by Ambere Sabo
“By the time the cancer took her, Hawk and I had already had our falling out. I didn’t think he would take too kindly to me showing up at Anna’s funeral, no matter how long we had known each other.” He hangs his head in embarrassment at missing her departure from the world.
He looks back at me and continues, “We didn’t agree on how he was running his club and the effects it had on you and your mama. I knew he was just tryin’ to run the club the way his Ol’ Man would’ve wanted, but that shit was getting out of control. His Ol’ Man was buried six feet deep, and still managing to run Hawk’s life.”
My granddad died when I was only one, but I never even met him, not that I would remember him if I had. Mama always told me I was lucky for that. He was apparently a mean old bastard who never approved of my mama, and told Pops she got pregnant to trap him or some shit. If he was anything like my uncle, Russell, I’m glad I never did meet him.
Rodeo fidgets with his hands, as if he’s nervous telling me these things about my deceased parents. “The last time I saw Hawk, he made it entirely clear if I ever challenged him again, it’d be the last thing I ever did on this Earth. I didn’t agree with how he was running his club or taking care of his Ol’ Lady, and I wasn’t quiet about it.
Anna asked me to drop it, so I stayed away after that, from her too. Thought it would be easier that way. If Hawk wanted to go down for a club, he didn’t ever even want, that was his business, but I wasn’t going to sit by and watch it ruin him.”
A look of disbelief crosses my face with that. Pops never said anything to me about not wanting the club life. Hell, he lived and breathed the club the entire time I was there.
“You’ll have to tell me about her sometime, hell Pops, too. I’d love to know what they were like before they had me, and he took over the club,” I say honestly. My heart aches over all that I don’t know about the people who brought me into this world. I know so little about Mama. And ever since Pops’ death, I feel even more lost. Like I don’t know who I am anymore.
Over the years, Pops would drop tidbits of information about my mama. But I want to know more. I need to know more. His little nuggets aren’t enough. And I don’t really know anything about what Pops was like when he was young. He didn’t like to talk about what he was like back then. Who knows why, but I would love to know more about them both.
“Hawk loved your mama like no other man could. Loved you too, even if he didn’t always know how to show it. Thought that keeping you and Anna away from him, and the club, would somehow keep you safe. He didn’t want either one of you mixed up in this life. A lot of good that did,” he says shaking his head.
I know now that Pops wanted to protect me all those years ago, but a little girl doesn’t understand why her daddy doesn’t want to come around more. The distance is something that took some time for me to overcome. Thankfully, I did finally come around.
“It was a foolish hope for an MC Prez to think that by staying away from his wife and kid that he would keep us from being hurt. His distance hurt a lot. Mama tried to hide her tears, but I know she missed him every day. I don’t know a lot about Mama outside of my memories of our life together. And I know even less about the two of them together.” I take a deep breath and will the tears away that want to clog my throat.
I continue with my eyes on the table. “But I do know that he loved her fiercely, and he missed her every day after she was gone,” I offered with a sad smile on my face. To love someone the way my pops loved my mama, had to be both wonderful and heartbreaking.
“No one expected that the cancer would take her so quickly. We all expected there would be more time to get everything straight. After she died, he tried to raise you the best he knew how. Once we get this wreck business all sorted, you and me will sit down with some of Venom’s tequila, and I’ll tell you all about the trouble we used to get into,” he says with a nod toward the bar where Mr. Broody is standing.
Venom huh, I wonder how he got his name. I look over at him just in time to see the back of his cut as he walks out, tequila bottle in hand. I’ve been around men in cuts for over half my life for some reason though, it looks better on him than anyone else I’ve ever seen.
Rodeo chuckles at his broody brother before looking back at me and saying, “He’s no good at sharin’, but don’t mind him. Let’s go see what you know ‘bout Hawk’s crash. Then we can figure out where to go from there.”
He gestures forward, and I follow him and Havoc to the chapel, feeling someone’s eyes on me the whole time. One look around before we close the door, and I lock eyes with Mr. Broody. He sure does stare a lot. I give him a smirk and the finger before I shut the door. What the hell is his problem?
Chapter 3
Venom
“See something that you like babe?” Rosie asks with a giggle.
This chick is always fucking giggling. I don’t know how the brothers deal with it. Sure, she’s cute, a little too skinny for my liking. And she’s got tits for days, but she’s dumb as a box of rocks. I mean yeah, she can give a pretty good hand job, but unless we’re on my bike, I’d rather be fucking a girl’s face than her hand any day. Shit, I have my own hand, I don’t need someone else’s. She starts trailing her nails up my arm tracing my ink.
I grab her hand really quickly and tell her, “Trouble’s what I see with that one. A mountain of fucking trouble.”
She pulls her hand from my grasp. “Trouble or not, I ain’t seen you look at a girl like that since Emily showed her true colors,” she remarks with a smirk. I’m on her faster than she can blink. Grabbing her by the throat, I push her up against the wall.
“Tempest. Her name is fucking Tempest, and you’d do well to remember that. Don’t talk about shit you don’t understand, Rosie. It could end up with you getting hurt, if you know what I mean.” Her face turns red from the slight pressure I apply to her throat. I’m not hurting her, but I want to scare her.
“You should know better than to piss me off, that is unless you want me to let my friends come out to play? It seems like maybe you need some reminding that I’m not one to fuck with. Besides, they haven’t had a good bite to eat in a long while,” I explain through gritted teeth while I tighten my hold around her throat. The color drains out of her face, and I know I’ve made my point.
Shoving her hard, I turn away from her and head upstairs. I take the stairs two at a time up to my room and slam the door when I’m inside. Walking over to the dresser I pull down a shot glass and pour myself a drink. What I really need is a damn shower after touching that bitch. I slam back my tequila trying to take the edge off before I seriously do hurt someone tonight.
I’ll need to keep my stash up here until we're seeing Miss Princess’s taillights. Sharing is something that I never did learn, and I’m not starting with her ass. Striding into the bathroom, I turn the water on as hot as I can. I need something to take my mind off the rage simmering beneath the surface after talking with Rosie.
Tempest is the reason I don’t fuck around with club bitches. Whether they’re club whores or just groupies, who get turned on by the cut I wear and the bike I ride. In the end, they’re all the fucking same.
After undressing, I step into the shower and let the hot water run over my back before turning around so I can lean down to get my hair. One day, I’ll have a shower that my big ass can fit underneath. Leaning forward, I let the water soothe the muscles in my shoulders and back before getting lost in a memory, that to this day continues to fuck with me. I didn’t know it would be our last perfect day together. Alone at the lake. Young as fuck. I reach one hand down and start stroking my cock from base to tip remembering…She emerges from the lake when the sun finally begins to set. The white bikini she wears barely covers her body and clings to her perfect tits.
I’ve never seen a chick with tits as perky as hers.
I motion for her to lay with me on the blanket we put down when we got there. She strolls slowly toward me.
I’m lost in the memo
ry when I pick up the pace, needing release. I remember…
Untying her top, she throws it to the ground about halfway to me. I could watch her tits bounce all day long.
Then she tugs the string on one side of her bottoms as she comes down to straddle me. Reaching between us, she starts undoing my belt, while I make short work of the last string of her bikini and toss it to the side. Thankfully, I’m commando today. She loves the easy access when I am.
Her lips are on my cock as soon as she frees me from my shorts. She takes slow, deep strokes, knowing that shit drives me crazy. My hand fists in her hair, as she takes me to the back of her throat causing me to groan out in pleasure. She sure knows how to suck me off, but I don’t want to come in her mouth right now.
I want to come balls deep inside her, so I pull her up and lower her onto my dick. The smile on her face lets me know she’s getting the reaction she wants. She loves when I get impatient to be inside her. Moaning out, she tosses her head back as I slam into her from below.
I grab her hips while pumping into her a few more times before rolling us over and tucking her legs under my arms. I take her mouth with mine while I continue to pound into her. She pulls back from the kiss…
The memory of the moans leaving her mouth is just enough to have my balls tightening before I come all over the shower wall.
I take a minute to put the memory away before I quickly wash the rest of my body. I’ve been in here longer than usual, and the water is starting to chill as I shut it off. Now that I’m not aching and horny anymore, it’s time to get drunk as fuck and forget those memories even exist.
Chapter 4
Cessy
“Take a seat, Reine,” Rodeo says gesturing to the chairs.
Sitting, I raise an eyebrow at Havoc, silently asking if he told his Prez my name. He just shakes his head no, but not before Rodeo picks up on our silent communication.
With a chuckle, “You two really have been tight for a long time I see. Yes, Reine, I know your name. It’s the name your mama gave you; she always knew you’d grow up to be a queen,” Rodeo says.
I can’t help the surprise that crosses my face at his comment, “How do you know that?” I question. Very few people even know my real name anymore, let alone why Mama insisted on calling me it.
“When we have that chat, I’ll let you know all about it, for now, let’s get down to business. Why do you think Hawk was murdered?”
Blowing out a breath I begin, “Money started going missing a while back. Did you know that I took over Blue Bells?” I ask.
“I did, though I didn’t realize you were handling the money,” he responds, not looking thrilled with that information.
“At first, I wasn’t,” I admit. “I took over Blue Bells when the girls started coming in bruised and beaten. Hell, if they bothered to come in at all. Pops suspected Loki was mistreating them and was worried we wouldn’t be able to keep the business open if he ran off all the girls.”
I look up into Rodeo’s eyes trying to gauge if he was aware of Loki’s abusive tendencies. His expression reveals nothing, so I continue. “It’s not like we have a large pool to pick from out here. But I was more worried about the girls getting hurt. I had been bartending there a few nights a week and had become friends with a few of them. I mentioned it to Pops. And he confronted Loki about it, but he denied any abuse. None of the girls would talk, so there wasn’t anything we could do to him without any proof. It pissed Loki off something fierce when Pops gave me Blue Bells to run.”
“Oh, I have no doubt that pissed him off royally,” Rodeo agrees with a harsh chuckle.
“Pops told the brothers that the girls would work better under a female, especially one they already knew. And who better than their Princess. Taking over meant I had to know about everything though. Even stuff I didn’t want to know about. What he told me about the VIP room wasn’t something I wanted to hear, ever,” I say trailing off.
It still makes me sick to my stomach knowing what they did in that room before I took over. Hell, with me in the building, and I didn’t have a damn clue about it. Not anymore though, now that I have a say.
“The room for private dances?” Rodeo questions with a confused expression.
Sighing, “Private dances, a quick fuck, a gang bang—whatever the customers wanted, even if the girl wasn’t willing. Loki didn’t care as long as the money was right,” I admit.
“What?” Havoc explodes, shoving away from the table, “Why the fuck would your pops let you work there if that’s what was going on? What the hell was he thinking?” Havoc is furious as he paces the floor. I’m not surprised.
“He didn’t know the extent of what was going on with all of that. Hell, I worked there and didn’t have a clue,” I defend. I really hope that’s right and Pops had no idea.
“That’s no excuse, Cess. How could he not know?” Havoc demands as he sinks back into his chair.
Rage fills his eyes. I understand it, but he really needs to calm down. If he’s already this pissed, then the rest of what I need to tell him will leave their clubhouse with holes in its walls, and that won’t help anyone.
“He knew some of the guys used the room to get their dicks wet. Hell, we all knew that. I’m sure some of your brothers have even used it a time or two,” I explain giving him a pointed look.
“We just assumed the girls were willing because not one of them said anything. Not even to me after I started working there. We found out just recently that Loki had threatened them all. Told them if they said anything, they’d never dance again or worse. He gave them enough money or drugs to keep their mouths shut, and for a while, that seemed to work.”
“How did you find out?” Havoc asked, his voice still filled with suppressed fury.
“Eventually, a few of the girls decided they were done with his shit. They were going to come to the clubhouse and let Pops know what was going down but…” I hesitate not wanting to talk about what happened after that.
“But they never made it to the clubhouse, did they?” Rodeo questions, already guessing what I couldn’t bring myself to say.
“No, they didn’t.” I hang my head in defeat before continuing, “I don’t know why they didn’t just come to me. I would have helped them. After they went missing, we had Rebel look into their disappearances, but he couldn’t find anything about where they went or what the fuck happened.” Admitting defeat isn’t something that comes naturally to me, and I feel like I failed those girls. Tears fill my eyes as I think of what my friends must have experienced.
“Rebel? The Enforcer for The Reapers?” Havoc inquires.
“Yeah, Pops figured he’d be able to get more information out of people being that he’s the club's Enforcer and all. But even with him doing the asking, still nada. If anyone knows something, anything, they’re not talking,” I explain.
“I’ll have Snoopy look into the girls and see if he can find a paper trail on the ones who went missing,” Rodeo says.
“Snoopy?” I ask, confused. Who the hell is Snoopy?
“Snoopy is the Sons’ Treasurer and a damn good hacker. If they’re still breathing, he’ll find them for you,” Rodeo clarifies.
I breathe a sigh of relief, “Thank you. If he needs anything that could help, please just let me know. I wish they had come to me; maybe it would’ve been different.” The guilt of their disappearance still eats at me even months later.
“There’s no telling whether or not something still would’ve happened, Reine. You can’t blame yourself for that. All you can do is try to help now. If he needs anything to get started, I’ll let you know,” he says while placing a hand on my shoulder, “Now back to you taking over the club.”
“Right, so I took over managing the club. And I found that it was a lot worse than Pops realized. He thought having Loki, as the Treasurer, run Blue Bells would be the easiest thing, since that’s where they clean the money that comes in from the guns.” Rodeo raises a brow in a challenge to that comment.
/> “Oh, I know about everything the club’s mixed up in. I don’t think the brothers realize that, but Pops had to tell me about all of it after we realized that the girls weren’t the only things to come up missing from Blue Bells,” I explain.
“How did you realize money was missing?” Havoc questions.
“Loki was still handling all of the money. I may have cleaned the club up, made sure the girls were taken care of and only doing what they wanted, but he still took care of all the ordering and bank drops. He took a weekend trip to his cabin a few months back, and Pops asked me to do the drops for him instead of keeping the money in the safe, like Loki wanted.”
“I imagine Loki wanting the money to stay in the safe, made your pops a little suspicious,” Rodeo chimes in.
“When I brought the money to Pops, there was about five grand more than he was expecting. He was happy as hell because the brothers had thought it might be time to shut Blue Bells down. Under Loki, they weren’t bringing in enough income to justify keeping it open. I was confused as hell because we had a decent evening that night, but nothing crazy. I told him I didn’t understand what he was talking about with the extra money because business was actually a little lighter than usual.”
I let my mind drift back to the confusion I felt that night… and the worry I felt as I watched Pops frantically try to figure the numbers out.
“Missin’ money, extra money, it all adds up to problems for an MC laundering money,” Rodeo states matter-of-factly.
“Yeah. Pops pulled out all the receipts for the drops since I had taken over managing the club, and every single one was at least a few grand short from what I knew we had pulled in during those days. That was wrong on so many levels. I mean, we trumped up receipts to make it look like Blue Bells brought in more than it was, to cover the gun money. No one touched the money after me, besides Loki, so we knew it was happening between him leaving the club and getting it to Pops.”
“What did Hawk do?” Rodeo interrupts.
