Revved Up Soul

Chapter 18

Luke

The sun hung low and fat on the skyline, trying to hide itself away as the moon faintly came into view – the last orange rays leaving the heavens a wondrous pink. He needed to get there soon; he was already fifteen past the agreed hour. The roar of his bike punched at the air as Luke sped past a Civic. He was driving fast down the highway, the broken white lines of the road becoming a kind of blur. Dark trees painted the landscape with their mighty trunks and their riots of leaves, thick reaching branches shooting in all directions. He could smell them in the moist air and it was good; Luke always felt more alive when he was immersed in nature, it felt right.

You know you shouldn't have let her get those Oxycottons, he chided. You're making your problems her problems. Love was supposed to embolden you, set you free – not keep you beholden to the cesspool that was dealing. Or at least supplying, in this case. Same difference. Able had always preached that being pragmatic about the fact, that if the Knights weren't doing it, someone else would, was just a cop out. That if more people went against the grain, real change might happen.

Luke's views never quite fell on that side of the white picket fence. He hoped, deep within, that they one day would.

A part of him cringed when he thought about going back to his home. Having to give that sycophant her fix. Back in the day Luke stuck anything that moved within his radius, Kayla just happened to have the wettest gash and the meanest lay of his life. Luke slid over into the far right lane, fast approaching his exit.

***

It sent a warm wave of disgust down Luke's person when he saw Robert waiting there in the woods on his bike, a pair of beat up junkers and a black escalade parked on the dirt lot. Robert had his pack of goods slung around his person.

The din of the engine of Luke's FX50 came to a relative quiet as he slowly approached and then stopped altogether. He kicked up his stand, brought his leg up high and twirled off of the bike. He thought, for the briefest of moments, of his brother – the ring on Luke's silver necklace moved to his motion.

The house before the two was an almost palatial den of drugs and sex and redneck debauchery. Luke never enjoyed dealing with Shady Earl, but for some reason Allen always insisted that he and Robert be the ones that keep that relationship intact. Still, the man paid good dollar for the product they supplied – things only became complicated when the clubs original connection passed away.

Robert gave that stupid grin, those worms one would call lips curling against his face. "Took you so long," he complained.

"None of your concern," Luke dismissed, nobody knew where he was getting the new flow of Oxycottons and he intended to keep it that way.

"F'you say so," Robert hopped off of his ride and adjusted the piece concealed at his waist. "Ya know I've been thinking," he started. Surprised you're even capable of such a thing. "Ten a pop seems kind of low, don't you think? I mean we're taking all of the risk here."

"The price is the price, Robert," Luke didn't want to even entertain the idea of raising the price a couple of dollars, definitely not right before a meet. Was he trying to get us fucking killed? He wondered then, what had happened to his once friend – sure he was always off, but the recent years had really brought out the worst in him.

Robert clicked his tongue as Luke pulled out a black pack and a Glock, "You're really killing my mood, first you make a scene and now you're getting your panties twisted over valuing product? What's gotten into you man."

Luke's bones ached. He looked over to Robert and tucked his piece away in his black jacket. "Nothing," he replied curtly, taking a series of long strides towards the house. Just had enough of the cancer that is you.