Skull Kings MC: the collection

by Sage L. Morgan

  My spine curved up at the bruising force. Liam lowered his head to my chest and bit my nipple, making me hiss in pain. He began thrusting, pounding, hammering away at me. It seemed like he was taking all of his frustrations out on me, and he probably was. I tried to relax, but my muscles kept clenching against him, making me into a tight hole to penetrate over and over again. I gritted my teeth, biting back my yelps of pain.

  Just get through this and tell him, I told myself.

  Red spots burned in the insides of my eyelids with each stroke of Liam’s cock. Then, my mind conjured an image of Josh in his uniform, fingers moving slowly over the brass buttons. My lips parted.

  “Oh,” I moaned.

  Finally, Liam jerked himself out of me. He kissed me hard, crushing my lips against my teeth, as he came. I felt it spraying across my stomach, sticky and hot. A thin sheen of sweat glistened on his back and shoulders.

  We got dressed silently. I kept eyeing the floor somewhat guiltily. Thinking about Josh when Liam fucked me made me feel dirty, but it left my skin tingling all over. I was afraid of how good it made me feel.

  Liam’s cheeks were flushed red. There was color in his eyes again. He seemed back to normal. “So, how about that ride?” he asked with a shy smile.

  I put a hand on his arm. My gaze flickered to the kitchen table where I’d dropped my purse. My cell phone with the incriminating picture was tucked inside.

  “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you...”

  The clock ticked languidly, fluidly, each second passing as if it were fighting through a sea of molasses. I counted each one in my head. One. Two. Three. All the way to sixty. It had been eighteen minutes since Liam had left for the clubhouse. He’d called another impromptu church today, and every member knew what the meeting was for except for Logan.

  My heart pinged in my chest, and my stomach gurgled with sick fear. It had been like that since yesterday, when I finally showed Liam the picture of Logan sitting down with Ryan.

  “He’ll have to answer to his brothers,” he’d said, a muscle working in his jaw. “But most likely, we’ll have to do an Alex on him.”

  An “Alex” was when a guy got his tattoo burned off with chemicals. We’d done it to my ex-boyfriend, Alex, hence the name. The tattoo of my name on his forearm was now, presumably, one large shiny, pitted scar.

  It was twenty minutes past, now. Surely, Liam was at the clubhouse with the other brothers, waiting for Logan to arrive. Or perhaps Logan was already there. It would be over for him in just a few moments. He’d have the Skull Kings tattoo burned off of his back and banished from Canyon City, his penance for betraying the MC. It was just the way things worked. The rules were complicated and strange, but universally understood by all prospects when they first joined the club, including Logan.

  So why did I feel so sick? The gurgling in my stomach persisted. Something just wasn’t settling right, and a few more seconds ticked by before I figured out what it was.

  My latest conversation with Josh Hamilton filtered thinly through my mind.

  “What if they try to exact some sort of biker justice?”

  Josh drew his mug to his lips. His green eyes glinted mischievously. “That’s exactly what I’m counting on.

  Had Josh expected this? Had he been “counting” on this? For the past few days, I’d kept revisiting the moment I saw Logan clasping hands with Ryan, the man who tried to abduct me from the parking lot of my old work, who invited my abusive ex-boyfriend to town, who was all around bad news. But at this very moment, all I could see was the young, awkward, and lanky bouncer of Amazon Gentleman’s Club, flirting with everybody, his face never without a crooked, good-natured smile.

  No, it just didn’t sit right with me at all. I wished I’d spoken to Noah and Liam about this, but with Noah still out of town...

  I still had the next best thing. I had Noah’s old lady, Shayna, on speed dial now. It took all of three seconds to call her.

  “Hey, sweetie,” she answered on the second ring. “What’s up?” There was a lot of busy noise coming from her end.

  “Something’s happened,” I said gravely.

  “What is it? Did something happen with the club?”

  I wasn’t sure if she meant Amazon or the MC itself, but I said, “Yes,” anyway. I explained everything that had happened, beginning with Logan’s meeting with Ryan and ending with Liam leaving for the clubhouse just twenty minutes before the call. I even included everything Josh had told me. I listened for Shayna’s next words after I finally finished, but they never came. The sudden silence was alarming, and when she finally spoke, I knew exactly why.

  After talking briefly with Noah, I hung up and dialed the next best person I knew.

  I told Josh there was no time to explain. “How soon can you pick me up?”

  “Ten minutes.”

  I waited for him outside, tapping my foot. Unbound energy surged inside of me, half from nerves over what the Skull Kings were up to at the clubhouse, and half from the anxiety I felt over getting a ride from Josh.

  It’s just a ride, I told myself. I’d sit in the back if I had to. The prospect of being within touching distance of him made my face flood with heat.

  Finally, a CCSO cruiser turned the corner and slid to a smooth stop right in front of me. Josh got out and opened the passenger side door.

  “So what exactly is going on?” he asked as I buckled myself into the seat.

  I exhaled loudly. “Noah’s known all along about Logan meeting with Ryan.”

  “He’s the president, right?”

  “Yeah, and he asked Logan to do it. I have no clue why, or why the rest of the MC didn’t know, but basically they’re about to...” I gulped. “They’re about to kick him out of the club.”

  Josh frowned. “Why do you sound so grave?”

  “Each member has Skull Kings ink. It’s part of getting inducted. Well, if you’re no longer a member, you have no right to wear the ink. So they forcefully remove it for you.”

  Josh’s hands jerked the wheel. “Jesus Christ.”

  He didn’t even know the half of it. I’d seen the removal method only once before. Back then, I’d had no choice; it was the only way to scare my ex-boyfriend out of town. When Liam, Shayna, and the other old ladies presented me with the caustic powder, I hadn’t even questioned it. Simple chemistry, they’d said.

  I suppressed a shudder. For Alex, it had been a few inches on his forearm. For Logan, it was a huge back piece. I tried calling Liam for the tenth time, and it kicked me straight to voice mail.

  “We should probably step on it,” I said, trying to keep the shrill panic out of my voice.

  Josh nodded wordlessly. The engine punched the air with its growl as we accelerated down the street. His hand hovered near the passenger side armrest, then closed over my cold, shaking fingers.

  * * *

  Josh parked diagonally across two parking spots, and I bolted out of the passenger seat before he could cut the engine. A cool breeze rustled my hair as I stared at the edifice of the clubhouse. Bikes crowded before it, parked in chillingly neat, parallel lines. I crunched through the gravel, my heart beating in my throat.

  Don’t let it be too late.

  The air was unnaturally silent as I approached the door. There was no screaming. I hoped it was a good sign. I wrenched the door open.

  The first thing I noticed was all the space. Every scrap of furniture had been pushed against the walls, leaving a wide open area in the middle of the room. Skull Kings were arranged in a crooked circle. A lumpy mass was at the center of it.

  My legs twitched into action. Logan.

  He was crumpled on the floor, red welts all over his body. They would be bruises by tomorrow.

  Liam broke through the circle. “What are you doing here?” It was a tone I’d never heard before.

  I froze in place.

  Liam took two steps toward me. A vein twitched in his forehead, which reddened quickly with suppressed rage.
There was a plastic water bottle in his hand filled with the white powder I’d used on Alex. The cap was off.

  I raised my hands. “Liam, if I ever busted in on a Skull Kings meeting like this, you’d know that it’s for a good reason.”

  Liam glowered. “And what reason...” His words faltered, and his eyes flashed as they passed over my shoulder.

  I turned around just in time to see Josh stomping loudly through the door. His eyebrows rose as he took in the sight of the room and its occupants. Several Skull Kings grunted in surprise. Liam just stood there, shaking.

  “Liam, please. I tried calling you. Noah told me that he knows all about Logan meeting with the Scorpions. He said they planned it.”

  It seemed to take several moments for his mind to process what I’d just said. His brow furrowed in confusion, but the twist of anger never left his lips. He shook his head and jerked his chin toward Josh, who’d joined me at my side.

  “Well, what the fuck does he have anything to do with all of this?”

  Josh stepped forward. “I was asked to help stop you guys.”

  Liam scoffed, but his eyes never left mine. I detected so many layers inside them: betrayal, hurt, indignation. For a moment, I wondered if it would’ve been better to show up alone.

  Logan stirred on the floor, moaning. He turned his face up to the ceiling, revealing a cracked lower lip. Seeing him like that woke me back up.

  “Call Noah if you want,” I said, squaring my shoulders.

  Liam’s mouth fell open and closed. He seemed to be at a loss.

  “I told you we should’ve waited for Noah, man,” Eddie said softly.

  Liam clenched his fists, and his forearms bulged. “We’ll call this off. Eddie, you can call Noah and see what’s going on.” He ran his fingers through his dark hair, casting his frown toward the floor. “You can leave.”

  Josh hesitated on his way out the door.

  “Both of you.”

  Liam turned away without looking at me, and it was like taking a knife to the gut. I felt a strong urge to reach out for him, to hold him. You love me, I wanted to whisper. I tried to draw him back with my eyes, but he disappeared into a crowd of his Skull Kings brothers, as if I wasn’t even there at all.

  I felt a firm hand close over my elbow. Josh leaned close, tugging gently at me. His eyes were pointed at the Skull Kings, but his mouth was perched near my ear. “Come on.”

  My limbs felt dead as I climbed back into Josh’s cruiser. I wanted to jump back out and run into Liam’s arms. Instinct told me that of all the things, leaving with him was the worst thing I could do. But my mind kept spinning back to the look on Liam’s face when he saw Josh walk in beside me. It was a look I’d never seen before. Hatred.

  After that, all I wanted to do was get far, far away.

  “I’m sorry, Aspen. I’m sure he’ll calm down once he talks to Noah.”

  I turned toward the window, hugging myself. “Just take me home.”

  Josh was stony silent for a few seconds. Then, he turned the key in the ignition and drove us away from the clubhouse.

  I was beginning to feel a little guilty. “Thanks,” I added to break the silence.

  “You didn’t deserve that, you know.”

  “Deserve what?”

  “The way he treated you.”

  I shrugged. “Maybe I did. Things work differently in the club. Different rules. I bet I broke about fifty of them walking into the clubhouse.”

  “There’s no rules against seriously injuring a fellow member?”

  I sighed. Of course there were. And there were rules for when seriously injuring a fellow member was allowed. The hardest part was that none of these rules were written. They just were, and unless you were a brother or an old lady, the code of behavior was hard to navigate.

  “Look, I know you love Liam Olsen, but he’s part of something bigger than the two of you. You wanted to save a young man from a horrible fate, and he’s angry at you for it. Doesn’t that tell you that something might be a little fishy?”

  “You don’t get it.”

  “No, you don’t get it.”

  For the first time, Josh sounded firm. I caught a glimpse of what he was like on duty, the real sheriff inside of him. He spoke with alarming authority, almost like Liam.

  “Do you have a problem with my boyfriend?” I asked softly.

  Josh’s brow softened. Of all the things I could’ve said, I seemed to have found the last thing he expected to hear. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, deep in thought.

  “No,” he finally said. “He has a problem with me.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s a long story.”

  * * *

  Somehow, I convinced myself to invite Josh inside for tea. He seemed out-of-place on my leather couch with his hands on his knees, looking stiff and uncomfortable in his uniform as he surveyed my sparse décor with polite interest.

  I put some water on to boil and found a can of cheap drugstore cookies. Going through the motions reminded me of Liam, who could brew tea like nobody’s business. I took another glance across the kitchen counter toward Josh, appreciating that he was only the second man to set foot in my apartment. My shoulders tensed at the thought. I felt uncomfortable, but why? Was I doing something wrong, or was this just something I’d have to get used to?

  “Cream and sugar?”

  “No, thank you.”

  I perched on the opposite end of the couch, setting the tray on the coffee table. We sat in a brief, uncomfortable silence. He reached for a teacup, and I realized I had no idea why I’d invited him in.

  Well. I did have some idea.

  Josh unbuttoned the collar of his shirt, and my eye followed the line of bare skin from his throat to the tip of his chest. Ashamed, I looked away. I looked back. I couldn’t help it. There was just something about him. But what was it? He was so different from Liam, with his blonde, All-American looks, nary a hair out of place. He had no tattoos, as far as I knew. While Liam was the brooding bad boy, Josh was absolutely the complete opposite.

  And maybe that’s why I find him so appealing.

  “So, how did you and Liam hook up?” he asked conversationally.

  “He was one of my regulars when I worked at Buddy’s. It kind of blossomed from there.” There had been so much more that happened, like my old boss harassing me, thwarting an assault by the Scorpions, and the whole fiasco with my ex. But all that was a story for another time.

  Josh nodded, sipping. “I see. Well, it’s too bad you didn’t start your food service career at Big Daddy’s Grill down the street. I probably would’ve gotten to you first.”

  I felt a blush creeping up my neck. “Well...” I struggled to find the right thing to say. “I’m very happy with Liam.”

  “Sure looks like it. That’s why I’m sitting here instead of him, right?”

  “He’s just going through some stuff.” The moment it came out of my mouth, I realized how pathetic it sounded.

  Josh reached over to take my hand for the second time that day. I had to admit that it was comforting as well as exciting. My pulse had fluttered the first time Liam held my hand, but now my skin knew every groove of his palm, every whorl of his fingerprints. Holding Josh’s strange hand and lacing his foreign fingers through my own gave my pulse a little jumpstart. I was feeling those butterflies all over again.

  “What do you see in him, exactly?” he asked, his eyes gleaming with curiosity. “You’re a nice girl, not at all like the other biker girlfriends.”

  I bristled. “Now, wait a second...” He said the phrase “biker girlfriends” like it was a dirty word. They weren’t just girlfriends, they were old ladies, and that meant something.

  My hand dropped out of Josh’s grip. He raised his eyebrows.

  “What do I see in Liam?” I began. “Well, he takes good care of me. He’s great in bed. He respects me.” Everything I said was true. Liam definitely respected me, but was I respecting him? That’s why I’m s
itting here instead of him, Josh’s words echoed through my mind.

  “And I love him,” I finally said with a sigh.

  “I see.”

  “You’re welcome to stay here if you want,” I said, gesturing to his tea. “But I think I should go.”

  Josh mirrored my movements, rising slowly to his feet. “Where are you going?”

  “I’m going to find Liam.”

  “Can I drive you?”

  I gave Josh a look. “Really?”

  His shoulders fell dejectedly. “You know what? Never mind.”

  I drove past Liam’s apartment, disappointed to find that his Harley wasn’t parked in its spot. I crossed over the railroad tracks toward the clubhouse, only to discover that all the Skull Kings’ bikes had cleared out.

  Where is everybody? I wondered. I parked at a gas station, tapping my steering wheel. Think. Think. I knew Liam better than anybody, better than Liam himself, sometimes. I closed my eyes, imagining him just after I left on Josh’s arm, whipping around to return his brothers’ stares of disbelief. My gut was telling me that Liam would’ve been on my trail. He would’ve wanted to talk things out. I knew it wasn’t right, though, or else he would’ve showed up at my door.

  And with a gasp, I realized why.

  Josh’s cruiser. It was more than conspicuous as far as cars went, and it had been parked right in front of my apartment. I shifted my car into drive and accelerated back on the road, my heart racing. I still didn’t know where the hell he was, but I just had to find him.

  “Stupid bitch,” I muttered to myself.

  The town scrolled past my windows, apartment buildings, strip malls, and the cracked asphalt landscape of the interstate. I drove through the shadow of R&R Diner’s giant neon chevron and let it fall behind me, reduced to the size of a fingernail in my rearview mirror. I followed the interstate out into the canyons.

  My grip tightened on the steering wheel as I scanned the horizon for a Harley, but it was a smooth and uninterrupted as flowing sand. The pink sun was beginning to dip behind the mountains, turning them purple, and I realized I’d have to turn back soon.