Smoke and Mirrors: A Demented Sons MC Texas Novel

by Kristine Allen

  “Did I ask for any of y’all’s fucking input? I said give me a fucking smoke.” It was, after all, how I’d gotten my name. I used to smoke like a fiend. When Mattie had come home from school crying because they’d had some assembly about the dangers of cigarettes and drugs, I quit. Cold turkey. Hearing my baby girl cry that she didn’t want me to die like her momma did was too much.

  They thought I didn’t notice the covert glances they shot each other as Slice handed me a cigarette and his lighter.

  Straight stood in front of me with his massive arms crossed over his chest. He’d been one of my best friends in the army, and he was never afraid of my ire.

  “Don’t start,” I pointed the cigarette at him before shoving it between the left side of my lips. He simply shook his head at me.

  Telling myself it was only one, I inhaled as I held the flame to the end. The acrid burn and rush of nicotine hit me, and my nerves that were fraying began to settle. Between Check being MIA and the shit with Nova, I was on edge like a motherfucker.

  Shit had been getting increasingly more dramatic and tense with our club. We never used to have enemies but it seemed like everyone thought they were a badass these days. They all acted like they had something to prove.

  That asshole that was fucking Styx’s ex really stirred up a shit storm for us. Then again, Lock’s ordeal hadn’t helped either. Word seems to get around in the underground no matter how close you try to keep it to home. When one person saw a weakness, a hundred wanted to exploit it.

  Up north they had spurts of trouble, but down here things usually stayed pretty even keel. Well, they used to.

  As I continued to indulge in my unhealthy nicotine therapy, everyone stood around quietly. It was like they all knew I was seriously on edge if I was smoking and they didn’t want to get their heads bitten off.

  Truth cleared his throat, but before he could get anything out, Styx was slapping me on the arm. He pointed to the end of the driveway where a rusty white SUV was slowing down. “You recognize that?”

  “No. Look sharp.” We weren’t expecting anyone to swing by, but it could be someone who was lost or turning around.

  The vehicle stopped at the end of the driveway but didn’t pull in. We all breathed a collective sigh of relief when they flipped a u-ey and went back the way they came. That showed our stress level—when we were on edge about random vehicles that stopped at the end of the fucking driveway.

  My phone vibrating in my pocket caused me to jump. Holding the stub of the cigarette in my lips, I dug it out and swiped when I saw Lock’s info on the screen.

  “What’s up?” I asked as I took another long drag.

  “His bike is here. Bag of chips and shit are in the saddlebags. They weren’t locked, and he’s nowhere around. What do you want us to do?”

  That uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach grew.

  “Bittersweet Memories”—Bullet For My Valentine

  Taking my five-hundred-and-thirty-seventh glance at my phone, I sighed when there was still nothing from Grayson. “What did you expect?”

  The woman next to me at the grape display gave me a side-eye then slowly moved away. Rolling my eyes at her overreaction, I grabbed a bag. Picking out the squishy ones, I tossed them in the vacated spot.

  “You know you shouldn’t do that. Someone has to clean that up.”

  The vaguely familiar deep voice had me spinning. I jumped when I realized he was literally right behind me, and my hands landed on his chest. The bag of grapes banged on his pecs.

  “Toby! Holy shit! What are you doing here?”

  A deep chuckle was his initial response. The vibration of it moved through my hands, reminding me I still had them on his chest. His very broad chest. Unable to stop my free hand from splaying to see how hard it was, I cleared my throat and stepped back.

  “Well, I live here. What are you doing here?” he asked with a smirk.

  Jesus Martha, had every man from my past turned into a sexy beast of a man? His dark hair was cropped short and his beard was full but on the shorter side. Those blue eyes of his that always held me captive crinkled a little at the corners. In a way, he reminded me a lot of Grayson. Looking back, I wondered if that had been part of his appeal.

  “Umm, I live here now too. When did you come here and why?” My head tipped to the side as I curiously studied him. It had been at least eight years since I’d seen him last. We hadn’t parted on the best terms, because he’d sworn we could make it work, and it made me a little self-conscious.

  “Work” was his nondescript answer.

  “Same.”

  “So you still a lawyer?” He raised his chin and looked down at me.

  “Yes. Why? You getting divorced? Need an attorney?” I chuckled. But he didn’t.

  “Actually, yeah.” My laughter froze, and I cleared my throat again.

  “Oh, I was actually teasing, I’m so sorry.” I struggled for professionalism.

  “It happens. I was a dumbass, she’s a bitch. I want my kid. I didn’t know you moved into family law. That’s convenient. I’m ready to fire my current lawyer because he’s a ball-less dick.” He raked his eyes over me, and for a split second, I experienced the thrill I used to get when we were young.

  He was part of my bad boy phase during law school, and boy had it been fun. But then reality and life stepped in and I had to make some choices that hadn’t made him happy.

  “Oh, well, I could give you my card. You can call tomorrow to schedule an appointment.” I started digging in my purse for one of my cards. Once I’d located my card case, I handed one to him. His fingers wrapped around mine briefly as he took it.

  “Thanks, babe,” he replied as he tucked it into his cut.

  “If you retain me as your attorney, you can’t call me ‘babe.’ It wouldn’t be professional,” I chided. He simply smirked again. “So you’re still with your club?”

  “No. Different one.” Again with the incredibly elaborate answers. He’d been a biker back when we were together with a small club down in Houston.

  “Mmm.”

  “You seeing anyone?”

  “Uh, I, um, no.” Sleeping with Grayson didn’t constitute a relationship, and he’d been very clear that he wasn’t interested in one. His lack of communication since had reiterated that fact. Except the pang in my chest at that thought had me throwing an internal temper tantrum at my ridiculous emotions. The thing was, Toby and Grayson were obviously both part of a world that it was unwise for me to be involved with. So my thought processes were irrelevant.

  “Have dinner with me.” It wasn’t said as a question, which was typical of him.

  “Toby, I just told you that we had to remain professional if you’re going to retain me.”

  “Jesus, Nova, I didn’t say I wanted to fuck you. I figured we could discuss my situation over dinner. But if you’re offering, I can have you recommend a different lawyer.” His eyes twinkled, and I wasn’t one-hundred percent sure he was kidding.

  Rolling my eyes, I gave him a droll stare—after I checked to make sure no one had heard his rather loud comment. “Really?”

  Again, his eyes swept me from head to toe. “Hell, yeah, ‘really.’ Have you looked in the mirror lately? You’ve blossomed into a fucking knockout. Not that you weren’t gorgeous before. A guy would be a fool to say no if you were offering.”

  “Oh, for fuck sake,” I muttered under my breath. Laughter burst from him, because he’d obviously heard me.

  “Come on. We’ll keep it casual. Nowhere fancy. Just somewhere we can talk and you can give me your opinion. If nothing else, we’re two friends catching up,” he pressed.

  A snort of disbelief escaped me. We’d never been “just friends” a day in our lives. What we’d been was explosive, reckless, passionate, young, and wild.

  Deciding I didn’t have anything better to do, I agreed—against my better judgment. “I guess. But it has to be tomorrow. What time and where?”

  “You live here in G
eorgetown?”

  “Yes,” I answered.

  First he grinned. Then he appeared thoughtful. “Well, if that don’t seem like fate. I’ll text you.”

  “I doubt fate had anything to do with it, Toby. I’d say coincidence.”

  “Don’t believe in that.”

  “Well, whatever you believe is on you.”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow night, beautiful.” He took a few steps backward while he maintained eye contact. His full lips that had once been very familiar with me tipped up before he gave my form one last sweep and turned away.

  God.

  I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t noticed the changes the years had made. He was no longer the young, lean man he’d been. He was now damn near as thick as Grayson.

  And there I went comparing him to Grayson. Why?

  That wasn’t the only thing I was asking myself. I was also wondering how many more surprise visits from the past I could possibly get. Sheesh.

  My phone rang as I finished my shopping. The thought that it might be Grayson sent my heart tripping. The screen showed otherwise, and my shoulders slumped.

  “Hello?”

  “Don’t look so disappointed.” I looked around and didn’t recognize anyone. Then it dawned on me that it was Toby.

  “What the hell, are you hanging from the rafters watching me?” I literally looked up.

  Chuckling carried over the line. “No, look to your left.”

  I spun to the left in time to see him peek around an end cap and wave. “Does six work for you?”

  It was impossible not to giggle at his silliness. “Sure.”

  “Okay, later Ms. Laywer Lady.” As he ended the call, I could hear him laughing.

  I’d no sooner dropped my phone in my purse when it rang again. Expecting it to be him, I was surprised to see it was Heidi.

  “Hey, you. How did your Friday night turn out?”

  She laughed darkly. “Oh, honey.”

  “That good, huh?”

  “Or that bad, depending on your perspective,” she replied. I laughed.

  “Oh, do tell.”

  “Not until you tell me about last night.”

  “What about it?” I hedged.

  “Did you ride the sausage train to Dongville?”

  “What?” I asked mortified.

  “Oh, come on. You know what I’m talking about.”

  “I really don’t.” I did, but I was wondering how the hell she knew.

  “You posted a pic of you and your neighbors at the bar. Mr. Tall, Dark, and Sexy was standing guard behind y’all. I’d recognize that man anywhere. Hell, you showed me enough of the pictures you snapped of the ones his parents had hanging up. Which is almost stalker-ish, by the way. Meant to tell you that back when you showed them to me.” She teased me mercilessly.

  “God, why the hell did I even show you those?” I hung my head for a moment.

  “Umm, need I say? Wine.”

  “Ugh! I’m never drinking with you again.”

  “I keep hearing this, and I’m inclined to believe it. So I think I need to plan a trip to see you one of these days to remedy that.” I snorted at her announcement.

  “Oh! Guess what?” I turned down into the frozen section.

  “What? You’re excellent at deflecting?” The smile was audible in her words.

  My eyes rolled. “I just ran into Toby,” I whispered.

  “Whoa. Like Toby Toby. Hot biker boy Toby? Lord, I haven’t thought about him in forever.” The sound I heard told me she was fanning herself.

  “Yeah. That one. He lives here and he needs a divorce attorney,” I whispered after looking around to be sure no one was around.

  “No way. What are the odds?”

  “Evidently pretty good,” I said with a smirk.

  “Well, you could always ask him to do the dirty deed with you. That man would make some smoking hot babies too. My ovaries are screaming at the thought.”

  “Heidi!” I admonished.

  “Oh, come on, he was gorgeous.”

  “Yeah, well, if you think that, you should see him now.”

  “Oh, yeah?” she drew out slowly.

  “Oh, yeah. But I hate to say, he doesn’t have a thing on Grayson.” I sighed.

  “Mmm, speaking of… you never answered me, since you so eloquently deflected my question earlier.” Her tone turned sly, and I realized the error of my words.

  “A lady doesn’t kiss and tell,” I finally teased.

  Her laughter exploded from the phone. “Good thing you’re not a lady!”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  “Spill, bitch,” she demanded good-naturedly.

  “It was mind-blowing,” I whispered in admission.

  “And did you ride that schlong bare?” The woman had no shame.

  “Geez, woman. No.”

  “Please tell me you at least poked holes in the condom?” Her tone was hopeful, and I really had to wonder about my friend’s morals and sanity.

  “Heidi. I don’t know if we can be friends anymore,” I said in a low, mock-serious voice.

  “Oh, please. Tell me you didn’t at least think about it.”

  “Nope. I can honestly say I didn’t. My mind doesn’t work like yours, and I was a little, um, preoccupied.”

  “Ohhhh!” she squealed.

  “Look, I gotta go pay for my groceries. I’ll have to talk later. Byeeeee.” As I ended the call, I could hear her yelling for me not to hang up on her.

  Though I chuckled, I did wonder if I had fucked up by sleeping with Grayson last night. What if he didn’t ever talk to me again?

  Then again, maybe that was for the best.

  “Better Days”—Breaking Benjamin

  We’d finally found Check and it wasn’t good. He was alive but he wasn’t in the best of shape. After leaving Clay and Truth with the women and kids, the rest of us went riding the roads in search of clues. Not that we knew what we were looking for.

  Unfortunately, we found him on a fluke. Well, fortunately for him.

  Slice lost his sunglasses on the way back to the clubhouse after we’d come up empty-handed. The rest of us pulled over as he whipped around to look for them.

  He hadn’t gone far when he slammed on his brakes, dropped his kickstand, and went running down into the ditch.

  “Damn, he must really like those fucking glasses,” chuckled Straight.

  “Jesus, I guess,” I answered. When he scrambled back up the ditch, he was waving his arms at us. He fell to a knee, then continued up to the shoulder.

  “What the fuck?” Styx asked.

  “I’ll go check.” Lock got off and waited for traffic to pass, then ran across the highway. We watched as they both rushed down the ditch. My phone went off as soon as their heads disappeared from sight. Since I had my helmet on, I answered on speaker.

  “Lock. What the fuck?”

  “Fuck, Smoke. Call Truth. Have him bring the SUV. Tell him to hurry. Have Styx get down here. It’s Check.” He hung up.

  “Styx! You heard him?” He nodded at my question, but we were already off our bikes and running. “It’s Check!” I shouted to everyone else.

  Thankfully there weren’t any more cars coming as we all ran across the road.

  Skidding down the deep ditch, we rushed to get to our fallen brother.

  “Holy shit,” I whispered as Styx checked him over. “Fuck the SUV. Call an ambulance.”

  “We’ll get him there faster,” Styx said as he cut his clothes off him.

  “You carry fucking bandage scissors with you?” Straight asked incredulously.

  Styx merely shrugged and continued working. Helpless, we all stood and watched.

  The SUV skidded to a stop on the shoulder above us. The door flew open, and Truth jumped out. He came down mostly on his ass.

  “Goddamn it!” he shouted as he ran his hands through his hair. “Is he?”

  “He’s alive but he hasn’t come to since we got here. Get me something to stabilize his head
, then we need to get moving.” After Truth ran up and down the hill again, Styx instructed all of us on what to do.

  Lock laid the seats down. As carefully as we could, we loaded him up into the back to the SUV. Styx hopped up with him.

  “I’m riding with them,” I announced.

  “I’ll go back to the clubhouse and get the truck and trailer to pick up the bikes. Text me your details and I’ll meet y’all wherever you decide to go.” Lock ran back across the road and took off like a bat out of hell.

  “I’ll stay with the bikes,” Slice said. I nodded, climbed in the SUV, and told Truth to go. “Get your ass moving.”

  “Roger that, P.” He was already checking to see if he could pull out, so I needn’t have worried. The remainder of our brothers followed us like roaring guards.

  “What the fuck?” Truth asked as he drove. I wasn’t sure if it was rhetorical or not, but I didn’t have an answer either way.

  “What the hell is going on?” I asked when Check started to shake.

  “He’s having a seizure,” answered Styx.

  “Well, do something!” shouted Truth.

  “There’s nothing to do but make sure he doesn’t hurt himself,” Styx calmly answered.

  Before I knew it, we were pulling up to the nearest trauma center. Truth ran inside, Styx helped the staff get Check unloaded, and we started the endless wait.

  As we always did when something happened, I introduced myself as his “older brother,” so I was allowed to go back with them. Though I had to wait in the hall so the medical staff had room to work without me getting in their way.

  Time seemed to crawl as they worked on him. He seized again. Then he was sent for X-rays, CTs, and God knows what else by the end of it.

  “He’s lucky you came across him,” the doc finally said when they got him stabilized and waiting for a room. “If he’d stayed in that ditch, he’d have been in really bad shape. As it is, his labs show possible beginnings of rhabdomyolysis. He has several broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a broken arm, fractured skull, a rise in his intracranial pressure from the swelling and bleeding, and that’s just the major injuries. That’s not counting contusions, lacerations, and the internal bleeding from his broken ribs that caused his punctured lung. Your brother has a fairly long road ahead but all in all, he’s fortunate. Don’t get me wrong, it’s going to be touch and go for a while. He’s in rough shape. But we’re doing the best we can.”