by Geri Glenn
Ryker nods and stuffs his gun back into it’s holster, making a point of showing it to Face. “You beat me, you get the weed, and a truce.”
“And if I lose?”
“We continue our war, and the Bloods get it all.”
Face throws his head back and laughs. “You hear that boys? The biker wants to fight. Let’s show these greasy fuckers how we do things.”
“What?” the guy with the teardrop tat yells as Face starts pushing up his sleeves. “A deal? What about my brother?”
Face turns and glares at the guy before turning back to Ryker, his fists raised and ready to go. Just as Ryker’s steps closer, I see the guy hold his gun out, pointing it straight at Ryker. He takes two giant steps, nearly closing the distance between them.
Lifting my own gun, I aim a shot right at him, hiding my grin when he jumps back.
My shot hits the ground directly in front of him, putting a burn mark on the toe of his boot from where the bullet grazed it.
Nobody moves. Even the Kings are surprised. I guess not all of them knew that I’m a crack shot.
That’s one thing my dad and I used to do together when he did spend time with me. We shot guns.
Face steps forward and grabs his man by the back of the shirt, yanking him back and letting him fall to the ground on his ass. “You think you know what’s best for my guys, Colt?”
“These fuckers killed my brother! You said you’d fuckin’ handle them, and now you’re fist fighting for a fuckin’ weed deal?” Colt stands and puts his gun back in his pocket. “That’s bullshit, man, and you know it.”
I can only see Face from behind, so I’m not quite sure what’s happening until his giant fist pulls back and punches forward, slamming it into Colt’s nose. The blow causes him to fall right back down on his ass once more. “You don’t ever question me, you dumbass,” is all Face says before turning back to Ryker. “Let’s do this.”
Ryker grins a wolfish smile and raises his fists. The two men square off, and then it’s on. Fists fly, and the sound of flesh hitting bone barely registers above the yelling of the men as everyone rallies in a circle, cheering on their leaders. It’s like being at a high school brawl all over again.
I stand by, watching as Ryker carefully aims his punches, taking an occasional hit himself, but I’m not worried. Ryker is one of the scrappiest motherfuckers I know. I’ve never known him to lose a fight in his life, and he’s been in his fair share of ‘em.
Face keeps throwing punches, landing fewer and fewer as his anger grows. Ryker, on the other hand, lands every blow. Face’s face is almost unrecognizable, but he doesn’t give up. “Crazy fucker,” he grunts out, swinging another misplaced punch at Ryker. “I should’ve fuckin’ killed you too.”
Ryker’s knee comes up and crashes into Face’s gut, anger finally starting to show on his face. Face falls to his knees, his arms wrapped around his torso, but still he doesn’t shut up. “You fight like your old Prez,” he says on a gasp, grinning up at Ryker with two missing teeth visible through his deranged smile. “That fucker fought like a son of a bitch. Took six of us to tie him and that old bitch down. She was a fuckin’ wildcat, if ya know what I mean.”
Rage burns through me, and I’m seething. I want to get my own hits in on that piece of shit. Before I finish the thought, Ryker slams his knee into Face’s nose, sending him flying to the ground, barely conscious. I love the sound of Face’s nose being crushed.
“Jinks, Toro, Jolly,” Ryker calls out over the anxious crowd. Nobody moves. What the fuck is he doing? Ryker pulls out his gun and presses it against the side of Face’s head. “I won’t fuckin’ ask again, you sons of bitches. Jinks, Toro, Jolly! Unless you wanna watch your leader’s brains get blown out, I suggest you step forward so we can have a chat.”
A low murmur makes its way across the Crips. Three men step into the circle, and before any of us can react, Ryker swings his gun up and points it at the three men. “You were three of the six that killed our Prez.” The men say nothing, but their anger is obvious.
Ryker’s nod is so slight; I barely catch it before he fires. I also hear the silent ping of Reaper’s sniper rifle come from above us, and all three men fall to the ground. What the fuck just happened?
Ryker turns and points his gun back at Face, who lays on the ground, his mouth full of blood. “You stupid fuck. You think this is gonna end shit? You’ve just declared—”
He doesn’t get a chance to finish ‘cause Ryker puts a bullet in his head. Suddenly, guns are pointing in all directions, everyone screaming at one another. Just when I’m sure the shooting’s about to start, one man from the Crips steps forward, his hands held high in the air, showing that he has no gun.
“Who the fuck are you?” Ryker calls over the yelling.
“Jasper. My name is Jasper. Crips, put down your weapons.” One by one, the Crips reluctantly lower their guns, giving their attention to this man, Jasper. “I’m interested in taking your deal,” he says, his hands still high as he looks to Ryker.
“Do you have that authority?”
Jasper nods to Face’s dead body. “I do now.”
Ryker studies the man with piercing scrutiny, his gun pointed directly at him. After a long and tense moment, he seems to come to a decision. “Sixty percent of the weed, and there’s no further fallback with my men.”
Jasper nods. “You have a deal.”
Ryker lowers his gun, and one by one, everyone else holsters their weapons, except for the Kings.
As he and Jasper hammer out the details, the skinny guy, Colt, glares at me, but I don’t mind. An admirer is an admirer, and I don’t discriminate.
When the meeting concludes, the Crips reluctantly begin making their way to their vehicles. I watch as the last one drives away with Colt in the back.
He looks directly at me and holds out his fingers like a gun, pretending to pull back the hammer, then BAM, just like he did before.
Once they’re gone, Reaper and Tease climb down from the top of the shipping containers. We all look to Ryker. I know I’m not the only one wondering, so I ask, “What the fuck just happened?”
Ryker turns to me and grins. “It worked.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“Jasper reached out to me, said he knew exactly who was involved in killing Gunner and Tess. He hasn’t been happy with the way Face and his cronies have been running things, so we came up with a plan that suited both our needs. He got to take over the Crips, and we got the fuckers that killed two of our own. We’re one step closer to getting clean, we ended the war with the Crips before it started, and we gave Jasper a chance to turn things around for his gang.” He lifts his finger and motions for the prospects to get to work, cleaning up the carnage.
Reaper stares at him incredulously. “How the fuck did you know it would even work?”
Ryker shrugs his shoulders. “I didn’t. But fuck, I’m glad it did.”
Ellen
It’s not even ten o’clock when I decide that it’s time for me to go to bed. It’s been a long day, and I’m both mentally and physically drained. Not only did court not go exactly as I’d planned, but I’d also come home to an angry message on my voicemail from Jimmy’s mom. Apparently, Bryce had shoved him to the ground today while they were at school. Jimmy was upset, but refused to tell the school because he didn’t want Bryce to get in trouble.
What am I going to do? Bryce isn’t a bully. He’s always made friends so easily. I know things with Paul have been stressful for him, but is that enough to cause such a huge shift in personality when it comes to people other than me?
I’d attempted to talk to Bryce about it, but he was rude and snarky, which only pissed me off. He’s lost access to his game systems for a couple of weeks, and I still haven’t gotten to the bottom of anything. Maybe it’s time for me to seek outside help. A therapist might be able to connect with Bryce about what’s going on with him better than I can.
I lie in bed for two h
ours, tossing and turning, while my mind races through everything that happened today. It’s after midnight when my phone vibrates with a text message lighting up my screen.
Jase: You awake?
I smile as my heart soars. I plug in four different messages and delete them before finally deciding on one.
Me: Yes.
Short, simple, and to the point. There’s no need for him to know that he makes my knees go weak with a single text.
Jase: Can I call you? I need to hear your voice.
A giggle bursts from my lips, and I clap a hand over my mouth. Girls that giggle annoy the shit out of me, and I refuse to be that girl. But no matter how much I try to hold it in, I can’t deny the excitement that courses through me at his words.
Me: Of course.
My phone vibrates again, this time showing me that I’m getting a call. I answer it on the first ring. “Hey,” I breathe out.
I hear him let out a long sigh. “Hey, El. Do you know how much better I feel just from hearing your voice?”
I do. I know exactly how he feels, because I feel the same. I miss him. I don’t know how, or even why. I just saw him yesterday, and it’s not like we spend a lot of time together. I don’t get it, but I like it. “Bad day?” I ask.
He blows out a breath. “The worst. What about you? How did court go?”
“Not like I’d hoped, but it could’ve been worse. Why was yours so terrible?”
“Just club shit that I can’t talk about.”
“Can’t or won’t?” I ask, wishing I could know more about what has him so down.
“Both, babe. Unfortunately, that’s not ever gonna change when it comes to my club, and if that bothers you… well, it’ll suck, but my club is my family. There’s always gonna be club shit that I can’t and won’t talk to you about.”
I knew this already. Charlotte’s talked about it before, about not knowing being a good thing sometimes. “Okay,” I reply. “I get it, but I wish I could make you feel better.” The noise I hear coming from the other end is distracting. “Where are you? It sounds like you’re in a bar.”
“I’m at home,” he grumbles, clearly irritated. “I live at the clubhouse. There’s a party going on down the hall. They happen every night here.”
“That has to get old,” I say. I like my peace and quiet, and especially my privacy. I couldn’t handle being in the middle of a giant party every night.
“Oh, it has,” he chuckles.
“So why do you live there?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Well, I can’t sleep, and you can’t sleep, so maybe if you tell me the story, it will bore me enough that I’ll finally pass out.”
His laughter makes me feel warm, all the way down to my toes. “You’re kind of a jerk, El. Do you know that?”
“I do,” I laugh. “Now tell me.”
He chuckles again and starts his story. He tells me a little more about his dad and how his mom was a club whore that never wanted him. He tells me about his dad’s affliction for being promiscuous, and that’s all he ever saw as a kid, which was how he believed relationships were until Gunner met Tess. He tells me how he’d never even considered moving out of clubhouse until he met me.
“Why me?” I ask softly. I know I’ve asked this before, but it’s something that I just can’t seem to wrap my head around.
“You make me want more in life, El. For the first time, I’m looking at my life, and I realize that what I have is never gonna be good for a family man. And that’s what I want, ya know—a family.” My heart races. “Someday,” he rushes out. “That’s also something I’ve never considered until I met you.”
“Wow,” I breathe. “And what is it you expect a family man should have?”
“A house,” he answers. “A job he can be proud of, and a decent bank account so he can buy his lady nice shit.”
“I’m not looking for any of that, Jase.”
“I know, but you deserve it.”
He sounds like he’s put some serious thought into this, and that makes me smile. The truth is, I hadn’t even thought about Jase much beyond our date tomorrow. I don’t like to get my hopes up, and he’s not known for being monogamous. I figure if I can keep my expectations of him low, that leaves less room for him to hurt me.
“Well, now that I’ve scared the shit out of you, I’m gonna go turn in. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay. Good night, Jase.”
“Good night, baby.”
I put my phone back on the nightstand and let my mind go over our conversation. I’m stunned and beside myself. I never would have imagined that Jase would ever be serious about me. Of course this makes me happy, almost as much as it terrifies me.
What if I give Jase this chance and he hurts me? What if works out? Could he accept Bryce, or Bryce accept him?
After another hour, I finally drift off to sleep, the sound of Jase’s voice echoing in my mind. You make me want more in life, El. God. He seems almost too good to be true.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Jase
I walk up the front steps to Ellen’s house for our date, my heart thudding in my chest. I have a lot of experience with women, but when I really think about it, I don’t know much about them at all, besides how to please them in bed.
I ring the doorbell and wait. When the door swings open, I look down and my stomach turns when I see Ellen’s kid. I have even less knowledge of kids than I do women. He holds the door open, but doesn’t step aside for me to enter, and he doesn’t say a word, choosing instead to look me up and down, making sure I know that he doesn’t like what he sees. Who the fuck is this kid?
“Is your mom home?” I ask, starting to feel a little uncomfortable under his gaze.
“What happened to your ear?” he asks.
I fucking knew it. Fucking Reaper! He told me that it was just a little graze, and that nobody would ever notice, but this kid doesn’t miss it. I’m gonna kick that hairy giant’s ass next time I see him. I lift my hand and skim my fingers along the tip of my ear, right where the bullet took off a chunk, leaving me disfigured.
“I was shot.”
His face twists into a sour expression and his head jerks back. “In the ear? You can’t get shot in the ear.” He snorts, shaking his head in disgust. I don’t even get a chance to respond before Ellen walks up next to him.
She places her hand on her son’s shoulder and steers him out of the way. “Jase, come in.” I step inside, brushing my shoulder against her as I pass. She smells like vanilla. “I see you’ve met Bryce.”
“Yeah,” I reply, raising my brow at him. He shrugs like he’s bored and walks away.
“Bryce can be a little… difficult, but he’s a good kid. He’s not used to me going on a date.”
I lean in, kissing her on the cheek. “It’s fine. He seems cool.” Remembering the flowers in my hand, I hold them out to her, suddenly feeling a little foolish. “These are for you.”
Her cheeks turn a gorgeous shade of pink as she smiles, causing her eyes to shine happily at me. My chest aches as she reaches for them. “Thank you,” she whispers.
I reach out and wrap my hand around the back of her neck, pulling her closer and ghosting my lips over hers. “You’re welcome,” I whisper back before I cover her mouth with mine.
She moans softly, her knees bending as she leans into me, holding the flowers out to the side. When I finally break our kiss and look down at her, she blinks up. “You’re lethal.”
“And you’re beautiful.” Her pink flush gets even deeper.
I wait by the door while she puts her flowers in water, goes over things one last time with the babysitter, and then we’re off to the restaurant. I’d looked into where to take her, but finally settled on The Angry Pelican. It’s a popular little bar and grill right downtown, with a nice patio that overlooks the water. It’s perfect for a first date, and close to where I want to take her next.
“This place is awesome,” Ellen says as she glanc
es around. The patio is busy, but not crowded, and the sun is still shining high in the sky, warming us against the breeze coming off the river. “Have you been here before?” she asks.
I shake my head. “Never.”
“How’d you find it?”
“Actually, Charlie recommended it. Her and Ryk come here sometimes. She said that you’d love it.”
“You got dating advice from Charlie?”
I smirk and I know that my cheeks are turning pink. “I did. I had no clue where to take you. I’ve never been on a date before.”
She’s just taking a sip of her drink and spits it all over the table. “What?” she chokes, wiping the water off her chin with a linen napkin. “That can’t be true.”
“El, I won’t lie. I’ve been with a lot of women, but I didn’t date a single one of them. I wanted one thing from them, and one thing only.”
Ellen slaps her hands over her ears. “Okay! I don’t want to hear the details.” She lowers her hands, reaching out to place her hand on my arm. “I’m honored to be your first date.”
The waitress appears with our food and we dig in. The food is delicious. Charlie was right about this place. We chat as we eat, Ellen talking a little about her job, and telling me some funny stories about some of the people she works with. I tell her a little about building choppers, and how I want to start a business doing just that.
She seems genuinely interested, and when I tell her about the chopper I just sold, she looks at me with an expression I’ve never before seen aimed at me… pride. Ellen’s proud of me, and impressed that I can build a motorcycle from scratch.
After the waitress takes our plates and leaves me with the bill, Ellen takes my hand. “This has been an amazing date, Jase. Thank you for being a pushy bastard and not taking no for an answer.”
I grin back at her. “My pleasure, but the fun’s not over yet.”
Ellen
“Where are we going?” I ask, looking around at all the beautiful old stone buildings. This is a very historic part of the city, and not somewhere you would normally see a biker out for an evening stroll with his lady.
