Page 60 of Diesel's Perseverance
By the timeDiesel and his fellow Insurgents entered San Diego County, hundreds of Harleys crammed Interstate 15. The thundering roar of that many motorcycle engines was music to his ears. Threads of excitement weaved through him as they always did before a big rally. The SoCal Motorcycle Association Rally wasn’t the biggest in Southern California and definitely no match to Sturgis. However, it still brought out a lot of nomad bikers, riding clubs, and of course, one-percenters. Most of the Insurgents from the mother chapter hadn’t been out to Southern California for a few years, so an air of anticipation floated around the members. Still, a note of seriousness marred the visit due to the task of smoking out the traitor in their clubhouse.
The Insurgents San Diego Chapter was located in coastal Mission Beach. Nestled between the Pacific Ocean and Mission Bay, their clubhouse had picturesque waterfront views close to stunning beaches. The building was a sprawling three-story stucco mansion with terracotta roof tiles, a signature of many homes in the county. Thirty-foot thick stucco-clad walls with wrought iron spikes on top surrounded the property.
When Diesel, Tank, Throttle, Rags, Animal, Smokey, and Shadow arrived at the entrance, Crutch greeted them with a wave and opened the iron gates. Diesel lifted his chin as he and the others drove through.
Banger, Klutch, Razor, and Jax stood on the large porch, talking to Panther and Jagged, when Diesel pulled in front of the clubhouse. Banger and the other Insurgents had left a couple of days before Diesel and the others. The president lifted his fist as his brothers dismounted their motorcycles.
“You finally got your asses here,” Banger said with a smile in his voice.
“We took it easy,” Shadow replied as he approached the veranda.
Panther tipped his head at the men. “Good to see you.”
Glancing at the colorful and lush landscape of palm, orange, and avocado trees, Diesel whistled. “Damn, you got a fuckin’ country club here.”
“And the beach is only a few blocks away,” Tank said. “I could get used to this.”
Panther laughed. “What can I say? We’re fucking spoiled.”
“This must’ve cost a ton of dough with this size and location in Cali,” Animal said.
“It would’ve, but we lucked out. Scratch’s great-aunt left the whole place to him. We’re sitting on prime real estate,” Panther replied.
“He’s the treasurer, right?” Diesel asked.
“You don’t know that?” Banger said.
“My ass was in the can for a few years, so I’m outta touch.” Diesel laughed.
“Glad you’re finally out, bro,” Panther said.
“We got a private church scheduled in about two hours. Is that good for everyone?” Jagged asked, his voice dropping.
The Colorado Insurgents nodded, and some of the men began unloading their saddle bags.
“It’s only going to be us”—Panther pointed to himself and Jagged—“Demon, Iceman, and all of you. No one else in the MC knows about it.”
“Gotcha,” Diesel said as others mumbled their agreement.
“We’ll meet in the guest house at the back of the property,” Panther said.
“A guest house? Damn, this is getting too fuckin’ fancy for us,” Rags said.
The men guffawed, then Panther said, “Go on in. Easy will show you where you can put your shit.”
The newly-arrived bikers shuffled into the clubhouse, greeted by a bevy of beaming club girls who rushed up to them.
“Hi there, I’m Claire,” a pretty blonde said as she sidled up to Diesel. “What’s your pleasure?”
“A cold beer on tap if you got it,” he said, taking a step backward.
“Right away, handsome.” She winked at him.
He watched the rhythm of her hips swaying back and forth as she walked away. A smile twitched on his lips as a memory of Myla, pissed at him, walking away in her high heels, jaunty hips swinging, filled his mind. All at once, Diesel realized he’d become used to the days they spent together, and even though he wouldn’t admit it, he missed her.Damn.
“Here you go,” Claire said, handing him a frothy mug of ice-cold beer. “Let me know if you want anything else. I’m available foranything.” She licked her glossy lips and ran a pointed bright blue nail down his arm.
“Thanks for the beer,” he said before bringing it to his lips.
