I wait until she gets to her car and takes her keys out before I approach her.
I shove my hands in my pockets to keep them to myself. “How’d it go?”
Her gaze meets mine. Today it isn’t as hard and cold. I can see the embers of her fire coming back to life. “Good. You do know that stalking is illegal.” She smirks at me with that smart tempting mouth. My palms itch in my pockets with the need to reach out and touch her, but I refrain from giving into my urges. I’m trying to take shit slow for her. Win her back slowly. “I’m sorry I didn’t call. I should have. I know you’re trying and giving me space. I appreciate it.”
I nod. “Do you need anything?”
“What I need only Hook can give me.”
I frown feeling like an asshole. I’ve been putting out feelers about her kid, but no one wants to tell me a damn thing. Things are too fucking tense between the clubs to get much information out of anyone.
Slim has forbid me from making any real moves to get results. I’m getting real fucking tired of his shit.
“I gotta get going.” She slides into the driver’s seat and I step back, watching a part of me go with her. I watch her drive away until she disappears around the block.
**
For the past month I have been watching Red—sitting outside of her apartment...watching her at work...checking her mail. There hasn’t been anything suspicious on her end, until today. A man clearly wearing a Devils Rejects cut just showed at her apartment. My first instinct is to bash in his skull and ask questions later, but I know I need to see how this plays out. It’s not only Red I have to worry about, but my unborn child as well.
Waiting till the motherfucker walks through her door, I get off my bike and stand outside her door to listen.
“Do you have my package?” I hear Red ask.
“Yea, I got it.” Not liking the sound of this, I draw my piece, and kick the motherfucking door in. Fuck waiting.
I should have waited, but in the heat of the moment I wasn’t thinking clearly. All I could think was that she had really painted me for a fool. I had been pinning after her and chasing after her and she was doing all this shit right under my nose.
With my gun pointed at this piece of shit, I start demanding answers. “You’ve got til the count of three to tell me what you are doing having a secret meeting with my woman or your brain is gonna paint the walls.”
Red comes rushing down the hallway. “Grim, what the fuck are you doing.? This is my brother!”
Confusion colors me. “Your brother?” I put my gun away not wanting to scare Red any further than she already is.
“Yeah, my brother. He is trying to get Sarah back for me. We have different dads, and I was raised in foster care, so Hook hasn’t connected us. What are you doing, are you spying on me?”
“No, yes. One of the brothers has been watching the two of you and now the club thinks you were using me to get in with the club, they think you are a spy for Hook. Are you, is he threatening you with Sarah in exchange for information?” I’m ready to take this fucking reject in for some questioning. Brother or not. Shit fucking stinks up in here.
Walking up to me, she shoves her finger in my chest. “Is that what you really think of me, Grim? You think I used you. That I got pregnant with your child for shits and giggles— all for an elaborate scheme to get your secrets. If Hook wanted to know your secrets, he wouldn’t have to go through me to get them. Tell him, Scooter...there’s a traitor in the Black Rebels.”
Scooter doesn’t dare speak. The fucker looks like he has shit his pants after I pointed a gun at his head, but he nods, backing up his sister. Now that I look at him, I can see a small resemblance between the two of them. “You want to help your sister?”
Maybe I saw what I wanted to see. They say hindsight is 20/20.
The guy nods again. “Well you gotta disappear. I mean you fucking hightail it out of Kentucky and never look back. If anyone else was to find out that you two are related and sharing information, you’ll both be dead. And fuck, I can’t have that. I can’t protect you like this, Red. Answer me this, have you been telling him anything about my club? Have you!” I growl in her face.
“Nothing besides what a lying piece of shit you are,” she seethes at me. There’s her fire. My baby burns bright now. Fuck does she burn for me.
“I’ve never fucking lied to you. I was honest with you.” What does the woman want from me? I was honest. I could have lied but I knew I wanted to do things right with her. I wanted to be a man she deserved. I failed but fuck I tried.
“So you didn’t tell that whore Betty that she could be your bitch on the side?” Her eyebrows are raised, her hands resting on her belly, caressing our baby. Never knew a pissed off pregnant woman could look so damn sexy. Goddamn I want to just throw her down on the floor right here and have my way with her. Show her who she belongs to. Show her how much she means to me.
“Fuck no, I told her I no longer needed her. Can you say goodbye to your brother so we can finish this shit in private?” I’m about ready to jerk my dick out and ram it down her fucking throat. I’m sick of the back and forth and the waiting. I need her.
“You really want him to disappear? He is my inside link to Sarah.”
“I’m sorry, baby, but it has to be this way. I promise you that I will get Sarah back for you, or I will die trying. I need you to trust in me. Trust in my love for you.” Shit. I just confessed that I love the bitch. But fuck, guess I do, just didn’t realize it til now.
Her eyes widen with joy with a coy smile playing on her lips. “You love me...”
“Shit, yeah I love you, I fucking love the shit out of you.”
Scooter speaks up, “The Rebels are selling drugs for Hook.” Great timing ass wipe.
“You know that for a fact, boy?”
“First. I am no fuckin’ boy, but yeah. I delivered some stuff to this kid Squirrel few weeks back. He took a bunch of crank to sell.” Shit doesn’t sound right. We have never dealt drugs. We might smoke a little weed, but no heavy shit. Is this what Slim meant by taking care of it? Fuck me running.
“Thanks, man. Sorry I almost shot your ass.”
“I understand, comes with the life. I don’t have the money to get lost, exactly.” Poor bastard looks scared. He must not realize how deep and serious this shit is. This ain’t TV, this is fucking real life. It is a ride or die life. I take out my wallet and hand the fucker all the cash I have on me. It’s not much in way of getting him far, but it’s a start.
“You burn that motherfucking cut and get the next bus out of town. I don’t care where you go as long as you put as much distance possible between yourself and Kentucky. Don’t ever look back, man. And don’t worry I’ll take care of your sister.”
Red gives him a quick hug and he is out the door.
“I just betrayed my club for you. Seems I can’t do anything but think about you and this baby.” I step in close to her and place my hands on her stomach. I can see unshed tears glittering in her eyes. “I’m trying real hard here, baby, but you gotta let me in.”
“I know you are,” she whispers, but then she pulls away and my heart cracks.
“We can’t keep on like this. I gotta be able to trust you, but you gotta be honest with me.”
“I just need more time.”
I try not to get angry with her but fuck what more can I do?
Her face softens. “Dinner tomorrow. Just you and me,” she says and my heart leaps to my throat with excitement.
Shit with me and Red ain’t exactly squared but she has agreed to dinner with me and that’s a start. First things first, I’m going to send Betty’s ass packing and let anyone of my brothers try and stop me.
Chapter 12
“Found our rat, brother. Betty has been fucking a Reject on the side. Was sending him to harass Red. Found the motherfucker lurking outside of her apartment. Nearly shit himself when I confronted him. Little pussy took off after spilling his guts. Doubt he will be an issue.
He knows I have his number.” It is a twisted version of my truth, but fuck it, I have to think of me and mine.
“Alright, let’s put it to vote. All those in favor of getting rid of Betty say aye.”
There is a unanimous, “aye,” reverberated around the table. I don’t like killing women, but Betty fucked with my family. Skank bitch told Red that I had been seeing her on the weekends when I was in Chicago. Fucking whore, gonna get what’s coming to her.
Squirrel needs to prove he is worthy of his patch, so he gets to deal with offing Betty. Sure going to miss her cooking, but that’s about it. I might have stretched the truth about her some, but Red is my woman whether she likes it or not and that makes her brother family, and I protect what is mine. Slim obviously has his secrets and now I have mine. Now’s not the time to discuss the drugs, he will want to know where I got my information.
I should have demanded answers right then and there, but I thought I could handle it. I thought I could handle Slim. Fuck was I wrong.
We are set to meet with Hook in a few days and we still don’t know how we are going to pay him and keep our heads above water. Now’s not the time to go to war with him, too much internal shit going down. I still have to figure out who the real rat is and handle him quietly. My money is on that little snake, Squirrel.
Romeo is still laid up from the raid on his cabin, so it is up to me to setup a new location for our operation. Discreet locations are hard to come by these days. We don’t go unnoticed, but most of our town would rather be under our protection than unite against us. Guess you might say we are the lesser evil, when compared to the Devils Rejects. There is a property outside city limits and close to the lake that would be a perfect spot. Only problem is we would have to build, and we don’t have the funds to allocate to it. Coming home to this mess after the disorder I cleaned up in Chicago makes for one hell of a migraine.
The Roadhouse is tapped out of moonshine we have had to sell the last of our stock. Looks like we might have to increase member dues for the brothers that are members but live outside of the club—weekend warriors. Shits tight and I don’t like it one bit. Things aren’t looking good. And damn this tap beer taste like piss. I have money in the bank but not enough to pull us out of the red, but enough to help us skim by for another month. However, with all the secrets and shit, not sure how I feel about investing my retirement. We used to be all about brotherhood. I am not feeling very brotherly after the shit Slim pulled while I was away.
“Brother, I know shit between us feels stressed, but I was looking out for what was going to be best for the club’s future. If you’d pulled out of Chicago, we wouldn’t be seeing half the results we are with them. Red will come around. You’ll see. Man, she wasn’t happy being here without you. Moving out and getting that job was what she needed. You just have to show her you are ready now. Fuck, you and I both know that when you claimed her ass you were not ready for the responsibility of her and being a father. You needed to be without her to know you not only need her, but that you want her. Now if you tell anyone about this deep conversation, I’ll cut off one of your nuts.” He bumps my shoulder with his and chuckles.
“I get it, doesn’t mean I have to like it.” I let shit go for now. He’s my Prez and I gotta trust him, don’t I? “Look, I have money in the bank, not enough to put us on top, but enough that I could dig us out of this hole. There’s a property for sale out by the lake. If I could get it and build a small cabin for Romeo, we could be up and running in another two months. But someone else is going to have to cover what we owe Hook.”
Slim clinks his beer against mine. “You just saved our asses, Grim. Thought we was going to have to take Hook out, and we don’t have the numbers to survive a full-on war with them. I can cover our payments with Hook the next two months as long as nothing fucks up in Chicago. Now about this property. I trust your judgment, but I’d like to ride out and look at it. Maybe we can take the women with us and I’ll have Foxie pack us up a picnic. Women like shit like that...I think.” He grins at me.
“Sounds good, but we are going to have to get a new bar bitch. My beer tastes hotter than piss. Skull would be better than Davis, at this point.”
“Plan that shit for this weekend.”
“I’m having dinner at her place tonight. I’ll get her on board.”
“Good. I’m tired of seeing you crying like a little bitch over pussy.”
**
I got Red some chocolate and flowers. Hell, I don’t even know what her favorite flower is or if she even likes chocolate. The flowers got a little smashed on the ride here in my saddlebag. I should probably toss them in the damn dumpster behind the bowling alley. It’s too late now though I already knocked on her door.
She opens the door and when I see her, she takes my damn breath away. Her red hair is twisted into some sort of braid that I want to use to pull her into me for a kiss. “Hi,” she breathes the word out and steps to the side so I can enter.
“Damn something smells good,” I tell her. I hand her the flowers and candy with an apologetic smile. “Sorry they got fucked up on the way here.”
She accepts the wildflowers and brings them to her nose looking pretty as a picture. “I love them.” I follow her into the kitchen, and she pulls out a glass lemonade pitcher to put them in on the counter. “I hope you like alfredo and garlic bread.”
“Sounds perfect.”
She hands me a beer and I take a seat at the able not knowing how to act. I’ve never had a proper meal with her before. I peel at the corners of the label. “You remembered what beer I drink?”
“Well you came in at the Liquor Barn and bought enough of it.” She laughs.
“Yeah. Guess I did.” Maybe I wasn’t as discreet as I thought I was when I was practically stalking her ass.
“Let’s eat.” She puts a plate in front of me then sits down with her own. We eat our meal quietly. I’m content just to be here with her. I don’t want to ruin the evening by saying something to upset her.
After she clears our plates away, she says, “You’re too quiet. To be honest it is making me nervous.”
“I don’t want to fuck this up.”
“You can talk to me, Grim. I won’t bite.”
I nod and lick my lips. “I miss you. And maybe that sounds crazy to you, but I do. I miss waking up to your face. Or calling you at night. I wish you’d go back to calling me Jack.”
“Grim…we had a great week together, but I don’t think it was more than that.”
“The fuck it wasn’t,” I growl at her. Pushing back my chair I take the two steps to get to her at the sink. I get up in her face and then I bring my mouth down on hers. She moans into my mouth proving my point. I’m the one that breaks the contact. Her eyes are glossed over, and I know she enjoyed it. “I’ll be back this weekend to take you out. Not taking no for answer.” I press my lips to her forehead. “See you soon.”
Her fingers are on her lips as I walk out the door.
Chapter 13
It feels oddly good to be putting the bitch seat back on my bike, even if Red won’t be able to ride much longer. She’s not so big yet that I can’t take her for ride as long as I am extremely cautious. Going have to get my truck running now that I am going to be a dad, the baby sure as hell can’t ride my bike when it is born. Fuck, I am not prepared for this, I am such a prick. Didn’t even ask her what she needs, not that she would accept my help right now, but I feel like I should be doing something, anything for her.
“I’m not getting on the back of your bike.” Red is standing in the parking lot of her apartment complex, hands on her hips looking madder than a wet hen. Slim and Foxie are laughing. This shit is about embarrassing. I’ve never had to beg a woman to climb on the back of my motorcycle, ever. Bit of a strike to the ego. Looking damn fine while she is giving me hell my woman is dressed in a white tank top, daisy dukes, and her red hair blowing wildly with the breeze. I’d like to grip my fist in her hair and taste those smartass lips of
hers.
“Woman, not goin’ to tell you twice.” Handing her a brain bucket, I try to steal a kiss, but she’s not having it. She’s going to make me work for it, that’s all right though. I enjoy a challenge. Reluctantly she gets on, and I do my best to make sure she is comfortable before I pull out on the road with her. She wraps her arms around me and snuggles into the back of my cut, feels like home.
Fuck, I have missed her.
Her touch.
Her smell.
Her everything.
Just fucking her.
My Gypsy Red.
My Goddamn world.
Think this is the slowest I’ve ever driven. Traveling down these old country roads, cornhusks are blowing through the fields and over the road, we call them corn snakes. Don’t have the same effect when you are driving slowly though. It is moments like this that I live for, being out on the open road, my woman riding with me. Even if she says, she doesn’t want to be with me, I know she feels at peace with me too. She just has this calming effect on me. The world feels right when she is with me.
Her and I were one in the same. We just fit. We just belonged. There could be no one else for me. There never had been.
“This would be such a pretty setting for a house.” Foxie is walking along the tree line of the property with Red. She is right. A house would look good here with little redheaded runts running through the grass. But that’s not going to happen. Red doesn’t want me, and my life...my life is at the Roadhouse.
My mother always said I would never amount to anything and never have anything. She was a true clubwhore. She lived and died by the Devils Rejects code. My mother was nothing but one of Hook’s many whores. Never knew my father, never cared to know. But my child will have a better life, and I will give him or her everything I never had. If Red really wants out, if she really doesn’t want to be with me, I will get her out. Her and both of her children, even if that means I won’t ever know my kid. It’s probably for the best. I’m not sure what I was thinking, imagining that I could have it all. I don’t deserve her or her love.
Grim: The beginning (Black Rebel Riders' MC Book 1) Page 8
