by Hamel, B. B.
“Get that thing out of here,” she said, laughing.
“Not like you’ve never tasted it before,” I said, pouring myself a mug.
“Listen, about that.”
“It’s a secret. Don’t worry.”
She bit her lip. “Okay.”
“We have to go to the clubhouse today,” I said, “tell Larkin about what happened with the Snakes.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
“Don’t be nervous. We didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Yes,” she said softly, “we did.”
“Maybe, but it felt very fucking good.”
She smiled but didn’t say anything. I finished off my mug and poured another one before walking back over toward the couch.
“Get dressed,” I said. “We should leave soon. Longer we wait, stranger it seems.”
“Okay.” She shut her laptop lid and disappeared back into her bedroom.
Fucking girl drove me nuts. I put my clothes back on, shaking my head. Last night she had thrown herself at me, and now she was holding back. Not that I blamed her, but I was getting tired of the fucking whiplash. If she wanted it, she should just give in to it, consequences be damned.
We rode over to the clubhouse, not talking much. It was an uneventful ride, though the weather was nice. We parked, and the place was mostly empty, especially since it was around eight in the morning.
Larkin’s bike was there though, as always. The man seemed like he never left the clubhouse, and maybe he didn’t.
“Come on,” I said, walking into the place. She followed closely. “We’ll tell him together.”
“Wish we didn’t have to tell him at all.”
“He needs to know,” I said. “It’s important.”
“I know,” she said softly.
I caught sight of Stonewall sitting at the bar and headed toward him. “Morning, Stonewall,” I said.
“Clutch,” he replied. “You’re early.”
“Prez in today?”
“Yeah, he is,” Stonewall said. “But you might want to wait.”
“Why?”
“Jetter’s with him.”
I frowned. “Shit,” I said.
“Why? What do you need him for?”
“Something went down last night.” I glanced at Janine. “I’ll tell Larkin about it.”
Stonewall shrugged. “Do what you want.”
I didn’t exactly want to go talk to both Larkin and Jetter, but I couldn’t put it off any longer. As it stood, I should have gotten in touch with the club the second I rode off from that gas station.
I didn’t know how I was going to explain that. I couldn’t come up with something useful that would actually work, and so I was resigned to getting my ass chewed out by Larkin for my oversight.
I couldn’t tell him the truth, which was I wanted to fuck his adopted daughter before I reported everything.
That wouldn’t go over too well.
I headed off toward the back office and knocked. I heard some faint talking, and finally Larkin called us in.
I glanced at Janine and gave her a quick nod before pushing the door open.
Larkin was sitting behind his desk while Jetter stood, leaning up against the wall, his arms crossed.
“Clutch, Janine,” Larkin said. “We’re busy. What do you guys need?”
“Larkin, it’s important,” I said.
“How important?” Jetter asked.
I gave him a cold look. “Not for you to decide.” I looked back at Larkin. “Something happened last night.”
He sat up straight. “Are you two okay?”
“We’re fine, because of Clutch,” Janine said quickly.
“Have a seat,” Larkin said.
Janine walked in and sat down while I shut the door behind us. I hovered to her right, as far away from Jetter as I could get, not because I was afraid of the fucking scumbag, but because I was afraid I’d try to fucking strangle him to death while looking right in his pussy fuck eyes.
Which surprised me. Everyone in the Demons hated Jetter for a bunch of reasons, and I was no exception. Hating Jetter wasn’t the surprise.
No, it was that I thought it was personal. Before, I’d hated him for what he’d done to our club in the past, and for what his pussy club was doing to us in the present. It was never really about him the man before.
Suddenly, though, hating Jetter felt personal. I hated who he was and what he was doing. I hated him because Janine was claimed by him, and that pissed me off.
The thought hit me like a hammer, and I realized everyone was staring at me.
“Clutch?” Larkin asked. “I said, what happened?”
“Right,” I grunted, gathering myself together. This was not the time to look like a fucking idiot. “Some Snakes followed us last night,” I said. “I led them out to this old gas station out on the desert highway.”
“And?” Larkin asked.
“And I killed them, paid off the owner. He’ll keep his mouth shut.”
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me sooner?” Larkin asked, nearly yelling.
“Dad.” Janine held her hands up.
“You wait, sweetie,” he said. “Clutch, why the hell didn’t you get in touch with us until now? This is serious. We might need to do some fucking damage control.”
“Dad,” Janine said, more forcefully. “I asked him not to.”
There was a short silence. “Why?” he asked finally.
“I was afraid,” she said.
“Why would you be afraid?” he asked softly. “We can protect you.”
“I know that, but I was worried you’d call everything off.”
Larkin nodded slowly.
“Nothing is getting called off,” Jetter said suddenly. “You don’t need to worry about that.”
Larkin gave him a look of undisguised disgust.
“Oh,” Janine said. “Good.”
“And you listened to her?” Larkin asked, looking at me.
“She was very persuasive,” I said. “I finally convinced her to let me come to you guys today.”
“You shouldn’t listen to a woman that way, Clutch,” Jetter said. “You can’t let them get you by the balls.”
I clenched my jaw and wanted to go after him, but I held back. Jetter was a cunt, but there was nothing I could do about it. Going after him would just cause more problems.
No, the important thing was that Janine had just lied for me. We had never talked about her fears or why we had waited so long to tell everyone. We both knew the truth, and she clearly understood that we couldn’t tell them that. So she had lied for me, right to her father’s face.
I couldn’t decide how I felt about it, but that didn’t fucking matter. All that mattered was that we were past the difficult bit.
Larkin looked at me. “Tell me about what happened. Who were these guys?”
I went over the whole thing again, but this time in detail. I told him as much as I could about the guys, though I didn’t remember much or get a great look at them.
All that mattered was that they were Snakes, and there was no doubt that they had come after Janine.
When I finished, Jetter looked at Larkin. “I don’t like this,” he said.
“Clutch did a good job,” Larkin answered.
“True, the boy did well, but the Snakes clearly know what’s happening and want to stop it. They’re going to come again.”
“So what do you propose?”
“I want the girl. I want to watch over her. She is mine after all.”
There was silence in the room, heavy and deep. Larkin wasn’t answering right away, and I could sense Janine’s discomfort. Meanwhile, I was trying with everything I had not to cross the room and beat Jetter down to a bloody pulp.
“Larkin,” Jetter said, “remember, I claimed the girl, and you witnessed it.”
“Yeah,” Larkin grunted.
“No,” Janine said suddenly, with such force that everyone in the room stared at her.
>
She sat back in her chair. “No. I’m staying with Clutch.”
“You’ll be safe with me, darling,” Jetter said.
“He’s right, Janine. Jetter is capable of keeping you safe, just like Clutch is.”
“No,” Janine said again. “You want me to marry this guy? Fine. But until then, Clutch is watching me.”
“Careful,” Jetter said. “We might think you have a thing for this fuckhead.”
“You should go with Jetter,” Larkin said weakly.
“I trust Clutch,” she answered, not backing down. “I trust him. I don’t trust Jetter.”
Larkin looked at Jetter and sighed. “You heard the girl.”
“I don’t give a fuck what the girl says,” Jetter said, standing up straight. “She’s mine and she’s coming with me.”
I took a step toward him.
Jetter’s head snapped toward me.
“You got something to say about it, you fucking grunt?” Jetter asked me.
“The girl said she’s not going with you,” I said. “I don’t care who protects her, but right now I do what she says.”
“Come on, you little punk bitch,” he said to me, sneering. “Come closer. I’d love to fuck you up right here.”
I just stared at Jetter, my hand inching toward the knife I always kept clipped to my pocket. I’d cut the bastard’s throat here and now and be done with it.
There was a tense moment when my hand inched toward my knife and Jetter just grinned at me, daring me to go for him.
“Enough,” Larkin said finally. “Clutch, back down.”
I didn’t move.
“Clutch,” Larkin warned. “Back down now or I’ll have the boys teach you some fucking manners.”
Reluctantly, I took a step back, relaxing.
“That’s right. You’re the little bitch in this room,” Jetter said.
“Jetter,” Larkin barked. “Get the fuck out of my office.”
He stared at Larkin. “What?”
“Now, asshole.”
He shook his head. “I can still ruin this for you.”
Larkin stood up slowly. “You need me more than I need you. We can win this war with or without you. Now, get the fuck out.”
Jetter stared at Larkin for a second before turning to Janine. “You should change your mind, little girl,” he said. “You’d have more fun with me.”
He turned and left the room, shutting the door behind him.
Larkin sat back down, sighing. “I fucking hate that guy,” he said.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“You think that’s funny?” Larkin asked me. “My daughter is marrying that cunt.”
I stopped laughing and nodded. “Not funny, prez. Just releasing some tension is all.”
Larkin looked at Janine, frowning. “Are you sure you won’t go with him?”
“Positive,” she said.
“Okay,” he said. “Okay. Clutch will stay with you.” He looked at me. “And if you do anything like that again, I’ll fuck you up myself. Got it?”
“Yeah, prez, I got it,” I said.
“Fuck. This shit is going to give me a fucking ulcer,” Larkin grumbled. “Get the fuck out of here, both of you.”
Janine stood up. I followed her out, back into the main room.
I didn’t let her get far, though. Before she could join the other guys, I grabbed her arm and pulled her back toward the bathrooms.
She stumbled behind me. I pushed her up against a wall, pinning her there.
“You lied,” I said to her.
“Yeah, I did.”
“Why?”
“Because I couldn’t tell the truth,” she said. “Because you clearly didn’t have a lie ready.”
“Still. You didn’t have to say anything. It was my ass on the line, not yours.”
“It’s our ass, Clutch,” she said, looking at me fiercely. “I’m in as much trouble as you are if my father finds out about what happened.”
“Maybe, maybe not. They need you. They don’t need me.”
She stared at me and bit her lip. “I wouldn’t let that happen to you,” she said.
I smirked at her. “What are you going to do, protect me?”
“I would.”
I moved my mouth near her ear. “You can’t protect me,” I whispered. “The only thing I want from you is more of that tight, wet cunt.”
She pushed me back, eyes flashing. “Is that all this is to you?”
I shrugged, smirking. “What do you want from me, princess?” I asked. “I keep you safe. That’s it.”
She opened her mouth and then shut it again. “Fine,” she said after a second. “That’s all it is.”
“Good.”
She walked past me, brushing me with her shoulder.
I watched her go, something aching in my stomach. I shouldn’t have went at her like that, should have just let it go. But I couldn’t help myself. We were too deep in this, and any single misstep could kill us both.
I needed her on her game. More than that, I couldn’t afford to be distracted by her any more than I already was.
The Snakes were coming. Larkin and Jetter were right about that. And when they did, I had to be prepared. I couldn’t be too worried about what was happening between me and Janine to keep her safe.
I had to put all that shit aside and do what was right, both for my club and for Janine. I couldn’t just keep giving in to what I wanted, especially since what I wanted was so damn dangerous.
I had to do the right thing.
Even if it fucking sucked.
21
Janine
It happened so fast.
One second, Clutch was grinning at me, his body pressed against mine, snoring softly. The next, he was telling me that it was a mistake, or at least he basically was. He didn’t use those words, but I could read between the lines.
He was protecting me, and that was that.
I had regrets. I hated having regrets, but I did. I regretted not sleeping with him on that couch that night. I regretted not telling him that I was going to lie to my father for him.
Most of all, I regretted not giving myself to him much sooner.
But regrets didn’t help anything. I could feel however I wanted, but I couldn’t change the facts of the world. Clutch and I had slept together, and it was incredible, so good that I couldn’t get it off my mind. But it wasn’t going to happen again.
That had to be fine with me. At least I wasn’t going to stay with Jetter yet.
And the way Clutch was ready to fight for me surprised me. I knew he’d protect me from the Snakes; that was obvious. But he looked ready to attack Jetter in that room, ready to kill him. I recognized the look on his face from the moment just before he made me go hide in the bathroom out at the gas station. That was the look he got just before he was about to kill someone.
More than anything, that surprised me. He’d looked like he was ready to throw everything away for me in that moment, despite what he said to me right after we left the office.
That man was such a pain. One second he was fucking me, telling me how much he wanted my body, wanted me, and the next he acted like none of it was any big deal.
I couldn’t keep up.
We spent an hour or so at the clubhouse, but I had to get to work soon for the later shift. Clutch took me home and took me up to my apartment, going through it with his gun drawn before letting me inside. I changed and we didn’t talk much, mostly just going over the plan for the day.
He took me to work after that. I wanted to say something to him, wanted to tell him not to be such an ass, but instead I just got off his bike and went into work.
I had to admit, I was afraid. Ever since the night before, I’d had this sinking stone of fear in my stomach, drawing me down. I had nothing that could bring me back up again, except for Clutch.
Every time during my shift that I felt a little panic coming on as the memory of the gunshots and the bodies came back to me, I
would look over at him sitting in his little booth. He’d smile at me or nod or just stare back, and I’d feel better.
Which was strange. I was pissed at him, and I almost regretted telling my dad to let him keep protecting me, but he still made me feel better. Despite everything, Clutch made me feel safe, and I needed that feeling more than anything.
Fortunately, work was uneventful. It was around ten by the time I got off work, and I walked out of there with Clutch by my side.
“Where to?” he asked.
“Clubhouse. I need a drink.”
He nodded without comment, and back we went.
I felt like a yo-yo, flying from one place to the next. Work, my apartment, and the clubhouse, around and around, back and forth.
But that was fine. I needed something normal in my life, a little routine. I needed a normal day of work, and I needed Clutch to be around to make me feel safe.
That was the important thing, after everything else. Despite what he’d said, he made me feel good and safe, and that was something I could hold on to, at least for a little while.
At least until Jetter finally took me away.
The clubhouse was full when we got there. A ton of strange bikes were parked outside. Clutch killed the engine and looked at me as I climbed off.
“You sure you want to go in?” he asked.
“Why not?”
“Rebels are here tonight,” he said.
“Might as well get used to them, Clutch.”
“Yeah,” he grunted. “Guess so.”
He swung off his bike and followed me as I pushed my way into the bar.
The place really was packed. I knew it would be, but I hadn’t seen it full of guys I didn’t recognize in a long time. Sure, the Demons were always bringing in new pledges, but I knew the vast majority of guys that showed up at the clubhouse on any given day.
We headed in and veered toward a table with Dow and Noble sitting at it. The two men nodded as Clutch and I sat down with them.
“Shit show tonight,” Dow said.
“Yeah,” Noble added. “Rebels are in some foul fucking mood it seems.”
“What’s happening?” I asked.
“Just a drunk mess,” Dow said. “It’s fun and all, but these guys are fucking animals.”
We were interrupted by a bunch of men cheering over near the bar. I watched as one man chugged down an entire beer and then smashed the glass on the floor, making the guys around him cheer louder.
