Release

by Jade Chandler

  My phone didn’t ding, but I bet she was already asleep.

  The club door swung open when Bear strode in just ahead of Zero, Vex and Rebel.

  “What the fuck happened?” Bear growled at me.

  I passed my bottle to Bear who took a drink before passing it on.

  “This is what I know.” I glanced at the brothers. “Misty is at Ardmore General—got hurt bad by a customer.” I debated how much to say. “Dare and Jericho are there taking care of it.”

  “You don’t know shit,” Bear grumbled.

  Rebel paced away from the group. “I should’ve worked, this was Viper’s first night running the place.”

  Vex stayed silent.

  “No word who the dumb shit was? No one hurts our women. We need to make it right.” Zero paced the tile floor back and forth, back and forth.

  I agreed. It pissed me off that someone hurt a woman, let alone one of our workers. I wanted to be in Ardmore smashing heads, even though that wasn’t my thing. I was the last brother ready to crack heads, but hurting women crossed a line.

  I shook my head. “Nah, but Dare said he’d call.”

  “Fuck. I’m outta here. Have Dare call me.” Bear went out the door.

  I decided I better switch to beer if I was going to be here awhile, not a time to end up drunk. “You wanna play cards?” I asked the others. I couldn’t count the hours I’d played some game while we waited for orders.

  “Spades,” Rebel declared before sitting down at one of the big square tables in the main room.

  “Just as well.” Vex sat down too.

  I grabbed some cards, paper and a six pack from the fridge under the bar before I settled in to waste some time. By the time Dare called again, I owed $20 to Rebel.

  I stepped away to the bar to take the call.

  “Yeah,” I answered.

  “Misty’s got an ugly broken ankle. She’s in surgery. Now tell me who’s there. No wait, I’ll tell you names and you say if they are.”

  “Got it.” I didn’t understand this covert shit. Dare had never tapped me to be his eyes and ears, which had suited me fine. We were a straight forward kind of club where fists solved most of our problems. But no matter how much I disliked this side of club life, I was a loyal soldier, so I did what he asked.

  “Wolf, Ghost, Vex—”

  “Yeah.”

  “Little Luke or Horse?”

  “Nah, that it? What do you need?” I sensed some serious shit happening that was above my pay grade. And it made me uncomfortable. I was out of my depth.

  “Play it cool, you say anything about the biker idea I told you about?”

  “Nah, but Bear wants you to call him immediately.”

  “Got it. Just stay there, say little, and watch what goes on. We think Renegade did the beating, but we haven’t confirmed it, so keep that bit to yourself. This is some fucked-up shit. Know someone will pay because Jericho is on the warpath.”

  “I would be too, you go fuck up whoever did that to our girl.” I hung up and turned to find everyone’s eyes on me. Renegade was trouble, always had been. Now this, someone needed to make that brother go away, just like the Old Man had gone.

  After I told the guys what I knew about Misty, Rebel collected his money and left, but Zero and Vex stayed.

  “What are they doing about it?” Vex wheezed.

  He wasn’t a guy I hung with, kind of a computer nerd who helped out with JB Productions, the porn business Bear ran.

  “No one knows yet. Misty is in surgery, and they don’t know much. But with Jericho and Dare cracking heads, they’ll find out—that much you can count on.” I dealt the cards, this time five card stud. I picked mine up, studying them and Vex.

  “Who even cares about some whore?” Vex threw down his cards.

  I stared at the stupid fuck, but Zero beat me to the punch.

  Zero jumped up, grabbed the skinny jerk by the shirt front. “Those girls ain’t whores and they belong to us. You care about that cut?” Zero nodded to Vex’s colors. “Then it matters who hurts what’s ours.” He shoved Vex away and he stumbled back into a wall.

  “You best get your head right before you see Jericho,” I warned him, making my feelings clear.

  Without another word, Vex scurried out of the door.

  Once he left, Zero turned to me. “It’s someone inside the Brotherhood, right?”

  I gave a slight incline of my head. Zero was a brother both Dare and I trusted. I wouldn’t disrespect him by lying, but I’d keep the details to myself.

  “Pisses me off when a man treats a woman so bad.” He paced away. “I’m sleeping here, if they call back, you tell them I’m up for any kind of retribution.”

  “Will do. But why did they call me, not Bear? I mean, this is a senior level thing, I’m a grunt.” This was what Council members did. They had inside knowledge and served the Prez. I did the shit the Council assigned—a soldier. This covert shit about Renegade wasn’t me.

  Zero frowned at me a minute before he grinned. “You really don’t get it? You’re moving up, I’d bet you fifty, in the next month you’ll be running the tat shop.”

  I stepped back, blown away at the idea. I was a worker bee and liked it that way—no one would promote me. “Bullshit. It’s the easiest fifty I’ll ever make.”

  Zero left me in the club room. No matter how I tried to throw away his words, they boomeranged back. Cautious, methodical and dedicated—that made a great soldier. Absolutely opposite of Dare or Jericho, they acted quick, without wavering.

  Jericho made me uncomfortable even if I’d follow him to the grave. He’d run the shop when I’d first started at Marked Man, the third of our four businesses: security, porn, sex club and tattoo shop, each brother who ran one was badass with a compass that pointed to risk, pushing the edge. Not me, definitely not my style.

  Zero had screwed with me, that’s all, it was his favorite thing to do. No. They’d put Zero in charge because that boy had leader in his blood. Even if he’d only had his colors a few months, I’d put him in charge before me.

  I grabbed the bottle of whiskey and took another deep drink, the burn cleared my mind. Avery slipped into the empty spaces—her smile, the two piercings, angel bites, and eyes the color of my whiskey. If I was lucky I’d be seeing all of her, naked under me, while I inked her. This shit with Misty made me more anxious to get her back. No way Misty went to work yesterday expecting to be fucked up for months. Tomorrow that could be any one of us. Time was something I was done taking for granted.

  I straightened the room and cleared the bar top. I considered jetting since Zero was here, but Dare had asked me to stay, so I climbed atop the bar to catch a few winks, not wanting to miss Dare and Jericho when they returned.

  The rumble of bikes woke me up, I glanced at my watch—seven in the morning. I hopped off the counter and stretched out the kinks, but my workout would get rid of any stiffness that stuck around.

  The steel-reinforced door swung open, banging into the wall as Jericho strode in with Dare behind him. They headed straight through the tables to me, or more likely, the booze.

  “Coffee or whiskey?” I sat up rubbing my eyes.

  “Yeah.” Jericho grinned.

  I brewed coffee and brought over a bottle of bourbon. “You need me to stay.” I nodded to the back. “Zero’s in back, says he’s up for retribution.” I hoped they sent me on my way. I was ready to slip back down the ladder.

  “Let him sleep, I’ll send him to Ardmore later.” Jericho frowned at me. “Sit your ass down.”

  So much for going home. I poured coffee before I sat down. Why would they talk to me? Jericho didn’t do anything without a reason, but he was notorious for keeping his cards close. I doubted anyone knew all the things he had working. Every minute I stayed here increa
sed the chance he’d send me somewhere that kept me from inking my girl.

  Jericho gave me a quick rundown of the night. Dogg was coming back to protect Misty. A great plan. I’d only met the guy twice before he’d retired, but from all the stories, he was a solid brother. Dare turned to me. “Anything happen here?”

  I told them about Zero and Vex’s rumble and how the prick had fled from Zero fast as he could. “If Zero hadn’t sent him on his way, I would have. The little prick had no respect.”

  “Too bad you didn’t knock the little shit’s teeth out.” Jericho smacked his cup to the table. “I’m sleeping.”

  “I won’t be here today, got some shit to do.” I told them both. My day had Avery’s name written all over it. In fact, I texted the other guys and told them to stay away until after five. Our first scheduled appointment was at seven that night.

  Jericho made me nervous, I’d had too much exposure already. It was probably Zero fucking with me, but asking me to stay seemed like it meant something. And that’s the last thing I wanted. Besides, I needed some time to prepare for my girl and her tat. Because Avery was my girl, she just didn’t know it yet.

  Jericho nodded and strode down the hall.

  “You got something or someone to do?” Dare grinned over at me.

  “Both, since you totally cock-blocked my reunion. Today, I’m giving Avery ink, then we can get back to the shit you interrupted.”

  Dare’s hand fell to my shoulder. “Brother, thanks. I know it was a sacrifice.”

  I looked for the sarcasm on his face when I didn’t hear it in his voice, but the dude was serious.

  “Shit, it’s the job.” I wasn’t comfortable with a serious Dare.

  “Don’t make leaving your woman any better. I know you been working on that for some time.” He stood up by me. “Speaking of women, I have one waiting on me.”

  I grinned. “Hopefully I’m closing the deal today.” I walked out with him. His bike was next to mine.

  I gave him the nod. “Have a great day.”

  He smiled back. “Red will make sure I do.” He revved his bike and left before me.

  I followed him out of the club and drove back to Barden. At my place I showered before I went to my basement to work out. My basement was decked out with better equipment than the gym in Ardmore. I need to feel the burn of lifting, just that little pain, would clear out all the bullshit from the last twenty-four hours.

  After a quick warm-up, I burned hot in my thirty minutes of intense cardio jump roping, getting my blood pumping fast through my muscles. Next I went to the light weights and quick reps before I got serious with my heavy weights. The adrenaline and pain gave me the high I craved. Pain and I had a complicated relationship, today, I wanted more than this workout gave me. A session with a cane at Bound would clear the clutter and doubt swimming in my head. However, I couldn’t ever see Avery liking my need for pain—one more barrier between us. But I’d conquer that too, when the time was right.

  It was ten by the time I showered and ate, and then I remembered her truck. I texted Mark to stop and get a starter for her Ford then to meet me downtown. It distracted me from thoughts of marking Avery’s soft skin with my design. In less than 20 minutes we had the new starter installed. Always a thinker, Mark had stopped by Avery’s to get her keys on the way here. I had him drive the truck to her place and I followed on my bike. Mark parked the truck, handed me the keys, and headed back toward his bike, probably to climb back in bed to nurse his hangover.

  I stood on her peeling front porch. I knocked and then waited a few seconds before knocking harder, putting my muscle into it. Footsteps then rustling locks sounded on the other side.

  Avery opened the door, her green hair all mussed and her pink PJs said, What would the Doctor do?

  Below, it read: Me.

  I tugged her into my arms. Home. Avery felt like home to me.

  “Look really, today I’ve got lots of—”

  I picked her up and she squealed, but I kept going into the house. “You aren’t canceling again. Stop making it into a huge thing. We’re not cutting off a finger.” I set her on the entryway floor.

  “Gross.” She opened her mouth, ready to argue.

  “Do you trust me?” I laid it out there. Time for the bullshit to stop. Hell, the thing with Misty made me all too aware sometimes you didn’t know what was coming next. Today was all any of us had.

  Her face flicked through a dozen expressions, but I didn’t even try to figure out what she’d say.

  She met my gaze and I saw trust and doubt both. “Yes, I trust you, but not—”

  “Then let me do this for you.” The doubt had to do with her distrust of the Brotherhood, and I was beginning to worry we’d never make it past that sticking point. After how we treated Mama, no matter how happy Mama was now, I understood her reservations. I regretted my role in that cluster fuck, so I couldn’t hold her concerns against her, especially since she was the one who’d helped Mama pick up the pieces that night. But I refused to let her use it to keep us apart another day. Once she saw the club up close, she’d see we were a family, one she could trust.

  An intensity settled into the quiet before she relaxed, decision made. “Yeah, let’s do it.” Her voice still shook.

  I was so proud of her because pain was a real fear for her, and her trust warmed me. “I always got you, almita.” I hugged her to me.

  “I know.” She stepped out of the hug, left the room, returning with a piece of paper crumpled at the edges. “Here’s my rough idea, but make it better, whatever you think.”

  I scanned the small rectangle design that looked like a clothing label. “Yeah, it’s good, but it needs more.” Ideas fired in me and I needed to get to work. “I’ll be ready at two. Be there or I’ll come get you.” I turned to go then remembered her truck. I dug the forgotten keys from my pocket. “Your truck is fixed, out front.”

  He small mouth formed an O. “You remembered....”

  “I remember everything when it comes to you.”

  Chapter Three

  Avery

  I was getting my first tattoo. I wanted to be happy, ecstatic even, yet my stomach churned with trepidation and anticipation. I was woozy like when I’d eaten too much junk food and rode the Tilt-A-Whirl.

  Once he’d seen my design, Rock left in a rush. I shut and locked my door after him. He’d flipped all my girly parts on, and I wondered if I’d be able to hold on to my fading resolve. My nipples puckered tight and my body practically hummed, that was from five minutes with him. I paced my living room, scrubbed my bathroom, mopped the kitchen floor, and cleaned up my pile of shoes, but nervous energy still ate at my stomach lining.

  Rock was a positive—his hands on me, a hell yeah positive, but pain, that was hell-to-the-no. I’d always been weak when it came to pain. Shots freaked me out, and I know it was the anticipation more the actual pain. Some people feared spiders, snakes, heights—I feared pain. This tattoo was a big F-you to that fear, but my apprehension was a real thing.

  If I wanted Rock, I needed to become fearless because choosing him would turn my world upside down. The town. My family. My friends. The club. I feared the reactions of all those groups because down deep I didn’t think any of them would accept my decision to be with Rock. And thinking about this was making everything worse. Now I wanted to jump in my truck and drive far away, so far no one would ever find me.

  I straightened and stared in my bedroom mirror. A sticker read Shine Bright at the top—that’s what I’d do. I stared at my reflection. “You are a kick ass bitch who takes what she wants. What do you want?” I yelled to the mirror. “What do you want?” That was simple. “I want Rock.” Certainty filled my voice.

  With my mind set, I needed to keep busy so no doubts crept back. With nothing left to do at home, I always had work a
t Black Label, even if it was one of the three days the shop was closed.

  I headed to work in the shop I owned in town. There were always internet orders to fill, tweaks to make to my website, and potential inventory to review. My baby always needed care. It was another sign of my strength. Despite my father’s predictions of failure, I’d made a success of the business, even beyond my pro forma. I was damn proud of her.

  I entered my back door into the small office slash work room, hung my purse on the hook before booting up my computer. I grabbed a Diet Coke from my office fridge, and hit the timer on my phone. I didn’t want to get lost in work and miss the appointment. Well I kind of wanted to miss it, but I was sure Rock would track me down. Besides I was the new brave Avery. I spread the curtain to enter my lingerie room. Well, it was a room if a room could be made of burgundy velvet curtains, not walls. I’d started stocking sexy lingerie a year ago, now it was my best local seller. I ran my fingers over the satin teddies. Rock would like the purple one on me. He’d always appreciated my lingerie. Shit, not helpful. I did a quick survey, all the merchandise was displayed as I wanted. My red collection was low, so I added it to my mental order list.

  With Martha, my computer, humming and ready for work, I checked my inbox for new web orders. I had ten new ones, hot damn. That made fifteen to fill now. I searched out the inventory, printed the orders before I began boxing and shipping. Work soothed my anxiety. My phone alarm beeped at me. The hour of doom had arrived—well it would in five minutes anyway. Ridiculous. My fear was beyond unreasonable, and it was past time to cross off this tatoo from my bucket list. Rock waited for me across the street, and I wanted him even if I shouldn’t. If I couldn’t face my fear of pain, then there was no way I’d find the courage to be his girl. I was done fooling myself. We may not have what it took to make it last, but I had to try—today I was crossing two items off my bucket list.