Spade (High Rollers MC Book 3)

by Kasey Krane

  I was still staring at her like I couldn’t believe it.

  “And then once you were gone and things became more drastic and out in the open, I read about it in the papers and saw it on the news—the kind of stuff your dad and the MC were involved in. There were certain incidents. I just kept them to myself and didn’t tell you about them because you were far away and you didn’t need to deal with any of that.”

  I was dumfounded, and now Marley reached her hand out towards me. I gave her my hand and she was smiling at me fondly.

  “And none of that has ever mattered to me because you are my best friend. Just like you feel like Spade and you were always meant to happen; that is how I feel about you and me too. We just connected as kids and that connection still holds strong today. So yes, despite knowing everything, I still chose to be your friend because I want you to be a part of my life.”

  I couldn’t help myself anymore and I threw myself at her. She was laughing but then she winced and I apologized profusely and pulled away.

  “Sorry, sorry, oh my god!”

  Marley and I were grinning at each other. The thought of losing her was daunting and I was glad it was behind us now.

  “I don’t want you saying something like that again. It doesn’t matter to me. I will never blame you for any of this. It will always be my own decision to stay and continue having a friendship with you.”

  “I want to hug you again but I’m scared of breaking you!” We both laughed at that, which seemed to be mildly painful for her but that didn’t stop her from going on smiling.

  “So, how is Spade? How are you guys doing?” she asked me and I could feel things beginning to return to normal. I sighed and nodded.

  “We had a good talk last night, like I said, he thought I need to leave for my own safety but I made it very clear that I’m going nowhere. He said our future is here, together.”

  Marley and I were smiling at each other, still holding hands.

  “I don’t know if you remember any of this, but I shot the guy yesterday. The one who was holding us,” I said. My eyes swung down to my lap again. Even though Spade had made me feel better about it, there was still a guilt lingering in me. Marley spoke softly to me.

  “I do remember, very vaguely. It was his gun that went off when he fell to the groin and caught me in the shoulder.”

  “So technically, I shot you?” I said, looking up at her and thankfully, she was still smiling wide.

  “You can’t keep taking all the credit for everything!” I blushed at that and then she patted my hand.

  “You did what you thought was the right thing to do in that moment. He was going to do a lot worse to us if Spade and the other guys hadn’t shown up in time. He was still holding us hostage. Till you shot him, he still had the upper hand. So, you have no reason to be feeling guilty about this!”

  I nodded lightly and leaned towards her.

  “After you’re released from the hospital, I think it would be a good idea for us to go and live in the spare rooms at the MC Clubhouse. Just for a while.”

  Marley smiled wide and bit down on her lip.

  “I don’t mind at all, especially since we’ll have enough eye candy for both of us,” she added and I saw her glance quickly towards the door. Edge was still standing outside.

  I wanted to ask her if there was a real connection between the two of them or if it was just casual, but I figured now wasn’t the time to ask a serious question like this.

  “Okay good. I’ll let Spade know that we’ll move in there,” I said and Marley nodded.

  “He’s a good guy, hun. I’m glad you decided to trust him, because he deserves your trust. I can sense it, he’s going to look after you and give you exactly what you need.”

  I was blushing again. I had no doubt in my mind now this was where I needed to be, right here by Spade’s side.

  “I know…I feel very lucky right now,” I added and then I saw him calling me. I figured he’d just woken up and wanted to check on me. I looked up and smiled at Marley. I had my family around me now.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Spade

  The man in the suit, the guy who represented Mr. Money, was lying bleeding on the floor of Buck’s old office. It was sort of symbolic that he died here in this place. After I ended the call with Robert, I threw the phone to the ground and stomped my boot on it with rage.

  I still had pure anger coursing through my veins like adrenaline. The rest of the room was quiet because nobody else was expecting it. I hadn’t exactly planned this move. But I had enough.

  “Let’s take care of this,” Spinner suggested. He was the first one to break the silence after I fired the gun. From the corner of my eye, I could see Bingo sniggering because this was exactly the kind of show most of these guys were waiting for.

  “Hey, man, do you wanna step outside for a minute?” Rook suggested, coming up to me. I stuffed the gun back in my pants and turned from the others.

  Rook followed me as we walked outside. I needed to get some fresh air.

  “That was exactly what we needed. That fucker had it coming,” Rook commented, lighting two cigarettes once we were outside the casino. The sun was beating down on us, it was a clear bright day but I was feeling anything but. I’d just shot and killed a man in cold blood.

  “Yeah, I did what needed to be done. We’ve been pussying around Mr. Money for a long time now. It was time to show him that we’re not standing down till he crawls back in his cave again.”

  Rook was nodding his head as he smoked his cigarette beside me.

  “Exactly. And how long were we going to keep him tied up in there? Trying to get that information out.”

  I got silent after that and was staring up at the blue sunny sky.

  “It’s been a tough few weeks for all of us, man.”

  I looked at Rook and arched an eyebrow at him.

  “Are you charging by the hour these days for this shit?” I asked and we both grinned at each other.

  “It’s Tenley. You can blame it all on your sister. She wants to talk about her feelings and it’s like she’s opened up these floodgates in me!”

  Now we were really laughing.

  I was glad that Rook and I were back to being friends again and we were able to put our differences aside. Rather…I was able to put my differences aside for him fucking my sister.

  “Maybe we should go back in and make sure they’re being sensible with the body,” he added and we threw our burnt out cigarettes away and started to walk back in the clubhouse again.

  At least now we had the ball rolling. We were going to do something. No more waiting around to be attacked like sitting ducks.

  ***

  Buck’s old office was cleared of the body and the floor was mopped up and things were put back in place, so that within an hour, the room looked like it had always done. Buck would have been proud!

  “We should have a meeting,” Ace said, once everyone was back to the usual again and we agreed that we had a mountain of things to discuss. We all settled back in the main Church room and Spinner positioned himself behind the bar so he could start handing out drinks to the rest of us. It was Church tradition.

  “So, do you want to start, Spade? It seems like you have things to tell us,” Banker jumped in. The room was buzzing with voices at first, but now they all turned to look at me. I ran a hand through my hair and took a gulp of my beer first.

  “Yeah, fair enough, I’m sure you all have lots of questions regarding what is going on with River, who you all know is Buck’s daughter.” It was like none of the guys were moving while I spoke. They all wanted to hear the truth from me directly now.

  “River and I first became friends seven years ago when she was still in Vegas, and she used to hang around the Club a lot. We eventually became more than friends. I hadn’t planned for that to happen. I knew what I was doing went against club rules and I hoped Buck didn’t find out. I was a kid.”

  At least these guys were not lo
oking at me—disappointed and angry, the way Buck did.

  “But he did eventually catch us together and it got really ugly really quickly. River was putting up a fight, while Buck forbade me from seeing his daughter again. Even though I knew she was the girl for me.”

  I tried to keep a straight face as I spoke, but it was hard. I’d never talked to these guys like this before.

  “But then Buck saw it as an opportunity for something else. He wanted River to leave Vegas because it wasn’t safe for her to be here. He told her he was sending her away to keep her away from me, which I guess was partially true. And we broke up and never spoke again, for seven years. That was the reason she’s been in Texas all this time.”

  I didn’t know what else I could say, so I just cleared my throat and fell silent again. It was Bingo who stepped up towards me and thumped my back.

  “But she’s back now and we’re going to make sure she’s well looked after,” he said. Before I could add anything, the others were holding up their drinks and cheering.

  “To Buck’s daughter! To River and Spade!” somebody said and they all drank to that. I was relieved. They were on my side. I should have known. I never should have doubted their support. Something told me that if Buck was here, this scene would have brought a smile to his face too. I emptied the beer down my throat and shook hands with my brothers who were congratulating me for having my own old lady now.

  Ace clapped his hands to direct attention to him again, right in the middle of the cheering and celebrating.

  “Before we move on to other things, there is an important decision we need to make first. We still have to take a vote about who fills Buck’s position as President of this MC.”

  I breathed in deeply. I remembered what I’d told River; that I wanted to be President and take the responsibility that everyone else was shirking but I wasn’t so sure if I was that guy anymore. If I was ready for that responsibility and if the others looked at me in the same light either.

  “Well, I think we all know who should be our next President,” Rook said and I looked at him feeling a little confused. What was he talking about? Had I missed some meeting where this had been discussed already?

  When I looked around now, I saw that all the other guys were looking directly at me and they all still had their drinks raised and had looks of glee on their faces. It was weird!

  “Who are you guys talking about?” I asked Rook in a softer voice.

  “Well, yesterday, while you were in the hospital with River and after everything that went on here, we all decided that we all wanted to nominate the same person as President,” Rook said.

  I was surprised to hear this.

  “I’m calling this to vote. All those in favor of Spade becoming the next President of The High Rollers?” it was Shark who called this out. Bottles were banged on tables and counter tops to show support. It seemed like it was a unanimous decision that I wasn’t even aware of. These guys had practically voted me in already.

  Rook came over to thump my back and then it was Bingo’s turn.

  “Congratulations, Captain! Even though it might not seem like much of an honor right now in the middle of this shitstorm,” Shark said, turning to me with a smile on his face.

  They were all coming up to shake my hand and I felt overwhelmed with the support they were showing. I had no idea they were all thinking this. They’d reinstated my belief in myself. Yes, I could do this. I could lead these men who were my brothers and best friends.

  Yes, I was going to keep Buck’s legacy and vision alive. I was going to live with and love his beautiful daughter and make sure she never got hurt. Least of all by me.

  This was a momentous day and I couldn’t wait to celebrate it with River.

  Finally, after a period of dark clouds hanging over our MC, it felt like things were beginning to look up for us again.

  Epilogue

  River

  Two weeks later

  Marley was finally being released from the hospital and the doctors seemed to be satisfied with the progress of her recovery. I’d pretty much spent all of the past two weeks with her in the hospital, making sure that she was safe and being well looked after.

  Besides, Spade had been voted in as the new President of the MC which meant that he was even more busy than before now with the added responsibilities. Unfortunately, we hadn’t seen as much of each other as we would have liked to because of all the stuff that was going on around us.

  All the guys at the MC were on high alert, trying to figure out the situation with Mr. Money. But just like Spade always made time for me, even if it was just a little bit at the end of a busy day—it seemed that Edge was willing to do the same for Marley too.

  They were still lightly flirting and the sexual tension between the two of them was obvious, but Marley acknowledged it as nothing more than a joke. Nothing serious.

  Now that she was being released from the hospital, Spade and Edge had come to collect us so we could move into the Clubhouse. I’d been staying at Spade’s house for the past two weeks, but now I was going to stay with Marley. At least till it was safe for all of us to return to a normal lifestyle again.

  Since Marley wasn’t stable enough to ride on a bike yet, Edge had brought a big muscle car to transport her from the hospital. I was going to ride with Spade on his bike.

  When we saw how careful Edge was being as he helped Marley into his car; Spade and I couldn’t help but exchange looks and smiles.

  “You think something is going to happen between the two of them?” I asked, as I swung my leg over his bike and sat down pressed up against him. Once again, I was here with my arms around his muscular torso. I could feel the heat generating off his body, his strength and masculinity. Spade, the President of The High Rollers MC was my man. Nothing was going to touch me now. I walked with a newly acquired skip in my step.

  “I’ve never seen Edge behaving like a giddy teenager before, so if nothing happens between them soon I think he’s going to spontaneously combust.”

  I laughed and snuggled up to him as he revved up his bike engine. I stuck my tongue out and licked the back of his neck just to tease him. He looked over his shoulder, shooting me a mock-warning look. I knew what that look meant. If I didn’t cut it out he was going to take me right here in the hospital parking lot. In broad daylight.

  I bit down on my lip as he started the bike and then we were zooming. Racing against the wind.

  ***

  Pretty soon, we were at the Clubhouse. I got off the bike while Edge was helping Marley out of the car. I hadn’t been to this place in a very long time, not since I’d left Vegas. Even back then, my dad didn’t really like me hanging around this place. Now I was going to see it properly, I was actually going to live here!

  Spade led us into the building. Marley and I exchanged smiling looks. It was amazing how despite getting shot and losing all that blood and being in a critical condition at the hospital—she had still managed to consistently remain in a good mood. Marley, like always, was smiling constantly and always ready to dish out good advice.

  If Edge was really able to bag her, he would be a lucky man, but I knew Marley came with her own baggage too. If this was going to be a real journey for them, it wasn’t going to happen in a heartbeat either.

  We walked into the Clubhouse together, and I saw the casino for the first time. The part of the business that dad had managed to keep secret from me all these years.

  Because it was still early evening, it seemed like the casino wasn’t in full swing yet. Besides, Spade had informed me that business wasn’t going as smoothly as before all this trouble started with Mr. Money. Even then, I got goosebumps from how intriguing and smoky and full of secrets this place was capable of being.

  Some of the other guys from the MC were there to greet us and I smiled at them and hugged them all. They were all happy to see me. Not only was I the daughter of their former President, but I was their current President’s woman. I was aware that I
held a special position here.

  First, they showed us to our rooms that were right beside each other. The small windows were secure, we had our own private bathrooms and a small neat room. It would do for now, even though it was nothing fancy.

  Spade, Edge and I helped Marley with her stuff, things I’d packed for her from her apartment earlier and once she was close to being set up, I excused myself to go set up my own room. Spade came along with me and once we had the door shut behind us, we finally had some time alone together.

  Precious alone time in the midst of all this chaos.

  “I’m sorry this place isn’t all that great,” he declared as I started to unzip my bags and take my stuff out. I looked up at him with a smile.

  “It doesn’t matter right now, Spade. I’m just glad that Marley and I have somewhere secure to be. Somewhere I know we are going to be totally safe.”

  I stood up, tossing my clothes to the side and I walked up to him.

  “You need to stop worrying about meeting some bizarre high standard for our relationship that you’ve set for yourself in your head,” I told him. Spade reached for my hips as I came up to him and I threw my arms around him, our foreheads knocked together and he sighed.

  “I don’t know if I will ever be good enough for you,” he added and I was smiling.

  “And it’s all because of this idea that my dad put in your head that you will never be good enough for his daughter. Well, I get to decide what is good for me. Not him!”

  Spade had his hands traveling down from my hips to my butt and I pressed up closer to him. He was standing with his legs spread apart so that his cock was pressed against my thighs now. I could feel how turned on he was. Just like that. It made me feel powerful to know I could do this to him.

  He squeezed my butt with both hands and I bit down on my lip.

  “This isn’t just about me and the MC anymore, River, I want you to know that. This is all about you. I’m going to do everything I can, every day, to make sure you are safe.”