Page 14 of Matlock
“She’s fucking where?” I could hear him moving. Likely going somewhere he could talk in private. Fury and Vicious were living in California. After everything that had happened in New York at the tree lighting ceremony a year ago, and then Carly, Fury’s wife, being kidnapped, they’d taken Linsey, Vicious’ wife, and the kids they all shared and left New York.
And now that the Soulless Sinners had patched over to the Golden Skulls, I wasn’t sure Fury would ever go back, except to visit his mother.
“Here, in Diamond Creek. She’s the new county prosecutor.”
“Something ain’t right there, Tony. She’d never willingly leave New York. Did she know you were there?”
“She played it like she was surprised to see me at the station, but I’m not sure. Said last she knew I was in Arkansas. No one knew where I went when I left except you.”
“I didn’t fucking tell anyone.”
“Calm down, dumbass. I’m not accusing you.”
I stepped off the porch and walked toward the back of the clubhouse. I knew Fury would ask, and I didn’t want to be overheard.
“What were you doing at the station? A client?”
“Simon.”
“Shit, Tony. What the hell happened?”
I ran a hand through my hair. “His sister was seeing this guy who was beating the shit out of her, but she wouldn’t leave him. She wouldn’t let us help her either. Well, he ended up dead, and Simon ended up covered in blood.”
“Fuck. She killed him, didn’t she?”
“I think so, but she took off. And he won’t tell me the truth.Said he didn’t know if he could trust me.”
“Why are you such an asshole?” Fury asked.
“Don’t fucking start, Chris.” I held the phone between my ear and my shoulder as I lit another cigarette. I closed my eyes as I inhaled the nicotine, only to blow it out in front of me.
“Things aren’t the same as when we were kids, Tony.”
“Things aren’t all that fucking different either. You don’t understand what it’s like. I could lose everything. My clients, my club.”
“Bullshit, Tony. Your brothers don’t have a problem with Sypher and Pippen.”
“Sypher does a lot of shit with Nav. And Pippen is Amber’s brother. They get a fucking pass.”
I took another drag of the cigarette, waiting for Fury to respond. He knew I was right.
“You are so fucking stupid. And have no fucking faith in your brothers. Steele is dead. Stone is God knows where. The men in the club who would care are gone. Join the rest of us in the new fucking millennium.”
“I didn’t call you for this shit. I called to see what you knew about Rosalind,” I growled into the phone. I didn’t need this shit. He didn’t have a fucking clue what it was like to be me. The cases I’d fought to help men and women beat the discrimination they faced simply because of who they loved.
It was an endless battle. There would always be bigots who believed their views were the only right ones. And here in Nebraska, in the conservative fucking Midwest where everyone and their brother went to church, it wasn’t any different.
I knew what I was doing when I moved here with King. I’d made my peace with it. When I found the club in Denver, everything fell into place. When I wanted to have sex, it was a little more than a two-hour drive.
It was worth it. A weekend in Colorado every few weeks was enough. Until I met Simon. My entire life had flipped upside down. Then flipped again when I found out he lived in the same damn town.
We’d just finished breakfast at the diner. King, Cash, Gunner, myself and a few others. We stepped outside to walk to our bikes when a whistle pierced the air.
“Good God! Goliath, you’ve been holding out on me!”
My head snapped up. I knew that voice. The one that haunted my dreams and left me hard as a fucking rock when I woke up.
“Hey, Simon,” Gunner chuckled. “This is King, my president. Cash, my VP.” Gunner’s voice faded as he introduced everyone, and I couldn’t stop the questions running through my head. How the fuck did Simon know Gunner? He didn’t have a fucking tattoo. I’d have seen it. I’d licked and bitten every inch of his body.
