Making the Break (Beating the Biker 2)

“Fine as long as I supply her steadily with peppermint ice cream and saltines. Speaking of, I should probably get going.”

“Tell Emily I say hi. Thanks for coming, Luke.”

“I’ll drop by tomorrow. Get better or I’m docking you for these days.”

“Ha-ha,” said Saks with a weak grin. “Emily does the payroll.”

Luke turned to go. “Later, bro.”

Saks sunk back into his pillows, thankful to not have to talk anymore, or try and think. He closed his eyes and—

“Hey,” said a voice as rough as sandpaper.

Saks knew it well. “Hey.” He didn’t open his eyes, just took a deep breath.

“I’ll be sitting with you for a while.”

“You don’t have to.” He sighed and rolled his head to look at Oakie.

Oakie shrugged. “We’re not leaving you alone. There are some bad dudes after your ass. We take care of our own.”

“Thanks.”

“Damn, Saks. What shit did you get into?”

“Family stuff.” He reached for an ice chip and pulled a half-melted one out and popped it into his mouth.

“Worse kind. But I thought they disowned you.”

“Nah, ignore me mostly, until they need something.”

“Some Mafia types were in prison with me. Quiet guys mostly. Didn’t go around and strut their shit. But don’t cross ‘em. They have long memories and sharp shivs.”

“That would be right,” agreed Saks.

“They aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. I’d never seen anyone truly not care who they hurt until I met those guys. It’s not personal with them. You get up in their shit, they’ll get up in yours. But with the Mafia guys it’s all business, all the time. And personal by taking out your family. Shit, they’d take their own out as well.”

“Yeah,” said Saks, “it’s fucked.”

“So how come you’re different? Coming from that and all?”

That was a very good question. Saks wondered about that many times when he became aware of who his family was and what they did. Maybe it was how his cousins acted, too tough for their age and full of themselves.

He remembered an incident when he was about eight years old. A boy who wasn’t Italian tried to be become friends with Saks’ cousins who hung out with their own little clique. They teased him cruelly, and made him do stupid and dangerous things to prove himself. It was bullying and me

an as shit. Saks distanced himself from his cousins starting back then. He couldn’t bear to watch the boy’s daily humiliation.

It wasn’t something to easily explain to man who did time in prison where worse things happened.

“The organized gang gene must have skipped a generation.”

Oakie snorted. “Not sure that’s how it works.”

“I’m not into the bullshit. My mom shielded me from a lot of it. She wanted me to be a priest.”

“Really?” Oakie let out a deep barrel laugh. “You mean we lost the opportunity to call you ‘Priest’?”

“Don’t start.” He yawned and let his eyes drift closed. “Sorry, Oakie. Feeling kinda tired again.”