by Chiah Wilder
Before she could answer him, Hawk turned around and, with a hard glint she’d never seen in his eyes before, said, “Who the fuck are you?”
When she saw the vein in Chewy’s temple throb, she knew he was on the verge of exploding. Watching Hawk, she saw his gaze harden further when he spotted the Demon Riders patch on Chewy’s cut. “You know this fucker?” he asked her.
“A long time ago.”
“She was my old lady,” Chewy hissed.
From the way Hawk’s eyes widened, she knew the comment took him by surprise. He’d definitely have a lot of questions for her later, but for the time being, his stance and taut face indicated he was on the defensive.
“You interested in talking with this asshole?” Hawk said.
“No.”
“You heard her. Get the fuck away. Now.”
Chewy clenched his fist, and her stomach dropped. This is bad. Very bad.
“What if I don’t?” Chewy took a step closer to her.
“Then I’ll stomp your fuckin’ ass.”
Their voices had escalated, and several people moved away from the trio as the tension in the air heightened. Kimber was positive a fight was ready to break out, but then Banger, Axe, Chas, Rags, Wheelie, and Rock came over, and relief flooded through her. Chewy was stupid as hell, but he wasn’t so stupid to start something with seven Insurgents surrounding him.
“You got trouble with this fucking Demon Rider?” Banger asked.
“Nothing I can’t handle,” Hawk replied.
“What’s the problem, asshole?” Chas said to Chewy.
“He’s bothering Kimber, and I told him to get the fuck outta here.” Hawk clenched his fists. “Only problem is he’s still fucking here.”
By the way Chewy’s eyes darted around the different members’ faces, Kimber knew he was assessing the situation and realizing it was futile to start anything without backup. Stepping back, he disengaged from the group. As he walked away, he said, “This shit isn’t over.”
“Bring it on, fucker!” Rags’s face was red and his nostrils flared.
“Fucking Demon Riders” was muttered by several of the Insurgents.
Kimber turned to Hawk. “Sorry about that. I was hoping not to involve your club.”
“No worries. You were a Demon Riders’ old lady? You still got shit with the club?”
“Don’t worry about it. I haven’t had any contact with my ex since I ran away from him a few years ago. I was never that involved with the club. They weren’t the nicest to the old ladies. They adhered to the notion that women were beneath second-class citizens.”
“You sure you’re not with them? Because I don’t like the fact you never told Hawk ‘bout your connection with them,” Banger said, his blue eyes flashing.
“I was never with them, as I said. I left, and it never occurred to me to tell Hawk about my broken relationship. I wasn’t trying to hide anything.”
Banger grunted and Hawk cleared his throat. “Kimber’s solid, but we gotta be on alert now. I have a feeling that fucker isn’t too happy about what happened. I figure he’s gonna want to start some shit.”
“Is he with the local chapter?” Axe asked.
“Nah. His patch said ‘Iowa.’” Hawk crossed his arms across his chest.
Banger exhaled loudly. “I bet those fuckers Dustin and Shack are here. I want them to start something so I can kick their fuckin’ asses.”
“Yeah. Ever since those bastards joined up with the Demon Riders, I’ve wanted to kick their asses too. I keep saying we shoulda wasted them when we had them.” Chas ran his hand through his hair.
Hawk glared. “We got a citizen here, Chas.”
An awkward silence fell over them and Kimber knew it was her time to leave. “I’m going back to the booth to hang with Throttle. He said he wanted to see the bikes, so I’ll come back later with him.”
Banger nodded, his blue eyes still cold.
“I’ll make sure you get back okay,” Rags said.
“We better find our women and keep them close. The game has fuckin’ changed,” Axe said, and all the members nodded in agreement.
As Kimber neared the Insurgents’ booth, dread climbed up her spine, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. She chided herself that she was just unnerved because she’d seen Chewy again and he’d stirred up all the old, negative feelings.
When she spotted Throttle talking to a couple guys at the kiosk, an instant wave of relief washed away the dread. She caught his eye and he threw her the sexiest panty-melting smile ever. Her stomach fluttered and she waved at him, returning his smile.
Then a gunshot rang out and all hell broke loose.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Screams broke out. The crowd scattered like blowing leaves in a wind storm, rushing the exits, their faces masks of panic and fear. Kimber watched as Throttle and his other brothers whipped around and jumped over the table, running at full speed toward the area behind the booths. She shoved people out of her way as she stood off to the corner and saw more than fifty men fighting, the glint of the overhead lighting bouncing off their chains, industrial flashlights, and knives. Blood was everywhere, and all she could see was a blur of black leather and denim tangled together. The men were shouting and swearing, their jaws clenched, fists flying, stares fevered and intense. From what she could see, it appeared to be a battle between the Insurgents and the Demon Riders, and several men were on the ground, bleeding and writhing in pain.
Then she saw Tiny—a member of the Demon Riders—pull out a gun and aim it at Banger. As his finger moved to pull the trigger, a shot rang out and Tiny fell facedown on the ground. A strained silence hovered over the fighters for a few seconds, but then the fight started up again.
Sirens wailed outside and the men pulled away fleeing, leaving their wounded on the ground in pools of blood. People who had dove under tables slowly crawled out as a swarm of police officers flooded the event center. Kimber ran to the stairwell where palm and footprints painted the floor and bannisters. She rushed down the stairs and when she reached the first landing, someone grabbed her from behind. She screamed and kicked, but he held her firmly. Twisting around, she stared into Chewy’s menacing face.
“Leave me the fuck alone!” She tried to pull away from his grip.
“You owe me, bitch! Nobody takes off on me the way you did. You were my fuckin’ ol’ lady. Disrespect gets fuckin’ punished.” He punched the side of her face. “And being an Insurgents whore makes you a dead bitch after I have some fun with you.”
“Please, Chewy. Let me go. You don’t want to do this. We used to love each other, remember?”
“You took care of that, didn’t you? Fuckin’ slut.” He delivered a blow to her stomach, knocking the wind out of her.
The metal door banged open a flight above them, and Chewy yanked her behind him and took her out of the building. Stumbling as she tried to keep up with him, her eye already swelling, she tried to figure out how to get away from him. Chaos was everywhere around them, and she and Chewy were lost within it.
She saw his Harley and her stomach dropped. If he takes me away, I’ll never be found. I’d rather die here than later after he hurts me real bad. Figuring she had nothing to lose, a loud and piercing scream broke from deep inside her. And she kept screaming until he punched her in the mouth, the taste of copper trickling down her throat.
When Throttle slammed a large padlock tied to a bandana against the side of Chewy’s head, knocking the hell out of him, she knew her screams had been heard. He crushed Kimber to him and tilted her head back, his eyes darkening when they landed on her beaten face. With eyebrows squeezed together in a crease and jaw thrust forward, he moved Kimber aside and picked up Chewy by the back of his neck.
“You fuckin’ piece of shit. You like beating up women, you goddamned pussy? Let’s see how you do with a man.”
Chewy held up his head to look at Throttle, the blood running down the side of his face from wh
ere the padlock had hit him. For several seconds, a strange stillness settled over them, even though mayhem was still going on around them. They stared at each other, and if hatred were visible the air would have been crimson. Then Throttle slammed the other side of Chewy’s head with the padlock, and the man yelled out as he crumpled to his knees on the ground. With a quick succession of punches, Chewy lay flat on the asphalt as blood from his open wounds stained the tarmac.
Throttle slammed his steel-toed boot repeatedly against Chewy’s broken body, the spittle flying from his mouth as he continued his deadly assault. Kimber watched in horror knowing he didn’t just want to teach Chewy a lesson; he wanted to smash and obliterate him. “Throttle, enough. Stop. Let’s go. The cops are everywhere. It’s just a matter of minutes before they come out here. Leave him alone. He’s not worth a fucking murder rap.” She pulled at him, trying to halt his frenzy, but he was unstoppable. Scanning the area, she spotted Jax and yelled for him to come over.
Jax, his face bruised and swelling, rushed to her side. “What’s going on?” he yelled.
“Stop him. He’s going to fucking kill him.”
Jax looped his arms around Throttle’s waist and jerked him away. “Fuck, man, what the hell are you doing? The fuckin’ badges are everywhere. We gotta get outta here.”
“Leave me the fuck alone. I’m gonna kill this sonofabitch!” Spittle flew while Throttle yelled.
“We gotta go now. The badges already nabbed Wheelie and Rock. Let’s go.” He dragged Throttle away. “Come on, Kimber. Fucking move it!”
She stared at Chewy, wondering if he were alive, then breathed out when she saw his chest rise and fall. The cops would find him and send him to the hospital. She hated him for what he did to her, but she didn’t want him dead. How had a day that held so much promise turned into such a violent melee? She followed Jax and Throttle to their bikes. So many people were outside that the cops were having a hard time controlling who came and went from the complex. Taking off their cuts, Jax and Throttle placed them neatly in her saddlebags. Then the three of them mixed in with the non-outlaw bikers and rode away from the coliseum, leaving the fracas behind them.
They arrived at the motel and went immediately to their room so Throttle could wash off the blood from the fight. Placing ice cubes wrapped in a washcloth over her swollen eyes, she leaned against the headboard.
“What the fuck happened back there?” she asked when he came out of the shower.
The mattress sagged when he crawled over to her, cradling her in his arms. “The fuckin’ Demon Riders started that shit. They were pissed about something Hawk and some brothers said to one of their members, so they started in on us. And there’s no fuckin’ way Insurgents let anyone disrespect them. We never back down from a fight.” He kissed the top of her head. “Who the fuck was the sonofabitch who hit you?”
She traced the tattoos on his chest with her finger. “Chewy—my ex. I hadn’t seen him since I ran out on him a few years ago. I wondered if he’d be at the expo because I know his club went in the past. It was my bad luck that they were there this year. He was pissed I ran out on him, and he wanted to teach me a lesson. I’m glad you came when you did. I couldn’t fight him off… I never could.” She hugged him.
“I hope I killed his pussy ass. You should’ve told me your concerns. You need to open up to me more, baby.”
“It’s hard for me to trust any man because of the bad experience I had with Chewy, but I’m getting there.” Silence spread between them, and then she said in a small voice, “One of your members killed Tiny.”
He stiffened under her touch. “Who the fuck’s Tiny?”
“A Demon Rider. He was one of the older dudes. He could be a mean SOB.”
“Not anymore.” He laughed. “I don’t know who did it. I didn’t see it.”
She knew he was lying, and that was okay; after all, it was club business, and she really didn’t want to know. “What a mess, huh?”
“Yep, but the fuckers started it. You gonna be okay for an hour or so? Banger’s called an emergency church in his room. You want me to ask a couple of the old ladies to keep you company?”
“I’ll be okay. I’d rather be alone until you come back. I’m so tired.”
He kissed the side of her face that Chewy hadn’t battered and stood up. “Be back soon, and then we can order a pizza or something. I think it’s best if we head back tomorrow morning.”
“Okay.” She watched him close the door behind her, then turned on the TV searching for the local news. On four channels, the mayhem at the Denver Motorcycle Expo was the breaking story. She watched the videotape of the fight as if seeing it for the first time; the whole incident seemed surreal. In the end, Tiny was dead, and three Demon Riders and two Insurgents were in serious condition at a local hospital. Many of the others who were injured fled the scene. Throttle and I are among them. She turned the TV to mute, watching the images of the fight over and over as they flickered on the screen until her eyes grew heavy and sleep blocked out everything.
* * *
Something warm and soft made her skin tingle. She fluttered her eyes open and Throttle’s lustful eyes met hers. “Did I wake you?” he whispered against her soft cheek as his nose nuzzled against it.
“Yeah, but I think it’s going to be worth it.” She circled her arms around his waist, bringing his body closer to her. When his dick poked her, she laughed.
“You think it’s funny that you make me harder than a goddamned rock whenever I’m around you?” He pretended to be annoyed, but the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth gave him away. He yanked at her pajama top, hoisting it above her head, as she unzipped his jeans, shoving them down over his hips. “You make me crazy, baby. I can’t get enough of you. Every time I see you I want to touch you, taste you, and be inside you. You fuckin’ rule my head and cock.” He gently covered his mouth over hers.
Sparks of white heat popped from her nipples to her wet, throbbing sex as he held her close, his hands skimming over her flesh. His tongue trailed down to her sex, and he spread her wide and buried his face into her wetness, breathing in deeply. “I love the way you smell when you’re turned on. Fuckin’ sweet.” He dipped his head and licked her clit while he dragged his finger up and down the length of her seam.
Hot heat coiled tighter inside her as the tension built. She laced her fingers through his hair, pulling it hard as she groaned and writhed beneath him. He leaned over and kissed her hard, tasting herself on his tongue.
“Do you like the way you taste? Sweet and addictive. Damn.”
The pressure continued to build, and she could only groan her answer as he resumed his wicked lapping on her clit. “I want you inside me,” she panted.
He pulled back then shoved into her, her scream filling the room. As he pistoned in and out, he claimed her. “Your sweet pussy belongs only to me.” He dipped his head and sucked in one of her tight nipples. “Your tits are mine.” He slid his hands under her ass and squeezed her cheeks hard. “And your luscious ass is all mine. The only cock you’ll come all over is mine and it’s the only one that’ll fill your pussy. You understand?” His finger swirled around her hardened nub as he grunted and slammed into her over and over.
Fisting the sheets, she nodded as her head thrashed against the pillow. Then the scorching heat uncoiled, coursing through her veins like liquid fire as she shattered into a million pieces. Through the euphoria, she heard him yell, “Kimber. Fuck!” His fingers dug into her hips before he collapsed on top of her, his face buried in the crook of her neck.
After a while, he rolled over and pulled her to him, wrapping her in his arms. The drone of big-rig trucks on the interstate hung over them as they lay sated, their legs tangled together.
“You make me happy,” Kimber said as she kissed his chest.
He didn’t answer. His steady breathing told her he’d already fallen asleep. Smiling, she burrowed herself closer to his warm body; she felt safe and protected. She hadn’t felt
that way in a very long time, and she liked it.
He’d claimed her, and the memory of his passion-filled words made her stomach flutter. He’d slipped into her heart and life when she least expected him to. And she liked that.
A lot.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Cara’s trying to help out some of the brothers the fuckin’ badges nabbed on Saturday. She doesn’t think anyone’s gonna be charged, including the filthy Demon Riders.” Hawk stood rigid, his face flushed.
“What about your female mechanic?” Rags called out. “She saw the whole mess go down. She even saw me shoot the fuckin’ Demon Rider.”
“She didn’t see shit. Leave her out of it.” Throttle jumped to his feet, the vein in his neck pulsing like hell.
“The fuck she didn’t. Anyway, she got herself in this by not telling us she was a Demon Riders’ whore!” Rags slammed his fist on the table while his brothers yelled out their agreement.
Throttle was on the table in no time, lunging at Rags. Before the brothers could stop him, he and Rags were punching each other like they were in a boxing match. “You fuckin’ asshole,” Throttle panted as he threw his fist against Rags’s left jaw. Rags returned the punches as good as he got.
“Will someone pull these two apart? We got shit to discuss!” Banger’s voice boomed inside the crowded room.
Several brothers rushed over and separated the two. Hawk came over and roughly jerked Throttle to the other side of the room. “Stop fighting with the brothers whenever they say shit about Kimber. You’re acting like a pussy-whipped asshole.”
“You know damn well you wouldn’t sit still if the brothers said shit about Cara.”
“That’s different. She’s my old lady. We’re getting married.”
“What about before? You were plenty pissed when someone even looked at her. Don’t fuckin’ lecture me now about this.”
Hawk scowled. “You making her your old lady?”
Throttle stared, his chin held high in defiance. “That’s no one’s fuckin’ business.”
