Karmen
This was crazy.
Nuts.
Insane.
Asinine.
I looked down at the suitcase on the bed and wondered if I could fit a pair of slippers inside. I didn’t want to walk around the clubhouse barefoot. Seriously, I had seen a couple episodes of that MC show, and the floor looked none too clean.
“Slippers are a must,” I mumbled under my breath.
Nickel had called me five minutes ago and told me there was some shit going down and the only way for me to be safe was to come to the clubhouse. He also insisted that I was supposed to drive my car no matter how many times Boink—what kind of name was Boink by the way?—tried to convince that it was okay to ride on the back of his bike.
He also told me I needed to hurry up and be there fast. Fast packing was something I was apparently not good at.
I was frantic trying to figure out what I needed since I had no idea how long I was going to be there. I also worried that I had to leave my place, and Nickel wouldn’t tell me why.
“Come on, sugar,” Boink called from the living room. “Nickel is blowing up my phone wondering where we are.”
I rolled my eyes and grabbed my slippers off the floor. Even when Nickel wasn’t here, he was still telling me what to do. I managed to cram the slippers into the side of the suitcase and zipped the case shut.
I had no idea what was going on, but I had to say that I had tried to pack for every possible situation. As long as during those situations I could wear jeans and a t-shirt.
“Tell me again what’s going on.” I dropped the suitcase at Boink’s feet and slid my feet into a pair of flip flops I had left by the door.
“You might want to grab a pair of tennis shoes, too, sugar if you plan on riding on the back of my bike.”
A laugh bubbled out of my lips, and I shook my head. “Nice try, but that’s not going to happen. Nickel managed to warn me about you.”
Boink scoffed and grabbed the suitcase. “That asshole manages to take away all of my fun.”
“But thank you for reminding me to bring shoes for when I ride with Nickel.” Thank goodness Nickel had warned me about Boink, or I might have fallen for his ploy to get me on his bike.
“You regularly try to get women you don’t know on the back of your bike?” I grabbed my wallet off the counter and my keys.
“Just the ones that are interested in Nickel.”
I bit my lip and quirked my eyebrow. “And how many exactly has that been?”
He shook his head and laughed. “Nice try, sugar.”
Hey, it was worth a shot. I just wanted to know if that number was in the tens or higher. “Well, I think I’m ready for my adventure to Lord knows where.”
“Just to the clubhouse.”
The word clubhouse terrified me. I had no idea what to expect, and from the sound of it, Nickel was leaving as soon as I got there. “Are there any other girls at the club?” I asked Boink as I locked the door behind me and followed him down the stairs.
“Not like you.”
“But there are girls there?”
Boink pushed open the main door to the apartment complex and walked out into the setting sun. “Sugar, I’m not sure there is a right answer here.”
“It’s really a simple question, Boink.” Boy, did that sound weird coming out of my mouth.
“Look, there are girls there, but they aren’t you. That’s all I can say. There’s Cora, but we haven’t actually talked to her. She tends to stay to herself.”
Huh? What? They had a girl living at the club, but they hadn’t talked to her? I thought any girls who were in a club who weren’t with a member were kind of like free range.
I pictured girls wandering around like chickens as they pecked at the ground looking for food.
“What’s with the goofy smile, sugar?” He stood at the trunk of my car and motioned for me to pop the back. He tossed in the suitcase and slammed it shut.
“Just a funny thought I had.”
He looked me up and down and shook his head. “Goofy as hell but hot. Totally Nickel’s type.”
“Nickel has a type?” Here I thought I was out of the box for him.
“Yeah, you.”
Well, okay then. “Have there been ones before me tha—”
Boink held up his hand and shook his head. “You can stop right there, sugar. I’m not saying anything.”
I sighed and wrinkled my nose. “You’re no fun.” He shrugged and leaned against my car. “I have no idea where I’m going or why I’m doing this.”
“Follow me, and you’re doing it because you’ve got it bad for Nickel, just like he has it bad for you.”
“How do you know that?”
Bonk straightened up and looked down at me. “Because he’s moving Heaven and Hell to keep you safe. Open your eyes, sugar.” He walked over to his bike he had parked across the street and threw his leg over the seat. “Get in your car unless you plan on riding behind me,” he called.
I stomped my foot. Damn that man. “Not happening,” I yelled back. I slid into my car, started it up, and managed to get behind Boink as he rocketed off the curb.
The clubhouse was on the other side of town, and it took a little less than ten minutes to get there. It was a low-slung brick building that was pretty damn big. The gravel parking lot was littered with various cars and trucks, but there were at least fifteen bikes parked in the first row by the front door.
I shifted my car into park, and my door swung open before I could even pull the keys from the ignition. “Took ya long enough.”
Nickel held his hand out to me and pulled me from the car. “You don’t really give a girl much time to get ready. I was about to order Chinese when you called.”
He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close. “You can eat here.”
“And why am I here?”
Nickel sighed and looked around. “I got some info on your dad.”
I tensed at his words. “What info would that be? Is he okay?” The man hadn’t given me the greatest childhood, but when it came down to it, he was still my dad.
“As far we know, he is fine.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “So what is happening if he’s okay?”
Someone called Nickel’s name, and he glanced over his shoulder. “Shit, I gotta go, baby girl. You think you can get inside?”
I mentally freaked out but nodded my head. Something bad was apparently happening and me losing my shit was not going to help. “Um, yeah. Boink can show me around.”
Nickel laughed and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I shouldn’t be gone long. Pipe and Wrecker said they would entertain you, but I gotta be truthful and tell you that scares me a little.”
I gulped. “You’re really inspiring confidence in me right now.”
Boink walked over and tipped his chin towards Nickel. “Whatever she’s saying about me, it’s probably true.”
Nickel pressed a quick but hot kiss to my lips and walked over to his bike. Boink grabbed my keys out of the ignition and popped the trunk.
Nickel roared out of the parking lot with three other guys on bikes following him. “Something bad is happening, isn’t it?” I asked Boink.
He grabbed the suitcase and slammed the trunk. “He’ll be fine. He’s got Clash, Slayer, and Maniac at his back. Nothing is going to happen.” He sauntered to the front door, and I scrambled to grab my tennis shoes and wallet from the front seat. “Wait for me,” I called.
Boink opened the door and held it for me. “After you, sugar.”
I ducked under his arm and slipped through the door. It was much brighter than I had imagined. I had pictured dark and dirty.
I was off about the dark, but the jury was still out on the dirty.
Two guys sat on a couch in front of a huge TV while another lounged in the corner with a lit cigarette hanging from his mouth. On the opposite side of the room, two guys were playing pool while one watched. Only one of the guys look familiar, and I think it was Wrecker.
“I’m damn surprised he let you come in without him,” the guy who I thought was Wrecker called from the couch.
I looked over my shoulder at Boink, and he had a huge grin on his face. “Fucker even warned her about riding on the back of my bike.”
All the guys roared with laughter.
“You can put her shit in Nickel’s room. We moved Cora,” someone told Boink. Cora? Huh?
“Sounds good.” Boink walked around me and slipped down a hallway to the left. I shuffled my feet to follow him, but one of the guys called my name.
“Boink can take care of your bag. I’ll introduce you to the guys that are here. I’m Pipe, by the way.”
Oh goodie. I was about to be bombarded with six names that I wasn’t going to be able to remember. “Um, sounds good.” Could I tell these guys no? All I really wanted to do was follow Boink to Nickel’s room and wait for him to get back.
Pipe stood and walked over to me. He slung his arm over my shoulder and pointed to the other guy that had been sitting on the couch next to him. “That guy right there is Wrecker.”
“Uh, hey,” I said. I waved lamely, and he tipped his chin at me. We had met at the fireworks, but it was like he was different guy in this element.
“The fucker in the corner is Brinks. He tends to, well, sit in the corner and be a bastard.”
I waved and plastered a fake smile on my face while all I could think was stay away from Brinks and corners. I couldn’t really make out what he looked like, but scary was a word that came to mind.
“The two playing pool are Warrior and Snapper, and the one holding up the wall is Freak. Freak is a prospect and will get you anything you need, Karmen. Ain’t that right, Freak?” Boink asked, laughing.
Freak laughed, but I could tell that he wasn’t thrilled about helping me. “I shouldn’t really need anything. Just show me where Nickel’s room is, and I’ll just keep to myself.”
Wrecker rose from the couch. “You can’t go to your room without dinner. Nickel would have our asses.”
I looked around and tried to figure out the best way to convince Wrecker to let me go. “I… um… well…”
“You think we can order something other than pizza?” One of the guys who had been playing pool yelled. I, of course, couldn’t remember either of the three names.
“Nickel said to order Chinese,” Brinks mumbled from the corner.
Of course, Nickel would tell them what to order.
“Hell yeah, I want some of that General chicken shit and those crab cheese things.” Boink rubbed his hands together and sauntered over to the bar that ran along the back wall of the, well, I guess you could call it the living room, although I’m sure they called it something else. He was apparently back from putting my suitcase in Nickel’s room. “You want a drink, sugar?”
I gripped my wallet in my hand and curled my fingers around the shoes I still had in the other hand. “I’ll just take whatever.”
“Oh, come on. You can’t just say whatever, especially with us. Boink is liable to mix up a batch of Wopatui if you say whatever.” Wrecker smiled at me, and a little shiver ran through my body. Each of the guys had an air about them that screamed badass, but Wrecker was different. His dark hair was shaggy, his eyes dark brown, and his face was tanned dark. He was handsome as hell, but I could tell that he was a bit older than Nickel. He had to be in his late forties, but he still looked damn good.
“What’s Wopatui?”
Boink hooted from over by the bar and slapped his hand down. “That’s it! Time to make some Wopatui, fellas.” He started pulling what seemed like every bottle of booze from under the bar and set them on the top. “Boink style.”
“Brinks, order the food. Get a little bit of everything.” Wrecker tossed Brinks his phone. “Make sure you get what Karmen wants.” Wrecker sauntered down the hallway Boink had disappeared down before. I assumed it led to the bedrooms, but I knew I couldn’t venture down the same hall and find Nickel’s room. Dammit.
Pipe squeezed my shoulder. “Try to relax,” he whispered in my ear. He followed behind Wrecker, and I wished that I could disappear too.
“What food you want, princess?” Brinks asked me.
My mind went blank. Normally, I could rattle off what I wanted from the Chinese place, but all I could think of was rice. “Uh, rice?”
Brinks stood up and started pressing buttons on the phone. “If all you want is rice, then I can make you that in the kitchen.”
The thought of any of these guys making something more than a frozen pizza was absurd. “Um, shrimp lo mien, egg drop soup, and egg rolls. Oh, and those cheesy things Boink wanted.”
“Crab rangoons?”
I knew what they were called, but I didn’t think that Brinks would know. “Yup, those.”
Brinks wandered out the front door with the phone pressed to his ear, and I was left with no idea what to do next.
“Come over here, sugar, I’ll show you how to make Wapatui that is guaranteed to knock you on your ass.”
I dropped my shoes by the door, shuffled over to Boink, and sat on one of the stools in front of him. I wasn’t sure drinking something that could knock me on my ass was a good idea right now. “You know, maybe I’ll just have water.”
Boink scoffed and continued to empty various bottles into a huge pitcher. “Water ain’t an option when I’m behind the bar.”
“I don’t think being knocked on my ass is a good idea right now. Nickel wouldn’t tell me what is going on, so I think I should try to keep my wits about me.”
“Nonsense,” Boink replied. “We’ll get Cora out here. Try to loosen her up.”
“Cora?” I asked.
He grabbed a huge wooden spoon and stirred the concoction he had painstakingly been making. “Jenkins’ sister. She’s here hiding out too, but none of us know why. She came back with Nickel and Pipe.”
Well, that was news to me. “Oh, I had no idea.”
Boink shrugged. “Not much to tell. Jenkins told them to bring her back, and they did. Nickel is supposed to be looking over her, but we’ve all taken pity on him and have been helping out.”
Why wouldn't have Nickel told me about Cora? Unless there was something going on, and he felt he couldn’t tell me. “How long is she going to be around?”
“Not a clue. I know Nickel’s saddle bags were full when they rolled into the parking lot.”
Hold on. When they rolled into the parking lot? Did Cora ride on the back of Nickel’s bike, but yet, I wasn’t allowed to even think about getting a ride from one of the guys. That seemed like a little bit of bullshit to me. “You know what, Boink? I think I will have a glass of Wapatui now.”
He eyed me up. “You sure about that, sugar? Maybe this isn’t the best idea.”
Oh, hell no, it was the best idea I had heard in a long time. Not only did Nickel have a woman he was supposed to be taking care of, but he had also had a woman on the back of his bike. “I think it’s the best idea I’ve had in a while. Grab me a glass and fill it up.”
Nickel wasn’t here to tell me what to do, so I was going to do what felt right. And right now, it felt right to drink ‘til I got knocked on my ass and not worry about Nickel or any of his crazy rules.
I was getting drunk with Boink tonight. Straight up.
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