Page 19 of Dirty Like Jude
Not local, not an officer. Just a Nomad with special privileges. Because everyone knew if I was local, if I was a Vancouver King, my brother would yank me up the ranks and slap a patch on my chest I wasn’t ready for. Would maybe never be readyfor.
So they put up with me, sitting in on their meetings. Because, in truth, they neededme.
They needed usall.
Heavy shit was coming down. Shit I did not wanna think about, did not wanna deal with, but hadto.
I didn’t need the Kings. I had Dirty. I’d always hadDirty.
The Kings neededme.
My brother neededme.
4:41pm.
Meetingadjourned.
I passed by the photo of my dad up on the wall in the hallway outside the chapel—fallen members of the Kings MC. My dad had been up on that wall for five years. I knew it meant something to my club brothers, that it was important to have the photos there, my dad’s photo there. But it was still hard for me to see it every time I washere.
Sometimes I didn’t even look. It was too hard to see that face, that face that could’ve been my brother’s, that one day would very possibly be my brother’s, grinning down atme.
Today, Ilooked.
When I walked out into the club bar, the women were starting to arrive. To set up for the family barbecue. In summer, the party would be out back; tonight, it would be in thebar.
Seth had texted me a photo. A blurry image of a blobby thing that looked vaguely like a humanoid alien, obviously from the ultrasound Elle hadyesterday.
I texted him back.Looks just likeyou.
Then I deleted theconversation.
I was aware that my cell provider could always be compelled to cough up my phone records. Not much I could do about that. But the thought of dropping my phone and some fucknut picking it up, breaking into it and seeing my friends’ personal shit, like ultrasound photos of Seth and Elle’s baby, and leaking it to some shitty magazine so they could slap it on the cover—First Photos of Rock Star Baby!—really fucking disturbedme.
Cynical.
Paranoid.
Sharp.
5:23pm.
I stood in the bar amidst the families that had converged in this unlikely place, nursing my beer. Dinner would be eaten. The families would stay a while. Eventually, they’dleave.
The girls would pourin.
The party would go allnight.
Same.
Old.
Thing.
I wouldn’t drink much. I neverdid.
I might not staylong.
Everyone in the band was pretty much in for the night. Jesse was in for the night. With Katie. I’d officially lost my wingman. Wingmen. I couldn’t remember the last time Zane had been on theprowl.
