by Ryan Michele
“I’ll tell you when we get to your place.”
“I’d like to know now,” I demand as Buzz and Pops come around the corner.
“And I said I’ll tell you when we get you home.” My temper flairs, who in the hell does he think he is? This is about me.
Pops steps in. “Blaze go home and he’ll talk.” His tone comes out with all kinds of parental authority and I know I can’t deny his command.
“Let’s go,” I say softly.
Riding on the back of Tug’s bike is like heaven filled with lots of chocolate. Being plastered up against him ignites every part of my body. And not only that, it’s the freedom, like nothing can stop us. On here, it’s like I have no problems, nothing bogging me down. It’s bliss and I love being with him on his bike. I haven’t told him that yet, but I’m pretty sure he can tell as I stroke his abs and get as close as possible to him.
Once he parks the bike, we enter the house and he sits me on the couch. This can’t be good. Whenever it’s a couch-sitting conversation its bad news. Like the time my mom made me sit on the couch so she could tell me my fish died. Couch Trauma. I wait for it and try not to grit my teeth.
“Those two are bad news.” I already knew that one. His eyes meet mine and he clutches my hand, holding it. The touch helps me relax. “Buzz broke into their computer hub and one of the computers shows countless searches for Paige McMillion.” I suck in a breath. “I like Blaze better,” he tries to reassure me, but it doesn’t happen. Tremors come and I try to breathe them out. “Right now those two are confirmed in Colorado. We have a charter up there and Pops set that up. They are there for sure.”
“But…” I try to interrupt but he places one finger on my lips and continues.
“That being said, we think one or more of his guys are down here to take you back.” I suck in deep. “We don’t know who that is. No clue. So, we are running all the video from X to see if we can get a shot of him placing the note on your windshield, and running anyone who comes into X. So, for right now, you’re with me.”
“So, really the only thing you learned is that those two are in Colorado?” I question, not trying to sound like a bitch but frustrated as shit.
“That’s the only part you need to know.” He sets me on his lap like I weigh nothing, our faces inches apart. Anger bubbles up and I squirm to move out of his tight grasp, both his strong arms wrapped around me. Dammit. “Stop!” he orders.
“Stop? Are you serious right now, Tug? This is my life and I need to get far away from here so they can’t find me.” He does not loosen his grip and I continue to struggle.
“Stop!” he barks out in a voice that I’ve only heard one other time. I stop struggling and turn to him. His brows knit together, creating an angry V in the middle of his forehead. After I stop, the V disappears and I realize I don’t like the V at all. “I told you. I will tell you what I can, but you are not involved with the other shit. What I told you is all you get.” His tone turns to the one I recognize and I like it much better.
“I don’t like that part.” I bite out, clenching my teeth, but say no more.
“I understand, sweet lips, but it’s the same with all the women. Talk to Princess and Casey about it.” I let out a deep breath.
“Fine. Can I get up now?” I cross my arms over my chest.
“No.” His words stun me, but when he kisses me, all thoughts leave. This kiss is hard and rough. I sink deep into it, forgetting.
We just got home from Casey and GT’s housewarming party and I’ve decided that I’m not talking to Tug anymore. Well at least for tonight. Tug decided to tell me at the party that Pops told all the brothers today. All. Of. Them. Everything. He couldn’t have told me on the phone before I got to the party. No, he decides to do it there and around men that now know the hell I lived through.
Casey and Princess didn’t let on that they knew anything, but it’s only a matter of time now. And I’m sure they’ll be pissed that I never told them directly but tonight was not the night to tell them.
Cali ended up bringing me to Casey and GT’s house because I was doing the books at X. Tug said he’d come and get me, but I told him no. Cali dropped me off, his eyes on me like a hawk until I got into the house. Then for Tug to tell me that shit a few minutes after I come in the door, it pissed me off.
I enter the bedroom and slam the door behind me. Maybe he’ll get the hint and stay away from me tonight. I tear off my clothes and put on my goofy kitty faces pajama pants and a blue tank top. I climb into bed, scoot over to the far edge, and turn toward the wall, pulling the covers over me. Not an inch of my body is exposed except for my head.
I lie there and lie there. Time ticks methodically by and Tug doesn’t come. His absence only gives me more time to think and what I’m thinking, I do not like. Maybe I did overreact a tad. I knew Pops was going to tell the brothers, I just didn’t know when. But I still didn’t want them all to know. It’s embarrassing. I didn’t want my entire life story plastered out there for everyone to witness. It’s degrading. I should just crawl in a hole and never come out.
This whole thing is more on me. Dammit. I took it out on Tug and really shouldn’t have. God, I hate when I’m a flipping idiot. Grr… I throw the covers off and hop out of bed. Tug sits in the living room, feet up, and beer in hand watching some sport thing on the TV. I stop and take him in, his strong jaw with a day’s worth of scruff and his long hair that I love running my fingers through. He is a very handsome man and I’m a moron.
I sit next to him on the couch, picking his feet up and putting them on my lap. He doesn’t say anything, just keeps his focus on the game like I’m not even here.
After a few minutes pass and he still doesn’t talk to me, I lose it. “I’m sorry, all right?”
“Done being a bitch.” I give him my most evil glare and it has no affect on him. All I get is a brow lift. Dammit. “Good. Come here.” I climb up his body and lay my head on his chest, my back to the cushion of the couch.
“Why don’t people know we’re together?” I ask quietly.
“Why don’t Princess and Casey know?” he fires back and he’s got me. They know that we’re hanging out and I’m sure they think we’re sleeping together, but that is about the extent of it.
“Point taken,” I mumble into his chest.
“You ready to really let the cat out of the bag and not just let people guess?” I hate it when he’s right. Dagger guessed and guessed right, but I didn’t tell him. I’m sure if I had time alone with Princess and Casey, they would figure it out. This will make us real. Official. Warmth grows in my belly and reaches my heart.
“Yeah,” I whisper.
Tug squeezes me and kisses the top of my hair. His lips upturn as he lingers there.
I can’t believe this fucking shit. I sweep the broom, trying to pick up all the broken glass by the bar. Cops came into the clubhouse with a search warrant a few hours ago and tore this place to pieces.
Everything has been fairly calm these past two weeks. No one has bothered Blaze or made any attempt to. We have ears on those two motherfuckers in Colorado. And Buzz is still trying to crack the computer from Joey’s house, which luckily he took to our apartment or else it would have been trashed. We also told everyone that we are together and it wasn’t the big deal that Blaze thought it would be.
Pops and Ma are having a family-only party with brothers, Prospects, and their women. We decided this was a good time to tell everyone. Blaze and I enter the clubhouse together, hand-in-hand, and all eyes swing to us.
The first voice we hear is Princess. “Hot damn. It’s about fucking time!” She hugs Blaze tight. “Didn’t I tell you?” she questions Blaze. I raise my brow and she shrugs but doesn’t respond.
Casey approaches from behind Princess, her eyes lit in happiness. Princess moves out of the way and Casey, I still have a hard time remembering to call her Angel, hugs the both of us at the same time. “I’m so damn happy.” Casey smiles.
“What t
he fuck is this shit?” Dagger roars from behind them, his tone angry but eyes shining.
“What shit?” I ask him.
Dagger steps closer. “She’s supposed to be mine first.” My jaw ticks but I get it under control. He turns to Blaze. “Thought you were off limits?”
Blaze turns to me, smiles, and says to Dagger, “I still am.”
Dagger shakes his head. “Fucking shit.”
He steps away and we get words from the other brothers and their women.
That was it.
“Fucking shit!” Dagger yells from the doorway and that’s like the seventh one of those. Each person that comes through the door says it, each one making poor Blaze jump and her eyes swing to the door. Each time, she takes a deep breath and calms herself then goes back to what she’s doing. The cops did not take into account our personal belongings at all in this raid. Our couches are slashed, the foam littering the floor. Tables are broken as if we were hiding something in the wood. The bottles of liquor were smashed to the ground, hence all the sweeping.
The bedrooms are a disaster, too. Everything is cut and slashed the fuck up. Officer James Lakin led the team in and told them to not leave one inch untouched. And they did as told, hardcore.
Every one of the guys and some of their ol’ ladies, including Blaze, are helping out in the cleaning effort and it is taking all of us. We already filled the dumpster with shit and will need to have another hauled in tomorrow.
Before we touched anything, Pops called the club’s lawyer, Burnzie, who told us to take pictures of everything, so we did. I’m not sure what that will accomplish, but time will tell. And since it’s the cops, we will need to go a legal route instead of handling this our way. Right.
The anger in the clubhouse is so strong I’m surprised the roof doesn’t blow off the place. When Rhys got here, he decided to take the already broken tables and throw them in a huff out into the courtyard. Whatever. It is easier to put it in the dumpster out there. At least it took the edge off his rage.
“Let’s take a break,” I say to Blaze who nods. She’s been unbelievably quiet through this whole thing, but remained calm, cool, and collected, except for the shouting.
Blaze sits on my lap as there are only a few chairs that are not busted up.
“You doing all right?” I ask into her ear.
“Yeah. I can’t believe they did this. This can’t be a normal search.” She’s fucking right. There is more here and we need to find out what it is.
“I don’t know what’s going on.” Un-fucking-fortunately.
“I can’t believe they destroyed everything. I mean, you can’t repair any of it.” A small tremor enters her voice. I wrap my arms around her and hold her. She’s right and I have nothing to say.
Everyone is somber, coming down from their intense anger from earlier. The guys are in church and damn I wish I could be in there to know what the fuck is going on. So, we sit out here and wait to go home.
The doors to church open and all eyes swing in that direction. Becs comes up to Buzz, Breaker, and I. “Go home and get some sleep. There’s nothing else we can do tonight.” He clasps my shoulder and squeezes it then releases. “Tomorrow we stop at Randell’s.”
“You ready to go?” Blaze only nods, her eyes already drooping shut. “Come on, baby, let me get you home.”
“Why the fuck did cops come and raid the place?” Dagger holds Randell against the wall, his hand to his throat, cutting off his air supply. Randell gasps, trying to get oxygen and tries to get out of Dagger’s grip. Good luck with that shit. Dagger, Rhys, Becs and I came here to hopefully get some answers.
It didn’t exactly bode well that when we came in he was nursing a beer with several bottles littering the floor around him.
“I don’t know,” he says, trying to breathe.
“Get on your fucking phone right now and find out. I want to know what the fuck is going on,” Dagger barks with a tone that most would call terrifying.
“Okay,” he gasps as Dagger releases him. Randell bends over, heaving, trying to get his oxygen flowing again.
“Now,” Rhys barks from behind Dagger, his arms crossed and feet apart, not giving Randell an inch. Rhys is one badass motherfucker. Definitely one you don’t want to meet in a dark alley. Glad he’s on my team.
Randell straightens and walks to the living room, all of our eyes on him. He picks up his cell from the coffee table, and I have no clue how the hell he could even find it, there is so much shit in this house. He swipes some buttons then holds it up to his ear and we listen to the one-sided conversation.
“Smith.”
“Randell.”
“Stenger told me that ya’ll raided the Ravage Clubhouse. You find anything?” Randell rubs the back of his neck, not meeting any of our gazes.
“Shit. What were you looking for?” If nothing else, Randell is a pretty good actor. He sounds professional and all business.
His eyes dart to us. “Really? And they didn’t have any?”
“Huh,” he says, noncommittally.
“All right. I’ll be in tomorrow to get updated on everything.”
“Thanks.” He flips the phone shut.
His eyes sweep across us. “They had a woman come in and say that she went to a Ravage party and you were selling drugs. The judge ordered the warrant on her affidavit.”
“Fuck me,” Dagger bursts out and I totally agree with him there.
“What’s her name?” Becs asks.
“Sandra Buckett.”
“Fuck,” Rhys bites out, but doesn’t say anymore.
Dagger pats Randell on the shoulder. “Good job. We’ll be in touch.”
At our bikes, we gather around. “I know the bitch,” Rhys says clipped. “I fucked her lots then she started that whole be my boyfriend bullshit so I got rid of her. I know where she lives, let’s go.”
The apartment building is three floors and in pretty good shape. We follow Rhys, park our bikes, and climb up some stairs and come to a stop at a door. “You guys wait outside the door. I’ll leave it open a bit.”
We nod and he knocks. The door opens up in a whoosh. “Rhys,” a breathy woman says, her voice lustful.
“Hey, baby. I heard you went to the cops?”
“They told me I had to,” she pleads on another breathy note.
“Who told you?”
“The cops,” she replies. The door closes almost shut, and sounds of arguing stream through. After a few minutes pass, the noises turn a little erotic, and a half an hour later, Rhys comes out of the apartment adjusting his jeans and we all head downstairs.
“That was quick,” Dagger says, lifting his leg and putting it over his bike.
“Fuck off. I knew you assholes were waiting. Next time, I’ll take my fucking time,” Rhys barks and Dagger chuckles.
Rhys turns to me. “Stay on her.” He points to a green Taurus. “That’s her car. Follow it and make sure she goes to the station. If she doesn’t, I’ll come back and make sure this is taken care of.” And I knew how that would be. Hope this woman is smarter than she sounds.
“On it,” I say as the roar of bikes take off, me following to sit behind a large bush at the entrance of the apartment complex. Out of sight, but still in the know of all the comings and goings.
I light a cigarette and wait. Four hours and twenty Goddamn minutes later, the bitch finally leaves her place. I follow cautiously, staying out of sight. She pulls into the police station and steps out of the car. Her long blonde hair falls down to her ass, encased in shorts so short her cheeks hang out. Her skin-tight top shows off huge tits and her heels are so tall I’d think she’d break a fucking leg. She marches into the station and I park on the other side of the entrance and kill the engine.
An hour and fourteen minutes later, she still hasn’t come out. I hit Rhys’s number on my phone. “What?” he answers abruptly.
“She went in and hasn’t come out.”
He scoffs, “She just called from jail. She recante
d her story and they arrested her. For something, I didn’t listen. She wanted me to bail her ass out and I told her I would come soon.”
This surprises me. Rhys is not known for his caring side. “Are you?”
Rhys chuckles. “Fuck no. I called Randell and the cops ain’t got shit on us. Sandra is collateral damage. Even if she tries to tell the cops something now, they won’t believe a fucking thing that comes out of her mouth.”
“Be at the clubhouse in a few.”
“Why do you think they haven’t given me another note or made themselves known?” Blaze asks me, lazily lying on my chest, her hand resting on my abs and legs entangled in mine. Sex is always off the charts with Blaze and each damn time it gets better. I’m not sure how that is even possible. I met her at X tonight and we barely got into the house before I had her on the living room wall. Then we made it to the bedroom.
“I’m not sure.” After righting the clubhouse and setting it up with some chairs and shit from storage, there has been an eerie silence. Nothing from the cops, who found nothing. Nothing from the two assholes that want Blaze. Nothing from Buzz, who is still trying to crack that damn computer and I’m pretty sure it’s a lost cause. Nothing for the four days. The tapes that Buzz got from the night that the note was left showed a person in dark pants and a hoodie covering their head. The person’s back was to the camera so there was no clear shot.
One thing I’ve realized is, I like Blaze on the floor with Cali instead of up on the stage. She’s still been getting on once a week and that one day I grit my fucking teeth. I hate that all those motherfuckers watch my girl. I want to tear every one of their eyeballs out and shove them down their throats. And even though it sucks ass to be there on those nights, I try my damnedest to in case of trouble. She was only supposed to dance for two weeks, but decided to continue a bit longer. While Blaze is at work, I do my business for the club and Pops has put me on jobs close to home so I can get there and get back before she gets off.
