“Do you remember seeing any patches or names on the shirt?”
“Ah, yeah, actually,” I say. “There was a card, like a big playing card on the back.”
“An Ace with a skull in the middle?” the sheriff asks.
“Yeah, I think so. How did you know?”
“I’ve heard rumors about those boys — the Dirty Aces MC, a couple of stragglers left over from the Ace of Spaces. They ended up moving out of the area after the Savage Kings took down the Aces’ bar in Wilmington.”
“I have no clue what the hell you just said,” I tell her, since honestly it sounds like a lot of poker gibberish.
“The Dirty Aces is a motorcycle club that’s now located in Carolina Beach. They used to be part of a club known for dealing meth, but it was supposedly terminated by our local MC, the Savage Kings. We had hoped the Kings had shut them down for good, stopping the drugs from coming up the coast, but they just moved and started a new charter under a new name down south.”
“So you think Evelyn could be in Carolina Beach with a meth selling motorcycle gang?” I ask. It may take a few days, but I can get a gun and then drive down there to find her. It’s only a few hours away.
“Don’t get any crazy ideas, kid,” the sheriff mutters, as if she can read my mind. “If you walk into their territory alone, you may never see your parents or your friend again. And that won’t do anyone any good.”
“I know, but I can’t just sit around and not help her!” I say, throwing up my hands in frustration.
“Then maybe you should try and figure out a way you can help her, by using your brains and not your anger,” she suggests. “Because, unfortunately, that’s not my jurisdiction, so my hands are tied. And believe me, I know how you feel. It sucks when things happen and there’s nothing we can do about it within the law. But sooner or later, karma comes back to get everyone, even the Dirty Aces. That’s one good thing about MCs like the Savage Kings. They operate outside the law, serving as a sort of checks and balance to handle the real bad guys when law enforcement can’t touch them.”
“Who are the Savage Kings?” I ask curiously.
“A group of guys in a local motorcycle club that originated here in Emerald Isle. They run things out of the Savage Asylum, a bar near the pier.”
“Are they a bunch of assholes too?” I huff.
“Sometimes,” she says with a grin. “My step-brothers are the president and vice-president.”
“Oh, shit. Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it,” the sheriff says with a wave of her hand. “I wish I could help you, Cedric, really I do. If you ever see those guys here in town breaking the law, call me and I’ll come arrest them myself for breaking and entering your home.”
“Okay, I will,” I tell her
“Good luck, kid.”
“Yeah, thanks,” I mutter as I get up and walk out of her office, feeling defeated.
I’m not stupid. I know I can’t drive to Carolina Beach and just throw Evelyn into my car and bring her back. If she hadn’t wanted to go with the dickhead, she wouldn’t have last night.
No, the only way to pry her out of his claws is to figure out a way to solve her real problem – having enough money to take care of her mother Rita.
So, for now, I’ll find Evelyn to make sure she’s okay; and if so, I’ll have no choice but to keep my distance until I have a better long-term plan than getting myself killed or cutting off the financial support she’s depending on from this asshole Lowell.
I’m almost out the door before another thought hits me. “Hey, Sheriff?” I ask when I turn back to face her.
“Yeah?”
“What’s a legal way to make a lot of money fast?” I ask.
“Investments,” she says without even having to think about it.
“Investments? Like in business or real estate?”
“Exactly,” she responds.
“But don’t you need a lot of money to invest?”
“Usually, yes, but not necessarily if you know the right people,” she explains. “You seem like a smart kid, Cedric. Did you just graduate from high school?”
“Yeah.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but maybe you should go down to the Savage Asylum and talk to the Kings. They’re good guys. Mostly. They’re fiercely protective of the people they love, and they own several very lucrative businesses. The Savage Kings may be a good fit for you.”
“What do you mean a good fit for me?” I ask in confusion. “Like I should join them or something?”
“I, a sworn officer of the law, would never condone the MC officially. I just think the situation you’re in, the one your friend is in, may call for…alternative solutions. The Kings don’t trust easily. It takes years to earn their respect and loyalty. But once you have it, they take care of their own for life.”
I consider the sheriff’s words a moment before a realization dawns on me. She’s trying to tell me that if law enforcement can’t stop that fucker Lowell, then it’s probably going to take fighting fire with fire. I wonder if the Savage Kings MC have any flame throwers, because I’m probably going to need a lot of fire power to take on a group like this.
Chapter Four
Evelyn
Staring down at my left hand, I still can’t believe what I’ve done. But the black spade surrounded by a solid black band of ink is proof that I went through with it.
I’m married.
Of course Lowell couldn’t do things the old-fashioned way with a gold wedding band. He wanted us to both get tattoo rings that are permanent and can never be removed. Well, never be removed except by a laser. The fact that I’m already considering having the unsightly design erased just goes to show I wasn’t ready for this – not for marriage and certainly not Lowell as my husband.
But now it’s official. We got married on the Dirty Aces gambling cruise ship at sunset. I can’t imagine any way in which it could have been tackier or more symbolic of what I’ve gotten myself into.
I’ve made a huge gamble by being with Lowell. As the sun sets, I say goodbye to the life I had before and embrace my new one where my mother won’t have to worry about paying for the medical care she needs ever again.
Hopefully.
The one small triumph for myself that Lowell doesn’t know about is that I married him in the same white dress that Cedric took off of me last night before he made love to me. That’s one memory Lowell will never be able to take away from me. And I still have my seashell bracelet on my left wrist, a reminder of the day Cedric and I met when we were just kids, before he became my best friend.
I already miss him like crazy, and I’ve only gone a few hours without being able to talk to him or see him. He’s called and texted. That I know for sure because Lowell has my phone, and he growls every time he reads the screen. I’m honestly surprised that he hasn’t tossed it in the ocean yet. Guess he should’ve told Cedric not to call me too when he was beating the shit out of him, warning him to stay away from me and threatening to kill him if he tried.