Chapter Ten
JoJo
Delta and I sat outside the Brotherhood clubhouse, enjoying the scenic view—a half dozen of our club girls washed cars and bikes, although the girls were more soaked than the vehicles. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a lazy June day. Tomorrow two of our prospects would earn their cuts when they took their oaths in front of the members—a good damn day.
“Another month and I’m in the clear. Our prospects will be full members and one of them can become the babysitter.” I sipped the specialty beer Delta gave me. It didn’t taste bad, but I didn’t understand the hype.
“You’re fucking delusional. No way Rebel will let you off training duty, especially after you told the recruits he gets off whipping them when they screw up.” Delta smirked my way.
Smug bastard. “I’ll do worse if I have to keep babysitting biker wannabes. You know I sent more packing than we kept.”
“Another reason the job is yours.” Delta finished his beer. “You’re a damn fine drill sergeant.”
“It’s your turn,” I grumbled.
The normally broody bastard belted out a laugh. Rare for him. “They’d all run away then, or get killed.” The dark look returned.
“Neither of us caused that to happen.” I handed him another beer. “It sucks we lived, but we didn’t kill them.”
Delta nodded. “You didn’t kill them. I was the one leading the mission.”
Losing two guys during our last year of service bothered us both, but Delta still carried those dead men on his back. To make matters worse, we never solved that case because we’d been reassigned to another base before we’d found the culprit. It was the last time I’d seen him lead.
“Which one you taking inside?” I nodded to the girls in front of us. Delta always had a way with the ladies and that hadn’t changed.
He grinned and winked at me. “Why would I stop at one?”
True enough. “That’s a good damn idea.” I needed laid but Charlie’s blue eyes haunted me. She wanted no part of me, but I still wanted her. The abundant pussy offered at the club didn’t appeal to me. I needed to get over myself, soon.
“Bullshit,” Delta barked. “You only got a hard-on for one and she don’t want you.” He snorted. “You’re a damn moron.”
The asshole never pulled a punch. “I’m fixing to fuck her out of my system, today.” I spoke with a determination I didn’t feel.
“Right.” He shook his head and stood up. “Then let’s go.”
I shifted in my seat. “In a bit, you go on.”
He gave me a look that said he’d called me on my bullshit already and strode away. The damnedest part of having a best friend was that he knew me better than I knew myself. I should just go pick one of the wet blondes and take her to bed. Charlie was history, I had no reason to see her again, and she’d made her dislike all too clear. What did I expect?
The boss man walked over.
“Need a word.” Rebel smacked my shoulder then sat beside me. “That guy you tagged with Archer.” Rebel frowned, a serious look on his face. “It’s Mighty Mickey, an enforcer with the Franco group in Vegas.”
“Fuck.” Franco was known for his brutal retaliation. I’d protected some of his enemies when I’d worked for our security business. “You need to keep Delta outta Vegas.”
“Yeah, good idea.” He ran a hand through his hair. “But I’m more worried about you and West.”
People who were on the wrong side of Franco ended up dead. He was a bloodthirsty bastard. “You need to protect the kid.” West had next to no survival skills. He hadn’t had Uncle Sam teach him how to survive in hostile territory like Delta and I had.
“I’m putting West with Ringer for protection and training.”
“Have you heard anything specific?”
Rebel nodded. “Word is there will be retaliation. Our contact reached out to see if we’d cause trouble.”
“What? I can get amnesia or kill anyone stupid enough to challenge me.” This wasn’t my problem, and I wasn’t putting my ass on the line because of some gangster.
“What about Danvers and the detectives?” Rebel eyed me. “Delta says you—”
“Delta talks too much.” Of course he’d told Rebel about Charlie. The man liked ribbing me and giving others ammo to do the same. I hadn’t thought about Charlie or Danvers being in danger. Charlie was living on borrowed time. I stood. “I gotta jet.”
“Sit your ass down,” Rebel growled.
I sat, my knee bouncing.
“You ain’t going anywhere until the kids get their cuts.”
Shit. Shit. Shit. I needed to get to Charlie, protect her even if she didn’t want my protection. “I won’t let the bastards hurt her. Danvers shouldn’t be a target since he wasn’t there.” Charlie wasn’t prepared for the no-rules way the mob would come for her. Her brain didn’t work that way.
“Why do you care? She’s a cop.” Rebel stared at me. “You go half-cocked into this thing and you drag the club along with you.”
“She isn’t getting hurt—the end.” I spoke through clenched teeth, barely keeping myself in check. I wanted to punch someone and if Rebel pushed anymore, I’d take him down.
“So it’s like that?” He grinned at me.
What did he mean?
“I will protect her.”
“Yeah, I figured. And we’ll back you and your woman.”
“She’s not...” But I was talking to air. Rebel had already walked back inside.
I dialed Danvers but he didn’t answer, so I texted him, short and to the point. Put extra backup on the backup for Brie and Charlie. The mob will hit soon. I waited but he didn’t reply.
I had no choice but to wait to leave until after the ceremony tomorrow. Likely she’d be safe for one more day. Franco liked to plan and if he was just now contacting us, we had some time. I didn’t like it, at all. How could I keep her safe?
I couldn’t kill Mickey for a lot of reasons and it wouldn’t stop Franco from retaliating. I’d have to keep her alive long enough for Franco to decide he needed to take out Mickey. Then she should be safe. Maybe. Nothing was certain with that bastard.
My insides were tied in knots and I needed a much better plan. Charlie wouldn’t welcome me into her world. Could I convince her to accept my protection? I’d have to talk it out with Danvers. He knew her better than I did.
Just as I stood to head to my bike for a nighttime ride, West approached.
“Hey, kid, you need something?”
His hair flopped over his eye when he nodded. “Unless you’re busy.”
I didn’t want to sit here another minute, but I had responsibilities. And West was one of them. “Got lots of time. Grab us a beer before you sit.” It was probably one of the last commands I’d give him. Tomorrow he’d be a full brother and a damn fine addition to our club.
He tossed me a Bud then sat down but he didn’t speak.
I drank my beer and waited. He’d get around to what bothered him.
“Tomorrow, I might be picked...probably not.”
I knew he would but I’d never let him know that. “And?” I resisted the urge to bust his balls. Something weighed on his mind.
“What if I fuck it up?”
“Fuck what up?”
“Everything...the ceremony...being a brother. I’m not ready.” He stared at the grass between his feet.
“If we say you’re ready, you’ll be fucking ready. Understand me?”
He gulped with a nod. “Got it. But what if I forget the oath?”
“You won’t. And don’t fucking smile. This shit is important.” I remembered earning my own cut. When I received the cut, I gained a family. And unlike my own blood, my brothers were loyal. “You get picked or not, it’s not a concern because it’s right. When the time is right you’ll be part of us.”
He nodded.
“We don’t make mistakes, so there’s nothing to worry about.” That was complete bullshit but maybe it’d make him feel better. “This is new for us, having more prospects than we patch in at any one ceremony. So it adds some unease...but nothing for you to worry about. I got your back.”
The kid looked at me for the first time. “Yeah?”
“Fuck yeah. You need a reminder, just look my way tomorrow.”
“I’m going for a ride.” He stood up. “Thanks.” He walked into the night, shoulders hunched like he carried the world on them.
Once he’d left, I decided to ride too. I needed to clear my mind. I didn’t pull my bike into my driveway until late that night. Delta’s bike wasn’t here so he’d probably stayed at the club with his girls. I’d talk to him tomorrow before I headed north.
I lay in bed thinking about Charlie. She’d be pissed when I told her I’d be her new roomie until she was clear of this shit storm. Eventually, I drifted to sleep.
The heavy beat of Five Finger Death Punch woke me up. My phone alarm read ten, time to get up and get to church, our weekly meeting of the Brotherhood. Today would be special since we were bringing new members into our fold. Bets were running wild as to who the first six would be.
I showered way too long, but then I’d made it a habit ever since I left the military. I’d hated the way Uncle Sam had wanted to dictate every part of my life—three-minute showers in basic training had sucked, and I’d thrown out every one of those uptight rules as soon as I could. My skill with weapons and hand-to-hand combat, now those I’d embraced and honed to an even sharper edge.
I stepped on my bike and kick-started my black sportster and roared away from Ardmore. I held the throttle open and let the speed chase away my demons for the moment. Right now, I needed to slap a smile on my face and get ready to celebrate my baby bikers transition to the big leagues. I hoped West liked his new name. I’d thought long and hard for it, not that you’d know it since it was so damn obvious. But as long as West got it, then I’d be good. Rebel had named Lyle, so I’d only had to burn brain cells for one name. Of course Rebel wouldn’t do it the easy way. Romeo, the idiot who used to run the protection business, had made each of us name ourselves, which was somehow against Brotherhood tradition. A lot I knew. But then Romeo had gone rogue in a lot of ways—ones that mattered and hurt our club. I’d put the fucker in the ground if I came across him again.
I pulled into the club and glanced down at my watch. Sixteen minutes from Ardmore to here, my personal best, and one that would get me thrown into jail for going so far over the legal limit. But they had to catch me first.
The gravel lot was filled with bikes, we had a great turnout today—of course we didn’t welcome new brothers every day. The women already had tables set up and I smelled roasting hog in the air. Today would be one helluva party.
Inside the clubhouse Delta nodded to me and an open seat at his table. I greeted brothers as I moved through the room. Each table in the place was a reject from somewhere, just like us, yet together they gave the cement building character. Just like the bikers in the club. Delta scooted the chair back with his boots. I sat across from him. “You have too much fun to come home?”
He arched a brow. “Are you my mommy now?”
I flipped him off. “Rebel talk to you about Vegas?”
With a nod, he frowned at me. “I was heading out next week, now that’s cancelled because you can’t keep your nose out of shit.”
“I might need you backing me in the city.” I didn’t know what the mob would throw her way, but the two of us could handle anything.
“You got it.” He smiled. “So you’re going to be her white knight.”
“She won’t see it that way. I’ll be more pest than hero, at least to her.”
“So why go?”
I shook my head. “Can’t not go.”
The gavel pounded and Jericho gazed out over the crowd. The man was scary wild, an outlaw I could respect and follow.
The ceremony was quick with each of the six giving their oath and earning a new name along with the member cut. They were brothers now and I was damn proud that two of our prospects were part of the first six chosen. The others would either earn their cuts next time or be shown the door. After the ceremony, I stopped to talk to each for a minute before I booked it to Oklahoma City.
Once I hit the city, I stopped at the motel where I stayed more nights than my house. I should look into finding a place up here. Rebel said the company would pay for it, but apartment hunting sucked and limited my mobility. I liked being able to stay wherever the mood struck or the case demanded.
I called Danvers to strategize how to approach Charlie, and he invited me for dinner. Not one to pass up the chance for his wife’s cooking, I booked it to my bike. Captain Leo Danvers had made good on the American dream, and no one deserved it more than him. The best CO I ever had, Danvers understood people and how to treat them. Even after my less than agreeable separation with Uncle Sam and becoming a biker, Danvers didn’t shy away. That kind of integrity was rare in my world. I’d gladly have him at my six anytime. If only Charlie trusted me, my mission would be easier.
Pulling up in front of Danvers’s suburban paradise complete with white picket fence in back, I parked my bike in the driveway. He loved his life but I didn’t understand it, too much drudgery for me. Besides I’d failed every time I tried to do the upstanding man thing—first my sister, Laney, then the rest of my family and finally Uncle Sam. No, I knew better now. I wasn’t made for normal.
Danvers was my exact opposite in that way. He did upstanding without the smugness my grandfather always had. I walked up the stone sidewalk through a manicured lawn and knocked on his bright blue front door. His wife opened the door with a smile on her face and little Leo on her hip. The boy wasn’t one yet, but he was substantial.
“That boy is going to be bigger than you by next year.” I chucked the kid’s chin.
“I know, I’m the one lugging this beast around.” She grinned wide. “Leo’s in back on the deck, head on back. But be prepared, Tilly knows you’re coming and she put on her princess dress for you.”
I chuckled. “She’s already stolen my heart.” Their three-year-old daughter had a silly crush on me.
Last year she’d declared her intentions. Barely able to string words together, Tilly had run up to me, arms lifted to be picked up. I’d scooped her up and kissed her forehead. She’d stared at me with eyes identical to her father’s and said, “I marry you, JoJo.”
And she hadn’t outgrown it yet.
I walked past them through their homey living room with toys lining one wall and the pristine kitchen. Something smelled delicious and cheesy.
“Dinner is in an hour. Ribs, you guys are cooking those, mac and cheese, and broccoli,” she called behind me.
“Thanks, sounds great.” I slid open the deck and stepped back into the muggy summer evening.
Danvers sat by his pride and joy—a huge-ass charcoal grill, smoker and magic machine. At least that’s how he’d described the thing. It looked like a lot of work to me. I preferred my gas grill—it was how I cooked any meat I made. But then I survived on restaurants for most of my meals with an occasional steak or burger at home.
“Hey, JoJo, you see Tilly yet?” The bastard grinned at me.
“Not yet, but I hear she’s gunning for me.” I sat beside him and grabbed a beer from the cooler beside me.
“Yup.” His grin fell away. “You think the mob’s going to take out my detectives?”
“They’ve done it before, but I plan to make that a losing bet. No one’s hurting Charlie.”
“So it’s like that.” Danvers tilted his head in question. “What are your intentions for my detective?”
“None of your damn business,” I growled.
“Bullshit. You going to leave collateral damage in your wake?”
“I’m going to keep her safe, that’s all you need to worry about,” I shot back. My skin itched and I didn’t want to put to words what I felt for that blonde. I wouldn’t do it.
“She’s had enough grief, she doesn’t need you fucking with her emotions and riding off.” Danvers got in my grill. Inches apart, we stared each other down.
“JoJo.” The high-pitched shriek came seconds before Tilly barreled into my legs.
“Princess, you look beautiful.” I kissed her forehead while her father ran a hand over his head and stepped back from me.
She scrunched up her face. “Were you and Daddy fighting?” She pointed her tiny index finger. “If so, you have to hug and make up. Mommy says so.”
“Munchkin, you can’t boss adults,” Danvers cut in, saving me from her perceptive question.
She sighed more like an adult than a toddler. Tilly was one of those firstborns who would thrive on bossing others around because she was wise and knew it, just like my oldest brother. Duty should have been his middle name.
“So, JoJo, would you like to see my new dolly?” A crafty look passed across her face.
“After dinner, then we can have a tea party too.” I knew that’s where this ploy was going.
“Yay, you are my favorite.” She threw her small arms around my shoulders and pressed into me—an awesome hug.
“Go get ready, now. JoJo and I have to talk,” Danvers instructed his daughter.
I set her back to the wooden deck.
“No more fighting.” She waggled her first finger at us and scampered away before her father corrected her again.
“Already wants the last word.” I shook my head. “You have your hands full.”
“I know it.” He stared after his daughter, love tattooed on his face. Danvers was one lucky bastard. He refocused on me. “Be careful with her.”
“Who are you talking about?” I asked even though I knew he meant Charlie.
He didn’t dignify my feint with a response. Instead he met my gaze. “Just don’t break her.”
“What if she breaks me?”
Danvers snorted. “I put extra patrols on both her and Brie. I also alerted Tom, so he’s staying with Brie. How are you going to do this thing with Charlie? She won’t want your protection.”
I rubbed my neck. “I was hoping you’d help with that.”
“Leave me out of this train wreck. I’m not sure I even approve of your plan.” He sighed.
“If I tell her I’m going to protect her, she’ll fight me. Make this harder.” She was a stubborn woman.
“Sounds right.” He grinned.
“Then I’ll have to be sneaky.” It’d be less comfortable but I could do it.
That was the end of the discussion. We drank beer in silence until the ribs were done. After a lively dinner where Tilly told us stories of preschool, I attended her tea party and escaped back into the night. Just a couple hours of family had my thoughts circling to dark places. I remembered Laney at three. I’d been seven and she’d looked up to me like Tilly did, but I’d failed her.
I wouldn’t fail again.