Crusher

by Carson Mackenzie

  “Nah, we can go after dinner. Best if I don’t wait for Ally to go to sleep. I may not want to leave after that.” Rags were thrown at Speed from all directions. “What? Can I help it if I got a warm, willing woman that puts up with my shit?”

  “Not at all. We just don’t want to hear about,” I said, flipped him off, and headed out of the garage. “Text me when you fuckers are ready to roll. Going to clean up.” I headed in the direction my house.

  “Just the gentlemen I needed to see,” Tank said as we walked into Soft Tails. The music was blaring and the place was full of brothers.

  “What’s up, man?” I asked and looked around the place.

  “Let me get Bull to cover the door for me and we can talk in Sami’s office.” We nodded and headed in that direction knowing Tank would follow after Bull replaced him.

  On the way, I stopped by the bar and told Stem to set us up at our usual table with a round. By the time we unlocked the office door and entered, Tank was right behind us and closed the door.

  “It could be nothing or it could be an issue, but when I closed up and Bull and I were getting on our rides we heard bike engines getting closer so we waited, thought maybe it was a few of the club members. Instead three bikes when right by.”

  “Not like other riders don’t come through, Tank,” I said.

  “Yeah, but these riders slowed, looked over, and when they saw Bull and me sitting on our bikes, they sped up. It was dark so we didn’t get a good look, just know not any of ours.”

  “Still, that don’t mean nothing, they would have seen the Soft Tails sign, maybe they slowed to see if still open,” Speed said and Tank shook his head no.

  “Why don’t you think that is it, Tank?” Any other time I would blow this shit off, but with the crap over Carly, I didn’t want to take any chances.

  “Go ask Roscoe. I overheard him talking about three riders with the group at his table but I hadn’t got a chance tonight to go ask him about them. I got a gut feeling they could be the same fellows.” Yeah, my gut was saying the same thing.

  “Where did he see them?” Speed asked.

  “Not sure, didn’t hear that part.”

  “We’ll check with him. Thanks, Tank.” He nodded at me and I headed to the door Flirt opened.

  “Speed, Spider’s birthday is coming up next month. Me and some of the guys wondered if you and Sami minded if we brought some stuff by your house for her?” I chuckled at Tank’s question while we all stepped out of the office and Speed locked the door back.

  “Sami plans to have a party for her.”

  “That is why we were wanting to drop her present off ahead of time. We didn’t want to show up and scare any of the kids there.” Tank looked at Speed and frowned like Speed had missed the reason for the drop off.

  “Not a kid birthday party, man. A club birthday party for her. Everyone will be invited. Figure we can have a cookout in the yard behind the club since everything is out there. My place can’t hold everyone.” As I listened to the exchange I looked around and spotted Roscoe and turned in his direction, Speed followed while the others headed to our table where Layne was setting down our drink order.

  “That is great. I will let the other guys know,” Tank said and headed back to his spot at the door.

  “What’s so funny?” Speed glared at me when I chuckled and stopped at the table Roscoe was sitting at.

  “Man, you do realize that little girl has managed to do what grown men hadn’t?” When he didn’t answer I continued. “You know, brought a whole MC down to bow in front of her. I think if you told them she wanted a dress-up party with Disney characters they would do it. And, brother, that would be some funny shit to see.” I laughed.

  “No shit, you may have to defend your seat as president when she gets older because the guys might follow her if she asked them to,” Speed said, drawing the stares of the men at the table.

  “Damn straight, girl is going to be hell on wheels when she gets grown and, Speed, you are going to need to keep a loaded shotgun to keep fuckers from chasing her,” Roscoe said and Speed looked at him and sneered.

  “Nah, going to have her so tough, she will be able to kick their asses herself. No man’s going to run over my baby girl.” I looked over at him and cocked my eyebrow.

  “Uh, didn’t you steamroll over Sami to get what you wanted?” All the men at the table laughed.

  “Shut up, fucker. Aren’t you supposed to be checking with Roscoe and not busting my balls.” I shook my head at his attempt to deflect.

  “Yeah. Roscoe, Tank mentioned you saw a few unknown riders come through town?”

  “Not through town. I uh...was coming out of Sue’s place as three riders passed by. Never saw them before so I got on my bike and followed the direction they went. Never caught up to them though. Don’t know why they would be on that street unless they made a wrong turn coming through town.”

  “Not sure either. But if you see them again, give me a call.” I looked at Speed and his eyes met mine. Yeah, we hadn’t had a problem with unknown riders hanging around in our parts so why now?” I looked back at Roscoe, “Thanks, man,” I turned to head to our table and said over my shoulder, “Don’t think we missed the part about you coming out of Sue’s place. We’ll save that info for later.” Speed and the others laughed. Roscoe was never to be out done.

  “You boys are just jealous ‘cause I get more action than you do. Speed should be glad I didn’t steal Sami before he got back here.”

  “Ah, Roscoe, you couldn’t handle my woman.”

  “Nobody likes a bragger, son.” Speed and I laughed all the way to our table. After sitting down, we told the others about the riders Roscoe had seen.

  “You thinking same as me? Stone and a couple of his flunkies?” Coast asked and I nodded in agreement.

  “Sonofabitch, what is he hanging around close to here for. Sami told me he hasn’t been in contact with Carly since the shit exploded at Haven. I’m not sure if it even has to do with her. Thinking it’s Black Hawk he is interested in. At least if you try to interpret the note he sent Cutter.” Speed and the rest of us seemed to be on the same page.

  “Could be Ally, Speed. She has a tie with both clubs. Asshole might think with her, he could call the shots where we are all concerned.” The fire that flashed in Speed’s eyes would make the strongest of men fear for their lives.

  “Crusher’s right, man. He is a lowlife and nothing is more dangerous than a lowlife with nothing to lose,” Flirt said.

  “Disagree, nothing is more dangerous than a club that would do anything to protect what is theirs,” Devil said.

  “Fuckin’ A, brother. Can’t hurt either club if his ass is six feet under.” I would have smiled if the shit wasn’t so serious and I wasn’t now more worried about Carly than I was before. If her dad was around, it didn’t matter for what reason, because I could guarantee neither was good. Speed’s cell rang stopping our conversation. While he talked I looked toward the stage where Lindy’s routine started. The girl could move and bend in all directions, I knew because I’d had her in most of them. But as I watched her drop her top to the floor and spin around the pole, her tits jiggling with her movements, I didn’t have an ounce of a reaction. Damn, the blonde in my thoughts was going to be the death of me and was it funny that the thought of her did get a reaction as my jeans tightened under the strain of the erection.

  “Crusher, you listening?” Speed’s voice drawing me out of my thoughts.

  “Yeah.”

  “Carly called Sami and told her she would be back tomorrow. She visited with a couple of the ol’ ladies today at the Haven clubhouse. She told Sami she would talk with her when she got back,” Speed finished.

  “That’s not safe, brother, and you know it. Especially with the shit about riders around here. Telling you it is that fucker. Give me Wild Bill’s number, I’m going to call and talk to him about this shit. The fucker is Haven’s man so I don’t see an issue discussing it.” Speed scrolled th
rough his contacts until he found Wild Bill’s number. I programmed it in and dial. “Thanks, man.”

  When Wild Bill answered I laid everything out with him, he agreed. Him and a few of his men would ride halfway with her and we would be at the halfway mark to ride the rest of the way in. I hung up and told the brothers what we had planned.

  “Everyone onboard for the road trip tomorrow?” I asked.

  “Hell yeah,” Speed was the first to answer.

  “You sure you want to make that trip. What if he is in town watching and waiting for us to give him an opening for Spider?” Speed’s face turned bright red at my words.

  “I will kill him with my bare fucking hands if he tries but my place as Enforcer is to protect you. I have to trust the club to protect my family when I’m not able to be there. We can contact some of the guys to hang out at the clubhouse and around the houses tomorrow. I don’t want to scare Ally or Sami but she won’t be going into work tomorrow so that will cut down on splitting the club to watch the both of them. I’ll handle it when I get home.”

  “Trust you, brother.”

  “I’m in for the road trip and Brax could stay close to your house, Speed. No one would get near Sami and Spider with him around,” Flirt said.

  “What’s his deal? I see him at Soft Tails sometimes, as far as I can tell he’s doing a great job as a Prospect. But he doesn’t talk much and I don’t see him take up with the women that come on to him,” Speed asked Flirt, the dude had come to Black Hawk with Flirt when he transitioned out of the service. I was curious myself as to the reason.

  “We were coming back from a mission. We stepped off the transport plane and the Colonel met us. He walked straight to Brax because he was one of the few men who had family that would meet us when we were allowed to tell them we were headed home. Brax’s wife was one of them. She’d come and bring their little boy. That day, instead, the Colonel informed him they had been killed by a drunk driver the night before. They were hit head on when the dumbass crossed the median to their side. Colonel had told him they didn’t suffer; they didn’t even know what hit them it had happened so fast the witnesses said. Was quiet after that, then he got out same time as me, no other family, not really knowing what he was going to do. I asked if he rode, he said not in a few years, sold his bike when his kid was born, it scared the wife. Told him about the club, he bought his bike the next day and we headed here.”

  Damn was said at the same time by all of us. “Big fucker, how the hell was he a SEAL?”

  Flirt laughed, “Don’t let his size fool you, he can move just as stealth as a man half his size. And you are just going to have to trust me when I say, he is one of the deadliest men I’ve known.”

  “Why is he still a Prospect?” Devil asked.

  “Prez said he needed to do his time like everyone else. Like we did,” Flirt answered.

  “I’ll have Prez put him on Sami and Ally tomorrow while we are gone. Extra protection.” Speed nodded to me and so did Flirt. “We should be ready then.”

  “Fuck yeah, my ass is ready for a nice ride with you guys. We haven’t done that yet,” Jag said.

  “Then tomorrow it is. Road trip,” I said.

  “You think you should call Stroker, run this shit past him?” Jag asked.

  “You’re going to be my VP one day. You going to question everything I do then too?” I asked. It was wrong, I knew it, but the thought of Carly riding all the way back by herself didn’t sit right with me. Not under the circumstances.

  “Asshole, that isn’t it. Don’t want the dads to think we are already pushing them out.” Jag stared me down. Yeah and the funny part, he was doing the VP jobs. There had to be loyalty between the members in leadership positions in a club but if the club functioned right—it wasn’t blind loyalty.

  “I know, I’ll go see him after I speak with Wild Bill and set things up. You guys ready to head out?” I rose when everyone nodded in agreement. On our way out, I laid cash on the bar to cover our tab and Layne’s tip. We walked out, mounted our bikes, and headed back to Black Hawk.

  When we drove in, Brax was on the gate and Flirt and Speed stopped to talk with him as the rest continued to the clubhouse. Sitting on the porch as we pulled up was Dare, Shakes, Daisy, and the dads.

  “You boys are back early. Soft Tails not busy tonight?” Stroker yelled from his spot.

  “Nah, got a few things to talk over with you.” I walked up on the porch and Stroker stood.

  “Club business?” Stroker asked as he walked toward the door.

  “Yeah, Prez.”

  “Everyone needed for this talk?” he cocked his brow.

  “Yes.” I looked over to the other men who were already starting to stand.

  “Okay, come on, let’s go to my office.” Stroker headed in just as Speed and Flirt pulled up.

  “Dare, you might want to come in and hear this too.” Dare got up and followed us all in. When everyone was seated I started to tell them about the riders that had been seen and the ride we were taking tomorrow to intercept Carly.

  “Okay, sounds like you have it all planned out. We will be around to handle anything here. Is that all you needed?” Stroker asked.

  “Yeah, we are headed out in the morning. I’ll text you when we are heading back.” I looked at my dad and for the first time I didn’t recognize the look on his face.

  “Alright, you boys have a good night. I want to talk some things over with my officers.” The man was all Prez at that point and we stood to leave along with Dare while Speed, who was part of the leaders, stayed. “Dare, you can stay for this. Speed, you won’t be needed for this one.”

  Speed got up from his chair as Dare sat back in his chair and then the six of us walked out of the office and to our bikes before anyone said anything.

  “What the fuck just happened in there? I’ve been in on their little meetings since they threw the Enforcer patch at me.” Speed looked back to the clubhouse. When we came out Shakes and Daisy had evidently decided not to hang around and wait and were no longer on the porch.

  “Think they are pissed we decided to do it, before informing them?” Coast asked.

  “Nah, I don’t think that would be it. When have you known my dad to hold in anything if it bothered him or your dads for that matter. They’ll let us know if we need to know.” Heads nodded in agreement and we mounted our bikes and headed to our homes. I hoped once there I would be able to get some sleep, any sleep, because I had a feeling that tomorrow I was going to need to be rested.

  Chapter Six

  Carly

  This was all fucking bullshit. The little woman needs a damn escort. I got to Haven on my own, not like I couldn’t find my way back to Shades Valley. Men!

  I got up and packed my saddlebags, then went to sit down with a cup of coffee just as the front door opened and in walked Reed, Moose, and Crank. I said good morning as they grunted and reached for the coffee pot.

  “Late night, boys?”

  “How can you be chirper? You drank with us,” Reed griped and took a big gulp of coffee.

  “Probably because she went to bed while you dumbasses had me drop you off at the clubhouse. Who did you get to drop you off since your bikes were left here?”

  “Hawk, now we owe him. That fucker will wait until he needs some shit work done and then he will call it in.” Moose flopped in the chair beside me. “Sugar, you sure you gotta go back today.” I laughed and he grabbed his head.

  “Yeah, got a few things I need to deal with.” He nodded and then closed his eyes as he took a drink of his coffee.

  “Fine, it won’t take long for the fresh air to clear my head.”

  That was when I clued in to why they were at Wild Bill’s so early, it wasn’t just to pick up their bikes.

  Wild Bill frowned at Moose and then told me that he and the others were riding halfway with me. Okay that wasn’t so bad, then he added that the Black Hawk guys would meet us there and ride in with me the rest of the way. I may or may not ha
ve called them every name in the book.

  “You done?” Wild Bill asked and I glared back at him. “Still going with you so everyone get their shit together and let’s hit the road. I don’t want to be late to the meet up spot.”

  Well, that was what got me to this point. Riding down the road in the middle of the four men as if I was a piece of china that would break if a bug hit me. Hell, they were riding tucked so close that I had to look up at the sky just to make sure we actually were outside and riding down the road.

  Yes, I may be exaggerating some, but really, if a vehicle got too close to me, they moved in closer. Not that I thought bitching would make them stop. I know they never would but I couldn’t let them have their way too easily.

  Reed signaled to the sign on the right side of the road before we passed it. It was our exit I presumed because right before we reached the turn, the men flicked their blinkers on.

  We pulled right up to the pumps at Leonard’s Gas and Go. I saw the six bikers sitting off to the side when we pulled in. As we stopped they headed toward us. I placed the pump in my tank and out of the corner of my eye watched Crusher as his long legs ate up the ground like he was on a mission, Speed not far behind him. Great, the gang was all here.

  Speed greeted the Haven men and then came to stand in front of me. He pulled the sunglasses off and in that second when those intense blue eyes focused on me, I understood why Sami folded so easily around him. His square jaw and high cheekbones, the face framed with black hair was an intimidating picture. His lips were perched and, combined with his stare, made me wonder what he saw and thought. Everything around us went quiet, the only sound was the clicking of the pumps as the tanks filled. Then the breath was knocked out of me and I found my face buried in a huge chest and incased in two huge arms.

  “Don’t ever run without talking to me. I understand it was a shock, I had the same reaction but damn, does it really matter how we found out. You and I share blood and we have fucking lost enough time because our mother chose not to tell us. That shit is on her and I don’t plan to waste anymore on why she would do it and neither should you. We’re going to get to know each other with no regrets on time lost. Understand?” Speed said, then stepped back releasing me.