7 - Quick Shower

I’m calling a lock down. How long will it take for you to shut down your job sites and get your men to their clubhouses? - Toad

The midday sun beat down on the crew working on laying new irrigation lines on a Christmas tree farm. August in central Massachusetts was hot and humid. The four-man crew working for Pipes were all shirtless as they laid the new pipe going to the irrigation pump for the new acreage that they had recently acquired.

“LJ!” Pipes called and motioned for the other man to join him.

LJ handed the connector to one of the other men on the crew, “Get this laid out and then take a water break.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” Dodge smirked.

With a little laugh, LJ gave a one finger salute and walked over to where an agitated Pipes paced while he was on the phone. It only took them a few minutes to lay out the next ten-foot section of the six-inch pipe before Dodge called for a water break.

“Come on, you shitheads,” Dodge called, “let’s get a water break while those two work out whatever the hell they’ve got going on.”

He jerked his thumb over towards the two men who were on the phone with someone. The other guy on today’s crew, Royal or King, something like that. Leo could never remember his name, looked over at Pipes and LJ. Leo followed his gaze, and the three men stood watching their bosses as they were on the phone.

“Somebody’s going to get one hell of an ass chewing,” Dodge said as he handed over bottled water from the cooler filled with ice and drinks.

Leo scoffed. “With my luck, it’s probably me. Not sure what the hell I did, but I probably did something wrong.”

“Or didn’t do something right,” the Royal King laughed. “I remember when I prospected, and nothing was good enough.”

“Did you ever have to scour the downstairs bathroom of the mother house?” Leo asked as he opened the water. “I can still smell that funk.”

“Damn, boy!” Royal King laughed. “What the hell did you do?”

“He got caught fucking an old lady without her husband’s permission,” Dodge said, and Royal King choked on his drink.

“Damn, boy, you got balls.”

“Yeah, and they got sucked on real nice,” Leo winked at the other two men as LJ and Pipes walked over towards them.

“Pack it up, boys,” Pipes ordered as they came to a stop. “Leo, you’re going with me.”

“What the hell did I do?” Leo asked as he racked his brain over everything that he had done recently.

Pipes shook his head, “Not my place to tell you. Get your shit.”

Leo finished off his water and grabbed up his company shirt and pulled it on. He followed his boss towards the single cab pickup. Just before he reached the pickup, he thought of his cut in the van, and he jogged over to grab it out of the passenger seat.

The twenty-minute drive back into town was silent and almost painful. Every time that Leo started to ask the older man what was going on, he got a side-eyed look and changed his mind. Finally, after the younger man had aged about thirty years, they pulled into the company lot.

Brute’s name appeared on the radio screen just before his voice boomed through the speakers. “Brute.”

“Dropping him off at the shop to get his bike,” Pipes said as he parked in a spot under the DSH Plumbing sign.

“Boy, bring your ass straight here,” Brute ordered. “Pipes, when the others get here, send Royal to Trigg, and you and LJ come here.”

The call ended and Pipes looked over at Leo. “Clock’s ticking, move your ass.”

“Yes, sir,” Leo hopped out of the pickup and headed for his bike parked against the fence with the other bikes. Thankfully, there was not much traffic today, and he was able to make it from Monroe to East Vale in what seemed like record time.

Something had to be wrong for the job site to be shut down and everyone to be ordered to their home clubs. But why was he being singled out?

Demon was at the gate when Leo rolled through. The man was just under six feet, but his presence made him seem about twice his height. His dark eyes usually appeared black, adding to his demonic persona. In the time that Leo had been at the club, he had heard the man say maybe two dozen words.

However, the screams that came out of his room on the nights that he stayed at the clubhouse were legendary.

Leo didn’t know what demons haunted the other man, but he wouldn’t wish it on anyone else. He shook his head after removing his helmet to dislodge the thoughts. Scrapper approached him with his signature scowl.

“Go get a shower and get cleaned up,” the vice ordered as the prospect dismounted, “pres wants you in his office in ten minutes.”

Leo nodded and headed for the building. Unlocking his door, he grabbed his towel and shower kit as he kicked his work boots off by the door. Stepping back into the hallway, he was greeted by Mitzi.

“I don’t have time, Mitzi,” he warned quietly.

“After your meeting, you need to make some time,” she pressed in close to him and whispered a warning in his ear. “You don’t want me to go to Zero and tell him that you’ve been dickin’ me, do you?”

“No,” he sighed out and wished he knew how to get out of her claws. The sex was not even all that good anymore.

“Good,” she purred as she moved away from him.

Having already lost a few precious minutes dealing with Mitzi, he rushed to the bathroom at the end of the hall and stripped as the water heated up. Quickly, he washed his body and hair with the all-in-one soap in his kit. After he rinsed off, he towel dried his body and short hair.

The two-week summer training was behind him, and he did not have another training weekend until September. He would need a haircut before then. But for now, his hair was looking a little shaggy, and he loved it when Priscilla would play with his hair and run her fingers through it.

Whenever Mitzi held his head between her legs, he imagined Priscilla holding him there. That was how he survived her attentions. And his fear of her telling Zero what they were doing. Zero was not a man that Leo wanted mad at him.

Back in his room, the clothes were tossed into the hamper and his towel hung on the back of the door. Grabbing clothes from his shelves and drawers, he dressed in record time. Grabbing his keys and wallet from the top of the dresser, he stepped into his cleaner boots before heading out of his room and downstairs to the president’s office.

Leo knocked on the door and Brute motioned for him to come in. Scrapper stood up and closed the door before motioning the younger man to sit in the other chair.

The office was part of one of the additions that was added to the original house. The original office is now used by the Vice. The older office still had wood paneling that had been painted over. This one had drywall that was painted gray with pictures of Brute and his brother’s families.

A simple desk and cheap chairs were flanked by a filing cabinet and shelving unit on either wall.

“No,” Brute said into the phone as he ran his hand through his graying brown hair. “Yeah, he’s here now… Okay… where do you want me to send him?”

Brute looked at Leo, who was terrified that his ass was about to be handed to him.

“Right, okay… Keep me updated, Toad.”

Brute ended the call and set the phone to the side. His attention was then focused on Leo and the young man could feel his soul trying to leave his body.

“You know Evie over at the Shack?” Brute asked after a tense moment.

Leo nodded, “Ink and Tank’s old lady.”

Brute gave a slow nod. “Yeah. You know much about her history?”

“Not really,” Leo admitted. “I know that she’s a widow, but not much more.”

“Her late-husband’s mother blames Evie for his death.”

“Did she kill him?’ Scrapper asked.

“No, I don’t know the details, but Evie was not involved in his death, but the lady is crazy and blames her,” Brute explained. “She had a restraining order against the woman back in Texas. When the boys took Evie home, the woman broke the order and recently disappeared.”

Leo could feel his stomach dropping as fear engulfed him.

“Evie was shot, they’re taking her into surgery,” Brute explained as he leaned forward. “Son, Priscilla was there. She saw it.”