Skid
It didn’t seem to matter how many times he met with Stomper, Skid always felt a little anxious as he pulled up to The Billy Goat. He had been doing as his president had asked and had been having regular meetings with the leader of the Sons of Chaos, but that didn’t mean it was getting any easier.
The smoky interior of the bar was becoming familiar, with its floor full of sawdust and the dark corners where anything illegal was likely to happen. Once, he had stayed late enough that the staff had turned on the lights to start cleaning. It had made him realize just what a dump this place was, but he had no choice but to continue returning.
“Skid! You’re back again! Pete, let’s have another round for my men!” Stomper slapped Skid on the arm as he sat down. “I tell ya, this is even better than the old days. I always liked hanging out with you, but it’s a lot better when we can just drink and go home without worrying about getting blown up the next day.” He threw back his head and laughed, and his men did the same.
Skid had a feeling they only did so because they wanted Stomper to keep them around, and not because he’d said anything funny. “That’s true, but hanging out in this asshole of a place doesn’t give me a nice tan like Iraq did.”
The men laughed again, and Stomper leaned in close. “I’ve been thinking a lot, Skid. I need a man like you on my side again. There are enemies everywhere, even though we’ve come back to the States. Sure, I’ve got some good guys in my club, but it just isn’t the same. Why don’t you come with us? We’ll ride out and find ourselves a whole new adventure.”
Accepting the full beer from the scantily clad waitress who brought it to him, Skid eyeballed the blond man. “Is that why you’ve been hanging around Chicago so much? You were just trying to recruit me?” He meant the words, but he knew Stomper would take them as a joke. Everything was a joke to him.
“Yep, that’s it. I just came here to romance you. Everyone knows you’re the only reason Satan’s Legion has such a tight hold on Chicago. You’re the key to dominance. Men listen to you. Why, I could be running the entire state of Illinois before you know it.” Stomper grinned and took a swig of his beer.
Skid bit his tongue on a “yes, sir.” Old habits died hard, and old loyalties died even harder. There was no way Stomper was even a fraction as good of a leader as Park had been. But if the circumstances had been different, he knew he would have found himself riding off with the Sons of Chaos in an instant. If they had met up once Stomper had gotten out of the army, Skid probably never would have joined the Legion at all. No Park, and no Mina. It was a cold and uncertain destiny, one that he didn’t like to think about. “It’s flattering and all, but you know I can’t leave the Legion.”
“Huh. I had a feeling you would say that. That’s just the type of guy you are.”
Skid scowled at the other man. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Calm down. It’s not an insult or anything.” Stomper spread his fingers wide and flattened his hand toward the surface of the table, as though he could change Skid’s mood by simply telling him to do so. “I just mean that you’ve always been so loyal. You’re a true patriot, and that’s what made you a good soldier. There’s no reason that shouldn’t translate into your civilian life.”
“I guess that much is true.” Skid downed the rest of his beer and frowned at the foam in the bottom. He wasn’t going to drink much since he knew he still needed to get back to the clubhouse, but one more couldn’t hurt. He signaled to the waitress. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course. Anything. I’m an open book.” The smile that folded back the corners of Stomper’s mouth stretched his skin and showed just how leathery his face had become.
“Why are you here? I mean, I don’t mind. It’s great to be able to see you again, and I’m glad you’ve found a group of people you belong with. But we don’t usually see other clubs in this area, and certainly not for so long. Don’t you have some place to go? Some place you’re headed?” There were some clubs who did nothing but ride, moving from place to place and shacking up wherever they could fit themselves. He had been grateful that Satan’s Legion wasn’t like that. The open road was wonderful, but only for so long.
“Are you sure you don’t mind? You sound a little miffed, like we might be encroaching on your territory. We’re not Viking raiders, Skid, here to steal your gold and your women. We’re just seeing what the place is like. If I get to hang out with my old buddy in the process, then it’s all the better.”
Skid couldn’t help but frown at the idea of one of the Sons of Chaos stealing his woman, even if he hadn’t proclaimed his ownership of her out loud. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. My head’s just been in a weird place lately. I thought I had everything figured out until you came along.” The waitress brought him another beer, and he sank down the first third of it in one gulp.
“Does that mean you’ll at least consider joining me?” Stomper asked hopefully.
“I don’t know what it means,” Skid replied truthfully. “When I got out, they said I had PTSD. They set me up for counseling sessions with this therapist who was supposed to help me. At first, I thought that was a pretty good idea. It’s tough leaving a war and coming home to what’s supposed to be peace. But this therapist, you should have seen her.” Skid laughed humorlessly. “She was this little blonde thing, fresh out of college, all tender and soft. She’d probably never had a worse thing happen to her than a flat tire or her boyfriend dumping her. I didn’t care how much education she had under her belt, I knew there was no way she could help me. She didn’t know. She didn’t understand.”
“That’s how they get you, Skid. They claim they’re helping you, but they’re just keeping you appeased so you won’t complain. Most guys would probably just be happy to spend the hour in the company of a beautiful woman, and who could blame them?” Stomper slammed the side of his fist on the table, making several of his men look over at them. “But it doesn’t do any good, not in the long run.”
“I’m happy to see you, Stomper, but I had to work hard to put all of that behind me. As proud as I had been to enlist, I was more than done with the whole thing when I came back. I moved on. Now, it’s like I can’t keep it out of my brain.” There was more to it than the memories of war, and Skid knew that. There was Mina, and her father, and the coming baby. What the hell was he going to do with his life? What was he going to do when the baby was there, and everyone knew it was his? What would he do when he could no longer be part of Satan’s Legion anymore? But he couldn’t quite bring himself to let that all out in front of Stomper. He had to hold something back, at least.
“It’s never going to go away,” Stomper agreed. He looked off toward the wall of the bar, but his eyes were seeing something thousands of miles away. “If I’m lucky enough to live to be an old man, I’ll still be seeing innocent people dying in front of my eyes. I’ll still be putting a hand over my drink to keep the sand out of it. I’ll still be swerving to avoid a piece of trash in the road because I’m afraid it might be an explosive.”
The two of them sat there for a long moment in silence, thinking about how miserable they were and yet grateful that they had someone to share it with. Skid knew that both Park and Mina had learned a little bit about his time in the war from that conversation in his room, but they could never know all of it. Maybe he should tell her. Maybe he should let her know everything he had seen and done, every man he had ever killed, so she would really know what she was getting into. Mina would go running for the hills if she was smart, and Skid couldn’t blame her.
“I ought to get going,” Skid finally said, his voice sounding too loud despite the wailing jukebox in the corner. “I have things to do tomorrow.”
Stomper nodded and raised his glass, but he caught Skid by the sleeve before he could leave. “The invitation is always there, man. If you need me, you just let me know.”
“I’ll do that.” His steps were a little wobbly as he returned to his bike, and the roaring of the engine seemed loud and annoying. He shook his face as he picked up speed and the cool evening air washed over him, ready for it to sober him up a little and return him to the real world, the reality he had worked so hard to build for himself.
It was late when he got back to the clubhouse, and most of the other members had gone to bed. The television played quietly to a sleeping Grill on the couch, and Skid let him lie. He stumbled up the stairs to find his room, but the floor didn’t quite seem to want to cooperate.
He rested his hand on the doorknob but didn’t want to turn it. What waited for him behind that door? A room that held his few possessions, but nothing else. There was no warmth there, no happiness, nothing that he felt committed to.
Instead, he turned and continued down the hall. His feet automatically stopped in front of Mina’s door, as though they were telling him what he really needed to be doing. He happened to agree with them. Without knocking, he turned the handle quietly and stepped inside.
The lights were out, but the moonlight made a large rectangle of pale blue on her bed. Mina sat in the middle of it, her hands cradling her stomach and her legs folded against the sheets. She turned to him, her face pale and her eyes full of surprise. “Skid? What are you doing here?” she asked quietly.
Skid put a finger to his lips though her voice had barely been above a whisper. “I needed to see you.”
“About what?”
“About nothing. I just wanted to see you.” He stumbled as he went to the bed and dropped himself on the edge of the mattress. “What are you doing up?”
She ran a hand through her hair, sending the ends into wayward spikes, about to blow off his question, but she stopped. “Honestly? I can’t stop thinking about us.”
“What about us?”
Mina’s snort of laughter was loud, and she stifled it quickly. “There’s a lot to think about when it comes to us. Mostly, though, I’ve been wondering if we’ll truly end up together. I’ve been talking to one of the other club girls, and I’ve heard some really sad stories. I don’t like to think about my baby growing up and leaving me, or you leaving me.” A glistening tear ran down her cheek.
Skid caught it on his finger and wiped the crystalline droplet away. “Hey, why would you worry about that? I’m right here.”
“But you’re not,” she countered. “I thought for a while that you were, but I realized that you haven’t been, ever since my father asked you to start talking to Stomper.”
“I didn’t realize I was spending so much time away from you.”
“No.” She touched his arm, her fingers cold against the heat of his skin. “I can tell you’re a little drunk, so I don’t really expect you to understand. Maybe you wouldn’t even if you were sober, but I’m not talking about being here physically. I mean mentally, emotionally. You’ve changed since these meetings started, and I’m worried about you.”
Her words mined into his brain, and he sat up a little straighter. “There’s nothing to worry about. I’m fine.”
Mina turned her face back toward the window. “I’m going to be honest with you. I’ve decided it’s the only way to be, and if someone else can’t handle the truth, well, then that’s not my problem. Talking with Stomper has been bad for you, Skid. You’re miserable. You don’t know where your loyalties lie, and I hate it. It’s not that I’m concerned about you leaving the Legion. I want you to stay, but I don’t think that’s the issue. I just want you to be happy again. I love you, and I care about you.”
Her words sobered him in a way that the cold wind could never do. Skid took her into his arms and pulled her close, letting her wet cheek rest against his chest as he ran his hand down her side to cradle her belly. “Mina …”
“I’m sorry, Skid, I just had to tell you.”
“No. Don’t apologize. Don’t you dare.” His heart warmed, knowing that he really did have a place he belonged. It didn’t matter what happened with Satan’s Legion and with Park. It didn’t matter that he couldn’t go back to his days in the army or really ever forget about them. It didn’t even matter that Stomper wanted so badly to recruit him. He had Mina and the baby, so he would always have a family. “I love you, too.”
She relaxed against him, the tension dissipating from every muscle in her body. “So things really will be all right?”
“They will, and they are. First thing in the morning, I’m going to tell your father about us. I don’t care what he has to say anymore, it’s time the truth came out.” He felt more determined about this than he had felt about anything in a long time. His life had just been a series of days that he got through, without much to work towards. That was all changing. Right now.
“But what if he kicks you out? Or kicks both of us out? He’s going to be so mad, Skid, and doubly so because we didn’t just tell him in the first place.”
“It’ll still be fine. He can be mad all he wants to, but Park won’t be the first father to be angry about such a thing. The deed’s already been done, and it can’t be changed. If he doesn’t understand now, he will soon enough.”
“You really think so?”
Skid couldn’t miss the hope in her voice, because he felt it, too. “I do. Come here.”
Tenderly, gently, as though she could be bruised just by him looking at her the wrong way, Skid laid her down. He carefully removed the loose T-shirt she wore, taking a moment to enjoy her pale breasts in the moonlight. Next came her panties, a dark fringe of lace that disappeared when he tossed it off the bed. Her tattoos were shadows of lace against her skin, delicate embellishments that only added to her glory. Skid let out an appreciative breath as he ran a finger from the sharp line of her jaw, down the curve of her neck, around the globe of her breast, up the slope of her stomach, and down the length of her leg. He knew she would look completely different in the sunlight, a negative of what she was now, with golden skin and brilliant white tattoos. “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Prove it to me,” she whispered.
When he tried to think of it later, Skid didn’t remember how his clothes came off. It was like being with Mina made magic things happen, and the only thing that mattered was the end result. He was on top of her in an instant, his cock raging and ready to go, but he forced himself to hold back. Mina was everything. He had to make this count.
Still, his body wanted her, needed her. He lowered himself on top of her and slowly sank into her warmth, feeling his very soul rejuvenated by doing so. As his hips moved steadily, Mina’s legs came up to wrap around his waist and her arms around his neck. She clung to him as though he was life itself, and he knew the feeling. Their souls melded as their bodies blended, and Skid kissed her as he slowly thrust. They were the only two people in the world. No, she was his world, and he wished he could find a way to tell her that.
He let out a moan as he grew more engorged, every cell of his body rushing to at once to be closest to Mina. She returned his cry, clinging to the skin of his back and letting him know that she needed him just as badly. Her body felt his satisfaction coming and responded in kind, waves undulating around him and pulling him in deeper as he came. In the midst of their raw passion, Skid had never felt more alive in his life.
Their energies spent, Skid pulled her to him and covered them up in the bed. He wasn’t going to let go of her, no matter what happened. “I really do love you, Mina.”
She turned her face upward to kiss his chin. “I know.”
Skid slipped into the deepest sleep he’d had in a long time. It was only disturbed when the light was shining fully in the window and the sounds of the house were beginning to rouse him. The door slammed open, banging against the wall. Skid looked up to see Park standing in the doorway.