by Ryan Michele
Jutting out my hip and putting my hand there, I said, “Nah, Sugar, but thanks for askin’.” I gave him a playful wink that took every bit of my strength. “What can I get ya?” I asked, wishing I had some gum in my mouth, as it seemed to taste like cotton.
He scanned my body, the heat from his gaze causing my panties to dampen, something that hadn’t happened in a very long time, mind you. And I continued to stare with an expectant look, even raising my brow in impatience.
Instead of answering me, he took his time, and it became difficult to breathe. He caught it and smirked at me.
I looked down, focusing on my order paper. Breathe in, breathe out, I reminded myself. A hot guy checking you out is not a reason for you to pass out on the floor, Chelsea.
“Burger, tomato, waffle fries, and a Coke.” He paused, causing me to look up from my order pad. “Add you on there.”
My skin practically burned from arousal, but I once again powered on. “Sugar, you couldn’t handle me.”
His lip tipped up, and I swore time stopped for a brief moment, allowing me to plug that one movement into my memory bank. Holy shit, it was sexy.
I hadn’t had much sexy in my life, but that was by choice, because men sucked. First, there was my no-good father. Then came the asshole who drugged me in high school and took my virginity. Yes, I knew who it was, but it couldn’t be proven. Therefore, nothing had been done. Then there was Steven, who turned out to be way into porn. Barry was next, and at the name, I should have put him in the “no” pile. I learned that one the hard way, too. So, you see, men sucked. I was better off keeping to myself and aiming for my goals.
Stiff scratched his beard while he studied me appraisingly. “Baby, conquering you would be a fucking pleasure.”
I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. Did he really just say that? Holy shit, he did.
Somehow, I snapped myself together and ignored his comment. How I did this, I had no idea.
“Anything else?”
“Nah,” Bosco replied, and I scooted away from the table right as I heard Bosco say, “Stop that shit, Stiff.”
“What? She’s pretty.”
My step faltered, but I regained it just in the nick of time. He said I was pretty.
I gripped the countertop, needing something to hold on to in order to ground myself. This was surreal. Definitely surreal. Sure, he’d flirted—hell, he flirted with every woman he could when in here—but to have that intense look then to call me pretty, that was just bizarre. Totally unlike the other times.
Regaining my composure, I put their order in and filled their drinks. Then I walked back to their table and began handing the drinks out.
“Coke,” I called out, getting a grunt from Bosco.
I continued calling out drinks and passing them around.
“How’s that sister of yours?” Boner asked.
This time, I smiled huge, and it wasn’t the one I plastered on my face every day. No, this one was genuine because I loved my sister more than anything in this world. Anyone honestly asking about her made me happy.
“She’s good. Almost done with college. I’m damn proud of her.” My heart swelled with emotion. I’d never been so proud of anything in my life.
Jennifer had always been so damn smart. Mom and I were lucky she had received scholarships, but even if she hadn’t, I would have taken on another job to get her through.
Jenn wanted college so badly. It was one of her goals, and she deserved every chance in life. She worked her ass off up there, having a job besides school. I still sent her running money, which she continually returned, becoming our game.
She was only a thirty-minute drive from here, but it seemed like a lifetime away. I missed her. It had been almost a month since I’d seen her last. Though we talked every day, it wasn’t the same.
Bosco whistled. “College girl. Always knew she’d do good.”
I nodded. “Yep, and she’s getting all A’s.” I knew I was beaming, because my cheeks began to have that twinge in them that bordered on pain from when you smile for too long. But you kept doing it, anyway, since you really felt it.
I looked over at Stiff and saw his eyes dead focused on me.
My smile wobbled a tad, but I held strong.
Stiff had always had that something—call it charisma, charm, badassness, or anything along those lines. Then again, it might just be my hormones considering getting laid was up there with getting a hole in my head. I had no time for either.
“I’ll be back with your food in a bit,” I told them, striding away.
While filling the mustard containers, my eyes would drift over to their table whenever I heard the barks of laughter between the men. Stiff snagged me once, but I smiled then quickly looked away. I mean, I couldn’t have him thinking I was staring at him, right?
The rest of the night went without incident, and as expected, I got a hefty tip from the boys.
“HAPPY TO HAVE YOUR ass here,” I told my baby brother, Xander, slapping him on the shoulder and pulling him in to me tightly.
Xander had served overseas in the Marines, the baddest of the bad motherfuckers, running his own unit. He was honorably discharged from the Corps after being shot in the shoulder a couple of times. He’d had a shit time coming back from that, but after talking to his woman Gabby, I hooked him up with some guys he could talk to, a job at the garage with me, and talked him into becoming a prospect for the club.
I fucking liked having him around every day. Working with him—hell, just having him be in the clubhouse with all my patched brothers—kicked fucking ass. I couldn’t ask for any better, and I felt like my family was really together.
“Glad to be here, brother.”
I released him then stared at the Chevy Impala on the car lift in the shop. Vipers Creed owned Creed Automotive. With it bringing in the bulk of our income, all the guys worked here, including me. I supervised.
“Gabby having trouble?”
I had mad respect for his woman, sticking with my brother after being gone for so long. I knew she was hurting with him gone, but it was the same for me. Regardless, we both picked up and carried on with our days in hopes we wouldn’t get a call that he was dead. The one I did get, telling me that he had been shot, made me lose my shit.
“Just needed to change the oil and wanted to look underneath. She said it was making some tickin’ noise. That’s woman speak for ‘I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with the car; just fix it.’ ” Xander shrugged. “So, we had a break, and I thought I’d see what was goin’ on.”
My brother’s face had changed so much over the years. Not going to sugar coat it. I raised the boy, had to. We had a worthless piece of shit mother who’d been more focused on her next fuck than worrying if her two boys had food. Did that mean I had grown up a lot faster than I should have? Fuck yeah.
I’d had jobs cutting grass, picking up trash at peoples’ houses, planting flowers or bushes—whatever people wanted. I had only been eleven, but I’d always found something that brought in some money to keep my brother and me fed.
At thirteen, I’d started working for the rent because our mother couldn’t have cared less about moving us from place to place repeatedly. Xander hadn’t needed that. What he had needed was some kind of stability.
The guy who’d owned our house had given me odd jobs, and I did each and every one without complaint. The one where I had to re-shingle a house at thirteen was a bitch, but by the end, I’d had it down pat. I’d also learned how to fix plumbing, toilets, flooring, install cabinets—you name it, I did it. It’d been hard as hell, but I did it. One positive from it was it gave me a great skill set.
I’d barely made it through school, but I knew I had to set a good example for Xander, and that was what pushed me through by the skin of my teeth. Even exhausted from working, I still got Xander ready, and we went.
I’d do it all again in a fucking heartbeat, because the man standing in front of me proved that every bit of hard work I’d done helped him become
the stand-up man he was today. I was damn proud of that.
“You heard from Mom again?”
Xander’s eyes blazed at the mention of the woman, but I wanted to know if she attempted to see him again. She’d tried a month or so after he came home, and then she received a visit from me not long after. No way was I letting her shit fall on my brother again. She had so much coming down on her it wasn’t pretty.
I shielded my brother from that shit, but at some point, I knew I needed to tell him. Now wasn’t the time for that, though. He was just getting back to his old self, and I wasn’t going to fuck it up, at least not yet.
“No,” he grunted out. “Nothin’.”
“Brother, this is good,” I told him, and he nodded.
When he was a small boy, he’d always tried to be a momma’s boy, bringing her cigarettes or fetching her something she wanted. I’d seen it and told him to stop that shit, but he was young and wanted a “mom.” When he finally realized we wouldn’t get the mom he wanted, it seriously fucked him up. That was another reason I kept information from him now.
“Whatever.” He paused. “Oh, hey, man, I need to talk to ya about somethin’.”
I lifted a brow, telling him to go on. He never had to ask that shit with me. I was always and would always be there for him, no matter fucking what.
“Gonna ask Gabby to marry me.”
To this, I smiled wide. I wanted him to be happy in any way possible.
“That’s good, brother.”
“Yeah, it is. I know I’ve gotta get her a ring, but how the fuck am I supposed to know what the hell she wants?”
That right there was why I loved my brother. He was so damn strong, competent, and had a good head on his shoulders, but for this, he came to me for help. That right there was the sign of a good man—a great man.
“Brother, you know she’s gonna like anything you pick.” When he raised his brow at me, I knew what he fucking wanted, and dammit, I was going to give it to him. “You want me to come with you?”
He grinned. “Knew I could count on you.”
“Fuck me. Goin’ ring shoppin’. You owe me a fucking beer. Fuck that, a keg.”
He laughed. “Fuck, Stiff, we’ll both need that shit before we even go.”
I chuckled. Damn, I’d missed this. He’d been gone too long.
“Amen to that. Let me help ya.” I nodded to the car.
“Sounds good, man.”
“STIFF! GET YOUR ASS in here!” Spook called from his office as I sat at the bar, nursing a bottle of Bud.
I hefted my ass up from the barstool and headed into his office, closing the door behind me. The place was pretty well put together except for the stacks of paperwork clouding his desk. I swore he had so much shit going on, and I was happy he’d finally started delegating the work to us brothers.
Spook had a control problem, but I couldn’t blame him. He’d been the one to clean up the club years ago after his father tried to run the Vipers into the ground. I was at his damn side during Spook’s takeover and clean up. After that, he hadn’t wanted anything to get fucked up or out of his control, so Spook had done it all. We could tell it was wearing on him, but he had been stubborn as shit and wouldn’t listen.
Thank Christ for Trixie. After reconnecting with her, things changed. She was damn good for him. Hell, she was good for the club.
Now he kept a balance between work and her, and I admired him for it. Boner took on the daily operations of Creed Automotive while I took over supervising it.
“Yeah,” I said, standing in front of his desk and swiping my hands on my jeans to rid them of the leftover condensation from the beer bottle.
“I swear to Christ, between your mother and mine, I don’t know how the fuck we didn’t turn out even more fucked up than we are.”
At that, I crossed my arms over my chest, his words grabbing my undivided attention. I hated anything that had to do with the woman who gave birth to me; hence, why I went to lengths to shield my brother from it.
Spook’s mother was a gambler and got in deep with a man named Fox who ran tables. Spook pulled her out of that mess, only for her to end up doing it again. Spook had then been forced to cut his mom off from the club completely, which wasn’t easy on him. Regardless, a lesson needed to be taught, and as far as I’d heard, she hadn’t been back to one of Fox’s tables again, but the ban was still on her.
“Yeah?” I prompted when he didn’t continue.
His eyes locked with mine. “Ice. She’s sellin’ now.”
My gut clenched as my temperature spiked. “You’re fucking shittin’ me.”
“Nope.” He shook his head. “Heard it through Zeke.”
Zeke was a dick who knew the streets of Dyersburg, Tennessee. He kept his ears open and fed information for a price. Knowing that, the information was viable and not to be taken lightly.
“Knew if she was using, it was only a matter of time before she’d start selling it,” I conceded, rubbing my hand across my bald head.
I thought for sure when she had gone to visit my brother, he would have been able tell she was tweaked, but he’d had shit going on in his head, so she’d evaded him. It was a double-edged sword because, if he would have seen it, I wouldn’t have to say shit.
“I don’t give a shit about that,” Spook declared, placing his hands on his desk then leaning forward on them, his sparking eyes intent on mine. “What I give a shit about is her using your name and this club as protection.”
My entire body locked so damn solid I swore I was a statue made of granite. That fucking bitch was using us so she wouldn’t get her ass beat on the streets. Probably so she wouldn’t get her pussy sold, as well.
Even this was a new low for the woman, one that she’d pay dearly for. I needed to make it perfectly clear that she was not under our protection.
I stared straight ahead as my mind conjured up ways to decimate my mother.
“Brother.” Spook brought me to attention, and my focus cleared on him.
I nodded, letting him know I was with him.
“This needs to stop. Now. She’s dealing for Gonzo, and that shit will not touch this club.”
Fuck, that was even worse. Jamie Gonzales, also known as Gonzo, was a major player here in Tennessee. He didn’t even live here in Dyersburg, but he had minions who sold all over for him.
“Fuck, man.” I shook my head. “I’ll take care of it.”
It was Spook’s turn to shake his head. “No, brother, we will take care of this shit. This is serious, and we all go in together. Not only are we gonna need to talk to Gonzo, but your mother will need to be dealt with, and the news of this needs to spread wide.” He rose to his full height. “I know she was shit to you growing up, but she’s still your mom, man. You sure you can do this shit?”
My body unlocked. “Fuck yeah. I’ve been cleaning up her garbage for too long. It’s time to get it sorted and over.”
“I want us to go together, but if you need us to, we can go in without you.”
That pissed me right the fuck off.
“Fuck no, brother. I’m in this. Xander doesn’t know anything, though, so I’ve gotta take care of that. He’s gonna want in on this, too.”
“Done,” Spook said. “Talk to your brother and get it sorted. Then we’ll take this shit to church and get it done. The sooner, the fucking better.”
“SO, WHAT THE FUCK is this?” Xander asked, sitting on the couch in my house.
We all lived on the compound, which I loved. I’d brought him here because he hadn’t been the same since getting back from overseas. Sure, he’d made progress, but he still had things to work through. As a result, I wanted to give him a safe place to hear what I had to say, away from anyone. Not that the club brothers would have anything negative to say, but I wanted to respect my brother and give him the privacy to let it out.
I walked to the fridge, grabbed two beers, and handed him one.
“Fuck, it’s that bad?” he asked, twisting the t
op off then taking a hefty pull.
“Yeah.” I fell into the reclining chair that faced the television. My place was a man cave, no other way to put it: huge TV, places to sit, beer in the fridge, and shit a bit everywhere. I did clean it up, but as long as it was livable, it didn’t matter to me.
“Give it to me,” he said as I turned toward him.
“Mom’s been doing ice.”
His face stayed the same, but the small tick in his jaw told me he’d heard.
“Not that I give a shit, but the problem is she’s using the club and me for protection while selling the shit.”
“That fucking bitch,” Xander growled out. “How long’s she been doing this shit?”
“Coupla years, the ice. Using me and the club, just recently.”
His intense eyes hit me. “And you didn’t bother to fucking tell me?” he snapped, the tick getting worse.
“Nope,” I replied, pulling my beer thirstily. “You didn’t need to know that shit until now.”
“So that’s how this is gonna be, brother? You keepin’ important stuff from me?” Xander slammed his beer down on the side table, the loud thunk echoing. “Bullshit! Don’t fucking lie to me, Stiff. I’m a grown ass man.”
“You don’t think I fucking know that shit?” I asked. “You don’t think I know you fought, got fucking shot, and I could have lost you out there? I fucking know all that shit too well. You damn sure know when you came home, your mind wasn’t in a good place. You think I was gonna add more to that pile for you? Fuck no.”
Xander reclined, resting his head on the back to look up at the ceiling, clenching his hands at his sides as I continued.
“You need to know this shit now, so I’m tellin’ ya now. It is what it is, brother. Now we make it clear to everyone out there that she’s not under our protection.”
“They’ll fucking destroy her,” he said.
“Probably. Not that I like that shit, but she chose this path, not you or me or our club. She chose to put herself out there. She chose to start ice. She chose to sell it. She chose to use my name and the club’s as a way of thinking she’s hot shit and untouchable. Those are all her choices.”
