“Them fuckers didn’t know what hit them,” Stone jeers next to Rebel.
“Pink Lips, the place needs an overhaul, new name, new faces. One-off, I want you and Stone to head that. Truth, I want Amy heading the dancers. We need a girl with skill, and we know she is more than capable. Foxie will help. I owe a debt to Christa Franklin, I’ll have Kurt handle that and I’d like to patch him in tonight, when Tread and Truth get their ink for their women. Romeo when Sunshine gets back from seeing her son we’ll take care of Paul. And lastly, Rebel, your half-brother is here. Kid your old man had with Wild Cherry. Tread offered to sponsor him, but I think that falls on you. He’s upstairs waiting to meet you. Don’t fuck it up. If no one else has anything to add. This meeting is finished.”
I wait a few minutes. There is no new business. I slam my gavel down and ask Tread to stay behind. The club doesn’t need to know shit all about the car Liberty came here in.
“Spoke with Stokes this morning, Kurt can’t leave town. Coroner says Perry was dead before he shot him. Christa’s mom is pushing for the charges. We know no one cares about that bottom feeder but her. We have the boy, but she doesn’t care enough about him, to put the squeeze on her.”
“Fuck, we gotta do something.”
“Stokes is working the prosecutor and the judge. He will do time, but we can get him a shorter sentence. I’ll break it to him before his patch party, so he can have one hell of a time. Stokes thinks if we can get the case handled quietly and quickly, things will work to our favor.”
“How’s that?”
“Kurt’s gonna turn himself in and confess, to a crime of passion. The paper will get their story, not much of one, and it will be forgotten by the time Kurt is released. He can’t be your right hand man for Florida, I want you to take Romeo. I’ll give him the order once you get a tail on your dead man. I think I might come along for the ride. I’ve not seen the sunshine state in a few years. Might hit up Biker Week in Daytona.”
“Alright. So Florida, I’ll be damn glad to ride next to you.”
“I’m gonna drive the car to the yard and destroy it. I don’t have to tell you, if you breathe a word, you or Liberty about who is in Florida, I’ll kill ye.”
“I feel you. No worries. I’ll take it to my grave, so will she,” he promises.
I give him his leave. I need a goddamn nap, but fuck it, I can sleep when I’m dead.
Chapter 25
Rebel
I’m trying to wrap my head around the fact that I have another brother. I never paid much mind to Wild Cherry. She was just my father’s whore in my eyes. If my mother knew and never told me, that’s just low, even for her. I get why her and Romeo kept shit quiet about Striker, but not this. She knew dad was with Cherry, so why the secret?
I head upstairs to the kitchen and there he is. I can recognize him by his stance alone. He has the same slim build of my father. Tall and skinny like a damn Slim Jim. He’s a flirt too. The boy is making eyes at Romeo’s oldest girl, Dawn. I laugh hearing the nickname he’s given her. “Honey, don’t be that way. You know ye want to!”
I don’t know what quick shit he is trying to pull, but I give him credit, he works fast, like me.
“Hey, lover boy, get your ass over here,” I holler just as Romeo storms in, right in time to see the kid pinch his daughter’s ass.
“Dawn! Out front, now!”
“Yes daddy!” Her cheeks are pink as she scurries out the door.
“Take it easy on him, this is my brother,” I tell Romeo.
“I got yer easy,” he says cracking his knuckles. He grabs JT by the collar of his Lucky Charm shirt, raising him up off the floor. His van sneakers are dangling and kicking. “You think it’s fittin to go around grabbing young girls on the ass do ye?”
“No sir,” he says wide-eyed.
“Do I look like a sir to you boy?”
“No sir.”
Romeo can’t help but chuckle. “I reckon I’ve made my point. Ye keep them grabby paws off my girl, next time I’ll take a finger or two.”
“Come on JT, you’ve got a lot to learn.” He grins at me and I have a feeling we’re gonna get along just fine.
Romeo grumbles under his breath as he leaves the kitchen. The buffet is setup by the bar and I’m starving. Little brother and myself take up seats at my mom’s table. Grim went home to rest. I think he is avoiding Sunshine, but I’m wise enough to refrain from mentioning it around my mom.
“Put your eyes and tongue back in your head boy, you’ll be seeing Dawn plenty. Her family is moving in the gray trailer out back.” My mother smacks the back of his head roughly.
“So you knew about him, about JT?”
“Of course I knew. You think your father was able to keep much from me? I wasn’t stupid. Cherry wasn’t either. You think your daddy was gonna have his bastard running around? He knew this club was meant to go to you and Striker, we had an understanding. Cherry didn’t have much say, she was just his easy piece. I was his wife, he owed me that much, so he gave it to me.” She shrugs and goes to eating her hotdog.
I frown but I know she has had her say and that’s that. Mom is set in her way of thinking; she won’t hear any different. Chelle has learned to give her what she wants when it comes to the kids, besides mom loves them something fierce.
JT takes up with me naturally. Maybe I can be a good big brother this time around. Maybe the game of life does believe in second chances.
“Hey man, after we finish up here, I’d like to introduce you to your niece and nephews.”
“Sounds good.”
My mom puts and arm around me and smiles. “Look after him Rebel, he’s gonna need you to protect him from Romeo’s wrath.” I follow her eyeline to Dawn. The girl is stealing glances at JT.
“Oh hell.” I snicker.
“What’s so funny?” JT asks.
“Life man, life is what.” She has trouble written all over her. Reminds me of Baby. My heart contracts at her name. Damn, I miss her wild ass.
Sunshine
After receiving a few ‘welcome homes’ and some not so friendly glares, I finally have a chance to talk with Romeo. We are walking out back to our new home. This is news to me, but I had a feeling it was coming.
“I know this wasn’t what I promised, but my hands are tied. Patrick is in rough shape. He’s gonna need ye. I’ll take you to see him after I get Dawn and Jamie settled in. Slim’s bastard is chasing after Dawn. Gonna have to keep an eye on him.”
I have to laugh at that. “She’s a beautiful girl, you can’t control her hormones. I love you Romeo and if you say this is where we need to be than I’m going to have to be okay with your decision.”
“Good,” he grunts right before pulling me in for a quick kiss.
“Can’t you do that later, after I’ve went to bed,” Jamie complains.
“He’s the world’s worst cock block,” Romeo grumbles, releasing me.
“I heard that!” Jamie says.
I shake my head and prepare myself to see what shithole Grim is sticking us in.
The wood on the porch is rotting and I can smell cat pee from the outside.
“I know it can use some work, but you’ll have it feeling like home in no time,” my man assures me.
“Can we just go to a motel or something.”
“It’s not that bad.”
I follow him in with Dawn and Jamie trailing reluctantly behind us. Lovely. The wallpaper is peeling from the walls and the flooring is rusty colored shag carpet. It could be better but it could also be worse.
Kurt
For once, I don’t mind doing the bitch job of running errands. I like being with Christa, spending time with her. She’s easy to talk to and wants to know me for me, not a man earning a patch, that can make a whore a Top Bitch—Old Lady.
She doesn’t want to go back in her house but I keep telling her Perry can’t hurt her again and I am with her. No one will ever touch her as long as I am breathing.
We’re dr
iving her brother’s truck so there is room for anything she wants to take back to her room at the Roadhouse. I like the idea of having her across from me. I can keep a better eye on her. She’s mentally torturing herself over things she can’t change.
She took a life last night and I know that doesn’t come easy, but she had no choice. It was in the name of survival—her survival. Had the situation been different and he had raped Christa or killed her, I would’ve ripped him from limb to limb. The look in her eyes when I came up on them will stay with me forever. I see it every time I close my own.
We’ve been to the pharmacy and now I’m taking her to see her grandma at the hospital. As I park, images from last night blaze in my head of seeing Christa loaded into the ambulance. I never want to feel that scared again.
Tread would’ve killed me had Christa been seriously injured or worse, but that wasn’t what scared me—I was afraid of never seeing those haunted, broken eyes again and not being able to make them find their shine.
She checks her face in the mirror and shakes her head. “If she sees me like this…”
“Hey,” I say scooting across the bench seat. “If she sees you like this, she’ll think you’re just as beautiful as you were any other day she has seen you. But she’ll be happy just to see you, yeah?”
“I’m being stupid aren’t I?”
“Nah, just being a woman.” She smiles faintly, her gaze holding mine. She angles her head towards mine, does she want me to kiss her? I want to but I don’t want to push her. She’s been through a lot in the past day.
“We’d better get going.” Her eyes fall from mine and her mouth turns down. Fuck, I’ve hurt her feelings. “Christa?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m going to kiss you, I’m going to kiss you soon, but not until I know it’s what you really want.” With that I climb out of the truck and wait for her to follow.
Christa
I’m an idiot. Truly I am. I just threw myself at the kind of man I would usually run from. I thought I knew a lot about the kind of men who ride for Black Rebel Riders’ MC and I was wrong.
They are good people.
They take care of their own.
They are a family.
Tread told me he would show me what him and his brothers were about, but Kurt has been the one to show me and now, now I want him. I want him more than I have ever wanted anything for myself. He protected me, he understood what I needed from him without even asking.
Yeah, we just met, but I feel like my heart has always known his. It’s a strange, scary feeling.
I feel vulnerable.
I feel open and raw.
When I get out of the truck, he takes my hand in his and brings my knuckles to his mouth. It’s as if he always knows just what I need. And he was right, a moment ago wasn’t the right time to kiss me. I’m not ready despite what I might think. I need to work through what happened last night and more than that, I need to focus on getting my Gram home again.
With Kurt’s hand tucked in mine, I walk into the hospital feeling more sure of myself and what I want—him.
I want to know everything about him.
What made him join the MC?
What made him step up for me?
The elevator dings and we step into the waiting room for intensive care. My mother is here, great.
She sees me and jumps from her chair. “You got a lot of nerve showing your face here after what you did!”
“I’m not doing this with you, not here.” I go to step around her and she puts her hand to my chest. Kurt squeezes my hand, letting me know he’s still with me. “Let me pass. Gram would want to see me.”
“Well, I guess you had better go then, she isn’t doing so hot.” She sniffs and turns to Kurt. “So you’re the one that put a bullet in my man? Figures,” she scoffs, eyeing his Potential patch.
“Your piece of shit man tried to rape your daughter. He got off easy. I’d do it again and I’ll do the same to you if you hurt her. She’s been through enough shit!”
I warm hearing his words. No one has ever had my back like Kurt seems to. It’s a feeling I could get used to. I look back at him one last time before checking in at the nurse’s station. He’s still giving it to my mom. I like him more by the second.
In my Gram’s room, she is sleeping. Her body appears so small and frail. The sleeves of her gown are swallowing her arms. Her right hand is bruised from her IV. I’m afraid to touch her. Afraid I’ll hurt her or wake her. My rib is killing me, but I didn’t want to take any pain meds until after I visited her.
A nurse comes in to change out her fluid sac.
“How’s she doing?” I ask, unsure if I really want the severity of the truth.
“It’s up to her when she wants to wake up. She’s breathing on her own. But the medication could be keeping her out of it. At her age, and in her condition, it’s hard to say what the prognosis will be. Her doctor could tell you more. He won’t be in until tomorrow.”
She finishes up and I take the seat next to the bed. Some of the ladies from her work have went in together and sent her ‘Get Well Soon’ daisies. I watch her chest rise and fall willing her to wake up and talk to me. I need her. She’s always been there for me.
I feel a heated gaze on me. Looking to the door, there he is, Kurt, watching me. He makes being a biker tool look so fine. His dark hair is tousled around his head messily. His hands are shoved in his pockets, but I can see that they are large as are his boots. I find myself wondering if the old saying is true.
Big hands.
Big feet.
Even bigger dick.
Chapter 26
Kurt
I just got back to the Roadhouse with Christa. Seeing her grandma in that shape was hard for her. I wish I could do something to make it easier for her but I can’t. She’s upstairs in her room. I think she needs some time alone to process the past few days.
Grim called me into his office and gave me a check for Christa’s house. I’m not so sure she even wants it now, but I’ll give it to her later. I have my own shit to deal with. Grim drilled my ass for shooting Perry. I thought for sure he was gonna kick me out of the club and tell me to never come back. I don’t have anything but this place. I don’t talk about my past much with anyone. No one has ever cared about me but the men I hope to call my brothers.
I’ve never fit in.
I’ve never had anything that was mine, until now.
Well anything that I’ve wanted to call mine—Christa. I can’t stop thinking about her. She’s consuming my every thought. Shitty timing with what Grim just told me. He says it’s in my best interest to turn myself in and take a plea deal for Perry. I’ve already done time before, that doesn’t bother me. But this time there is something on the outside I want. If I go away, she’ll be lost to me. I can’t ask her to wait for me. She doesn’t even know me. If I go against the wishes of the club, I’m fucked. It doesn’t matter what I want. I fucked that up when I pulled the trigger.
So I’m sitting at the bar nursing a jar of white lightning. The coroner said Perry was dead before I shot him. They know I am lying and I won’t let Christa go down. I’ll take the deal because I made the choice to protect her. It’s all me. She wouldn’t last in the ‘Pen’. I served three years already for vehicular manslaughter. I was flying around a curve in the delivery truck I was driving. I had a job at a furniture store back then. An old woman was backing out of her driveway and I plowed right through her. I didn’t have a clue I was even in the world when I came too. I had smoked a joint on my lunch break. I wasn’t even stoned, but it didn’t matter. I was driving too fast and I took a life.
I did my time. I actually met Grim while I was serving upstate. He told me to look him up after I did a job for him. I put an end to Shred and Lasher, no questions asked. He paid me well so I did the job and the day after I was released I showed up here. Been here since. Feels like I just got here and now I have to leave. I don’t have to turn myself in yet, I have a
few days.
Do I spend them feeling sorry for myself or do I enjoy Christa’s company until I go? I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t. But I won’t forgive myself if I don’t have a taste of her before I go. She can give me something to look back on when the nights are long, dark, and lonely. When I’m left with nothing but a few bars and concrete for company.
Tread
“I done told ye, he’ll be fine. Rebel’s kids will be there. Kyler won’t even notice we’re gone.” Foxie is keeping the kids tonight so Rebel and Chelle can come to Kurt’s patch party.
Libby is looking better. Her bruises are practically gone. She’s standing by the door watching Kyler walk down the steps with Romeo’s girl, Dawn. She’s helping Foxie babysit. Inkman should be setting up his station in one the rooms in the basement by now. Liberty’s gonna have my name on her, right under the curve of her breast, she just doesn’t know it yet.
She’s busted ass all day with Amy’s help, getting this place looking like a real home for our son—for us. I don’t even want to know the shit the two of them were saying about me all damn day, but I’m glad they get along. Amy went home an hour ago to get ready for the party. She is excited to get her ‘Property of Truth’ patch tonight.
“I’m going to hop in the shower.” I nod for her to go ahead.
I’ve been waiting for a moment to myself. I need to get in my safe. There’s something I’ve been holding onto for years. Something I should have took care of a long time ago. I had planned on asking Libby to marry me but I was chicken shit. I bought her a ring two days before Foxie splattered Diamond’s head. Tonight I’m gonna do what I should’ve done six years ago. I’m gonna make her mine before the eyes of my brothers and God. I want my name on her when I fuck her tonight. Truth is keeping his ears to the ground for movement on her husband. He needs to turn to dust so I can marry her myself.
A Rebel Love (Black Rebel Riders' MC Book 7) Page 16
