Savage (The Aces MC

Chapter 9

SAVAGE

Movement beside me jolted me awake. I looked to the side; Doc sat by the window, staring. “They didn’t come back last night.” His voice was hollow as he turned to me. “This is bad.”

I moved up on the bed and sat. We decided to wait for them to come back, but the later it got, the more tired I got, and honestly, I don’t know when I fell asleep.

All night, Doc paced and typed on his phone. With everything he had told me last night, it wouldn’t surprise me if it was Dagger. Informing him of what’s happening.

The whole night was bad, quiet even.

“Something had to have happened,” Doc murmured to himself, making me pull back to him. His eyes were on the window while he continued. “Besides it being too quiet, I have tried all three of them and their phones all go to voicemail.”

A sinking feeling flooded through. None of them ever knocked off their phones, which could be because they needed quiet for whatever they were doing, and Doc ringing them wasn’t helping. Or they didn’t even want us to know where they were, since they knew Keys would have located them if we contacted him to find them.

Neither one of us spoke. Glancing at the red numbers on the clock blinking beside me, it was early. I blinked at them till Doc moved up suddenly, making me do the same when his eyes darted towards me. “They're back and have a container.”

A knot formed in my stomach, and I didn't like any of this. I knew back when I first joined the club, I would have to do whatever was asked of me to protect the club, even members. Nothing had happened before, but something about this screamed at me that it was wrong, and it was going to fall back on us.

Doc and I rushed to the door till we stopped by the bikes. Butch and Blade grinned, staring at us. “We got a mother f*****g load here, boys.” Butch chimed in, sounding excited.

Staring at him, my eyes lingered longer than they should have and noticed how bloodshot his eyes were, and the same went for Blade too. What the f**k did they take?

Not saying anything, I let Doc talk while I looked for Mace. He had stepped to the side and was on the phone with someone.

Someone moved closer to me, which I knew instantly was Blade. “Man, are you okay?”

I nodded, not knowing if my voice would show my emotions, and right now, I was annoyed. No, that’s not it. I was pissed. Pissed at being made to do this, to be part of something I had no idea about, and all because they wanted their next score.

“Savage, man,” Blade mumbled beside me.

My eyes moved from Mace, then to my friend. And right there, I could tell he was one of those people, and this was probably the first time I had ever seen him like this, but I had a feeling that something was up with him, just not this.

Where the f**k had I been to miss this? A pang hit me before I could register. My dad passed away, and I was too caught up in my grief to see what was going on around me. I would have noticed, wouldn’t I?

Father like son.

Butch had been on drugs on and off all his life, before and even between both kids. Also, their mother — thinking about it — that’s what got them together in the first place, and maybe that’s what happened for their mother to leave.

“Savage, talk to—” Blade starts to say but is cut off by Doc shouting.

“What do you mean we will be heading the long way back, Butch?”

All eyes land on both men, both angry and ready to fight.

Butch took a menacing step forward till he was inches away from Doc’s face. “Who the f**k do you think you are talking to?” He half-growled and then pushed a finger into Doc’s chest, pushing him back slightly. “I’m the f*****g Prez, and you need to listen to me. We’re going the long way around back home. No stops unless it's for fuel or food. Nothing else.”

Something was wrong here, while Butch stared down Doc. Neither man was backing down till Butch looked toward Blade and me. “Mace is getting a van to come here. You two grab all the stuff and get ready. We ride out soon.”

Butch turned to Doc with a low grunt. “You do the same and follow the rules, or you may find you won’t have a patch when you get back.”

Fuck, this was serious.

Butch pushed Doc again, harder, and the man went back, right into the wall behind him. Neither of them looked away till Mace called for Butch.

Doc’s eyes stayed locked on our Prez’s form till he let out a sigh. “I’ll get mine and Savages things; you two grab the others.” He moved from the wall, but his eyes went to mine and gave me a pointed look, the same one he used on patients when they'd been told something, and everything we had talked about last night came flooding back, and then it sank into the pits of my stomach like an ache that will never leave.

Fuck, we were in the s**t.

Doc moves back into our room, but before he closes the door, I notice him going to his phone, and knowing he had been talking to Dagger all night, it wouldn’t surprise me if he was on the phone with him now.

We had to move, and I didn't want to get on Butch’s bad side. I moved away, heading toward the other rooms, until I felt Blade grab my arm, which made me stop. I looked at his hand, then back up at my friend, who now looked concerned.

“Man, talk to me.”

Staring at my friend, I had no clue what to say to him, which was a first. I thought he had been there for me when my father passed away, but looking at him now, it makes me wonder if it was all a façade.

Blade had always wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and be like his old man. Always had the chance to do whatever he wanted, and Butch never batted an eye at all the s**t he pulled. That was the first sign that he wasn’t a good father. Not just that alone, but by the way he treats Effie.

When Effie came to mind, something hit harder, since I knew she didn’t have her father to be her dad. No one treated her right, not even the women in the club, and not to mention, I never saw her with friends. Did she have any?

What the hell, should I be heading that way? I couldn’t do anything about what happened to her, but I could when I got back; for now, I knew I should find answers to why my best friend was on drugs and help him. But how?

Crossing my arms over my chest, I stared my best friend down. “What are you on?”

Blade seemed taken aback, even moving away from me as if I had burned him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Defensive — that’s a sign. Not agreeing, but always pretending not to know.

“You know fully well what I am asking,” I stated, taking a step toward him. Gathering the space he made. “I’m not stupid, Blade. You took something. Your eyes are saying a thousand words.”

Blade says nothing but presses his lips together.

Annoyed, I looked around to see where Butch and Mace went. Neither was around, so I looked back to my friend. “Okay, don’t tell me.” My eyes searched his glassy ones, but they looked vacant, which made me wonder if he had been like that a few times over time and I never noticed.

Keeping my eyes locked on him until I had enough of the silence between us. “You’re my best friend, Josh. I never thought you would stoop this low to be like your old man, following in the way that will destroy you and Josh.” I used his legal name to get through to him; whether he listened was another matter. “I don’t want you to go down that path. I remember my old man telling me what your father was like back then, and it was a disgrace to the brotherhood.” The mere mention of my father had my throat tightening, but I needed to get this out for him to understand, so I continued. “You said you would never go that far, but looking at you now. Strung out and looking like a crazed d**k ready for a fight.”

I could see that look forming on his face, and just like that, a switch flipped inside him, and I wanted nothing to do with him when he lost it.

Stepping back, I stared at him, and my jaw ticked before finishing. “I don’t need excuses from you. All I want to know is why.”

My face softened slightly. “I care about you and don’t want you to go down the same route that could get you killed or even sent away.” Looking behind him to make sure the other two weren’t around, I knew I had to hit it on the head for him to understand. “You know if you three got caught tonight, who do you think they would have been sent down? And I know for a fact it wouldn’t be your father, no. Not even Mace.” I kept my eyes on him, drilling it home. “I know fully well your father would make you take the fall, even Silver. The man is nothing but a liar, looking at how you all played Doc and me last night.”

Blade stared blankly.

I don't want to say anything else, or I'll probably knock my friend out for this. I turned around and headed toward the room. Without looking, I told him straight. “I’ll get the bags. You stay with your dad since you do everything he asks.”

With that, I leave him alone since I don’t hear his footsteps following me.

All I pray now is that we get home safely, and then I’m looking for a new place to live because there is no way I will be staying with these two, and not when they're like that. Our Prez lied to us, even the ones back at the club. They don’t know about this, but with the pay day they would get, I bet they wouldn’t care. They never do when it comes to money.