Zero Hour (A Prequel to Zero Tolerance)

by Autumn Jones Lake

  Would Lilly be some crazed bride trying to micro-manage everything down to my underwear? Or would she be happy with something simple like this?

  I doubt I’ll ever know.

  Shit. In the last few months, I’ve watched the two people in the world closest to me voluntarily settle down. It leaves me coming up with a lot of stupid ideas.

  Unfortunately, the only girl on my mind these days is Lilly. Even though she’ll dodge me for weeks at a time, I still can’t get enough of her. The amount of fucks I should give that I have to chase after her are hard to come up with.

  * * *

  Lilly

  “You think about gettin’ married?” Z asks as he watches Rock feed Hope a bite of cake.

  The wedding was beautiful. Food has been amazing. Poor Trinity’s been running around all night.

  And Z’s asking me if I think about marriage? “God, no,” I finally answer.

  “Never?”

  A catch in his voice makes me turn my head. “You do?”

  “Yeah,” he states matter-of-factly.

  “Why?”

  He stares at me as if a flock of butterflies just flew out of my mouth instead of a one-word question. “Same reason anyone does.” He nods at Rock and Hope, who are so immersed in each other it almost feels like an invasion of privacy to watch them.

  “I don’t think everyone who gets married has what they have,” I say as I turn back toward Z.

  “No. Probably not.”

  While I admire my friend for sticking by her man while he went through some trouble this summer, I know for a fact I couldn’t do it. Visit Z in jail? No way. It would break me. Not to mention how horrified my family would be. It’s not like I can’t guess that Z’s motorcycle club is more than a club. That they’re into some shady stuff. Maybe Hope managed to convince herself of her husband’s innocence, but since meeting Z, I’ve heard enough stories about the Lost Kings MC to know that they’re anything but innocent. While Z’s hot, great in bed, and super sweet, he’s not marriage material.

  I don’t think explaining any of that at his best friend’s wedding is the polite thing to do, so I force a smile instead.

  Besides, I wasn’t lying. The last thing I want to do is get married. Let any man think he owns me. And a guy like Z would definitely be the I-own-you-caveman-type of husband.

  Fuck that.

  “Marriage is for suckers,” the guy across from us says, slurring each word. He has the nerve to jab a ham-sized finger in the air at me. “She’s hot now, but give her ten years. She’ll be fat and do nothing but bitch at ya.”

  Z leans over the table, grabbing the guy by his shirt. “Watch your fuckin’ mouth, asshole.” He growls a few more warnings so low, I can’t hear them. The guy ends up shuffling away after flipping Z off.

  “Sorry,” he mutters as he sits back down.

  “One of your brothers?” It’s hard to keep the sarcasm out of my voice.

  “Sort of. He’s from another charter and he’s a dick. No one here would ever think something like that, let alone say it.”

  It’s true. None of the guys I’ve met before have ever been rude. Slightly terrifying, yes. Rude, no.

  Trinity breezes by and drops into the chair next to me. “Are you having fun?” she asks breathlessly.

  “Are you? You’ve been running non-stop all day.”

  She waves off my concern. “I’m done for the night.”

  “Sure you are,” I tease.

  Trinity’s boyfriend…no there’s nothing boy about him. Trinity’s man lumbers over, settling a hand on her shoulder. They stare at each other with complete adoration for a few seconds, before he lifts his chin at Z.

  The two guys do this unspoken conversation thing, that’s actually fascinating to watch. Next thing I know, Z’s sliding his chair back.

  “I need to take care of something. You okay?”

  “Sure, as long as that guy doesn’t come back.”

  Z’s gaze searches the tent. “If anyone bothers you”—he points out two guys with Lost Kings MC cuts on—“let Dex or Ravage know.” He shifts and I follow his line of sight. “You know Murphy and Teller. They’ll look out for you, too.”

  “Uh, okay.”

  “I’ll take care of her, Z. Go ahead,” Trinity says. She pokes Wrath in the side. “Go do what you need to so you can hurry back.” He flashes a smile so warm he almost doesn’t look so scary. After they’re gone, she raises an eyebrow at me. “Someone bother you?”

  “Not really.” I don’t want to seem like I’m complaining. I’ve dealt with plenty of rude, drunk men in my life. I can handle it. “So you really went with a monarch theme,” I tease, nodding at the table at the head of the room where the bride and groom are.

  Tittering laughter bubbles out of her. “Yeah. The whole king and queen thing. That’s what we do here.”

  A young woman slides into the seat across from us. “Hey,” she greets.

  Trinity flashes a tight smile at the girl. “How’s it going, Sasha?”

  “This is really something.”

  “Is it your first LOKI wedding?”

  “Yes.” The girl swings her vacant gaze my way. “Whose old lady are you?”

  “Uh,” I glance at Trinity unsure how to answer the question. From spending time with Z and listening to Hope, I know what an old lady is. Well, I know enough to know that’s not what I am to Z.

  “She’s with our VP,” Trinity answers for me.

  “Oh.”

  “Who are you with?” I ask to be friendly.

  She lifts a lazy finger, pointing across the room at a cluster of guys with cuts claiming a different territory than Z’s. “Crazyhorse. I ain’t his old lady, though. Well—” she giggles. “I am at club events. His wife’s one-hundred percent citizen.”

  I’m not sure how to respond to that. I glance at Trinity whose staring daggers at the girl. Before she responds, someone calls her away. “I’ll be right back.”

  Leaning forward, I catch Sasha’s attention. “Forgive me, but what did you mean about citizen?” I ask, because hell, I’m curious.

  “Oh. You know. She’s like his wife outside the club. Like, legal wife. Raises his kids, takes care of the house. But when he’s with me, it’s all just fun, you know?”

  “And she knows about you?”

  She gives me a sly grin. “I’m sure she does.”

  “And you’re okay just being his piece of ass?”

  She snorts, not insulted—not that I care if she is. “Yeah. I get to do the fun stuff with him. All bikers are like that. They all date you know, like, girls my age,” she says, as if she wants to really make sure I understand that I’m an old hag or something.

  “That’s fascinating.” She doesn’t even blink at the caustic tone of my voice.

  “So you’re new to the life, then? Like her?” She jerks her thumb in Hope’s direction. “She’s so fucking stuck-up.”

  This chick realizes I was in the wedding, right? “She’s actually one of my best friends. And she’s as far from stuck-up as a person can get.”

  “Oh.” Her lips quiver into a smile. “Sorry. I haven’t, uh really talked to her much.”

  “Then maybe you shouldn’t run your mouth about stuff you know nothing about?”

  “Whatever.” She stands and storms off.

  I guess I got a pretty good dose of reality tonight. If I ever thought about Z and I being something more permanent—which I don’t—I’d have to put up with him having club girls on the side while I sit home pretending I didn’t know what he was up to.

  Double fuck that.

  What we have is perfect. What we have is all we’ll ever be.

  I don’t recognize the guys at the table next to us. But they’re wearing Lost Kings MC cuts like Z’s. Their bottom rockers claim downstate New York as their territory. One loud, drunk catches my attention. He aims his glare at Murphy, who’s up front talking to Rock. “That ginger fuck is so far up her ass ain’t even funny. You believe none
of them were fuckin’ her while he was inside?”

  A round of drunk noises of disbelief go around the table. Are they talking about Hope? I lean back in my chair a little further, straining to catch more of their conversation without appearing obvious.

  “Sorry,” Trinity says setting her hand on my shoulder and dropping into the chair next to me.

  My face must betray the eavesdropping I was attempting. “Everything okay?” she asks.

  “Oh, yeah. Who are those guys? The loud one?” I tip my head toward the “downstate” table.

  “That’s the president of our downstate charter.” Her eyes narrow as she studies my face. “He didn’t bother you, did he?”

  “No. Nothing like that.”

  “Okay. Z should be back any second.”

  Right after she says it, her man strides back into the tent. He takes a seat next to her and pulls her into his lap.

  Now, where is Z?

  As if my body’s aware of his every movement, my gaze lands on him coming in the back of the tent.

  He searches the crowd and when his eyes meet mine, his mouth curves into a wide smile.

  It really sucks that he’s so fucking gorgeous, he makes my knees weak every time he flashes his dimples my way.

  * * *

  Zero

  “What the fuck does Stump want?” I grumble at Wrath once we’re away from the wedding tent.

  “How the fuck should I know?” he grumbles right back. “I have my own things to take care of tonight.”

  I slap his arm with the back of my hand. “Care to share?”

  “No.”

  The clubhouse will be too packed for discussing business. We head down to the stone amphitheater where the wedding was held. Any meetings we needed to have with visiting MCs tonight would happen out here. Wrath and Murphy have the honor of dealing with the Wolf Knight sit-down. Wrath and I get to deal with the Devil Demon’s president, Stump.

  Stump’s actually not a bad guy. He’s old as fuck, though. His son Chaser should really be running things by now, but Stump isn’t giving up control of his club any time soon. Chaser is the VP and he’s sitting in on this meeting as well.

  “Can’t believe your prez went through with that,” Stump says after we get greetings out of the way.

  Like the half-caveman he is, Wrath grunts. “She’s a good girl.”

  “Where we at on my supply?” Stump asks.

  Wrath answers that question. “We’re still tight. Demand’s high. We have certain people aware of our connection, so you might want to look into that.”

  Stump cocks his head to the side. “Maybe the leak’s on your end.”

  “Unlikely,” I answer.

  Father and son share a look, but don’t comment further. As if they’re already aware there might be a problem in their crew.

  Not my business.

  To keep the peace, I offer up a small quantity that the club agreed to ahead of time. “Sparky set aside an O for you to take home.”

  Stump aims a pissed-off biker expression my way. An ounce is way under the quantity the Demons were looking to purchase.

  “On the house,” Wrath adds. “It’s a new strain Sparky cultivated. Slightly higher THC count.”

  Stump’s irritation disappears. Who can be mad about free weed? Especially the quality shit we’re known for growing.

  “Appreciate that,” he says.

  Thank fuck for Sparky and his miracle green thumbs. “Just talk to Sparky or Stash before you leave.”

  “Anything else?” Wrath asks. He’s calm and controlled. Only because I know him so well is it obvious that he’s itching to get this over with.

  While Stump’s a decent guy, he’s also a talker. Something Wrath doesn’t have a whole lot of patience for. Honestly, I don’t have much patience for it either since I want to get back to Lilly.

  Stump’s face pulls into a mask of seriousness. “I have a request.”

  “Actually, I do,” Chaser says. “My son, Dylan. He’s gonna be at Empire State next semester. I’m—”

  “You want us to look out for him?” I ask.

  “Kind of. He’s a good kid. Not a lot of trouble.” He nods at Wrath. “He’s been into MMA since—”

  “Since his sister pelted him in the ass with her BB gun,” Stump interrupts with a laugh. “That’s how he got tagged with Target.”

  “Good road name.” I snicker.

  Chaser sighs and runs his hand over his chin. “Yeah.”

  Wrath actually cracks a smile. “The sister’s not coming too, is she?”

  Stump glares at Wrath for asking about his granddaughter, even though we all know Wrath didn’t mean anything by it. “Fuck no. She ain’t—”

  “Anyway,” Chaser says, interrupting his father. “He’d like to train with you.” He nods at Wrath.

  “He can come into Furious whenever. No problem,” Wrath says. He does not say anything about having the kid up to the clubhouse.

  “He ride?” I ask.

  The old man’s face pulls down in disgust, while Chaser rolls his eyes. “Fuckin’ rice burner,” Stump spits out.

  Next to me, Wrath’s choking down his laughter. Obviously, his grandson’s choice of bike is killing Stump.

  Chaser shrugs. “He bought it with his own money.”

  “I’ll still let him train at Furious,” Wrath says, barely keeping the grin off his face.

  “We’ve had trouble with the Viper charter trying to push up from Pennsylvania. Just in case. Want to make sure he’s protected.”

  “He living on campus?” I ask.

  Chaser shrugs. “Think so. Haven’t ironed it all out yet.”

  “You got our numbers. Let us know what you need. We’ll keep an eye on him.” Wrath gives me a look, like he’s not interested in babysitting some other club’s kid. But we have a long history with the Demons. Helping them out isn’t a big hardship and earns us a favor down the road.

  * * *

  Lilly

  “Miss me?” Z asks, leaning over the back of my chair. His fingertips brush over my bare shoulder, setting off sparks of desire.

  “Actually, yes.” Why lie?

  He pulls me out of my chair, making Trinity laugh. His hands fit over my hips, yanking me close to dance for a few songs. Every press of his body against mine makes me wish we were alone.

  After Hope and Rock make their exit—and Z made it clear he expects me to stay over—I’m ready to rip his clothes off and have my way with him in the woods if need be.

  “You’ve got a lot of pretty girls here. Sure you want me to stick around?”

  He pulls back, and I want shove the words back into my mouth. I’m never so insecure around a guy. Tonight I’m rattled, for lots of reasons.

  “Yeah, Lilly. I want you to stick around,” he says so seriously, my heart thumps.

  “Are you drunk?” I ask.

  “Not at all,” he answers in a tone of voice that’s almost grave.

  I don’t need a whole lot of convincing. Although staying at the clubhouse reminds me an awful lot of sleeping at a frat house, I’m not sure where else we’d go at this hour.

  “Heading out?” the big scary blond one asks with a smirk. Z punches him in the arm and he barely reacts, except to laugh.

  “Do you need me?” Z asks, dropping the attitude.

  “Nah, we’re good. I’m going to head back in a few minutes myself.”

  The glow from the wedding site only carries so far, but Z seems very sure of where he’s going. He does take my hand, though. “Sorry, all the UTVs are being used, or I would drive us back.”

  “It’s fine. It’s pretty at night.” It is too. Except for the party going on behind us, it’s peaceful…tranquil up here. I can see why Z likes it so much.

  A couple of guys are in the yard in front of the clubhouse. Z doesn’t stop to talk to any of them.

  “In a hurry?” I tease.

  “Yeah. Don’t want you to change your mind.”

  “Hey.” I sto
p and yank on his hand until he looks at me. “I’m not leaving.”

  He flashes a quick smile, dimples and all, then leans in until we’re so close, I can taste the sweet mint on his breath.

  “You want me, pretty girl?”

  I lose myself in his clear blue eyes. Endless midnight blue like a cold winter night sky. “I always want you.”

  He closes the distance and our lips meet. Slow at first. For a rough guy, Z can be awfully gentle when he wants to be. Then his fingers grip my ass, pulling me closer. My mouth opens and he slides his tongue inside, stroking softly.

  Someone whistles at us, and he pulls away. I duck my head, not sure why I’m embarrassed. Z doesn’t bother answering the catcall. Instead, he leads me into the clubhouse. Except for two guys and a girl in the living room, the downstairs is deserted.

  “Give me a second?” Z asks.

  I nod, and he pulls me over to the couch. “Hey, Willow.” He nods at the girl, and she smiles back.

  Jealousy sinks its dirty claws into my skin. Who is she? How do they know each other? Maybe Z senses the change in me. He squeezes my hand and pulls me closer. “Lilly, this is Willow. She tends bar for us down at Crystal Ball. Willow, this is my girl, Lilly.” He doesn’t look at me or stumble over the words my girl.

  I don’t know how I feel about that. I’m a grown-ass woman. I should be insulted. But I kind of like Z introducing me as his girl.

  Willow nods and gives me a warm smile while Z continues introducing me to his brothers, Sparky and Stash.

  “Interesting road names, guys.”

  Sparky grins but doesn’t offer a story behind his name.

  Niceties over with, Z gets down to business. “Stump’s gonna stop by later for—”

  Sparky cuts him off with a serene smile and quick, “Got it.”

  Z nods and takes me upstairs.

  Briefly, I wonder which one of the scary guys at the wedding was named Stump and what he’s stopping by for.

  “You need me to watch the dogs, brother?” Sparky asks with a quick glance at me.