“That it?” my dad asked. “Charlie’s in the middle of replacing a set of brakes that need to be finished by end of day.”
“You wouldn’t by chance let us have a look around?” Carl asked, making my dad chuckle.
“Not a chance in hell, unless you’ve got a warrant,” he said easily.
“We’ll let you get back to what you were doing,” Barry said, shooting an annoyed look at Carl. “Let us know if you hear from the girl.”
“Don’t know why I would,” I replied.
My dad and I stood there and watched the cops leave.
“Times up,” he said with frustration. “The girls out now.”
“What?”
“That dipshit is comin’ back with a fuckin’ warrant, just you watch.” Dad shook his head as he pulled a pack of smokes out of his pocket. “Carl’s anglin’ for a fuckin’ promotion.”
“Fuck,” I bit out. I didn’t have anywhere to take Vera. Lots of the guys had houses and apartments in town, but I didn’t make shit. What little money I made went to club dues and fuel for my Harley with barely anything leftover.
Dad slapped the back of my head. “This is why you don’t shit where you live, idiot.”
Chapter 15
Cameron
Present Day
“What’s going on with Cecilia?” I asked, leaning back in my chair so I could reach out to catch Farrah’s arm as she passed by. I knew my little sister must be in some deep shit if she’d pulled my mom away from story time. The rest of the group was still crowded around the table listening to Amy speak.
“Not my business to tell, dude,” she replied, leaning down to kiss my forehead. Damn, it had been a long ass time since she’d done that. It made me twitchy “Me and Cody are going to head down south for a while. We’ll call you when we get there.”
Wait, what? “Oh hell, no,” I snapped, getting to my feet.
I glanced over to where my woman was sitting, and without a word she stood up and came to my side.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Farrah said in exasperation. “Me and Cody are headed down to see Cecilia.”
“Now?” Trix asked incredulously, glancing back at the table where Poet and Amy were holding court. I knew what she was thinking. Out of everyone in the clubhouse, only Brenna had as much invested in Vera and Slider’s story as my ma. Cecilia must be dealing with something big if my ma hadn’t waited until that shit was over to leave.
“Yes, now,” Farrah replied.
“You ready, Ladybug?” Casper asked, striding toward us with a backpack thrown over one shoulder. Their trip would probably be uneventful. There were other Aces charters and allies along the way, but they would also be crossing a lot of territory that wasn’t too friendly with the club, and that didn’t sit right with me.
“Yeah,” Trix said, correctly reading my mind. “Go.”
“You’re not goin’ anywhere,” Casper said.
“No way in hell am I lettin’ you two make that ride alone,” I argued.
“We’re goin’ down to visit our daughter,” Casper said, shrugging. “No need for an entourage.”
“Nice word, baby,” Farrah said.
“Yeah, I thought so,” Casper replied.
“Give me ten,” I said, ignoring their bullshit. “I’ll pack a few things in my saddlebags.”
“You’re not goin’,” Casper said. When I was a kid, his tone would have snapped me to attention. It was the one none of us kids argued with. Unfortunately for him, that tone didn’t do shit anymore.
“I’ll either be a few minutes behind you or ridin’ beside you,” I replied grimly. “You choose.”
“Oh, for fucks sake,” Farrah muttered, throwing up her hands and walking away.
“Cecilia asked us to keep it quiet,” Casper said, his voice low.
“Then I won’t fuckin’ see her,” I replied, irritated as hell. She was my sister and I was tired of her bullshit. She didn’t want to see me? Fine. But that didn’t mean I was going to let our parents ride all that way without some backup and I didn’t give a fuck how she felt about it.
“We’ll wait out front,” Casper said with a nod.
I followed Trix back to my room and went straight to the dresser for a clean pair of clothes while she grabbed my toiletry bag and threw my shit inside.
“What’s up with your sister now?” she asked as we worked in tandem. “It can’t be good if your parents are leaving a few minutes after she called.”
“No idea,” I replied, rolling my shirt, underwear and socks into a pair of jeans. “They won’t tell me shit.”
“Well I hope she didn’t kill anyone,” she said dryly. “Because your shoulder’s been acting up and you don’t need to be burying any bodies.”
“Very funny,” I said, shooting her a grin as I strapped on my leathers.
“We don’t have anything going on for a couple weeks, but don’t forget the boys have that art show thing at school coming up.”