I chewed on my lip with nervousness, staring at her for some kind of support. Flora pressed her eyes close and took in a deep breath.
“Okay, nobody except me knows that right? That you saw something?” she asked, but she saw the way the color had drained from my face.
“No! They know? They saw you?” she asked and threw her lit cigarette to the ground and stomped on it with her shoes.
“Shit, girl, you need to stay low. You need to be in your apartment or leave the city or something. Do you even know what those people are like? They are fucking insane!” Flora was hissing now, and looking about us the same way I was doing just minutes ago.
“I never heard of them before, but I’m getting the idea that they’re dangerous,” I squeaked. Flora grabbed me by my arm and started dragging me back into the kitchen again.
“Just stay inside, and don’t tell anybody what you saw. You hear me?” she hissed in my ears. She pushed me forward with her hands and then smiled at one of our co-workers casually.
With my heart beating rapidly in my chest, I walked back towards the swinging doors. I turned to look at Flora, and she was shaking her head at me. Her eyes were wide and rounded, like she had just seen a ghost.
I pushed the doors open with my body and walked back on to the diner floor. It was as busy as before. There were a few more unknown faces, mostly men and some of them looked over at me as I walked past.
Working in a diner on the night shift, around rough men like truckers and drunks meant that I got a lot of stares. I thought I had gotten used to that, but now, every man who looked at me could be a potential assassin.
My hands were shaking as I walked over to a table to take an order. It was a single man at a corner booth, following my every movement with his eyes. My heart had dropped right down to my stomach, but I had no other choice—I had to do my job.
Chapter 9
Rodeo
I was back at T Bone again and needed a distraction from every confusing thought I was having about Jordan. She had occupied my mind completely, and the fact that I had left her alone tonight was bothering me.
She had told me that she was a big girl, that she could handle herself and I knew she was right, but that didn’t stop me from worrying.
This was a new emotion—worrying for someone. I couldn’t remember the last time I was worried for someone other than me, for something other than my own pleasures.
“How is the girl?” Abe slapped my shoulder, snapping me out of my thoughts. I had found my way to the bar, and had been drinking by myself for some time. Now when I turned around, I saw that most of my brothers had arrived at the bar. Lila was there with Girth too.
“I’ve fixed her door if that’s what you’re asking,” I snapped at Abe, who made a funny face at me and then exchanged smiling looks with the others. I could sense that they had been talking about Jordan and me behind my back. This was bound to cause a stir. None of them had actually seen me with a woman before, not while I wasn’t trying to get into somebody’s pants.
“What else have you fixed of hers?” Lewis asked with a laugh and his voice boomed. He was the President, so I couldn’t exactly say anything to him, even though we were all friendly and open with each other.
“Oh, leave him alone!” Lila interrupted, as she took a stool beside me. Girth was standing next to her, grinning.
“Yeah, we kind of have bigger fish to fry here,” I snarled, emptying the can of beer down my throat. Lewis sighed loudly.
“I’ve put some boys to work on the streets. We need to figure out what the Hell’s Drifters have against us suddenly,” he said. I shook my head, I had been thinking about this and I still hadn’t been able to come up with anything.
“We’ve always stayed out of their business,” I said.
“Unless we’ve stepped on their shoes somehow?” Marcus had joined the group too now. Lewis shook his head.
“Maybe they’re working with the Dark Legion? Maybe they wanted to pay us back for encroaching on Dark Legion’s territory?” Abe suggested. I wasn’t buying that explanation, even though that thought had crossed my mind too.
“The Dark Legion and Hell’s Drifters will never work together, and if they do—we will definitely find out about it. There is no way that shooting Fred was payback for us encroaching on DL’s territory,” I said.
I heard Lila sigh deeply. She was thinking about Fred. I hadn’t stopped thinking about Fred since I’d heard the news either. I couldn’t believe he was gone. It was strange to not have him in our group right now. I clenched my fist and banged it on the counter, making all the glasses and bottles shake.
“Fuck this! We need to find out what they want from us. But they know the position Fred held in our MC. There is no way that they just knocked him dead and don’t expect retaliation!” I growled.
“Why Fred? Why him?” it was Lila who was breaking apart now. The Dark Legion had made attempts on her life earlier, for which Girth had been employed to protect her. That was how they had gotten together and fallen in love, and even though Girth followed her everywhere she went now, and even though Lila knew that she was safe—it was understandable that she couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that it could have been her instead of Fred.
“I feel like we’re under attack!” she continued and Lewis reached for his daughter’s hand and squeezed it. “First me and now Fred…and they got him. They got Fred!” she cried.
Girth drew her into his arms and she remained on his chest, sobbing miserably.
“We are under attack, and we have always been the underdogs here. The Dark Legion knows that as much as The Hell’s Drifters do. They know that we don’t have the power in numbers to launch a counter attack that could threaten their MCs,” Lewis said.
“I can’t think of anything we could have done to offend them. Do they just want to destroy us? We have always maintained a peaceful coexistence with them before. Why pick a fight with us now?” Marcus said.
The rest of us stayed silent, thinking. The shooting down of Fred had affected us all in a big way. He had been a major figure in the MC—he was like a brother to Lewis, like a father figure to the rest of us, like an uncle to Lila. He had been the word of wisdom for all of us and now he was dead and none of us had even been there. His body was lying in a morgue somewhere, waiting to be claimed. None of us could go forward to claim it either, because that was all the excuse that the cops would need to come after us. Even Hugh wouldn’t be able to rescue us from that shitstorm.
“Whatever their problem with us is, all I know is that I’m going to kill the motherfucker who pulled the trigger,” I said.
“Rodeo, there are other ways to avenge Fred’s death. You’ll be putting your life in danger if you go after him,” Lila said in a strained voice.
“I don’t give a fuck. This is what he would have done for me,” I snapped.
“We need to figure out what they want from us,” Abe interrupted and I crushed the beer can in my hand.
“Whatever they want from us, Fred wasn’t the problem—that’s all I know. He was just collateral damage,” I said.
***
Girth hadn’t really spoken till now. He was the new guy in the MC. His primary task had been to act as bodyguard for Lila when her life was under threat from the Dark Legion, but Lewis was impressed with his work and asked him to join as prospect in our MC. Now that he and Lila were together, it seemed like a natural step to take for him.
However, he had some experience in bigger MCs. The one he used to be a part of in LA was a much bigger one than ours.
Some of the others in the bar were looking at Girth now, as though he might have the answers. I was eager to hear what he had to say too.
“Girth? Do you have an opinion on this? I know you don’t know any of these MCs too well,” it was Lewis who asked him directly. He was standing with Lila still clinging to his arms and took in a deep breath. He wasn’t exactly a big talker.
“The only thing I can think of ri
ght now is that maybe it was personal,” Girth said. His gaze drifted towards me for a reaction, because he had sensed that I was the one who was closest to Fred.
My brows crossed, I was confused.
“Personal? What are you talking about, man?” I snapped and Girth looked at Lewis again before he spoke.
“Maybe…and this is just a suggestion to look into—maybe Fred did something on his own to piss them off somehow,” he continued and I stood up from the stool. It fell back on the floor and I hurled myself towards Girth.
“You’re saying that Fred had some kind of secret life that we didn’t know about? That he was some kind of turncoat?” I was hissing at Girth through gritted teeth. He was a big man, taller than me and everyone else in the bar. He stared back at me with empty eyes, and I glared at him. His height wasn’t going to back me off him. Nobody spoke about Fred like that!
“I didn’t say that Fred had a secret life, and I’m not saying he was spying on us—all I’m saying is that maybe this doesn’t have anything to do with our MC. Maybe it was between them,” Girth continued and I snarled at him with rage.
“Rodeo, just hear him out!” Lila yelled from beside Girth because she could see the rage boiling on my face.
“What makes you say that, Girth?” Abe asked from behind me. I was still glaring at him. I couldn’t believe that this man had just made a suggestion like this.
“The nature of the shooting seemed personal. Just like attempting to shoot Lila was a personal attack on Lewis. If the wanted to target us as an MC, they would have raided the bar, they would have targeted a bunch of us instead of one single guy,” Girth explained and I was shaking my head. No way was I falling for this shit.
There was no way that Fred had a secret life that I didn’t know about.
“You are crazy. Get the fuck out of here!” I barked at Girth and Lila slammed her hand into my chest, not that it hurt at all.
“Stop it, Rodeo! Stop it! Just hear him out! I don’t want you two fighting, please!” she was screaming at me.
“You know nothing about us, nothing about Fred. You just fucking got here and now you’re making accusations about a dead guy!” I growled.
“I am not accusing anyone. I’m just making a suggestion that maybe we should look into Fred’s past, his personal life—and see if there’s some connection there with the Hell’s Drifters. Maybe it isn’t even that large scale. Maybe Fred had a beef with just that bald guy from the MC,” Girth continued and I charged at him.
I was about to strangle him, grab him by the neck but Lila had blocked the path. She was standing between Girth and me now.
“Step out of the way, woman. Let him fucking come at me,” Girth growled as I glared at him.
“You two are going to stop this right now! Girth, just stop talking and Rodeo, just take a fucking walk,” Lila yelled at both of us. Girth and I were still glaring at each other.
“Rodeo, listen to what Lila is saying. Take a walk. Clear your head and get back here,” Lewis said from behind us and I had no other choice. I couldn’t start a fight with Girth right here.
“We need to fucking stop fighting amongst ourselves,” Lewis continued as I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my jeans.
“No, what we need to do is stop doubting Fred’s integrity!” I barked.
“Nobody is doing that, you stupid boy! Fred was a good friend to all of us. All Girth is saying is to look into his personal life,” Lewis replied and I scoffed and turned away from them.
“There is nothing to look into there. I knew Fred inside out, and there is nothing going on here. This is an attack on us, it wasn’t a personal attack on Fred!” I dished out the words and without waiting for a response from the others, I strode right out of the bar.
Out in the cool night, I waited a few moments for my breathing to subside. What was I going to do? I couldn’t go back in the bar right now—I needed to put some distance between my brothers and myself.
I could feel myself gravitating towards Jordan. I wanted to see her again. We had only been apart for a few hours, and I was already feeling the withdrawal symptoms.
I jumped on my bike, forcing myself to ride towards my own apartment. I needed to give her space. I couldn’t come on too strong and scare her.
Chapter 10
Jordan
I practically ran back to my apartment from the diner when my shift ended. Flora’s behavior had scared me even more, as though I wasn’t scared enough already. I looked at everyone suspiciously, I jumped at the slightest provocation and I wished that Rodeo hadn’t left me by myself.
I ran up the stairs of my apartment building and when I reached my floor, I saw someone sitting outside my door in the dark.
My heart stopped for a second, till he looked in my direction and my eyes adjusted in the dark. I saw the ponytail and the beard, Rodeo stood up and walked towards me.
“It’s me,” he said in a deep voice and I could breathe again.
“Did I scare you?” he asked, when he came closer and I shook my head.
“No, you just took me by surprise. What are you doing here?” I said, looking up at him.
There was a change in him, I could sense it in his body language and see it in his eyes. He was looking down, his blue eyes seemed dim…he looked agitated.
“I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” he said. Something had happened, I could sense that he wasn’t his usual confident self.
“Do you want to come in?” I asked and he shrugged his shoulders. We walked back to my door together and I opened it. He followed me inside in silence. I’d left most of the lights in my apartment on, so now I could see his face clearly. I was right, Rodeo seemed upset about something and I was surprisingly concerned for him.
He bolted and locked the door behind him and we walked towards the couch.
“Are you okay?” I asked him and he looked up at me with hesitant eyes. I could see that he was struggling with his emotions. He didn’t want to admit to me or to himself that he wasn’t his usual self.
“Did something happen?” I nudged him again and Rodeo let out a deep sigh.
“I think it’s finally sinking in,” he mumbled. It was strange to see Rodeo in this new light, almost vulnerable. It made him seem more human, but I was surprised that he had decided to come see me. Did he feel as comfortable talking to me as I felt with him?
I sat down on the couch and patted the spot next to me. He sat down beside me and we faced each other.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Rodeo. I know how it feels to lose someone who you love but couldn’t save. I went through something similar with my mom,” I told him. Rodeo was refusing to meet my eyes. I could sense that he was embarrassed of his own emotions. Had he never experienced something like this before?
“Fred was the one who saved me,” he admitted and I gulped. I had never imagined Rodeo to be this vulnerable, to speak in this tone. I wanted to pull him into my arms and comfort him. Even somebody like Rodeo was capable of sadness. I remained silent, encouraging him to continue.
“I used to be an actual rodeo,” he said, with a lazy grin on his face. He looked up at me and I arched my eyebrows at him in surprise.
“Like an actual rodeo? You rode bulls?” I asked. That explained a lot of things—for instance, why he had a body like the one he did, why he was so strong and muscular.
“Yeah. I was a street kid for most of my life. Broken home, addict parents, lots of siblings—I wasn’t interested in school. I was a strong kid, and I realized that there was some money in riding bulls,” he continued.
“You must have been very good at it,” I said and he shrugged his shoulders.
“I got by,” he replied.
I was curious but I didn’t want to push him too hard and ask him too many questions. I wasn’t sure how much he wanted to tell me about his life.
“I used to get badly beaten up. It wasn’t exactly a healthy profession,” he said and ran a hand through his hair. The sight of his thick
large hands made my stomach clench. I remembered what those fingers felt like on my pussy, how he had used those fingers to pinch my nipples.
Just looking at Rodeo made me weak in the knees. Every movement he made, was a reminder of how strong he was when he held me, how hard his cock was in my mouth. Was I wet already?
“What happened?” I found myself asking and our eyes met again.
“Fred used to come to the rink, he used to gamble a lot and he used to bet on me. I made him a lot of money, just like I made a lot of other gamblers a lot of money,” he continued.
I watched him as he spoke, the way his eyes darkened and his face looked different—almost dangerous. I could sense that he was talking about a very difficult time in his life.
“The punters wanted me to keep doing what I was doing. I was earning all of them a lot of money. It didn’t matter to them how badly I got hurt, how badly my body got broken,” Rodeo said and I couldn’t control myself, I reached for his hand. I wanted to hold him, just touch him a little.
Rodeo snapped his head up to look at me and there was a fire in his eyes. He clenched his jaws and I drew closer to him.
“How did you get out of it?” I asked him and Rodeo breathed in deeply.
“It was Fred. I don’t think I would have ever gotten out of it if it wasn’t for him,” Rodeo said. I could see the sadness brimming in his eyes. He didn’t know how to deal with the loss of a dear friend.
***
“What did he do?” I asked him and Rodeo shook his head.
“He got me out of there. I was badly broken, sitting on a hospital bed with an injured spine. They wanted me to go back. All they cared about was my recovery, only so that I could go back there and earn them some more money,” he said. I gulped, I squeezed his hand.
“How old were you?” I asked.
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