by Dawn Martens
“And, I’ve told you before, it’s just too fucking convenient of an answer. Blame it on the dead man, doesn’t work for me. Plus, I met that bastard a time or two. I don’t think he was smart enough to pull this shit off.”
“I might be able to help you with that,” Timmons mumbles out, shooting daggers my way.
There’s just something about this motherfucker that rubs me the wrong way. I’ve known him my whole life, and never really thought much of him, but now I can’t stand being in the same damn room as him. “What’s that?”
“He’d grown pretty tight with one of our prospects. The kid went with Rig on his last two runs to Cali. He helped him get ready for the other. This kid was slick. He’d only been here for a few months, and we were already thinking about making him a member.”
Killer looks towards his son. “You talking about Tug?”
Timmons nods. “Yeah. He talked Rig into riding through Tennessee, instead of straight through.”
“That’s right. Rig told me that Tug was helping him map out the trip. He said the kid told him it’d be better to change up our normal route, said back tracking through Tennessee would be safer. I didn’t understand why, but didn’t fucking think about it. Just wanted to get the shit there without any issues,” Brew says, looking almost relived.
My eyes cut back to Killer. “Where’s this kid?”
He shakes his head. “Found him dead a few days after Chipper left, OD’d in his bed.”
“Well, now you have your answers. You can head back to Big Clifty,” Timmons says with a sneer.
I shake my head. “I won’t be going anywhere for a while. We still got shit to settle here. This club isn’t pulling its own weight, so it’ll be a while before I leave.”
“What the fuck do you mean by that?” Brew asks, picking his chair up and sitting back down.
“Just to get your asses in the black, I had to put nearly hundred grand of Big Clifty’s cash into this club. That shit ain’t right. You know the rules. Each charter covers their own ass. Until Mateland can do that, I’ll be here.”
“Gun didn’t say shit about that to me,” Killer says, sounding confused.
I shrug. “Maybe not, but he did to me. He also told me that I needed to pick a man to stand in for you. You’ll still be president, but the one I choose will hold the power.”
“No fucking way!” Killer growls out. “I started this club! Ain’t nobody taking it away from me.”
“You helped Pop start the club, and you also voted him in as President. You and Digger are founding members, but Pop is in control.”
“I’ll talk to Gun about this myself. If he thinks he can pull this shit on me and get away with it, he’s fuckin’ wrong. I’ll tell Digger and find out what he thinks about this shit. Maybe we two founding members might need to see about taking that control away from Gun,” Killer threatens.
I nod. “You can do that, but you might reconsider. Digger’s not real happy with you right now. In fact, I’d say he’s really fuckin’ pissed.”
“What the fuck are you talking about now?” He shouts.
“Digger made a trip to Big Clifty the week before I came here. See, he wanted Pop to cut your charter. Actually, he wanted Pop to approve his club going to war with Mateland. Seems he’s tired of your shit,” I say with an edge to my voice. “Took Pop nearly three days to convince him not to sic his boys on your ass.”
All color drains from Killer’s face before he responds, “Digger wouldn’t do that to me.”
I nod again, “Yeah, he would. Your club fucked up big time. Your fuck up cost him money, and more importantly, it cost him connections. You made him look bad, you know, Digger. He doesn’t like to look bad.”
Digger got his name during his second tour in Vietnam. Pop says Digger put more men in their graves than the rest of their entire unit combined. Pop got his name because he was a crack shot, especially with a long range shotgun. Killer, on the other hand, got his name for the killer weed he seemed to always have.
Killer’s quiet for a moment before replying, “Fine, do whatever the fuck you have to.”
Jenna
I smile at Timber as I climb off his bike. “Thanks for everything. I had a blast.”
“Anytime, Jenna girl,” he says, sliding off the bike. He wraps his arm around my shoulder and leads me into the house.
It’s been a wonderful day. Timber showed up this morning right after breakfast and told me to go get dressed, but refused to tell me what he had planned. An hour later, we pulled into the parking lot at the Kansas City zoo. When I saw the zoo sign, I got so excited that I nearly fell off the bike.
I couldn’t believe he would take me to a zoo. Bikers don’t go to the zoo, do they? A few weeks ago, I told him I’d never been to one. He said everybody should go to the zoo at least once, for no other reason than to see the tigers. I didn’t think much more about our conversation, but obviously, he did.
By the end of the day, I realized he was right. The tigers are bad ass.
As soon as we step inside of the house, the smell of vomit hits my nose. I immediately pull away from him and run towards Chipper and Mindy’s room. She’s laying in the bed, eyes closed but not asleep. “Did you have fun, sweetie?”
I walk to her side and go down to my knees. “You’ve been sick again?”
“I’m sick every day,” she says in a weak voice.
I reach for her hand and bring it to my face. “You should have called. I would’ve come home.”
She finally opens her eyes and turns her head towards me. “You haven’t been anywhere but school in weeks. When you’re at home, you’re either taking care of me or watching Pebbles. With Pebbles spending the day with her mom, I wanted you to have some fun. I wasn’t going to ruin your day.”
“You could never ruin anything.”
She lets out a shaky laugh. “You won’t say that when you see the mess I made in the bathroom.” A look of shame crosses her face before she whispers out. “I’m sorry, but I just didn’t have the strength to clean it up.”
“I don’t mind. I’ll get it for you.”
She pulls her hand back and rubs it across my cheek before letting it drop back on the bed. “I just hate that you have to do all this for me. I’m the mom. I supposed to be taking care of you.”
“I don’t mind it at all. I’d do anything for you. Don’t you realize how much I love you?”
“I know you do, Jenna. I love you too, sweetie.” With those words, she closes her eyes. Minutes later, she falls asleep. I sit with her, until I know she’s completely asleep, before I make my way to her bathroom and start cleaning.
By the time I’m done cleaning, I’m sweaty and smell like vomit, but I don’t mind. I would do anything for Mindy. I quietly make my way out of her bedroom, and am surprised to see Timber leaning up against the wall. “I thought you went home,” I whisper.
“I couldn’t leave you alone,” he says, pushing off the wall and wrapping his arms around me.
As soon as I feel his touch, I break into tears. He bends down and hooks his arms under my knees, then picks me up and carries me to the couch. Once he’s settled in beside me, I bury my face into his neck and cry myself to sleep.
Kidd
I’m staring out the window, wondering why I haven’t called Jenna for the last month. For some reason, I keep avoiding picking up the phone. Our last conversation pissed me the fuck off. She’s spending way too much time with Timber. I can tell they’re getting close, and I don’t like it one fucking bit. Jealousy is an emotion I’m not accustomed to, and it’s one I don’t like at all.
Last time I called her, she was telling me about him taking her swimming at the strip pits in Amoret. The thought of him seeing her in a bathing suit made me fucking furious, yet the sound of her excitement when she was telling me about their time together made me sad. I was glad she was finally getting to have a little fun, but I hated that it was with someone other than me.
Being away from Jenn
a has been a good thing. I haven’t been thinking been about her every minute of every fucking day. She still crosses my mind more than she should, but I’ve been too busy to dwell on what that means. I’m just hoping my time here breaks whatever hold she has on me.
“Whatcha thinking about, babe?” Sarah says as she walks to me and wraps her arms around my waist.
“Nothing important.” I lower my mouth to hers, trying to wash away my thoughts of Jenna. Sarah’s a good woman; one of the best I’ve ever met. I didn’t think I’d ever find someone like her, especially here. Even as great as she is, she still can’t take away my fantasies of Jenna. I hate what Rig did to her, but here I am thinking along the same line. There’s no fucking way I would ever rape or beat her, but I have to wonder if wanting a seventeen year old in my bed is any better.
“Whatcha got planned today?” She asks.
I shake my head. “Club business. Nothing I can tell you about.”
“Got time to join me back in bed before you go?”
I’m just about to agree when my phone rings. I stick a finger up. “Hold that thought.”
I look down to the phone and see Jenna’s name flash across the screen. This is the first time she’s ever called me, so I know something’s wrong. I immediately take a step back from Sarah and place the phone to my ear. “What’s up, baby girl?”
“She’s dying,” Jenna says, between sobs.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Mindy’s going to die.”
I take a deep breath and close my eyes, doing my best to hold my pain in. “Again Jenna, what the fuck are you talking about?”
“I’m not supposed to tell you, but I’m scared.”
Anger courses through me. “What the fuck do you mean, you’re not supposed to tell me?”
“Gun doesn’t want you to know. He says you got shit to do, and there’s nothing you can do to help Mindy.”
Motherfucker! My Pop is a damn bastard. “Tell me what’s going on. I thought Mindy was doing okay.”
Her crying becomes louder before she says. “I don’t know everything. I just heard her talking to someone at the funeral home yesterday. She was planning her own funeral. Who plans their own funeral?”
Bile starts to make its way up my throat as I say. “I don’t know, baby girl. Knowing Mindy, she’s probably trying to make things easier for you and Chipper.”
“It doesn’t matter what she does. Nothing’s going to be easy about losing her. I love her so much. I can’t lose her,” she finishes on a whisper.
“I know, baby girl.”
“I’ve been so scared, so afraid, and I needed you really bad, but you never called. Why didn’t you call, Kidd?”
I close my eyes again, trying to block out the pain of my own betrayal. I was so caught up in trying to avoid my feelings for her that I left her alone when she needed me the most. “I’m sorry, Jenna. I’ve been busy, but I should’ve made time.”
I hear murmured voices before she whispers. “I gotta go. Your Pop’s here. If he finds out I’m talking to you, he’ll be pissed.”
She doesn’t even take the time to say goodbye before hanging up. When I hear the line go dead, I toss the phone on the bed and shout, “Fuck!”
“Was that Jenna, babe?” Sarah asks quietly. She knows about Jenna. I couldn’t help talking about my girl. Most of the time, it’s just me relaying silly shit she’s been doing, but sometimes it’s me telling Sarah how much I miss my baby girl. I always make sure to tell her that Jenna is like a little sister, but Sarah’s not an ignorant bitch. She has to know it’s more than that.
She hasn’t really said much about Jenna. In fact, this is the first time she’s ever even said her name, but she knows how Jenna came to the club. She heard about that shit going down before I even got here. She also knows how important Jenna is to me and my family. Every time I’ve brought my baby girl up, Sarah just smiles and listens. But there is something in her eyes, a spark of jealousy that I don’t like.
“Yeah, I need to try and finish shit here and get home as soon as I can.” I say, getting up and walking to the door.
“When it’s time for you to leave, do you think I could come with you?” she asks quietly.
After hearing Jenna just now, I don’t know if I should bring Sarah home. There’s just too much shit going on. If Mindy’s dying, it should be just the family, not some stow away. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Please, Kidd. I don’t want to be thrown back to these boys here. You know they won’t go gentle on me.”
She’s right. Some of the brothers were pissed that I chose Sarah. They were even madder when I told them I didn’t share. They’ve been chomping at the bit to get to her, so gentle will be the last thing they’d give her. “You can come, but you got to know that I’m not sure this thing we got going on will last long after I get home.”
She shrugs. “We can just see what happens when we get there.”
“Yeah, babe,” I say walking out.
CHAPTER Seven
Kidd
After nearly a year away, I’m finally home, but not because the shit is fixed in Mateland; not even fucking close. That’s a dream that may never come true. Those fuckers are so screwed up, I’m not sure anyone can fix it. My only hope is Brew, the current VP, will continue where I left off and get everyone’s ass in line.
The reason I’m heading home is because of Mindy. She’s dying. Fucking cancer. I swear even the thought of that word makes me want to throw up. She’s been going through treatment for nearly a year, but nothing has helped. If anything, it’s just made her sicker. Last week, the doctor finally laid it out for her and Chipper. She can continue chemo and she might have two more months, but she would be sicker than hell for every day of those two months, or stop treatment and maybe live a couple more weeks. If she’s lucky, she’ll still be weak, but nothing like when she’s taking treatment.
Mindy chose the no treatment route, and Chipper had a shit hemorrhage. He didn’t give a shit what it took. He wanted every day he could with her. Mindy stood her ground though, and stopped the chemo. Can’t say that I blame her. Needless to say, Chipper’s not taking it well, and neither is Jenna. She puts on a brave face for Chipper and Mindy, but she spends every night crying on the phone with me.
If it wasn’t for the kid, I may not even know how bad it had gotten. I knew she had cancer, but the last time I had talked to Chipper, he said she was on the mend. As soon as Jenna told me the truth about Mindy’s condition, I called an end to my time in Mateland. My Pop was pissed as hell when I told him my decision, but he can be pissed all he wants to be, because I sure the fuck am over this shit. I still can’t believe he hid this shit from me. I know he wanted me to stay on a little longer, but I don’t give a damn. Pop may put the club first, and in most situations I do too, but not when my sister-in-law is dying. Fuck no!
When I pull into Chipper and Mindy’s driveway, a young woman runs out the door. I can’t figure out who she is. I know I’ve seen her before, but I’m not sure where. One thing I do know is that she’s a fucking knock out. Just watching her walk towards me has my dick going hard.
As soon as I slide off my bike, she jumps onto me, wrapping her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist. Instinctively, my hands go to her ass and my dick turns to stone.
She looks into my eyes and smiles. “I’m so glad you’re home!”
The sound of her voice sends shock waves through my system. No way. No fucking way is this the kid. I pull my head back and look into her face, and my cock starts to ache. “What the fuck happened to you?”
A confused and hurt look crosses her face, and she slides her body down mine. I can only hope she didn’t feel how hard my cock is. “I asked you a damn question. What the fuck happened to you?”
“What do you mean?” she whispers, taking a step back.
I start to answer, but the words get stuck in my throat. How in the hell do you ask someone how they went
from being a cute kid to the most fuckable woman you’ve ever seen in less than a year? I mean really, it’s not something she could miss. Her once shoulder length black hair now hangs down to the middle of her back. I swear the shit looks as soft as silk, and I would give my left nut just to run my fingers through it. The eyes that seemed too big for her face last time I saw her now tilt seductively and fit perfectly into the most beautiful face God ever made. The coltish body she once had is filled with womanly curves that many women would pay out the ass to have. Hell, I’d pay out the ass to just touch them. No! There’s no damn way she missed this. So instead of explaining, I just motion towards her. “You. What the hell happened to you?”
She starts to open her mouth, but shuts it when a weak voice answers for her. “She grew up.”
I look towards the house and see my sister-in-law standing on the porch. My body seems to turn to concrete and the heat that Jenna sent my way is instantly gone, replaced by a cold fear that I haven’t felt since my mom died. Mindy, the sweetest woman in the whole damn world, is now just a shadow of her former self. Her once robust body is now merely flesh and bones. The beautiful red hair that my brother loved so much is gone, and her big green eyes are hollow. Fuck! I should’ve come home sooner.
“You gonna keep staring me, or are you gonna come give me a hug?” she says with a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes.
With those words, I come unstuck and rush towards her. I take her in my arms and hug her, doing my best not to cause her any pain. “How’s my girl?”
“Dying,” she says matter of fact.
“Don’t say shit like that,” I say, stepping away from her.
She reaches for my arm and gives it a squeeze. “No reason to beat around the bush. We all know that it’s coming, so no need to pretend.”
“Chipper should be here soon,” Jenna says, stepping onto the porch. “Let’s get you inside.”
