Joker: A Bad Boy Biker Romance (New Devils MC Book 2)
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JOKER:
A Bad Boy Biker Romance
(THE NEW DEVILS MC BOOK TWO)
by JADE KUZMA
Copyright © 2018 Jade Kuzma.
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. All persons appearing on the cover are models and being used for illustrative purposes only.
JOKER: A BAD BOY BIKER ROMANCE
(THE NEW DEVILS MC)
First edition. August 1, 2018
Copyright © 2018 Jade Kuzma.
Written by Jade Kuzma.
Jade Kuzma Romance
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Epilogue 1
Epilogue 2
Thank you!
The Black Reapers
The New Devils
Chapter 1
HUNTER
South of the big city, there was a small town called Ivory that most people had never heard of. I’d never been to it myself. Never planned on it. Then again, sometimes life makes you do some shit you never thought you would.
I wasn’t about to bitch and moan about it. My life was my own and a town like Ivory could provide it. Drugs. Alcohol. Women. I knew that I could find whatever I needed down here to have a good time. I was probably better off because the cops in this town seemed a little more relaxed. Just one look at the locals was enough to tell you that something was going on under the table.
I didn’t need any of that though. Cocaine. Pussy. Robbing old ladies. Speeding down the highway drunk off your ass. You name it. Assholes always wanted to live on the edge because they wanted to feel alive. I’d seen men ruin their lives over the kinda shit that would make you shake your head.
I was always in control. All I needed was a good smoke and a good drink. And if that didn’t get me high enough, there was always the felt.
I’d been playing since I was a teenager. There was nothing better than looking into a man’s eyes and reading his mind. Oh, and then there was the money, too. That was my vice. It was always about cash…
I looked around the table and saw all of the dollar signs. They were a rough-looking bunch. Some bikers who’d invited me in on their poker game in the backroom of their clubhouse.
There were five of us at the table.
Some blond-haired pretty boy with some scruff on his chin. The blue-eyed bastard always had this cocky smirk on his lips. He was wearing a leather vest with the patches you needed to prove you were in an MC.
There was another man with a thick beard. Tattoos all along his arms and a patch on his chest just the same.
The last club member was one of the biggest men I’d ever seen. I never thought twice about taking a man’s money from him but damn if this guy didn’t make me consider it.
I stared at the big man and looked him up and down. He glanced at his cards then glared back at me.
“You need some help?” he said to me.
“No,” I said. “Just wanted to make sure it’s all right with you after I take your money.”
“You take our money fair and square, it’s yours,” the brown-haired man with the thick beard said. “Brawn’s lost a lot of money to all of us.”
“Brawn,” I said as I turned back to the big man. “How fitting.”
Brawn gave me a half-smirk then turned his attention back to his cards.
“You in or you out?” the blond said to me.
He arched an eyebrow at me, not attempting to hide his impatience.
“All right,” I said as I threw a few bucks into the center of the table. “I’m in.”
“What do you got?” the blond responded.
I flipped over my card in the hole and showed it to ‘em. The sound of everybody groaning brought a smile to my face. There was nothing more satisfying than knowing that there was nothing they could do.
Brawn tossed his cards into the center of the table along with the rest of them. I pulled the cash toward me while everybody kept their eyes on me.
“What did you say your name was again?” the man with the beard said.
“Jacobson,” I replied.
“Jacobson…”
“And you are?”
“Jon,” he said. “This man over here is Blake.”
I looked at Blake and read the patch on his chest.
“Needle,” I said to myself.
Blake kept giving me a side-eyed stare like he knew I was up to something. I held back a smirk as I turned back to Jon.
“You know Brawn,” he said as he pointed at the big man next to me. “And this right here is Ryan.”
Jon patted the shoulder of the last man at the table.
He looked different. No patch. No vest. No jeans. Just some wrinkled clothes and messy hair. His face looked like he hadn’t washed in a few days. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought he was some bum off the streets.
Shit didn’t matter to me. I’d played cards with the poorest men you’d ever meet. I’d hustled some of the richest assholes in the big city. The cards never changed.
“Next hand,” Jon said.
Everybody threw their antes into the center of the table as he dealt the cards.
“What brings you to Ivory?” Blake asked.
“Vacation,” I said, not looking at him.
“Vacation? Ivory’s a shitty place to go on vacation.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t have enough money in my bank account to afford a trip to the Bahamas right now. Ivory was the best I could do.”
I knew Blake. He was the cocky, arrogant type. I couldn’t hold it against the motherfucker. The pretty boy looked like he spent too much time in front of a mirror to make sure everything was right.
“There’s not much to do in Ivory,” Jon said. “Anybody would think it’s strange for someone to come here on vacation.”
“I’m a strange guy,” I said.
I kept my eyes focused on my cards.
Five cards on the table. I could see four of them. The last one was for my eyes only.
“What do you got, Jacobson?” Jon said.
I had two aces and two kings showing. I put my hands over my last card and looked at it. The six I saw wouldn’t do me any good. Luckily for me, I already had another ace.
I looked up and stared across the table at Jon.
“I bet 100,” I said.
I placed the money at the center of the table. I kept staring at Jon even though the entire table had their eyes on me.
“That shit doesn’t work here,” Blake said. “I raise. A hundred more.”
“I call,” Ryan said.
There was a small stack of cash in the center of the table. Not the biggest I’d ever seen but something I could appreciate.
It wasn’t just about the money right now though. The rush of knowing I was gonna win was more satisfying than anything. The anticipation was killing me.
“Well,” I said to Jon. “How about you…”
I read the patch on his chest.
“…Ghost? You’re not gonna disappear on me right now, are you?”
Jon stared at me, his eyes unblinking. A smile formed on his lips as he put his money in the center of the table.
“I call,” he said.
“All right,” I said with a nod. “I call.”
“I got a straight,” Blake said.
He showed his last card. The rest of the table was filled with a combination of anger, frustration and sadness. Only poker could bring out that kind of mixed reaction.
“Well?” Blake said, a confident smile on his lips. “What do you got, Jacobson?”
I flipped over my last card and nodded.
“Just a full house,” I said.
My last ace revealed, I couldn’t help but smile back at the blond. He looked away from me and clenched his jaw. I didn’t revel too much in the winning hand. No matter who I was playing, it was always about the money.
“Well, it’s been fun, gentlemen,” I said. “But Ivory seems like a nice town. I think I’d like to enjoy the sights and sounds. I appreciate you funding my vacation.”
I reached forward and grabbed the cash. Everybody had their eyes on me as I stacked it neatly in front of me. I made sure to dump my hidden card before they were on to me. A wad of bills and the high of winning were enough to last me through the night.
I got up from my seat and walked back through the bar. Their clubhouse was packed tonight but I figured with what I just got away with, I should probably take my chances celebrating somewhere else.
It was a clear night. The air was so crisp and clean. Fucking strange compared to the city. I could actually breathe in and feel my lungs clearing up.
I was a few feet from my ride in the parking lot when I heard a voice yell out behind me.
“Jacobson!”
I turned around to see Jon walking toward me. Brawn was by his side. The motherfucker looked even more massive when he was standing up straight.
Here we go…
I knew something was up. Motherfuckers just couldn’t let me walk away with my winnings.
“What’s up, fellas?” I said. “Somethin’ I can do for you?”
“Leaving so soon?” Jon said. “You only played a few hands.”
“Yeah, well, it’s your game. It doesn’t feel right to be taking money from you guys.”
“That’s all right. The Grindhouse is open to all our guests. We’re always looking for new people to play against.”
“I’m sure you’ll find ‘em. But me… I gotta hit the road.”
As soon as I spun around, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I sighed a deep breath and couldn’t help but grin.
Of course.
This wouldn’t be the first time I came across some sore losers. I’d dealt with them before. None of them were as big as this Brawn fella but I was ready for him regardless.
I turned around, my teeth clenched as I grinned. I put my hand behind my back and rested it on my piece.
“We got a problem?” I said.
“We might,” Jon replied.
He didn’t bother trying to smile at me. I could respect a man who dropped all the pretense.
“I came here for a drink,” I said. “You invited me to your poker game. You can’t be mad that I took your money. You said I could have it.”
“I did say that,” Jon said. “If you won, the money was yours. All you had to was win…”
“Thank you—”
“Fair and square.”
Jon glanced down at the sleeve of my leather jacket. I tightened my grip on the handle of my piece.
“You didn’t win fair and square,” Jon said.
I had to admire the bastard. He was only the second motherfucker who’d ever caught me.
“It appears we have a disagreement,” I said.
“It appears we do,” Jon said. “I see this going one of two ways.”
“Two ways, huh?”
“You pull the piece out that you’re gripping so hard and you drop one of us. Of course, you won’t be fast enough to take us both out because I’ve got the same piece you do.”
Jon had his hand behind his back the same as me. I gave him a nod and smiled.
“Not bad,” I said. “I suppose the other way is me kindly giving you all your money back.”
“No.”
“No?” I said, an eyebrow raised.
“Keep the money. Most of it, anyway. You see Ryan back there. You notice anything about him?”
“Besides the fact that he looks like a bum, not really.”
“That’s because he is a bum. He lives at the homeless shelter a few blocks from here. The club likes to invite him out to spend his money and have a little fun. Sometimes we even let him win.”
“If that’s the case, you shouldn’t have invited him to a card game with someone like me.”
“That’s just it though… I invited him to an honest card game. Not one where someone is using a holdout to cheat.”
I sighed a deep breath and looked away.
“It’s just like they say,” I said. “It’s only cheatin’ if you get caught.”
“Give Ryan back his cash and you can keep the rest of it,” Jon said. “You’ve still got plenty left.”
I looked up at Brawn. The giant motherfucker was eyeballing me like he wanted to eat me.
“Compromise,” I said. “Fair enough.”
I relaxed my hand on my piece and reached into my pocket. I counted out some of the money and was left with a decent amount of winnings.
“Thanks,” Jon said. “The Grindhouse isn’t the place someone like you wants to be playing poker.”
“It’s not? And where exactly would that be?”
“You wanna head to Eden. It’s on the outskirts of Ivory, in Holt County where the rules are different. Beyond city limits, so Ivory laws don’t apply. It’s a legit casino. That’s where all the high rollers are at. If you wanna make some real cash, that’s where you’ll go.”
I couldn’t stop my eyes from widening. Jon told me exactly what the fuck I needed to hear.
“Eden,” I said. “Never heard of it.”
“Just opened recently. Some hotshot venture capitalist owns the place and kept it a secret before the unveiling. Word is starting to get out now.”
“Right…”
I would’ve thought twice about a casino I’d never heard of. But I figured I’d take my chances.
“…Where’s this place at?”
“Just head east through Old Town. There’s only one road out of Ivory. You’ll hit it eventually.”
“Why are you telling me this? After what I just did.”
“Hey, even if I lost a little bit, it’s always funny to see Needle lose some money.”
Jon grinned to let me know that we were cool. Seeing Brawn do the same gave me a bit of relief.
I got on my bike and revved my engine.
“Oh, and one more thing,” Jon said.
I raised my eyebrows at him, waiting for what he was gonna say.
“You watch your back out there.”
I smirked at him, already knowing what he was getting at.
“…Thanks,” I said.
I pulled out of the parking lot and headed down the road.
I had no clue what the fuck I was gonna do when I first got to Ivory. Now I knew I was on the right track.
Chapter 2
FAYE
The bright lights of Eden Casino made it hard to tell what time of day it was. Outside, it didn’t matter if the sun was out or not. It was always the perfect time to have a drin
k and throw your money away at Eden.
Even though it was on the outskirts of Ivory, a small town where only a few thousand people lived, business was booming. It was quickly becoming the spot everybody came to when they wanted to have a good time.
It was exactly the place I needed to be at.
I sat in my seat, observing the scene in front of me. Rich men discussing business deals while they gambled their money. Beautiful women who were enjoying the company of their affluent benefactors.
I couldn’t hold it against the women for wanting the attention of a man with money. I was no different.
Of course, I didn’t want a man’s attention because of the status that came from being near a man with money. To me, this was a job.
I looked over at the man just across from me. Each of his arms was around a different woman. They tapped their fingers and scratched his chest playfully as he regaled one of his stories.
“…So he walked up to me and said he didn’t like the way I looked,” he said.
“Oh, what an asshole!” one of the women responded. “What did you do?”
“I did what I had to do. I rolled my sleeves up and taught him a lesson. You can’t insult me like that.”
“That’s what I thought you’d do, Henry.”
The two women giggled with giant smiles to show off their perfect white teeth. Alvarez was enjoying every moment of it. He rocked his head back and took turns examining the women by his side, eyeballing which one he was going to have fun with tonight. Even though he did this every night, he didn’t seem to get bored of it.
That was the life of Henry Alvarez. A man who had enough business deals in the big city that he had more money than he knew what to do with. Even if he blew it all on the women around him, he would still have enough to do it all over again the next night.
You could tell how rich he was just by looking at him. He was older but carried himself like he was still in his 20s. Greasy, slicked-back gray hair. A thick mustache. His face was wrinkled but not enough to distract from the confident smile he always had on his face. Belly swollen from all of the food and liquor he indulged in every night.
Nobody ever really looked him in the eye. They were always distracted by the tailored suit that was always some gaudy color. Tonight, it was a dark red. The top button on his shirt undone, everybody could see his hairy chest underneath.