Page 4 of Eros
“Sure thing, Prez,” he said, and I stopped doing what I was doing.
It was the first time it really sank in that I was now the prez of a one-percenter club. I’d grown up a part of this life back east. My father was one of the older members of Demons United, the largest motorcycle club on the east coast. But when I joined a club, I wanted to make my own way. I didn’t want to be known just as Axe’s son. So, I became a member of Savage Order. My father wasn’t too happy about my decision, of course, but he respected me enough to allow me to make my own choices. Now, these guys and their families would depend on me. And my first act of keeping them safe was to get rid of Crash without it coming back to the club.
“You good?” Knox asked when he noticed I had stopped.
“Yeah, I’m good, man. Let’s get this done and loaded into the four-wheel drive.”
***
Wrapped in plastic and stuffed in the back of the four-wheel drive the club used for deliveries, I made my way to Glen Canyon Park, which was about a twenty-minute drive from the clubhouse. With basically no traffic on the highway, I might make it around fifteen instead.
Even though Knox offered again to handle the disposal, I turned him down. While I trusted him, Crash was right. There were some members who were loyal to him and not too happy I’d taken over and decided Crash’s fate. There wasn’t any way he could live after what he had done. That would have brought the Sinners down on us. I haven’t had the chance to weed anyone out yet because Crash needed to be handled first. But that was next on my list of things to do to clean this shit up. And to keep all of us safe, I would be the only person they could link his death to and would know where his body was buried.
As I got closer to the affluent neighborhood, Miroloma Park, beautiful, lush greenery, and historic buildings lined the quiet narrow streets. Scenic views of the San Franciso Bay, the Pacific Ocean, and the Golden Gate Bridge also dominated the landscape. It was calming, and calm was exactly what I needed at that moment. As the prez of any club, shit would always fall on your shoulders. As the prez of a newly founded club whose first prez tried to start a war with the largest club on the west coast, I had a lot of shit I needed to clean up.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, the sky was painted with a breathtaking masterpiece of fiery oranges, intense purples, and soft pinks blending perfectly together. Leaving the quiet neighborhood behind, the streetlights were more spaced out, and the plant life on either side of the street grew thick and darker. As tall trees created a natural canopy that decorated the road with shadows, headlights appeared in my rearview mirror, gaining speed quickly. The moment they reached my bumper, red and blue lights flashed.
“Fuck!” I yelled, punching the steering wheel.
I slowed down then pulled to the side of the road with the police car pulling in behind me. I let down the window, then placed my hands on the steering wheel to show that I wasn’t any kind of threat. I watched in the rearview mirror as twopolice officers approached. I smiled as relief immediately rushed through me. Thank fuck, one of the officers was on the Order’s payroll.
Their flashlights’ blinding beams forced me to squint. “Officers, can I help you?”
“Nikolaus, is that you?” Jerry asked.
Sgt. Jerry Collins was one of the brother’s cousins. He gave us information and made evidence disappear whenever we needed it.
“Yeah, man, it’s me.” I held my hand in front of my face to block the light. “I didn’t recognize you.”
“Sorry about that,” Jerry said, turning off his flashlight. However, the other cop didn’t until Jerry nudged him.
“How ya doing, Jerry?” I asked, sticking my hand out to him. “Long time no see.”
“I’m good, man,” he said, shaking my hand. “It’s good to see you. Young, this is Nikolaus. He’s good to go.”
“But Sarge, his tag light is out, and he was going ten miles over the speed limit,” Officer Young said in disbelief.
Jerry glared at the other officer. “When I say someone’s good, that means they’re good, Young. He’s getting a warning.” Jerry slid his attention back to me. “Watch your speed, Nikolaus. And get that tag light replaced.” He looked back at the officer. “See, a warning.”
“Thanks, Jerry.” I smiled. “Sorry about that.”
“No problem. Good seeing you.” Jerry gave me a nod, then walked back toward his cruiser with the young officer following behind him. When the cruiser made a U-turn in the opposite direction, I let out a long sigh of relief.
“Fuck, that was close.”
Too close.
Within minutes of being back on the road, I approached Glen Canyon National Park. The terrain became rockier with steepslopes. With zigzagging trails and dense foliage, Glen Canyon was the picture-perfect mixture of wilderness and easy access. While some areas were really secluded, in other areas it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary to come across a jogger or hiker.
It took only a few more minutes to find one of the more secluded trails. There was no fucking way anyone would be up here. I pulled the truck over, killed the engine then stepped out. I took a quick look around as I walked to the back to where Crash’s body was wrapped in plastic and a blue tarp. Raising the liftgate, I grabbed the shovel first from the back. I wanted to make sure no one would stumble on the body, so digging a shallow grave to toss his body in would be the best option. I didn’t have the time to dig a deeper hole. The longer I stayed, the more opportunity there would be for someone to see.
Closing the liftgate, I walked up the steep incline then descended the other side. Walking only a few feet deeper off the trail, I found a spot where the dirt was soft enough that it wouldn’t be a pain in the ass to dig and I could do it quickly. In about thirty minutes it would be completely pitch black out here, so I didn’t have much time to waste.
Silence dominated the area, with only the occasional scurrying noises of night critters, and the sounds of the wind blowing through the many boulders and desert shrubs littering the place. If I weren’t out here dumping a body, I wouldn’t mind hanging around just to enjoy the silence and the beauty of the place. Maybe I could bring Ambrose up here sometime to camp. He loved the outdoors.
My son Ambrose was only four. It was tough raising a kid alone, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. He made life worth a damn. His mother was a stripper I’d slept with a few times. However, when she showed up on my doorstep with my son because she didn’t want to be a mother, I didn’t hesitate to take him. He was just two years old. After doing a test to make sureshe wasn’t just handing me somebody’s kid, it was confirmed he was mine. Right now, he was staying with one of the brothers’ old ladies until I got done with this shit.
After digging for about ten minutes, I gave up on digging the hole deeper. I was running out of light, and I had to get this body in the ground. There was no fucking way I needed to be out here with a fucking flashlight.
