Roll Me Away: A Smokey's Roadhouse Novel Read Online Free PDF Page B

how clueless I was about the world I’d entered. Of course, I’d heard things.
    I knew the Dust Devils weren’t AMA certified, for example, which made them an outlaw club. Whether they were actual outlaws, I didn’t know. I didn’t know how they made their money, but I would in good time. I didn’t think they had any enemies, so I didn’t think I’d be called on to kill anyone. Not that it would matter if that happened.
    I had enough anger in me, I didn’t think it would be a problem, especially if the someone needed killing. Like if they hurt a kid or something.
    But I played it cool. I’d seen where swagger got Jake with the officers. Put down with barely an effort. No, thank you. I wanted respect, and to get it you had to give it. So I stayed quiet, did what I was told, and observed. That was the way to get along.

    T he second time I checked the content gauge on Doc’s oxygen tank, I did a double-take. “Doc, are you okay? You breathing?”
    He looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “Course I’m breathing. The fuck do you mean?”
    “Well, you’ve used less than half the oxygen between Casper and here than you used between Rawlins and Casper. Why is that?”
    “More oxygen in the air, moron,” he answered. He looked at me again and decided to explain more. “Lower elevation. I can get more oxygen down here. Even better in Sturgis. Probably won’t need the extra at all.”
    “Oh. Well, that’s good, I guess.”
    Doc shook his head and kept driving. What the fuck did I know about air? Deciding I’d made enough of a fool of myself for this trip, I stayed quiet the rest of the way in. True to his word, Doc was hardly using any of the supplemental oxygen by the time we reached Sturgis.
    When we pulled into town, I could have used some of it myself, though. I’d never seen so many people crowded together in my life. Rawlins is a small town, under ten thousand residents. I’d been told Sturgis was even smaller. But it looked like half the population of the US was crowding its streets this afternoon.
    We pulled in behind the bikes, and we all waited while Rooster called the advance guys, who came out of their rooms and went in with him to the office. They came back with keys and room assignments for all of us.
    Naturally, I was on the first floor, next to Doc’s room. He could’ve climbed the stairs, he grumbled, but they’d been thinking of his COPD. They put me in the room under Jake’s, and someone laughed about how little sleep I’d be getting. I didn’t care. With any luck, I’d be getting the same kind of action he would and wouldn’t be trying to sleep anyway.
    “Okay, gang, gather round,” Rooster called. We huddled up right there in the parking lot. “You know why you’re here. You’ve got a few days, so let’s get some brews to get the party started. Pug, you take Zach under your wing and teach him the ropes. Jake, you’re responsible for your crew and Zach. We’ll scope out the marks. Meet back here at nineteen hundred hours and we’ll get some grub together. Got it?”
    There was some muttering from the direction of Jake and his guys, but no one objected out loud. I moved over toward them, only to be met by Jake’s outstretched arm.
    “Hold it right there, hotshot,” he said. “We need to get something straight. You ain’t one of us. You keep your eyes open and your mouth shut. Don’t give my boy any bullshit, and we’ll get along okay.”
    “Okay, Jake,” I returned. I kept my voice mild. One day, there’d have to be some words between us, but this wasn’t the time or the place. I’d earn my patch, and then we’d see about mutual respect.

    Jake
    I knew why my dad had saddled us with the prospect, but it didn’t make me happy. The kid probably didn’t know a damn thing about Sturgis or why we were here. It was up to us to break him in. I pulled Pug aside. “Ignore him for now. Let him figure it out on his own.”
    “You got it, man.”
    We started down the