Behind Blue Eyes

by Jordan Abbott

  “The club…” he started to say again.

  She didn’t let him finish his sentence. “Nuke, it wasn’t enough! I sold my bike, too.” She was getting angry now. He was being impossible, immature and irrational!

  “Fuck the bike! I can get you another bike!” He was fuming now. “The ring was custom made for you. NOT FOR SOME MAN TO GIVE TO HIS CUNT! I OWN YOU! THAT RING IS YOURS! YOU ARE MINE!”

  “I know that, baby. I also understand that it was expensive, but Nuke, I…”

  “I’m not pissed off about how much I paid for the ring, Jasmine, but you’re my wife! It was MADE FOR YOU!”

  “Nuke, I wanted you out of jail. I wanted you safe.”

  He shook his head. “What have I told you about playing the martyr, Jasmine?”

  “I’m not playing the martyr. I’m winging this shit! I don’t know the correct do’s and don’ts on what to do when your man is in jail. This was the first time for me! That was something you didn’t bother to explain! You spent all of that time trying to make me the perfect sex slave, you didn’t bother to make a to-do list for me on what to do to get your lifetime-of-criminal-activity ass out of jail! I did what I thought was right!”

  “Old ladies shouldn’t make decisions without permission!” He was pacing up and down in the tiny room. Then he turned and punched another wall.

  Jasmine got up off the bed. “Screw you! No, on second thought, I don’t want to fuck you! You know what your problem is?” Jasmine was so heated that she stepped up close to him, pointing her finger at his chest.

  “You’re running your mouth so go ahead and tell me!” His entire body was rigid with anger.

  “Guilt! You’re a fucking sociopath and I’m the only thing you’ve ever felt guilty about! You feel guilty that you got locked up and left me. You feel guilty that I sold things to help with your safety in jail. You don’t know how to deal with guilt! We’re a team, we’re partners in this. WE PROTECT EACH OTHER!”

  “They teach you that in nursing 101, or was it your one semester of psych that made you an expert?” he shot back at her.

  Jasmine waved her hands in the air. “I’m done! I’m not doing this with you! I’m going out there to have fun. You keep can keep being an ass if you want to!” She turned to walk away and he grabbed her by the arm and shoved her up against the wall. She hit with a hard thud and a picture fell off its nail. Jasmine couldn’t deny the fear racing through her body. “If you hit me in anger, Jason” she said, starting to cry out of fear, “it’s over; I mean it. I’ll fucking leave you and I won’t come back!”

  He gripped her face hard. “I love you!” Nuke growled. The he let her go and stormed out of the room.

  She raced behind him. “FUCK YOU! NO YOU DON’T! YOU WOULDN’T BE WALKING AWAY FROM ME IF YOU DID!”

  Everyone stopped and stared at them. No one had ever seen them argue over anything. Nuke didn’t respond as he made a beeline outside. He headed straight for her car. Opening the door, he climbed inside and dumped the contents of her purse onto the seat. He took her phone and began searching for the information on her ring.

  “Oh hell!” Pipe moaned as he stopped drinking, holding his beer bottle in midair. “I knew he was going to off the deep end.”

  “What’s going on?” Mitch asked him with the look of a concerned father on his face.

  “She sold her wedding ring. You know Nuke. I told her that would be the one thing he’d be pissed off about.”

  Mitch nodded as he sipped his beer. He then moved with the growing crowd that was heading outside to see what would happen next. He didn’t want this to turn into something Nuke would regret. He stopped and motioned for Vince, Jamie, Toby, Tech and Ice. He wanted them ready in case Nuke got out of hand. He also shot a look over at Pipe, who half-heartedly put down his beer and walked outside with Mitch.

  Pipe didn’t want to be part of this. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to stand by and let a fight between the two of them happen. He leaned over toward the club president. “We’re going to need everyone if he starts beating the shit out of her,” he said loud enough for all of them to hear.

  “Yeah,” Toby added. “Remember what he did to Cotton?”

  The full patch members let out a low groan.

  “Who’s Cotton?” Ice whispered into Jamie’s ear.

  “An unlucky son of a bitch that pissed off Nuke on the wrong night. It was before your time, bro, and be thankful you weren’t here that night!” Jamie replied. “Though, if you look around hard enough, you might still find pieces of him.”

  Ice frowned. He couldn’t tell whether Jamie was serious or not.

  “Do we still have those Tasers?” Mitch asked Tech.

  “Yeah, should I go get them?” Tech asked.

  Kevin walked over to the group. “He’s going to fuck her up!” he said as he sipped his beer. “Not at all how I pictured this day.”

  “No, never mind.” Mitch shook his head. “Just go get Brock. We’ll just beat him unconscious if it comes to that. See if you can find Roach and Mountain, too. I think they might be helping the band set up.”

  “I still think we need the Tasers,” Tech said to Jamie as he headed off in search of the other club members.

  ***

  “Nuke what are you doing?” Jasmine looked at the contents of her purse all over the front seat. “If you love me like you claim you do, then stop being such a jerk right now. We could be inside, in the bedroom, making love. Not out here with you being bat-shit crazy!”

  “GO BACK INSIDE!” Nuke responded without even looking at her. He was obsessively scanning through her phone.

  “Nuke, the ring doesn’t make us married. Our commitment to one another does.”

  He climbed out of the car and backed her up against the vehicle. “Get the fuck back inside the clubhouse!” he said with an angry whisper.

  “Nuke, I…”

  “You going to stand there and keep disobeying me? You want to keep fucking arguing with me? Huh, you really want to do this right here, right now? YOU WANT TO KEEP FUCKING WITH ME? DO YOU THINK THAT’S A GOOD IDEA?”

  The club members all moved in closer.

  Never in their entire relationship has she felt the fear she was feeling now. “I didn’t do anything wrong!” Jasmine stared him in the eyes. “This is so stupid!” She glanced behind him and saw a half dozen Hells Vipers watching them.

  She slid away from Nuke as panic pulsated through her body. She glanced at him one more time, then turned and walked back inside the clubhouse.

  Nora moved to follow Jasmine. Medic stopped her. “I wouldn’t get into the middle of this if I were you.”

  She hesitated. “I think I should go.” Nora suddenly felt terrified. She wasn’t prepared for this.

  “I’d like for you to stay but if you want to leave, that’s up to you.”

  “Under different circumstances, I’d love to stay here with you. I don’t believe that this is the right time for me to be here.”

  Medic understood her concern. “Tell you what, lets chill for a bit. If in an hour or so you still want to leave, that’s cool, but I’d really like to talk with you, get to know you.”

  Nora wanted to stay as much as she wanted to leave. She glanced over at Nuke, who was in a deep conversation with other members of the club.

  The fight between Nuke and Jasmine was unexpected and it had made her a nervous wreck. “I don’t know. I really think I need to leave. ”

  “How about instead I follow you home? We could get to know each other better.”

  “Alright.” Nora felt relieved to be leaving and excited that Medic wanted to get to know her better. She walked over to Amy, “Can you tell Jasmine that I had to leave?”

  “So soon? Honey, don’t let that fight scare you away. They’ll make up before the night is over with,” Amy said, but even she was filled with doubt. Nuke and Jasmine arguing was out of the norm.

  “I’m following her home,” Medic spoke up.

  “Oh, okay. I’l
l let Jasmine know.

  ***

  Jasmine grabbed a drink from the bar and slammed down half of the contents. She was fuming and it was making her even angrier how everyone was giving her side glances. Amy walked over to her. “What’s going on?” Amy whispered in her ear.

  “I’m married to an idiot!” Jasmine finished off one cup and grabbed another.

  “All men are idiots, but what are you two fighting about?”

  Jasmine held up her left hand. “I sold my wedding ring to help raise money to protect his ass in jail! He’s being immature!”

  Amy affectionately rubbed Jasmine’s back. “Sweetie, give him time. Let him calm down. He’ll be alright after a while. They don’t understand that we do what needs to be done to protect them, just like they protect us. It’s their egos. Us women, we’re the backbone of the club. That’s something they don’t want to admit. Sure, they take care of business, but who’s here to pick up the pieces when the shit hits the fan? We are.”

  “He scared me,” Jasmine said as she looked into Amy’s eyes. “For the first time, I was truly scared of him when he pushed me up against the wall in the bedroom. I know Nuke has a temper but honestly it’s never been directed toward me. I’ve seen him in full-blown Nukeness towards other people but never me.”

  “Did he hit you?”

  “No, but I thought he was going to. We do domestic discipline, but that’s different. That’s not him abusing me. I don’t want our relationship to turn dark like that. I won’t put up with that. Has…has Mitch ever hit you?”

  “We’ve had our bad times. We’re in a good place now.”

  Jasmine shook her head. “I told him that if he hits me, I’m out. I mean that! I love him with all that I am, but I’m not staying if he starts that. No way!”

  “Jasmine, just relax. You’re both upset right now. On the positive side, your friend took off with Medic. He laid on the charm fast; he must be really horny tonight,” Amy laughed. “Now, come on. Let’s get shit-faced!”

  Jasmine looked outside at Nuke. He still had her phone in his hand and Mitch was talking to him. A few other club members were still lingering close by.

  “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea!” Jasmine and Amy locked arms and grabbed another cup filled with alcohol.

  ***

  Two hours later, Nuke was still fuming. Kevin passed Nuke a beer as he leaned up against the doorframe. “Bro, you’re out of jail. We got beer, music and wall-to-wall pussy. Go have some fun. Fuck some random bitch. It’s not like Jasmine can do shit about it.”

  Nuke glanced over at Kevin. “Shut the fuck up!”

  Kevin shrugged his shoulders. “I’m only trying to help.”

  “I didn’t ask for your help!”

  Kevin shot him a look. “Screw you! Be miserable all night, I don’t give a fuck!” Kevin stormed off and headed out side.

  Nuke made his way over to the pool table. He started a game with Toby. From the pool table, he could keep his eyes on Jasmine. She was hanging with Amy and Pam, drinking the night away. It pissed him off even more that she didn’t seem that upset. She’s probably fucking around on him! That’s why she so easily sold her wedding ring. The negative thought immediately popped back into his head. He glanced over at Pipe but he had his tongue down the throat of some red-haired girl that Nuke didn’t recognize.

  “You need to go kiss and make up with your wife,” Toby said as he took a shot.

  “She’s the one that needs to apologize.” Nuke fired one of the balls into the pocket. His eyes cut toward Jasmine. She was dancing with Amy. He stood up from the pool table and watched her.

  “Let it go,” Toby said. “She’s just trying to release some tension.”

  “Trying to push me past my breaking point more like it!” Nuke stooped back over the table and hit one of the numbered balls so hard it bounced onto the floor. “Dammit!”

  Toby held in his snicker. “Nuke, you’re in an outlaw motorcycle club, you’re in an interracial relationship, she was a civilian, she’s hot and you’re you!” he laughed. “The two of you have beat all of the odds. She stuck by your dumb ass. She went without for you. She held it down and you know damn well that she kept her legs closed while you were locked up. Stop being an ass over a fucking ring and go make up with your wife!”

  “How do I know she was faithful? I was locked up!”

  Toby shook his head. “Because a woman who scrapes together that kind of money and gives it all to the club isn’t going out fucking someone else.”

  Nuke glared at him and shook his head. “Some dude probably gave her the money!”

  “Idiot,” Toby replied as he sunk another shot. He picked up his beer from the edge of the pool table and took a drink. “How many times do you think I’ve been married?”

  “Once,” Nuke replied.

  “Three times.”

  Nuke frowned. “No shit! Where the fuck was I when all of this was going on?”

  “One was before I even knew you; it was annulled. Another was when you were a hang around. You were so fucked up on drugs back then it’s a wonder you remember anything! The last one you knew, Shasta.”

  Nuke laughed, “Yeah, worst name ever. So what’s your point? I need to buy stock in wedding rings?”

  Toby laughed as two of the new Snake Swallowers walked over with fresh beers. One girl in particular, a short brunette, brushed her perky tits against Nuke’s arm as she gave him the beer.

  “Thanks,” he said, then he looked over toward Jasmine, but she hadn’t noticed.

  “I need something in my mouth. Can it be you?” the brunette said with a smile. She then walked over to one of the chairs and sat down. She made sure that her skirt slid up her creamy white thighs, revealing that she had no panties on.

  “Bitch, naw!” Nuke replied as he looked over at Jasmine again and she was looking right at him, throwing daggers with her eyes.

  “My point is, I married the wrong women; you didn’t. Don’t fuck up a good thing. You know our life isn’t easy. It takes a good, strong woman to deal with it, one that can keep her mouth shut, too. She isn’t like Wayne’s wife, who went to the feds. Now he’s doing twenty-five years because he married the wrong bitch.”

  “I don’t tell her club business,” Nuke defended himself.

  “You don’t have to. Wayne’s wife cooperated with the Feds. I heard she even let them bug the house.”

  “Jasmine wouldn’t do that!” Nuke insisted as he glanced over at her. Her stare had gone from daggers to a machine gun.

  “My point exactly; don’t fuck it up! You want to end up with one of them whores?” Tech pointed to a group of Snake Swallowers who had stripped down to nothing at all. Then he pointed over to the brunette sitting in the chair with her legs spread. She now had her hand down in between her legs and was rubbing herself. She smiled at Nuke as she put two fingers into her pussy.

  Nuke made a face. “No, I don’t want to go back to that.”

  “Listen to me. Swallow your pride, and say you’re sorry even if you feel that you are right. Bro, go make up with your wife.”

  The brunette got up from the chair and walked toward Nuke. Tracing her wet fingers across his bicep, she reached for his face in an attempt to put her fingers in his mouth. Nuke pushed her away. He turned toward Jasmine, who was storming across the room toward them. “Oh shit!”

  Jasmine stormed past Toby and hit the Snake Swallower upside the head with the beer bottle that was in her hand. The woman immediately fell to the floor, screaming. Jasmine kicked her in the face, then spun around toward Nuke.

  Her dark hair was a tangled mess of fury, and to Nuke she looked sexy as hell. He reached for her and she moved away from him. “Go ahead and fuck that bitch. I know you want to! I’m sick of this shit. I’m done!”

  “Jasmine, calm the hell down!” He reached for her again and was met with the same reaction.

  “After all I fucking did for you! I gave up everything for you!” she screamed at him. She stormed of
f down the hallway.

  “You need to fix this,” Toby said as he watched another Snake Swallower pick her bleeding friend up off the floor.

  Nuke nodded. “She is beautiful, though, when she gets all fired up!”

  Toby shook his head again. “She’s not fired up. She’s hurt. A woman who feels that you’ve broken her heart; that’ll lead to you being single again.”

  He knew that Toby was speaking the truth, but he just couldn’t go talk to her right now. He needed to get that ring back first.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Discipline

  “Nuke, Mitch and Toby were talking till the wee hours in the morning. Nuke left about eight,” Amy said as she sat down at the kitchen table in the clubhouse with Jasmine. “I’m sure he didn’t sleep at all last night.”

  Jasmine glanced at the clock on the wall; it was after two in the afternoon. “He didn’t talk to me the rest of the night. Every time I came back down from the bedroom, he was still over there by the pool table. Those whores were circling him like fresh meat.

  Amy was used to all of the women. It was something that she was trying to get Jasmine to get used to also. “You have to stop letting them get to you.”

  “Amy, did he hook up with somebody after I went to bed?” Jasmine feared the answer she’d hear. “He was really mad. I knew he’d be upset about the ring, but never did I think he’d react the way he did.”

  “Honey, he didn’t get with anyone.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure, and I’d tell you if he did.”

  Jasmine burst into tears anyway. “It was such a stupid fight. Pipe tried to warn me that Nuke was going to overreact about the ring.”

  Amy scooted her chair closer to Jasmine and gave her a hug.

  “I don’t need the ring to love him. Why can’t he understand that? What the hell is wrong with him? He gets out of jail and the first thing he does is have an argument with me?”