Judge (Blackwings MC - Devil Springs Book 2)

by Teagan Brooks

  Jonah walked over to a table near the bar where Kennedy and Trey were sitting. “River!” Kennedy squealed and jumped to her feet when she saw me. “I didn’t know you were coming!”

  I smiled as she hugged me. “It was a last-minute decision,” I said.

  “You want something to drink?” Jonah asked.

  “Shots!” Kennedy yelled excitedly leading me to believe she’d already had one or two before I arrived.

  Jonah winked. “Be right back.”

  He returned with two large shot glasses filled with a dark, almost black liquid. “Here you go,” he said and handed one to me and one to Kennedy.

  I tentatively sniffed the concoction. “What is this?”

  “It’s called a BWOL,” he said. When I cocked my head to the side, he added, “Blackwings Old Lady. It’s something Layla came up with.”

  “Why’d she same it that?”

  “Because it’s sweet and mouthwatering, but will knock you on your ass,” he explained.

  “What’s in it?” I asked, still eyeing the shot warily.

  He shook his head. “I have no idea. I think Layla’s the only one who does know.”

  “Where is she? I’ll ask her.”

  “I don’t think she’s here yet. She mixes up a batch for the bartenders to pour on the nights we have parties. It’s nothing gross or illegal. She made it with whatever we had behind the bar at the time, and you can see for yourself, we only keep the basics in stock,” he said and gestured to the shelves lining the wall behind the bar.

  “Come on, River, have some fun,” Kennedy said and held her shot glass out. I shrugged and thrust my glass out to clink with hers then promptly downed the liquor. I was expecting it to be horrible, as most shots were, but I was surprised when the taste of chocolate covered strawberries filled my mouth.

  “Holy shit! That was good. Can I have another one?” I asked eagerly.

  “Ditto,” Kennedy chirped causing Jonah and Trey to laugh.

  Jonah returned with four more shots, two for each of us, which Kennedy and I quickly made disappear.

  “Would you like more?” Jonah asked.

  I shook my head. “I would, but I’m not going to have any more since I don’t know what’s in it. Plus, I probably should eat something before I have any more alcohol of any kind.”

  Jonah pulled out his phone and pecked at the screen before returning it to his pocket. “Would you ladies like to play a game of pool or maybe some darts while we’re waiting for the pizza to be delivered?”

  “Ooh, darts! I love darts,” Kennedy said excitedly.

  With that, everyone stood and moved to the dartboards set up behind the pool tables. I reluctantly followed the group. I hated darts—because I sucked at them—but no one asked me and I didn’t want to spoil everyone else’s fun.

  We took turns throwing the darts with Kennedy going first. I’m not even sure if we were playing on teams or keeping score. I just went when they said it was my turn.

  “I’m guessing you don’t like darts,” Jonah rumbled beside my ear.

  “I don’t, but it’s fine. Kennedy seems to be having a great time,” I said and then asked, “Can I have another one of those shots?”

  I had started to feel a little bit of a buzz, but it had since worn off, which led me to believe whatever was in them wasn’t that strong.

  “Sure thing, babe,” he said and swatted my ass.

  He returned with two shots for me and I thought, “What the hell?” and downed them both. This time, they tasted the same as far as flavor, but the taste of alcohol was much stronger.

  “Is there something you would rather do instead of playing darts?” Jonah asked after I took my turn and only managed to get one dart to hit the target.

  “Yep,” I said and popped the p. “I would much rather throw knives.”

  He started to laugh, but quickly stopped when he saw my face. “You’re serious?”

  I reached into my purse and pulled out a set of throwing knives that were in there solely because I continuously forgot to take them out. “I am. Can I?” I asked and wiggled the sheathed blades.

  He looked around the area and shrugged. “I don’t see why not. Just don’t hit anybody.”

  I smirked. I wasn’t going to hit anything except the target. I was fucking good, and I knew it. With no fanfare, I pulled the blades out and proceeded to hit dead center with the first one. I followed up with the second and third in quick succession—one going to the immediate left and the other to the immediate right. They were so close to the blade in the center that they were touching.

  I turned around and smiled proudly. “Ta-dah!”

  Jonah was staring at me with heated eyes. He reached down and adjusted himself. “Oh, baby, you just made my dick hard. That’s fucking hot.”

  “Want me to do it again?” I asked huskily.

  “Fuck, yes,” he breathed.

  I plucked my knives from the target and decided to show off a little. I stuck the first one in the center again. However, it fell to the floor when it was dislodged by the second blade knocking it out of place. The second blade followed the fate of the first when my third knife hit the bull’s eye.

  When I turned around to smile at Jonah, he was so close my nose bumped his chest. He roughly fisted my hair and yanked my head back so he could crush his lips to mine.

  While he devoured my mouth, he hoisted me up by my ass so my legs wrapped around his waist. Then, he slammed my back against the wall as he pressed his big body against me. It was an all-out frenzy of hands, lips, tongues, and teeth as we tried to consume one another.

  The sounds of raucous cheers had Jonah breaking the kiss and burying his face in my neck. “Fuck. Sorry, babe,” he mumbled against my neck.

  I giggled. “You gonna put me down?”

  He groaned. “In a minute.”

  The pizzas arrived a few minutes later and took the focus off of our little show. Normally, I would have been embarrassed, but for some reason, I wasn’t. I don’t know if it had to do with the alcohol I’d consumed or if it was because it was Jonah, or a little of both.

  While we were eating, Kennedy asked the question I’d been waiting on, though I thought it would have come from Jonah. “How is it that you can throw knives like a fucking ninja, but you can barely hit the target with a dart?”

  I had wondered that myself several times, so I gave her the only answer I’d been able to come up with. “Each one uses a completely different technique to get the projectile from your hand to the target. I’m good at one and terrible at the other.”

  She nodded like what I was saying made perfect sense to her. “So, can you teach me how to throw knives? I want to be a ninja badass like you.”

  I laughed, a full-on belly laugh. “I can try, I guess. It’s not something I learned to do or something that someone taught me. It’s just something I can do.”

  “How’d you find out you could do it?” she asked.

  I wiped my mouth with my napkin and reached for another slice of pizza. “Funny story. I grew up poor, and we didn’t live in the best conditions. After school one day, I was in the kitchen doing my homework, and I saw this big ass bug crawling up the wall. For whatever reason, a steak knife was on the table, and without thinking about it, I picked the knife up and threw it at the bug. I didn’t really expect to hit it, but the knife pierced through it with a disgusting crunch and stuck into the wall. That’s when I grabbed my shit and ran to my room. When the bug was discovered later that evening, I pretended I didn’t know anything about it.”

  “So, you were just good at it from the get-go?”

  I shrugged. “Sort of. That lucky shot sparked my interest, so I started practicing,” I said and went back to my pizza.

  Jonah leaned close and nipped at my ear, “My badass little ninja.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Judge

  It was all I could do to keep myself from carrying River to my room to finish what we started before the pizza arri
ved. The more time I spent with her, the more intrigued I was by her.

  She giggled when I nipped at her ear and turned her head to kiss me before grabbing another slice of pizza.

  “I’ve never seen someone so small eat so much,” Kennedy casually observed and I felt River stiffen.

  She swallowed and wiped her mouth. “Yeah, I only allow myself to splurge every once in a while. I’ll have to get an extra run in to work off all these extra calories sometime this week,” she said and placed her half-eaten slice of pizza on her plate.

  “Eat, sweet cheeks. I’ll help you work that off later,” I said low enough for only her to hear.

  I reached for another slice of pizza and nudged River with my elbow. She had just taken a bite when Copper walked into the common room and motioned for someone to turn off the music.

  He whistled loudly to get everyone’s attention. Grinning widely, he shouted, “Brothers, it brings me great joy to announce the arrival of another Blackwings family member. Mere moments ago, Dash and Ember welcomed Raven Rose Lawson into the world. Mom and baby are both doing great.”

  Copper raised his beer in the air and the room erupted in shouts and cheers. I raised my own drink and clinked bottles with Batta before we both shouted our own congratulations into the air. I turned to tap my bottle to River’s glass to find her seat empty.

  My head shot up and I started to scan the room for her when Kennedy waved her hand in front of my face. “She went that way,” she said and pointed in the direction of the bathrooms. “She looked upset.”

  “Thanks,” I said and wasted no time going after her.

  When I reached the door to the bathroom, I stopped and took a minute to think about what I was going to say to her. She was obviously upset about the news of her brother’s baby, but since she hadn’t told me what happened between them, I had no way of guessing why the news upset her.

  But the why didn’t matter. So, I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

  “Go away, Judge,” River said followed by a quiet sniffle.

  Fuck that. “Not happening,” I said as I opened the door and stepped inside.

  She rolled her eyes. “Good thing I wasn’t actually using the bathroom,” she mumbled and tried to covertly wipe the few tears from her cheeks.

  I reached for her hand and brought it to my lips before I gently pulled her to her feet and circled my arms around her. With her head resting against my chest, she said, “I’m sorry, I ju—”

  “You don’t have to explain yourself to me. I’ll gladly listen to anything you want to share, but don’t feel like you have to.”

  She remained silent for several minutes before finally saying, “I don’t want to talk about it right now, but maybe one day. And thank you for not pushing me about it.”

  I kissed the top of her head and gently squeezed her. “You want to get out of here?”

  “No, I don’t want to leave. I was having fun; the news just caught me by surprise. I’m fine, really,” she insisted.

  “The entire club will probably head to Croftridge tomorrow to see the baby. You can come with us if you want,” I offered even though I knew she wouldn’t want to go.

  Her forehead scrunched and she shook her head. “Why would the whole club go see my brother’s new baby?”

  “Because he’s married to Ember, who is the daughter of the President of the Original Chapter, who happens to be Copper’s and Bronze’s first cousin. Ember’s mom, Annabelle, is also Layla’s sister,” I explained.

  “Okie dokie. You guys have fun, but I’ll pass. I have to work tomorrow night anyway.”

  “Oh, and River, you call me Judge again and I’ll spank your ass. I’m Jonah to you.”

  “Yes, Your Honor.” With that, she opened the bathroom door and sashayed her way back to the table with Batta and Kennedy.

  “Is everything okay?” Kennedy asked as soon as we reached our seats.

  “I wasn’t feeling good all of a sudden, but I’m fine now. Guess I drank a bit too much too fast,” she lied.

  I leaned back in my chair and subtly shook my head hoping Batta and Kennedy understood to drop it. But it was a moot point when, once again, the music stopped and Copper was standing in the middle of the room.

  “One more thing—”

  “Do we have to find the snakes again, Prez?” Batta shouted causing River to stiffen while Kennedy’s mouth dropped open.

  “He’s kidding,” I lied.

  Copper glared at Batta. “No, dickhead. My girl and Judge managed to get a projection screen installed a few days ago so we can all watch Nathan’s fight tonight!”

  The room erupted in cheers as the screen began to descend on the far wall. “We should probably go ahead and grab a seat if we don’t want to be stuck in the back,” I suggested.

  “Who is Nathan?” River asked.

  “He’s Copper’s cousin,” I said and then leaned down to whisper in her ear, “And he’s Ember’s younger brother.”

  She nodded but didn’t seem affected by my words. “So, why are we watching him fight?”

  “He’s a professional MMA fighter,” I explained.

  We spent the next few hours watching the preliminary fights leading up to the main event featuring Nathan in his first televised event.

  Silence fell over the room when it was time for the main event, but erupted in cheers when the announcer called, “Nathan ‘Night Night’ Davis!” Nathan burst from the locker room with his entourage surrounding him. I was not at all surprised to see Wave and Token flanking the trainers all the way to his designated corner.

  River leaned in close and asked, “Why do they call him ‘Night Night’?”

  “You’ll see.”

  I hadn’t seen Nathan in well over a year, and I was shocked to see how big he had gotten. “Damn, Batta, you and Carbon might not be the biggest ones around if he gets much bigger.”

  Batta snorted, “No shit, man. I can’t believe that’s the same boy we helped rescue last year. Ain’t nobody gonna get the drop on him now.”

  And he proved that statement to be true when he knocked his opponent out a little over halfway through the first round. The fight was called, and like the good man he was, Nathan waited until his opponent was awake and sitting up before he allowed them to thrust his hand into the air to celebrate his victory.

  Wave appeared beside Nathan in the center of the ring and whispered something into his ear. Nathan nodded, kissed two fingers, and held them up in the air while looking directly at the camera. “For Ember and Raven,” he shouted.

  River flinched beside me, but quickly hid her discomfort by clapping and cheering along with everyone else in the room.

  “Well, that was interesting,” she said. “I’ve never watched an organized fight before.”

  “We’ll be watching all of his televised fights, but if you ever want to go to one, I’m sure I can get tickets,” I offered.

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” she laughed.

  “Time for bed,” I said and hoisted her over my shoulder causing her to squeal in protest.

  Batta laughed while Kennedy waved at her. “Night, River. See you tomorrow.”

  I carried her down the hall to my rarely used room at the clubhouse. Pushing the door open, I froze at the sight before me. It was all I could do to contain my rage and back out of the room hoping River wouldn’t see.

  Of course, that would have been too easy. Before I could close the door, Didi climbed off the bed and pranced her naked ass toward the door. “Where are you going, Judge? She can stay and watch.”

  “Wrong, bitch. He can stay and watch me kick your skanky ass. Again! We’ll call it ‘Return of the Thunderous Cunt: The Final Smackdown’!” River screamed and started thrashing against me.

  I clamped my arms around her legs and moved down the hall as she beat her fists against my back.

  “Put me down! I have some fake tits to pop!”

  “Not happening, lil’ ninja. Batta, can you get the trash out of my ro
om?” I asked, though it wasn’t a question.

  We all turned at the growing sound of a woman screeching. Layla had somehow gotten a sheet wrapped around Didi and was using it to slide her across the floor.

  “Could one of you get the door for me?” Layla asked sweetly.

  Batta jumped up to get the door while Layla continued dragging and berating Didi. “I told you myself that you were banned from the club. Did you think I was joking? Did you think the President was just fucking with you? Banned means banned, bitch. You don’t get to come here or to any of our establishments, and because you royally pissed me off, you better run the opposite direction any time you see anyone affiliated with the club anywhere. Now get gone!”

  When Layla continued dragging Didi out the door, Batta took the sheet and used it as a sort of sling to carry Didi to the gate. He unceremoniously dropped her on the ground and slammed the gate shut while the rest of us watched in stunned silence. That was, until Layla and Batta came back inside. Then, everyone burst into fits of laughter. Even River.

  Copper grabbed Layla around her waist and whispered something in her ear that made her blush before he buried his face in her neck.

  I placed River on her feet and tilted her chin up with my thumb. “I’m sorry about her. I don’t know how she managed to get into the clubhouse, let alone my room, but I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

  “The only thing you need to apologize for is not letting me kick her ass again,” she said seriously.

  I shook my head. “Not going to apologize for that. I wasn’t about to risk your safety. Not that I don’t think you could take her, but she’s obviously not in the best frame of mind if she thought she could show up here after being banned.”

  “Blah, blah, blah. I hope you don’t think I’m going to sleep in that bed after she rubbed her hoochie hooha all over it,” she said and wrinkled her nose in disgust.

  I laughed. “What if I flip the mattress and put new sheets on it? Will that work for you?”

  “Throw in some Lysol and you’ve got a deal,” she returned.