Joker: Great Wolves M.C. - Ohio Chapter

by Blue, Jayne

  I thought I might be losing my damn mind. Was he actually propositioning me?

  No. No. No.

  “Go to work, Brian,” I said. “Go back to your fiancé. Maybe I’ll see you Saturday night. Maybe I won’t.”

  He hooked a finger beneath my chin. “You heard what I said. I meant every word.”

  “I’m done,” I said. I took a step back but Brian didn’t take his hand off my shoulder or his finger from beneath my chin.

  “I’ll see you around, Tara. I promise. It’ll all work out.”

  He was delusional. Certifiable. I pulled my arm away with a jerking motion that made me lose my balance a little.

  A shadow fell across Brian’s face. In an instant, I smelled leather.

  “Everything okay over here?” A deep, masculine voice filled the air. My breath hitched as Joker Smith put himself between Brian and me.

  “Who the hell are you?” Brian said, his eyes narrowing.

  Joker turned to me. There was a promise behind his dark eyes. He was pure, pent-up, Alpha male fury. I realized what he must think. He’d seen Brian manhandle me and come charging over.

  He took my breath away.

  “Joker,” I said. “This is ... it’s not …”

  “You done talking?” he asked me.

  “Am I ... yes ... we’re done talking.”

  “That’s what I heard,” Joker said, finally turning back to Brian. “Did you miss that part of your conversation?”

  “Look, man, you need to mind your own business.”

  “And you need to learn never to put your hands on a woman when she just told you she’s done talking to you,” Joker said. He put his hand flat on the tree beside him. Doing so formed a sort of protective barrier of leather and ink between Brian and me.

  “You believe this?” Brian said, his voice going up an octave and cracking. “Buddy, you have no idea who you’re messing with.”

  “Don’t care,” Joker said. It occurred to me Brian had likely never had anyone talk to him like that his whole, privileged life. He looked ready to shit his pants. I can’t help that a dark part of me enjoyed it.

  Joker was all strength and menace. Brian was all talk.

  “Take off,” he said. “Whatever Miss Tara had to say to you, I think she’s done saying it.”

  Brian took a step back and actually sputtered before he turned on his heel, got in his Mercedes, and sped away.

  “You okay?” Joker turned to me. All the fury left his eyes and was replaced with genuine concern that melted me.

  “I’m fine,” I said. “That’s just ... uh ... my ex.”

  “I heard enough to figure that out. Is that a habit of his? Putting his hands on you like that?”

  “What ... uh ... no. He’s just ... it’s okay. Really. Thank you. But you don’t need to worry about me. I can take care of myself.”

  Joker ran a hand across his jaw. He had a day’s worth of rough stubble and a wild thought popped into my brain: I wondered how it would feel scratching against my skin.

  “Let me walk you up to class,” he said.

  “That’s not really necessary,” I said.

  “It’ll make me feel better just the same.”

  So he did. As my heart pounded and my blood heated, Joker Smith, big bad biker, walked me up the sidewalk and offered to carry my books.

  That’s when I noticed Laney watching from the window, her jaw on the floor.

  Chapter Five

  Joker

  Saturday night and the Wolf Den was packed to the rafters. We hadn’t expected it. There were no title bouts tonight, but there was a classic rock concert in Toledo and we got a lot of spillover from their crowd. We were just ten miles down I-75 from them and along the same river.

  I worked the door for the early part of the night then joined Kellan behind the bar. He was getting antsy. With Brax gone, he was taking a lot of the security load.

  The fill-in band warmed up. Our usual headliner, Kellan’s wife, Mallory, was gone. That was the other thing making Kellan grumpy.

  “Good crowd,” I said, jerking my chin to him. Kellan nodded.

  “I’d still feel better if we had a full crew.”

  It was more than just Brax and Mallory being gone. Every one of us waited for some other shoe to drop with the new police chief.

  “Did Colt get an answer back about the sitdown?”

  Kellan checked the tap. The noise from the back of the bar rose. The southern rock band we had filling in for Mallory just took the stage.

  “I wanted to talk to you about that,” he said. “I want you going with him when the time comes. You up for that?”

  “You know I’m up for whatever he needs.”

  Kellan nodded. “I just gotta bad feeling. Like shit’s been too good for too long. Too quiet.”

  One of the waitresses called out for a pitcher of Amstel. We had it on tap. I grabbed the mugs while Kellan poured the brew. I trayed it for her and turned back to Kellan.

  If my V.P. was jumpy, it was with good reason. He was usually more stoic than this. Kellan had seen a real war in Afghanistan back in the day. He got half his right leg blown off for it.

  “I’ll be the eyes in the back of Colt’s head. You know you can count on me.”

  Kellan slapped my shoulder. “He’ll need it. Even if he doesn’t know it.”

  “It’ll be good,” I said. “Maybe we’re all worrying for nothing. Lincolnshire’s booming. The mayor’s up in the polls and people are getting top dollar for their houses even on the north end. He’s not gonna let Davis do anything to fuck that up. I think if Davis tries, he’ll be out of a job quick enough.”

  Kellan nodded. “I hope you’re right.”

  I hoped so too. The band went into a Skynyrd classic and the crowd whooped and cheered.

  “They’re good,” I said. “I miss her too though.”

  Kellan’s eyes sparked. “Yeah.”

  Mallory, Kellan’s wife, was a big part of the reason the Wolf Den had been so lucrative for us over the last few years. The chick was the real deal. She had legitimate pipes and off-the-charts sex appeal. A couple of years ago, she turned down an offer from a major record label to start one of her own with the club’s backing. She was on a nationwide tour now.

  “How long?” I asked.

  Kellan smiled. “She’ll be back in three weeks.”

  “Not soon enough,” I said.

  “I don’t know,” Kellan said. “Having Mal out of the fray while we work things out with the new chief isn’t the worst thing. It’s one less thing I gotta worry about.”

  It had been a long time since I knew what it was like not to worry. I didn’t have an old lady like most of the rest of the guys, but I had Toby. If anything happened to him … Hell, I couldn’t even bring myself to think it.

  “Consider yourself lucky,” Kellan said, almost as if he could read my mind. “Stay single for as long as you can, man.”

  “Sheeeit,” I said. “You better be damn glad Mallory’s not around to hear you say that.”

  Kellan blushed. Yeah. He’d been smitten with that woman since the second she crossed a stage in front of him. No one could blame him. Mallory was good for the club, but she was even better for Kellan.

  I wondered what that was like. To love a woman so much it tore your guts out to be away from her. I wanted to feel that way about Christy when she told me she was pregnant. God knows I tried hard enough. It just wasn’t meant to be between us.

  There was movement at the front door. Torch was there checking IDs. Laughter rose as a group of women came in together. About a dozen of them were wearing satin sashes. A tall woman in the middle had a plastic tiara on top of her bright red hair.

  “Damn,” Kellan said. “I forgot Amy booked them. Bachelorette party.”

  I shook my head. “Great.”

  It meant my babysitting job just got a little more complicated. Most of the time, they came in already half in the bag.

  “Tell all the girls to wa
tch what they’re serving,” Kellan said.

  “On it,” I answered. Though at the moment, the women just looked happy, not hammered.

  “They got the private room?” I asked.

  Kellan had the tablet on the bar in front of him. “Yeah,” he said. “I want Shel and Lori taking care of them. I trust those two over any of the newer girls. You mind working the door back there for a little while until everybody settles down?”

  “No problem,” I said. I did a quick scan of the room. We had our usual crowd of thirty- and forty-somethings taking up the tables near the stage. The Wolf Den wasn’t exactly the place for the twenty-somethings. We liked a more mature clientele. Lincolnshire was made up of honest, working-class people. The Wolf Den was one of the busiest bars in town. It had been a long time since we had any real trouble.

  I caught Shel’s eye over the crowd. I motioned with two fingers. She caught my meaning and nodded. I pointed to Lori at the other end of the bar. Shel was already grabbing cocktail menus and ushering the group of ladies toward the private party room upstairs.

  I made my way across the floor, stopping at a few tables near the stage to make sure everybody was having a good time. I got to the foot of the stairs just as the last of the bachelorettes was making her way up.

  That’s when I saw her.

  My heart froze in my chest. Tara.

  She had on a short black skirt and a glittery pink halter top. She wore black boots with three-inch heels. She was laughing, but it didn’t sound genuine. One of the other girls had whispered something in her ear.

  She turned and caught my eye.

  “Well, hey there, Miss Tara,” I said, winking.

  Her face fell. A little blush crept into her cheeks.

  “Joker ... er … Mr. Smith?”

  The girl she was talking to paused on the stairs. She looked me up and down and licked her lips. She looked a little familiar too. I couldn’t place her but wondered if she worked at Tiny Tots as well.

  “Joker?” she said.

  “Ah ... Laney ... you remember Mr. Smith?” Tara said. “Toby’s dad?”

  “Rrright!” Laney walked down two steps and held out her hand to me. “We were kind of hoping we’d see you tonight.”

  “Laney!” Tara said.

  I couldn’t help but smile. I kind of liked catching her off guard. But this Laney girl was right. How the hell could Tara act surprised to see me when she walked right into the Wolf Den? She was from Lincolnshire. Sure, this probably wasn’t her usual crowd and I’d never seen her in here before, but everyone knew the club ran this bar.

  “Head on up, will you?” Tara said to her. “I’ll be right there.”

  Laney gave her a knowing smile. Shel walked by with a tray full of jello shots. Laney took one, handed another to Tara, then walked up the stairs leaving me alone with her.

  “Good to see you,” I said. “I hope you and your friends have a good time. You let me know if something’s not right.”

  Her eyes went up and up. Man, she was pretty. Standing two steps above me, we were almost eye to eye. Hers were a warm shade of brown. Sable. Her hair matched them. She wore it down tonight. It hung just past her shoulders and I had a dark urge to brush it away from her neck.

  From this angle, I also got a good look at the deep plunge of her top. She had ample breasts and I had to will my eyes back up so as not to stare. Damn, she was more than pretty. This girl was sexy as hell.

  “I will,” she said. “And I wanted to talk to you. You know, about the other day. You were so sweet ... I mean ... you were worried about me …”

  “I just want you to be careful,” I said. “You don’t deserve to be mistreated. Even by guys rolling up in hundred-thousand-dollar Mercedes.”

  I paused a beat then added, “Especially by guys driving hundred-thousand-dollar Mercedes.”

  “Oh,” she said. She was full-on blushing now.

  “Tara!” one of her friends called from the top of the stairs. She looked back.

  “Uh ... where’s Toby tonight?”

  I bristled. “He’s got a sleepover.” Toby was staying with Amy tonight. She took him and Kellan’s boy, Jody, along with her own two. They were heading down to a water park until late Sunday afternoon. I didn’t know what I’d do without Amy Reddick these days.

  “I’m sure he’ll have a blast,” Tara said. “I ... uh ... I better get back to my friends.”

  I nodded. “Remember what I said. If you need anything.”

  Tara cocked her head to the side, smiled, then turned and walked up the stairs. Damn. I should have walked away. But I just couldn’t stop myself from watching her go. I kind of loved the way her round ass swayed as she climbed the stairs then disappeared into the private room.

  “Damn,” Torch said. He came to my side. “Who the hell was that?”

  I smiled. “That’s Toby’s teacher at the daycare.”

  Torch whistled. “Man ... I’ll make sure to keep an extra-special eye out to see she doesn’t get into trouble tonight.”

  Rage bubbled through me, taking me by surprise.

  “Keep your eyes in your head, Torch. Tara’s not ... she’s ... just do your job, man.”

  Torch saw my face and recognized my tone. He lifted his hands in surrender. “Got it. Consider your territory marked.”

  I opened my mouth to protest. My territory. Damn. The minute the thought popped into my head, I knew how badly I wanted it to be true.

  Chapter Six

  Tara

  “I wish Em had said we were going to end up here,” I said. I leaned against the wall at the entrance to the private party room on the second floor of the Wolf Den. From here, I could see the whole bar laid out below. They were busy tonight. Two leather-clad bikers worked behind the bar helping the bartenders. Another two took positions at either end of the balcony, watching the crowd like I was.

  No, that was a lie. I wasn’t watching the crowd. I was watching Joker. That sinfully sexy smirk of his sent heat shooting through me straight down to my toes. I tried to tell myself it was just the champagne we had in the limo riding over.

  “Because I don’t know if you would have come if you knew,” Laney said. She stood in the doorway. The rest of our party of women had already filed into the room. We had two waitresses and bottle service all to ourselves.

  “Come on,” Laney said. “We’re having fun! And, man, I wish Joker Smith looked at me the way he just looked at you.

  “Will you stop? Laney, seriously. He’s Toby’s dad.”

  “And that just makes him even sexier in my eyes,” she said. “Single dad. I mean, come on.”

  “Who says he’s single,” I said. “I’ve never even asked.”

  Laney put an arm around my shoulder. She leaned heavily against me. The champagne was getting to her too. “Toby says he’s single. I asked him.”

  “You what?” I turned to her. “You mean to tell me you pumped a four-year-old for information?”

  “Yep,” she said.

  “Laney, that’s ... I can’t even …”

  “I know,” she said, smiling. “That’s why I had to. Toby said he doesn’t have a mom. He said she went away.”

  “You’re awful,” I said. “Linda could fire you if she knew you asked him about that.”

  “Relax. I didn’t actually ask him. He volunteered it. I just paid attention.”

  “You going to just stand there the whole night or are you two going to come and join the party?” Em called from inside. She’d taken a seat at the head of the long table. Her plastic tiara sat crooked on her head.

  “She’s hammered beyond words,” Laney said.

  My own head buzzed as Laney and I turned and went to join the rest of the girls.

  Other than Laney and Maggie Rose, these were all Em’s friends, not mine. Sure, I knew them from around town or school. But I never moved in the same circles. These were the rich girls of Lincolnshire. Most of them went to St. Anne’s or other private schools in the suburbs.
r />   I know what they thought of me. I could read it on their faces. I wasn’t in their league. And to them I’d never been in Brian’s league. Too poor. I had to work for a living. Most of them survived on trust funds or corporate gigs they got from family connections.

  Emmaline was different though. She’d shown me her vulnerable side and stuck by me when the sorority girls thumbed their noses at me.

  “Here!” Maggie Rose came over. She held gelatin shots in each hand. Laney took hers eagerly and downed it.

  I hesitated. “You’re not driving,” Laney said. She lifted the bottom of the shot glass, pushing it to my lips. I shook my head, plugged my nose, then downed the thing.

  “See?” Maggie Rose said. “You can’t even taste it. There’s barely any alcohol in that.”

  The waitress came through bearing a tray of fruity drinks with umbrellas in them. Laney took me by the hand and we found our places around the table.

  A cheer went up as Em started opening her gifts. The band downstairs launched into a Bob Seger song and the music filled my head.

  Someone put one of the fruity drinks in front of me. It tasted just as good as it looked and I got that warm feeling spreading throughout my body. It felt good. For the first time all evening, I started to exhale. Em lifted some lacy pink negligee out of a gift bag. It was the fourth one she’d opened like that.

  “Pink must be Brian’s favorite color,” one of the girls yelled.

  Em blushed. “He does tend to focus his attention on my pink parts.”

  Raucous laughter filled the room. Em. I couldn’t stop thinking about my encounter with Brian two days ago. Should I have told her? So far, I hadn’t mentioned it to anyone. But his implication was clear. I had no doubt in my mind that if I’d shown the slightest interest in it, Brian would have kissed me that day, or more. I plastered a smile on my face and sipped my drink.

  “Wait, wait,” someone said. “We haven’t done a toast yet. Does everyone have a drink?”

  We raised our glasses in unison.

  Em climbed up on her chair. Maggie Rose was right next to her and stood so Em could steady herself holding on to Maggie Rose’s shoulder.