by Lilly Atlas
“Seems to be the case,” Striker answered.
“Shit,” Gumby muttered. “What the fuck is he thinking? He’s the fuckin’ president of the Vegas chapter. He knows what the hell will happen if he’s caught.”
“He’s a greedy bastard.” Lucky rested his forearms on the table and leaned forward. “He’s actually been at it for a while, making good money and doesn’t think he’ll be caught.”
Striker sat down, his chair scraping on the floor to the tune of nails on a chalkboard. He scratched the day-old stubble on his chin. “Savage is working with him. From what we understand, they’ve formed some sort of partnership with the Grimm Brothers. Their enterprise is growing, and Rebel is hoping to make enough money to entice the rest of the chapter to join them and expand the business.”
“You don’t think that will happen, do you?” Jester asked. “There are some good guys in Vegas. Guys that have been around a lot longer than I have. Club loyalty and respect for the bylaws runs deep.”
“So does loyalty to their president who’s been there as long as anyone in that chapter,” Shiv answered. “Yes, I do think there is a risk of at least some of the guys wanting in on their game. Money makes people do crazy shit.”
“And the Grimms,” Jester said. The room grew silent for a second while everyone watched Jester’s jaw tick with strain. “After everything we’ve been through with them the past few years, that’s a betrayal I can’t get past.” Jester’s girlfriend had gone through hell at the hands of the Grimm Brothers MC.
“Tell me about it,” muttered Striker whose wife had also been terrorized by the Grimm Brothers a few years back.
“I think we need to pay them a visit in about a week. That will give us enough time to do a little more digging, and really form a solid plan.” Shiv snubbed out his cigar in one of the many ashtrays on the table. He always looked slightly lost without something between his fingers. Lucky never took to smoking, but to each his own.
“What do you think, Lucky?” Striker asked. “You know how they operate better than any of us. Is a surprise visit the best way to go? Catch them unaware?”
He took a moment to think about the question from a few angles, then pushed up from his chair and paced the length of the table. He needed to move. Nervous energy was making him restless. “When you say a surprise visit, what exactly are you thinking? Confront Rebel and Savage head on? Show up with force and tear the place apart until we find something? Sneak around and try to find proof in a more covert way?”
Apparently, he’d gone long enough without some tobacco because Shiv puffed on a brand-new cigar. “Somewhere between forcefully tear it up and being stealth. When you left, only Rebel and Savage were involved, right?”
Lucky nodded and reached for his beer. He remained standing, but quit the pacing. Did any of the guys her realize just how hard this meeting was for him? Two months ago, he trusted Rebel and Savage as much as any of the men here trusted Shiv and Striker. And now he was plotting to get them booted from the club, at the very least.
Even though it was the right thing to do for both himself and his club, he felt dirty. He felt like a rat. He felt like a traitor.
“So there could be more now,” Shiv said. “I don’t want to show up like a pack of wolves until we’re certain how many guys might not be on our side. Kori said she saw quite a bit of their product, so she’ll be a great resource as we plan. If we can find their shit, we can shut this down easier. Is there anyone you trust up there? Anyone you know for sure wouldn’t join in with Rebel and Savage?”
Again, he considered the question. Did he trust Bull implicitly? Fuck no. Rebel’s betrayal, followed by Kori’s betrayal had taught him a hard lesson about the myth of loyalty. But Bull put himself in danger by coming to Arizona and seeking Lucky out. And he seemed truly appalled by the idea of the club involved in selling drugs.
“Lucky?” Shiv prompted.
“Sorry, pres. Not sure I trust anyone one hundred percent, but there’s one guy, Bull. He paid me a visit about a week ago, after he discovered what was going on. I’m about ninety percent certain we can trust him.” He sat back down at the table.
“Ninety percent, huh?” Shiv blew out three rings of smoke. “That may be the best we’re going to get. Okay. You connect with him, Lucky. Make sure Rebel and Savage are going to be there in a week. He keeps this shit quiet, you hear?”
“Loud and clear.”
“I also want to bring Kori in on this. See if she has anything to add that we didn’t think of and get precise information on where they’re storing the drugs.”
Everything in Lucky rebelled against that idea. He wanted Kori as far away from this situation as possible, not jumping right into the mix. But Shiv was right. She knew where the drugs were, she’d been around Rebel and fucking Savage the past month. She was their best source of information.
From one end of the table, Hook cleared his throat. Lucky loved him and his wife Marcie. They were the perfect couple and had been married longer than most of the guys. “Shiv, can I make a suggestion? One you may not like so much?”
“Spit it out, Hook.”
“I think we should brief all the ol’ ladies on this situation.” Shouts of protest came from every angle of the table. Hook held up his hands. “Cool it! Let me finish first. Then we can fight it out. A lot of the wives and ol’ ladies know the Vegas guys. They’re comfortable with them and view them as our brothers. They need to know contact with members from Vegas may not be safe right now. It’s not uncommon for some of them to visit announced or not and we don’t know who the good guys are anymore.”
“Shit.” Striker ran a hand over his disheveled hair. “He’s right. If Lila ran into Rebel or Savage or any of the guys, she’d invite them over in a heartbeat, even if I wasn’t home. It’d be like any of you stopping by. She wouldn’t think twice.”
“Aw fuck.” Shiv stroked his long beard. “Tomorrow, six in the evening. Striker, get the ladies to make dinner. We’ll discuss it then. Ol’ ladies and wives only. I don’t want to see some girl you’ve been banging for two days. Only those we can trust to keep this contained. Got it?”
When he appeared satisfied with the response, Shiv stood. “Meeting adjourned.”
The mood was somber as the room emptied. No one wanted any part of what was about to happen, but it had to happen. The club was set up the way it was for a reason. Disloyalty wasn’t tolerated.
Before he knew it, the only people remaining at the table were himself, Jester, Acer and Striker. One look at Jester’s self-satisfied grin and he knew what was coming.
The big man clapped his hands together once and rubbed his palms back and forth, mischief sparking in his eyes. “Hey, Lucky? I got a call from Em earlier. She was outside Lila’s house with her. They had plans to meet up with Kori. She was concerned because she heard really strange noises coming from inside the house. Sounded like moans, maybe even a scream or two.” He failed miserably at keeping the grin off his face.
Striker’s spine straightened. “What the fuck? At my house? Why are you telling him and not me?”
Acer also tensed. Fia was supposed to meet them there as well.
Lucky narrowed his eyes and tried to telepathically communicate with Jester to shut the fuck up. Either the message didn’t compute or Jester just didn’t give a shit. Probably the latter.
“Well I think everything worked out okay, Striker. Lucky saved the day. Didn’t you, Luck?”
He rolled his eyes and flipped Jester the bird.
“Okay, what the hell is going on?” Striker asked.
“Well, what I heard was that Lucky burst in and saved the day. Unfortunately, Kori was so distraught, there was only one thing he could do to help her. Want to tell them what that was, Lucky?”
“No.” He practically growled the word. Damn Jester couldn’t keep his huge trap shut. Plus, nothing gave the man greater pleasure than ripping on his MC brothers. “I want you to go fuck yourself, though.”
�
��Speaking of fucking…” Jester gave up all pretenses of being serious and spoke around huge chortling laughter.
“Okay, fine. There was nothing wrong in the house. I didn’t burst in and save anything. I fucked Kori in Striker’s foyer and Emily and Lila heard everything from the front stoop. It just happened. We had no idea they were there. Happy now?” He glared at Jester who practically fell out of his chair with laughter. “Asshole. You need a muzzle.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Acer said. “You and Kori?”
“In my house?” Striker’s eyes shot darts.
Whoops. Perhaps he should invest in a muzzle for himself as well. He ran a hand through his hair. “Look, it’s beyond complicated. And I’m not about to put on a skirt and share my feelings with you ladies. So yes, that’s what happened and yes, it’s all sorts of fucked up. And that’s all I’m gonna say about it.”
“Huh, based on what Emily told me, it didn’t sound too complicated. Piece A goes into slot B.” He motioned with his hands.
“Jester…” Lucky spoke around the other men’s laughter.
“In my fucking house,” Striker muttered in a low tone as he pulled out his phone.
“What are you doing?” Acer asked.
“Texting Lila to see if she can get us a hotel tonight. I’m thinking we need to bug bomb the place.”
The three of them cracked up again and Lucky pushed away from the table. “Fucking children,” he said as he stomped from the room.
Hilarious laughter trailed him and he couldn’t help but chuckle himself. Despite being the butt of their jokes, it felt damn good to laugh and joke with his brothers again. For a while he’d worried that his club life would never be the same.
Now he just needed to sort out the disaster of his love life.
Chapter Thirty-Three
The doorbell chimed through the house and Kori hustled toward the front door. Unfortunately, Lila beat her to it, meaning she and Lucky would have to endure even more teasing.
“Kori!” Lila yelled as she turned and realized there was only about two feet separating them. “Oh sorry.” She chuckled “Didn’t mean to scream in your face.”
“No worries. See you later, Lila.” She shrugged into a borrowed leather jacket and slipped past Lila out the door to the stoop where Lucky waited. Damn, he looked good in his uniform of jeans and a fitted tee.
So far so good. No ribbing.
“You kids have fun,” Lila called out as they walked quickly toward Lucky’s bike.
And there it was.
“We won’t wait up for you. And I put some condoms in your jacket pocket, Kori. Never can be too safe.” Lila laughed as Striker yelled for her to come inside and stop torturing the kids.
“Everyone’s a comedian,” Lucky muttered then raised his voice. “We’ll see you guys in a few hours at the clubhouse.”
“You sure you don’t need help with dinner stuff, Lila?” Kori asked for what had to be the tenth time that morning.
“No. Go, have fun. Relax. Talk.” Lila shot Lucky a severe look then disappeared into the house leaving Kori and Lucky alone.
Suddenly, she felt awkward, unsure of herself and unable to think of anything to say. Even on their first date, they’d had great conversation flow and hardly any tension—unless sexual tension counted. They’d had that in spades.
Now it was all just a jumbled mess of sadness, desire, pain, and uncertainty. To make matters worse, dark glasses hid Lucky’s deep blue eyes so she couldn’t even see if they were flat and lifeless or filled with emotion. On impulse, she pushed them up so they rested on his head. Emotion for sure, and a deeper blue than usual. But what emotion, she couldn’t determine.
Someone had to say something or she might as well just go back in the house.
“We have so much to talk about that I can’t even decide where to begin.” Lucky said.
Kori’s heart sped up. She hadn’t expected him to break the silence first. “I know we do. It seems an almost impossible task.”
He rubbed a hand over his goatee and she longed to feel the silky fur tickling her skin. “How about we call a truce, shelve the discussion for today, and just go for a ride. I could really use a long ride.”
Oh, man that sounded perfect. The part of her that was so afraid he’d still reject the idea of a serious relationship even after knowing the truth was beyond relieved for the brief reprieve. Even it was only a delay of the inevitable conversation. Holding him for hours while feeling the flex and play of his back muscles as he sped through the beautiful desert countryside sounded like heaven.
“Let’s do it,” she said.
He smiled and her heart seized in her chest. It was a crooked smile. A real smile. Maybe there was still hope.
Lucky drove them far out into the desert. The warmth of the day combined with the vibration of the bike, and the security of Lucky between her legs was hypnotizing. More than once Kori found herself nearly drifting off to sleep.
After about an hour and a half Lucky veered off to the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. They spent about thirty minutes stretching their legs, eating a snack, and hydrating. Conversation was kept light, no talk of their ruined relationship or exactly what they were doing spending time together. She couldn’t have asked for a more perfect afternoon.
Then, it was time to head to the clubhouse for a meeting she’d been trying not to think about all day. A meeting that had her stomach churning and fear clogging her throat.
Lucky must have sensed a change in her because he prevented her from climbing on behind him with a strong hand around her wrist.
With her throat thick, talking was impossible so she raised an eyebrow in question. He lifted her knuckles to his lips and nipped the middle one. It was followed with a gentle kiss that had her blinking away tears. Good thing she had her own dark sunglasses on.
“Don’t worry so much. We’ll find a way to make everything right.” He released her and she mounted the bike.
The words were meant to comfort, but she wasn’t certain what exactly he was referring to. Make what right? The club’s issues? Or their relationship?
Those questions and more swirled through her head on the ride until the peace of the afternoon faded to a nervous tension. They arrived about the same time as others were pulling into the clubhouse.
Lucky didn’t hold her hand or touch her in any way as they walked inside, and she berated herself for the disappointment that coursed through her. They weren’t together. Weren’t a couple. Wishing it didn’t make it so. She needed to remember that.
The moment they stepped foot inside, Lucky groaned and rubbed his stomach. “Oh, man, it smells amazing in here.”
He was right. The women had prepared an Italian feast complete with chicken parmesan, multiple types of pasta and sauces, garlic bread, and a few cakes for dessert. That they’d pulled together such an enticing dinner on short notice was impressive.
Shiv clapped his hands together in rapid succession and the racket lowered to a dull chatter. “Hey, gang. Grab some food, chat for a few minutes, but we’re here for a serious reason, so let’s get seated and started as quick as possible.”
Kori loaded a plate with the mouthwatering food. At some point, she and Lucky had been separated in the rush of hungry bikers to the buffet table. When she didn’t spot him after a quick glance around, she grabbed a seat at a long table that had obviously been set up with this dinner in mind. Lila sat next to her and Emily on the other side. Lucky ended up directly across from her.
While she would have preferred to be next to him, she was now able to view his reactions. The bikers and ol’ ladies dug into their food and silence descended on the group.
“Okay, I’m going to talk while everyone eats. First of all, thanks to all the ol’ ladies who helped put this together with a minute’s notice. Amazing as usual. I know you’re all a little nervous so I’m not going to keep anyone in suspense.” Shiv then went on to explain the reason for calling everyone together.
The women’s jaws dropped as he explained Rebel and Savage’s recent activities and the potential for more club members to be involved. He warned everyone, but the ladies in particular, to be vigilant and watchful.
“If you see anyone from Vegas around here, let one of us know immediately. Try not to alert them that something is going on, but don’t invite anyone to your house. Don’t be caught alone with them. We don’t have reason to believe anyone would come here looking to cause trouble, but we also don’t know who we can trust at this time. A cornered animal will lash out.”
Kori felt like there was a flashing neon arrow over her head pointing down at her, directing every eye in the place to her. She was the unknown in this situation, the girl from Vegas who was supposedly engaged to Savage, the brother turned drug dealer. Did they judge her for being with him? Did they question her loyalty? Her innocence? She had to get over her fear and come clean. It was the only way to earn their true respect.
“I know this is not typical of the way we conduct business.” Striker took over from next to Shiv. “But we felt it was important for you ladies to be in the loop on this one given the fact that on a normal day none of you would think twice about inviting any of the Vegas brothers into your homes. It goes without saying that nothing you hear tonight leaves this room. Understood?”
A chorus of yes rang out from the women.
“I’m going to let Jester fill you in on the plan we have so far.” Striker remained standing while Jester rose.
“Hope you don’t mind if I eat my cake while I talk.” He held a paper plate with chocolatey goodness close to his face. Everyone chuckled and his typical good-humored nature helped loosen a bit of the stiffness in the room. “Next week about ten of us will be heading up to Vegas. It will be a surprise visit so zippa your lippas, ladies. I know it’s hard, but you can do it.” He chuckled to himself.
“Booo,” Marcie called. “You guys gossip way worse than we do and you know it.”
The moments of levity were appreciated except for the fact that Kori just wanted this over with as fast as possible. Every minute she sat there, she felt more and more like a windup toy being cranked. At some point the dial would be released and she’d go spinning out of control.
