Page 20 of Abe (Marked Skulls MC 3)
“Okay,” I said and his eyes immediately brightened up.
“Because, you know, sis, I never wanted the kind of job you want for me. I don’t want to lead a boring life at a desk, pushing numbers and taking orders from rich fat bastards,” he said, and I could hear the passion in his voice. I smiled at him warmly.
“Yes, I know, Oz, and I’m sorry that I’ve been trying to push you in the other direction. I shouldn’t have done that,” I said and he finally smiled. I could see that he was happy we were finally on the same page.
“You’ve changed your mind?” he asked and I shrugged my shoulders.
“I’m not excited about it, but I also know that I can’t realistically stop you from doing what you want to do…what you will do,” I replied and Oz smiled more fully.
“I promise you, sis, I won’t do anything to make you sad. I’ll do everything to make you proud of me. I want to give you the life you deserve and this is the only way I know how,” he continued, before he stood up from his chair and came over to give me a hug.
We held each other tightly, and I was so relieved to be on talking terms with him again, that I felt my eyes water up.
“I just want you to be safe, that is all, and now I know that the Marked Skulls are your best bet,” I told him.
Oz went back to his chair and emptied the rest of the coffee down his throat.
“They’re good men, sis. They live by a set of rules and a moral code of conduct. They’re not like some of the other MCs around here, like the Dark Legion and the Hell’s Drifters. Like people in the neighborhood actually like the Marked Skulls guys. They rely on them for their own safety, even though they’re just a small MC right now,” Oz was talking enthusiastically, like he was gushing about getting into the college of his dreams. I felt a lump in my throat at the thought that he would never go to college, he wouldn’t fulfill my dream.
But it was wrong of me to try and live vicariously through him. I shouldn’t have expected my brother to fulfill my dreams. I shouldn’t have burdened him with that responsibility.
“Okay, I’m glad to hear that. As long as you’re safe and you’re leading a life with a clear conscience, that’s all I really care about. Most of all, I want you to be happy,” I said. Oz was grinning from ear to ear.
“I’m happy now, sis. I wouldn’t be happy if I didn’t have you on my side,” he said. I dusted my hands and stood up from the kitchen table.
“You need to wash up after yourself though, mister, I’m not going to be mothering you any longer—now that you’ve declared yourself a grown man,” I said and placed my hands on my hips. Oz laughed and started taking the mugs and the cookie plate to the sink.
I watched him as he tried to haphazardly wash the dishes. I was happy that he was happy. I knew he was a smart kid, and that he wouldn’t do something stupid like our dad. He wouldn’t get himself killed.
Oz turned to me, catching me looking at him.
“Should I be thanking Abe for your change of heart?” he asked with a grin, and I crossed my brows. It made me sick to even hear his name. I didn’t want any more reminders.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I said, and I knew that Oz could see the anxiety on my face.
He turned to me, drying his hands on the kitchen towel. He was watching me curiously.
“What’s going on between the two of you?” he asked and I gulped, holding my head up so he wouldn’t doubt that I was miserable.
“Nothing. We’ve called it quits. You have nothing to worry about,” I said, and turning from him, I walked out of the kitchen.
Oz followed me, as I made my way towards the bedroom.
“What happened? I thought things were going smooth between you guys,” he asked. I stopped at my bedroom door and looked at my brother, trying to put on a show for him.
“Yeah, I guess, it wasn’t anything serious. We decided that it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to be sleeping together, now that you’re going to be working with him. He thought it would be unprofessional and I agreed,” I said, gave him a forced smile and opened the door.
“Sis, are you okay?” Abe asked, blocking me from shutting the door on his face.
“Yeah, of course, why wouldn’t I be? Don’t worry, Oz, it’s not like I fell for him or anything. He’s just a guy,” I said.
Oz looked at me, with a worried expression on his face and stepped away so I could shut the door.
In the privacy of my room, I could finally do what I had been waiting to do all afternoon—to fall on my bed, cover my face with a pillow and just cry.
Chapter 21
Abe
It was the night of the first shipment from the Garcias, and to say that the atmosphere was tense—would have been an understatement. We didn’t really have backup. It was Girth, Rodeo, Oz and myself and it was our responsibility to collect the weapons at the dock and transport it safely to our warehouse.
Two other guys from our MC had been appointed to guard the warehouse, and they would stay on guard till the next day when we were ready for distribution.
I knew, as well as Rodeo and Girth, that four people was too little to take the handover of the weapons safely. If something went wrong, we could go belly-up pretty quickly.
With still half an hour to go before the ship’s arrival; Girth and Oz paced around the dock in the dark. Rodeo and I were standing guard at the other end, closer to the jetty. I could sense that Rodeo had a lot on his mind and if he could, he would have punched me in the face for getting all of us involved in this.
“You’re going to burst a vein,” I said and he stopped walking and charged towards me instead.
“Damn fucking right I am! And you’re responsible for that,” he hissed in the dark, trying to keep his voice low but failing at it.
I breathed in deeply and shook my head.
“When are you going to let this drop, brother? We haven’t even started and you’re already shitting bricks,” I retorted and Rodeo threw his head back, like he had enough of me.
“Look man, I’m all for ambition and looking out for the betterment of our MC, but this is too much and too fast. You were supposed to have the new prospects patched in first before we even got anywhere near shit like this!” Rodeo raged and I watched him.
“I’m working on it,” I said.
“He’s fucking working on it!” Rodeo threw his arms up in the air and whipped away from me.
“All you’ve done, since you made these promises, is find this kid from somewhere, push a gun in his hand and now you expect him to be our savior. We need more guys, Abe. We need many more guys!” he drawled on.
“And what have you done since then?” I snapped at him.
“It wasn’t my fucking idea!” Rodeo snapped back and we grunted at each other.
I heard Girth walking up to us, I was sure that he and Oz had both heard us arguing.
“I see them coming. We should take up our positions,” Girth said, in his usual formal commanding tone.
Rodeo and I threw each other warning looks before we walked up to the edge, to remain as close to the ship as possible. Girth and Oz remained at the back of the docks, making sure we weren’t interrupted.
“Here we go,” I heard Rodeo mumble beside me as he watched the ship pulling in towards us.
***
We worked in the dark, with the help of torchlights, helping the crew unload the shipment. These were heavy crates filled with weapons and ammunition, the likes of which we had never used or even seen before.
We hadn’t heard from Girth or Oz yet, which was definitely a good sign; meaning that nothing had gone wrong yet.
Once all the shipment had been neatly assembled on the side of the docks, we shook hands with the crew who stealthily got back on board and started to make there way back to where they had come from. No questions were asked on either side. That was the safest option for all parties involved.
Rodeo and I exchanged looks as we watched the ship depart from the docks again. Thing
s had gone smoothly and even in the dark; I could see the relief on his face.
“Time to carry this off into the truck,” Rodeo said and I nodded.
“I’m going to go get Girth and the kid to help us, or else we’re going to be stuck here till daylight trying to carry all this,” I told him.
I left Rodeo to watch the shipment and I walked towards where I knew Girth and Oz were standing guard. They heard me coming and both of them whipped around to me, with their guns pointed out.
“Good reflexes,” I told Oz with a grin and Girth grunted in agreement.
“We have the shipment, it all went smoothly. All quiet on your side?” I asked them and Girth nodded.
“Not a single movement,” Oz said and from his flushed face, I could see that he was pumped up. He’d been hoping for some action.
“Come with me, you boys have to help us transport the shipment into the truck,” I said, turning from them again and if I hadn’t moved, the bullet that whizzed past me, would have got the side of my cheek.
