Chapter 13
Big John
Jesus. I was sitting in church and all I could think about was the taste of Daisy’s submission to me on my tongue. As soon as the sweet taste of her on my fingers had touched my fucking taste buds I’d almost come in my pants, like a fucking teenager. And I hadn’t missed the effect that my move had had on her either. Her pupils had dilated as her breath had hitched, and she’d flushed with renewed arousal. The act of watching me suck my fingers clean had turned her the fuck on.
It had been all I could do not to say, “fuck it” and pound the shit out of her right there up against the fridge. And as much as I’d wanted to sink my dick inside her and find my own release, the fact that Hawk had called church when Clay and I had returned was at the forefront of my mind. Well, maybe not the forefront, because I hadn’t wanted to leave Daisy. No, I’d wanted to drag her shapely little ass back to my room for some quality, hard-core, one-on-one action.
I shook my head to clear it, a little angry at myself over my fascination with the woman. Lusting over her outside of the meeting room was one thing, but bringing her inside not acceptable. There was no room for that fucking shit while I was sitting at the table with my brothers, discussing shit that would affect the club, talking about killing, which is what I did. I had blood on my hands. The same hands that had touched Daisy until she’d come undone in my arms.
I doubted that the knowledge of my role in the club would go over very well with Daisy. She wasn’t a sweetbutt. Those women were a different breed, who could be as dirty and devious as my brothers were when they needed to be. They liked knowing what a brother’s hands were capable of doing, liked to paint their bodies with it. Trouble didn’t send them running. They knew how to handle most situations, unless it had to do with a brother that they wanted. Sometimes they forgot what they were there for. Marnie had forgotten that in a huge fucking way, her insane jealousy almost getting Rock’s woman, Allie, killed.
“Where’s your head at, brother?”
I glanced over at Rock, my expression set so fucking hard it was a wonder that my jaw didn’t crack. “Wrapped around ending Shooter and Whistler,” I snapped. It pissed me off that they’d managed to escape. By the time we’d made it to our bikes and had taken off in the general direction that they’d gone, they’d had too much of a head start. We’d followed their trail from where they’d stashed their bikes to a camp road that had led to an asphalt highway, and had then promptly lost them.
Then we’d returned to the house where Clay and Jumper had taken care of Demo’s body while I’d spent time with the women. It turned out that there’d been another woman in the back bedroom all along. My job was to convince them of the importance of staying quiet. By the time we’d left, there had been no doubt about what would happen to them if we found out that they’d been talking about what went down. It turned out that they liked breathing.
“We sure about the women?”
Clay snorted, sinking lower into his seat. “They seemed good and subdued by the time we left.”
He was right. They’d been terrified by that point, crying hysterically and thanking us for not hurting them. Fuck, we didn’t like hurting women and avoided it at all costs, but sometimes it was necessary. The safety of the club came first, always.
“Do we need to put a prospect on them to make sure they remain loyal?” Hawk asked, taking a hit off one of the joints that was being passed around the table. He didn’t usually smoke, but I guessed that having the club on lockdown and the place filled with families was getting to our prez, especially when three of those family members included his pregnant wife and their other two little ones. Who could blame him?
Jumper shook his head. “Naw. They’re Talbot’s strippers. They know what’s at stake,” he smirked.
“Why are we worried over a couple of strippers?” Painter barked, losing his patience. “What are we gonna do about Whistler and Shooter so we can get our fucking club back?” Leave it to Painter to get right to the point. Truthfully, he was only saying what we all were thinking. When shit got bad enough for a lockdown, it put all of us on edge.
Snickers followed his comment. Some of the brothers were just as eager as Painter was to get back to normal, and normal for them meant the freedom of drinking, fighting, and having sex without the worry of innocent eyes watching them. Of course, the restaurant had always been off limits for that kind of activity anyway because of the constant presence of civilians.
Children were strictly prohibited from the back clubhouse, and the same went for the bar, but shit happened. Kids had a way of turning up in places they weren’t welcome. The old ladies knew what went on because, hell, at one time or another most of them had been part of it, but they still didn’t want to see it, and they especially made an effort to shield their children from it.
“Do we think they’re still in the area?”
I nodded reluctantly, remembering what Talbot had said. The fact that Shooter was looking for me spoke volumes, solidifying the belief that he thought I was a rat and was gunning for me. “He made it pretty fucking clear why they’re here,” I growled, taking the joint from Snake. One hit off a joint wouldn’t do much for me, but I took a deep drag and held it in my lungs. “Whoever is hiding them is either getting serious money for it, or doing it against their will. We hit all the usual hangouts after shit went down, but got nothing.”
Hawk’s gaze darted to Fox. “Check the hospitals, see if any doctors or nurses have turned up missing in the last day or two, someone who didn’t call in. If you get nowhere, check the clinics. You said Shooter was wounded, could be that they’ve dragged a civilian into it.” He swung his gaze back to me. “How bad do you think he was hit?”
“Bad enough to knock him out on his ass, but he’s tough.”
“A body shot, then?” Rock inquired.
I acknowledged him with a nod.
“I want eyes on Pleasure Me, I never liked that fucker Talbot. He claims his place is neutral ground, but he’s a lowlife who’d turn his own mother in for a dollar.” It was clear by his tone that our president disliked Talbot as much as his way of operating.
I’d already decided on that, adding, “I’ll put eyes on his house, too. I’ve been thinking about something else.” Hawk narrowed his eyes, waiting for me to continue. “Been thinking about using bait to draw them out.” I felt gazes snap my way, because we all knew that the only bait that would draw Shooter and Whistler out was me. I shrugged.
“Normally I’d tell you to do what you need to do, brother, but not sure I’m on board with this” Hawk objected.
“Well, I’m not on board with sitting around twiddling my fucking thumbs while we wait. It’s not like he’s going to make a move while we’re on lockdown.”
“What do you have in mind, brother?” BK asked from the opposite end of the table.
“Shooter knows me. He made it easy to find him because he knew that I’d come after him. When he’s healed up enough he’ll do it again. He doesn’t like to fail. He had it all planned out how he was going to take me out, but my getting the drop on him will eat away at him like a cancer inside him.”
“Let’s not forget he’s had years in prison to cultivate his hate for you.” I nodded in agreement with Ned. “A man doesn’t let that kind of shit go easily.”
“I’m open to hearing what Big John has on his mind because, fuck, my old lady being here twenty-four-seven is making me crazy!” Snake said with a mixture of annoyance and humor. I wondered if he included his and Robin’s four kids, two of which were twins, in that statement.
“You can keep the kids, but do you want me to take Robin off your hands for ya, brother?” Painter joked, getting a dark scowl for a response. Painter shrugged good naturedly.
“Wait until you have an old lady of your own,” BK laughed.
“Me? No way!” Painter was a die-hard manwhore and made no apologies for it. “I like variety too fucking much.”
“Enough!” Hawk barked. “Unlike some of you, I don’t mind my old lady and kids being here. But let’s get back on track.” He turned his glare on me. “So, what do you have in mind?”
“Nothing too complex. He knows I’m looking for him. I’ll just make finding me easier for him, while not being obvious about it.”
“How is that different than what just went down?” The question came from Rock.
“I make it so that he comes to me. He’s not the only one who can plan an ambush.”
“Why don’t you just set up a meeting with him and then have an old-fashioned shootout?” Painter grumbled around his cigarette.
“Yeah, that would only work if it was just Shooter, asshole.” Ned sat back in his chair and crossed his arms, shooting a meaningful glower at Painter. “But Shooter’s got a whole fucking club behind him.”
“Speaking of which, what’s going on with that? Where are they?”
Hawk’s remark made everyone turn their heads toward Fox, the club security expert and computer guru who investigated shit. “Me?” he grinned. “I’ve been waiting for my turn to speak.”
“Talk, asshole,” Rock grumbled, before Hawk could. “What did you find out?”
“Word is, the Trouble Makers are very slowly making their way back to Greenbush. The few who know that Shooter is out of prison have shown up back at their clubhouse. The others? Well, seems they spread out over the years, some moved out of state. Locating them has been difficult because Shooter’s secretary died of cancer a couple of years ago, and no one’s been able to find the records he kept of the members’ whereabouts.”
Snorts sounded throughout the room at that news.
“So how the fuck are they locating them?” Hawk snarled.
Fox shrugged. “Guess some of them kept in touch with the members in prison. I don’t know. They had about fifty when the raid went down. So far it looks like around twenty have been rounded up. A few have patched in with other MC’s or become nomads. Who the fuck knows about the rest? They may never find them. My source tells me the clubhouse in Greenbush is being cleaned out and readied for business.”
“So, it appears Shooter wants to tie up loose ends before getting back to running his MC,” Hawk concluded, turning to me. “He really wants you dead.”
Yeah, it sure as fuck appeared that way, and it was a personal vendetta, as personal as it got. He wanted to see me ended by his own fucking hands because we’d been friends and he was sure I had betrayed him. Shit. “His personal grudge towards me could work out to our advantage. That kind of shit makes people reckless.”
“Look--” Hawk leaned forward, making no bones about who he was addressing his next words to. “You do what you need to, but you bring backup and you make fucking sure I know what your plans are first in case shit goes south and we have to come looking for you.” He paused, giving me the look, the one that said that if I didn’t follow orders my cut was at stake.
Prez didn’t have to worry. I wasn’t about to fuck up, I had too much invested. I’d been a member a fucking long time, and I planned on dying a member. He knew how I felt, and I’d known him long enough to realize that he meant exactly what he said. I gave him a chin lift, my jaw clamped. In a way that kind of response said way more than fucking words.
“So we stay on lockdown until Shooter and Whistler are taken out of the equation?”
“We want to take a chance those fuckers don’t come after anyone close to us to use as leverage against us?” our VP, Rock, snarled.
Clay held his hands up in the air. “Hey, just askin’ brother. I don’t mind keeping my woman here where I can fuck her all day and night.”
More than one brother snorted.
“Christ, we have no idea how long that will be. What about our responsibilities outside the club?”
BK was referring to the businesses we owned. Most of us had reliable people running them, and we tried not to make it obvious that we owned anything outside of the bars and strip joints, but word eventually got out. We had our fingers in a lot of shit in Solon and the surrounding areas--Garages, tattoo shops, gun ranges. Hell, a couple of the old ladies owned a bakery in town.
I took a deep breath and exhaled it loudly, drawing everyone’s attention. “The fact that Shooter hasn’t involved his club in this tells me that he’s focused on me and nothing else.” I shrugged. “I make myself visible to him, that takes the heat off everyone else.”
“What if he loses his patience? Gets desperate?” Snake asked. For all his complaining about Robin being underfoot, he loved the shit out of her, and of all the members he had the most kids to worry about. “Not sure I want to give him a chance to snatch up one of my brats or Robin just to get to you, brother.”
I nodded in understanding.
“I have the same fucking worries,” Rock grumbled. “Allie and Sam have been through enough shit lately.” He had to also have been thinking about the unborn baby she was carrying. Hawk was in the same predicament with Audra.
“Let’s compromise.” All eyes went to our president, who wasn’t known for compromising when it came to club safety. “Lockdown is ended. Any brothers who want to keep your families here can, but they’ll need to stay in the rooms upstairs. The restaurant will be open for business.” Murmurs followed among the brothers as they digested his suggestion. Most of their expressions revealed that they were good with his comments. “We’ll take a vote, because I don’t want shit falling back on Big John if something happens outside the clubhouse.” Nods followed. “Those in agreement with my decision?”
All hands went up.
I wondered how many would send their families home.
“Church is over except for Big John, Jumper, and Clay.” Hawk waited until the last man had walked out, closing the door behind them, before putting eyes on me. “Knowing you, you already have a fucking plan. What is it?”
I grinned. “I want this shit over fast. I’m going back to Pleasure Me to shake Talbot down, see if he knows where Shooter and Whistler are holed up.”
“He did the first time,” Clay added.
“Thought you were going to make him come to you,” Hawk reminded me.
“Oh, he will, Prez. I’ll be sure to drop info to Talbot about where I’ll be heading. I figure if Shooter gets wind that I’m on my way to Last Hope for a fight, he’ll want to meet me there. That way whatever goes down won’t be anywhere near here.”
I saw satisfaction in his eyes. “Good plan. But be careful. He could ambush you anywhere along the way.” He was talking about the back roads that we normally took to New Hampshire.
I shook my head. “Not the route I plan to take. He won’t make a move on a public highway. I want to make sure the fucker has to wait and make his move at Last Hope.”
“Covacks might not like us bringing trouble to him.”
I swung my gaze to Clay. “Already thought of that, brother. That’s why you and Cooper will take the usual route there a day early. I don’t want him to know about you lying in wait. Shooter will expect me to have backup, so Jumper will travel with me.” I looked at Hawk. “Once Shooter and Whistler see me, they’ll make their move. Clay and Cooper will stay low and hopefully get the jump on them at the fights before any trouble breaks out.”
“I like it, even if I don’t like that you brothers will be too far away if you need our help.”
“Two against four,” Jumper said with a smirk.
Hawk’s brows shot up. “Don’t underestimate a man with revenge on his mind, brother. I don’t want to lose anyone on this run. I’m going to put in a call to Covacks to let him know what’s planned. Tell him to make sure his men don’t interfere.”
“Since I’m gonna be on the road, I want Jasmine here,” Clay insisted.
Hawk nodded. “If she wants to stay.” He looked at me then, a question in his eyes.
I shrugged. “I don’t have a woman.”
“That’s cold, brother,” Clay smirked.
“So, you’re just fucking her?” Hawk snorted with disbelief. His expression revealed that he clearly thought that it was more.
Normally I would have just avoided talking about this kind of shit. It was no one’s business what went on between me and Daisy, but something in the way that Hawk had said ‘so you’re just fucking her’ rubbed me the wrong way. I didn’t care for my sake, but Daisy didn’t deserve to be thought of as just an easy lay.
“I don’t know what we’re doing,” I said honestly. “The second I saw her I wanted her. Can’t explain it. Don’t know where it’s going.” Maybe all I’d wanted was to fuck her, but one thing I did know, it had never been this intense before, not with any woman. Christ, my dick was getting hard now just thinking about her. I reached down, not giving a fuck if my brothers saw me adjusting it. I gave Clay a knowing look. “I want you and Cooper on the road today. So get in a last fuck with your girl and get gone.”
“Cooper’s not going to be very happy,” Jumper quipped with a grin around his smoke. “He kind of just started a thing with Sheryl.” Sheryl was Snake and Robin’s live-in nanny, a quiet, young woman who was finishing up her college degree, while engraining herself into the club with her uncanny ability to handle children in any given situation. Especially when one needed an attitude adjustment.
“Too bad.” I didn’t give a fuck about his love life. We all had problems. “He can take up where he left off when we get back.” Our president stood, bringing us all to our feet. “Jumper and I will get on the road tomorrow, after we make a stop at Pleasure Me.”
That was that.
Now it was time to seek out Daisy and let her know that she could return home if she wanted to.