When Clubs Collide

by Jacqueline Sinclair

  Internally I’m berating myself for putting the band on display like this, but I will not have any man speak for me. The women all trail along but the biker stays put, his jaw set and his eyes hard.

  I stop and look at him. “Not a fan?”

  “That’s Savage Angel territory. I shouldn’t be the first member of Kings of Korruption they meet.”

  The women all stop walking, suddenly looking unsure. This hadn’t occurred to me, club politics. I smile tightly at Gear and look at the women.

  “Give me a minute, I’ll be right back.” I’m in heels but I could climb a mountain in them and I’m quickly back at Kat’s side. “Kat, there’s some people over here I’d like you to play rock star for and say hello but they are obviously tied to another MC and are nervous about crossing into our camp.”

  “As well they fucking should be,” growls Dane.

  “Oh, stop it. They’re fans. I don’t care what colors they’re in,” replies Kat as she heads toward the women.

  Dane reaches out and places a hand on her shoulder. “You’re not going anywhere without me.”

  Kat gives him an exasperated look. “Fine! Come on, big guy, lead the way.”

  Dane takes point with Kat and I trailing behind him. I glance up at the women and they look excited. Gear shakes his head and moves to stand with them, and I can’t help but notice the protective position he takes. He’s good looking in a rough sort of way. The way he’s looking at me right now causes me to run my hands over my hair smoothing it and to pull on my jacket.

  Dane approaches the women but ignores them, eyes firmly on Gear. He holds out his hand and Gear grips it. “Dane.”

  “Gear.”

  Their greetings are brief but the handshake, even from where I’m standing, looks firm. The men size each other up and eventually break their hold.

  Kat holds up a hand in a wave at the women and says, “I’m Kat. How are you ladies?”

  She’s a trained professional, a rock star through and through, meeting the fans is something she’s done a thousand times. For the briefest of moments, the woman stare at her then they all talk at once.

  I smile at them, give Gear a cursory glance, turn and walk back to the buses. I have a lot to organize before they perform. On my short walk back, Jamie and Jonas pass me as they head toward the small group. Jamie has a grin on his face and winks as he passes me. I shake my head at him and keep going.

  Chapter Five

  Gear

  The girls are ridiculous, fluttering around these rock stars like they don’t put their fucking pants on one leg at a time, just like the rest of us. Veronica disappeared right after making the introductions, and I don’t want to show disrespect, but the rest of my club needs to be here. I whip out my phone and shoot off a quick message to Ryker, telling him to come collect his woman.

  Dane just stands there, grinning at his woman as she does her rock star thing. He doesn’t even bother trying to make small talk and I’m okay with that. I stand close, keeping an eye on the women until Ryker, Tease, Jase and Reaper appear through the tree line.

  Ryker approaches Dane. “Ryker Cole,” he says, thrusting his hand forward.

  “Dane Reynolds,” Dane says, giving Ryker’s hand a firm shake.

  Ryker points to the other Kings and introduces them by road name and position in the club. “We’re here to rescue you all from our crazy old ladies,” he says and Dane just chuckles.

  “They’re harmless,” he replies. “Kat lives for this shit.”

  I stop paying attention to their conversation and slip away as inconspicuously as I can, back to my little hidey hole in the woods. I set about getting the rest of my camp set up to the background noise of the girls giggling and chatting away with excitement. I’m happy for them that they got to meet their favorite band, but also a little annoyed. Ryker needs to have a chat with his old lady about club politics and how to go about approaching an unknown MC. That shit is dangerous, especially for an old lady.

  The door to the bus opens once again with an airy whoosh and I can’t help but look up to see if it’s her. It is. Veronica steps down from the bus like she isn’t in the middle of a forest of bikers. She moves as if she’s in the middle of Wall Street.

  I watch her as she stops and talks to one of the bikers in the band’s entourage. They seem familiar. Flirty even. I don’t like it. The possessive feeling I have towards her is fucked up and I don’t know where the hell it came from. I don’t like that either.

  Like it or not though, it’s there. I’m drawn to her. I want nothing more than to take that tight ass bun out of her hair, grip her golden locks in my fist and bend her sweet little ass over one of those picnic tables.

  When Veronica takes a seat in one of the fancy lawn chairs at the edge of their site, I feel myself drawn to her. I slip back through the trees and right onto Savage Angels territory once more, glad my own prez still has them occupied, and head straight for her.

  “This seat taken?” I ask her, pointing to the chair directly beside her.

  Her head whips up as if I’d startled her and she stares up at me with wide eyes. “Um … no. I guess not.”

  I plop my ass down in the seat and cock a brow at her. “You don’t look like the type of girl that hangs with bikers.”

  Her brows creep high on her forehead. “Is that so? And what kind of girl do I look like, exactly?”

  Her cocky tone has my dick stirring inside my jeans. Fuck, this woman is something else. “The kind that likes control. Hard to be in control around a bunch of bikers.”

  She huffs out a snarky laugh. “I assure you, Gear Shift, or whatever your name is, I have zero issues with staying in control. Now if you don’t mind, I have some work to do.”

  Her bitchy attitude has me picturing spanking her ass as I have her over that table I’d pictured before. “It’s Gear.”

  “I don’t care what it is. I don’t know if you’re trying to hit on me, or what, but if you are, you seriously need to work on your game. If you’re here for the band, that’s wonderful. They love all of their fans, but if you’re thinking you’re going to smooth talk your way into my skirt, you’re gravely mistaken.” She snaps her laptop closed and stands. “Good day, Gear.”

  I watch her ass sway as she storms away. Why are all the hot ones such bitches?

  Chapter Six

  Veronica

  The nerve of him! Yes, he’s tall, dark, handsome and that close-cropped beard is something I’d love to rub my…face on, but I’m not here for a good time, this is work. I’m walking as fast as I can and I swear I can feel his eyes on my body. I have my laptop tucked under my arm and I’m headed toward the site office. I’d like a few more security measures in place to make sure we can keep the crowds back if they surge forward.

  When I arrive, there’s a queue. I join the end of it and am acutely aware that I am the only female in this line. The men not so subtly nudge each other and motion in my direction. I’m doing my best to look uninterested and oblivious to them. Inside I’m berating myself for not bringing a security guard or one of the Savage Angels boys with me.

  “Tell me Princess, you ever ridden on the back of real man’s Harley?” asks a voice from behind me.

  Slowly, I turn around and fix him with a look of disdain. “Actually, yes.”

  Laughter erupts from the men around me and I turn back around. Hands land on my hips and I feel his body pressed against mine.

  “You ever fucked on one though?”

  Taking a step forward and to the side, I turn back around. “I work with the Savage Angels, if I wanted to fuck on a Harley, I’m sure they could arrange it,” I say as flatly as I can. I do not want this neanderthal thinking he’s gotten the best of me.

  He grins at the men around us, nodding his head, arms spread wide. “Damn! Those Savage Angels boys got fancy club whores.” He leans into me as he says whore and his foul breath is laced with beer and garlic.

  I can’t help it, I take another step back, cough
and wave my hand in front of my face. “Oh for the love of God, take a breath mint!”

  The laughter around me becomes louder and my foul-smelling friend gives me the once over, spits and walks away.

  I turn back around to find the line has greatly diminished. Within five minutes I’m at the front of it and the organizer has eased my fears. They have their own security to make sure everyone who camps here is safe. I step back out into the sunshine and see the communal showers and toilets. Walking toward them I see a sign that indicates that although showering together saves water these showers are not co-ed. I chuckle to myself as I enter the building. No one is in here and I hurry into one of the toilet cubicles. It’s clean and I’m thankful for that.

  I do what I need to do while trying to balance my laptop on my knees. I hear the door to the building open and close a couple of times but pay little attention to it. When I emerge from the cubicle, no one is in there, so I place my laptop on the bench and wash my hands. Just as I’m washing away the suds, the hair on the back of my neck stands on end. My eyes dart to the mirror in front of me. Standing just a few feet away, leaning on the wall, is my admirer from earlier at the office.

  “You lost?” I ask caustically, even though my heart is racing out of control.

  “You got a smart mouth, bitch.” He pushes off the wall and walks toward me.

  I turn around. “Take another step and I’ll scream.”

  A sinister grin spreads across his ugly face. “I fucking love it when they scream.”

  I open my mouth to do just that, but this biker moves like lightening. His hand clamps over my lips, his legs go between mine and I’m hoisted up onto the counter. In one swift move, he rips the filthy bandana from around his neck and stuffs it into my mouth. I taste sweat and body odor and grime. His green eyes are full of lust. I scream but the bandana muffles it.

  “Now, bitch, you are going to see how a real man likes to fuck.”

  Fear crawls its way up my throat as I choke on his disgusting bandana. I try to hit him but he easily traps my hands on either side of my head.

  “This can go one of two ways; I can treat you nice or I can treat you like the whore I believe you are.”

  He releases one of my hands and reaches up under my skirt, ripping my underwear down. I claw at his face, digging my nails into whatever flesh I can make contact with. When his fist lands against my jaw, the back of my head bounces off the mirror and I see stars. I can feel his hands as he struggles to undo his belt and then I’m falling, face first onto the linoleum floor. Vaguely, I think it’s not as clean as I thought it was. Next thing I know I’m on my feet, the bandana is out of my mouth and I’m staring into kind dark eyes, not green ones.

  “Veronica? Baby? You with me?”

  “Gear?”

  “Yeah, can you support yourself?” Gear asks. Absently I nod my head. His hands release me and no sooner does he move away before I fall flat on my ass. “Fuck. Sorry, baby, going to leave you there for just a minute.”

  I watch as he reaches down and drags a body from the building. I look down at myself and realize my skirt is hitched up, my underwear is gone and my head hurts. Moving forward I position myself on my hands and knees then pull my skirt down. Rising up onto my knees, I grip the vanity and pull myself to my feet. Through the shattered glass of the mirror, I take in my appearance. My hair’s falling out of its bun, I have a fat lip and a bruise already forming on my cheek. I tentatively touch the back of my head and when I look, I have blood on my fingertips. Groaning, I turn on the faucet to splash my face.

  “You okay?” asks Gear.

  I shake my head. If I speak right now, tears will spill over and I’m not sure that I could stop them once they start. I glance into the broken mirror and lock eyes with him. He’s angry, both hands balled into fists. Gear reaches over, grabs some paper towel and hands it to me. Turning around, he winces at my face.

  “That bad?” I whisper.

  “No, baby, you’re perfect but that looks like it hurts,” Gear whispers back.

  I drop my eyes to the floor, only to find he repositions himself in my line of sight. He’s bending at the knees trying not to touch me.

  “Veronica, we need to get out of here before someone comes looking for you or that piece of shit.” I nod at him, take a step and stumble. “Okay, let me help? I’m going to put my arm around your waist.”

  He’s gentle, treating me like I’m fragile. I am not fragile but my god-dammed legs won’t work properly. Under sufferance I nod.

  “I think I need to get checked out.” My voice sounds alien to me, not like my normal confident self.

  “Does your rock star have a doctor on call?”

  I shake my head. “No, I don’t want them to know. Surely there’s someone else?”

  Gear places me against a wall, and reaches behind me loosening my hair. It falls around my shoulders in loose waves.

  “For now, we can keep it under wraps but you are in the Savage Angels camp, they’re going to want to know who did this. They’re going to want blood.”

  I look into his caring eyes and nod. “I know, but not yet. I need to have my game face on.”

  Gear chuckles. “Professional bitch face is more like it.”

  Grateful that he understands, I smile but the movement causes pain to shoot across my face, groaning, I lightly touch my lips. Gear pulls my hands away to examine me. His fingers press on my jaw and I pull away from him. He scowls at me and continues to probe my face and the back of my head.

  “Ouch!” I exclaim, slapping his hands away.

  “Nothing’s broken. I had to check, otherwise I’d be taking you to the hospital, like it or not.”

  I narrow my eyes at him and push off the wall, he quickly puts an arm around me and guides me out of the building.

  Chapter Seven

  Gear

  That motherfucker. I want nothing more than to go back there and rip his tiny fucking dick off but the pained whimpers coming from Veronica, and the pale color of her skin has me rushing her off to my tent.

  I wasn’t following her exactly when I’d seen that son of a bitch go into the ladies’ room. I’d been following him. I was on my way to the restrooms myself when I’d seen Veronica go in. He’d been creeping along behind her, drunkenly swaying with every step. I’d have gotten to her sooner if the fucker hadn’t locked the damn door.

  “I think I’m okay,” she says, pulling herself out of the circle of my arm.

  “Jesus, woman. You’re so fuckin’ stubborn.” I place my hand on her arm as she stumbles a little and pull her back to my side for support. “How ‘bout you just shut your mouth and let me help you, yeah?”

  It’s a fucking miracle that she doesn’t argue, and it actually worries me more. I know she’d said she didn’t want the Angel’s to know yet, but Veronica needs medical attention. I’m no medical professional, but even I can tell she’s in rough shape.

  It takes us a few minutes to maneuver back to our campsite and I unzip the tent with one hand, while holding onto Veronica to prevent her from falling. As soon as I get the flap open, I lower her inside, and lay her down on my bedroll. Not exactly the fanciest of digs, but it’s the best I can do in a pinch.

  “You lay here and relax, baby. I’m gonna go get some help.”

  “No,” she cries, her voice weak. “I don’t –”

  “I’m not gonna tell them, Veronica. But I am going to get a second opinion on that head bump.” I don’t give her another chance to argue. As fast as I can, I run through the trees until I come out in the Kings of Korruption camp. Reaper is the first man I see, and thankfully the one I’m looking for.

  “Reap! I need your help.”

  He raises a brow at me, but he doesn’t ask questions. Reaper was once a medic in the Canadian army and now serves as a stand in doc for those of us in the club that get hurt one way or another. He’s a good man to know when you have a beautiful woman who’s wounded and about to pass out in your shitty little tent.
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  I lead him to the tent and give him the Cliff’s Notes version along the way. He doesn’t say a word, but I feel the air turn with his pissed off rage when I tell him she was almost raped. Reaper ducks inside the small tent, but there’s no room for me, so I stay outside. I hear him talking to her, but the words are low and I can’t make them out.

  Five minutes later, he exits and comes to stand beside me. “You kill that fucker?”

  I shake my head. “Didn’t have time. She was in rough shape. I saw his patch though, and I know where his camp is. I knocked the son of a bitch out, but I know where to find him.”

  He nods and glances through the trees at the Savage Angel’s camp. “You need to take it to them.”

  I know I do, but I don’t want to. I want to deal with him on my own. “I know. I will. Just want to tend to Veronica first.”

  Reaper nods again. “She’s okay. Just a nasty goose egg on her head and a few cuts and scrapes. I don’t see any signs of concussion, but don’t let her sleep for a while. Take care of her, yeah?”

  After he leaves, I crouch down and peer inside. Veronica is sitting up, scrolling through her phone like someone hadn’t just tried to rape her not thirty minutes ago. “Give me that shit,” I growl, snatching it from her hand.

  “Gear!” she cries. “I was answering an important email!”

  “Fuck your email, woman. You were just attacked. You can give yourself an hour to recuperate for fuck’s sake.”

  Veronica’s blue eyes flash with anger, and even though I know she’s trying to look intimidating, it’s cute as hell. My answering grin just pisses her off more, and she lets out a little huff as she folds her arms angrily across her chest. “You’re an asshole.”

  I chuckle. “Not denyin’ that, sweetheart, but this asshole is takin’ care of you at the moment. Now move the fuck over. I’m here to keep your ass awake.”