Chapter 27
Pipe
“Sugar, wake up.” I gently shook Nikki’s shoulder, and she burrowed into my side.
“No, I’m too tired to move.”
“All you need to do is get in my room, and you can go back to sleep.”
Her head lifted, and she looked out the windshield. “We’re here?”
“Yeah. You fell asleep as soon as we hit the highway.”
She looked up at me and yawned. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think I could sleep, but apparently, I was wrong.”
I brushed her hair back from her face. “I think it had something to do with the fact we weren’t in Kales Corners anymore.”
After we had showered last night, we both fell into bed, but Nikki never really slept. She would doze off for about half an hour then wake up frantic, flailing her arms and screaming. I would finally get her settled only for her to wake up again. I was beyond exhausted and had thought about not going to Weston, but I figured it would be good for her to get out Kales Corners.
Alice was asleep in the backseat and was snoring away.
Nikki peaked over the seat and laughed. “I think she wore herself out worrying about coming here. She was pretty shocked when I called her this morning and invited her to come with us.”
Excited was an understatement. I had been brewing a pot of coffee when I heard Alice scream through the phone. Nikki had been sitting in the living room and had moved the phone from her ear because she had screamed so loud.
Alice had stayed awake maybe ten minutes longer than Nikki, and then she was out like a light.
“Are you talking about me?” Alice asked sleepily from the back.
“You are the only one who freaked out about coming here,” Nikki laughed.
Alice sat up and stuck her head into the front. “How do I look? Think I can catch myself a biker?”
Nikki squinted, and I tried not to laugh. Her hair was plastered to the side of her head, and she had a huge red line on her face from where she had fallen asleep on the zipper of her coat. “Um, you might want to fluff up your hair a bit.” Nikki adjusted the rearview mirror and pointed it at Alice.
“Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat! What did you do to me?” She licked her hand and ran it down the side of her hair.
“Me?” I asked. “I didn’t do shit, woman.”
She shook her head and rubbed a hand down her face. “What happened to my face?” she screeched.
“It’s really not that bad, Alice. Just run your fingers through your hair, and the line on your face will be gone in no time,” Nikki reassured her.
I opened my door, pulling Nikki out behind me. “Get the lead out, woman. None of the guys will care what you look like.”
Nikki slapped me on the chest, and Alice yelled, “You’re an asshole.”
Well, that wasn’t necessary. “What’d I do?” I asked Nikki.
“You can’t tell her no one will care what she looks like,” she hissed.
“I didn’t mean it, well, meanly. I just meant she looks fine the way she is.” She did look fine. Maybe a little sleepy, but she was fine.
“Nikki!” Karmen barreled down on us and wrapped Nikki up into a huge hug. “I can’t believe that you’re actually here. There’s too much to tell you over the phone. You can stay at my house, and we can catch up.”
“Hell no.” That was not fucking happening. There was no way in hell Nikki was going to spend the night away from me. I felt much safer being back in Weston, but I was still worried about the psycho watching her. “She’s in my room.”
Karmen scoffed and waved her hand at me. “No. You’ve had her for two weeks. It’s my turn with her.”
Nikki wearily looked at Karmen and shook her head. “I, uh, I think I’d rather stay with Pipe. No offense, but I just feel safer with him.”
“Safer?” Karmen repeated. “What the hell does that mean? If he is going to keep you from falling out of bed because that’s about the only thing I think he needs to keep you safe from.”
Nikki looked at me and bit her lip. “Um, well…”
“What the hell is going on?” Karmen demanded.
I opened Alice’s door. “Get out, woman. I’m not going to repeat myself, so you need to hear what’s going on too.”
“Going on? You mean other than my shit-tastic hair?” I grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the truck. “Yes, there are more important things going on other than your hair.”
“Yo, you’re back,” Nickel called.
Karmen turned around and put her hands on her hips. “Something is going on. Do you know what’s going on?” she asked Nickel.
Nickel looked at me, and I shook my head. He didn’t know what was going on, but he got the clue I didn’t want to discuss it in the parking lot.
“I don’t know what’s going on, baby girl, but I think we should let them get into the clubhouse, and then we can talk.”
Karmen stomped her foot, but she let Nickel grab her hand and pull her into the clubhouse.
“Is this about Richard?” Alice asked. She grabbed her bag from the truck and hitched it over her shoulder.
“It might be.”
“Lord help us.” Alice hooked her arm through Nikki’s and nodded her head at me. “Well, lead the way, badass.”
I quirked my eyebrow and looked at Nikki. A smile spread across her lips, and she nodded at the clubhouse. “Well, you heard her, badass, lead the way,” she giggled.
It was good to see Nikki laugh, but I knew she was still worried about whoever was watching her. “Grab Wrecker,” I hollered to Nickel.
He lifted his hand and disappeared into the clubhouse.
“This is so cool,” Alice whispered behind me. “Who’s Wrecker?”
“Um, big bearded, burly guy who’s the president,” Nikki informed her.
“What a wicked name. So much better than Pipe.”
I looked over my shoulder and smirked. “You can say that until you find out the reason they call me Pipe.”
Alice’s jaw dropped, and Nikki pointed her finger at me. “I’m gonna need to hear that story.”
“Me too,” Alice chirped. “You're like my personal biker whisperer for any questions I’ll have this weekend.”
“Um, I don’t know what questions you’ll have, but whatever, darlin’.”
“Is it bad I swoon a little bit when he calls me that? It’s purely because no one ever calls me that,” she assured Nikki. “Not that I have the hots for your personal biker.”
“Is that kind of like a personal shopper?” Nikki giggled. “And what questions are you going to have that I won’t be able to answer?”
I opened the door and motioned for the girls to go ahead of me.
“Wrecker said to meet him in church.” Nickel had his arm over Karmen’s shoulder and disappeared down the hallway.
“Oh you know,” Alice mumbled. “Can I talk to everyone? Do I have to avoid eye contact?”
Nikki looked at me, her eyes bugged out. “Avoid eye contact?” she asked me.
I shook my head. “We’re not that kind of club, Alice. Just show us respect, and we’ll show you respect back.”
She nodded and headed in the direction Nikki and Karmen had. “Cool. See, it’s good I asked. Otherwise, they would have thought I was shady.”
I chuckled under my breath, and Nikki tried not to smile. “Yup, good thing you asked,” she smirked.
The door to church was open, and Nickel was standing at the head of the table, talking to Wrecker.
“Wow,” Alice gasped under her breath. “Hello, burly bearded man.”
“Wrecker,” I called. “You know Nikki. This is her friend Alice from Kales Corners.”
Alice walked up to him, stuck her hand out to shake his, and I kid you not, fucking curtsied. “Mr. President,” she mumbled.
Wrecker took her hand, watching her bowed head, and looked between Nickel and me. “Uh, no need to cursty, darlin’,” he mumbled.
She lifted her head and looked Wrecker directly in the eye. “It’s so great to be allowed in your club.”
“Sweet Jesus, Alice,” Karmen laughed. “He’s the president of the Weston chapter, not the President of the United States.”
Alice curtsied again and stepped back from Wrecker. “Sorry, your highness.”
Nickel smothered his laugh with the back of his hand and looked at Nikki. “Is this shit for real?”
Nikki shrugged. “Maybe we shouldn’t have brushed off the fact she had questions,” she mumbled, looking up at me.
“Yeah, you might be right, sugar.”
Alice looked around the table. “Can I sit anywhere?”
Alice was in her own little world and had no idea that we were talking about her.
“Uh, you can sit anywhere. This isn’t an official meeting or anything,” Wrecker explained.
Of course, Alice sat in the chair I normally did. She pulled her chair in and rested her hands on the table. “I’m pretty sure I’m gonna wet my pants if anything else cool happens.”
Wrecker, Nickel, and I busted out laughing, and the girls all giggled.
Wrecker sat down at the head of the table, while Nickel took his normal spot next to him and sat Karmen next to him.
Nikki sat down next to Alice, and I sat down in the chair meant for just a regular member. It had been a long time since I had sat this far down at the table. “Some shit has been going down in Kales Corners, and I thought I should let you know before something else happens.”
“Trouble always seems to follow you girls,” Wrecker muttered.
“Hey,” Karmen protested. “My trouble found me, and I’m sure the same goes for Nikki.”
Wrecker waved his hand at her. “Details, darlin’.”
Wrecker could definitely be a bit of a dick when he wanted to be.
Nickel patted Karmen’s leg and whispered in her ear. She crossed her arms over her chest but didn’t try to argue with Wrecker.
Wrecker turned to me and nodded his head. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“Does anyone else feel like he’s the godfather?” Alice whispered loudly to Nikki.
Jesus, this was a complete shit show. Thankfully, the rest of the club wasn’t here. Everyone would have been rolling with laughter, and I never would have been able to talk. I cleared my throat and leveled a glare on Alice for her to shut her mouth.
She made a motion to zipper her lips, and turned to Wrecker, holding out what I assumed was the imaginary key she used to lock her lips up.
“Sweet Jesus.” He held out his hand, and she dropped the fake key in it. He nodded at Alice and pretended to tuck the key into his pocket. To Alice, I’m sure she thought he was okay, but from the way his jaw ticked, and look he gave me, I knew I was going to get hell for this.
Wrecker was going to beat the shit out of me after this meeting was over.
I cleared my throat and hoped to God Alice wouldn’t get up to any more crazy antics.
“He gets the key because he’s the president,” she whispered to Nikki.
Nikki nodded. “Good idea,” she whispered.
I needed to get this over with and get Alice far, far away from Wrecker. I could tell he was holding his tongue, and that never lasted long.
“About a couple of weeks ago, Nikki noticed someone standing outside of her house taking pictures. She came over to my place as soon as she saw it, but I was too late to catch whoever it was. Nothing happened after that except for last night the guy was back, and he was watching Nikki and me.”
Karmen gasped and flattened her hands on the table. “Someone was watching you? Oh, my God. Who is it?”
“We’re still trying to figure that out. I almost caught him last night, but I had to grab my pants and gun before I could go after him.”
Alice turned to Nikki. “He had to put his pants on?” she asked with her eyebrow raised. “Y’all were getting it on, weren’t you?”
Nikki blushed and ducked her head.
“Duh, of course, they were, Alice,” Karmen laughed.
Wrecker snickered but knew not to give me shit about it in front of Nikki.
“We called the police, but I don’t have much faith in them finding this guy since the most they deal with in that town is the occasional speeder or jaywalker.”
Wrecker leaned forward and rested his forearms on the table. “You have any idea of who this might be?”
“Nikki caught the eye of one of her customers at work, and I think it’s him. Her boss told me that this wouldn’t be the first time this guy took his infatuation to a new level.”
“So why haven't you grabbed the guy and asked him what the hell he’s doing?”
“Because I can’t believe that it’s him,” Nikki piped up. “I can't believe that this man who can barely get a full sentence out when talking to me is capable of doing this.”
Wrecker sat back in his chair. “It sounds exactly what someone like that would do. He’s standing outside of your window watching you and your man together. He’s a fucking coward.”
Nikki stared down at the table. “I guess you’re right, but I just don’t understand why he would do this.”
“Because he doesn’t have balls, darlin’,” Nickel stated.
She sighed and slumped her shoulders. “Fine. We assume it’s Richard. Now, what do we do? This guy isn’t all there upstairs mentally. I don’t want him to get hurt.”
Wrecker rolled his eyes. “So you just wanna let him keep watching you get your rocks off every night because there ain’t no birdie in his cuckoo clock?”
“Well, no. I just mean I don’t want you guys showing up to his house and breaking his kneecaps.”
“Darlin’, we don’t break kneecaps. They can still talk after that,” Nickel smirked.
Karmen elbowed him in the side. “Not helping,” she hissed.
Nickel shrugged and leaned back in his chair. “So what do you want us to do since we’re not allowed to hurt poor Richard?”
“Can’t we just get him to confess, and then turn him over to the police?” Alice suggested. “I know Richard too, and he isn’t playing with a full deck of cards. He’s done this kind of thing before, but never like he’s doing to Nikki.”
“Fine. I’m gonna send Slayer and Brinks up there. See what they can dig up, and try to talk some sense into this guy. I’m sure it won’t take much for them to get this guy to talk about what he’s doing.” Wrecker looked at Nikki. “That fine with you?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be such a Sally about this. I guess bustin’ kneecaps isn’t my style.”
I put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “You’re fine, sugar. This’ll give Slayer and Brinks a chance to work on their people skills, right Wrecker?”
“If anything, with those two talking to this guy, they’ll probably just scare him away. I doubt anyone has ever tried to talk to this guy before.” He pointed his finger at Nickel. “Make sure your woman doesn’t get any ideas and try to take care of this guy herself.”
Karmen gasped. “Hey, I’m sitting right here.”
“I’ll talk to Slayer and Brinks. When are you heading back up?” Wrecker asked.
“We’re here for the weekend.”
Wrecker stood up and grabbed his sunglasses off the table. “I’ll have them head up there tonight. You good with them staying at your place?”
I pulled my keys out of my pocket, slipped the duplex key off, tossing it to Wrecker. “It’s all theirs.”
“That. Was. Awesome,” Alice squealed when Wrecker walked out of the room. “That man is smokin’ hot. Do you think if I asked nicely he would let me pet his beard?”
Nikki turned to Alice. “Maybe if you curtsy first.”
Karmen threw her head back, laughing her ass off, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Next time, try kissing his knuckles. That might loosen him up a bit,” Nickel added.
“Hey,” Alice protested. “How was I supposed to know how to act around him? The man is intimidating as hell.”
“He’s intimidating, Alice, not the king of England,” I said over the top of Nikki’s head.
She stuck her tongue out at me and crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re an ass. Both of you.” She glared at me and turned to Nickel. “I’m surprised your super sweet girlfriend’s put up with your shit.”
Nickel shrugged and stood up. “What can I say? I’ve got an amazing personality and huge dick.”
Karmen gasped, choking on her own spit. “Jesus Christ, man. You did not just say that,” she hissed.
Nikki looked up at me. “That’s the same reasons you have.”
I shrugged. “At least you recognize my stellar qualities.”
“Stellar indeed,” she said, winking at me.
Alice pushed back from the table and stood up. “Okay, now that we established you both have big dicks, you think I can get a tour of the clubhouse?”
“Yeah,” I laughed. “I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.”
“I wanna meet Wren,” Nikki piped up. “Is she with Cora?”
Karmen shot up. “Dude, she is super cool. You’re going to love her.”
“We’ll swing by her room on the tour of the clubhouse. She normally hangs out in Cora’s room all day,” Nickel suggested.
I grabbed Nikki’s hand and pulled her up. “Come on, sugar.”
She stood up and rested her hand on my shoulder. “Thank you,” she whispered.
I knew it had killed Wrecker to agree to not hurt Richard, but I knew that was what Nikki wanted. I was down with kicking the guy's ass just like Nickel, but I didn’t want to upset Nikki. “We try it your way first, sugar. If that doesn’t work, then it’s my way.”
She rolled her eyes but agreed. “Fine. But I don’t want to know anything if we do it your way.”
“That’s doable, sugar.”
“Hello,” Alice called. “Can I get a tour of the badass clubhouse filled with badasses?”
I pressed a kiss to Nikki’s forehead and smiled. “Your friend is a nutjob.”
Nikki laughed and looked up at me. “She totally is.”
At least we agreed on that.
*