty, except for Sex Piston’s and Crazy Bitch’s cars, and a middle-sized bus.
When he cut off his motor, he could hear music drifting from the building next to the beauty shop.
Calder frowned. The sign in the window of the beauty shop glowed that it was closed. Had they left to go run around with Fat Louise, Killyama, or T.A. and had left their cars there? Maybe they were still inside and just turned on the sign?
Curious, he went to the shop, seeing through the window that, unless they were out back, the shop was empty.
Drawn to the music next door, he strolled to the next window. It was a dance studio. The large room was filled with little girls of all ages. When his attention was caught by Star, his heart started beating in a painful tug of emotions.
The little girl wasn’t very coordinated, but she made that up with enthusiasm, trying to mimic her teacher’s movements until it was almost painful to watch. The poor kid had inherited his dance skills.
When the teacher said something to Star, Calder glanced at her, ready to barge in if it was a harsh criticism. He felt his mouth drop open.
Star’s teacher had her back to him as she moved forward to work with Star. From her profile, though, he instantly recognized Crazy Bitch.
He moved to the side so he could lean forward and watch without being seen.
She patiently worked with Star until she mastered the steps, and then clapped to draw the other girls’ attention.
She motioned for them to form a line. “It’s time to cool down!”
The girls dropped like flies, rolling around on the floor, giggling. Crazy Bitch pretended to jump over Star then dropped down beside her.
Calder was sorry when the music stopped playing and the girls started gathering in a large circle as Sex Piston and another woman he hadn’t met before passed out boxed juices.
He returned to his bike, not wanting the mothers who should be arriving soon to see him lurking around.
The door opened, releasing the girls as the woman Calder didn’t recognize led the line, getting them to the opened bus door.
“Uncle Calder!” Star screamed when she saw him.
He stood when Star started running toward him, his hurried long legs meeting her halfway. When she took a running jump, Calder easily caught her.
He didn’t smile back at her ecstatic face. “You didn’t even look to see if a car was coming.”
He was still reprimanding her as Sex Piston was finally able to catch up with her.
“Star! You know better than that,” his sister-in-law reproved her.
“I’m sorry, Mama. I’ll be more careful next time, I promise.” She laid her head on his shoulder, patting his chest. “Did you see me dance?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not very good, but Cra—Anna-Kate says I’m getting better.”
“You are,” Crazy Bitch said after the bus closed with all the little girls inside. She waved at them as it passed by. “Star, did I see you running across the parking lot?”
“I’m sorry. Calder and Mama got mad at me for doing it.”
“That makes three of us. You have to be careful. Who would help me teach the class if anything happened to you?”
Calder was amazed at the way Crazy Bitch didn’t focus on punishing her, just making Star realize how she could have been hurt.
“Hug Calder bye; your father is waiting.”
He kept his face impassive at Sex Piston’s reference to Stud being her father.
He bent down to place her feet down onto the pavement. “I’ll see you tomorrow, buttercup.” He smoothed over her slicked back bun, messing it up until it hung drunkenly.
“Bye, Uncle Calder. Don’t forget; tomorrow is pizza night.”
“I won’t.”
He watched her and Sex Piston go to their car, forgetting that Crazy Bitch was watching.
“She’s a cute kid.”
“All of Stud’s kids are cute.”
He forced himself to act natural. He would pay the price of the mistakes he had made in his youth for the rest of his life, and he would die before he would let Star be hurt because of them.
“What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to know why you didn’t respond to my text.”
“I was going to, but I got busy.”
“Bullshit.”
Her shoulders went back. “Maybe I needed time to think.”
“About what? Me and you? You should have taken the time to think,” he stressed, “before you let me fuck you. Did I fart or snore last night?”
“No.”
“Then what’s to think about?” He placed his hand behind her neck, pulling her to his chest. “You want to call all the shots when we’re together, call them. I’m a big boy. I can take anything you want to dish out. You want to change the game we’re playing, change it. But we’re still going to be playing whatever you decide.”
“I knew if I put out, you’d be wanting it all the time until the next bitch comes along.”
“You don’t want to fuck, we don’t have to fuck. I just wanted to drink a couple of beers and dance with you for a while.”
“Did I say I didn’t want to fuck you again? Don’t put words in my mouth,” she snapped waspishly.
“You’re not making sense.”
“I got my period, okay?” she snarled. “I kept hoping I wasn’t, but it showed up before the dance class.”
“You didn’t text me because you were waiting to see if your period was going to start?” He tried not to laugh as he walked her to her car. “You want to go out and get a bite to eat before I go home?”
“Where do you want to go?”
“How about Taco Hut? They’re pretty good.”
“Hell no. Fat Louise burned me out of tacos. How about Charlie’s? He grills a mean burger.”
“I’ll follow you.” He pressed a kiss to her lips before opening her car door as her cell phone pinged. She opened it as she sat down behind the wheel.
He was getting ready to close the door back when she glared up at him.
“What did I do now?”
“You’re not chopping my cat’s balls off!”
14
The restaurant was so busy Crazy Bitch had to wait for a table, while Calder ordered their food. She had managed to find a booth before he carried their meals back.
Hungry, they ate the decked-out burgers without talking. She was only able to eat half of hers before giving up.
As Calder finished eating, she glanced around the restaurant, seeing the crowd was thinning out. Charlie’s was a hole in the wall that, unless you were looking for it, you would miss from the road. The locals swarmed there, and not because of the décor. It hadn’t been updated since it had opened when she was in high school, yet it was always packed. On game days, it was practically standing room with the customers watching the large-screen television on the side of wall she was facing. Tonight, Charlie had the local news playing with the sound turned down.
“I didn’t know you taught a dance class.”
She looked away from the television screen at his question. “Lily suckered me into volunteering. The girls are foster children. Lily teaches a group in Treepoint and bugged me until I volunteered to teach a class here. Dance classes can be expensive, and most foster parents don’t have the extra money to pay for them. It gives those in group homes a chance to get out and do something normal.”
“That’s cool. You’re good with them.”
She flushed at the compliment, shrugging it off. “I’m not that good. I’m not trained or anything. My mother took me to lessons a few times when she could get clean enough to pay for them. I always knew when she started using because she wouldn’t take me to class.”
“That must have sucked.”
“It did. I loved dancing. I never had enough real talent
to do anything with it, but it was fun.”
“The girls seemed to be having fun tonight. You’re really good with them.”
Calder started placing their wrappers on the plastic tray to throw away. They were sliding out of the booth when her eyes were caught by a commercial that flashed across the television screen.
“Turn it up!” Crazy Bitch yelled, uncaring that everyone stared at her and that Calder nearly dropped the tray as he turned to see what she was pointing at.
“You must really want your teeth whitened if you’re excited about that sale.”
“Not the commercial,” she hissed, lowering her voice. “It switched before you turned around.”
She grabbed the tray out of his hands, hurriedly going to the trashcan to dump it. Then she grabbed his arm, rushing him out of the restaurant.
Once they were outside, she doubled over in laughter. “That… that son of a bitch!”
“You figured out the clue?”
“Yes, and anyone watching T.V. will, too. Greer made sure of it.” She straightened, forcing her laughter back. “It was a commercial for a rodeo!”
“A rodeo?”
She nodded. “The clue was cowboy casserole. What else could it be?”
Calder started laughing, too. “If I hadn’t already bet my bike, I would bet it on Viper wanting to kill Greer when he finds out.”
“Me, too,” she agreed. “I missed the end where it said the date and place.”
“It should be simple to google.”
As he took out his phone, she moved to the side to watch the results of the search.
“There it is.” He thumbed the first result. “Next Friday in Corbin. Shit, that gives everyone time to figure out the clue and plan to go.”
“Which sucks out the yin yang for us.”
“Especially since we won’t know what we’ll be looking for when we get there.” He closed the screen, tucking his phone back into his pocket. “It’ll be interesting to see how many will admit they saw the commercial.”
“I wonder how many have already seen it, and how long that commercial has been playing? I usually fast forward commercials.”
“Most people do. We might luck out.”
“We can hope.” She stuck her hands in her back pockets. “I need to get home. I have an eight o’clock in the morning.”