Sara
“The potatoes weren't undercooked?” she asked as he cleaned off his plate.
He shook his head, his mouth full of barely-cooked vegetable.
“And the roast wasn't too tough?” she asked.
“Babe,” he said as he wiped his mouth with his napkin and tossed it on his plate, “everything was fine.” He leaned over and kissed her on the corner of her mouth.
He was lying, of course. The roast had tasted like shoe leather, and the potatoes could have replaced brick on a building's facade. But, at least he was telling lies to spare her feelings. That was something, at least.
Danny had kept up his visits over the last few days. They weren't just drop-bys for sex, either. He would show up and take her to lunch, or just out for a bike ride around town. They were approaching, almost, a sort of relationship. Hell, she even cooked him dinner a couple times. Not that her cooking was good, or anything. Her mom hadn't exactly been a stellar role model when it came to that kind of thing. But he at least faked enjoying the meals.
Of course, she missed the drop-bys for just sex. They'd been exciting, fun. Somehow, even though they had made a baby, there was a sort of detachment from the emotions, an added heat that really ratcheted everything up a notch.
He grabbed her plate off the table, stacked hers on his, and took them both into the kitchen.
“You sticking around for a little while longer?” she asked as he went into the other room.
“Can't,” Danny said from the kitchen as he rinsed off the plates and stacked them in the sink. “Going down to he Old Crow for a drink, to see how everything's going.”
“Oh,” she said, feeling a certain loss. Like she was missing him already. “Coming back, afterward?”
“Dunno how late I'll be,” he said as he came back over to her. He ran his fingers through her hair. “Do you want me to?”
She nodded. “Of course I do.”
He leaned down and kissed her, his lips forceful. She returned the kiss, groaning.
“See you soon?” she said after their kiss broke. God, she wished that kiss had turned into something more. They hadn't had sex enough since they'd found out she was pregnant, and all she could think about was his rough hands on her body, how he felt when he was inside her.
“Soon,” he replied as he grabbed his vest off the back of his chair and pulled on his badge of honor. He let himself out.
An emptiness seemed to take over the room, slowly filling the void he left behind when he stepped out the front door.
Maybe life was better with him, rather than without. Sara shook her head. What was she getting herself into with this man?
# # #
Danny
Danny pulled up at the Old Crow a little while later. He only saw Karl's bike parked next to the door, so he pulled up next to his hog, popped his stand, and killed the engine. He swung his leg off and ambled inside.
Business was slow, and just Jethro was working behind the bar.
“What up, boss?” the grizzled bartender asked as Danny stepped up to the bar and ordered a beer. Down the way, at the other end of the bar, Karl stood sipping on his own.
Good. Just Karl was here. Him, Tyke, and Thorn were three of the only people Danny could really discuss things with, as far as the Free Jackals went. And, unfortunately, Thorn had to go underground after the firebombing went wrong. To keep spreading their plans, not to mention what they'd done already, just jeopardized the rest of the club. Keeping everything close was better for everyone. Knowledge was power, but lack of knowledge was deniability.
“Nothing,” Danny said. “Absolutely nothing. Anybody else been in, besides Karl?”
Jethro shook his head, as he popped the lid off Danny's requested beer. “This has been about it.” He slid the beer to Danny.
He caught the beer, took a swig, and headed over to the recruit.
“Danny,” Karl said as he approached. “What's going on, my man?”
“Karl,” he replied with a sober nod as they clasped hands. “You wanna join me in the back booth?”
“Uh, sure?”
Danny walked past him and headed to the Fallen Knights booth at the back. In case someone came in, he wanted to have some privacy. Both men settled into the bench and slid around the table.
“So, what's up?” Karl asked.
Danny leaned forward, almost conspiratorially. “Listen, I still haven't heard from Thorn, which means it's you, me, and Tyke on this. Thorn could be out a while.”
“Yeah,” Karl replied, nodding enthusiastically as he leaned forward. “I hear you.”
“Which means, I need your help on ways to go after those Free Jackals bastards. You feel me?”
“Sure, I hear you. What do you want to do? Like, mess up their bikes or something?”
“Nah,” Danny replied, shaking his head. “We need to send them a real message. Like what we did the other night, but make sure it hits closer to home.” They needed to make these guys pay, really pay.
“Like . . . what?”
“Like, we do it again, but this time to their clubhouse. We can use the same path down as before, but this time we know there won't be any fuel stored there.”
“Uh, I don't know.” Karl sat back as he blew out a breath. He shot Danny a quizzical look. “Their clubhouse? I mean, what if some of them are inside it?”
At first, Danny didn't respond. Karl wasn't acting like a recruit should. He should have been jumping at a chance to follow through, to go above and beyond. To do what he was fucking told.
“And, I mean,” Karl continued, “what if, you know, we get in deeper with the law on this? We already went there once. There's already some evidence we left behind if they figure out what set the first building on fire.”
Danny shook his head. He should have reported Karl to the rest of the club for that suggestion, and that suggestion alone. He should have just stood up from the table and walked away. He could have had Karl's recruit status revoked on principle.
Well, maybe he could have beat his ass a little bit, teach the kid not to mess around with the Fallen Knights and waste their time.
Unfortunately, the kid was kind of right. Getting deeper into this, and using the same method as before? That was sloppy. Straight-up 100%, grade-A sloppy. He could go to prison over something like this, or risk injuring or killing himself again. What if Thorn hadn't saved him? Then his kid would be growing up without a father in its life, just like Danny was having to deal with now because of the old man passing away.
“Serious question,” Danny said after his long pause. “You still wanna be in the club?”
Karl took a long drink of his beer. After a while, he nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I'm fine with the fights, the drinking, the riding. All that stuff, Danny, but,” he leaned forward and looked around, “this whole thing with the Free Jackals? This is some fucking shit, isn't it?”
That was easy for him to say. The Jackals hadn't gone after his family, or knocked him unconscious with a baseball bat. Danny's nostrils flared as he sucked in a breath.
But, he was right. Maybe just one guy, with some of his buddies thrown into the mix, was the one doing all this. Didn't mean they had to firebomb the clubhouse.
After a minute, Danny nodded. “It's some shit. You're right.” He finished down the rest of his beer and got up from the booth.
“Where you headed?” Karl asked.
“Home, I guess.”
“You out?” Jethro called. “I could use a little help later, if you don't mind.”
“Yeah, sure,” Danny replied. “Guess I'll be back in a bit.”
He nodded his goodbye to Jethro and walked out the front door and got on his bike. Sundown had passed, and night had come. He started his bike and pulled around in the parking lot. He pulled out onto the highway, but instead of heading towards his place, he headed back to Sara's.
Talking with Karl had jogged up the memories of that big Free Jackal, of that haunting face he should have known, but didn't. He knew that he wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight. Not unless Sara's body was at his side.
The night air whipped past his face and helped to clear his head. There had to be another way to get to this guy. Maybe Thorn would have an idea when he finally showed up. But, escalating this situation, that wasn't the right way. If he did something crazy like burn down their clubhouse, that would give them more than enough license to do something even more wild, like come after Sara, or his mom, or even set fire to the Fallen Knights clubhouse.
At least, with Jed, he'd once been a member of the MC. He'd worn the patch, just like Danny. But, to open up his ol' lady and his mom as targets? Danny couldn't deal with that.
He was so wrapped up in his thoughts, he hadn't even realized he'd called Sara his ol' lady. Was that what she'd slowly become? Maybe. Maybe not. Whatever she was, he couldn't describe the affection he felt for her. That kind of thing just wasn't in his nature.
He pulled up at her place a while later and killed the engine. He parked his bike in front of her apartment and headed inside. He opened the door, just like he lived there, and walked into the living room. He didn't even think about barging in, it just seemed natural to him.
He heard the sink running in the kitchen, and the sound of her scrubbing dishes. He stepped into the kitchen and leaned up against the wall.
Sara looked back at him over her shoulder. “Heard your bike pull up, so I figured I'd leave the door unlocked for you.”
“Thanks,” he said as walked over to her.
He suddenly had a powerful need to feel her close to him, to hold her in his arms. Maybe, having her body against his would erase all the doubt he felt about his life, all his confusion about his path forward. He wrapped himself around her waist, leaned his head down to kiss her neck.
She giggled and turned her head to the side.
His teeth came out, nibbled a little, then his tongue came out just barely and brushed her skin.
Her giggles turned to moans as she bent her head to the side. “But . . . I have dishes.”
“Dishes can wait,” he said as he turned her around and pressed his lips to hers. She tasted sweet, like honey.
She groaned as he kissed her, moaned as he pushed his tongue into her mouth. She ran her tongue around his, and they dueled and danced as they kissed against the kitchen sink.
He reached down to her belly and began to pull up her shirt, to expose the soft skin beneath. She pulled back and broke the kiss. “Here?” she asked with a sexy little grin. “In the kitchen?”
“How about in the living room, then?” he asked as he began to backtrack his steps from the kitchen, pulling her with him.