Page 39 of Cruz: Skin Deep

It was obvious Brian wasn’t going to get anywhere with the conversation. Jimmy wasn’t going to listen or change his mind about who was responsible…or who would pay. Brian was considering ending the call and having a discussion with the Jokers and Skulls to warn them about Jimmy. But that would require him to admit why he was riding with them. And they might also find out that he was responsible for the damage to the bike…if it was the reason for the accident. He still needed to find out about that.

“We’re in Austin, Jimmy.”

“OK, I’ll head there now.”

“Where are you?” Brian asked.

“Don’t you mind. I can be in Austin soon.”

Fuck, he must be somewhere between here and Houston. I need to send him away until I can get this sorted out.

“We’re leaving soon,” Brian said.

“To where?” Jimmy asked.

Brian looked around quickly trying to think of somewhere other than Abilene…where they were going to ride that day.

There was a sign near the main office to the camp that had distances from the campground to various destinations. He couldn’t quite read it from where he was, so he said, “What?” as he scampered towards it.

“You fucking heard me. Where are you riding today?” Jimmy was shouting down the line.

Brian looked up at the sign and said, “San Antonio.” He held his breath. He knew he’d made a decision that could kill him, but he was worried that his head was already on the chopping block with Jimmy, and coming clean with not one but two 1% MC clubs like the Jokers and Skulls would be the safer option now.

“San Antonio,” Jimmy said in a long slow drawl. “San…An…To…Nio,” he repeated. “OK, thanks, Brian. I’ll start heading there now. See you when I get there.”

“Yeah, Jimmy. See you soon.” Brian looked down at his phone when Jimmy ended the call.Fuck, he knows I’m lying. I gotta talk to the guys. Soon.

“Come on, Brian…we’ll leave you behind if you don’t get your ass into gear,” Cruz said.

Brian could see everyone was ready to ride, so he rushed back to his bike and finished stuffing everything into his saddlebags. He needed a smoke right now, but he didn’t have time.

I’ll tell them as soon as we get to Abilene.He took a deep breath and let it out. He knew it wouldn’t take much now for his head to start spinning, but he needed to do this. For everyone. Even for Wendy. She might have cheated on him, but it seemed like she was cheating Cruz too, by not telling him she was married.

Abilene was about four hours’ easy cruising from where they’d camped, but he knew it would take a lot longer with rest stops and sightseeing. He’d have about six or so hours to think about how he was going to tell the guys. He wondered whether they would be the first to put a bullet in his head…before Jimmy even realized he wasn’t going to see them in San Antonio.

Jimmy tossed his phone on the seat of his pickup and followed the signs to Chick-fil-A for breakfast. He’d have plenty of time before the lying cunt, Brian, and the killer, Cruz, arrived in town. He’d wait near the end of TX-36 to welcome them into town.I can’t wait to see the look on Brian’s face.

* * *

They stopped in Lampasas.The guys were hungry already…they’d only been on the road for a little over an hour…but Eden wasn’t about to complain. She had a tired butt from the trip so far, but she was starting to get used to it. She wondered how much better it would have been on Mack’s bike. They got Subways each, and drinks, and drove to the world’s largest spur for photos. Eden wasn’t the only one who hadn’t been to many of these places, and she was looking forward already to coming back one day with Cruz for more adventures off the main highway.

They spread out in a little park not far from there to eat their food, and once again Brian had homed right in on them, not hesitating to dig for more information about Cruz’s accident.

“Hey, guys,” he said. “That was a short ride.”

“Yeah, food does that,” Cruz said. He’d wanted it to be just him and Eden, but he was curious what Brian was going to come up with next. He didn’t have to wait long before the general chit-chat turned to:

“I was wondering…” Cruz raised his eyebrows and Eden shifted to be facing Brian. “So, how did you prove it wasn’t your fault that the bike lights weren’t on?”

Cruz leaned back on his elbow and sipped his water. “I’d been riding with the Jokers at the time, and as soon as I ended up in the hospital, and they knew what was happening with the cops, they got in touch with Dax Marshall of the Southside Skulls.”

“The Skulls president?” Brian said.

“Yeah. The Jokers president, Blackheart, is a friend of Dax.”

“OK.”

“Dax got Hunter onto it straight away, and he came down from Boston to see where I had the bike parked. He looked through the cameras that were on the parking lot at the time.”