Glory

by Ana Jolene

  Her palms met my chest and pushed. Hard. “Don’t touch me! You should be glad I’m even here talking to you.”

  “No time to talk. We gotta go.” I walked over to my Harley and swung a leg over. “Get on.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at me defiantly. “No way. You’re crazy if you think I’m going anywhere with you.”

  My own temper was barely in check. I could feel my hands tightening on the handlebars, wishing it was Cosmo’s neck. “Indy. Get. On. The. Bike.”

  “Fuck you,” she spat. “I said, no.”

  “You said you’d be there.” Lucky would be expecting her to be there for his hog roast.

  “Tell him I changed my mind.”

  “Tell him yourself.” In quick movements, I shoved the stand down with a booted foot, swung my leg back over and cleared the distance between us. Indy tried to stomp away, but I caught her hand before she could get away from me.

  There was no warning for the explosion that happened right before my eyes. I knew she was pissed but blinded by my own rage, I didn’t realize how much until now. Indy whipped around so fast I had no time to duck the first blow that caught my chin. “Christ, Indy. What the fuck is your problem?” She hadn’t drawn blood, but pain radiated from the site.

  “What’s my problem? Hastie, you just stormed into my place of work and went all caveman.”

  I drew a hand over my face, frustrated and at a loss for words. “Will you just get on the damn bike?”

  The next swing I was ready for so when it came hurtling towards my face, I caught it and grabbed the bottle from her, tossing it to the ground where it shattered.

  “You bastard!” she exclaimed. “Whatever, it wasn’t doing nearly as much damage as I wanted anyway.” She turned to storm back into Neptune’s before spinning back around and yelling, “And don’t bother following me in! There are knives in there that are harder to duck, you dickbag!”

  “Indy, come on. Can we please talk about this?”

  “Go to hell, Hastie.”

  “Look, I saw you and I lost it,” I admitted.

  “Yeah, no shit, Sherlock. I work there. How am I supposed to go back in there and explain myself?”

  “Okay, let’s just be reasonable for a minute.”

  “Reasonable? You might want to look that word up because your little shit fit in there would definitely not be considered reasonable!” She started walking away further towards the parking lot. “I can’t believe you did that,” she whispered, more to herself than to me.

  This was quickly getting out of hand. One of us had to start talking. “I walked in there, excited to see my girl, and found her flirting with a motherfucker who had a growth problem and yellowing teeth. I saw red. I acted. I’m still not sorry.”

  Her glare could’ve cut right through me, it was that potent. “You’re such an asshole, Hastie. I’m not yours to command.”

  “But you are, Indy.” I pulled her in close and ignored her struggles to get away from me. “You’re mine and I don’t like anyone touching what’s mine, understand?” Looking down at her, her eyes burned hotly with fury. She was nowhere near being finished with me yet. “Glare at me all you want. But you told Lucky you’d be there and Seven is probably waiting for us. You wanna leave her alone with a bunch of bikers, that’s fine with me. But I can sure as hell bet she’ll be pissed as fuck that you left her there.”

  “Don’t guilt me into coming with you! I did nothing wrong! You’re the one who needs to control your he-man tendencies!”

  I released her and moved to straddle the bike once more. “Get on the bike.”

  “I told you I’m not going with you anymore.”

  “Stop wasting time and get your ass on the bike.”

  She jerked her thumb towards Neptune’s. “I have to go back in there and explain everything to Hanna.”

  “Hanna knows the deal with Glory MC. Matter of fact, Knuckle is on his way here to pick her up himself. She’s been in the game longer than you have. She knows the drill. She knows that anyone who touches a woman belonging to Glory MC deserves what’s coming for him. That dick in there was dancing on a landmine.”

  “God, you are such a jackass.”

  “Happy to be one as long as my girl gets on the back of my bike!” The last strands of words were yelled as my temper snapped.

  Despite the dirty look she sent me, Indy came forward and swung her leg over the bike. Immediately, some of the fight left me.

  I had to admit, what I did in there was out of character, even for me. I had never lost it over a woman. Never cared enough if she was hanging off another man the next morning after spending the night with me. The moment I caught sight of Indy with Cosmo though, jealously had consumed me.

  Kicking up the stand, I walked us back out of the parking spot and revved the engine. Indy’s arms tightened around me. “Hang on,” I called over my shoulder as I gunned it.

  I had no idea if she caught my meaning. Even as we rode together in silence, just the roaring of the wind and the engine our only companion, I hoped she knew that the road ahead of us was a long and rough one. But that didn’t mean I wouldn’t fight for a chance to be by her side along the way.

  Pushing that thought to the back of my mind, I focused on what lay ahead. Tonight, Indy would get one hell of an eye-opener. She’d see with her own eyes what my world looked like.

  I just hoped to hell she didn’t run in the other direction.

  TEN

  Revelry

  Indy

  Where we were headed, only the sun-drenched desert lay around us. Dead shrubs poked up out from beneath the sand. The landscape soon turned rough as high rocks emerged from the ground like small towers. Because of the raging storm from the other night, the roads were a little muddy, making it difficult to ride in.

  My mind registered the sounds first. There was laughter, shouting, the thumping bass of music and a few people hollering at the top of their lungs. The closer we got, not even the rumble of the engine could block out the noise.

  A mass of people gathered in an open area, surrounded by large trailers, which I later learned was to prevent others from peeking into the festivities. When we came to a stop, Hastie held my hand as I swung my leg over the Harley.

  The sight before me was enough to make me swallow my anger. This felt different now. I wasn’t in Neptune’s where Glory MC came and went. No, this was their territory now, and I suddenly felt like a shivering rabbit amongst a pack of wolves.

  Hastie’s grip on my hand was the only thing that anchored me in place. As I followed behind him, he nodded and said a few passing words to the other members of his club. Trailing behind, I dared to look at a few of them and only saw hard faces and dirty looks.

  Hastie led me to a high rock where several members were sitting. I couldn’t help but notice the presence of the club’s colors. Yellow and orange decorated all the cuts the men wore. The one standing turned around and Lucky’s grin became the first smile someone shot me.

  He clasped hands with Hastie and pulled him in for one of those manly hugs. I smiled as Lucky tucked me under one of his massive arms. “About fucking time!” he cried. “Thought you were going to miss out.” Despite the half grin on his face, Lucky’s intelligent eyes darted between Hastie and I, noting that something was up. As angry as I was with Hastie, I had promised Lucky I’d be here. He either decided not to mention it or knew it wasn’t his business.

  “Welcome to the family, brother,” Hastie said with a genuine smile.

  “Congratulations,” I added.

  “Thanks, man.” With the way Lucky was grinning, I was afraid his face would break; it was so big. He sidled up to me, leaning in. “Check it out.”

  He lifted his cut to expose his bare chest over his heart. The colors of the club were inked into his bronzed skin. It was a beautiful rendition of The Tempter—a hooded female holding a scythe sitting on the edge of a burning sun. The colors—yellows and orange—swirled together, mesmeriz
ing in its beauty. Ink often told a story about its wearer. Some people used it as a way to remember. Others, like Lucky tonight, got it to commemorate a milestone. The ink was as effective as a brand—no one would question who you were or whom you belonged to. Lucky was now Glory MC.

  “That’s amazing.”

  Grinning, Lucky nodded over his shoulder. “Come meet some people.”

  “Oh, okay.” Although I’d been working at Neptune’s for a while now, I had kept mostly to myself, allowing Hanna to deal with Glory MC. Unfortunately, the redhead wasn’t around now to act as a buffer. Climbing the big rock, I followed Lucky to find Seven hanging there in the midst of some big, badass bikers.

  She held a can of beer in her hand and tipped it towards me when she saw me. “Hey.”

  “Hey. How’d you get here?”

  “I got a lift from Lucky earlier.”

  I quirked an eyebrow at that. Just this morning, they were annoyed with each other. Now they were best friends? She shrugged her shoulders at my look. “He’s being nice tonight,” she said by way of explanation. “So I am too.” Well, if that was the case, I decided not to pursue it.

  “Indy, meet Glory MC. This is Newt.” Lucky pointed a finger at a big burly man with a black bandana wrapped around his head. “He’s vice-prez of Glory MC.” Shades shielded his eyes while the rest of his face was covered with a dark beard. Like Lucky, he also wore a cut, but a white wife beater lay against his damp skin. Tattoos ran up both his arms, but it was the ink he had on the side of his neck that caught my attention. In the dim lighting emanating from the fire cans, I could make out the head of a smoking pistol.

  “This here is Beck.” My eyes dropped to the guy sitting before me, his elbows resting on his knees. He held a can of beer in one hand and a joint in the other. Despite his casual stance, power radiated from him in waves. His eyes met mine and though nothing changed in his expression, his eyes sparkled with intelligence.

  “That’s Kitt,” Lucky finished as he tipped his beer towards the guy sitting next to Seven. “They’re both sergeant at arms.” Kitt inclined his head and gave me a gamine grin. Even in the shit lighting, I could make out the bridge of his nose where it looked like it had been broken recently. I continued to take in the rest of him and noticed an obvious trend. Tattoos. Facial hair. Leather. And always with shades despite the fact it was night time. Was that the prerequisite to get into Glory MC?

  “Yo, Lucky!” someone called out from down below. “We’re about to light the fire. Want to do us the honors?”

  “Sure thing.” I took that as a sign to step back as the bikers got to their feet. All in a line, we treaded down the side of the rock until we hit the muddy ground below.

  A crowd had gathered around a mountain of stacked wood in the center of the clearing. About six feet high, the bonfire would burn even higher once lit.

  Lucky moved forward to grab the beer bottle that had newspaper tucked into its neck. He gripped his lighter and brought the flame to the tail end of the newspaper until it caught fire in a flash of light. Tipping his arm back as if he was readying to throw a football across an arena, Lucky launched the blazing bottle into the stacked wood before him. As the bottle burst and fire met wood, the bonfire began to burn steadily thanks to the added accelerant, emitting an orangey glow over the crowd. “Blood in, blood out!” Lucky called out into the night.

  In a startling uproar, the many members of Glory MC erupted in an enthusiastic response. “Blood in, blood out!” they repeated. Hastie’s deep roar rang in my ears even as the crowd cheered. The entire act sent shivers down my spine. Much like feral wolves, these men howled into the night. So wild and free.

  As the shouting calmed, my eyes slid to Hastie. His eyes weren’t on me though. They were focused beyond the raging bonfire at a woman playing with sparklers. She wore a pair of short shorts and the fabric spanning her chest looked more like a Band-Aid than a shirt. Against the dark sky, her skin gave off an orangey glow, cast off from the fire. Her hands, so delicate and smooth, waved the sparkler around as she laughed, her head thrown back in utter revelry. What would it be like to be that free? I could never let my guard down like that, not without the fear of relapse.

  The woman caught that I was staring at her and smiled. Then her gaze drew up to land on Hastie behind me. My body immediately stiffened and I resisted the urge to hang a sign around Hastie’s neck that said He’s taken. Despite our fight earlier, Hastie was still mine for the moment and I wanted every woman here to know that.

  A deep voice interrupted my thoughts and I stepped back to see the big, burly biker whose impressive beard had caught my attention earlier, standing beside us. “Brennan’s here,” he said to Hastie.

  “Shit,” he muttered. By Newt’s grim expression, I could tell that whoever this Brennan guy was, he wasn’t good news. Worry bloomed inside of my chest as Hastie’s eyes found mine. He had yet to speak a word to me since our fight earlier.

  “Come on,” Newt said again, urgency now ringing the words.

  I stood there, waiting for Hastie’s reaction. He cursed again.

  Darkness clouded over my eyes as my brows furrowed. Where was he planning to go?

  “Go on,” Seven said as she curled her hands around my arm. “I’ll watch her.”

  Still not speaking, Hastie’s green eyes landed on me. Nodding to Seven, he turned without a word to me, following Newt as they walked towards where we had come in. I kept my eyes on Hastie’s retreating figure until the darkness swallowed him up. With him gone, I felt as if my security blanket was taken away from me, leaving me utterly without warmth.

  “What’s going on with you and Hastie?” Seven asked once we were alone.

  I shrugged, trying to hide the ache that bloomed in my chest. I could tell she wasn’t buying it for a second. “We fought earlier.”

  “Over what?”

  “Something stupid.” Saying it out loud I realized how true the words were. I hated this feeling of not being able to be with Hastie right now, especially when he was off doing who knows what. He could very well be in danger and I couldn’t do shit about it.

  I felt stupid worrying over something I couldn’t control, but this was all part of the gig. If I wanted to be with Hastie, I had to deal with the danger he lived in on a daily basis. How did Hanna handle it? The constant worrying, the threat of the unknown, the uncertainty of if your man would return injured, dead or whole.

  The same went with Hastie and his possessiveness. He’d have to deal with me flirting with other men at Neptune’s, smiling and laughing, knowing that even though I may look like I was having a good time with them, that in my heart, the pieces felt whole only when he was by my side.

  We were still brand new, and figuring this all out meant we were trying at least. But right in this moment, with Hastie angry and me confused with my own rollercoaster emotions, this felt harder than I thought it would be.

  Seven wrapped her arm around me and leaned in. Dammit. My running thoughts were taking over, making it difficult to concentrate on the conversation before me. I forced myself to focus on her. “You’ll work it out,” she said with a reassuring squeeze on my forearm.

  I wasn’t too sure of that. The Hastie I knew would never leave me here without his protection. Had our fight changed how he felt for me? Did my outburst make him realize I wasn’t worth the trouble?

  I let out a defeated sigh and pushed the thoughts from my head. We were at Lucky’s hog roast and I didn’t want to stand around moping when I already stood out. My clothes acted as a sure giveaway that I was not one of Glory MC. While everyone else was decked out in black leather and denim, I was in a white outfit that showed off too much skin to feel safe. I wanted to cover myself, to hide and distance myself from this world that seemed so sparkling and gorgeous, but it only reminded me of what I couldn’t ever reach myself.

  On a yell, Lucky called us over to him. As we approached, I tried to ignore the suspicious looks of the other members as we passed by them to a
n area less populated. Lucky sidled up to Seven and handed her a pistol. “Know how to shoot?”

  Seven laughed nervously as she threw Lucky a weird look. “No.”

  “Every girl should know how to shoot a gun. Come on, hold it up.”

  Stepping back, I gave Lucky a wide berth. I also didn’t want to accidentally be in the way of Seven’s path in case she fucked up. I already knew from experience that her aim was shit. I liked my face where it was, thank you very much.

  As Lucky murmured encouraging words to Seven, she aimed the gun off to the side. Left alone, I found myself getting distracted as I gazed around and took in more of the surroundings.

  Around the massive bonfire, bikers drank. Music blared from unseen speakers and engines revved in the background, their own soundtrack fitting for the crowd. Women danced around, shaking their asses and touching their breasts. I saw Hanna jump on the back of Knuckle’s Harley, shooting a grin my way before taking off in a cloud of dust and exhaust.

  More people had joined the girl playing with the sparklers. It was a beautiful sight as they all danced together against a blacked out sky. I turned to the right and saw two bikers off to the side in the shadows with their pants dipped down as they pissed into the sand. Beyond that—

  Skin. The lighting was dim, but I could make out figures. A man’s shirt was splayed open, revealing a hairy chest and taut abs. He wore no pants, his erection stiff and being swallowed by a woman on her knees, half exposed herself. The real kicker was that she held the shoulders of another girl, completely naked, sucking on the guy’s balls. His groans filled the warm night air as he tilted his head back and lost himself.

  The look on his face entranced me. So careless and euphoric, I got the sense that these bikers did whatever the hell they wanted, damned the consequences. The notion was temptation in itself. What would it feel like to be so free that the pressure of insanity wasn’t a constant weight on your mind? I could wake up on a hot breeze and feel peace for the first time in forever. Be a little wild. Be free.