by London Casey
“Now I know Jasper didn’t do that to your face,” Ripper said. “And you’re missing a leather cut.”
“You’re pretty fucking smart, Ripper,” Trev said. “So then tell me what I’m doing here.”
“Don’t talk to him like that,” Jasper said. “You hear me?”
“Fuck off, Jasper,” Trev said. “I’m running outlaw. I take orders from no one.”
“Interesting,” Ripper said. “And you come here?”
“We need to talk. Right now.”
“You don’t get to order me around,” Ripper said.
“Fair enough,” Trev said. He walked to his motorcycle and climbed back on. “I’m going to head east. You change your mind, you call me.”
“Everyone inside right now,” Ripper yelled.
“What about me?” Jasper asked.
“I said everyone,” Ripper growled. “Get the fuck inside.”
Trev was grinning on the inside.
The guys all went into the bar.
Ripper stood with his hands at his side.
“Ready to talk?” Trev asked.
“Fuck yourself, Trev. You think I’m going to buy into this? You come up here all bloody… where’s your cut?”
“I lost it,” Trev said. “I gave it up.”
“Fuck you. Liar.”
Trev stood up with his motorcycle and looked back. “Whatever, Ripper. I don’t owe you shit. You don’t owe me shit. But you’ll be an asshole if you don’t at least let me tell you where Jenn is.”
Trev started the motorcycle and revved the growling engine. He saw Ripper approaching in the mirror and waited. As Trev was about to leave - calling a big bluff on Ripper - he watched as Ripper reached for his shirt.
“Turn that fucking thing off!” Ripper yelled.
Trev killed the engine. He climbed off the motorcycle as Ripper dragged him.
“Something wrong?” Trev asked.
“What the fuck do you know about my old lady?”
Trev grinned. “I know where she is. I know who her fucking daughter is. The daughter that’s not yours, Ripper. But you knew that, didn’t you? They did this to me because I refused to buy into their bullshit.”
Ripper’s eyes went wide. “Who?”
“Miller,” Trev said. “The entire charter down there. They need to be stopped, Ripper. I was outlaw before and I got patched in thinking I was helping. Then I learned the truth about Griffin. I wish I put the bullet in his fucking neck. I can’t do that but I can put a fucking bullet in Miller’s head.”
Ripper let Trev’s shirt go. He slowly nodded. “Okay. Let’s get you a beer and let’s have a conversation.”
Ripper started to walk away and Trev took a second to collect himself.
All he could think about was Eden.
How is this all going to shake out for her?
__
twenty-five.
Eden clutched her stomach and sat on the edge of the bathtub.
Her stomach was emptied out. The stress of Trev leaving had won the battle. There was no sleep to be had and the last thing Eden expected was to cry until she threw up. She couldn’t stop getting sick either.
As she shut the lid of the toilet, Eden felt her eyes fill with tears again.
There was a knock at the bathroom door.
“Can I come in, sweetie?” Jenn asked.
“Yeah, sure.”
Jenn opened the door. “Heard you in here. Sick.”
“Yeah. Stress. I can’t stop thinking about it.”
Jenn sat next to Eden on the edge of the tub. She put an arm around Eden and pulled her close.
“I’ve waited so long to do this.”
Eden put a hand to her mother’s leg. “Me too.”
“I missed it all. I gave it all up. Your first words. Your first steps. Chorus concerts. Your first heartbreak.”
“It wasn’t all that exciting,” Eden said.
“I want to be there for everything else,” Jenn said. “That’s my offer to you, Eden. If you don’t want that, I will find somewhere else to go. I can have Miller get me to another charter and I can settle in. The last thing I want to do to you is become a burden or get in your way. You have every right to be angry. You never have to forgive me. I’m not making any excuses to you, Eden, just telling you the truth.”
Eden looked at her mother. “If you kept me, do you think Ripper would have done bad things to me?”
“Yes.”
“He would have hit me?”
“Yes.”
“And if he found out I wasn’t his real daughter…”
Jenn shut her eyes and nodded. “Yes. Because he would have wanted to punish you, me, and Griffin.”
Eden lowered her head and shuddered.
She took a few seconds to process all of that.
Then she hugged Jenn. As tight as she could. She got close to her mother’s skin, smelling cigarettes, booze, and cheap perfume. She kissed her mother’s cheek.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“For what?” Jenn asked.
“You saved me. You gave me life and saved me. You took a risk by giving me up and because of that I had a better life and now we’re together. Right?”
“Yes. Right.”
“My adoptive parents were good people. My adoptive aunt was good to me too. I was able to learn how to draw, create art, find a passion, and make a living out of it.”
“You’re a tough woman, Eden. Trev needs a woman like you to keep him grounded.”
“I need a man like him to keep me safe.”
“He will keep you safe,” Jenn said. “Ripper isn’t stupid. Trev showing up bloody isn’t enough to be enough. It’s going to take effort. And when this is all happens, it’s going to get wild.”
“Wild,” Eden whispered. “Yeah.”
“Uh, is this cool?” a voice asked.
Eden looked and saw Blaine in the doorway.
“Yeah,” Eden said. “I was… nothing.”
“How you holding up?” Blaine asked.
“Before or after I saw you punch Trev?”
Blaine nodded. “You want to punch me in the face?”
“Yeah, I do.”
Blaine waved at Eden. “Come on. Do it.”
Eden slowly stood up. She walked to Blaine and slapped him across the face. It stung the hell out of her hand.
“Better?” Blaine asked.
“No!” Eden yelled.
Blaine gently touched her arm. “Hey. It’s going to be okay. He’s already checked in with Miller. He’s up there. I just wanted to let you know that.”
Eden then hugged Blaine. “Thank you.”
Blaine put an arm around her. “He’s the toughest guy I ever met, Eden. He’s smart. He’s been outlaw before. He knows how to navigate when there are no rules. He’s a survivor.”
Eden looked up at Blaine. “He warned me to stay away from you.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re an asshole.”
Blaine grinned. “That I am, sweetheart.”
“But you love Jessa.”
“With all my asshole heart.”
“And you love Caine.”
“That’s my blood.”
“Trev was worried you’d get hard around me.”
“Well… I am still a man.” Blaine winked.
Eden backed away and gasped. “You’re disgusting.”
“Hey. A pretty girl hugs me and dick gets hard, that’s an act of God. That’s nature.”
Eden wanted to slap him again.
“You sure you’re okay?” Blaine asked.
“She’s fine,” Jenn said. “Just got herself sick from stress.”
“Throwing up?” Blaine asked.
“Yes,” Eden said. “Anything else you want to know about my personal life?”
“Sure. I’d love to see your tits. I wonder what your nipples look like. Little nubs that are fun to bite on or like racetracks for my tongue.”
Eden gasped again. Sh
e swung and slapped Blaine again. And, again, her hand stung like fire.
Blaine just laughed.
Remember what Trev said… this sick fuck gets hard when he’s hit…
Blaine rubbed his cheek. “Being serious though… if you need anything, let me know. Food, drink, whatever.”
“How about a pregnancy test?” Jenn asked.
“What?” Eden yelled.
“Oh, shit,” Blaine said. “Well, it is morning. You’re throwing up. That’s what happened with Jessa. Were you letting Trev…” Blaine blinked.
Eden’s cheeks were apple red.
Not in front of my mother.
“Can you do that, Blaine?” Jenn asked.
“Sure thing,” Blaine said. “I’ll send the prospects. Looks like you need some food then. Fill your belly. You’re eating for two, huh?”
“No,” Eden said. “I can’t be… no.”
Eden turned and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked like a hot mess. Her hair all over the place. Her eyes puffy from crying. Her lips dry and cracked.
She swallowed hard.
She casually touched her stomach.
No way.
“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Blaine said. “If you think Trev protects you, imagine what he’d do for his kid. Plus, if he took your sweet pussy bare, he knew what he wanted.”
“That makes me feel old,” Jenn said. “I’ll be a gran… yeah, one of those.”
The voices faded away as Eden stood there.
She tried to figure out how many times she and Trev had sex unprotected. How long ago was their first time. The last time she had her period.
When Eden blinked and refocused on her reflection, she just knew.
Test or no test…
Trev, you have to come home alive… I’m pregnant…
__
twenty-six.
Trev sent a text message to Miller and then rolled to his side and caught some sleep.
Ripper had to deal with a puking stripper who had an empty bottle of pills next to her. It was going to be an ordeal with calling in favors to the police and paramedics. Trev needed the shut eye anyway, to try and recharge his batteries. To get ready to keep this thing going. Because the way Ripper reacted already proved to Trev that this was going to be fast and bloody.
Somewhere lost in a dream, Trev heard water running. He was in the apartment, walking to the bedroom to get to the bathroom. He stepped into the bathroom and Eden’s smell filled the air. The sweetness of her body and the sweetness of her shampoo and soap collided together.
She was humming.
The outline of her body could be seen through the shower curtain. The perfect curve of her hips. The curves of her tits, even her nipples poking forward.
Trev walked to the shower curtain and tore it open.
Eden suddenly changed.
She was naked. She was beautiful. But she was heavily pregnant. Her belly was large and round. Her tits were twice their normal size, her nipples huge and tender. She looked at him and smiled.
“She’s kicking… want to feel?”
She?
Trev reached his hand forward.
Eden then lifted her left hand and slammed it against his mouth. Then in her other hand she had a knife. She put the knife to Trev’s throat.
“Don’t fucking scream,” Eden said, but in a man’s voice.
Trev jumped and woke up.
He was in the back of the bar in Daurian. There was a hand over his mouth. A knife to his throat. He saw Jasper hanging over him.
“I’m going to let you sit up and talk,” Jasper said. “Got it?”
Trev nodded.
Slowly, Jasper pulled away.
Trev sat up and rubbed his face. “Holy fuck, man. How long…”
“Two hours. They’re cleaning up the mess. Almost done. Ripper is answering questions.”
“Questions?”
“She’s dead.”
“Jesus.”
“Fuck her. She owed us money. She couldn’t get off drugs. I put the bottle in the right place at the right time. So we could have this chance to talk. Make it worth it.”
“Holy fucking hell. You killed…”
“No. She killed herself. This isn’t about some junkie stripper. What the fuck are you doing here?”
Trev swallowed hard. He knew it was a crucial moment. To trust Jasper or not.
“Griffin was close to me,” Trev said. “Like Giovanni to you. Griffin and Jenn had a long affair. Had a daughter. Gave her up. That’s what started Ripper going really crazy. I need to know the truth of what’s going on up here. That’s why I’m here.”
“You really outlaw?”
“I don’t have a cut,” Trev said. “That’s all you need to know about that.”
“What do you plan on doing here?”
“I just said it. I want the truth.”
Jasper looked around. “Nobody knows what that is anymore. Ripper has pushed on us that you guys are ruining the MC. He’s got ideas on how to wipe you out. He’s offered me side stuff and I never went for it. Giovanni did. He wanted the money. I argued with him, knowing it was dangerous. The prick wouldn’t listen to me.”
“He was ambushed.”
“Yeah, right.”
“What do you think happened?” Trev asked.
“I think Ripper took him out. I got to Giovanni finally. He went to tell Ripper he was out of whatever the side shit was. They argued. They even tangled up and Giovanni punched Ripper right in the mouth. A day later? They were on a ride and Giovanni never came back.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah.”
“Who is Ripper meeting?”
“Nobody good. I’ve tried to keep the table calm about it all. This is bad. You up here… he’s going to rat you right out.”
“Not when I have Jenn and Eden in my hand.”
“Jenn…”
“Yeah. She showed up beaten up.”
“Motherfucker,” Jasper said. “I swore to her I’d kill him if he ever touched her again.”
Trev saw the look in Jasper’s eyes. “No way. Tell me you were…”
Jasper nodded. “It was a few times. Okay? We both have been living with Ripper’s regime for years.”
“Christ,” Trev said. “You’re fucking the President’s old lady?”
Jasper grinned. “She loves young, thick cock.”
“What’s her pussy made out of?” Trev asked. “Whiskey?”
“No, but it’s damn good.”
“Good to know,” Trev said. “You ride with me and you’ll get through this, brother. Okay? Miller and the guys are waiting for me. I need the truth from Ripper and then we move forward.”
“You’re talking reaper, aren’t you?”
“What would you do?”
Jasper stood up and looked down at Trev. “I’d do the same fucking thing, Trev. I’d fucking kill him too. I just hope you can pull this off the right way. He’s been talking to some crews. There’s some bad shit coming our way. You better do it right the first time or else this entire MC will implode.”
“No pressure then,” Trev said.
“It’s not a joke. Giovanni was my best friend. Jenn was a special woman to me. The second he saw that woman with you, the rage got worse. He’s been on a killing spree since you left. What he did to that guy you fought - Rocky - was sick. He literally gutted him. Took days to do it. He’s not fucking around.”
“Neither am I,” Trev said. “I have too much to lose to fuck around.”
“Good.” Jasper was to the door and opened it. Ripper was standing there, his eyes beady like a snake. “Hey, Prez. I woke his ass up for you. We good out here?”
“Yeah,” Ripper said. “They took the whore away. No records of her ever existing.”
“Sorry we have to eat that debt.”
“Fuck it,” Ripper said. “We’ll make it up elsewhere.” He patted Jasper on the back. Then he pointed at Trev. “You, outlaw man, let’s have a little chat.�
��
Trev climbed off the cot Ripper had given him. He had to keep himself under complete composure now. Each step through the bar, Trev waited for a bullet to get him. He waited for someone to bash his head in with a pipe. Then he’d wake up, tied to a chair, and end up tortured by Ripper.
Instead of that, Ripper invited Trev to the table. He even had the balls to point to Giovanni’s chair and give it to Trev.
“Good to see that filled,” Ripper said.
“No, brother, I’m not patching in anywhere, ever again.”
Ripper laughed. “You don’t fit in, huh?”
“You don’t know what I’ve seen.”
“Try me, Trev.”
“Why don’t you start,” Trev said. “What’s going on up here? You guys look strong and in position to move forward. I’m sorry about Giovanni though.”
“Fuck him. He was weak.”
“He was a table member.”
“He threw a knife in my back.”
“Damn. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“I’m not. He got his.”
“The ambush. Any idea who it was?”
Ripper smiled. “I know exactly who it was. But we’re here to talk about you.”
“Right,” Trev said. “It’s simple. I didn’t realize the truth about Eden when I had her with me up here. I’m sorry for that, Ripper. That was a complete disrespect to you and your club. If I knew then… I would have given her to you. You could have cut her fucking throat.”
“Screw that,” Ripper said. “You see her? I would have ripped that pussy to pieces. Then I’d go to her ass. Then I’d go to her mouth.”
Trev felt the fire raging inside his body. Nobody talked about Eden like that.
“You look pissed,” Ripper said.
“I am,” Trev said. “I know who she is now. And her mother is with her.”
Ripper leaned forward, eyes wide. “What?”
“She came to Miller for safety. Right into his goddamn arms, Ripper. He’s harboring both of them. That’s when I lost my shit.”
“What happened?”
“I sat at the table and told them no fucking way in hell I was getting behind it. They could all eat shit and die. It was pretty clear… Eden needs to die. Christ, the same for Jenn. Right? I can’t believe you stuck it out with her, Ripper. You’re a better man than me.”
“It was better to keep her alive,” Ripper said. He showed his fists. “Make her suffer for years instead of a few minutes. But now? She needs to die.”
