Page 54 of Wild Card
“That bit I heard clear as day. The rest was kinda muffled. They were arguing, talking over each other a lot, and next thing I know, Brett shot him dead,” he explains, turning pale.
“Are you tellin’ me that Brett is the person behind all this? Thathe’sthe person supplyin’ these drugs?”
“That's what I’m telling ya. But that's not all.” Now he really looks like he’s gonna crap his pants. “He called someone on the phone after he’d killed him. They were telling him what to do, and he started bringing stuff into the house and hiding it in real obvious places.”
“What kinda stuff?” I grab the kid again, needing to know every shred of information he can remember.
“Pills, money. He left a whole bunch of those little white pills on the coffee table. I could see what was happening; he was fixing Kaleb up to take all the blame,” he tells me. “I know Ash was trying to find out who the dealer was. I thought he should know the truth.”
“All this happened weeks ago; did it not cross your mind to tell us before?” I question his motives.
“Of course, it did, and I’ve been trying to find Ash; I just haven’t been able to track him down.”
“And what did you do after all this happened? You see anythin’ else?” I have to check because the less people who know about the club involvement in this, the better.
“Soon as Brett left, I ran as far away from that house as I could. My fingerprints will be all over that house. I could become a suspect in this if the cops find his body.” The kid looks scared.
“That ain’t gonna happen, and you did right in telling me. I swear you can trust me,” I assure him. I guess him not knowing that the club helped cover this is one good thing.
“There’s something else you should know. But I have to have your word that I can trust you.” The kid looks unsure, like he could bolt any moment.
“You got it. I swear, all we want is good for this town. This is our home, too,” I remind him, hoping it puts him at ease.
“You sure about that?” he questions me, and it gets my fuckin’ back up.
“Hell, yeah, I’m sure. This club has been defendin’ Cody for years. Never question that.”
“Yeah, well, that person he called after he shot Kaleb was your president. He was the one who told him to fix the place up.” My whole body goes cold, and I shake my head back at the kid.
“No.” I refuse to believe it. I’ve known Byron for years. He took me in and made me feel welcome when I tracked my brother down to this charter, and he played a big role in making me who I am today.
Our leader may be short-tempered sometimes, but he’s as loyal as they come.
“I promise you it was him. I wouldn’t lie. He came to the house soon after; he checked everything over. I saw him and I heard. He told Brett that it wasn’t gonna be easy to convince the club, but he’d make sure they helped clean up the mess. That’s why I’ve been too afraid to tell anyone other than Ash. I don’t know which of you is on his side.”
“Fuck.” I look up at the pitch black sky and have no idea what to do. I’m not an established member; I was the latest one to prospect. How do I tell my brothers that the man who leads us is a fuckin’ traitor?
“Kid, are you sure? Because if this is true, it’s gonna cause one helluva war.” I’ve never had the privilege of meeting the clubfounder, Jameson, but I know that he takes no fuckin’ shit. Only those he trusts the most earn their roles as presidents, and he and Byron go back years.
“I swear it, and I couldn’t sit back and let Ruby marry that man tomorrow. She’s a nice girl; she notices me when I’m in town, always says hi, and asks if I’m okay. She cares for people. She should know what she’s getting into, and you men in those leather cuts should know what you're supporting.”
“You know, coming here could have gotten you killed. You're real lucky it was my trailer door you knocked on tonight, kid.” My own words make me realize that I have no idea who I can trust, either. Does Byron have other members on his side, or has he been working alone?
“That's why I was looking for Ash, I knew I could trust him to do the right thing. He’s a good guy, even if he tries to hide it.” He smiles at me sadly.
“Get outta here, Newt. And don’t ya tell a single soul whatchya saw, that kinda shit’ll get you killed.”
“Newt?” He stares at me, waiting for me to explain.
“You live at the lake, don’t ya? You're tall and gangly, I thought it kinda suited ya.”
“Like a road name?” He pushes his luck.
“Who knows, maybe one day, kid.” I shake my head and laugh.
“You’re gonna fix this, aren’t you?” He reminds me of how serious all this is, and that the responsibility to do what's right falls on me.
“I’m gonna fuckin’ try,” I assure him, leaning back in through my trailer door and grabbing my keys. I don’t know who from the club is in on Byron's little plan, but there's one person I can be sure isn’t. Wild Card is the only person I can trust right now, and he doesn’t know it yet, but he’s gonna be the one who helps me.
