Reign Over Me (The Covenant Book 1)
Page 2
I’d never felt such an instant attraction to a woman before. I immediately started making plans to fuck her. Since Amy had said she’d wait for me in my room, I’d have to take Isabel somewhere else. We’d need somewhere soft since I planned to take my time. The couch in my office down the hall would do nicely.
Of course, as I listened to her story, my plans crumbled. The innocence in her eyes was real and not just my imagination. Isabel was a good girl who’d come here looking for protection. I felt like a lecher while she cried over her father and uncle. It was a relief to know that she was in college. At least my lustful thoughts weren’t against the law.
My eyes wandered back to Greyson, and he lifted his eyebrows, waiting for an answer. I just shrugged. “I honestly don’t know.”
He nodded. “Me, too.”
I followed Greyson down the hall. “Gather up the boys and meet me in the chapel.”
I nodded in response and headed into the clubroom.
Luckily, Wednesday night was usually boring, so there were only a couple dozen people partying instead of few hundred like at a real Aces’ party. A few were full patched members while the rest were hang-arounds, groupies, or folks just looking for a good time.
I found them all, and I sent them all to the chapel, with the exception of Duncan.
He was our newest member, receiving his patch only a week ago. He was a good-looking kid with a mess of dark auburn hair that he kept a little long so it curled and blue eyes that all the girls gushed over. While he was younger than I was by about seven years, the boy was built like a boxer, all brawn. He could be a bit of a joker, but knew how to get the job done. After checking the entire building, I found him outside near the warehouse. He had one of the groupies bent over a picnic table and was fucking her so hard she was making little squeaks.
I’d seen this girl before. I’d probably fucked her, too. She was one of the girls that came around hoping to get serious with one of us. The type that said, “Don’t worry about a condom”, like we would trust a skank. She’d obviously heard that Duncan earned his patch last week.
I had to raise my voice to get his attention above her yelping. “Church. Now.”
“Shit,” he said.
I turned away as he pulled out and put his junk away. “We’ll pick this up later.” He smacked the girl on the ass and walked my way, running his hands through his hair to straighten it out. I was glad to see him throw a rubber to the side. Smart boy.
“What?” the girl screamed. “Duncan!”
The gavel knocked as we come into the room, and I took my seat to the right of Greyson.
Eight of the fifteen members of the Aces MC, South Dakota, sat around the table. Three were retired from club business, another three lived as nomads, and one poor brother was behind bars.
Duncan took the seat next to me while Max and Hawk sat across from us.
Hawk was our Sergeant-at-Arms, and Max was the treasurer. Hawk’s Native American mother had gifted him with copper skin and dark hair that he shaved down, while Max looked like Thor, with golden hair falling past his ears and bright blue eyes. They were best friends and both dangerous motherfuckers.
Down the table, there were Sam and Donny, both second generation Aces. Sam looked tired. His curly red hair was unkempt and his beard had a few days’ growth, but that was normal these days. With a new baby at home, I could usually find him sleeping at the club during the day. While the child seemed like a nightmare, Sam’s green eyes always lit up when his wife brought the baby into the club.
Donny was a father of two twin girls, who were quickly becoming pre-teens. He blamed his black hair turning gray on them, along with his dad gut.
Jordan was the last to sit down by Donny. He was our enforcer and my best friend. He’d just gotten back from a run up north, and I was anxious to hear about it.
Most of us were ex-military, coming to the club to seek salvation from civilian life. While I did serve three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, I was born in this club. My old man was the Sergeant-at-Arms while my mother was the daughter of the VP. Since they never married, I was technically a bastard, but my mother preferred “love child”. She insisted on it, even after Pop disappeared when I was eight.
Even after all these years, she still defended the old man, claiming that he would never leave unless it was to protect us. But she didn’t know the truth. It would break her heart all over again.
“I'm sorry for fucking up the night, boys, but we have a problem,” Greyson said when everyone was seated. “Do you remember the name Rochester?”
“The accountants for the Snakes, right?” Max said.
“Yes. It looks like the Rochester brothers have gotten themselves into a little bit of trouble,” Greyson responded.
“Well that’s no surprise. Doing business with the Snakes is dangerous,” Sam said with a grumble.
“And what? They came to us to bail them out?” Max asked, crossing his arms.
“Not exactly.”
As Greyson explained the story, I let my thoughts wander back to Isabel.
I’d never been attracted to the preppy types. I preferred my women a little raw, but still there was something about her. I could tell by her perfect manners and elegant speech that she was upper middle class. That bothered me more than a little. Not only was she out of my league but in my experience, those people couldn’t be trusted. Either they looked down their nose at us or they wanted to use us for their own purposes.
But despite my misgivings about her class, there was something about Isabel that made me want to hold her close. She was obviously privileged, but she didn’t seem vapid. She was asking for protection, and I wanted to provide it.
“You’re awfully quiet, VP.” I looked up to see the table staring at me. “Do you have any suggestions on how to handle this?”
I turned my thoughts back to the matter at hand, hoping they would kill the blood flow to my dick.
I’d had run-ins with the Snakes before, and none of them were pleasant. They were brainless gangsters pretending to be a motorcycle club. Profits were their credo, not brotherhood. They might be stupid, but they were a dangerous stupid, the kind of fools to kill without a thought.
Nevertheless, we couldn’t let Isabel Rochester be their victim. It was not the Aces’ way.
“Taking her in will cause trouble, but if we don’t, the Snakes will catch her and we all know what they will do to her," I said and glanced around to see the other members nodding.
“I agree. And if the tip about the chicken farm is accurate then they will probably share more intel on the Snakes,” Jordan said.
“I’m with them, but just to play devil’s advocate; does anyone else wonder if she could be a spy?” Max asked and looked around the table.
Greyson spoke up. “I thought about that and it's possible, but I doubt it. That girl is scared, and she seems to be completely clueless."
I agreed with him. If she was a spy, she was a hell of an actress. Also, something told me we could trust her. It was an instinct. At least, I hope it was instinct and not my johnson.
"So if we agree to take her in, should we keep her here or stash her somewhere?" Hawk asked. "In two days we are going to have the other chapters and support clubs here for the anniversary. Not to mention all the hang-arounds.”
Hawk had a point. The Aces’ fortieth anniversary was this weekend, and we’d invited a lot of people to come for the weekend. It was a party, but it also served as a conference to discuss Covenant business.
About twenty years ago, The Aces MC, along with the Bulls MC and Wraiths MC, had created a loose alliance called the Covenant. Usually motorcycle clubs were autonomous to a fault, but the Covenant was meant to correct that weakness. We did not follow the same rules. Instead, we promised our support to each other, a partnership.
It was probably best to put her in a safe house, but it didn’t sit well with me. “I think she should stay here.” The table went quiet, and Greyson raised an eyebrow at me.
“Most of us have to stay here for the party, and I wouldn’t trust the prospects to protect her.” Skinny and Bobby were good kids, but they hadn’t been in a real fight yet.
“If she is really worth the twenty grand her uncle is offering then Rem has a point. But if we keep her here, how do we hide her?” Max said.
"Make her a Heart," Duncan chimed in.
I glared at the younger man. The Hearts were the club whores.
I thought of the girl again, blushing under my gaze in the office. There was no way that little mouse was opening her thighs for the club. And even if she was willing, I wouldn’t allow it. She is too good for likes of us.
"Not for real,” Duncan continued after a bunch of scoffs. “We can slut-er-up and have her hang with the other girls. The other clubs know our girls can say who they sleep with. So as long as we make it look like she is sleeping with us, we shouldn’t have a problem."
"Hide her in plain sight,” Greyson said, rubbing his chin.
“And her being the new girl gives us an excuse to keep her close to just our members,” Max added.
“It does sound better than locking her in a room for four days. Not a bad idea, rookie.”
Duncan sat a little straighter at the president’s praise.
Then Greyson addressed the table. “All right, let's vote to make it official. And I want to make it perfectly clear that she is off-limits. There will be no touching her other than for show. Understood?"
Greyson met my eyes, his gaze serious as I nodded.
The vote passed with all ayes. When we stepped out of the room, I began to follow Greyson toward his office, but he turned to block me. “I’ll handle the girl. You go tell the other Hearts and prospects.”
I gave him a small shrug and turned as if it was no big deal. It shouldn’t be a big deal but for some reason I was disappointed.
I found Bobby behind the bar and asked him to meet me at the front where Skinny had watch. When I explained everything, the prospects nodded in understanding. Both of them were smart, and they each had a relative who was an Ace. Recruiting from family was an easy way to vet prospects. A simple introduction was not enough these days. Feds could pop up anywhere. In order to be accepted as a prospect, a member must have known them well.
I ran into Jordan on my way to find the girls. “Hey, how’d it go up north?”
He shrugged, meaning that it went okay.
“Problems?” I asked.
He ran a hand over his head where his dark hair was shaved close. “No, just sucks. Sometimes I feel like we were getting too old for this crap.”
I smiled. We were both in our early thirties, but I knew what he meant. This life could get stressful sometimes. I wondered if there would ever be a time when I won’t be looking over my shoulder.
Jordan and I grew up together in Clayton, the small town that the Aces called home base. When I went into the Marines, he went into the army. He didn’t talk about his time in the service very much, but I knew he was more than just an infantry grunt. With his skills on a computer, I was sure he did more for his country on a laptop than I did with a sniper rifle.
A couple of girls walked by, and his attention went with them. “I’m gonna get laid,” he said and followed the girls to the bar.
I suddenly remembered that I had a girl waiting for me, too. I looked forward to getting back into Amy. My cock was more than a little upset at being denied Isabel Rochester.
I went up to my room and found Amy right where I’d left her.
“Good.” She smiled sweetly, her perfect teeth shining against her naturally tanned skin. “I was about to fall asleep.” She turned on her side, perfect breasts swaying above a toned stomach. She crooked a finger at me and licked her lips.
We had three Hearts, and Amy was the easiest to be around, as in, she wasn’t a crazy bitch. I liked her because she was good in bed but didn’t try to worm her way into being an old lady. Her dark hair was long, how I liked it, and she was young and sexy.
I walked toward the bed, but something stopped me before I reached the bed. I had planned to work out my frustration over Isabel with Amy. But I felt tired all of a sudden. The idea didn’t hold the same appeal as it had three minutes ago.
“Actually, I need you to get dressed.” She looked surprised and then disappointed. I felt a little guilty, but I knew she found her release before Skinny interrupted us. She was probably hoping for more, but tonight was strange.
I knew it was a lame excuse, but I wanted her to explain things to other girls. I didn’t feel like dealing with those two harpies tonight. I told her the story and asked that she explain it to the others.
She agreed without a fuss.
“I can come back later if you want,” Amy said as she stood in my doorway.
“That’s okay. You have a good night.”
She pressed her lips together for a moment and then closed the door. I pulled out my phone to make a few calls. I needed to know more about the Rochesters.
Chapter Three
Isabel
"So," I said, trying to keep my voice steady as three hard-edged bikers stared at me.
A few minutes ago, Skinny brought me downstairs and sat me down at one of the tables in what he called the clubroom. He told me to wait here for the VP. A few of the members were already seated at the table eating so Skinny introduced me to Hawk, Jordan, and Sam along with another prospect named Bobby.
I nibbled on the donut Skinny brought me while they looked on. After a while, I felt the need to start talking.
"Anyone watch Sons of Anarchy?" I asked with a smile. When no one responded, I wondered if I offended them so I tried to fix it. "You probably don't watch it because it’s not really accurate when it comes to real MC life, right?"
There was still no response. The blank expressions on their faces seemed to mock me more than any words could. I could do nothing but look between each of them in my anxious way.
Jordan was tall, dark, and handsome. His face had sharp angles, and he shaved his dark hair close to his head, making him look dangerous. Hawk, who was obviously Native American, was also gorgeous, but he wouldn’t even look at me. Sam had the friendliest posture since he just tilted his head at me in curiosity. His hair was cropped short and the curly red color along with his round face made him seem approachable, but the tattoo of a knife on his neck said the opposite. I could tell Bobby was still a teenager by his baby face under a brown mop of messy hair. He was big though, like linebacker-big.
When the silence became deafening, I tried again. "What about Game of Thrones?"
Crickets.
"Orange is the New Black?"
"Don't tell me you're all fans of The Vampire Diaries?" I let out a nervous laugh.
Clearly, they did not watch TV much. I bit my lip. What else could I have in common with them?
It was the morning of the first day, and I was ready to give up on Greyson’s plan.
Last night Greyson had told me that the club voted to offer me protection. He explained that my dad and uncle worked with another club called the Snakes and that something probably happened to make the Snakes want to silence them both. Greyson had been gentle as he said that by sending me here, my uncle did the right thing.
He had also imparted their plan to hide me. The story was that I was a Heart that was exiled from an Aces charter out of state and that they were willing to take me on. I did not like the plan, especially after I asked what a Heart was, but Greyson seemed to think I could handle it.
After that, he had taken me outside to walk around the building and through another entrance stating that I should stay hidden tonight since there were hang-arounds in the club. Up two flights of stairs, he’d shown me into a room with just a cot in it and told me to stay there until someone came to get me in the morning. Fortunately, the room had its own bathroom.
I hadn’t slept very well. And since I was sans cell phone, I had no distractions as I waited for the sun to rise. Skinny had knocked on the door at nin
e. “Morning, Izzy,” he’d said. He then explained that Greyson had decided to start calling me Izzy because it sounded more “club”. Skinny had seemed surprised to find that I was dressed and waiting on a perfectly made cot. What he didn’t see was that I’d rearranged and organized my entire suitcase three different times before he arrived. I’m a morning person.
He had taken me the opposite way that Greyson did the night before so I could see the main room of the clubhouse. Although, it couldn’t be called a room. It was bigger than just a room. It must have been a warehouse or maybe a factory at one point. All the windows were toward the ceiling, but they were large.
To the right, when you walked in, there was a long bar with lots of stools, and tables were scattered throughout the room. In the far corner, there was a kitchen with industrial appliances, and in the opposite corner, stood a stage with stripper poles and couches around it. Next to that was a metal staircase leading to another door. The walls were covered in graffiti and flags. American, Irish, Mexican, Canadian, POW MIA, and Confederate. They seemed random, but I was relieved not to see a swastika anywhere.
I was back to nibbling on my donut when I heard a deep voice behind me say, "College.”
I turned to find Rem glaring down at me.
Of course, he looked just the same as last night, dangerous male perfection. I was hoping my overanxious brain had made a mistake, making him seem more handsome than he really was. I was sure in the harsh light of day I would see all the flaws and no longer think of him as Adonis.
Alas, my brain was spot on.
Rem looked even better in the light of day. I could tell his eyes were more of a gray than strictly blue and his dirty blond hair had a little red in it.
He jerked his head to the side in a clear order for me to follow him as he walked toward the stairs. I felt my heart flutter as I jogged to catch up.