by K E Osborn
“Shit, scare a brother to death you asshats,” I call out. They chuckle as they walk up to me and stand one either side of me.
“You know, I’ve been watching you since we got here, Prez. You’re on edge. And a president on the edge is not good for the club,” Op says.
Tensing, I shake my head. “You should know, right Prez?” I reply, and he half laughs.
“Yeah, I know what’s going on. Leo and I have both seen it. Hell brother, I’ve lived it. Take it from someone who's been there, pick up your balls and settle down with Meli… it's worth it.” He slaps my back, and I take a deep breath not having the courage to reply.
“We gotta head back, but it’s been great catching up again. Bring the club over to the states again, but come to the clubhouse and stay. The other guys would love to see you all again,” Leo suggests, and I nod.
“Yeah, we’ll have to do that for sure. You guys are like our stateside brothers.”
“And you’re our down under brothers. Wait that sounds weird, let’s forget that,” Leo says making me laugh.
“Safe flight. Say hi to Chelsea for me.”
Op smiles wide like he always does when you mention her name.
“You too, when are you flying back?”
I scoff. “Fuck! I don’t even know. I need to sort my shit out.”
Op winces and nods. “Stop fighting it. When you do, it will all fall into place.” He nods, and then he and Leo turn and walk back inside leaving me to take in a deep breath and wonder what the fuck I’m doing with my life. Running my hands through my long blond hair, I turn and head back inside. Just one more round of poker, I need to win it all back.
Sitting down at the table as they start to deal out another hand, I nod, and the dealer hands me my cards. I glance at them and smile.
“So, let’s raise the stakes. Winner of this games gets the winnings from every round so far tonight, and let’s up the ante shall we?” the guy to my left says. I remember him saying his name was Rook.
I raise my eyebrow and purse my lips. “Up the ante?” I ask.
He looks over to Meli, Irina, and Marina, who are sitting at a table with some brown haired beauty.
“You put your best girl in, and I’ll put in mine. Winner takes all.”
Everyone around the table stiffens, as Meli sends hardcore death ray glares at me. My chest heaves at that familiar adrenaline spiking through me. This is the kind of buzz I’ve been needing. I glance over to my three club girls, and they’re all staring at me, wide-eyed, brows furrowed and Meli is subtly shaking her head.
My breathing is harsh, and I look toward Jock as he shakes his head subtly too. But the rush of the thrill is too much. I’m due for a win, and I know I can do this.
“Deal, you can have Irina.”
She scoffs as Rook shakes his head. “No, I’m not fond of Russians, too uppity… I want the blonde.”
I look to Meli and wince, and she shakes her head again pursing her lips and furrowing her brows like she’s pissed I would even consider this. But I glance down at the hand I was dealt and smile. I do love to gamble, I don’t think I can lose this.
“Fine,” I say, and Meli exhales and turns from me her chest heaving.
I know she’ll be upset right now, but I have this. She has nothing to worry about. “Who do I get?” I ask.
“Kiara,” he suggests and a little pixie looking thing steps forward. The poor girl looks broken, and I want to take her from this guy. I need to do this, win this hand, and get this girl out of the grips of this arsehole.
Nodding, I smile. “Deal.”
“Place your hands down, boys,” the dealer says.
Rook places his hand down and the entire room gasps as he shows his four Aces.
Meli’s breath catches, and I look up at her as her face turns pale white and tears flood her eyes.
“Four aces, Rook wins, Meli meet your new boss,” the dealer announces, and Meli lets out a loud sob as I wince at her.
“Gator!” she sobs as she stumbles over to Rook.
The sight makes my stomach churn.
I have to stop this… now.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Meli walks over to Rook, and he pulls her into his side and runs his nose along her hip sniffing her. The sight turns my stomach as Meli begins to breathe heavily in sobs. I grunt as Rook goes to swipe all the winnings from the table, but I clear my throat and look right at Meli.
“I haven’t played my hand yet.”
Everyone looks at me furrowing their brows like I’m being ridiculous that anything can beat four aces. Like I’m clutching at straws.
“Fair call. Show your hand, Gator,” the dealer calls out and Rook grunts.
“Nothing you have will beat four aces, Gator. Stop delaying the inevitable!” Rook shakes his head and pulls Meli to him further making her whimper. My muscles clench wanting to reach out and snap his neck for even touching her, but instead I flop my cards onto the table face up and smile wide as the room gasps.
“Nothing but a royal flush will beat four aces, Rook,” I say confidently.
“Bullshit!” Rook calls out slamming his fist on the table making it jolt to the side with the force, causing Meli to jump slightly.
I slide my cards out so they can see easily the Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten, all of hearts too. Kind of seems fitting.
“That’s a royal flush. Sorry Rook. Gator wins this round,” the dealer says.
“Fuck!” Rook curses loudly letting go of Meli and standing up so abruptly that his chair scratches along the concrete floor and then tips over falling backward in haste. Meli rushes from Rook’s side back over to mine as quickly as she can to get away from him, and I wrap my arm around her shoulder. She immediately pulls it off her and stands away from me slightly. Wincing, I mentally slap myself knowing that I’m now in the shit with her. Taking a breath, I look over to the girl I just won.
“Kiara, do you have a passport?”
She nods and I smile. “Good, go pack your bags, sweetheart. ‘Cause you’re coming to Australia.”
Rook scoffs and throws his hands in the air. “Oh, c’mon, we’re not actually taking the women are we?”
Huffing, I cross my arms over my broad chest. “You had every intention of taking Meli and doing God knows what to her, just like you’ve done to Kiara. So yes, I’m taking her, so she can start a new life and be free of you!”
Rook shakes his head and signals his goons to walk out with him. “This is a mistake, Gator.”
“I think you placing your hedges was the mistake, Rook. I’ll take back everything I lost by the way, the winner gets all remember?”
He huffs throwing the keys to the loan car and my handgun on the table as his guys empty the briefcases full of cash onto the green felt. We won’t be allowed to leave the country with that amount of cash, but I can have Gadget put it into a bank account for us for safe keeping.
Rook and his men storm out of the small, dank room and I turn to Meli and half-smile. She frowns with a glare. Harshness swipes over her face, and suddenly her hand comes up to slap my face, but I grab her wrist before she can make contact. She struggles in my grip, and I grab her other arm and pull her to me as she groans in protest.
“You sick son of a bitch. I knew you were playing games with me, but this is my life and selling me off like that… How could you? I fucking hate you!”
The words sting as my chest heaves while she continues to struggle against me. I pull her to me tighter and force her to look up at me. “Stop! I knew my hand before I agreed to the deal. There was no way I was going to lose, Meli.”
She doesn’t soften at all, only glares at me and turns her lip up in disgust. “But still, letting me think you were going to let me go like that, just trade me in a fucking game of poker. I don’t even know who you are right now. I must honestly mean nothing to you.”
Huffing, I shake my head because that’s the furthest from the truth. I care about her more than I should. Women are
a weakness, and a president can’t be weak. Meli… Meli is my weakness.
“You know I care about you, Meli.”
“Do you? ‘Cause you have a fucked up way of showing it. Now let me go before I cause serious damage to your precious balls.”
Huffing, I reluctantly let her go, and she turns storming off out of the room. Irina and Marina take off after her, leaving me in the room with a silent Jock, Mooch, Jigsaw, Lookout and one very timid Kiara—oh, and the dealer.
“Fuck!” I murmur.
Jock walks over and slaps my shoulder. “You’ve got some making up to do, Prez.”
Nodding, I sigh and slump my body. “Or maybe I should just let her go.”
“Is that what you really want?”
Huffing, I shake my head. “I don’t know what the fuck I want.”
“Well, just so you know, Crash and her are getting along probably a little too well. If you take a step back, you better be prepared for him to step in.”
A deep ache stabs my chest. “What? Seriously. But he’s nothing like me.”
“That’s probably the appeal, Prez.”
I grit my teeth. “Shit. Thanks, Jock, I can always count on you.”
He tilts his head. “You should go find her.”
“Yeah, I should. Can you look after all this and Kiara for me? Get her settled in. Tell her what to expect at the club?”
“Yeah, no worries. I’ll look after her, make sure Mooch stays away from her for now.”
“Yeah, we wouldn’t want to scare her off completely.”
“Go… find your lass, and make it right.”
“Thanks.” I turn taking a deep breath and walk out of the room in search of Meli. I have no idea what I’m going to say to her, but I know I don’t want Crash to have her, and I certainly don’t want Meli to be upset with me. We’ve had such a turbulent relationship, all because I feel like women are a weakness. But I’m starting to realise that with Techie and Steel both being blissfully happy, that maybe I want that too. Maybe love is something worth fighting for, instead of fighting off.
Walking up to the bar, I spot Meli sitting with Crash, and their body language is not what I would like. They’re facing each other, their knees touching, and their laughing looking like they’re having a good time. This won’t do at all. I huff, puffing out my chest and storm over to them. I stop right next to Meli, and they both stop talking and look up at me. Meli rolls her eyes as Crash frowns wide and moves away from her slightly. Good boy.
“Meli, a word?”
She scoffs and shakes her head. “Anything you want to say, you say right here.”
My body flames red hot, I want to bend her over that stool and smack her arse right here and now, but I need to keep patient with her.
“Meli, I’m not asking.”
Her nostrils flare, and her face tinges a slight red shade. “And I’m not playing anymore, Gator.”
Clenching my jaw, I let out a chesty groan. “Okay, well, I want to try… I mean… crap… can we just go somewhere?”
Her harsh glare softens slightly, and she shakes her head. “No. If you can’t say what you feel in front of people, then I’m not willing to take the gamble on you.”
My entire body tingles and not in a good way. A cold sweat runs down the back of my neck as my chest starts to heave at the thought. “So that’s it then?”
She slumps her shoulders. “You did this, Gator. Not me. Unless you’re willing to swallow your goddamned pride and admit in front of everyone how you really feel, then I’m done. I can’t do this anymore.”
Stiffening my body at her harsh words, I feel heavy. My whole body wants to catapult to the ground in a shrivelled mess. Looking around the crowded room, I wish I had the balls to make a fool of myself in front of everyone.
Crash looks at Meli as she huffs. She picks up her cocktail and stands up. “C’mon Crash, at least I know you enjoy my company.”
My heart sinks and I want to tell her that I enjoy her company more than anyone else in the world, but I’m too shattered right now to even talk. Crash stands up looks up at me with a frown like he is torn. I nod, and he turns following Meli as she saunters away, leaving me breathless and broken by the bar. The only reason I let him go after her is for her comfort. Certainly not mine.
My heart is racing, I feel like the biggest prick in the world. My breathing is rapid, I feel light headed. I sit down on the stool she just vacated and slump onto the bar. I feel sick, physically sick like I might actually vomit. My stomach is churning, and my heart is pumping. I need something to calm me down. I glance up at the bartender and signal for a beer. I need to drown my sorrows because I just let the best thing in my life, walk right out of it.
***
After drowning my sorrows last night, I got the call early this morning to remind me we’re heading back home today. I drag my hungover and sorry self onto the plane. The air hostess takes my ticket, looks at it and directs me to my seat. As I walk down the aisle, I notice I’m sitting next to Techie and Shay, which I don’t mind because they’ll make for some interesting conversation for the twenty-one hours and thirty-five minutes to Sydney. Then after that nightmare, we have to board another flight back to Adelaide.
Placing my bag in the overhead luggage compartment, Techie looks up and chuckles.
“What the fuck’s wrong with you?”
I sit down in the aisle seat next to him and with a huff, I pull my seatbelt around me and buckle it up. “I’m hungover, and I’m pretty sure I might have a broken heart. Fuck! Maybe I’m still drunk.”
Shay leans over resting her hand on my knee. “If it makes you feel better Meli feels like shit, too.”
I gulp. “She does?”
She nods. “Mm-hmm… she spoke to me this morning. She thinks you’ve given up on her. She’s thinking of leaving the club—”
“What?” My heart races frantically as my stomach twists in on itself causing bile to creep up my throat. “She can’t leave.”
“Then maybe you should tell her?” Techie suggests.
“This is so fucked up! How did I let it get to this?”
“Your stubborn pride?” Techie chuckles.
Slumping, I nod. “But shouldn’t a president have no attachments? Shouldn’t his mind be only on his club?”
Techie sighs. “I know you believe this. But look at Bullet in Bendigo, his missus doesn’t distract him. Look at Op from Athens, his missus only pushes him to be better. Old Ladies aren’t a distraction, Gator, they’re aids in helping us to be better, to perform better, to lead… better. You’re just looking at it negatively when Meli by your side can only be a positive. You two on the same page and happy together… you’d be an unstoppable team. You just have to open your eyes, and see what you’re going to lose if you don’t step up.”
“Shit. She said basically that she wanted me to say in front of everyone how I felt about her.”
“A grand gesture?” Techie asks.
“I guess.”
Shay giggles, Techie and I both look at her raising our eyebrows. “Have you seen The Wedding Singer?”
Furrowing my brows, I shake my head in confusion at her change of topic. “With Adam Sandler? Yeah, but what’s that got to do with anything?”
“Well, we’re on a plane, you need a grand gesture. Ask the assistant once we take off to make an announcement over the PA. That way you’re not only telling your brothers how you feel about her but complete strangers as well. What’s more romantically grand than that?”
Blowing a puff of air out of my mouth.
Techie nods. “Do it!”
Chuckling, I slump my body. “I’m not singing like Adam Sandler.”
“No, please don’t, but do be honest. Tell her how you really feel… no bullshit.”
“She’ll love it,” Shay chimes.
“Are you sure? ‘Cause my brothers are gonna kick my arse for this.”
They both chuckle. “Yeah, we’ll all tease you, but in the end, you’ll have
Meli. And isn’t that worth a bit of biffo?”
“Yeah, yeah it is. Let’s do this.”
Standing up after noticing the seatbelt sign is now off, I walk down to the front of the plane toward the air hostess just as she ducks behind the curtain. I move behind it, and she spots me taking in my tall frame and cut, and she half-smiles cautiously and takes in a deep breath. “Can I help you?”
Smiling at her to ease her nerves, I nod my head. “I sure hope so. Have you seen The Wedding Singer?”
She chuckles and looks back toward another hostess. “Tracy, we’ve got another one!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
MELI’S POV
I feel terrible. I’m not sure if it’s from the realisation that I really do need to let Gator go, or from the slight hangover from last night’s binge session. But either way, this long haul flight is going to kick my arse. Luckily I have Crash here to help me pass the time. It’s a shame I only see him as a brother figure. He’d be a good replacement for Gator, but I know there’s nothing here other than a really strong friendship. He knows this too, we’ve talked about it. There’s a strong bond that we share, but there’s no actual romantic feelings there. Even though I’m sure people are thinking there are. Exhaling loudly, I rest my head down on his shoulder, and he wraps his arm around my shoulders pulling me to him.
He huffs. “Do you think people will ever take me seriously?”
Glancing up at him I half-smile. “I take you seriously.”
“I know, but the guys, they all see me as the punk kid they all get to do their shitty jobs. I feel like no one respects me.”
“Aww, don’t be down. I love you for you, and the guys treat you like that because they love you, too. They wouldn’t have brought you with them from Virginia if they didn’t appreciate you.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“Don’t worry, one day you’ll find a girl who matches you perfectly.”
“I wish you had a sister.”
Laughing, I nod. “Then you could really be my brother.”
