by Snow, Nicole
“Sketch book?” Blaze snorted. “What the fuck was he drawing? Directions for the numbskulls in that fucking clubhouse about how to fire the shit he was selling? Guess it's been twenty years since those mustangs fired a weapon. Don't now why Mickey was looking to do business with them at all.”
Pissed as I was, Blaze's sarcasm made me smile. The Rams were fucking dumbasses, no two ways about it. Made it even harder to believe they'd managed to take out Mickey in a sour bar brawl and tortured the poor girl sleeping in my room.
“No, Prez. It's like...fantasy shit.” Reb smacked his lips, chewing his tobacco. “Elves, castles, fairies...I dunno. See for yourself.”
He reached into the pile of papers in the middle and grabbed the tall booklet. I intercepted it before it got to Blaze, quickly fanning my fingers through the pages.
One look at the drawings told me this shit wasn't drawn by a salty old smuggler like Mickey James. No way, no how. It had to belong to Alice.
“He's right,” I said. “I don't think this is Mickey's either. The writing's real girly. Don't see blood or guns or naked ladies...”
The sketches were really pretty good. No, maybe not ready for Hollywood story boards or book covers. Still, it looked like they'd been done by somebody who'd have a shot at it one day if they just kept going.
I was flipping through the back pages when Blaze's gavel came down. I blinked, looked up, and flashed my trademark smile at his angry ass.
“What the fuck, Sting?” Blaze growled. “This isn't an art gallery. Put that shit away and let's chew on the facts that are useful.”
“You sure we got any, Prez?” That really sent blood into his face. I straightened up. “We're not gonna know shit 'til I talk to Alice. She's the only one who lived with them and might've seen what went down with Mickey. Just give her a chance to rest, clean up, and I'll talk to her tomorrow.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Tank said, leaning in his chair, looking at Blaze. “The VP's right, boss. We don't know much. Even if we did, we've got two choices: make these assholes shape up, patch them in, and hope to hell they never bothered us again. Or else we send them packing with a sweep of Satan's Scythe and destroy every last Pagan Rams emblem we can find.”
Blaze looked like he was ready to turn the table over. He was used to getting shit from me – what else was a VP in an MC like this one good for? – but taking it from Tank and the other brothers sealed the deal.
“All right, all right,” he said, shaking his head. “We'll wait and see. Stinger, I'm counting on you to give us something we can use. Don't think I need a vote to know everybody in this room would rather chase the Pagan Rams off our turf and into Grizzlies' territory rather than deal with their nasty asses again. Or just kill the motherfuckers cold. Whatever we do, I need something to make sure we're not making a mistake. I'm not risking this club's blood again without a damned good reason.”
“I'll have Em check her too,” Tank said, his face lightning up when he said the nurse's name.
I studied his expression. Had a feeling the fucking guy was finally getting his dick wet after breaking the glacier between them. He sure as hell wasn't sulking around and drinking himself into a stupor like he'd been during all the months when Em gave him the cold shoulder.
“How 'bout tomorrow?” I asked. “Alice really needs her rest. She's tired as all hell.”
“No,” Blaze said, tapping his gavel a couple times when I gave him an angry look. “Em's already here waiting for us to finish up. The sooner we move on this shit, the quicker it's over. And I want all threats to this club wrapped up before winter. Then we've just got our shipments from the Dakota boys to deal with.”
“That and your wedding, Prez.” Moose smiled.
Blaze cocked his head and let his anger taper. The senior brother's words were the goddamned truth, and it only caused my rage to ratchet up a couple notches.
Blaze and his old lady were due to get married in Reno early next year. Wasn't hard to see those bells were ringing loud in his mind since he'd claimed her and proposed, but all I heard was bullshit if it caused him to make Alice suffer more.
“Come on, man.” Reb said, sensing the invisible smoke rolling off me. “It's just a little check up. Em's fast and efficient, and you know it. She'll finish the girl in no time and send her back to you.”
“Whatever. Let me get her up.” I was rising from my chair before Blaze banged the gavel, bringing the session to a close.
Blaze shot me a warning look. The Prez took a lot of lip when it mattered, but he and I both knew I was damned close to shitting on his authority. I waited by the door 'til the other brothers began to rise.
Fuck it. I was out the door before he could get in my face, heading straight for the girl, the only one in this clubhouse who gave a damn beyond pumping her for info.
The checkup went fast. I was in the room with Blaze while Em did her thing. Tank wandered in a few minutes after us, and I instantly sensed some tension between him and Nurse Blondie.
God. Damn. It. Apparently, fucking hadn't resolved shit between them in any lasting way.
Not my business. Not my problem, I thought, turning my full attention to Alice.
I watched Em's gold locks bobbing as she checked her over. Helluva contrast against my girl's jet black hair, and I knew damned well what I preferred.
She's not your girl, I had to remind myself. Not yet, anyway.
Fuck, what was I thinking? Probably not ever. I wasn't sure what the hell was happening to my brain since I got her little hands around me on my bike, but it was freaking me the fuck out.
So did the bombshell that dropped next. Alice insisted she couldn't remember shit except her name, and it didn't look like she was fucking around. My jaw was left hanging, along with everybody else's.
Em broke out a bright light and beamed it into her pretty eyes. I tightened my jaw, wondering when she'd finally be through with this bullshit.
“Pupils are normal. No sign of brain damage.” Emma paused, glancing at Blaze. “What is it you want to know?”
“What the fuck really happened the night she showed up at the Rams' clubhouse. She says she doesn't remember shit,” Blaze said, pacing the room. “Is it possible she's fucked up her head, nurse? Or is she fucking us instead?”
Shit! My blood went from lukewarm to molten lava in a nano-second. My fists twitched at my sides.
I wasn't gonna clock my hotheaded Prez in the jaw for the same crap he gave everybody else, but it sure was tempting.
What the fuck was he thinking? The girl didn't have a single reason to yank our dicks around in the wrong direction.
The evilest warning look I ever summoned went his way while I wondered why Blaze's doubt against her felt the same as if he'd just spat on me, a fellow brother and his own VP. I shouldn't be taking this shit so personally, and I knew it. The reptile part of my brain refused to get the message.
I listened intently as Em explained that amnesia wasn't unheard of after suffering something really tragic. When she said it was probably a mental block instead of brain damage, the boil in my veins popped. Every muscle I had flexed, ready to march out to my bike and roar out to the Rams' place myself, not coming home 'til I cleaned their asses up good.
Blaze and the nurse ran through who Alice could be, wondering if she was Mickey's old lady or his slut. Maybe he liked them young.
Fuck! Thinking about her wrapped around that dead asshole's body – hell, any asshole, alive or dead – threatened to melt me from the inside out.
I stepped up when Em moved aside, throwing an arm around Alice's neck and helping her off the table. Knew damned well it was possessive too, but I didn't fucking care.
“Don't think she's that kinda girl, Prez,” I said, trying as hard as I could to hide my rage. “She's not a club slut. I can spot those bitches from a mile away, and this isn't one.”
“Yeah, yeah, you're right about that...” Blaze looked amused and frustrated as hell. “Whatever, bro. Just get her
the fuck outta here and find the girl a room.”
Done, asshole, I thought. Didn't bother saying goodbye as I took her by the hand and led her away, back to my room, the only place here where she belonged.
“You sure you got enough to eat earlier?” I asked, focusing my eyes on hers when we were alone behind the door.
“Yeah. Can I finally sleep, or are there are going to be more interruptions?”
“Hell no,” I growled. “Lay down and rest as long as you fucking want. I'll wait here. Anybody who knocks at this door in the next hour's gonna get a fist to his face.”
I was dead serious. She needed to get her head straight, dammit, and I intended to keep my secret threat, even if Blaze came sniffing around for more information. I'd had it up to hear with his shit. I'd rather risk a beat down from all my brothers than deal with him twisting Alice's arm again like a total asshole.
Fortunately, it never came to that. The other brothers had plenty other business to take care of. I should've been outside tuning up my bike with winter creeping closer, but I couldn't do shit with this angel laid out in front of me, shaking a little as she nodded off.
“Sweet dreams, baby.” I pulled a blanket over her, wishing I had something nicer than this tattered old thing.
I must've stood there at her bedside for another ten minutes, just watching, studying her. My cock kept his cool for once while I waited for her to stop shaking. The boys hadn't fired up the furnace yet in the clubhouse, and it was too damned cold for her bones. Winter was right around the corner.
The blanket wasn't doing shit. With a heavy sigh, I rolled my cut off my shoulders and climbed in next to her, throwing one arm around her shoulder and pulling her close.
Christ, she felt amazing when I spooned myself over her, covering every curve with my body, hellbent on keeping her free and clear of a world that wanted to keep piling its shit on her.
Having Alice up against me was better than anything I could think of to keep warm in this clubhouse. Better than a few shots of Jack. Better than fucking Marianne and Sangria or any new whores at the same time.
Better than anything and everything except for one wicked, insane desire I couldn't ignore.
Just one thing would've beat this: tearing off the blanket, stripping down her pants, and sinking into the soft warm perfection between her legs...
Shit, just thinking about it turned my blood to steam, heavy magma heading south real fucking fast. It hit my dick over and over and over in heavy waves. It ached because I wanted to fuck her, and then hurt like hell because I couldn't.
Aching for women wasn't something I was used to – not for long, anyway, because I always took what I wanted in the past. Pussy comes easy when you're big, fit, tattooed, and brought up to take the world by its fucked up horns.
But for her, I waited. I waited and suffered. My pulse beat my dick stupid, the price of being a perfect gentleman curled up next to this shattered dove, a wolf in gentleman's dapper clothing, an animal who wanted this girl so bad his brain turned to hot mush.
All I knew was I wouldn't wait forever. One day, when she was well, I'd make the gentleman stuff it, showing her how there was nothing gentle or tame about how this man fucked. 'Til then, she didn't know shit about what I was hiding.
She didn't need to neither.
If she did, she would've thrown me off the bed and run for the hills. Only sane response to my inner freak who was all tongue, all cock, all lust. And just barely held in check by the tight fucking choke chain I had around his neck, fighting to keep control, for her good and mine...but just barely.
Barely.
Barely was fine for today, but it wouldn't be forever. Not by the longest fucking shot in the universe.
Damned good thing I kept control. I'd be a fucking monster as bad as the Rams if I took her like this, more vulnerable than ever, however much my devil cock wanted me to.
I made sure to keep the soft blanket between us so she couldn't feel my psycho hard-on if she woke. I had to keep that chain tight, hide my beast for just a little while longer.
No, dammit. Never thought I'd think it, but some things were more important than sex. When I eyed her in the darkness, she looked so small. Whether she knew it or not, she needed somebody to protect her from the fucked up world outside, and I was game.
I had to be. That promise I made all those years ago, after I fucked up with Beth...
No. I closed my eyes. The last few days had already been beyond intense. Bitter, angry shit. I sure as hell didn't need to add another bad memory to the fire.
Alice turned gently in my arms, pushing back into my warmth. I relaxed, even with brimstone lighting up my veins, aching need thundering at a primal level I couldn't completely switch off. Sooner or later, the Sandman would find my ass and knock me out.
Long as Alice was safe and comfy, that was all that mattered.
I slept late. Alice was still buried in her dreams when I eased myself up, tucking the blanket around her tight to hold the warmth I'd added over night.
Blaze was at the bar, cellphone in hand. Only took a second to realize something had gone straight to hell with the dark note in his voice about to go off the rails. Tensing up, I walked closer, just as he finished and slammed his cheap burner on the counter.
Saffron wasn't in yet. She'd been managing the bar ever since she became his old lady. Still, I seriously doubted she'd been on the line. This looked like a helluva lot more than a bad fight with his woman.
“What's going on, Prez?” He didn't answer me. “What the fuck happened?”
He slammed his fists down hard on the counter, narrowly missing the shitty phone. Blaze looked up, his eyes burning like nothing else.
“Tank's in prison. Killed some asshole cousin of Em's at her place last night. Beat him to death. The badges found him with that bastard's blood all over his fists.”
“Fuck.” My heart sank, and my whole fucking mouth went dry like I'd just swallowed cotton.
I thought dealing with Alice would be the hardest thing on the agenda for today. Now, the entire club had a real problem on its hands.
The next couple days were agonizing as fuck. I made sure Alice cleaned up, fed, and slept as much as she wanted.
Blaze was working on getting our brother out ASAP. Turned out the dead asshole who caused all of this was a rogue ATF agent trying to pump the club for info through Em. I saw the nurse walk outta Blaze's office after he grilled her, making absolutely fucking sure she hadn't ratted on us.
Somehow, the Prez managed to cut a deal. He'd offered the bastards Mickey's body, but of course they wanted more. The arms trafficker was no good to them dead. Turning over his bones was enough to get Tank out temporarily. The Feds were giving us our giant to help search for something useful, but he'd be going behind bars again in a week if we didn't give them some shiny new shit for their resumes.
If my plate wasn't already overflowing, I had another problem with my fucking plumbing. The morning after we picked up Alice at the Rams' place, my nuts started burning, and not in any way I enjoyed.
I thought back to the last time I fucked our whores on a drunken bender, a few days before we visited the Rams and their stinking clubhouse. Fuck, if one of those bitches gave me clap or something, I swore I'd stick to my hand for the next month.
Yeah right, a voice laughed in my head. You're not gonna keep a damned thing in your pants with her here.
Not that I could imagine fucking anybody except Alice. The sluts and groupies who came to our parties were like half-baked imitations to the pure, sweet slice of homemade pie the mystery girl offered.
A quick stop in Em's infirmary helped. She checked my sac and had me piss in a bottle – fucking humiliating, as always – but I needed to find out what I was dealing with. The nurse was as upbeat as she could be under the circumstances.
I tried to be too. She didn't need any more frowns over Tank. Besides, if there was a ghost of a chance at getting in Alice's pants when all this shit blew over,
I was gonna make damned sure my equipment was all in working order.
I walked back to my room to check on Alice, ignoring the unpleasant burn in my balls. She'd played mute for the last couple days, sleeping off her injuries. That was fine with the club focused on Tank's situation, but damn, she couldn't keep quiet forever.
Blaze was starting to hold my feet to the fire with this deal looming. Sooner or later, he'd be on Alice's ass for info if Emma didn't get to her first. Anything she remembered that might help us get our brother out permanently and wrap up the bullshit with the Pagan Rams was top prize.
I had to try getting it outta her the easy way, before things got harder. The other brothers were treating her like she was fucking cursed, and I knew their kid gloves were coming off as soon as the big guy was released from jail on Friday.
Opening the door, I found her sitting on the bed, glumly flipping through an old motorcycle magazine I had on my dresser. She looked up at me, wrinkled her nose, and tossed it on the floor.
“Don't you knock?” Alice whined.
I kicked the door shut and folded my arms. One thing she hadn't slept off was the fucking attitude that started burbling up after we got her away from the Rams.
How the fuck did a girl so hot ooze pure ice?
“It's my room,” I said, coming closer.
I pulled up the lone chair and sat down, throwing my legs over the backside. Having some extra space in my lap helped ease the pain in my balls. No fucking way was I letting that shit interfere with our chat when she already acted like she had my nuts in a vise.
“Why're you here? It's not dinner time yet, is it?”
I looked her up and down. Dammit, I didn't care how soft and sexy and helpless she was...I wasn't gonna put up with this shit forever. I had to get something I could use for everybody's good: hers, the club's, and Tank's.
“I'm gonna be straight with you, baby. Blaze and my crew are getting real anxious for shit we can use against the Rams now that we got a brother facing serious jail time. The Feds want to know what the fuck Mickey's body was doing there as bad as we do.” I grabbed for her hand, closing my fingers around hers tight when she tried to pull away. “Come on, Alice. Give me something I can throw my club. You want somebody to knock? Fine. Everybody'll be knocking a lot harder on your door next week when the clock starts ticking to keep Tank free.”
