Page 25 of Property of Raider
I look back and forth between Pecker Head, our prospect, and Blender, not at all surprised by what just happened.I shake my head as I pat him on the back and go inside, not thinking twice about the woman I left in the shadows.I know I gave Pecker Head an order that he will follow.The great room is quieter than normal as everyone is out back around a fire trying to wrap their heads around the loss of Auntie Lynn.
Going to the bar, I wave Charlie down needing a drink.She comes to me with a smile and a twinkle in her eyes.
“Well, hello there, Prez, it’s good to see you finally made it back,” she chirps.
“Just get me a drink,” I grumble, trying not to take my rising frustration out on her
“Will it be your usual then?”she questions at the same time she turns to walk away.
I don’t acknowledge her, instead looking down at my phone, scrolling through the never-ending notifications.A small hand lands on my back before running up to wrap over my shoulder.
“Good evening, Prez,” Ivy purrs into my ear.
Shaking her off, I tell her, “Not tonight.”
Charlie sets my drink down in front of me with athunk, bringing my eyes up to her.What I find doesn’t shock me at all.She is glaring at Ivy as if trying to kill her with a single look.The door slides open, and I fight every cell in my body not to turn and see who is coming through it knowing exactly who it is when Charlie’s eyes go wide at the same time Ivy moves closer as if to stake a claim on me.Which tells me Pecker Head has finally brought Anastasia inside.
“Hi sweetheart, are you lost?How did you get past the front gate?”Charlie asks, concern written all over her face.
“Oh, I was brought here with my son.Twitch, I think his name was, drove us here and I guess I passed out in the car.I woke and Raider told Pecker Head to show me where to go.”Anastasia steps up to the far side of the bar, putting as much space between us as possible.“Something happened, and I think everyone forgot I was out there waiting.So, I decided I would come in and ask to see my son and be shown where I’m to stay.”
Charlie looks from her to me and back.“Well, I’m not sure about all that.Prez, can you help us out here?”
Swallowing the fire and hate-filled words I want to scream at her, instead I swallow my drink and stand hollering, “Anvil.”
He comes through the door from the backyard, beer in hand.“What’s going on, Prez?”
“I need you to figure out where the fuck Pecker Head has gone,” I snap at him, my patience with it all nearly at its boiling point.
“Yes, sir,” he says before walking away and going in search of the man.
Turning back to Anastasia, I look her up and down, my gut tightening when I’m able to see her full state.She is covered in soot.Her clothes are dirty and even have some small holes.Her feet are bare, hair is wild, and her eyes are puffy from crying.
“I’ll show you to your son and where you can get cleaned up.”I wave for her to follow me.
I don’t wait to see if she’s following me across the room because everyone is watching us with curious looks, trying to figure out who this woman is to me and the club.As we make it into the hallway, the door at the very end opens, and out steps the kid.He looks around nervously, and just like the first time I saw him, my heart stutters to a stop when eyes exactly like mine land on me.Anastasia pushes past me, rushing to him.I stop mid-step, watching them closely.She wraps him in a hug before pulling back and searching him for any kind of injury.They stand there talking quietly to each other until I clear my throat, reminding them I’m standing there
Anastasia turns, putting herself between the boy and me with a look that tells me one wrong step, and she’ll do her best to destroy me.
“There are a couple of rules we’ll need to go over.The biggest thing for tonight is that you’ll stay in your rooms until someone comes to get you,” I tell them.
With every word that comes out of my mouth, I watch as Anastasia’s body goes tighter and tighter.
“Are you telling me we’re prisoners here?”She demands.
“Ma, stop,” I hear her son whisper.“It’s going to be okay.”
“You should listen to your boy, Tasia.It won't do you any good to throw a tantrum like a fucking child.”
She processes my words, and the look she gives me when she speaks isn’t one I thought she would ever point in my direction.“You would know what acting like a child is, wouldn’t you?Some of us had to grow up, be adults, and be responsible.”
Her words don’t make sense, and before I can even start a rebuild, she pushes her son into the room he came out of and slams it closed behind her.Her words stir something in my memory.A night only about a month before she disappeared.There was a party here at the club.My brother, who was a new member, had invited me and my best friends to a hang-around party.We showed up, and it was unlike anything I could have imagined as a fresh-faced twenty-year-old kid.I’d tried everything I knew to convince Anastasia to come with me that night, but she refused.Finding her little sister there was a shock in so many ways.
Shea was barely eighteen and hanging all over guys who could have easily been twice or better her own age.When I came around the corner, her eyes zeroed in on my group.She came bouncing over to us with a sloppy smile on her face.There isn’t much more I remember about that night.I woke up in a bed with Shea draped over my chest and a sick feeling in my gut.
I’m so lost going down memory lane I don’t notice Terro until I run right into him as he comes from the direction of our offices.
“Shit, man, you good?”His thick drawl drags every word out.
