Page 1 of Kairo

Frustration,anger, rage, and betrayal were all the emotions that filled me. I couldn’t believe I was having this conversation with my father again. After years of advocating for myself, it fell on deaf ears. When my father called for me to fly back into town after being gone for two years, I knew it was an urgent issue. I told my father not to call unless it was an important matter. I didn’t think this would be the topic of discussion again.

“But, Dad!” I screamed. “This is hard for me. I can’t just go in here and demand all these people to take me seriously.”

“Junie, if I didn’t think you could do it, I wouldn’t have thrown your name in the ring. Your brother and I believe you can do this.”

I rolled my eyes. My dad, Josiah, had volun-told me that I was the new vice president of his motorcycle club—the Savage Saints. The Savage Saints was one of the baddest, meanest, shadiest, and grimiest bike clubs in the city. Everyone in the club was related, whether by blood or marriage. Once a biker was in, they were a Savage Saint for the rest of their lives.

My dad had many reasons for wanting me to be at the front and center of the Savage Saints, mainly to bring a better image to the club. For the past five years, the Savage Saints had been under a lot of investigations due to the crimes and assaultshappening around town. Affiliates were the first people brought in anytime there was a crime committed. The truth of the matter was that all the allegations were true. I’d witnessed my father and his motorcycle club torture, beat, steal, and kill just to get whatever they wanted. My brother and I grew up around it. The Savage Saints raised us, but I decided it wouldn’t be my life. Once I graduated high school, I picked the furthest college I could.

“Let Junior run for vice president then! He’s more involved with the club than me.”

It was as if my brother heard me call his name because he turned the corner. He was the spitting image of my father. Strong minded, muscles, intimidating, with dark skin and hateful eyes. Everyone knew he was the muscle behind a lot of the violent things that happened in the club. My brother used to be sweet when we were kids, but all that changed with the death of our mother. My mother died right before my eighteenth birthday. Junior had just celebrated his sixteenth birthday.

“Pops, stop begging her ass. She knew this shit was coming. She thinks because she got all these degrees that she’s excluded from this shit, but nah. You’re born in this shit, and you die with this shit.”

I rolled my eyes at him, not even fazed by his comments. My brother was hateful, and I’d accepted that a long time ago.

“Junie, Junior is right. You knew this day was coming. You can’t escape it. The Savage Saint’s is your bloodline. We are a family. We look out for one another. Just like Junior said, we die with it.”

“Just like Mom?” I spat, looking between them.

My brother left the room, mumbling under his breath while my father sat there with his head hung low. Even though my mother died ten years ago, the subject was still sensitive. To this day, we didn’t have any information on who murderedmy mother. My father and the Savage Saints wreaked havoc all over the city to avenge my mother’s death. The members of the Savage Saints were adamant that the Iron Knights were responsible for my mother’s death. So much blood was shed for six months, yet my mother’s murder was still a cold case. The truce was called after my father and the head honcho of the Iron Knights sat down and decided to end the war. However, the beef wasn’t going anywhere.

“Junebug, your mama loved the Savage Saints. She knew what came along with this lifestyle when she married me. Unfortunately, she lost her life to it, but I know if your mama was here, she would’ve loved to see you take over. I’m getting old, and I need you to learn the ropes. Your brother is too hot headed for this.”

“And I’m not?” I asked.

My father clearly had signs of amnesia if he forgot the havoc that I also released behind my mother. I just wasn’t with all the drug smuggling, robbing, scamming, and weapons operation. We could’ve easily been a decent bike club, but the Savage Saints lived by their name.

“I’m not discrediting your bite, baby girl. We all know what you are capable of. However, we also need someone that will talk first before pulling out an AR-15. The club needs you, Junebug. Do it in honor of your mama.”

I knew it was coming. My father always played the mother card. He knew that if he wanted to get me to do anything, all he had to say were those words. The day my mother died, I made it clear to my father that I would do anything if it meant it would bring honor to my mother.

I let out a deep sigh and rolled my eyes. “When is the next meeting?”

Three days later, I found myself walking behind my dad and my brother. We were at the Savage Saint headquarters. It was a big warehouse building that was in the middle of nowhere. It had been renovated to accommodate all the things we did—the good and the bad. Many motorcycles lined the front of the building, and everyone was in their Savage Saint leather jackets. The colors were red and green. Everyone’s club name was written on the back. No one ever went by their real name for aesthetic and legal purposes. It took us longer to make it inside the space because everyone stopped and greeted us. Many people referred to my dad as Prez and my brother as Monster in greeting while they shook hands. Once members saw me, their eyes ballooned.

“Is that Junebug?” my father's best friend, Belt, and right hand said, walking up to us.

I couldn’t hold my smile. Belt was my favorite. He looked out for us when my mother passed. He made sure he was right there with my father trying to avenge her death. He was head of the weapons operations and ran a tight ship. He might have been the class clown and most dependable, but he was highly respected, and people knew not to fuck with him.

“In the flesh,” I said, walking into his open arms. “How you doing, Belt?”

“Better, especially now that someone with some commonsense is here.” He whispered the last part.

“Let’s hope so,” I said nervously.

“You’ll do fine, Junebug. You know how this shit operates. Your dad and I are getting old as fuck. We need some new motherfuckers in here to run this shit. You’re the best personto start with. You’re logical and got a bite to you. This your motherfucking turf. Own it and run it, baby girl.”

“Thank you, Belt.”

“Ain’t nothing to it. Come on and meet these ugly motherfuckers.”

I laughed, continuing to follow them into the small auditorium we created to hold important meetings. I followed behind my dad, brother, and Belt as we made our way on stage. I looked out into the crowd to see over 200 members in the crowd, ranging from eighteen to seventy years old. Men and women of different ethnicities filled the room in their black leather jackets with green and red writing. There were a lot of familiar faces and plenty of new faces. The club was growing every day, which meant the operations were also.

My father called the meeting to order, and the crowd stood to their feet, citing the Savage Saints creed.

“Savage Saints, that’s what I bleed. We are a family tree. We love our brothers and are thick as thieves. We ride together, we die together. Savage Saints is me.”

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