by Hope Stone
My brother looked down at his hands in guilt. “I didn’t think you needed to know that.”
“How the fuck didn’t you think I needed to know? Where are they staying? Who did you get to run them out of town?” I pressed him.
“Aww, shit. I got our Enforcer to talk to them. Rodriguez.”
“Talk?” I pressed my finger into the table and widened my eyes. “Talk? That’s all you did?”
“Yeah, I know. I know. I should have been tougher. I didn’t want any more bloodshed.”
“So now they’re still here and you’re willing to let something happen to me? All because you didn’t settle the score with these guys. Both of them are straight-up, low-level criminals,” I spat at him. I was laying it on thick but I didn’t care. I needed the point to get across.
He paused and read the distress on my face. He put his hands up in defense. “All right. You think Rodriguez might be in on it?”
“I don’t fucking know, but I do know they have a black pick-up truck and I’m pretty sure they’ve been tailing me. That teardrop fatty had was a gang symbol. Maybe he got that in jail or something. Where did they used to live?”
“Back behind the airport, close by the chapter. Bear Creek Road or something like that. Doubt if they'll stay there now.”
I slapped my brother on the leg. “You’re shit! You're trying to rebuild a crime, sex-ridden motorcycle gang and make it fucking wholesome! That shit ain’t for you! You’re not built for it! You needed to handle this shit firsthand. Make them pay. Rodriguez punked you. He did nothing. Now, these guys are making a mockery of the chapter,” I fired back and I knew my face was red. I let him have it. I watched as his face grew redder and redder, because all that I said was true. He hadn’t followed the protocol.
“Shut up! I need to think. Get out of here. I need to get Rodriguez on the phone.” His smoldering anger was evident, but he couldn’t dispute what I said.
“You better.” I folded my arms over my chest while I waited for him to make the call.
“Get out. I need some privacy.” He waved me off.
I rose up from my seat. “I’ll be in my room. Let me know what you’re going to do,” I said. Not one mention of Diego. Good. He was more focused on protecting me. Okay, so they were last seen near the chapter grounds. It was a long shot, but maybe it would help Diego.
I texted him with quick fingers as I closed my bedroom door behind me.
“Off your case for now. Bear Creek Road for Jimmy and Blaze.”
Ten seconds later...
“Thanks baby.”
“Are your crew staying with you?”
“No. Close by. Hotel. Why?”
“Just wanted to know. Bye.”
“Ok. Call you in the morning. Dream of me.”
“I will. Look forward to being in your bed soon.”
What had I become? A gang member's girlfriend? Again? I sat at my study table and looked at my anatomy books. I was crisscrossed between two worlds. My heart was beating out of my chest. His biker friends were at a hotel. I wanted to go to him. I had to see him. I wanted to taste his lips. I knew it was crazy dangerous. My brain wouldn’t let me think too hard. I scooted back from my chair and pulled out my night bag. I packed a few clothes in it recklessly.
I slipped out to the bathroom and grabbed my toothbrush. I washed my face and looked long and hard in the mirror. I had to fight for my man. I heard Palo yelling from the other room.
“Rodriguez! I told you to fucking handle it! I don’t want smut on our name. We’re not doing this anymore. My family is in danger. Fix it! Tail them and get them the fuck outta here! Especially Jimmy! That fucker is on his last year of parole. If he gets busted for a minor traffic infraction he goes back to jail. Do it and do it now!”
I held my hand to my chest. I ran out of the bathroom and back to my room. Palo would be coming down here. As soon as he left I was going to Diego. Come hell or high water.
“Misty!” Palo called out.
I stepped out of my bedroom door. I shouted back. “What you got, Palo?”
“It’s done. Rodriguez is going there now. He knows now. I promise you it’s done. No more bullshit.”
“It better be.”
Palo cracked his knuckles and rubbed his head. “‘Kay. I’m going to bed. Don’t disturb me. I’ve had enough for one day.”
I sighed and scooted back to the room. My brother wasn’t a killer. He didn't have it in him. He was a great hustler, businessman and possessed the gift of the gab. That was why he was club president. No other reason. He didn’t have a killer instinct. I had more of it than him. I put my hair up in a tight bun and hiked my night bag over my shoulder. I knew he would hear the car leaving. But the thing was, Palo wasn’t the boss of me. I had my own life and he couldn’t stop me. I slipped out the back door and clicked it locked behind me. I jumped in the driver’s seat and cranked the engine. My knees jiggled from excitement as adrenaline flushed through me. I felt like a real Puerto Rican bad bitch. I screeched out of the driveway and hit the freeway to Diego’s house. I pulled up twenty minutes later. I saw him peep through his Venetian blinds. He opened the door a crack before I got there. Ï knocked three times as I let the cold night air run through my lungs.
“Special delivery. You like Puerto Rican food?”
“It’s my favorite,” a husky Argentine voice answered and he opened the door wide. Diego stood bare-chested, with hungry, hooded eyes. His shoulders looked broader, his hair hung in his eyes, and his biceps rippled. Low-slung jeans hugged his hips. The V of his abdominal muscles was prominent. He reeled me in with both hands and pressed me hard against the wall. The breath whooshed out of me. He ravished my mouth and I groaned into his. Our tongues chased one another as I drank him in. My hands automatically stretched around his neck. My leg raised and wrapped around him. He cupped under my buttocks and pressed his throbbing manhood into me.
“Oh, baby, what a greeting. Damn. I missed you, Misty. So so much.” A low groan rattled from his throat as he breathed life into me with his passion. No time for kissing, only time for feeling. I reached my hands down to the V line and ran my fingers there. He caught my fingers with his and unbuttoned his jeans as he breathed into the side of my neck and began to nuzzle. He drew back and looked at my face. “Let me see you.” I was busy trying to catch my breath. Dazzled in a good way. My high ponytail was starting to slip. I stopped trying to hold it up and shook my hair free, letting my long hair cascade around my shoulders. “That’s better,” he murmured in awe. I turned on my secret weapon, my bedroom eyes. He picked me up in his thickly muscled arms and carried me to the bedroom. He didn’t play around; he stepped out of his jeans and slipped my top over my head. I wriggled out of my jeans and prepared for the onslaught of sensation. Diego didn’t disappoint. He curved his hands around my buttocks as I leaned into the heat. I ran the pads of my fingers in circles around his chest. He shuddered as I noticed his hair catching in line with the sliver of light through the curtain.
The room was ablaze with the flame of our heartbeats. He moved his hands up the length of my spine and rested them in the silkiness of my hair. My body was lit up from the inside through his touch. I felt the power of his engine as his arousal crushed into my leg. I slid backward on the bed and Diego followed. He unclasped my bra and began the slow, painful, ecstatic nibbling of my neck and my swollen breasts. His touch led him all the way to the garden of Eden. He slipped me out of my panties and threw them to the side. I opened myself to him, needing him to fan the flame burning in my nether regions. Our breathing matched in heaviness, the wanton desire in both of us threatening to do us in. He gave it to me. His mouth soothed the aching want as he searched through the crevices of my lips. I moaned with the longing of being away from him so long. His tongue made inroads into the electric current of my erogenous zones. His mouth clamped down into the center of me as I raised my hips in anticipation. I gasped and he grunted with satisfaction as the pulses of orgasm reigned supreme through
my body. I cried out and caught a glimpse of a sensual smile curved on his lips.
He dropped out of his underwear as I enjoyed the Spanish volcano erupting between us. His manhood stood like a flagpole. I licked my lips in anticipation. He climbed on top, kneeling as if praying, his hair hanging in his eyes. Never more sexy. I admired the broadness and sheer raw power of the man in front of me. Diego tapped his hands on the top part of his chest, indicating for me to wrap my legs around him for wider entry, and I did. I watched Diego’s chest rise and fall as he slid his hot cock into my core. My walls expanded to meet him. The pace was a mixture of slow grind and earthy pounding. I dug my nails into his chest as he stretched me around him further. The veins in his neck grew larger along with the hardness of his length as he pistoned in and out of me, getting closer to being extinguished by the flame of rapture.
“Yes, papi!” I cried out, clutching the stark white sheets. The low roar of a lion came from Diego’s mouth as he let go and I felt the sweet slickness of my body drive him to orgasm. I wasn’t far behind as the waves of heat washed over me again and again. He slowly lowered my legs and slid in the sheets beside me. He lay on his back and breathed out. I giggled and he put one hand behind his head.
“You are...” He looked at me with those liquid pools of yumminess.
“What am I?” I teased, letting my soft fingers slide over his chest.
“You’re everything. I missed you.” His husky voice touched my soul in ways I never knew a man could. He reached his hand over the curve above my ass and gazed at me. I moistened my lips, looking at the grand specimen of hunk that laid in front of me. His head was propped up on one hand, the other moving across my stomach.
“I came to tell you about my brother. He’s off you now. He’s hunting down Jimmy and Blaze.”
I watched the slight frown come over Diego’s face as he pulled me closer to him. “I can’t stop what the chapter is doing, but as long as we are good and in communication, we can stay one step ahead and prevent the war. Bloodshed is the last thing I want. I do want to get rid of those two slime buckets, though. They both need a good ass-kicking.”
I wrapped my arms around him and sank into a blissful place.
“I agree...” I cooed.
He lifted my chin to look at me. “I love you so much. We aren’t letting anything or anyone come between us, you hear me?”
“I hear you. I love you right back.”
Twenty-One
Diego
My beautiful Spanish princess was snuggled in my arms. I was her keeper. I bent my head, watching her stir silently as she slept. An epiphany hit me as I listened to her soft breathing. I wanted to marry Misty. I wanted to be with her in a very real way. I wanted to be the one she saw when she got back from studies in the evening. She stirred as her long lashes fluttered open. I stroked the outline of her face.
“Hey, papi.”
“Hey,” I said softly.
“What time is it? I gotta get to school! I’ve missed a couple of days.”
I watched as her face turned to a frown.
“Why’d you miss school? I’m going to need a doctor soon.”
She lightly tapped my face. “Don’t say that. Nothing’s going to happen to you. I just was worried and wanted to sort things out.” She sat up and so did I.
“Want some coffee, toast before you go?”
“Yes. I have an idea. I know it's kind of out there but hear me out.”
She swung her legs over the bed and slipped on her underwear. I put on a T-shirt from my closet and some track pants.
“Go ahead. I’m all ears.” The light from the morning sun ran all through the lounge and kitchen area, causing me to adjust my eyes, rubbing them. She watched my movements as I turned on the water on the stove. “Baby, go ahead, tell me.”
“Well, we know that Jimmy and Blaze are operating separately, right?” I dropped the toast in its slots with my back to her.
“You’re telling me that. You’re telling me that Palo ain’t involved, so there’s a high level of trust involved here. I say yes, plus the letters they’re writing aren’t that sharp.”
“Okay, do you trust me or not? Look at me and say it,” she demanded.
I turned to her with my hands leaning on the sink. My eyes pierced through hers. “Yes, I’m saying that I believe you. I do.” I smiled at her.
“Your chapter and my brother’s chapter are for the people of Merced, right?”
I pulled out plates and set them down in front of us. Her feline eyes in the morning made me want to pounce on her. Instead, I bent to her and landed a soft kiss on her swollen lips.
“Yes.” I drew back. “I would say so. What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking you both have the same cause. We all want to catch these suckers and get them off the streets. Why don’t Las Balas and Outlaw Souls team up? You could patch up the bad blood between you both and forge alliances. Doesn’t have to be like you’re best buds, but if these guys are only two-deep, you should be able to take them.”
I scoffed as the water boiled and I poured two cups of coffee for us. “Baby, you serious? I was thinking about it. But they have to have more people behind them because to make the threats they’re making is career suicide and a death wish wrapped up together. You wanna know what I think?”
“Go, tell me. But you should think about what I just said.”
I handed her coffee over to her.
“They were trying to get us to start a war with Las Balas. I’m unconvinced that they want money. They put Las Balas at the bottom of the letter the first time, but we didn’t direct the heat to Las Balas, so maybe they are trying to solely get the money now.”
“I can’t go to school like this. When is the drop?” Her hands shook as she drank her coffee.
“Baby, yes you can. I told you we're gonna handle this. Drop is tonight. I gotta talk to Ryder to see which way he’s gonna swerve. I want him to go this route where I pretend to drop the money off so we can at least catch these suckers. That’s the way I think it should go. We got a new sign-up who’s in security.” I sipped on my coffee as the toast popped.
“Okay, okay. Maybe I should have let my brother come see you. Both of you are reasonable men, maybe you would have sorted it out then and there,” she mused.
“Maybe, maybe not. But we’re here now. Go to school. I mean, what are you going to do? Sit around twiddling your thumbs? I’m keeping you outta this.”
Her face blessed me with a small smile. “Okay. I’ll do my best. Are your boys staying here ‘til it's over?”
“Yes. They are.”
She ate her toast in silence as I collected the two phones from my room and brought them to the front. By the time I got back, she was finished.
“Papi. I gotta go. Call me when you hear what’s next. Please be safe. I love you.” Her fiery Spanish eyes pleaded with me.
“I will. I’ll be in touch.” I kissed her with all of the fervor in me. I let her feel the depths of my love for her as I crushed her lips beneath me. I released her, breathless.
She packed up her bags and headed out to the car. I watched carefully as she got in and drove off. As soon as I saw the wheels in motion, I called Rick.
“Hello, Rick’s Security Services. How can I help you?”
“Yo, Rick, it’s Diego. I need your services.”
“No problem. What are we talking about?”
“I’m dropping off a fake ransom amount tonight at Fahrens Park. I need your crew to be in place in case anything goes down. Can you work something out at short notice? What can you do?”
Rick didn’t skip a beat. “Meet me at the warehouse in one hour.”
I turned my phone and looked at the time: nine a.m. on the dot.
“Okay. Done.”
“I got you. I’ll bring gear and a few fellas. Ryder called me last night too. He gave me the four-one-one. I will be there and we’ll set these bastards on fire.”
“My man.” The phone click
ed dead. My stomach, as it had been the last few days, was rock hard from tension. I left the kitchen and jumped in the shower, letting the hot water wash away any thoughts of doubt. I felt almost certain we were going to war. As I dried off, I assessed the next steps. Warehouse. Strap up. Strategy. Timing.
I got dressed quickly. A faint beep I wasn’t familiar with came from the kitchen bench. The cheap burner phone. A text message.
“Don’t forget to come alone tonight. Times ticking bitch.”
My impulses made me want to throw the phone against the wall. To hurl it out the fucking window. Sons of bitches. I strapped up, tucking my Smith and Wesson under my shirt. I grabbed my biker boots and put them on. I’d trimmed my beard up and tied back my hair, ready to get down to business. My phone rang, and Ryder’s number came up.
“Hey, Diego. You ready? We meeting at the warehouse, right?”
“Yep. We are. Rick is in and bringing his guys. We’re going to lay out the game plan.”
“Okay. Done, see you there.” Ryder clicked off. Death hung in the air like an old friend. But it wasn’t about to be me or my crew that would perish. Jimmy Santos and Blaze Hernandez were about to become our bitches. I had everything I needed. I opened the door to my destiny. Determined, I mounted my bike and put my helmet on, ready to ride out. I arrived at the warehouse minutes later. As had been the routine of late, I double-checked all corners before rolling into the parking lot.
I noted a black truck with tinted windows was already parked. I saw a hand wave out the side of it. Rick. Shit, he was lucky. I was about to quick-draw on him.
“It’s me. Chill.”
“Okay.” I was a few paces away from him. He was dressed in black with two other guys, tall, well-built and strong jawlines. Made for the fight. They both reminded me of army soldiers.
I held out my hand to Rick and was greeted with a firm handshake.
