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“Mm. So, my missus wants to pass the helmet, take up a collection. I suspect it’ll be mostly me and Deke ponying up for that funeral given what Kailey Jepson was part of, but my missus gets it in her head to take on a cause and she’s not easily dissuaded.”
I took in what he was saying. Delia was taking up a collection for a funeral for Kailey. And Rudy was probably right - whether Gigi was well-liked in the club or not… Kailey wasn’t, and most brothers would either stick their nose up and ignore it or put in just a pittance instead of reaching deep into their pockets. Some of the brothers would put some money forward for any cause related to the club but this was a tricky situation. And my understanding was that the fact that Rudy was calling it ‘passing the helmet’ meant it was a club ask, which held more weight than a typical donation jar sitting out on the bar.
“Haven’t gotten a lot of information but so far from what Gianna has said, there’s no real family except for that aunt of hers.”
“Yeah,” Rudy put in, “Kailey wasn’t her blood. Just Gia’s. Kailey had nobody else by the sounds of it. You’re headin’ there from here, I take it. To the aunt’s?”
“That’s the plan.”
“I’ll have two tail you. Me and Cordelia will head home after this. Gotta meet with the lawyers for my boy. You need anything, let us know. All right? Church at eight. Guests in from other clubs. Patchin’ in Aberdeen and Rapid City by phone.”
“I’ll be there. Thanks, Rudy.”
“Throwin’ a couple drinks back after church. Playin’ some cards. Hit an ATM if you wanna play. Headin’ over there for some coffee ‘n donuts. What’re you havin’?” He gestured to the coffee shop beside the cop station.
“I’m good for now. And sounds good. I’ll see how she’s doin’ after church and decide from there how much money I’ll take from everyone.”
He laughed and slapped my back. “Yeah, people are still bitchin’ about the losses of that last game.”
I snickered. Poker was something I’ve always been good at. Good at reading people. And most guys are even easier to read after they’ve thrown back a few drinks, which is par for the course in a Brotherhood poker game. I drink soda water while I play. I save the alcohol for after I take peoples’ cash and then I drink top shelf shit to celebrate.
Twenty minutes later, two more bikes pulled in. These were our escorts to Gigi’s aunt’s as Edge, Rudy, and Rash were heading back to Rudy’s from there.
***
We pulled up to a nearly new single-wide in a mobile home park. An old minivan sat in the driveway. The streets were narrow; all was quiet.
“Can you guys wait by the gates while I do this?” she asked me.
“No, baby. If the Wyld Jackals knew anything about Kailey’s past they might know she’s lived with your aunt. There could be eyes on this place. Axel and Dave’ll park behind my truck, but I’m comin’ in.”
She had no reply to that other than chewing her thumbnail.
The street looked clean, well looked after mobile homes, but the homes were too close together for my liking. No privacy whatsoever. We walked up the deck steps and she knocked on the door to the place as I surveyed the street, looking for any drapes moving or other signs of any eyes on us, knowing Axel and Dave had us covered as well.
She stood on the antithesis of a welcome mat. The straw mat read, “Go Away” in heavy black lettering with a middle finger logo in the center of it.
“Charming,” I remarked.
Her eyes hit the mat. “Yeah. A preview of things to come. This is probably gonna be ugly.”
I shrugged off the warning, standing behind her, eyes tracking the space around us. Nothing was happening and nobody seemed to be around other than a man across the road doing work in his flowerbeds. He gave us a curious look and then went back to what he was doing.
“Real ugly,” she added.
“Wasn’t expecting it to go well, considering the news you’re bringing.”
She sighed. “Probably better if you wait outside,” she said.
“Not happening,” I said. “I’ve got you.” I gave her a pointed look.
She hadn’t said much since the cop station. They were in there for about forty-five minutes. She came out pale, Delia’s arms around her. They hugged for a minute outside the door as Delia dabbed G’s cheeks with a Kleenex, speaking what looked like reassuring words to her. I jogged up and when I put my arms around her, she stiffened, trying to buck up but failing before she unnecessarily apologized for how long it took.
And as much as I was trying to be understanding given what she’d been through, I’d had about enough of her trying to put distance between us.
