Ride Steady(72)

Tack would someday step down.

And the Club would be at the mercy of what he left behind.

But Tack knew you couldn’t lead without knowledge. You couldn’t demand respect without earning it. You couldn’t understand without experience.

Fuck, the man had it going on.

“You alive in there?” Heidi called.

He focused on her. “Need you to grab your friend and get off our patch.”

“Same drill,” she mumbled.

He didn’t confirm because it was a waste of breath. She was right. Chaos didn’t allow whores on their patch. She’d been told more than once. So had her friend.

“Get me the name of your replacement before you disappear,” he demanded.

“Whatever.”

He studied her a beat before he advised, “Girl, you get loose, you take a desperate couple for a ride by dangling precious in their faces, you stay loose. Get the f*ck outta the life.”

“Nothin’ else I know how to do,” she returned sharply.

“You got a brain. Learn,” he shot back.

She saw her shot, and as usual, she didn’t hesitate to take it.

She moved in to him, the hard shifting out of her face, something false she didn’t know rang that way shifting into it.

“You could take that ride with me. I’d share the proceeds and stay outta the life for a decent guy.”

Joker stepped back. He didn’t say anything; he let his actions do his talking.

She tipped her head to the side and whispered, “Sure you can do better?”

He’d have had to think about that question the day before.

Nine years ago, he’d known the answer down to this gut and it wasn’t a good one.

Right then, the touch of Carissa’s soft skin still on his hand, the feel of her fingers against his scalp, the vision of her corny wave goodbye burned in his brain, he still wasn’t sure about the answer.

But he was leaning a different way.

“Take care of yourself, Heidi,” he said to end it, even in saying it, knowing she would. She’d do anything to take care of herself.

Even sell her baby to do it.

“Got no choice, Joke,” she replied.

She moved off, got her girl, and they took off.

His brothers joined him.

“Not a big fan of hangin’ in an alley with * for hire waitin’ for the queen bee to get her favorite subject to stand attendance,” Boz declared irately.

“Not the queen bee,” Joker shared. “Bitch is pregnant. She’ll vanish by daylight. But she says she’ll arrange a replacement.”

“We holdin’ our breath for that?” Speck asked.

“I wouldn’t advise it,” Joker answered.

“I’ll think on it,” Hop stated. “I come up with one I think’ll be open for an approach, we’ll plan.”

Hop looked to Joker.

“You on tonight with Rush?”

“On my way back to the Compound to team up,” Joker confirmed.

Hop nodded and said, “Home.” Then he took off to go there.

Without beautiful women in their beds and kids under their roofs, Boz, Speck, and Joker moved down the alley toward their bikes a lot more slowly.

“You ever trust that bitch?” Speck asked.

“She didn’t come up with much, but she warned us where Valenzuela would turn his attention, and her intel was rarely wrong,” Joker answered.

“You think she’ll clear out before she sells out to Valenzuela, playin’ both ends?” Speck asked.

Joker shook his head. “She doesn’t know jack about us so she’s got nothin’ to give. She’s stupid enough to share she shared, she’ll be in the morgue by morning. Heidi might not be much, but she ain’t stupid.”

Speck didn’t reply.

They mounted their bikes but before they went their separate ways, Boz called, “Sharp on patrol.”

And when he said it, Joker felt it.

Something new.

On patrol, Joker didn’t give a shit what went down. He did what he had to do for his Club to protect what was theirs.

But right then, he knew he’d be sharp on patrol.

Not that he wasn’t before.

Just that, should the uncommon happen and things got ugly, he was going to make certain it didn’t get ugly for him.

And Joker had plans tomorrow night he was no way in hell going to miss.