Chapter 16
A Word Of Warning
Alina sat the bar sipping a club soda. A quick shower and change of clothes was all it took to get Hammer back up and moving. She marveled at his stamina. His uncanny ability to remain alert and functional after pounding her into submission several times was impressive. The man was a machine.
He left her in the bar and she watched him stroll away. His shaggy brown hair looked darker because it was still wet. His jeans hung low off his waist and his black leather cut was a sharp contrast to the white t-shirt he wore underneath. Alina admired his muscular physique and the way his muscles bunched when he reached for the handle to his office.
Good sex did wonders to relieve the simmering low grade anger that always seemed to be lurking just beneath the surface for Hammer. Of course he had more to be angry about right now than on all the previous occasions she had glimpsed him picking up and dropping Jaden off at school.
Funny how before getting to know him, he’d been the textbook super sexy bad boy with a quick temper and a bad attitude. Now, he was so much more. Being a bad ass might be a critical part of his personality but it certainly wasn’t his most defining characteristic by any stretch of the imagination. To her mind he was sexy, determined, smart and far too perceptive for her own good. His poorly developed ability to trust was counterbalanced by a virtually limitless capacity to truly love. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he loved his son and every single one of his brothers. Unless she missed her guess, he’d lay down his life for any one of them, including the female groupies that congregated at their clubhouse. Jayden was growing up to be just like him and Alina was growing to believe he was lucky in a lot of ways to have Hammer for a father.
Her mind drifted to the young boy. Her gut clinched into a worried knot. Where was he? Was he hurt, hungry, scared, or just angry like his father? She said a little prayer that wherever he was, he was safe and had not lost hope of being rescued.
Her mind couldn’t help but to remember all the crime shows she seen. They’d made it loud and clear that there was an inverse relationship between how long a people had been missing and how likely they were to be found alive. She closed her eyes, refusing to believe that Jaden was anything but healthy.
Her internal musing were interrupted by Shelby slipped onto the stool beside her. “How you doing, teacher?”
Alina smiled at the other woman. “Long time, no see. What you been up to?”
“Just got back from shopping for the boys bedrooms. Both rooms had furniture but we had to shop for bed and bath linen, rugs, lamps…that kind of thing. Hammer and Marlow wanted them each to have a cell phone and a tablet so they can keep up with their school work. I got everything on Marlow’s list for them, right down to shower gel and toothpaste. Took three of us the better part of two hours. My dogs are killing me.” The woman slipped her feet out of her pretty dress shoes and stretched her toes.
“Not the best shoes for shopping.”
Alina’s observation seemed lost on the woman, who quickly quipped. “Well, Mal took us. I had to look pretty for him.”
“You sweet on that prospect?”
Shelby shrugged. “Getting sweeter every day.”
Mal walked in with an older teen with long black hair and large frightened eyes. He looked somewhere between eighteen and twenty. Shelby grabbed Alina by the arm and murmured. “Let’s welcome the newbie.”
Mal gestured to a bar stool and the man sat. “What’ll you have, buddy?”
“Nothing, thank you. May I see my brother now?”
“He’s busy. Doing computer shit for the club.”
“If he’s safe, I’ll wait.” The man’s stiff formality barely covered his anxiety about being in the clubhouse.
Mal growled. “Shelby, can you talk to him. I can’t do this right now.”
Rubbing his back she purred. “I got this baby. Go take a load off. I’ll be around to relieve your stress in a bit.” Turning to the newbie, she smiled brightly. “My name’s Shelby and this is Alina. You must be Non’s brother. He’s a sweet kid.”
The man’s eyes dropped for a brief second. “I’m Duncan. My brother really is a nice person. Do you know why we’re here?”
“You are a guest of the club. We have a room ready for you and your brother. Hope you don’t mind sharing.”
A dramatic sigh was followed by a quiet question. “What do they expect in the form of payment?”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ve never been given anything for free. What does the club want me to do in order for us to live here? Everyone does something right? Even you?”
“Well I whore and Alina our president’s old lady…”
“I am not taking off my clothes for any bikers.”
Shelby laughed out loud. “I was just teasing. Around here, you are the biker. Your brother belongs to Jaden…I mean Hawks’ club, right?”
A soft smile curved up the man’s lips. You mean that super serious kid who wears the leather vest? He’s cute as hell. Thinks he’s a biker or some such shit.”
“He’s our club president’s son. Apparently, he had his own club. He modeled it after this one. He went missing last night. His dad patched over the kid’s club to get information on his son. That means your little brother is an official Dirty Kingsmen, at least temporarily. He’s entitled to a room and a stipend, just like the other patched members. As his only living relative, you are as welcome as any other family member.”
“Look, I don’t know what kind of game you folks are playing here, but I’m willing to carry our weight. Tell them if they need me to do anything, I’m game. Just leave my little brother alone.”
Shelby leaned over. “You know they do some shady shit here don’t you.”
“Well, gee we’ve been living on the streets for coming up on five years now. I’ve never done anything shady before.”
“Fair enough, don’t get snarky. I’ll let them know. Want to see your room?”
“Is all this for real?”
“Sure is. Come on. I picked out your room decor myself. Hope you like it. Marlow will be along in a bit to explain the house rules to you. They don’t allow any drug use except marijuana and alcohol and only after hours. If you want sexed, the universal symbol for that is to walk around with your pants unbuttoned and the zipper half down. If the girl’s see that, they will usually approach you. They won’t do your brother cause he’s under age.”
The man stopped in his tracks, gaping at her with his mouth hanging open.
Alina clarified. “What she means is that the men here are serious workaholics during the day. After about eight pm, the kids go to their rooms and they don’t come back out again until the morning. The men hang out in the huge bar area drinking and playing games. The girls show up, the clothes come flying off and then anything goes. If you say you’re interested in intimacy, then do what she said with your pants. Just be prepared cause, they’ll do you out in the open in front of everyone. Guys around here don’t care who sees their ass or other miscellaneous body parts. I’m still getting used to the idea myself.”
“You two are serious?”
Shelby laughed. “As a heart attack. Here’s your door. It’s the second one from the end. Non’s friend, Copperhead, is in the last room.” Opening the door revealed a room outfitted entirely in black, from bedding to curtains, to rugs to shower curtain. There was a huge stylized skull painting on the wall. “In case you don’t recognize it. That’s the Dirty Kingsmen’s emblem. It’s front and center on all their patches. The kitchen is stocked with food and drink. If you need anything just let whoever is behind the bar know and they’ll prepare whatever you want.”
“Thank you. The room is really nice.”
Marlow knocked on the open door and the women took that as their cue to leave.
♦♦♦♦♦
They both flopped down back on their bar stools.
Alina couldn’t help but speak. “The poor man seemed really taken aback.”
“This was probably the last thing he was expecting.”
Looking around, Alina nodded. “It’s a lot to take in all in one day.”
“Sorry about earlier. Hammer doesn’t have much tolerance for females who speak their mind. I should have warned you about that.”
“I wanted to come with him to get Jaden.”
“Jesus, why would you want that? The Grim are really dangerous men.” The panic in the woman’s voice made Alina wonder if she was even making a good choice in wanting to accompany them to the meeting.
“I’m just worried about him. Hammer agreed to take me but only because he needs someone who speaks Spanish. I doubt they’ll say anything useful but if they do, I’ll be able to tell him.”
The woman stared at her open mouthed. “You’ve never been hurt a day in your life, have you?”
Glancing away, Alina had to admit the truth. “No. Never even got spanked as a child.”
“Then you don’t know what it’s like to feel real pain.”
Holding up a hand, Alina stopped her. “I had friends that did though. One of my best friends was raped and almost beaten to death when we were in high school. I helped take care of her afterwards and she was never quite the same.”
“I can easily imagine how something like could break a person.” Shelby’s eyes were huge and compassionate.
“In some ways it’s harder to see someone close to you harmed. I remember feeling helpless and wishing I could do more.”
Shelby mumbled knowingly. “You see this as your opportunity to do more for someone you care about?”
Taking another quick drink of her soda, Alina nodded nervously. “I guess so. I know I might get hurt, but to me it’s worth the risk.”
“You really do care about Jaden?”
“I know teachers aren’t supposed to have favorites but he’s mine. I can’t help it. He so smart and polite and sweet. It’s difficult not to get attached to him.”
“Yea all the club whore adore him. Of course, Hammer doesn’t like us getting to close to him. Probably doesn’t want him to get attached to any of us in case we don’t stay.”
Alina glanced away, thinking it might be because he didn’t consider such women a very good role model. Then again, she couldn’t really say where he stood on such an issue. Perhaps it was more her bias than his.
“Jaden really needs a mother.” Shelby’s words sounded sincere.
Alina blinked, looking up at the woman. “I’m not trying to compete with his mom or anything like that. I’d settle for just being a good role model.”
“Jaden never had a mother. I thought you knew that.”
“I was aware that none was listed as a contact on his emergency form. That usually just means the non-custodial parent lives out of area.”
“Well his mother died giving birth to him. It’s just always been Hammer and Jaden. Hammer tries to be a good father. Everyone knows how hard he works to make sure his son has a decent life but it’s got to be hard on him.”
Alina rolled that around her head for a minute. That must be why Hammer looked so thunderous when she asked about Jaden visiting a grave.
Shelby continued trying to make her point. “Hammer inherited the club from his father when he was about twenty-years-old. He grew up in this MC. It’s all he’s ever known. Most of the guys here grew up the same way. They played together as kids. When they say they’re brothers, they mean it a little more than most patched brothers.”
“I guess I’ve been pushing him pretty hard. That can’t have helped.”
“They have seen hard times but they’ve always stuck together. No matter what the world throws at them, they handle it. When you are a third gen biker, life can be real shitty. Hammer reinvented this club into something we can all be proud to be part of.”
“I can’t tell how important the club is to him, and Jaden as well. The little guy’s got his whole bedroom decked out in biker paraphernalia.”
“I know people in the outside world don’t have a high opinion of bikers. It seems to me that the world is broken into two categories. There are nice middle class folks who set up college funds for their kids and think getting a parking ticket is a big deal. Then there are people like us. Our guys haven’t had any advantages in life. They do what they have to in order to survive and take care of us. They try not to be total criminals but they straddle the line between legal and illegal enough to earn the 1% badge they wear.”
“Are you trying to tell me something?”
“They need women who really love them much more than the average guy on the street. Many of them never had that. Their fathers were pretty brutal and their wives left with alarming regularity. The girls usually went with their mothers and the boys stayed with their fathers. Our guys are much sweeter with women than their fathers and grandfathers but it’s left them struggling to learn how to love.”
“Again, I don’t know why you’re telling me this.”
“If you can’t get behind the whole concept of some disadvantaged people coloring outside the lines to survive, you should turn away now. Hammer doesn’t share himself often. I’d hate to see him get hurt by someone who just can’t understand him or give him what he needs.”
“You really care about him too?”
“I do. It took a long time to see that it wasn’t a romantic kind of attachment. It’s more like a protective kind of love. I see his strengths and his vulnerabilities and I don’t want to see him gutted by a woman who just can’t accept him for the domineering, pissy bastard he really is.” The teasing quality of her voice, left Alina smiling.
“I think I’m falling in love with him. I can’t imagine expecting him to be anything other than what he is. In fact, I think he’s pretty neat just the way he is. Once we get Jaden back everything’s going to be just fine.”
Sliding closer, Shelby’s voice dropped to a whisper. “There’s something you ought to know about the Grims. They’ve been locked in a blood feud with the Kingsmen for over a decade. If Miguel can kill you or Jaden, he’ll do it in a heartbeat. Don’t take any chances while you’re there. If anything seems off, let Hammer know right away. If you can get Jaden the hell outta there, make a run for it. Hammer and the others will be able to mount a more effective fight once you two are free and clear, understand?”
Alina wrapped her arms around the other woman as she whispered in her ear. “Thanks for that, Shelby. I appreciate it more than you can know.”
Alina felt Shelby’s hand slip down the side of her pants. Something small and cold touched her skin then the woman’s hand pulled back. “That’s a little something for good luck. Stay safe.” Without looking, Alina knew it was a pocket knife.
“You ladies finished fondling each other all up?”
Alina turned to see Hammer pinning her with an annoyed gaze. Shelby quickly slid away as Hammer strolled over. Jerking her up by the arm, he pulled her shirt off and opened the front of her jeans. Plucking the knife up, he spun it effortlessly in his hand before stuffing it into her jean pocket. Whirling her around, he crammed a soft holster with a small gun inside into the small of her back and slid the holster strap down low enough to be hidden under the waistline of her jeans. He slipped a Kevlar vest onto her naked body and made sure it was secure before pulling her shirt back over her head.
“Don’t touch that gun unless I give you the signal, got it?”
“Whatever you say.”
“So now you’re going to suddenly get all compliant on me?”
“Go to hell?” She queried more out of curiosity than anger.
“That’s my girl. Ready to hit the road?” He beamed approvingly at her. It warmed her gut and made her smile.
“Yes, sir.”
“Keep up the sassing and I’ll leave more than one handprint on that pretty white ass of yours.”
Smiling, she bit back the retort that sprang to mind.