by James Cox
His voice was like silk against my skin. “Yeah.”
He didn’t smile. “Welcome to the Underground MC.”
“Thanks. I guess.” I walked up to him. The closer I got the bigger he seemed. He looked to be an inch or so over my MC brother Deviant who was a six feet three. I stared into those amazing eyes and I was actually lost for words.
“Sorry to hear about what happened.”
I nodded, shaking my head more than I had to. Okay. Let’s get my mind off the erection growing between my legs. That’s how I ended up here in the first place.
“I’m Edmond.” He reached to shake hands.
Justice looked at it and then to the other man. “You’re not a patch member.”
“Friend of the club.” Edmond smiled.
Justice grunted.
“So, can I call you chocolate thunder?” It was Outlaw’s nickname for the big guy.
Justice lifted a dark eyebrow. “No.” He turned slightly. “Nico will show you your bunks. Nothing fancy like you’re used to. Edmond can help around here.” He stared at me. “I want you, at our table.”
I nodded but was more distracted by the scar on the back of his neck. It was a bundle of dark skin with slashes of white. They disappeared under the rim of his shirt. Nico stepped in front of me. I followed him down the right tunnel toward my new home. But I had to look back. It surprised me when I found Justice staring at me.
Chapter Three
The Underground MC consisted of dozens of members. All dark-skinned men but the women were mixed. The tough broads joined the Amazon MC. The other females helped out around here. All working together trying to eke out a living on the uncolonized part of Mars. They were doing a decent job of it too. I stood in a small room that was carved out of rock. The door was a hand-sewn curtain from various clothes. The bed was a thin mattress with a thinner blanket and one pillow. Considering what I was used to, it was a change. I sat with my back against the wall and closed my eyes. It was just twenty minutes or so. When I woke, it was with a stiff back and a hard dick. I wondered if they had a prospect around here. The Outlaw MC prospect was all for taking care of hard-ons. I ruffled my fingers through my brown hair in an attempt to look good. Didn’t matter if I was in a holding cell or the bar or at a fucking gun delivery, I always looked good. It was my mission in life to fuck as many men as I could. Life was too short not to enjoy. I fumbled out of my new room. A man walked past and I smiled. He grunted in my general direction and kept walking. There were more closed curtains down this tunnel. It led to that main room. It was nearly empty now. A few stragglers were around.
“What are you doing?”
I turned abruptly, facing a wide chest then looked up into Justice’s face. “Looking for you.”
He kept staring at me, frowning, silent. It reminded me of a wild animal about to strike.
“You want me at the table?”
“Yes,” he finally spoke and walked away.
I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to follow him. I did anyway. It’s not every day I was asked to sit at another MC’s table. Of course, I saw those scars just under his shirt bunch and pull. His back was broad, the material stretched over it like it was going to burst at the seams. Justice had narrow hips, a nice bubble ass, and thick thighs. I was busy inspecting his backside when we walked into another room. This one had a holographic image of the city on the wall and a round table scattered with information chips and maps. My gaze finally left Justice.
“Our MC members go through a lot of shit to get here but there are only three of us at the table. Nico, Nero and myself.” Justice sat down. The chair protesting, it was old and wooden.
I was honored. “Of course, I’ll sit with you.”
“We make the decisions, plan the fights, prepare for any fallout, and we take the brunt of the hits.”
I nodded and moved to the chair beside Justice.
“Just keep your dick in your pants. I don’t need brothers turning on brothers because of a piece of ass.”
I grinned. “A fantastic piece of ass, you mean.”
Justice lifted a dark eyebrow. His lips pressed together.
My smile fell. “I know I fucked up before. I won’t do it again.” Despite my flirting, I didn’t want to hurt this cause anymore with my greedy ways.
Nico and Nero came into the room and closed an actual door. It wasn’t a makeshift curtain like in every other entrance around here.
Justice picked up an arcane, wooden gavel off the table and banged it once. “All right. What did the intel bring us?”
Nico shook his head. “Bad shit. This...” He pointed to me. “Incident has word trickling down from the top. Wexmen himself is supposedly working on a new law that will disband any clubs with members who have a prison record. His first stop will be the Outlaw MC.”
“Wait,” I interrupted. “For a new law to pass it has to be voted on by the population. It has to be more than eighty percent agreement before it can be accepted.”
Justice scoffed. “You really think Wexmen can’t get that? Half the population works for him and the rest are going to be paid to vote his way.” He shook his head. “The Outlaw MC goes down and we lose our front line. Bikes banned and we have problems getting parts, getting in and out of the city.” He sat back in his chair and it creaked. “The reason we’ve been so slow fighting back is because we don’t have enough support to fight all the peacekeepers. Any regular citizen wanting to join our cause is either too afraid or don’t have an idea how to get in touch.”
“So, what’s your plan?” I asked, watching him closely.
“Our next target should be the peacekeeper buildings.” He paused, grabbed a gray square chip, and placed it in the holographic projector. The city view turned into an overhead view. “There are only two in the city.” They both turned into red dots on the map. “We hit them both, same time. That’ll rattle a few cages. It’ll give the MC disband some time because they’ll be focusing on a rebuild instead of passing the new law. Without peacekeepers, there’ll be more people coming to our side. They’ll have that opportunity and Outlaw can even go recruiting while the government’s trying to piece together its army.”
It was a good fucking plan. I kept nodding and then realized I was doing that. I stopped, cleared my throat, and looked back to Justice. He wasn’t bad to watch. The way his mind worked intrigued me. The way his body moved made my promise of being good sound like a faraway whisper.
“While they’re recovering, maybe Outlaw can try to get someone into the government building for a layout. We haven’t been able to get one person in that damn government building. Nothing past the lobby anyway. It’s too big to just go in there blindly, plus they have all the newest toys that can rip us apart in seconds—and detect any technology we use to try to map the place.” He licked his bottom lip.
I adjusted in my seat accordingly. My pants were getting too tight.
“I’m thinking, we bring this war into the light.”
My dick deflated. Was Justice serious?
“After the peacekeepers are down, we blow up a section of the city, demolish it, and take residence in the rubble. We use it to build our own walls. Invite those who are afraid to join us. I think we should bring this war to their doorstep. No more shadows, no more hit and runs. Once we take the peacekeeper buildings out...we go loud and in their face.”
Well, Outlaw wanted to speed things up. “They’ll fight back,” I muttered.
Justice glanced at me. “Of course they will.” He stood up and walked to the holographic screen. “I have to work out the details. But right now, we focus on these buildings.” He tapped the red dots with his finger and it sent the screen into a miniature ripple effect.
“We do have that new shipment of guns,” Nico spoke.
I had almost forgotten the brothers were here.
“Plus some very anxious boys waiting to kick ass,” Nero said with a grin.
“I need to check out the area before we go planning to blo
w shit up.” Justice sat back down. “Sundown, Romeo, and I will check out the city to see which side would be best to fortify. I’m thinking we avoid Harley’s store since he’s on the edge but supplies our weapons.”
“Smart,” I mumbled.
Justice glanced at me. “I’m not a stupid man, Romeo, just an angry one.” He stood. “Keep your dick in your pants for the day. We leave at dusk.” He smacked the gavel on the surface of the table. We all stood up. Nico and Nero left, but Justice went back to that holographic screen. His expression was total determination, eyes narrowed and lips downturned.
There were only a few hours until I had to ride out. I spent the time exploring tunnels and caves. The Underground MC was a labyrinth. I got lost a few times and had to work my way to the main chamber taking vacant paths. Eventually, I made my way back. Nico directed me to meet Justice near the hover bikes. He had changed into black jeans and a black shirt with patches of gray sewn into it. That, with his beautifully darkened skin, made him blend with the shadows in the room. “Hey.” I smiled.
Justice glanced over his shoulder. “You ready?”
I hopped on the nearest hover bike and watched him maneuver onto his. The way his big frame sat on the bike made my good intentions waver. Justice was a muscular man. He seemed like the type to play rough. I liked rough. It took me a minute to find a comfortable spot with my growing shaft then I heard the crunching of the ramp door opening.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked with a lifted brow then patted the seat behind him. “You’re riding bitch.”
I grinned which made him frown. “I don’t mind.” I moved toward him, a little extra sway in my hips. It was a waste of energy. Justice was busy starting the bike up. I hopped on behind him. There were several inches of space between our bodies. Then I rested my hands on his hips. My concentration took a serious hit.
The bike hovered for only a moment before Justice drove us up the ramp. I held on to him tighter as the cool night air fell around us. It was relatively silent but for the roar of the engine. We drove through the near pitch dark. I could see a few feet ahead only because of the stars. We rounded a hill a little fast and I pressed my palms into his hips. That’s when I saw the city. From far away the lights lit up the darkness. The bike slowed as we came closer and the slower we went the lower the roar of the engine until it was barely heard. We were on the south side of the city. There were mounds of hills because of construction. This zone had been here a while. I could see the red dirt starting to climb up the side of the machinery. We stopped behind a behemoth groundbreaker.
“I was thinking this would be a good spot,” Justice said.
It was hushed so I heard him well enough. His deep voice was also not good for thinking without my dick. I cleared my throat, stopped touching him and tried to think rationally. “It’s quiet here.”
“Yeah. The construction zone has been here for six months untouched. There are a few small homes after that and two-story businesses. This is on the very outskirt of the city. Not many people settle down here.”
I hopped off the bike, staying in the shadows but looking around.
“There are big machines here. We blow them up and use the remains to fill in the gaps of these dirt mounds. Form a wall behind them. Might make a good front line.” He stood with his hands on his hips, staring out at the city with a frown. “We have enough weapons. A good amount of people. It might work.” Justice turned to me. “You think Outlaw would agree to it?”
Ah, so that’s why he brought me out here. It clicked. He was looking to see how the Outlaw MC would go for the idea of an all-out war with the government. “I honestly don’t know. Outlaw’s...he’s hurting.” That was obvious. “He wants the government down. He wants Liam home.”
“There are fewer slaves thanks to raiding the market.”
I nodded. We blew that place sky high.
“There are less female slaves because we burned down the breeding house. That means we have peacekeepers, loyal citizens, and the government building to contend with.”
“Three big obstacles.”
“If we take the peacekeepers out...the odds are in our favor.” He watched me closely.
I knew he was waiting for an answer, but I rather liked his gaze on me. “I can’t tell you what Outlaw’s thinking. But if I were at the table I’d vote for the plan.”
“Yeah?” He gave me the barest of smiles.
“Yup.” It was a good idea. It was solid. “That has very little to do with the fact that you remind me of chocolate and how badly do I want that on my tongue.” I grinned.
Justice scoffed. “I get why they call you Romeo.”
I smiled. “So, you going to run the plan by Outlaw and the Amazons?”
He looked away, back to the city, and pressed his lips together. Justice was silent a good minute before he gave me a slow nod. “I think so. We need to change this world. Our future. I’m damn tired of living in a cave.” He sighed.
“How long have you been there?”
“Long fucking time.” He blew out a breath and rubbed a hand over his bare head. “I started the Underground MC. It was a few years before I met Outlaw. When I got free, I just ran. There was no place to go so I went into the dark side, the uncolonized areas.” He sat on his bike. “It was different back then.”
I leaned against the big machine and crossed my ankles, watching him.
“There were no lights, no gardens, and no weapons. It was me huddled in hollow rocks.” Justice stared at the ground. “Nico and Nero joined me a few weeks later. We went hungry so many nights, cold, thirsty, and yet, we never gave up hope. We had a plan. We had a wish. We were going to change our fate.” He smiled but it was sad then he straightened. “Anyway, it was a long time ago. I think this would be a good spot for the front lines.”
I was about to nod when a sound drifted through the quiet area. Footsteps.
Justice shifted to his knees and pulled me down. We hid behind the big machine.
I was going to ease up to see who was walking our way, but Justice gripped my arm hard. The sound was getting closer. Clearer. I could hear voice’s quietly talking. Both men, none of them I recognized.
“This is stupid. What idiot’s going to come to the ass end of the city? Ain’t no criminal going to show up here.”
“It’s our assignment so stop complaining. Besides I thought I heard something.”
“What you heard was my dick begging to be sucked. I want to get home.”
The voices quieted down as we crouched. I’d like to think they walked right by us, but I could hear their breathing, the slight drag of the soles on the rough, red sand.
“What?” one of them asked quietly. They were close enough for us to hear it.
Justice let go of my arm. He grabbed at his ankle and pulled free a seven-inch knife. The blade was coated with some kind of dark substance so there was no glare. I drew my gun and quietly clicked the safety off. He shook his head. Right, gunshots would bring more peacekeepers around and I was almost positive that’s what we had here. I shoved the gun in the back of my jeans and grabbed a pipe that was near my feet. We faced opposite sides, waiting, ready.
When a dark-haired guy turned the corner, I didn’t spring up and possibly get myself shot. Nope, I swung at his legs. The pipe slammed into his shins. He cried out, eyes wide, and fell to his knees. I smacked that pipe into his chest and he landed on his stomach. Then I gave him a kick for good measure. I glanced back to see if Justice was watching. That’s when the gun in the peacekeepers hand went off. The laser shot flew between my legs nearly giving me a heart attack. I stepped on his wrist until he let go. Then I punched him in the face and picked up the gun. When I turned around, Justice was standing there.
He was frowning with a bloody knife in one hand. “Great job with that being quiet thing.”
I glanced at his hover bike. The one that was smoking where the laser shot had struck it. Well, fuck. I don’t suppose that made Justice like me a
nymore. “I’ll buy you a new bike.”
He returned the knife to his ankle sheath and stood.
“I’ll buy you a really nice bike.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “How do you propose we get home?”
That part was easy. “Harley’s isn’t too far away. We can walk there, get a new ride.”
“You’re wanted for homosexuality. Your pretty face is going to be all over the news.”
Shit. He was right. Pretty, huh?
“And there ain’t no way I’m going to blend in with any crowd.”
I puffed out a breath and stared at the sky. Think. Think. “We could call Outlaw or Underground. Get a ride.”
Justice scoffed. “Next time keep an eye on your enemy.” He started walking away.
Shit. He’d seen that. Okay, so I wanted to see if he’d been watching and it may have fucked the fight up. A little. I glanced at the bike. Damn it. “Where are you going?” I stumbled after him. We weren’t walking into the city but back toward the darkness.
“We leave the bike. It’s untraceable.”
“And go where?”
“The tunnels. It’ll be a long walk where you can explain to me why you decided to look away during a fight.”
Fucker. I followed. Four large rocks concealed the secret entrance, which was good because it was damn dark out here. I tripped a few times but mainly kept as close to Justice as I could. First off, for the view and second, because I wanted to make sure there were no Mars creatures that we hadn’t discovered yet.
The door slid down behind us and I took the ramp faster than I should have. There were no lights so when the door shut completely it was pitch black. I reached out, felt warm flesh, and held on. It was Justice’s arm, his muscles flexed. Then a light sprung on. It was dull, but Justice held a solar flashlight. The tunnel was eerie. So quiet I could hear our breathing. The floor was smooth. At least I hadn’t tripped on anything but the walls were jagged. I didn’t let go of Justice’s arm yet and being this close to him wasn’t exactly turning off my erection.
