Page 53 of Animal's Reformation
“Skeet just opened himself up to a whole lot of fuckin’ grief,” Hawk said as he joined the group. “Metal doesn’t deserve to be treated like this by a brother or a bitch wife.”
Metal was an inactive Insurgent who’d stepped down due to medical issues. He’d been with the club for over thirty years, and he, Banger, Rob, Buffalo, Ruben, and Itchy were all good friends that went way back. They were old-school bikers who remembered the brutal turf wars between the Insurgents and the Deadly Demons MC. After years of bombings and dead bodies, Reaper, the president of the Deadly Demons, and Banger met and struck up a truce that brought peace to both clubs over the past nine years.
Even though Metal was no longer an active member, he was very much an Insurgent for life. A member didn’t stop being a brother when he stepped down. Even if a fellow Insurgent died, he was still a brother, and if he had an old lady and kids, they were taken care of and treated with respect.
Metal had stepped down five years before, and he’d taken up with a woman half his age, and at fifty-five years old, his wife, Thea, was just under twenty-eight. Banger warned him that marrying a woman so young would spell disaster, but Metal had just laughed and ignored his friend’s warning. In the beginning it was all good, but after four years of marriage, Metal started having medical issues, and the things he could once do were a thing of the past. His young wife didn’t want to slow down, so she looked elsewhere for some fun.
The bond of an Insurgent was almost stronger than that of blood with a dedication to each other’s lives that most people would never understand. A brother’s problem was everyone’s problem, and vice versa. So a member fucking another brother’s old lady was very much a club problem.
Skeet and Thea had been screwing around behind Metal’s back for quite some time, but if he suspected it, Metal didn’t mention it to Banger or anyone else in the club. The whole affair came to light after Skeet and Thea took off, leaving a note that simply read:“Fuck off, old man.”Metal had been crushed, and when Banger found out about it, he went through the roof.
To add insult to injury for both Metal and the club, Skeet had joined up with a group of bikers up in Northern Colorado who had started a club. They called themselves the Rising Order and were gaining a lot of members in the past year or so. The Insurgents watched them carefully, and as long as they didn’t put Colorado on their bottom rocker, the club was okay with them, but the minute they claimed the state as their territory, the Insurgents would have to shut them down.
Skeet’s betrayal was the worst thing a member could do to his club, and it was something that would ostracize both Skeet and Thea. The animosity the members felt toward him was off the charts, and it simmered beneath the surface of the club, always at risk of boiling over.
“What’re we gonna do about it?” Animal asked.
“For now, not much, but if Skeet has the fuckin’ nerve to show his traitorous ass in Pinewood Springs, he’ll get the beatdown he deserves.” Hawk took a long pull of beer. “If the damn pussy club he’s with now puts Colorado on their bottom rocker, it’ll be war, and Skeet will be history.”
“Why the fuck didn’t he just leave the club after Tigger?” Wheelie said. “What a dumbass.” The other men chuckled, but anger showed in the taut lines on their faces and the way they stood: legs planted wide and chests thrust out.
Banger raised his fist in the air as he approached the group and they responded in the same fashion. The president gripped Hawk’s shoulder and said, “How’s Cara and the baby doing?”
The mention of his old lady and new baby made the vice president’s face soften. “She’s doing real good, and Neo’s got a fuckin’ pair of lungs on him. He’s already demandin’ and commandin’—perfect biker material.”
Banger guffawed. “Glad to hear it. Belle’s available to help out if you need her too. Having three young ones can’t be easy.”
Hawk nodded. “Thanks, bro. Cara and I will keep that in mind.”
“Sofia’s down for it too. Damn, since Macy was born, she wants another kid so bad,” Wheelie said.
“Then what the fuck are you waiting for?” Animal asked.
Wheelie lifted his shoulder in a nonchalant shrug. “Nothing. It’ll happen.” He took a pull from his beer bottle. “How’s is going with Lucy?”
“Real good. We kinda had a breakthrough the other night. Anyway, I got in touch with her fuckin’ mom and told her to give Lucy a call. Can you believe the bitch hasn’t reached out to Lucy since she abandoned her. I could fuckin’ strangle her.” Hot anger burned through Animal.
“Fuck, bro,” Wheelie replied.
“That’s damn tough,” Rags chimed in and Bones nodded.
“Some moms can be a real piece of shit,” Hawk said. “I know ’cause mine was. That’s tough on Lucy. You gotta be there for her, man, and be damn patient.”
Animal bumped fists with Hawk. “I know, bro. I’m trying, but damn, if this parenting shit isn’t hard as hell.”
Banger and Hawk laughed, then the president winked at Animal. “Wait ’til Lucy’s a teenager—you’re gonna wish she was seven again. Tough doesn’t even begin to describe what’s ahead of you.”
“Ah, shit. I need another drink,” Animal said.
Smokey walked up to Animal and handed him a bottle of Coors. “Here you go, bro.”
The men laughed and Animal’s fingers curled around the beer. “How the hell did you hear me?”
“What?” Smokey took out several joints and passed them around to the group.
“He said he needed a drink, and then you showed up with one. Fuckin’ eerie,” Rags said as he took out his lighter.
“You just looked like you needed one,” Smokey said, clinking his bottle against Animal’s.
